What They Say:
“Chapter 15 Teach Me How to Play Shogi / Chapter 16 Image / Chapter 17 Distant Thunder”
Let’s continue to learn Shogi! In this episode, we’ll also discover a little more about Rei’s Father, and not to mention that special guest he has…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Well, this was definitively not a feel good episode although it deceptively starts as out as one. We picked up right where we left last time, with Nikaidou teaching the girls how to play Shogi (which turns out its totally Japanese chess as I’d guessed), via that adorable kitties guidebook. This part is actually fun and cute as we find out the book was actually written and illustrated by Nikaidou himself. I can’t believe I was so worried I was going to hate this character when he was first introduced and instead he’s grown to be one of the best characters in the show. It was also nice to see Rei express jealousy as he desperately needs to allow himself to admit to these negative feelings in order to let them go. He also gets an upgraded apartment courtesy of Nikaidou of course, who goes so far as to buy him a sofa-bed (or himself, I’m not sure since he stays the night and probably will do so many more times in the near future). If Rei doesn’t just leave that thing open all the time, he’s a stronger person than I am. This section is so adorable it even ends with that cute kitty ending song from last episode.
The show sails along this lines, with an occasional dash of darkness and you think you might be just fine until the last segment arrives. Rei goes to the practice hall only to run into Smith and Issa, who tell him they’ve watched the NHK cup and how moved they were by Nikaidou’s words of encouragement. Issa even watched it with his teacher and some other students; they were all crying by the end. Although I suspect it may have had a little to do with how much sake they were consuming.
These words are meant to encourage Rei, to prop him up but all they do is put pressure on him. He doesn’t understand why or how Nikaidou has so much energy, he can’t even imagine what is like to not give up and it makes him feel even more of a loser for not trying enough. The words “Don’t disappoint Nikkaido” seem to hang over his head like a terrible accusation. This is not even the dark part of the episode so don’t get too comfortable here. We do get to see a nice memory of how Rei used to play against his father, forcing himself, studying like crazy just to catch a glimpse of his father’s true nature as he puts it himself. Rei was obviously very close with his father and he really wanted to maintain that connection. Maybe this is the problem, he’s lost part of his motivation with the demise of his father and when he tried to recapture it with his adoptive father, something similar happened. In a way, he feels as if he’s still failing his father by not taking Shogi seriously.
Just when it looks like we’re getting somewhere, along comes Kyouko. In case you’ve forgotten, she’s the daughter in Rei’s adoptive family and very possibly the cause of more heartbreak. Rei doesn’t seem too happy to see her, he even offers to accompany her to the bus as he clearly doesn’t want to let her in, and he keeps making excuses, but she suddenly raises her voice. She’s cold and tired and needs to pee, and she was embarrassed to admit it. Honestly? I kind of believed her too. Kyouko is very hard to figure out. She ends up making one excuse after another to stay the night. The tension between them is palpable but don’t go getting any ideas. It’s not exactly that kind of tension.
I don’t really understand if Kyouko likes Rei or if she hates him or if she even knows. I mean, why would you go literally out of your way to go see someone you hate and torture him emotionally? Yeah, I get the answer but well, it’ confusing. I guess she’s immature maybe. It seems to me, Rei does like her but he’s unable to figure her out. Trough the conversation we find out she’s no longer living at home, she doesn’t even see her father much and she’s still in a relationship with an older, violent man. Apparently, something happened between her, this man (named Goto) and Rei. If this is not enough to make your skin crawl, she doesn’t leave until she has practically crushed Rei’s spirit by telling him about his next opponent., an older man who loves shogi even though he hasn’t had very much luck and who will retire the next time he loses. How is Rei supposed to give it his all knowing all this? It’s clear to see she knows what this will do and she almost delights in making him feel guilty.
Honestly, I have no idea what to think about Kyouko and I wouldn’t blame Rei for being confused either. It seems easy to hate her, she’s very unpleasant and manipulative, hostile even, but there are moments when it almost seems like it hurts her too. And maybe that is it, to answer my previous question; she goes out of her way to hurt someone who hurt her inadvertently. She does go on about how he left on his own, chose an apartment and never came back. Maybe as Rei tried to get out of their way so as not to hurt them, the family saw it as Rei just abandoning them, or at least Kyouko. But it still seems excessive and way too mean spirited. I’m not exactly sure if that’s the truth or if she just fakes it to confuse him even more. Rei compares her to a lighting seen during the day right before a storm, but I think she’s more like a hurricane, blowing through and leaving only devastation in her wake. She has the potential of being quite the fascinating character but it won’t be a pleasant ride.
In Summary:
March is a series I wouldn´t recommend watching on a sad day. It’s not like that always but you never know what you’re going to get. For example, I was perfectly happy before I watched this and ended up feeling drained. It is, however, fascinating and multi-layered and even as I tell you to pick the right time to watch it, I still think it would be a pity to skip it. If it hits so hard it’s because it paints an unbearably realistic depiction of depression. It doesn’t romanticize or skims through it, preferring instead to look at it straight in the face, ugliness and all. The characters are multidimensional, even the ones who like Nikaidou, seemed like a one-note joke in the beginning, and I’m guessing, Kyouko won’t be an exception.
Grade: A+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll, Daisuki