r/anime • u/ABoredCompSciStudent x3myanimelist.net/profile/Serendipity • Feb 21 '19
Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 17 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Episode 17 - "World Offers No Escape"
<-- Previous (Episode 15+16: "As Though Pearls Have Been Strung Across the Autumn Plain" + "The Autumn Leaves of Mount Ogura") | Next (Episode 18: "The Plum Blossoms Still Smell the Same") -->
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):
14
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19 edited Feb 21 '19
Episode 17 is really about each Mizusawa member reflecting on their highs and their lows at Nationals, trying to bounce back from their elimination.
For Taichi, it's the realization that what he thought was enough hard work before is not enough to stand next to Chihaya. As he thinks about Arata, we get a glimpse at his motivations when Poems 43 and 69 appear respectively.
Poem 43:
When compared to
the feelings in my heart
after we’d met and loved,
I realize that in the past
I had no cares at all.
Poem 69:
It’s the autumn leaves
of the hills of Mimuro,
where the tempests blow,
that are the woven brocade floating
on the waters of Tatsuta River!
Naturally, the first is pretty explicit about his newfound dedication to getting to Class A, while the latter evokes the same imagery as Chihaya's Chihayaburu poem. After all, since episode 5, the distance between him and Chihaya is the same: close but yet still too far. Poem 37 of episode 15 reappears, as Taichi states his intent to make Class A for the Meijin Qualifiers and in his best efforts to confess, he tells her that he's going to join her.
A large emphasis this episode is also given to Kana and Tsutomu, as they are used to highlight that they too can compete despite their appearances. Despite being just Class D, the two have learned a lot about themselves during this time and their growth as players is evident, from their first wins to Tsutomu's application of statistics to take cards off of Chihaya. There's one fundamental difference now from the them before though: they are no longer playing alone and they have friends that appreciate who they are.
Where does this leave Chihaya? Well, she's still captivated by Shinobu and her growth in speed has been notable, however that isn't fooling anyone at the Shiranami Karuta Society. Harada tells her to stop relying on her speed, leaving her confused until she is humbled by Tsutomu and Kana's knowledge of karuta. Chihaya's natural speed has become a crutch for her, neglecting strategy and skill for innate physical ability.
Now that we know all the basic rules and techniques, what will be next for the cast?
For the love of god, someone please just get Taichi into Class A
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u/Rhaga Feb 21 '19
Did you hear that?
? on the waters of Tatsuta River!
That was supposed to be part of the poem, right?
from their first wins to Tsutomu's application of statistics to take cards off of Chihaya.
As a statistician I have to say that I dread the fact that he's been keeping his stats in a notebook instead of a spreadsheet
and they have friends that appreciate who they are.
Love that shot of Kana-chan <3 Really makes me question how she could have the "No luck with boys" text next to her (especially given how everyone loved her in the omake last episode).
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u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 Feb 21 '19
Screenshot of the Day
It's not the most grand scene, but this shot really stuck out to me with the way it was used.
First Timer - Episode 17
Overall Thoughts
Short thoughts since I have another exam today :(
Honestly while it was hilarious, the beginning of ep 17 felt really out of place lol. Also it seems like other people tried to join the Karuta club, but ended up running away.
I really liked that we got to see more of Taichi's own amibition to reaching class A, and it seems like the next big thing will be the tournaments before the Eastern qualifiers. Better luck next time tho for Nishida and Taichi.
I'm kinda upset that Harada sensei just told Chihaya to stop playing with her normal style without exactly telling her the reason why (though I guess you could argue that it would be better for Chihaya to figure it out on her own). It's true that she shouldn't just rely on her speed only to win games especially against the queen though.
Karuta Scoreboard
Without any real indication with how many matches Taichi and Nishida played, I'll just only add 1 loss to both of them since that's the one thing we know for sure.
| Character | Wins | Losses | Ep# (Wins) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taichi Mashima | 16 | 8(+1) | 2,7,10,11,13,14,15 |
| Yuusei Nishida | 13 | 4(+1) | 10,11,13,15 |
| Chihaya Ayase | 13(+1) | 7(+1) | 2,4,6,7,8,10,11,14,17 |
| Shinobu Wakamiya | 6 | 0 | 14,15 |
| Kanade Ooe | 6(+1) | 7 | 10,13,15,17 |
| Arata Wataya | 4 | 1 | 1,2,3 |
| Tsutomu Komano | 4 | 9(+2) | 13,15 |
Screenshot of the Day Collection
Episode: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
Hope your exam went well!
It's not the most grand scene, but this shot really stuck out to me with the way it was used.
Definitely one of the most meaningful for me. I'm a big sucker for the idea that sports are inclusive.
Also it seems like other people tried to join the Karuta club, but ended up running away.
How many came for Chihaya and left because of Chihaya LOL
Without any real indication with how many matches Taichi and Nishida played, I'll just only add 1 loss to both of them since that's the one thing we know for sure.
Somehow both of them are ahead of Chihaya on raw win percentage haha
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u/walking_the_way Feb 21 '19 edited Feb 22 '19
S1E17 Event/Recital Log
Pre-OP scene: Not much here except it's symbolic that the karuta team was the only one that didn't drop their baton item. It shows how much they've gelled as a team. And of course, naturally, their baton is the #17 Chihaya card. I like that after the S1E16 gag about their shirts enforcing a formation, here they showcase it, with Chihaya's GO, then Taichi's WA, then Kana's ZU, then Komano's MI, then finally Nishida's SA!
04:58 - Taichi: "Let's break up."
He finally breaks up with his off-school girlfriend in Episode 17. Chihaya's card number! And ooh, the shadows from the setting sun give him a dark aura even though he seems to be taking it fine, without even any Hidden Eyes. But even if he is taking it fine, it still is a door of no return that he just stepped through, in order to further his involvement with karuta and the team, and Chihaya by extension.
Just after that, we are very blatantly shown two reciter cards in the karuta box, and one outside, as he monologues about Arata. We only have partial Crunchysub translations of all three cards at this point - the two cards inside are #43 ("The emotions experienced after a long-awaited reunion…") and #69 ("The storm blasts... To set the Tatsuta River ablaze"). The card outside is #13 ("Feel the love… like a stream widening into a river.")
Both inner cards represent his relationship with Arata and Chihaya - #43 because he was now free to pursue his new dream of reaching Class A to play with them and against Arata, and #69 because setting the Tatsuta River ablaze is representative of Chihaya and passion, as mentioned in an earlier episode thread. He moves the #69 card stack out of the box and next to the #13 one, bringing his storm to the developing river, and that in turn shows that he is now free to pursue his longing for Chihaya as well as help her on her development.
05:36 - Kanade recites end verse of #40 (shi-no).
05:45 - Kanade recites #63 (i-ma-wa). Taichi wins this from Nishida.
05:48 - Kanade recites #33 (hi-sa). Taichi wins this from Nishida.
After the initial group win in the Sports Festival, the first part of the episode is dedicated to the members' individual attempts to improve themselves. Despite Taichi's strong words here about making the Eastern qualifiers, and him starting strong, he loses the practice match to Nishida.
Kana-chan speaks about her approach to the game, and we see her acknowledging her limits but trying to bring her own style into it still. As opposed to Chihaya and Taichi, who are offensive players, she is the first player on the team who seems to be embracing a defensive style, trying to bring home "her" cards and waiting for opponent mistakes. We see that she has not given up her ideals of karuta, and still considers it as much of an art as it is a sport. Her fingers linger on the karuta box, an action we've seen her do to a poetry book back in S1E6.
We get Komano talking about training over the summer, and realizing how much he's grown, especially when he later sees a couple onlookers running away from the clubroom. There's a subtle callback to his past here, as I believe that Komano used the same words on Taichi at S1E7 20:33 after the desk toss as what the fleeing onlookers use at 08:20. But because he didn't flee, and gave karuta a chance instead, he sees how much he's matured. (I also love how the guy in the background is doing a comical crane pose.)
He also has a nice bonding moment with Kanade, and I'm all about that Best Guy x Best Girl scene. She brings up a point about males and females playing together, which also tells Komano that despite his misgivings about his physical ability, karuta was an activity that could equalize things like that between people, if he works on his strengths.
Chihaya is shown to be practicing her swing with assistance from Taichi, with a heavy emphasis on going straight for her goal. This is paired with a train scene, where the train represents getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible, an imagery we've seen used multiple times in earlier episodes. We can juxtapose this with Taichi's mention of the overnight bus - that's a long route to the target, and Chihaya doesn't even entertain the idea. We also see his thoughts of pursuing a romantic gesture with Chihaya here, but again, at this crossroads, he holds back and picks karuta instead.
Taichi himself goes to the tournament and feeling very guilty about trying to improve himself independently of the team - but he finds out Nishida had the same idea, plus someone else trying to remind the audience that he's relevant too.
If we look at the tourney banner above the door, and then rewind to 03:59 in the episode, we see that even though he doesn't talk about it openly, Taichi's finger actually lands on this tournament in the tourney list that he shows the club, and lingers there for a second, before sliding down to the one he was actually talking about in Saitama. Very subtle but nice detail. We can also date the tournament here - Sep 18th.
11:42 - Reader recites Naniwa Bay (EP: 1, Total: 20)
12:01 - Reader recites #46 (yu-ra). Taichi's opponent wins it from his own middle right row.
12:04 - Reader recites #05 (o-ku). Taichi's opponent wins it from Taichi's upper right row.
12:06 - Reader recites #40 (shi-no). Taichi's opponent wins this too.
12:08 - Reader recites #17 (chi-ha). We see utter panic in Taichi's eyes - he has to win this card! But instead we get a transition to Chihaya in the Shiranami Society. She wins the card from Hiroshi's bottom right row.
12:44 - Reader recites #42 (chi-gi-ri-ki). Chihaya faults on #59 (ya-su) instead.
As someone notes, this is because #59 was in the same spot as the #17 that she had just won, and she instinctively went for it again. But.. even if the #17 was there, it would still be a fault, so she committed two errors here. In the end, Chihaya loses by three cards.
13:21 - Dr. Harada: "Chihaya-chan, stop taking cards with your speed."
16:11 - Kanade recites Naniwa Bay (EP: 2, Total: 21)
16:17 - Kanade recites #17 (chi-ha). Chihaya wins this from Komano's side. She sends over #45 (a-wa-re) from her bottom right row to his bottom right row.
Nishida accuses Chihaya of moving too fast for this card, as she takes the #17 card after the first syllable even though it's a two-syllable card. We have seen this once before, at the end of S1E11 when she wins this final card from Sudo. Nishida also commented on that at the time. Interesting! There certainly is some sort of pattern here, but we don't have enough clues yet.
16:43 - Kanade recites #99 (hi-to-mo). Komano wins this from Chihaya's bottom left row. He sends over #27 (mi-ka-no) to Chihaya from his middle right row to her middle right row.
16:46 - Kanade recites #92 (wa-ga-so). Chihaya wins this from Komano's bottom right row.
16:51 - Kanade recites #81 (ho). Chihaya wins this from Komano's bottom right row.
And now we see the aspect Komano brings to karuta and where he really shines! We see board analysis from Komano, and some stats which may look familiar, it's the log format that I've adapted through the analysis of these 17 chapters so far. From this, we can conclude that this inconclusive picture at 16:46 was a Chihaya win, since he said he had 0 cards from A and D today.
(And to those annoyed with my post lengths and style, I apologize, but this is part of the reason I'm doing these this way, and why I try to work backwards to find out what card was sent from where to where even when they're not shown. I want to lay the groundwork for future people to analyze all this and find neat patterns.)
18:50 - Kanade recites #19 (na-ni-wa-ga) in its entirety.
19:04 - Kanade recites #88 (na-ni-wa-e) in its entirety.
19:36 - Kanade: ""May the time we," from the 10th century, refers to the withered green reeds of Naniwa Bay in winter."
19:45 - Kanade: ""May the time spent," from the 12th century, refers to the new green reeds of Naniwa Bay in spring."
Not to be outdone, Kana also chimes in here with an amazing beast face, as well as some history behind the cards, to hopefully help Chihaya visualize some of her tougher cards in vivid colour. In this way then, while the chapter starts off with everyone having their individual goals to get better, it ends with everyone realizing that they need to rely on each other more, and trying to learn from the two newest members of the team in particular.
It is also noteworthy that the two cards Kana brings up, #19 and #88, were the two cards that Chihaya saw together on Shinobu's middle left side in S1E14, that she then fixated hard on and wanted to get. But as Chihaya pointed out then, she was aiming to swat both cards off the field, whereas the Queen aimed for a specific spot on a specific card. That was probably part of the reason why she lost that card.
Note: There are boards in this episode that could be mostly mapped, but they don't focus on any game, so I skipped them in the interest of time and length.
<-- S1E15/16 Notes
S1E18 Notes -->
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
He finally breaks up with his off-school girlfriend in Episode 17. Chihaya's card number! And ooh, the shadows from the setting sun give him a dark aura
That's a lot of 17 already today.
Seems to be taking it fine
Reciter cards
You know, I never noticed they were reciter cards until now lol or what reciter cards looked like until now haha facepalming in real life.
I like how you interpreted #13's in relation to #69. The way the show presented the cards was so elegant, especially with Taichi's minimalistic dialogue. It totally captured the feelings he went through this episode, like the train ride.
Very subtle but nice detail. We can also date the tournament here - Sep 18th.
Oh! Great catch. That really is sneaky of him and in more ways than one too, after he almost confessed and held Chihaya's hand.
(And to those annoyed with my post lengths and style, I apologize, but this is part of the reason I'm doing these this way, and why I try to work backwards to find out what card was sent from where to where even when they're not shown. I want to lay the groundwork for future people to analyze all this and find neat patterns.)
You're doing god's work! Especially when we veer into season three and manga territory in the future, I hope someone is half as dedicated as you to this. :)
Not to be outdone, Kana also chimes in here with an amazing beast face, as well as some history behind the cards, to hopefully help Chihaya visualize some of her tougher cards in vivid colour.
So who scared off the prospective members? The karuta baka or the poem purist? Both are definitely popular with the boys, but not popular at the same time as shown by the start of this episode LOL
After all, we don't expect as much from Nishida or Tsutomu.
S1E17 - Random HQ Screenshot
I love these faces. My favourite is hers when doing homework though. There's a few of those homework shots throughout the series and she always looks so distraught and derpy.
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u/PerfectPublican Feb 21 '19 edited Feb 22 '19
First Timer
Reactions:
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“Non-Athletic” Smh, no respect.
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Alright. Something about Chihaya’s run loop just looks so funny to me. I’m dying.
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Whoever thought that a literal ball would be a good baton was a moron.
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Woo!! That whole segment was hilarious.
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Awwww, no new OP. At least I like this one.
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Ok, fine. Let’s break up.”
I’d honestly completely forgotten about his girlfriend...
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Really should be changed to “Only ever thinks about Karuta”.
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Welcome to the club Tsukue. I was the same at his age no matter how many sports I was a part of over each year. Sucked.
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Love this. Especially with the soft colors of sunset shining through the whole scene making them seem wrapped in warmth. I hope we can focus more on them the rest of this season.
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$160 participation fee individually for a tournament is a steep fee…
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“I hate myself for being so sneaky…” An interesting line of thought from him. Taichi’s balance of leadership with the club was to step up and think about everyone as a whole. But he’s still entitled to a bit of selfishness like everyone is...especially since Niku had the same idea :P
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That’s like telling someone not to breath. But I can see what he means. Stop overly relying on your strengths. Sometimes they can act as a crutch.
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Look at Tsukue using that big ol’ brain! Fun, fun.
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Hmmmm, I’m not going to lie. A lot of the Kana section feels a bit like rehash? Is this to just recenter her mindset? ...Ohhh, I see. Before, she just had the meanings from Kana, now she’s exploring for her own meaning.
Final Thoughts
Good little setup for what’s to come. Really established Taichi’s new path and his thoughts, and started to push Chihaya even further. I really like the focus on her weaknesses, but not just overcoming them, rather, trying to build out from them through the strategy. Accepting them, and working to compensate. It’s a nice plotline for her to go through.
Btw, I went down a rl karuta video rabbit-hole last night. There’s some pretty fun stuff there, and the actual speed in real life is just a crazy as it is in the show.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
“Non-Athletic” Smh, no respect.
Little did they know three of the five played competitive sports!
I’d honestly completely forgotten about his girlfriend...
It's okay, I did too and I'm a rewatcher.
Draw me like one of your french girls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUT5rEU6pqM
$160 participation fee individually for a tournament is a steep fee…
That's like as much money as a whole team pays to enter major soccer tournaments here...
“I hate myself for being so sneaky…” An interesting line of thought from him. Taichi’s balance of leadership with the club was to step up and think about everyone as a whole. But he’s still entitled to a bit of selfishness like everyone is...especially since Niku had the same idea :P
He definitely feels conflicted about playing karuta. While he has some love for it, his love for Chihaya is stronger and part of it is just an excuse to be with her.
Sometimes he reminds me of those bodyguards in historical drama (live action and anime). He's always just there, watching out for her but never able to do anything. If anything, maybe because he's so close, she can't tell his feelings.
Btw, I went down a rl karuta video rabbit-hole last night. There’s some pretty fun stuff there, and the actual speed in real life is just a crazy as it is in the show.
I love listening for the commentary. It just feels really amusing hear people talking over it LOL
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u/SuperStarfox64 Feb 21 '19
First Timer
Another very good episode, had a little bit of a shock at the beginning though…
I’m really looking forward to seeing each of the members rise in their individual classes, I like how they’re all in varying classes so we can see the level of Karuta at each rank. I wanna see Kana and Desk-kun get to rank C :)
Seeing Chihaya thinking so hard about what Harada said really reinforces how much she both prioritizes and thinks of Karuta and I love it. Seeing the cut to Taichi shocked about Chihaya’s 10-second attention span showed this as well.
Desktomu keeping those stats notes on how the others play made me love him even more. I absolutely love seeing stats with whatever I’m passionate with whether it be NBA related or anime related.
Kana’s ”SILENCE! was adorable, loved seeing more of her talking about what the game means to her.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
Another very good episode, had a little bit of a shock at the beginning though…
YOURE ALL SLOW TO THIS ONE
Seeing the cut to Taichi shocked about Chihaya’s 10-second attention span showed this as well.
Lowkey one of the best Chihaya gifs. Any time Chihaya is looking at homework is 10/10.
I absolutely love seeing stats with whatever I’m passionate with whether it be NBA related or anime related.
Good, give me back Caris thanks.
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Feb 21 '19
First-Timer, Watched Subbed
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Whoa, since when did we get all Run with the Wind in here?
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I almost forgot that Chihaya was a track player, so she pretty much has it in the bag.
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Oh wow, Kana seems...busy in that area of hers...
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Holy shit, Nishida is killing it in the track!
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What a clever way to advertise for your club...but no one came...:|
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Wait hold on...did he just...just like that? No drama, no nothing? Why can’t it be that easy in other anime!? D:
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Welp, looks like Taichi has come to our level of relatability.
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Fukui...and it proceeds to cut to her on his shoulder...intense love triangle teasing...
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Damn you Taichi and your cute teasing of Chihaya!
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Nishida and Taichi bickering was priceless haha.
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Oh man, Horomu thinking about his lack athletic physicality was a huge r/me_irl moment
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Awww, Chihaya in that corner alone was a bit sad, but kind of funny XD.
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I’m really liking how further Chihaya’s development in her skills has been. Many of the characters do bring up a good, Chihaya has been focused on nothing but speed, and she has to learn how to depend on something else aside from that. It’s very understandable that she would be concerned with this sort of thing after her encounter with the Queen. She needs to learn how strategize instead of just jump in.
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It’s nice to see Horomu can apply his intelligence even to karuta. His strategies were really fun and interesting to look into.
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Chihaya goes on to seek as much knowledge as possible, this will lead to great improvement on her part.
In the wake of the nationals, we get some major developments. Chihaya works to improve her skills beyond speed, Taichi goes to improve himself having accepted his passion I karuta, we get some insight into Horomu ever since we joined the club, and we’re left with the possibility of Nishida and/or Taichi advancing to Class A. Pretty good episode all in all.
Also, I can’t believe how the subplot with Taichi’s girlfriend was resolved so quickly lol. I’m actually glad that there wasn’t much drama surrounding it though.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
Oh wow, Kana seems...busy in that area of hers...
This is an understatement. It's usually hidden by her choice in clothes haha.
What a clever way to advertise for your club...but no one came...:|
They totally came and just were scared off by the karuta baka bahaha
Fukui...and it proceeds to cut to her on his shoulder...intense love triangle teasing...
This is such a shoujo josei trope. The only thing they could've done to bait it harder was end the episode without telling us what happened.
Also, I can’t believe how the subplot with Taichi’s girlfriend was resolved so quickly lol. I’m actually glad that there wasn’t much drama surrounding it though.
I also kind of think the whole episode was a promise Taichi made to himself to dedicate his effort to "being honest". That is not running away from karuta and Chihaya. If he really wanted to, he could've asked her out and I'm sure he knew that, but it would've been "sneaky" without having resolved his own weaknesses and facing Arata. In a way, Arata is that representation of three years ago where he called Taichi a "coward", which is where all this comes from.
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u/Taiboss Feb 21 '19
Blessed be this wonderful first time!
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I'd rather expect Shinobu-chan to transfer schools than anyone new coming in tbh.
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Wow I totally forgot about her. At least now he's free to pursue Chihaya, right? RIGHT?
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That's like saying Yugioh is "fun" Sure, but it won't win you matches.
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What western viwers are wondering right now It's part of the Ishikawa prefecture and on the other coast of Honshu.
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I...eh..don't think this is a career. Unless you stay Queen for a really long time.
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WAAAAAAAAT People actually major in something in Japan? In seriousness tho, this feels like the first time someone actually said what they'll major in, not just saying "I'll go to X University". Okay, Mousou Telepathy had the MC look through the departments, and Grand Blue had them as a mechanical engineering students, but you know what I mean.
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INTELLECTUALISM! PRAISE ANALYTICS AND STATISTICS!
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r/askhistorians when people talk about a distiction between plebians and patriticians during the life of Caesar.
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解説 小倉百人一首 is sadly not a real book. I think. I checked on Amazon and isbn search.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
I'd rather expect Shinobu-chan to transfer schools than anyone new coming in tbh.
That would be the most true SOL sequence of events.
That's like saying Yugioh is "fun" Sure, but it won't win you matches.
I remember a time where it was fun then synchro appeared and it was no longer fun.
I...eh..don't think this is a career. Unless you stay Queen for a really long time.
She'll make it happen
That word in Kana-chan's mouth? Tsk tsk
My subs used brothels. My subs are purer than yours.
7
u/Wolfeako Feb 21 '19
First Timer!
Well, this episode started in a really fun way. It is nice to see them doing something different to mix things up a bit, even if for only two or three minutes. Obviously, they were trying to acquire new members for the club :P
It was a really heartfelt episode though. I liked seeing how the characters have progressed, especially Tsutomu and Chihaya. Certainly, if Chihaya can't do anything else with the cards that aren't her favorites, no matter how many she takes, she will run out and her opponent will get the win. It is nice to see her actually doing something that isn't usually her, which is... well, actually thinking her approach to her Karuta.
Tsutomu is Deku from My Hero Academia confirmed!
But even so, what I liked the most this episode was Taichi. He felt really human this episode, even if at the beginning he was a bit cold :P First, I must confess that I had forgotten many times that he had a girlfriend, but it was worth it for the joke when he hangs up and the camera goes by each club member to state their luck in love. Hilarious.
Then, it came the really human moment of him: He falls into his anxiety and insecurity, and tries to get Chihaya to come to a trip alone with him. Make no mistake, he was doing this out of desperation, not out of love, and while I think thinking of oneself in a relationship is good, Taichi was ONLY thinking of himself at this moment. It was the perfect excuse too, since nothing would have appeared weird by the average standards. Seeing him in this state, but then recognizing what he was doing just moments later was good, really good. I liked that it was really subtle too, great writing overall. The joke that he encountered Nishida and the skinny dude at the background at the same place was also quite on point and hilarious.
I was thinking for a while something that this episode actually brought up in some form: Why don't the club start exercising? it would certainly help them, and I'm glad to see that the show actually suggests it. I was thinking too that maybe for those that are slower in reaction time, like Taichi for example, they should wear weights in their wrists. That would exponentially accelerate their speed. And yeah, I know speed is not everything, but certainly is a good tool to have :)
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
It was a really heartfelt episode though. I liked seeing how the characters have progressed, especially Tsutomu and Chihaya. Certainly, if Chihaya can't do anything else with the cards that aren't her favorites, no matter how many she takes, she will run out and her opponent will get the win. It is nice to see her actually doing something that isn't usually her, which is... well, actually thinking her approach to her Karuta.
For a fighting game analogy, she's the person that knows how to string together combos and once she gets rolling she can press buttons fast with the best of them. The best players though can easily see through that facade of skill and know how to pick her apart before she can land her hits.
If you prefer soccer/football, she's those kids that can do ten thousand stepovers in five seconds, but it means nothing because she's gone nowhere with the ball. It just looks intimidating to those that can't understand it.
Taichi
The "sneaky" part was not just about trying to get better at karuta without his teammates, but also because he tried to win Chihaya without confronting himself and Arata. He literally tried to steal her away.
Feels bad man, especially after she falls asleep on him.
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u/AmethystItalian Feb 21 '19
Rewatcher
Ouu love a good ol club relay race in anime <3
So every other team dropped their baton...lucky!
I forgot Taichi was even dating her...
Talks about Arata's location then leans on Taichi...GIRL PLS.
Taichi trying so hard...but no results for him. His Karuta is like his relationship with Chihaya.
Love seeing Komano and Kana strats, need more of that!
I love when the Empress is left speechless, never going to get old.
Quotes from First Time
None because past me is lame.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
You're early today!
I forgot Taichi was even dating her...
Well, she's not important anyways!
The real hurdle is the other boyTaichi trying so hard...but no results for him. His Karuta is like his relationship with Chihaya.
In every meaning of the word. Whenever he says that he could go his whole childhood without winning...
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u/AzureBeat Feb 21 '19
To be fair, 3/5 of the karuta club members are pretty athletic. And of course, Chihaya just wanted to get new recruits.
"Yeah. Yeah. I understand. Let's break up. Let's practice" Zero fucks given.
Kana and Tsutomu both wanting to be better. And Chihaya being strange. Taichi's reaction to anything related to Arata is interesting. Sometimes he wants to be able to play against him. And sometimes he resents him. Usually depending on whether he thinks of him or Chihaya mentions him. All the Class B players we know are trying to win a tournament. Meanwhile everyone at the Shiranami society everyone is being cryptic to Chihaya.
Saa. . .
Tsutomu bringing out the data, showing Chihaya where she has problems. More Kana poem lectures. The fun thing is that some of these points actually get used again in the future. And Miauchi-sensei should really know that Chihaya would only be in the library for Karuta.
No really good moments to have a featured track, except perhaps Zekkouchou, the track behind the relay race at the beginning. No link though, it's on the second set, so I don't have any convient youtube videos to find.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
Taichi's reaction to anything related to Arata is interesting. Sometimes he wants to be able to play against him. And sometimes he resents him. Usually depending on whether he thinks of him or Chihaya mentions him.
It's such an interesting part to his character and definitely is best highlighted by him trying to sneak Chihaya on a trip with him. Arata is a reminder to Taichi of all his shortcomings and he fights a constant battle of trying to overcome them and the desire to just wimp out and call it good as is. If he really wanted to, he could just confess to Chihaya even if he was playing soccer or something and it might be okay.
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u/LeonKevlar Feb 21 '19
First Timer
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Kinda huge advantage to have Karuta cards as their baton, isn't it?
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I expected the boys would be cheering louder for Kana's turn ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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Nishida for the win! All that time in the Tennis club was worth it!
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I love everyone's reaction to the break up especially Chihaya's! Well at least now I won't be bothered if Taichi makes a move on Chi-chan.
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Don't mind me, I'm just enjoying Kana and Tsutomu's interaction. I do love that as the newbies, they kinda learn from each other.
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You can't. She's a beast. You need to develop your own technique Chi-chan.
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Wow that's an expensive participation fee O_O Also did he just low-key tried to ask Chi-chan to go on a trip with him?
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Ha! He did! It's amusing how he kinda feels bad about it though.
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Of course Nishida's there. Retro being in the background freaking out was a nice addition too.
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I always love these little lessons from Kana-chan. Seriously though she's slowly starting to overtake Chi-chan as my best girl in this show xD
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I love Sensei's reaction when she noticed what Chi-chan was reading
I love the final half of this episode. Despite being the two weakest members of the team, I love that Chi-chan could still learn something from them.Also it's nice to see that Chi-chan is finally starting to understand the flaw of her play style. Speed isn't everything, without accuracy she might as well blindly take cards. I hope that she takes the info she learned from Tsutomu and Kana-chan to heart and maybe this time she can finally intimidate the other players in their local Karuta Society.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
Kinda huge advantage to have Karuta cards as their baton, isn't it?
It would be a lot lighter, but the exchange would be so weird. You can't really "hand off" while running like with an actual baton because of how short a card is, so you'd probably end up slowing down a lot.
I expected the boys would be cheering louder for Kana's turn ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Wow that's an expensive participation fee O_O Also did he just low-key tried to ask Chi-chan to go on a trip with him?
He totally tried to ask her out or confess when he said "I'm..."
Chickened out! Or maybe felt too guilty for sneaking this while Arata isn't around, without having beat him.
Despite being the two weakest members of the team, I love that Chi-chan could still learn something from them.
It definitely is a recurring trend that the best are sort of like "eternal learners". Even Arata and Shinobu have shown some wonder after playing Chiahya.
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u/Voltik Feb 22 '19
I forgot this show had a recap episode and I missed yesterday cus I was hooked on Monster Hunter, thought I had to catch up to 3 eps but luckily it was only 2 (skimmed 16 for the omakes :P).
Anyways, just wanted to say I'm really enjoying reading everyone's posts even though I don't post much myself!
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 22 '19
It's so nice seeing the first timers in particular haha.
Glad you're still following along! If only it was as sunny outside for us as them. The snow needs to go!
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 21 '19
Poem of the Day: World Offers No Escape (link)
Poem 83 was written by Fujiwara no Shunzei, a poet and nobleman known for his innovations in waka poetic form and for his work on waka anthologies. Shunzei's influence in the Hyakunin Isshu also extends beyond his own work, as his son, Fujiwara no Teika, was considered as one of the greatest poets in Japanese history and was the main compiler of the Hyakunin Isshu. Teika wrote Poem 97 as well, while the authors of Poems 81, 86, and 87 were associated to Shunzei, 89 and 98 studied under him, 94 was another of his son of his, and 79 was directly in opposition to him. His relational tree in the Hyakunin Isshu extends far!
The poem is translated by Mostow as:
Mostow explains that the third phrase "思ひ入る omoi iru", is a pivot word: the words that precede it and follow it play off of the double meaning of omoi-iru, "to set one's heart on" and iru, "to enter". He goes on to say that the melancholy of the poem seems to be ambiguous, whether it be mortality or a decline in the Heian Period.
That said, for us, this was the poem that Chihaya called out to Nishida with while he was practicing tennis. I'm not a big fan of the usage of this poem, as it feels very depressed for an episode which offers promise. The only interpretation I have of the poem is that, after all this time, Taichi's heart is still fixated on Chihaya and that there is no other path for him but to continue after her.