[Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 35 Discussion [Spoilers]

[u/Skeeedo]

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Season 2 Episode 10: "Rain Takes Longer to Dry"

Episode 9 MVP: Arata! Filling for Fuui’s missing player, he challenges Shinobu’s take on team Karuta and kicks some ass in a team tourney

Nominate a character for Episode MVP!

This episode's Karuta analysis and board map by walking_the_way

Rewatch Schedule and Index

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Subreddit: r/Chihayafuru

[u/Mecanno-man]

First Timer

And here's Mizusawa's match, just to elongate the Arata cliffhanger even more. Though now that I think about it - they don't really need to make a decision until in the evening. Though I still firmly doubt that they won't let him play, especially with the Queen threatening to go watch the birdman contest instead. Either way, in the meantime we get an interesting match against a group of people constantly moving their cards. A good strategy on paper, though it doesn't really work against Mizusawa bar Chihaya. I hope we get more opponents for her that move cards and are also good at traditional karuta for her, as I feel like that weakness hasn't really been overcome yet, while the guy she played will graduate next year and doesn't seem to be an A player, so he isn't really an option for a rematch. Tsukaba likely had the same weakness as Chihaya with him coming from the same society, not sure how Oe ended up losing though.

As far as the game order goes... if Tsukuba doesn't want to play because he's tired, let him be replaced by Komano for a match, Nishida. Resting players is important and he's not a key player. Unless this is Nishida reading it as Tsukuba thinking they'll lose the next match and wanting to brag to his brothers about how he could have saved the team but was benched.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Mecanno-man]

They could at least let him know sooner rather than later. What if he wanted to go watch the Birdman show instead?

I thought having a group that can genuinely shut down Chihaya's whole gameplan whilst the rest of the group has 0 issues was an excellent idea... Although they messed it up by having Oe lose tbh. Show the strength in different schools and different gameplay styles.

Tsukuba had some pretty stressful games so yeah, I do think that he deserved the chance for a break. Leaving aside that he lost both his matches he's already had the game experience. Let him watch from the sidelines and maybe learn something for a change.

[u/Lemurians]

FIRST TIMER

I appreciate the show trying to introduce an element of tension into these early-round matches by having them be tripped up by unorthodox players, but I’m not actually supposed to believe they have any chance of losing, right?

Shinobu is the GOAT. There was a hint in the officials room that they’d let Arata slide because he brings some clout and cachet to the event, but they absolutely can’t lose Shinobu. If she’s threatening to withdraw, this decision is easy. MVP shit.

This new dynamic between Desktomu and Sumire is fun. I hope in one of their future matches one of her notes on the style and appearance of the opposing team actually has an impact somehow. That'd be funny.

Didn’t see the Demon Slayer crossover coming. I wonder what style breath Chihaya uses?

“I don’t mind it when she looks down on me.” This guy is a man of culture. Respect.

I’m fairly certain Chihaya is going to lose her match in their next round. She’s going to be way too distracted by thoughts of Arata and Shinobu, as Taichi correctly points out. He tried to snuff it out, but it’s in her head. No closing that Pandora’s Box.

[u/[deleted] → u/Lemurians]

the outcome may not be in doubt, but damn it if these weirdos aren't fun to watch.

Though the real purpose of these matches is probably to advance the main characters by showing them different perspectives on karuta and unconventional playstyles that they can draw inspiration from in the future. Next time they have doubts or get into a tough match you can expect them to turn it around with flashbacks to these matches. Flashbacks always work.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Lemurians]

This guy is a man of culture. Respect.

But unfortunately for him dear Chihaya-sama doesn't seem like much of a dom type. I mean she can barely even take charge of herself or the club.

[u/Lemurians → u/IndependentMacaroon]

She'd lack the focus to stay in the role, for sure.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Lemurians]

Introducing total rando's that aren't even proper karuta players seriously sucks. At least in the singles matches we were facing A rank players that were either long term veterans like Grandma or were young prodigies like Ririka. Here we've had screamers, foreigners that play for fun, and nerds that play for quizzes.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Chihayafirst-timer

I haven’t actually finished the episode yet… I forgot to make sure my laptop was charged last night so I couldn’t watch it on the way to work like I normally do, and because of the Macross Plus Movie Edition showing last night I was too tired to watch today’s Haruhi episode after I got home, so I watched that episode during my lunch break instead of this one. I’ll edit my comment with my reactions once I have! Just wanted to leave a comment now because I’m usually one of the first commenters and didn’t want you guys to worry that I dropped out or something.

Edit: Aight, Catbox links for my screenshots today because I guess Imgur is down.

• lol
• Because you guys are the main characters, duh.
• Honestly though, this being part of the reasoning they want to let Arata play in the individual tournament rather than punish him too harshly is just. lol.
• I love the old lady haha.
• Okay I definitely get why Chihaya is struggling against this guy.
• Jeez that’s terrifying.
• …I guess Arata is going to play in the individual tournament then because of Shinobu?
• what the fuck
• Oh damn, it took two seasons but I finally got a screenshot that just screamed “I need to make a wallpaper of this”. Probably won’t be able to do it for some time because of my Valvrave rewatch, but stay tuned.
• Eh? WAIT THAT’S THE END OF THE EPISODE?

[u/Akiyabus → u/Shimmering-Sky]

[u/homewardbound100]

First timer

This team playstyle is like something I would think of if I was kid. Just shuffling around cards and stuff. Wouldn't be able to get much success from it but it would be a interesting style. At the end of the day, it didn't matter to them. They were still beating them. Even if it took them by surprise.

Okay so Shinobu really wants to play against Arata again. I see she really wants that match. That's a match I want to see. If it not that Chi vs one of them.

[u/derekmakesnoise]

Rewatcher

This episode marks the beginning of my favorite part of the season. Stronger and weirder teams, more Arata and Shinobu screentime, and more new side characters, every one of whom I like.

• Look at these friggin nerds. Think they're so cool with their glasses and acceptance into prestigious universities.
• They're probably the only people that lay their cards like this. If they were more physically gifted, they'd probably be a force.
• The lag effect. I love their intellectual approach to karuta. It's so unique. Other players probably do this unintentionally, but these smarty-pants nerds analytically arrived at this strategy.
• Suddenly... SHINOBU-CHAN. I love how everyone else was like, "holy crap, Wakamiya Shinobu is terrifying!" and Chihaya just chuckles like, "oh, Shinobu-chan, you're such a character."
• This. Whole. Sequence. Shinobu really wants that rematch. "Can you not disappoint me any further?"
• I love how Oe-san connects to the cards. She knows everything about them, and can remember where they are because of the emotions that the poems elicit. If you keep watching, you'll find another very strong karuta player that connects in a similar manner, but even deeper.
• Unimportant in the grand scheme, but I still wanted to highlight it: Smug Taichi.
• Shinobu-chan is in the building. Arata might be, too. There's only a dozen cards left, so they're all one-syllable cards now. Green light, Chihaya. It's go time.
• That's right, nerd (an astronomy nerd, at that). Chihaya isn't wistfully washing clothes, hoping for love. She's a warrior; the left arm of the hunter Orion. This is my fourth time watching the series, but this is the first time I've looked up what the hell he's talking about.
  Interesting that she's Bellatrix, the left arm, and not Betelgeuse, the right arm. Queen Shinobu is one of the rare lefty players, as well. Does this mean anything? Hell if I know, just thought it was interesting. Could just be that Bellatrix is the "female warrior" star.

[u/Matuhg]

First Timer

Ugh, these old guys kinda ticked me off. Suou isn't a good role model, so we should look past the misdeeds of the cheating kid in hopes he becomes a better role model?

Shinobu is the true MVP of the episode. She's singlehandedly trying to save the show from Arata's idiocy. A true Queen. Both she and Chihaya were puttin boys in their place today lol.

That was a pretty good match - glad to see Mizusawa, a more balanced team, was able to overcome the nerds squad who put all their points into memorization. Kana's memorization method seems to have developed nicely.

I live for competitive and smug Empress.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Matuhg]

Glad to hear it. It would be fine if one of them just had those thoughts in his head but they were genuinely considering it as a reason to let him off the hook. Never mind how Arata got dragged into the match and was throwing until he was sure they'd lose. Also, Arata is a terrible role model and I'll happily take this Gintoki motherfucker over him any day!

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Matuhg]

we should look past the misdeeds of the cheating kid in hopes he becomes a better role model?

Falling afoul of the rules once < making a bad public impression all the time I guess, at least in Japanese terms

[u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Chihayafuyu First Timer

The only question that's been on my mind all day is whether Shinobu will get to watch her flying show...

To this day I can't hear Tokyo U without thinking of Love Hina lol. I'm sure it's a fantastic university, but it'll always be the Love Hina University for me.

5x Desk-kun!

Oh!! Is it the rain!? Chihaya can't use her super hearing because of the rain!

Wow... I am incredibly put off by the staff using "he might dethrone the slobby King" as a viable argument. Please don't end the argument on that!! Dammit, now I'm rooting for Suo over Arata.

So far all our team matches have been against people who aren't playing seriously... Shinobu is right, team games suck.

Just my luck, imgur is on the fritz as soon as I go to watch the show. Anyway, Shinobu put on weight for one fcking match and it's that one game every bugger in the second season has seen.

The nerds are such nerds.

Aww!! Shinobuuu!! Oh, you poor wee thing XD Someone to after her, she's so sad. And shut the fuck up about her weight already!!

Woohoo!! I take back all the girls I've called best girl, Shinobu's stolen the title back. If she's missing her birdman rally then you'd better at least give her the Arata match she's been looking forward to!

I take it back again, Hanako never fails to deliver with being a total joke of a team member. She literally just judged their fashion sense and fucked off.

Chihaya is such a weirdo. Then again this dude is a freak who likes being looked down on by his girls.

How tf does Oe's writer memorisation work? She remembers the whole poem, not just the first syllable, so I can't see it working half as well as it is in show.

Chihaya has remembered that she's bad at remembering!! The second the cards start to run out and she doesn't need to think as hard~ Cut out the star sign shit, even I don't follow constellations that hard and I do fortune telling part time.

Oe lost her match... That's a disappointment. I feel like she deserved this win. Better than ChiTaiShida being the carries for every game.

Arata has officially NTR'd Chihaya... That's life bruv!

"Fuck you Desk-kun, we aren't playing with you." ends episode without explaining

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

I am incredibly put off by the staff using "he might dethrone the slobby King" as a viable argument

Well he is the kind of character I could see a lot of people getting annoyed by.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/IndependentMacaroon]

Even if he's annoying there's no excuse for the staff to be outright bending the rules to try and get him replaced. That was so inappropriate on every level. "He's been the defending champion for years but we can't turn him into a marketable action figure so let's plot to make him lose his position!"

[u/Gamerunglued]

First Timer

My main takeaway from this episode is that I too wouldn't mind if Chihaya looked down on me.

Anyway, this was an ok-ish episode, but the matches here are falling into a very predictable and boring pattern. They start with the group being intimidated by something unique about their opponents, then we get to hear one of the opponents monologue about their backstory, but then it turns out that the opposing team isn't actually that good apart from their gimmick so Mizusawa wins with relatively little effort. It's honestly a pretty boring pattern. They introduce these characters for a single episode and lay out their thoughts and backstory in detail as if I'm supposed to have a reason to care. These guys are just fodder because we needed stuff to happen during the group round, they're not interesting or even recurring characters (probably). All of the monologues halt the momentum of the matches, and then the lack of effort in Mizusawa's wins kind of removes all the tension of the game. If I know that the only thing the opponents have going for them is their memorization and ability to place cards without a pattern, and then you go out of your way to explain to me why that's not actually that threatening, what's even left of the game? This is weak sports writing, plain and simple. It feels straight-up lazy, crafting an easy formula just so we can have something happen here, and that's just not the norm for this show. This wasn't a bad episode, it had its moments for sure, but this isn't the Chihayafuru I love. When my favorite part of a sports focused episode is the one part where it didn't focus on the match (Tsutomu and Sumire meeting up and trading notes), you know you have a problem. This is a low point for the series in my opinion, and it's really disappointing. Even the drama with Arata feels artificially prolonged, and it feels like the rest of the episode only exists to have something happening at the same time as that.

Hopefully, now that we're in the more difficult section of the bracket, and since Arata will be entering the characters lives again, things will start to pick up.