Of all the weeks not to have a double episode…
No matter how much time passes, no matter how much aggravation I know is coming in the long haul, there’s really no show that can wind me up like Chihayafuru. When it’s like it was this week I love everything about it – Asaka Morio’s direction, the intensity, the suspense, the sheer depth of the emotions at play. I even love – perversely – how much it pisses me off with some of the things it does. Living a Chihayafuru episode like this is like living ten normal anime episodes – every emotion is cranked up to eleven.
I’ll tell you how into this I was – I did something I never do, kept closing full-screen mode so I could check the slider and see how much time was left. I just didn’t want this to end, and I knew from how engrossed I was that it was one of those eps where 22 minutes was going to feel like 10 had elapsed. Yes I’ve read the manga, but I did not want to sit on these feelings for a week – even though I knew there was no way Harada and Arata’s match was going to conclude here. And the last thing in the world I would want, if I could detach myself enough to think rationally about it, is for the anime to rush through what may be one of the two or three best passages from the entire manga.
Of course there was the matter of the Queen qualifier to sort through, and even if it’s clearly the appetizer in this meal it wasn’t short on quality moments. Chief among those was Aki sneaking over to the window (under his father’s watchful eye) and slipping Inokuma-san a couple of daisies he’d just picked. When she protested “I’m not a queen yet!” all I could think was, “well – you are to him, and that’s what matters.” It really was a lovely moment, right down to Megumu (who’d only now realized she was wearing her headband “backwards”) responding to this by tying her entourage’s headbands together and wearing them as a makeshift tasuki.
I was happy to see Inokuma-san take the prize, though it wasn’t a huge surprise given the way Suetsugu has been planting hints of it. It wasn’t Megumu’s time yet, plain and simple. And Haruka’s story has a lot of heft to it. But the truth is it’s better that the stage is cleared after the second match, because Arata vs. Harada is really what this has all been building towards and nothing else could have competed with it. As Harada-sensei sleeps upstairs (he declines to eat when he wakes, declaring that he doesn’t know how many calories he’ll be imbibing during his victory party) Arata wanders the streets, absorbing both physically and mentally what Chihaya whispered to him into his strategy for the third match.
Yes, that whisper. Now we know what it was, and while Suetsugu plays it off as some kind of inspirational aside that ends up working for everyone, my position is that Chihaya was unequivocally wrong to offer it. She had a responsibility to the Shiranami Society and never mind that, her loyalty should have been to Harada-sensei anyway. If Arata was struggling mentally and emotionally with playing a treasured mentor, Chihaya should have been happy to let him struggle – sorry, but it’s true. But it does fit the pattern of Arata and Chihaya perpetually having people go out of their way to make things easier for them, and Suetsugu-sensei portraying that as a good thing.
Nobody is going out of their way to make things any easier for Harada-sensei – not that they could, really. He fights like a bear for himself because he knows all the disadvantages he’s facing. Arata slipping literally and symbolically into his grandfather’s persona was certainly a powerful stratagem against Harada, given the latter’s experience when he was 19 years old and facing the master. But Chihaya has underestimated Harada’s resolve here – knowing all the cards stacked against him (pun intended) has given him a profound sense of perverse determination to defy expectations. Seeing the bogeyman of his youth has brought back feelings of vitality and exuberance as well as intimidation. But no amount of those feelings can restore cartilage in a knee…
Meanwhile, a fascinating little exchange is occurring between Suou-san and Chihaya outside the venue, as Suou feeds her Snowmaru dorayaki. Everything about this young man is mysterious to Chihaya – he’s inscrutable, and complicated in all the ways she’s straightforward. Even if his true interest in her is made light of in a bit of silly comedy, Suou clearly finds Chihaya interesting. Not Arata though, as we know – and Suou-meijin doubles down on his earlier comments to Arata by telling Chihaya that if it were his choice who to face in the final, it’d be the “exciting” Harada-sensei.
Everything about this match is poignant to me – even something like Harada-sensei preferring Kawai-san’s reading in part because of how beautiful it is. Would any 17 year-old think that? Only Kana perhaps – but she’s a rare bird and an old soul. Harada fights his Sisyphean battle, his relentless spirit at war with his failing body, sliding slowly ever-farther behind Arata until he’s 13-7 down. Even as Kitano-sensei inwardly screams for Harada to “just burn out already”, not even he is immune to the gravitational pull of this remarkable old bear’s sheer indomitable will. One thing about Chihayafuru – it’s always made it perfectly clear who the kaurta Gods are smiling upon. But as far as I’m concerned, those karuta Gods can go eff themselves.
Mi-chan
January 9, 2020 at 1:21 amI, like you,.cannot really forgive Chihaya. I am starting to feel disconnected from.the series. I wanted Arata to come back but Arata was a dull charecter to me that two episodes focus on him is 2 much for my taste.i am only watching this for Harada sensei. I have a bad feeling about everything but I hope it works out in the end and everything, I really do. I hope where you stopped at the manga was just the downfall and what continued was amazing.
Either way, Suo san and Chihaya thing was cute. Young Harada is so cute xD.. at least he ain’t bd now xD..
Thanks for your review, I want this match to end though. It is taking up too much of the anime in my opinion xD..
Guardian Enzo
January 9, 2020 at 6:42 amLOL, this is actually the rare Chihayafuru match I don’t want to stop. The natural contrast between the two combatants is glorious.
Ko
January 9, 2020 at 7:58 amLoving everything we’re getting out of this episode, fully supporting Inokuma and Harada here. I don’t really have any problem with Chihaya saying what she said, and think it’s kind of understandable to care about both players here. She wants them both to play the best match that they can, and if that’s all it takes for Arata to win against Harada then he deserves to win. That said, I’m 100% with Suo here, god I hope Harada wins. I think it would kind of be a detriment to the series to have a character trying to embody someone else for the first time being the way he wins. Well, that and I just haven’t been enjoying Arata lately. At the very least though I really like what it’s bringing out in Haradas character.
The moment between Suo and Chihaya here was also a lot of fun, and I’m hoping that’s not the end of their interactions for the time being.
Alex
January 10, 2020 at 9:45 amI don’t get it, why should Chihaya have to unwaveringly root for Harada-sensei? Obviously, Arata is a friend that means a lot to her, I don’t think I have to explain why. I actually think it’s unfair how much she’s made it clear to him over the phone that she’s 100% against him. Must’ve hurt to know his friends are hoping for him to lose. :/
It’s kinda funny, if this was Taichi, everyone would be bemoaning him “poor Taichi” like always. Nobody in this fandom cares about Arata’s feelings and it’s sad.
karma
January 10, 2020 at 9:43 pmTwo wrongs don’t make a right. Yeah, during the phone talk she could state her allegiance more tactfully (but that’s Chihaya for you, she always hurts people around her, then she’s sorry, and everything is forgiven), but in the second situation she was also in wrong. Let’s strip all the details to see how it went:
A and B are contenders in some kind of match of utmost importance. C is a member of the inner circle of A, but also knows B. During a break C goes to B to tell B something like that: “A knows how to fight against the current you, you should change your tactics to throw A off.”
I’m sorry, but it’s a bullshit, and that she wants both of them giving their all is such a flimsy excuse (but very Chihaya-like). To make things worse in the previous match we could see opponent helping Arata when his head wasn’t in the game. So if fandom doesn’t care about Arata’s feelings it’s on Suetsugu. It’s hard to root for somebody (no matter how hard his childhood was), when he’s treated as a golden child by almost whole karuta society, and given again and again things on a silver platter.
Guardian Enzo
January 10, 2020 at 9:49 pmThat’s mercilessly stated, but more or less where I stand too.
Chihaya was wrong – wrong, wrong, wrong. She’s a member of Harada-sensei’s karuta society. She’s his student. It’s through his sponsorship and instruction that she became a karuta player. When she competes it’s as “From the Shiranami Society” not “Girl who crushes on Arata”.
And yes, Suetsugu constantly bends over backwards (through her cast) to clear obstacles from Arata’s path and forgive Chihaya’s many thoughtless mistakes. That’s the real problem here – not that these things happen, but that it’s clear how she feels about it as the author.
Alex
January 11, 2020 at 8:24 amWell, of course if you “strip all the details” and look at things from a surface level it’s gonna look differently. She didn’t give him any strategies, she just told him why he was losing and he came up with a one on his own.
Clears obstacles? With Arata vs Murao? Aren’t you forgetting Arata had stomach problems during that entire tournament? He literally had to leave in the middle of the match while cards were being read. I think that’s a way bigger disadvantage than Murao “helping” him was an advantage. In the end, Arata cleared his head on his own anyway, all Murao did was give some encouraging words.
I dunno, it’s way easier for me to root for someone who is only good at one thing and has a few friends than someone who is good at everything and loved by everyone, but that’s just me.
karma
January 11, 2020 at 9:22 pm“Well, of course, if you “strip all the details” and look at things from a surface level it’s gonna look differently.”
If you can agree, that looking at things from that perspective, it was wrong, then at least we’re moving forward (and those “stripped details”, like in ex Chihaya’s crush on Arata, aren’t making this whole affair less damning).
“She didn’t give him any strategies, she just told him why he was losing and he came up with a one on his own.”
“Your current approach won’t work, because that’s what your opponent is prepared for” for most people would count as giving a strategy (or at least a game-changing hint). Chihaya isn’t Arata’s coach. If he can’t figure it out by himself or with the help of his team, then he’s unprepared and doesn’t deserve a win.
“Aren’t you forgetting Arata had stomach problems during that entire tournament? He literally had to leave in the middle of the match while cards were being read.”
And you could see in that episode that card advantage only made Murao an easier target. It was just bait and switch, a failed attempt of showing Arata as an underdog.
“I dunno, it’s way easier for me to root for someone who is only good at one thing and has a few friends than someone who is good at everything and loved by everyone, but that’s just me.”
No, it’s not just you. It’s hard to root for Arata when he’s loved by almost every character in this story.
I understand that you have a different (and probably more intended by Suegutsu) image of him (and probably Chihaya’s too), and if it makes your experience with Chihayafuru more pleasurable, it’s for the best. Nevertheless, at this point, further discussion probably won’t change anything (there will be more grasping straws than real arguments).
Nadavu
January 11, 2020 at 8:11 pmI came into Chihayafuru 3 with low expectations — I figured it would be a step down from season 2, which itself was a step down from season 1. Perhaps having low expectations help (my high expectations for season 2 certainly didn’t), but so far I’m very happy with what I get. I still operate under the assumption that shit will hit the fan at some point, but I’m resigned to that. Every good episode I get before that is like a boon.
Guardian Enzo
January 11, 2020 at 8:18 pmSavor the flavor, Kid…