How interesting it was that Suetsugu-sensei chose to focus almost all of her attention on the Queen match as we kick off the Meijin and Queen finals.  And of course, to depict the live stream of the matches (and Chihaya’s attention – as usual she can’t really be arsed to fully support Harada-sensei) as doing the same thing.  In a sense the two matches are very different, because there’s no obvious villain or rooting interest in the Queen match and there is in the Meijin.  But as is usually the case, what’s not obvious is more interesting, and what seems to be obvious is probably not as obvious as most people think.

Naturally there are things I can talk about as a manga reader (at this stage of the story) and things I can’t.  But I think it’s fair game to say that of all the major players in the story, Suou-meijin is the one we really know the least about.  His conduct is usually sphinx-like, even something as straightforward as being on the phone during memorization time.  Is it simple arrogance, or something else?  We only know what Suou chooses to tell us about himself, which so far hasn’t been much.  And that sense of mystery certainly extends to the Master final (from what little we see of it).

The pageantry of the event is certainly a part of the story, even in Chihayafuru.  The card boys and girls (including Sakurazawa-san, ROFL). the esteemed “Everest” Komine as reader, the pre-match prayers we saw last week.  Each of these four competitors come at the moment from a different angle.  Harada-sensei is laser-focused on the task at hand, Suou-san seemingly disinterested.  Shinobu is peevish and upright as usual, this time about the weight and huge sleeves of the heavy kimono her grandmother has selected for her.  And Inokuma-san, even in the moment, is first and foremost a mother to her small sons.

Both matches are as even as they can be – literally, as they come down to luck of the draw.  But the similarity really ends there.  Shinobu and Haruka are clearly going all-out, and this is a dream matchup – Haruka’s insane game sense and general presence up against Shinobu’s Hiten-Mitsurugi-ryuu God-like speed.  But while the Master match likewise goes down to the final card, one can’t be sure what was really happening there.  Suou-meijin, as usual, was closely watching the Queen match – and his penchant for matching the scores of the Master final (which are the only competitive matches he plays anymore) to the Queen final is well-known.

The fact that Suou loses the first game on the aforementioned luck of the draw (Shinobu wins hers) doesn’t answer the questions implicit in a Suou match.  In fact, Taichi theorizes that in fact the others are wrong in their assumption but not because the Meijin was going all-out – rather, because he wants to extend the match to the full five games, it being his last.  Harada is certainly incensed, and he’s no stranger to gamesmanship himself.  But what are we to make of the Meijin’s remarks that this “could be a difficult one” – and to which match was he referring?

It should be noted here that the Queen matches are best-of-three while the Master is best-of-five (just as in a grand slam tennis tournament).  That’s never been a problem for Suou in score-matching because he’s never needed a fourth game, but his loss here breaks the string at 12 in a row.  It’s a good start for Harada-sensei whatever the reason, but the truth is a harsh one -memory foam cushion or not, can those bone-on-bone knees really survive five games against the Meijin?  Even a three-set match against Arata – of which he only actually played two – seemed to push him to his physical limit.

Physical limits are clearly not going to be an issue for Shinobu, heavy kimono or not, and Haruka-san seems in decent fettle too.  She does, however, tell Rion-chan to watch her closely as the next game will probably be her last in a Queen match.  As for Shinobu, that kimono weighs on her in another manner when her mom (what a pill she is) tells her that her grandma only bought it for her to be a living billboard.  She takes solace from Chihaya’s visit to the green room (again – Harada-who?), but is gravely insulted when Chihaya informs her of the reason she skipped the qualifier.  You have to feel for Shinobu – nothing in the world outside of karuta can ever live up to her standards, and her family seems largely devoid of warmth and affection.  In this entire cast, she’s the one character who seems most truly alone.