March Comes In Like a Lion
2016
Original language: Japanese
- animation
- drama
The story
This is a gentle tale about people trying to regain something. And it is a tale of battle. Rei Kiriyama had lost his family in an accident when he was young. Now he is a 17-year-old pro shogi player who is burdened with deep loneliness. Rei lives alone in an old town in Tokyo, but after becoming acquainted with three sisters, Akari, Hinata and Momo, he begins to change little by little...
What it’s like
Soft, muted watercolor-like palettes give way to shadowed interiors where the light is mostly low and blue, with warm amber spilling from kitchen lamps and paper lanterns when the sisters' apartment comes into view. The animation favors still, carefully composed frames: a lone figure at a board in a wide, quiet room, rain streaking a window, long held shots of ordinary meals and riverside walks in the old Tokyo neighborhoods. Sound is sparse, with gentle piano and soft strings surrounding moments of near silence, broken by the clack of shogi pieces that lands like a small, decisive punctuation. Its vibe is wistful and tender, a melancholy that slowly warms into comfort, best suited to a rainy weekend, a late evening alone, or a patient rewatch. Pacing is unhurried, with episodes that drift between quiet domestic scenes and tense tournament games. Its emotional register is restrained and sincere, following a grieving young man slowly learning to let others close, alongside the sisters' bruised, resilient home life and the bullying and pressure he carries. Intensity is low: there is no gore, violence is rare and mostly verbal or off-screen, and the heaviest moments are grief and loneliness rather than fear. Made for viewers who want emotionally honest, character-driven stories that feel warm without being saccharine.
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