What They Say:
“Chapter 43 When the Cherry Blossoms Bloom / Chapter 44 Small Murmur”
The fourth match of the Lion King Tournament has finally ended. But for some reason, Rei finds himself in a very unfamiliar territory.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
I thought I couldn’t love Shimada more than I did, but I was wrong. After all the tension of the past few episodes, this one comes off as sweet relief and quite literally at that. It’s like when you’re hungry but you don’t realize how much until you start eating and then you can’t stop which is kind of funny because something pretty similar happens in this episode.
Shimada may have lost at the Lion King tournament but he still made it to Shimagata not only to visit his hometown but also to participate in the Cherry blossom festival. Now, the cherry blossom festival in Yamagata is a little bit different, there’s human Shogi and yes, this is something that exists in real life. They all gather at the park under the cherry blossoms, both players and pawns (the people who will serve as the Shogi pieces) dressed in armor, and while the players announce the moves trough a microphone system, the pawns enact these moves on top of the giant Shogi board. That’s the plan, at least, but this year the festival will have to be moved to the inside of a gym since it won’t stop raining. Shimada arrives, with Rei in tow, still feeling down, knowing everybody will try and cheer him up but hoping they’d berate him instead. It’s pretty funny when he actually meets with the old folks and gets exactly what he wished for as he gets called the rain bringing man and blamed for the weather. Be careful what you wish for, as they say.
Still, the festival is lively and fun, very different from the drunken businessman affairs we often see in the Tokyo ones. Also, Nikkaidou really does look great in that armor and I was happy to see him again. But the star of the show once again is Shimada. There is some kind of circle being closed here in more accounts than one. First, Shimada may be this good at Shogi because of his teachers. The old people from Yamagata are so good at it, even the chairman of the Shogi club in Tokyo is scared of playing against them, but maybe they’re so good precisely because of how much they play and this may be because of Shimada. Dizzy yet? Let me explain. The townsfolk may have taught Shimada how to play but it was he who created the Shogi club here, to make sure they wouldn’t feel isolated during the winter, so now they get together twice a week at the community center to play Shogi and cook. What’s more, Shimada arranges to have groceries and stuff they may need, sent there for them to take home. And that’s not even it, he’s also arranged some kind of business deal with the train station for them to sell the candy and snacks the old folks make. Is it any wonder they love him so much? Isn’t Shimada amazing? He may not be a master at Shogi yet but he definitely is at being human.
The episode provides some much-needed closure for this arc as well. As the festival goes on and Shimada starts getting into the groove of things and truly having fun, it’s as if a dark cloud is lifting off his head. It was really nice seeing him smile sincerely again and begin to cast off all his doubts. I loved the use of the creepy tune that plays at the train station. By the way, it’s a traditional children’s song called Tôryanse which as speculation has it, refers to children’s high rates of mortality in old times. When they arrive, Rei is creeped out by it since to him, it feels like a curse or a threat, but as Shimada walks away at the end, softly singing the lyrics “It’s scary, but you should pass trough, you should pass through”, it becomes a chant of encouragement and strength.
The last segment is even lighter, maybe even fluffy, but it’s most welcomed. It involves the long missed sisters and their grandpa trying to come up with a new pastry for their sweets shop. It’s funny and sweet and I agree with Akari and Hina, sweet shops are traps. I’ve had the same experience more than once, so I could totally relate. I regret nothing, though. But seriously, it was great seeing them work together and even though I’ve always assumed Akari was the one who’d be more like their mother; it’s actually Hina. The final scene is even sweeter than any of their recipes. It feels as if Rei has been on a long trip emotionally speaking and he’s finally made it back home.
In Summary:
March has always been good as far as I’m concerned but lately, it’s become simply excellent. The focus may have been off Rei for the past couple of weeks or more and I know some people have been disappointed by this, but I think we need to look at the bigger picture. Rei finally coming back to the sister’s house is not just emotional manipulation or a random moment of sweetness. It indicates growth. Rei’s time with Shimada has shown him there’s more to life than Shogi. Having dreams of being a champion is all well and good but life is not so one-sided. Instead, he got to witness the struggle of a man who has never achieved his goal (yet), but who’s given so much to the people around him, it’d be foolish of you not to admire him, and yet he continues to get up and fight time and time again. Do you think this has had no effect in Rei? I’d urge you to watch that final scene again and take notice of Rei’s attitude versus the one he had the last time he saw Hina. It’s miles apart and now that I think about it, maybe that’s why March has become so much better lately. It stopped over explaining everything and it started trusting the audience to pick up on the subtle details.
Grade: A+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll, Daisuki
