Chihayafuru [Archive] - Page 2

Ryllharu

Fri, 03-01-2013, 06:34 PM

Cliffhanger!

Shinobu was definitely waiting there to stalk him. That's just her style. They seem to be floating the idea that Shinobu likes Arata, but she may just be begging to play a friendly match against him.

I was a little disappointed that Kana didn't offer to fix their hakama personally, instead merely opting to write instructions on the whiteboard.

I'm not sure what Deskmoto really expects to get out of it from his notes. That team has 50 players on their team, if enough of them are good, they don't even have to field the best people until later. They can keep the majority of their strong members well rested, while everyone else has to play a dozen matches in order to win. It seems a bit cheap, it's no wonder they've won 13 times, they have a overwhelming advantage in numbers.

What made me laugh this episode was Sumire. She came all prepared, with her little notebook...but she actually started taking detailed notes about the girl's personality, not her playstyle. I hope she actually does her job too...but I'm not counting on it.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 03-01-2013, 10:23 PM

The episode felt a little off, not unlike what the international team did to Mizusawa. I'm NOT looking forward to Taichi performing subpar from being preoccupied by Arata/Chihaya. :(

Like Kraco, I expected someone to drag Arata down the stairs too.

As for seeing a thin Shinobu again, it just made wonder if cycling your weight up and down affects you bust in a negative of positive way..

shinta|hikari

Sun, 03-03-2013, 01:36 AM

The moment I saw those pale, thin fingers, I was like "Kyaaaa~ Arata X Shinobu <3"

David75

Sun, 03-03-2013, 12:03 PM

As for seeing a thin Shinobu again, it just made wonder if cycling your weight up and down affects you bust in a negative of positive way..

My guess is that she's fairly young, so her breast is probably small and firm. She got some fat, lost it, breast should remain firm. And if a little flabby, it's only temporary as it will get firm again as she ages and breast continue growing.

Regarding the show... I marathoned all eps from yesterday eve.
I have to say I hate the game and the way the poetry is chanted. It really feels old, dated, at least to me.
But I was able to endure it for:
It's shojo elements, rather well presented, nice colors/situations and all.
It's shounen elements in the competitive department.
They are able to maintain a rather difficult balance and it's enjoyable in the long run.

Regarding that ep, well it was clever of the scenarist to have us believe they were actually strangers, when they grew in Japan and don't even speak English well.... which is in turn easier on VA's speaking engrish and integrates well in that part of the ep.

Regarding the game, well there are many technical aspects they covered.
The one I'm interested the most in is the Voice/hearing part.
They did develop a bit, but not that much.
My guess is that even professionals have cards they prefer, know about the background, have habits.
So when they take a card with the exact same start syllabes, they probably have a different way of forming the first sound, a very slight difference some players might get used to when they are playing enough tournaments.

Another note:
Ayase won't date Arata, he might be gay judging his pink phone and girly phone background picture...
Doesn't mean Taïchi is next in line either... She could be after Shinobi who's after Arata. The later being after Taïchi, after all he's so much more confortable dealing with him rather than Ayase.
So Reversed mixed triangles all the way!

Kraco

Sun, 03-03-2013, 01:06 PM

Another note:
Ayase won't date Arata, he might be gay judging his pink phone and girly phone background picture...
Doesn't mean Taïchi is next in line either... She could be after Shinobi who's after Arata. The later being after Taïchi, after all he's so much more confortable dealing with him rather than Ayase.
So Reversed mixed triangles all the way!

Oh, no! Don't try to ruin this show by turning it into shounen-ai. While shoujo has lots of series in that category, I highly doubt this kind of award winning manga would get so lost that it ended up there.

David75

Sun, 03-03-2013, 01:12 PM

I was just teasing a little ;)

Oh, I forgot the music, funny how the brass music reminds me of Space Brothers in style, rythm, music line and also how it's heavilly used in all eps for transitions.

Ryllharu

Sun, 03-03-2013, 03:18 PM

I have to say I hate the game and the way the poetry is chanted. It really feels old, dated, at least to me.We'll forgive you. You are French, a people with no sense for poetry!

:p

Kraco

Fri, 03-08-2013, 04:49 PM

Episode 9 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=411402)

- - - - - --

Holy shit, Arata... I honestly wouldn't have predicted this even if I had earlier sat down for two hours to try to come up with stuff that might happen in this episode. It was just so much out in left field. Still, I'd be pretty surprised if they are so nazis they would disqualify him. After all, there was hardly any damage done with the team losing anyway. It was kind of like a practice match for Arata, nothing more, and with their team winning, the same goes for his opponent. I'd expect there would be a far larger fuss if they announced the next day he has been kicked out of the individual matches. I bet lots of people were looking forward to seeing his games as well as playing against him.

And Shinobu... Will she skip the tournament to watch the birdman event? That would be too funny.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 03-08-2013, 09:18 PM

Comes down to a principle thing, really. Is it the idea that you shoiuldn't cheat the system or disrespect it that counts, or is it simply the damage that counts?

It would actually be interesting if he was barred from the tournament, which would send a huge shock to Shinobu and force her to ponder why Arata would risk his chances to participate in a team event. She might even quit the tournament halfway to go watch the birdman event after learning of the fact.

Ryllharu

Fri, 03-08-2013, 09:21 PM

The Shinobu parts were the best part of this episode. I wasn't really engaged by the match or what understanding Arata got out of it. He could have come to the same conclusion if he just thought harder about what Shinobu had said to him about team matches.

They're remarkably similar, with the notable difference that Arata once played as part of a team, and Shinobu never has.

MFauli

Sat, 03-09-2013, 09:38 AM

Omg, I think I´m turning into a complete wuss. I actually had tears of joy in my eyes when Arata put on his glasses and started playing for real. Such an awesome scene, both thematically, visually and in terms of music. <3

That guy would be a real ass if he banned Arata from the single tournament, though.

David75

Sat, 03-09-2013, 09:56 AM

Well, this is a traditionnal game that carries an heavy weight of tradition and culture. Also, the age average seems a little high.
So I'd say the context would have us witness a harsh decision against Arata.
Even if the Karuta federation would like to be somewhat less severe, lots of people witnessed Arata playing in that team, so it leaves little room for an escape.
After all, Arata must have been wishing for disqualification. He knew the risks and still decided to play his usual skills. He even decided to unmask himself in front of everyone instead of doing it like 5 minutes later, far from the playground...

In the end, I guess they'll find out some kind of punishment that will satisfy everyone... or at least be in line with the rules, and have him still play the individual matches.

On a totally different note, I really would love to have some of the players train with cards reversed again. That was awesome.
Also, I thought LASIK was more for older people (like over 50 or 60), when your eyesight is a lot more stable, as you have a limited number of correction you can perform. So I was a little surprised a high-schooler would have had one.

Ryllharu

Sat, 03-09-2013, 10:06 AM

On a totally different note, I really would love to have some of the players train with cards reversed again. That was awesome.
Also, I thought LASIK was more for older people (like over 50 or 60), when your eyesight is a lot more stable, as you have a limited number of correction you can perform. So I was a little surprised a high-schooler would have had one.You are generally not supposed to have LASIK or PRK until you are at least 18, or the doctor has decided your eyes have stabilized (a few years after that).

Yeah, that is kinda weird. Maybe Japan just doesn't care.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 03-09-2013, 10:22 AM

Who's had LASIK? Unless I missed someone else, the point was that Arata couldn't see without his glasses..

edit@below: oooh, him.

David75

Sat, 03-09-2013, 10:48 AM

Who's had LASIK? Unless I missed someone else, the point was that Arata couldn't see without his glasses..

The third guy in the team, the one who almost never spoke.
About him, the captain said he even had LASIK for the tournament.

shinta|hikari

Sun, 03-10-2013, 11:05 AM

Fuck Chihaya. Arata X Shinobu is perfect.

Arata is awesome for risking everything on that match. That is what separates him from Taichi.

Buffalobiian

Sun, 03-10-2013, 11:14 AM

Fuck Chihaya

If only.

But projecting through Taichi will have to do.

[Shin-S] Chihayafuru 2 OP Single - STAR (FLAC) [99RadioService].zip (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=411787)
[Shin-S] Chihayafuru 2 OP Single - STAR [99RadioService].zip (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=411788)

Kraco

Fri, 03-15-2013, 05:31 PM

Episode 10 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=413666)

- - - - - - - - --

When it started to look like Arata won't get an automatic amnesty, I began to expect Shinobu's appearance and ultimatum. That's exactly what you'd get from an excentric like Shinobu, but such things certainly don't suit a gentleman like Arata. Nevertheless, I reckon it'd be quite outlandish if he's not half-forced to swallow his stupid pride and accept a null punishment and a chance to play. God knows this story has avoided showing his games for too long already. I still wouldn't bet Bill's second pair of headphones on an Arata-Chihaya match happening during this tournament, but at the very least I hope Chihaya will be able to watch one of his matches (and vice versa).

Anyway, as much as I like this show, I still must say that this episode didn't really move the plot anywhere. Arata's fate remains unknown and Chihaya's team played against another weird team of ambiguous importance.

Ryllharu

Fri, 03-15-2013, 07:46 PM

The development was really in the short side-scenes more than anything. First, Sumire's seemingly useless notes were praised by Deskmoto. He seemed to be able to glean quite a bit of information from Sumire's personality-only notes. Of course, that backfired on her a bit once she said that she didn't really care about playing, and didn't feel she had the fighting spirit to compete (implying Deskmoto does). That seemed to hit him in a raw spot. It appears that is what Nikuman was getting at during the end sequence/cliffhanger. Deskmoto isn't really improving, he's already plateaued. But what he excels at is strategizing and guidance, but he falls flat at the implementation of those strategies, because either his heart isn't in the actual play, or his skill level just isn't there.

That's a sad state of affairs if it is indeed the case, because this series has always hit on the fact that someone can always get better, and there are dozens of ways to play competitively and at least get to A-rank. I guess I just can't see how Kana can usually be within ten cards of winning routinely with her unconventional, emotional-connection playstyle, while Deskmoto's intellectual style fails. He's like an even more strategic, but slower version of Taichi. How can than not be productive in the long run?

The other small but important part of the episode was of course, Shinobu's role and Arata's ban. The officials really want to find an excuse to let him play with just a slap of the wrist, but he's so damn hardheaded that the Queen herself was forced to intervene.

Shinobu has really grown as a chararacter as they've slowly peeled away her aloof, robotic personality, and gave her a real personality. She's still a weirdo, but so is Chihaya. They're basically a perfect match for each other. Plus, I find her accent irresistible the more lines they give her. She hasn't really changed, but she's blossoming with each quirk they introduce.

It's hilarious she treats Arata like a little brother or an ex-boyfriend.

Personally, I expect that Arata and Shinobu play in the final match in the individual tournament, but I hope that they get paired right away, with Arata getting taken down. Then they could have Shinobu facing off against Chihaya again, with Chihaya closing the gap substantially this time. It's not hard to see that Shinobu only has eyes for two other people, Arata and the current Master. Playing match that didn't result in her overwhelming victory would make Shinobu pay attention to Chihaya twice over. Once for having a connection to Arata, and another for giving her an actual rival in a few years. I want Chihaya and Shinobu to be friend-rivals. Shinobu needs a female friend, and they share a lot of interests.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 03-15-2013, 09:41 PM

I guess I just can't see how Kana can usually be within ten cards of winning routinely with her unconventional, emotional-connection playstyle, while Deskmoto's intellectual style fails. He's like an even more strategic, but slower version of Taichi. How can than not be productive in the long run?

Kana's playstyle makes no sense. I'll give her the benefit of doubt that she can memorise cards' playing positions better by categorising them into small groups, but you still have to know which cards are where. The whole "cards light up as a different colour when I attach emotions to them" doesn't make any sense when you think about it.

Taichi became more physical as a result of training, but I'd say his true difference to Deskmoto lies more in his intellectual focus. Deskmoto relies on knowing his opponent's strengths/weaknesses, and pairing that with his own in order to get the upper hand. Taichi is observant, but in the end it doesn't mean too much. His perfect memory means he only needs to focus on his own accuracy and speed to boost his own performance regardless of what the opponent does.

It annoys me a little when I see Taichi deliberately avoiding conversations about Arata while using "Chihaya distraction" as the reason. I'm not sure if he's aware that his being distracted is at least half the true reason, but at the same time it's natural that he's projecting his own feelings onto Chihaya all the same. She reacts and gets off-track when they mention him, after all. If she was any normal person, you'd certainly call it distraction.

Kraco

Sat, 03-16-2013, 03:43 AM

Personally, I expect that Arata and Shinobu play in the final match in the individual tournament, but I hope that they get paired right away, with Arata getting taken down. Then they could have Shinobu facing off against Chihaya again, with Chihaya closing the gap substantially this time. It's not hard to see that Shinobu only has eyes for two other people, Arata and the current Master. Playing match that didn't result in her overwhelming victory would make Shinobu pay attention to Chihaya twice over. Once for having a connection to Arata, and another for giving her an actual rival in a few years. I want Chihaya and Shinobu to be friend-rivals. Shinobu needs a female friend, and they share a lot of interests.

So, you wish that after all this ruckus Arata will get out of picture after his first match? Man, I don't understand all this Arata hatred... I admit Shinobu's stocks have raised immensely in my eyes during these last episodes and, in fact, I probably wouldn't rip Shinta's favourite poster off the wall anymore if Arata ended up with Shinobu, not with Chihaya (although Chihaya x Taichi would be a plain meh combination for me because I've found Taichi's personality annoying from the beginning).

It annoys me a little when I see Taichi deliberately avoiding conversations about Arata while using "Chihaya distraction" as the reason. I'm not sure if he's aware that his being distracted is at least half the true reason, but at the same time it's natural that he's projecting his own feelings onto Chihaya all the same. She reacts and gets off-track when they mention him, after all. If she was any normal person, you'd certainly call it distraction.

He's good at masking his jealousy behind pretty words.

Ryllharu

Sat, 03-16-2013, 04:21 AM

So, you wish that after all this ruckus Arata will get out of picture after his first match? Man, I don't understand all this Arata hatred... I admit Shinobu's stocks have raised immensely in my eyes during these last episodes and, in fact, I probably wouldn't rip Shinta's favourite poster off the wall anymore if Arata ended up with Shinobu, not with Chihaya (although Chihaya x Taichi would be a plain meh combination for me because I've found Taichi's personality annoying from the beginning).Who said that would put Arata out of the picture? He's still at the tournament. He'd be watching Chihaya the rest of the time and driving Taichi up the wall.

Arata losing isn't that much of a surprise, he's still out of practice, relatively. There are better players than him in Fukui (he lost the regional for the first time). Losing to Shinobu would be a foregone conclusion. Who knows, perhaps the opposite will occur, Shinobu losing to Arata, and the Karuta world will explode. Shinobu will get even more possessive of Arata, and then we'll see Chihaya scrambling the way Taichi does.

I've always been part of the Chihaya x Arata camp.

Kraco

Sat, 03-16-2013, 05:36 AM

Who said that would put Arata out of the picture? He's still at the tournament. He'd be watching Chihaya the rest of the time and driving Taichi up the wall.

Yeah, right. The first time Chihaya and Taichi see him play after such a long time and he loses the first match and is out? All the buildup would be for nothing. He needs to beat somebody soundly in front of those two. Let him play Shinobu later. He's not a mysterious genius player, so getting better gradually would suit his image, but he shouldn't be any shounen underdog either.

Shinobu is a mysterious genius player, so her level of performance isn't set in stone but should fluctuate more.

MFauli

Sat, 03-16-2013, 09:34 AM

Ryllharu

Sat, 03-16-2013, 01:16 PM

After Shinobu´s blackmail attempt, I really hope the officials ban Arata from playing in this tournament. No, Im not anti-Arata, but it´d be such an extremely poor showing of these Karuta officials, if they´d let themselves pressure by a little girl. That´s just not right, and it´s ten times worse than when Arata´s old school mate came rushing into the discussion room to explain things. Hope, Arata doesn´t accept that, and neither should the officials.

Chihaya was somewhat annoying. For one, because of how she loses focuses when some measy opponent does something unexpected. Come on, girl, you´re so skilled, just use that. As if it´d be that hard for her to just re-remember the new layout of the cards instantly. For second, her Arata-fanboying is sickening. Just shut it!
Your inability to comprehend what you watch, on even a basic level, astounds me.

Shinbou is the current Queen, she just happens to be the youngest ever. Say what you want, but she has a tremendous influence over the game. The officials inferred that, noting that the current Master is a strong negative influence on the respect of the game, quite the opposite to Arata's grandfather. He is reason they are willing to be lenient toward someone of Arata's skill. On the other hand, they also mentioned that because he is Arata's lineage, it would be a good reason to make an example of him.

But, when it came down to it, any other Master would be an improvement over the current one. At least Shinobu is a polite and composed Queen, despite being a weirdo.

As for your remarks about Chihaya, you illustrated quite adequately that you don't even pay attention beyond learning their names.

MFauli

Sat, 03-16-2013, 01:36 PM

The only thing astounding here is your random rage, lol.

Ironically, you failed to understand the intent of my posting, rather spectacularly, too.
It shouldn´t matter WHO Arata is. He broke the rules, he should suffer the consequences. The sheer fact that the officials were even having a conference about whether or not to punish him is ridiculous. Imagine a popular soccer player fouling another player of a rather unknown team - then the FIFA says "oh well, let´s not give him a red card, that would ruin the upcoming truly important games, wouldnt it!" Surely, you understand why that´d be unfair, right? Or maybe you don´t ... :/

And I payed quite a lot attention towards Chihaya. Yes, you can interpret everything she did in another light, BUT the fact remains that she lost composure due to her opponents play style. That´s something that simply shouldn´t be happening anymore at this stage. At least, I find it tiresome for her to fall back into such state. She´s about to duel the queen. Come on.

Splash!

Sat, 03-16-2013, 01:45 PM

The whole "we want Master Suo overthrown because he isn't the perfect role model" bit really annoyed me. Sounds like they would have preferred a more 'conventional' individual than someone more eccentric. Kind of makes me respect Suo even more for sticking it to his haters and being the undisputed Master.

David75

Sat, 03-16-2013, 01:52 PM

You really did fail to factor how important the Queen status is for the Karuta federation. Even if they'd like to treat her as a snotty brat, there's no way they can.
Has Ryl pointed out, they're both the most important representation of the whole federation. So they do have and influence.
And yes, when you're an important player you do get some favors some time, even in football. Not on necessarily on the field, but any decision taken elswhere is carefully weighted.
Same goes for tennis and any sport with either a strong federation and/or lots of sponsors/money.

Regarding Chihaya, well she's a natural and her strong point isn't strategy and memorization at all. She's more like a cockroach, having extremely fast automated reflexes going from her ears to the tip of her fingers as pointed out in that ep.
So yes, changing the card positions every turn was a nice strategy.
And every match she does, she starts slowly because of such strategies and poor memorization skills. And yes, it is her awfull weakness.

Ryllharu

Sat, 03-16-2013, 02:07 PM

The only thing astounding here is your random rage, lol.

Ironically, you failed to understand the intent of my posting, rather spectacularly, too.
It shouldn´t matter WHO Arata is. He broke the rules, he should suffer the consequences. The sheer fact that the officials were even having a conference about whether or not to punish him is ridiculous. Imagine a popular soccer player fouling another player of a rather unknown team - then the FIFA says "oh well, let´s not give him a red card, that would ruin the upcoming truly important games, wouldnt it!" Surely, you understand why that´d be unfair, right? Or maybe you don´t ... :/
Rage? If you say so Quick-Draw McGraw. I was pretty methodical with my teardown of your capcity for attention to details, which you proved again no less.

The reason they had to have a conference in the first place is that it has never happened before. That's why they discussed whether or not it should be treated like baseball (very harsh penalties for using ringers) or something a bit less harsh. That was all before they got into the politics of it.

Splash!

Sat, 03-16-2013, 02:08 PM

And yes, when you're an important player you do get some favors some time, even in football. Not on necessarily on the field, but any decision taken elswhere is carefully weighted.

While it does probably happen all the time behind closed doors, it doesn't change the fact that it is not SUPPOSED to happen and that its kind of unethical.

I can understand MFauli's source of frustration at the very least on this. While having influence over the sport should grant you a lot of luxuries, being able to bend the rules should definitely not be one of them.

Ryllharu

Sat, 03-16-2013, 02:11 PM

Splash!

Sat, 03-16-2013, 02:18 PM

The situation is unprecedented. I would say the two best players have a fair amount of influence in setting the new policy.

Then this decision is also about setting a standard for the severity of punishments, should a similar incident happen again. I am not saying that the punishment ShOULD be harsh because it depends on the offense. However, the fact that Arata is the offender, in an ideal world, should not be factoring into the decision. Of course, that won't happen, but it doesn't make it right.

Also, Shinobu trying to influence a regulatory decision making process through blackmail, regardless of her status and intentions is really not in good form.

Ryllharu

Sat, 03-16-2013, 02:25 PM

MFauli

Sat, 03-16-2013, 02:26 PM

The situation is unprecedented. I would say the two best players have a fair amount of influence in setting the new policy.

Was declaring that she would forfeit the right way to go? No. But she does have a voice in the matter. She's also the favorite to win the individual tournament, if she doesn't think it is providing undue favors, but actually a better challenge for her, who are they to argue?

But NONE of these are valid points to counter the "crime" Arata committed. If the queen forfeiting for such measy reasons or Arata not playing is so imporant, then that speaks more about the state of Karuta than it does about anything else. How can you call Karuta a proper sports discipline, when you, the commitee, the officials, bow down to two individuals?

And I call bs on the "it´s unprecedented". Apparently, they knew well enough that substituting for a player in that way was against the rules. Therefore, they should know how to instate punishment. If they don´t know, then see the above. :>

Ryll, to summarize: I think EVERYBODY here reacted the wrong way about the issue of Arata substituting another team´s player. Actually, the two most at fault are:

1.) The man who recognized Arata. Had he just let it slipped, it wouldn´t have become a thing
2.) Arata himself. That was just too dumb to agree to that idea, anyway. It was devoid of intelligence, thinking, and honor.

But, really, everyone´s at fault. They made Karuta look cheap and silly. (which it maybe is, after all, I had never heard about Karuta prior to watching this anime, lol)

Splash!

Sat, 03-16-2013, 02:31 PM

The officials were ready to concede solely from the two team members declaring everything was their fault, and they just wanted to opportunity to play without having to forfeit.

It's Karuta, not shogi or Go. It's not really all that stuffy and formal to begin with.

That's all well and good. But its still wrong for the officials to throw in all that talk of Arata being their golden boy into the decision. And while I don't mind the teammates pleading for leniency on Arata, Shinobu's threat is quite a bit worse. I would be inclined to give Shinobu some sort of punishment too.

Ryllharu

Sat, 03-16-2013, 02:54 PM

And I call bs on the "it´s unprecedented". Apparently, they knew well enough that substituting for a player in that way was against the rules. Therefore, they should know how to instate punishment.

3:18. Watch it. "What do we do? There's never been an incident with substituting before."

It's unprecedented.

MFauli

Sat, 03-16-2013, 03:00 PM

3:18. Watch it. "What do we do? There's never been an incident with substituting before."

It's unprecedented.

And again, it was against the rules. That´s what was established. And when you watch the rest of the episode, they all seemed to understand well enough that banning Arata from the tournament is the appropriate punishment, and it was THEN that one after another buckled down to something along the lines of "... but it´s Arata!". The discussion between these officials wasn´t "what do we do?", it was, from the very start, "SHOULD we do it, since it´s Arata we´re talking about". And that´s just plain wrong.

Also, you cannot defend Shinobu´s behavior. Blackmailing makes you wrong, Queen or not.

Ryllharu

Sat, 03-16-2013, 03:17 PM

The discussion between these officials wasn´t "what do we do?", it was, from the very start, "SHOULD we do it, since it´s Arata we´re talking about". And that´s just plain wrong.

Also, you cannot defend Shinobu´s behavior. Blackmailing makes you wrong, Queen or not.
No, you're really not getting it. Just because something is written as being against the rules, doesn't mean the officials know what punishment should be levied in order to enforce it once it occurs. Don't pretend they're the same thing.

It's not really blackmailing either, I'm not sure why the two of you are hung up on that. Shinobu said she doesn't have any interest in playing if Arata isn't there to play against. That's not blackmail. She doesn't have to participate. Suo doesn't, and he's the Master. She's just withdrawing, having lost her reason to participate.

She requested they allow him to play (rather politely no less), and "encouraged" Arata to beg forgiveness. She made no demands.

Splash!

Sat, 03-16-2013, 03:53 PM

It's not really blackmailing either, I'm not sure why the two of you are hung up on that. Shinobu said she doesn't have any interest in playing if Arata isn't there to play against. That's not blackmail. She doesn't have to participate. Suo doesn't, and he's the Master. She's just withdrawing, having lost her reason to participate.

So this is how that conversation between Shinobu and the official started
Shinobu: If Arata is not allowed to play, I forfeit
Official: What are you saying? The Queen can't drop out of the tournament ...

That sounds like a threat at the very least, no matter how you slice it. Sure, she is somewhat respectful about it later on but her intent is clear.

Also, wasn't Shinbou registered for the individual tournament before she even knew that Arata was participating. So its not like her participation was originally conditional on Arata being there. Even if it is her choice and she is well within her means to opt out, she would still be reneging on a commitment which would do some damage to the image of the sport. It doesn't matter if she is well within her means for making the threat, it is still blackmail.

I am not really even sure if this is a point worth debating...

Ryllharu

Sat, 03-16-2013, 04:12 PM

You have an amazingly skewed definition of blackmail.

Splash!

Sat, 03-16-2013, 04:29 PM

Of course its not 'blackmail' in the strictly legal sense, but then the punishment for that would be much harsher :|, if that is what you are pertaining to...

Otherwise, I am not really sure the point you are trying to make. There was a demand (let Arata play) and there was a threat (I will forfeit). Also, she knows that her special position affords her the ability to do some damage if she forfeits, which is why she brought it up. If it was just about 'requesting' that Arata play, why would she bring up her forfeiting as a consequence at the VERY BEGINNING?

MFauli

Sat, 03-16-2013, 05:13 PM

LOL, of course, it´s blackmailing. You´ve got to be trolling.

Kraco

Sat, 03-16-2013, 06:47 PM

There's no problem to begin with, apart from supporters of nazi rules weighing their opinion against advocates of practical considerations. Since the issue is unprecedented, they can do whatever the hell they want to do and issue a statement that henceforth similar situations will be dealt with this way or that way. But since there didn't exist a clear procedure previously, and thus for the guilty person there was no way of realising the severity, only a reprimand will happen now.

I have a feeling this anime (manga) is making karuta look quite a bit more popular and extravagant than such an obsolete game can really be. So, they can't afford to create too much nasty internal conflicts out of the blue. Just by looking at this show it's evident getting anywhere in karuta requires lots of effort and practice not useful for anything much in RL, so with such a setting, they shouldn't try to make it look too strict and inflamed an environment to make sure people don't get scared or disgusted.

Buffalobiian

Sun, 03-17-2013, 12:04 AM

Actually, the two most at fault are:
1.) The man who recognized Arata. Had he just let it slipped, it wouldn´t have become a thing
2.) Arata himself. That was just too dumb to agree to that idea, anyway. It was devoid of intelligence, thinking, and honor.

On the contrary, I believe these two are the people LEAST at fault, along with Shinobu.

Arata weighted the risks and went with the team challenge anyway. His society's mentor recognised him and did the right thing about reporting it. Shinobu wanted Arata to play, so told the committee that if Arata isn't going to play, there's no point in her playing either.

It's up the to the committee to decide what to do in this event, and any "fault", if at all, lies with their decision making process. While I would argue that being able to influence the decision by being important is kind of unfair, the fact that it's unprecedented (and no penalty is actually written) means any decision is "fair" as long as the same punishment is applied hence forth. Even on of the committee said "If his point is to compete in the individual tournament, we should ban him". That shows they have no strict idea on what punishment is acceptable.

Besides, the committee was never about ethics in the first place. It was all about the image of Karuta. Should they let him play in order to defeat the bad Karuta role model, or should they punish him harshly to show that Karuta is an elegant Japanese tradition that will not be defiled?

Either decision is flawed and unethical when the reason came down solely to public image benefit.

Splash!

Sun, 03-17-2013, 01:20 AM

Besides, the committee was never about ethics in the first place. It was all about the image of Karuta. Should they let him play in order to defeat the bad Karuta role model, or should they punish him harshly to show that Karuta is an elegant Japanese tradition that will not be defiled?

I concur that the committee is quite silly and doesn't seem to actually care about ethics.

I wonder though, what kind of lenient punishment could they actually lay down on Arata? If this is indeed an unprecedented situation, then not giving any punishment whatsoever would be a really bad precedence to set (why have a rule if you don't intend on enforcing it). On the other hand, if they do punish him, what could it possibly be other than kicking him out of the tournament? That is pretty much the only thing he is participating in. They can't really suspend him for a few games, and they can't fine him (it's not like the players are getting paid to do this), so what option do they really have?

Buffalobiian

Sun, 03-17-2013, 01:36 AM

I wonder though, what kind of lenient punishment could they actually lay down on Arata? If this is indeed an unprecedented situation, then not giving any punishment whatsoever would be a really bad precedence to set (why have a rule if you don't intend on enforcing it). On the other hand, if they do punish him, what could it possibly be other than kicking him out of the tournament? That is pretty much the only thing he is participating in. They can't really suspend him for a few games, and they can't fine him (it's not like the players are getting paid to do this), so what option do they really have?

Having both the offending school (and Arata I suppose) banned from the next team event? Keeping individual and team realms separate is to my liking. It means you have to be punished for going against the rules, but you can still play individually so it won't put out your passion for playing karuta.

Splash!

Sun, 03-17-2013, 01:56 AM

Having both the offending school (and Arata I suppose) banned from the next team event? Keeping individual and team realms separate is to my liking. It means you have to be punished for going against the rules, but you can still play individually so it won't put out your passion for playing karuta.

Hmmm. What if there are others like Arata who don't actually care much for participating in team events but are enticed by another team for whatever reason (a bribe maybe). The only side that stands to lose anything from getting caught is the team, not the colluding player. That doesn't seem just. It's like a smart student letting others willingly cheat off him, and never having to worry about being penalized for academic dishonesty. Of course the scenario is hypothetical, but it could happen after the precedent is set.

Buffalobiian

Sun, 03-17-2013, 02:01 AM

Hmmm. What if there are others like Arata who don't actually care much for participating in team events but are enticed by another team for whatever reason (a bribe maybe). The only side that stands to lose anything from getting caught is the team, not the colluding player. That doesn't seem just. It's like a smart student letting others willingly cheat off him, and never having to worry about being penalized for academic dishonesty. Of course the scenario is hypothetical, but it could happen after the precedent is set.

I thought of that too.. but then ignored it, heh. It does leave a hole to be exploited, but at the same time laws escalate punishment to groups (schools, individuals) in proportion to the rewards they have to gain from such a violation. Hopefully those who have the most to gain from hiring top guns (schools, in this case) are dissuaded enough by the punishment that they won't approach players in the first place.

Maybe shaming them for more than just the next tournament?

That rule punishes the school (and the upcoming karuta players) more than the current members though (especially the graduating 3rd years), but hopefully the school themselves make sure the team receives a large enough reprimand to make up for the school's shame.

shinta|hikari

Fri, 03-22-2013, 09:00 AM

They lost the match. Had they won, Arata should be disqualified not only in the individual matches but even in next year's matches. Since his "cheating" had no real effect aside from letting people experience something they deserve but almost didn't due to sheer bad luck (and he knew this because he only tried to win when the team was guaranteed to lose anyway), I think he deserves a medal, and a kiss from Shinobu.

Kraco

Fri, 03-22-2013, 04:43 PM

Episode 11 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=415786)

- - - -- - -

As hilarious, in a saddening or infuriating way, as it's starting to be, I'll actually have to commend this episode for coming up with a plausible way of both allowing Arata to continue and keep him away from Chihaya & Taichi. After all, it's like the trademark of this bloody story that those three cannot meet more than once a year, and very briefly at that, despite how much they think about each other. Having to write an essay was quite a funny detail. At the first glance it seems kind of childish to have such a school like punishment when it's a sports tournament, not a school, but if you think about it more carefully, it's objectively speaking an annoying and onerous nuisance, so surely it works as a good punishment.

Quite a fine episode also otherwise. Nikuman's lecture to Desktomu wasn't misplaced, even if it was kind of blunt. If you want to observe keenly and see the right things, you need to maintain your own edge as well, I think. You won't otherwise be able to judge the players perfectly anymore, or the whole game. Besides, he's not even a bad player. It also keeps up the comradeship among their own team to have them all play.

Ryllharu

Fri, 03-22-2013, 06:27 PM

Shinobu is still cuter than ever, and Kana is going to be scary in the future. She obviously gets it from her cougar mother, but with the added bonus of a loli body with big boobs.

I appreciate the fact that they mentioned close analysis of five matches at once is harder than playing a single match. Especially so considering that the cards are all taken nearly simultaneously, so it is hard to see individual actions. I was impressed that Sumire's personality-notes turned out to be quite useful after all. It was to her benefit that she was observing a bunch of girls, she was likely to key in on their traits that annoy her, rather than getting distracted by a hot guy or simply not paying attention to an ugly one.

I don't think there is really that much to add otherwise. I will say that the reader this episode was by far the worst ever. Nasally and dull.

Kraco

Fri, 03-29-2013, 04:28 PM

Episode 12 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=418030)

- - - -- - -- - - - - --

I'm starting to feel the story is investing too much into every single match. I guess it's kind of realistic that at that level no match is a breeze, even if some are more difficult than others, but looking at it from the individual point of view and how the anime is depicting them, it seems like they need to overcome a hurdle every time. How long can they keep that up, considering there's still some way to go, counting the individual tournament as well? If they really are aiming for the top, they ought to have enough skill so that they could have won at least one match with no enlightements or other special conditions. Just walking in and playing hard like they always do should be enough sometimes. It's giving too big an underdog feeling they can't have a single "routine" victory. Not every game needs to be a roller coaster.

But I guess we will soon arrive at the real deal, no matter how meticulously the whole trip has been covered. The old dude seemed to guess wrong the team Arata was cheering for. I hope that doesn't lead to any strange misunderstandings... Like Hokuo losing and the man reporting back to Arata that "his friends lost" and Arata despairing.

Ryllharu

Fri, 03-29-2013, 05:55 PM

Wah! Cameo from Hayashibara Megumi as Fujisaki's coach! I love the Great VAs of Yesteryear cameos in this series, there are so many of them.

@kraco: I don't think it depicted that way really. It's not like Chihaya is overcoming that massive hurdle every time. There are five main members of the club, and they each have their own mental blocks or emotional hurdles to get over during a given tournament. Chihaya gets more of a focus each time, sure, but each of her epiphanies are growing her into a better candidate for the eventual showdown with either Arata or Shinobu.

Regarding Arata, I imagine that they'll come out with a surprise win (hopefully Chihaya will slide forward or back a few centimeters next episode), and Chihaya will proudly exclaim that they need to message Arata that they're in the finals right away, clearing up any misunderstandings there.

I really dislike Megumu. She does not come off as "bittersweet" like her photo fan club thinks, but just as a self-centered, often dismissive, bitch. She's either an outright bitch, or looks down on everyone around her, making her appear as an airhead. There was nothing ditzy about her sitting in front of Fujisaki. She made that clear with her line right after that she wanted to just play the final and get it over with, skipping Mizusawa as if them losing was a foregone conclusion. Kana's four card lead proves that otherwise, considering she is usually one of their losing players. She obviously not taking Chihaya seriously, which is a mistake we've already seen a lot. Then they even provided more examples of her being a bitch in the flashback, making sure she got attention, but then forcibly deleting every photo.

She's not a likable bitch the way Suo is a loveable asshole. The only thing nice about her is her plump thighs.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 03-29-2013, 09:58 PM

Agreeing with Kraco about how the matches seem to look. The way they seem to be tripping over themselves every match when they're this strong feels weird. It'd be better portrayed if they instead focused on analysing the opponents' weakness and tried to exploit that, instead of having to deal with their own weakness.

Trying to exploit an opponent's weakness would built up more tension for me since a self-weakness is more within your power to fix (anime logic). If you're losing because of your own inability (especially a psychological one), I'm pretty much expecting you to enlighten yourself and win by the end - no questions asked.

MFauli

Sat, 03-30-2013, 11:56 AM

Seems Im not the only one who´s growing tired of the way each and every match progresses.

Match starts -> opponent is overwhelming -> Chihaya becomes insecure about herself -> random event of motivation -> moment of "now I remember ..." -> serious-mode is activated -> Chihaya wins.

sigh

This would have been the perfect match to show everyone how strong Chihaya is ... by having her dominate Megumu from start to beginning. And it´d have made total sense, too, since the anime had hyped Megumu for several episodes now. Guess we shouldnt expect too much surprise.

Btw. is next week the final episode, or will we get the third season without break this time?

Buffalobiian

Sat, 03-30-2013, 12:00 PM

Buffalobiian

Fri, 04-05-2013, 09:28 PM

HS - S2 Episode 13 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=420531)

---------------------------------

Zzzzzz. Granted, I was tired too, but the episode had more to do with it than anything else.

Kraco

Sat, 04-06-2013, 02:50 AM

I can't believe the match is still not over. It's not like I wouldn't have been enjoying this episode, like any other Chihayafuru episode, but no matter how I look at it, this is getting ridiculous. I'm starting to wonder if this season can reach the master & queen matches at all if it goes on like this. If Chihaya shows performance like this, she doesn't even have any business being in the queen match. She's been fervently playing the game since she was a little kid, yet her concentration and emotions are still all over the place, as if she was some beginner who started six months ago and was all nervous, excited, and amazed by her opponent. Considering how single-minded her basic nature is, she's thinking about nothing at all but karuta from morning till evening, one would think her focus would be superior to most people.

Somehow I think, if Taichi wasn't such a petty bastard and had allowed Chihaya to meet Arata, things could be different. Now Chihaya's memories of Arata must be distant, but if they had chatted for a while, Chihaya might have recalled better Arata's steady playing style and focus and could draw inspiration from that, keeping her own head cooler.

Ryllharu

Sat, 04-06-2013, 05:48 AM

Chihaya has finally hit her stride in this tournament and her playstyle is finally starting to match the current Queen, so everyone has finally realized it. What they assumed would be a boring match with a foregone conclusion (the Girl's School winning handily) has turned into something else. But, this match hasn't really been about Chihaya at all. Chihaya's always sort of herself. I did find myself wishing one of her teammates (Taichi likely), would just ask her if she was having fun playing against the West Candidate. Then Chihaya would probably beam with happiness and play like a monster...or that might backfire.

Still, all the character development has been about the stuck-up bitch Megumu. She's been so blasé about everything, and even her friends in the club dislike that about her. They know she's good, and they want to see her take the crown, but she simply was never engaged in a match, she had no passion. Chihaya caught wind of some of it, noting that Megumu is who she would be if no one helped her refine her skills while still keeping her passionate about the game. Megumu resented having to be the cheerleader for the team. Megumu resented that they were encouraging her to be Queen, she even seemed to resent the fact that she was here (why are you playing karuta at all if you don't enjoy it?). Chihaya's level of skill has begun to piss her off though, so she's finally starting to enjoy herself...by getting angry that she's not winning without effort. Bitch to the end, but at least she's not a dismissive bitch anymore.

As an aside, it seems like Chihaya has a new devoted admirer, one who has given her a stellar nickname, referring to the Amazon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazons) star.

MFauli

Sat, 04-06-2013, 07:35 AM

OMGWTF

Had written a lenghty text, then my browers screwed up :/

Well, then I´ll just write this: Tomboy-girl on Megumu´s team is kinda cute-hot. :>

Buffalobiian

Sat, 04-06-2013, 09:54 AM

What they assumed would be a boring match with a foregone conclusion (the Girl's School winning handily) has turned into something else.

Up until the end of this episode, I had always expected the outcome of the match to be:

Chihaya - loss
Everyone else - wins.

There was all that talk at the beginning of the previous episode about the All Girl School being confident that their ace would win, and because Megumu is such a bitch I wanted it to backfire on them. It's a team match. It doesn't matter if the ace wins. What matters is the team.

This episode showed that their team works together in their hierarchical way though, so that's a sweet revenge shattered for me.

shinta|hikari

Thu, 04-11-2013, 07:28 AM

@Kraco - Taichi might have all the best qualities in the world (he surely does not), but he will always be petty. That is his defining characteristic and what makes Arata (aside from everything else about Arata) infinitely better than him.

Still, Shinobu X Arata FTW. All those scenes with them together just fits, even if they don't even talk at all.

EDIT: I am actually really annoyed by all the self reflection scenes every match. It is simply unrealistic, and reeks of over dramatization.

EDIT2: I just wanted to ask, what do you guys think of Taichi? I find that no matter what kind of development he gets, I can never grow to like him just because of what he did when he was a child. Add to that his recent pettiness, I just can't seem to like him, which sucks because he is always onscreen. If you are fine with him, how did you manage to get past his childhood transgressions?

Kraco

Thu, 04-11-2013, 10:25 AM

EDIT2: I just wanted to ask, what do you guys think of Taichi? I find that no matter what kind of development he gets, I can never grow to like him just because of what he did when he was a child. Add to that his recent pettiness, I just can't seem to like him, which sucks because he is always onscreen. If you are fine with him, how did you manage to get past his childhood transgressions?

I'm fine with him being there. The main cast needs all kinds of characters, and Taichi's one distinct type. Arata is actually really gray compared to him. Arata has the karuta obsession like Chihaya, but since he's otherwise normal and regular, he doesn't look like a karuta lunatic. He looks like a normal guy with a deep interest in a hobby.

So, I have no problems with Taichi, but I'd rather see Chihaya get together with Arata. Yet if they still grow Shinobu some more and make her more interesting and human, I might not eventually care even if Arata ended up with her instead. Though I kind of fail to see any bidirectional spark between Chihaya and Taichi. It seems like Taichi's whole reason for being with these people is to be close to Chihaya, but all the scenes that have shown Chihaya have any hints of interest in a person otherwise than as a good opponent is with Arata.

Buffalobiian

Thu, 04-11-2013, 10:35 AM

I like Taichi for a few vain reasons:

1) he's got an awesome memory
2) he's good looking

But looking deeper, he's striving to be a better person while knowing he's darker deep down. That struggle to remain good while battling your inner desire intrigues me (I can also relate to it). Taking a page from Nisemonogatari, perhaps a fake who strives to be as good as the original is more valuable than the original itself. Taichi is striving to be someone who he is not, but who he (and we) sees as being desirable. I commend that.

I get disappointed and annoyed when he becomes a dick, but I also like exploring his psychology - like when he overheard Chihaya on the phone but managed to swallow his sadness/frustration.

Also - where he keeps telling Chihaya to forget about Arata so she can concentrate on the match when he's actually telling himself that. Is he consciously lying, or is he just projecting his own distracted state of mind onto Chihaya? Perhaps at first, but I think he realises the truth afterwards - how does he cope with it?

When I think about it that way, Taichi could even be likeable currently because he was an ass in the past.

MFauli

Thu, 04-11-2013, 10:57 AM

Taichi is suffering from the same bs that keeps happening to Chihaya. Sometimes, he shows progress, the will to get better. Then in the next game, he´s falling back into the "I need focus. I need to realize that I´m strong. Otherwise I´ll never become an A-player", all while giving advice to his team members. It´s frustrating.

I like him a lot, though, since he´s not a Karuta-prodigy like Chihaya and Arata. Even though he may be gifted (being a good Karuta-player as well as being a school genius. And surely he does well in whatever else he does), he´s a hardworker. A "gifted hardworker", if that makes any sense. Like, Desktomu is a hardworker, too, but just not as gifted. Meanwhile, Taichi bears the potential to become a Karuta-player equal to the strongest, if only he puts in enough effort.

What I don´t like about him is chasing after Chihaya. Two good-looking characters pairing up, that´s just boring. Any of the other girls would be better imo. How about him and Shinobu, now that would be interesting!

Kraco

Thu, 04-11-2013, 11:07 AM

But looking deeper, he's striving to be a better person while knowing he's darker deep down. That struggle to remain good while battling your inner desire intrigues me (I can also relate to it).

Is he? Or is he only striving to appear a better person because the club needs a good person as a captain? And he needs the club to be able to share time with Chihaya. There's quite a fundamental difference between those two, even though under random circumstances there might not be any externally visible difference in his behavior.

shinta|hikari

Thu, 04-11-2013, 11:19 AM

Everything Taichi does is for Chihaya, which I would normally applaud, except for the fact that Taichi is petty and cheap. The only reason he tries to avoid being himself (cheap and petty) is to appeal to Chihaya, which in itself is petty and cheap. He needs a better raison d'etre to be a better character.

Arata is quite underdeveloped as a character, but even then, he is much more likable.

Also, Chihaya and Arata are hardworking. They practically devote themselves to Karta at this point. There really is no "genius without effort" character in this show, maybe excluding the current king until his inevitable development flashback.

Ryllharu

Thu, 04-11-2013, 04:54 PM

It seems like Taichi's whole reason for being with these people is to be close to Chihaya, but all the scenes that have shown Chihaya have any hints of interest in a person otherwise than as a good opponent is with Arata.
That's because Taichi isn't good enough (at karuta) for her. :D

Buffalobiian

Thu, 04-11-2013, 05:25 PM

Is he? Or is he only striving to appear a better person because the club needs a good person as a captain? And he needs the club to be able to share time with Chihaya. There's quite a fundamental difference between those two, even though under random circumstances there might not be any externally visible difference in his behavior.

For me, it doesn't matter whether you're trying to be a better person for:

1) the person you like,
2) society, or
3) yourself

If you decide to revert back to your old self after "winning" Chihaya, then that's cheating her. If you decide to fake it forever.. then it makes no difference to me.

Kraco

Fri, 04-12-2013, 02:23 AM

For me, it doesn't matter whether you're trying to be a better person for:

1) the person you like,
2) society, or
3) yourself

If you decide to revert back to your old self after "winning" Chihaya, then that's cheating her. If you decide to fake it forever.. then it makes no difference to me.

That's not the point. The point is that is he really trying to become a better person. You know, the world is full of scumbags who in the public look like decent people, but when the cameras are turned off, they are pure narcistic nazis. Even if he's genuinely trying to change himself, there's the reverting back when he has won danger you mentioned, but if he's only masking his true self by acting well when it suits the needs, there's practically a guarantee he won't be able to pull it off indefinitely, plus the occasional petty moments would never get fewer. We have never seen Chihaya in any manner of a relationship (aside from familial), so it's impossible to say how she would take it, should she end up with Taichi.

shinta|hikari

Fri, 04-12-2013, 02:38 AM

She won't.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 04-12-2013, 10:26 PM

HS - S2 Episode 14 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=423032)

MFauli

Sat, 04-13-2013, 02:39 AM

Bullshit, her losing. I absolutely despise Megumu, and her creepy stalkers/future rapists are only worsening her impression on me. This anime really is in need of a more transparent "power progression". Yes, it´s not a typical shounen, not Dragonball or Naruto, but please give me logical reasons for why Chihaya can lose here, yet win later on. Etc, etc.
Porky losing maybe isn´t illogical as much as it´s just plain frustrating. Can´t they show progress on one character without taking it from another? Sure, we needed dat 2:2 situation, still ...

I also fear that this was the last awesomenes of Desktomu-kun. He´ll probably die in a car crash within the next couple of episodes or so ...

Kraco

Sat, 04-13-2013, 03:55 AM

Damn Arata. Of course I knew he had a streak of formality after he was volunteering to drop out of the whole event after getting caught, but I seem to have overestimated him in general. If he really liked karuta as much as the beginning of the show let us understand, he wouldn't have turned down Shinobu. He's stuck writing essays while his competitors would already be honing their mood and skills for the individual matches. Now he had a chance to play against one of the best to shake off some rust - and he turned her down referring to some total bullshit nonsense, even being so arrogant as to accuse the current best female player to only play to pass time. Arata's stocks really plummeted during that scene. Now I know he doesn't deserve to get anywhere near the master match. A pity, really.

In my opinion Chihaya deserved to lose. I'm beginning to wonder if she's too airheaded to be able to learn from her mistakes, but the cold truth is she's constantly playing below her real level of skills due to her weak mental fortitude and lack of concentration and willpower. Megumu might have been, in fact, a worse player skills wise, I reckon, but her mental state was world's above Chihaya, and that ultimately allowed her to win. Chihaya is like some soldier who can hit the targets every time at a shooting range, but in the real combat situation hesitates, licking her lips.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 04-13-2013, 09:18 AM

Chihaya had to lose. I wouldn't have it any other way. The team could advance (like I thought it would), but she needs a loss so she actually has to improve (rather than improvising an improvement during each match - which only lasts for that single match).

Why didn't they wear hakamas again for this tournament? Because the air-con broke last time? Kana really needs that boob-support, so I wonder if it's really such a good move. You can always wear it first, then take it off later if you decide the heat is more unbearable.

shinta|hikari

Sat, 04-13-2013, 10:50 AM

Ryllharu

Sat, 04-13-2013, 10:59 AM

They didn't wear hakama's because Chihaya passed out due to the broken air conditioning last year. They realized (and Kana relented) that they can't afford the additional exhaustion a stifling outfit like hakama puts on a person in that environment.

It's one thing for regional tournaments, which take place earlier in the year and involve fewer teams (even the Tokyo qualifier was only a few group round games and then 4 finalists). The Queen/Meister matches are only two games, in a very well maintained studio environment. But the National Team matches and Individual Qualifier, which take place at the height of the summer heat and involve a much larger number of teams, it can be a huge disadvantage. Even with t-shirts, their members are falling asleep, sweating in the matches, or in Kana's case, sad to admit that she can't go on anymore today. There is quite the strategic thinking in Chihaya gaving up on karuta during Middle School and focused on track to build her endurance to extreme levels. She still passes out after a match, but she's not running down to her limits the way the others are.

This is why Fujisaki has a huge advantage over all the other teams, one I would even go to say is unfair. The average team seems to have 5 players and 2 alternates. Fujisaki has what, 40 players with them? They can breeze through the qualifying rounds and only have to bring out their best players once the finals begin. The majority of other teams have every member playing up to 7 or 8 matches in a row, only breaking 15 minutes in between and a bit longer for lunch. Fujisaki's players probably play only 2, maybe 3 games in a row at most.

I suspect the redhead girl is actually Fujisaki's true ace.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 04-13-2013, 11:10 AM

There is quite the strategic thinking in Chihaya gaving up on karuta during Middle School and focused on track to build her endurance to extreme levels.

I remember Chihaya joining track to train her response time to an aural trigger rather than endurance.

It had not occurred to me that timing and weather played a part in the matches though. It makes sense for them to discard the hakama.

Kraco

Sat, 04-13-2013, 11:59 AM

Arata didn't play with Shinobu because she was insulting team matches. Arata wanted to say that this day was dedicated to something that he respects.

Arata's comment about Shinobu thinking of matches as merely pastimes is actually quite accurate. She cannot be passionate against her current rivals because they are not up to par, which is why she wants to have a match with Arata, who has beaten her before.

Sitting in a small room writing essays because he cheated and attended such a team match against the rules places him in a position to look down at Shinobu? Rather, since he considers both team and individual matches equally worthy, he should have seized the opportunity to do what he could for karuta: have a practice match with Shinobu. He even pitied his opponent in the team match because he could put up such a poor fight without his glasses, so he should understand that getting as good as possible is the best way for him to serve the sport.

But not, a high horse is better, even though the sport has no horses.

MFauli

Sat, 04-13-2013, 05:54 PM

Kraco, I agree with you in theory, but you gotta think more simple here: Arata refuses to play Shinobu to honor the punishment he was given. That´s just the guy he is. He´s being punished, so no fun on the side. Even if it´s not really related to the punishment.

Personally, I´m glad they didn´t play. What could we realistically expect from a match at this point? Either Arata wins, which would kinda cheapen a future Chihaya vs Shinobu-match, OR Arata would lose, which wouldn´t be a surprise due to his longer Karuta break. No, I don´t think a match between the two here would have been too fun/interesting. Actually, I don´t see them fighting each other ever at all during the active runtime of the manga/anime. For the above mentioned reason. Them playing is more something for a final episode, where we get closure on all threads, one of them showing the two play.

Ryllharu

Fri, 04-19-2013, 06:29 PM

Chihayafuru S2 - 15 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=425235)

------------------

Hah! Arata intrigued Shinobu-chan enough that she actually decided to come and watch. His repeated discussion about the importance of it being a team match day, that he had really hoped to watch his friends play, and nearly tossing out his chance to play in the individual tournament just to see them caught her attention.

I wonder if Shinobu will be entranced enough to want to form her own team next year...with Arata. Then again, I don't really know if the two of them even go to the same school (doubt it), much less the one that the other three Fukui players did. Either way, I'm hoping that either Chihaya or Rion will catch her eye.

Secondly, how can the staff be that freaking dumb? They still think that Hokuo is the team Arata came to see, despite the stellar performance that Mizusawa put on, drawing everyone's attention.

I hope Chihaya beats Rion. It one thing that Chihaya loses and learns something out of it, but it has started to feel like she is constantly losing at tournaments against people that really shouldn't be better than she is head-to-head. She is one of the few people who has gotten Shinobu pissed off during a match, and didn't lose in a horrible landslide. It's one thing to lose to Megumu (3rd or 4th best in the country). It's another to lose to Hokuo's current ace, and Megumu, and Rion (if that happens).

Lastly, Kana's an H-cup. :D

Buffalobiian

Fri, 04-19-2013, 10:06 PM

I thought it was totally appropriate that Chihaya lost to Megumu. She was the West's representative, after all. That essentially makes her the 3rd best female player in Japan last year. (though correctly speaking, it's only the strongest player in West, but you can think about it like that).

The staff aren't dumb. They have no idea Arata is attached to two friends from when he was like...7 years old? When people come to cheer you expect the recipient to be someone they know, not someone of stellar performance.

I don't care about Rion (though I agree with the blond, she is pretty cute), but it's interesting that Chihaya can see her emotions behind the face. Or is it that Rion's finally found something/someone to be emotional about?

Taichi vs Arata-look-alike should hopefully break himself from Arata (at least during matches), but part of me is suspecting this to be artificially created to exploit a weakness in Taichi in order for him to come back during the match.

MFauli

Sat, 04-20-2013, 03:05 AM

Lol, is this turning into a ninja-anime now? "So this is the extent of the ears of the best team player", right after silently sneaking past the team.

Probably an old "complaint", but I still have to laugh when I see these characters being so serious about Karuta. Not only the players (lol Oe-chan, orgasming about a reader, wth), but also the trainers. As if they dedicated their life to Karuta ... which makes no sense, since it´s really not that big/popular a game afaik. The presentation is as if I´m watching Hikaru no Go, only that Go is a super-popular game. Oh well.

Favorite new character is now Arata 2.0. Omg, fantasizing about your trainer during the match, love it! Only way to make him better would be if he´d speak out aloud those naughty thoughts, totally confusing/embarrassing those around him. Well, he kinda did this a little bit, when refusing the thought of being in love with Rion.

And stop being so gay, old school-friends of Arata´s. When a girl starts changing in front of you, you DONT complain. This is not 1800. It didn´t matter anyway, since Shinobu was wearing the underwear of an 8-year old girl. Seriously, least sexy underwear ever witnessed in human history :D

AS FOR THE ACTUAL STORY:
They kind characterized the opponents in this episode, but I still think it´s too obvious that Mizusawa is going to win. The opponent team is set up too strongly as the "strong, but overconfident"-trope, with no sympathetic characters like Mizusawa´s semifinale opponent. Rion will surprise everyone with how strong she is, but Chihaya will shake her robotic emotions. Taichi will overcome the Arata 2.0. And then ... well, the rest is unclear, but I´m sure Mizusawa will win this. Personally, I hope Dekstomu-kun wins his match, because it´d remove his token-player impression a bit. Tsukuba-kun winning seems to far-fetched. Porky... dunno.

Kraco

Sat, 04-20-2013, 03:23 AM

The staff aren't dumb. They have no idea Arata is attached to two friends from when he was like...7 years old? When people come to cheer you expect the recipient to be someone they know, not someone of stellar performance.

Yes, he is dumb. It only makes him all the dumber he didn't actually know for whom Arata was there, but made a guess, which in itself is fine because anybody would, but that he actually acted on the guess and went to the wrong person makes him one big load of dumbness. It would have been fine if he had only thought incorrectly in his mind, but, realising he's lacking information, would have left it at that. But instead he needed to become a know-it-all and failed.

I already voiced my complaints about how the story treats Chihaya's ealier, but I'm still willing to give the author another chance and trust Chihaya will win this match. Maybe she will notice Shinobu and that will be the last straw to break her unlucky streak. It's not like she should need such extra theatrics, but apparently the manga author really loves to make her unstable.

Fujisaki would desperately need to lose for being so arrogant. Losing would be a valuable lesson for them. However, realistically speaking their team should be better than Mizusawa, even if Chihaya should win her match.

I wonder how much Shinobu can get out of this. I can't really imagine her playing in a team in a meaningful manner. She might pull it off if it was a team consisting of only people she finds interesting, like Arata and maybe Chihaya, but otherwise she seems like a person who would discourage even her own teammates.

Ryllharu

Sat, 04-20-2013, 05:40 AM

Shinobu would chastise them in a lovingly harsh manner for their lack of skill and their inadequate love for the cards themselves.

This is a pretty important shift for Shinobu. She's only seen the value in knowing (or even being aware of) the people who can challenge her. Arata, the Master (asshole) Suou, etc. If she gets interested enough in watching Arata's friends play, she may want to make her own team. Then, in playing that first match or two, she might see more value in having friends to celebrate her victories with.

She's been utterly dismissive thus far. We've never seen her observing another match...ever.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 04-26-2013, 07:30 PM

HS - S2 Episode 16 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=427656)

MFauli

Sat, 04-27-2013, 02:52 AM

no better way to ruin a day than releasing recap episodes. sigh ....

Kraco

Sat, 04-27-2013, 06:59 AM

Haha. Back when I said this season will never even get to the individual matches, I thought I was joking, but now they are using the precious episodes on recaps. If they waste spend three eps on this final match, would they have enough eps left to cover the individual matches part of the tournament? The team matches will have been running for 10 eps soon, and they aren't over yet.

In any case I would be anything but surprised if neither Chihaya nor Taichi got a chance to face Arata anymore (in fact I wouldn't be surprised if Arata didn't get to play at all before the season is over, aside from that one illegal match). The author is a bloody sadist.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 04-27-2013, 08:49 AM

Chihayafuru recaps are one of the better ones. I even watched it for the funny little tidbits.

But I'd rather have the real thing, so yeah.. poor choice.

David75

Sat, 04-27-2013, 11:29 AM

Chihaya herself stated the Queen title is not as important as team matches to her.
And I believe Shinobu will herself be converted.

shinta|hikari

Mon, 04-29-2013, 08:52 AM

Converted to what? Shinobu does not even have a team. She might grow to respect team matches, but it will never be as important to her as the individual match.

I wonder why Karuta is divided by sex. Isn't it a game where males and females can compete equally?

Buffalobiian

Mon, 04-29-2013, 08:58 AM

I wonder why Karuta is divided by sex. Isn't it a game where males and females can compete equally?

I think it might be a tradition thing, given the nature of Karuta. I'm not surprised if the practice simply stemmed from the times when everything was split between male/female.

Found this on wiki btw:
Lately, the game has begun gaining international players as well. In September 2012 there was the first international tournament, and players from the U.S., China, South Korea, New Zealand, and Thailand participated .

That just yells success. (I'm looking at you, MFauli.. >_>)

shinta|hikari

Mon, 04-29-2013, 09:20 AM

Who won?

If it wasn't Japan, Arata and Chihaya's delusion about being the best in the world are pretty much dashed.

MFauli

Mon, 04-29-2013, 12:41 PM

I wonder why Karuta is divided by sex. Isn't it a game where males and females can compete equally?

Obviously because e female´s brain isn´t as big and capable as a male´s

:>

Ryllharu

Mon, 04-29-2013, 04:08 PM

I assume it is because they have a shorter reach on average, as well as the potential for lower endurance. For example, female distance runners tend to be a bit behind the male runners at most events.

Separating it is not as insulting to women as shogi leagues are, where their intellect is deemed inferior. There is a physical aspect to karuta, making it more like regular sports where genders are separated.

It's always better to have two champions that one. However, this is a noticeable point of contention for Shinobu, who loathes the current Meister.

MFauli

Mon, 04-29-2013, 05:04 PM

Well, let´s not act as if separation by gender makes sense in the real world, either. Like, why are there still bathrooms for men and women? Because men would rape? Because it´s embarrassing, lol? Makes no sense.

And whatever, at least men and women ARE playing each other in Karuta. Just not at all times.

Buffalobiian

Mon, 04-29-2013, 06:56 PM

@MFauli: because cubicles aren't entirely peek-proof.

MFauli

Mon, 04-29-2013, 07:23 PM

@MFauli: because cubicles aren't entirely peek-proof.

So what defends me from being peeked on by a gay guy? Can we have separate toilets for straight and gay guys please?

:/

Buffalobiian

Tue, 04-30-2013, 02:04 AM

You can argue for that when same-sex attraction accounts for equal to or more than half the population.

Exceptions exist and you just have to deal with it. You don't ask the butch girl to compete with the men.

Kraco

Fri, 05-03-2013, 04:08 PM

Episode 17 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=430045)

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A couple of minutes in I was thinking haven't we seen this exact same thing for a dozen times already? but in fact it fortunately started to change after a while. Though I'm slightly annoyed by how each and every match seems to repeat the exact same from a deep struggle into a victory theme, I still have to admit the author does have what it takes to come up with something new, exciting, and refreshing. Nevertheless I do wish her editor had told her to change the repetitive pace... If she had, there wouldn't have been any bad taste in the beginning when even this final match looked like a carbon copy of the earlier ones.

Shinobu being there with her weird personality is a big bonus, naturally. I kind of hope Chihaya will go to talk to her when this is all over and Shinobu will blurt out the whole Arata fiasco. Perhaps Arata has such a serious image in Chihaya and Taichi's minds that such a story would both shock and amuse them.

Ryllharu

Fri, 05-03-2013, 05:08 PM

Can't remember her name. Gave up. 'Yama-chan!' My favorite bit of the episode, second only to Shinobu blowing her nose on the sleeve of the guy next to her. Two of a kind, Shinobu and Chihaya.

More importantly, Shinobu remembered Chihaya's name! She's definitely the type to only remember the name of a person she deems a worthy challenger.

I also like the idea that the person who causes the injury is far more affected than the person receiving the injury. The effect is probably magnified by the fact that Rion appears to be a fairly considerate person. Winning isn't everything to her, enjoying the poems her grandmother reads is. So she doesn't have the nasty disposition to take the advantage of Chihaya's hurt finger. Then again, I wonder if even Sudou would be that cruel. He probably would, but he'd never injure someone intentionally.

Still, I can't really understand how Chihaya got hurt. Her hand twisted upside down so that her fingernails would be tapping the card. If Rion pressed down on Chihaya's fingertips, that normally wouldn't cause an injury, because the nails would protect it from being jammed in the first place. It's not like Rion dropped a hammerfist on Chihaya's fingers, she just pressed down.

Lastly, I can understand the Fujisaki team captain's perspective. That's one sexy teacher (bonus for her VA being Hayashibara!). But as cool as she comes off, it's pretty clear that she is an airhead. She stated that her back and shoulders got sore over time, and stresses upper body strength. She didn't seem to realize that was due to her chest, not her lack of stamina. She clearly didn't have Kana's perfect posture to support their weight.

MFauli

Sat, 05-04-2013, 08:35 AM

Hurting yourself during Karuta. Yeah, it doesn´t get more pathetic than that. Man, remember all those injured Poker-players? No? Me neither.

The author couldn´t have made this game between Chihaya and Rion more boring. So now that Chihaya hurt herself, Rion isn´t playing at her best anymore. Awesome. Not.
Moreover ... WHY is it presented so boringly? In the past, we´d get super dramatic close-ups and slomos of the players´ hand movements. Now we get a wide angle perspective, while Shinobu comments on how bad those players are. Okay.

Best scene: The four boys standing up and slapping themselves in sync. The coolest way would be if the match ended with Mizusawa winning all 5 games. Yeah, unrealistic with one total beginner in their team, but maybe...

Favorite character: The ero guy on the other team. He´s sooo right. Nothing hotter than an attractive teacher <3

Ryllharu

Sat, 05-04-2013, 09:04 AM

Hurting yourself during Karuta. Yeah, it doesn´t get more pathetic than that. Man, remember all those injured Poker-players? No? Me neither.
In defense of that, poker players aren't slapping their hands into the felt table 20-40 times a game. Repeatedly plunging one's fingers into tatami mats at stiff/reinforced playing cards. Tsukuba's family uses wooden cards.

If this was hanafuda, I might agree, but it is closer to playing wack-a-mole with bare hands.

Jamming ones fingers I understand, just not how Chihaya managed to do it. Kana definitely hit the mat wrong during her previous match. Chihaya shouldn't be hurt, especially not as bad as she seems to imply it is.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 05-04-2013, 09:34 AM

@MFauli: it's boring right now because of how episodic it is. Same formula, doing it over and over again. Kamisama Dolls also followed a set formula and I enjoyed it slightly less after I noticed it, but at least the content is different each ep. Here, even the content is repeated. I have to wonder if the studio is screwing up, or the manga did.

Kraco

Sat, 05-04-2013, 09:36 AM

Jamming ones fingers I understand, just not how Chihaya managed to do it. Kana definitely hit the mat wrong during her previous match. Chihaya shouldn't be hurt, especially not as bad as she seems to imply it is.

I doubt she's really in as much pain as she makes it look like. She's probably simply not used to handling any pain. If it was anything serious, she wouldn't be playing anymore, especially in the individual tournament later. I guess her finger just got twisted or squeezed a little. But it's just fine if it hurts the opponent's chances. Rion had an edge anyway with her beloved grandmother reading. She has probably heard her reading so many times she gains free milliseconds and is also extra motivated by it. She's so flawed a player that she'd need to develop fundamentally. I don't think winning a match despite the flaws would serve her well, no matter what the manager thinks.

MFauli

Fri, 05-10-2013, 04:41 PM

new ep is out.

Dat dragging out. ugh

I don´t know how I feel about a hypothetical victory for Mizusawa. Taichi really shouldn´t win his match at this point. Were it not for the early deficit, he could have believably won, but now ... Well, I guess he will win, but it´ll feel a bit forced.
Though I´m disappointed that Desktomu-kun lost. Really had hoped he wouldn´t be a one-time-star.

And damn, Fujisaki´s couch is hot. Yes, it had to be said again. :>

Kraco

Fri, 05-10-2013, 04:50 PM

Episode 18 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=432285)

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The speed is still as slow as ever, but I'm thankful the other players, and Shinobu plus even Arata, got more screen time, while Chihaya kept winning in the background. That's something creating an atmosphere of Chihaya being really good. Shinobu slowly getting fired up is quite interesting as well, not to mention her inner struggle to dismiss that hot feeling. She wouldn't be much of a team player any time soon, but I reckon a team not minding her personality would gain quite an ace in her, if she got interested enough to join one. But then again, I doubt she would be interested in any random team. Maybe she will just try to become a part-time advisor.

Taichi going for all or nothing by betting on luck was quite peculiar. It might shake a strict guy like his opponent, but on the other hand you'd think that captain has seen plenty of desperate opponents. Statistics are on his side anyway, and that must be how he's going to play till the end. Luck is a fickle mistress and like the girls in the audience said, seldom standing behind Taichi's back. I liked his thoughts about Arata, however, even if they were hardly surprising.

Ryllharu

Fri, 05-10-2013, 06:46 PM

At least Shinobu has finally recognized Chihaya, Megumu, and Rion as peers (and maybe even the mannish girl). However, it was unfortunately convenient that they juxtaposed this with a past trauma where she was banned from playing people her own age because it was limiting her.

It seemed that she was starting to fall into a rut throughout the episode, coming to the realization that no one would ever allow her to truly enjoy playing the game again.

I think she is quite happy to discover that she is wrong, predatory smile and everything. Arata's soliloquy confirmed the problem that the two of them share by focusing only on individual tournaments. Unless the two of them also encourage team play, they won't have anyone to play against. Weaker players become better by forming teams with a strong player and learning from each other, as both the Girl's School and Mizusawa display.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 05-10-2013, 10:25 PM

Taichi going for all or nothing by betting on luck was quite peculiar.

Apparently he covered it before taking it, so he wasn't betting it all on luck. He did decide to attack instead of defend an ambiguous card, but that comes down to philosophy (when in doubt, always attack/defend first).

Again, the lack of a clear power scale means I have no idea what's going on in these matches.

Kraco

Fri, 05-17-2013, 03:12 PM

Episode 19 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=434462)

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Still during the previous episode I was thinking Fujisaki should win the whole battle even if Mizusawa got a win or two. However, I have to say I'm pretty satisfied with how this turned around. Obviously Chihaya finally had to win relatively smoothly, because she's supposed to be exceptional unlike many of the previous fights have suggested, but Taichi and Nikuman were the question marks. How to make them struggle through. Taichi made some good calls and was favoured by luck a couple of times, but he also managed to shake the opponent. That's the most unlikely part of it all, especially since the dude was just saying he's going to play as usual, yet he didn't end up doing that in my opinion. Whether that's a flaw in the script or not is open to debate, but I can view it as solid writing because they emphasize a couple of times he was looking down on Taichi. That's why he wasn't playing at 100% efficiency and allowed himself to fall to Taichi's pace. Luck favours the bold anyway, so Taichi deserved this.

It looks like Arata's VA was down with a flu or something, considering his only lines were a couple of "uhns..." Still pretty funny that what he meant as a joke to fool Chihaya, so that he could surprise her by suddenly appearing to follow the matches, turned out to be something so grave accidentally it made Chihaya cry even more. I really hope Arata himself or somebody explains to Chihaya why Arata couldn't be there among the audience. In fact I think that silly story would lighten the atmosphere quite a bit.

Ryllharu

Fri, 05-17-2013, 05:46 PM

I figured Taichi started pulling strategy out of Sudou's playbook. He was standing a lot to piss Eromu off, then he would take forever to pass a card, etc. He was taunting the guy, throwing him off pace. Not Taichi's usual strategy, but he was beaten at his usual cool-headed calculator game, so he went his other strategy from the old days, being a malicious jerk. That's something he is exceptionally skilled at, especially when combined with his calculating playstyle. He should know better than anyone when to pull out his other side during a match. Maybe that's his way to A rank, being a bit more like the Old Taichi (actually the immature Taichi).

I don't think it was really all that uncharacteristic when you look at Taichi's history. The only unlikely part was his bad luck ending. It must be due to Sumire's love waves.

I was more impressed with Nikuman winning by turning the game to his advantage. He has a game sense too, just a different one from Chihaya, Rion, and Shinobu. He's more like Arata.

edit:
I can't wait for Shinobu's reactions to that match and Mizusawa's celebration afterward. I bet she's going to nag Arata into being on her team (transferring schools if she has to).

I'm also expecting that Chihaya will be too hurt to play in the individual tournament this year, which will only make Shinobu more irritated. With their win, she is probably hoping for a rematch now, particularly since she finally remembered Chihaya.

MFauli

Sat, 05-18-2013, 08:41 AM

First of all: Damn, those lips! Fujisaki´s coach is my new favorite anime-girl. Try not to disappoint me, H-community :/

For the episode:

Taichi´s win was great, especially his "we will make three wins", just when the whole audience bet against them. I also liked Taichi´s changed playing attitude. Yes, as Ryll said, doing lots "unnecessary" moves to shake up the opponent.
Now, what I really hated was how unimportant Nikuman´s match was presented as. Sure, they had a short "he´s winning because of unparalleled experience"-scene, but that was waaaaay too brief. Come on, this was the final match in the most important team member competition, so put some more cinematic significance in it!

The way Mizusawa won also wasnt that great. Draw of the luck. ugh. Really, Taichi still doesn´t deserve a clean win? Sours the outcome of the whole battle.

Worst moment: When Chihaya was depressed after their victory, just because she couldn´t spot Arata. Seriously, get a life of your own, bitch! Now im 100% against a Chihaya-Arata couple, and I hope it´s Arata who turns away her romantic feelings. What a needy bitch.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 05-18-2013, 09:43 AM

Now, what I really hated was how unimportant Nikuman´s match was presented as. Sure, they had a short "he´s winning because of unparalleled experience"-scene, but that was waaaaay too brief. Come on, this was the final match in the most important team member competition, so put some more cinematic significance in it!

I can't think of how they'd do it any other way. Nishida's always been strong, but his strength (experience/flow) is never something specialised enough that could be shown interestingly on screen. He's good... because he is. I'm not all that sure how "flow" works either. Is it reading your opponent, or getting used to the speaker? You certainly can't "predict" what cards the reader will read based on the first half of a match since the draws are random.

(by predict, I mean guessing like "She'll read a one-syllabal card because the reader likes to do that after a multi-card", not the Taichi-memorisation-predict.)

Ryllharu

Sat, 05-18-2013, 10:10 AM

Gotta agree with MFauli, there's only one term for those lips, probably not appropriate to write on the forum with Buff around, but it rhymes with "rock ducking." ;)

It's not really a surprise they minimize Nikuman. The main characters are Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata. Always has been. Everyone else has always been secondary, even if I want to see more and more of Shinobu now that she's shown some personality.

(by predict, I mean guessing like "She'll read a one-syllabal card because the reader likes to do that after a multi-card", not the Taichi-memorisation-predict.)
That would be cheating, since the cards are randomly drawn and the reader doesn't even know what order they will come out.

It's more like Nishida knows instinctively the things that Deskmoto researches. He plays defensive karuta, so he knows where to move his cards the best, making it really hard on his opponent. He has a feel for opponents' playstyles, but is thrown off by the real weirdos, so you can tell he has strategies for playing against formalized styles. It's the really aggressive girls that throw him off, probably because of playing with Yumin.

MFauli

Sat, 05-18-2013, 10:10 AM

Well, one way of presenting Nikuman´s playstyle could have been by showing a time-lapse of how he becomes stronger the longer the match goes on. You know, something alone the lines of "and before his opponent even realized it, Nishida´s trap had gone into full effect", lol. Instead ... they only said that. Which left no impact on me as a watcher.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 05-18-2013, 10:41 AM

That would be cheating, since the cards are randomly drawn and the reader doesn't even know what order they will come out.

Indeed. It's not compatible with how karuta plays out, but I listed it to show the type of "guessing" Nikuman's experience would have given him had it been under different rules. He's shown previously that he counters strategies as his play style, so I didn't get why his "guesses would be more correct", according to his opponent this episode. That's more of a Chihaya thing.

Kraco

Sat, 05-18-2013, 02:42 PM

The way Mizusawa won also wasnt that great. Draw of the luck. ugh. Really, Taichi still doesn´t deserve a clean win? Sours the outcome of the whole battle.

Not at all. It wasn't just luck. Taichi and Nikuman synchronized their remaining cards so that the chances of winning the whole championship was 50%, not 25% like it would have normally (purely randomly) been. When both players have only one card, it tells their levels are roughly equal (because the game is certainly statistically speaking so long that luck alone won't ever win it). This is quite an achievement for Taichi who is till class B while his opponent was the fricking captain of the super karuta school team. Saying it was just luck would be spitting at Taichi's face. He did bet on luck a couple of times, but, like I said before, it didn't feel unnatural in this particular case, and luck favours the bold, like the saying goes.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 05-18-2013, 08:37 PM

See, I didn't get that whole 50% thing. The opponents had different cards from each other while Mizusawa had one of the same type. There are at least 3 cards in play. 50% just doesn't make sense as a number.

Kraco

Sun, 05-19-2013, 02:44 AM

Did Fujisaki have two different cards (I can't check that now)? If that's so, then you are correct. But nevertheless, it still allowed Mizusawa a significantly higher chance. The opponent only needed one victory anymore, Mizusawa two. So, they evened that out by this synchronization so that it was, in that sense, 50-50. Though I guess statistically it was still 66-33 if Fujisaki had different cards and winning either would have made them win the team match. But even so it would have been much better than Taichi and Nikuman both needing to win separarely, I reckon.

Buffalobiian

Sun, 05-19-2013, 03:42 AM

Did Fujisaki have two different cards (I can't check that now)?

I had a look again, and I suppose Fujisaki must have both "No more" cards, since the captain said so, while Nishida said he sent "No more" across as well. It threw me off because so much emphasis was put on Mizusawa's cards (and Taichi's in general) that they never covered Fujisaki's. By failing to mention that Fujisaki's side was also synchronised my reasoning defaulted to them being unsynchronised.

But all is well now in the logic of karuta.

Kraco

Fri, 05-24-2013, 03:09 PM

Episode 20 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=436602)

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Man, this episode would have been worth watching only to see the permanent expression of absolute dejection of the unlucky bastard who got Arata as his first opponent. I hope we will see some of that match as well just for the laughs, not just Chihaya's painful struggle.

Still, it looks like the plot is hell-bent on making Chihaya an eternal underdog, no matter how good she gets. Of course it would have been nigh impossible for such an obstinate karuta lover to drop out voluntarily. However, considering everybody in that room has high skills and potential, it would be very weird for Chihaya to get far at all playing with her weaker hand for the first time. Perhaps if she had played a lot with her left hand against the other Mizusawa students, to even the odds in practice matches, she wouldn't be so handicapped.

I feel sorry for Arata; he still considers Taichi one of his good friends, just like Chihaya, and doesn't have any idea Taichi probably hates him already at some level. They don't interact, let alone meet, so much anymore that it would have any immediate consequences, but it's still a pitiful situation, and I hope Arata won't need to learn the truth the hard way or during any critical moment.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 05-25-2013, 02:11 AM

I feel sorry for Arata; he still considers Taichi one of his good friends, just like Chihaya, and doesn't have any idea Taichi probably hates him already at some level. They don't interact, let alone meet, so much anymore that it would have any immediate consequences, but it's still a pitiful situation, and I hope Arata won't need to learn the truth the hard way or during any critical moment

It goes both ways. Arata thinks of Taichi as a friend (I wouldn't say Taichi doesn't consider Arata his friend, but he considers him "dangerous" more than anything else), but Taichi has a friend who he can't accept 100%. Taichi is popular, but he doesn't actually have many real friends. The original trio are the closest, but Chihaya is oblivious to his feelings and Arata (unknowingly) threatens them. Taichi is the most observant and sees the entire picture, but is feels powerless about being able to clean up this mess.

I don't think Taichi "hates" Arata, but he feels extremely insecure and (thinks he) knows that if Chihaya had to make s choice out of the two, he's out. Despite having everything from good grades to money and looks, Arata stands as a constant reminder of what Taichi really wants*, but could never get:

1) Chihaya's attention.
2) Excellent karuta performance.

(* mostly #1)

We can take Taichi's comment two different ways:

"What am I doing here?"

-What am I doing playing Karuta (when I'll never be as good as Arata or Chihaya) anyway?
-What am I doing in B-class, when all my real targets are in A-class?

The second situation would be funnier, if the two meet at the finals and Retro gets owned because he interpreted Taichi's sigh wrongly.

Kraco

Sat, 05-25-2013, 02:32 AM

I don't think Taichi "hates" Arata, but he feels extremely insecure and (thinks he) knows that if Chihaya had to make s choice out of the two, he's out. Despite having everything from good grades to money and looks, Arata stands as a constant reminder of what Taichi really wants*, but could never get:

I don't think, either, that he's consumed by wrath, and thus I wrote at some level. Because how far is that from hating? Arata called him his friend, yet Taichi called Arata an enemy out of earshot. Do you call your friends enemies? A rival would be still cool, since they have invested much in a competitive sport, so there's nothing wrong about a friend being a rival. But an enemy? An enemy is the opposite of a friend. Especially when a girl gets involved. Like you said, Arata even has the two bonuses of being better at Karuta plus the history and long distance have made him even more dream like for Chihaya. I also think a little hating would suit Taichi's personality. We have seen him do underhanded tricks and have dark thoughts in general.

-What am I doing playing Karuta (when I'll never be as good as Arata or Chihaya) anyway?
-What am I doing in B-class, when all my real targets are in A-class?

The second situation would be funnier, if the two meet at the finals and Retro gets owned because he interpreted Taichi's sigh wrongly.

I took it to mean the second choice. But who knows. If he gives up karuta, he gives up Chihaya. But it's not like that would be impossible either. Or would be in real life, but I hardly see it happening in this show!

Ryllharu

Sat, 05-25-2013, 06:51 AM

-What am I doing playing Karuta (when I'll never be as good as Arata or Chihaya) anyway?
-What am I doing in B-class, when all my real targets are in A-class?

The second situation would be funnier, if the two meet at the finals and Retro gets owned because he interpreted Taichi's sigh wrongly.
It's absolutely the second one. He's not only lamenting that all the people he really wants to beat (Arata, Nikuman) are in A-Class, but also that he can't "defend" Chihaya while they are separated. Arata basically has free reign over Chihaya's heart right now. Normally, I would say karuta has free reign over Chihaya's heart, but since karuta has always been the vehicle that reunites her with Arata...

Of course, Chihaya has her own rival of both karuta and love to worry about. Shinobu peering over the table and then visibly pissed she didn't get to play Arata right away (and subsequently not giving a shit about who her opponent was after that) was amusing. Not to mention the two of them are basically on the same wavelength when it comes to personal taste. I also love that people are still talking about her weight loss.

What does annoy me is, as Kraco mentioned, Chihaya always has to be cast as an underdog somehow. It's very disappointing that she never really gets to shine lately. They allow her team to win the tournament, and now suddenly she has no chance to win or even get very far into the individual tournament. Last time, fainting ruined their chances as the team tournament. For every win, Chihaya has to lose just as much on one of her other goals. Worse, she's unlikely to proceed to the second round since she's paired up with the Takarazuka girl. She might win by emulating Arata and Shinobu's 'middle finger exactly on the edge' strikes, but it will feel cheap if she wins either way.

David75

Sat, 05-25-2013, 08:15 AM

I wonder if they'll choose the idea that Chihaya will discover that she's in fact even more of a monster when playing with her left hand.
She might win her match with draw of luck or anything that will maker her barely pass. But that will already show how great her left hand skills are. And then she'll proceed to the top, improving each match.

As it is, there's little she can do to match the Queen. So my guess is that it has to be a technical shift.
Explanation: Left handed people have shorter brain to muscle connection, hence better reflexes. Chihaya probably is already unmatched in that area. Add a little more speed and she probably will be untouchable.

MFauli

Sat, 05-25-2013, 08:33 AM

Nice, Chihaya, got yourself another excuse for not winning. siiiiiigh

Whatever, what annoys me the most that she only thought about using her left hand like 10 minutes prior to the start of her first match. Why couldn´t she think of that the night before? Then we´d get to see a flashback that shows how Chihaya trained using her left hand all night long. Now it´s just stupid. Either she completely ruins her right hand (it´d probably end with some bs "it works up until the finale, but suddenly it hurts too much against Shinobu"), or she´s being made into a super-genius who can use her left hand just like that. Ni-Touryou anyone? Ryouma vs Chihaya :>

Favorite moment: Taichi declaring Arata his enemy...in Karuta. I hope they follow through with this sentiment and make them openly enemies. Though, with the current mood, Taichi could never win. I mean, in Manga/Anime, it´s always the more humble character that wins, and Taichi is too aggressive at the moment.

Also, daaaamn, do I hope Shinobu gets a good ass-kicking during the singles-tournament. Can´t stand arrogant attitudes like hers. Bow down, bitch!

Kraco

Sat, 05-25-2013, 08:56 AM

I wonder if they'll choose the idea that Chihaya will discover that she's in fact even more of a monster when playing with her left hand.

Yeah, right. Now, that wouldn't be too believable. I'm sure she could beat a much weaker player with her left hand, but it's utterly unlikely she could do anything in this Class A room. We are talking about decisive milliseconds and millimeters here. It's quite hard indeed to try to do anything fancy with your weaker hand, let alone do it as fast as with your primary hand.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 05-25-2013, 09:02 AM

Explanation: Left handed people have shorter brain to muscle connection, hence better reflexes. Chihaya probably is already unmatched in that area. Add a little more speed and she probably will be untouchable.

On the other hand, lack of use and less developed muscles would impact on her reaction time and endurance, just as it's shown in this episode where she comments that she hears the sound, but can't react in time.

I don't think, either, that he's consumed by wrath, and thus I wrote at some level. Because how far is that from hating? Arata called him his friend, yet Taichi called Arata an enemy out of earshot. Do you call your friends enemies? A rival would be still cool, since they have invested much in a competitive sport, so there's nothing wrong about a friend being a rival. But an enemy? An enemy is the opposite of a friend. Especially when a girl gets involved. Like you said, Arata even has the two bonuses of being better at Karuta plus the history and long distance have made him even more dream like for Chihaya. I also think a little hating would suit Taichi's personality. We have seen him do underhanded tricks and have dark thoughts in general.

Taichi can't call Arata a rival because they're unequal, and there's no real way he should be able to beat him. As well, to Taichi Arata isn't a rival because he doesn't really wish to be better than Arata. He just wants Arata to disappear/crush him. It's how you feel once you pretty much accept that you can't top the other guy - only option is to drag them down.

Taichi isn't above hating though, I'll give you that.

David75

Sat, 05-25-2013, 03:28 PM

what was the point to have her even start with her left hand?
so that she shows determination by then switching back to her right and goes over the limit like in any other shonen?

Kraco

Sat, 05-25-2013, 05:00 PM

what was the point to have her even start with her left hand?
so that she shows determination by then switching back to her right and goes over the limit like in any other shonen?

What indeed? It doesn't really have any point per se, because the point was already that she couldn't bring herself to drop out. Now that she's playing, she just has to try whatever she can. But realistically speaking her left hand is no good at this level. She needs to use her right hand. Perhaps she will acquire a fancy feather touch skill out of this (to avoid the pain).

Buffalobiian

Sat, 05-25-2013, 08:59 PM

She will have to use her right hand, and she has to do it so cleanly that no one else has a chance of touching her. It's a set-up for God Mode I reckon.

David75

Sun, 05-26-2013, 01:05 AM

Ok so it either comes from the left... or she gets the better out of Rion's and the Queen's style? Or mainly Rion's as she is already in the process of taking the best parts of the Queen's technique?

I guess Chihaya needs Rion's spartan style, with movements/force reduced to the extreme when she takes some cards.

MFauli

Sun, 05-26-2013, 01:29 AM

She will have to use her right hand, and she has to do it so cleanly that no one else has a chance of touching her. It's a set-up for God Mode I reckon.

Isn´t that how that "king" did it, back in season one? Maybe i´m mis-remembering, but I thought that guy had this extremely clean, calm style, where he´d seemingly just pick a card as if it took no effort whatsoever.

So, yeah, we´re in for either some bullshit-left hand miracle, or a new power level for her right hand.

Buffalobiian

Sun, 05-26-2013, 01:46 AM

Isn´t that how that "king" did it, back in season one? Maybe i´m mis-remembering, but I thought that guy had this extremely clean, calm style, where he´d seemingly just pick a card as if it took no effort whatsoever.

I'm not sure if that's his "style", or if he can just leisurely do it because he identifies cards and moves before anyone else, giving all the time in the world to take it.

Did Rion really have a style? I just thought she was like the Master in that she could hear sounds no one else could, and therefore reacted much more quickly.

Shinobu's the only real player who is focused about taking things "cleanly", tapping the closest point of the card and removing no other.

Shinobu, Arata and Master all come off as if they don't make faults as well, which means that Taichi's super-memory is already matched and won't be something that gives him an advantage over any of them. That might not be the case, but it certainly feels like it given that I don't remember any of them committing a fault.

Ryllharu

Sun, 05-26-2013, 06:00 AM

There are a number of girls with super hearing in this show. Chihaya, (Rion), Ririka, Shinobu and Megumu, probably in that order. Rion is a special case, because she is attuned to her grandmother, and falters with other readers. Shinobu makes up for her marginally reduced aural abilities with speed and perfection of movement.

The Master has all the abilities, but is a lazy jerkwad. I don't think Arata shines in any particular sensory way, but he makes up for it by having perfect technique combined with experience and strategy.

I'd like to think if Taichi stops pretending to be someone he isn't, and starts acting more like Sudou, he could get into A-Class no problem and go far. Taichi has the brains, he just needs to take advantage of them to punish his opponent and keep them unsettled.

I hope we get to see a little more of Sumire down in E-class, she's been off to the sides too much while Tsukuba gets to play. Maybe give her a few wins to boost her confidence and continue showing her enjoying karuta. That storyline kinda fell flat, while Tsukuba's got to keep going.

shinta|hikari

Sun, 05-26-2013, 08:58 PM

I hate Taichi even more now, but I am so glad he is still a scheming jerk. It would have pissed me off if they tried to make him more likable.

Kraco

Fri, 05-31-2013, 04:15 PM

Episode 21 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=438746)

- -- ----- - -

Arata was bloody fast. Lightning fast. A worthy opponent indeed for Chihaya, should the story actually allow them to ever face each other, which I'm beginning to doubt. While I'm actually, in retrospect, surprisingly satisfied with how Chihaya's problem was solved, I'd think it quite a stretch if she won against Shinobu with her injury, since, after all, Shinobu is in perfect health, not tired, not fat, and full of fight. Unless Shinobu chooses to pull off some strange stunt due to Chihaya's injury. She's so weird you never know.

Nikuman put up a really good fight, considering Arata's first opponent was utterly annihilated. Perhaps Taichi was better off not seeing Arata play, though. It could be this episode simply wanted to make Arata look better than he realistically is, but he looked quite a bit stronger than Taichi's opponent in the last team match, who reminded Taichi of Arata.

I'm happy whatever deity watches over karuta didn't listen to Arata's parents' prayers...

Ryllharu

Fri, 05-31-2013, 06:18 PM

I'm not sure how Arata gets away with what he's doing. It's not like he is swatting at a block of four cards and getting the right one. He is deliberately hitting wrong cards on the opposite edges of the playing field to get all the cards that start with a given syllable. That strikes me as him committing faults.

But what more than made up for that debatably legal practice? Chihaya's god-level blushing throughout her time on screen. She looked absolutely adorable the entire time.
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/8615/chihaya.png <--- Ryll's face at all the Chihaya blushing scenes.

Methinks that Arata was impressed by Chihaya's playstyle. Perhaps she made his heart flutter a bit?

Looking forward to Shinobu and Chihaya's rematch. Shinobu is already really pissed at her for taking away Arata's focus from individual play, and making her jealous about having close friends to enjoy karuta with. She's vowed to make all of them (any team player) pay for taking karuta too lightly, and though she may want to play Arata more than anything, she's got the ringleader of the "karuta is fun!" brigade right in front of her.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 05-31-2013, 08:36 PM

This episode felt like it had 3 eps worth of comedy in 20 minutes. I'm not complaining about that. If anything, it made this episode one of my favourites this season. For one, Chihaya's dilemma and epiphany was non-forced.

Knowing Chihaya, that "reaching out" comment should be non-romantic, but anybody else (particularly through Taichi's lenses) would see otherwise. Unless you knew of Chihaya's air-headedness and pure love for karuta, it looks exactly like what Taichi does to approach Chihaya.

As for Arata's craziness, it won't be solved unless rules were available in English (or someone translated them for us). Perhaps if it's still "one swing" you're allowed? Or if you can hit as many cards as you want until the correct one goes out of play?

Kraco

Sat, 06-01-2013, 01:31 AM

Knowing Chihaya, that "reaching out" comment should be non-romantic, but anybody else (particularly through Taichi's lenses) would see otherwise. Unless you knew of Chihaya's air-headedness and pure love for karuta, it looks exactly like what Taichi does to approach Chihaya.

As much as I'd like to consider it romantic, I'm sure it wasn't. At least in this episode. She might have bordered something like romantic feelings during the more silent moments, away from the games, when she was thinking of Arata, but not in this episode. Her mind was still so full of karuta and nothing else. Still, Arata praising her after the victory had quite an impact!

As for Arata's craziness, it won't be solved unless rules were available in English (or someone translated them for us). Perhaps if it's still "one swing" you're allowed? Or if you can hit as many cards as you want until the correct one goes out of play?

Considering we have seen some players sending nearly half a dozen cards flying with their extremely rude technique, anybody calling Arata out for a fault, with his exact movements, would need to quit karuta and plan a career as a yakuza lawyer.

David75

Sat, 06-01-2013, 03:01 AM

So Chihaya really is a monster, so much that she can even adapt to left hand play and beat your average strong opponent.

Having her fight in Shinobu in that condition, I wonder how I'll feel after what they have in store.
If she beats her, that will be meh, because there's no way Chihaya progressed so much she can overcome her handicap and beat Shinobu.
If she loses, no Arata match and bad luck for not being able to face Shinobu full strength because of her injury. Meh also.

shinta|hikari

Sat, 06-01-2013, 04:57 AM

Chihaya will get massacred.

Arata will probably move on til the finals.

MFauli

Sat, 06-01-2013, 07:42 AM

omg, fuck Arata! He was such a villain in this episode. Poor Nikuman. When Arata started his shounen-esque super-swings, it felt like watching Orochimaru when he first encountered pre-timeskip Naruto and Sasuke. So unfair. Sooo unfair. Almost teared up watching Nikuman being so desperate. Damn.
What sucks even more ... no matter how much they use such losses to fire him up for the future, he will NEVER beat Arata, except for some invalid special-circumstances match.

With Chihaya being able to win with her left hand, I´m starting to dislike the "chosen one"-mentality that´s going on in this anime. It´d be way more interesting if Chihaya and Arata died, and the other characters got more showlight. That´s not going to happen, of course. Now it´s just the wait for watching Chosen One vs. Chosen One. AKA Chihaya vs Shinobu :/

Edit:

Also, I totally love Chihahya´s first opponent. Tomboy girls ftw!

Ryllharu

Sat, 06-01-2013, 09:43 AM

By calling Chihaya a "Chosen One," you are neglecting the near-decade of hard work she did to get here. Chihaya trained non-stop to catch up to Arata starting right after he left Tokyo. Her only special adaptation is super-hearing, which we've learned over the past two seasons isn't all that rare (see my post above (http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread.php/20203-Chihayafuru?p=530372&viewfull=1#post530372) pointing that out). She's not the fastest player, she's not the most precise player, she has no skill in strategy, and her memorization abilities are only so-so. Her drive to improve is what makes her so good.

Shinobu isn't much different, she's the female Arata, someone who has been playing karuta forever. We've also learned this season that the reason she is freakishly skilled is that the karuta societies she belonged to stopped letting her play with people her own age because they thought it would hold her back (though that was very likely true). She is as good as she is because a) she loved karuta in the same unhealthy way Chihaya does, and b) the people around her set her up to play only the strongest opponents, so she has years of experience playing against the best of the best. Drive to face the best (to eventually have fun playing karuta) and experience.

Suou, the current Master, is the only Chosen One in this series. He seemingly only plays to defend his title.

MFauli

Sat, 06-01-2013, 10:53 AM

You keep listing reasons why Chihaya isn´t special. And yet she´s beating everyone. That´s the very definition of a "chosen one".

Also, Nikuman has been playing nonstop, too, yet he couldn´t ever come close to Chihaya, Shinobu or Arata. THAT is what I´m criticizing. And, again, what makes it double tragic is that there´s virtually no room for Nikuman to change his "fate". Him beating Arata? Or Chihaya? That would fuck up THEIR plot. At the very least I could see him getting a win against Shinobu, since she´s not the main goal of Chihaya´s development. But even that´s not going to happen.
While I´m at it, the same goes for Taichi. And I hate how much Chihaya is swooning over Arata. Taichi > Arata.

Kraco

Sat, 06-01-2013, 11:11 AM

You keep listing reasons why Chihaya isn´t special. And yet she´s beating everyone. That´s the very definition of a "chosen one".

She's the main character. Most of anime, no, most of any fiction have the main character ultimately be victorious, except for tragedies, but this isn't clearly one of those. So, no shit she's a chosen one. But just like in any shounen (though this isn't one), she's really going through a lot. Just remind yourself of all the team matches where she didn't seem to have a single easy victory, which quite contradicts how she now could beat two class A's with her left hand (not that these were easy victories either, I reckon). She might be a chosen one, but she has plenty of mental issues.

Also, Nikuman has been playing nonstop, too, yet he couldn´t ever come close to Chihaya, Shinobu or Arata. THAT is what I´m criticizing. And, again, what makes it double tragic is that there´s virtually no room for Nikuman to change his "fate". Him beating Arata? Or Chihaya? That would fuck up THEIR plot. At the very least I could see him getting a win against Shinobu, since she´s not the main goal of Chihaya´s development. But even that´s not going to happen.

He admitted himself he's not trying as much as the others. He even gave up karuta once to play tennis. He was never a person who was maniacally driven to rise as high as humanly possible in karuta, no matter the cost. He's a person who puts up a good fight but also admits his own limits and seeks the easy way out. Like any normal Joe. That's why he can't reach the freaks.

While I´m at it, the same goes for Taichi. And I hate how much Chihaya is swooning over Arata. Taichi > Arata.

That's up to Chihaya and nobody else. If she ever manages to develop a romantic desire and choose a guy. I'm sure both Taichi (well, that's given) and Arata would be highly receptive.

MFauli

Sat, 06-01-2013, 11:18 AM

I don´t disagree with anything you said. I just hate that a character like Nikuman is destined to always "stay behind". Really, same goes for probably all of the other team members, be it Taichi, Desktomu-kun, Boob-girl or the two younglings. They won´t ever get the chance to overcome the "chosen". I remember watching Prince of Tennis, and actually hated how Ryoma would ALWAYS win. Everyone was second to him, without fail. Frustrating. I´d love to see more anime with a balanced main cast. Which is why I like Gantz, which is why I (so far) like Shingeki no Kyojin.

It´s easier to bear the "chosen one"-dilemma in straight forward shounen-series. But in anime like this one, where there´s a team, it´s easy to turn sour. And that´s what´s happening to me right now, after having watched Nikuman-kun losing to Arata. You don´t have to agree with that, it´s just how I feel about it.

Ryllharu

Sat, 06-01-2013, 03:29 PM

I remember watching Prince of Tennis, and actually hated how Ryoma would ALWAYS win. Everyone was second to him, without fail. Frustrating. I´d love to see more anime with a balanced main cast.
Read Happy! (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=1191) and I think you'll find something agreeable. If you're not sure about picking it up, this is the guy who wrote Monster.

Though I agree with you that Nikuman's level of experience should have him winning more. For him, there are only easy victories or crushing losses. Whenever he loses, they focus on it, but when he's easily securing a win, they push him to the sidelines.

But don't forget that he got out of A-class pretty easily after taking a break for a few years because Arata was routinely beating him. Taichi is still stuck in B-class, because Nikuman is a better player. He's good, but he doesn't have a lot of skills that help him power through against unfamiliar or unconventional opponents.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 06-01-2013, 08:17 PM

I don't get Nikuman's skill. "You can methodically guess where cards are." <-- wtf?

Ryllharu

Sun, 06-02-2013, 05:01 AM

To a degree. He doesn't mean where the exact card will be, he means quadrant at best. People will place their own single-syllable cards near their dominant hand, as will the opponent. The high syllable cards will be pushed to the far corners. Play enough games, play against multiple people from the same schools or karuta societies, and he started to recognize similarities and common placement strategies.

As for which cards will be read next? That's pure superstitious bullshit. That's like thinking the number 47 has some huge significance because you keep seeing it all the time, when in reality you're just manufacturing a pattern out of it because you keep noticing it under the belief that it has significance. It's like a self-reinforcing delusion.

Kraco

Fri, 06-07-2013, 02:49 PM

Episode 22 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=440834)

- - - ---

Even injured, I thought Chihaya could get a few cards more. I expected quite a loss, but still Chihaya saving a bunch of cards from her own side. I thought she would let go some of the restraint and go for more pure speed, even risking faults, especially after she noted Shinobu is holding herself back to absolutely avoid faults. But in the end, I think the pain did beat Chihaya. It takes more than a high school kid has to be able to ignore it, and even milliseconds mattered in this match.

We never learned how Arata fared (other than that he seemed to dominate the beginning, I believe), but at least we got to see Taichi getting to the A class. He still, probably, has a long way to the top. I don't think a slight change in attitude is all it takes, even if it took him from B to A. But of course the road is open now. He just needs to develop a killer technique like the other monsters have.

Edit: I bet Taichi will be secretly exceedingly glad Chihaya didn't get a chance to play against Arata. After all, Chihaya defines her human relations through a karuta filter.

Ryllharu

Fri, 06-07-2013, 03:27 PM

I felt bad for Sumire. I think with all the "karuta freaks" around, we could use a little more of a normal person's entry into the game.

As always, Chihaya and Shinobu are two of a kind. I was a little disappointed that Chihaya didn't say, "When my finger heals, come over to my place," but instead implied that Shinobu has to wait until Chihaya is good enough to beat Megumu or even Yumin again. Not cool Chihaya. Missed opportunity to make Shinobu your super best friend/rival. Chihaya could've earned a valuable practice partner by directly playing her over and over again, and Shinobu would have gained an opponent who would never get discouraged no matter how many times she loses or how badly.

Kraco

Fri, 06-07-2013, 04:07 PM

I was a little disappointed that Chihaya didn't say, "When my finger heals, come over to my place," but instead implied that Shinobu has to wait until Chihaya is good enough to beat Megumu or even Yumin again. Not cool Chihaya. Missed opportunity to make Shinobu your super best friend/rival.

Come on, she hasn't even invited Arata over, despite having visited Arata's place. How on Earth would she have suddenly become so smooth and smart talker she could have told Shinobu that? Instead she uttered the most obvious place of meeting they ought to meet at even if they were enemies now. That fits Chihaya's personality.

Sumire needs to get serious. Perhaps she now will. I bet there were genuinely serious people there, and she had no right to win them yet.

MFauli

Fri, 06-07-2013, 07:51 PM

Worst match in the entire series so far. Not fun, not interesting, not exciting. I don´t care that she took Shinobu´s best card, Chihaya sucked.

Almost decided to fastforward, that´s how irritatingly bad this shit was.

Oh well, at least it´s Taichi-time now.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 06-07-2013, 10:18 PM

Worst match in the entire series so far. Not fun, not interesting, not exciting. I don´t care that she took Shinobu´s best card, Chihaya sucked.

At least she lost though, without any BS "get freaked out in the first half only to recover" plotline.

Taichi still has one more match to play next in order to win his Class B tournament, so yeah.. hopefully we'll get to see a match with him in it. I'd better be packed with internal monologues. I actually like it when he's all pissed with himself and shit.

shinta|hikari

Mon, 06-10-2013, 10:03 PM

Did anyone really expect Chihaya to perform any better than she did? Shinobu owning her was a foregone conclusion. Getting 2 cards was pretty apt in her situation, with the injured finger and no handicap from Shinobu.

I loved every moment of that match. Shinobu's style is really awesome. It is a display of mastery, not simple talent or potential. It shows finesse, not just speed or passion. She really deserves the title of queen, no matter how stupid her aesthetic sense is.

Chihaya pulling up her shirt like that in the middle of a room filled with people was so like her. The fact that Shinobu did not give a damn about propriety and simply ogled the rare shirt was also just like her. Those two can become best friends, that is until they realize they both like Arata.

@Buff - I can't really say I understand your preference this time, but that's cool.

Buffalobiian

Tue, 06-11-2013, 01:07 AM

@Buff - I can't really say I understand your preference this time, but that's cool.

Well, I just like Taichi - and when he's pissed at himself he's sort of self-reflecting, so that's cool. When he's doing that, he's also not having dark thoughts about Arata (and if he's stricly self-criticising, then he's looking at his own faults instead of comparing himself to Arata) which is also nice to watch.

I don't really dislike his jealousy though. While those thoughts aren't something to be proud of, they do give a human aspect. It's also interesting to see how far he can reject them or keep himself composed.

shinta|hikari

Tue, 06-11-2013, 03:03 AM

I am fine with jealousy. It is his petty and deceptive nature that irks me. If he had been more straightforward with his feelings and his "competition" with Arata, it might have worked out better for him, and made him more likable at the same time.

Shinobu vs Arata for the finals!!! Bets are on.

Buffalobiian

Tue, 06-11-2013, 08:09 AM

Shinobu vs Arata for the finals!!! Bets are on.

I'm expecting a Taichi vs Arata battle at the Master tournament, but I'm not sure I want to watch it.

Kraco

Fri, 06-14-2013, 02:52 PM

Episode 23 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=442967)

- - - - - - - -

Taichi winning was a foregone conclusion, yet as opposed to how I expected, I didn't spend all the time hoping the camera would return to the far more interesting match of Arata vs Shinobu. Perhaps it was largely due to logic telling Chihaya watching Taichi's match would keep the scene there, but I can't claim the match itself wouldn't have been somewhat interesting as well. Taichi really seems like he has dropped some invisible shackles and this is his real level. Even though he almost lost it due to Chihaya being Chihaya. I can't believe she couldn't even keep it together to be able to hurry to the Class A room. It's obvious she wants to be there, but she's so fricking irregular that it can't be helped.

Arata really is playing the cool guy role here. He's shaking Shinobu pretty badly by those smiles and those nonchalant remarks. There's zero stress visible on him. Shinobu doesn't really look like she especially wants to crush her opponents by her fame, but on the other hand she does look down on everybody nonetheless. Perhaps not Arata, but that only makes her more vulnerable to his attacks. I guess Arata's grandfather's performance and behavior were quite similar to Arata's now. In the end he's really enjoying the game, no matter how daunting the opponent should be, no matter the stakes, and that ought to help a lot. Taichi almost lost it because he thought about everything but the game, but I don't think that error is even possible for Arata.

A very short episode in subjective time.

MFauli

Fri, 06-14-2013, 04:06 PM

Buffalobiian

Fri, 06-14-2013, 11:28 PM

Wow, I would have been sooo mad if Taichi had lost the match because of Chihaya´s idiocy ruining his mental balance. Not that this would have been Taichi´s fault, too, but seriously ... ugh.
Though I´m still pissed that his play style and attitude changed because of that. When he was like "What am I even doing here?", he reminded me of Suo. Would have been nice if Taichi turned into another delinquent Karuta player.

edit: at first, "compare her to Chihaya" seemed to me it'd do more harm than good, given she's his biggest distraction

I would have been super-pissed as well if Taichi lost because Chihaya came into the room, but at the same time I can't blame her because she's not the sole reason - Taichi lost all those other B-tournaments in the past that he snuck off to as well. When he said that he tensed up because he was treating the opponent like Suo, I immediately thought the solution was to treat himself like Suo (along the lines of you hoping he'd be like him too, I think). Thinking back now, that's a pretty absurd thought. Their strengths are completely different.

Arata vs Shinobu.. I'm thinking it'll turn out like the B-tourament. Arata won't be able to beat Shinobu head-on against the one-syllable cards. His "cross" method is obviously legal now, but I wonder what stops people from keeping their hand over the field? Does the reader have to start saying the actual poem before they're allowed to move their hands from the mat? If so, Arata can't match Shinobu on the 1st-syllable cards (just like Taichi), but he'll move as soon as she speaks anyway, so that when the syllables are read his hand's already on the field to take them all (whereas Taichi has to use his memory and positioning instead).

edit: watched that part again. Arata can wipe the floor with her. He actually matches her speed.

How Taichi is supposed to beat Arata when Arata's a monster, I don't know.. but I'm glad they threw in that he's ready to take down talent. It makes me hopeful.

edit2: what finished this episode was that Taichi and Chihaya ended up looking after each other's interests more than their own.

/waves-Taichi/Chihaya-shipping-banner.

Kraco

Sat, 06-15-2013, 02:26 AM

How Taichi is supposed to beat Arata when Arata's a monster, I don't know.. but I'm glad they threw in that he's ready to take down talent. It makes me hopeful.

He has got ways to go. Forgetting Nikuman, Chihaya has been in the A class for a long while now, yet I don't think she's ready to seriously face Shinobu - or Arata. Taichi doesn't even have any super hearing. He has his tactics, but this episode showed us Arata was taught tactics by no less than the Eternal Master himself. Taichi also needs more speed. I'd say he has still other people and obstacles to conquer before he's in a place to dream of crushing Arata.

If Chihaya can get her head together, she would be an interesting opponent for Arata. Aside from a physical injury, her greatest weakness undoubtly lies inside her brain that loses focus too easily. Though maybe she fares a bit better in the individual tournament in that regard, unless it was just the fewer episodes that made it look like that.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 06-15-2013, 08:43 AM

He has got ways to go. Forgetting Nikuman, Chihaya has been in the A class for a long while now, yet I don't think she's ready to seriously face Shinobu - or Arata. Taichi doesn't even have any super hearing. He has his tactics, but this episode showed us Arata was taught tactics by no less than the Eternal Master himself. Taichi also needs more speed. I'd say he has still other people and obstacles to conquer before he's in a place to dream of crushing Arata.

That's why I never liked that his only talent (memorisation) doesn't seem to affect other people. Neither Arata, Shinobu, Suo nor Chihaya (recently) seem to fault on screen anymore. It makes it hard to visualise Taichi getting the upper hand against them whey they seemingly have the same memorisation ability as him. The exception is perhaps knowing which long syllable cards are read such that the remaining ones can become 1 or 2 syllables effectively.

Tiger Woods is often the best in the world not because he plays heaps of awesome games, but because he avoids playing badly. Taichi's talents could arguably put him up there, but no one seems to play badly. Everyone else is warring over speed and precision as if they won't commit faults.

Xelbair

Sat, 06-15-2013, 09:09 AM

MFauli

Sat, 06-15-2013, 09:16 AM

To be honest, I could see Taichi´s "special move" become his imagination of being someone else. Buff touched upon that topic. So Taichi can just flip a switch and imagine his opponent being Chihaya. Now let him indeed imagine to bee Suo ... what would happen? Sure, it´s unrealistic to actually match those "images´" capabilies. But it could get him close, maybe even match them, only with a higher error margin.
It´s be a speciality befitting Taichi, who´s all about his brains. He´s like a computer that keeps gathering EVERYTHING. That´s why he´s the best at memorizing cards. Let him memorize Suo and ... start playing like him.

:>

Buffalobiian

Sat, 06-15-2013, 09:23 AM

Memorization, in Taiichi's case, helps achieve greater speed - you can hear 2 or 3 sylabe card, but you can react on 1st one - because you know that other cards with such sylabe have been read. You can also quickly calculate probability of card with XYZ sylabe being read and focus on the one with highest probability.

The exception is perhaps knowing which long syllable cards are read such that the remaining ones can become 1 or 2 syllables effectively.

Yep, it's the only advantage he gets, which is then wiped away anyway against Arata who will take anything that could possibly be read. The "no fault" thing was stressed previously though, yet it all seems to be for nothing since no one commits faults - or fears committing faults.

Impersonating would do nothing, lol.

Correction, it would be detrimental.

edit:

[Nipponsei] Chihayafuru 2 Original Soundtrack.zip (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=418454)

Package contains the ED.

Kraco

Sat, 06-15-2013, 10:22 AM

I don't think Rion was a bad player. She seemed to have the same ability as Chihaya, even if strenghtened by her grandma reading the cards. But she has it nonetheless. Yet Taichi did beat her by a significant marginal. All in all I imagine we haven't seen the real Taichi before now, in the two last matches of the B class tournament. Before now he always had the bad luck hanging over him, which was basically a mental burden from myriad sources, but now he has managed to get rid of it, and pretty much instantly jumped in power (or rather gained the level of power he should have). Although Chihaya's foolishness almost put it back on his shoulders.

So, whether Taichi's skills actually have any meaningfulness against the tough guys or not, we don't really know yet, before we see more matches from this "new" Taichi.

Also, it's not good to extrapolate from monsters like Shinobu and Arata (or Suou). Dramatically there's a certain plain role for such characters in a story. Arata is pretty much outside of the heroes in this series already. Taichi and Chihaya are shown struggling all the time to get better, like typical main characters of a development story, but as far as I can see Arata is serving the role of a goal. Time will tell if he's totally static to boot, and it wouldn't really surprise me if he was because he's not even allowed to play against the heroes.

Kraco

Fri, 06-21-2013, 02:57 PM

Episode 24 - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=444943)

- - - - - - - - --

During the first minutes of the episode I was thinking oi oi oi, this is taking it too far, especially since Chihaya has always been a maniac foremost. Seeing her emo and afraid felt too alien. Luckily the beauty manager appeared just in time to ram some sense into her head. I give Taichi due props for trying to get her there instead of pettily deciding to keep Chihaya from seeing the gods of karuta in action.

Anyway, I can't say I wouldn't be satisfied with the result of the match. This was the next best thing that could happen, right after the bloody Arata-Chihaya match that's destined to never occur, it looks like. What comes to how the result was reached is another thing entirely. I was greatly dismayed by Shinobu revealed to be sick. That automatically means she was playing below her usual standard. I guess that means Arata still has room to develop, but doesn't it conversely mean Shinobu's only future potential is to take better care of her health, huh? Well, excluding Suou, I suppose, but that guy is the demon king, so people wouldn't actually be happy about beating him in skill, just dethroning him.

Regardless, I think this only strenghtens the feeling I posted above in my previous post, that Arata is removed from Chihaya and Taichi already. He's the mister perfect that the developing heroes must catch. Though I like this show so much that I'll probably keep hoping Arata isn't entirely static. I have to say his ultimate composure is super effective!

Buffalobiian

Fri, 06-21-2013, 10:10 PM

He's the mister perfect that the developing heroes must catch.They pretty much called him a god this episode. That was enough for me. Taichi will really be playing karuta all his life without ever beating Arata.

The one hopeful thing that came up was that Arata wasn't naturally talented, apparently.. which gives room for the naturally talented ones (Taichi, Chihaya) to catch up somehow.

shinta|hikari

Sat, 06-22-2013, 04:57 AM

Taichi isn't naturally talented.

Arata IS naturally talented. What the dude with the accent was saying was that Arata was not born playing at such a level. He also had to hone that talent, much like Shinobu.

Even if Shinobu was feverish, it does not mean that she played bad karuta. Everyone was amazed at both of them the entire time. Had she been playing in peak condition, it would have still been a close match, and even if she did win, it really does not mean much. That just means that in the next match, the reverse could happen. That is why there are usually best of 5 or 7 matches in sports, to minimize the issue of luck and condition. What this episode showed was that those two are already far beyond the others.

Shinobu X Arata <3<3<3<3

Ryllharu

Sat, 06-22-2013, 05:32 AM

Even if Shinobu was feverish, it does not mean that she played bad karuta. Everyone was amazed at both of them the entire time. Had she been playing in peak condition, it would have still been a close match, and even if she did win, it really does not mean much. That just means that in the next match, the reverse could happen. That is why there are usually best of 5 or 7 matches in sports, to minimize the issue of luck and condition. What this episode showed was that those two are already far beyond the others.
Supporting that, aren't the Queen/Master matches the best of three? I remember them saying that Yumin did slightly better against Shinobu the first time before she got stomped on the second.

If Shinobu can "turn it up" against difficult opponents by finally making noise when she strikes the cards, does Chihaya have a chance at all either? Chihaya is going to have to learn to play smarter if she wants to beat her, and I'm just not sure that's possible for her.

On the other hand, it is nice that Shinobu lumps Chihaya in with some of the other best players around, Arata and Megumu (3rd or 4th last year?) simply on the basis that Chihaya never gives up on a match no matter how badly she is losing. Shinobu was getting discouraged that even players who are better than Chihaya just resign themselves to a loss against her after a certain point.

MFauli

Sat, 06-22-2013, 07:19 AM

Most important things first: We need some quality hentai-doujin featuring Fujisaki´s couch. Too hot. And their team´s captain is a future rapist, lol.

Now, about the rest: Goddamn, watching this match felt like a goddamn Dragon Ball-fight ... with stupid card. Lol, when Arata´s arm was shown in slow mo, suddenly accelerating and seemingly gaining length, I thought I was watching Piccolo fight. But the queen was cool, too, when she picked a single card from Arata´s brute force attacke. Really nice.

Favorite moment: The image that had Suo in it with the remark "I am the bad guy?" or so. Hilarious. Sorry, Arata, but i´m a Suo-fan at this point.

Btw. 300 training swings didn´t sound much.

Kraco

Sat, 06-22-2013, 08:05 AM

Shinobu X Arata <3<3<3<3

Was Chihaya only shocked by the level of the match and Arata beating Shinobu, or also by Arata being so close to Shinobu that he could check her temperature?

I thought the scene when Taichi & Chihaya were entering the room following the sexy manager and the student lusting after her was pretty funny, with a first glance giving an impression the dude was the one grabbing the manager, but it turned out to be Chihaya.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 06-22-2013, 09:47 AM

Taichi isn't naturally talented.

Depends on how you look at it, but I could agree since memorisation can be too broad to be considered a talent.

I thought the scene when Taichi & Chihaya were entering the room following the sexy manager and the student lusting after her was pretty funny, with a first glance giving an impression the dude was the one grabbing the manager, but it turned out to be Chihaya.

Unfortunately I saw Chihaya's bandaged hand right away and missed out on the fun. Instead got some confusion at how Chihaya slipped in to that slot.

shinta|hikari

Sat, 06-22-2013, 08:21 PM

@Kraco - The camera focus and direction clearly indicated that Chihaya felt a tinge of jealousy when Arata casually touched Shinobu's face, something that he has not even done to Chihaya herself. Chihaya is already jealous of both Arata and Shinobu at the same time for treating each other as equals while she feels out of the loop.

In one of the flashback scenes with the foggy screen borders in Pig Boy's head where Arata and Shinobu were battling it out, Taichi was there.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/taichi_zps65b192e0.jpg

WUT.

Kraco

Fri, 06-28-2013, 04:19 PM

Episode 25 Final - HS (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=447212)

- - - - - - - - - - -

I could have lived without the very last scene, after the credits, but a fine episode indeed otherwise. In the very beginning of the ep I felt some pity for Arata when Taichi was only staring at him like he was a madman instead of high fiving back, and then Chihaya dragged him down with such a serious face and started to interrogate him. Surely he deserved something better from those two... But then again, Taichi is a viper and Chihaya is a single-minded weirdo, so I guess it was to be expected.

Nevertheless, it really warmed my heart how much Chihaya is thinking about Arata and how there's even some love in there, despite Chihaya being so oblivious and Arata even more oblivious and reserved (yet still playing all the correct cards so smoothly). I find it fitting that Taichi, the one doing the most pushing, is right now the one the most out of the triangle. It was fucked up the training camp participation was sabotaged just to further Taichi's romantic plans, though. I hope that will backfire majorly.

I guess wishing for a third season would be pushing it, but one can always hope...

Ryllharu

Fri, 06-28-2013, 04:43 PM

Need season 3 ASAP. If a series like ARIA can get three seasons, Chihayafuru can get three seasons.

Arata you stud. Just a few words and Chihaya's heart is fluttering faster than she can even comprehend. Kana was deeply moved by her casual love poems, but it's too bad she's on the wrong side of this battle! Taichi doesn't stand a chance. Thankfully the poor sod has Sumire waiting to worm her way in.

Also, it's cute that Chitose likes to fuss about Chihaya's tastes and hobbies, but still spoils her rotten when she's feeling a little down.

Lastly, Shinobu's 2nd place crabby face :3

Kraco

Fri, 06-28-2013, 04:59 PM

Need season 3 ASAP. If a series like ARIA can get three seasons, Chihayafuru can get three seasons.

I suddenly realised the heaviest and most obvious reason the third season is needed: Chihaya and Arata still haven't had their bloody match! It's now clear the match has been postponed so long because the gap between them was too big, but that's just a detail that won't change the fact. I hope there will be a match before the whole story's climax, that would be pure overdramatization, but who knows.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 06-29-2013, 01:57 AM

Well, on the other side of the stadium, they're certainly setting Taichi up for his comeback. Chihaya said she loved Arata, but who really knows what she means by that. For Taichi to really seem like a good rival to Arata though would mean that he has to surpass Chihaya.. which is a little hard to see right now.

It would be kind of far-fetched to see him sky-rocket to East Representative for the Master tournament after just one training camp session, but maybe Sakurazawa-sensei can help him along a bit. She's different to all the other coaches in that she seems more keen on analysing other players' styles as opposed to teaching her way of playing.

shinta|hikari

Sat, 06-29-2013, 03:53 AM

Shinobu had like 30 seconds of background character screen time but it pleased me more than seeing most of that episode.

Arata's grandfather must be some kind of gigolo if he managed to raise such a smooth talker even if the said kid spent/spends most of his life playing a card game instead of socializing. The terrifying thing about Arata's appeal is, it isn't even fake and is quite effortless on his part.

I like how Chihaya has become more honest about her feelings, but since she does not even understand what she is admitting, it is rather pointless.

I am still shipping for Arata X Shinobu, but I definitely do not want Taichi to get anyone. He is far too jealous and conniving to deserve anyone as a partner, except maybe the ugly one without the make up. Nah, she deserves better. Nikuman's sister, yeah, that works.

Arata was surprised when Taichi did not return his high 5. None of the viewers were though, because we actually know how evil and scheming Taichi can be. Arata knew this when they were kids because he was a victim, but I guess he now believes that they are friends. It is kinda sad because the other side sees him not even as a rival, but as an enemy that must be eliminated.

Shinobu did not tell Arata about the finger right? Why?

Buffalobiian

Sat, 06-29-2013, 09:24 AM

Arata was surprised when Taichi did not return his high 5. None of the viewers were though, because we actually know how evil and scheming Taichi can be. Arata knew this when they were kids because he was a victim, but I guess he now believes that they are friends. It is kinda sad because the other side sees him not even as a rival, but as an enemy that must be eliminated.

How can he not though? Arata is the biggest obstacle between himself and Chihaya. Arata himself might not even know how fixated Chihaya is on him. The closer Arata x Chihaya gets, the further away Taichi x Chihaya gets.

The high-five dilema came about naturally, since Taichi doesn't consider Arata a "friendly" friend. He was caught by surprise and wasn't intentionally being an asshole. I doubt Taichi high-fives people readily.

For me, Sakurazawa-sensei's scenes were my favourite parts of the episode. :p

MFauli

Sat, 06-29-2013, 09:40 AM

Well, guess I´m a jealous asshole, too, then, but NOW I absolutely want Taichi to get Chihaya. Can´t stand it when a super happy-always shining bright guy like Arata gets it all. And screw Chihahya choosing for herself. Taichi, go get her!

Best moment of the episode: Sexy-sensei mentioning that there were only two players to finish the tournament undefeated: Arata ... and Taichi.

Count me in team Taichi now.

Also, why wouldn´t we get a 3rd season? Are ratings that bad?

Buffalobiian

Sat, 06-29-2013, 10:04 AM

Also, why wouldn´t we get a 3rd season? Are ratings that bad?

DVD sales will decide it all. Not sure what they are though.

Best moment of the episode: Sexy-sensei mentioning that there were only two players to finish the tournament undefeated: Arata ... and Taichi.

I was glad to hear that, but I didn't put too much weight on it because it doesn't tell you terribly much. I'm sure plenty of Class-A players would beat Taichi right now.

David75

Sat, 07-06-2013, 02:29 PM

I wonder why I never though about this before....

For reference, a Karuta match IRL. Pretty fast:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiID7_0aqsc

Kraco

Sat, 07-06-2013, 02:44 PM

The chihayafuru card got a fast reaction. The video has kind of an underwhelming beginning with all the faults.

David75

Sat, 07-06-2013, 02:48 PM

The chihayafuru card got a fast reaction. The video has kind of an underwhelming beginning with all the faults.

Yup, had the same reaction.
But faults and empty cards are also part of the game... that part was fun also.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 07-06-2013, 11:10 PM

4:20 looked like some crazy Arata-style cross (had he actually taken the first card).

MFauli

Sun, 07-07-2013, 02:18 AM

That´s how we played Karuta in Germany when I was a kid:

1537

:P

Kraco

Sat, 10-26-2013, 10:48 AM

Episode 26 (ova) - Commie (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=486672)

- -- - - - - -

Nothing really memorable, but then again, it was just a single episode. In that sense more of Sumire chasing Taichi was a good idea for a plot since they decided not to have anything serious. All in all this felt like something that could have really happened, had this show had more filler and less 100% karuta. Well, it had girls in kimono if nothing else.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 10-26-2013, 11:28 PM

I was surprised that Chihaya could stay focused on a role and act. At first I thought they simply gave one of the other girls a wig and had them look like Chihaya just for effect.

I had forgotten that Oe was a TaichiXChihaya shipper. A pleasant surprise, that one.

Munsu

Sun, 08-16-2015, 05:33 PM

Began watching this series last night, I'm up to episode 11.

I have to say that I'm really enjoying this one. I not fond of josei/shoujo series, but glad I took a chance on this one. I really like the Chihaya character, she's fun. The series and main character takes me back to Nodame Cantabile for some reason.

Anyways, hope to catch up soon and also hoping this get a 3rd series at some point since by the looks of it there's plenty of people calling for it.

Munsu

Wed, 08-19-2015, 09:12 PM

Just finished both season, and really this was a very good series to watch. I may dare to say right up there with some of my favorite sports anime easily, and coming from a Josei, that's an accomplishment.

I thought the whole series was well balanced, fun characters that won you over even when their first impressions weren't the best, good character interaction, and romance that was both the center of the drama and peripheral to it for the content for it was minimal... merely a presence.

My main complaint was how inconsistent they were with Chihaya, she overcomes a hurdle and they place the same hurdle over and over again, etc. But that's the usual.

The other thing that bothered me was that when we first got introduced to the present Chihaya it seemed like she had some sort of pattern and routine to her play, yet after that it was never seen or seldom seen. The only trait that remained was her sleepiness after matches. But for example, the use of chocolate was only brought like once or twice after that initial introduction and more importantly, the loud/screaming Chihaya who was all about making throwing off the opponent was replaced by the serious/introspective Chihaya from then on. To the point that when other competitors were loud and screamed it was suddenly something new, something unheard of... yet Chihaya was introduced as a player who played like that all along, only to be forgotten.

Those kind of small details bothered me a bit.

Romance-wise, loved the treatment it got here. I really detest love-triangles, but when presented as it were in this one, I more than welcome it. Of course, Chihaya pining over Arata sometimes got a bit too overwhelming, but glad it was 99.99% about a sports goal and friendship.

Anyways, I really enjoyed this one... really hoping for a 3rd season at some point. A few months ago there was a big announcement which everyone thought it would be for a continuation of the anime, but it was for a live-action adaptation instead.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-05-13/chihayafuru-live-action-film-to-premiere-in-2016/.88118

All this said, thinking of picking up the manga... anyone here reads it? (not to discuss it in this thread of course, but curious how they're finding it in general terms).

Chihayafuru, A+ in my book.

shinta|hikari

Wed, 08-19-2015, 09:14 PM

Arata X Queen.

Munsu

Wed, 08-19-2015, 10:48 PM

Arata X Queen.

So... I just put an episode of Strike the Blood to see where I had left off a year or so ago, and I topple right away to a scene with Chihaya's and Arata's VAs. Recognized them right away.

Anyways, I'm leaning more towards Taichi X Chihaya. I didn't care much for Taichi through much of the beginning of the series, but I warmed up to him.

And Arata X Queen is indeed one I'd like to see myself.

Kraco

Thu, 08-20-2015, 02:03 AM

If Arata x Chihaya didn't happen to my great dismay, then naturally I'd want Arata to get together with the Queen. I might have accepted Taichi a bit more if he had treated Arata at least respectfully, even if not warmly for obvious reasons. But no, he treats Arata as a thing he must be somehow beat down, no matter if it's cleanly or dirtily. Since I like both Chihaya and Arata, just Arata getting a good ending isn't enough. Chihaya also deserves something better than a snake like Taichi.

Buffalobiian

Thu, 08-20-2015, 06:19 AM

Taichi x Chihaya.

Taichi is smart and human. He's grown up. And he's hot. Just do it.

shinta|hikari

Thu, 08-20-2015, 07:49 AM

Taichi is a petty jerk.

MFauli

Thu, 08-20-2015, 08:06 AM

Taichi x Chihaya
Taichi x Queen

Arata commits suicide

Taichi impregnates both
Chihaya and Queen find out about Taichi´s cheating
Taichi vanishes without a trace

16 year time jump

Hayata (Chihaya´s son) and Princess (queen´s daughter) have become bitter rivals in the world of cards
At not even 16 years old, they´re both at the top of the game, god-like skills compared to the competition
As part of a tournament finale, they face off each other and a long-winded, exhausting battle takes place
Eventually, Hayata enters a mode of rage and hatred, when suddenly he notices his half-sister in front of him heavily coughing
He realizes that he´s become like what he always thought his non-caring father had been like
Snapping out of it, just when his sister was about to faint, he sits down next to her, holding her gently.
"I give up", he says

As Hayata supports his tired sister to receive the winner´s prize and title, he notices her happy beams towards him
Previously rivals, the two half-siblings would be best friends from now on, and maybe more, defying society and the law
Just when Hayata was about to walk out of the big tournament room, he notices an alien presence, an obscure feeling of evil
Unable to spot anyone, he finds a written paper lying on the ground near the exist
"You are weak, son", it reads
Shaken from anger, he destroys the letter, angry from his father´s insult towards him, angry from the indirect insult towards his half-sister, and angry towards "that" man daring to enter their life after having forsaken them even before their birth
After some time of thinking it through, Hayata has decided: He will go on a journey to track down his father and beat him in a game of cards
Unexpectedly, Princess finds out about that and, without leaving room for discussion, joins the journey

Having fought many close matches against shady, strange and weird opponents located all over Japan, the two half-siblings finally find their target: The father they´ve never met before, Taichi
"You are weak", his deep, threatening voice howls through the dark room, almost cave-like
Hayata starts having doubts about his abilities, when a soft hand raises its pressure on his own: "Go beat him, King!"
Hayata looks at Princess, the de-facto Queen, and shakes off any doubts. "Sure will!" he answers the sweet girl
Hayata sits down in front of Taichi, and all of sudden the sides of the room are filled with people
Their faces in the dark, their eyes attach themselves on the young challenger like iron to a magnet
And just before an experienced woman´s voice starts reading the verses, an announcer celebratingly shouts:
"Behold! The King versus the GOD!"

In a match of legends, Hayata manages to win against his father.
He demands his father to return to Chihaya and the Queen, apologizing to both of them, facing whatever consequences await
When Hayata intends to leave, a small man in a suit grabs him by the shoulder: "You musn´t leave, Kami-sama. This is your place now. Please take responsibility for felling a god, thus you became one yourself."
Hayata, instead of falling into despair, almost instantly realizes the situation he´s put himself in
This is a new world, a society of cards, unbeknownst to the world, and he is that society´s supreme leader, their god
"Princess", he quietly says, trying to get his half-sister´s attention
"Yes?", the girl replies
"It might sound ridiculous, I know, but ... now that I am the god of cards ... I need ... a goddess ...", he says with all of his courage
Princess stares into her half-brothers eyes, suddenly blushing, then ... kisses him
"You are the god of cards, and I´ll be your goddess. Of course!"
Hayata smiles, tears of joy running down his cheeks

When Chihaya and Queen would ask their pseudo-husband, Taichi would only answer "they´re strong"
And then Taichi would continue washing dishes, cleaning the house and doing groceries

THE END

(lol, damn. Once your start, this thing almost writes itself :P)

Buffalobiian

Thu, 08-20-2015, 09:50 AM

Taichi is a petty jerk.

I consider that his past self. He still gets pangs of jealousy. His sharp mind means he can come up with ideas on how to enact it before he even thinks about whether he should do something. Along the way he's learned how to reign himself in more or less though. I actually like that - he's much more interesting than someone who is pure and incapable of wrong-doing by nature. I think his efforts to do the right thing despite his urge and ability to do otherwise is commendable.

Taichi x Chihaya

I'm very happy that you agree with the Taichi x Chihaya shipping.

I'm also very happy that you're not writing Chihayafuru.

Munsu

Thu, 08-20-2015, 10:54 AM

I consider that his past self. He still gets pangs of jealousy. His sharp mind means he can come up with ideas on how to enact it before he even thinks about whether he should do something. Along the way he's learned how to reign himself in more or less though. I actually like that - he's much more interesting than someone who is pure and incapable of wrong-doing by nature. I think his efforts to do the right thing despite his urge and ability to do otherwise is commendable.

I'm very happy that you agree with the Taichi x Chihaya shipping.

I'm also very happy that you're not writing Chihayafuru.

I agree with much of this. I think most of the Taichi is a jerk sentiment are leftovers from early in the series. I think his inner struggle between friendship and rivalry is more than understandable, particularly when he's still confused about whether or not him and Arata were friends in the first place.

I think it was very evident in that scene in which he was both frustrated and happy to see Arata coming back, how he found it hard to reconcile those two emotions. And despite all of that as the series has progressed, even when it puts him in a disadvantage with Chihaya, he tries to do the right thing by Chihaya constantly particularly when Arata is concerned.

shinta|hikari

Thu, 08-20-2015, 11:04 AM

IIRC, he did something petty and jerky when Arata came back into the picture. I can't remember exactly what, but it reaffirmed his NoShip status in my head.

I think he prevented them from meeting by telling a lie, or something.

Kraco

Thu, 08-20-2015, 11:09 AM

even when it puts him in a disadvantage with Chihaya, he tries to do the right thing by Chihaya constantly particularly when Arata is concerned.

I have no doubt he loves Chihaya, and, like Bill said, he's smart, so he knows it'd be best for Chihaya to also see Arata's matches. Not to mention he needs to see them himself in order to create strategies against Arata. So, all the better if he can sit right next to Chihaya and casually touch her when they watch those matches. However, his intelligence and tactics only take him so far. He can't cope with the unexpected from someone he detests under the surface, like the high five scene demonstrated.

Munsu

Thu, 08-20-2015, 11:19 AM

I have no doubt he loves Chihaya, and, like Bill said, he's smart, so he knows it'd be best for Chihaya to also see Arata's matches. Not to mention he needs to see them himself in order to create strategies against Arata. So, all the better if he can sit right next to Chihaya and casually touch her when they watch those matches. However, his intelligence and tactics only take him so far. He can't cope with the unexpected from someone he detests under the surface, like the high five scene demonstrated.

And yet he was pissed during his Finals match when Chihaya went to see him instead of Arata playing, to the point that he almost threw his match away, his chance to finally reach Class A, in order to give Chihaya the opportunity to watch the Arata vs. Queen game.

I mean, I don't mean to make Taichi a saint, but given his feelings towards Arata, the constant contradictory nature he has to them, that he manages to rise above it to do what's best for Chihaya as the series progressed despite when it would be a disadvantage for him makes him a bigger person than what he was initially portrayed as.

Of course, there's still a level of immaturity from his younger days there, but he seemingly tries to oppress those impulses... and I think that's worth something at the very least.

And I say all this as not a fan of Taichi, but he won me over through the series a bit in the shipping context.

Let's not forget that Arata called him a coward early on (of course Taichi tormented him as a kid) and when Arata came back in the present, he gave him a message that was of similar nature as well. Though Arata does seem more inclined to believe they had a real friendship, he does foster the competition aspect of it as well... and has some taunts in him as well.

Kraco

Thu, 08-20-2015, 11:38 AM

And yet he was pissed during his Finals match when Chihaya went to see him instead of Arata playing, to the point that he almost threw his match away, his chance to finally reach Class A, in order to give Chihaya the opportunity to watch the Arata vs. Queen game.

As a person who relies on his intelligence, predictions, and plans, things he doesn't anticipate are a huge bother. He totally didn't expect Chihaya to come watch a Class B game instead of seeing the Class A till the end, even if as a spectator. He wishes the best for Chihaya karuta wise, of course, since success would make Chihaya happy. My problem with him isn't how he treats Chihaya, it's how he treat Arata (and likely any other he would view as an obstacle). It's made even nastier by how evilly Kanade supports him, sacrificing the rest of the karuta team just so that Taichi gets to be alone with Chihaya. At least Taichi didn't ask for such support. Might have been far too low even for his sense of pride.

Munsu

Thu, 08-20-2015, 03:47 PM

As a person who relies on his intelligence, predictions, and plans, things he doesn't anticipate are a huge bother. He totally didn't expect Chihaya to come watch a Class B game instead of seeing the Class A till the end, even if as a spectator. He wishes the best for Chihaya karuta wise, of course, since success would make Chihaya happy. My problem with him isn't how he treats Chihaya, it's how he treat Arata (and likely any other he would view as an obstacle). It's made even nastier by how evilly Kanade supports him, sacrificing the rest of the karuta team just so that Taichi gets to be alone with Chihaya. At least Taichi didn't ask for such support. Might have been far too low even for his sense of pride.

I was talking specifically to your scenario of seemingly having no problem going to the Arata match with Chihaya because he could sit by and touch her and what not as you say.

Anyways it's fine. I think you're creating a bigger boogie man than he actually is, in fact I'd say you'd have a problem with just about everyone who has a love interest since just about everyone tries to stack the deck in their favor. Which Taichi hasn't really done mind you, if anything minimal.

Just as I think you're overblowing how he treats Arata, childhood aside and their very first interaction in the present.

shinta|hikari

Thu, 08-20-2015, 05:22 PM

Munsu

Thu, 08-20-2015, 05:54 PM

People change, but not by a lot. Taichi will always be that sneaky and cheap little bastard (even his current self shows hints of it. Who knows what'll push him over the edge again). Arata will always be bad ass. That's why I want Arata X Queen. Those two deserve a proper partner, and that's each other.

Taichi deserves Aho-Chihaya.

I think you and I have a very different definition of what "bad ass" is.

Anyways, I don't care much for either of them in all honesty, though I lean towards Taichi. I just don't write him off currently as I would've done when the series started which was when he was optimally annoying.

shinta|hikari

Thu, 08-20-2015, 06:20 PM

You mean you don't think Arata is bad ass when he is playing Karuta??

Munsu

Thu, 08-20-2015, 07:51 PM

You mean you don't think Arata is bad ass when he is playing Karuta??

As long as you qualify it, sure that's fine in that narrow context. But in all, I don't think of Arata as being badass, far from it.

Kraco

Fri, 08-21-2015, 02:00 AM

That's why I want Arata X Queen. Those two deserve a proper partner, and that's each other.

I have to admit the smile the Queen showed right after she got beaten by Arata was so bright and happy it did much to win me over. I reckon before that I would have disliked Arata x Queen, but it changed the situation, although Arata x Chihaya is still my first option to hope for.

Munsu

Sun, 03-04-2018, 09:44 AM

Holy shit, season 3!!!

A voice actor stage presentation at the "Chihayafuru in Awara Week" event on Sunday announced that Yuki Suetsugu's Chihayafuru manga is getting a third television anime season. The anime will premiere in 2019 on NTV's late-night AnichU programming block and on other channels.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-02-25/chihayafuru-tv-anime-gets-3rd-season-in-2019/.128239

shinta|hikari

Sun, 03-04-2018, 02:17 PM

The manga is still plodding along, so I'm not excited about more of the same.

Munsu

Sun, 03-04-2018, 03:35 PM

The manga is still plodding along, so I'm not excited about more of the same.

That sucks. Regardless, I enjoyed the first 2 seasons of this and something different than what I usually watch, so the change of pace on that regard will be welcomed for me.

Buffalobiian

Mon, 03-05-2018, 06:34 AM

The manga is still plodding along

I feel sorry for Taichi man. How long does a guy need to wait for pussy?

MFauli

Fri, 03-09-2018, 07:55 PM

I feel sorry for Taichi man. How long does a guy need to wait for pussy?

All I know is I beat him to it. 😽

Anyway, great news. Though I hate these long waits and the uncertainty. Same with Overlord. Oh well, I'm still waiting for season 2 of Rideback.

Munsu

Fri, 07-12-2019, 11:39 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u2UnWKNyG4

Buffalobiian

Sat, 07-13-2019, 12:54 AM

I barely remember what happened towards the end of last season. I just remember good things about this show.

Kraco

Sat, 07-13-2019, 03:08 AM

I think I'm a bunch of chapters behind on the manga.

MFauli

Sat, 07-13-2019, 04:34 AM

Finally some good anime news. Return of an anime from the 2nd golden era of anime ❤

Sapphire

Sat, 07-13-2019, 07:01 AM

I barely remember what happened towards the end of last season. I just remember good things about this show.

Same here! I think its one of those ones I didn't finish because I didn't want it to end. Time for a rewatch and marathon.

Munsu

Tue, 10-22-2019, 09:40 PM

Season 3... has begun.

Buffalobiian

Wed, 10-23-2019, 12:17 PM

And what a great episode it was.

I thought it was going to be just a good recap episode (which i wouldn't have minded since it has been so long) but damn, Taichi's on fire.

Too bad Chihaya still only thinks of Arata. Poor Taichi.

MFauli

Wed, 10-23-2019, 12:56 PM

Beginning was bad, but I guess they needed explain karuta sgain after the long break.

I have to get into it again, felt a bit whatever, but i know i'll be in it soon enough. Still a great anime.

Ryllharu

Wed, 10-23-2019, 05:36 PM

I heard those first few notes of the reprise version of the background theme during the childhood flashback and was instantly back into the series. It also helped that the last frame of the flashback was also the last frame of season 2, and there was no gap or jump from that.

Buffalobiian

Wed, 10-30-2019, 03:26 AM

Episode 02, 03.

-----------------------------------------

I didn't know breastfeeding ponchos were a thing. That makes sense.

I don't have a whole lot more to add.
-Flow of the episodes is going along nicely.
-I don't remember a whole lot of details from the old arc, but enough to keep up.

MFauli

Thu, 10-31-2019, 01:15 AM

The breastfeeding poncho was super cringe. Stop being embarrassed for doing something natural, dear 2019-women 🙄

That aside: I 'm ... just not feeling it yet. I recognize the quality et al, but I'm not excited as I was with previous season. This one feels kinda rushed? Like I'm watching a summary. Here's a quick scene, there's a quick scene. But no scene fully plays out. That's true especially for the karuta matches. We only get to see deciding scenes from afar, whereas season 1 would show karuta matches in full detail, how anxious the heroes are, how they develop new strategies, etc..

I hope we'll get that soon.

Ryllharu

Thu, 10-31-2019, 03:44 AM

I'd guess they're rushing through the material to get to this next round. Chihaya competing against her equal, who happens to be a former 4-time queen. They even have the same best card. The question of whether Chihaya's new measured play hits its stride before the former Queen gets fully back into her game.

I also liked the interplay between the adults. Sakurazawa being asked by Miyazuchi how to be a better advisor. Haruka effectively challenging Sakurazawa to why she never started actually playing again.

Rion getting pissed off and fired up again is cute though.

Also, Chihaya being inspired by Sakurazawa and Miyazuchi into becoming a teacher...in order to be a karuta coach...was quite endearing.

Buffalobiian

Wed, 11-06-2019, 01:03 AM

God bless whoever decided to make Chihayafuru 1hr airings. This shit's so good.

I'll feel slightly bad about Chihaya winning the next round when she got to nap through the semifinals with a free win to boot.

MFauli

Wed, 11-06-2019, 05:14 AM

Episode 4:

God, I hate that red-haired mom's face. Can't she have normal eyes? 🙄

Gotta say, I kinda can't get over how ridiculous it is how much these characters care about karuta. You'd think it's some life-depending skill they're learning, but it's actually just some niche Japanese card game. Lol

Buffalobiian

Wed, 11-06-2019, 06:57 AM

Gotta say, I kinda can't get over how ridiculous it is how much these characters care about karuta. You'd think it's some life-depending skill they're learning, but it's actually just some niche Japanese card game. Lol

So like sports before enough people decided to monetise it. E-sports started out like this.

Video of 2019 Queen match here. The slow-motion cameras are on point.

https://youtu.be/umt9Agd2yJU

MFauli

Wed, 11-06-2019, 07:53 AM

Video not available. Deactibated by owner
:/

Buffalobiian

Wed, 11-06-2019, 07:56 AM

Just watch the link on youtube. That still works (in Australia) at least. The user just disabled embedded videos. Check out 51:20.

Buffalobiian

Wed, 12-04-2019, 01:00 PM

Episode 09

----------------------

Taichi didn't make it. Poo.

MFauli

Wed, 12-04-2019, 03:49 PM

Yeah, this sucks. Hate it when anime try to be 'realistic'. I want progression :/

Buffalobiian

Thu, 12-05-2019, 11:47 AM

What's the rest of the qualifier supposed to be like now? Sudo vs some West Qualifying dude would be weird. I can only imagine more Harada Sensei. Maybe this will be his last attempt. Thinking back, this latest arc seems to be mostly about older peeps trying their best at karuta despite competing adult responsibilities etc.

MFauli

Wed, 12-18-2019, 04:38 AM

Episode 11:

We get it: MILK IS COMING FROM HER BOOBS! OK?!

Buffalobiian

Wed, 12-18-2019, 07:14 AM

The method acting was quite hilarious.

I didn't know kimono had open sides. I'm surprised more.. "shows" never took advantage of this.

Ryllharu

Wed, 12-18-2019, 06:19 PM

You both forgot the best part:
Chiyaha wants to become a teacher.
Her advisor: "What subject will you teach?"
Chihaya: …
Advisor: …

Key point is that Ooe-san was able to cheer up Inokuma a bit. That's critical.

Because that bitch Megumu needs to fucking lose in the qualifiers two years in a row.

Buffalobiian

Sat, 12-28-2019, 06:14 AM

Episode 12

--------------

Ffffffffffffff..............

That last scene. So triggering. I'm expecting Arata to win the 3rd round, but just stay away from Chihaya.

Buffalobiian

Fri, 01-31-2020, 12:11 PM

MFauli

Fri, 01-31-2020, 12:46 PM

Episode 16

----------------------

Make-your-opponent-fault Karuta. Taichi liking that is no surprise, he's a bit of a bully at heart. I can't wait to see him use it.

Seeing Chihaya uneasy about Arata gives off all the NTR vibes, given I'm a Taichi fan.

Seriously, fuck Arata :/

In terms of who deserves to bang Chihaya:

Taichi > Suo > Harada-sensei > Desktomu-kun > her dad > Arata

The current ntr is palpable :/

Ryllharu

Sat, 02-01-2020, 05:51 PM

Have you not been paying attention this entire time? Chihaya has only ever had feelings for Arata. Since they were kids. She's only recently started thinking about Taichi, despite how long Taichi's been pining after her. She plays karuta because it is fun, but also under the false perception it would bring her closer to Arata (but at the time back in season 1, she didn't know he had stopped).

Taichi was finally starting to gain the upper hand, and Arata finally went next level. He's coming back for university, and he's finally gotten his own shit together enough to not only admit how much he misses her, but that no shit, he loves her back.

The timing aligns perfectly with Chihaya finally having the revelation that she needs to live her own life in addition to karuta, and if she wants to really continue it, she needs to grow up and find a job. So she's used the amazing (cool beauty), the incomparable (in cup size), the one and only Sakurazawa Midori as the perfect example to follow. Become a teacher. Coach karuta to maintain your skills. From Sakurazawa's friend and rival, challenging to take back the Queen spot after two kids, she's learned you can have it all, but that her skill will dull, and her speed won't last forever. But if Inokuma wins, it will show Chihaya that she can achieve both her karuta dreams and love.

Chihaya's little journey this season contrasts very nicely with Shinobu, who I expect to be getting a fair amount of character development in the next few episodes. Shinobu has a lot of catching up to do, lessons to learn, all that stuff.

...and she totally likes Arata, but she doesn't even know it. He's very aware of her degree of interest though.

As for Suo, he's just an idiot. He's so dumb that even Shinobu can see it.

Buffalobiian

Tue, 02-11-2020, 09:22 PM

Episode 18

---------------------------------------------------

Have you not been paying attention this entire time? Chihaya has only ever had feelings for Arata.

We all know Chihaya never liked Taichi in a romantic way. The feeling of being robbed stems largely from being in the Taichi camp.

As for this episode, Shinobu's resolution seemed unsatisfying. She got upset that her Grandmother asked her to wear something due to probable business reasons, and that Chihaya missed her promise. Then she lost the match, realised she couldn't walk the cards back.. and resolved herself to do it next round because the cards are her friends.

That's good and all, but doesn't solve the fact that she was disappointed at her grandmother and Chihaya. It's not as if she has decided to re-isolate herself either. She just.. resetted. As if none of that happened.

Suo will totally win. There's too much talent on his side, and Harada is running on fumes.