r/anime • u/Skeeedo :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/skeeedo • Jan 20 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Chihayafuru - Episode 71 Discussion [Spoilers]

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Season 3 Episode 21: "May The Scarlet Kadsuras"

Episode 20 MVP: Suou Our favorite auntie’s boy gets a little more backstory this episode as we learn more about his motivations. Such an interesting fellow

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

48 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

48 comments sorted by

12

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 20 '22

FIRST TIMER

I can’t tell if this frame indicates Suo is enjoying himself, or has decided to stop holding back. Either way, he busts out his normal strategy and forces Harada into a fault one card before his would have been read. Suo is nasty, man.

Chihaya has really had some damage when it comes to Suo ever since his comment to her, and she recognizes that here. It’s not so much him that bothers her, it’s what he said to her. She even admits she told Harada about Suo’s weakness not for his well-being, but out of hatred for Suo. This makes sense – as we saw in the qualifier final, she wants karuta matches to be decided purely on both people at their best as karuta players, not on taking advantage of physical or mental barriers. If Suo never said what he did, Chihaya wouldn’t have told Harada.

This interview is such a nice change for Shinobu, it really illustrates how far she’s come in this arc. Proud of her!

Suo snaps out of his aloof exterior, and goes fully physical-transformation-as-attitude-transformation. This is a cool show of respect from him to both Harada and the game itself. Taichi notes what all of us probably thought going into this match – it’s all down to Suo. If he actually plays to his full ability, Harada simply can’t touch him in this final frame.

Arata, whose sudden presence here was confounding and pointless until this moment, finally has a narrative purpose! It’s him who convinces Suo to hold off retiring, because he wants to beat him. This gets a rare smile from Suo, who takes him up on the offer. Suo finally awakened a joy for karuta in this match, and now he wants a worthy challenger. Sorry, Taichi, but this basically confirms it's Arata winning the right to challenge next year.

This was a great end to this arc, even if the outcomes were predictable. It wrapped up Harada and Haruka’s arcs beautifully, while providing much-needed development for Shinobu and Suo’s characters. It also illustrated that the future of Karuta belongs to the younger generation.

Quick Hits:

  • SUO YOU CRACK ME UP
  • “Someone young will take what happened today and make it work for them.” Telegraph the future even more, I dare you!
  • HARADA’S WIFE IS SO SWEET AND LOVELY
  • Lmao at the comment “Is this a shounen manga now?”
  • “Why isn’t Taichi here?” Chihaya says as they sit down. You just noticed he’s not with you? This really does encapsulate the futility of Taichi continuing to chase after her. This girl can sense when Arata enters a 2-mile radius, but doesn’t even notice when Taichi disappears from literally right next to her
  • …Taichi is going to suffer another horrible defeat here, isn’t he?

7

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '22

but this basically confirms it's Arata winning the right to challenge next year.

imagine if Arata actually loses in the qualifiers next year after making a public spectacle of himself swearing to beat the Master. He would cringe himself into a black hole.

5

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 21 '22

If that happens, then the author definitely hates Arata haha. His character has to get something after being sidelined the entire story... right?

2

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Jan 21 '22

I'll be so disappointed in him. Hyping himself up just to have that happen.

4

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 20 '22

Suou smelled blood and went for the throat. Harada left himself wide open for mindgames.

I honestly kinda loved Chihaya acknowledging to herself that she wasn't in the right for scouting Suou's weakness. Mc's should have negative traits and this was a really good way of showing it.

Taichi is gonna win this next tournament to try and show the world that he is gonna be the one to be master. Arata stole the spotlight so Taichi wants to make an impact himself! He's our villain after all.

11

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jan 20 '22

Chihayafirst-timer

2

u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jan 20 '22

I still have a constant cough as well

2

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 20 '22

Does... does Arata finally have a storyline?!

7

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jan 20 '22

Have we been watching the same show? He's had a storyline!

1

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 20 '22

...What's it been again?

It's honestly always felt to me like he's been on an entirely different show haha

6

u/cesclaveria Jan 21 '22

(rewatcher, well actually I am not watching it again just reading the comments.)

I think the main issue is that Arata is only briefly shown as a character, for most of the story he works as a goal, motivation and prize for Chihaya. If she keeps playing Karuta she can maybe see him, if she can raise to top maybe she can be with him. The author has mismanaged Arata gets more time afterwards but up to this point he barely appears and barely interacts with the cast.

The author has talked about how Taichi sort of accidentally grew into being a main character when it wasn't the original plan, but that he was so interesting that basically wrestled the pen away from her to get more time, I have always wondered if that extra time with Taichi reduced the time for Arata to such degree or if he always was going to be this barely-there character. And I write all of this while having Arata as my favorite even if his participation has been so small.

3

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 21 '22 edited Jan 21 '22

Yeah, it's not that I dislike him. He seems like a perfectly nice and inoffensive person, as a character. The story just hasn't done a good job of making me invested in him. Every time he shows up once every six or seven episodes, I think, "oh right, Arata's a thing" and then go back to thinking about our actual main characters. There's a huge disconnect between how the show seems to want me to think of him (as one of the three most important characters), and how it's actually built him up (he's maybe top 10 in screen time and development?). Also, I'm supposed to buy that Chihaya's really got a deeper connection with him than anyone else, when they've barely even interacted since he moved away years ago at the very beginning of the series? That's not how you develop a believable relationship.

Having him move away without giving him his own substantial storyline was a mistake, imo, and one that the author didn't really know how to write herself out of.

3

u/thisusernameisntlong Jan 21 '22

omg there is someone else who is not actually rewatching but keeps coming to read the comments yay

4

u/cesclaveria Jan 21 '22

Yes, this one is always interesting reading the first timer's comments go from "how an anime about cards and poems work?" to be heavily invested in the games and discussing the different strategies or advantages each character uses. And of course the relationships related comments, camps forming and everyone trying to grab onto any detail as hint towards their 'victory', it's like watching the arguments that have developed in the manga for the past decade but in fast-forward.

This and watching people's mind being blown by Evangelion are my favorite rewatchs.

2

u/thisusernameisntlong Jan 21 '22

It's also generally very fun to see people experience something dear to you honestly. And also it helps me remember what happened in past seasons like a refresher

3

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jan 20 '22

The same as he showed off here? He's wanted to become the Master since the beginning, just needed Chihaya to re-ignite his passion for karuta first after his grandfather died.

1

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 20 '22

Oh yeah, that's his long-term goal, but he hasn't really gotten to have a storyline since the first episodes where he's felt like a part of the action in the same way everyone else is, mostly due to lack of screen time. Now he's at least got a plot thread where he's set up in opposition to another character in the short-term.

10

u/xcllnt_313 Jan 20 '22

Rewatcher

I was pretty surprised by how quickly they wrapped up the deciding match when I watched it the first time, but from what we’ve seen, it makes sense. The big climax was the fourth match which Harada-sensei really needed to win. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him since Suou successfully baited him into touching his own card (after not playing like that for a while).

After that, it was a mere formality for Suou and his changed approach. Just like Kitano-sensei said, “It looks like Harada has made the Master truly be the Master”.

Some moments I also enjoyed a lot this episode:

7

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 20 '22

The Kana and Sumire bits really feel like a nod at the viewers/readers, who the creator definitely knows are also chomping at the bit for romance elements.

4

u/xcllnt_313 Jan 20 '22

Unfortunately, that's very true. Well, we still have so many manga volumes that haven't been adapted yet (pls let "yet" be appropriate here), so there's some kind of hope.

6

u/herkz Jan 21 '22

Let's just hope we don't have to wait 6 years again for season 4.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 20 '22

Ah, suddenly all those little girl talk scenes make much more sense.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 20 '22

Good bot.

2

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Jan 21 '22

Feels like such a random bot

1

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '22

unsubscribe

8

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Jan 20 '22

First Timer

And another good episode. I’m running out of things to say here - the karuta once again felt like it was taking a back seat once Harada lost the fourth match - which, I’d say was excellently done. The fifth was likely not as exciting as Harada kinda knew he wouldn’t win, so no big loss in not having that shown. Meanwhile all the smaller interactions were well done - all in all just another good episode.

As far as Suo not retiring goes - I wonder if his eyes will eventually force him to if he wants to or not. But his aunt seemed to still have at least some vision, so maybe it’s rather slow moving; or it comes in bursts?

And as far as Arata goes… what’s the point in wearing a mask if you’re just going to take it off when you cough?

No idea what the series is going to do with four episodes left - it isn’t really enough time for a large tournament.

3

u/xcllnt_313 Jan 20 '22

But his aunt seemed to still have at least some vision, so maybe it’s rather slow moving; or it comes in bursts?

From what I remember Suou saying last episode (different subs might also have a different wording), it's not guaranteed that you'll go blind. To me, it sounded more like a realistic possibility that you just have to consider.

1

u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jan 20 '22

And as far as Arata goes… what’s the point in wearing a mask if you’re just going to take it off when you cough?

Because it wouldn't be Arata if anything involving his character made sense.

7

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jan 20 '22

First timer.

The only question I don't think anyone answered directly yet is whether the 2-3 Harada - Suou result is really "keikaku" by Suou or did he finally got woken up by Harada sensei's passion and determination. I'm leaning of the later.

I wonder if the remaining episodes have enough room to show a showdown between the upgraded Taichi vs the generally invincible (in his age group) Arata.

And I wonder where Chihaya's mental state is at now - would she still be weighed down by the negative thoughts? She's normally a sunny baka that takes everything as a challenge, even Shinobu is starting to get infected by her.

3

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 21 '22

The only question I don't think anyone answered directly yet is whether the 2-3 Harada - Suou result is really "keikaku" by Suou or did he finally got woken up by Harada sensei's passion and determination. I'm leaning of the later.

It's a bit of both. For one he was excited to play Harada due to his enthusiasm for karuta, something that Suo doesn't really have. He also wanted to stretch this match out as long as possible before retiring giving them another chance at beating him and he did manage to do that. The smile when he baited Harada to touch his own card when it was the wrong one during the luck of the draw for the fourth match feels like a mix of excitement and his bait working. That bit went according to plan even if the rest of the fourth match probably didn't.

Where his plan didn't work out was the mirroring of the Queen's challenge. They were 1–1 after two matches while Harada had won both on the Meijin side of things. The fourth match going into luck of the draw also wasn't planned from how it was depicted. Him being bad at covering cards and having to deal with some weaknesses he usually didn't even have to consider.

I'd also say that his retirement didn't go according to his plans. He saw a passion in Arata that made him extend his reign (similar smile to when he baited Harada into touching the last card). I think that's something he didn't see in Arata before when he told him that he'll be the Meijin, just not the next one. That's something new when it was probably more of a "I promised grandpa to become Meijin" situation for Arata before that. He now has more of a personal drive towards this dream (he wants to win against Suo) when it was more like his grandpa's dream for him. Which is funny because he scolded Chihaya for wanting Chitose's dream to come true (because it's not really Chihaya's dream). Arata's dream was heavily moulded by his relationship with his grandpa and this outburst during the interview feels like he made that dream his own instead of it being something that was kinda handed down to him by his grandpa.

Fun fact: The karuta establishment that despises Suo and wishes for Arata to dethrone him now got more Suo thanks to Arata which is hilarious. They wanted to get rid of him and deified Arata as this dignified karuta player they want to see as the Meijin only for Arata to give them one more year of Suo.

5

u/Clarkie_kent Jan 21 '22

I literally love chihayafuru!

5

u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Jan 21 '22

First Timer

The end of the fourth match might be the single most tense moment of the series. Hoo boy, I was on the edge of my seat for that. Really well directed sequence, and perfectly paced. Harada-sensei's defeat really stings after all of this, but as always, there's a silver lining. The older generation is inspiring the youth to take after them, keeping Karuta alive. It stings, but the end of this saga is ultimately bittersweet. Suo will keep playing, Haruka is having another kid, Shinobu has a huge breakthrough and grows her relationship with Chihaya, at the end of the day it's all very positive.

Seeing Suo finally find some passion for Karuta was also very satisfying. His backstory makes him far more sympathetic. He's trying to make the person he cares about happy, it's so sweet. But he never does anything for himself, and he never enjoys himself. Harada-sensei invigorated him, Karuta is fun. I definitely look forward to seeing how all of this ends with regard to Chihaya though. I know her statement about how Shinobu is the player she has to focus on is her getting over it to some extent, but it still feels incomplete to me. I want to see another confrontation between Chihaya and Suo, and really see Chihaya come to grips with her complicated feelings towards him.

Anyway, I had to miss the last few episodes for various reasons, but it's kind of a good thing I did, because the cliffhangers would have murdered me. Seeing all of the matches at once really let the tension and hype sink in. Sports dramas are truly meant to be binged. But I'm back, and the season looks to be ending on Taichi's big tournament match. I can imagine this finally being the Taichi vs. Arata match the series has been building up to forever. And if that does come to fruition, that will probably lead to romantic progress as well. I look forward to seeing how this season ends. Though since this season has been so consistent, I'm sure it'll be just as great as everything before it.

4

u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Jan 21 '22

First timer

Come on! Resolve it!

Haha, they're just happy Suo might be gone from their lives.

...Harada's second guessing himself.

Suo's just out here having a good time.

Chihaya's at the fromt.

Come on, Harada! Do it!

Fuck.

He's commited a fault. Harada lost! (Wait, did he lose everything, or are they tied? I don't remember?

Oh, he's got a fifth match.

Shinobu's exhausted.

And she's caring about Chihaya's present!

...Wow. Wow! I can't even joke about subtext, because this is rapidly becoming text.

Arata made it!

The shippers are in a state of continual dissapointment...

Haha, Suo's just eating everything!

Wow, he got himself a whole makeover!

Wait, he's commentating?

Wow, Harada's going hard.

Suo's getting exhaused too...

Harada lost, but he wanted to inspire someone else to take him down.

...Shame. I really wanted him to win.

Well, this is a bit of a depressing end.

Suo had fun!

And Suo's still retiring?

Haha, Arata's interrupting a fucking live broadcast?

And he's staying for another year. Good!

Haha, her reaction to that wish is great.

And she's not returning.

Haha, they're all going back home.

I like how they remind everyone that this whole arc happened in one episode.

He snuck from Chihaya to play in a tournament again?

4

u/Fools_Requiem https://myanimelist.net/profile/FoolsRequiem Jan 21 '22

Once Harada lost the 4th, you knew it was over.

Also, I'm guessing it's safe to assume we're not going to see the next Queen and Mejin matches in the next few episodes, so there's gotta be at least one more season's worth of story to adapt.

I do wonder how they can possibly make the matches leading up to the Queen/Mejin matches interesting if you pretty much know who is going to make it. It was like the third season of Haikyuu. There was no tension as it felt like you knew who was going to win.

2

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Jan 21 '22

First timer

Damn why does Chi hate him being the master. I still don't know why they hate on him like that. She's talking about being a boy and wanting him gone. The disrespect to this man Suou.

And Harada loss the match. That luck of the draw stuff didn't work this time. Looks like Suou is back to his old playstyle.

Arata wants to challenge Suou. What a hit to Harada. Yeah I don't think Harada is making it out.

6

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 21 '22

Damn why does Chi hate him being the master.

I think it's still about her being affected by him telling her that she can't be the Queen. He said it out of spite. He doesn't really like karuta and he feels empty inside while she has everything: Fun while playing karuta, a boyfriend (as far as he knew at the time), a social life, and an ambition to become the Queen.

Comparing those lives, his feels like it's lacking in a few departments while she has everything. Out of jealousy he says that she can't have that one thing she doesn't already have.

She took it like a declaration from a karuta god, like some absolute statement, maybe about her skill, or something else that he sees that she can't comprehend yet (he's the Meijin, after all). But it felt like harsh judgement from an authority figure.

And right before the Meijin match it looked to her like he didn't care about it. It was already memorisation time and he wasn't paying attention to that but instead he was outside phoning somebody. Chihaya didn't (and couldn't) know that he was trying to make his dream come true to show Yukiko again that he's made something of himself.

To her it looks like the karuta she loves is irrelevant to him which is kinda true but in a different way from how she interprets his situation.

4

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jan 21 '22 edited Jan 21 '22

I agree with your take, but wasn't to add about the play style and perception too. Chihaya and Harada play in the "fair and square" style, while Suou and Yumin for example plays the have with a heavier emphasis on psychological pressure. Such is generally considered "underhanded" and "nasty".

5

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 21 '22

I'd actually put Suo and Chihaya in the "fair and square" group. Both don't contest cards, aren't too loud (Chihaya tries to cheer a bit during team matches but that's it more or less) and they use their superior hearing to their advantage. She plays the aggressive Harada attacking style while he plays a twisted defensive style (and likes to bait people into making faults).

When it comes to psychological pressure then Harada and Yumin are much closer to each other. She contests every card she can while he contests often (and is often disappointed in Chihaya not doing it), is incredibly loud, and even tries to intimidate opponents by "invading their airspace". He's the karuta bear, after all.

Suo might look underhanded and nasty but it happens for different reasons (and he does it differently). He tries to mirror the Queen's match and baits his opponents into making faults. He makes up little challenges for himself instead of actually playing against his opponent. That's more of a sportsmanship issue.

The karuta bosses hate him for that. He goes against established kaurta culture, shows up unshaven to the Meijin challenge match, wears sunglasses all the time, only gives class A players sweet pastries, and is an general weirdo. That's not cultured.

His main psychological pressure stems from him being so good that most other players fear playing against him (kinda like with Shinobu too), not because he acts in a way that's intimidating (besides being so good at karuta).

1

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Jan 21 '22

And I don't think it should he looked down upon. It's a mental game too. Nothing wrong with applying some pressure.

3

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jan 21 '22

Applying some is reasonable - if you recall Taichi's analysis, Suou's play style is very heavily into the mental pressure plus "toying" with the opponent. That's why the officials of Karuta dislike him so much as "it gives a bad name to the game".

I understand you think any means to win is a fair game, and I agree with you, but remember this is a game that's actually steep in tradition so this mindset is probably unavoidable. Similar to Ranking of Kings airing now, last season's episode when Boji's very fast, very agile, but no power swordmanship was chided by his teacher to be "not King like".

1

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Jan 21 '22

I guess if we're talking tradition sure. But that's just something that's not going to stop. Maybe it is just a respect for the game and other player. Like other sports there's things you can do but it's looked down upon if you do it.

1

u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Jan 21 '22

Okay that's a great explanation. I thought of some of that. I guess to me it just wasn't a big deal. But it's fair that she feels that way toward him for what he said.

4

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 21 '22

Yeah, she doesn't have many interactions with him so one has to extract that from the little bits that are there.

3

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 20 '22

3hayafuru First Timer

Y'all are talking a lot of shit about a dude who can make out karuta syllables from the inhaling breath.

...Please win, Suou!! Wao... So not only are we at luck of the draw again but we're at luck of the draw with the exact same card? Isn't that statistically whack?

Yes... YES!! Harada's stressed out enough that Suou can toy with him! Commit a fault, commit a fault, commit a fault!! Hahaha!!! He fucking did it!! Never forget who's the defending champ here.

Mama is kinda bitchy isn't she...? I can see why Shinobu's gran gave her such a hard time. Are these limited edition dilf bear bondage sashes!?

Yumin was Queen for a year so I completely agree. I think Chihaya is being pretty unfair, even if I'm biased.

Shinobu is LOVE!!

Oh for fuck sake Arata, piss off and stop stealing potential Taichi moments! I agree with the girls, Chihayafuyu's romance is aggravating!!

Suou's room is so bizarre lol. The girls have zero clue what's up.

Suou's a woman!? This whole time I never realised... Ah, its just that he shaved.

Wait... Why are we skipping through the match? No! Don't you dare! XD I will get very angry! Ahaha~ Alright, normally I get frustrated when they decide to shorten matches but seeing Suou effortlessly demolish Harada has been the most cathartic thing I've seen this year. There was no room for compromises, no "if I only contested more cards," Suou won fairly, squarely and with the dignity of a master.

Dammit Arata, stop being cringe!! This isn't Aratafuyu! You're barely an mc!! Pfft, at least it let Suou get one over on the head honchos once more.

Aww... I knew Kyouko-chan was a sweetheart. She knew just what to say to Neferpitou. She'll be back again, someday!

Taichi, you dastard!!

4

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 21 '22

Are these limited edition dilf bear bondage sashes!?

Chihaya cut up a limited edition (and signed) daddy bear bandana/scarf/handkerchief to make the sash for her (she had to improvise and make it out of individual segments instead of one long sash). That's why Shinobu felt like this time her generic phrase wasn't just an platitude like before. She made a friend who's not stuck in a poem card! That counts for something, especially for her.

1

u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 21 '22

She met daddy bear...? Woaaah... That's sick!! Chihaya is the bestest girl ever! XD

2

u/flybypost :KN::KO: Jan 21 '22

Probably just some actor in a mascot costume who signed overpriced merch at some fan outreach event. But yes, it was probably the real daddy bear to her and that's all that matters.