3-gatsu no Lion 66

That article at the end could not have been more boring. He says "This is ceremonial" like 500 times.

[3-Gatsu no Lion 66 Translation by Kewl0210]
Page 39:
Title: Chapter.66
The Place the Sun Shines

Page 40:
Pres: Ah, Kiryama, over here!
You got a sec?
Sign: Shogi Hall
SFX: C'MERE C'MERE
Pres: Okay, have a seat.
Rei: Ah, Yagihara Kishou, good evening.
Yagi: Yo, Kiriyama-kun!
Congrats on becoming Newcomer King.
Rei: Th-Thank you very much.
A commemorative game...
......
With Souya Meijin......?

Page 41:
Rei: Is it going to be held here at the association building like usual?
Black Bar: Just saying
Pres: Well, usually it would. ----But this year is different.
We're gonna call people in, do interviews, and gonna make it a big show.
A real humdinger.
Black Bar: that name out loud
Pres: Yep!!
As big as a title match!
Black Bar: made my entire body
break out in goosebumps.

Page 42:
Black Bar: Out country's
Rei: Really...?
Um...
Why
for something like this...
would I
suddenly be doing that...?
Black Bar: god's child......
Guys: To be perfectly honest with you, Kiriyama,
have you heard that it's not that uncommon
for somebody that became Newcomer King to later become Meijin?
I did!
Yanagi: I did, too.
Pres: And on top of that, you're still following Souya
as the 5th middle school pro in shogi history!!

Page 43:
Pres: So we're all got high hopes
you'll be a Meijin, too, Kiriyama-chan!
Handwritten: Sounds good, right? ☆ The current Meijin and the future Meijin! It'll be a real starring attraction!!!
----Uh,
you sure are making it sound simple, thooough?!
SFX: AHA PONNN
But...
it's way different from our era.
Now you've got Souya to contend with...
Honestly, I feel sorry for you guys.
Don't you? ☆
Yanagi: Yes.
That guy wasn't around when we were starting out.
Pres: Man, I sure am glad I was born way before him!☆ Sure am![Heart]
Yanagi: Aah...
Still, remember how cute Souya was back when he got his first title~~?!
He's an old man now, though.
PRes: Hey!
Souya's not an old man!
Yanagi: Yes he is.
I mean, he's the same age as Shimada, isn't he?
Pres: ---Now that you mention it,
it's a real mystery how the two of them could be the same age...
Rei: Um...
Do you think maybe you could stop there...?
Handwritten: Clearly Shimada should be more like Gotou's age, right?
...So Shimada's still in his 30's, is he......?
Yanagi: Honestly... I wonder what went on in Shimada's life...?
SFX: SPARKLE SPARKLE... SHABBY......

Page 44:
Yanagi: ---Speaking of which,
what are we gonna do about this year's Kishou Championship...?
The plan I had was
it would be Sakurai 7-dan's 'Challenge for his first ever title!!'
We had tons of people doing interviews
and the big board commentary was all set and ready to go...
Description: Shogi Association's Mountaineering Club
Top☆Alpinist
(Attack) → Invites people he likes to the mountains. (And pretty tall ones, at that)
Yanagi: And then that idiot Shimada...
Handwritten: Just got out of the bath
BUEKUSHOI
Somebody must be talking about me
Yanagi: He lost once, and then couldn't just take a hint
and he just HAD to crawl his way back from the losers bracket.
And what's more...
in the third match to determine the challenger, he won it all and caused an upset and all that.
Seriously, could I just get a break...?
B-But... Shimada-san put tons of effort in, too, uh, right? (Voice of a Shimada fan)
I get depressed just thinking about what the poster would look like.
I mean, could it get any less compelling?
Handwritten: Close-ups of two dull old men.........
I sure as hell wouldn't go if I had a choice!!
Power: *Imagination Video
Kishou Sen
Game 1 [Small on the right]
Match: Heian Year [Blurry past here]
The Field: [blurry]
Handwritten Left: Ah, yeah... I think I see it, too...
Bottom LEft: Imagining it
Yanagi: Augh. With a matchup like that,
who'd get the least bit excited? Huuuh...?

Page 45:
Yanagi: And on top of the total lack of youth and spectacle
he's really good at shogi and he's stubborn... There's not a single redeeming thing about this!!
If no one's talking about it, we'll lose sponsors.
The Kishou Championship will disappear!
Handwritten: For some reason I get the feeling
somebody's saying some pretty mean things about me...
There's not one good thing about iiit!
HAAA...
Pres: ---So basically,
the real world is a tough place.
You're really helping us out here, Kiyirama-kun. Good luck!!
SFX: KURUH (Turn)
Rei: Helping... out?
Pres: I mean we're 'counting on you'.

Page 46:
Pres: Hey, Kiriyama?
What's wrong? You holding something in there?
Your face is all red.
ARe you hot?
Want some barley tea?
Rei: ---I don't even know how I got home that day...
So many things were swirling around in my head
I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep my balance.
And it kept going even after I got into my futon.

Page 47:
Rei: The light on the surface of the river seemed to flicker
and sway...
---Then, the next day,
Sorry I'm late!
Sign: Shouka Club
Rei: Excuse m...
SFX: GARARA
Rei: e
......
Sign: Kiriyama Congrats on Becoming Newcomer King!!
From Everyone at the Shouka Club

Page 48:
Someone: Now then...
let's once again congratulate Kiriyama-kun on his winning the title of Newcomer King...
Cheeers!! ☆
Rei: Th-
Thank you very much!
Noguchi: And without further ado,
I present to you the fruits of the science department of the Shouka Club's efforts.
Allow me to explain the menu...
SFX: HAHAHA.......
Rei: .............
Nogu: First, the juice we just toasted with
was hand-made ginger ale.
Handwritten: I made it using the fresh ginger growing behind the gymnasium.
Nogu: The Caspian Sea yogurt that I diligently raised in the physics prep-room refrigerator.
We have plum jam made from the plums from the tree in front of the principal's office as well as our club-staple Ramune.
Also fresh nattou I harvested (?) with white flour dumplings.
Beaker: Caspi
Small Beaker: Plumb Ja
SFX: MUHANNU

Page 49:
Someone: ---But...
you really did great, Kiriyama-kun.
Wheeeew! Yamazaki really was good, huh?!!
I mean, you really persevered, Kiriyama! That was some awesome endurance!!
Noguchi: When Sensei was watching the web broadcast
he got really excited!
Rei: ......
Handwritten: He was cheering and everything...
We almost got chased out of the room.
Geez...
Hayashi: Well of course we were excited!
One of my students had a title riding on the line!
Yeah, but still
at that [White]7-5 Fu... It looked pretty grim then...
Handwritten: Hm? What is this. It's actually pretty good!
Noguchi: What do you mean 'actually'?
Rei: Um...
Handwritten: Er...
Rei: I'm gonna go to the bathroom for a sec.
Nopgu: Hm? What's wrong, Kiriyama?
Haya: Your weird cooking's clearly giving him the runs!
Noguchi: How rude!
Rei: N... No.
I really just need to use the bathroom...

Page 51:
Pres: I mean we're 'counting on you'.
'Congrats. You did great.'
'Thank you, Rei-chan.'
Black Bars: I wonder if these things I obtained so quickly
are going to just disappear again really fast?
----But at least for now, I'm happy.
I really am......

Page 50:
Rei: What's going on here...?
When exactly was it
that I emerged to...
----such a bright place..........
UWAH!
Darn it.
It won't stop...
And everyone's
back there waiting for me.
SFX: BASHA BASHA ZAAAAAA

Page 52:
Black Bars: ----Yes. Even if they do disappear someday,
I won't forget
SOmebody: ----...
Hm?
It's Kiriyama.
We ran into him again even after we said goodbye.
Looks like he's pretty wrapped up in his selection.
HUHHH?
Sign: Diary Corner
'Preserve your memories'
Black Bar: that I had days when I was happy.

Page 53:
Black Bars: ----So that later, again, whenever I want,
Hayashi: L-Let's leave him be!!
C'mon, let's go!
Handwritten: How emabarrassiiing!
KAAAH
HAHAHA☆
Noguchi: A page in the book of youth, eh?
Handwritten: Mhm.
Noguchi: ----Well, maybe I'll do the same.
Handwritten: HUUH
Haya: Uh-hey!
Noguchiiiiih!!!
SFX: GAAAH SUTASUTASUTA
Black Bars: I can dig them up
Handwritten: HAHA...
Noguchi: ----hm, then I think
I'll go with this '10-year' one. ☆
Rei: Huh?
WAAAAA!
Handwritten: HAHAHA
Black Bars: and remember them again.
Bottom: Chapter.66 E N D

Page 54:
Top Right Small: An article by Senzaki Manabu
Top Right Big: Senzaki Manabu's Lion Shogi Column
Big Right: On Commemorative Matches and Instructional Shogi
Article: The Newcomer King Championship, a shogi tournament sponsored by Shimbun Akahata is a competition with a real history. The winner of this tournament and becomes Newcomer King is allowed to play a commemorative match against the player considered to be the best at that time. But the way, it used to be an official match a long time ago, but not it's treated as an unofficial one. It is of course considered a serious match, but it's also probably considered largely ceremonial.
Shogi is fundamentally a gain about competing to be the winner, but many things also take place for ceremonial reasons. When someone wins the amateur Meijin Championship, they hold a game with the current Meijin who plays down a kaku. They used to be fairly equal, but with the skill of amateurs going up lately they are winning more frequently.
There are matches called the Ou-i and Female Ou-i Hirate Commemorative Matches. Apparently, the woman who was once the long-time Female King-Rank title holder, Shimizu Ichiyo-san, really looked forward to it. I do believe she defeated Yoshiharu Ou-i before.
As for the representative for this ceremonial match, it is decided in 'First Play Ceremony' held January 5th every year. This game begins after the players and the staff gather to visit the shrine in front of the shogi building. When that ends, special matches happen with everyone in a special game room in the shogi building. Here they discuss in a large group how to play and take turns which moves to make one at a time. It's purely ceremonial and the games finish part-way through without a winner or loser being decided.
This is a bit of a digression, but once the rule of ending these games unfinished was broken and certain young players continued a game that was supposed to be called off and kept going until victory and defeat were decided accidentally.
When this ends, everyone has a big banquet with drinking. This is the first match of the year, so all the rivals are congenial to each other. This is new years, so the female players appear in kimonos and it turns into a big colorful party in the shogi world.
This First Play Ceremony is also held every year in Osaka, but it's a teensy bit different there. They break into pairs and play on a while bunch of boards lined up next to each other.
If you go to other places, there are commemorative games with the prefecture's Meijin Championship victor and that sort of thing. These, too, are all entirely ceremonial. So even if the players play to the end, there's no real fixation over victory.
So sometimes when two players sit down at a board, it is not for a match, but rather for ceremonial reasons.