March Comes in Like a Lion, Volume 4

3月のライオン [Sangatsu no Lion] #4

by Chica Umino, Jocelyne Allen (Translator)

Shimada 8-dan challenges Soya Meijin for the Shishioh Tournament. Concerned about Shimada's poor health, Kiriyama heads for Kyoto to pick up the challenger's spirits. A tender love story that moves along like a flowing river.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Fiction, Comics Manga, Slice Of Life, Seinen, Romance

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 9, 2010

About the author

Chica Umino (Jap: 羽海野チカ) is a Japanese mangaka.
Her real name is not disclosed, "Umino Chica" is a pen name.

She began work as a product designer and illustrator.
Umino has a unique drawing style, listing Studio Ghibli amongst her influences, and her characters are remarkably well-developed.

Her most famous series to date is Hachimitsu to Clover (English name: Honey and Clover), a 'slice of life' manga series which debuted in 2000 in Shueisha's manga magazine, CUTiEcomic. The series won the Kodansha Manga Award in 2003 and was nominated for the Tezuka Culture Prize and an award from the Japan Media Arts Festival. It was also adapted into an animated television series in 2005, a live-action movie in 2006 and two individual live-action TV series in 2008.

Her ongoing recent series is Sangatsu no Lion (English name: March comes in like a lion), which began serialization in 2007. The series won several important prizes including: the Manga Taisho prize and Kodansha Manga Prize (general audience) in 2011, the Tezuka Osamushi Cultural Prize in 2014, and the Bunkacho Media Geijutsusai Manga bumon in 2021.

Umino has also provided the illustration for the 2009 anime series Eden of the East by Kenji Kamiyama, as well as 'Tobira o Akete' and the Glass Heart series, including 'Boukensha-tachi', 'Netsu no Shiro' and 'Love Way'.

Reviews

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I starting to get into this shogi coming of age drama. This was the best volume yet, and not just because it had a surprising amount of Star Wars references. Still, the real MVP was Shimada-san, which makes his cover appearance appropriate. If the main character is going to grow up into a professional worth his salt, he better look to Shimada for a textbook example.

[Leonor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta historia con sus personajes es tan maravillosa... No me canso de ver el animé, ni repetirme las escenas con el manga, que por cierto la adaptación animada le fue muy fiel.
Este tomo narra las peripecias del "hermano mayor" del shougi de Kiriyama, Shimada Kai, quien se enfrenta por el título de maestro al actual, Sôya.

[Andrea Itziar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aunque este tomo sigue centrándose en el shôgi, también nos muestra más sobre Shimada, personaje con el que es muy fácil de empatizar, y sobre Rei y su relación con Kyouko, así como la relación de Rei con otros jugadores que ya no ve como meros contrincantes sino como personas con sus luces y sus sombras. Me encanta ver la evolución de Rei y cómo, poco a poco, se va abriendo a otros y empieza a disfrutar un poco más en compañía de personajes como las hermanas Kawamoto, Nikaidou o Shimada.

[Met · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sono sicuro che se fosse sugli scacchi (o comunque su un gioco che conosco), impazzirei per questa storia. Che è comunque bellissima pur non sapendo niente di shogi. Due appunti su questo volume: troppo poco spazio ad Akari, Hinata e Momo e... l'ho già detto che odio la sorella di Rei?

[Lola D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je suis à un tournant avec ce manga, je ne sais pas si je dois ou non continuer. Ma lecture n'est pas désagréable, je ne m'ennuie pas, et je dévore les tomes un à un. Toutefois, la profonde tristesse qui se dégage du manga me pèse. On voit des personnages se battre pour réussir, pour atteindre leurs rêves, pour mener une vie heureuse, mais surtout on les voit échouer. Inlassablement. On a l'impression d'être dans le brouillard de la dépression avec Kei, et c'est en cela que le manga est bon ; l'atmosphère qui s'en dégage est le reflet des sentiments des personnages. C'est particulièrement éprouvant.

De plus, j'aimerais avoir plus de scènes développant les liens entre les personnages, et comprendre enfin la nature de leurs relations. J'ai l'impression d'encore effleurer la surface du doigt sans comprendre tout à fait. C'est frustrant.

[Kaoru Takarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adoro a Shimada y la forma en que se ha construido el personaje, aludiendo a realidades de Japón como el abandono del mundo rural.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume focuses largely on Shimada the elder, as he goes through the Shishiou matches, pitted against the grand crown champion Soya. Kiriyama, typically pessimistic, feels like he hasn't accomplished anything during the last year, but his mentor encourages him. He's been living independently and taking care of housekeeping by himself, along with his shogi study, practice, and matches, and has also moved up into the next year in high school. That isn't nothing!

I really like the backgrounds in this manga. They may be based on a real neighborhood. Whether they are or not, they do a lot to set the story and create atmosphere.

More than with any of the other volumes so far, I felt at a slight disadvantage not knowing the rules of shogi, never mind recognizing any of the strategy during the matches, whether in practices or competitions. It's okay, there are plenty of character moments that make the story involving despite this reader's lack of knowledge. As usual, the pro shogi commentator's mini-essays added another dimension to the story... though, I confess, I skipped the last one that went into depth about the clever move that Shimada missed at the end of the volume.

[Paola Sánchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rei's depression is still there, latent; and sometimes it amazes me the things he says: "I haven't done anything", or "I cannot improve like others" (and it amazes me.even more how that makes it familiar for me, totally relatable). He still feels like he's swimming against the tide and constantly drowning when playing agains better shogi players. His sister keeps being a major issue in his life, disturbing everything around Rei. Nevertheless, this volume was able to develop Shimada-san into something more than a mere secondary character; he became amazing in his own right, an image of perseverance through pain, and a role model/inspiration for Rei.

[lanmreading manga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tập này tập trung vào kì thủ Shimada siêu hay và xúc động. Từ hoàn cảnh tới sự đam mê của anh giành cho Shogi. Dù trả giá đắt tới mức nào nhưng anh vẫn luôn hạnh phúc và mỉm cười khi được chơi cờ Shogi. Dù đọc vẫn ù ù cạc cạc phần diễn biến cờ nhưng vẫn cảm thấy hồi hộp theo khi trận đấu bắt đầu và chông chờ vào kết quả cuối cùng. Nói chung là hay ghê 🥹🥹🥹

[Vesper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Molto riflessivo e pensoso, un manga dove più che mai il gioco rispecchia la vita e il modo di intenderla dei giocatori. Questo albo però mi è sembrato un po' pesante e troppo drammatico, anche se il protagonista continua lentamente a evolvere ed emanciparsi dal suo passato.

[Arsenic · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'aime tjs autant les dessins et ce qu'il se dégage de l'histoire.
L'histoire personnelle de Shimada était intéressante, c'est sympa de voir que les persos secondaires sont travaillés.
Par contre déçue qu'on ne voit pas plus les soeurs.

[Bartosz Gawlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shimada 😢

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Shimada focused volume.

[ghadah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nooo! shimada-san 😭 I wish he had noticed
but good fight you put on!

[Cell · Rating 4 out of 5]

隔壁《龍王的工作！ 3》的愉悅中飛車在這裡是翻成好心情中飛車喔
雖然字義差不多，但作為戰法名稱感覺差了不少

[Armando Hernández · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really hate how Rei's teacher lost for me he shoul have won. Rei is getting stronger and he is undestanding the other players a little better and finding out is he really enjoy playing.

[Khari · Rating 5 out of 5]

うん、私は先生と賛成。零君は偉い。１７歳で独立するのは偉い。他の人の幸せは自分より大切するのも偉い。自分から自分の欠点理解するのも偉い。これから変わりましょう！