March Comes in like a Lion

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This article is about the manga and anime. For the live-action film adaptation, see March Comes
in like a Lion (film).

March Comes in like a Lion

The cover of the first chapter in Young Animal

3
(Sangatsu no Raion)

Genre Sports (Shgi), Comedy, Drama

Manga

Written by Chica Umino

Published by Hakusensha

Demographic Seinen

Magazine Young Animal

Original run July 13, 2007 present

 Volumes 12 (List of volumes)

Anime television series

Kenjir Okada
Directed by
Akiyuki Shinbo

Written by Yukito Kizawa

Music by Yukari Hashimoto

Studio Shaft

Licensed by NA

Aniplex of America
UK

Anime Limited

Original network NHK G

Original run October 8, 2016 present

Episodes 44 (List of episodes)

Live-action films

March Comes in like a Lion (2017)

Anime and Manga portal

March Comes in like a Lion, released in Japan as Sangatsu no Lion (Japanese: 3

Hepburn: Sangatsu no Raion, lit. "The Lion of March"), is an ongoing manga series by Chica
Umino, best known for Honey and Clover.[1][2] It began serialization in Hakusensha's seinen
manga magazine Young Animal from its fourteenth issue in 2007 (published on July 13, 2007).[3]
Hakusensha aired a television commercial announcing the series on numerous Japanese
television stations, also posting it on its official website.[1] Twelve tankbon volumes of the series
have been released as of January 2017. An anime television adaptation by Shaft aired between
October 8, 2016 and March 18, 2017 on NHK, with a second season premiered on October
2017.[4][5][6] A two-part live-action film adaptation is scheduled for release in March and April 2017.
The comic book has commentary by professional shogi player Manabu Senzaki on shogi rules
and culture.

Contents
[hide]

1Story
2Characters
o 2.1Main characters
o 2.2Kda family
o 2.3Professional shgi players
 o 2.4Other characters
3Media
o 3.1Manga
3.1.1Volume list
o 3.2Anime
3.2.1Episode list
o 3.3Live-action films
4Reception
5Notes
6References
7External links

Story[edit]
The series is set in Tokyo, following the everyday life of a 17-year-old shgi player, Rei (lit.
"Zero").[1] Umino based the setting of March Comes in like a Lion on research she conducted
herself, whereas she was already familiar with the setting for her earlier work, Honey and
Clover.[2]
Rei is a 17-year-old professional shgi player who lives by himself. He is estranged from his
family and has scarcely any friends. Among his acquaintances is a family which consists of a
young womanAkari Kawamotoand her younger sistersHinata and Momowho also keep
several cats. As the story progresses, Rei deals with his maturing as a player and as a person,
while developing his relationships with others, especially the Kawamoto sisters.

Characters[edit]
Main characters[edit]
Rei Kiriyama ( Kiriyama Rei)
Voiced by: Kengo Kawanishi (Japanese); Khoi Dao
(English)[7][8]
Played by: Ryunosuke Kamiki
The protagonist of the series. 17 years old. A five dan in the
beginning of the series, he is later promoted to six dan. Rei
became a professional shgi player while in middle
school and his achievements soon made him one of the
most promising players of his generation. After his parents
and sister died in a traffic accident, he was taken in by his
father's friend Kda and became his apprentice in shgi.
After becoming a professional shgi player and completing
middle school, he decided to become independent and not
attend high school. However, after feeling a "need" to attend
school, Rei joins a high school after a one-year delay. He
lives in the city of Rokugatsu-ch (June town). Rei is
portrayed by Ryunosuke Kamiki in the film.
Akari Kawamoto ( Kawamoto Akari)
Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese); Laura Post (English)[7][8]
Played by: Kana Kurashina
A resident of Sangatsu-ch (March town), she is the eldest
of three sisters. After her mother died she took care of her
two younger sisters. In the morning, she helps her elderly
grandfather run a traditional wagashi (Japanese
confectionery) shop, Mikazuki-d, while in the evening, she
works as a hostess for a bar in Ginza, Misaki, which her aunt
manages. All the shogi players have a crush on her because
of her beauty and personality. She often calls Rei "Rei-kun".
Akari is very aware of Rei's past & his involvement with his
foster family. When Akari & the others learned about this,
she decided to protect him from Kyoko & Goto, even
standing up for him. This made Kyoko dislike her. Akari is
portrayed by Kana Kurashina in the film.
Hinata Kawamoto ( Kawamoto
Hinata)
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Kayli Mills
(English)[7][8]
Played by: Kaya Kiyohara
The second of the three sisters. A middle school student.
She sleeps in late in the mornings till the very last minute
and often makes bentos by herself. She calls Rei "Rei-chan".
Like her elder sister Akari, she likes taking care of Rei, who
develops romantic feelings for her as the series progresses.
Later she graduates from middle school and enrols at the
same high school where Rei studies. When Hinata learnt of
Rei's past. Hinata decided to keep him away from his foster
family since she felt Rei is slowly becoming her family
member. Hinata is portrayed by Kaya Kiyohara in the film.
Momo Kawamoto (
Kawamoto Momo)
Voiced by: Misaki Kuno (Japanese); Xanthe
Huynh (English)[7][8]
Played by: Chise Niitsu
The youngest of the three sisters. A preschool student, she
attends a daycare center. Pure and innocent, she has a bit
of a selfish streak at times. Her favorite anime character
is Bodoro (modelled on My Neighbour Totoro's Totoro). She
calls Rei "Rei-chan". Momo is portrayed by Chise Niitsu in
the film.
Kda
family[edit]
Masachika Kda (
Kda
Masachika)
Voiced by: Tru kawa (Japanese); Cam Clarke (English)[9][8]
Played by: Etsushi Toyokawa
Rei's shgi teacher, a pro eight dan. He was both Rei's
father's friend and rival in shgi. He cared for Rei like he did
for his children and taught him shgi. He later apologies to
Kawamoto family about his children behavior to Rei and
thanking them. Kda Eight Dan is portrayed by Etsushi
Toyokawa in the film.
Kyk
o
Kda
(

K
da
Kyko
)
Voiced by: Marina Inoue (Japanese); Lauren
Landa (English)[9][8]
Played by: Kasumi Arimura
Kda's daughter. She is four years older than Rei. Beautiful
and hot tempered, Kyko seems to hold a grudge on Rei as
she has the habit of exerting a negative influence on him by
discouraging him on purpose before his official matches and
still lived with her family. She appears to be in love with
Masamune Got Nine Dan, a married man 20 years her
senior. She later develop hatred then later fear to Kawamoto
family (especially Akari) since they protecting Rei from her.
A
y
u
m
u
K

d
a

K

d
a
A
y
u
m
u
)
Kda's son and Kyko's younger brother. He is of the same
age as Rei. After losing to Rei in shgi, he stopped playing
at all, and afterwards started confining himself to his room
and only playing video games.
P
r
o
f
e
s
s
i
o
n
a
l
s
h

g
i
p
l
a
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r
s
[
e
d
i
t
]
H
a
r
u
n
o
b
u
N
i
k
a
i
d

N
i
k
a
i
d

H
a
r
u
n
o
b
 u
)
Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto (Japanese); Zach Aguilar
(English)[6][8]
Played by: Shota Sometani
Rei's self-proclaimed "best friend" and "lifelong rival". A four
dan, he has played with Rei since they were children. Even
though he might appear to be healthy, he is in fact
chronically ill. He is from an extremely wealthy family. He is
modelled after actual real-life shgi player Satoshi
Murayama.

Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki[9]

Played by: Kuranosuke Sasaki
In his late 30s, of the same age as Tji Sya. Eight dan. He
is a senior fellow student of Nikaid, who he takes care of
like his own little brother. He is a gentle tempered person
and is naturally inclined to look after younger shgi players.
But he is also an incredibly tough soldier in shgi. He hosts
the "Shimada shgi study groups", which he invited Rei to
join. He originally comes from a rural area. In his youth, he
had to work long hours on the farm and relied on his fellow
villagers' donations to support his shgi study in Tokyo. He
had to break up with his girlfriend since they were unable to
maintain a long-distance relationship and he didn't want to
give up his shgi career. Kai later develops feelings for Akari
and competes with Takeshi for her affection. Shimada is
portrayed by Kuranosuke Sasaki in the film.
Voiced by: Hiroki Tchi
Played by: Hideaki Ito
In his early 40s. Nine dan. A tall and muscular man with a
stern and frightening face. His wife is ill and seems to have
been hospitalized for a long time. He was a younger fellow
pupil of Masachika Kda, whose daughter Kyko he appears
to have a very complicated relationship with, though he calls
her a "stalker". Rei sees him as a main antagonist in life for
he thinks Got is having an affair with Kyko and breaking
her heart. He is generally very forthright and impatient to a
point of being arrogant, but he also doesn't hesitate to stand
up for Shimada when he overhears some other players
making demeaning comments about him. Got later became
afraid of Someji after he protected Rei from him. Got is
portrayed by Hideaki Ito in the film.
Voiced by: Akira Ishida[9]
Played by: Ryo Kase
The current meijin. He has longed for a rival like Rei. Similar
to Rei, he became a professional shgi player in middle
school and several players who faced both pointed that their
playing styles are very similar. He became the youngest ever
meijin at age 21. Later in the story it's revealed that he has
intermittent hearing loss due to unknown cause. He is
portrayed by Ryo Kase in the film.
Voiced by: Subaru Kimura (Japanese); Doug
Erholtz (English)[9][8]
Played by: Hiroyuki Onoue
26 years old. Five dan. He is 181 centimeters tall. A quite
expressive and enthusiastic person, he can be aggressive at
times as well. He comes from the countryside. He is a fan of
Akari.

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese); Robbie

Daymond (English)[9][8]
Played by: Tomoya Nakamura
26 years old. Six dan. He is often called "Sumisu" (for
"Smith"). He is 180 centimeters tall. A bit aloof, he gets along
well with Matsumoto.
Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura
A 9 dan professional shougi player, ranked A for the past 8
years, Tsujii Takeshi is a lover wordplay and craves public
attention. Other people within the shougi world calls him 'a
waste of good looks' due to his propensity for dad jokes and
terrible puns. He is usually the only one to laugh at his own
gags. Tsujii played against Rei during the quarterfinals of the
20th Lion King Tournament.
Voiced by: Kazuo Oka (Japanese); Steve Kramer (English)
65 years old. A seven dan. He is a veteran who has been a
professional shgi player for over 40 years. He comes
from Fukushima.

Voiced by: Mitsuo Iwata

A six dan. Upon losing a match, he lost his temper, thus
resulting in him divorcing his wife.

Voiced by: Akio tsuka

Shogi Dragon titleholder. Passionate about eventually
dethroning Sya.
Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese); Chris Hackney
(English)[9][8]
A middle school student. A childhood friend and classmate
of Hinata's, they are quite close to each other. He is the son
of a milkman. He is the ace of his school's baseball team
and aims to be a pro. Since Rei became a shgi pro in
middle school, Ysuke greatly looks up to him. In order to
realize his dream to become a professional, he moves to a
high school in Shikoku seeking to participate in the kshien
baseball tournament, much to Hinata's sadness.
Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba[9]
The grandfather of the three Kawamoto sisters. He runs a
traditional wagashi shop, Mikazuki-d. Even though he may
appear to be unexpressive, he actually dotes on his
grandchildren a lot, in particular Momo, and aims to live long
enough to send them away for their marriages. Along with
Akari, he likes to watch over Rei. When Someji learned
about Reis past, he decided to protect him from his foster
sister & Got, which caused Got to have a fear of him.
Voiced by: Yji Ueda (Japanese); Doug Stone (English)[8]
The butler of the Nikaid family, who has been in continuous
service for them for over 45 years. A gentle and kind elderly
man, he has been taking care of Harunobu ever since he
was a baby.

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Keith

Silverstein (English)[9][8]
A teacher of the high school where Rei decided to join. He is
a big fan of shji and regularly reads shgi magazines. He is
the only one in the high school who had heard of Rei being a
professional shgi player though when he first knew of him
joining, he presumed he only had the same surname. He
speaks in a very friendly manner with Rei and is often
concerned with his wellbeing, always thinking of ways to
help him socialize with others. He later develops feelings for
Akari and competes with Kai for her affection.

Voiced by: Michiko Neya (Japanese); Wendee

Lee (English)[8]
The aunt of the three Kawamoto sisters. She, helped by
Akari, manages a bar in Ginza called "Misaki".

Voiced by: Yji Ueda

President of the Burners club (as in Bunsen burner), a
chemistry club in the school Rei goes to.
The father of the three Kawamoto sisters. He left them and
their mother when Momo was still a baby to live with another
woman and returns several years later, after a long time
without contacting them once. Once Misaki warns Rei about
him, Rei makes his own investigation about Seijir and
discovers that he kept leading an irresponsible life, involving
himself with other women and abandoning them on his own
whim, just like he did with Akari, Hinata and Momo's mother.
After Rei exposes Seijir, the sisters reject his plea to raise
their half-sister, daughter of one of his other women, and he
leaves with her to never return.

The three cats of the Kawamoto household. The first two

cats, the black and white and orange ones, were the first two
gathered, while the white cat is a new arrival. Their names
are unknown. They are big-eyed and always apparently
hungry. The third cat looks strikingly like an owl.
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