Manga Review: 3 Gatsu no Lion

Title: 3 Gatsu no Lion
Author: Chika Umino
Release: Monthly
Status: Ongoing
Genre: Josei, Slice of Life, Comedy
Art: B
Originality: A
Story: S
Characters: S+
Humor: A
Action: A

Impression: This is about Kiriyama Rei, a professional teen genius Shogi player who lives on his own in the city. The story focuses on him the loner and the three sisters that live near him. This comes from the same author who did Honey and Clover and true to the famed style, there is a perfect mix of the light and the darker parts of this manga. The main focus of this manga is how people get over the pain and the emotional scars left behind by tragic events in their lives so the mood can be quite dark and heartbreaking at times. The characters are all created with much depth and are quite interesting. For example, Rei is a loner who no longer lives with his foster family for unknown reasons and the eldest of the three sisters works as a hostess to support her two sisters and their grandfather. The hints towards the tragedies in their lives compel readers to read further into the story and have them reflect on how they’d act if they had to go through the same loss. If they did, then the characters become much more relatable than they already are and I imagine that it amplifies the strength of this already powerful manga. I look forward to the day this gets animated as it could give KEY a run for its money in the department of making people cry.