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.

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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.

Coffee Font

Conversation at mid-morning…

Ralph: Check out the sign on the window.

Bill: Yeah, looks alright, I guess.

Ralph: But do you see how the letters resemble coffee beans? Pretty clever, right?

Bill: Hmm, seems like a bit of overthinking, don't you think?

Ralph: It's like a modern-day Chinese pictograph, telling a story with its design.

Bill: Well, to me, it's just eye candy.

Ralph: Different strokes for different folks. But you know, companies shell out big bucks for cool font designers.

Bill: True. I mean, imagine if they used Comic Sans. Huh. Epic job loss.

Ralph: And Helvetica would be too sterile for a cozy coffee shop.

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Voice-over

Matching a name to a font involves consideration of the person or entity’s personality, symbolic associations, expression of an abstract concept, visual allegory, perhaps a cultural or a narrative connection. You can go with instinct but having criteria in mind help.

Glass Onion: Architecture as stage and symbol

Glass Onion

After watching “Glass Onion.”

Daniel: Now, that must have been a dream film to pitch. A profitable predecessor, Knives Out, a star cast who wanted to be in on it.

Angela: A popular genre, a plot that recalls the best of Agatha Christie and a detective like Hercule Poirot.

Daniel: But not a slavish copy.

Angela: Not at all. The writers ran with it.

Daniel: And for the cast. Lavish setting, great place to party and go over the top with ad libs.

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Voice-over

And a great set for critics to tease out the symbolism. A glass onion. The mysteries in plain sight peeled back. Next: The Glass Gherkin?

Symbolism at the Paralympics Opening

The Paralympic flag dance…

Ekaterini: Nice logo. Colors recollect the countries colors in the Olympic rings.

Niki: And the shapes, agitos they’re called.

Ekaterini: Agitos?

Niki: Means “I move” in Latin.

Ekaterini: Anagram of “gait”? As in walking, stepping, striding?

Niki: Except that might not be how some of the 15% of people who are disabled do move.

Ekaterini: But the one wing aeroplane girl was inspired to fly by a band in a bus as a climax.

Niki: Not bad.

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Voice-over

Paralympics after a powerful son et lumière opening ceremony. The Paralympians’ struggles are inspiring but coming as they do after the Olympics requires a refocusing for spectators to properly appreciate.

Gherkin vs Pearl as Metaphor

There’s a gherkin in our swimming pool…
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Kirk: Looks like an alien space ship..

Gherkin in brine...

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Spock: The Pearl is a green high tech office building, uses special glass to reduce heat and let light penetrate the interior. Designed to save on electricity for cooling and lighting..

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Kirk: Isn’t it a copy of Norman Foster and Ken Shuttleworth’s Gherkin in London?.

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Spock: The overall shape, yes, they’re similar. And they’re both energy efficient but the Gherkin has to deal with summer and winter temperatures of London whereas the Pearl has to deal with Bangkok’s year-round heat.

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Kirk: The Gherkin is symbolic, right?.

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Spock: Well, there is a simplistic symbolism of male power, but the metaphor can be extended. I mean, a gherkin is a green, healthy food. And in Bangkok, the building has been named “Pearl”, a gem symbolizing beauty, purity, and generosity.
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Voice-over

Alternative symbols to the “towering innuendo": Gherkins pickled in vinegar or brine symbolize nature and health. Pearls developing from sand and brine symbolize power, wealth and beauty.

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Anthropomorphism and Demagoguery: Rhinos in the town and elephants in the room

On symbolizing demagoguery…

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Tom: Remember Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, two guys sitting at a café table, and a rhinoceros runs down the street?

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Dick: Yeah. And then another comes charging along and stomps a dog and people are outraged.

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Tom: But then everyone in the town turns into rhinoceroses.

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Dick: A satire on people following Fascism.

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Tom: I wonder if we could rework the metaphor. Maybe use an elephant.

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Dick: Ah. The elephant in the room?

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Voice-over

Tom Fogler wrote a play called The Elephant in the Room. Borrowing from the past and reworking a metaphor to tell a new story. Fortunately, animals are not litigiously inclined to charge in trumpeting, “Calling me a demagogue? I’ll sue you!”

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Butterfly Wreck

A small tragedy. 

See it? Hanging onto the leaf? A butterfly wreck. And here’s part of a wing. Bird strike I think.

What makes you blame a bird?

Cats can’t climb up there. My hypothesis is that the butterfly was feeding on the flowers, and a bird swooped, but didn’t like the taste. Monarch caterpillars eat milkweed, very alkali. Predators don’t like the taste.

Didn’t help that one.

No, the attacker didn’t like the taste, spat him out, but by that time the damage had been done. Death of a butterfly.

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Voice-over

A small tragedy in nature. Pity the butterfly was mistaken for food.  A death in vain. Needless. Not easy persuading everyone that the decline in beautiful species is bad for the planet.

Some butterflies escape with only damaged wings. These can be repaired. There is an instructive video showing how to repair monarch butterfly wings at live monarch.

Not everyone feels butterflies are inconsequential fluttering ephemera. Some attach symbolic significance to them. Others regard them as important scientific phenomena. 

Long live monarchs! Butterflies that is!
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