(CR) Sangatsu no Lion

[DragoonKain3]

Me personally, I thought Rei was shown to be a very interesting character...

-he's a foster child, possibly even abandoned by his own parents
-he was adopted by the elderly man he was having match with
-he alienates his foster family by beating his foster siblings in the shogi tourney
-not only that, he beats his foster dad in a match that seems to be of the upmost importance
-him beating that match has been compared by the show to as if he was 'murdering his own father'
-Rei wasn't looking forward to beating his dad, nor did he enjoy even one moment of it
-he personally describes the match as if 'every move was like punching him with my bare hands'

If all that isn't enough to make someone care even a little about Rei's story... to each their own I guess. And that wasn't even touching his relationship with the three sisters... XD

[Master_Yoma]

Well got a round to watching this not like the MC but the family is really fun

[Arya]

Originally Posted by Gan_HOPE326

Hm, alrighty then. Still a bit of an unpleasant experience. I mean, I get the idea of conveying the feeling by literally making the viewer *feel the same thing*, but this episode did that by basically being... annoying, I suppose. Perhaps I'd be more accepting of it if this came for me after I've been given time to familiarise with the characters and empathise with them rather than being dropped in medias res. As it was my thoughts were "why should I care enough about this random guy and his obnoxious friends?".

Yeah, I'm more or less with you on this first episode. Kinda left me oh? To me it lacked something. I think it would have worked much better if they introduced the characters first, as it is I got confused by different things, got bored by the first 6 or 7 minutes or so, and a bit annoyed by the tonal shift with the humor. The humor didn't work for me, apart the owl cat, I want one!!
I also thought, ok that this is not chihayafuru but a couple of info about Shogi would have helped me to relate with the whole thing.

Basically the general feeling was taht the episode would be appreciated by the manga readers first, since they know the story, the characters and the context. As of now the show didn't do much to make me want to keep following it honestly.

I liked Flower description of the episode

Originally Posted by Flower

Curiously I do remember places where moments like that do happen, but they are sort of like an extra ingredient in a salad intended to support an overriding taste created by an already existing blend of materials. This first episode felt like the extra ingredient was changed to the main one, and more than that has replaced the original overriding taste.

because it grasps perfectly my feeling of the episode missing the point avoiding it to focus on things that well, yeah were fine but not to build and entire episode on .. kinda

I mean, I can see this show is on par to, say, Yuri!! in terms of general quality, but I didn't feel it. I understand that the episode aimed to convey the disconnection of the MC, but well, they could have added something more to that, because it left me disconnected as well!

Ah, give me an owl cat!!!

[Benigmatica]

@DragoonKain3
Well, I have more reasons to feel pity on Rei Kiriyama. Still, it's a good thing that the Kawamoto sisters are supporting him.

[NBG]

It was an ok episode. Will continue to watch.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Arya

I also thought, ok that this is not chihayafuru but a couple of info about Shogi would have helped me to relate with the whole thing.

That... may be an enduring problem. If, like me, you can't even tell shogi pieces apart, you'll just have to take the characters' word for it on how games are going. It's not like karuta where knowing who's winning is simple.

[Tong]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

If all that isn't enough to make someone care even a little about Rei's story... to each their own I guess.

It's simply because some people cant appreciate that, they need an internal monologue or narrator handing out everything on a silver platter, rather than trying to figure out by themselves whats happening with the character, using the discrete information and clues that are being shown all the times.

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

That... may be an enduring problem. If, like me, you can't even tell shogi pieces apart, you'll just have to take the characters' word for it on how games are going. It's not like karuta where knowing who's winning is simple.

In Hikaru no Go telling how the match was going was often impossible too, but at least there were abundant comments and rule explanations giving a sense of what was happening. However that one was a sports show, this one I suspect is more of a slice-of-life/drama where shogi is only relevant insofar it provides a source of competition and stress for the protagonist.

Originally Posted by Tong

It's simply because some people cant appreciate that, they need an internal monologue or narrator handing out everything on a silver platter, rather than trying to figure out by themselves whats happening with the character, using the discrete information and clues that are being shown all the times.

I didn't say I needed to "understand" what was going on with him - I said I didn't know "why should I care". I got pretty much all that. I didn't care in the least about any of those things because at no point I got the feeling of connecting with the main character, which would make me care for his troubles. The entire thing about the match was handled weirdly; there wasn't much stress on it when the match actually happened, then the vital info was dropped later. And the manga IMHO does it actually a little better, because it doesn't have all the distracting details and direction frills the anime threw in, making the entire thing confusing as hell instead of subtly highlighting the things we WERE supposed to pay attention to. Discrete clues are all nice and good but they aren't always the best choice. That's what distinguishes a good director from someone who simply enjoys being a smartass, and Shinbou here seems to fall in the latter category.

[Tong]

Originally Posted by Gan_HOPE326

I didn't say I needed to "understand" what was going on with him - I said I didn't know "why should I care". I got pretty much all that. I didn't care in the least about any of those things because at no point I got the feeling of connecting with the main character, which would make me care for his troubles. The entire thing about the match was handled weirdly; there wasn't much stress on it when the match actually happened, then the vital info was dropped later. And the manga IMHO does it actually a little better, because it doesn't have all the distracting details and direction frills the anime threw in, making the entire thing confusing as hell instead of subtly highlighting the things we WERE supposed to pay attention to. Discrete clues are all nice and good but they aren't always the best choice. That's what distinguishes a good director from someone who simply enjoys being a smartass, and Shinbou here seems to fall in the latter category.

My comment wasnt quite directed at you, but I see your point.

[LG-MAX 2.o]

the anime has achieved an incredible feat, is the first time I see an anime that is transmitted into 23:00 enter top 10 audiences:http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...er-3-9/.107630

[moodie]

They upped the comedy in this episode. Overall it wasn't as deep as the first episode but it was a ton of fun. We are introduced to new characters. Which makes the story feel even more real.

With this fat guy introduced and the other characters, it really fleshes out the MC. He isnt as depressing as we thought he was. But even people with depression dont act sad 100% of the time. Seriously a fun episode. We also get the SzS type headtilts. Blank cuts with text on screens! What more do I want. Man the mood is soo lightening I had to smile the entire time.

Any criticism about Rei having a "mood shift" needs to realize that this is depicting a real life person! Yes he is lonely and sad on his own but when external factors enter his life the entire atmopshere changes.

Anyways, Shaft sticks to be Shaft and that is great. Many quirks and visual callings back to Shafts style. This series really just proves that if Shaft wants to, their style can work for anything! I totally can't wait for next episode!!!!

[Stark700]

Episode 2

Ah another entertaining episode. I love how Shaft crafted the shogi game with the music, moves, and in general, the style. Works quite well. The creativity poured into the game made me more curious about how they will do future games.

In the meantime, I like the comedy of the show so far. The narrative dialogues coming from Rei expresses his thoughts quite well and we learn more about him as a person each episode.

Oh and Akari...so beautiful this episode in that dress!

[bakato]

That music was too good for a shogi match.

[Xical]

I was having a hard time trying to understand some of the criticism for this series, maybe because I have been reading it since chapter 10 ( how many years is that now? ) when suddenly
some strange thought hit me:
"This the same thing we got in the first and second episodes of Sasami-san@ganbaranai !!!"
First episode just throw you in the middle of things and second one start to give you an explication of the world and the characters that live in it.
At that time I was in the opposite area with Sasami, don't knowing wth was happening , and now remembering that all I can say is take it easy and watch how this will unfold, you will get some answers ( not all unless shaft get green light to adapt all until current volume ) and enjoy the ride.

[Dop]

That was just bloody marvellous. Pretty much everything I wanted it to be, and while i didn't understand the match moves I did appreciate filling in the backstory with Akari and her sisters and how Rei met them.

Umino does like recycling her character designs though, Akari is very similar to Yamada (H&C), and Smith's resemblance to Mayama (H&C) makes me the casting was deliberate!
Not that I'm complaining, like.

[Flower]

Ep 02

Well, I still would have preferred it to have been adapted by a different studio, but it is what it is. The story still is able to shine through to a pretty good degree in my opinion, and the story is quite good. So I think for now I will keep watching for the story and characters.

[moodie]

Idk if this was adapted by another studio it would be like HtC in a sense where the story was carrying the visuals. I rather both elevate the source.

But hey I follow Oshii Mamoru's philosophy, "the visuals are the most important aspect, then the story and the characters come last"

[Seihai]

I think Akari has become my current female character of the season for now. :/ I'm confused.

[Wandering Soul]

That was another nice episode. I very much enjoyed seeing how Rei met Akari, and eventually the rest of the sister. I don't really understand what is going on during the Shogi scenes, but I still enjoyed the episode.

[James Rye]

Well, seems it will focus more on the relationship = drama then on the shogi = sport aspect on the show. Didn't understood much or any of the moves there but MC clearly is good at shogi. His "childhood rival" was fun, all that high five and aren't we friends talk shows what a burning soul the chubby guy has! Something that clearly is missing in Rei's depressed spirit. Though given the image of his family and that wrecked car it is no wonder that he is the way he is now. :/