March Comes in like a Lion

Oh, we have an upcoming anime section now? That's pretty cool I guess.


As for this anime, pretty skeptical tbh at the moment, since SHAFT is very heavily hit or miss for me usually, and I don't think Shinbo's style necessarily works for me all the time. We'll have to see how it pans out though.
 
I like the Board Game premise, so I will probably check this out. I'm not really sure what to expect from it though. In fact, if the slice of life aspect is the main component of this series, I probably will be super disappointed. Here's to hoping we get a strong focus on Shogi.
 
01:

Man, this was really lovely and enjoyable to me.

I think this struck a nice balance between feeling really super chill and homely with it's more dramatic and serious undercurrent. The gloomy and lonesome air you can feel around the MC, makes you really want to know more about him, and they did a great job in portraying it. There was a really nice and interesting contrast, where the first half, it had an atmosphere of feeling pretty emotionally cold and distant, and when he visits the family here, that's where things immediately got more bubbly and colorful that put a smile on my face. I think as far as direction goes, SHAFT is absolutely nailing it, the pacing was solid and I loved the use of warm colors here.

So yeah, good stuff. I think for anyone who enjoyed Chica Umino's Honey and Clover, they'll probably dig this.
 
Last edited:
1
Wow, I really liked this, like more than I expected. Whereas I am "on board" with some stuff this season, this actually has me excited to see what's going to happen. The episode went by so fast for me.

I noticed there were some references to itself within it as well. On the train there were billboards of Rei hanging, and the store he went to was called Sangatsu. So, this series definitely seems to have some depth.

I really like the art, but there is one weird quirk. Sometimes their mouths looks really weird, and it distracts me greatly. >_>

Otherwise, excited for this. Should be good.
 
Episode 1:

It's nice to see SHAFT showing some restraint for once. The SHAFT style is highly idiosyncratic and very recognizable. In their last couple of anime that I watched it got out of control and made those title lose any of their character. However, this episode shows the SHAFT style can work to enhance an anime, while still letting that anime have its own unique character. Instead the SHAFT touches enhanced the episode at the right moments.

Also, I'm so glad they chose better music for the OP and ED than the suckass ones from Honey and Clover. The OP and ED for this episode set just the right tone. The animation for them was very nice as well.

This was basically a flawless first episode for me. It's a damn good looking anime that's the best looking thing SHAFT has made in a while. As Gen pointed out there was a good use of color. It was more muted in the scenes when he was feeling alone and isolated remembering his past and playing Shogi, but when he was with the family the colors were much warmer and more friendly. It's clear he's been through some deep trauma, but the episode is smart enough not to blow its load all at once. It gives us some hints with a few well done flashbacks and minimal bits of exposition. It draws me into the character much more than an exposition dump explaining he was abandoned.

Seriously though was that not the saddest game of Shogi at the start of the episode? The episode did a nice job of switching between tones. There was a lot of melancholy this episode especially when he was alone, but that tone didn't consume the episode because there were a lot of heartwarming moments as well to show that the guy's life isn't just a sad void. He's got love and support from other places. While he's haunted by the past and that will lead to drama at least it's not all doom and gloom for him.

The comedy was on point this episode and the kids were really cute. The OST was brilliant as well.

This is right up there with the first episode of Yuri On Ice quality wise.
 
/
ZetsubouKaiji said:
Episode 1:

It's nice to see SHAFT showing some restraint for once. The SHAFT style is highly idiosyncratic and very recognizable. In their last couple of anime that I watched it got out of control and made those title lose any of their character. However, this episode shows the SHAFT style can work to enhance an anime, while still letting that anime have its own unique character. Instead the SHAFT touches enhanced the episode at the right moments.

Also, I'm so glad they chose better music for the OP and ED than the suckass ones from Honey and Clover. The OP and ED for this episode set just the right tone. The animation for them was very nice as well.

This was basically a flawless first episode for me. It's a damn good looking anime that's the best looking thing SHAFT has made in a while. As Gen pointed out there was a good use of color. It was more muted in the scenes when he was feeling alone and isolated remembering his past and playing Shogi, but when he was with the family the colors were much warmer and more friendly. It's clear he's been through some deep trauma, but the episode is smart enough not to blow its load all at once. It gives us some hints with a few well done flashbacks and minimal bits of exposition. It draws me into the character much more than an exposition dump explaining he was abandoned.

Seriously though was that not the saddest game of Shogi at the start of the episode? The episode did a nice job of switching between tones. There was a lot of melancholy this episode especially when he was alone, but that tone didn't consume the episode because there were a lot of heartwarming moments as well to show that the guy's life isn't just a sad void. He's got love and support from other places. While he's haunted by the past and that will lead to drama at least it's not all doom and gloom for him.

The comedy was on point this episode and the kids were really cute. The OST was brilliant as well.

This is right up there with the first episode of Yuri On Ice quality wise.
Click to expand...

Your fucking nuts.

Futakotome, Waltz, Fugainaya, and Split are some of the best OPs\EDs in anime.
 
captaincrunch said:
/


Your fucking nuts.

Futakotome, Waltz, Fugainaya, and Split are some of the best OPs\EDs in anime.
Click to expand...

Nah, they're all pretty forgettable other than the Yuki ones and they're only memorable because her voice is horrible. She sounds like a cat in heat getting fucked in the ass.
 
ZetsubouKaiji said:
Nah, they're all pretty forgettable other than the Yuki ones and they're only memorable because her voice is horrible. She sounds like a cat in heat getting fucked in the ass.
Click to expand...

Honestly I'd probably forget about this OP in particular, if it also weren't for the ridiculous food visuals too:

 
GenericUser said:
Honestly I'd probably forget about this OP in particular, if it also weren't for the ridiculous food visuals too:

Click to expand...

I'm doing a horror movie marathon all this month and this is still more terrifying than any of the movies I've watched so far. They were going for quirky and arty to match with the art school setting of Honey and Clover, but they landed on existential terror instead.
 
Episode 1:
I was a little worried when I heard SHAFT will be doing 3-gatsu but after watching episode one I say they did a great job. I don't hate SHAFT or anything but they're the last studio I'd pick for something like 3-gatsu. I'm happy they proven me wrong. Still, you could easily tell it's a SHAFT show but it's not very overwhelming and weird like much of their stuff.

It's a very solid adaptation so far.

Oh and Bump of Chicken! Bump of Chicken is doing BOTH the OP and the ED. Major plus for me.
 
Episode 2:

This was just plain fantastic.
It's not like much even happened this episode, but man does this show do a great job of creating moments that run through a broad spectrum of emotion. The episode starts out on a funny note with the self proclaimed rival showing up, then the episode becomes a bit more introspective with Rei's narration, then things get hilarious with his Shogi match and the two guys dragging him along for drinks, then the episode turns pretty sad as we see how Rei pretty much despises himself, but it doesn't get too sad because he's got support from Akari, then things get really cute when he meets with Akari's family in the grocery store, then there's a bit more backstory about Rei's past and that's also pretty sad.

All of these differing emotions are heightened by great art direction and SHAFT's style, which is being put to great use here. The episodes are really great at highlighting the comedy, but they're even better at catching the melancholy that surrounds Rei. Whenever he's alone and thinking on his own it's pretty clear the guy is really depressed and struggling to accept his past. His internal monologues are well written and it's easy to identify with a lot of what he says. I can definitely put myself in his shoes and feel his sadness.

Also, they just added Sugita to the cast, which instantly makes the show more awesome. Plus it's nice to see him in something that doesn't suck.
 
2
Agreed with @ZetsubouKaiji ; this was a fantastic episode. This is probably going to be my favorite series of the Season.
This episode made me love both Kiriyama and Akari. Aside from Kiriyama's amazing introspections, which I love, his interactions with the other Pro-Shogi players is really want was the highlight of the episode for me. The first segment, with self-proclaimed, federal offending rival, was amazing. I was laughing the whole time.

Although, his interactions with Akari were equally as good. I feel like they have a good dynamic, and I kind of find myself shipping them. Which isn't something I usually do. I feel like they have a good dynamic, and Akari proved to be much more than I expected her to be, based on the first episode. She comes off initially as kind of a, aggressive helper, but this episode showed her being far more subtle and understanding, while at the same time amusingly manipulative.

I pretty much wholeheartedly agree with ZK in terms of how the show handles the spectrum of emotions. I feel like it does a good job of shifting without being really overbearing. Really looking forward to this for the rest of the season.
 
Episode 3:

I really loved the visual metaphors this episode. They're simple, but effective. I liked how the episode used the floating balloons to show the difference between the two rivals during their Shogi match. Even the color of the balloons were good representations of the characters with Rei's blue balloon representing his cool logical play and his rival's red balloon representing his more passionate, emotion driven play. However, Rei's skill is just on a different level and the red balloon can never quite reach the blue on, but it was a neat detail that in present match the balloons were actually much closer, almost even at one point. Over the years it seems the red balloon has improved his play and can now force the game to go right to the wire, even if winning is still beyond him.

I love the mood that was set for the game. It really captured the feeling of a hot sticky summer where it's almost too uncomfortable to do anything so a game of shogi seems like a great idea. Until you get into a tense and stressful match that pushes you to your limits. It also gets to the bitterness of coming to that slow realization you're going to lose no matter what you do. I think what I admire about the rival the most is that he sticks with it and goes down fighting until its impossible to go on. It's some real tenacity from a sickly rich kid.

Also, it just warmed my heart to see Rei enjoying a game of Shogi for once. He usually seems to be uncomfortable and sad when playing, but against this guy he can really get into the match because he knows that when he wins it won't be tears, but a promise that he'll beat Rei next time.

Oh and his relationship with his butler is so fucking heartwarming. That scene was short, but you could feel the love between the two of them.

The second half of the episode was a real feels trip that reflects on the nature of loss. I think Rei is fooling himself if he really thinks he's purged his family from his heart. He's buried his emotions as best he can, but if he's really going to heal then he'll have to open up and that includes dealing with the loss of his family.

Maan and I didn't think anything was going to be as good as Yuri on Ice episode 3, but this was right up there with it. I feel quite lucky to have both these shows in the same season.
 
ZetsubouKaiji said:
Nah, they're all pretty forgettable other than the Yuki ones and they're only memorable because her voice is horrible. She sounds like a cat in heat getting fucked in the ass.
Click to expand...

I swear to god I find all of your "everything is shit except for what I like" opinions insufferable. Grow up.
 
captaincrunch said:
I swear to god I find all of your "everything is shit except for what I like" opinions insufferable. Grow up.
Click to expand...

Or you know you could just accept someone has a different opinion than you and move on without insulting them. You're being extremely rude. I never insulted you and I don't know why you've felt the need to attack me twice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top