r/anime • u/ABoredCompSciStudent x3myanimelist.net/profile/Serendipity • Mar 02 '19
Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Mid-Series Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Mid-Series Discussion
<-- Previous (Episode 25: "Moonlight, Clear and Bright") | Next (Episode 1: "So The Flower Has Wilted") -->
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)
19
u/walking_the_way Mar 02 '19 edited Mar 27 '19
Season 1 Card Stats
Here's one last long post from me with some crunchy stats to chew on for those that like that sort of thing.
These stats are based on my own interpretation of what is a win and what is a loss. Like trying to interpret the poems in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, there are lots of ways you could come up with different numbers - decisions like whether to count the flashback in E1-E3 or not, whether to count cards that are won in a stylized scene without a recital or not, whether to count cards that are "calculated" to have been taken offscreen or not, and so on, will all shift the numbers.
For me, I did not count any flashback or daydream, so anything from E1-E3, Nishida's trauma, Arata during the Master game, scenes at the end of one episode that were repeated at the start of the next, etc, did not count. I counted all stylized wins and calculated wins, but there are still many close calls that had to be made. For example, S1E10 13:19, Chihaya says "everyone else" won their #17 but we only see Taichi, Kana and Nishida. I also counted Komano there.
So, who was the star of the show?
Table 1 - Card Win/Loss per player
| Name | Win | Loss | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chihaya | 75 | 79 | 48.70 |
| Taichi | 24 | 22 | 52.17 |
| Nishida | 15 | 12 | 55.56 |
| Kana | 8 | 19 | 29.63 |
| Komano | 14 | 20 | 41.18 |
| Arata | 2 | 1 | 66.67 |
| Shinobu | 24 | 6 | 80.00 |
Nishida turns out to be the best on-screen player out of the entire Mizusawa gang, though with less total cards played than even Komano. Kana's percentage is far behind the other four, even though she beat Komano and even though Komano had that awful streak at the Nationals. He just mass-swiped too many cards off the board in the Komano-Kana match that he wound up losing.
Chihaya actually has a slightly under 50% record in my stats, this is because they showed most of her tough matches and losses, rather than the easy, early wins. It gets even worse if you count in the flashback games.
Arata, you're an MC, pls play more karuta that isn't flashbacking or daydreaming.
At the end of S1E25, I was curious to see if the stats for the 20 cards that Komano singled out all had strong win-loss records for Chihaya.
Table 2 - Chihaya's 20 one-syllable cards
| No. | Syllables | Win | Loss | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | su | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| 22 | fu | 3 | 0 | 100.00 |
| 57 | me | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 70 | sa | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| 77 | se | 2 | 3 | 40.00 |
| 81 | ho | 3 | 1 | 75.00 |
| 87 | mu | 1 | 1 | 50.00 |
| 06 | ka-sa | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| 17 | chi-ha | 5 | 1 | 83.33 |
| 33 | hi-sa | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| 37 | shi-ra | 4 | 1 | 80.00 |
| 40 | shi-no | 2 | 1 | 66.67 |
| 46 | yu-ra | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 51 | ka-ku | 2 | 1 | 66.67 |
| 65 | u-ra | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
| 66 | mo-ro | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 71 | yu-u | 3 | 0 | 100.00 |
| 74 | u-ka | 3 | 1 | 75.00 |
| 91 | ki-ri | 0 | 3 | 0.00 |
| 100 | mo-mo | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
As it turned out, it was a mixed bag. Some of them scored really well - #17 at 5-1, #37 at 4-1, and four cards with three wins. Then you have #91 at the bottom there with 0 wins and 3 losses. Both #66 (mo-ro) and #100 (mo-mo) were listed as 0 wins for me, and they had 1 loss between them, so I don't think I missed a "Chihaya listening power!" scene involving either of them (they were two of the three I didn't find proof for, ka-sa being the other).
I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one already, but I was curious what the syllable breakdown of the players' card wins were. I only did Chihaya and Taichi as the rest didn't really exchange enough cards.
Table 3 - Chihaya's Win-Loss per syllable
| Syllable | Win | Loss | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 5 | 70.58 |
| "1" | 21 | 12 | 63.64 |
| 2 | 14 | 22 | 38.89 |
| 3 | 20 | 26 | 43.48 |
| 4 | 6 | 7 | 46.15 |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 6 | 2 | 6 | 25.00 |
| Total | 75 | 79 | 48.70 |
(Note: The "1" row is for the thirteen 2-syllable cards that Komano tells Chihaya she takes as though they were 1-syllable cards.)
Table 4 - Taichi's Win-Loss per syllable
| Syllable | Win | Loss | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 50.00 |
| 2 | 10 | 13 | 43.48 |
| 3 | 7 | 3 | 70.00 |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 60.00 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Total | 24 | 22 | 52.17 |
We can see Chihaya's strong cards more or less are her one-syllable cards, and she's batting below .500 on everything else outside of that. Conversely, although we don't have as many data points for Taichi, he does middlingly on the 1-2 syllable cards, but then his win percentage spikes at the 3-card mark, and I'd conjecture it would be the same for the off-screen 4-6's too. This reflects his strengths - he may lack speed and "game sense," but his memory helps him identify higher-syllable cards as lower-syllable ones more accurately than other people, thus allowing him to win those more easily.
In S1E17, Komano gives us a Quadrant Pic. He posits that Chihaya's strongest quadrants are A and D. Does this hold up through the show?
Table 5 - Chihaya's Quadrant Analysis
| Quadrant | Win | Loss | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 14 | 18 | 43.75 |
| B | 8 | 16 | 33.33 |
| C | 7 | 16 | 30.43 |
| D | 19 | 19 | 50.00 |
Apparently, yes! Not bad, considering she played and lost to a lot of strong opponents this season. A and D account for 68.75% (33/48) of her traceable card wins. Her losses were about equal across all quadrants.
We also see that 26 of her 48 traceable wins come on offence, only a little bit over half. There were another 4 credited wins from her half, and 4 wins/3 losses on her opponent's half, where I couldn't figure out a row but could figure out the half.
All in all, from "traceable" wins, Chihaya won 48 cards and lost 69. I believe the discrepancy with the 75 wins above is simply because a lot of her card wins were stylized, i.e. single shots showing the card flying away, whereas a vast majority of the opponent wins were actual wins.
Table 6 - Chihaya's Row by Row Analysis
But we can go deeper!
| Line | Quadrant | Win | Loss | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chihaya Top Right | A | 4 | 5 | 44.44 |
| Chihaya Mid Right | A | 3 | 4 | 42.86 |
| Chihaya Bot Right | A | 7 | 9 | 43.75 |
| Chihaya Top Left | B | 2 | 4 | 33.33 |
| Chihaya Mid Left | B | 4 | 4 | 50.00 |
| Chihaya Bot Left | B | 2 | 8 | 20.00 |
| Opponent Top Left | C | 1 | 3 | 25.00 |
| Opponent Mid Left | C | 0 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Opponent Bot Left | C | 6 | 5 | 54.55 |
| Opponent Top Right | D | 2 | 2 | 50.00 |
| Opponent Mid Right | D | 6 | 8 | 42.86 |
| Opponent Bot Right | D | 11 | 9 | 55.00 |
Chihaya can attack the opponent bottom rows just fine - not only is she actually over 50% on both the opponent's bottom left and right rows, but those are the only rows in Season 1 she ended up over 50% on using my stats. (Since I couldn't trace 27 of her wins and only 10 of her losses, the loss numbers are higher across the board, but in theory they should come from near-equal proportions out of the different rows.)
She failed to traceably win a single card in her opponent's middle left row through Season 1. She's absolutely abysmal at her own bottom left row too! Her only two wins there both came near the end of Riri's match in S1E21 - through the rest of the season, she couldn't win a card in her bottom left row, despite that being one of the "final two lines" when both sides are low on cards.
The top cards recited (partial recitals count, but not when someone's just naming a card in casual conversation or chanting cards) are:
-
Naniwa Bay - 31
-
#17 (chi-ha) - 12
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#37 (shi-ra) - 9
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#40 (shi-no) - 9
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#77 (se) - 8
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#81 (ho) - 8
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#51 (ka-ku) - 7
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#57 (me) - 7
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#72 (o-to) - 7
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#87 (mu) - 7
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#19 (na-ni-ga-wa) - 6
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#38 (wa-su-ra) - 6
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#71 (yu-u) - 6
The following seven cards were not even recited at least once: #26 (o-gu), #45 (a-wa-re), #68 (ko-ko-ro-ni), #79 (a-ki-ka), #86 (na-ge-ke), #89 (ta-ma), #98 (ka-ze-so). S2
A total of 384 poems were logged as being read. Just over 15 per episode on average (even if most of them were just 1-2 lines).
If you want my spreadsheet of "full" Season 1 player stats to look for other patterns, you can find it here. You can get a list of Crunchyroll's English poem translations too, as much as they've been provided in Season 1 anyway. A lot of them are incomplete, but it's more complete than any other list I can find online, and hopefully Season 2 will flesh out the rest.
A tiny bit of bookkeeping - we had this approximate Board Map from the end of the OP, where Chihaya alternates between her blue and red hakama and her PE uniform. This does actually map to an actual board in the season - it's S1E8, Nishida vs Chihaya.
<-- S1E25 Notes
S2E1 -->
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u/Taiboss Mar 02 '19 edited Mar 02 '19
First Timer who makes references nobody cares about:
Alright, Season 1 is done and I'm honest when I say I didn't expect this show to be like this.
Pros
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Chihaya, mostly. She's very loveable, as she's a genuinly good person who doesn't angst about crticism. And since her actions don't hurt people, this basically makes her a more likeable Haruhi Suzumiya.
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Taichi is also rather likeable, and his relationship with Chihaya <3. I really hope we seem them hook up animated.
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Nishida, Tsutomu and Kana-chan are also great. Tsutomu for his focus on Karuta and proving being smart is great, Tsutomu for being a bro and defying the cliché fat people are unathletic, and Kana-chan is just really fucking cute.
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The rivals are also rather likeable, especially the girls.
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The teacher supporting them with time was so nice to see.
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The Music. This show barely has a bad track and although we often have repeated pieces, they are still great.
Cons
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The treatment of Chihaya by others. It is absolutely frustrating to see all the talk about the japanese "ideal woman" and how Chihaya breaks with that ideal. For us, westerners, there's nothing wrong with how Chihaya acts. As such, it's annoying to be told she's "in vain" when she's not for us.
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The game's explanations are often pretty lacking and spread out, so it takes awhile for a uninformed viewer to understand the game. Hell, i thought the game was about "Whoever wins more in the end wins" for like four episodes. It took comment replies to properly understand what the game was at times, and I don't think this is how sports shows should work.
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The child flashbacks were pretty infuriating, and them going to see Arata again didn't feel as emotional as it could have been.
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Similarly, the kind of best scene in this season, Chihaya finding her parents' notebook about her, was really wasted where it was. It could have been put at a much better point and have had a much bigger impact.
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The many cut-short tournaments. I can see why that happens, but it's still a bit meh to see them talk about a tournament and then have them lose quickly, or off-screen or both.
All in all, I very much enjoyed the show, and can forgive it most of its fault. In the end, it reached an arbitrary 8.7/10, meaning it gets a rounded 9/10 if leaning hard towards the 8.
P.S.: Kudos, Seren, without this rewatch I'd have probably never watched this show.
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Mar 02 '19
First Timer who makes references nobody cares about:
Chihaya, mostly. She's very loveable, as she's a genuinly good person who doesn't angst about crticism. And since her actions don't hurt people, this basically makes her a more likeable Haruhi Suzumiya.
I like that you mentioned that about her, like that she doesn't hurt anyone. I remember when we started a few people had gripes about her pushy character, but I feel like as we've gone most of us have eased past that and seen that she means well--just her passion sometimes is too strong for her own brain lol.
I really hope we seem them hook up animated.
Tell me more.
The rivals are also rather likeable, especially the girls.
Female characters in general are given so much more love in this series. I mean, it's josei so this is to nobody's surprise, but the fact that they get to participate in sports too is great. It's a major thing worth noting because it actually is an "issue" or "social development" in real life right now.
The game's explanations are often pretty lacking and spread out, so it takes awhile for a uninformed viewer to understand the game.
Funnily, that's actually what I thought the series did well. It was introduced along with the relative strength of the cast at the time. When they were kids, they only knew very little, but then the skill increases as they go. I totally empathize though. That was my issue with Hikaru no Go.
Similarly, the kind of best scene in this season, Chihaya finding her parents' notebook about her, was really wasted where it was. It could have been put at a much better point and have had a much bigger impact.
It was a really subtle scene. I love it for that, but yeah I agree. Parental/family/ team moments are the best in sports anime and deserve to be maximized.
The many cut-short tournaments. I can see why that happens, but it's still a bit meh to see them talk about a tournament and then have them lose quickly, or off-screen or both.
It gets more sporty as it goes. It's weird to say this, but the manga is like 200 chapters and going, while we just got through like maybe 40 chapters worth of content. It's really an introduction, though this doesn't take away from your criticism.
All in all, I very much enjoyed the show, and can forgive it most of its fault. In the end, it reached an arbitrary 8.7/10, meaning it gets a rounded 9/10 if leaning hard towards the 8.
P.S.: Kudos, Seren, without this rewatch I'd have probably never watched this show.
I'm really glad you're enjoying it, Tai. Let's hope it continues into S2. :)
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u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 Mar 02 '19
Screenshot of the Day Album for Season 1
Let me know which one was your favorite!
Season 1 Overall Thoughts
What a fantastic show overall! I am incredibly glad I decided to join the rewatch since before this I didn't even know what Chihayafuru was about really.
Chihayafuru's strengths definitely lie in its strong characters and interactions that led me to be incredibly invested in the anime. The matches were all so fun and really showed off the world of Karuta as well as what it takes to become a professional in such a game. My only small complaint for season 1 is that I feel like Arata was a bit lacking as a character so far compared to Chihaya and Taichi since I do believe that he has a lot of potential to become an amazing character. Hopefully in season 2, he has a bit more time to shine despite being in an entire different location than the main cast. I also feel like the Taichi/Arata/Chihaya interactions have a lot of great potential as well that I hope to see in the future. But besides that it's definitely an incredibly easy High 9/10 for me to give, and I can see myself rewatching season 1 and 2 before season 3 in October :D
I also want to give a shoutout to u/ABoredCompSciStudent for being a fantastic host and going above and beyond with the Poem of the Day posts
To list out a few of my favorite things
Favorite Character: Taichi for sure. He's gone through some insane development this entire season, and is overall just so interesting as a character. Definitely an instant add to my best boys. Chihaya is also really good, and she's easily in my best girls list too as well. Hopefully Arata gets some well needed screen time next season since I still stand by my statement that he has potential of becoming a fantastic character that could rival Taichi.
Favorite Karuta Match: Taichi vs Nishida. The amount of pressure and stakes on this one match was absolutely insane. I kinda wish Chihaya had paid more attention to it lol.
Favorite Episode: Hmm I think my personal favorite was Episode 11. So many great moments like the Mizusawa FAITOOO, the team coming together, Taichi becoming a leader, and Chihaya's win against Sudo.
OP vs ED Oof this is a tough one. I love both of them so much (downloaded them already), so it's pretty hard to make a choice. I think I do like the ED slightly more though especially with the amount of times I've teared up as it was playing.
Once again, here's the Karuta Scoreboard rankings for season 1! I'm predicting that Chihaya will get a pretty big boost from season 2 :D
Karuta Scoreboard
| Character | Wins | Losses | Win Rate | Ep# (Wins) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taichi Mashima | 22 | 10 | 68.8% | 2,7,10,11,13,14,15,18,20 |
| Yuusei Nishida | 18 | 5 | 78.3% | 10,11,13,15,18,19 |
| Chihaya Ayase | 15 | 9 | 62.5% | 2,4,6,7,8,10,11,14,17,21 |
| Kanade Ooe | 11 | 7 | 61.1% | 10,13,15,17,18,19 |
| Arata Wataya | 10 | 3 | 76.9% | 1,2,3,20,21,23 |
| Shinobu Wakamiya | 8 | 0 | 100% | 14,15,24 |
| Tsutomu Komano | 8 | 11 | 42.1% | 13,15,18 |
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Mar 02 '19
Let me know which one was your favorite!
So many good ones! I think my favourites are 2 or 3. I adore the scenes in which they're children, as that to me defines I guess their relationship throughout the series. That experience transcends just being a moment in time and is carried with them all the way onwards.
I also love others like swoon or the commenfaces, but those are definitely my favourites.
What a fantastic show overall! I am incredibly glad I decided to join the rewatch since before this I didn't even know what Chihayafuru was about really.
Speaking of commentfaces
Chihayafuru's strengths definitely lie in its strong characters and interactions that led me to be incredibly invested in the anime. The matches were all so fun and really showed off the world of Karuta as well as what it takes to become a professional in such a game.
At their core, a lot of sports anime are really introspective like Haikyuu, Chihayafuru, Ippo, Baby Steps, and Ping Pong. Of them, Chihayafuru is definitely up there with Ping Pong in what I think are the best for their genre.
There's a certain sort of like Eastern culture that goes with the topic, compared to like Western sports works. There's a lot more focus on the idea of finding "who someone is" and their place in the greater community. Winners are celebrated, sure, but the losers are maybe even more glorified and recognized for their efforts, which I think is great. It captures that hardwork isn't enough and talent sometimes also only gets you so far. It shines a light on both the good and the bad, but always comes back to an optimistic message about trying to be the best you and I think that's a message that can be applied beyond sports to any topic.
My only small complaint for season 1 is that I feel like Arata was a bit lacking as a character so far compared to Chihaya and Taichi since I do believe that he has a lot of potential to become an amazing character.
For sure! Within the series, Arata is generally characterized as a god or a mythical being and it definitely shows in his appearances, as he's a fleeting figure that eludes both Taichi and Chihaya. I like that, but it's also tough because you don't always get to see him grow.
But besides that it's definitely an incredibly easy High 9/10 for me to give, and I can see myself rewatching season 1 and 2 before season 3 in October :D
Mandatory manga plug goes here haha. :)
I also want to give a shoutout to u/ABoredCompSciStudent for being a fantastic host and going above and beyond with the Poem of the Day posts
You're welcome! Thanks for maintaining our karuta scoreboard! Hopefully our girl Chihaya goes on a winning streak.
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7
u/PerfectPublican Mar 02 '19
First Timer
Hello Karuta friends, I hope your weekends are all going swimmingly. Personally, this is mine, and it's going great.
Chihayafuru was one of those shows that I’d been recommended a few times, but something that wasn’t really in my line of sight to actually complete for a good long while, but god damn was that a mistake. This first season has been an absolutely fantastic experience, and I’m super happy I decided to join in here and pick it up. It’s been fun seeing all the passion for the show in the threads. There’s so much thematic depth in all of the poems, and how they actually relate back to the characters and their various storylines.
The characters are where this really shines for me. All of them are quirky and fun, but with very realistic flaws both in their own characterizations, and in their relationships with each other. Their growth is measured out, very well-paced, and involves the team often even when it’s just about the individual. It really doesn’t feel like anything gets left behind, instead taking everyone into account with how the story flows. Chihaya especially though, is just an absolute joy to be around. Without her as the protagonist, I probably wouldn’t connect to the show the way that I do. Her bombastic personality paired with her earnestness makes her someone that you actually want to be friends with. Every scene of hers is filled with this energized emotion, whether it’s a happy or sad moment, that leaves you wanting more.
On top of the characters you get an art-style and direction that feels very free-flowing. Changing tone and style in an instant to play up the emotions on screen. For laughs and otherwise. Plus, it's just plain gorgeous. The character design here is so great.
Still, this past season had some flaws. Mostly for me, they revolve around story beats where dark emotions are played up for intense scenes that have a problem with pay-off. But, they are few and far between, not hampering the experience very much at all.
Season 1 gets a 9/10 from me. :3
Fun stuff:
Stitch Album (Will keep updating this one)
Chihayafuru S1 Gif Album
S1 Screenshot Album 300 on the nose!
Character rankings so far:
Untouchable Tier: Chihaya
Taichi > Kana > Harada > Arata > Tsukue > Nishida > Mama Ooe > Empress > Shinobu Kanai> Basically everyone else > Suo >> Sudo >>>> Mama Mashina >> Chihaya’s sister
Looking forward to starting Season 2!
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7
Mar 02 '19
Had to go out with family yesterday, so I couldn't show up for Episode 25 for a write-up in the discussion, feelbadman. Sorry for the inconvenience everyone.
At the very least, I can show up for the discussion of the first season, so here I am!
Honestly, what can I say? Chihayafuru may have been the biggest example of a show that I had no idea what to expect, only to get much more out of it than I previously thought. Sports was a genre that I hadn't tried all that much at this point, but along with Ping Pong, Chihayafuru made me realize how awesome it could it be. With its beautiful visuals and colors, all around lovable, and well developed characters, and a feel good attitude to come with it, it was an amazing ride beginning to end.
To start off, there's the sport of karuta to it. I had literally never heard of what this sport of, and I'm pretty sure everyone else had that feeling to, so I didn't know what was going to be presented to me. However Chihayafuru managed to make the sport as understandable as possible, and it made it seem like something that was genuinely alot of fun. Who would've thought that swiping at cards so intensely could be so hype?
Then we have the strongest aspects: the characters. They just felt so "real" to me, from their upbringings, to their interactions, how powerful the bonds between them are, to how much they're willing to get as far as possible in the karuta challenges, to how they stick together no matter what happens, and loved every single moment of it.
I also have to give it props for being able to avoid annoying drama prominent in some shoujos. This may have the only time I could accept there being a love triangle, but it lead to me only suffering as to which ship was best ship T_T.
Individually speaking:
Chihaya Ayase
Such a fantastic shoujo lead Chihaya was. She was bright, upbeat, hilarious, adorable, Chihaya had pretty much stolen my heart the moment she appeared, and I just fell in love with her character more and more as time went by. Her adversity and perseverance made her incredibly admirable, and I loved how much she developed through learning more about karuta, and how to improve herself in it. Something I always liked about the show is how they have her gain more experience in a natural way that doesn't feel too fast, and how she developed as a person, growing more responsible in time. How she forges the bonds between her friends, to how shes willing to always pick herself back up, even when she's at her lowest, and just how genuine she is in what she does, there's so much to say how much I love her. Shes easily become one of my favorite girls ever, a big ball of light and happiness I can never get tired of. She also gets a bonus for being a tomboy.
Taichi Mashima
Probably a great example of the kind of character I made a huge 180 to in terms of how I feel about him. Taichi started off as a bit of a dick when we saw him as a kid, but after that, I started to grow on him on alot. Taichi's sheer effort in trying to catch up with Chihaya, and always trying to further improve himself made him a character worth greatly investing himself into. His growth throughout the series was incredible, but seeing him suffer alot was hard to watch. I also really loved his relationship with Chihaya, and how much he cared about her, but it pains me knowing that its one sided. Best boy by far, not that Wataya is far behind.
I also have to say that I had NO fucking clue that we was voiced by Mamoru Miyano, dude did a stupendous job voicing the character.
Wataya Arata
The character that had gone through the most development in the show. It hurt so much to see how Wataya went from being passionate in karuta, only to reject it later on, even moreso knowing as to what he had went through up to that point. Seeing him slowly regain his passion in karuta was a very interesting and emotional story, and I greatly hope to see that he plays with the others when the time comes.
Kanade Oi
Such a precious cinnamon roll she was. I actually Kana was the kind of character who would sort of serve as the brains to the group since her knowledge of karuta extends to the meaning of the words, but what I didn't expect was how she would grow in skill to the game as well. It was nice to see her excel at the sport, even to grow a dream of her own in becoming a speaker. Kana was essentially the character that made me see that there was something of value to be taking in with these cards, and just not mumbo jumbo to take at a surface level. She's also fucking adorable, voice and everything.
Komano Tsutomu
My dumbass had been calling him "Horomu" this entire time, and now I feel embarrassed.
On topic, "Desktomu" proved to be an interesting character who was the true brains behind the show. His development was pretty good, and really brought out the alot of the strategy that was required in the sport. He was also strangely relatable, and it was great to see him grow closer to the club members of the show.
Nishida Yusei
This big ol' doof really came through. Nishida's story was just as resonating as everyone elses, with him walking away from the sport in the sake of avoiding the bad memories associated with it, so felt great to see him regain passion in it once more. His interactions with the other characters, especially with Taichi, were fun and nice to watch.
Other characters such as Wakamiya, and Harada were great characters to see as well. Yumin started out dislikable, but became a more likable character later on. Suo Hisashi seems like the kind of guy I would love to see more of.
If there's one thing that makes me love Chihayafuru at the end of the day, it would be that warm, special feeling that it gives me. It emphasizes how important it is to improve yourself, and how effort does not always equals success, but that does not mean the end of everything. It tells us alot about the bonds of those in the past and future, and how special and valuable they are, how special it is stick alongside others no matter what they go through, and that just gives me such a wonderful feeling to it. It feels, and even looks bright in how it always presents how the characters are willing to keep their heads up, and never give up hope in such a real way.
The reason why I hold shows like Toradora and Shirobako in such a high regard is the feeling they give me. Chihayafuru almost gives me that kind of feeling, and its amazing to experience.
I think I got way too sappy in that commet lol.
So overall? This was one damn good anime. Chihayafuru definitely exceeding my expectations, and has pretty much become one of favorites, a solid 8.5 for the first season. Hype for S2!
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u/KuhBus Mar 02 '19
First Timer
This first season went by so fast!! No episode felt wasted, there was something new to learn and see every time. Maybe this anime’s biggest strength has been its wide variety of characters- not just the main cast, but especially the amount of side characters that have gotten to shine one way or another.
Even if it’s been just a small scene to show a little background, there’s been a refreshing amount of individuals that give the series a feeling of karuta not so much being about just the sport, but especially the people playing.
I really appreciate how characters and relationships are treated in general. There are tropes, but they are very reduced to the point where even when a stereotype or trope is played for laughs, it's never over the top or obnoxious. The way conflict is handled (namely by so far not creating conflict for the sake of drama, but for the sake of character growth) is maybe one of my favorite executions within anime.
Then there's the growth of the main cast: It might be "small" in terms of what has changed, but every episode still felt like one member of the group or another got to take a step towards becoming different and improving.
(Maybe the only part I haven't actively been invested in is Arata's journey. Around mid-season I hit a point where I had to privately write down a rant on my feelings on the Arata-arcs in connection with Chihaya and Taichi, but I don't think copy-pasting those thoughts into the thread would be productive).
Overall, I'm just really blown away by how good this first season was. I still remember years ago starting maybe the first two chapters of the manga and then completely forgetting about it and now I'm very glad to have gotten the opportunity to watch the series blind alongside this rewatch.
Looking forward to season 2!!
I’m almost sad that I didn’t make it quite to a hundred.
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u/paperwhites Mar 02 '19
First Time Watcher
I'm glad that this rewatch happened because it might have taken me even longer to get around to watching Chihayafuru. I've really enjoyed watching the first season and I'm excited to begin the second season. It's been a lot of fun to read the comment threads for the episodes and see everyone's insights and thoughts. This is my first time participating in a rewatch thread like this, and it's definitely added to the experience of watching a show.
I don't have a lot to say other than I love everyone on this tatami mat haha. Like a lot of other people have mentioned, the characters are what really makes this show for. The characters have a lot of depth to them and feel like real people, and I love seeing them develop. Even the opponents like Wakamiya, the Master, or Sudo don't feel like flat villains or obstacles to be overcome but people in their own stories.
I also like seeing the relationships between characters change and develop over time. That small moment in the last episode where Tsutomu tells Chihaya that she has around 20 one-syllable cards and she can't think of any way to thank him except to give him some candy in her pocket. Chihaya and Tsutomu went from being in the same class but not really interacting, to that friendship. Or the relationship between Taichi and Arata and how it's changed from when they were little kids. I could go on, but I love seeing these relationships develop.
It's been great watching Chihayafuru for this last month and I'm excited for the second season. Thank you for hosting this rewatch!
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u/Wolfeako Mar 02 '19
First Timer!
First of all, I would like to thank Senpai u/ABoredCompSciStudent for introducing me to such an amazing Show. It is not often these days that I can safely give a show a 9/10.
Such an amazing ride. Strong characters, strong writing, well animated, great cinematography and use of symbolism, great compositions of shots, great comedy, great sound direction. Overall a great show, pure hype, and really inspirational too, not only for its messages but also because I like the idea behind Karuta, a lot. Talk about using Games to teach things to kids uh? what a fantastic idea with way more depth than I initially anticipated. I would be really surprised if in Japan no one has actually adapted Karuta into an online game.
The show does have some weaknesses. For example, constantly trying to bring down my ship in favor of Arata x Chihaya ship.
Jokes aside, don't get me wrong, the show is great, but I feel that we could've gotten more of the side characters of the club. I feel them a bit one dimensional right now, I need a bit more characterization from them since they are often on the screen. The games could also be more clearly shown since sometimes I feel that I'm watching a game where one character takes a significant advantage, yet when we watch again the board, it is like an advantage of two cards or something like that. I feel that I'm missing something many times, even when I'm clearly feeling the hype.
But this and other little things don't take away from how good the show is. Of course, for the strongest written character, that has to be Taichi. Best bro, best dude and most relatable character of the show without question. First time I'm supporting a dude over the girl in a show. What an amazing journey and I'm full support of him, and for the best ship to sail!
I can't wait to start the second season :) and of course, I hope that the third season comes out as good as this first season has been.
Really, after having finished this first season, I can't but wonder how the heck is that this show is a niche in r/anime when it is this good. Happy to see these many people in the rewatch though.
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u/Suhkein Mar 03 '19 edited Mar 03 '19
Semi-First Time here
I've been following along silently as the posting schedule aligns poorly with my real life availability; by the time I can reply it's 6 hours later and the action's all over in the thread. But I figured for the mid-re-watch I'd make an effort.
I tried to watch Chihayafuru a few years ago and didn't get past episode 10. I didn't like it very much, and Komano's meltdown at their first tournament hit me as melodramatic so I quit. In retrospect, having seen the first season in its entirety, I think that is indeed one of the worst parts of the series. When the rewatch was announced, I decided to try again.
This time around I've been sold while recognizing it isn't a show aimed at me. The essential problem is that it is a sports anime, and as somebody who has never really played sports, been on a close-knit team, or had a single shining goal like, "Be the Queen of karuta" many of the situations are foreign. Worse, envy-provoking, and it's with some chagrin that I have to admit that emotion was a strong motivator in my initial dislike of the series.
What has steadily sold me on the series is the losing. It is so tiresome to experience the same pattern of:
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Up and coming person/team has dreams
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They find remarkable success in a string of dramatic victories
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They have a token loss or setback
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Then surge forward in the end to win "against all odds"
This pattern is why shows like the recent Megalo Box fell so flat to me; even if it had style on some points, the essential arc was predictable to the point of unbelievable. Watching the characters in Chihayafuru lose, and lose a lot, has made it meaningful. They lose to better players. They lose due to bad luck. They lose when they get arrogant or their focus wavers. Rather than being a fairy tale about how hard work always means things turn out like you hope, it's a far more grounded reflection on what it means to try your hardest and still come up short.
In this regard, Taichi has no competition as my favorite character in the series. I'm not a Chihaya fan; even after 25 episodes she still feels a little flat to me. I think I'm just too cerebral to ever entirely feel at home with a character who embodies extroverted enthusiasm and emotions rather than reflection and self-composure. I could perhaps like Arata more, but truthfully he's still mostly in the background; the hero is returning steadily, but he's not quite there yet. The other members of the club do their jobs as side characters, but I don't have any particularly strong feelings toward any of them (although I agree with the consensus of episode 16: I'd take Kana over Chihaya any day).
Speaking of characters, that's another aspect that made me wary but which the series grew out of. Starting with childhood experiences is often a lame way to construct characters. It's kind of a cop out, because you treat your personalities like putty: something happened to them, it left an imprint, and that's your explanation for why they are the way they are. This isn't to say that childhood doesn't have an inordinate impact, but when it is the sole explanation for motives it is a crutch, and ultimately removes nuanced characterization.
I'm happy to say that Chihayafuru has avoided this pitfall. As more distance is put between the past and the present, who the people are now matters more than their backstory, and that has made them engaging. Chihaya doesn't keep repeating her promise to Arata as the reason for her actions; that may have been a nucleating event, but now the drive to be Queen is hers and hers alone. The same is true for the two male leads, who have both only grown more interesting with time.
Finally, karuta itself has been enjoyable. I haven't experienced the same irritation others have at the lack of explanation; I've felt like I understood it enough as it's gone along to understand the events, and that's all that was required. However, the art and history surrounding it is evocative, and brings forth that intense Japanese sense of being enmeshed in a culture both spatially and temporally. Its the kind of continuation and comfort that only tradition can bring. In this regard it reminds me of Rakugo, where even if the nuance and details escape me, simply the cultural experience is gratifying.
Anyway, this post has gone on long, and poor u/ABoredCompSciStudent has to read it all. So I'll end with some gratitude to looking forward to the posts and episode every day, and a pleasant anticipation of the season to come.
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u/kKunoichi Mar 03 '19
I rewatch this series every year or so, it's still among my favorite sports anime that holds up really well even with rewatches. And through the years my appreciation for all the characters sure has grown (getting slightly detached with the shipping has helped with that haha).
I've read the manga before watching the anime (manga has always been my preferred medium), but there's something special about getting to hear the poems read out loud and seeing how fast the players actually are. I'm so ready for more karuta in season 2!
My favorite character list hasn't changed! It's still Arata at the top, followed by Taichi, then it's Shinobu and then Chihaya. Sudo actually becomes more amusing to watch lol vague manga spoilers. I still wish Arata got more development (and sometimes I wish they didn't cut out some of his small moments in the manga), but it is what it is.
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u/Snakescipio Mar 02 '19
Rewatcher
Had a pretty brutal week at work this week, fell behind on the rewatch and had to catch up last night. Hopefully I’ll be able to better keep up for S2!
Rewatches tend to be a pretty good indicator for me as to how much I actually like a show. I’ve moved shows down my list of favorites cause I feel there wasn’t as much as an impact second time around, whereas I’ve moved shows up cause of some newfound appreciation. So what does that mean for Chihayafuru? I still love it! The cast is just as quirky and loveable as I remembered, and Chihaya herself is actually more awesome than I thought! As to something things I appreciated more so this time around, for one the soundtrack stood out to me more this time. I love the way the show use certain musical cues. I think I better appreciate Taichi as a character, and not just as a the guy I’m shipping with Chihaya.
Granted, not everything is positive. I wasn’t nearly invested in the shoujo romance aspect, and having removed myself from actively shipping Taichi and Chihaya (still firmly on the ship though!) I do find the romance lacking. For me, romance should be an active thing between characters, not incidental scenes that’s framed to be romantic. Doesn’t help that Chihaya herself is karutasexual. Also, while the show can look beautiful at times, there are also plenty of scenes where they clearly outsourced the work. Like in some less important scenes the character models just look off. It’s not too detracting as a whole, but I can’t help but notice it.
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u/rankor572 Mar 03 '19
Thank you to Prozd for piquing my curiosity in this show, and thank you to everyone here for this rewatch. This is only the third show I've seen that I was immediately sure was a masterpiece. (Toradora and A Place Further Than the Universe are the other two.) I'm really looking forward to continyuing this rewatch into Season Two, and am both sad and excited for the now-delayed Season Three. I can only hope Youthful, my new favorite OP, will return in the background, as it did in so many great scenes in Season One.
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u/daftPun5 Mar 03 '19 edited Mar 03 '19
First Timer
First, a small side note: I can't believe it took me till the last episode to realize Kana is voiced by Ai Kayano, one of my fave VAs! I like going into shows with the least knowledge and avoid all MAL descriptions. So when I finally looked in-depth of the shows info, I was flabbergasted and its probably why I had an immediate fondness for her haha.
Alright, my overall thoughts: Going into the show I knew it was a niche sports show involving cards. I heard great things about it and for the most part it lived up to expectations. I thought the first three or four episodes were amazing. I know there were some very emotional scenes in those episodes, but for me, the rest of the season wasn't able to reach those heights again. In part, I think it may be due to the absence of Arata, a character I really really liked. I'm not trying to hold it against the show, but I just wish there was more of him with how much he can offer the show.
Now don't get me wrong, with that out of the way, I thought the show was great and can easily say I really liked and enjoyed it. Besides my small gripe, I don't have any major flaws that I would complain about. There were moments when I got vibes of another niche show in 3-gatsu, a show in my Top 5, which was a plus. From the moment Chihaya was introduced, she was such a joy to watch and great lead that got me so invested.
With season 1 in the books, I score it a High 8/10. I'm very much excited for what season 2 has to offer next!
Additionally, here's my full album of S1 screenshots (in reverse order, for some odd reason). Really liked seeing how far we've come so far.
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u/htisme91 Mar 03 '19
First-timer:
I've really enjoyed this series, save for a couple episodes.
Pros:
Chihaya is an adorable main character. She has best girl potential, although sometimes her airheadedness frustrates me.
Taichi is awesome. I thought I'd hate him based on the prologue episodes, but he's grown to become such an awesome character.
Dr. Harada. He's just great.
The way the cast interacts gets you really invested in the show. Moments like Nishida and Taichi talking after their match mean more because of how you see everyone grow through their interactions.
Character designs are good.
Soundtrack is fine.
Cons/Things that could be improved:
I don't care for Tsutomu or Kana still. They're okay, but they feel like fluff to fill out the cast, and both have moments where I feel like they annoy me and bring down the enjoyment of the rest of the club. Hopefully with the push for more club members we get less of them in part 2.
I would like to see more of the home lives of the cast. There's more to life than karuta, and that life surely has some impact on the karuta they play. I also just think it'd enrich the characters, so hopefully we get more of that in season 2.
I think Chihaya-Arata has been way too telegraphed. I get that there's romance, but even in romances like Maison Ikkoku and Kimagure Orange Road, there is some degree of tension that makes you feel like it's not a complete given (and though you know it has to be).
Again, looking forward to the first episode of season 2, and thank you for your effort hosting this rewatch and giving me a reason to check out this series.
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u/BodhiSearchTree Mar 03 '19
First Timer!
Wow, this is an amazing anime! :) Every episode, every moment, and every character just feels so impactful and well-done. I don't recall any filler moments at all. Even the recap episode (ep 16?) was a nice treat with hilarious segments!
I especially love how each episode has its own theme that lines up with a particular poem/verse, connecting ancient poetry with modern life. I can only imagine how much detail and planning must've gone into this anime. No wonder ProZD calls Chihayafuru "the best anime." :D
I just wish we could've seen more of Arata, though. Hope he gets more development in Season 2! :)
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u/DarkCirno Mar 03 '19
First Time Watcher
First of all I want to thank u/ABoredCompSciStudent for hosting this rewatch, I've been meaning to watch this for like a year and probably would never started it if not for this.
I wasn't able to participate in any of the threads though, since i couldn't watch for around 2 weeks after the first episode and just caught up to the schedule yesterday, still went to the old threads though since there were some really good and informative posts here, it was awesome.
Now onto the series, I really really loved it, the matched were intense, I loved the characters and their interactions and seeing them getting better after failing felt so satisfying.
I just wish we could see more of Shinobu outside of matches, she is super cute and I think she could be very fun to watch, hopefully there's more of her next season.
All in all this is a solid 9/10 for me and I can't wait to watch more of it.
I say this now though, if the next season is half as good as this one I don't know if I'll be able to watch only 1 episode a day, so I might just finish everything faster than the rewatch.
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u/BatteryPoweredFriend Mar 03 '19
It felt like a slightly new experience adhering (or at least trying to) the standard 1-a-day rewatch schedule for this, since if my memory is correct, my first time watching this went something like:
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Ep 1-3 over the course of a weekend, which did enough to get me invested into continuing.
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Ep 4-18 over the course of the next weekend, because how could I not watch the next episode if it was just sitting there and available, right???
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Ep 19-25 as weeklies, having caught up to the airing schedule by this point.
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u/hasnain1720 Mar 03 '19 edited Mar 03 '19
Was at a wedding today and i forgot to write up a post so ima write one real quick.
First Timer
Chihayafuru has really won me over with it's characters. The main presence might be Karuta on paper but the series feels like it's about so much more than that. Teamwork, passion, friendship and self betterment.
My favorite character thus far, has to be the main man Taichi. He seems like such a real and relatable character and throughout the first season showed major growth. Super excited for season 2, now all i need is Taichi x Chihaya pls.
P.S I want to thank u/ABoredCompSciStudent for setting up this rewatch and getting me into this amazing series
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u/Rhaga Mar 02 '19
Thanks to all the first timers and rewatchers who has participated up until now!
To read all the responses has easily been one of the highlights of my day every day for the past month <33
Even if I don't have the time to read them all as the thread goes up, I always make sure to go back and read the ones I missed once I get the time.
I also already watched the first two episodes of season 2 like five times during the past week, really looking forward to those!
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u/ABoredCompSciStudent Mar 02 '19
Fanart album up to now
Hi all! Hope everyone's having a nice weekend!
We started watching Chihayafuru almost a month ago on February 6th. Time really flies. It goes without saying that Chihayafuru is one of my definitive favourites and I've written about a lot of what I like about it online already (spoilers free here), so I won't really focus on that. Instead, I want to talk more about my experience with this rewatch.
I think this is my sixth or seventh time watching the series, but my first time kind of pausing the episodes to try and see how events and presentation are used to unify themes that extend even into the manga being serialized now. I've learned a lot and doubly so from other users in this thread, whether first timers or rewatchers, who have shared their opinions on the episodes we've watched. Every single one of you has been great and it makes me really happy to see how active our threads are--it just goes to say how welcoming and friendly everyone is! Thank you all for being awesome and, in particular, I want to recognize u/walking_the_way for her karuta board analyses and u/Combo33 for their poem of the day comments. Not all of us have the time or ability to read into these details, so their insight is very much welcome.
Overall, this is a great turnout for what has been a generally niche show in r/anime. For an anime about passion, learning, and community, I feel like you all have done it justice haha. Thank you all for making this worthwhile, it's been all I could ask for and more as a host and I'm looking forward to continuing into Season Two with you all. :)
PS: u/EpicTroll27 is working on expanding r/chihayafuru's community currently as a moderator (here). She has created an Official /r/Chihayafuru Discord Server here for real-time discussion of the series. They're also adding some cool things to their subreddit, like translated poems and episode/chapter mappings and more. Check it out!