Episode 3

"Harunobu" is the 3rd episode of the anime adaptation of Sangatsu No Lion.

Synopsis
It is nearly summer break, when shogi tournaments for children are held. Rei and Harunobu used to attend these tournaments frequently. One tournament where Rei played against Harunobu was on a really hot day, which is grueling for Harunobu as he is heavier and possibly anemic. He struggled against Rei and ultimately lost, resulting in him crying.

Today, Rei plays against Harunobu again. He finds Harunobu is good competition and begins to smile softly as he determines that he doesn't want to lose. They play until evening when Harunobu finally loses. Harunobu leaves and is visibly ill, revealing he has been like this for a long time. However, he hasn't lost his drive to get better at shogi.

After Rei's match, he visits Akari's house like he promised to. They celebrate the final day of Obon, saying goodbye to spirits of family members they welcomed to visit at the start of the festival. Rei finds it to be a sad ceremony that brings back bad memories.

Hinata leaves after saying she wants to go to the convenience store. The grandfather makes Rei follow her to make sure she stays safe. Hinata goes to overlook the river, crying out for her mother who passed away. Rei finds himself unable to say anything at first, but is forced to when strangers nearly try to console Hinata. Hinata is embarrassed about being unable to stop crying and apologizes to Rei, trying to regain her composure. Rei merely says that it's okay, suggesting they stay a while longer. Staring out into the water accompanied by Rei's silence becomes a form of comfort that makes Hinata cry harder. Rei internally wonders if shutting out the pain of losing his family was the right thing to do as Hinata mourns her mother and Rei is unable to cry.