Episode 13

"Black River/ Beyond the Door" is episode 13 of the anime adaptation of Sangatsu No Lion.

Synopsis
Rei and Smith must prepare for their matches. Smith will play against Gotou first and Rei is paired against Shimada. Smith is peeved Rei believes he will beat Shimada and then Gotou without recognizing Smith may win.

Smith has played against Gotou in the past and is able to come up with various possible countermeasures. His strategy is to slowly but surely wound Gotou for victory. However, he finds that Gotou attacks with perilous force that Smith cannot combat. He loses despite his efforts. Gotou corrects Smith to follow his specialty in being light rather than heavy in strategy. After his match, Smith finds a stray kitten and takes it home with him.

Rei struggles pinpointing a weakness in his upcoming opponent. Mid match, Rei realizes that he has shrunk back into defending while his Shimada presses forward. Turns out Shimada is Harunobu's big brother and when Harunobu was younger, he asked Shimada to split Rei's head open.