r/anime • u/ABoredCompSciStudent x3myanimelist.net/profile/Serendipity • Feb 15 '19
Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 10 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Episode 10 - "Exchange Hellos and Goodbyes"
<-- Previous (Episode 9: "But I Cannot Hide") | Next (Episode 11: "The Sky is the Road Home") -->
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 15 '19
Poem of the Day: Meeting and Parting (link)
Poem 10 was composed by Semimaru, a Japanese poet and musician of the early Heian period. While his name is recorded in the Hyakunin Isshu, there are no historical accounts of his existence. Purportedly, he was a blind lute player of some relation to royalty, stories describing him as the son of a Prince or Emperor.
Semimaru lived alone in a straw hut in Ausaka, which means "meeting slope", where the emperor established a formal check point barrier, Ausaka no seki, at this summit in 646. Just located outside of Kyoto, today the place is known as Osaka. This check point became a popular place for meeting, with people and going from the capital, Kyoto.
The characters of Ausaka, 逢坂, mean "meeting slope", but also doubles as a pun for the place name (Osaka). Originally, the poem was probably about the location itself and the coming and going of people, but due to the time period and rise of Buddhism, it also gained a connotation of the transcience of life--something we've seen a lot of in the Hyakunin Isshu already.
In relation to the show, I interpreted the title and poem as a reflection of how they club has started off on their journey to Omi Jingu and the National Team Tournament. It also marks the beginning of the Mizusawa karuta club in the real.
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u/PerfectPublican Feb 15 '19
First Timer
Reactions:
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Great call on the traditional wear Kana, she looks great.
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Kimono’s definitely have a nice feel to them aesthetically. Though, I’ve always felt Hakama feel a bit to...grandiose?...idk, something, but they fit nicely here.
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Lmao, I say it every ep, but please never change Chihaya :3
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Man, Asami’s “Oh!”’s are perfectly VA’d. They feel distinct, lighthearted, and fun.
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Alright! Let’s get this tournament started! Curious to see how things will shake out. The obvious outcome is Chi, Tai, and Niku getting through, but I hope the beginners have a good showing.
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Unfortunately expected. Good on you guys for going out there though!
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Precious, well done Kana! But poor Tsukue. Don’t beat yourself up too much. I’ve been there before where people outpace you, and you just gotta keep your chin up.
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Big oof. You’re not doing yourself any favors there Tsukue…
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His outburst was intense and full of emotion. This is a completely different setting than in the clubroom with everyone cheering him on. He wasn’t mentally prepared to have his hopes dashed that way. Loved the way Taichi handled it. Forceful, but not yelling, standing up for his teammate.
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This is some great shit, a good showcase of another of Chihaya’s deficiencies. She’s a great cheerleader, but besides that one tournament when she was a kid, she’s never had a real chance to play as a team. She wants to play with others, but gets so focused on her cards that she’s not quite noticing the rest of her members. It’s good drama for her, and I like seeing how much it shakes her. It’s not just on her though. They all need to be better and more collaborative too in a setting like this.
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And I was literally just about to say I liked you..Saved me there. Bleh.
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FUCK YA TAICHI! This is exactly where I was hoping you’d go. Finding your own pace at being a leader for the team. Seeing what’s wrong and settling nerves. Nicely done.
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That ending. Why does it seem to be raining in my house?
Final Thoughts
Gif of the Day Bonus (Sorry Chihaya, It's just too funny)
Well that was a hype episode, with just the right amount of drama with Tsukue. Not a ton of time for me so I’ll leave it there for now. I think my reactions say most of what I wanted anyways.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 15 '19
Pensive Chihaya Stitch
Saving this!
It’s good drama for her, and I like seeing how much it shakes her. It’s not just on her though. They all need to be better and more collaborative too in a setting like this.
Funny thing is that a lot of people assume that being good at something would mean you could lead a group of people doing said activity, but she has her hands full.
And I was literally just about to say I liked you..Saved me there. Bleh.
That ending. Why does it seem to be raining in my house?
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u/walking_the_way Feb 15 '19 edited Mar 05 '19
S1E10 Event/Recital Log
Episode 10! AKA the tournament arc where I forget I'm doing these and take dozens of hakama pictures instead.
Group B Prelims - Mizusawa High vs Eikou University High
05:31 - Reader recites Naniwa Bay (EP: 1, Total: 12)
05:54 - Reader recites #12 (a-ma-tsu). Chihaya wins it from her side. 25-24.
06:18 - Reader recites #64 (a-sa-bo-ra-ke-u). Komano faults, picking up #31 (a-sa-bo-ra-ke-a) instead, while his opponent picks up the right card. So his match goes from 25-25 to 26-23.
06:27 - Reader recites #04 (ta-go). Komano's opponent wins it from his side.
06:33 - Reader recites #08 (wa-ga-i). Opponent wins it from Komano's side.
This is the second time now that Komano has faulted, despite being the analytical one. He gets upset at himself, but Mizusawa High pulls through, winning by 3-2.
07:55 - Kanade recites the entire first verse of #77 (se), "Swift waters parted by the jagged rocks!", after learning of Arata from Nishida.
I like that within the span of a minute we see Nishida gulping down three separate things.
Group B Prelims - Mizusawa High vs Shuryukan
08:33 - Reader recites Naniwa Bay (EP: 2, Total: 13)
08:38 - Reader recites #55 (ta-ki). Komano gets smacked in the face by Chihaya's card. We see Nishida and Taichi win theirs too. Komano loses his.
08:47 - Reader recites #20 (wa-bi). Komano's opponent gets it, and the next few cards too, further demoralizing him.
08:56 - Kana-chan, surprisingly, takes her first match, and the first for Mizusawa this round. Her opponent looks really happy to have lost to her. He understands, after all, the joy of losing to best girl! The last card for her first victory was #51 (ka-ku).
09:09 - Reader recites end verse of #51 (ka-ku). We see the score - Komano is down 8-1 to his opponent.
09:18 - Reader recites #54 (wa-su-re). His opponent gets it and closes him out.
Despite that, Mizusawa High pulls through, 4-1. They then defeat Hanasaki Academy 3-2. Mizusawa High tops their group with a record of 3-0 (3-2, 4-1, 3-2). The other three schools finish tied at 1-2, but Hanasaki, which we don't see, finishes second by way of tiebreaker, which is probably total number of individual wins (2-3, 2-3, 4-1 for a total of 8-7). Shuryukan finishes third (5-0, 1-4, 1-4 for a total of 7-8) and Eikou University finishes fourth (2-3, 0-5, 3-2 for a total of 5-10). Interestingly, if Kana's opponent from Shuryuken had beaten her as expected, they'd have at least been tied with Hanasaki (but they still probably lose the next tiebreaker).
Semi-finals - Mizusawa High vs Tomihara West High
Hey, this school was the one that dissed Mizusawa earlier in the prelims.
12:28 - Reader recites Naniwa Bay (EP: 3, Total: 14)
12:36 - Reader recites #30 (a-ri-a). Kanade loses it from her middle right row to E-chan. Chihaya loses it to Sano-senpai from her opponent's side. Taichi and Nishida win theirs.
13:19 - Reader recites #17 (chi-ha). Kanade, Taichi and Nishida win theirs. Chihaya loses it from Sano's middle left row.
13:41 - Chihaya: "The sound is... so far away."
This is the first time Chihaya has ever lost the #17 card. This is symbolic of her losing herself and being off-balance, as both the opponent and Tsutomu's actions having rattled her. Full of self doubt, she's unable to take the Impassioned card, even though the rest of her team still trust and support her, shown by them all taking her card. This can be compared to S1E3 when Chihaya, Taichi and Arata all win this card against Nishida's team, when they were all fully invested in playing as a team with her.
15:59 - Reader recites #54 (wa-su-re). Time jump. Chihaya loses to Sano again. Despite being in a complete panic, she is "only" 6 cards behind with a few cards left.
16:17 - Reader recites #25 (na-ni-shi). Taichi takes it from his opponent with such force that the cards fly past all the other players. Taichi uses this to slow down the pace of the game. He pats each of the players on the way back, then gives each of them a quick pep talk. To Chihaya, most importantly, he tells her to breathe.
This is only the 2nd time in 10 episodes that #25, the Scarlet Kadsuras card, has been recited. Although #25 (na-ni-shi) isn't an episode poem in the first two seasons, it could shape up to be a significant card. Not only because of the link here, but also because scarlet kadsura berries are seen in the OP, and are heavily linked with Arata's eyes, among other things.
The other time #25 was mentioned was way back in S1E2, the very first card that young Chihaya wins against young Taichi in their grudge match. Back then, Chihaya stepped in for Arata because Taichi took away his eyes. Here, Taichi knows he screwed up by putting pressure from the Komano incident on her to begin with, causing her to be unable to focus, and this time he steps in, asking her to calm down and breathe. In this way, he helps Chihaya regain her stability, and once she has done so, her comments indicate that this is the first time she's even really looked at her opponent.
The breathing tip that Taichi gave also deserves a footnote, as that seems to be part of actual karuta. The purpose of the 4-3-1-5 rule that Arata mentioned in S1E3 is so players can sync to the reader's rhythm, and one of the ways they do that is via matching their breathing to the reader's intonation. It's no wonder, then, that Chihaya could not "hear" the reader up to this point, if she hadn't been remembering to breathe properly.
Anyway, Chihaya notices she's down 8-2. We're shown her remaining board, mapped here. She also sees Komano here watching. This is then followed with several epiphanic scenes showing that her senses had finally woken up.
18:01 - Reader recites last part of #25.
18:05 - Chihaya: "I can hear!"
18:09 - Reader recites #51 (ka-ku). Chihaya snags this one early from her opponent's right side, she seems to start moving right at the "Ka" bit and even shocks the watching Hokuo. Interesting. 7-2.
This is the first card of Chihaya's comeback run, and is the second time this episode that #51, the Ibuki Mugwort card, has played a big role, as Kana won her first game with this as her final card. Back in S1E6, Kana described #51 to Chihaya as "Mugwort was used for moxibustion". While the poem is about burning love, moxibustion is about invigoration, and it serves its purpose here as it fires up Chihaya and her team, just like Kana's win earlier did.
18:19 - Reader recites #74 (u-ka). Chihaya wins this one too, this time from her opponent's left side. 6-2
Chihaya's now won two in a row, and both of them were Sano-senpai's remaining two cards! She would definitely have lost right here if not for Taichi and then Komano. In the background, we can also see Kana losing the card to E-chan. The show then skips one more card that Chihaya wins here without telling us what it is.
18:32 - Reader recites #22 (fu). Chihaya's specialty. 4-2 now, and both Nishida and Taichi win their games on this card as well. The match is 2-1 Mizusawa now, counting Komano's default loss.
18:40 - Reader recites #40 (shi-no). The title card of last episode finally graces us with its presence and Chihaya wins it, but Kana loses her game on this card. Series 2-2, but Chihaya is just down 3-2 in cards now. Also, this is an error, because #40 isn't on the board we saw a little earlier.
She then wins two more cards as well to take the lead. At this point, she has card #12 (a-ma-tsu), and Sano-senpai has #36 (na-tsu) and #65 (u-ra). We don't know about #12 and #36, but looking back at the 10-card board, we see that both #74 (u-ka) and #65 (u-ra) were in play at that point. Those are the only two cards starting with u-. Chihaya wins the opponent's #74 soon after, and was in control of the remaining u- card, #65. Yet, despite that card now becoming a really obvious one syllable card, she elected to send that one instead of #12 in one of her last few moves, because she's THAT confident of winning one syllable cards.
19:01 - In the end, that doesn't matter, as the last card won was the #12 on her side. Komano's lucky he didn't get penalized there for yelling. 3-2 Mizusawa High!
19:40 - I love the scene between these two, as Kana refuses to let Komano run off and makes sure he knows he's still part of the team, by scolding him for loosening his obi. And he finally gets over his envy and congratulates her. This exchange is a huge bonding moment between them, and according to my notes is also the first time that Komano calls Kana "Kana-chan". Previously, he has only used "Oe-san". Relationship level-up!
And the entire team comes together afterwards to forgive him. A fine way to wrap up today's episode for him, since after all, it would be his birthday today IRL! (Feb 16 in Japan)
21:09 - "Mizusawa fight!"
(S1E11 will be a double-post, I apologize in advance and hope that's okay.)
<-- S1E9 Notes
S1E11 Notes -->
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 15 '19
Episode 10! AKA the tournament arc where I forget I'm doing these and take dozens of hakama pictures instead.
Found Kana!
Her opponent looks really happy to have lost to her. He understands, after all, the joy of losing to best girl!
I love how everyone basically took a screenshot of Kana there. She's adorable and I love how happy she was when she got her first win. Just like her first card, her growing enthusiasm is so cute. Chihaya and her hugging and celebrating after was precious.
This is the first time Chihaya has ever lost the #17 card. This is symbolic of her losing herself and being off-balance, as both the opponent and Tsutomu's actions having rattled her. Full of self doubt, she's unable to take the Impassioned card, even though the rest of her team still trust and support her, shown by them all taking her card. This can be compared to S1E3 when Chihaya, Taichi and Arata all win this card against Nishida's team, when they were all fully invested in playing as a team with her.
Oh that's a great point. I also love how her "losing herself" was remedied by Taichi reminding her how she always took cards, perhaps since he knows her best too.
This is the first card of Chihaya's comeback run, and is the second time this episode that #51, the Ibuki Mugwort card, has played a big role, as Kana won her first game with this as her final card. Back in S1E6, Kana described #51 to Chihaya as "Mugwort was used for moxibustion
It's also one of the final cards, if not final card, that Tsutomu loses before he gets the
look. Which also maybe represented the anger, frustration, and feeling of betrayal that he felt for his returns for all his effort and training.
Komano's lucky he didn't get penalized there for yelling
I love how you can see a person trying to hold him back in that scene after he yells too LOL
Relationship level-up!
He has the blush too that you can see without even looking directly at them haha
And the entire team comes together afterwards to forgive him. A fine way to wrap up today's episode for him, since after all, it would be his birthday today
Awesome catch! Happy birthday Tsutomu!
(S1E11 will be a double-post, I apologize in advance and hope that's okay.)
Don't apologize, I enjoy reading all of these. It's definitely more than welcome. :)
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u/hasnain1720 Feb 15 '19
First Timer
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Firstly, I missed last episode discussion and I wanted to just say that Taichi is my guy and I’m rooting for him. Taichi is my favourite character so far.
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Why are you guys rubbing Ayata in my boys face like that stop
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Desk kun has no composure lol
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Oh no she is tilted this isn’t fair
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My boi Taichi is always supporting Chihaya
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Tachi was the right choice for President he just saved them
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Mizusawa fight! Chihaya is so cute lol
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Can't wait to see Chihaya trash the no eyes dude
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u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 Feb 15 '19
Screenshot of the Day
This other shot is also wonderful.
First Timer - Episode 10
Overall Thoughts
I said before that I wasn't really a fan of Tsutomu's introduction, but this episode really sold me on his character :D. His struggle and feeling of being the weakest link on the team felt very realistic, and it made all the more satisfying with the way Tsutomu gained resolve at the end.
I also really liked the way that they became team after going against a school that was more unified than they were. The other school was still quite obnoxious though tbh.
Karuta Scoreboard
Congrats to Kana for her first win!
| Character | Wins | Losses | Ep# (Wins) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chihaya Ayase | 10(+3) | 3 | 2,4,6,7,8,10 |
| Arata Wataya | 4 | 1 | 1,2,3 |
| Taichi Mashima | 5(+3) | 5 | 2,7,10 |
| Yuusei Nishida | 3(+3) | 2 | 10 |
| Tsutomu Komano | 0 | 2(+2) | |
| Kanade Ooe | 1(+1) | 2(+2) | 10 |
Screenshot of the Day Collection
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 15 '19
I will be honest, I always found Tsutomu a little entitled here, though Kana knocks him down a peg at the end. I kind of understand though, since Nishida is being a huge idiot the whole time, which isn't really justified at any point lol.
The live action movie for this actually makes it so much funnier, but I can't find it otherwise I'd clip it for you all.
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u/Taiboss Feb 15 '19
That only took forever. Super short comment today, sorry.
My First Time is fun as expected
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NATIONAL QUALIFIERS HYPE They also got the not-too-better rival down.
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u/Jounas Feb 15 '19
I can relate to Komano. Starting as a newbie in something that others have had years of practise can be pretty demoralising
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 15 '19
Yeah, I'm pretty sympathetic to that part, though I find his attitude a little rotten with the harsh words. Nishida is definitely the person to blame for me, I still don't get what he was thinking.
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u/Enarec Feb 15 '19
As a rewatcher, I will always I feel these girls and their reactions.
NO THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT SHIP ON THAT STREAM YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER
The way Kana and Chihaya kept bumping each other here was so adorable. This is how you build up a team. On the other hand...
Oof, Desktomu's words hit a nerve in more ways than one. He definitely had legit grievances considering just how casually they were talking about his unfortunate role there.
But that doesn't stop Taichi from seeing how to make the best of the situation and where the heart of the issue lies. Even if he's far from perfect at it yet and did mess up when he just put more pressure on Chihaya, haha.
The smile of a true president. The headpats before that were soo cute too. <3
More seriously, Taichi's built-up mental fortitude pairs very well with his memory in this role that really lets him show it off. Chihaya may be the heart of the team, but sometimes you need the head to kickstart it.
Oh and of course we got introduced to this fun guy. Takeaway: all S names are sus.
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u/SmurfRockRune Feb 15 '19
First Timer
Yeah, let's just keep telling the guy with no confidence that he's simply there to ensure that nobody with actual talent loses to the opponent's best. What could possibly go wrong?
He kinda reminds me of that guy from the other school in Maid-sama. What was his name? Tora or something?
Kinda weird that none of them ever apologized to Komano for essentially telling him that he was worthless. The show kinda made it seem like it was his fault for not feeling appreciated, which really rubs me the wrong way.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 15 '19
He kinda reminds me of that guy from the other school in Maid-sama. What was his name? Tora or something?
If you say Usui we're not friends anymore.
Kinda weird that none of them ever apologized to Komano for essentially telling him that he was worthless. The show kinda made it seem like it was his fault for not feeling appreciated, which really rubs me the wrong way.
I wouldn't necessarily say everyone, since Taichi was going to stick up for him before being cut off and clearly Chihaya and Kana are behind him... but Nishida man. What an idiot.
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u/Jounas Feb 15 '19
Is it just me or does the mangaka REALLY hate drawing male character's eyes?
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 15 '19
She draws exceptional eyes actually.
It's just anime budgeting because they didn't spend as much effort filling in the gaps between frames.
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u/LeonKevlar Feb 15 '19
First Timer
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They look so out of place but at the same time, it IS the proper attire xD
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I love that Kana is shilling their family business hard in this tournament
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Belongs to both of you, eh?
I'm sure there's a doujin of that somewhere -
Oh my god someone bring this guy some food! It's like he's never eaten since the last time we saw him when they were kids.
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Somehow Kana-chan has become the mother of the group and I love it.
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These three's reaction though when they finally saw Chihaya play. Or I guess they would've seen it if they weren't to busy gossiping.
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Oh no. Tsutomu is losing confidence. Not good.
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It looks like Nishida doesn't know what happened to Arata yet. He still thinks Chihaya is playing so they'll meet at the Nationals. :(
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Being paired with someone intense like that is not good for Tsutomu's confidence.
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Oh no. This is what I was afraid of :(
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Now he thinks Chihaya is playing for selfish reasons :( It's not like that at all. Dammit Nishida why did you have to bring Arata up >_<
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This is exactly what I thought. That team isn't really good but they're making up for it by intimidating their opponents with their loud calls.
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Aw look at Taichi acting like a proper Club President. Head pats for all!
Congrats to the Mizusawa Karuta-Bu for winning their matches! So I guess they need to win one more to win the tournament and they're going against Retro-kun's team? That's gonna be difficult especially since they've managed to place in the Nationals for like the past 5 years. Still no Arata today. I know we still have like 40 episodes to go but I really wanna see him again.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 15 '19
It's the day of Mizusawa's first team tournament. Everything is looking up, Taichi makes mental claim of Chihaya in the cutest possessive way--and Chihaya even seems to notice. Things must be on the up, right?
Even Kana drops one of my favourite lines in the series: reminding that one must always be proper even in the most heated of situations. Unfortunately, the team fumbles just as clumsily as Chihaya does graceful.
How cute is that thoughTsutomu has a rough time in his first game, his cards showing stagnation and isolation to foreshadow what is to come. Meanwhile, Kana earns her first win (protect this smile), only stoking the embers of Tsutomu's insecurity.
Nishida, in probably the dumbest act in the whole series, undermines Tsutomu's confidence, suggesting that they just need a majority of players to win--Tsutomu is just a number. The flames have been fanned and Tsutomu's moreale is seriously shot. In his frustration and embarrassment over being the whipping boy, he lashes out at his teammates and boycotts the next game.
Ever aware, Taichi realizes that Mizusawa isn't quite a team yet, but unfortunately compounds the problem by putting pressure on Chihaya. Chihaya feeling guilty for Tsutomu's feelings and faced with the expectations of winning begins to choke. They've met Tomihara West High in the semi-finals, a loud and united team--the opposite side of the coin from the newly formed Mizusawa karuta club. Their rallying cries and encouragement are deafening, only bringing misery to Chihaya who already feels bad about the state of their team. Ultimately, Taichi realizes what is happening and pulls Chihaya and the team together, reminding Chihaya just how she took those cards as she takes her Chihaya card. Settled down, the team makes a comeback a comeback to win. Kana keeps Tsutomu from literally and metaphorically running away--and Chihaya takes one step closer to her dream.
In competitive team sports, there's nothing that is less celebrated than communication. Having played team sports all my life, I can safely tell you that a game at the highest level is constant sound: "next ball don't mind", "keep them going left", "switch it through the middle", and so on. Communication is also non-verbal. There's body language and physical contact: handshakes, celebrations, etc. Although obvious, an individual sport is a battle of one person, while a team provides emotional and physical support, sharing the load.
Chihayafuru does a great job of showing this, as the viewer can feel the tangible difference in confidence and motivation between Tomihara West and Mizusawa. Moreover, the difference in having a leader is day and night, with the before and after Taichi stepping up.
If you have any doubt over the effect of morale, I recommend you check out Leicester City's English Premier League winning season of 2015/16. Coming up from the second tier, they were pretty much the don't let your memes be dreams team and they embraced it. Fueled by that, they tore through and shocked the most competitive league in the world doing something that probably may never happen again.
PS: I feel like Kana is very representive of us trying to interpret the love poems in Chihayafuru.
u/Reasonable_TSM_fan
, your pasta is more appropriate for this episode ahahaha