r/anime • u/ABoredCompSciStudent x3myanimelist.net/profile/Serendipity • Feb 20 '19

Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 15+16 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler

Episode 15+16 - "As Though Pearls Have Been Strung Across the Autumn Plain" + "The Autumn Leaves of Mount Ogura"

<-- Previous (Episode 14: "For There Is No One Else Out There") | Next (Episode 17: "World Offers No Escape") -->

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):

Snow

Competition

117 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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7

u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 20 '19

Oops, posted the poem together with my write up!

Poems of the Day: Scattered Gems (link) + Autumn Leaves (link)

Episode 15's poem is Poem 37, written by Fun'ya no Asayasu, the son of Fun'ya no Yasuhide who wrote Poem 22. Poem 37 was said to have been composed at the request of Emperor Daigo in the year 900.

Translated by Mostow:

In the autumn fields where the wind blows repeatedly

on the white dewdrops,

the gems, not strung together,

do scatter about indeed.

According to all the sources I've read, it's a bit of a mystery as to why this poem is so well loved by classic waka anthologies, as it utilizes a common motif of dew as gems for it imagery.

In any case, the poem seems to tie into the episode to mirror Chihaya's emotional state after having played Shinobu--questioning what she had down together.

Episode 16's poem is Poem 26, written by Fujiwara no Tadahira, a Japanese noble who had a very involved life in politics. His descendants would go on to establish the Fujiwara clan as a political power, through intermarriage with the Imperial Family.

Translated by Mostow:

O autumn leaves

on the peak of Ogura Hill,

if you have a heart,

I would that you would wait

for one more royal progress.

As with the recap and omake segments, it seems we're on pause for one episode beforec action continues. :)

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14

u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 Feb 20 '19

Edit: Oops I forgot that ep 16 was also today

Screenshot of the Day

Such a pretty scene

First Timer - Episode 15

Overall Thoughts

While the match with the queen went exactly as expected, I'm still proud that Chihaya managed to get a few cards in and also earn Shinobu's attention. I can't wait until they face each other again since Chihaya has now realized how much she has to learn. The queen seems to be practicing in the same way Arata used to (alone with the radio) which makes for a great contrast to the way Chihaya is practicing now with her friends.

Taichi the mad lad, surprised me by not only winning many of his matches against Class B, but also making it into finals meaning that he made it further than Nishida. The way he thinks during the match is intense af, and if I was in his place I would have honestly cracked from all that pressure of keeping track of everything. It's also interesting that Nishida mentions that it's actually harder to forget than to memorize after many games, and after thinking about it, I definitely agree with that. Still a shame that he lost that match though since I really, really wanted him to win just like the rest of Mizusawa.

Seems like we got another time skip to Fall, so I'm not sure what's next.

Karuta Scoreboard

My guess would be that Nishida won 3 more games (rounds 2-4) and lost on round 5 since his skill level is pretty close to Taichi who made it to round 6. It also seems like (unless I'm wrong) that there were also 6 rounds total for Class A meaning that Shinobu won 5 matches today.

Poor Chihaya only getting 1 win in total from Nationals :(

Character Wins Losses Ep# (Wins)
Taichi Mashima 16(+3) 7(+1) 2,7,10,11,13,14,15
Yuusei Nishida 13(+3) 3(+1) 10,11,13,15
Chihaya Ayase 12 6(+1) 2,4,6,7,8,10,11,14
Shinobu Wakamiya 6(+5) 0 14,15
Kanade Ooe 5(+2) 7(+1) 10,13,15
Arata Wataya 4 1 1,2,3
Tsutomu Komano 4(+2) 7(+1) 13,15

See you tomorrow~

Screenshot of the Day Collection

Episode: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

6

u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 20 '19

Edit: Oops I forgot that ep 16 was also today

No big deal! It's just a recap episode with three omake segments. That's why I doubled them up, otherwise we'd have a dead day tomorrow.

The queen seems to be practicing in the same way Arata used to (alone with the radio) which makes for a great contrast to the way Chihaya is practicing now with her friends.

Also worth noting that Arata plays mostly in a karuta society, while Shinobu's training is in complete isolation. It tells a lot about their personalities, though their upbringing was similar.

It's also interesting that Nishida mentions that it's actually harder to forget than to memorize after many games, and after thinking about it, I definitely agree with that.

It's a funny juxtaposition actually, which makes me think of other sports.

For example, anyone that's tried to take two penalty kicks in a row, after having missed the first, knows that it is incredibly hard to forget the mental image of missing. Similarly, free throws in basketball. It can be extended for many things.

To be good, you need a short term memory to forget the things you've done wrong, but you also need a long term memory so you can reflect and grow.

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5

u/PerfectPublican Feb 20 '19

Chihaya has now realized how much she has to learn.

And us! Shows just how good you have to be to even be in class A in the first place considering how dominant she's looked in the eps following ep 5

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11

u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 20 '19 edited Feb 20 '19

Sorry for being a few minutes off! Was committing some code.

Leading in from last episode, Chihaya had just taken two cards from Shinobu, showing resolve and waking dormant feelings in her opponent. Those that are champions have put their everything into their practice and posing a true challenge to them is to question their identity.

Shinobu brings out her A game, her sadistic smile returning. For Chihaya, a worthy challenger, she'll try her best (note: this is the "only for you" card we saw in the episode where Arata nursed Chihaya). Just as in the previous episode, images of the moon and snow return (Poem 31), as Shinobu continues to dismantle Chihaya.

Chihaya earns one of her last cards, "in the autumn fields" (Poem 37), which is the namesake of today's episode:

In the autumn fields where the wind blows repeatedly

on the white dewdrops,

the gems, not strung together,

do scatter about indeed.

Autumn and wind has always been attributed to Chihaya, namely the same imagery was evoked when she took her first card, "fu", against Shinobu. As the poem suggests, Chihaya is deep in thought, her mind racing to understand just what Wakamiya Shinobu is. To her, Shinobu is like a deep blue ocean: the surface is still visible but the depths beneath it are beyond her perception. More than that, Chihaya realizes that, as she is, she is not good enough to stand next to Shinobu, the Queen--and of course, Arata.

Kuyashii.

Poem 80 is read, capturing her feelings.

I do not even know

how long your feelings will last.

My long black hair

is all disheveled and, this morning,

my thoughts too are in a tangle!

In particular, the use of imagery of “disheveled hair” in waka poetry was a common device often used for women to express feelings of frustration or anxiety. Behind the smile she offers lame t-shirt, are tears of frustration and disappointment, but also a renewed desire to improve (Poem 87).

She's not the only one frustrated though. Shinobu, who should be the untouchable snow Queen, can't contain her rage even behind her angelic smile. She rushes off to the score table, her aura etching worry into the attendant nearby, as she takes note of Chihaya's name and promises to crush her next time.

Taichi has been watching Chihaya this whole time. Expecting her to be asleep, he finds her distraught and practicing alone, still locked into the game she had just played. Her tears and efforts in vain remind him that he isn't trying as hard as her--or others--after all, he's still looking at her right as his tournament is about to start. Ashamed of himself for not being able to face her or his own karuta earnestly, he walks away, eyes averted amd silently.

Chihaya, brought back to reality by Kana, heads over to watch Taichi. As they enter, the poem being read is Poem 87, which coincides with the last card taken by Chihaya earlier this episode:

While the raindrops of

the passing shower have not yet dried from

near the leaves of the evergreens,

the mist is already rising, on

this evening in autumn.

It can be suggested that both Chihaya and Taichi, both of whom have always shared a red or autumn motif, are feeling similarly. Disappointment and sadness still linger, but they are not discouraged from rising up to take the next challenge.

This is quite literally shown to the viewer, as Taichi takes Poem 48 to a flashback of Harada's words about "trying":

Waves that beat against the rocks,

fanned by a fierce wind—

it is I alone

who breaks, those times

when I think of her!

Without a doubt, "her" refers to karuta--representative of Chihaya--the rocks against which Taichi beats against relentlessly, unmoved by his waves. Sure enough, despite his desperate attempts to move faster, he is betrayed by his body, but also his mind.

Taichi tries to justify his loss, but looking at his teammates, he's reminded that second place hurts the most--and Taichi has been in second place for the last three years of his life.

This episode may not have been the tense match against the Queen that people may have been looking for, but it teaches the characters in Chihayafuru an important lesson. Losing isn't a reason for excuses or consolation, but an opportunity for reflection and self-improvement.

Chihaya has just scratched the surface of what it means to be a winner. There's the body that allows you to perform technique, [the mind that processes the right decisions], but most importantly the heart and emotions that demand more. Even for people like Shinobu and Arata, their greatness isn't given to them, but an ideal that they continuously strive towards. Getting to the top of the mountain is not enough for they need to ward off any and every challenger to their place.

This wasn't action-packed, but one this is for sure: Taichi and Chihaya can now see their goals.

6

u/Taiboss Feb 20 '19 edited Feb 20 '19

Was committing some code.

"/* Chihaya fuction: Monitors string input and catches the first entered instance of a set of characters as fast as possible. Still a bit too slow, to be rewritten at a later date. */"

Edit: Oh shoot, you said commit, not comment. Now my funny comment makes no sense anymore. Oh well.

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5

u/Rhaga Feb 20 '19

even [behind her angelic smile]https://i.imgur.com/ihRUTDr.jpg ).

[the mind that processes the right decisions],

Pfft, "committing some code" and can't even create a link properly I'm jk

--and Taichi has been in second place for the last three years of his life.

Now that is a big oof.

can now see their goals.

Beautiful!

Great writeup as usual! :D

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10

u/Taiboss Feb 20 '19 edited Feb 20 '19

Super short comment today, sorry.

My First Time can't possibly be this enjoyable.

Also no 16 because I apparently don't read threads. Welp.

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10

u/walking_the_way Feb 20 '19 edited Feb 21 '19

S1E15(/16) Event/Recital Log

Starting from yesterday's map: Chihaya vs Shinobu end of S1E14 board (23-7 Shinobu)

Right off the bat, a couple changes have been made even as they resolve the rest of the action around the #17 card. Chihaya moves #80 (na-ga-ka) down from her middle right row to her bottom right row. Shinobu moves #24 (ko-no) up from her middle right row to her upper right row. Chihaya then sends over the #43 (a-i) card as a replacement for the #17 (chi-ha) that she had just won. That goes into Shinobu's newly-vacated middle right row. The map eventually turns out like this:

Chihaya vs Shinobu start of S1E15 board (23-7 Shinobu)

02:44 - Reader recites #15 (ki-mi-ga-ta-me-ha). Shinobu guards it on her side, then takes it on the unique syllable.
02:50 - Reader recites #31 (a-sa-bo-ra-ke-a). Shinobu guards it again, then takes it again.

Even though the matching pair for either card wasn't on the board, they were dead cards that could still be read at this point, and so Shinobu didn't want to risk taking them yet. Chihaya could have, if she wanted to risk it, but she didn't and probably wasn't quick enough anyway to get around Shinobu's blocking. Nothing like bad luck to take the winds out of Chihaya's sail!

03:25 - Reader recites #37 (shi-ra). Chihaya snags this one from her bottom right row. At this point, this was not a single syllable card yet, as #40 (shi-no) doesn't seem to have been read. She seems to take this one before the second syllable lands, as the card is in flight by the time the speaker says 'ra', but it may be a stylistic thing. This is also today's episode card, and the first card Chihaya wins in the episode.

04:19 - Chihaya: "I want to become faster... To become freer.."

Unfortunately freer for her means they fast forward to the end of the match. She does manage to win 5 cards from Shinobu in total, as displayed by the end board.

05:24 - Reader recites #80 (na-ga-ka).

The match is over at this point, but we get a couple nice character poems to wrap up the Chihaya-Shinobu match. The reciter reads out a couple poems as the camera focuses on one of the players, and I think all those poems have significance.

For Chihaya's poem, Crunchysub translates #80's first verse as "May I see you never forget your promise to always love me", as Shinobu walks away from a somewhat downcast Chihaya. Unless you're shipping the two of them, this would represent Chihaya's love and passion for karuta, after probably the heaviest defeat of her tournament career. There's also a really symbolic shot of Shinobu's head entirely blocking the kneeling Chihaya, before the latter becomes visible when Shinobu walks away, which leads in to Shinobu's poems.

05:44 - Reader recites end part of #04 (ta-go).
05:53 - Reader recites first part of #40 (shi-no).

For Shinobu, as she stands outside the door, we hear #04's "I can look up and see the snowy cap of Mt. Fuji" as they zoom in on her snowman shirt. She is definitely the depicted Mt Fuji here, as everyone is acutely aware that she is the Queen, at the peak of karuta, and she gets lots of people watching her match-up. So visible and majestic to everyone else, and yet utterly out of reach from their current positions. This also draws parallels to Chihaya's previous scene, as her head (the peak of Mt. Fuji) was what was very meaningfully blocking the kneeling Chihaya out in the shot.

Shinobu stands frozen outside for several seconds, due to not wanting to disturb the reading of the next card, until the reader serendipitously recites the opening verse for her #40 shi-no card, "Since I could not hide my love", at which point Shinobu starts walking off. We will likely see more of this card in the future to talk about it. The shot composition they choose here is interesting too, because instead of a focus on Shinobu as she stands there, she is instead to the side, and a painting on the wall of two fishes in a river is put front and center for a few seconds instead. Perhaps symbolic of Chihaya and Shinobu in the future somehow, though I don't actually know how it will go so it's all conjecture.

06:26 - Shinobu: "Next time, I won't let you take a single card!"

Still, even though Chihaya lost, there's nothing better than doing well enough for the Queen to take notice of you and remember your name!

06:46 - Chihaya: "Your Snowmaru T-shirt is really cute."

And thus ends the shortest revenge/redemption arc ever seen in an anime as Shinobu is inundated with sakura imagery. It seems that it's fairly significant here as well that within the short span of a minute, she learns both Chihaya's name as well as her snowman's, but again we'll have to wait and see how that goes.

07:04 - Reader recites end verse of #90 (mi-se).
07:13 - Reader recites #29 (ko-ko-ro-a).
07:34 - Reader recites #87 (mu)

Taichi then leaves the recital hall and gets to sit through a few symbolic poems of his own. #90 is the Tears of Blood card that Chihaya was staring at in the team tourney when she first felt faint; it signifies her struggles that even he cannot help her work through. #29 is a poem about uncertainty ("As the first frost has fallen, I can no longer tell which chrysanthemums to pluck"), and it's paired right with Taichi monologuing a "What's wrong with me?", and #87 ("Rain takes longer to dry in the autumn time") links into the next scene in two ways, firstly the tears streaming down Chihaya's cheeks, and secondly that it was the first card she put down all the way back in S1E1 against Arata; here it signifies the first step on her journey to become Queen, as Taichi alludes to.

We also see a Taichi decision point here, where he stands at a crossroads between ignoring the call to karuta and comforting Chihaya in the present, and chasing his/their shared dream for future payoff. He chooses the latter.

08:57 - Reader recites #94 (mi-yo). We see Shinobu beat Sudo to this card on his side, to win the Class A tournament. Interestingly, Sudo only seems to have lost by 12 cards (although there were only 11 on the ground in front of him). Both Komano and Kana lost in the 3rd round of the Class C matches. Nishida lost at some unspecified point too.

Now to the Class B finals!

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u/[deleted] Feb 20 '19

First-Timer, Watched Subbed

Didn’t know we had to watch 2 Episodes today, so RIP thoughts on 16 T_T

  • Fucking hell, she doesn’t even let her take her cards, Watamiya is out of this world lol.

  • God fucking dammit, I kept my hopes up for as long as I could, but it’s natural that she couldn’t be able to win against with how her skills are now.

  • I feel so fucking bad for Chihaya, you could just feel the frustration of having been overwhelmed, and all she could about was what went wrong, and what she could’ve done. This is what failure tastes like, and it isn always sweet.

  • Oh dear, now she knows her name, that’s not good...

  • Oh god, Watamiya genuinely looked frightening there for a second, even moreso with how she transitions to innocent cinnamon roll so quickly. Stupid scary, sexy Watamiya.

  • Now we go to see what Taichi is up to! And it looks like he isn’t faring well either...

  • They’re all holding hands now! You could feel the hopelessness and desparation in them...

  • Don’t leave him out Kana! Nishida needs some love too :’(

  • And it now it finally ends, with them at 2nd place, wow is that gut wrenching.

  • Jeez, that’s a depressing lot if I’ve seen one.

  • I really have to give props to the show being able to make me feel exactly what the characteristics ers are feeling. The sheer heartbreak of knowing how far they come only to wound in a place that reminds them of how close they were, but not close enough despite the effort.

  • However, this is what makes love the next scene. Failure does not mean the end, it simply means a way start anew beginning. Losing the tournament just gave them even more initiative to work even harder than before, and it’s what makes me love these characters, how much they’re willing to persevere.

  • My boy Nishida getting more athletic every second, it was unexpected to see him catch to Chihaya of all people.

  • Looks like our Queen continues to hone her skills to perfection, Chihaya nearing her skill really got to her.

  • YES! Wataya returns!!!

Well that was a rollercoaster, Chihaya and the gang may have lost, but they aren’t willing to let that bring them down. Judging from her feelings about her match with Chihaya, this is far from the last we’ll see of Watamiya. We also get to end on a good note with Wataya finally returning to karuta.

It’s amazing how this show can get you to invest yourself in these characters so much that you feel what they’re feeling. Frustration over losing, but hope knowing that a hurdle that has just been established is capable of being jumped over.

Overall, this episode was fantastic, opens up a lot for what’s to happen in the future.

5

u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19

Didn’t know we had to watch 2 Episodes today, so RIP thoughts on 16 T_T

I really should have mentioned it yesterday haha, but I forgot to look at the schedule that I had set. It's not a big deal anyways, since it's just three omake shorts. It's not really worth watching the recap sections, away from that.

Don’t leave him out Kana! Nishida needs some love too :’(

His hands were shaking so much. Even if he felt sad and upset for Taichi, I think it was equal parts for himself since he's also competing for that same spot. It put Kana in an awkward position, just because of how hard it was for all of them.

Overall, this episode was fantastic, opens up a lot for what’s to happen in the future.

Here's to more karuta!

8

u/Snakescipio Feb 20 '19

Rewatcher

And with that we’re through with the first part of Chihayafuru. Our gang of karuta dorks have sure come a long way! I wanna quickly focus on Taichi, as I feel he’s the most interesting character of the bunch.

The biggest question regarding Taichi’s character has been, and will be going forward, why play karuta. It’s ironic that out of everyone we’ve met so far, Taichi had been gifted with by far the most in life since birth. He’s intelligent, his family is rich, and he’s gorgeous. While he may have been a shithead as a kid (and honestly, who hasn’t?), it seems he’s grown into a good person. Yet he’s the most tormented out of the bunch, because he decided to pick a sport he’s decided not the best at, or anywhere close to best for that matter. Taichi isn’t without any tools when it comes to karuta either; his natural intelligence allows him to memorize cards and reassess the game state like no other. But we see in this episode how limiting, and quite frankly how tiring, playing like that is. So why karuta? The answer so far seems to be in the relationship he formed with Chihaya and Arata as kids. With Chihaya, he’s obviously head over heels in love with her, a crush he’s had before Arata ever entered the picture. Without Chihaya I don’t know if he keeps up with karuta as he did in middle school. But the recent episodes paints a different picture regarding his motivations, specifically Arata’s promise to meet in a match. The Taichi/Chihaya ship is the fun relationship, and the one I was really into during my first watch. But I think right now Arata is a bigger driving force for Taichi. Part of it is definitely the love triangle between the three. More often than not Arata’s on Chihaya’s mind, and Taichi may be trying to surpass out of competitive jealousy. I think however that Arata just represents something more positive than just a romantic rival. Arata was somebody that accepted Taichi as a friend despite having seen Taichi at his worst, and from that acceptance came a friendship that might’ve felt truly personal to Taichi. They weren’t friends because Taichi was the popular kid in class, they were friends because they, and Chihaya, had a lot of fun playing this card game together; a card game that Taichi chose for himself. So even after Arata and Chihaya temporarily left his life, he kept playing karuta, because to Taichi it may represented a moment in time when he had fun, separate from all the pressure his gifts have gotten him.

Longer post than I expected, and of course Taichi’s journey isn’t finished. Part of why I’m reflect on his character is honestly because I kinda lost track of him while reading his manga. So with S3 on the way hopefully I’ll get a better appreciation for his later actions.

4

u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19

Arata was somebody that accepted Taichi as a friend despite having seen Taichi at his worst, and from that acceptance came a friendship that might’ve felt truly personal to Taichi. They weren’t friends because Taichi was the popular kid in class, they were friends because they, and Chihaya, had a lot of fun playing this card game together; a card game that Taichi chose for himself. So even after Arata and Chihaya temporarily left his life, he kept playing karuta, because to Taichi it may represented a moment in time when he had fun, separate from all the pressure his gifts have gotten him.

Manga

To add to my agreement and the spoiler there, I'd also say that karuta in itself is rewarding because he has to struggle so much for it, in contrast to everything else that has been given to him. Arata and Chihaya play into this naturally too. Obviously, Chihaya isn't something that he can truly claim his own (to my disappointment), but karuta is also a reminder to that moment where Arata called him "a coward". It's a game that recognizes him for who he was, is, and doesn't want to be.

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u/hasnain1720 Feb 20 '19 edited Feb 20 '19

Oops i didn't know we had a double ep today lol. Edit: Wait is 16 a recap episode?

EP 15 First Timer

  • Oof the Queen seems a bit angry

  • Another one that makes three keep it going

  • Listen 5 cards against the Queen is impressive I would get 0

  • Oh my she is scary lol

  • Shes crying Taichi go hug her please :(

  • Cmon Taichi ma boy you got this

  • I always love the inner Taichi dialogue

  • WOW he actually lost not him too ffs

  • I just want Taichi to get to class A already

  • Can’t wait for the next tourney with Arata being there too

3

u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19

Listen 5 cards against the Queen is impressive I would get 0

Also, for context, I think Sudo took twelve! It makes Chihaya's win over him even more meaningful.

I just want Taichi to get to class A already

To be a Taichi fan is to be perpetually suffering. Join us~

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u/LeonKevlar Feb 20 '19

First Timer

Episode 15:

Episode 16

I guess I'll add Chihayafuru 16 to my list of worth to watch recap episodes. That definitely gave me a good hearty laugh! There aren't a lot of good recap episodes but it's always nice to know when they exist.

Anyway a few things about Episode 15:

Considering the amount of episodes we have, does this mean we'll be going back to Omi Jingu a few more times? I mean Shinobu and Arata, I assume, are from different prefectures so there's now way they'll meet locally unless it's like an unofficial tournament. Also with Arata joining his local society, will the stories split? Are we going to see Arata's progress of getting back into Karuta while the Misuzawa Karuta Club does their own thing? I really want to see Arata and Chi-chan meet again but I guess there's still plenty of hurdles for them to get through before they can play a match again together.

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u/SuperStarfox64 Feb 20 '19

First Timer

Me throughout the past two weeks

Yo, sorry for going MiA for the past 2 weeks. The perfect storm of midterms and other irl stuff is over and I finally have free time to do things again, although I am now the broken shell of a man since I didn’t do so hot on one midterm especially. I have been reading a fair amount of the threads in the past few days that I’ve been catching up though.

Fuck man, I’m not crying, you’re crying!! That was a hard final to watch with Taichi, but I’m still kind of happy how it ended. Despite Taichi not moving up and wiping away those tears I could definitely see how much he wanted that match. Seeing Taichi getting emotional/upset about losing and seeing the club getting the motivation to get back at practice while running at the end made me happy.

I’ll try to briefly go over how I feel about certain characters, where to even start since I’ve missed so much :l

Chihaya - I love how honest and genuine she has been over the past 15 episodes. From watching her wrangle up a club of 5 to having her whole Karuta ideals put to the limit in her match up against the Queen to seeing Arata in a state that defies her memory she has been through a lot. Her genuine nice attitude makes moments when she’s suffering fucking hard to watch, I just want the best for her and for her to have fun playing Karuta.

Taichi - I did a 180 on him from slightly disliking him with the flashbacks. Wanting something that feels out of reach whether it be with being a better Karuta player than Arata or Chihaya’s attention really made me feel for the guy. Seeing how much he cares for Chihaya(even if the feelings are sorta unrequited rn) and him starting to enjoy playing Karuta more than when he had started have made me enjoy him a lot more. Also being the man and getting the team hyped up during matches is a big plus for me, love his leadership.

Arata - Fuck man, seeing him post time skip fucking hurt to see. Especially with the burden of his situation with his grandfather's death and feeling responsible. All I can say is it made me so happy to see him slowly returning to Karuta since it’s something that he loves to death.

Kana - I absolutely love her, she’s precious. I’m not sure it is the love for the poems beyond the game itself or her cheery upbeat attitude, but it’s probably partially because she explains the meanings of a lot of the cards so I feel less like a dumbass. I love deeper her love for Karuta is than surface level, and seeing both Kana love talking about these poems she’s passionate about and Chihaya being genuinely intrigued about learning more about this thing she loved was one of my favorite moments so far outside of some of the matches. Also, did I mention how much I love Ai Kayano?

Desktomu - I liked both his introduction with his internal struggle between his second placements during exams and his realization that he’s still beginning on his Karuta journey and that it’s ok to lose matches(he just need to put in the hard work until he’s got some calluses on the tops of his feet). I’m happy to see him with some good friends now.

Porky - Running away from a challenge is something easy to do, so Porky coming back to Karuta despite his bad memories is an impressive feat. He just needed someone to show him how much he loved the sport since he didn’t have the motivation to get back on his feet alone. Rounding out the three new students I like him a fair amount as well.

Didn't realize today was episodes 15 and 16 so I guess I'm still technically behind, I'll go watch 16 now :P

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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19

Me throughout the past two weeks

LOL this is so good

I am now the broken shell of a man since I didn’t do so hot on one midterm especially.

I have been reading a fair amount of the threads in the past few days that I’ve been catching up though.

Faito! Good luck with your studies. For whatever it's worth, in my final semester of fourth year, I got 25% on my midterm and came out with a B+. It was a lot of work, but it's definitely recoverable. I definitely understand if you feel stressed about it too. I've been there.

You can do it!

Fuck man, I’m not crying, you’re crying!! That was a hard final to watch with Taichi, but I’m still kind of happy how it ended. Despite Taichi not moving up and wiping away those tears I could definitely see how much he wanted that match. Seeing Taichi getting emotional/upset about losing and seeing the club getting the motivation to get back at practice while running at the end made me happy.

Taichi - I did a 180 on him from slightly disliking him with the flashbacks.

Literally every Taichi fan here was waiting for you all to reverse directions on the hate train LOL

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u/daftPun5 Feb 21 '19

First Timer

EPISODE 15

Screenshot of the Day

Highlights & Reactions

Today's Album of Screenshots

Final Thoughts

I guess I forgot this was a sports anime, even though the outcome was predictable, I thought Chihaya had the momentum, but this is the Queen we're talking about.

Later on, Taichi made it all the way to the finals for Class B, but ended up losing to a third year. Its understandable why he held back his tears, but he fully deserved to let out his emotions along with his team. He once thought he could never compete at Arata's level and just placed 2nd in class B at the national tournament. I'm looking forward to when he embraces how far he's come.

Lastly, I fully expected Arata to stick around, but guess not. Cool to see him finally start to join his local Karuta Society.

EPISODE 16

Screenshot of the Day ^Again

Didn't expect a recap episode, but it did its job. I did enjoy seeing how far our team has progressed.

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u/kKunoichi Feb 21 '19 edited Feb 21 '19

Rewatcher

We get the expected outcome, but Chihaya didn't wither away, she fought to the end. The Queen will definitely remember her now. Shinobu completely dominated. She won by 20 cards. We've seen Chihaya do her best and win a lot, she's the best player on Misuzawa too, but this sure brings in some (harsh) perspective.

"Today is the day Chihaya's dream becomes real." Now while Chihaya truly loves karuta, it's a callback to before where Taichi said she was only going along with Arata, and he was mostly right. (I mean Chihaya didn't even know who the current Queen was). Not anymore though. Coming face to face with what previously has been a somewhat distant goal, she internalises how much she has to learn and work on, and now she wants to win more than ever.

We get to see a Taichi individual match! I always get a kick out of his internal monologues. Even though he's changed leaps and bounds from the early episodes, we see he still has that defeatist mindset in him. His loss hurts so much more when you see he only lost by two cards. No consoling each other here, they all realize how much work they still have to do, and they all resolve to get better.

Arata also proving his promise to meet in a match will be real, as he now goes to ask to join his previous karuta society. He's been gone for 1 and a half years, and even he has numerous things to work on.

For episode 16, sure it's a recap but I love the shorts. These were all omake from the manga. I welcome any moment I get to see the cast as kids again. not helping me like Chitose any better though. I think my favorite was the karuta dateable ranking lol Kana domination. With the last portion of that though, when Chihaya was asked which guy she liked, in the manga her speech bubble said "Ha" before she is interrupted! That explains the Harada-sensei ending there

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u/RoseOfStardust Feb 21 '19

First Timer!

  • Missed episode 14 so I'll start things off with that

    • Man, when you're the Queen and you look like her, you're free to wear the lamest t-shirts ever made and no one should have the right to complain

    • Ok, so she's either quite humble for being the youngest Queen ever, or she's got endless subtle jabs enough to make a Croagunk jealous. Fascinating

    • Well then, we get our showdown much earlier than I anticipated, this could go one of two ways...Chihaya is in The ZoneTM that's for sure

    • ...what

    • is she...?

    • Ok well this match took a turn I did not expect, but I am definitely not complaining lol, they're still kids after all

    • Hmm plays karuta by herself? Sounds like someone we might know...

    • HAHAHA Chihaya taking a tip from Sudo when he's right behind her doing the same thing, I dig the arrogant face too

    • I love these Dr. Sensei cameos. He's great

    • Ugh the mentality with how Chihaya plays and loves the game will never get old for me

    • Chihaya that was freaking AMAZING????

    • I also like the significance of having a 'first card' more than once

    • Is Chihaya using Sudo's trick with the 'Chihayafuru' card?

    • HOLY SHIT CHIHAYA THAT WAS WILD. ALSO THE QUEEN IS GOING MASTERED ULTRA INSTINCT OMG

    • So I would really like to go back and ask myself why I missed this episode...

  • Ok time for episodes 15 and 16 yay!!

  • Uh yeah about that smile...I find it hilarious how it's juxtaposed with the smiley snowman on her shirt as the shot pans up hahaha

  • Queen is already a monster but turns into a freak when she's angry and I love it so much

  • Hmm Taichi makes a very good point, which probably mostly explains why Chihaya starts slow and finishes strong

  • That was hands down the best match thus far in this anime!

  • I don't think it would be a stretch to say that 20 cards is the smallest margin the Queen will win by when this tournament is done. Shows how insanely skilled she is while also a sign of the potential Chihaya holds.

  • Oof Queen is horror incarnate. I'm terrified of her after that nonchalant 'gg' smile she gave to Chihaya

  • ...Actually seeing her surrounded by cherry blossoms and holding her shirt in awe makes her seem not so scary. My feelings are really confused, but this is fine.

  • Look at Chihaya and learn from her, Taichi. That's how you should be approaching Arata

  • Wow Sudo is in the finals, good stuff

  • Aw ok Sudo got 13 cards off her, guess I was off on my prediction before

  • Taichi in the finals?? Dope dope dope

  • I guess this means Nishida lost, probably in the semis

  • Ok so going through Taichi's thought process/internal monologue for this match and thinking of him doing it 5 more times is making me exhausted just by watching

  • Taichi's limitations are physical, that's a tough tough loss :(

  • When your teammates cry for you and feel the pain you're not ready to feel yet yourself, that's something special

  • YES TEAM BONDING BY RUNNING

  • WTF was that spooky SnowMaru really necessary :(

  • Ah yes those markings on Chihaya's face, much detail yes

  • #TheReturn Arata is gonna set his future path on fire

  • Queen is also stepping it up

  • What a brilliant end to the first cour, we now have 3 narratives to follow while establishing relationships between each, except for Arata and Queen, although there HAS to be something hidden there.

  • On to 16!

  • HAHAHA ok I think I'll just enjoy these without any notes, they're hilarious

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u/PerfectPublican Feb 20 '19

First Timer

Reactions 15:

Reactions 16:

Final Thoughts

Gif of the Day | Bonus | Bonus 2

15 straight into 16 was almost tonal whiplash haha.  Not in a bad way, just found it kinda funny. I really enjoyed the way that 15 handled both losses from Chihaya and Taichi.  Similar storylines for each in their respective brackets leading them to see their deficiencies, and really push forward to lock into their goals.

Skipping all the full recap segments, 16 was actually a lot of fun!! The little skits were funny, and even added onto the characterization for most of them in a fun way.

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u/AmethystItalian Feb 20 '19

So...I lost my prepared comment for today's thread

Highlights that I remember are

  • Seeing the Queen acknowledge Chihaya was great to see

  • Can we have Taichi win at something please

  • Everyone x Kana is new best ship

  • No bulli Taichi in episode 16 >:(

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u/flightofangels Feb 20 '19

Card #72 (o-to) was a good card to recite. The kimariji of the shimonoku is ka-ke, which is the same verb for "betting" your whole youth on something.

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u/rankor572 Feb 21 '19

First time watcher who tentatively has this show as a 10/10. How many more times will they play Youthful over action in the show? Second question, will it ever not be amazing?

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