March Comes in Like a Lion (3月のライオン) is a 22 episode comedy/drama based on the manga of the same name by Umino Chika. The anime originally ran from The Fall of 2016 until the Spring of 2017.
Kiriyama Rei is a young shogi prodigy who struggles with his existence. While in elementary school he lost both of his parents and his little sister in a car accident. A shogi playing friend of his fathers decided to adopt him out of both pity and a realization for Rei's ability in the game. Life with his adoptive family was difficult as he was completely scorned by his adopted siblings, both of which despised the change he brought to their house. He forced himself to block everything out except for shogi, furthering his alienation when he appeared to become the favorite child of his adopted father. His skill and dedication allowed him to become a professional shogi player while in middle school.
The series takes place while he is in high school and living on his own, off of his shogi earnings. His life is spartan and lonely. He doesn't socialize with anyone at school and barely interacts with the adults and peers at the local shogi hall. Yet he has been able to fill some of the familial void he has experienced since his parents deaths with a quirky and quaint family in his neighborhood, the Kawamoto's. The Kawamoto's consist of 3 sisters and their grandfather. The oldest, Akari has a sisterly fondness for Rei and encourages him to visit them often. The sisters, who's father's whereabouts is unknown, lost both their mother and grandmother soon after the youngest was born. They live with their grandfather who runs a family confectionery.
While Rei enjoys the coziness of the Kawamoto residence he tries to keep his distance and focus his entire being into becoming better at shogi, his only purpose for living. He struggles with the worth of that existence and his own desire to continue with it, but given its the only thing he feels he has left it is what he clings to as his identity. The Kawamoto's do what they can to make him feel more human as well as a peer and long time rival in the shogi hall, an energetic but poor heath riddled rich kid named Nikaido. Nikaido works hard at pushing Rei to be the best he can and to open himself up to at least those around him in the world of shogi. Rei though struggles with deep depression and low self esteem, even if he is gifted in what he does and has people around him who care for him.
This is more a story about personal growth and the struggles of self identity than it is about shogi, but there is a good deal of shogi with some minimal explanation on how the game works through out. The series is split between different vignettes, shifting between different characters view points at sometimes but always pushing the story forward. My favorite ones tend to be the really dark introspective ones, I feel this is where the writing really comes through at its best. There are always comedic vignettes to counter act the most depressing parts as well, so its not all doom and gloom! Some of the best characters are the cats at the Kawamoto residence and their internal dialogues about demanding food and attention.
The artwork is fantastic and plays a large part in the overall tone and feel of the story. Particularly in the water motifs to reference Rei's sense of isolation and suffocation in his life. I can't stress enough how much the imagery of water plays a part in the story. It's hard to find any faults with this series over all. While some aspects of the story were less interesting to me than others it was typically enjoyable over all. The character development is well paced and new personalities are introduced and then expanded upon in a satisfactory way. There are no one dimensional characters and much of the writing and plot development strives to show that.
The series licensed in North American by Bang Zoom and is available for streaming on Crunchyroll. Even better, the second series began in the Fall of 2017!
Kiriyama Rei is a young shogi prodigy who struggles with his existence. While in elementary school he lost both of his parents and his little sister in a car accident. A shogi playing friend of his fathers decided to adopt him out of both pity and a realization for Rei's ability in the game. Life with his adoptive family was difficult as he was completely scorned by his adopted siblings, both of which despised the change he brought to their house. He forced himself to block everything out except for shogi, furthering his alienation when he appeared to become the favorite child of his adopted father. His skill and dedication allowed him to become a professional shogi player while in middle school.
The series takes place while he is in high school and living on his own, off of his shogi earnings. His life is spartan and lonely. He doesn't socialize with anyone at school and barely interacts with the adults and peers at the local shogi hall. Yet he has been able to fill some of the familial void he has experienced since his parents deaths with a quirky and quaint family in his neighborhood, the Kawamoto's. The Kawamoto's consist of 3 sisters and their grandfather. The oldest, Akari has a sisterly fondness for Rei and encourages him to visit them often. The sisters, who's father's whereabouts is unknown, lost both their mother and grandmother soon after the youngest was born. They live with their grandfather who runs a family confectionery.
While Rei enjoys the coziness of the Kawamoto residence he tries to keep his distance and focus his entire being into becoming better at shogi, his only purpose for living. He struggles with the worth of that existence and his own desire to continue with it, but given its the only thing he feels he has left it is what he clings to as his identity. The Kawamoto's do what they can to make him feel more human as well as a peer and long time rival in the shogi hall, an energetic but poor heath riddled rich kid named Nikaido. Nikaido works hard at pushing Rei to be the best he can and to open himself up to at least those around him in the world of shogi. Rei though struggles with deep depression and low self esteem, even if he is gifted in what he does and has people around him who care for him.
This is more a story about personal growth and the struggles of self identity than it is about shogi, but there is a good deal of shogi with some minimal explanation on how the game works through out. The series is split between different vignettes, shifting between different characters view points at sometimes but always pushing the story forward. My favorite ones tend to be the really dark introspective ones, I feel this is where the writing really comes through at its best. There are always comedic vignettes to counter act the most depressing parts as well, so its not all doom and gloom! Some of the best characters are the cats at the Kawamoto residence and their internal dialogues about demanding food and attention.
The artwork is fantastic and plays a large part in the overall tone and feel of the story. Particularly in the water motifs to reference Rei's sense of isolation and suffocation in his life. I can't stress enough how much the imagery of water plays a part in the story. It's hard to find any faults with this series over all. While some aspects of the story were less interesting to me than others it was typically enjoyable over all. The character development is well paced and new personalities are introduced and then expanded upon in a satisfactory way. There are no one dimensional characters and much of the writing and plot development strives to show that.
The series licensed in North American by Bang Zoom and is available for streaming on Crunchyroll. Even better, the second series began in the Fall of 2017!
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