And so the team tournaments finally ends, and seriously I am so impressed with all of the build-up that prepared just for this episode. Every single result for Chihaya, Taichi and Nishida in the previous matches was used in the big finale. It’s just amazing, and definitely worked as a climax.
Also, the individual tournaments. I didn’t realize this, but holy crap there is a complete busload of named and developed characters present at the tournament now. So much variety! I mean that recap was bad and all, but after that I really liked the build-up for the individual tournaments. Take all teams that made it to the semi finals: that’s already more than twenty different characters participating, with all of the bench people, Arata and the Queen and some other random characters. And all of them are great!
So yeah, Chihaya is not going to get far. This really wil be about the Queen and Arata. With the third year, Arata will be getting back to Tokyo, and I predict that that will really bring everything together for this series. If it will ever get made!
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)
I felt her injury was kinda cheap, but I’m definitely interested in going another round if need be. If it ever gets made.
Dunno about cheap, but yeah definitely a tactic to delay the final showdown for queen.
But there’s enough going on all around though, and it may potentially be used for character development.
I think the sports injury trope is used quite a lot for sports manga.
The injury is a good way to focus on the other character since she wont be as strong
Ive read the manga and the injury is a more relaxing part of the manga
Nah I get it, I just, I suppose, oh I dunno, I guess I don’t like slowed down paces.
You know, I almost get the impression that her injury might be more serious than just as a convenient plot device for this tournament arc. I mean they just used the “injure the player so they can’t play” trick with Kanade, so I’m suspicious.
The fact that its a a mysterious injury is a bit odd.
The problem was that you associated the injury only with sports, but real life is the same thing. If you’re not careful and acts only on instinct you will get hurt in the same way.
Chihaya is just like this. She plays instinctively, she has no tactics and her game perception is worse than a newbie. She NEEDS to get hurt to see that without her instincts, she is nothing. And many athletes go through this same problem.
This injury will teach Chihaya that Karuta is not just about hearing and reflex. This will make her grow and she will starts to see the matches differently. So, in my opinion, it wasn’t cheap, it was necessary.
Arata in Tokyo will definitely bring the three main characters to a whole other level. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a third season.
Sorry but I need some help…I forgot who Tatsumi is?
So far episode 44 was the best of season 2 in my book — it brought back the biggest strength and the charm of season 1 and put the focus back to the main cast (finally). Episode 45 was also awesome in a way that we got a break from the long-running matches and dived into the three leads — which is again so long-awaited. I am not quite sure if Arata will move during his third year but instead apply for a college in Tokyo. As for the rest of the episodes, the potential match between Shinobu and Arata will definitely be exciting to watch — it’s like watching the talented vs. the talented. To top that, I think Taichi’s winning of the Class B match, if he will, will be another defining, if not the peak, moment of season 2 — I think it can be as exciting and emotionally dramatic as you can imagine. With that, two of Chihaya’s goals set out in the first episode of season 2 will be achieved, and that will give a nice wrap of the season.
So surprised by how much of the team tournament cast is actually in A class. Didn’t only about half of them get serious about karuta a year ago?! And before that they had barely even touched a proper competitive karuta game? Really, Taichi you have no luck… Or the Eastern Japan competitions aren’t as tough as the Western ones!
I really like the storyline and the characters, but the 2-3 minutes of recap every episode is just getting annoying.
“Chihaya is not going to get far. This really wil be about the Queen and Arata.”
liesss