We get to an end of 3-gatsu run but it feels more like a new beginning. Like what I feared last week the last episode doesn’t really have a conclusive ending, instead offers us the new semester of Rei and his childhood and his shogi, which in all fairness are the weaker parts of 3-gatsu. In part I understand it’s tricky to make a conclusive ending point when you’re in the middle of the story, especially for a slice-of-life drama like this one, and the series does attempt to bring some out of order material to shows us how Rei has maturing up to that point. Fortunate for us, they greenlighted the second season which will air in this Fall season (I will be there blogging) so I’m not that dread over this “ending”; but they totally could turn last-week episode into the final episode and I’d be completely content with it. Okay, I’m done rambling now so let see what this episode has offered us.
Rei starts a new semester and again he finds himself unable to make new friends. Hayashida-sensei (becoming my favorite teacher that is) suggests him to form a shogi club, so that Rei can make new friends and he can still be Rei’s adviser. In all honesty, I would love to see his shogi club instead of the “shogi science club” and I find that students have zero interest in the old game kind of stretching it a bit (I’d join myself, especially if I know a professional player is the club president). But the merging of the club make sense narratively: if you want result, you need to take action. Rei still wants to go back to study because he wants the feeling of not running away, and lately he actually enjoys himself a bit more so I’m sure joining with those guys will be a great experience for him. Also, Noguchi’s moustache is great.
While this first half is generally light-hearted, the second half delves into Rei’s personal problems from way back: the feeling of a lone wolf that doesn’t feel belong to anywhere and scare that the sit next to him will forever be empty. That little trip in his childhood underlines his loneliness. He hides himself from everyone and eating bento all alone, looking at the ants and reading shogi all by himself. There’s also a sad feeling concerning his childhood, so he devotes himself to shogi. With him, shogi is not only the place to belong, but also the place that offers him his companions, offers him the seat where he knows for sure would be taken by his opponents. Then we have a metaphor of he’s riding a train of shogi, with all the shogi players tagging along into the great shiny shogi paradise. But here lies an interesting bit, the show has constantly showed us that the path of shogi is a path that people keeps wandering ahead in the wasteland-like, lonely and suffered; here we have the totally opposite visual metaphor. I guess it just depends on perspective, on how you choose to look at it huh?
In the end, I still have plenty of good time with this episode but it isn’t among its great ones, let alone be worthy enough to be a final episode of this season. I mean, there’s no three sisters, no Kyouko, even no shogi match this week. Normally I would give the show a proper full review, but since it’s confirmed that we will have a second season, plus the fact that I believe with this kind of story we’re better reviewing it as a complete story, I will hold off my full review for now. Overall, I still believe Shaft did a great job of adapting it, and while the shows still have some tonal issues and problems of adapting too faithfully to the source material, the show really shines whenever it digs deep to the characters and fleshes out their relationships. Rarely a show can write characters that deep and heartfelt so I feel overall pleased that we have the next season to look for. Until then.
“I wanted to ask him if the seat next to me would be empty for the rest of my life.” 🙁
Forever alone, eh?
Long post-but I kind of hope someone out there finds my comment
I feel like 3gatsu is dragging on for way too long. There are threads it drops and things that they hint at and never come back to and it makes Rei seem like an annoying brat versus someone who is dealing with PTSD. When I was watching the episodes with his adopted sister (I may have to rewatch), it really felt to me that they were trying to say that the sister Kyouko sexually assaulted/abused him as well as physically. I thought for sure the moonlight episode would put to rest how they feel about each other-it seems like there’s some sexual tension there and he doesn’t really feel comfortable around her because of it. He obviously feels protective because she’s dating the older ‘wolf’ type who doesn’t care about her.
I also feel like they aren’t addressing his status as an orphan as well as they could. The three sisters episodes are the best because he’s just the little brother who they worry about and he can cry or try and fill that role that he obviously misses as the big brother as seen with the younger sister who had a crush. The eldest sister knows how Rei feels, but doesn’t let him mope around for too long-and they all gently encourage him to do things he wants to do instead of feeling like he has to. Everyone else is gently coaxing him out of his depression-but they don’t really seem to be acknowledging that he’s still just an orphan teen. He hasn’t been legally adopted by his mentor.
Rei’s had it reinforced all his life that he needs to contribute in order to be worth something, and shogi is the thing that makes him into a person. He starts to hate shogi because he doesn’t feel like he’s a whole person-he’s just the shogi pro. He hates that it’s the only way he can pay for his life because he didn’t feel comfortable living in a household where his survival skills made the other kids living there lose their humanity and he feels like he’s broken their spirits. He has nothing else to really go for except shogi-but the sisters show him that family and doing things together is an ok thing. He can be valuable without doing anything except being himself. He starts to like shogi again on his own terms-but the problem of him existing outside of it still is there. He has no self esteem because all his friends have been made through shogi. Everyone is entrenching him in a life where he feels he is just another piece on the board.
13 eps could have covered his feelings and him moving on, but they keep focusing on his depression-making it only hit 1 note-especially since they aren’t diving any deeper about why he feels that way. The shogi is the reason-but he can’t get away from it. How can he feel close to anyone when all they in him is a pro player? Yes he’s learning social lessons and his place in the world-but as a pro player. All the stuff about him being in the club just adds more sub plots rei as a person doesn’t need.
Okay, I’m trying to address some of your points in defense for my beloved 3-gatsu ^^, likewise, it’s gonna be a long post as well.
For me the reason 3-gatsu feel like dragging for too long is because it’s a slice-of-life format. Usually things don’t resolve in one arc, but it’s a long progression. The manga it’s adapted is currently in 12 volumes (and still ongoing) and later on the manga addresses/deepens all the issues it created.
About his relationship with his adoptive sister, for me it’s one of the most complex relationship in this show. There is an underlying sexual tension, sure, but this relationship is abusive mostly due to Kyouko being hurt by the presence of Rei, so she “punished” him by making him feel guilty. They are, after all, just confusing kids who feel like they don’t belong to this world. I wouldn’t go so far to say they lose their humanity though, haha
About his relationship to shogi, I actually think they’re far from being one-note. The show keep delving deeper into his feeling with shogi, from what you already mentioned: shogi is his life to his “contract to the shogi god” to “Rei feels like a beast that strive to survive”. Everything it shows it keeps adding more perspective to his feeling towards shogi.
Finally, about people view him as only shogi-pro, that’s when segments when he’s with the sisters, or more importantly when he’s at school, really flesh out Rei as a normal insecure teenager.
After this season ended, I actually spoiled myself and read ahead some chapters from the manga and holy mama it was emotionally charged. I said this in the beginning of its run but I still hold this opinion even now: while the anime is really solid and faithful to the manga, the manga is still a better version- the way it tells the emotional stories so simplistic and effortlessly. There’s so much to love in that world.
Don’t think I’m disparaging 3-gatsu. Just sort of saying how it’s hard for me to continually love as a serial. I think it’s unique and I can tell they’ve put a lot of effort and love into it. I just don’t think that what they’re trying to tell for the slice of life hit those notes as well as they could. The one note is not about shogi but his depression and I want them to delve deeper into his being an orphan and using the only skills he can depend on vs seeing what other kids are doing and wanting something outside of shogi. Like I think they show beautiful visuals, but whenever Rei get’s depressed and spirals there’s not much consequence or confrontation even from himself. They start to get into his feelings, but then they cut away. Like when he was in bed for 3 days. He just said he was in bed for 3 days-I felt like that was the time to explore his insecurities and crying jags.
I think people are cheering for him, but Shogi is the god of his life and his love for it comes on his own terms-but I can see why he still feels conflicted about his relationship with it. It challenges him, and yet he can’t live without a pro contract. He feels like he’s a burnt out semi retired pro who’s trying to love the game again but everyone is expecting a younger version of him? I think his shogi relationship is complicated by his friends all around him and how he sees the game and the evolution of what it means to him.
I think that I’m saying that they lose they humanity in the eyes of the adoptive father. Rei talked about how all the kids knew he would only acknowledge their strength if it was shogi. Rei’s skill made them fade into the background. Like they give us such short flashes of development and backstory and motivation and it’s just all inference about the adoptive brother and sister for me.
I’ve watched slow moving anime with slowly developing characters like in Natsume, but Natsume’s lonliness and themes of abuse and anger are present even when he starts to adjust and a season of him developing as a person don’t make me feel like it’s dragging because he doesn’t have to face it by himself. I feel like Rei isn’t getting the support he needs so he backslides really far and even he can’t get at the heart of his own depression. Anger is his reliable emotion. It’s just hard for me with the format of the anime, and maybe I’ll like the manga better, but when they go there with emotion-they really like to go there. I want more three sister’s episodes. The episode where he got the flu hit home for me.
He’s learning to socialize, but not talk about the heart of his problems. In the beginning of the show when he cried at the three sister’s house was really powerful and I crave more moments where he’s open and honest and gets validation.