March Comes in like a Lion is an exceptional project on many levels. Fans dreamed of an adaptation on Fuji TV’s noitaminA for a long time, as a spiritual successor of the beloved
Honey & Clover anime. It was quite the surprise to see it end up on a major network after all, just not the one that seemed to make the most sense; it will instead air on NHK’s general channel, which immediately makes it a bigger deal than most TV anime. There’s some misinformation in this regard, since it’s not
quite a mainstream broadcast after all as it will be airing at 11pm, but it’s undeniable that this is no regular latenight series. And the project only becomes more interesting after this point! As per Chica Umino’s direct request, the show will be directed by
Akiyuki Shinbo at SHAFT. I have written before about
the way the studio operates and Shinbo’s actual role so I will spare you the long explanation, but this would be the very first time he directs a show all by himself at the studio – and I say
would for a reason, since it still isn’t clear if he’s handling the series direction all by himself. Looking at the promotional videos I wouldn’t be surprised if they were hiding Naoyuki Tatsuwa’s name, since he’s very fond of that undeniably SHAFT but still restrained approach. Either way, whether he has an assistant/supervisor or not (
he does,
of course), it seems like this might be his return to more hands-on work. Shinbo rarely draws storyboards himself anymore, so I would love for him to take this chance to do it again.
Directional conundrums aside, the series is plenty interesting in and of itself. Umino’s distinct brand of character drama, framed through shogi this time, might seem unsuited for the staff at first. The more they have shown though, the more obvious it seems that the studio’s over-reliance on tired gimmicks won’t be a hindrance this time; isolating idiosyncrasies, stripping them of context and turning them into mass-produced tricks has been the most damaging trend at the studio, so I’m glad it doesn’t seem to affect this project – perhaps because going overboard could have had an obvious alienating affect with the more mainstream audience they are chasing, but good news either way.
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Zitat von PeteS
Hab Honey & Clover nie geguckt. Sooooo lang guck ich die aktuell laufenden Sachen bei Ausstrahlung noch nich und ältere Sachen hol ich nur in Ausnahmefällen nach und bei Sachen die nach SoL klingen bin ich eher zurückhaltend. Hab mal die Beschreibung zu diesem "march comes in like a lion" gelesen und klingt mir jetzt nich so interessant. Shogi is zwar ganz okay. Aber das Chardesign ... dass es wohl Richtung SoL geht ... und dasss von 1 Kerl und mehrere weibliche Chars die Rede ist (da müsst ich erst gucken welcher weitere männliche Char dann noch dabei ist damits gut wird) schrecken eher ab.)
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