| Episode 24. This series really does have some exceptional writing at times. Couple of good examples this episode were when Taichi asks Chi up to his room, and the fact he'd checked her from running up to his room uninvited before made it even more noticeable. Teenagers being in the same bedroom is a big deal, whether you're childhood friends or not, and Chi finally felt the same sense of trepidation that Taichi does, although maybe not for the same reasons. Taichi's mum seems yuk, she should be happy her son is so invested in a pastime so worthwhile, he's not out running around with girls, or laxing off playing games or watching tv, yet she berates him. The second point I really liked was the queen match. There were a number of different ways the author could have written this match with the 2 characters, queen could have trounced Yumi, Yumi could have tried really hard and just lost. But to have Wakamiya appear fatter, and therefore less agile in her playing, all because she wanted a mascot bag and thus ate loads of ice cream, completely in keeping with her character, very obsessive over the things she cares about (karuta and mascots), was playful and added an unknown element to the match for the title of queen. Ofc Wakamiya did go on to win. Another point was seeing how these cards have quite literally become Wakamiya's friends, she's had them with her since childhood and knows them all very well. This also goes to explain why she's a bit of an oddball, in the nicest way. Like Arata she had a family member of prodigious talent and the expectation to follow in their footsteps was a major factor in moulding her personality and behaviour at an early age, although in a subtly different way to Arata. On a side note, Yumi was bemoaning in her head these young girls, so I thought she was maybe mid 30's, but she's only 24, that's still very much a 'young' woman. I've always thought older women are hotter and the best mature with age like fine wine. There's plenty of actresses who didn't look very good in their late teens/early 20's but look stunning at 30 or 40. I have a harder time getting excited about karuta. I enjoy watching the characters, but don't share their excitement for the game, in large part because I don't speak Japanese so all the language syllable stuff goes over my head. I mean I get the basic premise, but not knowing the vowel sounds in Japanese puts us at a huge disadvantage when trying to process the finer points of listening to the sounds as they're being read. Be interesting if the queen and master played off to see who was the overall champion. |
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| Agreed that the writing in this show really steps it up sometimes. I think the relationships between characters are where you can see that the most, but even changes like Wakamiya's obvious weight gain come from a place of solid individual character writing. It's nice to see that characters change when our leads aren't around, something many shows don't manage very well. As for karuta, I'm appreciating more of the subtleties of the game than I am the actual play. There's a lot to appreciate in terms of where it comes from and the poetry on each card, as well as how individual characters become attached to it, but the former does tend to feel a bit same-y (I haven't seen a lot of diversity in what the poetry is trying to convey either) and the latter I can chalk up to good character writing in relation to karuta rather than the game itself. It's a nice vehicle for the series, but not so much as a focal point. I'd also be interested to see if they have a Master vs. Queen game. Seems like that should be an obvious showcase, but the choice to separate them in the first place is odd. Doesn't seem like there should be an advantage based on sex. Episode 25 Onto the S1 finale. Suo is characterized as having the best game sense of any karuta player, effectively not being the fastest, but bearing the quickest reaction, able to recognize slight differences in how even the same word can be read for different cards. That essentially balloons the number of sweet cards for him, making him seemingly unbeatable, but Chi's first response is to also listen for those differences. Tsutomu also points out that Chi already has 20 one syllable cards as compared with Suo's 28, something even Chi's barely aware of, so she's well on her way. Yumi's coach makes an important point after the match that neither the Master nor Queen have teachers, making it difficult for them in turn to teach. Strong talent all their own for better or worse. That doesn't stop anyone else from fighting to improve with their eyes on these two, though. Even Arata's senpai is fired up. Chi focuses on how she hears those early syllables, finding a method in her madness. Kana resolves to become a certified reader, something ideally suited to her talents and that works in parallel with Chi's aims, though it does mean she'll have to make it to Class A and stay there for quite a while. Taichi, in particular, seems quite driven, practicing his swings. Both he and Arata resolves to take cards faster despite their lesser game sense, with Taichi even turning a bit sadistic like Sudo to throw Chi off her game. Even their teacher is pulling for them, refusing to let the faculty take away their club room and earning them some extra funds, but being forced to place a new burden on them: recruit 5 new members next year. Even with their successes, that's an uphill struggle. And so the season ends as it began: with Chi putting up a karuta recruitment posting in a skirt and track pants, balanced precariously on a chair, beauty in vain on display. They mentioned something last episode that I only picked up on now. There are multiple grades within Class A. This is similar to the dan system from March, but upon entering Class A, you are in Grade 4. Grade 5 indicates near perfection, Grade 6 (Yumi's) means you've "clarified the secret of artistic quality" of the game, Grade 7 is mastery, and beyond that is just kind of absurd. I don't know where the current Queen and Master rank, but that's some crazy stuff. More on that here: http://nagaraushi.g1.xrea.com/English/en-menkyo.html So, yes, I'm down for another round with this one. It has a lot to love in it, and though I don't think it quite manages to bring me fully onboard with karuta, I think it uses it well. This season has been replete with strong character moments, great team building with a group of characters that are easy to root for, and though it's taken a while to get there, really giving us an idea of what the pinnacle that these characters aspire to looks like. If I had to pick a favorite, I think I'd agree that Taichi is just the most interesting one in the bunch, and his development in particular has stood out over the course of the series. I'll be interested to see how this series juggles more club members while developing the core 5. So far, I think I'd rate it right at an 8/10. There's excellence here, but I think it's only starting to be tapped. |
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| Episode 25. Same with you, there are many things I really like about this show. First off, I just love how Madhouse animators flex when they depict the settings from the cards as they're being read out with these gorgeous sweeping vistas. Then nice touch having Arata and Taichi discussing tactics over the phone, showing them gradually reacquainting over karuta and thinking of ways to improve without having the 'sensing' ability of Chi or the master. Then some nice symmetry having the season end off with Chi going around putting up posters trying to recruit new members as she was at the beginning of the season. The reason for the club needing another 5 members seems a bit forced but you can see why the author induced this new hurdle, gives them something to aim for, as well as improving. Kana finding a passion for reading and the teacher being fully in their corner now are other good examples of well crafted character development. What I still don't really get is the whole 'sensing' thing they were talking about, as not really sure it translates to English. Imagine the phrases 'the wash'/'the water'/'the waves' or 'the light'/'the leaves'/'the love', could someone interpret which one of the 3 options it could be on only the first syllable 'l' or 'w', not sure. Thanks for the info on the grades in each ranking, I'd completely missed that. I scored this season a very high 7/10, 7.9. For me this was a good bell weather show, showcasing the differences between josei and shoujo. It didn't have any of the shoujo comedy or embellishments like framing borders, sparkles, chibi characters, which I find I actually quite like, more so because of there omission from this show, which has the character writing of a shoujo like FruBa or Kimi but without the shoujo style. Although this is an objectively 'better' show, I enjoyed Sailor Moon more. for one thing, Aria would sit quietly with me and watch SM, partly because of Luna and thinks she liked the bright colours and transformations, she has no interest in Chihayafuru and runs around throwing books at me whilst I'm watching, lol. Onto the next season and guessing maybe Arata may show up soon? |
23feanorJan 20, 1:44 AM
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| Episode 26 (Season 2, Episode 1) Another pretty OP. I'm particularly fond of watching the letters form various patterns in the sky around them, it's a nice touch. We get some early insights into characters who are likely to join the club. Sumire, a new first year on the hunt for a boyfriend, scouts Taichi as a target. Taichi is pretty effective at recruiting, but Chi has more trouble drawing in anyone despite her desire to teach new recruits, something she's ill suited to do. A literal horde of girls arrives to apply, including Sumire, who is very forward when it comes to asking about Taichi's love life. Sumire sees both Chi and Kana as enemies in her pursuit of Taichi. It's interesting to see how each member contributes in these early stages - Chi tries to stoke interest, Kana cracks the whip, Nishida seems a little less assured and just tries to assist - but inevitably most of the girls seem ready to wash out. Even Sumire doesn't seem at all interested, saying they should just play bozu mekuri (a sort of karuta for beginners) instead. So then it becomes about the focus of each member. Taichi suggests that Chi's aim should be towards the Queen match, so she shouldn't be training first years. Kana offers to take that role, with most of the team deciding that there's little value in working hard to train first years who aren't invested. Giving them an off-road like that might give them the five members they need more quickly, serving short-term interests like training for an upcoming tournament, but not keeping the club alive in the long term. It's apparent that even the core 5 all have very different focuses: Taichi on the Master and Queen match, Kana on proper etiquette, Tsutomu on the practice environment, Nishida on the upcoming tournament and Chi on... well, everything, though her focus on getting Taichi to Class A is strongest, which also inspires Taichi to pursue it more strongly himself. She wants to have it all, even saying that she'll come back to coach karuta after she graduates. Pretty funny moment where Chi has to affirm that she's the ace of their team despite relegating herself to teaching first years. Sumire's focus on love establishes a connection to the love-driven poetry of karuta while her pursuit of Taichi gives her a reason to stick around for now, even as she feels she has little to no chance after a brief conversation. Decent start to the new season. Sumire came off a bit one-note, but the show's giving some hints that there is more to her. Will have to see where that goes. |
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| @whiteflame55 just finished Char's Counter Attack film and another Zeta debacle with Tomino directing, and writing the script and storyboard. I was really hoping for more from the final encounter between Amuro and Char, but went out with a whimper with a final revelation that a lot of Char's issues stem from mummy issues, and his search for a surrogate mother, which he thought he'd found in Lalah Sune, strange choice for a mother figure given that she was younger than him and Indian. This may explain part of the reasons he's had issues with the women in his life, such as not committing to Reccoa in Zeta. After reading your recent review of Unicorn I'm going to give that a watch soon, then maybe the next couple of movies up to Hathaway movie, and then that's pretty much the UC timeline done. On Chihayafuru, I'm guessing another love interest for one of the main trio must pop up soon as the show has the love polygon tag, and that implies more than 3 people, so maybe this Sumire girl will get her hooks into Taichi? Oh wait, my maths knowledge has let me down, apparently a triangle is a polygon, so maybe it's just Taichi, Chi and Arata. |
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| @whiteflame55 just finished Char's Counter Attack film and another Zeta debacle with Tomino directing, and writing the script and storyboard. I was really hoping for more from the final encounter between Amuro and Char, but went out with a whimper with a final revelation that a lot of Char's issues stem from mummy issues, and his search for a surrogate mother, which he thought he'd found in Lalah Sune, strange choice for a mother figure given that she was younger than him and Indian. This may explain part of the reasons he's had issues with the women in his life, such as not committing to Reccoa in Zeta. After reading your recent review of Unicorn I'm going to give that a watch soon, then maybe the next couple of movies up to Hathaway movie, and then that's pretty much the UC timeline done. On Chihayafuru, I'm guessing another love interest for one of the main trio must pop up soon as the show has the love polygon tag, and that implies more than 3 people, so maybe this Sumire girl will get her hooks into Taichi? Oh wait, my maths knowledge has let me down, apparently a triangle is a polygon, so maybe it's just Taichi, Chi and Arata. |
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| @23feanor I saw Char's Counter Attack out of order (just after we finished the original series) and largely just assumed that Zeta would fill in important gaps. If anything, I think it makes less sense after watching Zeta, so if I rewatched it now, my score would probably go down. And yeah, Char's motivations and how he views Lalah are just the strangest turns the series could have taken. I do still recommend Unicorn, albeit chiefly for people who are more used to the strange choices the UC series has continued to make over time. I considered watching the movie that takes place between Unicorn and Hathaway (Twilight Axis is apparently enough of a side story that I just ignored it), but Narrative has such negative reviews that I just decided to read the summary instead. It doesn't seem fully necessary to understand the events of Hathaway anyway - for once, the series really did focus more on the ground level and much less on the broader scheme. Based on the first movie, I'm hopeful that the Hathaway series may produce some of the best Gundam has to offer - it certainly had one of the best scenes I've seen from Gundam so far. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a love interest that gets involved past this point, particularly for Chi, someone who will force Taichi into action. I assumed from early on that Arata would be that person, but given the distance, it doesn't seem likely. |
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| Thanks for the heads up on the Narrative gundam movie, will do as you suggested and skip it and move straight onto Hathaway. Episode 26. Good recruitment strategy from Kana, send the 2 hottest people up to talk, Chi is a bit of a dolt sometimes "I don't have many friends, but I am friends with all 100 karuta cards", made me chuckle. So we meet Sumire, don't like her type but she could be a fun character. On reflection I'm not sure they'll be any other love interests, Taichi is holding a bright torch for Chi and has been for years, only thing that could extinguish it would be if Chi and Arata hooked up. And for Chi, although she considered dating that random guy who asked her out, I think it would have to be someone involved with karuta (not Arata I mean), which may be a possibility, but I think the pace of the romance means we'll just get hints here and there until the matter comes to a head later on. I think the author is deliberately steering away from dealing with the romance as it would overshadow the rest of the show and karuta. I quite enjoyed the source of comedy all the girls turning up for Taichi provides. I think I'd have the same reaction as the new recruits if I was bombarded all that info on karuta and being told I had to learn 100 poems in a week. We had clubs at school and college but they weren't mandatory so I've never been part of a club, although I played for 2 pub pool teams when I was 18-19, we were quite good although we came 2nd in the league both years, damn Bridge Inn team from Shawford had an ex professional on their team who wiped the floor with us, grrrr. It was good fun being part of a team, but it was part playing pool and part getting drunk and eating (the home team always laid out a spread). From what Chi said to the existing team members, sounds like she wants karuta to be part of her life, a big part, once she graduates. She is really serious about the game, it's not just a hobby for her. Sumire reminds me a little of that scheming girl from Kimi ni Todoke, Kurumi, who always tried to wheedle her way into Kazehaya's life. Telling that Taichi says to Sumire that he doesn't just want to date a random girl because she asks him out, and that he should be working towards his own romantic goal, ie Chi. Come on Taichi. |
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| Never got very good at pool, always played pretty casually and rarely improved. I feel you on facing a professional, though. Back when I was doing speech and debate in high school, one of our opponents was Zac Efron (I'm not joking, he was really in our region) and though I didn't know the name at the time, I was told that he'd had acting training. It showed - dude picket fenced (getting 1's every round) every tournament I went to in speech and got 4th in the national tournament. Dude's got the skills, but it felt grossly unfair. Episode 27 This is the episode where Sumire realizes just how dear karuta is to her crush, making it a turning point of sorts for her own investment. It's nice to see a bit of the perspective of someone new to the game getting to see it played competitively. Kana was an odd case where her attachment was to the poems that she already knew well, and even Tsutomu already memorized the poems and had a sort of direction starting out. Sumire is a true outsider, completely divorced from the game, and so the wall seems so much higher for her to even get started, since she doesn't have a reason to pursue karuta, just one to pursue Taichi. Meanwhile, only 4 students remain from the rest of the students that were interested in the club, including a boy that showed up near the end of last episode. That narrows down to just the boy in the end (Tsukuba, who seems pretty confident despite only knowing 20 of the cards), leaving Chi in tears as she was hoping to "make the cards more friends." Sumire also returns, retaining some interest, even if she doesn't quite know why. She still seems more interested in her appearance than she does in the game - @23feanor I can definitely see some relation to Kurumi. She expresses what we were both thinking: that the 100 poems are mostly love poems, and that her focus on getting a boyfriend is in-line with the game, stating blatantly that she lacks interest in karuta and is just after Taichi. That means she spends most of her time on her appearance, limiting her practice. She also has no interest in getting better (though she clearly enjoys doing well), just participating, hence she can play with longer nails despite them being obviously problematic. There's a set of cards called Hokkaido cards where the second verse gets read first, which Tsukuba trained on when he was younger, so he's trying to get good at first verse karuta as well, having a high opinion of himself and wanting only to be taught by club members with higher ranks. All he wants to do is get better, but he's sparing in who he sees as worthy (or handsome/pretty enough) to give him advice. Nishida does offer to train him, immediately setting to work changing his form and playstyle to suit their karuta. And we find out why Chi is so driven to add new members: she does not want a repeat of her collapsing at nationals, depriving the team of a member without a backup. Didn't think that that was where this would go, but it's a nice turn. And Kana chases down Sumire and, through her love of the poetry of karuta and embracing of her beauty regimen and feelings, is able to get the younger girl to come back. It's notable that Nishida and Kana, the two characters who most wanted to place their newest students on the backburner, are the ones taking the lead in helping keep and improve them. Little by little, their aims are uniting. Sumire even cuts her nails and studies the 100 poems, demonstrating her investment. Nice to see some steps in the right direction. |
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| Episode 27. It's tough to see so many potential recruits to the club dropping out, but that's how it goes sometimes, and why Taichi didn't want Chi coaching them as he could see this coming. On occasion people will get infected by another persons enthusiasm, like Chi was with Arata, but that can often not be enough alone and people have to make their own connections with a game/sport/activity. Having passionate people and club members around will help in drawing people in, but karuta is honestly a tough sell. Chi says she feels sorry for the cards, which is a bit sweet but also very dumb and a bit naïve. Chi can be a bit blinkered at times when it comes to karuta and can't understand why others don't like it as much as she does, she can't see her passion from another person's perspective, a bad trait of the young. I do appreciate how straightforward Sumire is about wanting to date Taichi and how she argues back to Kana, unknowingly using her own logic against her saying women should always look good and that romance is important, as seen by the fact the karuta poems are all about love, demonstrating how romance has been a key factor of life for hundreds of years. It would be interesting if Sumire dampened down her ardour for Taichi for a while, and became the type he would actively want to date and go after. If Chi weren't about that could happen over time. Chi doesn't seem to care, or even have any thoughts on Sumire targeting Taichi. We haven't had much indication on how Chi feels about Taichi, other than the fact they're childhood friends. She wants him to do well at karuta and make A rank, but not about what she thinks or feels for him. Good job Kana talking Sumire back and even asking her for tips on makeup. So looks like the club has 2 new members. |
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| Episode 28 Arata's karuta society is apparently a powerhouse, with Arata himself losing only to his mentor in the finals at a tournament. Despite others around him emphasizing the Master match, he's only focused on facing off against Taichi and Chi. Off to the high school tournament, where our leads are going to defend their title, though two schools will advance this year given the number in Tokyo. Given Hokuo's still around and a force to be reckoned with (Sudo graduated, so not quite as much of one), it's likely it will be the two of them. Nice to see Sumire in a hakama - she really takes to it and it suits her well. Funny that Kana doesn't see Chi as a female member of the team. Given how she acts, that tracks, though Chi still looks so striking in her floral hakama. It'll be the main five playing with their two newest members as potential substitutes, though Tsukuba isn't OK with that, trying to write himself in. That initially earns a strike to the forehead a la Uncle Chan from Jackie Chan Adventures (yes, I was obsessed with this show), but Tsutomu decides to shift things up, allowing his juniors to play in their first two matches in place of him and Kana, respectively. This has a point given the info they have on their first two opponents, though the main reason seems to be to give them some real exposure and rest players who will be needed later. Tsutomu also remembers being in their shoes and wants to give them the chance he got. Chi wins her first and second matches by 25 cards, showcasing her growth and inspiring Sumire to step it up. She probably still loses (not clear), but it's nice to see her become driven. Tsukuma also loses in his match against a Class A player. He wanted to show off, but he got a humbling experience instead, though his strange expression and a bit of his prior training help him create a foothold and their play inspires Tsukuma's brothers to work hard. We learn right at the end that Wakamiya and Arata have a history together. That should be interesting to explore. |
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| Episode 28. The national highschool tournament comes around again and despite coming second Arata will be going and is looking forward to playing against Chi and Taichi. The team are off to the Tokyo preliminaries hoping to book their place in the national tournament as well. Nice to see the new guys Sumire and Tsukaba getting a turn, even if they both lose (there was a little graphic in the corner indicating that Sumire lost), just like Tsutomu and Kana experienced the previous year. Never heard of the Jackie Chan Adventures show, wasn't even aware there was a cartoon version of Jackie Chan, although not surprised. On an aside, did you like Kung-fu movies when you were younger, I loved them for a while and even went to Kung-fu lessons for about a year, only got to the first belt learning the same style as Bruce Lee, Wing Chun, initially meant for women to use as it's all about transferring weight and balance and using a flow of force, so better for smaller people. My favourite Kung-fu movie is the Legend of Fon Sai-Yuk featuring Jet Li, it's got loads of crazy stunts in it. Chi smashes it winning by 25 cards both times. Nice to see the empress lie for the team, well bend the truth, so they don't lose their room. So Wakamiya, who is back to being thin, knows Arata, from childhood it looks like. Wouldn't it be interesting if she played a part in a love polygon (Taichi>Chi, Wakamiya>Arata and Arata>Chi, but Chi>karuta). |
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| It wasn't an amazing show by any means, but it was a fun watch and Jackie Chan's a pretty solid VA. I watched a smattering of kung-fu movies, picked it up a little more in my 20's and watched a few since I've been in my 30's. Should really see more of those. Episode 28 Seems Arata has a goal in mind, something to do with Chi and his friends in Tokyo, after getting to the national tournament. I've been wondering why, if Taichi has been to so many tournaments, he has yet to win one. One of his teammates chalks this up to "luck," though it's unclear what they mean. It does appear, however, that he's unsure of his own talents as a result, losing focus. Everyone gets past preliminaries only to encounter another dark horse team: Homei, led by the East Representative from last year (he's too old to play), who is also the ace of Chi and Taichi's karuta society. Nice to see another team with some real characters on it. Dr. Harada gives Taichi a bit of advice before their match, telling him that a team match is an individual match, which initially comes off as cryptic. Chi's opponent asks for her number at the start of the match, making her initially flustered (girl's focus goes hard as soon as the match starts, love that about her) and throwing of Taichi. This is compounded by a weird rhythm from the reader, which throws everyone off a bit along with the presence of a weird opponent who is actively cursing the cards while playing. Didn't know that was allowed, but hey, it works for her as she guesses multiple cards in a row. It also functions as a way to make Taichi feel like he's only getting the cards she allows him to have. Even the AC seems to work against him. But then something unexpected happens. He asked for a towel and has almost a half dozen small ones thrown at him, all from women on his side who are watching him. Even Chi leans across to give him one. It shows how much they support him, that they all have attention on him when he needs it. This steels him, and he starts to truly attack, no longer looking at those around him and focusing on the individual match like never before, heeding Dr. Harada's words. He comes back in a big way and takes the match in the end. It's unclear how many of them won, actually. It's notable that this is an example of his resolve we saw at the end of last season: him beating an opponent with strong game sense through hard work and his strong memory. So it'll be a rematch with Hokuo to round out the tournament. |
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| Episode 29. Arata has a pretty girly cellphone, pink with pink background with swirly bits. An unknown team, including the ace from Taichi and Chi's karuta society enter the tournament, and the guy uses his knowledge of them both against them, such as getting one of the guys to ask out Chi, throwing off Taichi, whom he calls the pillar of the team. I did like the psychological aspects explored in the game, with the new player acting as if she's almost predicting what card comes next next and celebrating whether it was or not, all to give off a positive mindset and dampen her opponents spirit, in this case Taichi. Loved all the towels getting thrown at Taichi, including Chi. Sumire said Chi never pays any attention to Taichi, she does, but only where it concerns karuta and getting Taichi to A rank. Does Chi actually like Taichi, ie as a friend, or simply because he's a comrade in arms playing and learning karuta together. Got a feeling it's the latter at this point in time, Chi doesn't really see much beyond the world of karuta. It looked like Taichi's opponent moved all her cards together in one row of 6 and then whenever one of them was called she swiped the whole lot. As we said before seems like cheating to knock a bunch of 6 cards away when only one of them is the correct one, but seems to be a valid tactic. Felt like a well earned win for Taichi. Lucky guy having the attention of all those older ladies, even Kana's mum. If I were him I'd give up on Chi and pick one of those enticing older ladies. |
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| Episode 30 Hokuo seems blasé about the finals, given that they will go to nationals regardless of the result, and Retro is perturbed. He nonetheless sets the order for their players as usual with his cards. Chi, meanwhile, refuses to give an inch on winning this. She doesn't need to push too hard, though - Kana, Tsutomu and Taichi are pushed plenty hard when they hear the other team captain disparaged them. Turns out, Nishida's sister is now in a relationship with Retro. Speaking of order, Tsukuba once again tries to write himself in. Cheeky bastard. What upsets Taichi, though, is that the boys on the team are all starting sentences with the word "but." Admittedly, that's something I was taught not to do as well (he says it's about not making excuses, but it's also usually bad sentence structure), though it's strange for the lesson to solely be applied to males. In any case, the aim is to stop making excuses, which pushes everyone to look ahead. Hokuo has 2 class A's and 3 class B's, so it'll be an uphill battle. Still, when the order gets read, though most of the others are surprised that they didn't line up with the opponents they expected, Retro appears unfazed - dude clearly set this order on purpose to challenge his own team, refusing to let them take an easy road and forcing a straight up match. Sudo even shows up to support his decision, acting as reader. That puts pressure on his team. Meanwhile, our main crew's teacher shows up and gives them handmade tasuki, straps meant to hold the draping hakama closer to their arms so that they can move more easily. It's a gift that really does a good deal to show her growth: she's not just supporting them, but actively sought out what she could do to help them in their play. She may not be a trained coach and she certainly has other duties, but this shows her commitment to this team. It's really touching, and the entire team bows to her to show their appreciation. One thing I don't really understand. Both some of the players and the crowd talk a lot about each team wearing the other out in this match. I'm pretty sure there's substantial distance between this match and the national tournament. Why does it matter if they're a little tired after this one? Isn't it good practice regardless? For that matter, while I understand some of the others don't like trying too hard, I don't really understand why they would balk at the chance to face off against a difficult opponent now when nothing is on the line but pride. Better to do so now and really test yourself than it would be to move onto a much more difficult tournament without gaining anything. Also, as their teacher points out, I still don't get why there is a division between male and female players in single play, at least at non-national tournaments (where they seem to throw that out for whatever reason). Chi struggles, but there's a difference between her and her opponent in their focuses. Chi is still trying to catch up to Wakamiya, but her opponent sees the young woman's strength as unapproachable. That will end up being the difference for them: Chi refuses to accept that she has that kind of ceiling. She shifts in the middle of the match to a style more reminiscent of Suo, wielding what she can of both their strengths. Kana steps into her own as well (despite her big boobies). Shockingly, Nishida falls to his opponent (a first year Class A student). Also intriguing is Sudo's apparently sudden interest in reading. He's doing it because he believes the current Master Suo studies readers more than he does opponents, ensuring that he's much quicker on the draw due to intonation. |
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| On the subject of kung-fu films, I'm guessing you've seen Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. If you haven't then I'd highly suggest both, Hero may be in my all time top 10 films, it's so cinematic with a lovely OST. Here's a link to Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk on youtube. It's a lot more silly than the other two and contains the usual flying people on trip wires jumping from tree to tree or rooftop to rooftop, but has some of the most technical fight scenes, especially one on a wooden frame where you can't hit the ground. Jet Li said it was one of the films he was most proud of in terms of the fighting techniques. It's kind of like the kung-fu equivalent of Die Hard, cheesy but oh so cool. Episode 30. The teams facing off in the final mention that they'll both go to nationals, so deducing from that statement that 2 teams from the Tokyo area, winner and runner up go on to nationals. However, Chi won't be happy with 2nd place and wants to win. As the series goes on I'm finding Chi a bit one dimensional, she is just all about karuta and nothing else. There is literally nothing else about her personality, oh she also likes mascots, so karuta and mascots. Yeah she's passionate, but it borders on obsessive and a tad boring after a while. Taichi otoh is a genuinely well rounded and interesting person, with layers to him. He's also passionate about karuta but there's more to his personality than just that. Nichida's sister dating Retro is a funny twist, also in the dub she has the same VA as Nishida but putting on a girly voice, sounds hilarious. No 'buts' or 'i just', my dad was strict on me saying 'like', usually followed by umm, so 'like, umm,......'. As a young teen I'd start every sentence 'like, how long till dinner', 'like, what's the time' etc, so I get it. My dad wrote for a living (speeches for CEO's and business communications), so he was tough on correct speech and structures, although think he gave up on me after a while, my brother was the shining pupil learning Greek and Latin at his public school. I completely agree with Retro's sentiment that you pointed out. You don't want to coast through, and you want the toughest challenge you can give yourself in preparation for nationals. Similar thing with the NFL playoffs recently, you want tough opponents in the run up to the playoffs, as the teams you'll meet in the actual playoffs will be in form, so you want to be at your peak playing performance. Good on Retro. Chi's opponent is an annoying brat, just wanting to coast and not having to put in any effort. He gets bothered by the fact Chi is trying so hard. The empress getting them the ties for their hakama (don't know the difference bewteen a hakama and yukata) was sweet. You've hit on it, in these team tournaments guys play girls, yet for the nationals its separated by gender, although same can be said for snooker/pool and darts, where there isn't much of a advantage for men. Nishida loses and the rest of the team are struggling with Chi trying to hard to be a perfectionist and emulate the queen and master. As her opponent correctly surmises, play the person in front of you. |
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| I've definitely seen Hero, can't recall if I've seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon through all the way or just in snippets, but I've definitely seen a lot of it. Very fond of both films. I'll have to check out that third film. Sounds like a good time and I'm good with this kind of movie being a bit sillier. Episode 31 I'll say I agree that Chi seems a bit one-note to me as well. You want her to do well, but that's about it. There's just not a lot going on besides her love of karuta. Still, I'm fond of seeing how she improves, in this case by using some of the strengths of the Queen and Master in turn and it is interesting how even Sudo seems unclear about what she's hearing to differentiate certain cards that should sound the same based on hearing something before the actual syllable. Unclear what that is, but she's easy to root for, particularly as we haven't gotten to know her opponent. It's also nice to see Tsutomu (notably against the same opponent he lost to in the previous year) and Kana putting up a solid fight in their matches against higher ranked players and Taichi still holding up. But all their matches end with one card per side, placing them in a 50-50 situation. Initially, that makes it seem as though it's dependent on whose gets called, with the majority of the same card on the same side. But Hokuo orchestrates a ploy: they send as a result of normal play a card over, ending up with exactly two of the same card on each side. Apparently, they can do this by announcing which card they have (which they have to do in order to move them on their own side) and reveal to their teammates what they've got that way. That's a problem because it means no matter whose gets called, they have the advantage needed to win 2 and, thus, the game. Pretty skeevy and apparently borderline when it comes to the rules. Nishida blames himself for losing early, but there are so many factors that led to this. But they don't give up. Everyone practices their swings with the intent of catching their opponents' card, and Taichi breaks down the risk, given that there are still 5 dead cards and three syllables required before they know which of the 2 cards remaining are being read. And that's what leads to a mistake: Retro faults in defense of his own card, making it an even match. It's nice to see that the Hokuo ace Amakasu comes around to playing his hardest at this point, but it's also not really built up, since he just kind of gets frustrated and starts practicing his swings. Still, Hokuo ends up taking the match 3-2, with Chi and Amakasu tying in their last grab. Even he admits that Chi is the better player in the end, priming him to move in a way that would have forced a fault if he was wrong. Still, both teams are on their way to nationals, and their new players join the karuta society under Dr. Harada, showcasing their newfound dedication. An email from Arata asking if she had fun at the final brings out the waterworks for Chi. |
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| Episode 31. I've come down with a cold and lost my voice, so feeling a bit crap, so that may explain it, but I found this ep a bit boring. When they focus so much on the intricate tactics and aspects of karuta my interest wanes. I get the tactics used by the opposing team for the sudden death/last card scenario, but I just can't get excited about it. Found myself focusing more on the lovely OST in the background. The team loses overall but Chi enjoys herself and the others give a strong showing, leading to Sumire and Tsukuba and his brothers joining the karuta society. So onto nationals. And Chi gets teary eyed when she gets a message from Arata. Arata has been so distant for so long, hoping he comes back into the story more. Chi's reactions to his messages seem a bit over the top, bit melodramatic. It must appear to Taichi like she has a serious crush or infatuation on Arata to break down in tears every time she gets a message from him, that's certainly the impression I would get in his place. |
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| Hope you feel better soon! I agree these kinds of episodes just don't do it for me in the way the interpersonal dramas do. They can be fine enough, but the actual dynamics of how this is played often feel like people are skirting a line with their tactics and it actively makes it less interesting. And yeah, similar feelings about Chi being a bit over the top and melodramatic when it comes to Arata, but it's on brand that she wouldn't notice how it's affecting Taichi. Episode 32 We get more of Chi's family, particularly her sister, being dismissive of her interests. I initially was very frustrated about this since I feel like her family would have to be very aware of how much this means to Chi, but learning that her sister is planning on giving up modeling because she feels she's not cut out to succeed in the field tells me she's projecting, which makes more sense. It's a bad time for Chi, though, who feels like her errors let down her entire team, so she shares that in common with Nishida, though she seems to internalize it more than he does. It also doesn't help that they're set to lose their club room given the lack of new members, though it's nice to see the team actively recognizing the needs of another club, even if it comes back to selfishness in the end. Nice ot see that they show their appreciation by playing for them later. It's nice to get a bit more of a dive into how these characters are thinking. Sumire comes off as still only interested in Taichi, but has come around to karuta as something to pursue independent of him. Chi's mother shows appreciation for all the beautiful outfits Kana's mother dressed Chi in over the tournaments - nice to see that she paid close enough attention to the photo of Chi in the paper that she knew where the outfit came from. She also offers to buy a hakama for her daughter (she doesn't end up taking it to nationals due to the heat, though...), a genuine show of support that also serves to show her how Chi has grown as she can put it on for herself. Chi's mother reveals that she's always been confident in Chi's ability to push herself forward through karuta (even if that meant worse grades), while her elder sister has been more concerning as she struggles with her career. It's good to see her acknowledge that Chi has largely been ignored, though I'm not super fond of Chi dismissing it as unimportant. It should matter more, particularly to her. Nonetheless, it clearly buoys her spirits and she's back to practicing intensely in short order with tape of the Queen match. And her dedication bolsters her sister as well, though that one feels kind of forced. We also get a comparison between the words "impassionate" and "frenzied," which seems out of place in this episode, albeit a decent lesson in diction that seems to resonate with Chi. We end with some light melodrama as Chi calls Arata, hoping to see him at the tournament and leading Taichi to turn away just when he was going to see her. More of the same there. |
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| Episode 32. Yeah Chi's sister seems a bit of a bitch, not bothering to engage with her sisters passion, or show the slightest interest, but still deigning to tell her to quit, even though she was just told Chi made it to nationals for the 2nd year in a row. Interesting move on Chi's part to give up their club room willingly, seeing the need of the wind club and partly wanting to be altruistic in the hopes karma will come back and help out the karuta team's luck in future tournaments. Chi's mum (who strangely isn't hot given how cute her 2 daughters are) has been giving gifts to Kana's mum (who is hot) for a while. Shows that she's been paying some attention to Chi's life. Sweet gesture on Chi's mum's part buying her a hakama, acknowledging that she'll be playing for many years to come. You can tell that Chi's mum has faith in Chi and knows she's doing well in life having a hobby like karuta, even if her grades aren't the best, which is good affirmation for Chi of her parents trust in her choices. Especially compared to her sister's choice of the fashion industry. I think the mum is kind of admitting that Chi is a more capable person compared to her sister, and doesn't need constant supervision or moral support like the sister. Chi knows what she wants, ie to play karuta, and has followed that goal with single minded determination and focus. Noticed a small break of the 4th wall, or wink to the audience at least, when Chi asks what 'araburu' means. Kana thinks "we're in season 2 of this thing [the show] and Chi still doesn't know what it means...", although she could have been referring to the 2nd season of playing karuta maybe, works either way. I only know araburu means savage because of the show O Maidens In Your Savage Season (Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo), brilliant show written by Mari Okada. Kana's description of the difference between the subtle meanings of chihayafuru and araburu is very well delivered. The girls ask Chi if she has someone she likes, romantically, although they don't say that exactly, they ask if there's something she often thinks about and wants to be with, then we see Chi calling Arata. It's the clearest indication of how Chi feels about him we've had, but we still don't know if Chi simply admires Arata for his talent at karuta, or if she likes him romantically. If Taichi loses out to Arata romantically it'll be his fault for not voicing his feelings sooner. Good episode, but that's because it was all inter personal drama. |
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| Episode 33 Onto nationals. Nishida's sister makes them shirts which declare their second-place finish behind Hokuo. Rude, but on point given that she's dating Retro. Tsukuba is up to his tricks again, but ends up getting an actual starter position. Tsutomu put him there to give himself and Sumire time to scout other teams, believing that Tsukuba is already near his level. While that's a great character moment for Tsutomu, who places his desires below the needs of the team, I don't really like Tsukuba. He's very one-note and his drive to perform is superficial, at least so far. There's more layers to Sumire, especially with all that makeup. By contrast, it's nice to see that Taichi is all focus on the group stage. His desire to ascend to A Class is secondary to that. We get some insight into other power players. Megumu, the Western representative for the Queen match last year, gets tailed by Sumire and ends up being a bit of a klutz, an air-head and has a sharp tongue - my kind of girl. Tsutomu tails the previous champions, who have won... 13 years running?! Wow, quite the record. They have a huge stable of players. Our team's first match is against a team of students from Chiba who are relatively new to karuta. They initially come off as foreigners based on their appearances speaking stilted English, and I sincerely thought this was just the usual Japanese VA doing pretty weak English, but was delighted to see this was all a ruse (revealed accidentally by Taichi). The team regains their focus (except Tsukuba, who is afraid of his opponent) particularly after Nishida notes that they are just enthusiasts, not skilled players themselves. It is interesting to see how these players mirror some aspects of our main team, particularly in their early days, but training and skill win out in the end. Not sure whether they all won their matches, but our main cast posts some English words of support on a whiteboard. It's a nice touch. Arata arrives to watch them play only to be confronted by Wakamiya. |
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| It's my birthday today so will be chilling with some beers and wine later, maybe a takeaway. January is always a tight month after xmas period, otherwise we'd be going out for a meal. Had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for breakie, which was nice, and thinking maybe a german doner kebab for dinner. Just noticed your bday is in April, 10 days after Aria's. Noticed that you finally gotten around to Haikyuu. I said this during the Run with the Wind watch we did, but I haven't watched many sports anime, but Haikyuu is on another level, such great characters and brilliant hype. I'm all caught up and waiting for the final movie. Episode 33. Don't think I've mentioned Tsukuba for the same reason as you, he's not very remarkable. Especially as you say, compared to Sumire, who appears at first glance to be the girl who just wants a boyfriend in Taichi and is all about looking good, but under the surface there's something more. It's clear to her that Taichi is interested in Chi, so she knows on some level that she isn't really in with a chance. Yet she's still playing and despite protestations to the contrary enjoying karuta, a little bit. Maybe Sumire wants to become the type of person that would interest Taichi, not to actually be in with a chance, but for personal improvement. I don't think Sumire knows why she's persisting, but that's great character writing right there, as we often do things and at the time don't know exactly why, or can't define or explain it and it only comes into focus later when we reflect on our actions and behaviour. Tsutomu is very magnanimous allowing Tsukuba to take a spot on the starting lineup, deciding that his time is better spent scouting the potential opposition. Sumire joins him scouting and even has her own notebook for taking down info. So they end up drawing the Chiba international school team, ie a bunch of foreigners. Megumu looks like a fun character, and Sumire's description of her is funny 'plain looking, clumsy, mean, popular' with her final thought 'girls who are good at karuta are complicated'. Playing the Chiba foreigners shows the team the similarities and differences bewteen them, as the Chiba team are enthusiastic beginners, just like they were last year. I watched this ep with my earphones on this ep and the OST is really good, orchestral, electric guitar, jazz, soft acoustic guitar, a really strong blend of sounds. Reminds me of Romeo and the Black Brothers which had such a good musical score I could just sit and listen, whilst also watching, but the music was so enveloping it figuratively shone. So looks like we'll find out how Wakamiy and Arata know each other. |
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| Hey, happy birthday! Lox and eggs sounds delightful - never been much of a salmon fan, but much of the rest of my family is infatuated with it. Sounds like a delightfully foodie day, but yeah, I understand having a tighter month after the holidays. And yep, got a couple of months before mine. I've got a twin brother (fraternal) so I always have someone to share it with, even if from a distance. I'm blitzing my way through Haikyuu (at long last - honestly, it's one of those series that I've just kept putting off for no reason) and definitely enjoying the ride. It's well done and has similar vibes to Run with the Wind - heard it gets better as it goes too, which is exciting. I'm trying to catch up so I'm ready to watch the movie when it drops, though I think it'll take me a little longer than that to finish. Episode 34 Arata doesn’t initially recognize Wakamiya (chiefly due to the weight loss), but her facial mole gives her away. Nice to see Wakamiya be more human for a moment – it’s clear she has a different level of respect for Arata, who beat her in the distant past. She has a dismissive attitude about the team tournament, believing its for people who don’t love karuta. I’m guessing that has something to do with the very personal relationship she has with the cards. Turns out Fujisaki, the top team at the tournament, has 5 Class A members. They’re some weirdos, though, with one of the dudes balancing matches on his eyelashes in a show of bravado. When Arata arrives, Chi overhears him and tries to go searching for him, but Taichi stops her. Part of that is his desire for them to stay focused on the upcoming match, but, once again, he is trying to avoid their reunion, knowing what that could mean. Meanwhile, Arata gets conscripted to join his sister school, Fujioka West, as an illegal substitute for absent players. Interesting to see one of these guys is someone he knew from middle school who… he didn’t like much, to say the least. Seems to have moved beyond that now. He’s forced to play with a mask on and glasses off to hide his identity, another return to a frustrating part of middle school for him. That does mean he’s not there to watch his friends, at least not yet. Chi is sharply focused on performing her best this round to show off to Arata just the same. Meanwhile, Arata struggles to get going in his game, but starts to kick it up a notch from the fervor of his teammates, even putting on his glasses. With a team of 3, they have to win every match, and their dedication really resonates with him despite his being told repeatedly by others that individual matches are the only ones that matter. Remembering his friends and their trials together, he sees value in the team aspect and love of the game. Wakamiya might want to play alone, but Arata isn’t like that. He comes back from a 15-card deficit, and while they lose the match as a trio, they win two individual games, showing what they’re worth. His obviously playing like himself reveals that he is Arata to the leader of his karuta society. That means Arata may be barred from playing in the individual tournament. Solid episode. Less focus on the playing, getting some time to see a bit into Arata's world and how those around him have influenced him. |
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| Had a nice chill bday thanks, although too much wine last night so feeling a bit ropey this morning. Tried a german doner kebab (GDK), never had one before and it was damn tasty, have to admit it's better than the usual kebab you get in British places, which according to a survey a few years ago found that 1/4 of the lamb doner meat had donkey in it! Had to look up the difference between fraternal and paternal. Must be interesting having a twin, do you look alike? Episode 34. First off I noticed that Arata is on first name basis with Wakamiya, something the Japanese put a lot of emphasis on, so they must be fairly close. Ofc if Wakamiya only plays in the individual tournament then she's never meet Arata in a competitive tournament as men and women are separated. Taichi keeps Chi focused on the game and not on Arata's presence, partly for their upcoming team game and partly because I guess he's worried about seeing their reunion, would hurt if she throws herself into Arata's arms or something. Arata steps in to help an old classmate and joins their team. Really good to have an episode focused on Arata, he's a good character. He wins his match but his thin disguise is unmasked by his karuta teacher along with the threat that he may not be able to play in the individual tournament. |
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| Sounds like a good time! My brother and I definitely look like siblings, but apart from cursory similarities, I'd say we look very little alike. Didn't stop every teacher in every class we were in together getting our names mixed up. Growing up with a twin brother definitely has its benefits and quirks, but we get along well (now, at least - fought a lot growing up). Also, a note before we get into the episode. I think national tournaments do allow coed play in the individual tournament. Wakamiya faced off against Sudo in the final round and Amakasu in the first round of the tournament the previous year, so clearly they at least allow some of that. Couldn't say why it's treated that differently at this specific tournament. Episode 35 The next match is up against an academic powerhouse team, with opponents who are amazing at memorization and high school quiz champions to boot. They even set up their cards randomly and all together to confuse their opponents. Quite the strategy to rely chiefly on memorization like that. Notably, their coach isn't interested in them winning, just enjoying the prospect of beating schools that actually care. Bit of an asshole. The team itself is interested, finding points of connection between karuta and quiz competition, even favoring karuta over the quiz work they do. Nice to see that personal insight at play. Chi has trouble dealing with her opponent based on his card placement and movement, which makes it easier for her to make mistakes due to issues memorizing the cards. Sadako Wakamiya's sudden appearance at the window on a dark, stormy night emboldens her, reminding her to breathe and focus, seeing things with more clarity and somewhat distracting her opponent. The other players are mostly doing fine, and it's sincerely great to see how Nishida, Kana and Taichi use their respective strengths to overwhelm the impressive memorization of their opponents. Chi, meanwhile, manages to hold out long enough that memorization isn't key and her quick movements easily outpace her opponent. She's got the game sense he lacks and it shows in spades. Kana barely loses and Tsukuba loses as well, but 3-2 is a victory for them, advancing them to the playoffs. Meanwhile, discussion of what to do about Arata begins. Some teachers speak in his defense, with one claiming that he might be the only one who can defeat Master Suo who... is wearing sunglasses in his memory for some reason? Why not? Suo is also a big headache for them because he's just not a good role model. Dude's a perpetual student who shows no interest in teaching his style. Still, that seems like a selfish reason to try to unseat him, let alone allow Arata through on the off-chance that he might do it some day. They do however see Arata showing contrition and acceptance of his punishment, so that's a better indicator. He also admits to himself that he is jealous of our leads who could form a team at their school. That's part of the reason he rejected the concept of a team tournament out of hand. Shockingly, Wakamiya ends up being the reason he stays in, as she demands he stay otherwise she walks. That goes to show just how close their connection is: that her participation in the tournament rides on his. Also, looks like Sumire and Tsutomu have very different ideas of note-taking, with the former mainly taking notes on the players' fashion sense. Sumire also makes clear that she lacks the drive to really perform in karuta... though some elements of previous episodes put the lie to that statement. She's clearly driven to succeed, just hasn't found her footing yet. Chi learns that Arata and Wakamiya are connected and that the latter sees the former as a rival, but once again, Taichi tries to prevent her from focusing on it. And for once, Tsukuba actively asks to no longer be a starter. Nice to know that he's learned how difficult this position is, not just seeing it for the potential glory. Still, Nishida insists they go with him rather than Tsutomu for the next match. Wonder what that's about... |
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| So maybe the master and queen tournaments are to determine the best male and female, but other national tournaments allow men vs women? Episode 35. The discussion around whether to allow Arata to play in the individual tournament is quite funny, especially that part with their mentions of Suo and his appearance in the background wearing sunglasses, as if that's a feature for a karuta delinquent. This ep has our team go up against a team who have exceptional memory skills and only play karuta as practice for exams. This feels like a gimmick, and something you'll be watching in Haikyuu where the team goes up against a new team with some sort of special gimmick/move/play that has to be overcome. Wakamiya appears in the window and I noticed that Chi refers to her as Shinobu in her head, her first name. Dr Harada also calls her Shinobu, why are they all calling her by her first name, hmmm. Wakamiya declares she won't play unless Arata is allowed to compete coming to his rescue. Sumire's notes tracks with her character and as you noted her statement that she doesn't want to play a competitive match sounds false, she doesn't want to lose, but I think she enjoys being part of the team and wants to be good enough to win. The experience of the team comes through, with each team member using their own strengths and they manage to win 3 of the matches with Kana and Tsukuba losing theirs. Chi hears about Arata and Wakamiya's rivalry but a deft word from Taichi keeps her focus on the match ahead. Not sure why Nishida suggested they keep the same line up, find out next ep! |
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| I think that’s right. It’s an odd way to do it, splitting in some tournaments and not in others. Episode 36 It seems like Nishida was testing Tsutomu to see if he’d actually push for a spot in the playoffs, a test Tsutomu fails as he is fine with losing his spot, earning a pretty strong rebuke from Nishida. And creating tension in team. Interesting to see how everyone reacts to this. Kana is on the same page as Nishida, Taichi finds himself unable to decide on an order, and Chi remains laser focused on the next game. Well, at least that’s how she initially comes off - Chi can be rather perceptive at times, noting that Tsutomu is probably exhausted from closely watching other matches and needs a round to rest. She’s not wrong since he passes out later. The enigma, however, is Tsutomu himself. Why is he stepping back, letting himself be shut out? When push comes to shove, he joins them for the next round, finally driven to take part by their strong history as a quintet, but it’s still unclear why he had trouble committing earlier. Maybe he thought this was just a better role for him, not that he could get more notes in the playoffs. The first match is against a very well aligned and intensely quick team from Kyoto, where Wakamiya hails from. Nishida in particular really struggles this round, but a bit of insight received just before the round helps Nishida overcome him by pushing him into faults. In fact, his research helps just about everyone in distinct and interesting ways, and what makes it even more incredible is that he acquired this from teams that lost, teams that just wanted to wash their hands of the tournament. They end up winning, sending them to the final 4. They’re up against an all girls school next, featuring the powerful Megumu who Chi wants to be paired against, though notably this time she opts for a position that will benefit the team first and foremost. Nice to see her mentality changing bit by bit, and for Nishida to push her to challenge more for cards. In the end, though, she is paired against Megumu in a show of bravado from Taichi of all people. Dude’s changed a lot. Sumire’s notes don’t look great to start, but Tsutomu parses them well, realizing that the other girls are likely much easier to beat based on a few key elements. That also means Hokuo is against Fujisaki, a battle of the titans with Sudo watching. Arata ends up having to write a contrite essay to stay in the tournament - a common punishment and one that signals that he’s going to play. He can’t cheer for his friends, though, so once again a block is put between them for the time being. |
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| I meant to ask before, are you a 49er's fan then, or a Titans fan, just a guess as you live in Tennessee and think the Titans were in the playoffs last year, just checked they weren't, so if the 49er's knocked your team out guessing you're a Dallas or Seahawk's fan, unless you're a 49er's fan and were heart broken because they got knocked out? Episode 36. This episode was all about Tsutomu and a little about Nishida, and some good development and insight into Tsutomu's role as part of the team. First off Nishida feels angered on Tsutomu's part, remembering when he stepped back from wanting to be first and competing to give up his place to someone else. And at first galnce it seems he may be right, Tsutomu acknowledges that the matches are tough and he loses as much as he wins. But then we get some insight, mainly from Chi, who you're right can be really perceptive when it comes to the finer points of gamesmanship and team tactics, who quotes Dr Harada saying that watching and noting what other teams are doing and how they're playing is tougher mentally than playing yourself. Which we see in Tsutomu taking a nap. And we get Chi expounding on all the little thankless tasks Tsutomu had to endure, such as talking to the losers of the previous matches to uncover how and why they lost and what he can learn, something that must be hard, people who've just lost often don't want to discuss the finer points of their opponents strengths and remember their own weaknesses. Then we get Tsutomu's notes coming to hand and helping the team to a win in the quarter finals, and he even uses Sumire's note to brilliant effect, taking what info she's gathered and applying it to how the opponents may play. And so Tsutomu rejoins the team for the semi finals against the all girls school with the 'mean, popular, witty, plain looking' girl Megumu. |
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| I'm a 49ers fan, been that way since I was 8 and living in southern California, which might seem odd (I only ever spent time up in San Francisco when I was in college and there were other SoCal teams at the time I could have picked, though I had no reason to like the Chargers and I didn't share my dad's long-standing affiliation with the then-St. Louis Rams) but it all started with a minor bet on the team in a past championship game. Ever since then, I've been a fan, so seeing them go to the Super Bowl is certainly heartening, especially when I have little reason to like the Chiefs. A lot of people around here are Titans fans and I feel for them since they've largely remained a middling team for quite a while now. Episode 37 So one thing I didn't mention last episode is that Tsutomu and Taichi intuit towards the end that the order their opponents take will give some indication of how much they respect our leads: if they held to their usual order, it meant they weren't expecting much of a challenge, since they essentially let their opponents decide the order, whereas if they changed it up, they would be seeing them as worthy rivals. They didn't change it, so they see this as a sort of disrespect. Not sure you can read into it that deep - maybe they're just that confident in every match (later, it turns out that the reason was to challenge Megumu as often as possible to prepare her for a future Queen match, which elevates her solo play to prominence over succeeding as a team) - but still, it's an interesting lead-in to this challenge. It's especially unclear that Megumu's thinking that way, since she sits down in the wrong spot against Fujisaki, though her response afterwards indicates that she's mainly just looking ahead to the final. Whether that's dismissive or just air-headed is unclear (though Chi somehow responds to her mentally while they're sitting across from each other... not sure what that's about), though in the flashback, she certainly comes off as sharp when she wants to, deleting all the photos of her fans after they took them (which they're somehow fine with). It's interesting because this will be the fourth time Chi will face off against someone who either was or has been talked up as a Queen candidate: Wakamiya, Yumi, arguably the young prodigy from the previous Queen qualifier, and now Megumu. She never balks at taking the harder route to her goals. Megumu seems particularly effective at adapting to her opponents, so she represents a distinct challenge, albeit she's also very fast (apparently faster than she was the previous year). The games begin and, for the first time, we're focused on two team games at once. Retro looks ready to pounce on his cards. The crowd itself seems to focus on the other match, dismissing them as unworthy opponents after just the first card. That won't last. Even Arata's teacher assumes he was coming here to support Hokuo. Of all people, Sudo seems to be the only one taking them seriously, but that makes sense because he's faced them before. With help from Tsutomu's research and Kana's support from next to her (she's succeeding quite well up to this point), Chi shows she can keep up. |
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| Ah the 49er's, I had them pegged for superbowl contenders from the start of the season and glad to see I was right. Hoping they win, although I've got a horrible feeling Mahomes and co may crash the party. My favourite player of the year has been Christian MacAffrey, love seeing him steam through the pocket and into the secondary brushing off defenders left and right. I caught up with One Piece dub, ep 1048, so now I'll be waiting for the next dub release. I'm almost regretful I won't get another chance to binge to my hearts delight, even if some of the OP pacing was painfully slow. Only just dawned on me, that if the next arc is say ~200 eps, that's another 4 years until we get an ending! I'll probably binge each 12 ep dub release every few months. Episode 37. I've no clue about the placings and how they play a part, doesn't quite connect. I initially thought teams put their strongest>weakest members in numerical order with the strongest player being no 1. But then if both teams start second guessing each other and changing their own placements (ie if you only need 3 wins out of 5 makes sense to match your weakest member the opponents strongest as your weakest member is likely to lose anyway, so may as well have them lose to the strongest opponent), then it will be random which person from the other team you end up matched against. We learn later on in the ep that the ace usually takes the 3rd spot. I think Megumu was not so subtly disrespecting our team sitting in the wrong place, she may appear air headed and ditsy, but think she's calculated as well, as seen by allowing the boys to photo her and then deleting them. Little moments like that give a bit of comedy to the show. I mentioned before that Kana (iirc) appeared to break the 4th wall by mentioning the fact it was the 2nd season, but wasn't sure. Seeing Sumire complain about the placement of a flashback before the match made me realise my suspicion was correct as we're getting characters alluding to the fact they are part of a show. Not that I mind at all. Feels like another sports/shounen battle formula, our team going up against a stronger opponent who are openly dismissive and even a bit arrogant in the belief that our team is merely a hurdle to overcome on the way to the finals. Particularly apparent from the comments of the observers who write off Mizusawa and concentrate on the other semi final match. Megumu's whole team is built to aid her in becoming queen, it's all about heer achieving her solo goal. I'd forgotten to mention this before but the pattern for the Mizusawa uniform is pretty jarring, a sort of Tartan design. Chi gets her wind and mentally tells Megumu to bring it. Go Chi! |
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| Yep, I'm hopeful that the 49ers will pull it off. I didn't love seeing them struggle against the Lions last week, but it also showcased their ability to scrap and come from behind, so I believe they have what it takes to put the Chiefs in their place. And awesome that you caught up. I really do have to watch more of the anime, I know there's a lot there to enjoy and I can pick and choose moments that I just haven't watched yet. I did focus up when it came to the Wano Arc, though, so I've seen many of the recent peak moments from the anime. Episode 38 I guess it makes sense for the ace to be dead center in a team of five. It means the other players on both sides can get a glimpse of their best performing well and have that performance embolden them. This show does occasionally manage to get you invested in the play and, especially when it's set up an opponent like this, I think it makes it easy to root for Chi. It's not just that her opponent is dismissive of her, but that this there's a real sense of accomplishment if Chi can put up a fight here against an opponent who is not just a Queen candidate, but someone who has similarly pushed herself to rise to Wakamiya's level. So she's not just a step for them to win this tournament, but a meaningful step to showcase Chi's development as a player and put her on the radar of someone in the upper echelons of the karuta world. It does mean getting a bit deeper into the weeds of how she's doing it, which is where things get bogged down in technicalities, but it still works as a whole. Nice as well to see them gain and lose momentum in turn. But things really start to shift after Chi notices something and sends a multi-syllable card, an unusual choice. She really steps both her speed and strategy into high gear, circumventing Megumu's guard effectively using the training she was given during practice. Megumu is still dedicated to beating her, she has no broader vision to become Queen. Kind of like Yumi, you get the impression that she just sees it as beyond her. Or maybe she's sincerely different and just not motivated by the title. Eventually, Chi starts to see her previous self in Megumu, which brings the talented player down to a level that she can fully understand her. On the other side, Megumu's teammates seem to be trying to rally by raising their emotional support. That leads Megumu to contest a card, something she apparently has never done before, and to really push for her own success. And the attention of the crowd shifts with them. Weird thing that stuck out to me: Nishida says his opponent is "as good as a boy," when he knows that his own ace is a girl... and he's seen Wakamiya play... why the stereotypes regarding sex and playstyle. |
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| I agree on the 49er's, they've had to battle and scrap to get through the last 2 playoff games, coming from behind against the Lions was a good test of character. Let's hope they pull it off. Episode 38. Megumu's fan club talk about the gap between how she acts and how she feels, but sounds like her team mates don't really know what she wants. Sounds like Megumu isn't overly bothered about becoming queen, so why does she play then? So sounds from her thoughts like Megumu just wants to take down strong opponents rather than gaining the title of queen. In the dub, Nishida says "she jumps out like a guy" referring to how she's scary and good when she jumps out at dead cards and then pulls back. Megumu's fan club says she plays because she wants to fulfil others expectations. If two players genuinely hit the card at the same time, then what happens I wonder, do neither get the card maybe. These technical eps focused on the game aren't my favourite, although agree that the ebb and flow of the game was ok. |
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| Episode 39 I'm with you on the technical episodes. They're probably the weakest parts of the series. They can include some pretty great character moments, and I'm enjoying what I'm seeing from Megumu and her team in terms of development, but part of the problem is that we knew so little about her going into this. It's hard to say that she's developing so much as being fleshed out, which works alright as well, it's just not usually something I find strongly captivating in the same way. Could be a good foundation for the character going forward, though. We get a bit of time with Wakamiya and Arata as they sit in a separate room. Arata finds out that Mizusawa made the top 4 at the tournament, immediately drawing his attention. Wakamiya finds out that Shoyo, her school, got knocked out by them, and doesn't seem bothered. She just doesn't seem to care about team matches at all, viewing them as light fun for people who don't love karuta the way she does. Meanwhile, Arata views this as a day sacred to team play, refusing to even play Wakamiya in a practice match. Their views couldn't be more different despite them both being solo players. Meanwhile, Hokuo loses out to Fujisaki, taking 4 losses. Fujisaki has been built up as the final boss team, with Hokuo being more of a local miniboss, but even so, it's surprising just how thoroughly they were beaten. In the central contest, things are coming to a close. Nishida loses his match first, as it seems like he never found his footing against a strong female opponent. Kana takes a win against her opponent, showcasing her improved strength. With 6 cards remaining on the field and 18 dead cards, things are getting tense in the waning minutes of this game. Taichi takes his match. Chi is making it a close match, taking some of Megumu's best cards while losing the Chihaya card. Their speed and focus is intense. It's interesting that Chi thinks of Wakamiya at this time, saying that she doesn't want her "to be alone" (basically that she wants both of them to get on her level), and Wakamiya seems to recognize it herself through her strange ability to hear the cards. In the end, Megumu barely takes the game, earning Megumu's respect in the process and being held up by her teammates. So, it's all up to Tsutomu. One card apiece, 50-50 odds with 4 dead cards remaining. He takes it in the end (using superstition to make his decision for him - dude's got nerves of steel), sending Mizusawa to the final round over a talented team. It's honestly very nice to see Kana and Tsutomu become instrumental in sending them through to the next round - the veteran players have always felt like the core of the team in previous matches. It's not surprising to see how heartening that its to their newer members. Megumu does seem to end the episode in a different place than she started, wanting the data from her fans' cameras rather than immediately deleting it so that she can assess her performance. She's also clearly upset despite winning, a show of solidarity with her team in their last tournament together. So, yeah, there's actually some decent character development here and not just establishing. Before their final match, Tsutomu gives them a rundown of his data on Fujisaki, though it seems like we wont hear it until the match proper. Chi struggles with her loss, literally digging her fingernails into her palm before Taichi stops her, a effort to get her to relax and focus. It's moments like these that make Taichi best boy. Dude doesn't need to say a word, and he feels so comfortable reaching out to her and slowly opening her hand to deliver the message. I don't think Taichi could have done this at the start of the series, but he's come a long way, even though he still can't tell her how he feels. The episode ends on a surprisingly powerful note as well. Tsukuba tries to force his way into Kana's spot for the final out of concern for her exhaustion. She puts on a brave face at first, but tearfully admits he should do it. I can't imagine how she feels about relinquishing her spot at the final, but this is the first time I've appreciated Tsukuba as a character: he noticed his senpai struggling when others didn't, and despite his own fears about being overwhelmed in the final match, came to her defense. |
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| Episode 39. Wakamiya is very dismissive of team matches, I wonder where that stems from, likely the fact she hasn't ever played with a group of friends, something Arata discovered playing with Taichi and Chi. Nishida loses but Kana pulls out a win. The Chihaya card comes up and Megumu gets it in revenge for Chi getting Megumu's name card. Taichi also gets the Chihaya card and wins his match, so it's 2-1 to Mizusawa. One aspect I'm still unclear on is that you see the reader speak a part of a poem (I think someone referred to it as a 'spring' phrase), and then they pull a karuta card out and read it, and that's the part that is one of the 100 poems of karuta. The 'spring' spoken part is an opening phrase used as a precursor to the karuta card being read, but where do these phrases come from, do the card readers make them up, are they memorised? Chi loses making it 2-2, although Megumu now acknowledges Chi as a genuine rival for queen and a worthy opponent. It comes down to sudden death and Tsutomu and his opponent have one card left each. And Tsutomu pulls out the win. Agree with you it felt gratifying watching the weaker members of the team come through to take the team into the final, although they're up against the powerhouse of Fujisaki. The loss appears to cut Megumu deeper than she expected. Good call, Taichi gently unwrapping Chi's tightly clenched fist, in annoyance at her own faults is a very good visual depiction of Taichi's bond with Chi and how he understands what she's thinking and is able to intuitively reach out to sooth her. Moments like this are where this series shine for me. The gameplay less so. Even if you weren't watching Haikyuu, I am reminded of that show in a number of ways, with all the talk of powerhouse opponents with better training, coaches, players and our small unknown team are the underdogs (pretty common formula for sports/ shounen anime). Haikyuu does it in such a masterful way that anything else pales in comparison, and unfortunately karuta isn't as flashy or fun to watch as volleyball. If you've finished the 2nd season I'm guessing you've seen the part where the Crows suffer their first major defeat and it's just so brilliant, they all go and eat a meal and silently shed tears, consoling each other in their joined loss. I still remember that moment and I watched S1 and S2 about 10 years ago. The gameplay in Chihayafuru just doesn't reach the same heights. It's a bit of an unfair comparison. I also thought that was a good moment for Tsukuba noticing that Kana was exhausted and offering to play in her place, despite realising he'll be crushed in the final match up. |
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| I’m not sure what the deal is with that opening phrase, either. I tried looking into it but it looks like I’d have to dig deep to find out about it. Also, I’m with you on the comparison to Haikyuu, it’s just much easier to get invested in the action there. I also think that one of the highlights of S1 was them crying while eating at the end. How they take losses is just next level good. Episode 40 Kana apparently jammed her finger badly during the prior match, likely a sprain. Hokuo is told (incorrectly) that Arata came to cheer them on. Retro knows he likely came for Chi, but initially focuses on winning their third place match. He eventually goes to see Arata and tells him to get out there, but if he goes, he won’t be able to participate in the singles tournament. He encourages Wakamiya to watch, though she’s dismissive. She shows up anyway. Fujisaki’s coach is quite harsh when it comes to switching players out for the final, subbing in a younger, stoic female player who we saw watching much of the prior match. That immediately incites some infighting. It seems like the coach’s aim is to prepare players for future years under the pretense of sparing that player’s knees another match. Brutal. Meanwhile, Chi fires up the gang by emphasizing how difficult it was to get here and promising to fight on. Nice to see them recognize that the team competition comes with its unique difficulties. So obviously, Chi gets paired against the new female player on their side. Less obviously, the certified reader is her grandmother - amazing how many characters come from karuta lineages. It’s also captain vs captain, with Taichi facing someone similar to Arata, at least superficially. Dude’s obsessed with large breasts. There are lots of little distractions in the match, with one player trying to avenge the one that was benched, another pushing back about her apparent infatuation with her younger teammate, and the last being more interested in posing than anything else. The cards in the match include few one syllable reads, so it’s a difficult prospect for Chi, whose opponent clearly recognizes the boon. Most of Fujisaki even makes a habit of leaving their seats early to take a break before the match, emphasizing their strong memorization. There’s an emphasis on how difficult it can be to do this - to memorize a board and then forget it for the next one. Chi’s opponent is fresh, so that’s a concern. |
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| Episode 40. So Kana was injured, and tired, although Tsukuba doesn't admit he was oblivious to her injury and reflects on Kana's honesty and his lies. No idea why the supervisor told Hokuo that Arata was there to watch them. The Fujisaki coach is certainly brutal in the treatment of her team, maybe this will be the cause of their downfall, Mizusawa can only hope. So Hokuo play in a runner up match to decide the 3rd and 4th placed teams. Memorising and then forgetting something so you can move onto the next game must be really, really hard. I used to have very good memory recall when I was younger, eidetic memory recall, although I wasn't as good as these guys. Once I'd seen a page of a textbook or my notes a couple of times I could write out everything I'd seen pretty much word perfect, however, only for a week or two, and then I forgot it all. This really helped me do well in exams, as long as I'd revised properly. Same with phone numbers, once they go in I used to remember them by heart, but that was all before we had useful devices to store all the info for us and my brain got lazy. Only yday I was filling out a form and couldn't remember Em's phone number. Seems to be quite a bit of division in the Fujisaki team, mainly around the subject of girls and the new girl brought onto their team for the final. Arata shows restraint in not going to cheer on Taichi and Chi after being notified by Retro (really like this dude, he's a good character) that Mizusawa made it to the final. |
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| That's interesting, I certainly did not have an eidetic memory, though I can imagine that had its plusses and minuses. My impression was that the supervisor thought Arata was there to watch Hokuo because they were in the same prefecture as his friends and, given that they were likely to stay in until late in the game, he believed they could be the only ones Arata would come to see. Maybe he just didn't know Mizusawa or it wasn't on his radar. And yeah, Retro is another example of character writing done well. He came off initially as a bit player adding some levity, but dude has layers. Nice to see someone on another team get this much development. Episode 41 Hey, another recap episode. I skipped past the recaps themselves. There's some decent comedy, with Sumire giving Kana fake eyelashes and everyone freaking out, Nishida's sister hunting down the apparently Johnny Depp-esque Retro, Nishida bemoaning his lack of a girlfriend after 2 seasons of the anime, and Fujisaki's coach lets her team know that the people running the tournament are great players in their own right with a baseball comparison. Not as fun as the mid-first season recap, found this one to be pretty weak, but it is what it is. |
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| It's good to get a side character like Retro get some more screen time, last ep begrudgingly admitting to himself that Taichi's desire to become A rank may outstrip his own, and then notifying Arata sullenly that Mizusawa made the final. He did the right thing though, good on him. Episode 41. Kana admitting she only has 3 eyelashes is quite funny, ofc not really, but as an animated character she only has 3. Noticed after the skit where the team discuss how none of them have gf or bf's and play karuat too much, the writing on the side says "I hope they'll be more romance in the 2nd season", not sure if this is a nod and a wink to some later development, as there's been none so far, or if it's sarcastic. Yeah weaker recap ep with fewer extra sketches and mostly just reused footage. I forgot that Mizusawa won last years tournament, did they beat Fujisaki, or were Fujisaki already out, can't remember. If this was Haikyuu I would know exactly who played who and who won. I sometimes feel like this show has one arm tied behind it's back having so much focus on karuta, which, let's be honest isn't the most riveting game, even to Japanese speakers, and we don't speak any Japanese. The fact the show has managed to reel me in this much, to a game I don't fully understand is impressive, mostly due to the strong character writing and personal dynamics, but feel that's been a bit lacking this season in favour of tournament gameplay. For me, I wonder if the show would have been better as a pure romance, like Kimi no Todoke, but with karuta in the background, as the writing can be truly excellent, especially when it involves Taichi, Chi and Arata. |
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| I think you've got it a bit confused with regards to the prior tournament. Mizusawa won in their prefecture against Hokuo, went off to this tournament, and lost... I think it was 3 rounds in, though we don't know to whom, after Chi collapsed. Fujisaki won that tournament, since it was stated that they've been on a win streak for a while now. What I am a bit perplexed about is why the Fujisaki players have never come up as real power players during the individual tournament. You would think that a powerhouse team with multiple Class A players would make a statement in individual play too, or at least register against players like Wakamiya and Sudo, but they weren't even mentioned in the individual tournament. As for my preference with the series setup, I think a pure romance doesn't quite suit the series, but at the same time, I think balancing it away from its karuta elements would make more sense. I'd almost prefer the more SoL presence (something lighter than March) with a bit of a romantic tinge to it. Honestly, I'd just love to see Taichi make some real progress on that level and break through Chi's karuta-built walls a bit. We've seen some connection with her, but not as much as I'd hoped for by this point. But yeah, in general, this season's coming off a bit weaker than the last one. Maybe that's partly because I haven't gelled as well with the new characters, but the greater focus on karuta isn't helping. Episode 42 So this is the only time I can recall where Chi was paired against an opponent in a lower class and faced a serious challenge. Last episode, it was stated that her opponent, Rion, is still in Class B, but she certainly isn't playing like it. Seems like that may have a great deal to do with having her grandmother reading, as she can hear elements of her intonation that allow her to take two-syllable cards on the first syllable. She clearly has good game sense, so she's a match for Chi, who starts to realize that she can also picture differences in the cards based on their "color" through the reader's intonations. It's a concept that they've discussed before and, while it's intriguing and visually striking, has always been a bit difficult to grasp. Maybe it's just the difference in languages that's holding me back from understanding it. It does turn out that Rion just doesn't give it her all when she doesn't have a reader like her grandmother, needing the beautiful style of reading to keep her invested. That's why she's still in Class B despite being a very strong player. Chi communicates with Kana telepathically, calms down and focuses on her senses more, better attuning to the nature of her cards and starting to make a comeback. And it's nice to see her gaining skills from facing her previous opponent as well, reaching around guards, though it looks like she may have caused herself some injury in trying to do so. Rion apparently recognizes the injury and starts to slow down herself out of concern, but picks up as the match goes on. Each of their opponents are quirky and difficult to combat in different ways, though all of them are physically strong and have high stamina as a result of extensive training. There's not a lot of focus on the other matches, which makes them feel like lost causes. Chi's strength does eventually embolden them, all the boys standing and slapping their faces as one. So next episode should be more interesting with them. Meanwhile, Wakamiya seems bored. I guess none of these players seem like a challenge to her, only interested in the grade 7 reader. Turns out, this relates back to the color thing - the reader somehow communicates more information than many others, which makes it easier for players with good game sense to dominate. We get confirmation that, yes, Wakamiya and Suo have played together (would love to actually see that), but that the result seems to depend on the reader, with Wakamiya generally coming out on top. Her presence at the match is initially just symbolic, but after dismissing all the players as unworthy, she eventually recognizes in Chi a competitor worth acknowledging and even considering how she'd play against her. Nice to see her take an interest. |
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| You're quite right, I was confusing the tournaments, they won the Tokyo region tournament and then Chi got sick, forgot all about that. I thought I was having a senior moment and had forgotten a whole part of last season. Given the strength of Madhouse a SoL version of this show could work really well, such as the club members investigating the places mentioned in the poem (like Yuru Camp) or the people who wrote them, with lots of flashbacks to the historical times when they were written, giving Madhouse a chance to flex their animation and backgrounds, which they've done to brilliant effect with Frieren. Then with karuta as the glue holding the story together and the romance bubbling away in the background until it gets resolved in the final couple of eps. All 3 seasons have the love polygon tag (to be fair there is no romance tag), but we're deep into the second season and all we've seen is that Taichi has feelings for Chi. We don't really know how Arata views Chi, a special/close friend or something more, we just don't know. And we've had no other love rivals for Chi or Taichi. I think the romantic subtext tag would be better suited. I've also got a feeling we're not going to get any resolution to the romance and come the end of S3 Taichi still won't have told Chi how he feels about her. We'll see. The only reason this bothers me slightly is that the show made a point of showing us just how much Taichi cares for Chi, so we as the audience know, but then the whole subject of romance is just dropped, apart from the odd comment between the club members, usually in the recap skits, about the lack of a gf/bf they all share because of playing karuta. I do love romance in shows, but some of time what I really like is when a show is about something else, ie Yu Yu Hakusho (action) or Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul (adventure/magic/action), but you have really good romance/romantic motivation/romantic subtext in the background and out of nowhere you get this little piece of actual romance that feels more rewarding because you're not watching a romance show, ie ending of YYH when Yuusuke comes back from the demon world and hugs and kisses his crush. Episode 42. When the show mentions 'seeing' colours when hearing certain poems, my mind was taking to a description from Sheldon in Big Bang Theory, who described how on hearing certain words he gets the sensation of a colour and sometimes a smell, one of the chemical elements made him see/smell pink gasoline. I still don't understand how all the pairs of players have the same set of cards. The organiser must split the deck from 100 to 50, and then all the players take that same split and take 25 cards each, hence why they all sit up when a dead card is read, ie they all have the same dead cards. Good to learn that Wakamiya and Suo have played against each other and they're at a level when it comes down to the speech patterns of the reader. On the romance front, there are subtle signs like when Chi hears the word 'longing' a picture of Arata comes unbidden into her head. As I said before though, I'd call this more romantic subtext. Wakamiya sneezing and wiping her nose of someone's shirt is just ludicrously funny. Chi hurts her finger and the boys are all taking a beating from the Fujisaki team. Honestly I'm struggling to stay focused with all this intricate gameplay. |
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| Yeah, the love polygon tag doesn't make a lot of sense, at least so far. Romance would be more fitting, but even that seems light at best here. And yeah, YYH does a great job bringing the romantic element back into it right at the end. It does make it feel more rewarding, so maybe we'll get something like that at the end of S3. And I do think that's a good breakdown of how this could work with more of an SoL focus. What we're getting certainly isn't bad, but you can see how the pieces could have come together in a more interesting way if karuta was less of a focus. Also, good comparison to TBBT. I had forgotten that scene. It's still an odd idea to have an association be depicted as a color or, in Sheldon's case, a smell, but it's certainly interesting. Episode 43 Nice to see the others step up their game and showcase some real grit in the face of their captain’s injury. Talented as their opponents are, there’s a real sense that something has changed. Taichi imagines that he’s given his opponent a five card handicap to mentally dismiss the difference between them as something he chose to grant his opponent, fighting back late with his attacks. Tsutomu seeks to overcome his own analysis of his deficits. Nishida becomes more analytical and focused. Tsukuba finds his focus by emphasizing his strong cards. And Chi finds a way to fight back with her speed. Tsutomu is the first to fall, his opponent emboldening Rion. Both Rion and Chi have their game sense compared with Suo, so that’s the level we’re dealing with. The pain Chi is experiencing, though, is concerning. She might have sprained her wrist, and therefore might be out of individual play, but refuses to back down here. Tsukuba goes next, his opponent still having to use “Gear Second” (he may not like them, but I’m good with a solid One Piece reference) to beat him. So now, they have to win all 3 remaining matches, coming from behind to win it all. The third place match is extremely close as well, lot of fighting spirit there as well. We learn a bit about Wakamiya’s past and how she was isolated at a young age to improve her individual performance. So far it’s light on detail, but it looks like she’s been trained to view lesser opponents with disdain, so that doesn’t come naturally, nor does her rejection of team games, which emphasize group talent over any single individual. During her watch, though, Wakamiya becomes invested. |
whiteflame55Feb 6, 10:47 AM
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| Episode 43. Taichi's opponent (guy who likes big boobs) informs us that Fujisaki's coach has F cups, wow that's big, doesn't look it from her char design. The guys try and get fired up. Taichi thinks of Arata when playing his opponent. There just hasn't been enough of Arata since the first part of S1, and not just as a love interest/rival. Arata's friendship with Chi and Taichi is heart warming and drives them all forward in their search to play better at karuta. Not having him present, and interacting with Chi and Taichi, is disappointing. I do appreciate Kana's description of the poems. Chi answered my question, if both players touch the same card at the same time, then whoever's side of the mat the card is on wins the card. Poor Wakamiya, her parents saying that the lonelier she is the better she'll play, that's harsh. Chi and Rion have someone sit down with them as a ref, haven't seen that before. Tsutomu and Tsukuba go down and Tsukuba's opponent's second gear reference was a funny touch, as was his 'shining rainbow' handkerchief. Mizusawa are down 2-0, and the rest of them are down, can they come back to win, or even get a win against Fujisaki? We'll find out next ep! |
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| Yeah, if I had to put my finger on the biggest problem with this season, it's the continued physical separation between Arata and the rest of our characters. His participation in their story feels like it should have happened in a big way this season. I was fine with them remaining largely separate in S1, but the series seems to be going out of its way to find excuses now. Maybe that's the point, to build up to something big when they do finally cross that bridge, but that doesn't feel like it should be dragged out this far. It's not the kind of moment that requires so much build-up. Episode 44 The thrilling conclusion! With only the veterans left in the game, it's their opportunity to shine in these final plays and Taichi's resilience in particular is invigorating, though their opponents believe it's a bluff. However, he's not one for false bravado, and while their backs are against a wall, it's not the first time we've seen them come back from a difficult situation against strong opponents. His intense focus on attacking, data from Tsutomu, as well as putting specific cards opponent's side end up gaining him an advantage, particularly after a double fault (touching the wrong card on his opponent's side while the opponent touches the right card in his territory - had to look that one up, though it's been mentioned before). I did find the decision to have an actual ref for Chi and Rion's match interesting as well. Don't know how often that happens. Chi stays ahead, but she's struggling to even know where she is at the end (I like how that speaks both to her focus and how much she has endured in this match), finally ending up the winner. I don't think she will be playing in the individual tournament. Nishida's match, which has gotten the least attention, ends up swinging a bit as well in its final stages. In the end, both his and Taichi's matches end with 50-50 draws, each of them having the same card, synched up as Hokuo did to them. So it's all or nothing now. Given Taichi's lack of luck (a factor I'm still having trouble understanding in this game to some extent - they keep bringing it up and I don't know how it applies in some instances, even if it's obvious here), the Fujisaki coach believes this will end at 4-1. Initially, even Taichi believes this is a lost cause, with dead cards being read one after the other. He ends up praying to God of all things, and just as he does, Chi comes alive once again to watch them take their winning cards. Mizusawa achieves a shocking come-from-behind victory that feels well-earned. Even their coach admits that none of them could have beaten Chi and that the god of karuta itself was on their side (but notably in a way that focuses on their efforts rather than luck). At long last, Arata appears before them at the awards ceremony, and Chi's immediate response is to tell him that their team's efforts matter and that he should care about them. I guess that makes sense given their last conversation and what she's been through most recently, but I thought there would be more punch to this reunion. Now it feels like it was dragged out just to get this message across, which is fine, but kind of weak if I'm being honest. |
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| Episode 44. Chi pulls out a win and then slumps to the mat. Nishida and Taichi matches go down to sudden death and they both end up getting the same card read and winning. The Fujisaki coach thinks this is planned, but sounds unlikely. Taichi especially shows resolve and grit in grinding away his disadvantage in the score. I did like that the Fujisaki coach owned up to the loss, saying she underestimated the resolve of Mizusawa and acknowledging that neither Rion or anyone else on their team could have beaten Chi. So the team wins, hooray. I noted that Taichi thought out loud "Chi look at me as I win", and then won. Then we get the reunion with Arata and Chi just wants to pound home the point that team games are fun and that her team is best in the world (isn't this the high school tournament, is there not an adult tournament with better players?), which is a bit pointless as Arata only said he didn't want to put his time into team games when he was down after his grandads death. Same as you, I thought having Arata absent in second part of S1 was ok, giving his reunion and presence more weight when he returned, but they left it too long. Yes we had the subplot with Arata playing for another team and getting censured for it, but that didn't involve Chi or Taichi. I think the authors keeping him distant to stave off the inevitable romantic pinch point, which is a shame, as even without the romantic subplot I liked the interactions between the 3 of them. Feel like this show has lost me, I'm not even interested in the romance, I'm guessing Taichi will end up with Chi, will probably look it up after we finish the season. I'm not sure I could sit through another 25 eps of karuta, guessing the next season will be about the individual tournament and probably some romance, but not expecting much on that front. Your last 3 choices from the interest thread were: Lupin III: Part 5 (2018) Skip Beat (2009) Kobato (2009) I'm happy with any of them if you are? Sorry not to finish up Chihayafuru, but this season already feels like a drag, and something I've become a lot more tight on is dropping shows, including sequels (dropped Arakawa Under the Bridge S2 the other day, I liked S1 quite a bit, but wasn't enjoying S2 anywhere near as much, and so many other shows to get around to), when I'm not enjoying them. I feel like Chi has become one dimensional, she is just all karuta and little else, Arata hasn't been present, and Taichi is carrying the show atm. I don't dislike the other club members, but there's just so much karuta play, there's been little time for them to interact outside of playing karuta. |
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| I don't mind if we decide to stop here. I'll end up watching the rest of this series at some point - given that we're already 2 seasons in, it's just not something I'd be willing to drop entirely at this stage, though it definitely has taken a step down during this second season. Much as we're both into slow-moving romances a la Kimi ni Todoke, this series seems so glacially slow and so distracted by karuta that it just doesn't work nearly as well. I've basically forgotten about the romance at this stage, and especially given Arata's absence from the main group for so much of the series, it's even missing something on the group dynamic level. I'll have to consider my thoughts on this season for a review later, and maybe the ending few episodes will turn it all around, but I doubt it. As for what to pick up next, I'm good with any of those 3. I guess Skip Beat makes the most sense if we're looking to get that romantic itch scratched, but I'd also be down for more zany action and comedy from Lupin. Episode 45 It's gratifying to see Chi take the flag, signifying their place as a champion school after 5 straight years of Fujisaki dominance (also spelled out on the flag). It is confirmed that Hokuo secured third place. That moment of triumph is undercut by Chi's recognition of her injury, which leads to a visit to an emergency clinic. She has a chip fracture, so as expected. We spend a lot of the episode going back through the events of the tournament, which I'm not terribly fond of - we just had a recap a couple of episodes back and I don't think we need this much reinforcement for why Chi should be proud of their performance as a team (I thought that was already clear) that also misses an opportunity to show how she really feels about Taichi in a moment of vulnerability. It's a ham-fisted way to handle this moment that pads out the runtime. We get a funny little interaction where Sumire realizes the probable (but actually nonexistent) love triangle between Taichi, Chi and Arata. This does, however, yield the information that Arata is planning to return to Tokyo for college, becoming a more present element in their (specifically Chi's) lives. Much as both Chi and Arata would want to be on a team together again, Taichi is opposed, stating outright that Arata is his enemy... in love, I guess. And yeah, this is where the romance element taking so long comes back to bite this series. Taichi hasn't made any moves on Chi yet. Nonetheless, he's trying to keep her from Arata. I don't mind that he's possessive, but when he's simultaneously so passive, it's difficult to appreciate. There's a cute moment where Nishida's sister begrudgingly gives them new shirts emblazoned with their victory, and it's nice to see Sudo show up and needle Chi a bit after her injury (feels on point for a sadist), leading her to play left-handed. Can't imagine that will go well, especially since she's up against one of Megumu's teammates (the one who beat Nishida), but I'm not surprised she's trying it. I do feel for the dude who has to face Arata, since he was one of his teammates during their ill-advised team match and knows just how good he is. |
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| I'm good with either Skip Beat, which sounds like a funny premise, or Lupin, which we know is good. Maybe Skip Beat then Lupin and @inim could jump in when he's free again :) Chihayafuru is one of those shows that's good but has just stretched too far and lost my interest. I'm a tad disappointed as I watched a bunch of videos on it before adding it to my list, most notably from Glass Reflection, which said that there's more to this anime than karuta. Well from this second season, I'd have to disagree. The matches and tournaments have been engaging, kind of. I also wonder if the author shouldn't have kept the romantic aspect out of the story until later, as the beginning sets up expectations, which just haven't materialised, and waiting for over 50 eps for anyone to say how they feel is a bit much. And like I said before, I just liked the interactions between Chi, Taichi and Arata, such as when we saw Arata and Taichi exchanging texts about strategy and tactics, stuff like that would have been even better if done in person. It's hard for me to pin down exactly what it is, why I've lost interest; the characters are good, they were brilliant, but Chi has become monotone and no meaningful Arata interactions, I even like characters such as Retro and Wakamiya, the productions values are really good, but the amount of time spent on karuta matches hasn't given me enough I think. Keep forgetting to mention that Our Flag Means Death S2 landed here a few days ago and such a brilliant show, love the gay romance between Stede and Ed. It does so many weird things that just work, just watched the episode where the first mate Izzy sings La Vie en Rose, in both French and English, so weird but it works so well. We also had the next He-Man instalment land on Netflix and I'm getting huge nostalgia boost. He-Man was the first action figure I can remember playing with at age 4, my mate round the corner had the He-Man bedsheets, all the action figures including battlecat and castle grey-skull and I was in awe. Now this aged up show for the oldies drops and it tickles me pink to see Evil Lynn being so damn sexy, last episode she told Teela "I'm the forbidden fruit that lifts He-Man's loincloth", and all spoken in the voice of Cersei (Lena Headey) herself. It feels like a fan fiction brought to life, very surreal. Episode 45. The team lifts the flag (bit strange having a flag rather than a trophy but ok) and then Chi has to go get her finger checked out. Sumire chiming in on the fact that Chi, Arata and Taichi are childhood friends and wondering on nature of their relationships is a primer for the audience, reminding us there is a potential romance, somewhere. The interaction between Tachi and Arata reminds me what I really like about these main characters. Arata says he's coming back to Tokyo, which shocks Taichi as he realises Arata will become part of his, and Chi's, life again. He says under his breath that Arata is his rival and I think his meaning is twofold, he's views Arata as a karuta player he aspires to get good enough to beat, but knows he's a way off atm, and secondly as a main influence on Chi's life. I wouldn't say love interest just yet, because we and Taichi don't know how Arata feels or thinks about Chi. On that note, Arata reflects on how Chi and Taichi were the only team he's ever played with, and by implication his first friends, and it's so damn touching. They were the ones who brought him out of his shell and shared his love of karuta. But does Arata only view Chi as a treasured friend and karuta rival, or does he feel something more, we and Taichi have no idea. And then you have Chi herself, the object of Taichi's affections and maybe Arata's too, we have no clue what she thinks about them, apart from how they factor into her life as fellow players of karuta. She clearly has strong feelings towards Arata, as the person who first introduced her to the game, but is it anything more. And what does she think of Taichi. No idea. This is one of those instances where I don't believe that Chi herself wouldn't have considered the possibility of either guys as her bf, but the author hasn't let us into those thoughts, so as to reveal them at a later time Yeah I'm not fond of the added recap. And now onto the individual tournament, which Chi will play in despite her injured finger. So she's been given a handicap and will clearly lose, so the main focus will be on Taichi making A rank and how Arata does, who will Chi watch? |
23feanorFeb 9, 1:25 AM
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| I like that. Let's go with Skip Beat next, then. And yeah, it'll be difficult to articulate my thoughts on this series. Best way I can do it right now is to point to a moment like the short conversation between Arata and Taichi where the latter clearly sees the former as an enemy. It's one of the stronger scenes in recent memory, but it's coming off of a lot of time with the two entirely apart and with Taichi only making subtle moves to get closer to Chi. Maybe if we hadn't spent almost a full season in a holding pattern on this front, the scene would have worked for me better, but as it is, it does feel like this should have happened early on or, at the very least, at the midpoint of the season. Putting it this close to the end just means there's very little time to build on this dynamic and give Chi a chance to see it and respond to it, things I've been waiting for since early in S1. Like you, I learned of this series chiefly through Glass Reflection and hoped that the interpersonal dynamics would dominate, and though I don't mind the karuta, it's definitely not the series' strong point. If anything, that element seems to work better when applied to side characters like Retro and Wakamiya. Glad you got to the second season of Our Flag Means Death! It was sad to hear that we won't be getting a S3 - I think it ended in a great spot, but I definitely wanted to see more. I'll have to settle for more of Taika's awesome comedy work in What We Do in the Shadows for now. I didn't have that kind of connection with He-Man, though I should check out the new series one of these days. Episode 46 Speaking of karuta-focused episodes, this one really does seem to get more inside baseball about it, focusing on how Chi has to play differently as a leftie. There are a lot of differences she has to consider, particularly when it comes to card placement, that take her a while to recognize. Especially as she's a more intuitive player, she mainly needed to ensure that her motions were consistent with those she usually takes with her right hand, rather than overthinking each move. Chi ends up coming back and winning the match with Arata looking on, so at least some of the interpersonal element (him getting to see her play after so many years) is still interesting. I'm not sure I like that she wins a match the first time she tries going leftie against a strong opponent, and I've got issues with her saying she's going to play her right even knowing it could exacerbate the damage there if she's up against Arata, but I'll admit it's nice to see her take one win. Arata easily wins his match even before 25 cards are read, taking 27 cards in the end due to faults. Dude's a beast. Wakamiya also wins her game 25-0. Nishida avenges Tsukuba against Fujisaki and everyone else wins their first rounds. R2 pits Nishida against Arata, which is a rematch of the game that resulted in Nishida exiting the karuta world. It's actually interesting to see him struggle with those feelings of being out of his depth. I do love that his parents are on the sidelines actually hoping that he'll lose so he goes to a local (cheaper) university and cheering on Nishida. That's a nice touch, but wishing for it won't make Arata any less dangerous of a player and he soon showcases his skill and speed to take the win. It's still nice to see Nishida really push himself and get frustrated. I like that he's very aware of how his teammates have contributed to their wins before and sees himself as an outlier in that regard. It's some good character building to see him want to do more, taking away lessons rather than feeling defeated. Chi wins her second round largely offscreen. Only 8 players remain, and Chi now faces Wakamiya for the second time, removing the bandage on her right hand so she can play her best. I guess it's all or nothing against her, which makes sense given that this will very likely be her last game. |
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| Skip Beat it is then (made a thread), and Lupin after. On reflection, the conversation between Arata and Taichi, short though it was, stood in stark contrast to the gameplay, which there's so much of. Those inter personal moments shine so brightly that it makes the rest of the content, ie the gameplay, seem dull by comparison. I had no idea Our Flag Means Death was written by same person who wrote Death in the Shadows, which we finished up over xmas, good show. I love any show with Matt Berry in it (the loud British guy) and if you like his tone of humour you should check out Toast of London, such a great show. I wouldn't say the new He-Man was worth watching unless you have a nostalgic connection to it. Better stuff out there to spend your time on imho. But for a nostalgia hit, it's right on the money. Episode 46. I was kind of hoping we'd get more of a break from karuta for the club to chill, eat, chat and for Chi and Taichi to chat to Arata or Wakamiya, but nope straight to the individual tournament. I was also surprised by Chi's wins. With her injured finger, my guess was that this was set up to allow her lose easily, without losing face, taking out a players entire arm seems like a huge handicap, but she overcomes it. Arata praises Chi for winning despite having an injured finger, and for the first time I think Chi showed a reaction that was more like a pupil getting praise from a much loved teacher, or younger kohai getting the praise of an admired senpai. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Chi doesn't have romantic feelings for Arata, although as I said before, that could change. The ball has always been in Taichi's court, but he seems unwilling or unable to do something, partly because of Chi's admiration for Arata, which he perceives as maybe having a romantic undertone, rightly or wrongly. I often have lack of sympathy here, because I was always pretty straight forward about the way I felt, and if I got rejected, even if it hurt a lot, then better to know. So I'm kind of like 'Taichi, just do it already', and this is something Ancient Magus Bride touched on in the S2, how we all have things we can do, and we often look at others and think 'just do it', but to others that thing (in this case Taichi telling Chi how he feels) can be a huge hurdle that seems insurmountable and it behoves us to remind ourselves that we all have our own hurdles that we find difficult to tackle and must be mindful of this when dealing with others. Good life lesson i think. Arata beats Nishida, and yeah agree was good to see how Nishida has grown since his childhood losses to Arata and how he comes away wanting to do better next time rather than feeling defeated by a genius player, although Arata didn't win by a huge amount (7 cards iirc). Funny to hear Arata's parents cheering on 'chubby cheeks'. And in the end Wakamiya will be facing off against Chi in the 3rd round (quarter finals). Where is Taichi in all this, did he win his matches? |
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| Yep, Taika Waititi has been pretty prolific. I love Matt Berry as well - found a YouTube channel where actors read letters from various people and he's always excellent. That's too bad about the He-Man series. I plan to post a set of reviews of some of my favorite western animations of the year - it's actually been a pretty excellent year for that. Episode 47 The quarterfinals begin. Fujisaki still has 3 players in, quite the feat and really shows their strength, but makes me question why we never saw them before this. The remainder is filled with heavy hitters - Megumu, the ace from Hokuo, Arata, and, of course, Chi and Wakamiya. Fujisaki's coach gives us some insight into these match-ups and how they stack up according to her knowledge, though I doubt more than one player from her team will make it through this. Wakamiya and Chi bond over t-shirts before Chi gets serious, rebuffing Wakamiya's coy attempt at equalizing things by using only her right hand (she's a leftie, apparently). It's nice to see that Chi's short time as a leftie also gave her some tools to fight back against one, but she's still flailing for much of the game. It's only when she decides to entirely remove the bandage that she starts to fight back through the pain. I will say, one thing that's a stand-out in this episode is the music. It goes pretty hard, particularly when Chi starts to make headway. That being said, this is not close. Wakamiya wins by 23 cards, more than last time, though the difference is that you get the impression she was fully invested and trying her best this time around. She asks herself if she shoudl have let Chi take some cards to make her feel better, echoing a sentiment from her childhood where she played a young girl and let her win, but Chi never would have wanted that. She wanted Wakamiya's best and she got it. Chi promises to meet her at the Queen match next. Yeah, I'd say Wakamiya gets some of the best character writing. It's really interesting to see how she responds to Chi and how her background influences her current behavior. As for the others, Sumire is knocked out in the third round, Tsukuba makes it to the semifinals, and Taichi absolutely dominates Retro in the finals for Class B, presumably moving to Class A, though the atmosphere suggests something bad. |
whiteflame55Feb 10, 7:34 AM
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| We've gotten some decent western animated series in the last couple of years, most which I've already mentioned like Archane, Vox Machina, Castlevania, Rick & Morty, but then series that just pop up and surprise like Inside Job, Bee & Puppycat and Scott Pilgrim on Netflix. I've heard good things about Carol & the End of the World, so may check that out. Episode 47. Wakamiya's eccentric personality and dress sense really make her stand out. She's a really good rival, and well written character, who comes across as a person and not just a roadblock in the way of Chi becoming queen. You're right, the OST is impressive this episode, soft and swelling orchestral pieces with piano and strings. Then you have this eerie sound when Chi's finger plays up and Wakamiya really lays into her taking card after card. Sound and actions match up well. Wakamiya doesn't let up and beats Chi by a wide margin. You do feel sorry for Wakamiya being told 'the lonelier you are the stronger you'll be', verging on child cruelty depraving her of friends because the parents/grandparents want her to be a karuta god, let the girl chose for herself. Sumire winning is nice and confirmation for her that she can play competitively. Not sure why Taichi isn't playing in the tournament, is there a separate ranking tournament, guess so. Looks like Taichi has a commanding lead over Retro so hopefully he'll make it to A rank. |
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