March Comes in Like a Lion Manga Reading Order

March Comes in Like a Lion Manga Reading Order — Start Here

The reading order is simple: start at Volume 1 and read sequentially. That’s it. Here’s the full picture:

The Series:

• March Comes in Like a Lion (3月のライオン) by Chica Umino (羽海野チカ)
• Published chapter by chapter in Young Animal magazine (a manga magazine from publisher Hakusensha) since 2007, then collected into bound volumes
• Status: Ongoing
• Japanese volumes: 18 published
• English volumes: 4 published (by Denpa — each English volume corresponds to one Japanese volume), with Volume 5 up for preorder

There are no branching storylines, no prequel series, and no companion manga you need to read alongside it. The entire story follows Rei Kiriyama, a young competitive shogi player navigating competition, loneliness, and the slow process of building real human connections. Everything unfolds in a single continuous narrative.

An anime adaptation does exist and covers the earlier story sections of the manga, but the manga itself is the primary and most complete way to experience the story. More on that later.

If you’re ready to jump in, the Denpa English editions are the place to start — beginning with Volume 1 and reading forward. The most recent English release is Volume 4; Volume 5, shown below, is up for preorder ahead of its November 24, 2026 release.

Why Reading Order Is Simple — And Why It Still Matters

Some sports manga — manga series centered on athletic or competitive pursuits — have sequel series, generational time skips, or multiple spin-offs that make reading order a genuine puzzle. March Comes in Like a Lion doesn’t have any of that. One series, one continuous timeline, one protagonist.

So why does reading order still matter? Because this manga builds everything cumulatively.

The story interweaves two threads that depend on each other: Rei’s competitive shogi career and his personal life — particularly his growing relationship with the Kawamoto family, three sisters who become his emotional anchor. Tournament story sections gain their weight from what you know about Rei’s mental state. Quiet domestic scenes with the Kawamoto sisters hit harder when you understand what Rei’s life was like before he met them.

Skipping ahead — say, jumping to a later tournament section because it sounds exciting — means missing the emotional groundwork that makes those scenes resonate. The rivalry dynamics between Rei and other players develop slowly across many volumes. A match against a rival in Volume 12 carries completely different weight when you’ve watched that relationship evolve from Volume 2 onward.

The shogi knowledge also builds gradually. You don’t need to understand the game going in (more on that below), but the manga introduces concepts, player rankings, and tournament structures piece by piece. Later volumes assume you’ve absorbed the basics from earlier ones.

Bottom line: even though the reading order is linear, sequential reading isn’t just recommended — it’s how the manga is designed to work. The emotional payoffs are earned through accumulation, not spectacle.

Do You Need to Know Shogi to Enjoy This Manga?

Short answer: no. Not even a little.

This is one of the most common concerns people have before starting March Comes in Like a Lion, and it’s completely understandable. Shogi is a Japanese strategy board game sometimes compared to chess, and it’s not widely known outside Japan. If the series revolves around competitive shogi, won’t you be lost?

Here’s the key point — the manga is not really about shogi mechanics. It’s about the people who play shogi, what competition does to them psychologically, and how they carry those pressures into their daily lives. Shogi matches function as dramatic set pieces. The tension comes from character expressions, the character’s thoughts written on the page, pacing, and what’s at stake emotionally — not from whether you can follow the board positions.

When Rei faces an opponent across the shogi board, the manga communicates what’s happening through:

• Body language and facial expressions — you can feel when a player is crumbling or surging with confidence
• The character’s inner thoughts — Rei’s thinking reveals the stakes without requiring you to understand specific moves
• Visual pacing — the individual frames on the page slow down and speed up to create rhythm, much like how a boxing manga handles a fight

The series does have a credited shogi supervisor (Manabu Senzaki / 先崎学) who ensures the game sequences are technically accurate. So if you do know shogi, the matches hold up on that level too. But the vast majority of readers who love this manga couldn’t explain a shogi strategy to save their lives, and that doesn’t diminish the experience at all.

You’ll likely pick up a few basic concepts naturally — piece names, the general flow of a match, what it means to earn a ranked title — but none of that knowledge is required to follow the plot or connect with the characters.

If you’ve ever enjoyed a manga about a sport you didn’t know beforehand — plenty of volleyball fans got into the sport only after reading Haikyuu!!, a popular volleyball manga — the same principle applies here.

Japanese Volumes vs. English Editions — Which Should You Buy?

This is where things get a little more complicated, and it’s worth understanding the current state of both editions before you spend money.

Japanese Edition

• Publisher: Hakusensha
• Volumes: 18 published (ongoing)
• Format: Standard single volumes (called tankōbon in Japanese — each one is a slim, individual book collecting several chapters)
• Chapter-by-chapter publication started: 2007

The Japanese edition is the furthest ahead and the most complete way to read the series as it stands today.

English Edition

• Publisher: Denpa (a smaller English-language manga publisher)
• Format: Standard single volumes — each English volume corresponds to one Japanese volume
• Volumes released: 4
• Latest release: Volume 4 (released September 9, 2025); Volume 5 arrives November 24, 2026

With 4 English volumes published, the English edition currently covers Japanese Volumes 1–4 — roughly the first quarter of the Japanese release. That’s a significant gap.

Comparison at a Glance

Detail	Japanese Edition	English Edition (Denpa)
Publisher	Hakusensha	Denpa
Volumes available	18	4
Format	Single volumes	Single volumes
JP volumes covered	1–18	1–4
Status	Ongoing	Ongoing (catching up)

So Which Should You Buy?

For most English-speaking readers, start with the Denpa English editions. They’re available at major retailers, and reading in your primary language means you won’t miss any of the nuanced inner thoughts and emotional texture that makes this series special.

The trade-off is that you’ll catch up to the English release quickly and have to wait. English releases have come out at a measured pace, and there’s a meaningful gap between where the English edition currently sits (Volume 4, with Volume 5 on the way) and where the Japanese edition stands (Volume 18).

If you’re comfortable reading Japanese, or if you finish the available English volumes and can’t wait, the Japanese volumes are always an option to continue the story beyond what Denpa has published so far.

One practical note: because the English and Japanese editions match one-to-one, mapping between them is straightforward. English Volume 1 = Japanese Volume 1, English Volume 2 = Japanese Volume 2, and so on. If you switch to Japanese after finishing English Volume 4, you’d pick up at Japanese Volume 5.

Tips for First-Time Readers

Give the early volumes time

The first few volumes focus heavily on establishing Rei’s emotional isolation. He’s a teenager living alone, struggling with depression and disconnection from the people around him. This can feel heavy — intentionally so. The warmth comes gradually, largely through the Kawamoto sisters (Akari, Hinata, and Momo), who slowly become a surrogate family for Rei. By the time you finish the first English volume (Japanese Volume 1), the Kawamoto family is already becoming part of Rei’s life, and the tone begins to balance out.

If the opening feels a bit melancholy, stick with it. The balance shifts as the series progresses, and the contrast between Rei’s darker moments and the Kawamoto household’s warmth is one of the manga’s greatest strengths.

The art is doing a lot of work

Chica Umino’s art style is distinctive and worth paying attention to. The individual frames shift between detailed, tightly composed shogi scenes and softer, almost watercolor-like sequences during emotional moments. The visual mood changes — sometimes within the same chapter. It’s one of those manga where slowing down to look at the art (rather than just reading the dialogue) enriches the experience significantly.

If you’ve already watched the anime

The anime adaptation covers the earlier portion of the manga and is celebrated for its visual style and emotional depth. If you’ve seen it, you might wonder whether you can skip ahead in the manga to where the anime left off.

Reading from Volume 1 is still recommended. The manga contains details, inner thoughts, and quieter character moments that the anime condensed or adjusted. Even if you know the broad story beats, reading the manga from the beginning offers a richer and more complete version of those same events. And of course, the manga continues well beyond what the anime adapted.

It rewards rereading

This is a series where early scenes gain new meaning once you know more about the characters’ histories. A throwaway frame in Volume 2 might land completely differently after revelations in Volume 8. If you find yourself attached to these characters — and there’s a good chance you will — going back to the beginning is well worth it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is March Comes in Like a Lion finished?

No. The series is ongoing. It has been published chapter by chapter in Young Animal magazine since 2007, and new chapters continue to be released in Japan.

How many volumes are there?

As of the most recent verified data, there are 18 Japanese volumes published by Hakusensha. The English edition from Denpa has 4 volumes, each corresponding to one Japanese volume (covering Japanese Volumes 1–4 so far), with Volume 5 scheduled for November 24, 2026.

Who created the manga?

The manga is by Chica Umino (羽海野チカ), who is also known for Honey and Clover, another beloved series. Shogi supervisor Manabu Senzaki (先崎学) ensures the accuracy of the competitive shogi scenes.

Is the anime a good substitute for the manga?

The anime is a faithful and beautifully produced adaptation of the earlier story sections, but it covers only a portion of the manga’s story. The manga goes much further and is the definitive version of March Comes in Like a Lion. If you can only choose one, the manga gives you the most complete experience.

Where does the anime leave off in the manga?

The two seasons of the anime cover a significant portion of the earlier manga. For the most complete experience, starting the manga from Volume 1 is still recommended regardless of how much anime you’ve watched, since the manga provides additional depth and detail throughout. The manga continues well beyond what the anime adapted.

Do I need to read anything else before starting?

No. A completed Japanese-only spin-off exists (Shakunetsu no Toki, 10 volumes), but it has never been licensed in English and is not required reading. Just pick up Volume 1 and go.

Is this really a sports manga?

It’s a fair question! March Comes in Like a Lion is categorized as a sports manga — a manga built around competitive activity — because shogi competition is central to the plot, but it’s equally a character-driven drama about loneliness, surrogate family, and growing up. Some readers also call it a “slice-of-life” story, meaning it focuses on everyday moments and relationships rather than big action sequences. If you enjoy sports manga for the emotional intensity of competition rather than the sport itself, this series delivers that in abundance — while also being one of the most moving character dramas in manga.