#rei kiriyama

[hairunowa]

"Rei is here!"

[shushuush]

Family

(Next slide is my reference :D)

[whosyourfavevoicedby-polls]

[zip-zoom]

i get so excited about rei and nikaidou they are frolicking around inside my brain. yippee !!! hooray !!!

[retro-friki]

One of the saddest scenes in "March Comes in Like A Lion" was when Rei watched that documentary about the cuckoo's brood parasitism and his reaction was: "he's just like me, fr".

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 4

Propaganda:

Natsuki -

"He has a flat affect, especially towards the start of the series, and a strong special interest in fishing. He does not get along with Haru and Yuki at first because he doesn't think they are taking fishing seriously, but after seeing Yuki's drive to improve and growing appreciation for his interest, he warms up to them and develops, what seems to be, the first close friendships he 's had. As the boys learn to fish, he is the source of most of the very specific fishing knowledge in the series, and after the show is finished we see that he has moved overseas to continue pursuing his special interest."

Luca -

*okay I screwed up, this submission didn't have propaganda. It WAS marked 'yes' for propaganda use though, which is where the confusion came from. At this point I'm too tired to move the bracket around though, so Luca's just gonna stay here.

Adrian -

"Not a full time boy (but a boy nonetheless, bigender icon fr) but working autism overtime."

Rui -

"aside from being an adorable piano genius with the voice of an angel? he grew up sheltered and doesn't have a lot of physical stamina but he does his best to become an idol (rescuing his own black kitten along the way) and is officially considered the most cat-like in his unit. he will eat your pudding. also he grows up! he used to be like fifteen and now he's 26?!"

Hikaru -

"He's shown to have difficulty emoting since childhood. In a particular episode, a mother comes to him to alter her child's brain and remove the parts of him that make him difficult to handle. It is heavily implied that the things she wants removed is autism and Hikaru is more upset about this than most other things in the series but seems to understand that acceptance for people like him and the kid is few and far between. He also says things that could be considered rude when it comes to situations where people ask him to alter who they are as people, such as when a friend asks him to change her sexuality so that she's straight and doesn't have to suffer heartbreak anymore."

Rei -

"AUTISTIC ICON!!!!! just like. look at him. look at that one face he makes all the time. it's hard for me to name specific examples other than the obvious fixation on shoji and like general lack of social skills because i haven't gone through the whole thing in so long but there's soooo much there. i might be talking out of my ass but it's also like? such a sensorily focused story (both the anime and manga). he could even be considered a sports anime boy if you just believed ❤️ or something ‼️"

Vayne -

"Relies on his pet cat for social cues, because the cat is better at them. The saddest, most gentle boy to ever wield a cat-sword-gauntlet. Absolutely listens to all of his friends' infodumps with infinite love and interest. Completely oblivious to how everyone in his workshop adores him by the end of the game."

Ganta -

"he has insomnia (frequently comorbid with autism). once he gains an interest in astrophotography it becomes a special interest very quickly. he's sweet and kind but also gets annoyed easily and he rides a bike and works at an arcade and wants to be a nurse and he loves his girlfriend isaki so so much"

Aoi -

"He has a very devoted special interest in the idol Takada-chan, which he frequently imagines in fights and other situations… the moment someone (Itadori) expresses equal interest in something he is passionate about, he immediately declares them besties and brothers and creates a whole elaborate shared history for them that doesn’t actually exist. He’s not really interested in connecting with people who don’t share his interests. He’s seen as somewhat strange and eccentric. Though in the present he is respected because of his strength as a sorcerer, as a child he was very isolated."

Ray -

"Due to his extremely strong memory, Ray is forced to grow up faster than his best friends and gives himself up as a lost cause in hopes of saving them. He is very sharp and smart but has massive blind spots when it comes to trusting and considering others."

[animangaedits]

[dropintomanga]

Don't See Yourself As a Cuckoo

I started reading Chica Umino's March Comes In Like a Lion after years of hearing about its great outlook on characters dealing with a variety of emotional issues. In particular, its main character, Rei Kiriyama and his struggles to come to terms with his past involving a surrogate parental figure who raised him after his family died, but ignored their own kids for the sake of Rei's future.

I see this first hand near the end of the 1st volume when Rei reminisces about the past and how he got into shogi.

It's scary that I felt the same as Rei about 13 years ago. I remember one time where I felt like I was dragging my family down a hell hole when we moved into a new living situation. I was dealing with so much uncertainty and didn't know how to handle it. I think at the time, we had limited resources. I felt that I was selfish because I wanted to move to a better place badly over everyone else's preferences, but my sister reminded me that I wasn't the only one who wanted out. She even said my thinking was warped. I think I was just so afraid of hurting my family and felt they had to do so much for my depression. I wanted them to stop helping me. I felt like a cuckoo despite not actually being a cuckoo.

When I look back at that time now, I realized that I was facing a new situation that I was overreacting to. It's fine to react in ways that make you fearful, but there's a point where it affects your relationships in not-so-healthy ways. You have to be realistic and trust in the people around you despite what your inner critic says.

Rei's quote about being a bird and free of emotional pain reminded me of my experiences with birds. I used to have a pet African finch and felt that he had it much easier than me. He got to eat, sing, fly around, sleep, poop, etc. And then I remember my finch lived in a cage and was taken care of by creatures (i.e. human beings) that he can't exactly communicate with. There's no freedom for him here. And even if my finch was free and roaming, he would have to deal with how vicious wild birds are due to being domesticated. My finch died in 2019 after 11 years of raising him and while I do think he lived a long life for his kind, I have to be careful in saying he lived a good life.

After my finch died, I later discovered an avian center that housed birds of all kinds that were on display while walking on a lunch break from work. There were a variety of them living in a special housing display for everyone to see. All of them were either injured, old, and/or couldn't be raised by regular folks. I had a lot of joy looking at those birds and would walk by to see them almost all the time. Some of them did die over time, but the birds reminded me how important it is to recognize that we deserve people to care for us when life deals us a terrible hand. I still stop by the avian center bird display because all the birds there are precious to me.

I sometimes wished I was a bird because it sucks being sad a good amount. It sucks to cry when you least expect it. And then I think about what that actually will entail. I don't want to anthropomorphize animals because it's hard to compare.

The grand truth is that everyone and everything (humans/animals/plants) goes through pain in some fashion. We decay and wither from time to time. That's how life works. Obviously, some pain isn't worth it. But I feel that we have to appreciate to a certain degree how we learn who we really are through our rough experiences. They make us value what's important in our lives. Despite whatever gaslighting we may get, we can get through the pain and/or live with it in healthy ways.

I will say that one thing I notice about birds is that they're usually together a lot. During the 1st year of COVID, I saw a family of mourning doves living in the back of my place for a short time. It was one of the cutest things I ever saw. The parents would fly away to look for food, while the kids parked themselves at their temporary home. I don't know how they're doing now, but I like to think that they're doing okay out there. Whenever I see families of mourning doves, I think of that one family.

Maybe a part of me still wants to be a bird - soaring into the air and being out in nature, free of modern life constraints. The real cuckoo isn't me; it's those who want us to ignore the interdependence of all things that truly makes human beings feel that they matter.

If you ever feel like you're a cuckoo, it's not your fault. You're a person who deserves the unconditional foundation to live a life full of love to process the pain you unfortunately had to deal with.

Much like what the manga seems to entail, springtime is a time to renew yourself with others around, whether human or animal, after the harshness of winter.

[triptychgrip]

My desperate plea to anyone else who likes the 'found family' trope in anime...

...please, PLEASE check out the manga/anime March Comes In Like A Lion, so that I'll have more friends to gush over this incredible masterpiece with!! I honestly don't know where to begin with this, but one thing I can confidently say is that Sangatsu no Raion contains one of the absolute best anime/manga depictions around what it's like to suffer from depression and complex PTSD, as well as, how one can find the means to heal by leaning on others.

The protagonist -- Rei Kiriyama, a 17 year old when the story begins, and a professional shōgi player (i.e. Japanese version of chess) -- is one of the most nuanced main characters I've ever seen portrayed in any medium. His learning how to navigate the pressures of his career while also grappling with his childhood trauma (bullying, the death of his parents/sister in childhood and subsequent adoption into a new family, etc.) is so incredibly moving, and it's my sincere hope that the amazing anime that Shaft studio produced might one day continue on with the manga source material.

Many fans agree that Rei is autistic/autistic-coded, and the portrayal of Rei's alexithymia (something I really don't think we see enough of in media) in particular is done so well and with such care. That element of intentionality truly does extend to so many of the characters in this show as well.

Just look at Rei's adorable face...don't turn your back on him, I beg!!

Oh and if nothing else, his story arc of finding 'home' within the Kawamoto family is guaranteed to give you all the warm fuzzies.

[bluewing-art]

💕“I think what I think of as ‘happiness’ has got to be that kind of feeling”💕

Fanart of my favorite anime/manga ପ꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ଓ 🌸🤍

This scene was so short in the manga that my shipper heart needed something more!

[hairunowa]

March Comes In Like a Lion EP1 | Rei Kiriyama

[3gatsunolion]

i always think of this post when i see rei’s apartment

[dukecarge]

Hi. Do you want to cry? Do you want to read a really good story about depression and overcoming your shortfalls?

And then. Do you want a break in between those moments where you can truly appreciate the moments of warmth you have with others?

Then go read Sangatsu-No-Lion. Its a Seinen about 17-year old Rei Kiriyama, an orphaned professional Shogi player who tries to live independently but is shown time and again that he should rely on the people in his life. You're going to bawl and laugh at this kid's attempts to overcome depression, I guarantee it.

[zip-zoom]

i had completely forgotten i drew this. rei reminds me very much of this kitten

[kamapon]

My latest commission for Salva Barbus was this Sangatsu no Lion art of Rei and Hina!

Commissions are open!! ✨✨

[tatatasoma]