 If you liked
Ping Pong the Animation
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 ...then you might like
3-gatsu no Lion
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Both are coming-of-age stories that use sports as a tool for character development and focus more on the depth of the characters involved in the games and matches (even the minor ones).
Both are sports anime that push the genre to the background in order to focus on the depth of the characters and their evolution throughout the show
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Recommended by IsItAragnor
Both are bitter sweet views on a love for a game that becomes the driving force of someone's existence.
• In both anime, the sport isn't the center theme but an exstention.
• Both characters are good at there proffession but aren't overpowered.
• Both share unique animation styles.
• Both of the main characters are around the same age.
• Both are centered in and around high school.
• Both contain tornament arcs.
Sangatsu and Ping Pong both use their respective activity as a means to present character interactions and conflicts of emotion.
Both also involve elements of coming-of-age, with the characters maturing, standing up against life's hardships and growing to appreciate themselves and others' being a MAJOR part of the shows' magic.
These also feature an artistic element that makes them stand even more to other game/sport drama stories: Sangatsu features unique Shaft-style animated sequences that depict the mental state of characters (e.g depression, hostility, pressure), whereas Ping Pong features unorthodox direction that makes it resemble a comic rather than an animated series.
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Recommended by Krankastel
Both explore the themes based around "competition" through amazing characters having different motivations, expectations from the respective games(Table Tennis & Shogi), where they end up & how they have to accept it & move forward. Both do this amazingly by having a lot of "out of the court" stuff, which developes characters & is exactly what makes the "in game moments" great. Both are beautiful & inspiring coming of age tales but while Sangatsu is slow paced, Ping Pong is fast paced.
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Recommended by snowxafterxdark
March Comes in Like a Lion and Ping Pong the Animation both explore what kind of people are capable of becoming professionals in a game of head-to-head competition. The characters all have different backstories, but nearly universal is some kind of hardship that motivated them to devote an incredible amount of time thinking about and practicing their craft. Simply wanting to be good at shogi/ping pong or loving the game is not sufficient -- in fact, it might be totally unrelated to the factors that make someone good enough to climb the ranks of pros. Along with this, the two shows explore the psychological toll
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Recommended by sebatinsky
Another hidden gem with great character dynamics and explores a rather underhyped sport
These are not normal sports anime which are about who can overcome obstacles and win. Both Ping Pong and 3-gatsu focus more on the humanity of the players who play the game than the game itself. There are lots of fleshed out characters who are not merely players of the game but have some story which relates to their motivations.
Smile is psychologically similar to Rei; both players are very talented in their sport but are not passionate about winning.
- mc is introvert
- similar mcs
- mc is provisional in shogi / ping-pong
- both anime show relationships between characters
- strong "drama"
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Recommended by Floodlight