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3-gatsu no Lion is adapted from Umino Chika’s (also known for Hachimitsu to Clover) award winning manga of the same name. Some people tend to be worried when they hear that studio Shaft is going to be adapting anything, but Shaft perfectly adapted the already great manga of 3-gatsu no Lion in a very creative way, as they usually do.
3-gatsu no Lion tells a story about a boy that tries to find a place where he belongs and is accepted, a story that consists of many different parts, each of which can stir up many different kinds of emotions, and when all of them ... come together, they make this amazing series.

The story that 3-gatsu no Lion tells is that of Rei Kiriyama, a 17-year-old boy who has faced many troubles and sadness despite his young age. His losing his family when he was still a child and even facing problems while living with his adoptive family, have caused him many traumas and insecurities and made his personality reclusive. While trying to find a way to escape from that pressure, he decides to live alone, in Tokyo, but how is he going to make it on his own? The only thing that Rei is talented at and can depend on is shogi, since he is one of the few people who became professional players while in middle school. But even like that, Rei sometimes faces pressure from the shogi community, he can’t take proper care of himself and doesn’t have any friends.
That’s when he meets the Kawamoto sisters, who are determined to take care of Rei and make him feel less lonely with their hospitality.
As he struggles to maintain himself physically and mentally, he slowly meets and interacts with more people, from the shogi community, school or his family, and gets to understand his own complex emotions.

3-gatsu no Lion is more of a slice of life/drama series with some comedy, but there is focus on shogi, too, which also helps the story progress and the characters develop. Although shogi is one of the basic elements of the anime, it’s really not necessary to know anything about it and understand exactly how they are playing in order to know what’s going on and enjoy the matches. Everything you need to know is told by the characters, through the great description of their feelings and thoughts during the matches.
The narration is simply amazing, the more you watch and listen to the characters talking, the more you are getting drawn in this wonderful story. The way the characters describe how they feel, the troubles they are facing, the dialogues and interactions between them, all seem extremely realistic and even relatable, you can understand exactly what they are going through just by hearing them talking. And as they are thinking through the monologues and they interact with each other, their feelings gradually change, which offers great development to the story and the characters.
It certainly looks like a simple and slow paced story but it can be serious and dramatic, but also very heartwarming and with more lighthearted moments, each of these parts is perfectly handled.
As for the adaptation, studio Shaft did a remarkable job and remained completely faithful to the source material, following the chapters and the dialogues exactly as they should.

The best and main part of 3-gatsu no Lion and what makes it as great as it is, is definitely the characters and their development.
The main character of this story may be Rei, but all of the characters receive the necessary amount of focus. They are all amazingly fleshed out, deep, they feel realistic and have unique and interesting personalities. Even the ones that you would consider characters with a mean personality, are enjoyable to watch, you can sympathize with them and they have a reason behind their actions.
All of them get gradually developed and more of their backstory, personality, thoughts and feelings are continuously revealed.
The character with the greatest and most obvious growth is, of course, Rei, who keeps changing throughout the whole series, but the other character's growth is also impressive.
The relationships between the characters also feel very human and watching their interactions is always enjoyable.

Moving on to the art and animation, it’s obvious that Shaft did an astonishing job. They used the unique art style of Umino Chica without changing anything and added their own special, creative touches as they usually do. The result was aesthetically beautiful, with nice and unique character designs, detailed backgrounds and great cinematography.
The expressions of the characters are great and perfectly used in both the serious and the funny scenes.
There are also many metaphorical scenes with great symbolism, that depict the characters' thoughts and emotions in a very creative way.
The color palette is also very nice and the colors are used correctly according to what each scene wants to show. They can go from really dark colors that show up when the characters are anxious, tense or depressed, to brighter and cuter ones for the more lighthearted scenes. The shift of the colors really adds to the whole experience and makes us understand better how the characters feel at that moment, especially when it comes to the serious and dramatic scenes.

The music used in 3-gatsu no Lion is great, it always fits the scenes perfectly and helps them convey their overall feeling better.
The first OP and ED, “Answer” and “Fighter” by BUMP OF CHICKEN, are truly beautiful. It’s nice how they used “Fighter” as the ED song, since it was the song used for the first collaboration between the band and the author, a short music video of 3-gatsu no Lion.
The second OP, "Sayonara Bystander” by YUKI, and ED, "orion" by Kenshi Yonezu, are also pretty nice and fit the anime.
Even the shogi song, "Nyaa Shougi Ondo” by the sisters’ VAs (Kana Hanazawa, Ai Kayano and Misaki Kuno), was pretty cute and offered some information about shogi.
Another nice detail is the cute sound effects and the animals’ little dialogues, which are pretty funny.
The voice actors did a great job and managed to convey the characters’ feelings perfectly.

3-gatsu no Lion may look like a very simple story, with no really extraordinary elements. But the way it manages to handle and describe all the complex, but human feelings and thoughts of the characters so naturally and perfectly, is what makes 3-gatsu no Lion a masterpiece. The many different situations that the anime depicts, the dramatic ones or the heartwarming ones will definitely stir up your emotions and tug at your heartstrings.
It may not be an anime that pleases everyone’s tastes, but it is definitely unique, realistic, refreshing and worth dedicating some of your time to watch it.

One year after 3-gatsu no Lion’s first season, the second one has arrived. And it manged to be even more outstanding.
Seven months after the first season’s ending, we get to see the continuation of Rei’s journey; His journey to find happiness and a place where he belongs. Has he managed to overcome his emotional scars and find people he can call friends and family?

The second season starts in a truly heartwarming way that shows how much Rei has grown and how lucky he feels for finally finding friends he can have fun with at school, and a family in the Kawamoto household. When compared ... to his former self, a boy with a reclusive personality and depression caused by his traumas and insecurities, Rei has grown as a person in an amazing way. While he is still a flawed being and is still searching, he has slowly overcome most of his personal issues, gained confidence, started trusting others and being more open to them while creating meaningful relationships with them. And most importantly, he is able to smile and laugh honestly, from the bottom of his heart. His pure laugh at the end of episode 16, even though it might sound like a simple thing, was one of the most powerful scenes of this season.
His growth throughout the whole anime, whether it’s done through his everyday life or the competitive shogi scene, is truly impressive and refreshing.

Of course, Rei isn’t the only character to get the spotlight and, even though he is the protagonist, there were quite a few episodes where he felt like he was a side character. But when it comes to 3-gatsu a situation like this is welcome. Umino Chica has the talent to create amazingly realistic and unique characters. It’s never uninteresting to follow an episode or a whole arc focused on a side character, slowly see him being fleshed out, to learn his background, his personal thoughts, problems and worries.
There are a lot of characters like this from the professional shogi scene, like Yanagihara and Souya, but even some that got less focus like the pigeon man (Yamazaki) and others. No matter how much focus they got, they were all memorable characters with interesting personalities and backgrounds.
Other characters that we know from the first season, like Nikaidou, Shimada and many others, keep appearing and receiving their fair share of focus and development.

The Kawamoto sisters are shown a lot in this season, mainly because of a certain arc: The arc about Hina becoming a victim of bullying.
This is one of the greatest arcs of the story so far for many reasons. It depicts bullying, the reasons behind it, its consequences and the damage it can cause in a very realistic way, without exaggerating it. The main bully, Takagi, is a really mean girl, but through her meetings with the homeroom teacher we get to understand the reason and thoughts that led to her actions. This doesn’t make what she did any better, but it’s great to see that even a character like her is getting a realistic personality.
The one who supported the Kawamoto family was Rei, even if he thought that he couldn’t do anything for them. The Kawamoto sisters were the ones who gave him affection and treated him like family, and now he’s the one helping them. It’s nice to see how much Rei has developed and come to love the Kawamoto family through this.
Of course, the one who got the most focus and development in this arc was Hina and her relationship with Rei. Her emotions and thoughts were fleshed out incredibly through the whole arc. She showed how great a character and brave girl she is, and Rei even felt like he was saved by her words.
The rest of the Kawamoto family, mainly Akari, got a bit of focus in this arc, as well.

The storytelling is still done in a poetic way, with a slow pace that makes the viewer immersed into the story as it gradually progresses.
While the anime is dramatic for the most part, the lighthearted comedy is still here. The subtle comedy of 3-gatsu no Lion is pretty funny and it can bring a smile to the viewers’ face or laughter. It doesn’t feel forced and the balance between the dramatic and funny moments is perfect.

In the second season, too, shogi has an important role in the anime. The psychology during the matches is portrayed excellently. The great description of the characters’ thoughts and emotions during the matches, helps the audience that can’t understand shogi know what’s going on the board. During the matches, the characters also find the chance to get fleshed out and developed, which leads to the story’s progression.

Like in the first season, studio Shaft has followed every single scene and line of the source material faithfully. They have only mixed up a few chapters at the end of the anime to make a more suitable ending episode, but this doesn't really pose a problem.

The story and character sections of the review have gotten a bit mixed up already, but when it comes to a character-driven story like this one, it’s hard to talk about the plot without mentioning the characters. But rather than a plot with a clear beginning and ending, 3-gatsu no Lion mostly consists of pieces of different characters’ lives presented in a realistic and human way.

3-gatsu no Lion does an exceptional work at presenting complex, deep, realistic characters and fleshing them out. Their personalities, backstories, flaws, thoughts, worries and emotions feel human and even relatable. The anime never forgets any of them, it keeps showing them to the audience and developing them, while they all have a part in Rei’s life, even if it is as an obstacle.
The relationships and interactions between the characters also feel very human and the chemistry between them is really nice.

Moving on the art and animation, it’s quite easy to notice that studio Shaft has put an even greater effort to the already awesome visuals of the first season. Umino Chica’s artstyle combined with Shaft’s powerful direction, fluid animation and unique touches is a delight to the eyes. The artwork seems experimental at times, but there is also a feel of realism in it.
The color palette is really nice and the colors are used correctly according to what each scene wants to convey. Dark colors show up in the dramatic scenes and brighter ones for the more lighthearted ones. The shift of the colors really adds to the mood and atmosphere and makes the audience understand better how the characters feel at that moment, especially when it comes to the serious and dramatic scenes and the shogi matches.
The use of metaphorical scenes with symbolism is truly masterful, and depicts the characters' thoughts and emotions in a very creative way.
The character designs are still good and unique and the characters’ expressions are drawn in a great way.
The backgrounds are beautifully drawn and detailed.

The music of the show is truly captivating, the soundtrack has an active role in creating the appropriate mood for each scene and allows them to convey their feeling better.
The OPs and EDs, just like in the first season, are very good and memorable. It’s also a nice detail that the songs keep getting a bit cheerier and have brighter art as Rei gradually grows and becomes happier by overcoming some of his troubles. They are all nicely directed with great animation and the use of watercolor-like colors in some of them is beautiful.
The voice actors did an awesome job once again and managed to convey the characters’ feelings perfectly.
Even the animals’ little dialogues in their cute voices are pretty funny.
The sound effects are also used well.

3-gatsu no Lion is an anime with a unique take on the slice of life genre. It doesn’t just follow everyday adventures of characters’, but it also gives them a mature and human touch. The anime’s storytelling is truly intriguing with its heavy characterization and greatly used psychology. Its life lessons regarding different issues one can come across in life and growth of the characters can even influence the viewers. It’s a series that makes simple everyday things feel powerful and offers compelling drama. Along with the beautiful artwork and music, it can stir up the viewers’ emotions and tug at their heartstrings through both the dramatic and lighthearted scenes. Watching 3-gatsu no Lion is a breathtaking experience, a true masterpiece that keeps surpassing the viewers' expectations and capturing their hearts.

Dropped after episode 29.
Sousei no Onmyouji is Spring 2016 season's average shounen anime with a theme that has already been used many times. It might seem at least a bit nice at first but, it quickly becomes a somewhat repetitive and uninteresting ride. However, the anime has a little special charm of its own and decently developed characters (at least, before the original arc). But, is that enough to call Sousei no Onmyouji a good anime?

Story: 4/10
The story of Sousei no Onmyouji, isn't something new or very original, as we have already seen lots of anime that center on certain people who possess a special ... ability (Exorcists) and fight against supernatural enemies (Kegare) in order to protect the world. The problem is not that it uses an overused theme, the anime does have a little charm of its own but, it doesn't manage it in a way that will make it less cliché. Also, it doesn't give anything interesting enough to get hooked on and you just end up watching a story with almost no impact on you. The story had potential to be much better but, it depended on predictable shounen elements and was pretty much wasted.
The romance between the two main characters shows a little progression after a few episodes and some of their interactions contribute to it. Although, there are others which are only supposed to be funny but, they end up meaningless and annoying. The humor of the show isn't that funny, most of the jokes fall flat and they even repeat some of them often. The random fan-service that they add from time to time, also, feels out of place and doesn't contribute to any aspect of the anime.
Putting a filler arc after a major time-skip that would have contributed to the development of the main characters and their relationship, wasn't a good idea, either. At the end of episode 20, the main characters decide to live in a different place together for a couple of years in order to become stronger. So, you would expect them to become stronger, more developed as characters and their relationship to actually have progressed a little, right? Unfortunately, due to the arc following the time skip being an anime original, they probably didn't know how to handle the story and characters in a way that will actually make it obvious that two whole years have passed so, everything remained the same and the time-skip didn't even make any sense.

Characters: 5/10
At first, the characters seem as dull and insignificant as the story. Their personalities may still be kind of flat and boring but, their chemistry, interactions and development is what makes things better.
The protagonist, Rokuro, seems to be a powerful character who doesn't want to return to being an Exorcist, because of a dramatic childhood experience. He is the kind of MC with not much depth, mostly cheerful but, kind of annoying, too, wants to always protect others and become stronger and his actions are all predictable.
The main female character, Benio, also didn't use to have much to be described with. She was the cool and silent type of character and another powerful Exorcist but, after a few episodes, she showed us a friendlier and more sensitive side of her.
The two main characters may receive development after a lot of episodes, but it happens in pretty much the same way all the time. Something bad happens, they think they are strong and they can face it, they fail, they get angry and cry, they get overpowered, they win. Then again the same thing from the beginning. It is a positive thing that they received character development but, the way it is done can end up repetitive and not very exciting.
The chemistry between them has become better. They got to know and care about each other more, each of them wants to protect the other and they feel stronger when they fight together. Their more romantic interactions can sometimes be funny and cute and actually contribute to the development of their relationship but, there are times that they can be pretty meaningless and cliché.
Unfortunately, despite all the development they managed to get, they remained completely the same after the time-skip, which makes you wonder if it was even necessary.
The rest of the cast is rather forgettable, most of the characters are just there to fill their role and they receive little to no development, at all.

Art/Animation: 5/10
The art of Sousei no Onmyouji may not the best and most detailed out there, but it's quite satisfying. Although, personally, I'm not really a fan of the art style and the bright colours, but that's a matter of opinion, and it may also be a good point of the anime, because it gives it a somewhat special touch. The biggest problem here is how terrible the animation is most of the time. Scenes that are often reused, the same movement patterns again and again, overusing images with no motion at all and generally, the show is poorly animated. It might be something that you can get used to quite easily, but it is kind of off-putting to watch action scenes without the impact that they should have.
Fortunately, as more episodes come out, art and animation seem to become slightly better, although I wish they were at the level of the 2nd OP of the series, only this one was really well done when it comes to animation.

Sound: 6/10
There is not much to say here, as the first OP ("Valkyrie -Ikusa Otome-" by Wagakki Band) and ED ("Eyes" by Hitomi Kaji) seem to be fine and the OST is decent enough, but they become uninteresting after a while. The second ED ("Yadoriboshi" by Itowokashi) wasn't significant either, but the second OP ("Re:Call" by i☆Ris) was actually quite good and the animation was the best they've used so far. The third OP ("Sync" by lol) is rather bland and the first part can feel a little out of place but, the third ED ("Hide and Seek" by Girlfriend) is more lively and enjoyable than the other two.

Enjoyment: 2/10
I don't really think that Sousei no Onmyouji can offer much enjoyment, watching it ended up a chore after a few episodes and the original arc made everything worse.
Sousei no Onmyouji has some cool classic shounen moments but, they are not extremely worth watching and there are other anime where they are done better. The humor isn't the strong point of the anime, as most of the jokes fall flat and it gets repetitive after a while. If you like romance in shounen anime, this one offers some but, don't expect too much.

Overall: 4/10
Sousei no Onmyouji falls into a category of anime with a theme which has been used many times by series greater and more amusing. There are many things that could be done about the story, characters and animation to become better but, it ended up as wasted potential. If you don't mind watching another average shounen anime with nothing much to offer to the genre, you can go ahead and give it a try.