When Will Ayumu Make His Move? Review & Synopsis

When Will Ayumu Make His Move?

Do you have a couple in your social circle that makes you want to say, "Just kiss and marry already!"? It turns out that couples like that aren’t all that rare, and everyone around them is blatantly aware of their chemistry; yet, something always seems to keep the two apart. Sometimes I’ve felt like jumping in and breaking the ice, but then I also stop myself and wonder what meaning that would hold in the long run, because at the end of the day, the people in question need to understand and accept complicated feelings like this.

“When Will Ayumu Make His Move?”, also known as “Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru,” “Even so, Ayumu draws closer to the endgame,” “Even So, Ayumu Approaches,” or simply “Soreayu,” is a 12-episode TV anime series that aired from the 8th of July until the 23rd of September in Summer 2022. It was produced by Pony Canyon, TBS, Kodansha, and Days; licensed by Sentai Filmworks; and brought to life by Studio SILVER LINK. The main staff behind it includes Nakamura Shinichi, Shioya Yoshiyuki, and Itou Masahiko as producers, and Kaneko Hayato as producer and planner. Featuring the genres of comedy and romance, it revolves around the themes of love, status quo, school, and strategy games. Each episode has a runtime of 24 minutes and is targeted at the shounen demographic, earning a PG-13 rating for teenagers 13 years or older. It was even released on Blu-ray in two volumes from October 19, 2022, to December 21, 2022.

The series is based on the manga of the same title, which ran for a total of 17 volumes from March 6, 2019, to November 15, 2023. It was serialized in Shounen Magazine (Weekly) and is the work of author and artist Yamamoto Souichirou. It began as a webcomic on the author's Twitter account under the title “Shougi no Yatsu” on the 22nd of April 2018, while official serialization began in the Weekly Shounen Magazine in 2019’s #14 issue. Kodansha USA later published it in English from September 21, 2021, to October 15, 2024, and it also received simulpub through K Manga.

The story centers around the titular Ayumu Tanaka, who happens to be the middle school kendo champion. As he embarks on his fateful first year in high school, he decides to mix things up a notch and not join the Kendo Club, as most would expect him to. Instead, he opts to sign up for the unofficial Shogi Club! Why? The man is on a very dedicated and singular mission: to fall in love with Urushi Yaotome at first sight, no less! Urushi happens to be the club's sole member and president, and our MC is ready to do almost anything to inch closer to her. But to keep things proper, he is determined not to confess until the day he can defeat her in a shogi match fair and square. While this self-imposed hurdle is quite admirable, it is also super formidable for Ayumu to genuinely overcome, because his opponent is naturally more experienced and skilled at the game, allowing her to see right through all his strategies.

Regardless, these defeats do not shake the man in love, as he takes every opportunity to praise her good looks, abilities, brain prowess, and even her cute smile. All of this is conveyed through Ayumu's near-expressionless face and direct approach, making the girl of his affections blush constantly, like a beet. With each passing day, Ayumu learns more about the game of shogi and his beautiful opponent across the board, allowing him to make slow and steady progress toward making his confession, which will likely change both their lives for the better. Even if he’s moving one pawn at a time, every round they play together is full of excitement and inherent charm!

Soreayu is a romantic comedy in every sense of the word, brought to you by the same author of “Teasing Master Takagi-san,” which you may have noticed from the character design of the main girl. It’s not just Urushi either, because most of the character archetypes are the same in this show, and it’s full of teasing back and forth, which is a recurrent theme. If you're a fan of the previous work, you're likely to be entertained by this as well, as it shares the same level of wish fulfillment and progression. Something that stood out to me was the fact that this couple doesn’t have as much chemistry and also feels relatively flat and less fleshed out, but it's still worth watching.

Just don’t get your expectations too high, because the dynamic dialogue also falls short even when it has the potential to be great. What I found enjoyable was the wholesomeness, as it primarily revolves around an adorable couple who enjoy playing shogi together. It is filled with delightful moments of relaxation, yet it can become monotonous over time due to the repetitive nature of its interactions. The plot progression is very flat due to a lack of additional events, but fellow shogi enthusiasts may have a different experience. The ending is also subpar, but at least you get the feel-good vibes!

Ayumu and Urushi take center stage in the character department, and the majority of their interactions are very goofy. Unfortunately, it becomes dry after around 2-3 episodes, and the redundancy starts to set in. While there are some relevant developments here and there, they're surface-level and fail to alter the narrative significantly or the dynamic between characters. The premise is executed in a gimmicky way that achieves its intended goal and remains relevant, but this is hardly high-quality content. The supporting characters are merely present, and I didn’t feel anything for them because they all seemed very one-dimensional. The only exception is Kagawa Rin, who honestly had a story to her, and it felt pretty realistic.

The art and animation department is decent. The main male character appears quite plain and is relatively expressionless, but he is neither ugly nor frustrating to watch. The female MC appears very childlike in comparison and is cute rather than pretty, which creates a nice contrast with her more mature-looking counterpart. The remaining character designs are overtly simple and easily forgettable, except for some of their eyes, which exhibit a high degree of variety. While the animation is lackluster in my eyes, it doesn’t significantly damage the viewing experience, as the show is more dialogue-heavy by nature. The only other part where the animation matters is in shogi, and the subtle moves are captured just fine. Everything looks very similar to the author’s previous work overall, but with slightly less quality, likely due to the work not being as popular. The backgrounds and scenes are also mid-range, but once again aren’t as noticeable because it's just another high school, and we’ve seen it thousands of times.

The Sounds and Music department suits the show well, but is just okay once again. The sound effects and OSTs perfectly complement the show's moments, but at times, I found them excessively corny, particularly in the more emotional scenes. The opening theme, "Kakehiki wa Poker Face" by Kana Hanazawa, is a delightful touch, though, and I honestly enjoyed the unorthodox dancing animation features in the visuals. The ending theme is "50 cm" by Urushi Yaotome (Kanna Nakamura), and it is fair to say both pieces slapped despite not making it to any playlists. The voice acting, especially for the leading duo, is nicely done, and I enjoyed the sheer wholesomeness of it all more often than not. The remaining cast did their job, but there’s nothing special to talk about there.

Overall, “When Will Ayumu Make His Move?” is a decent rom-com that would remind you of “Teasing Master Takagi-san” in more ways than one. It has most of the charming and wholesome aspects, but falls short in multiple ways where it could have succeeded with a little more thought and effort. By the end, I half wondered if I should have dropped it sooner because I’m generally not a fan of rom-coms anyway. So my recommendation is simple: if you like Yamamoto Souichirou’s works, go ahead, but remember that this isn’t his best work for a reason. If not, look elsewhere.