The Ryuo's Work Is Never Done!
The Ryuo's Work Is Never Done! is a Japanese light novel series written by Shirow Shiratori and illustrated by Shirabii. SB Creative published the series since September 2015 under their GA Bunko label, with twenty volumes published as of July 2025. A manga adaptation with art by Kogetaokoge was serialized in Square Enix's seinen manga magazine Young Gangan from 2015 to 2019, and was collected in ten tankōbon volumes. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Project No.9 aired from January to March 2018.
Plot
Yaichi Kuzuryū is a prodigy shogi player who won the title of Ryūō at the age of 16. Following his victory, he has been in a slump until he is approached by Ai Hinatsuru, a nine-year-old elementary school girl who begs him to make her his disciple. Astonished by Ai's potential, Yaichi agrees to become her master, and the two then brace themselves together in the world of shogi with their friends and rivals. However, this comes with the condition imposed by Ai's mother that Yaichi is to marry Ai if she does not become a major player before graduating middle school.Characters
; Yaichi Kuzuryū; Ginko Sora
; Ai Hinatsuru
; Ai Yashajin
; Keika Kiyotaki
; Ayumu Kannebe
; Mio Mizukoshi
; Ayano Sadatō
; Charlotte Izoard
; Takashi Hinatsuru
; Akina Hinatsuru
Media
Light novels
The Ryuo's Work is Never Done! is written by Shirow Shiratori and illustrated by Shirabii. SB Creative published the first volume in September 2015 under their GA Bunko label, with twenty volumes and six short story volumes being released as of July 2025. An English translated digital release is done by BookWalker.Manga
A manga adaptation with art by Kogetaokoge was serialized in Square Enix's seinen manga magazine Young Gangan from October 2, 2015, to August 2, 2019. The series covers the story of the first five volumes of the light novels.Anime
An anime television series adaptation by Project No.9 was announced in July 2017. The series was directed by Shinsuke Yanagi with scripts written by Fumihiko Shimo and character designs by Akane Yano. Kenji Kawai composed the music at Nippon Columbia, and Dreamshift produced the series. The series aired from January 8 to March 26, 2018, and it ran for 12 episodes. Machico performed the opening theme song "Kore Kara", while Miku Itō performed the ending theme song "Mamoritai-mono no Tame ni". Same as the manga series, the anime series also covers the story of the first five volumes of the light novels.| No. | Title | Original air date |
Video game
A video game based on the series was released for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on November 26, 2020.Reception
The light novel ranked first in 2017 in Takarajimasha's annual light novel guide book Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!, in the bunkobon category. It ranked first again in 2018, second in 2019, and second again in 2020. As of August, 2020, over 2 million of copies have been sold.Kei Mizutome listed the book as one of four "essential" novels introducing shogi to a wider audience, saying that it was well-researched and that people familiar with the shogi world can guess on whom the characters of the Meijin and Maestro are based.