3-gatsu No Lion VS Ryuuou No Oshigoto
8 March, 2019
I had to do this. Eventually. Otherwise the more I procrastinate, the more I will forget. Yeah… And hence for today’s versus blog will pit against 2 shogi themed anime series: 3-gatsu No Lion and Ryuuou No Oshigoto. You saw that coming, right? When you heard the name shogi, right? They’re the only shogi animes around (because nobody remembers Shion No Ou. At least not the new younger generation). Although the former came out earlier, its second season ended up being aired in the same season as the latter. It’s like a shogi challenge-cum-battle on a different level. But if you have watched both series, despite the ‘lion versus dragon’ designation, you would know which the outright better one is. Unless you have really screwed up taste in anime. But anyway, here is the comparison between both series:
Official English title:
3-gatsu No Lion: March Comes In Like A Lion.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: The Ryuuou’s Work Is Never Done.
Main shogi character:
3-gatsu No Lion: Rei Kiriyama.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Yaichi Kuzuryuu.
His shogi rank:
3-gatsu No Lion: 5th-dan.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: 8th-dan.
Biggest shogi title won:
3-gatsu No Lion: Newcomer King title.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Ryuuou title.
His age:
3-gatsu No Lion: 19 years old (towards end of anime).
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: 16 years old.
High school:
3-gatsu No Lion: Still in high school although had a 1 year delay.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Quit high school to focus on his professional shogi career.
His real family:
3-gatsu No Lion: All died in an accident.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Unknown.
On a side note, Ai Yashajin’s parents died in an accident.
His foster family:
3-gatsu No Lion: Adopted by professional shogi player, Masachika Kouda after his family’s death. Hence has adopted siblings, Kyouko and Ayumu despite not being blood related.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Considers his shogi master, Kousuke Kiyotaki as family. Hence as adopted sisters, Keika and Ginko Sora despite not being blood related.
Self-proclaimed rival:
3-gatsu No Lion: Harunobu Nikaidou.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Ayumu Kannabe.
The Grandmaster:
3-gatsu No Lion: Souya Touji.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: The eponymously named Meijin.
Results of the match against the grandmaster:
3-gatsu No Lion: With only 1 match, Rei eventually lost the commemoration match.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Best out of 7 matches, Yaichi loses the first 3 before making a comeback to win the remaining 4 and keep his title! So unbelievable.
Other shogi tournament:
That doesn’t involve our main character.
3-gatsu No Lion: Kishou Championship.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Mynavi Women’s Open.
Teacher/Student:
3-gatsu No Lion: Rei becomes a disciple under Kai Shimada who runs a small shogi focus group that consists of Harunobu Nikaidou and Morio Shigeta.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Yaichi takes in and becomes the shogi master for Ai Hinatsuru and Ai Yashajin.
Gender of shogi players:
Refers to the majority of the characters in shogi in the anime.
3-gatsu No Lion: Males. Every single one of them.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Predominantly females.
Other notable shogi players:
3-gatsu No Lion: Kai Shimada, Kishou Yanagihara, Masamune Gotou, Kengo Kuwamoto and Gakuto Sakurai.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Seiichi Tsukimitsu, Jin Natagiri, Mitsuru Oishi, Yoshitsune Kurono, Ginko Sora and Rina Shakando.
Loli:
3-gatsu No Lion: Momo Kawamoto.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Oh boy… There is a bunch of them. It’s going to take a while. Ai Hinatsuru, Ai Yashajin, Mio Mizukoshi, Ayano Sadatou and Charlotte Izoard. Phew. Not so bad, huh?
The big sister:
3-gatsu No Lion: Akari Kawamoto.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Keika Kiyotaki.
Violent girl:
3-gatsu No Lion: Kyouko Kouda.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Ginko Sora.
Stalker girl:
3-gatsu No Lion: Kyouko Kouda.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Ika Sainokami.
Rich kid:
3-gatsu No Lion: Harunobu Nikaidou.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Ai Yashajin.
Lamer:
3-gatsu No Lion: Takeshi Tsujii – lame puns.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Ayumu Kannabe – chuunibyou.
Bustiest:
3-gatsu No Lion: Akari Kawamoto.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Tamayo Rokuroba.
Pedo risk:
3-gatsu No Lion: When Kyouko asks Rei if among the Kawamoto sisters, he likes Momo.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Basically the entire series.
Good things come in 3’s:
3-gatsu No Lion: The Kawamoto sisters: Akari, Hinata and Momo.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Ai’s shogi friends: Mio, Ayano and Charlotte.
Eternal:
3-gatsu No Lion: Yanagihara defeats Shimada to attain the Eternal Kishou title after also winning its 9 previous additions.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: The Meijin would have gotten the Eternal status for all 7 major titles as well as broken all sorts of other records had he defeat Yaichi in this Ryuuou title match. He did not.
Fastest shogi match:
3-gatsu No Lion: Rei beating Hinata in a handicapped practice match in just 5 minutes.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Ginko owning Ryo Tsukiyomizaka in an official match in just 2 minutes! Twice!
Collapsing match:
The loser collapses after the loss of the match.
3-gatsu No Lion: Harunobu was pushing the limits of his health against his opponent, Junkei Yamazaki until he could go no further and collapses, giving his opponent a free walkover to the finals.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Because Yaichi was being a dick too focused on his match to even pay attention to Ai, she cannot concentrate on her match with Tsukiyomizaka and collapses after losing.
Losing streak:
The risk of losing one’s rank and title. Everything is at stake if they don’t buck up!
3-gatsu No Lion: Rei has been on a losing streak at the end of the first season. Thankfully he recovers.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Yaichi has been on a losing streak from the start and for the rest of the season! Only the miracle in the end prevented the worst possible outcome.
Running away from home:
3-gatsu No Lion: Kyouko – first to Rei’s place and then to Gotou.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Ai – first from her own family and then to Keika (after a quarrel with Yaichi).
Most stressful/tension part of the series:
3-gatsu No Lion: Rei’s traumatic past of loneliness and bullying, Hinata’s bullying, the struggles of all other veteran shogi players. Heck, basically almost the entire anime!
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Yaichi facing off with the Meijin and being cornered. Yes, this.
Back from the ‘dead’:
3-gatsu No Lion: Somehow Harunobu recovered from his collapse and is back laughing and playing shogi like he was never sick before.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Somehow Keika who has been on a downward spiral and losing streak, manages to win a few important matches that matter to allow her to become a professional female player.
Bully victim:
3-gatsu No Lion: Chiho Sakura was Megumi Takagi and co’s plaything before she moved away and Hinata became her ‘replacement’.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Yaichi is often and still is Ginko’s punching bag because those misinterpreted pedo moments sure look like an excuse and great opportunity to vent out all she’s got.
Love interest:
3-gatsu No Lion: Hinata has a crush on Yuusuke Takahashi.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: I’m confused. Yaichi likes Keika but she doesn’t believe him. Later she even invites him to be his wife. Then there is this ‘agreement’ of Yaichi becoming Ai’s bride and him proclaiming to be Charlotte’s bride too. Ginko is a tsundere and Ai is a yandere. Seeing Yaichi is popular among girls his age too…
Overall feel of the series:
3-gatsu No Lion: Melancholic, depressing, slow paced.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Light-hearted, casual, everything so happy! Well, almost.
Anime art style:
3-gatsu No Lion: Simple, sketchy and sometimes like water colour.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Basically oozing cute, kawaii and moe style.
Number of episodes:
3-gatsu No Lion: 44 episodes (22 episodes per season).
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: 12 episodes.
Studio production:
3-gatsu No Lion: Shaft.
Ryuuou No Oshigoto: Project No. 9.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, 3-gatsu No Lion comes out tops in almost every department as it is superior in the story and characters compared to Ryuuou No Oshigoto who is only there for some free and easy, cheap loli fanservice. Both series feel like they are on the opposite far end of the pole and that shogi is the only theme they have in common. The former may be draggy and depressing but the way it also displays its creative visuals to depict loneliness and depression is quite interesting. The latter is all just cute and looking nice but lacks the necessary substance for it to be appealing. Unless you are totally into lolis than that’s another story. Because oddly adding females especially lolis into shogi only seem to devalue the game. Maybe that is why men and women are segregated in shogi tournaments. Women checkmating men in shogi is one thing. But when they checkmate you in real life… That’s when sh*t really hits the fan.
Chua Tek Ming~*Anime Power*~ !LiVe FoR AnImE, aNiMe FoR LiFe! 