Common Name: 3-gatsu no Lion
Alternative Names: Sangatsu no Lion, March Comes in Like a Lion
Score: 9/10, 5/5
Length: 22 Episodes
Genre: Game, Slice of Life, Drama, Shounen, Comedy
Summary: Kiriyama Rei made himself something of a rising star when he became a professional shogi player during middle school. Foregoing the idea of having friends or a normal life, he decided to do what he thought best to survive in our world by entering the world of shogi, one that is filled with crushing pressure and great expectations for him. Despite his best efforts, though, Rei does have a few friends: his colleagues in the world of shogi, his high school teacher, and the three Kawamoto sisters. Perhaps his grim determination to excel and the love of his friends will be enough to help Rei grow not only as a shogi player but as a human being as well.
Review: Allow me to preface this review with a simple statement: I usually don't like sport/game animes. It's just one of my personal biases that cause me to start off a show with an already negative opinion. As a little side note, the same can be said for mech and magical girl shows as well, but this show thankfully doesn't ever dip into those genres. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why I have this negative bias, though. Objectively, I can bash on the sports genre for days since sports anime usually have dull and predictable plots and characters that are little more than personifications of the power struggle typical of shounen anime, just without the cool powers. However, those flaws aren't really hard and fast rule though. While I might be personally inclined toward a negative bias with these kinds of shows, it's worth noting that there are quite a few magical girl, mech, and sports anime that I legitimately enjoy and will recommend in a heartbeat. 3-gatsu no Lion, on the other hand, doesn't fall into that category of exceptions to my bias because it is an exceptional show that never triggered my bias. It sounds weird when I say it like that, I know, but for some reason, my mind never categorized it as a game anime. For me at least 3-gatsu no Lion isn't so much a sports anime as it is an emotional roller coaster or character drama that uses shogi as a means to advance the plot and characterize Rei and his personal struggles.
The lie being that this isn't some boring shogi anime.
I guess that would certainly justify how this show is considered a game anime, though, since Rei has a lot of personal issues to work through. What's interesting though is that a lot of his problems begin and end with the game he's dedicated himself to, yet Rei continues to play shogi since he sees no way out that wouldn't cause someone else even greater pain. To say Rei has a difficult life would be an understatement. He suffers from survivor's guilt of one kind due to his past. He undergoes bouts of crippling depression and anxiety whenever he wins or loses a game for reasons that are made very clear toward the middle of the show. What might be the worst, though, is the emotional abuse he gets from his sister on a regular basis. Now, for some people, such a main character might be considered weak or a coward for not facing his problems head on, and anyone who thinks so would be absolutely right. Rei beats on himself constantly for his personal weakness and inability to "get over it," but there can't be salvation for those who don't think they deserve to suffer. Now, to be clear, this self-hatred and emotional flagellation aren't all that this show has to offer, bit it is the reason that the show is less than subtle about its use of watery imagery. While water has the ability to quench thirst and allow life to thrive it can also overwhelm when it comes in a torrent and suck the air from your lungs as you drown.
To continue the metaphor, there are a few times when Rei is out of his depth.
Heavy though it is at times, there are gaps in this frankly depressing and distressing narrative for something a little lighter and infinitely more tolerable so the show doesn't become overbearing. These moments do, however, stick around long enough and hit hard enough to either make their singular points clear or build on pain that has already been established and make the reasons for it less subtle. Luckily for Rei, and the audience too, there's more to his life than the various flavors of suffering he regularly experiences. First and foremost among these are the friends Rei makes over the course of his show because they are the balancing force to Rei's natural negativity. From his colleagues who both challenge his shogi abilities and want to hang out with and support him to his high school teacher who isn't ashamed to call Rei on his negative Nancy nonsense, there are people who care about Rei's well-being in ways he never expected. The most iconic example of this is the presence of the Kawamoto sisters: Akari, Hinata, and Momo. While the others can be appropriately called Rei's friends, these three are more like a loving and supportive family--something Rei hasn't had for a very long time. They function as a kind of safe harbor for Rei as he tries to stay afloat and reach out to him when he's close to drowning. The one thing they don't do, however, is baby him or treat him like the emotional mess he is. Instead, they keep their distance, allowing him to struggle and grow stronger, until Rei feels able to visit them without being an inconvenience or before it becomes time for them to deus ex machina back into his life and rescue him from himself. To Rei's credit, however, his relationship with the Kawamoto girls isn't a one-sided pity party like you might think. He frequently serves as their safe harbor as well, but in a far more subtle way.
Rei is hardly the only person in this show with family problems.
While the shoe doesn't go into it much this season, it's fairly obvious that the Kawamoto family is suffering from their own trials and tribulations. Due to the death of their mother and grandmother, they deal with everything from emotional scars to empty stomachs since Akari is the only one old enough to work. While trying not to pry or make himself and unwelcome guest, Rei arrives to help around the house and listen to whatever they have to say when invited or invites himself over to drop off some food and funds that he'd never end up using himself. He's something of a provider for the family and their silent guardian when things get serious on their end, but for the majority of the time, he's more of the sort to let things be for them as time slowly eases the family's woes as well as his own.
There's a lot more to this single moment than meets the eyes.
Unlike the Kawamoto's, however, Rei receives an almost regular reminder of what a terrible person he is and the "wrongs" he's done along with a brand new emotional scar to add to his collection each time his sister visits. Here's the thing, though; no matter how much I might dislike her and the harm she does to Rei I'm not convinced that Rei's sister, Kyouko, is a truly evil or even villainous person. In fact, that's pretty much the case for every antagonist the show has to offer. Every character comes across as a complex person in their own right, just as driven by their circumstances and emotions as Rei. While it might be easy to just hate these characters and thoughtlessly let the plot chug on, it might be worth considering that their transgressions against Rei are justified. Just as some food for thought: maybe Rei isn't as innocent or blameless as he seems. If he has done any wrongs though, it's never explicitly stated and can only be inferred from his own reactions to situations. As the saying goes, the devil's in the details.
Personally, I'd prefer to look for God in the world's natural beauty though.
From the show's heavy but thoughtful plot to its complex cast of characters, I find it really hard to decide what I like the best about it. In the end, though, I think I'll settle for the show's gorgeous and varying art styles. Seriously, for a show about a professional shogi player, there's a lot of art to marvel at and dissect. I mean, consider this. Instead of posting a single picture to introduce this portion, I made a freaking collage of some of my favorite artistic moments in the show and there were literally dozens of unique scenes for me to choose from that I saved for this very moment. I cannot think of any other show that inspired me to make a separate image folder just for the dozens of scenes I found to be drop dead gorgeous or, at the very least, insightful to the story. Heck, I haven't even mentioned the show's music which I listen to as background noise when I'm driving or working now. I honestly believe that it isn't an exaggeration to call this show itself a work of art.
When you're not focusing on negatives, it tends to sway that way, yeah.
So, where's the flaw? Why is this title, one that I'm praising so highly for its thoughtfulness and beauty, only a 9/10? Simple. It does way too much. No matter how great the art, music, plot, and characters may be, they don't make up for the show's pacing issues. In its attempts to break up the heavier moments, the show tries to inject flashbacks or flashforwards (it's hard to tell which at some points) into some scenes, which just kills any tone or consistent narrative. I understand it was a necessity so that the show itself wouldn't become a depressing or oppressive mess, but the show's strange back-and-forths don't do the story any favors either, especially when I was watching the show on a weekly basis. Aside from that one flaw, though, I cannot praise this show enough. It might be hard to watch for people sensitive to works that feature depression and emotional abuse, but I'm inclined to recommend it to anyone and everyone since I know my own struggles made me appreciate Rei as a character even more.
On a final personal note, I'm really looking forward to the show's second season. If it can learn from the first season's faults, I'll consider adding this show to my Top 10.