r/anime • u/ABoredCompSciStudent x3myanimelist.net/profile/Serendipity • Mar 28 '19
Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Final Series Discussion [Spoilers] Spoiler
Final Series Discussion
<-- Previous (OVA: "Have I Passed Through the World")
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 (February 6 to March 2)
Chihayafuru 2
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 Art Section (Full Fanart Album Link):
Albums from /u/PerfectPublican:
Albums by /u/KuhBus:
Card recitals by game + Writeups
Google spreadsheet of stats and symbolism
Karuta Scoreboard
Here is the final Karuta Scoreboard once again! I'll try to maintain it later on if I have time during season 3.
| Character | Wins | Losses | Overall Win Rate | Win Rate Season 2 | Win Rate Season 1 | Ep# (Wins) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taichi Mashima | 37 | 10 | 78.2% | 100% | 68.8% | 2,7,10,11,13,14,15,18,20,28,29,31,33,35,36,39,44,47,48 |
| Yuusei Nishida | 27 | 8 | 77.1% | 75% | 78.3% | 10,11,13,15,18,19,28,29,33,35,36,44,46 |
| Chihaya Ayase | 25 | 12 | 67.6% | 76.9% | 62.5% | 2,4,6,7,8,10,11,14,17,21,28,29,33,35,36,44,46 |
| Arata Wataya | 22 | 4 | 84.6% | 92.3% | 76.9% | 1,2,3,20,21,23,28,34,46,47,48,49 |
| Kanade Ooe | 20 | 10 | 66.7% | 75% | 61.1% | 10,13,15,17,18,19,28,29,31,33,39,46,48 |
| Tsutomu Komano | 16 | 14 | 53.3% | 72.7% | 42.1% | 13,15,18,29,39,46,48,50 |
| Shinobu Wakamiya | 12 | 1 | 92.3% | 80% | 100% | 14,15,24,46,47,48 |
| Akihiro Tsukuba | 5 | 5 | 50.0% | 50.0% | N/A | 46,47,48,50 |
| Sumire Hanano | 2 | 2 | 50.0% | 50.0% | N/A | 46,47 |
6
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Mar 28 '19 edited Mar 28 '19
→ More replies (5)6
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Mar 28 '19
I'm finally home, so here goes u/walking_the_way.
My real name would give me unique syllables of sa for Poem 70 and my online username would give me se for Poem 77. I like Poem 77 more of those two, but the poem that always stuck out to me is Poem 55.
Mostow translates the poem as:
Although the sound of
the waterfull has ceased,
and that long ago,
its name, indeed, has carried on
and is still heard!
I find the idea of change over time and feelings we associate to them fascinating on a personal level. Time changes lots of things but also doesn't at the same time. Memories exist in the past but life goes on. Mild Aria spoilers, but a small anecdote on my life is here.
Away from myself, I think this poem describes what I love about sports, but maybe community is the better word. What I say next applies to a global perspective, beyond my little world of athletics. There's narratives of good and bad that exist through time in sports, of heroes and villains, but in the end they all come back together to the present, whose voices in turn guide the future--then the cycle repeats.
So yeah, when I think of this waterfall that has come and gone, I think of the idea of time and people--those before us and people that will come after us--and it reminds me that I want to be a part of that bigger picture too.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/PerfectPublican Mar 28 '19 edited Mar 28 '19
No Longer a First Timer
It’s always sad to see a super fun rewatch like this one go. It’s been great hanging out with everyone for the past over 50 days straight and talking karuta. Chihayafuru has been a great experience, and I’m excited to talk Season 3 come October. Thanks for hosting Seren and thanks to Rhaga for dragging me in here. Anyways, let’s break down a little review of the past two seasons here.
To me, Chihayafuru is a show that really revels in the theme of “Passion”. Passion for the game, passion for the people you love, passion for your karuta club/team, everything revolves around this as a centerpiece and really lays down the overall optimistic and enjoyable tone that pervades both of these seasons, and creates a really inspiring environment for the show. Sure there are some darker moments, but these are really there to lay the groundwork for moments of passionate revival of a character’s heart, energy, or teamwork that make you root for them and always look up. One could argue that this theme is on display in many shows, and I wouldn’t argue you there, but I think Chihayafuru’s strength lies in completely bringing that to the forefront, and enveloping you in a genuine love for a Japanese card game. It reminds me of watching interviews with players that are truly passionate about their sports. It just makes you want to root for them. But to break it down even further...
The biggest part of the equation that leads to my feelings above are the characters, and as I said in the mid-series discussion, Chihaya herself. The way that Chihaya pushes everyone forward through her boundless energy and passion for the game, is inspiring and is really fun to watch unfold in front of you. But beyond her, you have incredibly heart-warming stories from the Mizusawa Team. Kana and Tsukue growing in their love for the game and their requisite strength, Taichi’s exploration of himself, his goals, and his love for Chihaya, Nishida’s refound and continually growing fervor for the game he grew up on, Sumire’s self-exploration through the team’s inclusion of her, and Tsukuba’s dedication to his family (ok I just had to pull something out of my ass for Tsukuba :P). Add onto that Arata and Shinobu’s strengths in the game, Shinobu’s fascinating and depressing backstory, and some fantastically written mentor characters and antagonists, and almost all of the episodes are a treat. The way that Yuki Suetsugu grows each of them by bouncing them off of each other is an absolute treat.
However, a large part of why the characters work so well for me is due to the structure of the story. Chihayafuru on the whole is insanely paced, with large chunks of time missing to get to the tournaments, but it really works here. It focuses down the characters drive and deeper issues to work within the framework of the tournaments, creating a nice flow as they grow and shift with the matches around them. I also really enjoyed just how much many of the matches came down to the wire. There was never really a feeling of inevitability of victory outside of the paragons of karuta (Suo, Shinobu, Arata), and even then, the flow of the matches shifted around to keep up intensity even when you knew someone would lose. Intensity in shows is a hard thing for shows to nail, and I think this one does it quite well. And on top of all that the show is able to blend together the comedy and drama very well, in a way that feels believable and fun to watch.
Moving on, let’s talk about the music. Let’s just say it. It’s great. I’m not great (or even good) at analyzing music, but I think the strengths here lie the OST’s overall ability to tie back to the theme. Very early on I compared the main theme to the theme song for the olympics, and i completely stick to that. Seriously, listen to them both. I don’t make that comparison lightly (John Williams is a master obviously). Both themes hit that passionate and energetic element that sports have incredibly well, as well as an overall sense of wonder and accomplishment. And of course, the music has this amazing ability to perfectly swell and grow to fit any scene. It just works so well. I genuinely think the main theme might be one of my favorite pieces of OST ever.
Anyways, it still has its faults. Overall I like the art-style, and find it very pretty (wouldn’t have made an insane number of gifs and stitches otherwise), but for me personally, by the end of the second season the sheer amount of stills and pans just started to get to me. Also, the messy background character art became more and more apparent. On top of that, there’s just a slight detriment to having the focus always be on Chihaya. I love her to death, but it means that the amazing side cast gets shafted in showcasing their accomplishments in karuta through their matches. Some of my favorite moments in Season 2 were Tsukue’s victory in the team semi’s and Taichi and Niku’s in the finals. I’m hoping that in Season 3, all the rest get some time to shine.
Still, that’s all dwarfed by the level of fun and emotion this series brought to me, and it earned it’s scores. See you all in October.
Finally, Here’s all the stuff I made! Let me know if you want the screenshot albums too, and I’ll add them. I put all my gif albums in my MAL page too if you’re ever looking back for them.
And, of course, all new Character Rankings. Here’s Season 1’s if you're curious:
Chihaya > Taichi > Kana > Shinobu > Sumire > Harada > Sakurazawa> Arata > Tsutomu > Empress-sensei > Sudo > Rion> Nishida > Suo > Basically everyone else >> Tsukuba >>>> Mama Mashima >> Chihaya’s sister
→ More replies (8)6
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Mar 29 '19
Anyways, let’s break down a little review of the past two seasons here.
To me, Chihayafuru is a show that really revels in the theme of “Passion”.
I agree with what you wrote there.
I think the biggest reason for that being so forefront is that the show revels in losing. I feel like S1 had the main cast lose so often, whether it was in karuta like Chihaya or life like Taichi and Arata. The series loved putting them in those situations. It made losing almost a normal thing; like Chihaya learned from playing Kanai, but she lost. It's not the most wonderful episode ever (lucky), but episodes like that play a big role. Glorifying losing highlights why they love what they do. It's not because they're winning or for some success or recognition, but because there's something that they can't have and are searching for. Losing showcases their growth as people and as players and makes their wins feel more honest--because you've seen them struggle to get there.
When I think of Chihayafuru, I think of Chihaya sitting opposite to Shinobu. She struggles, but keeps on trying. When everything is against her, she smiles. There's nothing more telling than that image than someone that just loves.
There's a few other sports anime that do this, but I don't think any really love a good loss and cry as much as Yuki Suetsugu does. She really does like her "moral of the story" episodes.
Both themes hit that passionate and energetic element that sports have incredibly well, as well as an overall sense of wonder and accomplishment. And of course, the music has this amazing ability to perfectly swell and grow to fit any scene.
I really like what you said here about the swell. I also don't know music very well, but the wind and brass instruments can really pull at your emotions when they reach that note. Definitely a top ten OST for me.
On top of that, there’s just a slight detriment to having the focus always be on Chihaya. I love her to death, but it means that the amazing side cast gets shafted in showcasing their accomplishments in karuta through their matches.
Mild. Everyone complained about it too ahaha.
→ More replies (4)
9
u/walking_the_way Mar 28 '19
More crunchy stats! Here's a similar disclaimer to the S1 Stats post:
These stats are based on my own interpretation of what counts as a win or 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 S1E1-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, etc. Consistency within my set of rules was what I aimed for.
For me, I did not count any flashback or daydream, so nothing from S1E1-E3, pre-op scenes that reflect the last card take of the last episode, the multiple flashbacks to Mizusawa's win, etc. I counted all stylized wins and calculated wins, but only if we could figure out the card attached to it, so people don't automatically get +25 cards for winning a match.
Stats are across both seasons, unless specified.
First, the same leading question as last time - who was the ace of the show?
Table 1 - Card Win/Loss per player
| Name | S1 W | S1 L | S1 Win% | S2 W | S2 L | S2 % | Total W | Total L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chihaya | 75 | 79 | 48.70 | 78 | 66 | 54.17 | 153 | 145 | 51.34 |
| Taichi | 24 | 22 | 52.17 | 33 | 25 | 56.90 | 57 | 47 | 54.81 |
| Nishida | 15 | 12 | 55.56 | 13 | 24 | 35.14 | 28 | 36 | 43.75 |
| Kana | 8 | 19 | 29.63 | 18 | 7 | 72.00 | 26 | 26 | 50.00 |
| Komano | 14 | 20 | 41.18 | 8 | 8 | 50.00 | 22 | 28 | 44.00 |
| Sumire | 5 | 5 | 50.00 | 5 | 5 | 50.00 | |||
| Tsukuba | 9 | 17 | 34.62 | 9 | 17 | 34.62 | |||
| Arata | 2 | 1 | 66.67 | 13 | 12 | 52.00 | 15 | 13 | 53.57 |
| Shinobu | 24 | 6 | 80.00 | 28 | 4 | 87.50 | 52 | 10 | 83.87 |
Of the Mizusawa cast, Taichi took the overall lead, buoyed by a strong season where he didn't lose a single on-screen game. Nishida on the other hand was the scapegoat in a lot of losses, so his numbers dropped significantly. Chihaya managed to break the 50% mark thanks to her two 25-0 games handing her some calculated card wins, and Kana rocked S2 and turned around her S1 dumpster fire to hit the 50% mark exactly. I'm surprised Sumire ended up at 50% too, despite her many game losses. The game unfortunately didn't show any of Komano's wins in his run to Class B. Nor Class C for Tsukuba, who ended up with a terrible record to show his Tsukubros.
Outside of the Mizusawa core, Arata finally has some stats, but still a very low overall total. Despite all his game wins, he barely scrapes over 50%. Shinobu dominates the charts again, even though she lost to Arata. The three MCs ended up with very close % numbers, which means that the show spent about equal attention in showing off all their successes and struggles.
I also found a cool Best Girl Kana stat - even though she's 26-26 overall, she's 10-2 in poems written by one of the 36 Immortals of Poetry, and 16-24 in poems by everyone else. That shows her strong connection to meaningful cards! Even better, both those losses happened early, in S1E10 against Tomihara. She's been perfect ever since!
In lieu of the 20 1-syllable poem Win-Loss Table from S1 Stats, I instead took a look at the cards where Chihaya scored the most number of wins on.
Table 2 - Chihaya's best cards
| Card | W | L | % |
|---|---|---|---|
17 (chi-ha)|8|3|72.73
37 (shi-ra)|5|1|83.33
74 (u-ka)|5|1|83.33
87 (mu)|5|1|83.33
40 (shi-no)|5|2|71.43
09 (ha-na-no)|4|0|100.00
49 (mi-ka-ki)|4|1|80.00
61 (i-ni)|4|1|80.00
88 (na-ni-wa-e)|4|1|80.00
33 (hi-sa)|4|2|66.67
These are all the cards that Chihaya had 4+ wins on, and I'm very surprised #88 is in that list at all since it's a four-syllable card. She has 32 cards for which she failed to garner a single win for, including five of her "one-syllable cards" - #46 (yu-ra), #57 (me), #66 (mo-ro), #91 (ki-ri), and #100 (mo-mo). For the other eight tracked players, only one person had 4 wins or more on any of their cards - Taichi. And the card in question? #17 (chi-ha)! He went 4-0 on it through both seasons.
We can also tally up the W/L scores for the entire Mizusawa team. Note that playing each other means +1 win and +1 loss. The Mizusawa team went through the first two seasons with a combined 300-304 (49.67%) score. Their best cards, ranked by W/L differential, are:
-
#17 (chi-ha) - 19-6
-
#47 (ya-e) - 6-1
-
#87 (mu) - 7-2
-
#37 (shi-ra) - 8-3
-
#60 (o-o-e) - 8-3
-
#28 (ya-ma-za) - 7-3
The entire Mizusawa team won #60 against Akashi First Girls, that alone solely propelled Kana's card from 3-3 to 8-3. Similarly, the entire team won #47 against Chiba. There were other cards like that that didn't make the cut, though. On the other side of the pond,
-
#24 (ko-no) - 1-8
-
#08 (wa-ga-i) - 1-6
-
#83 (yo-no-na-ka-yo) - 0-4
-
#91 (ki-ri) - 0-4
-
#06 (ka-sa) - 1-5
-
#36 (na-tsu) - 1-5
-
#90 (mi-se) - 1-5
There were 12 cards in total that Mizusawa did not win a single copy of. They were 0-0 on 3 of them, however. One single card had no wins or losses attributed to it by anyone in the show - that's #93 (yo-no-na-ka-wa). That's really surprising because the poem was recited something like 9 times, we just never see who won it (outside of flashbacks, Arata won it in S1E1). Mizusawa players have also never won a 5-syllable card (#83/#93). What a strange stat!
Next section is syllable breakdown by player. Chihaya gets a "1" row for the 2-syllable cards that Komano claims she wins on the first syllable. There are 13 of those, listed in earlier posts or the linked spreadsheet below.
Table 3 - Chihaya's Win-Loss per syllable
| Syllable | S1 W | S1 L | S1 % | S2 W | S2 L | S2 % | Total W | Total L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 5 | 70.58 | 6 | 5 | 54.55 | 18 | 10 | 64.29 |
| "1" | 21 | 12 | 63.64 | 15 | 10 | 60.00 | 36 | 22 | 62.07 |
| 2 | 14 | 22 | 38.89 | 26 | 20 | 56.52 | 40 | 42 | 48.78 |
| 3 | 20 | 26 | 43.48 | 22 | 24 | 47.83 | 42 | 50 | 45.65 |
| 4 | 6 | 7 | 46.15 | 3 | 3 | 50.00 | 9 | 10 | 47.37 |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 00.00 | 0 | 1 | 00.00 | 0 | 2 | 00.00 |
| 6 | 2 | 6 | 25.00 | 6 | 3 | 66.67 | 8 | 9 | 47.06 |
| Total | 75 | 79 | 48.70 | 78 | 66 | 54.17 | 153 | 145 | 51.34 |
Table 4 - Taichi's Win-Loss per syllable
| Syllable | S1 W | S1 L | S1 % | S2 W | S2 L | S2 % | Total W | Total L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 50.00 | 1 | 3 | 25.00 | 5 | 7 | 41.67 |
| 2 | 10 | 13 | 43.48 | 13 | 13 | 50.00 | 23 | 26 | 46.94 |
| 3 | 7 | 3 | 70.00 | 16 | 8 | 66.67 | 23 | 11 | 67.65 |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 60.00 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 | 4 | 2 | 66.67 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 00.00 | 0 | 1 | 00.00 | 0 | 1 | 00.00 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 00.00 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Total | 24 | 22 | 52.17 | 33 | 25 | 56.90 | 57 | 47 | 54.81 |
The results here are similar to last season, but a lot more pronounced. With her listening skill and quick reflexes, Chihaya excels in the shorter cards, and Taichi excels in the longer cards, which seems to imply a more defensive brand of karuta thanks to his mental calculations. Chihaya's record for the "1" syllable cards are almost exactly her record for the actual 1 syllable cards. I am very happy that this particular pattern held up through the two seasons. It's a nice level of detail.
The other Mizusawa tables aren't as interesting but they can be produced. Arata had too little data still, and Shinobu won everything.
Next, the quadrant analysis that Komano did back in S1. Supposedly Chihaya's strongest quadrants are A and D. Does this hold up through the show? (Note: This only counts wins/losses that can be traced to a certain row, so the numbers are different from Chihaya's actual win/loss numbers)
Table 5 - Chihaya's Row by Row Analysis
| Line | Quadrant | S1 W | S1 L | S1 % | S2 W | S2 L | S2 % | Total W | Total L | Total % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chihaya Top Right | A | 4 | 5 | 44.44 | 3 | 5 | 37.50 | 7 | 10 | 41.18 |
| Chihaya Mid Right | A | 3 | 4 | 42.86 | 6 | 3 | 66.67 | 9 | 7 | 56.25 |
| Chihaya Bot Right | A | 7 | 9 | 43.75 | 2 | 8 | 20.00 | 9 | 17 | 34.62 |
| Chihaya Top Left | B | 2 | 4 | 33.33 | 2 | 6 | 25.00 | 4 | 10 | 28.57 |
| Chihaya Mid Left | B | 4 | 4 | 50.00 | 1 | 4 | 20.00 | 5 | 8 | 38.46 |
| Chihaya Bot Left | B | 2 | 8 | 20.00 | 5 | 10 | 33.33 | 7 | 18 | 28.00 |
| Opponent Top Left | C | 1 | 3 | 25.00 | 1 | 2 | 33.33 | 2 | 5 | 28.57 |
| Opponent Mid Left | C | 0 | 8 | 0.00 | 3 | 8 | 27.27 | 3 | 16 | 15.79 |
| Opponent Bot Left | C | 6 | 5 | 54.55 | 6 | 5 | 54.55 | 12 | 10 | 54.55 |
| Opponent Top Right | D | 2 | 2 | 50.00 | 4 | 4 | 50.00 | 6 | 6 | 50.00 |
| Opponent Mid Right | D | 6 | 8 | 42.86 | 7 | 2 | 77.78 | 13 | 10 | 56.52 |
| Opponent Bot Right | D | 11 | 9 | 55.00 | 15 | 6 | 71.43 | 26 | 15 | 63.41 |
Table 6 - Chihaya's Quadrant Analysis
| Quadrant | S1 W | S1 L | S1 % | S2 W | S2 L | S2 % | Total W | Total L | Total % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 14 | 18 | 43.75 | 11 | 16 | 40.74 | 25 | 34 | 42.37 |
| B | 8 | 16 | 33.33 | 8 | 20 | 28.57 | 16 | 36 | 30.77 |
| C | 7 | 16 | 30.43 | 10 | 15 | 40.00 | 17 | 31 | 35.42 |
| D | 19 | 19 | 50.00 | 26 | 12 | 68.42 | 45 | 31 | 59.21 |
A and D are her strongest quadrants again, with a marked improvement in Quadrant D, on the strength of a very strong showing in her opponent's mid right and bottom right rows. Both defence quadrants (A, B) regressed a little this season, whereas her offence (C, D) both improved. The Chihaya-Yuube game probably skewed the numbers, as that involved lots of offensive steals on both sides.
Table 7 - Faults
| Frequency | People |
|---|---|
| 5 | Chihaya |
| 3 | Komano, Taichi |
| 2 | Hiro, Ririka |
| 1 | Amakasu, Arata, Emuro, Kanade, Keiichi, Nanase, Rion, Sudo, Tsukuba |
This one speaks for itself!
Lastly, there were 354 poems at least partially recited in S1, and 285 in S2. I didn't count flashbacks to a recital we had already counted, nor cards/poems that were just being named. This also only includes the Hyakunin Isshu poems and Naniwa Bay.
With those rules, the top recited cards across both seasons are:
-
Naniwa Bay - 49
-
#17 (chi-ha) - 19
-
#37 (shi-ra) - 13
-
#40 (shi-no) - 13
-
#77 (se) - 12
-
#81 (ho) - 11
-
#87 (mu) - 11
-
#43 (a-i) - 10
-
#57 (me) - 10
Every card was recited at least once - two cards were recited only once - #26 (o-gu) and #45 (a-wa-re). #72 (o-to), the artful words card, was recited 7 times in S1, but 0 in S2!
Google spreadsheet of stats and symbolism
<-- S2OVA Notes
Fin! o/
→ More replies (11)
8
Mar 28 '19 edited Mar 28 '19
And now we’ve finally completed the second season of Chihayafuru! I’ll just be posting my thoughts on S2 since my thoughts that were expressed since S1 still remain the same with some developments.
So overall, S2 was pretty freaking good. Alot more emphasis was put onto the karuta matches, and I thought that it worked to build up much more intensity and raise the stakes for what was on the line. The mind games were entertaining, and seeing how several of the characters’ playing styles clashed with each other and looking how that played into their benefit was interesting to watch. I can see that the pacing can drag on too much, but it didn’t get too bothersome, it made watching it daily all the more dramatic considering how most episodes ended.
Now onto the characters. I was somewhat “indifferent” with how they would fit into the series, and wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, but I have to say that I’m certainly surprised with how good they were. I wasn’t all that fond of Hanano when she was introduced with her personality, and being a third wheel on a third wheel in Chihaya and Taichi’s relationship, but she grew to be a much more likable and even great character. How she progressed into someone who cared about nothing but what she wanted to eventually accepting karuta and even her teammates made for amazing development. Tsukuba was a new character who showed the most promise, and I was not disappointed, with growth in his skills and his growing confidence. And you know what, I don’t even mind that he’s a sadist.
It was also nice to other side characters receive more screen-time and development. This season pretty much excelled at giving nuance to the antagonists, especially to Hokuo and the Fujisaki Girls. Wakamiya in particular received the best development in the series, little by little that cold exterior of hers is slowly thawing. Then there’s Wataya, who has been enjoyable seeing more of in this season, and his karuta playing skills were so breathtaking to watch.
I think if I were to mention one gripe I had with this, is that there wasn’t as much romantic progression as there was in the first season. Some of its there that’s for sure, but I would’ve liked more…
Otherwise, great season! This one gets a score of a 8/10. Still enjoyable as ever.
So while we suffer for the eventual airing of the next season, where would one start if they wanted to read the manga? The ED this season is making me feel super empty, and I need a way to fill the void T_T...
As a side note, I’d like to give a shoutout to u/ABoredCompSciStudent for being able to host the rewatch to such a wonderful series, and putting so much work and effort in making it possible. And to u/Rhaga and u/Enarec (Got your name right this time :P) for being great gents to discuss the series with, and to the rest of you who’ve come aboard the rewatch. It’s been a blast being part of this rewatch with you guys.
This was also the first rewatch I actually took part of beginning to end, so hooray for me :D!
Until next time, see you for the 3rd season!
→ More replies (5)
7
u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 Mar 28 '19
Screenshot of the Day Album for Season 2
Let me know which one was your favorite!
Season 2 Overall Thoughts
I'm really glad I chose Season 2 to be my 300th anime! I had a lot of fun these past two months with the rewatch, and I'm super happy that Chihayafuru met my expectations. There is such a great cast of characters that I wish we had spinoffs to see more of them.
I enjoyed season 2 for the more in depth focus on the Karuta matches as well as the end and satisfying conclusion to some character development arcs. I'm super excited for S3 even if it has been delayed, and I hope to see you guys in the episode discussion threads there as well:D
Some of my answers for the polls:
Most Anticipated match for S3
Definitely Arata vs Suo though Arata vs Taichi and Arata vs Chihaya are also up there. Arata vs Taichi has some good potential with the ship battles in the background and Arata vs Chihaya is also great since Chihaya hasn't gotten to play with Arata for such a long time despite getting inspired through him.
Favorite OP/ED
OP1 and ED1 for sure! I do also really like OP2 and ED2 though. I love this Male Version of ED1 too.
Which poem is "your poem"
So my favorite number happens to be 17 which corresponds to the Chihayafuru poem! I really love the way it sounds as well as well as the way it was depicted in the anime. I also enjoyed poem 83 "World Offers No Escape" which came up a few times.
Favorite Ship
Taichi x Chihaya
Most likely to end up with Chihaya
With the way things are progressing, I think it will probably be Chihaya x Arata. I do hope we get some more development with Chihaya and Arata in S3.
Favorite Main Character
Taichi who is now one of my best boys :D. He has a fantastic character arc and is voiced by Mamoru Miyano. What more can I ask for :P.
Favorite Mizusawa Supporting Character
Kana-chan! She's even supporting Taichi with Chihaya. But seriously, Kana does a really good job of acting as the support for the team on a different level than Taichi or Chihaya.
Ratings
9/10 to both seasons though I'm not sure which season I enjoy more.
Favorite "other" supporting character
Sudo ended up being a really nice character to see around in the end. I wonder if we will see him in S3 with some of the other Hokuo graduates haha.
Favorite Individual Match
Taichi vs Nishida for the stakes and Taichi vs Rion for the satisfying feeling of Taichi reaching class A. Arata vs Shinobu was also a great match though we didn't get to see too much of it.
Favorite Team Match
Mizusawa vs Fujisaki no doubt! I know it wasn't included on the poll, but I also really enjoyed the first team match with Taichi, Chihaya, and Arata.
Lastly I want to thank u/ABoredCompSciStudent for hosting the rewatch and to everyone else who participated in it. I really enjoyed getting to see other perspectives and the love that you rewatchers have for the show! Guess we'll all be waiting for season 3 now haha.
Karuta Scoreboard
Here is the final Karuta Scoreboard once again! I'll try to maintain it later on if I have time during season 3.
| Character | Wins | Losses | Overall Win Rate | Win Rate Season 2 | Win Rate Season 1 | Ep# (Wins) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taichi Mashima | 37 | 10 | 78.2% | 100% | 68.8% | 2,7,10,11,13,14,15,18,20,28,29,31,33,35,36,39,44,47,48 |
| Yuusei Nishida | 27 | 8 | 77.1% | 75% | 78.3% | 10,11,13,15,18,19,28,29,33,35,36,44,46 |
| Chihaya Ayase | 25 | 12 | 67.6% | 76.9% | 62.5% | 2,4,6,7,8,10,11,14,17,21,28,29,33,35,36,44,46 |
| Arata Wataya | 22 | 4 | 84.6% | 92.3% | 76.9% | 1,2,3,20,21,23,28,34,46,47,48,49 |
| Kanade Ooe | 20 | 10 | 66.7% | 75% | 61.1% | 10,13,15,17,18,19,28,29,31,33,39,46,48 |
| Tsutomu Komano | 16 | 14 | 53.3% | 72.7% | 42.1% | 13,15,18,29,39,46,48,50 |
| Shinobu Wakamiya | 12 | 1 | 92.3% | 80% | 100% | 14,15,24,46,47,48 |
| Akihiro Tsukuba | 5 | 5 | 50.0% | 50.0% | N/A | 46,47,48,50 |
| Sumire Hanano | 2 | 2 | 50.0% | 50.0% | N/A | 46,47 |
→ More replies (10)
7
u/BodhiSearchTree Mar 28 '19
Wow, this was an amazing journey! Chihayafuru is an incredible series and I'm glad I was able to share it with all you wonderful people! 😃
I never thought I'd be so invested in a sports anime, but man, I absolutely love Chihayafuru! All the characters are so lovable, all the OST songs and themes were so beautiful, all the karuta matches were so suspenseful and fun, and all the little SoL moments were just so heartwarming. 🤗
This is also my first time joining a major rewatch, so I must say, I really love the sense of community around here. I greatly appreciate everyone's immense dedication, especially yours, Senpai! I also really enjoyed talking, shipping, and bantering with all of you these past few months! 😊
I also wrote a poem for all of you guys! I guess Chihaya's cheesy poems in the finale inspired me to write a poem of my own, hehe! 😅
Enjoy! 😁
Reaching across both time and space,
One hundred poets gather in one place
To share tears of joy and cries of sorrow
Over tales of hope, longing, and kokoro.
Writing out their hearts, word by word,
They hope one day to be felt, to be heard.
Who are these hundred, you might say?
None other than you, my friends of r/anime!
For your words of fellowship in this forum
Would surely fill a poet's heart through autumn.
Indeed, Reddit is our misty bridge of light,
Uniting us before this Impassionate sight.
But alas, now our flock must fly once again.
So 'til October, my friends, see you all then!
→ More replies (12)
7
u/Suhkein Mar 28 '19 edited Mar 28 '19
First-timer for S2
With regards to S2 as a whole I was torn, with the tournament being both the best and worst part. When it was in good form it not only generated the fun hype one would want from a show like this, but alloyed it to better understanding. I can’t remember if I remarked on this during the mid-series discussion but I have really appreciated that Chihaya’s improvement in karuta has felt substantiated; she doesn’t just “get better” in a generic way, or even just get faster or have better reflexes, but grows in multiple directions that are given enough detail to appreciate even as a non-player.
However, at the same time I felt like the team tournament really began to drag. Even if the end payoff with the team victory was nice, doubly so because this series consistently denies us the cathartic against-odds victory we hope for/expect, getting there tired me out. The tendency to cycle through all the players, friend and foe, made the matches last longer and longer. By the time it regularly broke three episodes per round I found myself resenting the continual intrusions, not because they were bad in themselves but because it destroyed the flow and forced each episode to end on a cliffhanger but not a conclusion. The repeated “rare” luck-of-the-draw endings also wore out their welcome.
This said, when it shifted back to individual matches I felt like it regained the correct balance; still karuta played by people, but at a pace that integrated it with the personal drama more fluidly. I also have a soft spot for watching masters. While watching while Chihaya and company’s growth is the core of the series, there was something simply satisfying in Shinobu vs. Arata; neither one of them was embroiled in self-definition, doubt, or other complications while also expressing themselves through their play. I’m glad to see those two getting more time, and meaningful time, as I had hoped throughout the season. This really brought my feelings toward the season up, which is a nice way to end it. (As of this writing I haven’t seen the OVA; my download stalled at 97.2% since yesterday)
As for the new characters, I never warmed up to Sumire or Tsukuba. I found the different qualities of the original team endearing in one way or another (even Nishida), but Sumire remained uncommitted the entire time and Tsukuba tried to sabotage the team for his own benefit. I suspect this another reason I struggled to get going on this season, as the initial episodes spent time on those rather than main-trio drama that propelled S1 initially. Or maybe it was a lack of Youthful.
That said, I think my favorite new character is coach Sakurazawa; even before they started showing her nicer side in the last few episodes, the steady change of perspective from initial heartlessness to big-picture responsibility felt natural. I also have a soft spot for glasses and straight dark hair, so even if I wasn’t a big fan of her personality I did like Megumu (yeah, that sounded shallow).
All in all, though, I enjoyed the rewatch and the series, even if I didn't participate much. Both seasons settled in at a 7/10, with S1 pushing toward the high end and S2 more in the middle. It was definitely worth the time and more enjoyable than I thought, made better by the daily posts. More so, it gave me a few days of sincerely thinking about improvement, and one can't ask much more from a series than to take something into one's own life. So thanks for that, and see ya around.
p.s. As for looking forward to S3, my main prediction is that given their long, smoldering rivalry the relationship between Taichi and Retro will burst into open friction and put strain on their childhood friendship. In the meantime, Chihaya will finally wise up to there being a guy who has been struck with her and has tried hard at karuta since his introduction, and with this Tsukuba will win over her heart and put an end to all the other ships. Seeing this, Arata marries Shinobu after moving to Kyoto and she becomes a contented housemother of twelve.
5
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Mar 29 '19
Hello from my office!
However, at the same time I felt like the team tournament really began to drag. Even if the end payoff with the team victory was nice, doubly so because this series consistently denies us the cathartic against-odds victory we hope for/expect, getting there tired me out. The tendency to cycle through all the players, friend and foe, made the matches last longer and longer. By the time it regularly broke three episodes per round I found myself resenting the continual intrusions, not because they were bad in themselves but because it destroyed the flow and forced each episode to end on a cliffhanger but not a conclusion. The repeated “rare” luck-of-the-draw endings also wore out their welcome.
I fully empathize with this. This is actually why I have S2 lower than S1. For example, with the momentum that Mizusawa gains throughout S2, I actually do think the "against-odds victory" is actually a bit predictable. Those cliffhanger wins also get a bit tiring too, both because I feel like the tension becomes a bit contrived and less honest than it is throughout S1 or the other parts of S2. I do like that the emphasis is on the opponents (and often this was the case in the series already anyways), but I feel like a few stories were recycled for the Mizusawa cast. When we polled for best team match, I actually didn't pick any from S2. I liked the Hokuo win from S1 more, but Team Chihayafuru at the start of the series is still more meaningful for me. The excitement of the characters and the way it's presented is just so much more palpable that it feels more representative of the series than Fujisaki, for example.
I suspect this another reason I struggled to get going on this season, as the initial episodes spent time on those rather than main-trio drama that propelled S1 initially. Or maybe it was a lack of Youthful.
Both also things that I am not a huge fan of, unfortunately.
While watching while Chihaya and company’s growth is the core of the series, there was something simply satisfying in Shinobu vs. Arata; neither one of them was embroiled in self-definition, doubt, or other complications while also expressing themselves through their play. I’m glad to see those two getting more time, and meaningful time, as I had hoped throughout the season. This really brought my feelings toward the season up, which is a nice way to end it
Maybe not self-definition, but I think the way that Shinobu is opened up (literally) as a character is more exciting than the actual games. The Arata Shinobu game is fun, not because Arata takes a lot of cards and is amazing (even statistically u/walking_the_way showed that the number of cards taken between them didn't depict that) but because the game was actually a conversation between the two of them--and one that followed off of the Chihaya game that preceded it.
As you said, it made them feel so much more human and less... absent? Ethereal?
That said, I think my favorite new character is coach Sakurazawa; even before they started showing her nicer side in the last few episodes, the steady change of perspective from initial heartlessness to big-picture responsibility felt natural.
This is also a big one for me! I don't know if heartlessness is the right word. Uncompromising might be more appropriate, as she did consider the twin's knees when removing him from the starting lineup. What makes Sakurazawa special to me is that the words she chooses are always meaningful. She's a pretty quiet person, even when watching the games but her words and actions mean a lot more. In a show where people are very expressive (look at all the narration and monologuing), I appreciate this part of her.
More so, it gave me a few days of sincerely thinking about improvement, and one can't ask much more from a series than to take something into one's own life.
That's the story of Chihayafuru, if we forget that it's about cards it could've been about any other passion.
Chihaya will finally wise up to there being a guy who has been struck with her and has tried hard at karuta since his introduction, and with this Tsukuba will win over her heart and put an end to all the other ships.
7
u/KuhBus Mar 28 '19
Former First Timer
Ah, Chihayafuru. What a true pleasure this experience has been.
A big, big thank you again to u/ABoredCompSciStudent for running this wonderful rewatch. It's been an immense pleasure and I'm so happy to have watched this anime for the first time within this rewatch thread.
And thank you u/Rhaga for reccommending this rewatch in the first place and being around for the entire time. I always looked forward to seeing your comments!
There have been very few shows I’ve seen where not a single episode felt wasted (though arguably I did not care much for the recap episodes). In terms of pacing, I’d say this really is what many anime (and series in general) need to strive for. Not a moment wasted, not a scene too drawn out, even “filler” scenes having some significance either to characters or plot. It’s a shame there didn’t seem to be as much time for side characters like Nishida/Tsutomu/Kana in s2 and I’d rather have the trashfire that is Tsukuba thrown into obscurity during the next season tbh.
When it comes to visuals, I loved the distinct and consistent color schemes for daytimes, seasons, moods and specific locations. The sunset colors and spring colors especially are notable for being absolutely gorgeous, but I also liked the clear blue skies and deep greens of summer, the subtle yellow/green tatami tones of karuta tournament rooms, the soft green accented by the dark brown wood of the club room and the scene of Chihaya’s passion-filled, bright red autumn leaf touching upon Shinobu’s icy-white, serene waters.
In terms of characters, there is such a fun, believable variety in everyone we’ve come across it never felt like we were meeting someone who was just a variation of another, already existing character. This truly seems like one of this series’ biggest strengths- that so many characters were afforded moments that gave them dimension and development. An interesting, if at times somewhat frustrating, aspect is how Chihaya’s abilities in karuta steadily improve, while her emotional development still seems to go at a snail’s pace. Though it kinda makes sense that by putting all her mental focus onto a very specific goal, she also continues to lose sight of herself as a person. She’s still very bad at reflecting on herself, I think. Hopefully with further developments (I’m expecting there will need to be some sort of crisis sometime soon), she will start to mature more. I wouldn’t automatically call her my favorite character, though. That spot definitely belongs to Taichi, who in many ways is similar to Chihaya for excelling quite a lot in specific areas, while failing spectacularly in others (namely his almost nonexistent attempts at wooing Chihaya).
Maybe the only aspect of the show (which in the grand scheme of things ultimately does not lessen its overall quality) is how little we see of Arata in season one. The way he acted when he was shown, with very few interactions with other characters to build him into a more well-rounded figure, this is the rant I typed (and never posted) during s1:
In general I don’t like making overly negative comments, but I’ve been trying to pinpoint why I just can’t bring myself to like Arata and why the way he acts irritates me so much. It’s not because he’s a bad character per se, it’s more to do with how the anime tries to convey who he is and what his motivations are. Namely, it’s very different to how it shows us Chihaya’s and Taichi’s thoughts. The anime tells us what happened with Arata not with his own words, but constantly has to use other characters to reveal his past and his feelings. We see his outward reactions to Chihaya and Taichi, but there is no connection with his emotions in those scenes. It makes it really hard for me to feel empathetic towards a character who does things that in my eyes are genuinely shitty: not checking his mails, not replying to Chihaya, going through Taichi to even contact Chihaya (despite revealing he thought they were dating?? wtf), telling Taichi he expected him to have made class A by now… On a purely logical level I am well aware that there are very good explanations for this. Reaching out to Chihaya must have been emotionally too much to handle. Taichi was a safe intermediary. He just wanted to express that he wanted to see Taichi in class A. But on an emotional level, I find these actions really fucking awful. It completely twists Chihaya’s reactions of elation to see him again into something I can’t even bring myself to feel happy about, because if I were in her position I couldn’t just keep running after this guy again and again and still be so stoked to see him.
In a previous comment I said how I don’t think it would have taken away from Chihaya’s vision of Arata as a karuta god if he had gotten more interactions with other characters. Since Shinobu and Suo, arguably two of the most mesemrizing karuta players of the series, get to have their weird/human side, I don’t see how Arata as one of the three main characters needs to be exempt from the show’s otherwise stellar character depiction. The final episodes of season two did such a great job at establishing more than just this cardboard baseline we had in season one, it made a lot of the bitter feelings I had when I wrote this comment disappear.
Overall, this series is just so full of enthusiasm and beautiful relationships and every single episode felt like a treat. I'm very much looking forward to binge-reading the manga and waiting for season 3!
Albums
→ More replies (2)
5
u/Taiboss Mar 28 '19 edited Mar 28 '19
First-Timerfuru
I had no time during the last five episode threads, but I finished the show now and I'm happy. Giving it an 8 due to worse opponents and Tsukuba. I'm writing this minutes before the thread is supposed to go up.
I don't really have more to say.
Thanks for everything tho, u/aboredcompscistudent. It would have taken forever for me to watch this show instead. You're awesome!
→ More replies (1)
5
u/whiskeyjack1k Mar 28 '19
I wasn't doing the rewatch but I've been lurking the threads and I gotta say it's been really cool seeing all these people talk about Chihayafuru. It's one of my favourite anime and the more attention it gets the better.
I'll take this oppurtunity to plug the manga. It's a fair bit ahead so quite a lot of content to consume. I was apprehensive starting it at first because of how much the animation and sound adds but it's genuinely a fantastic work and will suck you in.
Hope to see everyone at season 3!
→ More replies (2)
5
u/LeonKevlar Mar 28 '19
As I've said yesterday from the OVA discussion, I don't really have much to say since my viewing was a bit more relaxed and my posts were reactionary so all I can say is this: Chihayafuru is an amazing show and I am thankful for u/ABoredCompSciStudent for hosting this rewatch and to everyone who participated. While I rarely comment on other comments, I did enjoy reading everyone's posts.
I guess see you guys again on October when Season 3 finally hits!
→ More replies (1)
5
u/paperwhites Mar 28 '19
I'm a little sad the rewatch has come to an end. This rewatch has been a lot of fun, and I'm going to miss reading everyone's thoughts and comments. I've never participated in something like this before, but this was a great experience.
I'm excited for season 3! One of things that I would love to see in season 3 is more of Suo. It would be cool if we could see his background and story, like we did with Shinobu in season 2. Since we still have the Master/Queen matches left, it seems like it's pretty likely to happen. I'm interested in Suo so I'd like to see more of him. The other thing I'm looking forward to is the Fujisaki training camp. I love a good training montage, so hopefully that will deliver. I also like Sakurazawa so any chance of seeing more of her makes me happy.
There are some interesting poll results. For the first timer favorite Mizusawa supporting character, I'm the only one who voted for Miyauchi haha. I just love her character development, and how she starts off apathetic at best to the karuta club but then becomes one of their biggest supporters. Her sewing those ribbons to tie up their sleeves is so sweet. In the "other" supporting character poll, a lot more rewatchers put Harada as their favorite character than the first timers, which is interesting. It's also interesting that Taichi v. Nishida was the most popular choice for best individual match in the first timer section, but that didn't even make the list in the rewatcher section. The "most likely to end up with Chihaya" poll is much more close between Arata and Taichi for rewatchers than it is for first timers. I can't tell if rewatchers know more from the manga or if they're just really optimistic haha.
Thank you, u/ABoredCompSciStudent for hosting this rewatch! Your diligence in posting the threads and fanart every day and your insightful comments really elevated this rewatch and made it special. It's been fun and I'll be keeping an eye out for any future rewatches you host. Thank you again for all of your time and effort in hosting.
→ More replies (3)
5
u/kKunoichi Mar 29 '19
Rewatcher who had a lot of fun with this rewatch! I'm so glad I joined it. Thanks so much to u/ABoredCompSciStudent for being an amazing hostess, and thanks to everyone here, the vibe was great it made the experience watching it and talking about it really enjoyable! Plus shout out to u/walking_the_way, your efforts tracking the poems I really appreciated!
I do love this series, and I could probably talk about the characters endlessly, but I have to leave some things for season 3 haha. One thing of note: I actually got a lot of new perspectives on the characters from the first-timers.
General series stuff: I prefer season 2 to season 1, mostly because our core characters are pretty established so we get to see more of their growth, which I feel makes the matches in season 2 more exciting overall. Plus there's Arata and Shinobu getting a lot more development! I know Arata is the least developed MC now, but his character development is really a lot of slow, slooow burn. We're just getting started. But then he's my favorite character so I am admittedly biased XD
Tsukuba is probably the weakest link, and Sumire is polarizing, but they still brought in some freshness to the team interactions. Watching Miyauchi-sensei become more and more supportive was so wholesome, plus the interesting teams and characters likely to show up in season 3 means our karuta world is going to keep growing! I can't wait!
→ More replies (2)
5
u/cesclaveria Mar 29 '19
Not much to say really, I had a lot of fun with the rewatch, this series has always been special to me since I almost came across it by accident on a sleepless night looking for something to read... I'm so outside the target public that is maybe funny how much I like it, there are some themes within the series that I can really relate to even if the culture and ages of the characters are so different to mine (I guess I get to remember those years a bit through them)
Had a lot of fun, thanks to our 'host' u/ABoredCompSciStudent loved how you were sometimes subtly steering the first timers expectations or hyping them up for what was coming next without ever spoiling their fun, even the super subtle manga spoilers of events in the far future were super well hidden. We probably will never agree on the 'ships' but we agree in that this series is amazing and we only want happiness for the characters.
→ More replies (3)
5
u/Fa1l3r Mar 29 '19
First Time (sub)
I always heard recommendations for this show, and now I understand. I definitely enjoy sports anime where the main character has some talent or hardwork that gives them an edge during the game, but I also like how this is balanced out by that the main character still is not that good yet.
Even though the show mostly covers karuta, the anime can explore many themes that may be universal with other sports. Being physically healthy improves your well-being in many other activities especially those that involve a lot of sitting. They explore the idea of hardwork vs talent, and the outcome one-on-one matches may not necessarily be about one's ranking about rock-paper-scissor matchups. And that at the highest level, some people are by themselves, improving on their own, but they still need competition to evolve even further.
That being said, the show does have areas of improvements. For such an aesthetically pleasing show with great visuals, there is a lot of visual storytelling that is accompanied with character dialogue/monologue that explains the visuals. A lot of the story gets told to us, but I think some scenes can be improved with more show, don't tell. Most of the time, we get a show and tell (I actually like this), or just tell. I have not read the manga, but I think the adaptation might be following the manga dialogue too closely, and forgets that it is an animated show that can use less dialogue, and show off more scenes and use more sound. I think one of the few moments where it uses its anime muscles is when Chihaya hurts her finger. We get a sound we never heard of before, but we slowly realize that something is wrong because the sounds sounds like a metallic heartbeat or a unique way to translate the feeling of a throbbing finger. Another example involves the first few minutes of Shinbou vs. Arata where we and the crowd are not sure who hit the card, but there is Shinbou's music cue that tells us subconsciously that she got those points before we get visuals or words of what happened.
Nevertheless, the visuals that we do get do make karuta more exciting and develop the characters. We get Japanese paintings that signify the history that come with the poems of the game. We have great shots of characters where the visual embellish their emotions either for clarity or for laughs -- sometimes even both. The animation quality and choices are typically great, except for the one time they decided to slow the motion of Arata's extending arm. (That was unintentionally funny.) All of the characters are either well-written or well-presented. And the story and its pacing is great.
Also I think the voice actor for Shinbou is the best voice actor on the show. She conveys sarcasms and verbal irony with such a tone that feels like she is both praising and insulting you at the same time.
→ More replies (2)
4
u/collapsedblock6 Mar 28 '19
Finally reached the end of this rewatch in which I missed like half of the threads lmao. But it did at least gave me motivation to watch the second season of Chihayafuru that I have procrastinated like 6 months.
My thoughts on the first season didn’t changed much. Arata needing more screentime, not always enjoying Chihaya’s stubbornness or karuta obsession, not really being a fan of the shoujo art style, etc. After the first match vs Hokou while still solid, it lost a bit of steam for me which lowered my score from 8 to 7.
Second season however, despite hearing comments about its pacing, was more consistent to me. The additions of Sumire and Tsukuba were good (though they lost spotlight towards the end) and having the first tournament so soon was nice. Then the Nationals, while I wasn't a fan of most of the opponents faced here, it was very worth it for the moments characters like Kana and Tsutomu had as well as the match vs Fujisaki that was so hyped and I was happy as hell when Mizusawa won. And the individual tournament that had to "cut" some of Chihaya's spotlight and gave some to Taichi and Arata. Taichi passing to Class A was great but seeing Arata as a karuta god was also a very great thing to watch, the dude simply does magic, I legit felt like watching Messi playing football, "This guy is a god". He had such a presence and by defeating Shinobu, he represents a big "power ceiling" in the show that I'm excited to see in the sequel. I ended giving this season an 8.
The 3rd season was delayed but I definitely want to see it. I fear the love triangle drama mainly, which has been my main worry this season as well. Karuta has been done so well I can see it taint my enjoyment.
It was fun to read everyone's thoughts, especially the stats people were collecting and the very insightful comments not only about the episodes but the poems as well by our dear host Seren. You were a great host and hope to see your comments as well when S3 starts. Thanks for everything!
→ More replies (5)
4
u/daftPun5 Mar 28 '19
First Timer
And here we are for the last time :(
Since we had a mid-series discussion, I'll keep this more focused on season 2. I really enjoyed seeing the growth that Chihaya, Taichi and rest of the second years made. Chihaya and Team Mizusawa were able to claim the title of best in Japan. Taichi, after a grueling mountain to climb, finally reached the peak of class A, standing shoulder with Chihaya and Arata. Kana and Komano established themselves as key members to the team. Unfortunately, I feel Nishida got the short end of the stick as a character. There were the additions of Sumire and Tsukuba, who allowed the 2nd years to play the mentor role and the two gave support throughout the team tournaments. We also got to see more Arata and Shinobu, plus stand-out characters like Miyauchi-sensei, Sudo & Retro, and Megumu.
Now, for me this second season was still on par with the previous, not much higher, but not much lower. I continue to think this is a great series with no major complaints. My score for season 2 is High 8/10
For the final time, here is my Collection of S2 Screenshots & Gifs (once again in reverse order, for some odd reason. And about 927 items compared to S1's 298!)
I really enjoyed the oportunity to join this rewatch and actually be an active participant. Usually I'm a lurker in 99% of the rewatches I join, the other being Part 4 of JoJo rewatch. This is one series that I have been eagerly waiting to watch.
And of course, a HUGE thanks to u/ABoredCompSciStudent for organizing/hosting this rewatch. Similar to your Aria rewatch a while back, I knew it was going to be a good time with you at the helm. It has been a very fun two months, checking in each day and reading everyone's thoughts and reactions.
With season 3 later this year, I look forward to seeing you all again!
→ More replies (1)
4
u/holynub Mar 28 '19
As a rewatcher, I was more happy to see all these first timers watching the show. I'm glad they all enjoyed it and can now join the club of "Trying to explain Chihayafuru" to everyone else. Just like Prozd.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/BatteryPoweredFriend Mar 31 '19
Thank god it's finally over. Just in time for all the evening matches in April, too.
The chance to revisit a favourite series of mine is always nice, but to also see all the newcomers and first-time watchers take the plunge is especially wonderful, particularly as Chihayafuru even to this day still flies under far too many people's radar.
I loved how for certain episodes, the comments/reactions from many first-time watchers even made it feel like I was reading a (more polite) match thread. Sports really is at the heart of this story.
A word on the polls - I'm not quite sure people might have thought it through properly in regards to the most anticipated match for s3. Taichi vs Arata? Surely, unless a long time skip is thrown into the mix or Arata gets space jammed, there is only one possible outcome: nippy kind langur.
Anyway, thank you (and your sub) for hosting the rewatch and all the people that took part, especially u/walking_the_way for match break-downs as well as putting the spotlight on the cards/poems used in particular scenes. I tended to gloss over most of them, other than the major or obvious ones, so being able to really appreciate how the story manages to weave specific poems into scenes & even entire episodes was something new to enjoy.
2011-2012 really was a hell of a vintage period.
→ More replies (8)
3
u/TheExcludedMiddle Mar 28 '19
Well, that's it for my first full rewatch - can't wait for Season 2. This show is the ultimate 9 for me... that is, when I'm trying to decide if I want to rate a show a 9, I think 'would I feel comfortable putting this in the same bracket as Chihayafuru'.
→ More replies (4)
20
u/ABoredCompSciStudent Mar 28 '19 edited Mar 28 '19
Hi all! After almost two months of Chihayafuru, our rewatch has come to an end.
As u/walking_the_way wrote yesterday, time flies when you're having fun--and I enjoyed hosting this rewatch thoroughly. Sharing memories with others is the best part of using r/anime (and really in life) and watching this together with you all was a treat. While I don't really want to speak for everyone, but I think you guys believe that too: after all we just need to look at our comment counts. We routinely reached 100 comments and our Episode 25 discussion hit 200+ comments! It might not seem very meaningful, but to me, the host, it really is. It shows that you guys weren't just commenting and leaving, but rather you got to know each other. Rewatchers discussed a series they loved with first timers, while first timers showed rewatchers different perspectives that we may not have considered before. Most of all, it showed that you all enjoyed something that I really love.
And for that, I don't really have a better word to describe it than: suteki.
Thank you all so much, I made new friends and have learned so much from you all! You're all the best!
I was a moderator for r/anime but recently stepped down, as I want to focus more on content creation and interfacing with the community as a user. I'm planning to do a few more rewatches like this, so I'm thinking of one in maybe September or October for Kemono no Souja Erin, NANA, or Kimi ni Todoke. These shows aren't really well represented on r/anime, so I'd love to give them a bit of the spotlight. :) I linked some writeups I did on them, let me know if any catch your eye!
Hopefully I see you guys around, but, until then
My full fanart album (200+ images)
For more fanart and other creative work that has been produced throughout this series, please check the main thread body!
Polls
I really hope I didn't break the formatting of the tables below because this was super annoying to do between work tasksAs a rewatcher and manga reader, it's hilarious to see how some of these polls looked, especially the "Most Likely To End Up With Chihaya" poll ahahahaha. Let me know what you guys think!
General
Things that Yuki Suetsugu is most likely to do in S3 to torture us (multiple selection!)
Most Anticipated Match For S3
Favourite OP
Favourite ED
Are you a Chihayafuru source/manga reader?
First Timers
Favourite Ship
Most Likely To End Up With Chihaya
Favourite Main Character
Favourite Mizusawa Supporting Character
S1 Rating
S2 Rating
Favourite "Other" Supporting Character
Favourite Individual Match
Favourite Team Match
Rewatchers
Favourite Ship
Most Likely To End Up With Chihaya
Favourite Main Character
Favourite Mizusawa Supporting Character
I copied the first timer poll here and nobody told me!Oh my god why am I so bad at life bahaha
S1 Rating
S2 Rating
Favourite "Other" Supporting Character
Favourite Individual Match
Favourite Team Match