Series · 2016
March Comes in Like a Lion
3月のライオン
Rei Kiriyama is a teenage professional shogi player living alone after losing his family. The Kawamoto sisters, Akari, Hinata and Momo, draw him into a household very different from his solitary flat. Competition at the board sits alongside the slower task of accepting company and care.
An early match is against Koda, the professional player who became Rei’s foster father. Afterwards, Rei goes to dinner at the Kawamotos’ home. The contrast gives his working life a family complication: the person across the board is part of his personal history, while help comes from another household.
Rei’s connection to the sisters includes the small responsibility of collecting Momo from kindergarten. A professional player who can earn his own living is also someone a household can ask for help. That ordinary errand makes belonging reciprocal, rather than leaving Rei only in the position of receiving care.
Both television series · main story · Approx. 19 hours · 44 episodes
Both television series, 22 numbered episodes each: 44 main episodes. Excludes the separately listed first-half recap and live-action films.