3-gatsu no Lion

Having reached professional status in middle school, Rei Kiriyama is one of the few elite in the world of shogi. Due to this, he faces an enormous amount of pressure, both from the shogi community and his adoptive family. Seeking independence from his tense home life, he moves into an apartment in Tokyo. As a 17-year-old living on his own, Rei tends to take poor care of himself, and his reclusive personality ostracizes him from his peers in school and at the shogi hall.

However, not long after his arrival in Tokyo, Rei meets Akari, Hinata, and Momo Kawamoto, a trio of sisters living with their grandfather who owns a traditional wagashi shop. Akari, the oldest of the three girls, is determined to combat Rei's loneliness and poorly sustained lifestyle with motherly hospitality. The Kawamoto sisters, coping with past tragedies, also share with Rei a unique familial bond that he has lacked for most of his life. As he struggles to maintain himself physically and mentally through his shogi career, Rei must learn how to interact with others and understand his own complex emotions.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kiriyama, Rei Main

Kawanishi, Kengo Japanese

Kawamoto, Hinata Main

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Kawamoto, Akari Main

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Kawamoto, Momo Main

Kuno, Misaki Japanese

Shimada, Kai Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Nikaidou, Harunobu Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Hayashida, Takashi Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Kouda, Kyouko Supporting

Inoue, Marina Japanese

Souya, Touji Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Noguchi, Eisaku Supporting

Ueda, Yuuji Japanese

Yodo, Akiko Producer

Nojima, Masahiro Producer

Fukino, Fuminari Producer

Ooshima, Miku Assistant Producer

Reviews

May 16, 2025

vpnburneraccount

Recommended

So, I watched this about 10 years ago and re-watched again because why not, it's a great show. After my first watch 10 years ago, I figured there would be a season 3 after some time, it just fell off the radar, and I moved on. This time around, after the first two seasons, I read the Manga (still ongoing as of this review) and boy, I tell ya...

WTF is wrong with the Anime Industry; they have this absolute Gem of a story and have not made more than two seasons despite there being a plethora of content in the Manga. IMO, ... the stories that happen post-season 2 raise the bar significantly.

The people that have read the Manga absolutely feel sorry for the Anime-Only viewers - They are absolutely getting robbed of some of the best story telling this medium can provide. Shame on the Anime Industry for not following through with this great story.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Feb 21, 2025

H-Kyouma

Mixed Feelings

Ahaha! Rejoice, for Hououin Kyouma has returned to bestow his wisdom upon the unworthy masses! This time, our target is none other than 3-gatsu no Lion, a tale of shogi, solitude, and the human condition!

At its core, this anime presents a fascinating journey, following a protagonist whose mind is an enigma, much like my own. The way it delves into emotions and relationships is commendable, capturing the essence of struggle with a level of nuance rarely seen in the realm of mere fiction. The animation? Exquisite! Shaft has once again harnessed its reality-warping abilities to craft a visually distinct experience, though at times it dances ... dangerously close to excessive stylization.

But alas! Even a tale of such potential is not without its flaws! The biggest transgression - the betrayal most egregious - lies in the alteration of the protagonist's reason for playing shogi as the story progresses. A shift so unnecessary, so misguided, that it left this mad scientist fuming in his lab! Why tamper with what was already compelling? Why dilute the very essence of his struggle? It is a crime against character consistency!

And then, the ending. Ah, the cruel mistress known as mediocrity! For a series that weaves emotions with such precision, the conclusion felt... uninspired. Predictable. Safe. It was not a catastrophic failure, nor did it tarnish the journey, but it lacked the impact befitting an anime of this caliber.

And so, my verdict is set in stone. Not a masterpiece, but not a disappointment either. A solid experience, yet shackled by its own choices.

7/10!

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Aug 25, 2024

perennial_suit

Not Recommended

Loved "Honey and Clover", Hated This!

I simply did not enjoy 3-gatsu no Lion. It had a great premise and a great potential. There are some nice moments and arcs, I really enjoyed a couple of episodes. But I had to really force myself to push through the rest of them. I would say there are 5 major reasons why this show fails for me:
1) The story has a nice premise, but major themes and characters remain somewhat underdeveloped and unexplored. The pacing is weird and I didn't find it enjoyable.
2) Too much obnoxious humor and gags that I did not find funny at all. And ... when I say too much I mean TOO MUCH.
3) The Shogi aspect of the show made it totally boring and unrelatable to me. It's simply hard to pay attention to characters obsessing over something you simply do not care about in the slightest.
4) Total lack of a romantic love aspect. The MC does not even express any romantic feelings in any way and does not reflect on love, at least not that I remember. Yet, this is a big part of adolescence for most people. So I find this puzzling. Again, it wouldn't be a problem if the show had more substance over unfunny humor and wasn't overfocused on the whole shogi thing. I think a romance could possibly, just possibly somewhat save this show for me. 'Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru' was pretty much focused on shogi too, but it didn't feel like a drag because it didn't suffer from the issues that plague 3-gatsu no Lion and had a romance that most people could relate to to keep the viewer engaged.
5) Music and atmosphere: not bad, but not memorable or special at all. It's average.

Overall I say that 3-gatsu no Lion is a major let down for me. I went in with high expectations, given how much people had praised this show. But why, exactly? A lot of them seem to like it mainly because they can "relate" to the MC who is struggling with anxiety, depression and trauma. But is this really enough to call this show a masterpiece? I guess it is enjoyable if you like the humor, the way they integrated the shogi theme and the pacing. But I didn't and I would not recommend watching this show, from my perspective. There are a few meaningful momenst that are overshadowed by lots of bad stuff. I think it just wasn't worth it for me. But I would recommend watching 5 or 6 episodes to see if you like it. If you don't - I doubt it will get better for you and I doubt anything of value will be lost for you.

After I ended up disappointed with 3-gatsu no Lion I went on to watch 'Honey and Clover', also a work of Chica Umino. I found it to be a solid work of perfection. It succeeds at everything that 3-gatsu no Lion fails at: creating strong characters and showing powerful character development, creating a great atmosphere with an amazing soundtrack, making the pacing enjoyable and finally at creating a truly deep reflection on life and its meaning. Indeed, 3-gatsu no Lion failed at everything that Honey and Clover did so perfectly. Sad!

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: 3-gatsu no Lion Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Oct 8, 2016	296 replies	by Shivansh081719 »» Apr 3, 8:32 AM
	Poll: 3-gatsu no Lion Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Oct 29, 2016	140 replies	by AnimeLover1348 »» Mar 21, 9:16 PM
	Poll: 3-gatsu no Lion Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Jan 7, 2017	153 replies	by watsym »» Mar 10, 4:57 PM
	Poll: 3-gatsu no Lion Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) moodie - Oct 15, 2016	195 replies	by CalmTeaTime »» Feb 27, 12:08 AM
	I'm having a hard time finishing this samthestan - Jan 27	29 replies	by Aquairu »» Feb 3, 2:31 PM

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