7.4/10246 votes#1 - Chapter 1 Rei Kiriyama / Chapter 2 The Town Along the River
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/8/2016
Rei Kiriyama moves in to town, and his past is slowly revealed. Alongside battling opponents in shogi, he also wants to find that missing something...
Director: Kenjirou Okada
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.5/10206 votes#2 - Chapter 3 Akari / Chapter 4 Beyond the Bridge
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 10/15/2016
Who was that mysterious figure who stole his mail? And Akari's job is what?! Tune in as we continue to explore Rei's past.
Director: Midori Yoshizawa
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
8.1/10216 votes#3 - Chapter 5 Harunobu / Chapter 6 Beyond the Night Sky
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/22/2016
Showdown between Rei and Harunobu in a shogi match! Will Harunobu finally defeat his lifelong rival? Tune in as we celebrate the end of Obon.
Director: Seimei Kidokoro
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.5/10193 votes#4 - Chapter 7 Hina / Chapter 8 vs
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/29/2016
Will Hina be able to give her home made lunch to the person she is concerned about? Tune in as a fateful meeting unfolds in front of our eyes...
Director: Tomoyuki Itamura
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
8.5/10222 votes#5 - Chapter 9 Agreement / Chapter 10 Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/5/2016
Rei must pick up Momo from kindergarten. Nothing can go wrong with doing this errand, right? Unfortunately, this leads Rei to remember more of his past.
Director: Takashi Kawabata
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.5/10183 votes#6 - Chapter 11 Child of God (Part 1) / Chapter 12 Child of God (Part 2) / Chapter 13 Child of God (Part 3)
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/12/2016
Does Rei want to go somewhere, or just run away? Let's discover more of the Shogi world as Mr. Hayashida comes to the rescue!
Director: So Toyama
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.7/10182 votes#7 - Chapter 14 Important Things. Important Matters. / Chapter 15 Teach me Shogi
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/19/2016
What will Kiriyama and Takahashi talk about? Will it end well? Let's hope the cute kitties can teach us how to play shogi!
Director: Hidekazu Hara
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
8.0/10189 votes#8 - Chapter 16 Image / Chapter 17 Distant Thunder (Part 1)
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 12/3/2016
Let's continue to learn Shogi! In this episode, we'll also discover a little more about Rei's Father, and not to mention that special guest he has..
Director: Midori Yoshizawa
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.8/10177 votes#9 - Chapter 18 Distant Thunder (Part 2) / Chapter 19 Distant Thunder (Part 3)
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 12/10/2016
Rei has a match with the old Mr. Matsunaga. If Mr. Matsunaga loses one more game, he'll have to retire. How will Rei handle the match?
Director: Sayaka Iwai
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
8.7/10230 votes#10 - Chapter 20 The Given (Part 1) / Chapter 21 The Given (Part 2)
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/17/2016
Rei's next match is with Mr. Yasui. Mr. Yasui's memories with his daughter are on the line, so will Rei throw the match, or will he bring misery to others by winning?
Director: Yukihiro Miyamoto
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
8.0/10174 votes#11 - Chapter 22 The Old Year / Chapter 23 The New Year
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/24/2016
All of Rei's matches are done for the year, but a small tragedy happens as the year comes to a close. Will Rei be able to overcome it?
Director: Seimei Kidokoro
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
8.1/10102 votes#12 - Chapter 24 What Lies on the Opposite Shore / Chapter 25 Black River (Part 1)
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/7/2017
Rei runs astray a little bit, but gets right back on track. Can he bear the cold jokes from his latest opponent, Tsujii, and emerge victorious?
Director: Yoshiko Mikami
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.6/10167 votes#13 - Chapter 26 Black River (Part 2) / Chapter 27 Beyond the Door
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/14/2017
Smith prepares for his battle with the intimidating Gotou, and Rei is determined not to lose against Shimada. How will their matches go?
Director: Takashi Kawabata
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.5/10168 votes#14 - Chapter 28 Blinding Darkness / Chapter 29 Just a Little Water
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/21/2017
Shimada and Rei's battle continues as Rei begins to drown in his embarassment. Watch as their battle finally comes to a close
Director: Yukihiro Miyamoto
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.7/10170 votes#15 - Chapter 30 Moonlight / Chapter 31 Lump of Ego
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 1/28/2017
And now begins two of three matches to determine who will go up against Master Souya in the Lion King Tournament!
Director: Yuichi Wada
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.7/10166 votes#16 - Chapter 32 Running Through the Night / Chapter 33 Middle of the Slope
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/4/2017
Master Souya's challenger in the Lion King Tournament has been determined! Also, Rei decides to take a step in the direction that will benefit him in the long run.
Director: Sayaka Iwai
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.8/10170 votes#17 - Chapter 34 Silver Thread / Chapter 35 Water's Surface / Chapter 36 Base of the Blue Night
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/11/2017
The Lion King Tournament finally begins. Rei continues to grow with his workshop buddies, but also runs into some trouble with his sister.
Director: Takashi Kawabata
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
8.1/10163 votes#18 - Chapter 37 Torrent / Chapter 38 Passing Time
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 2/18/2017
The Lion King Tournament is underway, although things are not looking good for the challenger. Still, he will not give up, and is determined to press forward.
Director: Yoshiko Mikami
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.8/10167 votes#19 - Chapter 39 Passing the Night / Chapter 40 Kyoto (Part 1)
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/25/2017
Match Four of the Lion King Tournament begins in Kyoto. We find out a little more about the Challenger, and the reasons he continues to persist.
Director: Hajime Ohtani
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
8.2/10173 votes#20 - Chapter 41 Kyoto (Part 2) / Chapter 42 Kyoto (Part 3)
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 3/4/2017
The second day of the fourth match for the Lion King Tournament begins. Rei sure does get caught up with strange people.
Director: Midori Yoshizawa
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
8.1/10167 votes#21 - Chapter 43 When the Cherry Blossoms Bloom / Chapter 44 Small Murmur
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 3/11/2017
The fourth match of the Lion King Tournament has finally ended. But for some reason, Rei finds himself in a very unfamiliar territory.
Director: Yukihiro Miyamoto
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
7.6/10157 votes#22 - Chapter 45 New School Term / Spin-off Fighter
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 3/18/2017
Rei begins a new school year, and embarks on new adventures. While looking back at the past, we'll look forward to the future.
Director: Kenjirou Okada
Writer: Yukito Kizawa
The Best Episodes of March Comes in Like a Lion Season 1
Every episode of March Comes in Like a Lion Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of March Comes in Like a Lion Season 1!
Rei is a 17-year old professional shōgi player, who lives by himself, not having a real family, and has scarcely any friends. Among his acquaintances...
Genres:AnimationDrama
Network:NHK G
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Chapter 1 Rei Kiriyama / Chapter 2 The Town Along the River" is the best rated episode of "March Comes in Like a Lion" season 1. It scored 7.4/10 based on 246 votes. Directed by Kenjirou Okada and written by Yukito Kizawa, it aired on 10/8/2016. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Chapter 3 Akari / Chapter 4 Beyond the Bridge".