What did you think of this episode?
5Loved it!
82.3%
614
4Liked it!
11.4%
85
3It was OK
4.2%
31
2Disliked it
1.6%
12
1Hated it
0.5%
4
Average 4.7
746 votes
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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- Looks like it's around Christmas time with this episode so it's adapting The Gift parts from the manga. There's a little bit of focus about Yasui as well. The feels this episode is pretty evident even though it still had a good balance of comedy. Regarding Rei, he can be such a complex character. Quite well done for characterization. The match between Rei and Yasui was okay I guess as the music elements drew a lot of my attention in. Pretty straightforward match. |
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| I know I have said this a few times now. But this episode of 3 gatsu no lion has to be one of the best episodes yet. The content, direction, visuals, atmosphere, ect. All of this was tightly wrapped up into a Christmas gift of an episode. It seems like the tauntings of Kyouko finally got to him and by the end of the episode, he had to break down. The start was like a viper taunting its prey. The train scene had improved animation. The shoji match, thx to the shoji song, finally started to make sense. I didn't need Rei's exposition to tell me what was going on. The music was enough to narrate the story for me. It seems like these 2 episodes Rei hates to feel like the grim reaper just killing these guys off. And this affects him in the long run. The breakdown was truly stunning. My heart cried as he was. Before that however, the most sakuga scene yet was when the gift was snatched out of Rei's hand. That animation was very smooth.  Then after that, the running scene was done well. I could feel him exerting all his energy. Back to the breakdown scene. Seeing him break down reminds me of myself. Back in high school when I applied to colleges I was the only one in my class who got accepted early to everyone's top schools. It created envy and those who were close to me were angry. It would piss me off because I would study my ass off. I deserved it more than anyone. And everyone would get mad just because they felt they deserved it more. This episode really just relates to me on so many levels. Truly the first 10/10 episode. This episode alone ties everything Rei has faced. It pretty much wrapped up the main arc in Rei's life. I don't know how much further you can develop this intriguing young man. But I am excited to see it. In terms of storyboard and episode direction, this episode worked very well. The episode director, Miyamoto, did a wonderful job handling this episode. The way he handled the Rei vs Kyoko, the shoji match, and the last part, I am truly impressed. This is the strength of Shaft's in-house staff. |
moodieDec 17, 2016 11:03 AM
| Well that was a pretty powerful rant Reminded me a bit of a certain scene from Inou-Battle, except a lot more believable |
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| As much as I suffer through this anime sometimes, episodes like this are so worth it. |
| That was, That was quite something. Great episode yet again. I'm still not fully sure why Kyouko tries to provoke Rei likes this, what is she trying to do? Is she trying to make Rei feel guilty for what he has or will do? That was quite an intense scene though. The Shogi match was quite something, Rei's opponent was simply too faint hearted I guess. Gave up too quickly and didn't even try to learn from his mistakes. That scene where Yasui snatched the bag from Rei's hand actually scared me, I thought he was gonna hit Rei for a second. Rei's breakdown was really heart-wrenching and stunning, I was speechless for the whole thing. Feel really bad for the guy, he's done absolutely nothing wrong and yet people look at him like he's the cause of their misery. It's not his fault if he's stronger, It's not his fault if his opponents don't practice. It's really sad to see how everything is being taken out on him like this. :( |
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| Kyoku, the Rei´s sister, is a viper, when speaks always is for bad o hurt to Rei!!! Grrrrr!!! The christmas presents was great! A big bear dont want!! A GameBom (small brother of Gameboy xD)! a shogi pieces! (bad present, jealousy) Poor Rei :( |
| the last part was very emotional I have to admit. |
| "The future is always blank. Only your willpower can leave footsteps there." "Ruling over death means ruling over life. Death is the climax of life. To have the best death, you must honor life." |
| and here I am expecting Christmas episode 3-gatsu was heartwarming. it's brutally heartwrenching. |
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| Very powerful speech from Rei. It really shows how he can express his true feelings when he wants to. |
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| Kyouko :0 Stalking all of Rei's opponents and feeding him the sad info like a sadist. |
| Phenomenal episode. The only show this season where I'm left craving more each time. |
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| well the episode took a dramatic turn in the end... It makes you realise that not everyone can be happy in the end.. |
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| On the fence on whether his breakdown was overly dramatic, or he just said a little too much, but still an amazing episode. Kyouko is captivating and that makes her even scarier. I wonder how much emphasis we should put on that line about how Rei wants to hear more of it from her.. |
| Well this was an intense episode. Argh Kyouko playing mind games with Rei. Woah Yasui was furious. Grabbing the Christmas Present out of Rei's hand scared me. Poor Rei screaming & letting it all out. Sad to see him blaming himself. YAY Kawamoto Sisters next week. |
Santoryu_XBurnerDec 17, 2016 1:42 PM
"I’ve set myself to become the King of the Pirates…and if I die trying…then at least I tried!" Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece) |
cwtgcheese said: Well he has been tortured by Kyouko for the past days. That's enough to justify his frustration. Specially considering that he has displayed tendencies to bottle everything in. He pulled a similar stunt when yelling at the TV. Kids just human at the end of the day.On the fence on whether his breakdown was overly dramatic, or he just said a little too much, but still an amazing episode. Kyouko is captivating and that makes her even scarier. I wonder how much emphasis we should put on that line about how Rei wants to hear more of it from her.. |
| This is the kind of episode I want to see more of from 3-gatsu no lion. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with the lighter tone of episode nine, especially considering how arresting and intense episode eight was--but this episode was right in line with what I want from this show. I think Kyouko (not even as a character, but as some sort of external, needlessly malicious force) does wonders for this show and really brings out the personality of Rei in particular; I seem to be a huge fan of every episode that features her. The real star of the show though, Rei, seems to be gradually coming into his own as a more readily understandable and relatable character. One of my favourite things about 3-gatsu so far is the way it uses the pacing and intensity of the show to reflect the reader/viewer's understanding of the characters and plot: slow at first as we came to understand Rei and his relationship with the sisters on the surface, but gradually opening up with each and every episode about the nature of Rei's relationships with the people around him. The next step was to give us a closer look at Rei himself, and that is what this episode did. His rant at the end was genuinely heartfelt and the anger behind it was exceptionally palpable. My only worry is that this show will run out of steam as it approaches the end, a possibility that is only made more troubling by the revelation that this is 24 episodes long--I thought it was only 12. Nevertheless, this was a spectacular episode. Five out of five; I can't wait to see where this show goes next. |
And what if all love is an act of bravery? Could you look me in the eye and say that you are not afraid?  |
| 6/5!!! It had the same atmosphere as the first episode and I loved it! It was so satisfying when Rei let it all out. I was thinking the same, he is not supposed to lose games on purpose. That being said, Kyoko sure is well informed about the private life of Rei's rivals. The extent she goes to torment Rei is quite impressive. I hope she'll eventually get what she deserves. Sensei is best sensei. |
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| Wow, that was a really good episode, that breakdown was amazing, i really like when a character shouts out all of his worries like that. Shaft is doing a fantastic job at adapting this series, the animation is really well made and the soundtrack is awesome, nothing to complain about :> |
| So Kyouko is here to make Rei feel guilty for separating a girl from her father on their last Christmas together. It shouldn't really concern Rei what happens after someone loses to him, but Rei can't help but feel a bit guilty. He feels that he's the bad guy for letting this happen. It happened in the last episode too with the old man who was going to retire. This time, Rei bursts. It isn't his fault that the man tries to escape by getting drunk as hell. It's not his fault that guy was weak. He can't just lose either for that man's sake. Shogi is the only thing he has; shogi brought him close to his biological father, it gave him a family after his own died, it is his only means of earning money for survival. He can't just lose to make every other loser happy. Kyouko was trying to make him feel guilty probably as revenge for what happened to her thanks to Rei being too good at the game. Pretty neat episode. I really liked Rei blowing up over there. Good stuff here. |
| Well that certainly wasn't the episode I wanted or expected it to be for Christmas. XD Rei's outburst was a long time coming, but he really needed to unleash it on that bitch Kyouko. Missed opportunity there, but oh well. He's also apparently too blind to see shogi isn't all he has...more on that next week I suspect. |
| The OST during the shogi match was incredible. In a way, Kyouko's terror makes Rei grow as a character, that's crazy to watch. |
| Insteresting animation and lots of Shaftisms but that was about it this time. I really hated how they unnecesarily dragged everything to make it one-ep length and it felt like there are running in circles, repeating the same paths of despair. And even if his cry out was kinda interesting part it ultimately felt unimpactful when he was alone and did nothing about his life afterwards. MC is always regretful type, his sister is a bitch again, and we got another opponent with a story. No. It doesn't work anymore. Unless he quits shogi or unless he learns to like it he won't be happy in his life. And we are about to watch at least 12 more predictable episodes knowing that. |
| This anime truly is a masterpiece but yet not even an 8 rating so far....this truly is one heck of an underrated anime, imo ofcourse. |
Manga reader here. It only gets better. Especially when Rei's character arc takes a turn which happens in a few episodes when Shimada appears. |
| AOTS confirmed as of now |
 Oshii is probably the only director that loves dogs. He thinks he's a dog himself. That's right, its slime! It will dissolve your clothing slowly before my eyes! |
| Totally thought the guy was gonna jump off a bridge for a while there. Forgot what show I was watching. |
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| Very powerfull episode with very strong messages. I can really relate to Rei in this scenario because I've been in a similar one. It's a really horrible and crappy feeling, you know you aren't to blame for what happened but it still eats away at you knowing you were the cause. For some reason I don't hate Kyoko as much as other people. I feel there is just more to her than meets the eye. When you look at the flashbacks you can really see that the adoptive father favors Rei since he is so good at shogi. When you see that as the 'other' child it's pretty natural that you feel ressentment towards the favored child even if it is not their fault. I hope that during the series Kyoko will realize or recognize (because maybe she already knows) that Rei is not to blame but her father. |
| I could feel the frustration ;__;.... Marvelous episode. |
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dk1200 said: Very powerfull episode with very strong messages. I can really relate to Rei in this scenario because I've been in a similar one. It's a really horrible and crappy feeling, you know you aren't to blame for what happened but it still eats away at you knowing you were the cause. For some reason I don't hate Kyoko as much as other people. I feel there is just more to her than meets the eye. When you look at the flashbacks you can really see that the adoptive father favors Rei since he is so good at shogi. When you see that as the 'other' child it's pretty natural that you feel ressentment towards the favored child even if it is not their fault. I hope that during the series Kyoko will realize or recognize (because maybe she already knows) that Rei is not to blame but her father. Yeah, I agree with this. Kyouko isn't tormenting Rei just for the sake of it; she's doing it because she blames him for stealing her father away from her. It's a perfectly understandable feeling to have, considering the circumstances. And I feel like Rei understands this as well. Otherwise, why would he want to hear Kyouko's poisonous words? I feel like he wants to punish himself for what he's did--being the cowbird in the nest, in other words. |
Reaper71Dec 17, 2016 5:04 PM
And what if all love is an act of bravery? Could you look me in the eye and say that you are not afraid? |
| How the fuck does Kyouko know the personal business of these shougi players?! She's taunting Rei and not realizing that each taunt makes him stronger. I seriously doubt that's what she wants for him. I hope Rei bites her head off soon. Rei's teacher is awesome! I think Yasui-san was already a little tipsy when he got to the shougi hall. Such an asshole for taking his loss out on Rei. I've been waiting for Rei to have a breakdown. He tried to make things easier on his foster/adopted family by leaving their home and living on his own. It also seems that he tries to keep contact with them to a minimum. Yet Kyouko bears a grudge that's so strong that she goes out of her way to mentally torment him because she believes that Rei took her daddy away. Kyouko's mad that Rei chose her dad? Hell, if she's saying that children can't choose their parents, they also can't choose to lose their parents. So, just what the hell was she expecting Rei to do? |
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| Those last 5 minutes sure were artistic and psychological. |
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| What a powerful episode. Rei's speech was very hard to watch. Also, the animation (particularly at the end) was absolutely stunning. I miss seeing the sisters though. Hopefully they'll be back next week! |
| I really hate it when Kyouko tries to guilt-trip Rei. At least he doesn't fall for it. He has to win because it's the only thing he has to survive. The music being played during the shogi match was beautiful. I loved it. Kyoko gave up too easily with that match. The outburst from Rei was very powerful. Feeling guilty for an opponent is not easy, but Rei had to win. It's not his fault Kyoko was weak. Losing on purpose isn't going to help either. Shogi is the only thing Rei has to survive. I really feel bad for him. |
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| Rei's confrontation with Kyouko at the bridge felt very tense. Almost felt like he was moments away from pushing her down in the river. That last scene was so hard to watch T_T Kawamoto sisters in the preview. It's a good thing that they'll be back next week, cuz Rei is in need of their presence more than ever |
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| And Kyouko continues to try and make Rei feel guilty about defeating all these shogi players. I'm glad he finally broke down and let out all his feelings at the park near the end of the episode. On another note, I've missed seeing the sisters and I hope they at least show up in the next episode. |
| Cross-country >>>>>>>>>>>> Every other sport |
| Rei's sister is so goddamn annoying. I'm actually glad Rei broke down, it was some pretty good characterization. |
| Im not going to go in depth with anything, just came here to say... WOW! This is the reason I love this show damn much and the musical scores were amazing on my freaking lord this was a godly episode. :) |
| What. |
| Great episode that perfectly illustrates the inner struggles of Rei's professional career. The music during the match kept my attention and before I knew it, 7 minutes had passed. With me knowing very little about shogi, I was surprised that several minutes had elapsed and the match/review was over. Then finally Rei had an emotional outburst. Its been a long time coming and I've been wondering how much he could withstand before his mind snapped. After 10 episodes, we finally get to see a different side of Rei which was surprising to witness and very refreshing to the complexity of his character. 5/5- There are three things I'm peeved about but they are very minor. It's odd that he has faced two players consecutively where they have something to lose. The other is that Rei always plays against players with faces I want to punch. Both opponents Rei has face in the last two weeks had a pathetic look on their faces so that's to be expected from me. Finally, I miss the sisters very much. They provide great balance to the show and their presence adds more to the entertainment. |
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| Inoue Marina is doing such a fantastic job as Kyouko. |
| What a brilliant episode, and what a dramatic improvement on last week! As much as I hate her for it, I have to admit that Kyouko's attempts to manipulate Rei (props to Marina Inoue for doing a great job with that) make her quite an interesting and dangerous character. It was good to see that Rei didn't let it get in the way of his match, but the fact he sought Yasui out and had that rant at the end shows that Kyouko's words definitely affect him. Speaking of that rant, that was definitely the best part of the episode, and it's entirely understandable why Rei would think like that: shogi is his life, so he cannot possibly understand how other shogi players such as Yasui don't take it anywhere near as seriously. One thing I absolutely loved in this episode was the initial match with Yasui and how only the clanking of shogi pieces on the board and the music in the background were used to create an excellent and dramatic sense of tension. Such brilliant direction, as you would expect from a SHAFT show. One question though: HOW does Kyouko know all these very personal details about all these people Rei is competing against? |
| Indeed great episode. The shogi battle with its emotional music really got me. Felt bad for Rei, for someone who keep every emotions in himself, Kyouko's taunting and Yasui's lost made him more broken. Though I'm glad he scream those emotions within him, his depression might lessen a little. |
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| After the view of the city at night from Rei's apartment with Kyouko in episode 8, after the impresionism reference with Matsunaga san on the river bank in episode 9, we have other stunning visuals again on the river bank with Kyouko in this episode. Which blue is the most gorgeous? This river full of shining diamonds or the evil eyes of this "caring" sister? Here also we had the chance to see little Kyouko already training in beating and bullying on her new teddy bear under the Christmas tree : Isn't that cute? :) Apparently Rei is attracted to this beautiful rose with huuuuge thorns, he's aware of it and she knows it too. We still don't know what happened exactly on this futon though. I still think that Kyouko's voice actress force the nasty and arrogant tone too much but it's a detail and I'll get use to it anyway. In the end, who is the most awful person to Rei in this episode? Not Kyouko but probably Yasui-san. The violence of his reaction when Rei just tried to help might have been what triggered the break-down. It did't turn out as well as the way it did with Matsunaga-san last week. Visually again, Rei running in the middle of the trees, was it another reference to impresionism art? I've read that in Episode 9 Van Gogh was probably the reference, so for this forest, is it a nod to another famous artist? As for the music, I will also join the people here who praised it during the game. Great choice. Is it from a famous composer? I too missed the Kawamoto family and Shinobu. If it wasn't for this great teacher, we wouldn't have gotten any relieving moment in this episode. I'm looking forward to the next episode. |
Ysad_ZiwezhanDec 18, 2016 4:22 AM
| Majestic. Everything from Kyoko's tormenting till Rei's breakdown in the episode was simply great. My most favorite episode yet. The scenery and visuals in the episode were beautiful. The music used and its transition from Rei's match with Yasui till his breakdown was really captivating. Both were complementing the story really well. |
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| nice Game Bomb lol |
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| this episode was awesome...that old guy is just stupid... sister is evil as hell but i kinda like her...and i guess rei likes her too only thing i didnt like was rei hitting the floor with his face like that...was that even needed? yay more sisters next week, hina is probably my favourite female character this season lol |
favorite "new girls" from fall <3 (lol i only watched these) ... click sig for older seasons  |
| I really adore this kind of atmosphere. It hits the sad part of reality so well. I'm happy that this anime has 2-cours. Looks like a sad X-mas for Rei. |
All people have their own sh*t tastes, therefore, there are no sh*t tastes, since everything is equally sh*t. A VERY LOGICAL PHILOSOPHY |
| No one is going to talk about this Rei's God tier voice actor ? |
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