Quote Originally Posted by Kraco View Post
I've been thinking about it for a while now, but it feels like the director/original author couldn't entirely avoid a slight inconsistency in Chihaya's playing proficiency when they are now trying to depict how tough the A class is. Basically the Queen match managed to do that, even if at the expense of the current Queen's humanity, but now Chihaya, objectively speaking, is playing worse than she was some eps ago.
Well, Shinobu is a robot. A-class players are:

- insanely fast (reaction time and/or physical speed)
- precise (uses only the force they need)
- get into their opponent's head
- use strategy
- possess excellent memorization skills

From what we've been shown of what few other A-class players we've seen, they usually have one or two of those aspects. Shinobu is unique because she uses all of them. Chihaya right now, is only insanely fast. She uses too much force, is a bit of an airhead (so strategy is out), and only somewhat gets into her opponent's head by her speed and personality.

But she is learning from others. Deskmoto introduced her to strategy, and Kana introduced to new methods for visualizing cards. Now Sakura has given her insight to why speed hurts her so much, and what a strategic player can do to eliminate any advantage she might have had. But she also made Chihaya realize that she really doesn't need to be that close to the cards, which will slow down Chihaya her teacher requested, but also grant her increased precision. Chihaya will soon be able to combine those ideas and become closer to Shinobu. In many ways, she's learned that much more by losing.

A nice focus on Kana as well. Deskmoto was quick to note her flaws and use them on her, but Kana was able to sneak in a few tricks as well. The hakama/kimono posture trick was great, and she's able to use her poise to sell even more, heh. Can't wait to see how their match turns out.

Her mother's love for bishonen is still hilarious.