3-gatsu no Lion

March comes in like a lion is a story about life at its highs, lows and in-betweens, yet portrays the struggle to attain happiness and a place to belong as difficult due to personal struggles the characters undergo. It's a series about living life to the fullest however you can, growing out of one's shell in order to trust others and move beyond pain. It's a personal journey for one young man to overcome depression, another story about a woman whose life has been defined by raising her sisters and yet shoulders on, a clinically sick man who barely struggles to finish his games despite his energy and passion for the game and one of an old man who has seen people retire and die yet shoulders on as a symbol of tenacity despite his old age. It's a story of these wounded people who despite struggling in a hyper-individualistic society, strive for connection and purpose, with the narrative glorifying this struggle painful as it be for a happier tomorrow. To gain happiness, one must first undergo pain, and it is this that drives the characters' struggles for attaining happiness.

Rei is at the heart of all these themes, being a reluctant professional shogi player who only plays shogi because it's what grants him recognition to his adopted father, yet said father's actions have ironically made him a somewhat dysfunctional and self-destructive person who often keeps problems to himself instead of entrusting others. His parents and sister were lost in an accident, providing a frightening explanation for a child that only craved a new family to belong to due to compensate for his loss; this also made him the center of his new adopted father's attention, but actively harmed his relationship with his new siblings due to their lack of proficiency at shogi, making them unhealthily withdrawn and difficult to deal with. This inspires Rei to live independently as to not burden his family, but despite this Rei desperately - as anyone would - crave company, and manages to find it in all the people he encounters along the way. The Kawamoto sisters in particular were and continue to be a positive influence on his life, with him constantly being dragged to dinner at their place which he reluctantly attends because he internally craves company and a new place to call home, yet believes he is unworthy of one due the damage his proficiency in shogi has done to older family, never opening up to them and simply leaving to live on his own. In many ways something the series establishes from this point onwards is the value of opening up to others in order to form a connection, with characters that refuse to do so often sliding deeper into their own depression while characters that take the risk with doing so usually attaining happiness, and this is exemplified best in Rei - who starts off by drawing a line between himself and the Kawamotos, his teacher and Nikaido but slowly has that line fade away as he accepts the kindness that other people shower on him, finding his place in this community.

The Kawamotos and specifically the two elder siblings, Hinata and Akari, are also worthy of mention. Akari's life has essentially been her being unfairly burdened to be the head of the family due to a lack of active father figure from an early age, turning her into someone that actively took the responsibility of raising her sisters as well as managing the affairs of the bakery. Admirable as this is, this also meant she is a person who perceives herself as having little to no self-value, constantly drowning in self-loathing if anything happened to either Hinata or Momo - even as the former was well into her teenage years. Her character arc is more about finding self-worth in herself and learning to lean on others instead of shouldering the burden on her own. This also has consequences involving Hinata, who has been shielded from much of the ugliness that Akari faced head on and when confronted with a situation where that ugliness came at her, came at the situation with a level of naivete and struggled to cope. This does lead to characterization for both characters - where Akari acknowledges her never genuinely raising Hinata to stand for herself but rather simply rely on her as an out, and for Hinata deciding to stand up for herself while also accepting the love she receives from both Rei and her family.

A recurring theme representing a desire for connection materializes through much of the cast of the series - Nikaido desires connection through shogi despite his illness, Shimada wants to continue to play to cement a legacy tying him as a potential legendary shogi player to his hometown, Souya to connect and play with others despite his hearing disability, Yanagihara to his old comrades as he perseveres in being a shogi legend despite his age, being a source of inspiration to people around him - and many, many other examples. Something that's similarly discussed are characters that strive for connection but end up only doing so superficially - Kyouko being a noteworthy example, as she puts down Rei and engages in a toxic relationship where she gaslights and torments him, yet due to never having a genuine bond she's constantly put down, and while despises her father and rightfully so also hypocritically is not independent, still retaining financial ties to him. Similar things can be said about the Kawamoto siblings' father, who simply barges into their lives and demands money or other material content before vanishing elsewhere, and is rightfully considered the antithesis of everything the narrative tries to represent. Another example that similarly comes to mind is a man who plays against Rei, only to lose catastrophically - he then blames Rei for being unable to end his relationship with his wife on good terms, as Rei rightfully when alone agonizes in the unfairness of being blamed for a situation he had virtually no part in. March comes in like a lion glorifies the bravery it takes to connect to others as well as the power of said connections, but it similarly looks down on connections that exist only because they have to exist, in this respect firmly being about finding a place not just in a community but even finding family through those bonds.

The artwork is well above average to look at - the series emphasizes the monologues and self-reflections of most of the relevant cast, and it's these monologues that help give context to the characters while also as establishing tone. The manga in-spite of its dialogue-heavy nature largely consists of small yet mostly drawn panels, with illustrations being on the overwhelming majority of them. Character designs are beautifully drawn - there's a strong emphasis on clothing and mannerisms, which contribute greatly to developing characters, to say nothing of body psychology that is often conveyed through facial expressions and body movements. Backgrounds are often lavishly drawn, with attention to minor details that help in setting the tone of a given scene as well as being aesthetically pleasing to look at in general. Similarly, there's a clever use of motifs - ranging from distance, height motifs as well as what March comes in like a lion is most remembered for, water motifs, often reflecting the characters' relationships with one another or the state of mind of a given character (the latter being especially relevant considering the series extensive use of monologues). The series takes advantage of its placement in the medium by usually emphasizing - be it in comedic or more somber moments - the use of black and white imagery, enhancing the ability to set the tone. Paneling can similarly be both playful and often non-existent at all, usually being spaced but sometimes being lumped together - this doesn't break the flow of a given page thanks to the series' extensive use of illustrations as mentioned previously. There were no shortcuts while the manga was drawn and despite the majority of my praise on the series' artwork being largely complementary of any well-drawn manga series, it's the combination of all these elements that makes March comes in like a lion an absolute joy to read.

I cannot recommend this manga highly enough.

Thank you for reading.

THIS REVIEW (kind of) CONTAINS SPOILERS

I feel very conflicted about this series. Because I think what it does, it does well. Really well, even. But I often found myself very irritated while reading it. Why? One thing: the way this manga changes direction very abruptly, going into long arcs on new topics. (I will go into what those topics are here, if you consider that spoilers, but I won't give any spoiler-y details about what exactly happens.)

It starts off mainly about three things: shogi, Kiriyama's family/past, and the sisters he meets and builds bonds with. So far so good. I think it gives you a little of each, never too much on one thing. Felt like a good ol' slice of life showing Kiriyama's day, his life both current and past, and going into his emotions/mind. (And on that note, I REALLY like how deep this series gets into his feelings and mental state.)

All of a sudden, the manga is about school bullying for an extended arc. Now, look - I'm not saying this segment isn't well done, because it absolutely is. But to me, it felt like a very abrupt and lengthy change of direction. It could have been a totally different series - but it sort of works, since it ties in Kiriyama's past and current events. Okay, we'll give it a pass. But at this point, I'm a little bothered. I definitely like this segment on its own, but I'm not so sure I like it as part of the whole.

So we're back to shogi now! Cool, I'm one of the people that really like the shogi parts. Get a bit further along though, and suddenly (and here is what I think is the biggest shift) - this becomes a romance manga. And I know the community was a fairly divided on whether or not they wanted the romance direction. I did not want it, but I don't hate it or anything. But my point is - suddenly, for a lengthy number of chapters, the manga is about romance. Once again, kind of felt like I could have been reading a different series. But also once again, it sort of works; it's showing more emotional development. But I'm even more bothered at this point.

Then BAM - from romance to shogi again! I saw people's reactions online at this particular shift and saw two sentiments: "At least these chapters go fast because I just skip all the shogi" and "I would much rather it focus on shogi and drop the romance crap". And it absolutely makes sense to me that you'd end up with people feeling strongly in both of these directions, given how the manga is written with these sudden shifts.

Certainly, there are a number of people, perhaps even the majority, that enjoy every aspect of this manga fully, and don't mind the direction changes. Maybe, they even like them - I mean, this series is rated at an 8.64 at the time of my review. But for me, when trying to figure out how I felt about this series on the whole, I ultimately decided that I feel like it's trying to do too much.

I do like this series. Enough to keep reading new chapters and to see where it continues in the future, enough to watch more of the anime adaptation when/if it comes out. But I can't bring myself to give it higher than a 7/10. If I take bits and pieces of the manga on their own, it would probably be a 9. But as a whole, it just doesn't quite work for me.

The failure of a sports manga, or a sports story, comes when the activity is segregated from human perception and life itself.

There’s one scene in the completely over the top TV series Aoi Honoo where Honoo realizes that the secret to Adaichi Mitsuru’s success as a sports writer was that he wasn’t writing sports manga at all – but school manga. This, to me, is the secret to making a sports story shine – the activity must be an excuse to develop human emotions, because this aspect is where it really sticks inside your head beyond the mere manipulation of parts.

I find the same idea applies to mystery fiction, although a lot less people have opened up to this. The ingenuity of a trick is only one level, but when it becomes intertwined with heartfelt psychologies – like Isin’s mysteries or Hyouka – you have a way for the work to break its genre boundaries.

Genre exists because people have realized that a certain kind of narrative structure can be abused to invoke certain pleasures inside a human being, and a limited genre writer is basically a person who sticks to a baseline abuse without allowing it to be seen in a different light. I’m not saying this is a bad thing though, since those who pull it off the best will be representative of the genre, but although they win over a certain segment of experience – they cannot ever develop a full scope of it.

So mysteries would be abusive of the pleasure that one gets from a logical twist as well as fitting together disparate elements. Fantasy & Sci-Fi are abusive of the discovery of new worlds, ideas and cultures, while frequently forgetting that merely creating a new culture and explicating on it with high exposition is never going to ground it beyond anything other than a novelty. Slice of Life works on tranquility and nostalgia – but such a mood can be easily dissipated if it doesn’t allow for these moments to build upon one another.

The moment one extracts the core abstract concept of a genre – that allows for it to be broken and utilized, while still retaining the pleasures of the genre itself. This is the core strength of 3-Gatsu no Lion. Like Chihayafuru, it develops the community around the activity and focuses on the lives of these professionals who have devoted themselves to such a narrow scope of activity.

3-Gatsu no Lion’s primary strength as a Manga, and maybe even moreso than Chihayafuru, comes from Umino Chika’s talent for characterization and the kind of sentimental poetic mood that fits Shoujo Manga so perfectly. This gives it that atmosphere of ‘life itself’ – something which may deflect many viewers from enjoying it fully, but gives a resoundingly good payoff should one understand what it’s building up to.

A sign that this approach is working is when you look back upon a character and realize that this character has developed without you realizing it. Like life itself, you suddenly look back on yourself and you have the impression that you were still that person you were before, but somehow everything has been recontextualized – you become surprised at the change. The is more or less what it feels like to see the world through the eyes of Kiriyama Rei – and by the time he achieves his stability later in the manga and comes into his own, you cannot pinpoint any overtly specific moments of development – but can only ambiguously grasp that the accumulation of a variety of experiences has built up and stacked and multiplied themselves against one another to forge him anew.

More importantly, this change happens concurrently with the intersection of lives and other minds that populate the Shogi community Kiriyama is situated in, as well as the characters that inhabit his own personal life. This is vastly different with, for example, the kind of coming-of-age story that an author like Herman Hesse would write, whereby all the other characters serve as symbolic representations for the development of the protagonist (Hesse is still a good writer though, because of how well he does his style of plot).

You can see this development of a community in a similarity between Chihayafuru and 3-Gatsu. Both Manga are willing to take a break from focusing on the young, who are slowly coming into themselves, in order to focus on the struggle between veterans who are finding themselves displaced by the newer generations. This kind of focus on every age bracket and the overall community as a whole is the sign of a work that’s willing to build a larger universe of human feeling beyond its initial premises. Boku no Hero Academia is able to do this to a certain extent, but since it still has its Shounen battle roots to consider, it has yet to break out into a full examination of the community to the extent that something like 3-Gatsu has.

And here is the clear difference between a work that is about ‘loads and loads of characters’ and a work that is about ‘loads and loads of lives’. One seeks to push them like pieces on a Shogi board, towards a certain goal, while the other is willing to take the time to deviate from the goal in order to give it greater meaning. This is a skill that has to be learned – the importance of pause, digression, and atmosphere in developing a story.

March Comes In Like a Lion has skyrocketed into my top 10 list of anime and manga at blinding speeds. There is so much about it to talk about because it is a story that encompasses so much.

I have a hard time trying to explain to people what the plot is about. Yes, it is a story of a young shogi player that lives off of the earnings of his matches, but it is so much more. On one hand it is about the lives of professional shogi players everywhere and all the mentality, personality and back story that has built up each of them to the person they are today. On the other hand its a story about family, with the healing of the main character's and the Kawamoto family's past familial trauma through the experiences they share. You could also say that it's about a lonely kid way in over his head trying to deal with the stress of living by himself and his battles with loneliness, depression, and purpose. It's all of these in one. The story is told in small arcs that span the length of a few chapters at a time, usually dealing with a shogi match, the MC's history, or his time with the Kawamoto family, all of which connect to major themes and character growth throughout the story.

A large part of the appeal of this series to me is the way that Chica Umino, the author, writes and panels. It's filled to the brim with metaphors and inner thoughts to the point where you start to not just understand the characters, but start to deeply empathize with them as well. You can feel the weight that each match brings to every professional shogi player because you get the chance to see into their past and see what they are thinking in the present. Very rarely do I get to see characterization as good as this. Umino gives side characters more motivation and depth than many main characters get in more popular series, and it just makes for a wholly refreshing experience.

The characters are the absolute highlight of the story. Every emotional beat and lesson learned is always tied to a character undergoing growth. Maybe it's the MC seeing how far his self-proclaimed rival push himself just because he loves the game so much, or maybe its one of the Kawamoto sisters learning the evils of bullying first hand, but each character interaction leaves the reader with a very real sense of what the characters themselves are feeling. It's hard to describe just how poignant it is without actually reading the story oneself. Every character is cute, charming or funny in their own rights, and all have distinct personalities for the reader to get to learn.

The art is different that what most people would be used to, but it really rubs of on you as you read more.

Overall I can't say how much I enjoy this manga enough. For someone who loves to see character growth and to understand what it's like to be in the shoes of each character, I absolutely adored this manga. I will say that it is not for everyone, especially if you're looking for something light to read, but it is an absolute masterclass of characterization and strong storytelling in general

One of the best manga I've ever read. The story, Art, potraying the emotions of characters in such a wonderful style. Really Beautiful.

The story of a teenage boy who has already started living in the world of adults and still trying to find the emotions and life that a normal teenager goes through.. Beautiful story indeed.. There are so many characters with different personality and background and the manga goes through everyone's story, delivering it in a level that seems as important as a protagonist. Writer really did a good job vis a vis this aspect. The Art style is simple and yet detailed and mesmerizing.


I started reading Manga from chapter 90, where the second season of anime concluded. I was really surprised that manga delivered the same level of calmness, excitement, anxiety and happiness the anime did, even more i could say.

Instead of a review, i think i will just be preaching about my favourite manga, cause i honestly love sangatsu too damn much. I think manga really is a very interesting medium, combining the best aspects of books and films. While books is able to vividly describe the wonders that can be shelved under without much thought in images, images however, is much easier to consume and can still pack quite a punch in conveying feelings. I think manga is a perfect balance of these two aspects and that Sangatsu was truly able to ultilise them in perfect harmony.

There is unique and impactful use of metaphors to convey strong emotions. Though what really excelled is the excellent use of panelling in the manga. You would almost never see a bland white background as there will always be amazing sceneries or thematic backgrounds such as the use of the river to underly the emotions of the characters. Every single page is filled with so much fun details to seek out and they add more to the story the more times you read it. The sort of messy yet cutesy design of characters and their expressions really makes me fall in love with them just on sight.

Though enough about how the manga is drawn, the characters are where the linchpin is at. This story is about Rei. I have seen many who confuses this story as one about Rei and the sisters but i don't believe i is true. The shogi aspects of Rei, the times in the Kawamoto household and the events in his own school all culminate into Rei's own experiences and lessons as he learns to become a stronger individual in all the aspects in his life. I don't know why but these types of story just warms my soul, knowing how far he has come from the beginning . The sisters, what can i say, they are the most cheerful bunch of sunshine i have ever laid my eyes on. Every moment with them is like a ride in the amusement park and this can be said for many of the characters in the shogi association and Rei's school as well. Each of them just have such unique and fun personalities which mix and mash way to well. Though that isn't to say hey don't grow like Rei did, because there are certain arcs in the story when they come out to the spotlight as well *ahem the bullying arc*.

I really can't do this story justice and it hurts my soul just thinking about it. I only have a single advice to anyone who was even slightly interested in reading this. Enjoy your ride, Sangatsu is meant to be a manga where you absorb everything and truly embrace each of the characters wholeheartedly. Sure some aspects might bore you a little, but don't fret, just trust me when i say every of those aspect ties into the story for a much richer reading experience. But since it is also a slice of life, knock your socks off and enjoy this with some tea too. I hope you will love it as much as i do.

Another masterpiece from the wonderful insightful Chika Umino, the creator of the very successful series Honey and Clover. She really knows how to stir you up in emotions with her unique characters and plot.

Story: What would life be like at the age of seventeen, living on your own with no real family and having to play Shogi to earn a living? This is the life of Rei Kiriyama, who is an introverted quietly awkward boy that’s been through so many traumas in his past, that it makes your heart swell. He is also a professional player of a Japanese board game called Shogi, which gives him the earning of making a living on his own.
He has scarcely any friends. Among his acquaintances is a family of three sisters, a young woman, Akari, and two young girls, Hinata and Momo, that lost their parents too and who also keep a numerous number of cats. Another person he know from Shogi competitions is Harunobu Nikaidō, which declares he is Rei’s “best friend,” but Rei thinks other wise.

Art: What can I say?! Chika Umino is a beautiful artist that has such a fresh creative way of making Character designs. She has such a unique style that it’s so sweet. She has great detail in her work, it’s just lovely! I give the rating of a 10!

The Characters are so thought out; they feel so human and genuine with so many different kinds of personalities in the series. I just instantly grew to fall in love with them!

I very much enjoyed this Manga, it was insightful, touching, sweet, funny, educational and all in all very wonderfully enjoyable! I can't wait for the next volume, I just want keep on reading this greatly wonderful series!

Ps: This is my first review, so I really don’t know if I did much of good a job at it and I’m sorry for any mistakes I might of made.

Sangatsu No Lion is a good manga that is less talked about than many others that it is superior to .

Perhaps it's because of its synopsis which fails at being eye-catching .In any case this is not bad or boring provided you don't dislike slice of life .

On to the review then .

Story - 7
Being slice of life in its purest form ,Sangatsu No Lion doesn't exactly have what you can call a major plot line .This is just the story of a high school shogi pro with family issues .Like a biography ,you cannot exactly pick a point that represents the story even if it's the ending .That doesn't mean the content is poor or scanty however as his life and troubles are portrayed in a realistic and interesting manner .The score for this aspect of the manga could be seen as higher by some though I think 7 is the lowest possible score it should be given since it isn't plot driven .Calling it a 9 would not be something I say is incomprehensible though .

Art - 7
Another difficult part to judge .The art might be seen by some as rough and not very neat while others might see it as good for the story's presentation .Sangatsu No Lion's drawings are not terrible though calling them excellent seems to be a stretch .In any case this is one of those things you have to see for yourself to judge and as it depends on your preferences I cannot but give it a score of 7 in relation to other manga .

Character - 8
This is the manga's strong point .Being a drama SoL it depicts it's characters realistically .No plainly drab or boring characters to spoil the appeal of the series ,no ridiculously unbelievable characters to ruin it either .It does what it does well and that is enough .The MC especially is well fleshed out and can be understood .Some characters might be seen as slightly unrealistic by some but I don't think it affects the quality if this work .

Enjoyment - 8
In terms of enjoyment I'd give this an 8 .It's a good read especially if you enjoy slice of life .To be honest this kind of manga isn't what I usually read and so I'm quite impressed by it .Don't worry about the synopsis and read it .

Overall - 8
The above ratings might put you off but I think this is a manga that can essentially be seen as greater than the sum of its parts .Drama/SoL lovers should like this especially .

March Come in Like a Lion was something that I could ever want from a manga of this nature. It has a subdued and relaxed atmosphere that masks a tsunami of inner turmoil that lurks underneath the story of most of the main characters, and even some of the side characters as well.

The story revolves around Rei Kiriyama, probably one of my favorite protagonists to ever exist. When we first meet him he has little to no self esteem and is haunted by his traumatic past and his difficult family life. All he has in life is shogi, which is something he admits he never really liked, but rather a way to make bonds with others as he has no other way. Regardless he becomes a prodigy and a professional in high school.
As the story eventually progresses, his character grows from a subdued but incredibly angry and depressed, hollow shell of a person fueled by confusion and existentialism into a reliable and loving person that wants best for those around him. And this is brought about by the Kawamoto family. A warm and bubbly family that is incredibly kind and take him in. Though they are not also without their own inner turmoil as well. This dichotomy of characterization and how both Rei and the Kawamoto family aide each other into becoming better, more human characters is probably one of my favorite aspects of the manga.

The backdrop of shogi was at first something I was not a huge fan of at first since I do not have the slightest background knowledge of it. But that does not matter, as it is more of a medium of how an individual player goes through life and what their personalities are. It is opening a gateway into who they are as a person, and it is a great way to characterize and create depth into Rei and his compatriots/opponents.

The art that Umino draws is unique, with beautiful illustrations of detailed tree branches, calming rivers, and dynamic emotional displays in the characters faces. Sometimes bubbly with wide smiles, other times stark and sharp facial expressions cold as glaciers, to utterly heartbreaking displays of despair and hopelessness with tears as large as egg yolks welling up in characters eyes. Umino is able to not only show how these characters are feeling, but express them in an internal monologue, usually through the perspective of Rei with some of the most poetic prose I have ever had the privilege of reading in any literature.

March Comes in Like a Lion is a masterpiece of a manga that expresses both pain and how to grow from that pain by becoming a better person, rather than wallowing in it. Many pieces of art tend to romanticize relishing in turmoil and depression as a way to connect with audiences without discerning a way to get out of it. That is something that this manga does not do if you stick with it. It is without a doubt one of my all time favorites.

It takes until the fifteenth page of the first chapter till the protagonist Rei speaks. Before then, he's woken up from an unpleasant dream, mechanically dressed himself, walked through the city, and arrived at his appointment to play his stepfather in a professional shogi match. Rei beats him, but refuses to answer the usual fatherly questions - "How have you been? Have you been eating properly?". Seemingly resigned, the last thing his stepfather says before leaving is "Ayumu and Kyoko have been very worried about you". Once alone, Rei only says one word in response: "Liar". The overwhelming impression throughout the first half of the chapter is one of enigmatic sadness and loneliness, of a young man - a kid, really, in a deep depression, barely living his life.

After getting up and leaving, he is aimlessly wandering the streets before he gets a text from his friend, Akari Kawamoto, the oldest of three Kawamoto sisters, asking him to get them some groceries for dinner. Once he gets to their cramped little home, the silent, washed-out scenes of urban solitude which filled the chapter to this point are replaced by a bright, cluttered and cheerful atmosphere, like an oasis of happiness in his misery. He has dinner, and then goes to sleep right there in their house. He cries in his sleep.

The first chapter left me with an overwhelming impression both of the silence and loneliness of Rei's sterile life, and the kindness and warmth he was lucky enough to find with the Kawamotos, which seemed to rescue him. At this point, I didn't know where that sadness came from, but I was interested enough to read on so I could find out. The delicate and restrained style appealed to me, as did as Rei's internal monologue, where he would reflect on how he felt and on his situation. So as I read on, I was mostly interested in finding out what made him like this, and in seeing whether his connection to the Kawamotos could help him find some happiness.

In these respects, the manga completely delivers. We find out all about what made Rei this way, in some incredibly poignant flashbacks intercut with his present-day musings on how he's trying to deal with that pain. At the same time, he also begins to grow up a little, coming out of his timid, depressed, inward-looking shell and beginning to stand up for himself and pursue something meaningful in his life for the sake of his connections with others. He makes friends and acquires the respect of others, and he learns from them - not just his elders or mentor-figures in the Shogi association, but most notably from the younger Kawamoto sister, Hinata. As he learns and grows, he begins to deal in a more healthy way with the crushing psychological weight of his childhood miseries and his present circumstances. This journey happens in fits and starts, with setbacks and times where he lapses into depression again, as well as with incredible leaps. It's a lot like life.

At the same time, the "circle" of the manga expands to include people on the periphery. We meet and become invested in a diverse cast of Shogi players with their own ambitions, personal histories and struggles, such as Rei's best friend Harunobu, or their senpai-figure Shimada, as well as Rei's wonderfully honest and passionate high school teacher Hayashida. There are arcs in the manga which move away from Rei entirely and focus on Shimada, or on the 66-year-old A-rank shogi player Yanigahara as he reflects on the strange position of being the oldest active player and being treated by many around him as if he will soon disappear or as if he only exists to vet the youngsters, although he still desperately believes he has more of himself to burn. Despite only knowing Yanigahara for a few chapters, the mangaka masterfully compresses his struggles into vivid images of burnt fields and a man draped in sashes representing the hopes of all who have gone before him, in a way that poignantly communicates the essential truth of who he is.

As the manga goes on, it certainly changes, in that it expands its cast, it pursues new storylines, it depicts dramatic and romantic conflicts, and the characters evolve. But its core appeal for me has always remained the same. The delicate, relaxed pace with which it depicts life, the poignant and heartbreaking honesty of its emotional moments, the brilliance of Umino's visual metaphors and how they perfectly illustrate the psychological states of its characters, and the earned optimism with which it follows them as they grow and heal from their wounds, all remain, and make it worth loving.