Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: March comes in like a lion
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dark_bozu
 Posts: 208 |
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March comes in like a lion is my favorite manga and so far I love the anime. IMO the beginning (1st volume) is weakest part of manga. Probably because it's just an introduction.
The best pros of this manga's story is that it's not just interesting because of main hero or heroines -- Umino-sensei can picture a vivid, interesting side-characters. I mean, manga have many filler-like stories about other pro shogi players, but they are superb and showing us different angles of the pro shogi world (like in Dobashi or Yanagihara Kishou story). And the main story is awesome -- there's a great progress in Rei character development. The issues that Umino Chika is covering are pretty severe and she's doing it marvelously. I won't write any spoilers -- just wait for school bullies arc (I haven't read or watch any manga/anime that went behind this issue so accuratly). Last edited by dark_bozu on Sun Oct 16, 2016 1:09 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23761 |
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Yeah, I'd say that's probably true, Key. If you weren't onboard by the end of the first eppie, I don't think the second is going to do much to change your mind other than the fact that there is no extended sequence dramatizing Rei's depression the way the first one did. Not sure that would be enough to win you over, though.
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kinghumanity
Posts: 365 |
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Akari is quickly becoming my favorite characters and I hope to see more about her. I haven't seen the manga, so I don't know where her parents are, but as an "older" girl character with lots of responsibilities and a side that's not presented publicly, her possibilities of developing as a character are endless.
She reminds me of Asuka from Hibike! Euphonium. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23761 |
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re: "where" Akari's parents are: Episode 2 suggested pretty strongly that spoiler[they are dead.]
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gabuhaha
 Posts: 136 |
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Probably not if you were majorly turned off but it might be worth a shot. I was kind of ambivalent after the first episode but I did enjoy the second more so I will keep watching for now. It doesn't wallow in depression like the first episode but it's still there. There was still kind of a disconnect between the first half of the episode which focused on his shoji life and his time spent with the girls in the second half. You do get to find out some of his past and how he met the girls which helps create a better narrative. The humor is not bad, it's more that it switches in tone so fast that you kind of get thrown for a moment. |
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Liebheart
Posts: 6 |
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I believe that goes without saying. Apparently they lost their parents and their grandma, possibly quite recently. That's why Akari feels a strong connection with Rei, they're both trying very hard to deal with their grief. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23761 |
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I kinda felt it went without saying too, but kinghumanity's post revealed that not everybody necessarily got the memo. And I get that. The reference was a bit oblique so if you perhaps weren't paying attention at that particular part (i.e. reaching for the chips or something) it could easily have blown by you.
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11340 |
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I thought the second episode felt like an entirely different series from the first episode, so I'd say give it a go. I can't say I cared for the comedy myself, especially in the 2nd episode, but it wasn't a deal-breaker for me. It might be enough to salvage it for you? Aside from the morsels of back-story organically woven into the narrative, there were two bits that really stood out to me in this episode. There's a brief scene where Akari is helping Rei vomit. Does that sound like a touching moment to you? But I'll be damned if that wasn't the most tender and intimate scene I've seen in anime in...like ever. The way it was shot, the gentleness of her sympathetic hand on his back, her calm and soothing voice... At the end, Akari gives him some leftovers to take home and he narrates,"On the way home, the wind was strong on the bridge, but the leftovers I held against my stomach were warm, like a small animal." It's a simple metaphor, but it's packed with meaning. And it pretty much describes how I felt watching the scene above. Bleak moments made better by the comforting warmth of acts of compassion. |
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Hameyadea
 Posts: 3679 |
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I liked the direction of the 2nd episode, that opened up the narrative to show that it isn't a "MC is down, facing the world alone; enter (near-perfect) mental support," but that the cast is made up from a bunch of weary and exhausted people, trying not to fall apart. That, IMO, gives the show a stronger sense of sadness than otherwise in other shows following a similar concept.
As for the artistry, the first episode didn't have a lot of Shaft Style presentation to it, but the 2nd ep. sure showed almost every Shaft animation technique. |
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RAmmsoldat
 Posts: 1261 Location: North wales coast |
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I want the manga so bad, im resisting running to a scan site so hard as when i heard umino had another manga out i thought it'd get snapped up by the USA publishers and figured id not spoil it for myself. Then when it started getting awards and nominations i was sure it'd get picked up yet here we are with the anime coming out and still nothing.
i despair sometimes. |
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Souther
 Posts: 602 |
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I agree, I was really impressed with that scene, especially the way Akari rubbed Rei's back. It felt very realistic, I could almost feel it LOL. This show's definitely my fave out of the shows I'm watching so far. I don't mind the tone shifts at all, it's something I've gotten accustomed to in anime, and I find it pretty funny. I like that even though Rei's incredibly depressed, you see how the rest of the cast bring out his more goofy, flustered side, and also how much they care about him. |
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Videogamep
 Posts: 564 Location: CA |
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It might be worth another try. The humor in episode 2 didn't feel quite as jarring as episode 1 and you learn a bit more about who Rei is and how he met the three sisters. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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I was also a bit alarmed at how NIkaidou was introduced, but episode 3 shows that even though his introduction made him seem like an outright annoying (and spoiled rich) rival character, there's a lot more to him. I loved the first half of the episode but the last night of Obon scene just didn't seem to work for me. Seeing Hina bawling her eyes out didn't have anywhere near an impact on me as Rei's first encounter with Akari or Nikaidou's conversation with his butler/caretaker. Hina just doesn't seem like a character to me yet. She hasn't had any interaction in the story other than making Rei some riceballs and a few lines at home. I'm sure Hina will be developed more, but crying over her departed family didn't phase me at all, as cold as that sounds.
I was very against Shaft doing this adaptation, but thus far they have proved themselves more than capable. |
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SnowyLightning44
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I was much happier with episode 3 than the previous one as I agree that in that one Harunobu's character came of as a bit of a joke and I did like like how the matches between Harunobu and Rei were presented, with the clear difference in position and comfort between the two players and the angles chosen to stress that.
For me at this point it just the small amount actually known about her character and spent solely on it that makes it less effective as it did with Akari since with her it showed more of what type of person she was and the varying emotions she showed in different situations |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11340 |
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Apparently Harunobu's weight may be at least in part a side effect of his kidney ailment, where he's either retaining water because of excess protein loss or because he's not excreting sodium, or both. Rei speculates that he's anemic, which seems to be anime-speak for any blood disorder, and his butler (?) was concerned about his diet while he was gone (convenience foods are notorious for low protein value and ridiculously high sodium). At any rate, to me part of the message was not to judge people by appearances, because you don't know their whole story. I guess I missed the "couple cheap jokes at Harunobu's expense" this time around (or else I've suppressed them
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I also really liked the explanation of the symbolic acts around Bon. In a way, the sisters treat Rei like he's one of the dead: Welcome, please stay as long as possible, have a safe trip home with the leftovers.
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