The new side-character is really necessary for this series. Up till now, the Karuta in this series could just as well have been replaced with Rock Paper Scissors; we knew that it was a game that involved some cards, but that’s it. Instead, we got to see a lot of Chihaya’s and Arata’s passion about the game. This time, we get a character who can put meaning behind the game, the cards, and the traditions behind it. For such a seemingly simple game as Karuta, that really is a very welcome addition.
It’s indeed a bit of a strange start for this series: Arata was a professional. He was someone who was playing the game for the sake getting as good as possible at it, and that’s what drew Chihaya in. She never went into the basics and the meaning behind the cards and the game, and instead she immediately learned to not care about what the poems say, but what characters they consist of.
The thing is, that this new girl set a really high standard, and there are still two side characters left, according to the OP. I really wonder what the creators have in mind to show even more different sides of Karuta, because at this point it’s clear that this show is very well planned out. This episode once again pushes the storyline forward, and once again it’s completely different from the ones before. It will be awesome if this show can keep this up for its entire airtime, but I can hardly imagine how the hell it’ll be able to do that.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>
Chihayafuru – 06
It sparkles in the sunlight…….
Just a great episode, no overplayed, 🙂 You really felt you understand the characters without the angst that seems so popular to use and is therefore over-used. I am really looking forward to this seeing more of this show.
My hope too is they will continue to keep the high standards for the upcoming episodes. My gut feeling is yes they will be able to pull it off. They may have a few small problems along the way but I’m looking forward to these releases more than any other show right now.
It sparkles in the sunlight…….
Just a great episode, no overplayed, 🙂 You really felt you understand the characters without the angst that seems so popular to use and is therefore over-used. I am really looking forward to this seeing more of this show.
My hope too is they will continue to keep the high standards for the upcoming episodes. My gut feeling is yes they will be able to pull it off. They may have a few small problems along the way but I’m looking forward to these releases more than any other show right now.
Excellent episode! They stayed away from cliched tropes with the new character or draw from the romantic playbook 100 by introducing another love-interest. The best thing about this show is the constant focus on the game, but through a rich variety of characters: the neophyte, the dogmatist, the bandwagoner, the scholar.
We should trust the creators’ ability to keep up the established level of excellence 🙂
With some anime, the episodes seem to drag on forever, with this episode, it was over before I was ready to let go!
I love history and culture, so I was as excited as Chihaya to learn about the meanings behind the poems, I could have happily sat through another half an hour of explanations, although that would have made for a pretty bad anime I suppose.
The new girl will be great if she continue to provide historical tidbits, so I’m happy to see her join the group.
I think the explanation of the chihayafuru card can also be interpreted as implying or foretelling a ‘love’ relationship between Chihaya and Arata, esp with that shot of Arata in the shades of red, and now this colours is suggested to mean an unfading love.
Of course it could also be applied to an unfading love for karuta, so there’s a double meaning there, possibly.
Taichi was put into the background in this episode, which is fine, but I hope he doesn’t become the character who constantly goes ‘no, it won’t work, give up’ because he has done that quite a few times already. There’s definitely space for him to grow as a character, and hopefully the anime will show his development too.
Shoot, now I have to wait another week for the next episode.
^ I hope ur right, cause Taichi’s pessimism is getting really annoying… He needs to man up once and for all
@kero : I hope so too~ Chihaya and Arata~.
Don’t want to be mean, but this show became lame. She never ever thought about the meaning of the cards? Oh yeah, it’s always recommended in anime to be thoughtless and stupid. Um… And the overacting, how she wrote down everything the new girl said and how excited she was (how could she remember everything of it so fast and then immediately play better?)… not to mention that it didn’t make much sense what the girl told her about the cards, it was just overly romantic nonsense. The chihayafuru card is about love? Yeah, sure. It’s all about love… What else?
@lilyann: Associating things with strong images and emotions makes you remember them better. I think they showed that wonderfully in this episode. Now she did manage to use that to her advantage awfully fast, but I don’t see that as much of a problem.
And never thinking about the meaning of the cards is fine. Everyone does that, with a lot of things. Plus she’s young.
@lilyann
I think everyone has different levels as to what they can and can’t accept as being possible or probable (as can be seen by differing opinions on different anime), so it’s subjective.
The only thing I would argue against is your idea that the poems can’t be about love! The new girl is obviously a young girl who loves history and has a rose tinted view of the good old days. I think it would absolutely be in character for her to look at the romantic/love aspects of the poems, rather than saying, ‘oh it’s just about a river that looks cool when it’s red’
I’m also assuming that the story she gave is based on real speculations, there was a shot of her looking at book about the 100 poems, so she isn’t just plucking these ideas out of nowhere.
So I would say that the set up for implying that the poem is about an unfading love was pretty good.
This series…Wow..Not only rich at the characters But also rich at the History too.!!
I loved every moments that Kana-chan talked about the history of the Karuta poems.Somehow it make me love Karuta more.(Like Chihaya did in this ep).I want to know about it more seriously.!
ืAnd Kana-chan,You’re so adorable.It’s nice to see you add to the karuta club.It’s really make entire cast more enjoyable.Don’t forget to talked about Chihaya,Her straight-forward character still as charming as always.
Can’t wait to see other two members.Hope they will as great as Kana-chan.
Mostly I don’t like it when a show becomes didactic, like when Daikichi in Usagi Drop conveniently overheard other parents talking about various practical aspects of parenting.
For this episode of Chihayafuru, however, I make an exception b/c I found it really fascinating. I can’t say if Kana-chan’s interpretations make much sense but I’m positively surprised that they discuss the meaning of the poems at all.
Also, this is fanservice done right! The moment Kana-chan mentioned that her parents’ shop couldn’t afford a model for their kimonos it was clear who would end up doing this job. Chihaya looked just adorable!