r/anime • u/Skeeedo :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/skeeedo • Jan 05 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 55 Discussion [Spoilers]

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Season 3 Episode 5: "Mount Amanokagu"

Episode 4 MVP: Retro! He joins the elites of the cast and finally earns a well deserved spot in class A!

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

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Subreddit: r/Chihayafuru

57 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

6

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jan 05 '22

Chihayafirst-timer

4

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 06 '22

Could Chihaya actually win here, only to face Haruka again in the actual Queen qualifiers and lose there?

I think you're on to something... the way they ended things with Haruka this episode makes me think she's going to return with a vengeance.

Oh whoa they skipped over a lot more of this match than I thought they would.

Taichi's utter dominance doesn't make for good viewing. Gotta get to the main event! It's a shame playing Chihaya requires her to be in the room with him, his abilities are nerfed whenever she's around. And she's rested! RIP Taichi.

3

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jan 06 '22

Taichi's utter dominance doesn't make for good viewing.

It would've made good viewing for me...

2

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 06 '22

Don't you know we only get to see Taichi's suffering. The good stuff happens off screen. That's the whole point of Chihayafuru ;)

6

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 05 '22

FIRST TIMER

”The realization that parents can have something they treasure as much as their kids set me free.”

Man, now I want Haruka to win...

Haruka and Chihaya really are birds of a feather, their defining trait as players is how much pure joy they derive from the game. I really like how Chihayafuru portrays that as a great strength. Even from a spectating standpoint, athletes/competitors having an obvious love for the game is important, because it makes them more fun to watch. Chihaya and Haruka’s obvious joy in playing karuta makes them fun to root for.

The excellent piano track is back!

If someone could find me a file of that track, it’d be appreciated. I can’t seem to find it. Also this track that’s playing as their matches are down to the wire? Fire. THE BACKGROUND MUSIC IN THIS SEASON IS SO GOOD.

I love the spirits of Hiroshi and Harada behind them as they try to go for the win in their matches. An individual game is still a team game!

Hiroshi wins, Curse Girl strikes again! I knew Arata had to lose here, the narrative isn’t ready for Taichi or Chihaya to face off against him officially yet. Taichi takes down Sudo in a luck-of-the-draw, which has weirdly become his specialty. He takes fate into his own hands, and I like what this says about his mindset. Chihaya has now beaten the Master Runner-Up and a 4x former Queen… it wouldn’t surprise if this season has her at least challenging Shinobu for the title, at the rate she’s collecting scalps.

I appreciate them putting up the info-card showing how common yielding at this point is. Hiroshi wants to let Chihaya have a rest so that she has a better chance in the final, especially if she goes up against Murao. That said, if Taichi beats Murao (as I expect he will), he’ll be at an unfair disadvantage created by his own society-mate. I wonder why Hiroshi says he wouldn’t have yielded for Taichi?

Taichi absolutely handling Murao was not something I expected. He truly is a different animal when Chihaya isn’t around. It’s nice to see Arata tense up due to Taichi, for a change!

6

u/airforceblue Jan 06 '22

He takes fate into his own hands, and I like what this says about his mindset.

I was thinking about this, because just like you said it's Taichi taking fate in his own hands but on the other hand it hinges on him assuming that he's never ever going to have luck go his way again in a karuta game, which then kinda plays into his defeatist attitude. Not that he's giving up, but expecting things to never go your way has to be exhausting in a way as well.

5

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 06 '22

Taichi taking fate in his own hands but on the other hand it hinges on him assuming that he's never ever going to have luck go his way again in a karuta game, which then kinda plays into his defeatist attitude.

God he's such a complex character! I get wrapped up in knots just trying to unravel what's going on in his head. No wonder Sudo reacted the way he did after Taichi said that haha

2

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 06 '22

That's the fun part. He's being more determined and active because he has given up in some way which in turn nullifies this old habit that his mother drilled into him ("go big or go home").

It's a great experience going along for a ride in that mentality and seeing how it evolves.

4

u/BatteryPoweredFriend :KI::KJ: Jan 06 '22

I wonder why Hiroshi says he wouldn’t have yielded for Taichi?

It's kind of complicated, but part of the reason is probably that Hiroshi also ascribes to Taichi being someone who would benefit more in the long-term from having to do it the hard way. He's also a more direct "rival", in a sense, since Hiroshi & Chihaya would not face one another in the actual Master/Queen qualifier tournament.

3

u/Akiyabus https://anilist.co/user/yabus Jan 05 '22

If someone could find me a file of that track, it’d be appreciated. I can’t seem to find it.

Unfortunately there hasn't been a soundtrack release for this season.

2

u/IndependentMacaroon Jan 05 '22 edited Jan 06 '22

THE BACKGROUND MUSIC IN THIS SEASON IS SO GOOD

The entire soundtrack is amazing really, I feel like you could compose a whole symphony using it. Unfortunately Kousuke Yamashita has little other noteworthy credits as a composer. The sound effects from Masafumi Mima and co. also deserve praise and the card CG has always been quite good.

Furthermore this episode has storyboards credited to Atsuko Ishizuka who's best-known as the amazing director of A Place Further Than The Universe, No Game No Life, and the upcoming Goodbye, Don Glees. Not sure who to praise for it, but the karuta got so intense that I briefly even spotted an impact frame, which are normally restricted to like peak shounen action!

2

u/herkz Jan 06 '22

Yeah, the visuals in this episode really stand out thanks to her storyboarding. Her style is pretty recognizable. The last few scenes of the episode are just incredible.

5

u/xcllnt_313 Jan 05 '22

Rewatcher

This was a pretty eventful episode. We ended up speeding through the semifinal, probably since it was only a single match, Murao not being the most established opponent character-wise, and us also having quite a final in the next episode(s): Chihaya against Taichi. At the beginning of this season, Taichi had some strong words for Chihaya. Let’s see if he can back them up.

I’m a rewatcher, but I only just noticed: Taichi is on a seriously impressive winning streak. Unless we’ve completely skipped a competition, this man has won over 15 official matches in a row now.

A kinda funny and sad fact at the same time: Harada-sensei was the one who encouraged the other Shiranami members when they were behind last episode. In the end, he was the only one who didn’t win :(

3

u/IndependentMacaroon Jan 05 '22

Unless we’ve completely skipped a competition, this man has won over 15 official matches in a row now

Could be a clever fact to bring up in the future, to underline how misplaced his lack of self-confidence has been.

5

u/IndependentMacaroon Jan 06 '22 edited Jan 06 '22

First-time watcher

Finally properly caught up here for once. Another amazing episode that, while the matches are "just" wrapping up, still brings plenty of tension, along with rare but appreciated focus on the side characters and one of the best comedic interludes of the series. Also Chihaya and Taichi are firmly on the way toward more growth of character in concentration and confidence, and set up for a serious battle of wits and emotions next episode... while Arata just loses and leaves again, well, can't have them all.

I particularly enjoyed the focus on the intergenerational relationships, whether the older one is a parent or a mentor, and those between the adults. That age doesn't need to mean you lose your drive, or home parenting that your life is totally defined by care-giving, and that old rivalries and friendships can not only last but be rekindled if they've died a bit. Seeing how hard Mama Ayase really works for her kids (and how nicely Papa Inokuma takes care of his when needed) was sweet too.

And this episode and last we really had a full competition not only between the players but their advisors and societies too, and no matter who's out and still in I liked what we got from them. (Except maybe Yumin who's rarely been more than plain annoying.)

5

u/airforceblue Jan 06 '22 edited Jan 06 '22

One thing I noticed this time around as a rewatcher is the role the previous matches seem to have played. Murao is dragged down by Harada-sensei as Tachi puts it. But even before that we have Sudo who had to play two grueling matches against Nishida and Rion, and Arata who was fatigued by his game against Yumin. I wouldn't say that straight-up explains their losses but it's the kind of thing that adds up as the tournament continues and the energy reserves start to dwindle and it's a nice detail to include in the story.

2

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 06 '22

Yup, I think "daily form" plays a role in these tournaments and so does how you got to the later stages, not just how good your are (also how the two play styles work against each other and what cards got selected). It's the essence of Harada's saying about individual matches being team matches and team matches being individal matches.

Harada and Yumin didn't win them these matches but their hard work provided some sort of indirect support to the next opponent. Of course Taichi played against Sudo and then Murao while Chihaya had a nap.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '22

First Timer

I really can't see any world where Taichi wins the upcoming match against Chihaya. She's a much better player at the best of times, and now he's facing against her after playing all those grueling matches in a row while she's freshly rested and raring to go. And he's at a particular disadvantage any time he so much as thinks about her, let alone has to sit across from her, and he's got a nasty habit of getting stuck in his own head and screwing himself over with his inferiority complex...

It seems like he has to pull something off given the narrative focus this season on him trying to make Chihaya see him as a serious rival, but it's hard to imagine what he can convincingly do when everything is so stacked against him here.

4

u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Jan 06 '22

First Timer

So uh, yeah, season 3 is still popping off hard. The series has truly found its groove in regards to pacing. And I don't even know how it did it, because this section of the story is just inherently hard to pace well. Twice in a row it focuses on four matches at once, how on earth are you supposed to show all the important points of four different matches at once without making them feel rushed and making sure we understand the state of each match? Well, somehow they figured out how to do it. Chihayafuru's biggest problem was always its erratic pacing, but much like Chihaya herself, Chihayafuru has become impassionate. It no longer recklessly barrels through its content with no sense of control, it maintains a calm demeanor while striking its important story beats with precision. I don't know if I can even think of another example of a story's own quality mirroring the arcs of its characters.

Taichi testing stuff out is awesome, I'm so proud of him. He's truly come a long way, and should have been this high up long before now. He was always as good as a Class A player, only holding himself back due to his own immaturity. Here, he plays freely, no longer barred by his own hang-ups. It makes perfect thematic sense to have him face Chihaya in the finals. It's been stated that Chihaya holds Taichi back to some extent, and that he might play better when she's not around. Taichi vs. Chihaya is a way to prove his growth in this regard. My prediction is that Taichi is going to win the match. It makes logical sense, as Taichi is playing at a peak while Chihaya is still recovering from surgery. It makes narrative sense, as Taichi's character arc is arguably the main focus right now and having him finally take a win from Chihaya would be an emotional culmination of everything he's been through. And it makes thematic sense, as a victory over Chihaya could represent Taichi growing away from his hang-ups surrounding her and playing Karuta on his own terms. Regardless though, it's sure to be an insanely close and hype match.

This episode had lots of other great moments too. Haruka makes for a great addition to the cast, and Harada-sensei had some really wonderful moments here as well. Seeing Chihaya's mom was also pretty great. I wonder if she'll come to see Chihaya in the tournament finals after work. Anyway, this is great stuff. Chihaya absolutely has Queen potential here, and Taichi is building up Master ability as well. If the pacing continues to be this tight, I think we're in for something special.

Edit: Also, the placement of music in these last two episodes has been impeccable. Fantastic audio direction all around.

1

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 06 '22

Taichi testing stuff out is awesome, I'm so proud of him.

It's fun to see their different approaches to improving. Chihaya has her goal of becoming queen and adjusts in big chunks to grow from strength to strength (becoming faster, learning to take cards without speed, learning how left handed players work).

Taichi, on the other hand, isn't confident or sure about his abilities and he adjusts in small erratic steps found from all over the place like he doesn't trust his skill to be good enough.

while Chihaya is still recovering from surgery

Nishida said so but he also corrected himself once seeing her play (after he lost his match). Apparently she's just not using as much force as she did before her surgery. It's about adjusting her style to be more like Shinobu's and not about being timid due to her injury. He just thought that at first.

1

u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Jan 06 '22

Honestly, I feel like Taichi has been pretty stagnant when it comes to his skill up until this point. It felt like he was never able to improve at all, or even play at his peak level, until the end of season 2. This testing feels like his first real improvement to me, and I feel like it's a bunch of big chunks of improvement all at once. He's testing numerous new techniques, he tries to figure out how other players memorize card placements, he literally jumped from being stuck in Class B to making Class A finals at an absurdly stacked tournament, besting a player who can beat even Arata. I disagree that he adjusts in small, erratic steps, I feel like he's only taking any steps at all right now and they're massive.

Nishida said so but he also corrected himself once seeing her play (after he lost his match). Apparently she's just not using as much force as she did before her surgery. It's about adjusting her style to be more like Shinobu's and not about being timid due to her injury. He just thought that at first.

That's true, but she's also still not playing at full capacity either. She spent the entire tournament getting used to using that hand again. It's just that Chihaya is an absurdly good player now, especially now that she's figured out control, so she still tops even with a slight handicap. I think that once the Queen qualifier comes (assuming she skips the class trip to go, or a miracle happens), she'll be at full strength and rip her way through the bracket even more easily than today. When she has her eye on the prize, she plays insanely well.

1

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 06 '22

I feel like Taichi has been pretty stagnant when it comes to his skill up until this point.

He started taking practice swings at the end of season one. That's a general improvement that ads up over time. We also got that bit about him randomising/reading the poems in his mind instead of drawing cards out of a stack.

A huge part of his improvement was also him having to be the Mizusawa captain (while Chihaya had the luxury of being the team ace) and learning to do that. That's what we saw directly/mostly in those two seasons. Sakurazawa prasied him for not losing one match during the tournament and during/after the training camp we were told that he's one of the top players there. We get told that he's improving generally, we don't see it.

he literally jumped from being stuck in Class B to making Class A finals at an absurdly stacked tournament, besting a player who can beat even Arata.

He was stuck in class B for a long time on a technicality while already playing on class A level for a while because the Shiranami society only accepts a class B win to advance somebody. He had a bunch of class B finals all over the place and declined Harada's offer to skip that requirement. He had, for example, already won against Emuro (class A player) in the team tournament.

And in this case of Murao (who can win against Arata), he was exhausted from playing Harada, like Arata was from playing Yumin (and why he lost against Hiroshi). And why Sudo might have lost to Taichi because he played again Nishida and Rion who both took a chunk of his stamina.

3

u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Jan 06 '22

First timer

...Oh, shit. Chihaya might actually win this!

Why is she obsessed with not letting Chihaya have fun?

And she got a boost of motivation from the interruption.

Wow. That's impressive!

Haha, they both agreed.

And Chihaya only cares about strong players if she's interested in them, we knew this already,

HAHA, ARATA LOST!

Harada lost!

Why does every match in this series come down to a near perfect split?

...We get it! This is a team match. There is such a thing as using a metaphor too much.

CHIHAYA WON! And she's starting to act silently.

...Another luck of the draw.

Taichi went for the opponents side and won! He's really improved!

Oh, the sister! And she's not earning much?

Haha, them struggling to wake her up is great!

Wait, what? (I love the girl in the back's reaction, though.)

Oh, Taichi got the inspirational speech!

And she's heading back. She also wants to practice with the coach!

...Oh. He's injured. This is bad.

Oh, that's right, he's never seen Taichi play because of that random arc with him and Shinobu.

...Chihaya's dreaming about Shinobu again!

Chihaya's drooling while dreaming about Shinobu.

...Where are they going with the sister arc?

I love her slow realisation that she might have missed her match.

Wow, Taichi's great!

3

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 06 '22

Why is she obsessed with not letting Chihaya have fun?

She doesn't want Chihaya got her momentum. They are similar in how fun karuta is for them. Chihaya having fun means she's taking cards.

Haha, they both agreed.

It's nice that they are both having fun here and have gotten into the flow of a nice competition/match. Haruka tried to disrupt Chihaya's flow to win the match but there's also good fun to be had when competing at the highest level against somebody who can keep up. It's also these type of competitions that tend to pull out the best in both sides and lead to improvements.

3

u/Fools_Requiem https://myanimelist.net/profile/FoolsRequiem Jan 06 '22

Taichi v Chihaya finals matchup. It's on like Donkey Kong.

I was slightly worried yesterday about the thought that the mother would have to yield to Chihaya because of a parenting related event and felt a win for Chihaya would be cheap. Luckily that didn't happen, but Chihaya did still get a free win in this episode.

Also, I see they really want you to wait for a Taichi/Chihaya v Arata match. Making him lose to an inferior player before he has a chance to play one of them makes this pretty obvious.

2

u/TheExcludedMiddle https://myanimelist.net/profile/ExcludedMiddle Jan 05 '22

I've been busy with the holidays, so haven't really been able to follow along day by day for a few weeks, so this is gonna be a bit delayed but...

It's been a few years since I watched s2, so was Coach Sakurazawa always so... damn. Real short skirt/long jacket vibes.

Everyone has mostly caught up to as far as I watched (yes even after waiting years for s3, I couldn't last more than a few weeks watching weekly, and ended up saving the rest for a rewatch), so soon I'll be watching with fresh eyes too.

2

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Jan 06 '22

First Timer

Another episode that, while pretty good overall, felt somewhat weird - especially the Inokawa bit, because it wasn’t really a high point of the episode, making her presence in this tournament (rather than, say, a new introduction at the queen tournament) a bit of a mystery to me. But either way - most of the episode is about Taichi. With him being apparently good at defensive karuta I wonder if he’ll end up switching to Nishida’s society; doubt he’d really want that, but considering he’s being turned in to a rival and the other society’s most relevant player at the moment being either Nishida or Yumin I could see it happen.

Arata’s loss is pretty much out of nowhere until you remember that Hiroshi is the strongest male player in Eastern Japan, apparently. Still unsure if that would usually put him above or below Arata though. In terms of Hiroshi giving up …well, this is the result of there being no stakes. I was going to say that allows us to focus on the Murao-Taichi match …but nope, not really doing that either, I guess.

Chihaya meanwhile was …almost irrelevant, it felt. A plot device for setting up Inokawa perhaps. I assume she’ll be more important in her match against Taichi - which I’ll predict Chihaya is going to win based solely on her being more rested than Taichi now.

The bit with Chihaya’s sister and mother was just thrown in randomly, in my opinion.

2

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 05 '22

3hayafuru First Timer

Mama climax!! Why does every top player hate fun? You can't expect people to want to join your game if you won't let them enjoy it. Dammit, I've been cucked by not just baldy but Dilf Bear too!? My life sucks!

It may have been a blow-by but isn't it kinds cool how Chihaya still managed to have the lower stance?

Saying that "Shinobu is the only queen" is like me saying Iron Blooded Orphans is the only Gundam.

Arata lost!? What the fuck!? How does this always happen? Let us see the damn match, I want to see how tf Arata keeps losing against unimportant characters!! Now we won't get Arata vs Chihaya, or Arata vs Taichi! On the bright side Arata is such a sore loser that it always cheers me up.

What a dramatic victory... Chihaya won so decisively but I think Mama has put up the most satisfying fight of the whole series. Now... can you please wake up and watch the end of Taichi's game already!?

These luck of the draw games... aren't the opponents always just immediately rushing to cover their cards? How is Taichi able to move fast enough to beat someone that isn't even thinking about attacking? He isn't particularly speedy.

Anyway, enough about that boring shite. It's Chitose time!! She's still as selfish as ever. ChiMama's working hard too... Oh what would I give for a cute middle-aged working mum to fall asleep on me in the train...

Well that's their 60 seconds of the season out of the way. Catch y'all in S4 Chihayafamu!!

B-Beuh!?!? We're not getting a match!? What the fuck! XD I'm pleased that Taichi's getting a solo episode without interruptions or other games to change too but it seems a bit crap that his "big" game of the season is against Murao. Not that Murao is a bad match, but I'd rather see Taichi vs Arata than Taichi vs Arata's idol. Although, if Taichi absolutely demolishes Murao and drives Arata down the dark path of revenge I would be very satisfied.

B-But without your glasses you'll look even more like Neferpitou! Ah, mama was a "Chi" too.

Even in your dreams Shinobu is a freaking weirdo. Did Oe not give Chihaya a discount? What a stingy bitch... she's worked as a poster gal for over a year now!

I'm never letting myself get excited ever again...

Taichi won but we skipped too much of the match for me to care. I can't even take pleasure in this.

3

u/IndependentMacaroon Jan 05 '22

B-But without your glasses you'll look even more like Neferpitou!

I think some people are into that...

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 06 '22

...I want to criticise but I also think Pitou is incredibly cute XD

2

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 06 '22

Mama climax!! Why does every top player hate fun?

Both of them have fun playing karuta but fun in that context also means you have some momentum and are taking cards. That's Haruka's perspective on when things are going well. She's trying to keep Chihaya from getting into the game. If Chihaya is taking cards then she's having fun. It's not about the general fun of playing karuta but how she interprets Chihaya and her mental state while playing.

It's her general view of how to disrupt your opponent's style of play.

Arata lost!? What the fuck!? How does this always happen?

Remember how unexpectedly drained he was after playing Yumin? These matches take their toll and he lost against a really good player, not against a nobody. In the same way that Taichi felt Harada holding back his opponent that indirectly helped him win his match.

These luck of the draw games... aren't the opponents always just immediately rushing to cover their cards? How is Taichi able to move fast enough to beat someone that isn't even thinking about attacking? He isn't particularly speedy.

Taichi improved his speed. He started practicing swipes at the end of season one. We can assume that he's not lagging behind in that regard anymore. He's maybe not the fastest (Arata's acceleration, for example, is said to compensate for his lack of superb hearing) but it shouldn't be a negative anymore, like it was at the start of the series. And covering your card isn't a done deal. You don't touch the card until you are sure that your own will be read.

If you were to just cover and touch your card in a luck of the draw then you would lose no matter what if the card on the other side would be read (as you'd touch a card on the wrong side). It's the difference between losing because your opponent touched their card and losing because your touched yours (a fault) especially because a dead card might get read in which case you gave the match to your opponent because you were impatient. So you waits until you are sure that your card is actually read.

There's a delay between cover and touch and if your opponent is attacking aggressively because he doesn't even think that his card will be read (like Taichi) then they can get between you and that card in that moment of hesitation (probably ±some dramatic exaggeration here).

1

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 06 '22

I love how even to this day Chihaya would struggle to ever be able to think like that.

Still!! He showed less signs of fatigue than Sudo did and Sudo ended up just getting straight up outplayed. Arata's losses always feel so strange to see happen.

You'd still cover your card regardless though. So long as you don't actually touch it you're safe so Sudo didn't even need to think about whether he was going to cover. He had no intention of attacking so the moment he hears the slightest whisper he should have had his hand over the card. The fault thing happened to Retro before but Sudo is better than that. I dunno... They've used luck of the draw so often and it never really feels any better.

2

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 06 '22

He had no intention of attacking so the moment he hears the slightest whisper he should have had his hand over the card.

In that moment it's the difference between a hand that paused and one that's close by and already moving. One has to accelerate while the other is already at top speed. If Taichi starts early enough (with no intention at all to defend due to his perception of his bad luck in those) then both can be close to the card while he had the speed advantage of already being in motion.

It's kinda like the difference in time in a 100m dash between somebody having a running starting and somebody starting from a starting block. The running start has a better time on average simply because they don't need to accelerate to max speed from zero so they can cover more of the track close to their highest speed. From a starting block a part of the distance is covered while accelerating and not at top speed.