(CR) Sangatsu no Lion

[Anh_Minh]

I wonder if her life wouldn't be much simpler if she was the type to just pick one of her admirers and marry him? Some of them have to earn even more money than Rei, who earns more money than a high school teacher.

Of course, one has to wonder how serious those guys really are. If they could (and would) become father figures for Hina and Momo. Loving her at the club isn't the same as loving her at home.

[HandofFate]

I think she's set on spending her time raising her sister's atm to worry about romance or her own happiness either way.

The man Kyouko is in love with is much older than I expected, though not surprised given her father issues. Liked that Rei was mad when he talked bad about her.

[Wandering Soul]

Now I'm really curious about Kyouko's relationship with Gotou. He apparently views her as an annoying stalker, but he still buys her gifts and according to her, gets upset when she doesn't wear them? He also has a wife in the hospital too.

That last scene with Momo was great.

[BWTraveller]

I know the manga hasn't ended yet. The author had better have Rei become actual family with these girls. He's become too entrenched already and he needs them, and they at least want him. They're not just a kotatsu, they're a home. Something Rei hasn't really had since the 3rd grade. What he had at his foster home was something that he and his foster father tried to make into a home, but it certainly sounds like it never really solidified into that, at least until recently well after he'd started living on his own. This is the first real home he feels he can come to for refuge.

I agree about Momo. That spot at the end was too cute for words. Even though he had a match, it must have been incredibly hard to resist that little bundle of love cuddling up and begging to sleep with him.

[Yamada II]

Episode 12

The new OP and ED don't really compare to the great Bump of Chicken ones. Those were way better.

Rei is too attached to those girls. The comparison was pretty neat. He wants to stay there with those girls in their lively house and not in his cold, quiet, lonely apartment. But he can't afford to simply let loose since he's got must win matches coming up.

That 9th Dan and his lame jokes lol. And Smith is pretty strong too. And Smith is up against Gotou. Didn't expect Gotou to be so old. What's up with their relationship though? He has a hospitalized wife and thinks of Kyouko as an annoying stalker. Why buy her gifts then? I really don't get what kind of relationship they're in. And Rei wants to be able to beat Gotou as revenge for getting pummeled himself back then. But whether be plays Gotou or not depends on Smith.

[Anh_Minh]

It also depends on Rei's game against Shimada.

[Benigmatica]

Episodes 9 to 12:
Wow, so many things have happened in the last 4 episodes. I would say that Episode 10 got me hooked after Rei Kiriyama broke down just because he's bringing misery to his opponent even though Rei-kun doesn't want to.

On the other hand, Kyouko Kouda sure is a devil in sheep's clothing. She wants to torment Kiriyama to the point that boyfriend Masamune Gotou beat him up. Yeah, it was so nasty but then again, Gotou-san doesn't care about Kyouko's advances towards him.

Anyways, I can't wait for the next episode. The only thing I care for is Rei Kiriyama winning the Shishioh Tournament!

[Dextro]

I get the feeling that Kyouko, the person who plays Rei for kicks, is herself being played by Gatou to mess with Rei (and possibly Rei's father). Really interesting dynamic we may be faced with here.

Also that Momo-chan has to be classified as a weapon of mass destruction after that scene. She almost killed me with a cuteness overdose

As for the new OP/ED combo I'll agree with Yamada II in that the previous Bump of chicken ones were something special. While the new ED is also very good I could tell that the OP was Yuki straight away and I'm not a big fan of Yuki I might add...

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Dextro

I get the feeling that Kyouko, the person who plays Rei for kicks, is herself being played by Gatou to mess with Rei (and possibly Rei's father). Really interesting dynamic we may be faced with here.

I don't think Gotou cares about Rei one way or the other. He's mostly just an asshole.

[Kanon]

I didn't expect Kyouko's boyfriend to be a married man old enough to be her father. Talk about daddy issues.

This episode really tugged at my heartstrings at times. I loved how Rei compared the Kawamoto house to a kotatsu. So comfy you never went to get out, and when you do, you realize just how cold it really is outside.

[DragoonKain3]

Usually I wait to see an unofficial translation after CR's version before posting, but it looks like they're still on vacation (or maybe the new OP/ED is making them late?). Which is a shame, since I want to double check on some things CR was vague about, but oh well.

In any case, this episode is a double whammy. First thing is that Rei is starting to realize his own loneliness. All of his life after the accident, he didn't feel like he belonged anywhere, so being alone is just normal for him. But him spending time with the Kawamoto family, he finally knows what it is to be at peace with family around him. And like pandora's box, once he has known the warmth, just the knowledge of it existing prevents him from focusing on what he's doing.

Which is an interesting conundrum, as his loneliness drives him to be better at shogi. He got this far with shogi because he has nothing else in life, so I do wonder, will the Kawamoto family be a hindrance to his growth as a player in the future? I mean, it's distracting enough that he has to walk outside to shake off thoughts of family, so I wonder, will it get worse?


The other whammy is Goto. Holy crap, he is significantly older than Rei/Kyouko, and he is also married. Looks like Kyouko still has daddy issues, because not only is she attaching herself to Rei who is her father's favourite child, but she is seeing someone who is like a father figure. Like wowee, that's real messed up. XD

And Rei? Man, he goes on a berserker rage just from hearing Goto saying that Kyouko is a stalker. I mean clearly Goto was just saying that to get under his skin (he after all gave Kyouko a very expensive looking watch), but I'm surprised at how effective it is. Seems like Rei is still head over heels for Kyouko, when I thought his feelings were starting to simmer down.


I'm sad though that the first OP/ED is gone. I mean, I'm surprised YUKI is still active that Umino got her to do the opening (because everyone knows Umino loves her to death). While the new OP is decent and the new ED is actually good, but Bump of Chicken's OP/ED were both catchy and fitting for the series, so I do miss them a lot. :'(

[grecefar]

Lol I imagined gotou being blonde in anime xD

Finallay catch up with this, I was really behind in chapters.

[BWTraveller]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

Which is an interesting conundrum, as his loneliness drives him to be better at shogi. He got this far with shogi because he has nothing else in life, so I do wonder, will the Kawamoto family be a hindrance to his growth as a player in the future? I mean, it's distracting enough that he has to walk outside to shake off thoughts of family, so I wonder, will it get worse?

I'd say that can go either way. True he dove into it because he didn't have anything else, but looking at the start when he was alone he didn't actually LIKE shogi. He just stuck with it because he didn't have anything else and let himself drift with the current, which wound up starting to drag him down. He came close to dropping in rank when he was just drifting. The support of the Kawamotos gave him an energy he didn't have before, and a certain drive. He's afraid of it because it's new to him and as you said he's not certain how it'll effect his career, but really a family can actually improve one's performance. After all, alone he doesn't have any reason to NEED to win, but there's plenty of ways that those girls could make it so that loss is just not an option for him. Considering how poorly he was doing at the start, I'd say there's not too much reason to think the girls will hurt him.

I'm sad though that the first OP/ED is gone. I mean, I'm surprised YUKI is still active that Umino got her to do the opening (because everyone knows Umino loves her to death). While the new OP is decent and the new ED is actually good, but Bump of Chicken's OP/ED were both catchy and fitting for the series, so I do miss them a lot. :'(

I myself loved the first OP and ED, and at least to me they were definitely better. But then again that often happens to me when a series makes a new opening or ending: the first one just always seems better.

[orion]

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

Now I'm really curious about Kyouko's relationship with Gotou. He apparently views her as an annoying stalker, but he still buys her gifts and according to her, gets upset when she doesn't wear them? He also has a wife in the hospital too.

Well, that was Kyouko's version of it. Gotou could be buying Kyouko gifts to shut her up and keep her away from his family. He could also be stringing her along to get info on Rei and psych attack Rei.

[Yamada II]

Episode 13

So Smith loses to Gotou. Smith didn't stay true to his style and hesitated which led to his defeat. Rei is against the mysterious 9th Dan and doesn't know what's going on. This guy is Bodoro's brother (not sure if related by blood or not) and Bodoro told him to knock some sense into Rei. The guy is playing in a weird way and Rei is unsure how to counter him. He goes from aggressive to defensive without knowing it. He's in a pinch now and he has to win in order to give Gotou a piece of his mind. This was quite the shogi focused episode.

[Kanon]

This episode was pretty much all about shogi, and knowing next to nothing about it, I can't say I liked it as much as previous episodes. That said, the psychological aspect was still good.

[DragoonKain3]

Originally Posted by Kanon

This episode was pretty much all about shogi, and knowing next to nothing about it, I can't say I liked it as much as previous episodes. That said, the psychological aspect was still good.

^
Exactly my thoughts. I don't know about Shogi strategy, so much of the stuff in this episode was essentially gibberish to me.


Though it seems like Rei is going to lose to the other guy? I think I get what Umino is trying to say when his opponent said 'you finally looked at my face', in where Rei is so focused on shogi tactics that he didn't get a good look at his opponent. As the saying goes, he missed the forest for the trees, which means he probably won't even get the chance to face off Goto. Maybe for the season climax perhaps then?

That's probably my only take from this episode, as it is so focused on shogi.

[bastek66]

Smith's morning was reference to this

NicoNico

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm24758574

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Huh, doesn't work?

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by bastek66

Smith's morning was reference to this

NicoNico

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm24758574

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Huh, doesn't work?

Yeah, I don't think the niconico embeds work now. Anyway I got to see the clip, thanks for bringing it up. What is it? Can you share some more info on it for us ignorant gaijins?

[Wandering Soul]

Originally Posted by Kanon

This episode was pretty much all about shogi, and knowing next to nothing about it, I can't say I liked it as much as previous episodes. That said, the psychological aspect was still good.

Pretty much this. Couldn't really get into the episode, but it seems like Rei's main mistake was dismissing the guy that he's playing against as being a waste of time, rather than someone that deserved his attention.