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Rei Kiriyama

Rei Kiriyama

March Comes in Like a Lion universe

Rei Kiriyama makes shogi feel like a place where silence has consequences. Watching him think through a position is absorbing for the same reason it can be uncomfortable: concentration does not look serene here, and a pause can carry the weight of a move he has not made yet. March Comes in Like a Lion asks you to sit with that pressure instead of dressing it up as genius. Rei's work is precise, but the pleasure of following him comes from seeing how much effort it takes to keep that precision intact.

By Mika Tanabe

Appearance

The strongest first impression is physical economy. Rei does not need to announce himself; attention gathers around the board, his measured posture, and the long beats in which he studies a choice. At 170 cm and 52 kg, his build gives the impression of someone slight beside the demands he places on himself, though the series does not ask you to read a whole personality from a silhouette. The camera's patience matters more than any flourish. It lets the ordinary act of sitting down to play acquire a quiet strain, then gives a small shift in focus room to register. That restraint suits him. There is no visual shorthand that can explain Rei before the viewer has spent time with him, and the show is better for not pretending otherwise.

Personality

Rei's defining quality is discipline, but discipline here is not a shiny virtue. It can steady him and narrow his attention at the same time. As a shogi player, he has to keep looking at a position after the easy answer has disappeared; the series makes that habit feel like both a skill and a burden. He can seem remote because he is so intent on getting through the next thought, not because the show wants distance to pass for mystery. His quietness is active. You watch him assess, reconsider, and hold something back, and the tension comes from not knowing whether that control is helping him or costing him. I find the performance most persuasive when it lets a feeling remain unfinished. Rei is not reduced to a lesson about perseverance, and a difficult stretch does not become inspirational just because he keeps working. That honest friction gives his scenes their warmth: the show respects effort without pretending effort fixes everything.

Rei Kiriyama’s Story

Spoiler-free introduction

Early on, the safest way to meet Rei is through the work he knows how to do. Shogi gives the series a visible structure for his attention: there is a position to study, a decision to make, and time in which he must live with the decision. You do not need to understand the game to feel the strain. The show lets concentration become legible through pauses and shifts in focus, so the emotional pull does not depend on knowing a winning move from a losing one. Rei's story is compelling in those held moments, when skill and loneliness seem close enough to touch but the series has not explained everything behind them. Let the unanswered parts stay unanswered at first. The gradual pace is part of how the show teaches you to watch him, and a quick summary would flatten the very uncertainty that makes his early scenes work. This is a thoughtful entry point for anyone who enjoys character writing that trusts quiet observation more than constant explanation.

Spoilers beyond season one

Beyond the first season, it becomes easier to see why Rei's story needs room to unfold. His work remains a useful measure of the way he meets pressure, while the meaning of that pressure grows more complicated as you spend longer with him. The series does not turn every hard feeling into a clean breakthrough, which is why later viewing can feel more intimate than triumphant. Rei's attention to shogi continues to offer a language for persistence, but it cannot settle every question the show raises about what a person owes to himself. The pleasure is in watching the character's inner life resist a neat summary. This is not a reveal about a single result or turning point; it is a note about the viewing experience after the early stretch, when the show's patience has had time to build trust. Keep the label in mind if you want to enter those later episodes without any extra framing.

Watch Rei Kiriyama’s Story

Start with March Comes in Like a Lion (2016), the place to follow Rei's story. The show's steady pace rewards a viewer willing to stay with a thought instead of asking every scene to deliver a twist. Shogi is the frame, but you can come in without knowing its rules; the feeling of weighing a choice is clear on its own. Rei's English voice is Khoi Dao, and Kengo Kawanishi voices him in Japanese. If you prefer to hear the original performance, that version keeps the pauses and small changes in tone close to the surface. Either way, the series is best approached with a little patience. It gives Rei room to be difficult to read, then makes that difficulty feel like part of knowing him rather than a puzzle you have to solve before you can care.

Start here: March Comes in Like a Lion (2016) — on Crunchyroll, Netflix

Questions

How tall is Rei Kiriyama?
Rei Kiriyama is 170 cm tall. The series' restrained presentation makes his physical scale feel secondary to the focus he brings to a shogi match.
Who voices Rei Kiriyama in English?
Khoi Dao voices Rei in English. Kengo Kawanishi performs the character in Japanese, with each version carrying the quiet timing that suits the role.
Where can I watch Rei Kiriyama's story?
March Comes in Like a Lion (2016) streams on Crunchyroll and Netflix. It is the starting point for following Rei's story.
Is Rei Kiriyama worth watching for?
Yes, especially if you enjoy a character whose tension comes through concentration and pauses instead of constant speeches. Rei makes the work of thinking feel vivid, even when you do not know shogi.