OP: “COLORFUL” by 99RadioService

To say “I hardly know where to begin” is an understatement.  I can’t believe it’s been more than six years – six years! – since Chihayafuru’s second season finished.  It seems to have flashed in the blink of an eye, and the series has never left my consciousness – whether I was loving it or hating it (and I’ve done some of both).  The manga continues, and I continued right along with it until quite recently, when various aspects of the experience convinced me I needed a break.  I still haven’t felt the urge to go back, and the reasons why I felt the need for a respite are going to come up over the course of this season of the anime to be certain.

To say that Chihayafuru has been a big part of my life as a fan and a writer is an understatement.  As if having the anime back wasn’t shock enough to the system it’s airing on Tuesdays again (though given that it’s a late-night series it’ll be Wednesdays when I write about it).  I never imagined when I coined the term “Taichi Tuesdays” that it would sort of go viral, but it did.  My posts on Chihayafuru probably garnered as intense a following as any series I’ve ever covered (except arguably Hunter X Hunter), because it seems like no one – me or anyone else – feels anything halfway with this series.  Whatever the emotions are, positive or negative, they tend to be intense.

And so, here we are.  As Thomas Wolfe said “you can’t go home again”, and my feelings about the manga will surely change the way I view Chihayafuru now.  We won’t talk about manga spoilers here – when the anime gets there it gets there – but my frustrations with it are inseparable from my critique of the anime.  But as irritated as I’ve become at times, those feelings are indeed still intense.  I checked my finale post for Season 2 and it was 2579(!) words – even during the height of my blogging verbosity in 2013 that was a Goliath – and my season preview entry for S3 was the longest I’ve ever written.  Positive or negative, never halfway.

There are a couple of important production changes for this season, both sadly related to the passing of cast members.  Ohtori Yoshino replaces Fujita Toshiko as Miyauchi-sensei (the Empress).  And most crucially Miyake Kenta replaces Unshou Ishizuka in the critical role of Harada-sensei.  Miyake-san is really good but there’ll be an adjustment – Unshou was a true legend and his Harada was (and will be) the heart of Chihayafuru in many ways.  Behind the camera though, director Asaka Morio and most of the key staff are back at Madhouse and this premiere flowed seamlessly from what came before production-wise (to the point where it was almost eerie).

The structure of this premiere was a bit odd – much of the A-part was a sort of recap (this may have included some scenes from the middle school spinoff manga, which I haven’t read).  This then transitioned quite abruptly to the present – and the OP – and the last 15 minutes or so was a blur of dialogue and action.  Still and all, once we got back into the swing of things it was as if we’d never left – and after six years and change that was a rather bizarre sensation.  Morio’s directorial touches are unmistakable and unmistakably Chihayafuru – if one ever forgot how unique this series is, this premiere was a much-needed reminder.

Right where we left off, the premiere takes us to the Fujisaki training camp that Chihaya and Taichi are attending – alone, thanks to the machinations of Kana, Taichi’s greatest supporter and guardian angel.  That makes Sakurazawa-sensei a major character here, and (this is a recurring theme) most of the focus is on karuta rather than on the dynamics of Chihaya and Taichi’s relationship.  There is a rather profound moment, though, when Retro-kun notes to Chihaya that Taichi seems to play better when she’s not around.

So here’s how we find things.  Chihaya is laser-focused on herself and oblivious of what’s happening around her (stop me if you’ve heard this before).  Taichi seems to have put karuta blinders on, and is focused on karuta himself – though it could be argued that it’s because he’s come to realize that for Chihaya (who has a “crush on karuta”) love and karuta are inseparable entities.  As Chihaya struggles to compete playing left-handed (she just had surgery for her Enchondromatosis, remember) Taichi cuts through the training camp like a scythe, winning all of his matches.  Sakurazawa pits Chihaya against her undermotivated vice-captain Rion in hopes of lighting a fire under her (unsuccessfully), and gives Chihaya some “masters and queens” advice – which she never gave her own players.  And in the final match she pairs off Taichi against Chihaya – because no one else at the camp could give Taichi a real match.

I think the train ride home is telling.  We see Chihaya pouting because Taichi has beaten her, lefty or otherwise.  Because he’s “different”.  Chihaya wants Taichi to be what he’s always been – loyal, reliable, and on the tatami subservient to her.  While her mind drifts to thoughts of her karuta God on Fukui, she – as ever – takes Taichi for granted.  I don’t think this analysis is biased (and I make no claims of being unbiased where this topic is concerned) – I think it’s objectively obvious in Suetsugu’s narrative.  But it’s also true that Taichi must accept his share of the blame for this, because he’s allowed this status quo to drag on – allowed it because it allowed him to be at Chihaya’s side, even if it wasn’t in the way he wanted.  His quest is, as ever, to be a person who doesn’t run away – and to go forward – but for Taichi, one can still run away without doing so physically.

And there we are – another too-long review of Chihayafuru to begin this return engagement.  This series is so deeply ingrained in my DNA by now that brevity seems an impossible ask, but I’d be lying if I said what’s coming up eventually isn’t going to put my fandom to the test.  I’ve described the announcement of S3 as if an old girlfriend I know was bad for me but never got over had called and said “I’m in town, let’s get together”.  There was never any chance I wouldn’t show up, and the thrill of the meeting was undeniable.  But that nagging voice in the back of my head just won’t shut up, and it reminds me that this is going to be anything but a smooth ride…