March Comes in Like a Lion Episode 31: Lessons Learned

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

I really loved this episode for so many reasons but I’m going to try to see if I can keep this post from getting out of control. However, other than being a fantastic continuation on Hina’s story and closing the newcomers tournament story, what episode 31 of March Comes in Like a Lion does beautifully is have Rei draw on all the things he’s learned since the start of season 1 and actually take on some of the advice. This whole season we have seen a more proactive Rei who wants to connect with others, but actually seeing him acknowledge a fault within himself and stopping himself from repeating a mistake was truly wonderful.

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Nikaido, for all that he only appears briefly in the episode outside of Rei’s memory, is definitely the most valuable player here for even though Rei has been given advice from others, it is Nikaido’s words that hold the most sway and forcibly bring Rei up short right before repeating the same mistake he made in a tournament back in season 1.

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Despite the success Rei has in the tournament, this episode doesn’t celebrate this moment. For Rei, winning the tournament was really important for his journey but his focus right now is definitely on Hina and having won, Rei immediately shifts his focus back to the girl who has saved him so many times from himself.

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Another seriously good episode from this show. As a side note, I recently started a rewatch of this series starting back at season 1 with a friend and while I knew Rei had grown and changed over the course of the 2 seasons, going back to season 1 it is astounding just how profound that change has been. It really kind of blew me away because it has always felt like such a slow development and yet the Rei we are watching now has come so far since those early episodes.

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March Comes in Like a Lion Episode 29: Determination and Purpose

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

The opening theme this season is one I’ve been really loving and particularly in how it characterises Rei. While water still features heavily, Rei is no longer depicted drowning in it, or at least not so obviously, and more importantly, Rei is regularly seen climbing over obstacles and striving to move forward. This progress isn’t unhindered and isn’t without fits and starts but this imagery really matches the tone this arc of the story has taken. Rei has found determination through giving himself a purpose outside of himself. It isn’t smooth sailing, but the basic drive to achieve something is forcing him to look outward rather than inward and suddenly he is far more aware of those around him and what he actually wants.

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That isn’t to say that he isn’t going to fail or retreat back into his shell, but for the time being he is a little more open to experiences and that is definitely good progress for his character. He is no longer the one being dragged from his home and into the light, but the one actively pressing forward to reach a goal. Still, when you start paying attention to others, what you realise is also how they are viewing you and sometimes that isn’t necessarily a good thing particularly if you’ve been oblivious to others for any length of time. You also realise you don’t really have any strategies for dealing with certain personality types.

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So Rei’s progress as a character continues to be fantastic.

The other thing March has done very well so far this season is introducing the external conflict of Hina being bullied as the catalyst for a lot of Rei’s recent revelations. This week the show has made a very good effort at framing Hina’s teacher as completely irredeemable as a human being, let alone a teacher. I was worried the show might take that view after the teacher’s earlier comments, but I was also hopeful that when confronted with irrefutable proof of bullying maybe the teacher might actually act to protect her student. She didn’t and now I’m just kind of hoping Akari really does sic the grandfather on her because that could be amusing.

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As the bullying saga continues I have to wonder what the resolution will be because whatever happens it will either be tragic or bittersweet. There is really no ‘happy’ outcome that we could arrive at now because the scars from this experience are going to be long lasting regardless.

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March Comes in Like A Lion Episode 28: Fight or Flight

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

The bullying saga continues and there are no easy options here. Every step leads to further complications and Hina is caught in a very rough spot. However, once again March Comes in Like a Lion shows us it understands people very well. Hina’s friend fled from bullying and retreated into herself and now is receiving counselling elsewhere. She’s completely withdrawn from school and from everyone she used to know. Rei remarks in a voice over that he thought that if things got bad she could just leave as another advocate for a flight response. One that we see Rei himself has taken many times in his life. Whle he doesn’t always physically flee, he withdraws himself from situations and human connections.

Hina on the other hand… Hina is not just upset. She’s angry. She’s a fighter and one who continues to think of others even while trapped in a cycle of misery. However, just standing up doesn’t solve the issue anymore than running away from it will and it is fantastic for an anime (or any story) to point out that neither response really magically makes the problem disappear.

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Episode 28 is a great episode for building on Rei and Hina’s relationship. We see Rei trying to be the older of the two and trying to be the helping hand for Hina but then struggling to understand how to help her sending himself into a downward spiral of self-doubt and loathing that Hina then rescues him from in true Hina fashion.

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Rei may not realise it, but this is helping Hina. For a little while she has a problem in front of her she can solve and a person she can help. He might feel like he’s useless and making things worse, but I don’t think Hina is ever going to see it that way.

The one thing I have to wonder is whether the teacher will remain in denial, or worse, whether she’ll try to redirect the blame onto Hina. We’ve already seen that this particular anime teacher would rather stick her head in the sand rather than see the reality facing her students and has brushed aside complaints of bullying previously. Though with one student having fled the school entirely and another now being openly targeted you would have to wonder how much longer she can keep that up.

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The other fun part of this episode is where Rei recruits Takahashi (baseball character seen previously) to help out. It actually further complicates the situation but it does give Hina one further companion so at least she knows she isn’t alone even in the school. We also see Rei preparing for and playing in various shogi competitions. It is nice that he is motivated for a change even if he is still a little misguided.

This episode continues to be visually wonderful to watch, emotionally powerful and the story and characters are just fantastic. No complaints at all about how season 2 of this show is progressing.

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March Comes in Like a Lion Episode 27: Emotional Ripples

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

Where last week hit its tone and remained consistent throughout, breaking the audiences’ hearts over and over again, this week is far less consistent and yet not any worse for it. Instead of focusing on Hina through both Rei’s and her own narration, this week we barely see Hina save for the end. Rather, we focus entirely on Rei and then Akari’s responses to Hina’s dilemma and how the impact of bullying affects everyone and not just the victim.

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Rei is first seen trying to get advice from his former homeroom teacher about how to deal with bullying. There’s some amusing moments that still manage to cut deep when Rei points out he isn’t being bullied (though his teacher assumed he was at first) but then explains the reason he doesn’t get bullied is because the other students don’t even really acknowledge he exists.

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It is interesting to see how Rei is thinking through the first half of this episode and the sheer amount of effort he will expend in order to help Hina even though a lot of his thoughts are either misguided or just confused. The earnest desire to help is there but the issue is complex and Rei can barely look after himself most of the time.

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Still it was a new side of Rei and one which was pleasant to see because it shows us just how far he has come. He sees Hina as a person, even if he is slightly idolising her at this stage. He’s made a real connection and despite the current circumstances, he is fighting hard to protect her. For someone who used to pull the curtains closed and hide in bed, this is real progress and I honestly hope it doesn’t blow up in his face and send him back into hiding.

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As for Akari, she is tormented because she feels she has failed as the stand in mother. She feels her advice to Hina early on in life was wrong, that she couldn’t help her now, that she said the wrong thing… Basically she feels completely helpless in the situation and while she can’t let that out when Hina and the rest of the family are around, she let it out with Rei. And, again in a sign of just how far he’d come, he managed to say what Akari needed to hear. It doesn’t fix anything, but sometimes an emotional salve can go a long way.

The visuals, remain stunningly on point and whoever did the sound direction this episode nailed it. With a number of tonal shifts within scenes and some really complex emotions, both the visuals and sounds managed to perfectly convey the ideas and really created a truly enjoyable viewing experience. With great character moments and dialogue thrown in, March Comes in Like a Lion continues its strong second season and remains my absolute must watch.

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Karandi James.

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March Comes in Like a Lion Episode 26: An Emotional Bomb

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

This episode is pure and simple emotional manipulation, however it does it so incredibly well. Actually, probably as close to perfect as any individual anime episode will get. If it doesn’t get you crying in the first part where we find out the circumstances behind Hina’s tears at the end of the previous episode, or after Rei runs after her and heals some of his own trauma from her words, or after they go to the library together, then the scene at the end where they return to the house and the Grandfather gives Hina’s actions the validation they needed (her situation still sucks but at least someone told her she had done the right thing), will get you. It is a fantastically orchestrated emotional rollercoaster that in twenty minutes will take you through sadness, empathy, reflection, grief, loss, calm, and then release.

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Though it is more how this is delivered that works rather than what. This isn’t the first show to deal with middle school bullying, nor will it be the last. However, March Comes in Like a Lion finds the perfect images to reflect each of the emotions it is trying to craft and matches them beautifully with sound and movement. There’s a real understanding of emotions at work here and it is on display for all to see.

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The choice to cover three chapters of the manga (most episodes only cover 2 and the only reason I know this is because the episode titles tell us where we are up to), was a very good call. The episode begins, narrated by Rei, the outsider. He is looking in on Hina’s pain and hearing about it and in the process reflecting on his own pain. We then shift to Hina’s narration, which personalises the issues but gives us glimpses of hope because she isn’t broken. She’s definitely feeling down but she is not out. Just a bit lost and looking for a lifeline to carry her through until she can find her own feet again. Lastly, we shift back to Rei to conclude the episode. Again, it really reflects the tone of the story, creates a compelling emotional journey and the switching viewpoint just drives home the emotions the show wants to convey.

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So yes, two weeks in a row March has made me cry. Last week was more because of where my own emotions were about life but this week the show itself just hit hard. I held out until the final act of the episode but seeing Hina’s face as her grandfather told her how proud he was of her actions did me in.

I still get that this show won’t be for everyone but if you’ve never tried the first season and you have access, I seriously recommend at least trying it.

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March Comes in Like a Lion Episode 4

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

This episode is probably the weakest entry for this series yet. The first three episodes kind of hit us hard and we really got inside Kiriyama’s head. As a psychological anime it was impressive and visually stunning. Then we get to episode 4 and we watch middle child syndrome girl (Hina) struggle to give lunch to a boy she has a crush on and then we see the youngest of the crew (Momo) latch on to the round shiny shougi player (forgotten his name) before we all share dinner and sweets. It isn’t a particularly interesting development and other than one flashback from Kiriyama (and can we please get an explanation for that situation later because that looked infinitely more interesting than what we were watching) there isn’t much depth to the characterisation this episode. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come.

March Comes in Like a Lion is available on Crunchryoll.