About “March Comes In Like A Lion” in a few words:

“March Comes In Like A Lion” is a Japanese manga and anime series written and illustrated by Chica Umino. The story follows a young professional shogi player named Rei Kiriyama as he navigates through the ups and downs of his career and personal life. Along the way, he meets a diverse cast of characters who each have their own struggles and aspirations. The series explores themes of family, friendship, mental health, and the importance of finding one’s place in the world.

Meet the characters from March Comes In Like A Lion

Rei Kiriyama

Rei is this quietly explosive mix of genius and heartbreak — like, he’s brilliant at shogi but lives in this fog of loner melancholy that somehow makes you want to hug him and also give him a lecture. He’s stoic most of the time but then will do something unexpectedly kind (or bluntly awkward) that makes you laugh, and yes he mutters to himself a lot, maybe hums old tunes when nervous. He collects tiny rituals — a certain brand of milk, a notebook with terrible handwriting — and yet he’ll forget his own birthday and probably lose his phone three times a week. There’s a stubborn, almost exhausted dignity to him; he can be cold but he bleeds empathy if you poke it the right way. Honestly, he feels like a sad poet who keeps winning at board games and losing at small talk.

Akari Kawamoto

Akari is the unofficial sun of everything around her — endlessly patient, soft, and somehow unshakeably strong; she holds everyone together and then makes tea like nothing happened. She’s maternal without being smothering, reads the room better than anyone, and can flip into fierce protectiveness in half a heartbeat (don’t test that). She’s the kind of person who hums while doing chores and has a stash of emergency snacks and bad puns, though she also has this quiet tiredness that she hides behind smiles — but you can always tell when she hasn’t slept. Sometimes she’s annoyingly practical (bills, schedules, life advice), and sometimes she’s wonderfully impractical (spontaneous trips, dramatic dessert presentations), which makes her absolutely lovable.

Hinata Kawamoto

Hinata is a sparkplug — loud, blunt, and loyally dramatic, with emotions that wear on her sleeve and fists she throws at a pillow when she’s embarrassed. She can be bossy and stubborn, will tell you off and then bake you cookies five minutes later; also enjoys teasing people mercilessly but will defend them like a tiny, fierce knight. She’s got this fierce sense of fairness and a soft spot for anyone who’s lonely, though she gets defensive fast and sometimes refuses help because pride is apparently her middle name. She’s surprisingly perceptive under the bluster, notices small things you think you hid well, and somehow balances teenage chaos with a weirdly mature streak.

Momo Kawamoto

Momo is the adorable little whirlwind — bouncy, clingy, and full of sudden, oddly profound observations that come out of nowhere and slap you with cuteness. She’s the baby of the family so she gets away with being dramatic and stubborn (and hoarding snacks), but she’ll also say something sincere that makes everyone pause and feel seventeen kinds of soft. Sometimes she’s clingy and tiny, sleeping with a stuffed animal, and sometimes she’s fiercely independent, insisting on doing things herself and then getting suspiciously proud about it. She’s all heart, a bit chaotic, loves stickers, and somehow manages to be both painfully adorable and unexpectedly wise for her age.]