As we wade deeper into these matches, the emotional palette in Chihayafuru becomes a lot less primary colored.  There are four very distinct and distinctive individuals at war in these matches, and one thing Suetsugu has always been good at is giving definition to her supporting characters.  Suou-san is the one we know the least about, certainly, and Harada-sensei has been the emotional core of this entire arc.  But somehow, watching their battle play out (in the tiny sliver of narrative time we’re actually allowed to) it’s not quite so simple.

In a very real sense the audience for Chihayafuru is in the same boat as the one within the narrative – we only see what the “cameras” choose to show us, which is almost entirely the queen match (or nothing at all if you’re Shinobu’s grandma, who’s still looking for the matches on TV).  You’d think I’d be inured to Chihaya’s thoughtlessness towards her friends by now, but somehow it still bothers me that she totally ignores the match that could theoretically give Harada-sensei the meijin title to go chasing after Shinobu.  “It’s just Chihaya” –  I know.  But once that stops bothering you, is there even any reason to keep watching?

As it turns out of course, there’s no chance of Harada winning that third match (though of course Chihaya doesn’t know that).  He storms past the meijin in the second match, the latter seemingly listless and off his game – though not as off his game as Shinobu is hers.  The twin blows her mother and Chihaya dealt her have thoroughly knocked Shinobu off her pedestal – she’s completely adrift for the entire match as Haruka storms past her.  Shinobu’s old coach, commentating on the webcast, had apparently told her grandmother that the more isolated she was the stronger she’d become – but she’s certainly putting the lie to that.

As I noted last week I definitely do feel for Shinobu, because she’s the most isolated person in the cast.  Certainly her isolation is largely self-imposed at this point, but she didn’t get to be the judgmental and imperious person she is by accident – her upbringing brought her to this point.  Still, my heart is with Haruka here I have to admit.  She’s been a great addition to the cast, a genuinely warm and open person who represents connection to people every bit as much as Shinobu represents isolation.  But even if she has more in her life to cling to, this is still her last grasp at the queen title – for Haruka is pregnant with her third child, and another long hiatus from the game seems unlikely to be followed by another triumphant return.

As it turns out not only do the queen finalists only have a best of 3 while the meijin is best of 5, they get a break during the third match (seriously?).  Ironically it comes at a perfect time for both Shinobu and Haruka, though obviously for different reasons.  As Chihaya blows off Harada’s match to go to Shinobu and the cameras have no choice but to show the men, the tide seems to turn drastically.  Suou is more aggressive and – shockingly – actually covering cards and chasing multi-syllable cards.  He stomps the old bear by 17 cards, but Harada has a card of a different sort up his sleeve – he tanked the game in order to recoup his strength, like an aging tennis pro tanking a set in a grand slam match.

Now, at last, that weakness Chihaya brought to Harada-sensei’s attention is revealed.  It’s his eyes, she told him – a seeming lack of peripheral vision.  And Harada makes no bones about attacking it, moving his cards constantly and sending cards that are likely to end up on the edges of the meijin’s formation.  This feels, for the first time with Harada’s unrepentant gamesmanship, a little unsavory.  If the Meijin has a physical weakness, is it right for him to knowingly exploit it?   But then, Suou has asked for no quarter and given none – he’s the undefeated and undisputed champ who’s fought every opponent on a level playing field and crushed all before him.  And he’s got 30-odd years on Harada to boot…

Even as the Queen regains her footing, the Meijin struggles to find his.  And there are no more outs for either them – it’s win or go home for both, though in Suou’s case it’s something he’d have to do twice.  With Haruka crippled by morning sickness her battle with Shinobu seems desperate indeed, and Harada has apparently stormed off to a lead with his ultra-aggressive strategy in their match.  But Suou didn’t get to be meijin four times running by accident – the question is, how does he respond when he’s never been pushed to the edge like this before?