3-gatsu no Lion

Visually and emotionally engrossing but intellectually misplaced, this show struggles most at maintaining a focal core to its story, undermining its originally interesting characters. This nebulous nature is demonstrable most by disregarding the emotional struggles of the protagonist. The advancement of story plot by becoming a sports-esque shonen midway through the show abandoned our initial premise of a numbed and enervated youth, struggling with self-discovery and plagued by a fear of straying from routinely methodical thinking. The transition in show style itself is not necessarily at fault, rather that the execution lended itself poorly to the furtherment of the characters. This striking offence widens even ... greater when the show eventually doesn't even follow the main protagonist, who becomes relegated to a support character with no influence over the story whatsoever. After this, the rest of the watching experience becomes waiting for the show to run out of episodes and come to a close.

Art is above average. Sound is above average. Enjoyable despite culminating and then terminating without proper development or resolution of the main characters.

Chess remains one of the oldest and still most popular games of all time. There’s a good reason for this: it’s simplistic layout and rulings with a variety of pieces give it an ocean of depth. The art of trying to put your opponent’s king in a state of inescapable capture while simultaneously keeping yours safe can be as complex as the players want it to be, giving the game a fresh feeling even after all its years of play. Besides the chess most are familiar with, variants of the classic board game are popular in different regions of the world. Shogi, the Japanese variant, ... has some unique properties that give the game its own intrigue. It has a bigger board (9x9 vs. the standard 8x8 checkerboard), new or different pieces to chess (gold/silver generals, lance, no queen, etc.) and even has a “revival” system where captured pieces can be used against your opponent. Though both shogi and chess have a near infinite number of options, the way its played is ultimately decided between it’s players. As March Comes in Like a Lion shows, it’s often the players, not the pieces, that are the most complex.

The premise for March Comes in Like a Lion is simple. It follows the life of Rei Kiriyama, a 17-year-old shogi player who has become quite notable for his skill at the game despite his age. When not playing or practicing shogi, Rei can be seen eating dinner with the Kawamoto sisters in June City or attempting to be a high school student with the support of his homeroom teacher, Mr. Hayashida. If this premise was seen in a bubble, only going as in-depth as the basics to kickstart a shogi-centric plot, it’d be an otherwise average-to-good sports/game series. What sets March Comes in Like a Lion apart from its competitors is its meaningful look at its ensemble of characters. Though the show has shogi as a holdfast, it is instead a means to an end to examine the lives of its players and their peers. Like the metaphorical river Rei seems to sink in, March shows that there is a lot to each character below the surface.

The lead, Rei Kiriyama, is the quintessential example of this. From an outsider’s perspective, he’s an introverted loner type who is prone to awkwardness and stubbornness in making decisions. It’s during the conversations and moments in his life, both past and present, that we see the events that has shaped the way he’s become. A victim of tragedy, Rei is often caught in the crossfires of other’s misfortunes, developing a hedgehog’s dilemma similar to that of Evangelion’s Shinji Ikari. The events he encounters in his life, from his time spent with another family to becoming aware of the current lives of the opponent’s he faces, brings multi-layered psychology to his character and gives believable backing to his hesitant nature. Examples of this can even be seen on the Rei’s external actions. Rei’s most observable quality, his “independence”, is true more so than in name than in action, living in a near empty room, eating rice and cup ramen while only focusing on his next shogi match. Though Rei might not be a charismatic lead like many sports/game genre protagonists, he still remains a strong representation of a dejected individual.

Rei, however, is not the only character who has experienced personal misfortune. A majority of the show’s cast, whether minor or major, have also gone through painful experiences. The most interesting part of this is how it has shaped their character. Rei’s “sister”, Kyouko, is often seen angry and mean towards Rei. However, a closer look at her own upbringing and relation to Rei opens up the reasons for her attitudes and her actions (such as pursuing after players like Gotou). The Kawamoto sisters, Akari, Hina and Momo, have an external attitude of being motherly and almost doting towards Rei. Behind it lies personal scars that seek Rei out beyond a level of friendship into a way of healing those wounds. Nikaidou is a boisterous individual who seeks to be Rei’s rival in shogi but carries struggle due to health problems. Shimada is an experienced shogi player whose reserved and frail demeanor hide a deep motivation of the game from his upbringing in the town of Yamagata. While not every character is explored as well as Rei (with the occasional feeling of “drama for drama’s sake” bubbling under), it never reaches a level of hindrance in the story and gives the cast more layers to evoke more realism within the show’s cast.

Though as solid as the characterization is, the biggest problem with March Comes in Like a Lion is actually found in its execution/style. Studio Shaft was behind this work and, with director Akiyuki Shinbou on board, you can expect the show to be more colorful and visual than other titles. Though this may work for other series he’s directed (such as the Monogatari series), it often feels as if it’s a major detractor to March’s message and delivery. The show will sharply go from serious to comedy as a way to break the negativity, but it does so in such a silly way that I felt that the tone or impact of a scene was hindered. The infamous “head tilts” found in Shinbou’s work are in full force here. They’re good for emphasizing a point or belief of a character, but when used in excess, it feels unnecessary and detract away from what a character is saying or doing. Because of these decisions, it can feel like Shaft are pouring their resources in heavy artistic flair in a show that doesn’t really need them. There are also a few animation goofs, seeing characters jog in place as if they’re trying to run away or the head tilts leading to a shot that doesn’t match the direction or place a character was. This is partially caused by the animation oversights/limits and partially because of the focus of making this appear more artsy.

Ultimately, though, a lot of what the show is at this point will strike people differently. Though the show is indeed a drama, you wouldn’t be remiss to say that it also has quite a few slice-of-life elements. While seeing them can be a nice breather and way to counterpoint the work from becoming too dramatic, I didn’t find as much enjoyment in these more relaxed environments. Though many of them in theory open up Rei to the surrounding world, I don’t always see the immediate or long-term impact from these decisions. I’m more moved by Shimada’s game against Kiriyama than I am seeing Rei eat with the sisters or Nikkaidou’s commentary speech towards Rei. As said before, every moment in the show technically makes an impact in a slice-of-life sense, but it’s more dependent on the viewer as to how much they take away from each scene.

Regarding the sound of the show, the seiyuus all did an admirable job portraying their characters. Kengo Kawanishi, Rei’s seiyuu, does a good job portraying Rei’s sensitivity and even his expressions of pain. Nobuhiko Okamato showcases the loud, extraverted passion of Nikaidou, while Misaki Kuno gives Momo a cuteness that would make anyone say “Aww!”. The music itself, outside of the OP’s and ED’s, wasn’t as memorable as I’d like, though there was a pleasant piano piece utilized in the last episode. BUMP OF CHICKEN does a great job capturing that wistful melancholy in OP “Answer” and ED “Fighter”. OP 2, “Sayonara Bystander” by YUKI, doesn’t capture that same feeling. Despite a more raw, “honest” vocal delivery, it has a buildup that doesn’t hit its mark, coming off as flat by the time the OP ends. “orion” by Kenshi Yonezu is a modern smooth pop track, with catchy tenor harmonies and finger snaps. It’s not really for me but I can see the appeal the track has. The only real problematic element I had was found in the sound effects. As an extension of the comedy, the sound effects of the show were said out loud by an overdubbed female seiyuu. While it wasn’t anything very detrimental, it was a contributor that broke my immersion of the show, making the character’s lives feel more silly than serious. Like many of my detriments with the show, though, this will be all dependent on who’s watching and they might appreciate this comedy more than I would.

Overall, I give March Comes in Like a Lion a 6/10. At face value, the score looks rather low for my praises, but don’t be fooled. I still think of the show has having great characters and an otherwise good story, but I’m just not sold on Shaft’s interpretation of these events. I feel I would enjoy the manga’s version of what I’ve seen vs. the adaptation. Perhaps I still need to get used to it. Regardless, fans of shows such as Rakugo or other character dramas should definitely watch this show. If you also like Studio Shaft or Shinbou’s style, this will also be another favorite as his fingerprints are all over this show. At its core, though, March Comes in Like a Lion has a lot of good elements and I can easily see users listing this as an essential watch.

Do you like or dislike this anime? If you haven't watched it, are you encouraged to watch it or not? Leave a comment on my profile telling me what you think of the anime and/or my review.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!

Beautiful art and colorful characters can't save a bland story. 3-gatsu no Lion tries to make an anime about shogi interesting but falls short in its lack of focus and resolve. Some anime are able to mix drama, comedy, and moe, but this anime doesn't seem to have any synergy. It just jumps around between them while keeping the main narrative about shogi. Other anime are able to capture their audience into an uninteresting sport such as Chihayafuru but 3-gatsu doesn't delve into shogi enough for the audience to care, but focuses so much of the show around it where the audience must sit through ... it. The show has no overarching narrative and no reason to root for any of the characters. It's a garbled mess that looks pretty on the surface.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

March Comes in Like a Lion. The show that disappointed me in a multitude of ways. Having already seen (and reviewed) the second season of Sangatsu No Lion, this review will be rather short. Indeed, I feel as if everything that the second season does and fails to do, the first season does in almost exactly the same fashion, albeit in a way that manages to be less engaging, more frustrating, and ultimately less deserving of a high rating. Indeed, it’s very hard for me to see this season as anything more than an average show that I wanted to love and was ... disappointed with time and time again.

Let’s start with the basics. This show, produced by shaft, tells the story of a male Shogi prodigy who learns about relationships as he navigates life as a young professional. This premise is actually really interesting and unique: when was the last time your last MC made it through on professional board game playing? Rei comes from no privileged background, he has no untold prophecies surrounding his birth, and generally avoids some of the tropes surrounding shounen/seinen protagonists. Yet he somehow fits many other tropes: entire family died in a tragic accident at a young age, has a foster family that resents him, lives alone and broods over the city in an isolated training dojo. Maybe I could turn a blind eye to this if the rest of the anime actually came across as the slice of life that MAL has listed in the Genres category, but it doesn’t. Rei’s entire life is one of battle after battle punctuated by angst and attempted comedy scenes.

But no, one says. You’re missing the point: 3-Gatsu is about relationships and learning how to live with others. That, I can say, is true, but the show fails to provide good character development requisite to such themes. The show involves a huge breadth of characters that are shown as little more than skin-deep. I’d like to take the Kawamoto household as an example. Although improved significantly in the second season, Hinata is little more than a source of distraction to both the audience and the MC, with the writers contributing to her character a vapid interest in sweets, shogi, and anything else related to Rei. Surely the death of his wife and daughter, along with the disappearance of his grandchildren’s father and his role as major provider for a sizeable family, would lead to some interesting insight into Someji’s story? Oh no, he only exists for some comic relief and to spur Rei and Nikaido on. Akari’s role as stand-in mother for her own two sisters, along with her own task as provider rather than following her own dreams? Nonexistent, because according to the writers, all she cares about is her own cooking. Even Momo seems to be present only for cute preschooler appearances and to remind Rei about his own departed sister.

This superficiality is particularly frustrating when you realize that Shaft is capable of good character development, but places it in all the wrong places. Every opponent that Rei faces is carefully scrutinized and analyzed with 100% focus that soon dissipates as soon as he inevitably wins the match or loses and returns home to brood. If only the writers could develop the other main characters, or heck, even the protagonist himself, with such intensity! Instead, they are relegated to supporting roles, either to supply filler episodes while Rei does his thing or to provide bizarre, poorly-draw caricature insert scenes that I think are supposed to be funny or something. If you’re like me, you’ll probably laugh just because how out of place they are. Even the actually interesting and round characters – Shimada, Gotou, and Nikaido come to mind – somehow remain endlessly on the fringes, given frustratingly little further development.

I’d like to return now to the main point that I made in the review of the second season, as I think it rings true here too. 3-Gatsu is a superhero anime masquerading as a slice-of-life. Rei behaves so incredibly unrealistically that it’s hard to see otherwise. Neither I nor the vast majority of the people reading this sentence are capable of supporting ourselves, in high school, by playing exceptionally good board games, winning against seasoned veterans while a curated rival spurs us on. Yet we are capable of retreating within ourselves, having difficulty forming and creating good relationships, and dealing with loss and heartache. I feel that Shaft tries to make its viewership identify with Rei through the latter characteristics, but still attempts to show his superhuman powers by means of the former. Perhaps this odd juxtaposition of incredibility and believability is attractive to some people, but I found it hard to live with. I said this before and I’ll say it again: I think this anime would have been significantly better if it was about a normal, unremarkable kid navigating loss and building relationships, without the need to defeat boss after boss in a game of prodigious power and skill. Or, alternatively, not marketed as a slice-of-life at all and given all the free reign of fantasy that so many superhero anime already show.

I think I’ve said all that I want to about the first season of this show. My second season review (first ever on this site!) is a far deeper look into my criticisms of this series and covers in depth some of the same points that I alluded to here. I realize that this show is incredibly well-received, at least on MAL, and giving the show a 5/10 might seem suspect, but in my opinion the show’s many shortcomings surpass its limited strengths.

3 gatsu no lion doesn't know what it wants to be and becomes just another passable show for me.

Although I enjoyed the first 5-7 episode, The show suffered from tonal discontinuity after the 11th episode, it seemed like I was watching a completely different show.

I really can't pin point what's the focus(struggle) of this show, is it the shouji, is it "loneliness" of our protagonist, is it the MC's stepsister.

The show tries way too hard to be many things, a sports show, slice of life, drama, but it Can't really achieve ... any of these.

The "depth" in the characters seems forced,
The focus on shouji seemed like a bad decision to me
Most characters have no reason to be there.
MC is depressed at the start but it's never really touched later in the series.

The stepsister character could have been done a lot better, the creators tried to give her some depth but it doesn't really works.

The three sisters should have been given some more focus and a stronger "place" in the story.
It seems like they will influence the story more in the upcoming season but they really didn't have much of a role in this season considering they are part of the main cast.

The 22 ep could have been easily done in 10-11 ep.

In the end, the show could have been really good but the show tried to focus on way too many things and it ended up giving a feeling of dissatisfaction.

Okay, so this is a tough one. I will start by saying I really liked the characters--particularly those other than the main. It's not that I didn't like Rei, and I get that this anime was supposed to focus on the themes Rei struggles with ... but there's only so many introvert/isolation/depression themed underwater/woods/take-five-whole-seconds-of-screentime-to-form-a-facial-expression-which-will-always-be-slowly-opening-his-muppet-mouth scenes I can endure before I GET. IT.

I saw it through the whole season, mostly because I truly enjoyed all the supporting characters. Unfortunately, thanks to SO MUCH SHOGI (I get it - this was a shogi themed anime lol butttt...) there wasn't nearly enough focus on them and it's ... sad because I am going through that post-season missing my new friends feeling. I thought I was going to be annoyed with "Bodoro" but I actually grew so very fond of him. The grandfather and the girls were so lovely. The cats were perfect lol ... honestly, I already miss all the supporting cast. I'm keeping Momo in my head lol ... she's my new spirit animal. The problem is the rest of the cast is so vibrant and interesting that it really painfully clashes with the themes that define Rei for most of the season.

All-in-all I'm glad I watched but it was a struggle at times.

At the very least, it had the potential to be interesting. I do love when an anime manages to accurately teach, and provide the experience of a hobby I’ve never heard of. Even if you’ve never played the game, it managed to pull you in and make you interested. While this is all lovely, it’s too bad the protagonist is the most basic and boring dude in all existence.

I suppose there’s a reason why he is the way he is, but that won’t force me to actually care about him. He’s very monotonous, and self pitying. These traits weren’t backed up by much. Some ... may be able to relate and enjoy him, but he was not my personal preference. The moment I enjoyed this anime the most was when the focus was centered on the most endearing group of sisters ever!!!

The art was immaculate and comforting. However , the actual plot and main character were lacking in my opinion.

The animation was well done. It made great use of lights, shadows, even minor things like bubbles in a bottle of pop being drunk. However, I do not think the style will appeal to everyone. I personally did not like the way the faces were drawn, especially the lines of the lips and the ‘pupils’ of the eyes. I also didn’t like how the scenery and background, and basically everything that was not a person had a gritty looking texture to it, while the people were flat colors. I just felt that the people and the world did not match and I didn’t like it. ... However, both of these things are a ‘style’ and a matter of personal taste.
The anime makes great use of flashbacks that seem to just melt into whatever was happening in present time. In general it makes great use of time and appropriately place analogies, such as a nature documentary after a depressing flashback that explained exactly how Rei felt. It also makes good use of ost, lighting, and pays close attention to visuals.
This anime centers quite a bit around Shogi, a game that many non-Japanese who watch it are not familiar with. The game is explained in episode 8 in a very easy to understand manner, but I think it is still hard for audiences to understand, especially as the pieces are identified by kanji. This makes it hard to get into the slow moving matches.
I felt that the plot and scenes moved too slow for me. For example, the first episode dedicated a lot of time to Rei silently (there was music) went through the train station and streets to eventually make it tho his shogi match, to which we watched him play shogi. I watched this anime up until episode 10 but will not continue because it just moved too slow for me. I rate this a 6/10 but that is very much personal taste as some people really love the slow moving atmosphere. This might be a 10/10 masterpiece for some because it seems good to those who enjoy very slow paced anime.

I am not one to write a review but when the rating are this high and you dont get you time worth then i am really forced to do honest review on it, Well it took me like 5 months to complete it that should tell alot about this anime

3-gatsu no Lion (March's Lion) - A Review
Story (5/10): 3-gatsu no Lion starts strong, following Rei Kiriyama, a young shogi prodigy struggling with depression. The slice-of-life elements are excellent, portraying self-reflection and the complexities of dealing with emotional lows. However, the anime takes a deep dive into shogi in the latter half. While this might be ... enjoyable for fans of the game, it can feel overwhelming for casual viewers with little shogi knowledge.

Characters (8/10): Rei is a compelling protagonist. The anime portrays his internal struggles with depression realistically. The supporting cast, particularly the Kawamoto sisters, is heartwarming.

Animation & Sound (8/10): The animation style is unique and complements the introspective tone. The soundtrack is beautiful and creates a melancholic yet hopeful atmosphere.

Enjoyment (6/10): While the first half resonated with me due to its relatable themes, the heavy focus on shogi later on became a drag. The powerful and emotional scenes throughout partially redeemed the experience.

Overall (6/10): 3-gatsu no Lion is a decent anime with a strong start. It tackles mature themes like depression with sensitivity. However, the shift in focus towards shogi might disappoint viewers who dont have much understanding of the game.

Story: Starts off really slow, the first few episodes are hard to get through and it doesn't get much better until the halfway point. But when it picks up, the pieces start falling into place and you can really start appreciating it. Loved the dealing with failure and depression themes that appeared throughout. Lots of relatable moments throughout if you're someone that struggles with social anxiety.

Characters: Honestly, the characters besides the mc are all uninteresting and annoying most of the time. Most of the people mc is close with have annoying personalities and are very one dimensional. Meanwhile, the mc is the exact opposite. He's ... a very complex character that is plagued with a plethora of issues.

Ending: Not much to say about the ending, since there is a second season. It leaves off on a high note with mc looking to better himself.

Production: Weird ass art style. It's off-putting at times, but weirdly beautiful at times. I personally wasn't a fan but I can see how it's enjoyable. Dialogue was fine, except for the moments when cats or inanimate objects would make random sounds for no reason.

Overall, I'd recommend if you're into slow slice of life and complex mc's that have to deal with complex emotions and situations. It's a solid anime that doesn't really do anything great, but is enjoyable if you stick with it.

“Sangatsu no lion” is an anime with a focus all over the place. It isn’t really a good “drama” anime neither is it a good “seinen” anime, its shogi aspects is also sometimes rather forgotten and taken aside to have lots of slice of life comedy moments. Especially at the beginning there is probably 20% drama and 80% comedy. So if you came to see a mature take on a sports anime with drama and a lot of maturity, in the fashion of something like “Ping pong the animation”, “sangatsu no lion” isn’t really the show you were looking for. However it does create ... a very light hearted atmosphere and was easy to watch even for someone who didn’t really like the comedy all too much. And it gets progressively better.

The story focuses around a young high school student who became a professional shogi player. He lives alone in his apartment and has, at the start a very mysterious backstory, which is presented to be very tragic and we should feel sorry for him. The story starts of very one sided, with everything happening out of the perspective of the protagonist and many other character come around as rather one-dimensional because we know too little about them. This was fixed later on by adding backstories to side character as well to make them more interesting. There is also a clear distinction between characters, that are always in comedy scenes and character who mostly are involved in the drama part of the show. This approach is better than to just simply include every character in silly comedy to a point where you can’t take anything they do serious anymore (like in FMA brotherhood), but it still raises the question… why include both?

I don’t really think that drama and comedy work well together. One of the 2 has to suffer in order for the other one to succeed. This could really be seen in this anime.

The drama aspect of the show seemed to be just there to make the protagonist interesting, for me however it didn’t work and I found him rather bland with a backstory similar to so many other. That’s the main reason I really welcomed the later included focus on side character and their relationship to the protagonist.

The shogi aspect is merely a tool and not too deeply focused. It took them 8 episodes to introduce the basic rules of the game to the audience, but then again, if the show thinks you just learned about the game it is understandable that it doesn’t go into any deeper analysis into professional shogi games. That’s probably why it was missing completely in this anime. For me this was a bit disappointing to see. The anime also didnt really manage to build up much of a tension with their shogi games (espeically at the start), but it gets better the more episodes you watch.

The slice of life aspect seemed to be the most focused one, at least at the start. What they basically wanted to achieve was to take this introverted main character who only focuses on shogi and has a sad past and put him in a goofy environment with 3 sister who mainly function as comedic relieve. The reason for all of this is also very random, which sets it very much apart from everything else that happens in the show. I found none of these comedic relieve characters to be in any way relatable or interesting and the comedy felt very typical and unfunny (with a weird fetish around cats, which also didn’t do it for me). It tries to be self aware with characters constantly referencing how this and that looks like an anime or a manga, but this was just used to create cheap laughs and nothing more.
However the whole start is very light hearted and because you still have quite a bit of shogi story aspects is wasn’t too much of a chore to go through to reach the more interesting part of the story.

The sound design wasn’t really well done. The voice acting was ordinary, but the soundtrack was really not existent beyond forgettable background songs. There was one fine piano track at some point but it was very quickly forgotten.

The art style is very weird. The characters have huge mouths and often large eyes to make them look cute (a bit different from typical anime character eyes) , but they sometimes look like cgi characters. You will get used to the art style and not notice it too much but at first it kinda annoyed me. Backgrounds were nicely drawn and I found it nice that they depicted the real design of the shogi hall building in Tokyo.

For all the bad things I had to say about this anime I still have to add that I enjoyed watching it. Its story is engaging and grips you into it. It’s somewhat relatable and in many ways down to earth (at least compared to other anime). It could have been a lot better but for what it is worth it can introduce a lot of people in the fascinating world of shogi.