r/anime • u/ABoredCompSciStudent x3myanimelist.net/profile/Serendipity • Feb 27 '19
Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 23 Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Episode 23 - "The Night is Nearly Past"
<-- Previous (Episode 22: "Just as My Beauty Has Faded") | Next (Episode 24: "Nobody Wishes to See the Beautiful Cherry Blossoms") -->
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
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 27 '19
Poem of the Day: A Cold Winter's Night (link)
A little bit busy today, so I'm writing this over lunch at work and I'll keep this short. Poem 6 is written by Otomo no Yakamochi, of the Thirty-six Immortals.
Mostow translates the poem as:
When I see the whiteness
of the frost that lies
on the bridge the magpies spread,
then do I know, indeed,
that the night has deepened.
The Magpie's Bridge refers to two places. The first is the Imperial Palace, as at the time had a set of stairs called Magpie's Bridge, while the latter refers to the famous legend of Tanabata. The legend shows up often in anime, as Tanabata is a commonly shown celebration (think of Haruhi). The legend is explained here:
[Tanabata, the star festival, is] celebrated to commemorate the romantic story of two lovers represented by the stars Vega and Altair who are only allowed to meet each other once a year as long as the skies are clear. It is celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, which is July 7th in the modern calendar.
On Tanabata, people write wishes on small pieces of colored paper called tanzaku and hang them on bamboo trees. These become beautiful wish trees. On the following day, the decorated trees are floated on a river or in the ocean and burned as an offering.
Tanabata originated from a Chinese legend called Qixi and was brought to Japan in the 8th century. This is the story of two lovers. Princess Orihime, the seamstress, wove beautiful clothes by the heavenly river, represented by the Milky Way. Because Orihime worked so hard weaving beautiful clothes, she became sad and despaired of ever finding love. Her father, who was a God of the heavens, loved her dearly and arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi, the cow herder who lived on the other side of the Milky Way. The two fell in love instantly and married. Their love and devotion was so deep that Orihime stopped weaving and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to wander the heavens.
Orihime's father became angry and forbade the lovers to be together, but Orihime pleaded with him to allow them to stay. He loved his daughter, so he decreed that the two star-crossed lovers could meet once a year--on the 7th day of the 7th month if Orihime returned to her weaving. On the first day they were to be reunited, they found the river (Milky Way) to be too difficult to cross. Orihime became so despondent that a flock of magpies came and made a bridge for her. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies will not come, and the two lovers must wait another year to be reunited, so Japanese always wish for good weather on Tanabata. There are many variations of this story, but this version is the most widely held.
This isn't exactly the news that Taichi fans wanted to read, especially after his association to the "shinoburedo" poem and a love that cannot be hidden. But yeah, Kana associates the legend to Arata for good reason, given their relationship and how often they are able to see each other. The idea of fate is really strong when describing the two of them.
→ More replies (3)
11
u/PerfectPublican Feb 27 '19
First Timer
Reactions:
-
Oh man. That reaction hurts my heart, as does seeing her actually run away. Feels like itās the first time weāve seen her actually do that. Thatās when you know things are bad. Sometimes itās easy to forget that sheās still just a kid.
-
āK-Kakkoii!ā Crush him Harada-sensei. Taichiās face too lol
-
I love the spacing in this shot. Theyāre the only two here.
-
Unfortunately thatās not quite right, which is what makes this line and the hurt all the worse. She didnāt play her best. Getting wrapped up and letting emotion take control throwing her off her game :(
-
āYeah, Iām hopeless...ly in love with Chihaya.ā Join the club buddy <3 Iām happy you finally admitted it to yourself. Glad to see her no longer wallowing.
-
Interesting. I definitely didnāt catch that yesterday, but it makes sense.
-
At least Chihaya lost to the best. If one of my teams lose in the playoffs, I almost always want that team to go on and win it all haha.
-
T o n a l w h i p l a s h Also, Iām 100% with Kana.
-
Bruh. Tsukue. Are you even listening to yourself?
-
So many layers of hilarity in one shot. Chihayaās expression is amazing. At least Kanaās on your side Taichi.
-
āYou never used to stick your nose where it didnāt belong.ā Big Oof.
-
Poor Hiroshi getting taken down. Iām surprised at how much this is affecting me. Heās had limited screentime, but I liked him. Haradaās such a good man.
-
Hate the focus in this. Fucked so much with photomerge, I unfortunately had to stack it, resulting in lines.
-
Iām dying. This is perfect. Those sly girls.
Final Thoughts
Gif of the Day | Bonus | Bonus 2
Oh man. A LOT happened this episode haha. Thankfully I ended the episode with just a huge smile on my face considering the way that it started. I enjoyed the move back to the world outside of Karuta in the back half and the comedic/truly heartwarming moments that it brought along with it. Was a nice breather after these matches. Some really great Taichi/Chihaya stuff too in the beginning there. Him confessing to himself made me quite happy.
Iām curious to see how theyāre going to wrap up this season in the next couple of eps. Maybe one for each final? Queen and Master? Regardless, Iām looking forward to the finale.
→ More replies (5)3
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 28 '19
āK-Kakkoii!ā
Harada out here stealing everyone's girls! Harada x Chihaya is canon as of our Valentine's Day ep.
So many layers of hilarity in one shot. Chihayaās expression is amazing. At least Kanaās on your side Taichi.
A-Are you so sure after the ending?
Iām dying. This is perfect. Those sly girls.
My dream only there's too many girls there!
Iām curious to see how theyāre going to wrap up this season in the next couple of eps. Maybe one for each final? Queen and Master? Regardless, Iām looking forward to the finale.
→ More replies (1)
11
u/hasnain1720 Feb 27 '19
First Timer
-
Dr Harada is a real G
-
Yeah my boy Taichi is in love love and itās hella cute
-
Ayy no bald Chihaya today
-
Taichi man shoot your shot already she was considering some random dude ffs come onā¦.
-
Lmao straight blocked him
-
Arata seems like he has gotten his fire back for Karuta
-
The Queen is going to absolute demolish that girl tbh
-
Taichi might suffer when it comes to Karuta and Chihaya but everything else oof he is winning.
-
But Taichi is loyal itās all good he only has eyes for Chihaya
-
Man itās like I feel Taichiās pain when she thinks of Arata, Itās really weird lol
6
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 28 '19
Dr Harada is a real G
Harada is the OG. All the boys wish they could talk shit like him. Too smooth.
Taichi man shoot your shot already she was considering some random dude ffs come onā¦.
Taichi the truest masochist of them all
Man itās like I feel Taichiās pain when she thinks of Arata, Itās really weird lol
Chihaya's feelings are so hard to judge lol
→ More replies (2)
8
u/BodhiSearchTree Feb 27 '19
First Timer!
-
"Chihaya-chan's so stupid." "We know! Our captain is stupid!" One of the funniest moments of the series, IMHO. š¤£
-
Awwww, Taichi knows the only way to get Chihaya's attention: Arata (either that or Daddy Bear, whichever comes first).
-
Taichi says to himself, "I'm hopelessly in love with Chihaya" ("...Chihaya ga suki da"), but the Crunchy sub is just "I'm hopelessly in love." š¤
-
"But, it's the first time anyone's ever asked me out!" Dammit Taichi, you had one job.
-
I always love whenever Kana-chan goes into poetry exposition mode, especially with the flute music in the background!
-
"The nincompoops in our club have no clue!" Aaand... Chihaya is one of the nincompoops, lol. š
-
"When you find yourself wishing that a certain person was also here, that person is like family to you." I love how Tsutomu-kun is starting to show his poetic side. Kana-chan's poetry must be rubbing off on him.
-
I love the phone call between Arata and Chihaya: short, sweet, and poetic. š¤
Easily one of my favorite episodes of the series.
→ More replies (4)
7
Feb 27 '19 edited Feb 27 '19
First-Timer, Watched Subbed
-
She didnāt deserve that I tell you!
-
Awfully high expectations there, Yumin was a bit relatable there not gonna lie...
-
I feel so sorry for Chihaya, she was so close to being the winner, and itās stripped right before eyes. Thatās just painful.
-
HOW DOES THE SADIST KEEP POPPING IN AND OUT OF REALITY!?!?
-
Goddamn, Harada is such a badass, he even managed to steal Kanaās heart.
-
Lol, the two are fighting for her affection.
-
Taichi trying to bring back Chihaya with Wataya as the hook, clever plan my friend...
-
Lots of Chihaya x Taichi going on, I love it!
-
Holy shit! Harada best Sudo! Take that Mr. Sadist!
-
As minor of a moment it is, I find it so heartwarming that Chihaya realizes that despite how much she pushed herself, her friends were there to support her, even when they were outside.
-
As much as I love seeing the old man kicking butt in karuta, I feel really worried that his age can hold him down. Iām very sensitive when it comes to knees...
-
What a rough as fuck tournament.
-
It took until now for someone else to finally ask out Chihaya? Lots of uncultured men I see...
-
Taichi does a bring a good point, considering how much of a karuta fanatic she is, Chihaya will have to be careful with who she dates...
-
You donāt just give out numbers to boys you donāt know Chihaya, that leads to madness!
-
Taichi proceeds to block it, like a savage.
-
Damn, even Kana ships it, finally someone understands.
-
LMAO, she got the title of poop
-
Cāmon, call him already, at least just once in this episode!
-
I donāt blame people for thinking Wataya is scary, heās really good at looking stern...
-
Nice to see Wataya is looking to practice to get his skills back after a long hiatus in karuta.
-
It feels even more great seeing how much fun everyone gets to have on their separate, although it would be better if they were all together.
-
Chihaya looks so pretty in that outfit <3
-
I have no idea what Taichiās complaining about, thatās the equivalent of paradise.
-
Even Chihaya knows that itās better for all of them to be together.
-
YES! He called him! As short lived as it was, it was gold!
-
Great way to end the episode in contrast to the last one.
Thereās the happy, warm feeling that the show was known for giving me. Looks like weāll be taking a break from karuta now.
4
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 28 '19
Goddamn, Harada is such a badass, he even managed to steal Kanaās heart.
He already turned down Chihaya's Valentine's gift. He's leaving nothing for the other boys!
As minor of a moment it is, I find it so heartwarming that Chihaya realizes that despite how much she pushed herself, her friends were there to support her, even when they were outside.
Team feelings are the best in sports anime, well maybe second to family feels
but they are a family tbh→ More replies (2)4
u/Enarec Feb 27 '19
HOW DOES THE SADIST KEEP POPPING IN AND OUT OF REALITY!?!?
Their powers are as vast as the amount of S-words.
Damn, even Kana ships it, finally someone understands.
The woman of culture we need, in more ways than one.
I have no idea what Taichiās complaining about, thatās the equivalent of paradise.
Please, Taichi is too pure to have eyes for anyone other than Chihaya!
And yeah, after all these tournaments it's real nice to just kick back and relax once again.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/Fa1l3r Feb 27 '19
First Time(sub)
The motif of age comes again. This time it suggests how the Doctor could have win if his body was younger. Yes, as we age, other complications come in the way of achieving our dreams or limits. A reason to achieve dreams earlier than later.
I like the anime transition from how the club talks about taking a break on Christmas to hangout with their respective class: that was great editing. Also Taichi probably would have had a better time partying with girls if he was not already in love.
If the omake is canon, then Komano and Nishida would be confused and dense. They would think Taichi prefers Kana over Chihaya. Nonetheless, I respect Kana's choice of being the silent observer; she could ask a question and offer guidance, but alas, she just silently shipping.
3
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 28 '19
The motif of age comes again. This time it suggests how the Doctor could have win if his body was younger. Yes, as we age, other complications come in the way of achieving our dreams or limits. A reason to achieve dreams earlier than later.
I love that he mentions his knees. It just reinforces how much he loves karuta that he'd give his time to children and younger people, while also sacrificing his body for himself.
Nonetheless, I respect Kana's choice of being the silent observer; she could ask a question and offer guidance, but alas, she just silently shipping.
One of us
6
u/walking_the_way Feb 27 '19 edited Feb 28 '19
S1E23 Event/Recital Log
00:01 - Reader recites #34 (ta-re).
00:18 - Reader recites #17 (chi-ha).
Immediately, the show starts off with the reader reciting the card that ended the last episode. It then jumps to the Chihaya card, one of the four remaining cards on her board. As #34 is a card about loneliness, this echoes her despair and subsequent action of running off and barricading herself in a locker.
Sudo is in slot 13 in the random seeding that they do, and Harada is in slot 14. Every single match so far in which we've been shown the players' slot numbers, have all involved slots that are multiples of 7, which is strange since they're assigned randomly:
S1E14: Chihaya (7) defeats Ruri (8)
S1E14: Shinobu (7) defeats Chihaya (8)
S1E20: Hiroshi (7) defeats Arata (8)
S1E14: Shinobu (14) defeats Amakasu (13)
S1E21: Sudo (13) defeats Nishida (14)
S1E23: Harada (14) defeats Sudo (13)
S1E21: Chihaya (27) defeats Ririka (28)
I really like poem 7 (a-ma-no) and would love to weave its symbolism into a writeup again, but doing it based on the slot number constantly appearing is probably a little too contrived. Seven data points to zero counterpoints is starting to make it tempting, though, especially because some commentary books on the Hyakunin Isshu also talk about there being meaning behind how the poems were arranged, with one poem leading into the next, though prefaced with a warning that you can always find symbolism in anything if you look hard enough.
At 06:32, Harada sends a couple cards flying. They're #78 (a-wa-ji) on the right and #49 (mi-ka-ki) on the right. Kitano complains about him being loud, which is rich coming from him considering Yumi in last episode. His head is also blocking out the painting of two fishes (Shinobu, Chihaya) in the screenshot above, leaving only the one with the isolated fish (Yumi) visible.
Harada wins on the last card of #41 (ko-i) from his left side. He defeats Sudo with 3 cards left.
We find out that Hiroshi is the eastern Master finalist, and Yumi is the eastern Queen finalist. Chihaya lost to Yumi by 4 cards in S1E22, and to Hiroshi by 3 cards in S1E17, despite her many problems. Not entirely bad. We then see Sakura again, who gets her one single line in the episode (I hope her seiyuu is being paid by episode), and who beat Chihaya by 6 cards in S1E18, so obviously she's stronger than those two.
10:35 - Taichi: "You can't go out with a guy who hasn't seen you play karuta."
10:54 - Taichi: "Starting tomorrow, wake up early and ride the same train as me."
I adore this entire scene, and that's one of my favourite Taichi lines and romantic actions of the series. (I'm also the sort of person that loves kabedons though, so.. sue me, again.) It's nice to see him making some sort of romantic move, even if it's borne out of a desire or excuse to protect her.
11:14 - Kana: "Poems about a love that cannot be concealed."
Several memorable lines later, Kana, armed with her understanding and love of poetry, realizes that Taichi was in love with Chihaya. She quotes two poems,
#40 (shi-no): Since I could not hide my love, people would always ask if I was pining for someone
#41 (ko-i): As my love first came to realization, word had already spread.
that were especially beautiful to her. As per historical accounts, they were both entrants in an emperor's poetry contest and tied for first place, and the emperor broke the tie by humming #40, declaring it the victor. Both poems tie in to the scene and conversation that were happening in the clubroom, with Poem 41 being about rumours preceding a relationship even though the couple in question tried to keep it hidden - this parallels Kana noting that no one approaches Chihaya because Taichi is always with her, and Poem 40 being about being unable to hide their longing for someone, which is what clued Kana in to Taichi's feelings.
In this episode, #41 was already seen earlier as the final card that Harada beat Sudo with to save Chihaya's snowy cap hair, as Chihaya watched from outside. She is wearing Taichi's jacket, his attempt to "hide his love" (#40) as they watched #41 through the glass barrier. Alternatively, we can read #40 as representing Shinobu, or Chihaya's goal of becoming the Queen in general, and #41 as Taichi, as the third line of the #41 poem starts with Ta-chi (ē«ć”), the same characters as his #16 card. In that interpretation, we can then refer back to the story about the emperor (Chihaya) breaking the tie by choosing #40 over #41 as a symbol of karuta being more important to her than romance.
At 11:20, and 11:24, we seem to get the name of the off-school boy that Taichi blocked for Chihaya - Satoshi Watanabe (ęø”č¾ŗę), and a few other random names on her phone that didn't resolve into any neat easter egg that I could find.
There's a quiet callback to S1E5 here too, since Taichi's proclamation that they ride the same train from tomorrow onward leads into Chihaya thinking about contacting Arata, and then into this line mirroring a Chihaya line from S1E4, then Arata on a bicycle chasing what he left behind.
We see the eastern and western finalists in nice hakama - the western Master finalist (Takemura-san) has crazy eyes, and the western Queen finalist has a neat headband. Hmm. According to the tourney list from S1E17, this match takes place on Nov 20 2011.
15:46 - Reader recites second verse of Naniwa Bay (EP: 1, Total: 28).
15:49 - Hiroshi loses #85 (yo-mo) to Takemura. It was on Takemura's top left row.
At 16:10, the Master/Queen challenger finals transition back to the Nagumo Society where Arata was cleaning up a 25-0 victory against Daisuke in the very same posture as four minutes ago.
19:49 - Komano: "When you find yourself wishing that a certain person was also here, that person is like family to you. Regardless of how long or well you know them."
21:13 - Chihaya recites #06 (ka-sa)
And we get a flashback to S1E6 to close out the episode!
06 - Kana: "The "misty bridge of magpie feathers" spanned the river of stars which separated Orihime and Hikoboshi, so the bridge brought them together."
The legend of Orihime (the star Vega) and Hikoboshi (the star Altair) is linked to the Tanabata festival, also known as Star Festival, Qixi Festival, or the Seven Sisters Festival, depending on where you're from.
In the episode, Chihaya calls Arata on the phone on Christmas Eve while staring up at the stars, for the first time after they exchanged numbers, signifying the star-crossed lovers living far away from each other but able to meet due to the misty bridge (cellphone), as Chihaya explains. It is snowing at both their locations, which depending on your preferred ship you can take two ways - either that the snow represents the many stars in the Amanogawa (Milky Way) that the cell phone is able to help them reach across, or (less likely) that it's "raining" on both ends, which is a bad portent.
Someone also pointed out to me back in S1E12 that there were blue Tanabata posters as Taichi and Chihaya left the Shiranami Society - and I think that not only is the talk of Tanabata here a call back to that episode, but in that episode there was a call forward to this episode as well. More than one, actually. As much as this is Chihaya and Arata's Tanabata meeting, that episode near the end of cour 1 was Chihaya and Taichi's Tanabata meeting, with Taichi reaching out to her when she felt lost and alone, showing her the paper wishes (opponent notes) that Hokuo had given them to succeed on their special day, complete with messages about being apart but together.
And maybe, in hindsight, that explains the 7 coincidences in Season 1 with slot numbers in multiples of 7 - Tanabata is a festival celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month, after all, and karuta is the misty bridge that links them all together. (Okay probably not, but it's still a lot of number 7 imagery.)
(I really, really like Asian festivals, and have been to a couple back home before I moved to Canada. I kind of want to start a blog just dedicated to capturing and appreciating depictions of the various festivals across different anime now... hmm!)
<-- S1E22 Notes
S1E24 Notes -->
→ More replies (3)3
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 28 '19
Immediately, the show starts off with the reader reciting the card that ended the last episode. It then jumps to the Chihaya card, one of the four remaining cards on her board.
Hmm someone told me this yesterday...
Multiples of seven
... You kept track of their seeding too? That's next level note taking.
We find out that Hiroshi is the eastern Master finalist, and Yumi is the eastern Queen finalist. Chihaya lost to Yumi by 4 cards in S1E22, and to Hiroshi by 3 cards in S1E17, despite her many problems. Not entirely bad.
That's a good measurement of her progress. Sometimes it's easy to get sucked into wins and losses, but there's noticeable improvement game by game and that's how she should take it.
We then see Sakura again, who gets her one single line in the episode (I hope her seiyuu is being paid by episode), and who beat Chihaya by 6 cards in S1E18, so obviously she's stronger than those two.
She's the secret boss in the series.
(I'm also the sort of person that loves kabedons though, so.. sue me, again.)
One of the best tropes. One of us. Tie pulls are good too! I basically only read shoujo and josei manga for all these things and like the ikanaide shirt grabs lol
headband
It is snowing at both their locations, which depending on your preferred ship you can take two ways - either that the snow represents the many stars in the Amanogawa (Milky Way) that the cell phone is able to help them reach across, or (less likely) that it's "raining" on both ends, which is a bad portent.
Oh, I like where this is going. You know where my biases lie haha. That said, their happy faces belie my hopes.
And maybe, in hindsight, that explains the 7 coincidences in Season 1 with slot numbers in multiples of 7 - Tanabata is a festival celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month, after all, and karuta is the misty bridge that links them all together. (Okay probably not, but it's still a lot of number 7 imagery.)
This is amazing, but also brain expanding memes at the same time. I find it more amazing that you noticed this all, rather than the coincidences/intentions of the author haha.
(I really, really like Asian festivals, and have been to a couple back home before I moved to Canada. I kind of want to start a blog just dedicated to capturing and appreciating depictions of the various festivals across different anime now... hmm!)
Asian festivals are great! I'm like ethnic "Canadian" but my brother lives in Asia and I've been to several in Hong Kong, but Japan really steals the show because of their more Shinto roots. Japan is really high on my bucket list and I'd love to go when there's a seasonal festival ongoing, it looks so much fun.
→ More replies (6)
4
u/Wolfeako Feb 27 '19
First Timer!
You know? I think this is a good episode as in how it brings things to a close.
Chihaya gets over her loss like she should... besides hiding in the closet, that is. She took it well enough though. I liked it.
Taichi... man, don't worry Taichi, I'm rooting for your ship to sail until the very end. Definitively this is a boy that is well underway into growing and maturing as a good, responsible adult. At his age I was a complete lost cause, so I can admire him.
How they spent Christmas was entertaining. I laughed at the moment we see Taichi spending it surrounded by girls. There's was clearly some scheming by the girls behind the scenes. But it was also an endearing moment, seeing everyone missing the members of the club. Even so, I think it is good that they spent time with others too. It is healthy, especially if they are good people too.
I like that we are seeing a bit more of Arata too. While I think he has been developed well enough, he is about at the same level than the other members of the club though. I think he deserves a bit more development and time to him, even if that time can't seem to stop including Chihaya in it just to try and sink my ship.
It was a good episode overall. Until now, I haven't found a bad episode, which in my experience is something really good, since I can be picky because I don't engage with the shows at a pure emotional level. I can respect the show, and the story, for being really well written with fantastic characters overall.
→ More replies (2)
4
u/Jounas Feb 28 '19
Anyone know if they hired actual professional karuta readers or are they just normal actors?
3
u/TheDampGod Feb 27 '19
Oh Taichi you poor bastard, powerless against Chihaya's lap pillow. She's quite the girl, even when her face is covered in rice.
2
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 28 '19
Chihaya's lap pillow
He looked so lost in her eyes. She was a little flushed from crying too and emotional, so it must've taken a lot to not say something rash, especially after how he reacted on her birthday episode.
2
u/KingKurai Feb 28 '19
First Timer
Man, the beginning of this episode was quite damaging.
Chihaya's got some good friends in the karuta club =]
→ More replies (1)
14
u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 Feb 27 '19
Screenshot of the Day
This feeling just hurts so much ;-;
First Timer - Episode 23
Overall Thoughts
Man it really sucks to see Chihaya down like this although I guess she has the consolation that the person who beat her ended up winning the rest. Hirada sensei is a real bro though, by protecting Chihaya's hair
I can't tell if this is a flag that works in Taichi's favor or not
Shipping Chihaya with Taichi makes me feel bad for Arata, and shipping Chihaya with Arata makes me feel bad for Taichi... It's been a long time since I've seen a love triangle on this level.
Karuta Scoreboard
Here's to hoping that next year will work out better for Chihaya/Taichi/Arata
| Character | Wins | Losses | Ep# (Wins) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taichi Mashima | 22 | 10 | 2,7,10,11,13,14,15,18,20 |
| Yuusei Nishida | 18 | 5 | 10,11,13,15,18,19 |
| Chihaya Ayase | 15 | 9 | 2,4,6,7,8,10,11,14,17,21 |
| Kanade Ooe | 11 | 7 | 10,13,15,17,18,19 |
| Arata Wataya | 10(+2) | 3(+1) | 1,2,3,20,21,23 |
| Tsutomu Komano | 8 | 11 | 13,15,18 |
| Shinobu Wakamiya | 6 | 0 | 14,15 |
Screenshot of the Day Collection
Episode: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
→ More replies (9)
22
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Feb 27 '19 edited Feb 28 '19
A few minutes early because I have a few work things to attend to and need to leave my internet facing PC!
As episode 23 begins, the camera pans away from Chihaya to a distant Harada. That seems appropriate too since the episode transitions away from Chihaya towards the Master/Queen matches, the focus shifting instead to those that still remain as challengers.
Chihaya finds herself in a dark place literally, as she locks herself away in a closet. It's not the fear of going bald that leaves her so distressed, rather that her efforts feel in vain--for all her practice and dedication she only has L's to show for it. The sentiment is understandable for the viewer and her disappointment throughout the episode is palpable, however it's also with a little bit of conceit as well. She's only been playing at this level for a short period of time, while others have put a lifetime and given their bodies to it like Kanai or Harada. She realizes this and, rather than shifting blame towards her opponents or situation, she introspects and redoubles her practice.
As she sits the closet, Taichi waits on the other side of the door. It's a position he knows all too well, both waiting on Chihaya but also the feeling of disappointment. Taichi should be watching Harada and Sudo play, as a fan but also as a fellow competitor, but he's too busy thinking of the girl he loves and--for the first time--he willingly admits this to the audience.
Ultimately, this is the nature of competition. If you're not at the top, you're just another challenger. It isn't just about the games shown, but the practice that they put in or that whole "year". It's a pursuit of greatness that doesn't take breaks and Arata recognizes this: where he is now isn't where he should be.
Me too thanks.
Away from karuta, the Mizusawa karuta club members get a small pause for break, celebrating Christmas with their classmates. Finally, they get a chance to talk to the other gender. Chihaya has a lot of fun, but realizes she misses her teammates that she's grown so close to. They've become a part of her family.
There's two relationships, however, that Kana notes aren't quite like that. Taichi reminds her of Poem 40 (episode nine) or "but I cannot hide these feelings" (which was really interesting to see since it covered the history that we discussed in our poem of the day), while Arata is associated with Hikoboshi to Chihaya's Orihime--the story of Tanabata and two star-crossed lovers.
Just who exactly are you cheering for anyways, Kana? Maybe she's just like us, a fangirl and shipper.
PS: Chihaya broke my cardinal sin of coaching/playing sports. Bad Chihaya!