Anime Analysis March Comes in Like a Lion

Rei Kiriyama: Why Winning at Shogi Does Not End Loneliness

Otakuen November 10, 2026 · 3 min read

Rei Kiriyama is talented enough to play shogi professionally while still a teenager. March Comes in Like a Lion does not present that achievement as protection against loneliness. The distinction between performing well and feeling connected gives its sporting drama an unusually intimate scale.

Spoiler scope: Rei's opening circumstances and early relationship with competition. Later match outcomes and the second season's school storyline are excluded.

A clear result does not answer every question

A shogi game produces a definite outcome. A person can study the decisions, identify an error, and prepare for another opponent. Emotional life does not always offer the same clarity.

Rei can therefore function impressively within a structured activity and remain uncertain outside it. The contrast does not diminish his ability. It prevents the audience from mistaking one visible kind of competence for a complete account of how he is doing.

Work can offer a place while also creating distance

The official introduction establishes a young professional living alone and carrying the loss of his family. Shogi gives his days purpose and supplies a community of people who understand the work. Yet being understood as a player is not identical to being known in the rest of one's life.

That difference makes the transitions around a match important. The board may be crowded with possibilities, while the journey home can feel empty. The viewer has to remain with the person after the result has been decided.

Comparison can narrow the view of a life

Competitive environments make it easy to measure oneself against the visible progress of others. A rank or a result appears easier to interpret than an uncertain feeling of belonging. The measurement can become attractive precisely because it is concrete.

The series complicates that attraction by giving attention to people beyond their immediate performance. An opponent has routines and relationships; a younger player has needs that cannot be reduced to promise. Competition becomes more human when the board is not allowed to contain the whole person.

Ordinary participation offers another measure

Meals, school, conversation, and visits introduce experiences that do not need to be earned through victory. They can make a day meaningful without producing a public achievement.

The anime does not claim that these experiences instantly resolve Rei's difficulties. Their value lies in creating additional ways to exist. A disappointing result does not have to invalidate every relationship, and a good result does not have to carry the burden of repairing everything.

Watch the scenes immediately after a game rather than stopping at its conclusion. March Comes in Like a Lion makes the aftermath part of the story. Rei's ability is real, but so is the need for a life in which winning is not the only reason another person might want him to stay.