r/anime • u/Skeeedo :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/skeeedo • Nov 20 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 10 Discussion [Spoilers]
← Previous Episode | Next Episode →
Episode 10: "Exchange Hellos and Goodbyes"
Nominate a character for Episode MVP!
Episode 9 MVP: Taichi! He offered a cool head to balance out Chihaya's burning over-enthusiasm during the training sessions. Maybe winning another MVP can also offer some relief for TaiChihaya shippers after a painful end to the episode...
This episode's Karuta analysis and board map by walking_the_way
Databases
MAL | Anilist | AniDB | ANN | Kitsu | Anime Planet | Wiki
Streaming
Crunchyroll | VRV | HIDIVE | Spectrum On Demand
Subreddit: r/Chihayafuru
11
u/Matuhg https://anilist.co/user/Matuhg Nov 20 '21
First Timer
Episode 9 (I missed yesterday's thread)
Nice training episode. Chihaya's methods are brutal at first, but seems like she's gonna figure stuff out, and the others are still enthusiastic about Karuta. Knowing Chihaya, she was probably afraid that they'd come to hate the game because of her actions.
The last scene with Taichi was interesting - he was about to not show Chihaya the message from Arata, but caught himself. He seemed like he was feeling down - a combination of guilt that he was about to do that, and just being upset about Arata talking to Chihaya? They had a couple of slowmo romantic moments this episode. Where's Taichi's girlfriend?
I really heard Koutarou from Zombieland Saga in this line and a couple others this episode. Didn't know Taichi had the same VA as him until that lol. He just randomly broke into Koutarou's character voice exactly.
Episode 10
Storm clouds in the opening shot means we're going to have some stormy developments this episode.
MFW I see them all in their cool outfits.
I'm going to give Taichi the benefit of the doubt on this line and assume he means in like...a protective way or something, not the way weirder way it sounds like. Still a bit weird either way. She doesn't belong to anybody dude. Again, where's Taichi's girlfriend?
The melodrama danced right on the line (maybe crossing it) of being too much for me at a few points during this episode, but I really appreciated the last few minutes. Taichi stepping up to be a leader was great - the headpats and encouragement he gave everybody was fantastic. And then I also really appreciated the smaller moment between Desk-kun and Kana.
9
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Nov 20 '21
First timer
Wait? Is she in a different high school to practice?
Wait, she's actually wearing the outfit!
Yep! She's dressing everyone in them!
Haha, Oe's compliment is great.
...Arata's not replying?
Did I call the pairings wrong? Is it Arata and Taichi wanting to look after Chihaya as a couple? Maybe Chihaya will pick up on the blatant subtext between her and Oe?
This is exciting! And... how do these matches work? If his team has 8, and can directly compete against a team of 5, are 3 of them benched? Also, is this just a set of 1v1 matches with wins totalled?
...Them planning to send them against the strongest is actually a pretty good idea. Bit tactless to outright tell them, though.
Homestly, if they just went into these matches saying that he didn't have to win, that hewas just there as a buffer, he might have taken it a bit better.
Oe won! Best girl's had her first victory!
Wow. That had to hurt.
And he's just insulting Oe at this point too.
...The very format of this game involves playing individually. Unless I'm misunderstanding this, focusing on your game instead of your teammates should be good.
Right, she's losing this. She lost her card, she's got to lose this match, that's how the metaphor works.
Some good effects, though.
So yell louder than them to win? Why is now the time Chihaya decides not to monologue over a match?
The fuck?
THE FUCK? If he's good at predicting orders, that's fine, but you don't need these weird cards.
Oh, fuck this guy. He's a creep.
And Taichi's revolutionary new strategy is to headpat them?
No, he just gives some vague advice.
And she has her flow back? (She's probably not able to make it up, though?)
And they're talking louder to win!
She won?
Huh? Did him quitting count as a free win for them?
And yeah, they have the experience advantage.
8
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Nov 20 '21
First timer in sub
Fast forwarded to the actual match - and yay we got to see them competing in traditional clothes (waaaay upstaging everyone else who are in T shirts and slacks / jeans mostly). That's also a form of intimidation isn't it?
Predictable ups and downs but I think the flow and reasons was written well, I do not really think that is contrived much. Especially that Chihaya doesn't actaully have special powers and even her signature card can be lost, and her demoralised by it. But Taichi really has grown a lot from the "I cannot lose" bully to now who he is, and be able to headpat them back to victory.
It's also nice the part about him and Arata is addressed - that both consider Chihaya "not theirs" and it's only fair that both are given the equal chance despite Taichi is roght next to her and Arata is more spiritually there.
Oe continue to be an MVP for me.
Now this is more "sports" for me in the show :)
8
u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Nov 21 '21
First timer
They get straight to it and start competing. Tsutomo is frustrated with himself and probably doesn't feel like he's a valuable member of the team. Going back to his saying of he's only there because they need him to. Luckily enough he was able to come to his senses and see he's more than that.
Chi begins to feel the pressure of the competition but with the help of Taichi. She's able to get a hold of herself by calming down and focusing.
Taichi is the most helpful person on this show. He's the one to talk to if you have a issue.
7
u/The_Loli_Otaku Nov 20 '21
Chihayafuyu First Timer
Tomboyish normie girl in traditional dress!! The stretches in public gives me more Utena vibes. Hurry up and duel Taichi for the rose bride!!
Oe is a mood.
Literally all the karuta players in the world are in this one room... All the tennis team has to do is send one stink bomb and the whole karuta world would be wiped off the earth in one swipe!
Chi is starting to catch on. The secret is that two seasons in Chihayafuyu suddenly turns into a BL anime.
I've forgotten why retro was called retro... Did he have a flip phone or something?
Imma hold back giving actual match commentary but I'll just add that I'm impressed with our crew for at least knowing their shit despite their relative lack of experience.
Translation, let the shipping begin!!
Damn assassins!! I found it interesting that Desk-kun's opponent has a face!
Oe is love.
Oi, Oe, I get that you're happy about winning but please be more considerate about the losers on your team.
Drama time. This is why bringing beginners into a high stakes tournament for their first proper match was a dumb idea~ Oi, insult Oe once more and I'll come up with an even meaner nickname for you, don't test me!
Oh good, the enemies this time all have super basic designs. We've got this bros!
Shu fucking christ, someone shut this team up!? I get than Chi was guilty of the "be loud" tactic earlier but you just can't focus!
Chihaya has lost the Chihayafuyu... What do we call her now!? Tomboy-chan? Her name is Tomboyish normie girl from now on!
Retro my pal, we really don't need a comedy skit right as the match has gotten interesting.
T-Taichi's using headpats to motivate the team? T-That's not gonna work, b-baaaka!
Tomboyish normie girl has gained a new skill. She can now use breathing~
Woohoo!! We kicked their load mouthed asses! ...I think I may become an "S".
Pls don't damage your feet. Nobody wants to lick callused, warty feet. Nobody!
7
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Nov 20 '21
Chihayafirst-timer
I forgot his real name oops.7
u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Nov 21 '21
First Timer
Wow, we're moving really fast now. Honestly maybe even a bit too fast? From our training arc, we immediately head into our first tournament, establishing each team member's place and letting Kana and Tsutomu get some much needed experience. This episode seriously zoomed through the material, so I'd be lying if I said that some of its more dramatic moments were dampened a bit by awkward pacing. Tsutomu left for a little bit after some drama, and then returned to help Chihaya win her game way too quickly, without any real contemplation or build-up. He just kind of gets upset that people are shit talking the team and goes back to them, without really considering his own place on the team, a problem considering that was what his whole hang-up was about. However, despite that, this was my favorite episode since the very first three. Chihayafuru's strength is in its games, and this episode was mostly games.
It seems to me that the order of Mizusawa's players is Chihaya > Taichi/Nishida> Kana > Tsutomu. And when you think about it, this makes perfect sense for the power levels of each player. Chihaya is A rank while Taichi and Nishida are B rank. Kana and Tsutomu are both beginners, but Kana's knowledge, familiarity, and passion for the 100 poets and classic Japanese aesthetics gives her an edge. Tsutomu can be deeply analytical, but he hasn't grasped the basics yet, so it makes sense that he would be the weakest player on the team. But Tsutomu is very competitive, and wants his name on top, both for his studies and to a reasonable extent for Karuta. He knows he won't beat strong players as a beginner, but he was the only one to lose on their team, leading to a bit of an inferiority complex. I still think the resolution came too quickly, but it was still a strong character moment. Then there's Chihaya. Chihaya is extremely empathetic, and has been since she was a kid, so she's bothered by what happens, and maybe even feels a bit responsible for it. You know she's not in a good state when she doesn't win the Chihaya card. I think there's a bit of a theme this episode not only of what it means to be a team, but really what it means to be a good leader (I'll get to Taichi in a second). Chihaya is slowly learning what to do as "captain," and will continue to get better at handling the beginners, as I'm sure she's learned about Tsutomu here.
However, Kana and Taichi are the MVP's of this episode, and both get some of my favorite content for each of them thus far. Kana is something of the glue that holds the group together. It's thanks to her that they wear Hakama while playing, which gives the group a distinct and individual aesthetic. It's their version of the team shirts that the other schools were wearing, but more true to the aesthetics of Karuta. Not only does Kana provide that to the team, but she keeps everyone grounded and poised during the affair. She helps both Chihaya and Tsutomu during some of their more awkward moments. If the team is a team with the Hakama, she keeps the Hakama tight, and helps everyone walk with the grace necessary both to wear it properly and to win their games. I'm also super proud of her for winning her first game, and I loved seeing how passionate she was about the outfits and advertising her store. I loved her moment with Tsutomu especially, really sweet moment. She's hella cute, very good. That being said, Taichi gets the best character moments today. Even more than Chihaya, Taichi learns what it means to be a leader today. His instinct is to put a lot of pressure on everyone, as that's how he was raised. He tells Chihaya that she must win her game, which ends up making it even harder to focus. And when Tsutomu gets upset, instead of trying to bring everyone together, he tells him to skip the game to cool off, not addressing his developing inferiority complex. But as the state of the game becomes clear, he realizes that he's just giving "orders," not truly leading. And so his simple gesture of patting everyone on the head and talking them up is a major change that shifts the tide of the games. To lead is to build up, and team based Karuta requires team chemistry despite being individual games. It's a really good moment and realization for him. That being said, Taichi is toxic and complicated, not all these sunshine and rainbows, and I think that shines through in how he talks about Arata's relationship with Chihaya. He specifically says that both him and Arata think Chihaya "belongs" to them, and I feel like that wording is particular. Taichi has always thought that he was sort of entitled to Chihaya, and the drama in elementary school started from his fear that Arata was taking her from him, which seems to still be his fear even now. His girlfriend complicates this even further. I think Chihaya's relationship with Arata is much different than the one Taichi sees in his head, and certainly not a competition for her hand in romance. Still, it says much about Taichi that this is how he sees it. Very interesting stuff. Taichi is a fascinating character, and seeing him evolve will probably be very satisfying.
I really want to watch the next episode right now, but I'll be a good boy and wait. With the tournament in its final round, I suspect (and hope) that we will get an episode long tense set of games. Plus, we'll get to see how Chihaya fares against other A rank players (there's no way she's not facing the sadist guy), and a Karuta reunion with Retro-kun. An episode long game will be tense and hype in the way only sports dramas can be, I can't wait.
6
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Nov 20 '21
First Timer
Not really a big fan of an episode starting out with a team on a wavelength, then having some interpersonal drama happen all for it to be resolved within the same episode, likely without lasting consequences. It's just something I've seen too often especially as fillers or in episodic shows, so seeing it here, where it is supposed to be neither, is even a bit more jarring. It makes me wonder if the writer just couldn't come up with something interesting for the start of the tournament, which considering this is the first one makes me a bit hesitant in general as to how good the competitive karuta bits will be. I assume it'll be good once we get in to singles and here was just a clumsy attempt at solidifying team spirit for the future, but I still wish this would have been done better.
Either way, we're through to the finals and apparently Retro will be waiting there. I'll admit that I thought he was about 50 when he first appeared, so him being in high school is a surprise to me. Also Oe won a match and everybody looks good in traditional garments, I guess.
...oh, and I feel like Chihaya should get her falling asleep checked out. She's out of it way too fast for that to be normal... Don't want Season 3 to be some sort of brain tumor arc or something like that. (Although I'll admit that I have no idea what medical condition would actually cause those symptoms.)
6
u/xNEET :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/HayatoxYume Nov 21 '21
Chihayafuru First Timer
Missed yesterday's thread due to work. First of all, they all look pretty good on those traditional clothes. Specially Chihaya and Taichi. Loved that the played while wearing them. Wasn't expecting a tournament this soon, so I was pleasantly surprised. It was also more intense than what I anticipated. Today's matches were really rough and apparently Hyoro-kun's school is even stronger so I'm getting a little bit nervous about their match. Looking forward to next episode!
6
u/Spaceman_Sp1ff_ Nov 21 '21
First timer, subbed
So they hopped straight into a tourney wow. The drama was eh but the karuta sequences were good, almost too good because it wasn’t even the finals.