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March comes in like a lion Joins Japanese Government to Fight Bullying
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
As some anime and manga show, bullying is a huge problem in Japan. Japanese culture's emphasis on conformity encourages some people to bully those who stand out from the crowd. Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced on Tuesday that it is collaborating with the March comes in like a lion anime for a new initiative to fight bullying at schools in Japan.
MEXT is distributing a total of 18,000 collaboration posters to junior high schools, compulsory education schools, high schools, secondary education schools, and technical colleges throughout Japan. The poster features Hinata coming to young Rei's aid although Hinata herself is being bullied. The poster also features the message "I'll be your friend through it all" and the phone number for MEXT's "24-hour child SOS" hotline.
A special website for the collaboration will also open on October 16. The website will feature interviews with voice actors Kengo Kawanishi (voice of Rei) and Kana Hanazawa (voice of Hinata), as well as female professional shogi player Eriko Yamaguchi.
The story of March comes in like a lion follows Rei, a solitary player of shōgi (a Japanese board game related to Western chess), and his relationships with a neighboring family. He becomes acquainted with Akari, and two young girls, Hinata and Momo, who also have have a large number of cats.
The first March comes in like a lion television anime series premiered on NHK in Japan in October 2016 and had 22 episodes. Crunchyroll and Daisuki streamed the anime.
The show's second season will premiere in Japan on October 14, and will also have 22 episodes. The new season will stream on Crunchyroll starting on October 14. Aniplex of America is dubbing the series.
Chika Umino's original manga also inspired two live-action films starring Ryunosuke Kamiki in the lead role, with Keishi Ōtomo as the director. The films opened in Japan on March 18 and April 22.
Source: Comic Natalie
