March Comes in Like a Lion

桐山零 / 河沿いの町

Rei Kiriyama, a high school student and pro shougi player, lives alone in Rokugatsu-cho, an old town in Tokyo. After a game with Kouda, his pro shougi player foster father, Rei heads for the Kawamoto house in Sangatsu-cho. He receives a lively welcome and dinner from the Kawamoto sisters: Akari, the eldest; Hinata, the middle sister; and Momo, the youngest. But all is not well with Rei…

あかり / 橋の向こう

Professional shougi player Harunobu Nikaido is waiting for Rei when he gets home. Nikaido has thought of himself as Rei’s rival ever since they were kids and he looks forward to their next match. Days later, after a match with an older player named Issa Matsumoto, Rei, Issa, and another shougi player, Tatsuyuki Misumi, go to a hostess bar. They are greeted warmly by the eldest Kawamoto sister, Akari, who happens to work there.

晴信 / 夜空のむこう

It’s the day of Rei’s first game with Nikaido since becoming a pro. As he heads for Shougi Hall, he reminisces about one of the times he faced off against Nikaido as a child. Nikaido is full of fighting spirit as they clash once more. Just like when they were younger, the two opponents have the same overriding thought: “I don’t want to lose…”

ひな / ブイエス

In preparation for the middle school baseball game the following day, Hina makes lunch for ace Yuusuke Takahashi, whom she has a crush on. She’s very excited about making an extravagant and cute lunch, but quarrels with Akari, who argues that a normal bento would be best. The next morning sees Hinata frantically finishing her lunch and deciding what to wear. How will this major event in the young lady’s life turn out?!

契約 / カッコーの巣の上で

Rei does Akari a favor by picking Momo up at day-care, but on the way home, Momo falls, sustaining a few scratches. While Rei tends to her wounds, he recalls the day he lost his family, when he was a young child. A sudden accident had robbed Rei of his warm family, parents, and his little sister, too. At the funeral, Rei is standing alone when Masachika Kouda, his father’s friend and pro shougi player, starts talking to him. “Do you like shougi?”

その③)

“I want to go somewhere…” In order to be independent and make ends meet on his own, Rei desperately clung to the game board and became a professional shougi player while still in middle school. However, in this, his second year, he missed the chance to advance to the next level. After much struggling, Rei has gotten to where he is now, but he can’t find a reason to move on from there. Rei is at a loss over his own tendency to “stop halfway.”

その③)承前 / 大切なもの. 大切なこと. / 将棋おしえて

Soon after going to a fast food shop, Hinata and Rei bump into Hinata’s crush, Takahashi! Hinata is so nervous that she panics, while Rei is baffled over what to talk about with the sportsman. However, Takahashi realizes that Rei is a pro shogi player and talks about his own desire to become a pro baseball player in the future. But then he asks Rei why he chose to go back to high school a year after becoming a pro. How does Rei answer after seeing Takahashi’s serious expression?

承前) / 面影 / 遠雷①

Rei and Nikaidou continue to teach Hinata and Momo how to play shogi. Momo and her sister are delighted by Nikaidou’s cute homemade shougi picture book that is chock full of cats. This visual aid makes learning the basics of shougi fun for them. Between suddenly intruding on Rei’s privacy and delivering passionate messages while doing shougi commentary on TV, Nikaidou directly expresses his feelings of friendship for Rei and his enthusiasm for shougi. But will that enthusiasm rub off on Rei?

遠雷② / 遠雷③

It’s the day of Rei’s match against Shouichi Matsunaga, a 65-year-old who’s been a professional shougi player for 40 years. Rei braces himself to battle a man who’s been playing for more than twice the years he’s been alive. However, once the game begins, it seems like Matsunaga is making random moves, which makes Rei’s job even tougher. After the match is over, though, Rei gets sucked into having dinner with Matsunaga…?

贈られたもの① / 贈られたもの②

December. When Kyouko comes over to pick up a forgotten item, she tells Rei about Manabu Yasui, his opponent for a match on the 24th. She says that when Yasui loses, he becomes violently drunk and that he’s getting a divorce after Christmas. Will he come home and spend Christmas with his family after winning or losing? As Rei prepares for the match against Yasui, he reminisces about a Christmas day he spent with the Kouda family when he was still a child.

ゆく年 / くる年

Akari, Hinata, and Momo pay Rei a visit on New Year’s Eve when he’s left bedridden from a cold he’s had since Christmas. The Kawamoto sisters forcibly take him to the doctor and then back to their home. Rei gets much better from the porridge and tender loving care, but feels guilty for causing his foster father, Kouda, and the sisters to worry. Rei takes on the New Year with the warmth of the Kawamoto family.

対岸にあるもの / 黒い河①

Rei returns to his apartment after recovering for three days at the Kawamoto home. Although his health is restored, he feels the pangs of loneliness after going from the lively New Year’s mood at their house to his empty place. Rei tries to get over this by focusing on the Lion King Tournament. It’s a hard struggle for Rei against his first opponent, Takeshi Tsujii, a player with a strong offensive game and a penchant for bad puns.

黒い河② / 扉の向こう

Smith comes up with a strategy for his match against Gotou, and then sets out for the Lion King Tournament. Gotou’s favorite plays are Static Rook and Bear in the Hole, so Smith plans to counter with Windmill. During the match, Smith does employ the tactics he’s best at, but is that enough? Meanwhile, Rei has a match in the same tournament against Kai Shimada, 8 dan. Feeling an extreme pressure to win, Rei goes into battle...

まぶしい闇 / ほんの少しの水

Rei realizes, too late, that he underestimated Shimada’s skills. He is stuck in the middle of a match that is going badly, and can’t make a comeback. Overcome with embarrassment and confusion, a shaken Rei manages to play to the end thanks to Shimada’s subtle messages. After the match is over, Rei flees in shame from the shougi hall. Shimada watches him go and, recalling the words of his young disciple, Nikaidou, thinks about inviting Rei to join his shougi workshop.

月光 / 自我のカタマリ

The curtain opens on the first of three matches between Gotou and Shimada to decide who will become the challenger for the Lion King title. Rei is deeply impressed by the battle between two players who have faith in themselves. At the end of the match, Gotou treats a waiting Kyouko coldly in front of the shougi hall. Looking on, Rei recalls the events leading up to his departure from the Kouda home. Meanwhile, at Crescent, Akari and Hinata are worried about Rei.

夜を駆ける / 坂の途中

Hayashida takes Rei to the After School Burners Club so he can write a chemistry lab report, which he’d missed before because of an absence. Hayashida is pleased to see Rei having a lively conversation with Noguchi and his other peers. After the experiment, Rei heads to the final match between Gotou and Shimada, the winner of which will move on to challenge the champion of the Lion King Tournament. Afterwards, Rei says something to Shimada that could change his life…

銀の糸 / 水面 / 青い夜の底

At the Lion King Tournament, Rei and Nikaidou participate in the festivities the day before the first match between Shimada and Master Souya. Rei is shaken when he witnesses Nikaidou’s determination to be in a “title fight” someday. In the garden outside the hall, Rei suddenly notices someone standing next to him. This unobtrusive, lingering person is none other than Touji Souya, who made shougi history by becoming the youngest master ever and winning all seven major titles.

奔流 / 経る時

Shimada prepares for the third match of the Lion King Tournament. Nikaidou and Shigeta butt heads over differing strategies for a board set-up at the workshop held at Shimada’s house. But Rei tells the small gathering that the board itself is “disturbing” to him. Shimada tells Rei to come back alone the following day. Rei is overpowered in a match against the A-class player, but desperately tries to offer what he can.

Chapter.39 夜を往く / Chapter.40 京都①

Shimada was raised in a snow-suffering village in Yamagata. Elderly locals taught him how to play shougi and when he became a middle school student, Kai started going to the Association in Tokyo twice a month while working part-time to pay for related expenses. He continued playing shougi even when he seemed to be getting nowhere and despite stress-related stomach pain. He would look on as the same-aged Souya ran in and out of the Association, racking up one title championship after another. Shimada could see that he wasn't closing any distance between himself and Souya, but couldn't afford to slack off. In the present, Rei accompanies Shimada to Kyoto, site of the fourth match of the Lion King Tournament.

Chapter.41 京都② / Chapter.42 京都③

It's the second day of the fourth match at the Lion King Tournament. If Shimada loses this one to Souya, it will make four losses in a row, meaning he won't have the chance to play a match in his hometown. Rei is suddenly promoted to board commentator, a position he shares with "Shougi Dragon" Raidou Fujimoto, and together they get a closer look as the game unfolds. Meanwhile, Shimada endures constant gastric pain as he goes all out to attack his opponent. But will those efforts be enough against a grandmaster?

Chapter.43 桜の花の咲く頃 / Chapter.44 小さなつぶやき

In April, Rei, Shimada, and Nikaidou participate in a "human shougi" event held in the city of Tendou, Yamagata Prefecture, which is Shimada's hometown. The event is outdoors and unfortunately, it's raining that day, but the pro shougi players are given a warm welcome by the local fans. Rei is moved by Shimada's interactions with the locals. Meanwhile, at the Crescent Moon sweets shop, Someji, Akari, and Hinata try to come up with a new product.

Chapter.45 新学期 / スピンオフ ファイター

Rei is now a second-year high school student, but Hayashida is no longer his homeroom teacher. No new friends and being uncomfortable in the new class without the one teacher who somehow cared about him, Rei questions his purpose of returning to high school. He wonders if going back to school is the way to stop “running away.” Then, Hayashida proposes forming a new, combined club of Noguchi’s After School Burners Club and the shougi club. Rei had never before found his place in high school, but this new club may be the place to provide him with a sense of belonging.