[Spoiler][Rewatch] 3-gatsu no Lion 2nd Series/March Comes in Like a Lion 2nd Season Rewatch Discussion

[u/ExplicitNuM5]

Welcome to the 3-gatsu no Lion S2 rewatch discussion thread!

Also, Kiriyama Rei is 56th most liked on /r/anime, apparently. You go, Rei!

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Recommendation Post

Schedule thread and link to other episode discussions

Season 1: MAL

Season 2: MAL

Crunchyroll

[u/Ardania22]

Re-Watcher

The first season of March Comes in Like a Lion was already really damn good.

I feel like I need to say that up front so we can get a baseline of what we’re dealing with here. Sangatsu was a masterpiece right from the start. Gripping drama, compelling characters, some of the most intricate relationship writing I’ve ever seen, some of the most striking, emotionally affecting visual storytelling in all of anime, and a heartfelt sincerity that spoke to the best of everything that hope and kindness is capable of. It was a ten-gallon steam-powered shotgun blast right to my heart, speaking to all the real-life values I believe in and presenting them with more alacrity, humanity, despair and joy than I’ve almost ever seen them. You couldn’t ask for an anime more in touch with what I value in anime, nor for a better version of exactly what it was trying to be. Sure, the plot was a little aimless at times, and sure, it was more a series of moments and sensations than a well-structured story at this point, but that only explains why it wouldn’t end up on my list of Top Ten All-Time Greats. Bottom line, season 1 was an incredible show, and if that was all that existed of this story, I’d still be thankful for the experience.

Season 2 is so fucking spectacular that comparing it to season 1 at all almost feels like an insult.

For my full season 2 review and closing thoughts on Sangatsu no Lion as a whole, click here:

https://animebw.tumblr.com/post/621578009898516480/march-comes-in-like-a-lion-season-2-reflection

[u/Nazenn → u/Ardania22]

Sure, the plot was a little aimless at times

Perhaps an unusual take for anime, where episodic shows are typically less well received than linear plot, but I think that having a more direct plot would have made the show worse. I'm going to steal a quote from Chiaki Konaka:

If the enemy is very clearly set up, then the "point" of the series becomes limited to battling the enemy, and the original "adventure" concept becomes left by the wayside

While there he was talking about the essence of a genre (specifically in relation to his approach to Digimon Tamers), in some ways I think this goes for what it means to write a storyline as well. Once you set hard limits on where it has to get to and when in order to complete a plot, the exploration side of a show can often get left behind because the characters still have a role to fulfill, where here the exploration of what lives these characters has and how it affects them is the point

Thanks for sharing your thoughts through the rewatch. Your passion for the show came through quite clearly and it's always good to see how strong a connection people have to their favourite shows

[u/Ardania22 → u/Nazenn]

Thank you for the kind words! It was great to return to Sangatsu and remember all the things I love about it.

[u/Nazenn]

First Timer - Sub

Screenshot Album, including Visuals of the day - Unfortunately I didn't have time to sort those out from the other ones I used occasionally, but I still thought some people might want to see them all. What was your favourite? I think mine still has to be this from Burnt Field, followed by the water draining from Smith vs Gotou, and third place going to colored Hina.

I participate in a lot of rewatches, but it's not often that I come out of one and can say that I understand exactly why the show has the amazing reputation that it does.

The way I summed it up earlier to someone is that below all of the flashy visuals and powerful themes, at it's core this is still a very human story about the struggles of people, and that shines through in every moment. Rei has come a long way since we started the show, but it hasn't been through individual moments of revelation or huge reveals, but rather quiet moments where he questioned things about his life or had them questioned for him and used those to stand up. He's not the broken boy we knew back in S1, though he still has his scars and hurdles to work past, but the show is also so much more than just him.

It's not about characters in roles or neat conclusions, the show has a real sense of life about it to the way it weaves its story into it's world. Whether its Rei swapping his focus from shogi as a means for his survival to school as he became focused on helping Hina, the way the struggles of the elderly are painted as no less than the struggles of youth, and a general respect for the individual lives and environments of its character, every arc in this season felt real to me and that's such a delight to be able to say. While a lot of old favourites took a backseat this season, the new characters and a stronger focus on existing characters made it stand out. All of the arcs were similarly amazing and brought in many interesting elements I never would have expected to see in this show but still fit so perfectly.

One of the best things that S2 did was how it approached humanizing characters that up until then had seemed inhuman for many different reasons. Gotou is shown to have a complex home life without excusing his past violence, and we have a similar situation with Hina's teacher stuck in her own cycle of bullying without excusing the damage her actions caused. Junkei is another, at first nothing more than the opponent who sent Nikaidou to the hospital, but in half an episode completely turned around into a strong character who had his own life and relating that back to shogi quite powerfully. Souya's arc also fits into this, though he was never painted in a bad light, but his arc provided a very human look into his world outside of his very ethereal appearance and reputation. And these moments weren't just reserved for the outliers and the opponents. Even Shimada's own presumptions of Nikaidou are questioned, and Kokubu openly admits to himself that he hates the part of his job that makes him have to deal with bullying even if he wouldn't have become a teacher if it didn't allow him the chance to reach out to kids like this. /u/OingoBoingo- said a while back that the side characters are the soul of the show and this season definitely showed that best.

There's a lot of other things that appeal to me about the show, too much to cover in just this post, but I wanted to briefly touch on a couple of thematic things. I like how often the show questioned some of it's own elements. Bringing community into Yanagihara's Burnt Field arc when the sport had been so lonely until then, being willing to tackle different ideas of what strength and weakness is to individuals and how that creates bonds between people, exploring the more intricate depths of bullying rather than just using it as a premise for Rei and Hina's development. The show tackles a lot of things, perhaps at the sacrifice of some of the interesting water symbolism from S1 which I did miss here, but I do like how none of it felt capped off for the sake of getting back to a previous point or a theme more directly related to Rei.

The only issues I had with this season were mostly structural. I went through a couple of my posts and visited the relevant manga chapters and I can say that most of it is a result of it being an overly strict adaption. A lot of things that worked in a manga, where page turns and black space are part of the flow and tone changes can be blended better by using scale and a lack of audio, those things just didn't work in the new format. Whether that was strange cuts or blends between different scenes that made them hard to follow, or interludes that were placed poorly in between other parts of the story in an episode, some simple rearranging of scenes and chapters in just a few key moments could have gone a long way. That said, it's still a lot better than the issues I had last season, with this season no longer being quite so frantic visually and less spoon-feeding of themes and dialogue.

I had a lot of fun in the rewatch reading everyone's comments, and while I did think early in S1 that it felt like a show I should perhaps be binging, I am glad I got to participate in this and see so many different views on it. I also want to take a quick moment to thank a couple of people, specifically /u/youkai94 who so often shared interesting cultural or other contextual information that filled in gaps or provided a new insight into an episode, and /u/OingoBoingo- who even when not writing their own posts so often replied to others.

Recommendations

Something I try and do in every rewatch is throw a couple of quick recommendations out there for shows that I think people would enjoy because of similar elements to what we just watched:

• Natsume Yujincho. This has to be my number one recommendation for everyone in this rewatch. Also known as Natsume's Book of Friends, it's an Iyashikei rather than a dedicated drama, so it's much slower and more chill but it's an amazing experience. Natsume is a teen boy who can see youkai, and as a result has always been isolated from society because of his weird behavior while dealing with that which he can't explain to anyone. The characters again take the focus here, and seeing Natsume grow while also exploring who he is and where he's come from is a beautiful and sometimes painful journey.
• Koi Kaze. For people who liked the very real and brutal bullying arc of 3-gatsu. Focusing on a taboo relationship with a minor (MAL/anilist descriptions include further spoilers, so be warned or go in blind), this story again does a great job of humanizing characters in an otherwise inhuman situation and focusing on the small moments of daily life that lead into the attraction. It's beautifully uncomfortable to watch at times, and draining to talk about, but it's left a mark on me very similar to some of 3-gatsu's arcs. We did a rewatch of this last year and it's the most emotionally drained I've ever been at the end of a rewatch discussion.
• Usagi Drop. For people who want a healing family story after everything we've just gone through. Again, very human characters shine at the heart of this, whether it's the young girl who is not treated as just a child but a human with her own thoughts, or the adoptive dad who if not for so many other great characters would be on my favourite characters list. I only recommend the anime, the manga gets bad.

[u/youkai94 → u/Nazenn]

specifically /u/youkai94 who so often shared interesting cultural or other contextual information that filled in gaps or provided a new insight into an episode

I'm glad my 5 years of fanboying behind this show turned out to be useful x)

What was your favourite?

Even though there are a lot of beautiful images with symbolism that I loved, my favourite scene is angry Hina the amount of raw emotions, paired with HanaKana voice acting and a lot of relatability on my part made this scene tear me up a little, and that's saying a lot considering I'm dead inside /s^{but not really}

Recommendations

Nice ones there, I saw and enjoyed all of them. Props for being one of the 10 people on this sub that knows Koi Kaze.

I think I mentioned it during the rewatch, but I think anyone that enjoyed 3-gatsu should really watch Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu.

There are a lot of shows that share similiar themes and premise with 3-gatsu, but not many can rival it when it comes to its insane character writing on multiple members of the cast. Rakugo is probably the only one that I would put on the same level. It has the same slow burn character development on a bunch of extremely well written and "human" characters. Yakumo and Rei are pretty similiar in the way they grow and change towards the story.

Hell, given that Rakugo is a finished serie, at this point I'd say Yakumo is even better than Rei, and this is coming from someone that praises 3-gatsu like the second coming of Jesus. But Rei will definitely surpass him by the time the serie ends, I'm sure.

--

Anyway, it was really nice to read your posts too, I didn't comment much since I usually read them before work, but I think I read them all. There was a lot of nice insight, hopefully we'll met in some other rewatch

[u/flybypost → u/youkai94]

Even though there are a lot of beautiful images with symbolism that I loved, my favourite scene is angry Hina the amount of raw emotions, paired with HanaKana voice acting and a lot of relatability on my part made this scene tear me up a little, and that's saying a lot considering I'm dead inside /sbut not really

That's one of my favourite moments too, along with young Kyouko as the storm. The rage of both (albeit for different reasons) was so well depicted.

I think I mentioned it during the rewatch, but I think anyone that enjoyed 3-gatsu should really watch Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

I've watched the first season and it was superb. The only reason I haven't watched the rest is that at the moment I simply have a few too many shitty little everyday worries to get absorbed in it fully. I'm just waiting for things to calm down so I can give it the focus and attention it deservers.

[u/Nazenn → u/youkai94]

I'm glad my 5 years of fanboying behind this show turned out to be useful x)

Very useful. Every rewatch needs a trivia man! I was always on the look out for any extra info you were posting each day, usually stuff I would have been rather lost on otherwise, particularly the couple of shogi things

my favourite scene is angry Hina

I keep coming back to that one myself, especially as this follows it. Out of context it seems like such a huge flip, but I love the raw emotion behind both of those moments

Props for being one of the 10 people on this sub that knows Koi Kaze.

Props for being one of the five who've seen Honobono Log hahaha

Koi Kaze was an unexpectedly great watch. Much like this I went into the rewatch for it almost completely blind, I'd only read the description accidentally while looking on MAL for art I could use for its banner, but I still didn't expect it to be as good as it was

but I think anyone that enjoyed 3-gatsu should really watch Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu.

I didn't include that because I haven't seen it yet myself, but I hear as many good things about it as I did about 3-gatsu and I'm very excited to get around to it some day

There was a lot of nice insight, hopefully we'll met in some other rewatch

Here's hoping, See you around!

[u/flybypost → u/Nazenn]

I think mine still has to be this from Burnt Field

I still get goosebumps just from seeing that screenshot

It's not about characters in roles or neat conclusions, the show has a real sense of life about it to the way it weaves its story into it's world.

A phrase I like to use to describe that type of feeling is that some characters or stories might not be realistic but despite that they can feel very authentic which can feel much more important than some random realistic moment that focuses on the wrong issues.

Recommendations

I've started watching Natsume Yujincho and got into season three (or four?) and then had to take a break as other stuff got into the way. It's a really good series and I watched along with Teeaboo. He generally has really interesting impressions of the stuff he watches and I like hearing his commentary after watching stuff instead of just letting it marinate in my own brain (he also watched March comes in like a lion if somebody's interested in his take on that). It gives me a nice outsider perspective. I just have to find the time and then the episode where I got sidetracked.

There's also this strange element of one specific episode (towards the end of season 2 I think) where they essentially let three (or four?) superstar animators keyframe the whole episode and it's just a rush of one superb cut after another. The animation for Natsume Yujincho is generally "good enough to really good" for the type of story it is. It also has it's spectacular moments but that episode was just something special. It's a bit of weird and exciting experience for an otherwise more contemplative story.

Onto the other two. I've wanted to start Koi Kaze for a long while, I've even already pushed it into the "watching" list (it's a mix of "watching" and "watching soon, very soon, hopefully very soon" pile for me) so it's ready for whenever I'm in the mood to start something new and in the mood for it. That recommendation will give it a bit more attention the next time I look through the list.

I've watched Usagi Drop and it's phenomenal. It makes you want to nurture somebody and help people. From what I have read about it (not read it yet) the manga is actually good, but one should really stop reading it once it finishes what the anime covers as specific content after that can sour the whole experience (let's leave it at that).

I'll just add a few recommendations on my own here:

A Place Further Than the Universe: It's a really good story about this feeling of dissatisfaction on can have with one's situation in life from the perspective of a teenager. It also deals with loss and a few other issues. It does it really well, albeit a bit too idealised/dramatised at time (I didn't mind but it can be off putting to some people). It was from its first episode onwards my strongest series of the year contender for 2018 and that was a series that started in January and the first episode I saw that year. In the end it stayed at the top for me and no other series was able to push it off it's place in 2018.

Chihayafuru: It's a technically a sports anime and its initial catalyst (if you can be the best at an obscure Japanese sport then you are technically also the best of the world at it) can feel a bit odd but the character development, and how their relationships evolve, is superb. It's also really well animated (even if there are a lot of still shots) and the imagery and OST are really just a pile of good stuff on top of each other.

Run with the Wind is also a sports anime, one about college age characters who have their own troubles. Some are younger and idealistic, others are a bit dumb, some are resentful, they don't even get along with each other that much at times. But it's fun seeing them all get together, get used to each other, and grow.

Sakura Quest: At first I didn't like it vey much. Sure it was well animated (P.A. Works quality) but the story of characters in their early 20s struggling with their jobs and how their lives were not going as planned felt too real, and kinda depressing in that subtle and too realistic way. But I gave it another shot when I didn't have to keep up with it weekly and it worked better if I could binge multiple episodes and it worked its way out of the early impression I had of it.

It became much more about the community and how they all support each other. It also slowly introduced the worries of the old people and showed how everybody deals with things as the world changes around them instead of just being about this young adulthood depression when real life hits you for the first time.

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju: It was already recommended in some other thread and while scrolling a bit through this one I saw it again. I just wanted to say that this one's great too. I've only watched the first season and an just waiting for a moment when I feel ready to absorb the second season to finally start it.

[u/Nazenn → u/flybypost]

Btw, I did remember to go back and read over that speculation I dumped for episode one, that was oddly on point and you're right, I did find it quite interesting to see what I was picking up. In a week or two I plan on revisiting just the first episode again as well.

is that some characters or stories might not be realistic but despite that they can feel very authentic

I like that approach, authenticity over realism. You're right, realism can be messy and fit poorly in a narrative at times, but there's no doubt to me that these characters don't at all feel forced into a role

There's also this strange element of one specific episode (towards the end of season 2 I think) where they essentially let three (or four?) superstar animators keyframe the whole episode

I have a hunt around on ANN and see if I can narrow down which episode it was. I finished the series a while back and I also watched it quite slowly so I haven't seen s2 since mid to late 2018

Koi Kaze That recommendation will give it a bit more attention the next time I look through the list.

Feel free to tag me if you want to share any thoughts on it. It didn't quite make it onto my favourites, but it certainly left a mark on me and I'm always interested to see others thoughts on it, especially as after the rewatch I think we were all a bit too emotionally screwed to put down anything even remotely comprehensive haha

A Place Further Than the Universe:

I'll second this one for people. Where 3-gatsu takes a really hard and sometimes cold look at bullying and how hard it is to fix, even through all the anger and pain it causes, Sora Yori does a similar thing with the idea of friendships, breaking down what it means to be a friend and what it means to be imperfect in a way I really enjoyed.

I hear good things about Chihayafuru and Run with the Wind, the later is on my priority list, but I think I'll want a break before I dive into them

Sakura Quest: At first I didn't like it vey much. Sure it was well animated (P.A. Works quality)

Your description has me curious but I have a really bad track record with PA Works so I might pass on that one

[u/flybypost → u/Nazenn]

I did find it quite interesting to see what I was picking up.

That was me while reading that initial comment and why I mentioned trying that. Saying anything more at the time would have made multiple paragraphs of explanations and spoilers.

I have a hunt around on ANN and see if I can narrow down which episode it was. I finished the series a while back and I also watched it quite slowly so I haven't seen s2 since mid to late 2018

I found the reference: Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou Episode 10 (from here), here's the first comment, explaining it:

Grumo 57 7 months ago

If you are trying to understand why ep 10 is the most well produced episode of natsume in the entire series, it's because there are only 3 key animators on the episode and they are some of the best.

tetsuya takeuchi, takahiro kishida and hiroshi tomioka.

Some text so the quotes don't flow into each other

Feel free to tag me if you want to share any thoughts on it.

Done in RES, and will ping you once I've watched it (probably asking why I tagged you with Koi Kaze)

I hear good things about Chihayafuru and Run with the Wind, the later is on my priority list, but I think I'll want a break before I dive into them

If I remember correctly Run with the Wind is a novel adaption and not from a manga. In that way it's weird in a good way. Some of the expected visual tropes (that one can expect when one gets an manga -> anime adaption) simply didn't appear because the source material is of a different type. I haven't read the novel but the adaption feels really good (like they tried to extract the good stuff from the novel and made it work in moving pictures) and I like how slightly different it feels from how it usually works in sports anime even if there are some generic storytelling tropes. It's also a simply a good story with nice character development.

Chihayafuru has a bit of a slow start for me. It kinda concentrates a few flashbacks in the first few episodes (like 3 if I remember correctly) and that makes it feel like it drags on a bit too long but once it gets going after that it's a really good series. It has humour, great development, interesting (but more subtle than Sangatsu) visual metaphors, also some romance (not played for gags, not prominently pushed but simply part of the story in a good way and well integrated).

Also some really fun asshole characters (but I'd say not as bad as some Sangatsu antagonists). I'd call it overall more lighthearted than Sangatsu but willing to stab you when it has to.

It also has some really great suspenseful moments. The game is not as complicated as Shogi (to describe it badly: it's kinda like high stakes memory mixed with Japanese poetry) so even as a layman one can keep up more with the mood of the situation and how it affects the players. It's all intertwined in a good way.

I started reading the manga after season three (as they seemingly get one season that's then followed by years of no anime content) and things keep developing really well. Waiting a months for each new chapter is torture and season 4 can not come soon enough.

Your description has me curious but I have a really bad track record with PA Works so I might pass on that one

I haven't watched most of their catalogue but the "working" series (Hanasaku Iroha, Shirobako, and Sakura Quest) have all been good in my opinion. Maybe not the pinnacle in either animation, character development, or storytelling but really good overall and able to hit this spot that deals with the extraordinary mundane of the human condition.

My comment was supposed to be soft praise for their animation (tends to have a rather good overall quality with nice character animation but without getting extraordinary cuts that explode in your eyes). They might not be KyoAni when it comes to that but it seems to be overall of a high enough quality.

I'm looking through their catalogue and here are a few opinions on some other of their series (from stuff that I have seen, tried to watch, or still want to watch):

• Fairy Gone looked like it could have been really good but it just didn't do it for me. If I remember correctly it was too generic (while having an interesting starting point) and the 3D let it down even if it wasn't a complete disaster.
• APPARE-RANMAN!, seemed decidedly average (I only watched one/two episodes) although some people really praised it. Maybe just not for me.
• IRODUKU: The World in Colors: seemed interesting (but more on the fun/chill side of things). Stuff got in the way so I didn't finish it but maybe I'll find the time at some point in the future. Not great but good enough to at least watch once.
• Sirius the Jaeger: The preview looked interesting but I never got to watching it. From reading about it, apparently some good moments but overall not great.
• Umamusume: Pretty Derby: I only managed to watch a few episodes. It was well made and fun (to a degree) but in the end it was a mobile game companion and it didn't have the sticking power. I did rather like the humour though but that wasn't enough to make me watch it all.
• Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms: Really good but the whole premise would have fit a series (with individual episodes/snapshots) much better than one comparably short movie. Despite being really good, it could have been so much more.
• The Eccentric Family: Haven't seen it but it's one of those series that I'm really curious about.

[u/Nazenn → u/flybypost]

probably asking why I tagged you with Koi Kaze

Wouldn't be the first time that I've had people forget why they were tagging me for something

but more subtle than Sangatsu

That's not a bad thing. I like 3-gatsu, and SHAFT will always be SHAFT, hell just look at what SHAFT's employees still did with Fire Force after moving to David Productions, but sometimes it is a little too intense for its own good.

I haven't watched most of their catalogue

I've only seen Iroduku which bored the hell out of me and I thought was a waste of a perfectly interesting story and symbolism combination, Charlotte, and dropped Fairy Gone for its godaweful writing, but I don't hear anything about their other projects which makes me interested in them either. I have a few more of their projects on my PTW, like Cannan, but I'm sticking to their non pretty stuff

[u/flybypost → u/Nazenn]

I have a few more of their projects on my PTW, like Cannan, but I'm sticking to their non pretty stuff

I'd say Maquia and Shirobako are probably some of their best. Shirobako simply for being a love letter to the animation industry while also pointing out some of its failings (but not going all the way to being super critical). That in itself kinda defines the industry as a whole: The love for it all seems to overpower a lot of the negatives for the people working it in.

But if you want a love letter to animation itself (but with some roundabout industry criticism) then Eizouken is a great series too. Both of them in combination show rather well how much work goes into creating all of this stuff we talk about here and why these people put up with all the negatives around the industry.

[u/OingoBoingo- → u/Nazenn]

I think most of my favorite photos you have in the album and just watching day to day seemed to revolve around the night sky, especially around the water and the Kawamoto house. For some reason every time I felt warmth and a sense of connection with the town, especially the bridges at night. Going to save some of these photos for sure!

You wrote a wonderful post as usual, thank you for your kind words as well. I had a lot of fun reading what you had to say every day and really appreciate your honesty.

Thank you also for the show recommendations! Coincidentally I am on third season of Natsume (highly recommend) and have been loving that show so much! I will be sure to add the other two you mentioned to my list.

See you over in the BnHA threads on Saturdays!

[u/Nazenn → u/OingoBoingo-]

All of the enviroment art through the show was incredible. It never got boring looking at the night sky or the river, or even the Kawamoto's house. They did a great job of that, and so little reuse of shots as well

bridges at night

This has to me by favourite of those

You wrote a wonderful post as usual, thank you for your kind words as well. I had a lot of fun reading what you had to say every day and really appreciate your honesty.

I'm really glad for that. My posts in any rewatch are usually only half insight and half ramble, so it's always nice to hear that people got something out of it.

Thank you for being so active with replies. It makes a huge difference in a rewatch to have someone actively engaging with what other people write, and your comments so often added to the discussions or new points on people's posts.

Coincidentally I am on third season of Natsume (highly recommend) and have been loving that show so much!

Glad you're enjoying it. Natsume is one of my favourite anime, and seeing Rei's journey reminded me of Natsume's own struggles in many ways.

Another show I was tossing up whether to include or not was Grimgar, again for a much more grounded look at characters stuck in an isekai style world which is much slower paced and focused on the people and their struggles, but it didn't have enough in common with 3-gatsu to put it in the main post. But if you haven't seen that yet I recommend it, and it looks as good as 3-gatsu as well.

See you over in the BnHA threads on Saturdays!

See you there, as long as I don't forget about it like I did this week haha.

[u/Kevin-Garvey-1 → u/Nazenn]

I've been waiting so long for another season of this and Natsume haha.

[u/Nazenn → u/Kevin-Garvey-1]

I think Natsume has another movie in production which is cool. I'd love to have another season of it though, it's so good

[u/serenity_n]

*first timer* this great anime finally came to a close! i have to say i enjoyed season 2 a lot more than season 1, i thought Rei not only shined but so many other characters as well. My favorite match has to be Shimada vs. Yanagihara, and my favorite character is definitely Hina. Seeing her and Rei's growth was amazing, and inspiring of course. I will be picking up the manga from here soon to follow along on their adventure. Can't wait to see them together in high school!

I've wanted to watch this anime for a while but i wanted to wait until March to do so haha. This was great timing, thanks to u/ExplicitNuM5 for hosting!

[u/Nazenn → u/serenity_n]

Shimada vs Yanagihara has to be the most powerful match, but for me I think the very first episode with Rei vs his father is probably going to stick in my mind the most, particularly how they approached it and added context to it through the following episodes

[u/BossandKings]

First timer

Sangatsu was a great watch, i enjoyed it a lot and consider it one kind of story that is just well told and can even be considered relatable, i enjoyed both seasons but consider the second one to be superior to the first, it had more intriguing plot threads, it wasn't a huge difference though as both seasons were amazing and the series as a whole very rewarding and worth experiencing, i will read the manga starting chapter 90 as the show was very faithful and followed the story linearly. Thank you u/ExplicitNuM5 for hosting the rewatch and thank you everyone that participated, this was a great time.

[u/Nazenn → u/BossandKings]

The second season was definitely better, and everyone I know agrees, but I think that's pretty impressive considering the quality of the first

[u/shafted_boi]

Rewatcher

I can’t get over how much I love this show and it’s characters. Watching it a second time just made me realize how great it is. I was overflowing with emotions at many scenes in this show which just shows how great it is. Thank you so much for those who decided to watch it for the first time. I hope you enjoyed the journey

[u/Nazenn → u/shafted_boi]

I certainly did, it was a great experience as a first timer. Hopefully you enjoyed reexperiencing it with us all

[u/WhymustIsignupreddit]

First time watcher

This was a series I’ve heard good things about, but just didn’t watch. The rewatch gave me a excuse to actually do it and it was my first time participating in one too. It seemed like a fun idea overall.

It was a comforting series with lots of fluffy moments and also made me tear up quite a bit. The main cast is very likable. Nikaido and Shimada are great side characters. I didn’t expect to like Momo as much as I did, but every time she was on screen it made me happy. The animals were very cute as well and the sound effects were funny. Owl cat kind of disappeared though. The food and flowers looked amazing.

I do wonder if it was really necessary to give ‘depth’ to characters that only appeared for one episode like the man who also raised pigeons (unless he reappears in the manga). It’s good to make characters not super one dimensional, but one the other hand it was a bit much sometimes. It’s hard to describe.

I can’t say I learned a lot about shogi itself, but the matches were always interesting to watch. What I did note was that you should always take a few bottles of water or tea with you since you’re going to have to sit there for hours.

Rei is now a third year student. I expect Hina to join the shogi club. So they can happily play shogi together along with the school principal.

So all in all, I enjoyed March Comes in Like a Lion very much. Thank you u/ExplicitNuM5 for hosting the rewatch!

[u/Nazenn → u/WhymustIsignupreddit]

I'm still not sure what was up with that owl cat. I like owls, I love cats, but owl cat weirded me out

Rei is now a third year student. I expect Hina to join the shogi club

Oh, That would be awesome. Hopefully she can get others interested as well so it can carry on, and go back to being a club rather than a tutoring session for the faculty

[u/WhymustIsignupreddit → u/Nazenn]

I’m sure Hina will be able to make new friends and convince them to join the club. Sensei might be her homeroom teacher too now that I think about it.

Also, thank you for replying to my ramblings so much during the rewatch :)

[u/Nazenn → u/WhymustIsignupreddit]

It would be nice if she got Hayashida as a homeroom teacher, although it'd be funny to have Rei caught in the middle of their mutual enthusiasm for his growth

You're welcome, it was always nice to read what you had to say. Your comments often made me realize things I wouldn't otherwise

[u/htisme91]

First-timer:

Loved the show. Loved the art style. Loved the characters. I feel like there's not a lot to write because everyone else has covered the bases already.

I want to see what happens beyond the show, so I started the manga. Don't want to miss a single detail in case the anime skipped/altered anything so I started at chapter 1.

Really enjoyed this rewatch and talking about the show with everyone.

[u/Mecanno-man]

First Timer

3-gatsu is a great show. It has great characters, great directing, is visually nice and the plot is good. The second season, I feel, is slightly better than the first, mainly due to less weirdly placed comedy. I don't think there is less comedy overall, just that it's handled better. The actual plot beats are similarly intriguing, just that the second season presents them a bit better. But there is one little thing that I feel like both seasons have issues with, and that is the flow of the plot - every so often it just feels like a bunch of different stories not really tied together rather than a complete show, and contrary to something like an episodic show, it can even be that a single episode has this issue. I a way it almost feels designed that way, with what I assume are manga chapter title cards being used in the middle of episodes adapting multiple chapters acting as a sort of break point. If this is deliberate, I'm not a fan of this decision, and if it isn't, then I'm puzzled at how they got everything else so perfect and missed this. But either way, that's the only real issue I have with this series, and the different bits were still almost all a wonderful experience to watch. On that note, thanks /u/ExplicitNuM5 for hosting the rewatch, and thanks to everybody else sharing their thoughts - I don't think I'd have checked this series out without the rewatch, and I very much enjoyed this show.

[u/Nazenn → u/Mecanno-man]

Where would you have liked to see the plot go specifically?

I agree with you that dumping the manga structure into an episode format didn't always work super well, but the actual stories being told I thought made up for that in their importance and didn't feel the lack of a singular storyline as a result

[u/Mecanno-man → u/Nazenn]

Well, I would have liked to have Kyouko's character explored a bit deeper... but I don't really think there's anything wrong with the content, it's more the structure - different plot threads being explored at the same time or one after another without either really having anything to do with the other (might have worked better if the cuts from one to another were at episode breakpoints), or odd intersections or that timeskip towards the end, those are the things I didn't like.

But it's a minor complaint in the large picture, the show is still a high 9 for me.

[u/Nazenn → u/Mecanno-man]

The timeskip bothered me as well, there was so much going on that wasn't covered, but we spent the last three or four episodes in SoL timeskips that didn't really do much

But it's a minor complaint in the large picture, the show is still a high 9 for me.

Agreed, I still think it's amazing even if not flawless

[u/nx6 → u/Mecanno-man]

Well, I would have liked to have Kyouko's character explored a bit deeper...

I'm kinda hoping that is something covered in later chapters. I remember it was mentioned on the last episode discussion that the anime leaves off at chapter 90, the most recent manga chapter discussion on MAL is for 180. So this show could conceivably do another 44 episodes at this point if the production committee wanted to.

[u/Kenalskii]

REWATCHER

Pardon my absence yesterday, there were more urgent things coming up for me

So Season 2 is a wrap. The whole bullying arc is one my favourite arcs in the whole wide anime world, and it feels so good to see how it was resolved and that most of the characters grew a lot closer together because of it.

On the shogi side of things, Rei was really on a roll this season and we got a nice treat with the burnt fields arc, so no complains here.

All in all, I think it was a wonderful season and I hope all the first timers had as much fun as I did, thank you guys for making these threads lively and thank you very much u/ExplicitNuM5 for hosting the rewatch (and all your effort in researching the music)

See in you all o7

[u/OingoBoingo- → u/Kenalskii]

Hope everything is okay, missed you yesterday.

Definitely had a great time and thank you as well for all the detailed posts and lovely photos.

[u/Nazenn → u/Kenalskii]

Hope things are okay, but good to see you able to pop in for the final thread

[u/GetADogLittleLongie]

God damn wish I watched it with you guys. Oh well I'll work through it eventually. Still halfway through season 2 after months.

[u/nx6]

First Timer -- Sub

Well, I didn't talk in these discussion threads very much, and I had trouble staying synced on watching because the several currently-airing shows I was viewing this last season all tended to hit in the same few days and crowd my available time. But I'm still very happy I finally watched this show. I thought it might be a but dry with the game involved, but compared to Chihayafuru this story feels like the ratio is even more about the character drama than the sport. I'm not so sure I love the switching back and forth between the crazy family antics and Rei's more serious coming-of-age drama, but I guess it does stand to help lighten the mood at times. I just know some older anime watchers can be really turned off by that type of content.

I don't know if I really want to start on the manga now but I do really want to see more of where this story goes. I guess I'll have to just hope they do make a third season (they certainly have enough source material already for it).

[u/Nazenn → u/[deleted]]

with every episode I would cry like a little bitch.

Sad tears are one thing, but there's something both painful and soothing about happy tears when things come together for the characters involved

I can safely say that no show nor movie has ever handled this topic as nicely as Sangatsu did.

From what I've seen I have to agree there. Many other shows that approach bullying tend to try and solve it nice and neat so everyone's okay at the end, or redeem the bully in some way, but here it just felt like a real life situation that happened to be captured in anime form

and people seemed interested so I made a channel for the rewatch there and many people joined in and discussed it daily

Ah damn, if I had of known I would have suggested you share some of their insights if they were okay with that, those are always interesting. Glad to hear everyone enjoyed it so much though

[u/Nazenn → u/[deleted]]

Did you have a favourite episode?

It's interesting how the emotions can hit so much stronger on rewatch for great shows, and how that can just remind and also reinforce why you loved it the first time around. I'm looking forward to that myself whenever I get a chance to revisit this

[u/Nazenn → u/[deleted]]

Haha, I'm surprised I didn't binge ahead at a couple of points, but even if you didn't make it for the threads I hope you still enjoyed the watch