Why did the veteran shogi player’s story in March Comes in Like a Lion resonate with Utsudo? In the anime, an aging shogi player carries the hopes of friends who gave up and keeps fighting amid self-doubt. When Utsudo set out to write fiction, she carried no one’s expectations—no one even believed in her—but she knows that same feeling of struggling through hardship and refusing to give up. She believes she’ll keep moving forward through her self-doubt, and perhaps light the way for others too.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

Watching March Comes in Like a Lion with my Discord group

People in my Discord group stream anime now and then, and this time it was March Comes in Like a Lion.

It tells of a protagonist who struggles with people, how he forms bonds with others, and many heartwarming stories woven from what he sees and experiences as a professional shogi player. The story is realistic and emotionally delicate, and the protagonist’s murmured monologues are beautifully written, almost like poetry—another highlight.

I really like works with this tone. You can feel the author’s reflections and thoughts on life, and combined with the soft art style and music, it often touches my heart.

My heart’s pace slows down and becomes soft and gentle.

An aging shogi player carrying everyone’s hopes

The episode that made me want to share my thoughts is the story of an aging shogi player. As for his name, I don’t quite remember (stares into the distance)

He had once fought hard alongside a group of friends on the path of professional shogi. But as time went on, some gradually gave up, or were forced by reality to abandon their dreams.

Those who gave up transferred their hopes onto the old player. When he was the last one left, he carried so many people’s expectations. At first they encouraged him, but over time they became shackles that made every step difficult.

He had a strong will. He wanted to keep carrying everyone’s hopes, but as time passed, he began to doubt himself.

In the end, he won his match. While everyone celebrated, he sighed to a friend beside him that he wanted to give up this path—maybe it was time to retire. To his surprise, the friend laughed: “You said that last year too.”

Seeing myself in the old shogi player

When I saw that, I was quite surprised, yet I couldn’t help smiling wryly.

When I set out on the path of writing fiction, I carried no one’s expectations. You could even say no one believed in me at all. But that feeling of struggling through hardship and refusing to give up—I know it all too well.

In that instant, this stern-faced old man felt twice as relatable XD

As for the future, I believe I’ll keep moving forward amid self-doubt. But this time, maybe I’ll be carrying some people’s hopes?

Or maybe I can light the way ahead for some people?

So many maybes—but the heart that wants to keep moving forward has never changed.

FAQ

Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #140: The Games We Went Crazy For Back Then
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.