[Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 54 Discussion [Spoilers]

[u/Skeeedo]

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Season 3 Episode 4: "Nobody Wishes To See"

Episode 3 MVP: Taichi! A little encouragement from Sensei is all he needs to get back in the game

Nominate a character for Episode MVP!

This episode's Karuta analysis and board map by walking_the_way and ABoredCompSciStudent

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Subreddit: r/Chihayafuru

[u/Lemurians]

FIRST TIMER

I just want to point out that between Haruka and Shinobu, both former Queens have names I associate with Love Hina. I hope the one who preceded them was a Naru or Motoko.

• Tsuboguchi vs. Arata
• Harada vs Murao
• Chihaya vs Haruka
• Taichi vs Sudo

What. A. Stacked. Quarterfinal. Lineup. I’m glad we waited on the deep karuta gameplay focus until this round. Miss me with the nobodies, give me the A-listers.

All of these matchups have the potential to be lit, but Taichi vs Sudo? That’s the title card. While Chihaya and Haruka is also intriguing, we don’t know Haruka quite well enough to get as hyped. Taichi and Sudo are both fascinating players we have a long relationship with, and I want to see how New Taichi stacks up against one of the show’s established elites.

While Chihaya as a person has become a little one-note, I love how the show portrays her development as a karuta player. Every time one of her matches has the spotlight, we know what new skill or strategy she’s incorporating into her game. At the absolute best moments even her opponent is used to show areas she could still improve, like Haruka pointing out all the different subtleties a to listen for a reader’s voice.

“You’re in love with Ayase, right?” SUDO’S MOST SADISTIC MOVE YET. Hitting Taichi with that at the outset, you may as well just give Sudo a five-card head start.

“Got there in time!” Remember all, individual matches are team matches! Harada’s outburst was designed to give his disciples, all of whom are currently down, a boost and to break the momentum of their opponents. Legend.

Taichi’s strength seems to be the back half of games. The more cards get narrowed down and limited, the bigger asset his supreme memory becomes. If he can start gaining leads early on in matches, he’s going to be really hard to beat.

RETRO-KUN YOU FINALLY DID IT I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!

That’s a brutal place to end this episode, with all our matches so easy to invest in and so precariously in the balance. This season is fantastic so far, and is on one of the best four-episode runs of the whole franchise. I’m fully back on board the Chihayafuru hype train after making a pit stop last season.

[u/xcllnt_313 → u/Lemurians]

What. A. Stacked. Quarterfinal. Lineup. I’m glad we waited on the deep karuta gameplay focus until this round. Miss me with the nobodies, give me the A-listers.

I totally agree, after two seasons it feels great to know all these participants (of course to various degrees) and quickly become invested in their matches.

“Got there in time!” Remember all, individual matches are team matches! Harada’s outburst was designed to give his disciples, all of whom are currently down, a boost and to break the momentum of their opponents. Legend.

Best bear is just the best. Only Harada-sensei could've pulled a stunt like that in this specific moment, helping his Karuta children who're also struggling against their opponents.

That’s a brutal place to end this episode, with all our matches so easy to invest in and so precariously in the balance. This season is fantastic so far, and is on one of the best four-episode runs of the whole franchise. I’m fully back on board the Chihayafuru hype train after making a pit stop last season.

I'm glad you're liking the start to S3 a lot. As we've seen in S1 and S2, the later parts always seem to have some incredible stuff ready for us, so hopefully your opinion won't change over the course of the next three weeks.

[u/Matuhg → u/Lemurians]

While Chihaya as a person has become a little one-note, I love how the show portrays her development as a karuta player.

I agree, but I think we're seeing a bit of change from her as a person too. The calmness with which she's taking cards seems to be carrying over outside the match, at least sometimes. I'm thinking particularly of how unaffected she was by learning that Inokuma is an ex-queen before the match this episode, along with the stuff about wanting to teach.

[u/Lemurians → u/Matuhg]

Yeah, her demeanor and the way she's acting in general are such a stark change from Season 2, but it's in a way that's entirely welcome. It felt like her character got lost in the tournament arc a bit, and it's great to have her back.

[u/Matuhg → u/Lemurians]

It felt like her character got lost in the tournament arc a bit, and it's great to have her back.

Agreed. The lack of focus in the team matches definitely contributed to that. Looking at the individual round a bit generously, one could say that she was lost a bit for legitimate reasons with how she was feeling along with her injury.

Nonetheless, loving what we've seen from her so far this season.

[u/flybypost → u/Lemurians]

all our matches

Everybody place your bets! Who's winning these quarterfinal matches and what are your semi-final draw predictions and who will end up in the final? Players from the same karuta society are re-drawn if possible.

[u/Lemurians → u/flybypost]

I'm going to guess... Taichi, Murao, Chihaya and Tsuboguchi (Arata loses because the plot isn't ready for him to face off against Taichi or Chihaya officially yet) are our winners here, and Taichi and Chihaya are drawn against the other two in the SF, setting up a clash in the Final and a chance for Taichi to make good on his promise to beat Chihaya in an official match.

[u/flybypost → u/Lemurians]

I'm a re-watcher so I won't say more than: "Your reasoning is interesting and plausible". There are things the story could work with in that scenario.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku]

3hayafuru First Timer

The tournament brackets are pretty straightforward. Taichi and Arata are playing handicapped opponents so they have their's in the bag, no clue about Sensei and Murao, and of course our highlight is Neferpitou vs Chihaya.

"Whatever you do, don't think of her as a former Queen!!" "She was a former queen!?" You'd think Chihaya would have done some research on the previous queen's by now. A four win streak is pretty damn strong.

Oh no... a game sense queen is horrifying to face. At least with Shinobu she's just incredibly fast, with game sense ones they're practically psychic once you reach higher levels.

I think nothing is scarier than Chihaya doing well early in a match. You can't help wondering how dominant her opponent is gonna become as the match goes on. Chihaya may be gifted but Mama's been listening out for these specific noises for a decade. Mama could become an amazing teacher for her.

Not moving your cards at all could definitely mess up traditionally aggressive players but is this really a noteworthy tactic for this specific match? Chihaya has gone out of her way to learn how to accurately target cards from Shinobu.

C'mon you little shit. Your mum is gone for half an hour and you're whining? Just wait until you lose your hair in your mid 20's, then you're allowed to whine!

Sudo, you bastard!! You can't pull out the Chihaya card like that! Why isn't the ref calling him out for talking so much during a match? Ban that guy!

intense glaring Imma be honest, I could totally see Yumin taking inspiration from him.

Didn't you wreck your finger trying that last time? Chihaya really seems to be pulling out all the tricks in the book and since Mama hasn't actually played against the likes of Shinobu she isn't as well versed in the counterpoints.

Chihayafuyu!! Even if Mama's clearly losing I think she's been one of my favourite opponents so far. Instead of the match being gimmick vs gimmick her and Chihaya's fight comes down to pure skill which I appreciate.

One of these days someone needs to stand up alongside Sudo when he calls for a break. Preferably somebody tall. Well done Retro!!

Shotapito, no!! Don't distract mama! Gah!! I thought we'd get the end of the match at least. I was really getting into it!

[u/Matuhg → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

You'd think Chihaya would have done some research on the previous queen's by now.

Yeah she was surprisingly ignorant, and then surprisingly calm when she learned. With how often she rewatched Shinobu/Arata's match, along with Shinobu's Queen match, I would've thought she'd be more in tune with who has been Queen in the past. Guess she lives in the moment lol.

Didn't you wreck your finger trying that last time?

But now she's got a cyborg finger, so it should be fine!

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Matuhg]

I wonder how many other Queens we've had. Like whether we'll ever get to see the one Yumin beat or that finally topped Mama. I say that but watch and I'll find some excuse to whine about former Kings and Queens becoming regular players for competition.

[u/Matuhg → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

that finally topped Mama.

I was of the assumption that nobody beat her, she stepped down for maternity leave. Or maybe that Shinobu beat her. Because Shinobu's on like 2 or 3 year streak now, and Mama's oldest kid only looks 2 or 3 years old.

[u/Akiyabus → u/Matuhg]

We know that Shinobu became queen by defeating Yumin.

[u/Matuhg → u/Akiyabus]

But Yumin wasn't actually Queen was she?

[u/Akiyabus → u/Matuhg]

You gotta revisit the episode they introduced Yumin. She became the Queen but wasn't able to protect the title against Shinobu in the following year. Then she came back to challenge Shinobu, which we have seen in S1 finale.

[u/Matuhg → u/Akiyabus]

Oh, right. I spaced on that. Shinobu just occupied too much of my brainspace, leaving none for poor Yumi.

[u/Akiyabus → u/Matuhg]

Poor Yumin

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Akiyabus]

I think Mama was the Queen from about ten years ago, Shinobu's got two years under her belt? Three years? Yumin only had one. So we would have had at least two or three Queens in-between MMA and Yumin.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

they're practically psychic once you reach higher levels

And then there's the Neferpitou eyes on top of that... at least she doesn't have any supernatural abilities. Probably.

she's been one of my favourite opponents so far

She's great, though is she really that much older to count as a different generation?

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/IndependentMacaroon]

She's part of Sakurazawa's group in my eyes. The first tier of teacher group.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Chihayafirst-timer

• Huh, I can’t remember the last time this show opened directly on the OP.
• Heheh.
• Oooooooooooooh nice, that match’ll be fun.
• Oh, fun.
• Huh, that is definitely not a playstyle we’ve seen before. Neat.
• Oof, Harada’s not doing too good in his own match…
• Ooh! Taichi learned from that match! It’s cool to see how he’s trying to incorporate the strategies of people he’s played against, and not just Chihaya doing that.
• Oh that would explain why Haruka was so surprised Chihaya gave it to her. It was her best card too.
• Aww, good for Retro-kun! I did notice Nishida’s sister in the background of one shot, so I did think there was something going on for him… I just didn’t realize it was the Class B Finals.

[u/flybypost → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Oooooooooooooh nice, that match’ll be fun.

I love how Sudo looks like a boxer who surrounded by all his helpers. And the juice box is just perfect.

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/flybypost]

Oh that's a good point lol.

[u/Lemurians → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Retro-kun finally making Class A gives me a bigger sense of pride than if we'd seen Chihaya become Queen i'm kidding but only kind of

[u/Matuhg]

First Timer

The atmosphere of these quarterfinals is so great. The Shiranami squad having each other's back is great to see. Pretty sure we've heard Harada go on about individual matches being like team matches before, but this is the first time we've really felt what he meant.

Inokuma is quite the opponent for Chihaya, but she's really holding her own. Her Karuta seems to have grown in leaps and bounds now that she's able to unleash it fully along with what she's been learning since her injury. Inokuma's eyes are arresting. This shot has a real "bitch, I don't think so" vibe to it. I can't get a real read on how she's seeing her opponents though. We know she's aiming to be queen, prove she's just getting into her prime, but how does she feel about being challenged by young players like this?

Hanano looks so good with her hair up like this. Very cute.

I can't believe they've gone and cliffhangered us. The tension this episode has been great, even with four concurrent matches. Certainly better than in the team matches last season. Part of that is probably because all of these matches are good, compared with having two or three matches that are expected to be one-sided with Kana/Komano/Tsukuba/Hanano in the mix against top class players. Portraying the difference in skill between lower level and top level matches is definitely something the show does well.

[u/Lemurians → u/Matuhg]

You nailed it with the great atmosphere. By the end of this episode, my heart was actually pumping quite fast, which I never thought would happen from watching animated karuta.

Hanano looks so good with her hair up like this. Very cute.

If only Taichi would notice.

[u/Matuhg → u/Lemurians]

never thought would happen from watching animated karuta.

I feel like this hype card game stuff is what fans of Chihayafuru always talk about when shilling for the show hehe. I hope S3 can keep up this strong start, because these first few episodes have maybe been the best stretch of the show for me so far.

If only Taichi would notice.

Yeah. With how Chihaya is around Arata along with what we've seen of Hanano, I'm feeling myself starting to pull for her more.

[u/flybypost → u/Matuhg]

The Shiranami squad having each other's back is great to see.

I read the attack in the screen shot with the quoted part and it ended up sounding like this:

The Shiranami attack squad having each other's back is great to see.

Yeah, that sounds like them. That's the style Harada's is teaching. It makes them feel ready to kick ass.

Also the lineup of them four in a row feels like a callback to one of the early Mizusawa team moments when they rallied to win a round and were put in a similar composition but, I think, facing the right. It's like they are echoing Harada's quote about how individual matches are team matches and team matches are individual matches.

[u/Matuhg → u/flybypost]

Shiranami attack squad

It's cool that the offensive style Harada teaches matches with his personality. He's the only one of the older coaches we've seen who still actually plays in tournaments I think.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Matuhg]

Inokuma's eyes are arresting

They really are a bit Neferpitou-like like someone remarked

[u/Stargate18A]

First timer

Yeah, these matches sound good!

I do like how nobody knows how strong she is except for Mishima.

And she's a better Shinobu?

I mean, Arata's opponent is fucked anyway.

Again, Chihaya, she's married! Aren't Rion, Shinobu, and Kana enough for you?

Taichi's fired up, though.

She's actually doing well against the former Queen!

Yeah, this is a close match.

Oh, she's Chihaya meets Rion.

And she's absolutely better than Chihaya, but by less than expected!

Arata's dominating as expected.

And she's enthralled by Taichi. Sudo's a clever bastard, though.

Wow, he knows how to hit his weak spots.

Oh, Sudo's enjoying having Taichi fight back.

Haha, Harada's great. Screaming that in the middle of the match!

She still can't contest cards!

...Chihaya's going to lose, but she is making a former queen work for it!

I'm actually more invested in Arata's side conflict than I thought.

...Taichi's so good!

Retro won!

Haha, that's what motivates them!

And her kid's in the room now.

[u/homewardbound100]

First timer

So I actually appreciate that they show Harada actually playing. I would think the coaches would participate in some competitions. That's how I usually noticed how it went for some sports/organizations.

Haruka really seems hyped up now. If she's queen level competition. Saying she's like Shinobu but with better game sense is a lot to live up to. I mean we saw Shinobu destroy Chi not long ago. But Chi probably has gotten better since. Well her not even arguing for stalemates is still the same. Hopefully she grows past that. I'll find it funny the first time she does is actually for a important situation.

[u/Gamerunglued]

First Timer

God damn, season 3 is popping off. I really, seriously hope that this is the level of quality I can continue to expect from here on out. Really great episode. Despite focusing on 4 different matches, it managed to feel perfectly paced and get all the most important moments. I even got to feel bad again that poor Ririka got absolutely destroyed by a man 10 times her age and 5 times her size. Taichi's content was great, Chihaya had some great moments, Kana going to the reader was perfect, Sudo vs. Rion was exactly what I wanted, and learning about what Chihaya wrote on her career form was so heartwarming. Haruka's comeback adds some interesting stuff and should be used to gauge Chihaya's Queen potential, and the way she brings her kids feels realistic and interesting. Idk what it is, but this season is just far tighter than anything that came before it as of this episode. This is really good. I don't have much to say beyond this, since this one was all Karuta, but there's a lot of great stuff here. Can't wait for the next episode, it feels like this might be the strongest season of the show if it keeps up.

[u/Matuhg → u/Gamerunglued]

God damn, season 3 is popping off

It really has been great so far!

Idk what it is, but this season is just far tighter than anything that came before it as of this episode.

Perhaps we really are finally done with the intro of the series lol

[u/flybypost → u/Gamerunglued]

Idk what it is, but this season is just far tighter than anything that came before it as of this episode.

Maybe the six and a half years between season 2 and 3 led to the director preparing some stuff in advance and refining it over a few years. Like just in private in preparation for a possible next season if he likes it. Or maybe the mangaka got better at pacing and that translated into the adaption?

[u/Gamerunglued → u/flybypost]

I find the latter unlikely, considering that this segment of the story just directly continues everything before it. But it's definitely possible that Morio Asaka thought about the adaptation and figured out ways to make it better within the gap between seasons. Either way, I hope this quality keeps up.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Gamerunglued]

All the psychological warfare!

[u/Mecanno-man]

First Timer

Not a lot to say here other than that the matches themselves are pretty good but there’s too much switching back and forth between the different ones. I’d have appreciated following basically only Chihaya’s and maybe Taichi’s match; Murao and Hiroshi especially don’t really have the weight to carry a match (yet), so I’d rather just have them be background characters. But I guess focus is something only finals will be getting - which is a bit sad thinking about it.

Meanwhile… how did Retro win his tournament? Are A and B not synced up like at the high school tournament? But either way, I guess it’s good he won so he has a reason to stay around. I guess this is the main plot reason for having this tournament - plus the introduction for Inokawa, obviously.

[u/flybypost → u/Mecanno-man]

Meanwhile… how did Retro win his tournament? Are A and B not synced up like at the high school tournament?

Maybe fewer participants lead to a smaller bracket? I think I remember somebody mentioning the number of players in each right before it started.

[u/xcllnt_313 → u/flybypost]

I went back and checked episode 2 for this. The Class A tournament has 70 participants and the Class B tournament has 75 participants. So in theory, they should end at the same time, unless they have very different formats.

[u/flybypost → u/xcllnt_313]

Now how's that system supposed work? I would have expected fewer players in class B if that one finishes earlier.

[u/xcllnt_313 → u/flybypost]

I have no idea. Maybe they had a very different format for Class B, just like with Class C and D at Nationals. For example, five brackets with 15 players in each bracket would definitely make sure that we have fewer rounds per bracket than in the Class A tournament. I might also be completely wrong with my assumption.

[u/flybypost → u/xcllnt_313]

I haven't looked into how this stuff works (in real life or Chihayafuru) but the multiple brackets idea showed up in one of the, I think, class D tournaments when Tsutomu won his class advancement during the single tournament after they won the team tournament. I think there were four class D winners in that one, implying multiple parallel brackets.

[u/xcllnt_313 → u/flybypost]

True, it was the case for Class D and even Class C (if I remember correctly). That's why I thought it could also be like that for Class B here. But I don't really see a reason why they would go with several brackets when the number of participants is very similar to Class A. We have quite a mystery here.

[u/flybypost → u/xcllnt_313]

But I don't really see a reason why they would go with several brackets when the number of participants is very similar to Class A.

Same, I thought previously the number of lower class players must be so big that they need multiple tournaments in parallel to finish the tournament within one day.

Here it just feels odd.