Nabe Kurao

Is he an eccentric or a hermit? Does the seemingly unremarkable company employee, Fujii, redefine the definition of "happiness"? In the workplace, he's a plain middle-aged man who doesn't stand out. While he does his job properly, he's not one to waste words. Come quitting time, he disappears like a ghost. He's not the type to be invited to after-work drinks in the first place. More like, he's the guy who's thought of as "I wouldn't want to end up like that..." by his juniors. Yet, he piques the curiosity of others... "I wonder how he was raised?", "Does he have friends or a girlfriend?", "What does he do on weekends?". Suddenly, you realize you've become captivated by Fujii...

Kouichi Azumi was forced to quit professional shogi at the age of 26 after failing to rank higher than 4th dan. Time passed and with a new positive outlook on life after time away from shogi, he finds himself drawn to the game again, and decides to give it another shot as an amateur.