Tag: chihayafuru

What’s this? A Chihayafuru post going up the same day that the episode released? Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. I happened to have some spare time today, but more than that, “I Recall” was the rebound that the show needed after recent events, ping-ponging between half a dozen characters in two locations with great results. Years from now, when people look back on the third season, this episode will be seen as a stepping stone on the way to the Meijin and Queen title matches – but it accomplished much more than that. Sure, the matchups for the East and West qualifier finals are now set, but some of the best material here revolved around people who didn’t participate in the tournament. And then there’s Taichi, whose crushing loss in round 3 was given little time to resound, but whose character arc will certainly pivot on this moment.

Continue reading “Chihayafuru S3 – 09 [I Recall How My Own Efforts Were in Vain]” →

Last week I labeled Mizusawa’s class trip an obvious maneuver to isolate Chihaya from the rest of her Class A rivals. To the show’s credit, though, it made the most of the opportunity, with many of its strongest karuta players making appearances. Even though we were blessed with an Inokuma match just a month ago, I was grateful for her return, and Sakurazawa’s competitive fire being rekindled is good news for more than just Eromu. Sudo was released from the penalty of his losing bet, and Harada-sensei’s bear mode was in full effect, proving that he’s still a beast even at age 57. Meijin Suou and Queen Shinobu made unconventional appearances at the West Japan qualifier, too, as foreshadowed last week. These are all worthy characters, but the real stars of the episode were Taichi and Arata. Were they able to carry the show with Chihaya sidelined in Kyoto? Fortunately, the answer is yes.

Continue reading “Chihayafuru S3 – 08 [As Friends and Strangers]” →

I’ve positively loved the last five episodes of Chihayafuru’s third season, so I don’t derive any pleasure from saying that I kind of hated this one. “The Storm Blasts,” in my eyes, makes an unwise narrative choice to achieve a convenient result, and creates a minefield of non-credibility for the show going forward. Though it’s this episode I’ll be criticizing here, Madhouse’s adaptation is perfectly faithful to Suetsugu-sensei’s manga, so her plotting is the thing that actually troubles me. The mechanical aspects of the anime are great, as usual, but the issue of Chihaya attending her class trip has implications beyond delaying her run at the Queen title by a year. Hit the jump if you’re interested in a breakdown of why that is.

Continue reading “Chihayafuru S3 – 07 [The Storm Blasts]” →

Every time I try to take notes on this series, I get sucked into its rhythm and hit the end of the episode before I know it. The show arranges bursts of competition, moments of inner monologue, and diverse crowd reactions for maximum effect. In wondering how it manages to cast that spell so consistently, I checked director Morio Asaka’s ANN page, and he’s got a ton of storyboard credits to his name. Almost all of his non-directorial work, in fact, has been in that capacity, and the team he’s got working on Chihayafuru right now has done storyboards for Utena, Monster, and HxH 2011, among other classics. That last one makes sense, as it’s also a Madhouse production, but even if the studios hadn’t matched, I could have identified the link between both shows. Chihayafuru often surrounds its characters with the sort of auras that Hunter x Hunter did, to the point that I got Meruem vibes from some of Inokuma’s scenes last week. Maybe that’s why I get so wrapped up in this series – the episode planners know exactly when to push the “camera” in, and how to make the characters pop when they do.

Continue reading “Chihayafuru S3 – 06 [Tatsuta River Ablaze]” →

Raise your hand if you thought it would be Chihaya vs. Taichi in the finals of this tournament. Okay, manga readers, you can put your hands down.

The odds were against them; a former queen, a sadistic Class A beast, and a Meijin hopeful stood between our heroes and the finals of the Yoshino tournament. Sure, Hiroshi scooped to Chihaya in the semis so that she could get some sleep, but defeating Inokuma wasn’t easy for her. And Taichi’s path to the championship match was nothing short of harrowing, so he’s probably going to be wiped out during next week’s episode. Nevertheless, they made it, and their upcoming showdown will likely have a seismic impact on their relationship. Even if you set aside their rivalry and Taichi’s infatuation, one of them is about to win a tournament with dozens of Class A players in attendance. In the immortal words of Eri Ninamori, “That’s pretty good, right?”

Continue reading “Chihayafuru S3 – 04/05” →

Chihayafuru’s cast of characters is its biggest asset, and these two episodes leave no room for debate on the matter. Plenty of sports series can build impressive rosters over multiple seasons, but how many of them can bounce between simultaneous matches in the same room with this degree of naturality? How many anime series (of any genre) can incorporate significant dialogue from upwards of 15 characters in the span of 45 minutes, each of whom make you smile when they burst onto the screen? How many shows with tumultuous shipping wars at the heart of their fandoms can make all three participants in a love triangle so interesting? “Not many” is the answer to all three questions. I was satisfied with last week’s premiere, but these two were on another level, thanks to the fantastic appearances by non-Mizusawa, non-Fujisaki competitors. And we’ve got another double episode coming next week, too! What have I done to deserve this anime bounty?

Continue reading “Chihayafuru S3 – 02/03” →

It’s back! The sports/school club/romance hybrid has returned for a third season, and it hardly missed a beat in the six years it was off the air. I rewatched the second season a few months ago, and apart from the new voice actor for Harada-sensei (more on that in a bit), the show felt like its old self. It had the same traditional soundtrack, same sparkly backgrounds, same clever use of on-screen text, and same single-minded Chihaya. Sure, there was a single shot of CG karuta cards being shuffled, but what’s a little 3D animation next to your main character receiving an accurate TV transplant across more than half a decade? This episode was a definite success in my eyes, but I do wonder how season 3 will be received by an audience whose expectations (both for this series and for anime in general) have changed over time.

Continue reading “Chihayafuru S3 – 01 [May It Be That I Find]” →