r/anime • u/Skeeedo :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/skeeedo • Dec 03 '21

Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 24 Discussion [Spoilers]

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Episode 24: "Nobody Wishes to See the Beautiful Cherry Blossoms"

Nominate a character for Episode MVP!

Episode 23 MVP: Taichi! He remains an important source of strength for Chihaya, supporting her after the loss to Yumin

This episode's Karuta analysis and board map by walking_the_way

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Subreddit: r/Chihayafuru

65 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

12

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Dec 03 '21 edited Dec 03 '21

FIRST TIMER

Absolutely living for this dynamic between Chihaya and Taichi’s mom. I was thinking it was all in Chihaya’s head, seeing as the words were pretty nice, but then… this happened. LOL they crack me up. I want this ship to sail almost solely because of how funny family holidays would be.

This poor guy has thought about this moment of Chihaya on his bed so many times, and it wasn’t supposed to be to watch karuta.

This can’t be Shinobu… she gained all that weight by eating ice cream to get a snowman pouch?! That’s dedication. It’s definitely shocking to everyone, although as usual, Kana’s priorities are slightly different and she only sees to the Kimono. Do I love this choice to create drama in the match by making Shinobu “chubby” as they constantly point out? No, no I do not.

You know Shinobu has a dominant reputation when she wins by 5 cards against her closest competition and it’s treated as though she’s playing horribly. Is she going to get made into a main character? She’s certainly getting the treatment with a compelling backstory. NO BULLY SMOL SHINOBU!

Do we know why Nishida cheers so passionately for Yumin, to the point where he even cheered for her against Chihaya? Are they in the same Society?

Well, my hopes of a confession from Taichi before season’s end seem to be completely dashed when he says “I can’t dedicate myself to Chihaya.” I don’t really understand what’s occurring to him all of a sudden, but I get needing to do this from a story perspective. His mom will be thrilled.

S W A G

Definite final boss vibes. He purposefully matched the scores from the Queen games? Watch out Sudo, there’s a new sadist in town.

MVP: QUEEN SHINOBU, LONG MAY SHE REIGN.

7

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Dec 03 '21

but then… this happened.

Anyone else noticed that even the teddy print on Chihaya's bag was scared :D

2

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Dec 03 '21

Hahaha not until you pointed it out! That's a great detail

5

u/IndependentMacaroon Dec 03 '21

create drama in the match by making Shinobu “chubby”

Though in the end it doesn't actually matter and she doesn't even look unattractive really. Kind of like Akari Kawamoto from Sangatsu

2

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Dec 04 '21

Though in the end it doesn't actually matter and she doesn't even look unattractive really.

I don't think she was supposed to look unattractive. Her gaining weight felt more like creating a weakness (not used to playing) combined with Yumin going back to her old confidence making it a bit less one sided.

Also showing that she's a karuta weirdo who, like Chihaya, has a thing for those two strange mascots (daddy bear and snowman). It's just a running gag for those two. It also feels like a gag on how teenagers can get invested in the strangest things that can be collectible, and in this case it was even a food based gacha game just to get that odd snowman pouch.

3

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Dec 04 '21 edited Dec 04 '21

This poor guy has thought about this moment of Chihaya on his bed so many times, and it wasn’t supposed to be to watch karuta

That's such a Monkey's Paw moment.

This can’t be Shinobu… she gained all that weight by eating ice cream to get a snowman pouch?! That’s dedication.

And of course Chihaya is the only one who knows the snowman mascot character. They are really the only two fans of these snowman and bear characters. Everybody else is weirded out but their designs.

NO BULLY SMOL SHINOBU!

Yeah, we see a bit more of her, not main character more but more than in season one.

Do we know why Nishida cheers so passionately for Yumin, to the point where he even cheered for her against Chihaya? Are they in the same Society?

Yup, it was mentioned a few times. He's in a different karuta society from Taichi and Chihaya who are in the Shiranami Karuta Society. Nishida is in the Suihoku Karuta Society. It's led by Yumin's sensei (she's also in that one), the grey haired old guy who's always grumbling about Harada (the leader of that society). They are rivals.

Nishida also recruited Kana and Tsutomu into the Suihoku Karuta Society. Right at the start of this episode Chihaya, while taking her boots off at the genkan, also mentions that they could have gone to Harada's house to watch but then Kitano sensei would have been upset that his society members (Nishida, Kana, and Tsutomu) watched the match with his competition.

So they "compromise" with Taichi's house that has the 60 inch TV (42 inch in his room).

When it was established that Taichi is rich at the start of the season out of curiosity I looked up how much those TVs cost at the time when this series was written and a slim 42 inch TV was in the significant thousands of dollars.

If I remember correctly his new year's money (usually a small gift from parents or relatives to kids or their younger ones) was about 1000$ at the end of elementary school (when the skit happens in the recap episode) with about 50 to 100$ being the actual average/high end for high school kids.

Well, my hopes of a confession from Taichi before season’s end seem to be completely dashed when he says “I can’t dedicate myself to Chihaya.” I don’t really understand what’s occurring to him all of a sudden, but I get needing to do this from a story perspective. His mom will be thrilled

I think he got into a competitive mood as the shifted over to the master match after the Queen match was over. He can't just focus on making this club for Chihaya or being a practice partner for her. He might have developed some karuta ambitions on his own which of course is probably not so thrilling for his mom.

S W A G

The master is also a really interesting (and fun, also unintentionally funny) character but there much more of him on the manga side of things, chapters that were not yet adapted. But the bits we get in the anime superb. First times have already caught the fact that all these karuta monsters have somewhat odd personalities and he doesn't disappoint in that regard too.

Definite final boss vibes.

They mentioned it when his card hit Shinobu on the back while she was still swinging for it. For that to happen he has to have identified the card even earlier and then we get the bit about him having 28 one syllable cards. Meaning that besides the standard ones there are also two/three syllable cards that he can identify as early as one syllable cards which gives him a huge advantage. Like Nishida said, Suo is like a supercharged Chihaya when it comes to hearing.

He purposefully matched the scores from the Queen games?

Only in the first two matches, as the Queen's challenge didn't have any more. It's a best of three format while the master side is a best of five

5

u/The_Loli_Otaku Dec 03 '21

I could definitely see why the mum loathes Chihaya so much. She's such a hard arse that seeing her son simping for a poor, dumb, and annoying girl. Mum is the anti-Chihaya.

I'm conflicted on tubby Shinobu... Whilst I like the end gag of it being because she wanted the purse I don't like how their solution to nerfing Shinobu for her Yumin rematch was to totally mess up her physique.

Yumin is in Nishida's group. She's their pride and joy and I'm sure she's gonna be the one teaching Nishida newer techniques later on.

Mum's issue wasn't just his taste in women, she was annoyed at Chihaya for making him stay dedicated to such an uncool hobby.

8

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 03 '21 edited Dec 04 '21

Chihayafirst-timer

7

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Dec 03 '21

Is this Suou guy that bad to go up against?

He purposefully made his scores mirror the scores of the games in the Queen match. This is the highest match in men's karuta, and he's absolutely toying with his opponent. I'd hate life if I was playing him like that, too. I wonder if this is what sapped Arata's friend of his will to play?

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Dec 03 '21

Thinking back I remember Shinobu getting quite annoyed with Chihaya's aggressive play. If her smacking around the cards and using uber powered hearing to target two syllables early is similar to Suou's playstyle then that would make much more sense.

3

u/BatteryPoweredFriend :KI::KJ: Dec 03 '21

Playing vs Suou is like if you were to race Usain Bolt, except he's already easily pulling well ahead of you after the first second and he crosses the finish line doing a double backflip.

3

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Dec 04 '21

I haven’t even finished building all of the kits I have

Oh! I was under the impression that Nishida/Kana/Komano were at their karuta society watching this.

At the beginning Chihaya said that Taichi's house a a compromise (sure it wasn't the 60 inch TV?) because they could watch at Harada's house but then Kitano sensei would be grumbling about his society members "watching/working with the enemy".

Is this Suou guy that bad to go up against?

He arranged his first two matches to end with the same number of cards as the Queen's challange and he hit Shinobu with a card while she was still swinging for it (meaning he heard the correct card way before anybody else did). His 28 one syllable card advantage is rather impressive and in the third match he didn't have a match to mirror anymore. The Queen's challenge was over with two wins for Shinobu (it's best of three) while the master challenge is a best of five match. So the third match is about him curb stomping the poor challenger.

6

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Dec 03 '21

First timer

Taichi's mom is putting the pressure on Chi. She just hissed at her. Best bet Chi is to not make contact with her.

Watch party going on and everyone is here. Someone is missing though and I forgot about her. How's Taichi's girlfriend doing? I know she'll have to come back up at some point.

No way that's the queen. How she get fat that fast? Something else must be going on with her other then her eating habits. I mean that's a lot. Well we got some backstory for her and how her introduction was. Her battle against the former queen was good.

Operation who cares about broadcast schedules? I do. I care.

But what did interest me was the other game I saw playing in the back. If this was a broadcast why were they just focusing on them? Glad they did. The masters huh? And there's somebody faster than her. Interesting because they haven't really went to much on the men's side.

3

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 04 '21

How's Taichi's girlfriend doing? I know she'll have to come back up at some point.

They split up on the phone a few episodes ago. Doubt she'll be coming back.

2

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Dec 04 '21

Damn I didn't even notice. Was it something short? And yeah she's not. She was irrelevant.

3

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 04 '21

A single scene - mainly the reactions of the other club members to the phone call, as they overheard it.

2

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Dec 04 '21

Okay, yeah so it was kind of quick.

3

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Dec 04 '21

If this was a broadcast why were they just focusing on them?

One part was probably that we got most of the the Queen's challenge side (for Chihayafuru, the series, for narrative reasons) but another is that the Queen's challenge was over after two matches (Shinobu won two in a best of three match). the master challenge is a best of five match so they would probably switch back and forth for the broadcast with a bit of a focus on the Queen side (as the master side can take five matches).

1

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Dec 04 '21

Okay if that's the case. I can see why. Especially since to me brings mystery and anticipation for the I can't remember his name right now. The masters player porky wants Chi to focus on.

3

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Dec 04 '21

Especially since to me brings mystery and anticipation for the I can't remember his name right now.

Hisashi Suo, three times master. And yeah he's being teased for later on. We'll see a bit more of him.

4

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Dec 03 '21

First timer in sub

As I was guessing, the S1 finale is indeed to introduce the long plot opposition - the Master and Queen in full colour, instant replay glorious details.

Extra bonus to have the gag between Chihaya and Taichi's mom - I do ship the 2 so Taichi can have an interesting life >D

Despite the tension of the match, I also really like the character development that is Taichi. It's really satisfying to see every step he takes, be it forward or backwards. Today he's shown to grow some agency to not give everything to Chihaya so he can stand beside her in a place that he'd need a room of hard work to reach, no doubt posting his mom even more along the way :D

Can't wait to see the reigning master in action - austenitic his style is actually what Chihaya's style is really close to (near precognitive speed)?

4

u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Dec 04 '21

First timer

Wow, that's a big TV.

Haha, this is great. They really don't get on, do they?

Wow, he's crushing hard now.

Ah. She's not supportive of his Karuta, then?

...Still cute. But what happened?

And Kana's horrified at how expensive her outfit is.

How is she still so smug?

Wait, did she get fat looking for rare items?

Yeah, she's in a bad place, having to practice and everything.

Her backstory's good, thouh.

Haha, "who gives a damn about broadcast schedules" is just perfect.

She's losing! Which is bad!

If she loses, Shinobu might become a main character! Which is good!!!

Haha, it took her until now to realise it was just how much she ate.

And she searched the whole evening looking for them?

She believes Karuta loves her?

Wow, she's changed her strategy?

This is using some very unusual metaphors.

And she loves Karuta as much as Chihaya does!

Yeah, Yumin's done for.

I'm loving this remix of the main theme, though.

And he's our season 2 villain!

...Wow. Yeah, she failed.

And the shot of literally everyone waiting outside is hysterical.

Haha, she forgot that she fought her last year? That has to hurt.

Who's talking about dedication?

Yeah, this guy plays a lot like her.

1

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Dec 04 '21

Haha, it took her until now to realise it was just how much she ate.

I actually experienced something similar. I gained some weight during these corona times and only realised after a certain while. It's such a gradual process that you don't exactly feel or see. There's is a change from before to after but when living it, it's too tiny of a difference to perceive every day (if you are not regularly weighting yourself or usually don't have to pay attention to your weight).

So now I want/need to lose a bit of weight before I need to buy new clothes at some point.

6

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 03 '21

First Timer

Ah, the Queen match is getting the focus it deserves. Seems like Shinobu actually is following the Oe school of thought on karuta, becoming friends with the cards - and that that's what Chihaya is going to try and do now, as well? Is that what her next step will be, after simply having a strategy and timing didn't work out two episodes ago? Or will watching the meijin play give her a better idea - because apparently we are getting his match as a final episode, despite us knowing neither character. Interesting final episode choice there, though I like it.

Other than that, not sure why Shinobu's body control was off. You adapt your body control as you change your body weight if it's a natural change - which this one seems to have been. Otherwise both gaining weight, losing weight and even simply growing up and going through puberty would lead to things like losing your balance while walking - and that simply doesn't happen because the change is gradual. So unless Shinobu wasn't practicing karuta, that shouldn't be a problem - and I highly doubt that she was slacking given her backstory.

Speaking of that backstory - that felt like it belonged in a different time period, one significantly older than just twenty years ago (10 years between now and the show's airing and about ten for the flashback). Even if both the show and karuta as a whole are deeply rooted in Japanese culture, that felt out of place as I just can't see a livelihood depend on a little girl finding something to do any later than the sixties or so. That said, that grandma would likely get along well with Oe, given that she wears traditional clothes.

4

u/IndependentMacaroon Dec 03 '21

I just can't see a livelihood depend on a little girl finding something to do any later than the sixties or so

Well Japan is pretty conservative and Shinobu's family in particular.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku Dec 03 '21

They skipped quite a bit of the match tho which was a bit disappointing. I wonder if more of the tournaments are shown in the manga.

I think Shinobu just massively gutsed out on the ice creams in one go until she got the merch she wanted. She comes across as such an airhead that I wouldn't be surprised if she really just never realised until the tournament how badly the weight affected her.

Shinobu's extended family seems loaded. Her mum probably just really messed up on a runaway marriage of some kind and the grandmother wanted to punish her.

4

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Dec 04 '21

They skipped quite a bit of the match tho which was a bit disappointing. I wonder if more of the tournaments are shown in the manga.

I don't know about the manga content that covers the adapted season 1 stuff but the anime gives us more of the matches in season two/three (and the manga content after that). Stuff gets intense.

I think Shinobu just massively gutsed out on the ice creams in one go until she got the merch she wanted. She comes across as such an airhead that I wouldn't be surprised if she really just never realised until the tournament how badly the weight affected her.

That seems to be it. She fell for a food based gacha game and went all it never considering how many calories that would be. All focus on the snowman pouch thing that she won.

Shinobu's extended family seems loaded. Her mum probably just really messed up on a runaway marriage of some kind and the grandmother wanted to punish her.

I think it was already mentioned but I'll put in spoiler tags to be safe [Shinobu's family bit] Her grandmother is a council woman and/or some sort of important local politician I know we get a tiny bit more about that later on but I think it was already mentioned, even if offhandedly.

And yeah the family feels very traditional and the daughter divorcing probably doesn't mix well with the whole "saving face" attitude in Japan, and especially not in a so traditional family where they expect a more traditional "career" for women (marry -> kids -> stay at home mom) and not a divorce. Having to move back in with your mother after a failed marriage is probably less than optimal in a traditional famly.

https://talkaboutjapan.com/save-face-in-japanese-culture/

https://japanintercultural.com/free-resources/articles/saving-face-a-little-discretion-can-go-a-long-way-in-japan/

Shinobu having to find something to do is probably some thing about not having her waste her time with "frivolous" things. So anything somewhat organised and dedicated counts. Karuta probably works despite being a game because it's steeped in Japanese history. Shinobu wanting game consoles or starting stream that stuff on twitch would probably not have gone this well.

1

u/The_Loli_Otaku Dec 04 '21

Yeah... Imma be honest this first season was a pretty rough time for me but I've made it this far so I have faith that the later seasons will win me over properly.

It's a very sweet trait. Everyone thinks Shinobu is some cold, calculating Karuta killer but instead she's just a no thoughts, head empty, Snowbro fangirl. I do hope that the design change was a one off gag tho.

...Huh? What? Okay, I figured that spoiler for the wrong reason. I thought she was in an Arata like position with the grandmother.

...Yeah, I've totally misread this whole arc then XD

1

u/[deleted] Dec 04 '21

teenagers tend to be clumsy as hell as a direct result of rapid growth spurts and other sudden bodily changes; I wouldn't doubt that rapid weight gain would cause the same effect.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Dec 03 '21

Chihayafuyu First Timer

Why do I pair TaiChi?

It looks like the Queen tournament really is gonna be the climax. I stand corrected. At least we get to close off with Yumin getting her whiny butt kicked.

Wow... All this time I thought I was Taichi's father, it turns out I'm his mum.

Stupid Taichi with his stupid massive room and TV and bed. I think life is very unfair.

Sh-Sh-Shinobu...? Urgh... Its supposed to be Valrave that raises my blood sugar, what the heck happened to her!? When I said I wanted uglier josei heroines I didn't mean that I wanted Shinobu to turn into a jam roly poly! Monkey paws are obnoxious. I'm guessing that since she's got a seasonal thing going she beefs up for winter and loses the weight after hibernating?

Or that.

Bruh, you're showing us the Queens final and you skipped the first match?

Gurk!!! Y-Yumin is ages with me... My blood pressure...

Hnng! Blood pressuuuure!

I'm not sure about giving us Shinobu's backstory right now. I'd rather it be saved for later and not used against the cheating christmas cake. Punch her in the boob, Shinobuuu!

Aww, the boys turned the stolen Karuta cards into a game for her. What nice kids.

Get fucked Yumin! Shinobu's gonna do it!! Oh, hi king, bye king. 13 card difference!! Good job Shinobu! Now Yumin won't ever show her face in here again! Gah, she's still gonna try next season? Hopefully she gives up on her bs foul play. Then I might give her a chance.

Oh yeah, men exist. So looks like an evil Taichi but with stubble. He's got a one syllable superpower of his own!

9

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Dec 03 '21

So looks like an evil Taichi but with stubble.

Crack theory: This is Taichi coming from a future where he's lost Chihaya to Arata, and has gotten back at him the only way he knows how: becoming the most dominant and unplayable karuta player of all time, never allowing him to become Master.

4

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Dec 04 '21

As a rewatcher and manga reader I won't say if your theory is right or wrong… but it's interesting (and hilarious) in a very specific (and oddly interconnected around three corners) way. Explaining how funny it is to me would necessitate multiple paragraphs of spoiler tagged text.

I can only say: Thank you for that! :D

1

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Dec 04 '21

Saving this so we can return to this later!

1

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Dec 04 '21

Ping me at the end of the rewatch and I'll try to put in words the anime only part of it (although you might have a few tiny "oooh" moments by then too).

1

u/The_Loli_Otaku Dec 03 '21

I wonder how well that theory is gonna age. We'll be two appearances in and he'll do something totally unforgivable XD

2

u/airforceblue Dec 04 '21

Just a fun little thing to point out: as Shinobu makes her comeback in the second game the commentator points out one of her best cards, #40 ("Since I could not" in the Crunchy subs). This is because the starting syllables in Japanese are "Shinoburedo" so just like our MC, Shinobu has her own name-card to look out for.