3-Gatsu no Lion 2nd Season | Episode 13 Review


Episode Thirteen Thoughts

Coming off the heels of episode twelve, we have the reconciliation episode. Not only was there a severe crackdown on the bullying within the class (Justly so), but Hina was able to make amends and find a level of normalcy that she had lost. I also thought it was nice that once the bullying situation was brought under ‘control’ that the second most affected person by the bullying Chiho, reached out to Hina at the end; detailing all the good things that have happened to her since she escaped from a place that brought her so much pain. Was it bittersweet for Hina? I’m sure it was. She’s sad that her friend wasn’t there with her. However, she was also happy that Chiho was in a better and happier place.

Episode thirteen raised a real question for me, what really is the relationship between Hina and Rei? I’m not too sure what to make of it, to be completely honest. Their relationship to me feels more like a supportive older brother taking care of his younger sister; while they’re not related, it certainly feels like that’s the dynamic. There definitely is a level of admiration for each other; you can definitely feel that. They have a certain characteristic, something that the other person lacks. But they also have a ton of things that make them similar, for example, their determination to see their plan through. Rei is more loosey-goosey, he’s a determined fellow, but half the time, you don’t actually know what he’s determined about. He always talks about making it up to the person who ‘saved’ him, Hina; he keeps mentioning it, but we still don’t know how Rei will go about that. While Hina is more direct. You know what she’s about, you know her goal, and you know that she’ll complete her goal no matter the cost because it’s important to her—for example, episode twelve.

I don’t know if Rei’s and Hina’s relationship will progress into something more. If we’re heading in that route, then there isn’t much time. I also don’t know if it should really develop into something more because the whole situation feels like a family trying to navigate through the ups and downs together. I really like the vibe right now between Hina’s family and Rei. It’s a nice warm and cozy vibe, and I quite like that. All that being said, you can tell that it’s something that will eventually manifest itself into the story; like all ‘longer’ anime, stronger bonds tend to take form with the unlikeliest of characters.

Overall, episode thirteen, for what it’s worth, was a great cooldown episode. After what we saw and experienced in episode twelve, having an episode where it felt a little more peaceful and uplifting was nice to have. Not much happened during this episode, but you can tell that the episode’s purpose was to calm everything down, and it was effective. Episode twelve was definitely a solid B episode.