Chihayafuru [ep 6]

After having met with Arata to learn that he quit playing Karuta, Chihaya hasn't given up hope. Back in school, she's on a mission. A mission Taichi is dragged along into. That is to create a Karuta Club, but there's a catch. They need a total of 5 people in order to officially open one and assigned with a supervising teacher.

In the midst of all that, there's one particular student, Oe-san who is obsessed with traditional clothes, as revealed later it is influenced by her parents who own a kimono shop. From her friends, we know that she likes to read old books causing her to be teased as someone born in the wrong era. Oe-san then stumbles into the karuta advert Chihaya puts on the school noticeboard, thinking she has finally found something that suits her, but to her despair and shock, Chihaya's karuta involves aggressive movements and worst of all, they don't wear any traditional clothes at all, but just pants and shirts, whatever works.

Though I can't say the same for the girls' love for the hundred poems, since I'm not someone who understands poems or know the beauty of them (sad to say), I understand that for those who play Karuta should at least appreciate the meanings behind the poems, rather than just memorizing them for the sake of competition and such.

Chihaya pleads Oe-san to teach her the meanings of the poems and they got her to join their club. With few conditions, one of them is that they should at least wear 'hakama' during matches.

The only thing I'd complain about this episode is again, the lack of Arata's appearance! I'm beginning to think whether he's even one of the main characters. But there's hope that he shall return to Karuta again in this final scene xD I can't wait for their reunion.

Rating: 8.5/10

Chihayafuru [ep 4-5] - count on CHOCOLATE!

Chihayafuru departs from the childhood memories to the present time where the first episode resumes with Chihaya and Taichi riding the train together. Chihaya asks whether Taichi has kept in contact with Arata, which he replies no.I'm not at all surprised that they haven't been contacting each other since Arata moves away. People change and sometimes, it's just the way it is.

But Chihaya still loves Karuta very much that she is competing in the nationals to obtain Class A. She even forces Taichi to help her create a Karuta Club if she wins, which Taichi believes it'll take her another 3 years to gain.

Chihaya is jealous over the fact that Taichi has found himself an innocent sweet young girlfriend. But it seems that Taichi has other thoughts lying around regarding his love interest xDD It shouldn't be any secret that he's been in love with her since they're little, I'm sure. But let's just admit the fact that Chihaya is too dense to sense that WHEN her love has been Harada sensei! Gosh...that is such a shock! I feel for Taichi T___T

Taichi is soooooooooo handsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just can't get over the fact that Taichi has grown up to be a fine looking young man. His sense of fashion is favorable too, even if it includes the shades.

Chihaya charges up her energy by eating lots of chocolates, isn't that supposed to be an okay sign?


Something about her eyes mesmerizes me for some reason...

I actually thought for a second that she'd lose the competition but looks like her determination pays off finally. Her final opponent is tough but I feel so happy for her when she manages to win the game by her favorite card, which is also the one card that connects her and Arata back in the days.

However the call to Arata results in a cold reunion. Frankly, I'm still getting used to Arata's adult voice. I miss his young version so much! And the dialect is somehow stronger back then, much cuter. Chihaya can't believe her ears when he tells her that he's not playing Karuta anymore so she drags Taichi along to Fukui to pay him a visit. 

Initially, they are heartbroken that Arata treats them coldly like total strangers and Karuta now seems like a taboo topic. Turns out that Arata lost his beloved grandfather during a competition four years ago when he won to claim Class A. Since then, he feels that Karuta has somehow prevented him from seeing his grandfather for the last time and no longer touch it.

I'm all for Taichi when he gives him a hard push for saying those harsh words to Chihaya, he should've given him a punch instead. But thanks to Chihaya's multiple random letters (which are very amusing by the way), Arata finally realizes that he still wants to be friends with them. That chase for them when their train leaves is at the very least, touching.

Chihaya, I'm not sure if there's any other guy who can stand that face hehe...

Taichi wins my heart for these two episodes. Sure, he is a bratty little kid and his brawl with Arata is totally childish (technically, he is a kid then), but he sure treasures what matters around him. Take Chihaya for example, after all those years, he can just ignore all her whining and ridiculous actions, but he stays by her side till the end. I'd sure want a friend like him. He's such a sweet guy. As for Arata, I wish he has more screentime because he's almost nonexistent in ep4 and so little of him in ep5. Chihaya is still amusing in her own charming way. 

Rating: 9/10

Chihayafuru [ep 3] - Karuta is a SPORT!

I love this episode to bits! The BEST so far and why am I not surprised. This is a sure winner for me, alongside Fate/Zero. Well if you've noticed I don't watch every anime that are showing atm, because I just don't have the time to and so I pick those that I will truly enjoy. This is beyond my expectations to tell the truth. The episodes just keep getting better and better.

Why I love this episode? It's filled with first, humor, thanks to Chihaya of course for that. She's a natural in that department and I never get bored with her antics. It's really amusing watching her having trouble memorizing all 100 poems but what I like about her is, she doesn't give up easily. What may seem like impossible for her, she's out to try her best even if she can't do it perfectly. They get to meet other Karuta players too at the local training center and their reception is hilarious! The HUG awwww....the Sensei is truly happy to have them join, judging by the fact that Karuta isn't really famous anyway among students.

Second reason - their Friendship is soooo touching and I can't help but try to remember my school friends from when I was little. Sad to say, most of the time, your friends change over the course of years. Some get distant when they change schools or graduate and move. It's all natural. I kinda envy these 3 though for their brief but strong bond and the love for Karuta that they share.

All for one, one for All!

When they decide to do their best in the upcoming tournament in which they can participate as a team of 3 members, we see them working hard. Especially Chihaya who finally finds her own dream. And it's good to hear her tell her sister that seeing her sister become best in Japan is no longer her dream.

But then things turn sour when both Taichi and Arata are leaving town after graduation. Taichi gets accepted in another further school so he can't always play karuta with them anymore. Taichi's grandfather is sick so he has to return to hometown. So it's natural that Chihaya feels abandoned when not one, but BOTH of her closest buddies are leaving! I totally understand her frustration and disappointment. It's like, what's the point of continuing karuta when she can't play with them any longer in the future...Just when she finds her dream and to have it crushed.

But the boys are sweet beings lolz...they make a T-Shirt and named it "Team Chihaya" for the match! So cute!~~~If Chihaya isn't moved by this, then she's cold-hearted but the moment she received the shirt, one of my favorite scenes is when she rushed straight to the venue to join them.

They didn't win but it doesn't matter. They played for the last time before everyone leaves in their different paths. Chihaya gets to have a showdown with Taichi too and it's a heartwarming ending as Chihaya tells them that as long as they continue playing Karuta, they'll surely meet again someday.

Thoughts:

I have lots of favorite scenes in this episode. The part where Chihaya devotes herself in memorizing the poems, the snowball fight at the school yard (so beautiful!), Chihaya's disappointment when she hears both of the boys leaving, the boys making up to her with the T-shirt and the final scene. Actually, that'd make up to the WHOLE EPISODE itself xDD A truly entertaining and touching episode. So I gather that soon, we'll be seeing the adult versions of them?If so, I'm going to miss these young versions dearly!

Rating: 10/10!

Chihayafuru [ep 2]

The episode focuses on Taichi's eternal battle with Wataya in which Chihaya interrupts into but we'll go into that in a little while. Basically nothing much happens except we get to see how Chihaya shows her support a lot, and let me say that again, A LOT in this episode that if I were Taichi, who has been good friends with her for time longer than she knows Wataya, I think a bit of jealousy is allowed on Taichi's part, so I find myself not blaming him too much, instead I understand his feelings.

I mean, honestly, how will you feel if someone new coming to the school and the next day, you find your best friend rooting for him, only has good things to say to him, while the rest of the school shy away from that person because he's a weirdo and your best friend is siding that person and quarreled with you because of him? Having seen that, Taichi gets a little sympathy from me, but not entirely. Stealing Taichi's glasses is a bit too much. If you're gonna fight like a man, then do it fair and square. Of course, he's got all to lose, having his mother taping the whole event, hoping her top student son would win. But going as far to cheap tricks like that, you're just gonna end up regretting even if you win.

I totally didn't expect Chihaya to interrupt the match! Just out of the blue, the girl pushes Wataya away, poor guy gets thrown on the side lolz...and requests to take over from him using the excuse that Wataya doesn't have his glasses. So great, Taichi...now you're going against your best friend. That'd be 100 times more humiliating if you lose to a girl xD But Chihaya's method and ultimately her winning strategy isn't something to be entirely proud of either. She basically focuses on where Taichi is looking at when the poem is read, coz she only remembers half of everything (unless she did work harder after her little match with Wataya before) and blatantly lunges towards that area - pushes the group of cards. She's just lucky because the rule says that as long as the correct card is out of the area, you win. Poor Taichi loses the game to Chihaya who's obviously weaker than him because of a trick like this. But serves him right for his evil deed before.

Chihaya wins and calls home excitedly to announce it to her family but it's clear that her family has more important issues to tackle - her sister's career as model. A scout is visiting their home when she calls so she gets very little attention, actually NONE at all when her sister tells her that karuta is boring and lame and hangs up on her. That evening, Taichi and Chihaya finds out that Wataya is able to imagine all the positions of the cards and practises invisibly. In the meantime, Chihaya vows to search Taichi's glasses for him and climbs trees because she thinks crows are attracted to shiny objects and may have brought it to their nests. In the end, Taichi returns Wataya's glasses and asks him not to tell Chihaya because he doesn't want her to hate him. Well, it's good to know that Taichi still cherishes his friendship over pride. The ending scene gives us signs that a great friendship shall bloom from now on. 

I wonder if they're gonna continue with their childhood stories or move on to the present time. Either way, I like both. The young and adult versions. So that's fine if they still wanna linger around their childhood and giving us more character development. At least now we know why Chihaya is so fond of Karuta in the present time. It's as if she's found her first love lolz...

Rating: 8/10

Chihayafuru [ep 1]

This is the first anime I watched this season and what a pleasant surprise! This is a good one and I’m certain to follow it through till the end. Other than the interesting plot, the animation itself is worth praising. It’s similar to Hanasaku Iroha for me and I like that.

Chihaya and Taichi

Just a bit of a recap: Chihaya has a sister who’s a pageant winner and so naturally, she’s known in school by everyone as the “Beauty Queen’s sister”. Not really the kind of tag I’d want for myself if you ask me. However, Chihaya has no problem with that because since she was little, her friends have been acknowledging that. Probably she’s gotten used to it. Plus, she’s really happy for her sister. It seems that she is even more excited than her own sister when she gets all hyped up whenever her sister appears on the newspaper. Despite having such a pretty older sister, Chihaya herself is more of a tomboy and has often been said that her beauty is wasted by her fellow classmates.

Chihaya in sweatpants under the skirt lolz

The episode is more of a flashback though but worry not. The young Chihaya and her two other friends are really adorable! In the present time, Chihaya just enters high school and is looking for people to join her in the Karuta Club (idiom cards game). She then stumbles into her childhood friend, Taichi. The reunion brings memories of their middle school and Chihaya wonders about another friend, Arata whom they’ve lost contact with. So this is where we get to see how they first met back in the days. Arata is a new student in school, doesn’t talk much so the kids see him as an outcast, except for Chihaya. She’s interested in him (probably curious) and makes friends with him. 

And I sensing some jealousy from Taichi when he pushed Taichi to the ground, when he saw him with Chihaya? Kiddy youth really amuses me!

Arata is soooo cuteeeee

Chihaya soon finds out that Arata has an extreme liking and definitely aptitude too in the Karuta game. Arata gets easily excited and focused when he talks about karuta.

seriously?! stuck on the wall?!!

Chihaya is astounded by Arata's swift moves in picking out the cards, so she wants to at least get one. And this is where cute Chi-chan prevails lolz...

adorable, no?

Thoughts:

All characters so far are very believable and loveable too. I'm curious of what Arata has been doing since they part ways. It'd be nice to see them reunite and go on playing Karuta. I think I understand more of what karuta is all about now (it reminds me of Don Quixote's final episode where they played it, though that was different theme). The background music is also very fitting, soothing. Great first episode.

Rating: 9/10 - yes somehow I truly enjoyed it! And bonus points for Arata's dialect hehehe