Chihayafuru

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 23

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Another plug from me about how awesome this episode was as far as Taichi development goes.

[Ryllharu]

Episode 24

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I don't know how you can like Taichi at all.

He's never changed, and these last two episodes proved it. He's still the selfish, cheating punk he was when he was a kid. It's character development, of a sorts, but it's only served to prove how little he's ever bothered to change. Taichi talks about changing, growing, or improving constantly, but never does.

Contrast that to Arata in the second half of the episode. He's embarrassed as hell, doing the things that Chihaya and Taichi did normally, but he's doing them, because he wants to change and be better. He wants to catch up to all the karuta experiences and challenges that the other two have been doing while he was trapped by his own grief. Arata accelerates in almost everything he does, and its in response to being woken up from the standstill he was in.

Taichi gets mired in his own ego. Always has, and still will. He enters tournaments and plays or trains behind Chihaya's back. He falls behind Arata in pursuing Chihaya because he thought he didn't have to. But he's still the same, sad little cheat he's always been. Playing dirty. Rather than lose to Arata, or face him head on when all three of them are in Tokyo for college, he confesses anyway and then throws everything into disarray because Chihaya is too stunned and confused to make a decision.

It's not like Arata was treated any different. Chihaya hasn't responded to him either. But no, Taichi left because he didn't win easily.

[Buffalobiian]

Chihaya hasn't responded to him either. But no, Taichi left because he didn't win easily.

Chihaya actually responded to Taichi though. What she said, no one knows, but Taichi thought it was a No.

He "also" left because he wasn't #1 in subjects anymore but that's an aside. He didn't leave until that point anyway.

[MFauli]

God, I hated Arata this season. Also Chihaya's undecidedness.

But the love shit aside, i liked how harada managed to make a strong impression.

Low point of the season was the repeated breast milk-feeding, *rolleyes*. Was such a 'moms tough' bs.

I dunno if i want another season. I'm mostly interested in how the love shit turns out, rather than the karuta parts.