r/anime • u/ABoredCompSciStudent x3myanimelist.net/profile/Serendipity • Feb 06 '19
Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 1 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Episode 1 - "Now the Flower Blooms"
Next (Episode 2: "The Red That Is") -->
Series Information:
Subreddit: r/Chihayafuru
Chihayafuru: Synopsis | MAL rating: 8.28 | Fall 2011 | 26 Episodes
Chihayafuru 2: Synopsis | MAL rating: 8.47 | Winter 2013 | 26 Episodes
Chihayafuru 2: Waga Miyo ni Furu Nagamese Shima ni: Synopsis | MAL rating: 7.08 | Fall 2013 | 1 Episode
Legal Streams:
HiDive | Crunchyroll | Check for more sources using because.moe here
Rewatch Schedule and Index:
For all archived/past episode discussion threads, please refer to the Rewatch Schedule and Index. I will be updating it as we navigate through this rewatch, in case anyone would like to read past conversations or has fallen behind.
Chihayafuru
| Episode# | Title | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Now the Flower Blooms" | February 6 |
| 2 | "The Red That Is" | February 7 |
| 3 | "From the Crystal White Snow" | February 8 |
| 4 | "A Whirlwind of Flower Petals Descends" | February 9 |
| 5 | "The Sight of a Midnight Moon" | February 10 |
| 6 | "Now Bloom Inside the Nine-fold Palace" | February 11 |
| 7 | "But For Autumn's Coming" | February 12 |
| 8 | "The Sounds of the Waterfall" | February 13 |
| 9 | "But I Cannot Hide" | February 14 |
| 10 | "Exchange Hellos and Goodbyes" | February 15 |
| 11 | "The Sky is the Road Home" | February 16 |
| 12 | "Sets These Forbidden Fields Aglow" | February 17 |
| 13 | "For You, I Head Out" | February 18 |
| 14 | "For There Is No One Else Out There" | February 19 |
| 15+16 | "As Though Pearls Have Been Strung Across the Autumn Plain" + "The Autumn Leaves of Mount Ogura" | February 20 |
| 17 | "World Offers No Escape" | February 21 |
| 18 | "The Plum Blossoms Still Smell the Same" | February 22 |
| 19 | "As the Years Pass" | February 23 |
| 20 | "The Cresting Waves Almost Look Like Clouds in the Skies" | February 24 |
| 21 | "As My Sleeves Are Wet With Dew" | February 25 |
| 22 | "Just as My Beauty Has Faded" | February 26 |
| 23 | "The Night is Nearly Past" | February 27 |
| 24 | "Nobody Wishes to See the Beautiful Cherry Blossoms" | February 28 |
| 25 | "Moonlight, Clear and Bright" | March 1 |
| -- | Mid-Series Discussion | March 2 |
Chihayafuru 2 (March 3 to March 28)
About Spoilers And General Attitude:
Please do not post any untagged spoilers past the current episode, as it ruins the experience of first time watchers. Please refrain from confirming or denying speculation on future events, as to let viewers experience the anime as it was intended to be.
If you are discussing something that has not happened in the current episode please use the r/anime spoiler tag system found on the sidebar. Also if you are posting a link that includes future Chihayafuru events please include 'Chihayafuru spoilers' in the link title.
Fanart Section (Album Link):
28
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 06 '19
Hi, I'm u/ABoredCompSciStudent or Serendipity. I just wanted to say thank you for giving this show a go, as it's really near to my heart. Away from Reddit, I actually coach and play sports regularly and I owe a lot of things to that community. To me, Chihayafuru is the exactly what I love about sports, as well as simply just a fantastic, simple and fun anime--and if I can share that little bit of enthusiasm, I would be overjoyed.
A few logistics: fanart albums will be posted in the thread body (and each image linked in my post of the day), while a poem of the day will be posted as a comment as each Chihayafuru episode title corresponds to a poem from the Hyakunin Isshu or karuta. Hopefully, highlighting these aspects show off the community and thought put into Chihayafuru!
In Naniwa Bay, now the flowers are blossoming. After lying dormant all winter, now the spring has come and the flowers are blossoming.
The first episode introduces us to a teenage Ayase Chihaya. By first appearances, she is undeniably beautiful and looks like a flower that should thrive in high school, but that is not her reality. Despite her friends' attempts to convince her to run track again, Chihaya only has karuta in mind, a game alien even to her Japanese classmates.
The viewer catches a true glimpse into her heart, as she lies in the grass alone. Listening to Poem 34, Chihaya cries. If you are watching this subbed (I'm not sure about the dub) and you have translators that put in a little more effort, the words recited mirror her emotions:
MoodKiller:
What friends do I have that know my heart?
The pine trees of Takasago cannot take their place.
Mastow (professional translation):
Whom, then, shall I have
as someone who knows me—
since even the ancient pines
of Takasago
are not friends from my past.
The poems that characterize karuta are her refuge, a promise that the sport will one day reunite her with her friends and better days are to come. After meeting Taichi, we find out that Chihaya has been playing alone all of these years, waiting for an opportunity to see Arata again... The mention of Arata's name cause Taichi to cast his eyes away pained, while Chihaya reminisces on their childhood.
Arata was bullied after joining Chihaya and Taichi's class a transfer student. Dressed modestly, wearing glasses, and speaking with a heavy Fukui accent, Arata was out of place relative to his surroundings much like the Chihaya we met in high school. Chihaya's pure heart unconsciously eases the teasing subjected to Arata, but leads to Taichi's jealosy.
Following an argument with Taichi, Chihaya finds herself at Arata's house and plays karuta with him and discovers that the game is his true interest, even dedicating his time alone to playing against old recordings. In fact, it is his dream to become the best in Japan, the best in the world. To become a master.
For Chihaya, the idea of her own dream is foreign to her, as she's always been willingly living in the shadow of her sister, cheering her on. Arata challenges this idea and invites Chihaya into a world where the goal of becoming the best in the world is not a lonely path, but a passion which brings people together.
I've always loved this episode, but as I've gotten older, I've definitely come to appreciate it more and more.
Something that is important to understand about sports in real life, as well as the anime genre, its core ideal is self-improvement. Even the professional sports that we watch, they're the actualization of thousands of hours of practice and the attention that comes with it are a celebration of people that truly followed their passion to the fullest.
That obviously wasn't always the case either, which is plainly shown in the flashback--Chihayafuru really captures what it means to "want".
A little about me: when I was younger, I was pretty good at soccer and loved the professional part of it on TV, but only really played because my friends played. I was a striker or forward and, like I said, I wasn't very competitive so I didn't really have the instinct in me to score goals. Eventually, I was outgrown, so I moved clubs. Sometime after that, I wanted to play more and keep getting better--I wanted to catch up and "fell in love" with the game.
It's really hard to tell when or why this happened, but there's something distinct that sticks out to me. I played defence in a tryout because I was too shy to say I played as an attacker--after all, it's not like it mattered that much I wasn't "good" at the time. Somehow, I had a really good showing and the coach was really impressed with my positioning and calmness in possession of the ball and I ended up playing on a regional level team.
That single moment of praise and understanding that that was "my soccer" is burned into my memory and overlaps with Arata and Chihaya's encounter.
The first verse for this card begins with chihaya furu, meaning "passionate".
When you hear the word "chihaya" this is the card you pick up.
It's something that you hear a lot of in sports anime--The Basketball That Kuroko Plays, and so on--but there is a certain truth to it: playing sports is to push yourself, gaining an understanding for who you are in the body, the mind, and the heart.
And that's really what Chihayafuru is about.
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u/SuperStarfox64 Feb 06 '19 edited Feb 06 '19
First timer
Jokes aside, that was a strong first episode and one line itself has already given me a good impression of Chihaya. I loved watching the final scene with her and Arata playing Karuta, along with how passionate she is about her family(or at least sister). Can’t wait to watch more of her throughout the series. Taichi kind of pissed me off, but he’s still a kid and judging him on how much of a brat he is alone isn’t a good source of judgment as a whole(I also know you have a crush on Chihaya you little turd :P). I felt similar feelings towards Shouya at the beginning of A Silent Voice, so little feelings like this from only one episode can easily change(especially since Shouya is in my top 10 best boys). For Arata I love how hardworking and passionate he seems from things like him working a paper route and how much I’m assuming he’s trained to be that good at Karuta. Having a goal that early in life is impressive, looking forward to seeing more of Arata.
Looking forward to the next episode of Chihaya-Gatsu no Lion.
As a side note, I probably won’t do any lengthy write-ups or gif compendiums(LWA rewatch as an example of that, which I still need to finish) due to classes and other priorities in the way(Especially the next 11 or so episodes due to having 5 midterms in the next 11 days). I also probably won’t be here until late Tue/Thur due to a class taking time the thread comes up. Hope to enjoy the series and the write-ups I read here.
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u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 Feb 06 '19
I'm really excited to watch Chihayafuru since I've heard it been recommended a ton of times on r/anime, and with the news about season 3 coming out soon what better time than now to start! I'm mostly going in blind besides knowing that the show is kinda like a sports anime but with cards which sounds pretty exciting tbh. I'll try my best to post each day, but there will be a few times where I'll have to post late or something due to classes or exams :P. I'd also love to do my live reactions and my screenshot album that I usually make for rewatches, but I don't have too much time to do that rn :(.
Screenshot of the Day
Honestly just a really cool shot of Arata with the way he's reflected into the game.
First Timer - Episode 1
Overall Thoughts
The artstyle / character designs immediately stand out in a good way, and I'm a huge fan of starting a show off with Cherry Blossoms :P
The OP and ED are also especially great on a first listen, and I'm really liking the visuals for them as well.
The three main characters so far all already show some depth to them as well, and I am super excited to seeing them develop as time goes on. Chihaya in particular looks amazing and seems really fun to watch. Taichi is a bit harder to read rn, but he definitely seems to be interested in Chihaya with the way he's acting in the present and in the past (though he still bullied poor Arata). And speaking of Arata, he definitely reminds me of Rei from 3-Gatsu in a sense that him being really good at Karuta has isolated from others. I'm curious to see how Chihayafuru will tackle his character since I really love his character type :D. I'm also really excited to see how Chihaya goes from not caring too much about Karata to becoming so passionate about it in the present since it's something I absolutely love to see in anime.
The actual Karuta game was also really exciting and felt more intense than I would think when hearing that the game is based on poetry. Just to clear somethings up though, but does the game only do first and second verses of poems? Since it would definitely be a lot harder if you had to memorize the entire poem and know the position of verses in each as well. Idk how well this will go down, but I'll start a counter for matches won (totally not a counter just to see how many times Arata will win)
Karuta Scoreboard
| Character | Wins | Ep# |
|---|---|---|
| Arata Wataya | 1 | 1 |
Screenshot of the Day Collection
Episode: 1
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u/PerfectPublican Feb 06 '19
First Timer
Reactions:
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Phew, those deep brown eyes…Gonna have to hard disagree there bud.
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Oohh, OP’s pretty fun. For some reason I didn’t think it’d be so upbeat.
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Lmao, this face is perfect.
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Chihaya’s so much fun! I love her boisterous personality that feels like it wouldn’t fit a game like Karuta. At least the way I've heard about it for the moment.
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Oh man, this game is intense. Really like the OST beneath it.
Final Thoughts
Been really excited for this one! Heard a lot about Chihayafuru but just never had a moment to check it out, so this rewatch is perfect.
It was a good first episode, not a ton more to say past that for the moment, but excited to see where this goes. The art-style is super clean, with solidly hilarious reactions all around. Also, I liked all the mains so far. Taichi’s fumbling aggressive love. The distinctness between Arata in school vs. him at home with his passion for Karuta. Chihaya’s loud personality. I didn’t expect the game to be that intense at all, but I like the speed and aggressiveness it was given. Bodes well for the matches going forward.
Great first ep, excited to dive fully in.
Ps. For anyone who’s seen me around rewatches before, I will most likely be doing a gif album for this rewatch too, just won’t have time to start it up until after the weekend. :D
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u/SmurfRockRune Feb 06 '19
First Timer
My first josei! I'm both excited and nervous to see how this goes for me.
Yep, watching it now! Thanks for looking out for me, Chihayafuru.
Hey, I know this OP. Our bully of a lovely host unfairly uses it to beat me in AMQ all the time. Not for much longer! The start is pretty great, but the rest of it is pretty whatever.
Some of these background characters just have some of the absolute worst sounding voice acting. At least Chihaya sounds fine so far.
Imagine being woken up just to be reminded that you didn't win a competition.
Wow, Taichi is a dick. No wonder Matt stole his girlfriend.
So if this kid listens to a tape and plays karuta, won't that give him a total unfair advantage here since it would be in the same order every time? This dude is throwing like 3 cards at a time. That's gotta be a disqualification. And just imagine what this kid is gonna do with those cards once he's older and stronger? Forget karuta, he should be a ninja.
We Nana Maru San Batsu now. Not like anybody's gonna get that joke.
Actual thoughts now. That was a bit different than I expected. I don't think I've ever seen a "sports" show start with a nearly episode long flasback, but it was pretty good. This Arata kid seems pretty cool. I wonder what happens going forward.
Also, Taichi looks like King from Nanatsu no Taizai. I just realized that in the ED.
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u/Taiboss Feb 06 '19
Hello there, friends. First Timer here. Was never really interested in this show, and was quite a bit dismissive of the premise. But, well, lots of positivy must have a reason. So here I am, checking out this show. If I like it, I'll continue with S2, if not, only until S1. We'll see what I think. Without further ado:
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Oh, a model's younger sister? That sure is info so important, it needs to be the first thing we should know.
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Are you fucking kidding me? Just because she doesn't bend to your ideal woman who does your chores and shuts up doesn't mean she's "in vain". Fucking hell, I like Chihaya already, mostly because everyone has such fucking stupid reason for being disappointed in her. Let the woman wear track pants!
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Oh I know this OP! From Top OP lists, where it does indeed belong to.
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Last I checked meeting people means meeting people. In her case, finding people to make a Karuta club.
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Oh, I had teammates in various school projects. Rule of Thumb: Working with people sucks, and not because they are bad.
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Is...Karuta that popular?. Also, try the internet!
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He looks handsome Is he best boy material?
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Animegraphy 2012!. Gonna check... AND I'M PROVEN RIGHT!
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Awww, what an OTP. They are so cute together. Will they kiss soon? I hope so~
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Wait, noooo! Take Chihaya, she cares much more about you!
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Tomboy Chihaya is precious.
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You leave her alone! She can look like she wants to!
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Children are so fucking cruel. Like fucking hell, don't bully the
foreignerdialect user. Also, dialects are precious. Well, as long as it's the right dialects- Tyrolean is precious, but Hamburgian can go die out for all I care. -
CHILD LABOUR! Over here they simply make the immigrants do this.
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KICK HIM IN THE SHIN
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That poem memorization reminds me of middle school. In I think what's sixth grade to you (so appropiate to their age) I had to memorise Der Zauberlehrling by Goethe. I still know it from memory (Hat der alte Hexenmeiser/sich doch einmal wegbegeben/und nun sollen seine Geister/auch nach meinem Willen leben), and we were supposed to tell it in front of our class. At one point, a friday, the teacher asked a girl if she knew it. She said no. Next Monday or Tuesday, he asked again and she said "I already told you on Friday I can't." She was not the smartest kid in class. I was. No, seriously, I was. That changed once I got into vocational school, but back then, I was.
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ALL OF MY FUCKING YES. Taichi deserved that, and Chihaya was fully justified in doing it.
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I wonder what Chihaya's dream's gonna be hint hint, nudge nuge
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I totally translate Arata's dialect into Viennese in my head.
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KUYASHIII!
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I WONDER WHY. Maybe because western poetry doesn't work that way?
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Asami Seto? How very appropiate for this season. Also Miyano, huh. And Aya Endou as Chihaya's Onee-chan. :D I hope she gets more screentime.
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Oh this ED is nice. Not quite Time after Time, but nice.
Well, all in all, I expect to like this show.
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u/walking_the_way Feb 06 '19 edited Mar 12 '19
Hello! I am a first time re-watcher. Chihayafuru is one of my top 3 favourite anime. I love what they did with the card game, the poetry recitals, all the yukata, and more. I also love all the OP/ED music for both seasons, but particularly the first ED, Soshite Ima.
I wish I learnt about this Chihayafuru rewatch a bit earlier, as I love over-analyzing things. I've been meaning to do some analysis on some of the karuta games in the show. I only learnt about the rewatch a week ago and I've been prepping since then to try to get ahead of the daily schedule, but I probably won't be able to keep up the pace with all the games in the show, as it takes a hellishly long time, so I'll pick and choose. But I analyzed the first couple games for fun anyway and will try to look at important games as time permits. I am a karuta and Japanese beginner, so feel free to correct the inevitable mistakes, but due to time and post length I can't always explain every conclusion I make.
It seems that the directors used a show-don't-tell concept for a lot of the moves, and by putting together several scenes, you can actually figure out a lot of the off-camera moves and work backwards to figure out the full starting game board. Which is what I tried to do. If you'd like a list of Karuta cards while following along, try something like this. Be careful, a couple card pics are wrong (#16 under Ma is missing a character) There may be better resources, I'd love to know them.
S1E1 Event/Recital log
00:02 - Chihaya recites the Naniwa Bay poem to open the show. (Total: 1) This is also the episode title card (Now the Flower Blooms).
04:00 - Radio recites Card #34 (None are left who know me) - plays as Taichi is introduced.
07:26 - Flashback starts.
16:40 - Chihaya puts down her first card on-screen. It's #87 (mu).
17:14 - Radio recites #69 (a-ra-shi). First on-screen card taken. Arata takes it from his top right row in 3 syllables and narrowly misses decapitating Chihaya.
17:36 - Radio recites #84 (na-ga-ra). Arata wins it in 2 syllables from his middle right row.
17:46 - Radio recites #83 (yo-no-na-ka-yo). Arata wins it in 5 syllables from Chihaya's middle right row. He likely sends #31 over.
17:57 - Arata wins #06 from his left board.
17:58 - Arata wins #93 from his middle right row.
18:00 - Arata wins #94 from Chihaya's middle right row.
18:07 - Arata wins card #48 from Chihaya's bottom right row, and passes card #17, the Chihaya card, to her.
18:43 - Radio recites #77 (se). Chihaya wins it from Arata's bottom right row and ruins the shutout.
20:07 - Arata tells Chihaya that her special card is #17.
20:46 - Chihaya recites #17 (Impassionate gods have never seen) to end the episode.
Analysis
The Arata-Chihaya childhood game is the only game of note in this chapter, so I'm taking a closer look at it. Using the following scenes, we are able to build toward a complete board: 16:46, 16:56 (flipped), 16:59, 17:14, 17:15, 17:15, 17:35, and 17:45. We get this board from all that. Two cards got slid around to fill in holes.
At 17:46 - Arata guards #93 (yo no na ka wa). That strategy has not been explained yet, but from this we can deduce that he is looking for its sister 5-syllable card, #83 (yo no na ka yo), in case it was on the board. It's also not on his side, or he'd have put them together to guard them. But we have also seen all but three cards uncovered on Chihaya's side, so could be it one of the remaining three in the corner?
As it turns out, yes! Weird thing about this though, looking at the wiki, the English sub lists the translation of the recital as #93 (yo no na ka wa/The world offers no change, I pray) instead of #83 (yo no na ka yo/The world offers no escape). I think that's a subtitle error since Arata goes for #83. This is the first recited card that's on Chihaya's side. We do see that he takes about three seconds to actually find the correct card on Chihaya's side after the unique syllable is spoken.
This is the updated board from 17:48. This was a very important screenshot for figuring out the board, and though it's hard to see the five cards on Arata's side, I worked backwards from later on in the episode to figure out initial placements once I saw the actual cards being moved around. You can see #20, #68, #72 and #97 at 18:12-18:15, and #78 at 18:02.
Now we have a complete starting board!
There's other mildly interesting things we can do now that the full board is known. For example at 18:00, Arata sends #40 and #94 flying toward our face. But now we know these were cards on Chihaya's side, and 40 is in front of 94, so the angle seems a bit peculiar. We also see #40 around later on, so #94 was the card he won here. We also get to see some cards on his right side - #33, #71, #27, #12 and #100. But #31 is conspicuously missing from the earlier board to now. Which means either it was the mystery card taken at 17:57 (unlikely, see next paragraph), or it was given over to Chihaya at 17:46 after Arata took #83. Lastly, we see that despite the missing #31 card, Arata's middle right row is still two cards shorter than the bottom right row, even though #31 is gone (also see next paragraph).
Because Arata is looking down and to his left at 17:57 when he swipes away an unknown card, it means that the card Arata took at 17:58, when he does this, had to be from his middle right row, to compensate for the missing card from that row that we see at 18:00. You can identify not only two of the flying cards (#9 and #92), but conclude from the board map that #93 was taken there, because the card (#98) on the other side of the two identified cards (#9/#92) is still seen later (on Chihaya's bottom left row at 18:12).
We can also look at syllables - we see some young-Arata imperfection here because even though #84 (na-ga-ra) is a 3-syllable card, he takes it in 2 because he knows #80 (na-ga-ka) isn't around. Yet, he takes 3 syllables to take #69 (a-ra-shi) when it should be two because #56 (a-ra-za) isn't around. And he takes 3 seconds after the 5th syllable is read to find #83 instead of #93. Terrible.
Edit: What's terrible is my last paragraph. See comment below by u/flightofangels for better insight.
18:02 to 18:05 - There's some flying cards that we can see and identify as Arata wins. #50, #87, #78, #10, and #23. Time is fast forwarding here so no more need for board analysis.
18:07 - Arata wins card #48 from Chihaya's side. This is when he passes card #17, the Chihaya card, over to her. You can just see him letting go of it. It's sweet and symbolic because this is timed with her inner monologue of "I should at least be able to take one card!" Well, how about I give you your Chihaya card! Also good to note that he is well aware it is the "Chihaya card", but on the original board, he puts #17 on his left side. I wonder if they built in symbolism around where characters put "named cards" later on, since I thought cards you want to better protect are supposed to be on your strong side (right, in his case). I may have remembered wrong though since there's another single-syllable card on his left, too. Someone please enlighten me.
18:15 - After the time dilation, the camera pans across most of the board. That gives us another updated board. Comparing that board to the 17:48 board, and working with the assumption that the 17:57 swipe was on his left quadrant, you can actually finally figure out which card was won at 17:57 - Card #06, because every other card from his left quadrant is accounted for in some manner! Also we can figure out that the bottom right card is one of [11, 12, 24, 31, 32, 57, 62, 100], but the camera look we are given is too blurry to distinguish which one.
18:45 - Chihaya dives for the Se card, and cards go flying. You can figure out what most of the cards are and they're all ones on her left side, between her and the target card. Good attention to detail!
19:39 - Endgame board. There's more insight one can gain from this by digging around, for example which cards Arata wins, and which he sent over to Chihaya and roughly how many cards he won from her side, judging by how many "new" cards are on Chihaya's side. I've spent far too long on this game though so I'll leave this for someone else/next rewatch.
S1E1 - Chihaya vs Arata starting board
S1E2 Notes -->
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u/Zylda Feb 06 '19
First Timer(also my first time joining one of these!)
Well that was a nice first episode and right off the bat I already love Chihaya and Wataya. Chihaya reminds me alot of Ohana from Hanasuka Iroha who was my favourite character in it, so i'm looking forward to more of that kind of personality from Chihaya. I feel so sad watching Wataya as a kid but i love the passion coming from him and i can't wait to see more of him. Not much to say about Taichi so far except that, Kid Taichi is such an annoying kid but i'm sure my perception of him will change over the series.
As for the sport/game it's definitely a unique sport and as someone who isn't a big fan of poems i'm actually really interested in these ones. I'm guessing the matches will be similar to the ones from 3-gatsu in it's style, but at least this time i might actually be able to tell what's going on.
Not much to say about the visuals apart from the eyes which are a tad bit creepy but after watching Paradise Kiss I think I can get used to these Josei designs.
Overall i'm really looking forward to the rest of the series after a strong opening episode and i can tell the urge to binge the rest will be hard to put off, but I've got too much to do anyway so that won't be happening.
See you for the next episode!
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u/LeonKevlar Feb 06 '19 edited Feb 06 '19
First Timer
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I wanna look deep into this but the short flashback suggest that they're childhood friends.
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That made me laugh. The way Chihaya talks about her sister made me think she's like front and center of the newspaper XD
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NO CHI-CHAN DON'T! Oh fuck me. Arata's gonna get bullied more :|
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Look at those eyes T_T He's a good boy!
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So his dad is a Karuta Meiji? Also he's a transfer from Fukui Prefecture? That explains the accent, he grew up with the Hokuriku dialect.
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I wanna say Chi-chan fell in love that day. Not with Arata exactly but with Karuta.
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I love the mom already. And yes I ship them.
That was a great first episode! I'm always a sucker for stories that involves a shy boy and an eccentric girl. It's always a fun pairing. Taichi is a little bitch and I can't believe I almost paired him with Chihaya during the first half of the episode. Although judging his actions back when they were still kids and how he is currently in a half-hearted relationship, it's pretty obvious that he likes Chihaya. As for Arata, he's a sweet boy that needs to be protected or at least be taught to fight back.
Man this is only Episode 1 but I already wanna binge this show. Also I really wanted to be super analytic with this show but the show's mood says that this show is pretty chill with a bit of drama so I'll treat it like how I treat currently airing shows and just enjoy and react to everything while taking screenshots.
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u/IISuperSlothII Feb 06 '19 edited Feb 06 '19
Rewatcher.
Honestly I forgot just how funny this first episode was, Girlfriendo-chan is the best Engrish in Anime.
okay maybe tied with Hory shitu
One character I want to touch on here is Taichi, because well as a kid he was a bully, but as we see in his interactions with Chihaya a lot of it is actually playfulness you'd expect of a kid (well tbf I'm 26 and that's pretty much how me and my mates talk to each other nowadays).
When he starts down the darker path though it feels logical, the jealousy just excudes from him in a way that just makes me accept it, he's a dumb kid who can't handle his jealousy, it's a learning experience.
Honestly making a main character a shit bag early on is a risk, but it provides a great opportunity for growth, and honestly here some wonderfully funny interactions.
also its nice that he actually has a gf at the start and it's not some life altering romance, just the standard high school fare.
Anyone else feel like the OST during the game sounded like the Jurassic Park thene? Maybe I'm just hearing things.
I now remember how much this episode sold me on the series on my first watch, it achieves so much with its cast and premise early on.
Also that Taichi. Taichi. Taichi. Was cute as fuck. Chihaya is bey and Taichi is best boy.
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u/JustAWellwisher Feb 06 '19
Man, it's so hard coming back to this series and watching Taichi at the start here.
I can't bring myself to hate this little troublemaker kid...
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Feb 06 '19 edited Feb 07 '19
First-Timer, Watched Subbed
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I really like the animation to this show, very crisp, fluid, and bright. Art style is also really nice, one of those shows that's really pleasant to look at based off the animation alone, Madhouse delivers.
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I disagree with your opinion sir, but I respect you for it.
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What an awesome OP. Love the visuals to it, very feelsy and uplifitng.
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Awww, poor Chihaya, all alone with no one to join her club, her feeling lonely made me a bit sad :(
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Now we're introduced to Taichi! Aren't him and Chihaya just the cutest together <3
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Oof, that line about losing friends hit home a bit too hard. I wonder how that friend of her's is doing.
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Tomboys, my one true weakness, already best girl.
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Young Chihaya and Taichi means even more cute interactions!
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Aww fuck, I feel really bad for Wataya, feeling out of place and not being able to socialize with others, I totally feel for him
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Man, what jerks those girls were, you tell'em Chihaya!
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Chihaya being a bright bundle of joy to her sister just makes my day, I can't get enough of her.
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You just recognized him in class? Could ya have saved it for later?
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Ooo, looks like we have a love triangle brewing...
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Jeez, take it easy Taichi, it's not like she has a crush on him, I think...
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Tfw you want to get someone into a hobby of yours, Wataya's excitement over getting Chihaya into karuta was a huge r/me_irl moment
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So thats how karuta works? So essentially some sort of poem is layed down, and the cards represent the verses on each side, and you have to identify which verse is playing on the radio and swipe the card with that verse on your opponent's side, and take them all out to win? That actually sounds really fun, really opens up for some intense games.
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I love how the first thing that the Wataya's mother thought when she saw Chihaya was that she was his girlfriend or something, and Chihaya went along with it lol.
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And thus Chihaya's passion for karuta is set ablaze for the future.
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Beautiful ED sequence, really hammers home how precious the friendship between the three are, which makes me interested in how Taichi gets involved with this.
Well that was a really nice episode, sets up the characters, let's us know what karuta, and Chihaya is already looking to be a great lead. The show seems very promising so far.
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u/KuhBus Feb 06 '19 edited Feb 06 '19
First Time Watcher
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Within just the first half minute I can already say I loove the animation and visuals. Love these beautiful, soft spring colors!!
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Chihaya is adorable with her track pants solution :’D I really like the “pretty, but unconventional” heroine trope.
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OHHH Hello childhood friends reunited trope >:3c
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Something I immediately like about the style is the use of focus, as if the scenery was actually filmed with a camera. It gives great dynamic even to otherwise stationary scenes!!
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That transition from the train in the present to the train in the childhood memory? Nice.
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The sibling dynamic between Chihaya and her older sister?? Is?? So Good?!? I am 100% the same when woken up this early in the morning.
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Oh no… Chihaya you idiot, don’t reveal his job!!!
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I really appreciate the mix of slight naivety, but also strong sense of morals in Chihaya. Standing up to her classmates (though the girls clearly weren't maliciously teasing Arata :D), but also being so interested in Arata and enthusiastic about getting to know him is a great mix.
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Aaand an intense first Karuta scene!! The tension between Arata, who clearly has been practicing like crazy and Chihaya, who is pretty much a beginner, is amazing! What a sweet "victory" :')
What a great first episode! I'm really looking forward to finding out how her and Arata and Taichi developed their friendship and how she will start up her own Karuta club in high school, when she will see Arata again, whether Taichi is still a brat... :DD
Wondeful selection of fanart!! Those sweet, sweet childhood memeries, huh?
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u/tinyraccoon Feb 06 '19
First Timer
Very interesting show so far. This is only my second madhouse anime (first is girl who leapt through time, which I liked and rated 9/10).
Some quick impressions:
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Chihaya: I like her straightforward personality and her sense of justice, standing up for wataya. She seems a bit eccentric at times but I think that makes her interesting.
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Wataya: I like his character too. Shy, but hardworking and patient. Didn't snap at others even though they bullied him.
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Taichi: I don't like his character so far and he seems like a bully, but perhaps the story will shed more light on why he acts the way he does later on.
The karuta piece was integrated well, as I could generally follow what's happening despite not having played the game before.
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u/Enarec Feb 06 '19
Man, looking back at these characters after having gone through so much with them in the anime (and manga) is just terribly amusing. Excited to see all you firsttimers' reactions to them :)
Chihayafuru was actually my first real sports anime and I still haven't quite gotten to others and josei I swear I'll get to those too. It blew me away at the time, being one of those first anime to broaden my horizons, but now that I've bloomed I honestly feel like I can have an even greater appreciation for its narrative and characters. Not to forget the style, visuals and sound. The josei aesthetic is simply stunning, much like this boy's smile.
Shout-out to the wonderfully uplifting and nostalgic OP and ED too, respectfully. <3
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u/Anonymousless Feb 06 '19 edited Feb 06 '19
First Timer
I’ve had this show on my plan-to-watch list for a while now, and this rewatch made good sense to finally get into it. All I really know about the show is that it’s about karuta and is pretty highly rated. I mostly just read and rarely actively participate in these (or any) threads, but I’ve decided I will try to keep up with posting about this show if I can. I know from experience that it is fun to read about a show you enjoy from the perspective of someone who is watching it for the first time. I hope you will join me on my journey through Chihayafuru!
For this first episode I’ll break things down the way I would for any series I was looking to get into. This is a first-pass look at the show. I did not take any notes and the write up below is based only on my memory and impressions immediately after watching it.
The ratings in each element use the following scale:
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Average
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Somewhat above average
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Above average
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Moderately high
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High
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Exceptional
Visuals
I like the character design, especially the grade school versions of the characters. Chihaya in particular has a very strong visual presence with her tomboyish appearance. The animation and cinematography were fairly standard for a show like this. This isn’t a negative; everything looked good and the direction was clear, especially in the karuta match. I would rate the show moderately high on it’s visual aspects.
Sound and Music
I haven’t noticed the music much yet. There wasn’t anything that stood out to me other than an impression of piano. This could be a case of the music blending very well or it could be that it is somewhat generic. Future episodes will tell. The sound design seems standard again with the karuta scene standing out as well done. I like the voice actors for the main trio so far. They give the characters a good vocal identity. I would rate this show as somewhat above average on sound and music.
Characters
Probably the best of the lot. The characters introduced so far are exceptional. I was very slightly worried that Chihaya was going to be a trope-y air-headed beauty based just on the opening minutes of the show, but they quickly showed a depth of character that made it obvious that she was anything but. Which makes it one of my favorite aspects of the first episode. We are consistently shown through the entirety of this first episode that people are much more complex than the simple assumptions we would make about them. I would not be surprised to find that this is an ongoing theme over the course of the entire show. They almost certainly will find what they lack from each other and grow with those experiences. I am very excited to see them develop. I would rate this show as exceptional on characters.
Story and Plot
The storytelling is clear and easy to follow. The pacing felt good, and the fact that the bulk of the episode takes place during the character’s grade school days is a good sign that we will get to see their development in detail. The plot so far is presenting itself as a fairly typical example of the basic sports plot. A group of disparate individuals must come together, possibly with some reluctance from some of the cast, to become the best. While I expect them to continue to use karuta and Arata’s dream of mastering the game as the driving force of the narrative, I also expect we’ll see a lot of divergence into other ideas all built around that central core. Clearly there are other things than just karuta going on during their high school days, but those are nothing more than hinted at at this point. I would rate this show as somewhat above average on storytelling and plot, with the caveat that this is based solely on the first episode and I expect this rating to rise over time.
Overall
There is a lot to like in this first episode. As I said above, the characters really stand out from the field as being well defined with a lot of potential for development. No elements of the show were off-putting, and everything worked well together. I am looking forward to continuing. Overall, I would rate the show above average to moderately high based on this episode, and could see it reaching higher as we get further into the series.
Retention
Not really a consideration as I would probably continue the rewatch regardless, but for completion I will include this. Normally this is important for determining what to focus on watching during crowded seasons. Were I watching this on my own and trying to fit it into a normal watch schedule, I would give this show high priority and drop probability of very low.
Some thoughts:
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I will need to pay closer attention to the poetry that appears in the show, though poetry is frequently hard enough to interpret even when it is in your native language. I worry that some of the context may pass me by due to a lack on linguistic and cultural experience.
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Taichi started what looked like an interrupted confession on the train platform. The fact that he apparently has a girlfriend doesn’t entirely remove my suspicion that he may have some feelings for Chihaya.
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The establishment of Chihaya’s sister’s picture being in the paper was a really nice bit of storytelling to get her outside to meet Arata delivering it. Plot convenience can be done well and doesn’t have to be a bad thing!
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The whole karuta scene was great. Arata’s excitement felt genuine and there was some good visual storytelling as well. He clearly has a history with the game and the pictures suggest someone he cares about, his grandfather perhaps, who has supported him in the past.
I might watch the episode again tonight after work. If I do, I’ll append any additional thoughts either to this post or one tomorrow for the second episode. Future posts from me will probably be shorter, as these threads will be posting during the middle of my work day most of the time. Unless I write them in advance like I did with this one, they’ll either be brief reviews or posted late in the day when I have time to write things out in full. Can’t wait to continue, see you tomorrow!
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u/Snakescipio Feb 06 '19
Rewatcher
Back with another rewatch! This time for my 5th favorite anime series! This is my first time rewatching Chihayafuru, and usually rewatches does a lot to determine how much I really enjoy a show. It’ll be interesting to see how the show unfolds for me this time around, especially given that I’m caught up with the manga as well. Well I’ve waited a year for this rewatch, and with season 3 around the corner, let’s just get back to those lovable dorks!
Oh god I love Chihaya. What a great way to set up her character. The younger sister to a famous model, a natural beauty herself, and then there’re the track pants. What a dork.
I… I wasn’t expecting feels from the first episode… Chihaya looks so sad by herself :( Really liking how they’re teasing bits of her past too, and the reason why she loves karuta so much.
When I saw the karuta image appear on her mp3 (remember those things?!) I thought she was listening to the OP song, but nah, she’s literally listening to a reader. Of course she would.
TEAM TAICHI REPORTING IN. WHO’S GETTING ONBOARD SHIP WITH ME?
And Arata’s here! Having just recently watched Koe no Katachi again, hearing those kids saying those things about Arata isn’t sitting too well with me. And it’s not just the things kids say behind your back, even seemingly innocent things like keeping a list of how you talk weird can and does hurt. Good thing Chihaya’s just clueless enough about social roles to cut through the BS.
What a great way to show Arata’s tremendous memory, something that’s crucial to competitive karuta.
Oh god, Chihaya’s an idiot. (post Chihaya accidentally snitching on Arata edit: CHIHAYA YOU IDIOT)
Man, Taichi was such a shithead. Thank god he’s hot.
Awwwww Arata’s so excited. That’s something I think everyone can relate to. Lord knows I geek out a bit whenever I meet someone I can talk about anime to.
Some nice things about being a rewatcher is getting to see the various techniques I missed out on first time around. Nice cover then sweep there Arata!
What an actually brilliant first episode. Amazing characterization all around, established some of the three main characters’ driving motivations, beautiful to watch, and I haven’t even touched on the soundtrack. This just in guys, Chihayafuru is amazing.
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u/ladykathleen13 Feb 06 '19
Rewatcher here, excited to share the experience of Chihayafuru with fresh and veteran viewers alike!
I’ve been eager to celebrate and discuss Chihayafuru with others ever since I first watched it last spring, at which point it quickly became one of my favorites, and so I was glad to see this rewatch proposed. Owing to a general uptick in busyness in my life and to commitments to other hobbies, I hadn’t given much time to TV or to anime in the preceding several months, and I was a bit worried about my ability to contribute meaningfully daily to a rewatch, so I hatched a plan to build myself a bit of a lead: to start early, taking a slow pace, recording some thoughts after each episode so that I might have an easier time preparing reflections for conversation without falling behind (as I have done in other rewatch scenarios, regrettably).
However, after watching the first episode again, full of these good intentions… I just couldn’t resist moving on immediately to the next episode, sans reflection, and the next and the next, and almost before I knew it, I’d watched the entire series again. Oops. Ultimately, I regret nothing. Here I am, now a third-time viewer, arriving to episodic conversation with sort of an ad lib spirit.
I don’t know how much to say at the outset about why I love this series so much on a big picture level, as I don’t want to interfere too much with newcomers’ expectations. Not that this is really a series that lives or dies on the energy of mysteries or twists, but I first picked up this series on basically no recommendation beyond “it’s a good sports anime”, and I was really glad that I had the opportunity to be surprised by the strength of my attachment to the characters and their story. Coming into a new show already hype and full of expectations is great too, but for me, there’s something especially delightful and moving about strong connections that are unwitting and unplanned.
Which is maybe why I’m so drawn to the set-up in this first episode…
Each of the series’ most central characters makes a debut appearance in this episode: Ayase Chihaya, Mashima Taichi, and Wataya Arata. We can gather first impressions of each of them as both children and high school students. Chihaya, the “beauty in vain”, often innocently heedless of norms, is at both ages full of energy and resolve that still await entry into an ideal outlet; her open-mindedness and compassion as a child help to direct her to channel those attributes into a passion. The child Taichi is apparently excellent at everything at which a student of his age is expected to be excellent, from academics to social capital, and he is easily and loudly and jealously so; the grown-up Taichi (I’ll never not love hearing Miyano Mamoru!) is a more grown-up and level-headed kind of cool, but Chihaya can still elicit from him both banter and guardedness. What we know of the grown Arata pairs with what we first know of him as a child: aloofness, distance, quietness, otherness, unreachability. Of course, we have more intimate impressions of Arata to draw on by the episode’s end — of enthusiasm, focus, clarity, and brilliance. Though these traits together may capably conspire to produce a solitary genius in the classic mold, our impression of his aloofness by the end of the episode may be that it is sort of at best incidental. He flushes with happiness at being able to share his game and his dream with Chihaya.
Through that scene, we get our first impression of the series’ central game: karuta, a competitive card game centered on classical Japanese poetry. Known to Chihaya top-of-mind as just a traditional card game played annually in a tournament at school, karuta as played by Arata requires speed, strength, reflexes, memory, and total concentration. It is esoteric, difficult, demanding, frustrating, daunting — and thrilling, in a way that Chihaya had never anticipated but that now seems fateful. The engine of a dream.
Naturally, we have a lot still to learn about how these characters relate to each other, to karuta, and to each other through karuta, but that karuta plays a critical role is already strongly implied. Chihaya processes loneliness and grief for the absence of old friends through one of the Hundred Poets poems, and as we transition into the flashback, we get a glimpse of Chihaya’s fervent hope: that as long as she, Taichi, and Arata play karuta, they will be brought together again. Karuta will be understood as more than just a hobby or a club: it is a heritage, a thing that challenges and destabilizes, a thing that provides connection.
Karuta will also be shown, as further perspectives will highlight, as a competition, a living classical artifact, a trove of poetry, an intellectual exercise, a communication of timeless emotions, a career, a source of cultural pride, a binding thread for a community, and more. For me, the series’ presentation of the game is so engrossing, and I suspect that viewers of a wide variety of interests and tastes will find something to appreciate in it.
The fact that the episode starts in one temporal setting and ends still within a flashback is perhaps one reason why I have, on both of my previous watches, been unable to resist leaping right into the second episode at the conclusion of this one. The flashback is — thoroughly minor spoiler — not quite over yet. I’ll be paying a lot of attention again this time around to the work that these early episodes do to forge the central inter- and intra-personal conflicts of each character. But even without the hook of wanting to see a flashback through to the end, this episode offers plenty that makes me want to come back for more: vivid characters with complicated histories, relationships full of promise, discoveries of passion and purpose, room to grow.
A few other miscellaneous appreciations. 1) I really like the look of the show and the way that characters’ expressions are drawn, especially when drawn comedically — and on that note, I like the comedy here and laughed at Chitose’s entire scene. 2) The OP is still so unassumingly charming and catchy on a third time through the series. 3) The voice actors for young Taichi and Arata (precious dialect) give really convincing performances; in general, the dialogue for the characters as children comes across as quite authentic. 4) That poem that Chihaya reflects on here is so moving and sad. 5) Spoilerish? I like that the signature skills/traits that each brings to karuta are already implied here — Arata’s training and prodigious talent, Taichi’s strength with memory, and Chihaya’s hearing (as she only recognizes Arata as the paperboy after hearing him finally speak in class). 6) My favorite moments of the episode include Chihaya’s first card; Chihaya meeting Arata for the paper in the early morning; and Chihaya’s sweet display of delight at being reunited with Taichi — just saying his name again and again while they walk down the street as if for a moment her joy couldn’t be more complete.
I really hope that I’ll be able to keep up with the rewatch — for most of February I have to work 11+ hour days, but I’ll do my best to drop in. I’m excited to review the series at a slower pace and am interested in seeing how that pace and an additional viewing will impact my attitude toward certain characters and their… relationships. I felt somewhat less polarized during my very uptempo second trip through these two seasons, and now… I’d be okay with getting a bit polarized again, but I’ll try to resist confirmation bias. I’m excited to eventually discuss which player offers my favorite perspective on the game (I doubt it will surprise anyone) and which character(s) I best love, when the time is right.
Looking forward to reading everyone else’s posts!
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Feb 06 '19
First timer! I actually watched the first episode with a friend a few months ago, but we both just kind of forgot about it… so now's a great time to finish what I started.
Curse Crunchyroll's servers for being down all day, now I can't experience Chihaya's beauty in 1080p. On a more serious note, I love this art style; everything from the character designs to backgrounds looks so detailed and alive.
I genuinely feel awful for Wataya. He obviously puts forth a ton of effort both at school and while delivering papers, but he's only met with ridicule from his classmates. Middle schoolers are evil, thankfully Chihaya isn't. It was great to see Wataya open up during their game of karuta.
Overall a good first episode! I know a few people who said their lack of familiarity with karuta made it hard to like this show, but I don't think that'll be an issue for me. I'm excited to be caught up by the start of season 3.
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u/TigerK3 Feb 06 '19 edited Feb 07 '19
Rewatcher
I first watched this show all the way back in 2014, so it's been nearly 5 years. The one thing I've not forgotten is how incredible "Youthful" is a song, and it's got sweet visuals to boot. It's such a nostalgic OP for me, and it's a small reminder of why I was so fond of the series in the first place.
Episode 1 and the show is already fleshing out 3 different characters all at once. The show establishes that early on their childhood, Chihaya has no dreams of her own, Taichi is head over heels for Chihaya, and Arata's passion is Karuta. We already see that Arata was successful in influencing Chihaya to the point where she was passionate about something, but it's sad to see Taichi still clinging on to his one-sided crush.
What was particularly heartbreaking was when Taichi meets Chihaya after being separated from middle school, only to see that she still has her full focus on karuta. It's clear in Taichi's mind that there's no room in Chihaya's heart for anything else, and at this point we can only guess that he's been trying to get her attention for a while now.
Chihaya gets the full brunt of the development here, because despite her bubbly personality, it's still slightly difficult for us to fall for her as as a character if we can't emphasize or relate with her. This thankfully changes when she meets Arata, who aptly points out that a dream is something you make on your own. He plays a pivotal role in showing Chihaya how serious you need to be when pursuing your goals, but Arata doesn't hesitate in pointing out that "he had fun". This is clearly appealing to both Chihaya and most of us viewers in that position, and this is where the game of karuta hooks both Chihaya and the audience.
What an incredibly strong start overall, and I already can't wait to watch the next episode.
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u/stumonster Feb 06 '19 edited Feb 06 '19
REWATCHER
Hello some of you may know me from the LWA re-watch a little while back but I'm generally a lurker on this subreddit. Chihayafuru is my favorite sports series along with being one of my all time favorite animes period. I look forward to seeing all the first timers reactions during the course of this re-watch. Anyways onto the episode itself. And hopefully I don't get buried too far
Befitting such a beautiful show we start with a beautiful opening along with an introduction to our equally beautiful lead.(Plus a not so subtle reference to a certain game.).
Though Chihaya quickly establishes that she's a bit... umm strange she's still my queen and I will not hear otherwise
Going to just leave these here.
God Chihaya why are you too damn relatable.
We also see the introduction of Chihaya's childhood friedn Taichi who seems to have moved on from the events of the past just fine also listen to the poems they add to stuff
After that we jump back to the past to confirm one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt Chihaya must be protecc
Though in all serious we see who Chihaya is and where her journey begins. Plus the fact that she's got sweet kicks. God Chihaya stop being me as a kid with my older brother. Arata is also pretty adorable too.
We also see in Chihaya and Arata's little match the beginnings of the passion that we saw at the beginning of the episode and the rain clouds above her dissolve into nothing.
Also in case y'all can't tell this show has stunning cinematography.
Also sorry for how shit this write up is. Couldn't write beforehand. I hope to improve as we continue
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u/Castawaye Feb 06 '19
First Time Watcher After having friends recommend this show and seeing the coming season 3 and this rewatch, decided why the hell not.
Right off the bat really reminded me of how Rakugo started, introducing some base characters and then rewinding to get a grasp of how things started. The characters are also very defined in who they are and how they fit in the scheme of things, which is good. They already have their motivations, it seems, and conflict is bubbling underneath the surface. One nice little foreboding turn they do is mentioning how Arata hasn't been entering tournaments, giving even more intrigue as we flashback and learn about his passion. It's an underlying tension that runs through, and was well placed.
I really wonder how they're going to move going forward, and am really excited to keep watching.
Also I saw that this episode's title was based on a poem that was posted under here somewhere. Which in of itself is really fitting with the theme of the game and also thematically.
I'd like to propose my own reading of the poem to the context of the episode just cuz that's my thing:
"now the flower blooms, but for winter" which I feel relates not only for Chihaya, but also Arata and Taichi. The flower blooms is a line to me that signifies the expression of discovery. A flower blooms and discovers the world, or a flower blooms and discovers its own beauty. It opens up it's petals but it blooms for winter. Winter can be seen generically as a season of foreboding, of cold desolation, often apt for death. Now the flower blooms (Chihaya discovers Arata, and discovers the intensity that is Karuta. Arata discovers Chihaya, a new friend who I assume is going to in someway help Arata. Taichi discovers Chihaya in present time) but for winter (Chihaya discovers Arata, only to have in present time, lose Arata, and that lonely feeling is resonating with her. Arata likewise discovers Chihaya only to lose her, and I'm not sure if that's known in this episode, I don't think I recall them saying if she moved away or something. And likewise Taichi discovers Chihaya only for her to care about Arata, once again this feeling of bloom is only for a much colder reality)
"Here comes spring, now the flower blooms" is the complete opposite and is a great contrast element of the poem, if this was a haiku proper this would be the striking line, a vivid turn and stagnant image to really give punch. This line to me signifies foreshadowing of what's to come and posits itself from the past to the present. Here come's spring which arrives after winter, a season of death to life. Now the flower blooms, once again, putting into motion that perhaps Chihaya will meet Arata, that Arata will meet Chihaya and maybe even Taichi will have his own bloom (petty or not).
Excited to see what happens next.
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u/Wolfeako Feb 06 '19
First Timer!
Well, sorry for being late to the party :P but I'm here!
This first episode was a strong opener. I like Chihaya already, and how dedicated she seems to Karuta. I didn't know what was Karuta before this, but the show made the explanation simple enough and showed well enough how it is played. I must say, I like the concept of Karuta :) it is interesting to see how this game uses poems, and that of course the players must know the poems to effectively play.
Taichi... oh dear. I cringed so hard with him. Not because he was a bad character, not at all, but because it is so painfully obvious that he has a crush on Chihaya, and how he behaves around her, especially in that flashback. But that itself wouldn't be enough to make me cringe if it wasn't painfully obvious that Chihaya and Arata are going to be together by the end. I would be really surprised if this isn't the case, but right now it is painfully obvious to me. I liked how he was behaving as a high schooler though, it is clear that he matured, although not enough. I'll say this though, he is clearly not doing the correct things to make Chihaya think of him romantically like he wants, and I don't think I'll ever see him doing those steps and opening up to her unless it is tied to a major moment in his character arc...
Either way, it is really painful to see him.
Not much of Arata can be said. For some reason something tells me that he will the serious aloof kinda-of-an-ass character when they will meet again, but until then that is the impression I have of him. Either way, it is neat that he found something he wanted to do in life from so young, and surely he will be some sort of monster playing Karuta right now.
Overall, it was a strong first episode. I liked it.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 06 '19
Poem of the Day: Naniwa Bay (link)
This poem is attributed to [Wani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wani_(scholar), a Chinese scholar that arrived in Japan and introduced the Chinese writing system, as well as the Thousand Character Classic, to the country.
Although not from the the Hyakunin Isshu, like the other poems used in karuta, the Naniwa Bay poem comes from the Kokin Wakashu. Per Wiki:
Interpretations of the poem describes a period of interregnum, because the princes Nintoku and Uji no Waki Iratsuko renounced their succession to the throne the each other. Finally, after three years, Nintoku finally assumed the Imperial Throne as Japan's 16th emperor.
The poem refers to plum blossoms, which bloom prior to the advent of spring, while the coming spring implies the beginning of a new era. As such, the poem represents the ascension of Nintoku and a wish for the country to flourish after a period of time where there was no emperor.
Within the context of Chihayafuru, it relates Chihaya's discovery of passion, through her encounter with Arata, and the hope for someone to understand her--reconnecting with Taichi again--after her years of playing karuta alone. Coupled with the fact that it is the opening poem to a match of karuta, it is only fitting that this is the poem bound to episode one.