This review encompasses both seasons, since they form a continuous story.

March Comes Like a Lion is one of the highest rated animes of all time, and it is easy to understand why. The series is full of relatable characters facing relatable and realistic challenges. In addition, the animation and visual composition of the show is beautiful and unique. These, along with the show's niche theme make it immediately stand out from the crowd of slice of life animes.

As the series' most outstanding element, the animations and visuals really steal the spotlight. The contrast between light pastel like colors with smooth, flowing animation and darker bolder colors with sharp more disconnected animation really provide the framework for understanding the emotions, tones, and overall stories for the entire anime. Regularly, the visual shifts are used to convey changes in mood and emotion that are not otherwise addressed. They are certainly responsible for giving the show its unique feel.

The pacing of the show, while a bit slow for the tastes of some, also contributes significantly to the overall tone of the show. By keeping a slow pace, the anime lets the viewer feel many of the emotions and moods, rather than just be told about them. If the characters are irritated, the viewer is given long enough to experience their irritation. If the are depressed, the watcher is allowed the chance to have empathy toward their depression.

It is the setting and worldbuilding of this story which leave something to be desired. Without commenting on some of the unexplained aspects of the backstory, Kiriyama Rei being a professional shogi player presents some unexpected issues. More accurately, the way shogi is approached in the series leads to some issues. Because Kiriyama is a professional shogi player, shogi is used throughout the series as an integral plot point. It often enters in as part of the conflicts, or is used as a parallel to them. However, while much time is spent on showing and analyzing the shogi matches, the average viewer will not understand the games on a meaningful level (even in Japan estimates suggest that only 1 of 12 people are proficient at shogi). While the series does attempt to handle this by providing commentary, most of the time the viewer is left to take the word of the narrators that something significant is happening in a game. Though according to several sources the games are quite well designed and portrayed.

Of course, on its own this would not be a big issue, after all, shogi is not the point of the anime, it is just the setting. However, the anime often spends significan portions of episodes analyzing shogi matches. At times it even focuses on matches which have no relevance to the main characters or the overall narrative. March Comes Like a Lion tries to be a shogi sports anime and at the same time an emotional slice of life. While many of its elements are excellent, this approach makes it lose some of its potency.

This is not to say that the anime is ruined. It is an excellent and memorable anime, well worth watching. The overall narrative and subtle ending are quite compelling. Still, there are moments throughout where the carefully crafted slow burn dies out in the midst of the 136th move of a game of shogi. Overall this anime is a 7.8/10.