Chihayafuru

[Kraco]

Episode 11 - HS



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Haha. This is why I love series with a good script: All those theories about why Arata didn't answer a single mail, and the truth is that his own computer (or is it his phone) is acting up and he has a huge threshold to use the computer at work to check his private mails...

Now that we saw him again, I have no idea whether he actually started to play again. Of course seeing him at work doesn't really reveal that much, but if he's using his free time to work, when would he train? Or does he go to school at all? I don't remember if it was stated. This story would feel kind of strange is Arata had nothing to do with karuta anymore, and would remain some sort of living fossil, that is, a karuta memory for the rest of the guys that has no role but what they remember from years ago. Yet, as much as I'd like to see him play again, it would also need to be after some effort and hard retraining.

Oh, almost forgot: The battle in this ep was quite nice, but I'm not sure if it's good that they won or not. The other team was supposed to be really strong, after all. Also, Chihaya's psyche seems to be strangely weak in some ways. Of course it brings more tension to the games, but it's not going to be overly realistic if she needs to struggle to get into the mood in every real game. This episode did, though, depict nicely the differences between Chihaya, Taichi and Nikuman as players.

[Ryllharu]

Oh, almost forgot: The battle in this ep was quite nice, but I'm not sure if it's good that they won or not. The other team was supposed to be really strong, after all. Also, Chihaya's psyche seems to be strangely weak in some ways. Of course it brings more tension to the games, but it's not going to be overly realistic if she needs to struggle to get into the mood in every real game. This episode did, though, depict nicely the differences between Chihaya, Taichi and Nikuman as players.

Yes, very much so. I loved the contrast between Chihaya's unthinking instinctual play, so much so that she can actually predict when a card is going to be read by keying into the reader's mannerisms, to Taichi's Calculating King style. He's got a very intellectual approach, which is a great reason why Chihaya forced him into the Center position. That in and of itself was a nice touch as well. Chihaya is a good Captain to Taichi's club President. They all accused her of randomly picking, but she had learned a great deal from her near-failure last round. She incorporated a technique of her opponent's that made an impression on her, and worked it into her own team's dynamic.

I only wished they had spent more time focusing on Nikuman's turnabout. His opponent was supposed to be incredibly strong himself, and after the barrel-roll, Nikuman just somehow won, without the details that we got from Taichi's or Chihaya's matches. I would have liked to see more, but I could understand and am grateful for why they wanted the episode to end in a victory, rather than a cliffhanger.

I also enjoyed that the person who reinvigorated the whole team wasn't Chihaya, wasn't Taichi, it was Deskmoto nabbing his first card against a strong opponent. He and Kana may be somewhat less major players, but they are definitely contributors to the team morale with their newbie enthusiasm.