Quote Originally Posted by Kraco
For some reason this seems to have taken Hanasaku Iroha's place on my currently airing anime list.
A lot of their similarity is due to their use of lighting as well. Hanasaku Iroha and Chihayafuru both employ styles that end up looking like HDR lighting while most anime settle with bloom, if at all.

So Taichi is just smart, Chihaya has uber reflexes and dedication, while Arata is god world-class memory plus lots of practice.

It'll be interesting to see them match up again in the inevitable adult tournament, though the winning (or rival) pair will obviously be Chihaya and Arata. I won't mind seeing some romance issues down the track to add a bit more depth to this (like how the boys' situations created a bit of drama here), but an all-out romance focus would suck. Something like this episode where it's wrapped up in 20 minutes would be ideal.