3-gatsu no Lion – 12

OP2 Sequence

OP2: 「さよならバイスタンダー」 (Sayonara Baisutandaa) by YUKI

「Chapter.24 対岸にあるもの / Chapter.25 黒い河①」 (Chapter.24 Taigan ni Arumono / Chapter.25 Kuroi Kawa 1)
“Chapter.24 What Lies on the Opposite Shore / Chapter.25 The Black River 1”

I won’t lie, I was going to put the excerpt as “Their house is like a kotatsu” until I started tearing up multiple times throughout this episode. Wanna fight? FITE ME.

That Opening! (and Ending!)

Man, even though I realize after the fact what that ominous sketchy part of the opening represents now, I can’t believe how much emotion this new opening pulled out of me. Using a brighter palette of colors and turning up the brightness a few notches, there was a much lighter and friendly feel oozing from this opening. Then, out of nowhere, we get this action-anime inspired part where everything turns into sketch form and you really get the sense that Rei has a big battle coming for him. And as if that wasn’t enough, right at the very end when Rei falls face first into the snow, the opening sequence hits you straight in the gut with a shot of Rei’s family, both present and past, extending a hand of warmth and love to him. God, if that wasn’t a loaded opening that got your emotions all riled up by the end of it, you must be some sort of monster.

An Attempt at Analysis

So, even though some people look for deeper meaning in all types of works, I’m not one of those people (normally). Typically, I look at things solely on the surface for their entertainment value and leave it at that. With this show though, and the way it’s managed to build up into something much bigger than anything I ever expected, I took a shot at diving into the realm of analysis this week. Now, as obvious as this might have been, the use of light throughout this episode (and the episodes leading up to this one) has been something really enjoyable for me. Watching as the light and brightness of the scenes have been progressively growing as Rei has started to tackle his problems, I love how this week’s episode illuminated his typically dark room and had the light literally approaching him until Rei started to realize what his bright-colored world meant. And as the scene transitioned back to the familiar dark room we’ve seen so much, I loved how some light was still peeking through from the window, as if the scene was trying to show us that Rei has started to let some light back into his life even if he hasn’t come to terms with the issues that are tugging as his heart. All of which leads me to believe that there’s been some actual progress on the “deal with the absolutely garbage hand life’s dealt me” front.

A Man With a Mission

With a new year and a new season comes a new and improved Rei who sounds ready to kick some butt. Seeing him with a new vigor to tackle his opponents has really helped bring the shogi-element of the show back from the brink of being terribly boring (let’s not forget those awkward moments that Kyouko caused with her meddling). Now, even though that would have been enough, I also am super excited to see that Rei has the fury of a demon fueling this passion with the possibility of getting some revenge on the jerk who beat him up may be waiting at the finish line. And as much as I don’t want to jump to conclusions, boy does this Gotoh guy seem like a asshat. Hopefully we’ll get a better view of him next week!

In any case though, I’m really liking this new Rei!

Their House is Like a Kotatsu

I don’t think there’s much to say about this one, but I just wanted to take a second to ask if I was the only one who got a little choked up. Because, after all that build up throughout the fall season, I wasn’t expecting to get as emotional as I did. God, this show has me completely wrapped around its fingers and can do just about anything with me.

Looking Ahead

With our boy Rei primed and ready to tackle his upcoming opponents, I can’t wait to see the destined battle between him and Gotoh turns out. Along the way I’m sure we’ll see some more of Kyouko and some more super depressing moments, but if this episode’s proved anything is that there’s a sense of warmth and happiness always waiting for us. See you next week!

 

ED3 Sequence

ED3: 「orion」 by 米津玄師、蔦谷好位置 (Yonezu Kenshi, Tsutaya Koichi)

Preview