Shopping Guide
Bump of Chicken will be performing the opening and ending themes for the TV anime Sangatsu no Lion (or March Comes in Like a Lion) based on the manga by Chica Umino! The opening is a brand new and specially written song, and the ending is the collaborative song Fighter.
Serialized in Young Animal (Hakusensha), the manga Sangatsu no Lion is written by Chica Umino and is set in the world of shogi. Its fall 2016 anime will start its broadcast on NHK General.
The opening theme of Sangatsu no Lion is an original song by Bump of Chicken, who are currently on a stadium tour with an expected audience of 300 thousand, and the ending theme is their collaborative song Fighter! The relationship between Sangatsu no Lion and Bump of Chicken dates back to volume 10 of the manga, released in Nov. 2014, and the release of Fighter. In a show of mutual respect as creators and as an unheard of experiment, Bump of Chicken agreed to write Fighter for Sangatsu no Lion, and upon hearing it, Chica Umino wrote a spin-off manga which could be considered a prequel. When Sangatsu no Lion’s anime adaptation was decided, Bump of Chicken were chosen for its opening as a 2nd collaboration, and Fighter as its ending theme! Its members also released comments.
■ Bump of Chicken Profile
A 4-person band consisting of Motoo Fujiwara, Hiroaki Masukawa, Yoshifumi Naoi, and Hideo Masu. They came together and took the stage in Feb. 1996. Their major debut came in 2000 with the single Diamond. jupiter, their 1st major album which was released in 2002, was a massive hit. It reached the top of Oricon’s charts and had 900 thousand copies printed. They later released the Bump of Chicken Willpolis 2014 live documentary in Feb. 2015, and the single Hello World! / Colony on Apr. 22 which included the themes for film Parasyte: Part 2 and anime Blood Blockade Battlefront. They had their first appearance on NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen that year, as well. Their 8th full album, Butterflies, was released on Feb. 2016 as a hit following their previous work, Ray. Now, 16 years after their major debut, they continue to be extremely popular with more fans than ever.
■ Comments from Bump of Chicken
Q1: How do you feel about doing another collaboration with Sangatsu no Lion and Chica Umino?
――We love the manga Sangatsu no Lion, so we’re extremely happy to get to work on another collaboration. We’re very excited to read its continuation.
Q2: What are you excited about with the upcoming Sangatsu no Lion anime adaptation?
――We’re excited to see how Chica Umino’s beautiful art translates into anime, actually hearing each line from the manga. We’re looking forward to it airing.
■ Series Synopsis
Sangatsu no Lion is a popular manga serialized in Young Animal (Hakusensha) about the world of shogi. It’s written by Chica Umino, also known for Hachimitsu and Clover. It currently has 11 volumes on sale. It won the 4th annual Manga Taisho award in 2011, as well as the 35th Kodansha Manga Award’s general category. It won the Grand Prize at the 18th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2014, as well as 1st place in the comic category of Book of the Year 2015 in The Witch. Its TV anime will begin its broadcast on NHK General TV in the fall of 2016, and a live-action film will be released in 2017.
■ Story
When protagonist Rei Kiriyama was young, he lost his family in a traffic accident. Now 17, the shogi player carries the weight of a profound loneliness. He lives alone in downtown Tokyo and happens to meet 3 sisters by the names of Akari, Hinata, and Momo who begin to change him. This gentle story shows people recovering something in themselves, as well as shogi battles.
■ Staff
Original Work: Chica Umino(Hakusensha Young Animal Serialization)
Director: Akiyuki Shinbo
Character Designer: Nobuhiro Sugiyama
Art Development: Yasuhiro Nakura
Art Director: Seiki Tamura
Music Director: Toshiki Kameyama
Music: Yukari Hashimoto
Animation Work: Shaft
Production: Sangatsu no Lion Anime Production Committee
Official Anime Site: http://3lion-anime.com/
Official Anime Twitter: @3lion_anime
Official Anime Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3lion.anime
© Chica Umino・Hakusensha / Sangatsu no Lion Anime Production Committee
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[Live Action Film: Release News] First and Second Parts of Sangatsu no Lion Opening Nationally in Spring 2017
Copyright: © 2017 Sangatsu no Lion Film Production Committee
Director: Keishi Ohtomo / Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki / Distribution: Toho, Asmik Ace
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Source: PR TIMES
