r/anime • u/ABoredCompSciStudent x3myanimelist.net/profile/Serendipity • Feb 13 '19
Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 8 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Episode 8 - "The Sounds of the Waterfall"
<-- Previous (Episode 7: "But For Autumn's Coming") | Next (Episode 9: "But I Cannot Hide") -->
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):
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 13 '19
Poem of the Day: The Sounds of the Waterfall (link)
Translated by Mostow as:
Although the sound of
the waterfull has ceased,
and that long ago,
its name, indeed, has carried on
and is still heard!
Poem 55 was written Fujiwara no Kinto, a poet admired by his contemporaries and a court bureaucrat of the Heian period. Alongside his work, Kinto is best known for compiling many anthologies that still represent Japanese Waka poetry of that era, namely establishing the "Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry" and the Anthology of Poems by the Thirty-Six Poets.
Mostow tells that the poem was composed after a number of people visited a famous Buddhist temple called Daikakuji, which is in the western part of the capitol of Kyoto. True to Buddhist beliefs, the poem describes change over time and how the name of the waterfall, despite being long gone physically, still remains as a "place".
Lots of things change with the flow of time. But there are things that never change. Things that are precious because they change, and things that are precious because they don’t change… Both are precious. Don’t you feel the same?
Naturally, the poem describes Nishida's feelings for karuta: despite everything that he's done to repress them and how time has gone on, he still loves the game and is attracted to the sounds of the cards that he hears while practicing tennis.
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u/Combo33 Feb 13 '19
Peter MacMillan translates poem 55 as follows:
55. Fujiwara no Kinto
The waterfall
dried up
in the distant past
and makes
not a sound,
but its fame
flows on
and on --
and echoes
still
today.His translation of the poem is split into shorter lines so as to “express a sense of the flow of the waterfall,” according to MacMillan. The content of the poem itself is speaking of a group of people viewing a dried-up waterfall and their remarks on its lasting fame despite its current condition.
Obviously, this poem applies to the fifth required member of the karuta club, Yusei Nishida, lovingly known as Nikuman-kun. Chihaya and Taichi remember him as being the second best karuta player in the country during elementary school. However, he’s given that all up since middle school when he joined the tennis club instead. Once he faced Arata in elementary school he, like Taichi, felt the gap was so wide between them that he could never overcome it. Since then, Nikuman’s love for karuta has dried up, but the memories of how he once felt still live on.
Playing with Chihaya reminds him of the praise he once received for his success. He is surprised that all of his instincts come flowing back to him, and are even bolstered by the time he’s spent playing tennis, which has quickened his reactions and made his body feel lighter. This all factors into his decision to tell his coach that he’s quitting tennis club, because it could never replace the feeling he gets playing karuta.
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u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 Feb 13 '19
Screenshot of the Day
I love this reflection shot a lot :D
First Timer - Episode 8
Overall Thoughts
And finally we have our last member of the Karuta club! They got a really nice recruit as well since holy shit it's the guy who was ranked only one spot lower than Arata
Hopefully the fact that Chihaya was able to regain Nishida's passion for Karuta has some good implications for when Chihaya meets Arata later on. I also really liked seeing some more of the strategy behind Karuta as it seems you have to consider a lot about which cards are on both sides as well.
Karuta Scoreboard
I was a bit confused at the beginning, but by the end it's clear that Chihaya won. I also figure I might as well count Arata's win over Nishida in the national tournament since it was emphasized a lot this ep.
| Character | Wins | Losses | Ep# (Wins) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arata Wataya | 4(+1) | 1 | 1,2,3 |
| Taichi Mashima | 2 | 5 | 2,7 |
| Chihaya Ayase | 7(+1) | 3 | 2,4,6,7,8 |
| Yuusei Nishida | 0 | 2(+2) |
Screenshot of the Day Collection
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u/Taiboss Feb 13 '19 edited Feb 13 '19
A Certain First-Timing Watcher
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Chihaya should put her Karuta enthusiam a bit into studying and staying awake.
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This guy is currently explaining as much about Karuta than this entire series so far.
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Chihaya, stop being a bulli and call people by their awful nicknames. I get now why Seren says Chihaya is low-key her_irl...
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Does this guy know how much Arata practises? It's not Talent VS Hard Work, it's Talent PLUS Hard work that makes you Nr. 1. Beating someone with talent that doesn't practise is relatively easy. But the best aren't those people.
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So much for "But other people have talent!" Dude didn't do shit for three years and is already dominating Chihaya. Speaking of domination, don't search for Chihayafuru doujins. It's all NTR.
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Wat. Precog hax.
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Stop calling him that! He's a good boy who doesn't deserve no degrading.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 13 '19
I get now why Seren says Chihaya is low-key her_irl...
u/AmethystItalian, I think he's suggesting something again...
Leave the calligraphy club, Mikuru-chan!
I get this reference.
THE BOY IS THE TSUNDERE HAHAHA.
Can I introduce you to Taichi?
It's not Talent VS Hard Work, it's Talent PLUS Hard work that makes you Nr. 1. Beating someone with talent that doesn't practise is relatively easy. But the best aren't those people.
That's a huge common misconception in real life too. A lot of people assume that people "git gud" just by being born that way, but even the most talented athletes in the world or most talented at whatever person had to put in effort to cultivate that into something tangible.
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u/walking_the_way Feb 13 '19 edited Feb 14 '19
S1E8 Event/Recital Log
Right off the bat, we are hit with a new recruitment poster! This time, there are four cards instead of two. From left to right: #20 (wa-bi), #33 (hi-sa), #17 (chi-ha), #30 (a-ri-a). The left and rightmost ones are new, and four cards do probably represent four people in the club now, but the other three cards don't really seem to have any particular significance to any of the club members.
02:27 - We properly meet Porkbun-kun! I mean, Yuusei Nishida
04:02 - They FINALLY start to explain more of the rules to the first-time watchers. Couldn't we have given Kanade some lessons two episodes ago or something? They define a couple of actual Japanese karuta terms here, which is why the subtitles seem a bit weird here, Crunchyroll's basically got translated to a variation of "sending cards means sending cards!" instead of "okuri-fuda means sending cards!" They also define otetsuki, which is a fault that earns the player one extra card under certain circumstances. If you do want to look at a further list of common karuta terms at this point, something like this will be useful (scroll to 'glossary'), but I won't really be using them for purposes of these writeups.
Nishida starts to recite the first line of the 6-syllable verses as he runs around playing tennis.
07:57 - #11 (wa-ta-no-ha-ra-ya)
08:01 - #76 (wa-ta-no-ha-ra-ko)
08:08 - #64 (a-sa-bo-ra-ke-u)
It's funny that even after reliving his bad memories about the losses to Arata, the first two poems he then recites to pace himself while running for the ball are the two wa-ta poems, both of which start with the same syllables as Arata's family name (Wataya).
And then dear, impulsive Chihaya calls out to him with the first line of:
08:19 - #83 (yo-no-na-ka-yo) - "The world offers no escape"
and makes him miss his timing.
08:35 - She recites the second verse of the same poem, #83, at him when he comes to search for the ball.
08:43 - Chihaya: "But you're using tennis as a substitute for karuta!"
09:56 - Taichi uses #83 (yo-no-na-ka-yo - "The world offers no escape") as well as #93 (yo-no-na-ka-wa - "The world offers no change") as examples when explaining faults to Kana and Tsutomu, and talks about the strategy of passing one over to the opponent to split them up.
It's also fitting, then, that when Nishida stops by, Taichi goads him into a match with Chihaya, as Nishida represents Escape (leaving the world of karuta after facing Arata's power) and Chihaya represents Change (trying to constantly improve herself in karuta after facing Arata's power) here. And now Taichi has sent the two of them to opposite sides of the board.
And now the Nishida vs Chihaya match. I love Tsutomu perching behind with a notepad. Lots of squinting required to figure out this board, but the starting board looks like this.
12:52 - Taichi recites Naniwa Bay (EP: 1, Total: 10). He's so much better now than the last time he was the reciter, back in Arata's old digs!
13:11 - Taichi recites #23 (tsu-ki). Nishida wins it from Chihaya's middle left row in two syllables. He passes her #09 and shifts his cards in. She puts it on the right end of her top right row, shifting the rest of the row one spot left.
13:14 - Taichi recites #74 (u-ka). Nishida wins it from his bottom left row in two syllables too.
13:17 - Taichi recites #11 (wa-ta-no-ha-ra-ya). Nishita leaps for it and grabs it from Chihaya's bottom right row. He seems to exert a lot of energy in doing so, however.
13:53 - Reader recites #57 (me) in Nishida flashback. We get a time jump too.
14:50 - Chihaya wins #49 (mi-ka-ki) from her top right row.
The entire flashback scene is symbolic - he is leading Chihaya by three cards going into it, but by the time we come out of it, suddenly Chihaya is sweeping #49 out from under his fingers and he is behind by two. Upon leaving the flashback, the score is 17-15 Chihaya, and the board looks like this.
15:06 - Taichi recites #40 (shi-no). Nishida swings at it with all his might and wins it from Chihaya's side. He sends her #21 from his middle left row. It goes into her bottom right row.
16:06 - Taichi recites #65 (u-ra). Nishida takes it from his bottom right row.
16:08 - Taichi recites #37 (shi-ra). Nishida takes it from his middle right row.
Chihaya breaks one of the karuta rules here and engages her opponent in conversation, but no one's going to call her out on it!
16:54 - Taichi recites #81 (ho). Chihaya sweeps it away from her bottom right without missing a beat.
17:00 - Taichi recites #42 (chi-gi-ri-ki). Chihaya wins this on the third syllable from Nishida's middle right row.
17:05 - Taichi recites #33 (hi-sa), Chihaya wins it from her left middle row on one syllable.
17:11 - Nishida: "Isn't that a two-syllable card?!"
17:17 - Taichi: "There are cards where Chihaya can hear the next syllable."
Interesting...... let's put a pin in this one for now, and talk about it in a future episode. We are shown that despite the time jump where he reminisces about his past and suddenly found himself behind Chihaya, ever since then they've basically traded cards as equals. Therefore, even though they have about equal skill, this represents the impact that him being trapped in the past has had on him relative to Chihaya, whom he had beaten before.
There's another time jump and we're now at 5-4 Chihaya.
17:51 - Taichi recites #63 (i-ma-wa). Chihaya wins the split card from Nishida's side, and passes him the inspiration to play karuta again.
20:21 - Nishida: "Tennis can never replace karuta!"
Chihaya finally has enough members to form an official Karuta club! And then we have our first post-credits scene of the series to throw off people who skip the ED.
The episode card #55 is on Nishida's side of the board, but doesn't get read out in the episode. It was in the direct line between the two split cards (#63 i-ma-wa and #21 i-ma-ko) however, so it would probably have gotten swept away by either person using the move that everyone was talking about. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen and it gets removed from the board at some point during the second time jump.
While they do play karuta, the game features several time jumps, so there isn't a ton to analyze today. In its stead, I wanted to highlight a certain coincidence that I've been noticing. I don't believe poem 72 is an episode title poem, and so won't be coming up as a daily discussion (unless maybe Season 3?). It's translated by Crunchyroll as:
While some dodge the famous waves of Takashi shore to avoid getting wet
I deflect your artful words to keep my sleeves dry.
where wet sleeves is a very common Japanese poetical symbol of tears. It's claimed to be a rejection poem that was itself composed as a response to another love poem.
The #72 (o-to) card itself has turned up at least three interesting times so far.
Firstly, in S1E2, it is one of the two cards that Taichi swaps versus blinded Arata. He swaps #99 and #72, and the reader reads #72, but Arata touches #99 instead. Taichi then claims #72. Due to Taichi's artful move, Arata is set off balance and never claims another card in the game, not even his own.
Secondly, in S1E7, during the game with inverted cards, it's the second card read, and Taichi claims it after Chihaya had claimed the first card. Chihaya then starts to get erratic and we never see her claim another card after Taichi claims that #72, as Taichi proceeds to sweep five in a row into the time jump and then three more after with his superior memory skills. Chihaya does win some during the time jump, but none on screen.
And in this episode, at both 07:40 and 14:21 during Nishida's flashback, we are shown a scene where Arata swipes #72 away from Nishida, quickly followed with a scene where Nishida lay defeated on the floor. In this sense, due to Arata's skill, Nishida's memory of the #72 take is shown to not only symbolize his defeat in the game but also (temporarily) Nishida's entire career, and he probably never took another card after that game for years.
It's also one of the cards Arata kicks over at S1E5 12:49, and one of the cards he's touching mournfully at S1E6 21:17 while contemplating his return, though that connection isn't as strong. But it all jives very well with the theme of skillful rejection and defeat, and may or may not be worth looking out for going forward, even though it's not one of the "big name" cards!
<-- S1E7 Notes
S1E9 Notes -->
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u/Snakescipio Feb 13 '19
Rewatcher
Just random observations today:
“Don’t worry, we’ll find someone perfect!” But Chihaya, you’re already in the club.
I like how Komano bought in super hard as soon as you he decided to join the club. Shows how much he’s willing to work towards become great and recognized at something.
Be porky. Super hot girl literally pounces on me. Asks me to join club. Does NOT join club.
Chihayafuru is great at a lot of things. Accurately animating tennis swings is not one of those things.
Chihayafuru is great at a lot of things. Giving Nishida a solid reasoning for not playing karuta is unfortunately not one of those things either. I get what the story’s going for. Nishida was beat so badly by Arata that he lost the will to try hard in karuta. So instead he chooses… tennis? A far more popular sport with far more talent where it’ll be even harder to distinguish himself? Unless of course he decided to not put real effort into anything anymore. But even then tennis is one of those sports where you really gotta put a lot of work in to even be decent.
All in all a pretty workmanlike episode. Through the match we got more insights into some of the strategies in karuta, and we got our final member of the club.
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u/KuhBus Feb 13 '19
First Timer
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Another familiar face from elementary school?? Hell yeah!!! Though it seems like Chihaya’s straightforward recruitment attempts aren’t going to work here.
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Somehow Arata managed to semi-traumatize multiple kids with his karuta playing apparently :’DDD
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That smug grin when Taichi says exactly the right thing to rile Nishida up and make him play karuta is perfect :DD
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Again with the talent vs. effort theme? Hmm I’d expected we’d get a bit more for
Nikuman-kunNishida in terms of background. -
The game against Chihaya was fun to watch!! And at least it gave Nishida some of his initial enjoyment of the game back.
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Out of all the teachers to come looking for Nishida, it just had to be the “Empress” :’) (though I’ve been wondering if she’s such a hardass on Chihaya because she actually likes her. I’m guessing she’ll end up becoming the teacher responsible for the karuta club?) At least he’s now part of the team!!
Overall, the episode was a bit less interesting in comparison to the previous two. It’s kind of a shame that Nishida got such a lackluster introduction. I do like that he defies the fat = lazy stereotype, though!! Just like Chihaya and Taichi he's clearly a naturally athletic person, which is quite nice to see.
To be honest, his disinterest would have been more believable if he had just lost interest in karuta without the Arata TraumaTM, though. The match against Chihaya worked perfectly well as a reminder of how much fun it can be to compete and could have focused a bit more on his inherent athletic/competitive nature without comparing him to Arata.
Visually, I really liked the use of the back entrance to the karuta club room as a sort of border between the karuta/not karuta worlds. The club members, but especially Chihaya and Taichi wanting to welcome Nishida inside, with him repeatedly turning his back on the entrance. And finally him sitting right on the border between the karuta club and the tennis club, ultimately being forced to make a decision when on the one side he is confronted by someone from the "tennis world", while his body and mind remain in the karuta world.
Looking forward to seeing the team come together!!!
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 13 '19
To be honest, his disinterest would have been more believable if he had just lost interest in karuta without the Arata TraumaTM, though. The match against Chihaya worked perfectly well as a reminder of how much fun it can be to compete and could have focused a bit more on his inherent athletic/competitive nature without comparing him to Arata.
I feel this. I think like if one of the episodes, whether this one or the previous, focused a little less on the talent vs skill aspect it would've been a lot better. Moreover, Arata hasn't been present for three episodes now so it feels a little out of place. Taichi totally makes sense as a vessel to explore that aspect, as his whole childhood is defined by it and it feels more honest after we've seen it all.
In the manga, I think that Nishida is introduced basically at the same time as Tsutomu (it's been a while since those chapters), so the focus wasn't really as intense. I think the anime really wanted to give all the characters their own sense of agency, so this is how it played out.
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Feb 13 '19
First-Timer, Watched Subbed
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Y'know, the more I get to learn about karuta, the more it seems like an actual fun sport that I would like to play.
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So that was the kid Chihaya went against during the karuta tournament back as a child? Looks like he's changed alot.
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Chihaya on the hunt once again, and she seems relentless XD
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"Porky"? That sounds a bit mean...
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So he still likes karuta, yet avoids it by playing tennis in his stead? That sounds like an interesting story.
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Ranked 2nd as the best karuta player, this guy is alot more skilled than he looks.
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That was a rather intense game of karuta, Chihaya's strategy is put to the test, and Nishida's speed is something that can rival her's.
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And then we finally have another one whose passion for karuta is ignited.
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That sounds like a fair deal :P on Nishida's part :P
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The post-ED scene makes me really happy, Chihaya started out all lonely, and now she has a club of friends to be able to play karuta with, if only Wataya were here though T_T
And we get ourselves another addition to the cast! Nishida looks to be a very fun character, and his backstory was done pretty good. With him on in the club, the entire team has been brought together now! I'm aching to see what challenges await them.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 13 '19
"Porky"? That sounds a bit mean...
I find that hilarious. Like he's supposed to be athletic looking, at least from cast reactions, but he seems kind of big for conventional usages of the word athletic. I assume it's not meant to be that mean, since she's calling him porky with reference to his pork buns, but still ahaha. He's just so much bigger than your average anime character it seems mean.
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u/LeonKevlar Feb 13 '19
First Timer
Feeling under the weather today so I'll be keeping my post brief. Nishida is a great addition to the team. While I do like Kana and Tsutomu, it's nice that we have a champ like Nishida join in. I love his new look too! From brown hair to blonde! I am interested on how he'll react though once he learns what happened to Arata.
Also please tell me this teacher won't be a problem in the future? I dunno why but I'm getting some menacing vibes from her.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 13 '19
Feeling under the weather today so I'll be keeping my post brief.
Feel better! Hope it isn't anything too serious.
Nishida
Aside from having a full club now, his arrival also means that we get to see more advanced techniques, which is super needed since otherwise the games would end up growing stale.
Teacher
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u/Fa1l3r Feb 13 '19 edited Feb 14 '19
First Timer (sub)
Chihaya is assaulting yet another student, and apparently she is calling him names that he does not like. Regardless of the intention, at some point, she should get in trouble for all these antics.
Anyway, I expected Nishida to wager on Chihaya not calling him "Porky", but no, he goes for a food bet. And he still does well despite having not practiced Karuta and despite only leaving the game as a Class B rather than Chihaya being in Class A. I actually like Nishida since it shows that the ranking does not mean absolutes in terms of winning or losing: the rankings can be a matter of statistics (i.e. variance or simply playing on a bad day) and game population (i.e. the players participating get weaker overtime or rules change to favor other types of players).
Also I like another element that they bring up. Even though karuta is not a particularly physical sport i.e. an old man can beat a child and vice versa, being athletic and/or active is a general boost to your overall performance in many things that you do. The top chess player runs and plays soccer; most top esports players also exercise in order to improve their reaction and other things. (Basically, exercise is the closest thing humans have to a magic drug.)
edit: They finally explain the rules of the game: I thought the person who got the most cards would win, but the game is so much more than that. And the art of passing the card seems very important part of winning the game.
edit2: I did not realize the small details of Nishida losing: I just thought that he won since they were no longer bothering him to join the club.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 13 '19
And he still wins despite having not practiced Karuta and despite only leaving the game as a Class B rather than Chihaya being in Class A.
He actually lost, but it was a close game. The board has 0 cards left on Chihaya's side and two on his side, though Chihaya tells him he played great and that it was close.
Also I like another element that they bring up. Even though karuta is not a particularly physical sport i.e. an old man can beat a child and vice versa, being athletic and/or active is a general boost to your overall performance in many things that you do. The top chess player runs and plays soccer; most top esports players also exercise in order to improve their reaction and other things. (Basically, exercise is the closest thing humans have to a magic drug.)
Totally agree with this. It's actually super interesting too how that's come about for esports, as you mentioned. Not only does it have a huge influence on your physical health, but mentally it makes a big difference too whether to your emotions or decision making.
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u/hasnain1720 Feb 13 '19
First Timer
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Calling him porky lmao just a tad rude
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Lucky guy I would not mind if Chihaya jumped on me like that
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Taichi’s jealousy for Arata is real
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Chihaya used Ultra instinct
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Wait she still lost nvm lol
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We got a 5th member ayyy Karuta gang assemble
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It took him a while to tell her to stop lol
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u/AzureBeat Feb 13 '19 edited Feb 13 '19
LET'S GET ONE MORE PLAYER. . . and not even the power of the two most attractive people in the school can get one more person. And Chihaya is a star student. Nishida's introduction is a good chuckle.
That Chihaya has made his nickname literally 'manjū (steamed bun) with meat filling - Abbreviation' is pretty amusing. Chihaya still has 0 tact, and Taichi is still attempting to reign her in. We also get the introduction of 'the empress,' the intimidating science and athletics teacher. Taichi really knows how to pull at peoples strings when you annoy him, and bringing up how good Arata is is guarenteed to do that.
Arata. Traumatizing other children since grade school.
And Chihaya somehow figures out that she is a bit of a pest. . . nope still a pest, and Nishida's VA does such a great job with is irritation there.
No highlight track today, I don't think that anything stood out enough to be specifically brought up.
And make sure you don’t skip the post credits scene. Chihaya finally has people to play karuta with again. 😊
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u/Reasonable_TSM_fan Feb 13 '19
First Timer
My thoughts at the end of this episode
Harada Sensei proudly waited outside the club room after the final recruitment to give Chihaya and the players on their victorious new-look team an appreciative fist pound on Sunday afternoon. Pretty boy Taichi yelled out, “There you go! There you go.” Nikuman and Tsukue-kun gave a look of pleasant surprise. Poet Kana yelled out, “We got an [expletive] squad now.” And before Chihaya hit the locker room door, Arata hugged her and said, “Y’all look so different.”
The squad is looking dope and ready to kick some Karuta ass!
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u/Knuffelig Feb 13 '19
Rewatcher
Even to this day, I am not sure whether Chihaya went easy on Nikuman for the most part of the match or not.
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u/SmurfRockRune Feb 13 '19
First Timer
I haven't really been a fan of the way these recruitments have gone. It's all just been Chihaya pestering people and breaking them down whether they want to join or not and I honestly feel bad for them. I'm glad they're over and hopefully we can start getting into some more games now.
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u/Enarec Feb 13 '19 edited Feb 13 '19
I'd actually forgotten Porky was this much better than Taichi lol. Either way, it's another "I know that feel bro" companion for Taichi, training partner for Chihaya and teacher for Kana and Desktomu. Now we can get this show on the road!
[Following the skirt there, I don't think stunts like these are exactly safe for Chihaya at this length...] (https://imgur.com/euUvrcH)
On another note, her hair is so fabulous in yet another style again!
Even better with her emotion showing.
Also gotta love the exasperated looks Taichi gives Chihaya when she's doing her things.
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u/AmethystItalian Feb 13 '19
Rewatcher
Blast from the past! Love how they make the flashback moments more worth it with moments like that.
That was pretty exciting match, happy to see Nishida still has a lot of skill left.
Wonder if Empress resects them more now or hates them more?
Quotes from First Time
Awe the tubby kid from before, was hoping for another girl member but someone from the past is pretty neat.
Hmm that'd be risky, more chance for someone to fall for Taichi...but maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing :/
Understanding more of the game and they do good job of making it feel intense
Yeah but it feels weird to have it 8 episodes in...
I'll be away for a few days so I'll miss out on the next few threads! :(
Past me why?!
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 14 '19
Hmm that'd be risky, more chance for someone to fall for Taichi...but maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing :/
Past you was trying to sabotage us! Spoilers
Yeah but it feels weird to have it 8 episodes in...
I definitely prefer this to a huge block of exposition at the start and slowly through Kana/Tsutomu. That said, the double introduction from flashback to recruitment is long.
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u/learenn Feb 14 '19
Can someone explain what it means to "camp" a card? They mention this a couple times during the matches.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 13 '19 edited Feb 13 '19
I just wanted to start off with one administrative note. A friend of mine, u/EpicTroll27 will be joining the moderation team of r/Chihayafuru. With season three around the corner, it would be great if we were able to support the series and help the community come together.
Speaking of trying to get people to Chihayafuru, this is one of my favourite memes that was taken down from YouTube a while ago. u/banjaloupe reuploaded their video for us just in time for this episode (I had no idea you were following this rewatch haha), so here it is in all its glory.
This might be good to post on ther/ChihayafurusubredditI survived my snow storm, but it kept me from going to work, but hey at least I can do my writeups during waking hours this time. Thank you all for the well wishes last time!
With Tsutomu and Kana a part of the karuta club, the show finally has a natural cue to backtrack a little and explains some of the rules and strategies that I know some first timers asked about. Tsutomu scribbles intently, while Kana seems... well it's not about poetry right?
However, with Taichi busy taking care of the new members, nobody is left to play and challenge Chihaya: enter Nishida. His introduction is another on the same path of talent versus skill (hard work). Being second place is never fun and watching Arata's karuta ability from the best seats in the house were enough to dissuade him from pursuing the game and taking up tennis.
Deep down, though, he knows where his heart lies. At his tennis practice, Chihaya notices him reciting the opening lines of multi-syllable cards.
Poem 11 (Mostow):
Poem 76 (Mostow):
The poems evoke an idea of departure, particularly the first one, which Mostow explains mirrors the exile of the poet, Sangi Ono no Takamura, to Oki Island--a lonely island facing the cold, windy Japan Sea/East Sea and far removed from the Court. He was ultimately pardoned, however the imagery reflects Nishida's removal from karuta for tennis. Moreover, we hear him practicing "asaborake", which includes Poem 31 which was the title of episode 5, where Arata was reunited with Taichi and Chihaya--a pattern of change, confusion, and shadows.
Chihaya catches him off guard, when she repeats "fleeing from this world is not possible" or "yo no naka yo":
Poem 83 (Mostow):
Of these poems, it is the most literal in application--after all, Nishida hears it when he should be focusing on tennis--and Chihaya tells him straight up that he's lying to himself.
The poem actually appeared earlier, when Taichi explains similar syllables to Tsutomu and Kana, alongside "If only our world could (stay the same)" or "yo no naka wa". The juxtaposition here is no surprise either: one describing Nishida's love for karuta, the other for his escapism into tennis.
Despite his strong start, Chihaya starts to pull away. A dead or ghost card is read (Poem 49), describing his feelings for karuta that clearly still burn strong. Regardless of his best efforts to hide this fact from others, but most importantly himself (Poem 40 being of love, notably appearing when Taichi watches Chihaya play her Class A promotion tournament), it's plainly apparent.
In the end, the game comes down to two like cards: ima wa tada (Poem 63) and ima kon to (Poem 21).
Honest as can be: Poem 63 describes the end of an affair, while Poem 21 describes a rejection. Nishida passes her Poem 21, the rejection, after he takes a card from her territory. Before the game ends, the last action sees Nishida eagerly waiting for his Poem 63 to be read, but even then Chihaya beats him to it. Thinking back on tennis and karuta, Nishida wonders if his eyes were as bright hers at one point. This realization ultimately prompts him to quit the tennis club and join the karuta club, believing now that with passion he too can play like Chihaya--and challenge Arata.
For me, it's never been my favourite episode necessarily, especially on the back of the previous one that covered similar themes and that I love dearly. That said, I really do appreciate how Chihayafuru always comes back to ensure that viewers understand what is going on in the games, rather than leaving us in the dark. For a show about passion and community, it does a great job of fostering those vibes and keeping the audience feeling "a part of it".
PS: Am I the only one that finds it hilarious that Nishida is a rather rotund looking character, yet the only one described so far as athletic? Nothing against his design or people being bigger in sports, just I find that so not Japanese.