E01
Rei Kiriyama / The Town Along the River
Rei Kiriyama moves in to town, and his past is slowly revealed. Alongside battling opponents in shogi, he also wants to find that missing something.
TV SERIES / EPISODE GUIDE
March comes in like a lion
EndedFirst aired 2016-10-08NHK
Drama · Comedy · Anime
Having reached professional status in middle school, Rei Kiriyama is one of the few elite in the world of shogi. Due to this, he faces an enormous amount of pressure, both from the shogi community and his adoptive family. Seeking independence from his tense home life, he moves into an apartment in Tokyo. As a 17-year-old living on his own, Rei tends to take poor care of himself, and his reclusive personality ostracizes him from his peers in school and at the shogi hall.However, not long after his arrival in Tokyo, Rei meets Akari, Hinata, and Momo Kawamoto, a trio of sisters living with their grandfather who owns a traditional wagashi shop. Akari, the oldest of the three girls, is determined to combat Rei's loneliness and poorly sustained lifestyle with motherly hospitality. The Kawamoto sisters, coping with past tragedies, also share with Rei a unique familial bond that he has lacked for most of his life. As he struggles to maintain himself physically and mentally through his shogi career, Rei must learn how to interact with others and understand his own complex emotions.
FROM THE SHOW GUIDE
Season by season.
44 listed episodes across 2 seasons. Air dates are provided by TVmaze and can change.
Season 1 22 episodes
E02
Akari / Beyond the Bridge
Who was that mysterious figure who stole his mail? And Akari's job is what?! Tune in as we continue to explore Rei's past.
E03
Harunobu / Beyond the Night Sky
Showdown between Rei and Harunobu in a shogi match! Will Harunobu finally defeat his lifelong rival? Tune in as we celebrate the end of Obon.
E04
Hina / V.S.
Will Hina be able to give her home made lunch to the person she is concerned about? Tune in as a fateful meeting unfolds in front of our eyes.
E05
Agreement / Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Rei must pick up Momo from kindergarten. Nothing can go wrong with doing this errand, right? Unfortunately, this leads Rei to remember more of his past.
E06
Child of God (Part 1-3)
Does Rei want to go somewhere, or just run away? Let's discover more of the Shogi world as Mr. Hayashida comes to the rescue!
E07
Important Things, Important Matters / Teach Me How to Play Shogi
What will Kiriyama and Takahashi talk about? Will it end well? Let's hope the cute kitties can teach us how to play shogi!
E08
Image / Distant Thunder
E09
Distant Thunder (Part 2) / Distant Thunder (Part 3)
E10
Something Given (Part 1) / Something Given (Part 2)
E11
The Old Year / The New Year
E12
What Lies on the Opposite Shore / Black River (Part 1)
E13
Black River (Part 2) / Beyond the Door
E14
Blinding Darkness / Just a Little Water
E15
Moonlight / Lump of Ego
E16
Running Through the Night / Middle of the Slope
E17
Silver Thread / Water's Surface / Base of the Blue Night
E18
Torrent / Passing Time
E19
Passing the Night / Kyoto (Part 1)
E20
Kyoto (Part 2) / Kyoto (Part 3)
E21
When the Cherry Blossoms Bloom / Small Murmur
E22
New School Term / Fighter
Season 2 22 episodes
E01
Setting Sun / Ramune
E02
Chaos / Kumakura
E03
June / Ladybug Bush (Part 1)
E04
Ladybug Bush (Part 2) / Ladybug Bush (Part 3) / Feelings
E05
Feelings (Continued) / Confession
E06
Small World / Letter
E07
Start of the Rainy Season / Hachiya
E08
Midday Moon / Adventurers
E09
Kingdom (Part 1) / Kingdom (Part 2)
E10
Silver Wing / River Scenery
E11
Where the Sun Shines / Small World
E12
Black Mist / Light
E13
Small Palm / In the Sun
E14
Flowing Away / White Storm (Part 1)
E15
White Storm (Part 2) / White Storm (Part 3) / White Storm (Part 4)
E16
White Storm (Part 5) / Restart
On the trip back home from their commemorative match in Morioka, Rei and Souya are forced to stay in Sendai for a night because of a typhoon. Rei is relieved once they find lodging, but soon gets a phone call from Jinguuji, who tells him the secret of the genius "Shogi Demon," Souya. When Rei returns to Tokyo, he thinks over their match, while examining Souya's past game records. Meanwhile, Nikaidou is out of the hospital and is making a comeback with the first qualifying round of the King Tournament.
E17
Burnt Fields (Part 1) / Burnt Fields (Part 2)
Rei and Nikaidou are to be the board commentators for the final Kishou Championship match between Yanagihara and Shimada. All of the reporters and staff members that attend the pre-game reception turn out to be old friends of Yanagihara, who has been the reigning Kishou champion for years. Despite the immense pressure of an "away game" for the challenger, Shimada, he is determined more than ever to win his very first title.
E18
Burnt Fields (Part 3) / Burnt Fields (Part 4)
It's the final match of the Kishou Championship and the honorary title of "Eternal Kishou" is on the line for Yanagihara, the eldest active Class A player. As the shogi game approaches the final stage, Shimada is dominating. Yanagihara reflects on how he has been entrusted with countless metaphorical "relay sashes" from friends who had given up the professional shogi world before him. Despite the immense pressure, Yanagihara continues to play, as if he is making his way through the burning field.
E19
Being Here / Summer Vacation (Part 1)
Crescent Moon sets up a food stand at the March Town summer festival, featuring Akari and Hinata's new menu - "chilled rice dumplings with syrup." One of its variations uses the plum syrup made by Chiho, Hinata's friend who moved away after being bullied.Hinata had visited Chiho at the beginning of her summer break. Chiho was smiling again, but she was also still bearing the emotional scars. Hinata plans to share with her a photo of everyone enjoying the plum syrup, and also to visit her again.
E20
Summer Vacation (Part 2) / New Year
Hinata has been coming up with new ideas for sweets one after another all throughout summer vacation, but struggles to focus on her studies and deciding which high schools to apply to. Rei decides to invite the three Kawamoto sisters to some nagashi somen fun at his school. When Hinata meets the members of Noguchi's Shogi Science Club and Hayashida, she begins considering Komahashi High, Rei's high school.
E21
Passing Time / Spring Comes
E22
Extra Chapter: The Other House / Child of March Town
Show and episode information provided by TVmaze ↗. Sources & Credits.