"He's like snow. No matter how much I struggle, it will bury me without mercy. It's a blinding darkness that dazzles my eyes...

Silent,

Overwhelming,

...and captivatingly beautiful."

3-Gatsu no Lion

Air Date: Oct 8, 2016 to Mar 18, 2017

MAL - Rating: 8.29

Official Poster

OP: 'Answer' (アンサー)" by BUMP OF CHICKEN and

ED: 'Fighter' by BUMP OF CHICKEN

Main Themes: Professional competiton, family, depression, coming of age

The Staff:

• Source Manga by Chika Umino (Honey and Clover, Higashi no Eden)

• Directed by Kenjirou Okada and Akiyuki Shinbou

• Animated by Studio Shaft

• Music by Yukari Hashimoto

Similar Anime: Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Honey and Clover, Your Lie in April (sort of).

Introduction

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. As people we stumble our way through the years as we trip over the highs or get stuck in the lows of the journey that is the road of life. It's a bumpy road that you don't get through without some blood, sweat and tears, but we always get through, and we always move forward. Life is like chocolate in more than one way in that regard. While sometimes chocolate is hard and bitter like the loss of a family member or a bad memory, at other times it can be soft and sweet like a warm bed and a loving family. Life is a balance between ups and downs, and that contrast is what makes life interesting and beautiful, yet sometimes difficult.

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. An English proverb that perfectly fits the similarly titled series that I want to talk to you about today, 3-gatsu no Lion. A jaw-dropping and breathtaking character Drama written by Chika Umino and adapted by Studio Shaft that is packed to the brim with atmosphere, emotion, and a glimpse into the toucing life of a 17 year old Shogi player named Rei Kiriyama.

Story

The story follows Rei Kiriyama, a 17 year old professional Shogi player with a reclusive personality living alone in Tokyo estranged from his adoptive family with scarcely any friends. His days are spent alone in his apartment building practicing matches in depressing solitude. During his stay in Tokyo he becomes acquainted with the Kawamoto family, three loving sisters living together in a small home with several cats. Due to Rei's distant and resentful relationship with his adoptive family he has become a victim of his own thoughts as he struggles to keep his head above water as he loses interest in Shogi and what it means to him. The loving Kawamoto family regularly invites Rei for dinner as they make effort to pull Rei out of his depression and give him the family he needs. Through the sisters, a mentor, and a rival, Rei deals with his maturing as a player and as a person, while developing his relationships with others, especially the Kawamoto sisters.

Important Characters:

Rei Kiriyama - The protagonist of the series and focal point of 3-gatsu no Lion. He became a professional Shogi player in middle school and is regarded as a prodigy in his sport. After losing his parents he was adopted in the Kouda family. Due to a resentful relationship with his adoptive siblings he moves out of the family home to Tokyo, where he lives alone throughout the course of the series. Due to his past trauma and bad experience with his adoptive family Rei secludes himself from society apart from his connection to the Kawamoto family and some visits to the Shogi hall, where he encounters several other professional Shogi players that play their own role in his life and make Rei grow as a person and a player. (Voiced by Kengo Kawanishi)

Akari, Hina and Momo Kawamoto - The three sisters that Rei became acquainted with during his stay in Tokyo. Living together with their elderly grandfather they run a traditional japanese sweets shop. Their mother and grandmother have passed away and their father has left them long ago. The eldest sister, Akari, works as a hostess in bar run by their aunt. The middle sister, Hina, is a middle school student around three years younger than Rei. And Momo, the youngest sister, is a pure and innocent preschool student of around four years old. (Voiced by Ai Kayano, Kana Hanazawa and Misaki Kuno respectively)

Throughout the series many more important characters are introduced, which I will refrain from describing to avoid spoilers.

Visuals

Studio Shaft is well-known for its unqiue style, strong use of visual symbolism and striking new-wave inspirations, and 3-gatsu no Lion is no expection. While the series has the striking Shaft style that the studio is known for, it makes the conscious decision to tone down the iconic Shaft style and make way for a more subdued and soft visual theme that really makes this series one of the best looking and most beautifully atmospheric shows that has come out over the past few years. the bittersweet tone of the series and contrast between warm moments and bitter loneliness is shown absolutely magnificently through use of visual storytelling and gorgeous visuals. The soft colors and beautiful lighting make every scene shine and the cinematography is a fantastic example of the 'show-don't-tell' approach.

Music

The music is perfect for the fluctuating tone of the series and overall is an absolutely fantastic fit for the bittersweet atmosphere of the series. The Soundtrack composed by Yukari Hashimoto is nothing short of incredible as throughout the series every scene got elevated by its gorgeous music. With an OST that varies from melancholic piano themes to upbeat jazzy themes to beautifully atmospheric French Insert Songs it never fails to heighten the atmosphere and really draw you into a scene transforming it from a scene you're watching to a scene you're experiencing. The fantastic OST is used to its fullest extent and works so beautifully well with the visuals that makes the Anime feel a complete experience that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Personal experience (and why I think you should watch it):

3-gatsu no Lion is one of the most aestethically engaging Anime I've had the pleasure of watching over the past few years. Its visual style combined with the gorgeous music makes every scene shine and fills it up with unmatched atmosphere and connection that makes watching the series one of the most engaging and beautiful experience in the Drama genre. The story by Chika Umino is one of the most well-paced and consistently fantastic ones I've encountered in a long time as each episode feels as amazing as the last and there are never any dips in quality to speak of. Multiple times when watching the series I felt like the episode I was watching could be the best one so far, which is something that Anime rarely does for me. Each episode shines and stands out in its own way that makes every one of them feel fantastic, unique and memorable. On top of being one of the most well-paced and engaging Drama series its writing is exceptionally well-done as the words and inner monologue of characters beautifully captures the feeling of the characters and the atmosphere of the series. It doesn't always exactly tell you what the characters are feeling but it's made more than clear through beautifully strung sentences that combined with the visual storytelling and atmospheric tone of the series convey a message that can't be said with words only. The combination of writing, atmosphere and visual storytelling makes 3-gatsu no Lion one of the most engaging and detailed drama series of the past few years.

The series also has a beautifully diverse set of characters that each play their own role in Rei's life as he encounters more and more people throughout his career. Each of these characters gets dragged into the story of Rei in their own way and are all fantastically well explored to show the similarities or on other times the contrast between them not only as players but also as people. 3-gatsu no Lion takes the time it needs to develop and round out its entire cast and does so in a beautiful way. Even the supporting characters like Rei's high school teacher or some of his one-time opponents are fleshed out exceptionally well and you can see the care and passion that went into each one of them as they are filled with diverse personalities and they have their own struggles and aspirations. The way these characters play off of each other and the main character is genuine and makes them feel all the more human which really adds to the realism and power of the series.

Behaving fantastic drama and great characters 3-gatsu no Lion doesn't shy away from comedy to lighten the mood. As I've said before this show beautifully uses the contrast between when Rei is with others versus when Rei is alone and the use of comedy really makes this contrast pop out. Instead of being a constantly gloomy series it uses its fantastic ability to create atmosphere to its advantage in a way that makes the happy and lighthearted moment put a smile in your face every time and makes the gloomy and lonely atmospheres put tears in your eyes throughout its entire runtime. I've rarely found a show that's so in touch with its own emotion and does such a fantastic job at balancing its bittersweet tone throughout the episodes. 3-gatsu no Lion is one of the most engaging and emotionally in-touch experiences in the medium and on top of being beautifully atmospheric it also managed be an amazingly well-written drama full of development, meaning and thoughtful emotion. It doesn't just simply tug at your heartstrings, it gets a hold of it and leads it through a journey of heartwarming Drama that is sure to put a big smile on your face and tears in your eyes.

An absolute, without a doubt, perfect 10/10 for me. Not only was it beautifully written, had a great cast and one of the most solid Drama development, it was also more than that. It was an experience, that I can't wait to experience again when the second season starts.

TL;DR: 3-gatsu no Lion is one of the most atmospheric and beautifully written character Drama's of the past years. Its contrast between bitter and sweet moments is used to its full extent to grasp you and get you invested in the series. Its fantastic soundtrack and gorgeous visuals make every scene atmospheric and emotionally engaging on a level that is rarely seen in Anime. With a varied cast of properly explored characters and some of the most meaningful and thoughtful emotional stories it's an Anime experience that can't and shouldn't be missed out on.

P.S. : I suggest giving the show a little more than the three-episode rule to get an idea of it. It's a 2 cour series so the start is a bit slower than it'd be in a short series, and the first few episodes are overall slightly weaker than the rest of the series and it really gets better and better as it proceeds. Happy watching!