And with this, the dreaded new year break in which absolutely nothing airs comes to end. And how! Seriously, this series came with one heck of an episode to celebrate that!
It’s not entirely explained why Chihaya collapsed in this episode. It probably was due to a combination of factors, like the really hot weather, a faulty airconditioning, very heavy clothes, and Chihaya herself getting incredibly worked up (plus that one scene where Chihaya felt weird at the beginning of the episode). Whatever it was, this episode featured Chihaya collapsing.
At first, I thought that this episode would introduce the major rival of this series. In any case the first minutes of this episode really hinted at that when she walked past and the creators wanted us to really notice that this would become an important character, in true Shoujo Fashion. And then suddenly this episode switched over to Arata who decided to pay a surprise visit to the tournament. Holy crap!
On top of him returning, this episode also explained exactly what happened to him after he moved away, making for a really sad little background of his to first see the grandfather he looked up to succumb to dementia and then pass on. Before this we only heard the accounts of the people around Arata, but not himself.
Chihaya’s collapse really made for an interesting situation for the two of them to see each other again. I especially love how Taichi wasn’t surprised at all when he saw them, and just left Chihaya in his care. It’s because of this that their reunion turned into him, trying to keep a hysterical Chihaya under control.
With this, I’m also seeing the structure of this series: the plan really is to make this one end with the third year of high school; the classic scenario. After this there will be the individual tournaments, which explains why so much time was devoted to that one blonde guy in the previous arc: that will be his crowning moment of awesome, while at the same time they’ll most likely introduce that rival of early in this episode. At the same time though, I can not yet imagine any way for this anime to end well. There is no way for the individuals to last 11 episodes, and there is also no way that they can wrap up the next year along with that.
On a side-note: Chihaya really is a simple character: her entire mind is on Karuta and her complete devotion to the sports is what really drives this series. Meanwhile, it comes down to Taichi and Arata to deliver the sophisticated part of this series. They are the ones who make this show complex and interesting to watch, with the side-characters adding all sorts of extra spices. The great thing is that alone, these characters wouldn’t be interesting, but the way that they play off each other is just completely amazing.
Rating: *** (Awesome)
I thought the girl with black hair a the beginning was Arata in drag. Seriously it made me jump out of my seat
Yeah, I wonder who that girl was at the beginning. Maybe she had something to do with Chihaya’s collapse? Or maybe she’s just going to be a major rival. Anyway I’m wondering about why Chihaya stared at her like that.
Best Chihayafuru episode yet! It certainly deserved the “awesome” rating! This was also one of your best posts, psgels, at least from the ones I remember. You pointed out all the important parts and you spent a little more time on your thoughts than describing the episode, which I like better. Good way to start a new year!
I too loved how Taichi didn’t think twice about leaving Chihaya with Arata, it showed how different he is from his younger self. But Chihaya’s reaction after waking up from collapsing takes the cake – I loved how she didn’t forget about her team, even in Arata’s presence, which she longed for. Now we know that karuta ranks first in her heart and her passion for it lives beyond Arata.
yeah this episode made me cry ;~; gosh darnit. It really knows how to pull your heartstrings. I mean it isnt even THAT sad (compared to other things I’ve seen in anime that didnt make me cry), but the way they execute it just works brilliantly.
I like Arata well enough, but I still think that Taichi should end up with Chihaya in the end. I just feel like Chihaya worships Arata too much… XD
I love the build up. It makes the match against her rival all the more delicious.
Finally an “Awesome” rating for a Chihayafuru episode. I think episode 3 and 9 deserves that too. Anyway, Arata’s backstory was sad but not overmelodramatic.
I guess the black hair girl is the current queen!
That’s my guess too! I’m sure she’s the current Queen. It would be nice if she would become Chihaya’s mentor of sort…though it probably won’t happen. The show keeps on surprising me, instead of focusing on the matches it focused more on the characters and Chihaya’s collapse. We just learned in one sentence that they won two matches but lost in the play-offs first round…I’m looking forward to the individual tournaments. I wonder who’s participating…Chihaya…Taichi (?), Pork-kun (?)???
So much Arata!!
I think Psgels has said it all really. A great episode, although maybe because of my mood, I feel like some of the earlier episodes had a bigger impact on me.
I also, was genuinely happy to see the S guy appear. I like him!
Here you go: SPOILER ALERT!!!
http://chihayafuru.wikia.com/wiki/Shinobu_Wakamiya
Eh, I’m not too impressed with Chihaya’s apparent inability to be her normal self in the important matches. Instead, she becomes weak and vulnerable. Not that there’s anything wrong with showing stress and tension, it’s just out of her character to lose focus like this (not once, but twice). I was hoping they would explain the fainting in this ep with one or more of the reasons you listed, but they didn’t. I fear that the show’s original focus of Chihaya’s progress in the karuta world is becoming diluted with the typical shoujo fluff of the love triangle. I do hope that I’m wrong though, and that Chihaya will redeem herself in the individual matches. It’s rare to have such a strong independent female character succeed without too much interference from the male love interests.
Chihaya seemed to be suffering from over heating, so perhaps it was not so much she lost her focus as she was simply too hot. She fainted from the heat and the excitement of the match.
Sometimes when you are ill you don’t realize that fact…since you are not thinking very well and what seems obvious from the outside is very confusing from within.
I have experience a few of times of over-heated and ill, I went to sleep on the kitchen floor at the height of my fever after a day at the beach.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. 🙂
It wasn’t until I woke up and felt better that I understood I had been ill from such a simple thing as too much sun.
Chihaya must have had the same kind of thing happen. She was a bit ill, plus the heat and the pressure of the match. I don’t think so was showing weakness. Rather just the same kind of confusion you might get from a brain that was too hot to function properly. She just could not think .
Pure speculation ……but quite fun.
Ah, the girl suddenly fainting. So Victorian! Of course, it’s use here was both warranted and logical. Wearing a hakama in the heat is probably a bad idea, especially for someone like Chihaya who runs hot on a good day. Her odd sleeping habits are also well-documented. Like a cheetah, she puts just about everything into the hunt, and doesn’t have anything let over in reserve. The pressure of the nationals; the crush of people and noise in the hall, did the rest.
The incident also put things into perspective. Okay, Chihaya wants to Win It All Right Now, but her team is still so green. It’s enough that they enjoyed it and it reinforced their passion for karuta, winning it all wasn’t necessary. In succumbing to overexertion, she too exhibited her inexperience; a karuta master isn’t just about taking the cards the fastest, but also being able to maintain that skill no matter what the external conditions.
I expected so much more overacting and melodrama than I got. But the more I watch this show the more I agree – it’s really because the characters are so damn simple that the little moments they share make them so likeable. Dialing back the drama a bit from the usual anime formula works wonders for this series. Now I’m looking forward to seeing the black-haired girl they tossed in to tease us about their next hurdle.