March Comes in Like a Lion

Sakura wonders at the naming of the manga…

Hiroshi: Not random, I read that Umino knew the English expression, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Like the weather is rough at the start of March and gentler by the end.

Sakura: But in Japanese it’s Sangatsu no Lion, “The Lion of March,” so the English title adds something.

Hiroshi: Early March, cold and stormy, yes, then gradually gets spring-like, so the “lion” part is the rough beginning and the “lamb” part is the milder ending.

Sakura: What I love is how it reflects Rei’s emotional arc: he starts off like that stormy March lion, isolated, depressed, then slowly moves toward something gentler and warmer as he finds connection.

Hiroshi: There’s also the shogi angle; the Lion King tournament, and shogi rankings culminate in March, so professionals “become lions” in that month.

Sakura: Plus the town names: the Kawamoto sisters live in Sangatsu-chou—literally “March Town”—which makes March not just a time but also a place that changes Rei’s life.

Hiroshi: Wow, yes, makes the title feel like a double metaphor: March as the harsh season of his inner life, and March Town as the environment whose warmth helps him move out of that winter. 

Sakura: And then the English idiom suggests that even if your life comes roaring in like a lion, it can still “go out” more gently, which really suits a coming‑of‑age story.

___________
Voice-over

So naming the manga spins a web of nuances—season, place, tournament, and the stormy kid who, little by little, finds his own spring.