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MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

I like this kind of tropes --one-sided love then being reciprocated.

I enjoyed Haru's character but I wish she was given more depth than a highschool dropout who fell in love with a college boy at first sight and followed him around until he got used to her and eventually fell in love with her. She had so much potential given the kind of introduction she had in the first episode.

Rikou was the most realistic character for me. Except for the ex girlfriend part which was, to be honest, a useless arc. He perfectly depicted the life of a person who was ... somewhat lost and had no motivation or goal in life, that is until he ventured out of his comfort zone and worked hard to get a full-time job as a (learning) cameraman from his part-time job at a convenience store. I appreciate his growth throughout the series. The part where he was confused with his feelings for Haru is partly understandable. He did say many times to Haru not to wait for him anymore and it was mentioned that he was too nice and was not assertive enough so that's why he couldn't be frank in telling Haru to keep distance. or probably because he was in denial or he wasn't able to face the looming fact that he was growing feelings for Haru already. His actions were understandable, but I wouldn't tolerate it if it happened to me, lol. He did disappoint me in many scenes where I thought he would go to Haru but instead always ended up at Shinako's door.

BUT SHINAKO, oh good heavens, Shinako was such a mess. I understand that she has not yet moved on from her past love, and she can grieve for as long as she wants to, but I wish she didn't involve other people's lives while she was healing. She was so undecisive and her relationship with Rikou was going back and forth. One minute she was ok with Rikou x Haru, the next minute she and Rikou were hanging out as more than friends. She was told to keep distance from Rou, but she keeps on coming back to their house to cook them (or Rou) meals. She was sad, and that's okay. But she was unfair to the people around her because she didn't vocalize her thoughts and feelings properly. But Rikou knew all of these anyway and both of them consented to the kind of relationship they were gonna have, so the mutual breakup was inevitable and calm.

I think this is what makes the series relatable and more realistic than it seems. Our emotions and our fate are fragile, unpredictable and uncontrollable. There were annoying parts, but if you think about it, it could happen in real life. We don't have everything planned out that goes smoothly.

One MAJOR THING that turned me off though was that in episode 3 up until episode 5, it was clear that Rikou was developing feelings for Haru, and their banters and slight jealousy made my heart pound, but midway through the series it focused on Rikou x Shinako whose relationship was soooooo stressful. And then they ended it with a mutual breakup and then we see Rikou running off to see Haru and Haru kisses him off the hook. Haru went the extra mile to see Rikou all the time and she was more often met with heartbreaks, so I kind of expected that Rikou would be given at least the slightest challenge to get Haru back, BUT NO. Ugh.

Haru deserved better than feel like she was a backup plan (because Rikou told her during his confession that Shinako dumped him when in fact he was the one who broke up with Shinako!) But I'm glad they ended up together. The ending felt rushed though.

This series had a lot of potential if the story had focused more on Rikou x Haru and had shown more progress on their relationship rather than the stressful Rikou x Shinako.

I had doubts and did not have much expectations from this series when I started it. I frequently saw its ads and happened to stumble upon it on netflix so I watched it out of curiosity. I am not a fan of mecha anime so I was not really looking forward in the first few eps. But as I progressed, I found myself enjoying the first season.

The series reminded me of Darling in the Franxx and Guilty Crown, but thankfully (at least for me), the theme and characters aren't as serious as with the two aforementioned animes. For some reason, 86 was a lot ... easier to watch.

The transition from season 1 to season 2, especially the change of setting wasn't awkward and it didn't seem rushed. I honestly didn't like Frederica very much, but I appreciate her role in keeping Shinei grounded at some point. It's also nice seeing the other characters venture into other activities outside of fighting and seeing their interests if they were raised in a normal environment.

There is still so many unanswered questions after 23 episodes in total so far and not much has been given light upon so I am definitely looking forward to the next season.

The plot is not outstanding nor unique, but the way it is delivered, the animation, the characterization of the cast, and the flow of the story kept me hooked until the end.

This is one of the calming, non-stressful and satisfying animes out there. I felt cleansed after I finished it lol. I rated it 9/10 for room for improvement and given that it isn't very unique, but to be honest the ending is SO BEAUTIFUL I wouldn't mind scoring it 10/10.

Sangatsu no Lion will always be one of my comfort animes. I love how the story progresses and how the side characters have much to offer as well and play their own part in Rei's life.

I also love how season 2 is much brighter than the first season (apart from the improved art-style and quality) I believe this depicts how Rei's point of view is also turning brighter figuratively as he develops relationships in school, at shogi and within the kawamoto household.

Another point to love is how the writer and the anime director are able to display Rei's and Kyoko's mental struggle while ... not portraying it as something negative but rather something we can all experience and overcome. It accurately tackles bullying on both the victims' and oppressor's side as well.

It's overwhelming how this anime can manipulate how we feel like during Rei and Souya's match and the scenes after during the rain. It was very familiar and cozy and dreamy of some sorts. Similar to a feeling when you're driving to a countryside in the middle of the night with the clear view of the stars, or waking up in a rainy morning with no work to do and you'd just make yourself a hot cup of choco. I really enjoyed watching those couple of episodes.

Just really in love with everything about this anime. <3