[Anime / Manga]: Chihayafuru - Romance and Card Games
As I've mentioned in my previous entry, I've been quite into sports series again recently. 
I watched a LOT of good, quite recent ones (and I'll list them all in a separate entry that's coming soon, I promise).
But at some point I was running out of sports series to watch. However, there was ONE series that kept popping up in the top 10 rankings of great sports anime and that is: Chihayafuru
I tried to avoid it because it's not EXACTLY a sport anime. I was really looking for something like soccer, basketball etc.
I read it's about karuta and I knew it would work out as I was in love with "Hikaru no Go" back in the days.
Like I said it kept popping up in the rankings and people were praising it, so I KNEW it had to be good ...... and while I desperately was looking for another GREAT sports anime, I might have found something even BETTER! ^^; .....
Ok, I try to keep this short and I'll also post spoiler warnings where necessary, so rest assured. ;P
Chihayafuru is a series about a traditional "card game", competitive karuta. You have to memorize 100 traditional Japanese poems in order to play it.
When the first verse of the poem is read you need to hit the card the shows the continuation of it. There are several cards that start with the same sounds, so it can be very tricky.
I don't want to bore you with the rules of karuta. Once you start the series, you'll figure it out easily anyway.
Even if it sounds boring, don't worry, it's not boring at all!
If you like series such as "Hikaru no Go", I don't even have to persuade you.
What really caught my interest, though, is not the card game, but the relationship between the three main characters.
A lot of sports series are quite similar as they're about team spirit, friendship, never giving up etc.
What makes this series different is that there's a VERY INTERESTING triangle relationship going on between the three main characters going all the way back to their childhood.
It's very romantic without ever being kitschy.
And I'm actually quite sure that that's the MAIN reason why the series is so popular! ^^
The series starts in the present where the main characters just entered high school, but immediately after that we get a flashback to their childhood (elementary school days).
The three main characters are Chihaya, Taichi and Arata.
They all were in the same class in elementary school. Arata was relatively new as his parents transferred to Tokyo from Fukui (which is not too far from Osaka / Kyoto).
He's very shy and quiet and has no friends yet.
Chihaya is a very extroverted, nice girl, while Taichi is trying to be the "king of the class". No wonder as his mother is a "monster parent". She has high expectations and wants her only son to be the best in everything he does.
Naturally Taichi starts teasing Arata, but Chihaya tries to defend him.
One day Arata invites Chihaya to his house where he asks her if she likes karuta.
They sit down and play karuta and Chihaya immediately is blown away by Arata's skills. She tries hard to take at least ONE card from him and she manages to do so.
The kids are currently learning the 100 poems in school and only the kids who manage to memorize all of them can take part in the school's karuta tournament.
Taichi is taking part, of course. His monster mama expects him to win.
Arata also takes part and is - of course - super strong - which pisses Taichi off.
Taichi fears he cannot win and steals Arata's glasses. Without his glasses Arata can barely read the cards. There's no way he can win, yet he's doing well.
Chihaya realizes that Arata has lost his glasses and after she's unable to find them, kicks Arata away to be Taichi's opponent.
Of course, Taichi wins in the end.
Chihaya runs off to find Arata's glasses while Taichi gives them back to him, regretting what he did.
He makes Arata promise to never ever tell Chihaya that he took the glasses.
The three of them become friends, play karuta together and even join the local karuta community, fighting together in a team of 3. It's the happiest time for them.
But towards the end of their elementary school time Arata has sad news. He has to go back to his home town because his grandfather is really sick.
Fast forward and we're at high school again.
We see Chihaya who has become a BEAUTIFUL girl. No wonder as her older sister is a famous model and aspiring actress.
But everyone at her new school quickly figures out that she's a "muda bijin" (her beauty is wasted on her). As soon as Chihaya moves or talks she's wasting her beautiful appearance. XD ......
She's trying to create a karuta club at high school and surprisingly meets Taichi again.
They haven't been in the same middle school.
Taichi is surprised that Chihaya is still into karuta. But he soon notices how serious she is about it when he visits their old karuta society.
Meanwhile Chihaya has taken A-kyuu (A rank) - the highest rank for competitive karuta players.
After seeing how serious Chihaya is, Taichi decides to help her create a karuta club.
Chihaya wants to meet Arata again so badly and she's sure she'll be able to meet him in tournaments if only she can create a high school karuta club.
Taichi's not so amused to hear Arata's name.
It's pretty obvious that both guys have been in love with Chihaya from their childhood days onwards. And I don't know why, but I already figured out right from the start in which direction this would go .... though I won't mention it until later (beyond the spoiler warning).
Chihaya finally calls Arata to let him know that she's made it up to A-rank, but Arata gets angry and tells her he's not into karuta anymore and not to call him ever again.
Chihaya is totally shocked. So Taichi and her take the next train to Fukui to ask Arata directly what happened.
Will the three of them be together again?
Why won't Arata play karuta anymore?
What about the triangle relationship that's about to start?
From here onwards it's going to be spoilery, so you might not want to read on:
So apparently Arata's grandfather died while Arata was having his final karuta match to move up to A-rank. Arata's grandfather was a super master of karuta himself which explains why Arata was so into karuta at such a young age.
Arata blames himself for putting karuta first and not being there when his grandpa died.
In the end, Taichi and Chihaya have to leave without Arata changing his mind.
They actually manage to create a karuta club and slowly gather members.
Eventually they take part in the high school karuta tournament although they can't win the championship.
To cut a long story short, Arata comes back to the karuta world - and from here the drama begins. ;)
Chihaya's dream is to become the "Queen" which is the title for the strongest female karuta player while Arata wants to become "Meijin" (master) which is the same title for the strongest man. Arata told her about his dream back in elementary school and it's thanks to Arata that Chihaya became all crazy about karuta.
She's often called a "karuta baka" - and she really is. XD
But there's one strong opponent, the current "Queen". Her name is Shinobu, she's from Kyoto and thus also speaks Kansai-ben just like Arata. Both have been playing karuta forever, so naturally Arata and Shinobu know each other.
Shinobu is weird, super strong, but I love her! ^___^
And I guess now I can finally tell you ..... from the start I knew that I want Taichi and Chihaya to be together and from the start I knew that it's not gonna happen. I knew from the start that my heart will be broken YET AGAIN! I guess I'm so into the series because I still have this 1% of hope that my guts are wrong. XD
I often end up falling for the male chara who gets heartbroken. Some examples: Nobu (Nana), Miwa (Marmalade Boy), Nakatsu (Hanakimi)
But this time I just can't take it. Never before have I thought that two charas should be together more than this time. WOAH!!!!!!!!
I've seen so many Arata shippers who badmouth Taichi and I really don't get it.
It's not like I hate Arata. Not at all. He's the one who inspired Chihaya, but TAICHI is the one who's always at Chihaya's side, who's supporting her, who's watching over her. He regrets so much that he was an asshole in elementary school and he's working so hard to become a better person.
I love how hardworking and considerate he is.
Arata hasn't done anything for Chihaya other than giving her a dream of her own and turning her into a "karuta baka". Which is great, but ...... that's not LOVE! T_T ....
It become absolutely OBVIOUS who's the better fit and who deserves Chihaya more if you look at their confessions:
Arata just blurbed it out totally unexpected after a karuta game. And all he said was "I love you."
He didn't even give Taichi a chance or warned him or told him afterwards that he confessed. GOD, I was so angry!
Taichi - on the other hand - had many chances to tell Chihaya, but he knew Chihaya better than anyone and he knew that she's not ready for love yet.
Even after he heard about Arata's confession he still managed to keep quiet somehow.
When he finally confessed it was the PERFECT moment, the perfect atmosphere and such a LOVELY and long confession. He didn't simply say "I love you." He also could tell Chihaya exactly what it is he loves about her. (Though you can't see that in the panel above .. XD)
Also, before he confessed his love, he also FINALLY told her what happened back in elementary school .. that he was the one who stole Arata's glasses.
AWWWW!!!! ;_________________; .............................
But after that confession it also became obvious (what I already knew from the start) that Taichi x Chihaya is never gonna happen. I'm so crushed.
I fell in love with Taichi almost at first sight .... and yeah .. him having my favorite voice actor's voice (Mamoru Miyano) was just the tiny super extra bonus on top of that. ;P
Oh, and I actually think that Shinobu and Arata would fit together much, much better anyway!!! ^^
Why is Taichi always alone? I cried with him. At least crazy Suou was with him. The only guy that can have Chihaya besides Taichi! XD .... Never mind.
In the few most recent manga chapters it's really tough to watch Taichi. It's not fair what happened to him.
He's even given up on karuta, though it looks like he's coming back now.
Chihaya's dream: She's challenging Shinobu for the Queen's title and Taichi and Arata are fighting for the Meijin title .... and somehow this could even happen in the future .... ^^;; ... -___-;
It's such a shame that it's a MONTHLY series. That means ONE chapter per MONTH. It takes forever! -___-
There are 2 seasons of an anime series - which is what I started out with, but there's a lot more happening after that, so definitely also read the manga and SUFFER along with me ... unless you're an Arata x Chihaya shipper, I guess .... T___T ......
Of course there are a lot of other lovable characters as well.
Omi Jingu in Otsu (Shiga Prefecture) is also shown as that's where the karuta tournament is held (in reality, too, btw.)
Aaah, if only I had watched this BEFORE leaving Japan. I've been in Otsu so many times, but never to Omi Jingu. *headdesk*
And I'm actually QUITE sure that I've seen a train in Otsu with pictures of Chihayafuru on it. I also should have a photo of that somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. XD ....
Only that back then I didn't know what it was, of course. XD ......
Oh, and there's also the real tournament to decide the yearly "Queen" and "Meijin". You can watch a real match on Youtube - it's quite interesting. ^___^
Have you read / watched the series yet?
How do you like it?
Who are you shipping? (And if it's Arata, WHY OH WHY???
... XD ...)
I watched a LOT of good, quite recent ones (and I'll list them all in a separate entry that's coming soon, I promise).
But at some point I was running out of sports series to watch. However, there was ONE series that kept popping up in the top 10 rankings of great sports anime and that is: Chihayafuru
I tried to avoid it because it's not EXACTLY a sport anime. I was really looking for something like soccer, basketball etc.
I read it's about karuta and I knew it would work out as I was in love with "Hikaru no Go" back in the days.
Like I said it kept popping up in the rankings and people were praising it, so I KNEW it had to be good ...... and while I desperately was looking for another GREAT sports anime, I might have found something even BETTER! ^^; .....
Ok, I try to keep this short and I'll also post spoiler warnings where necessary, so rest assured. ;P
Chihayafuru is a series about a traditional "card game", competitive karuta. You have to memorize 100 traditional Japanese poems in order to play it.
When the first verse of the poem is read you need to hit the card the shows the continuation of it. There are several cards that start with the same sounds, so it can be very tricky.
I don't want to bore you with the rules of karuta. Once you start the series, you'll figure it out easily anyway.
Even if it sounds boring, don't worry, it's not boring at all!
If you like series such as "Hikaru no Go", I don't even have to persuade you.
What really caught my interest, though, is not the card game, but the relationship between the three main characters.
A lot of sports series are quite similar as they're about team spirit, friendship, never giving up etc.
What makes this series different is that there's a VERY INTERESTING triangle relationship going on between the three main characters going all the way back to their childhood.
It's very romantic without ever being kitschy.
And I'm actually quite sure that that's the MAIN reason why the series is so popular! ^^
The series starts in the present where the main characters just entered high school, but immediately after that we get a flashback to their childhood (elementary school days).
The three main characters are Chihaya, Taichi and Arata.
They all were in the same class in elementary school. Arata was relatively new as his parents transferred to Tokyo from Fukui (which is not too far from Osaka / Kyoto).
He's very shy and quiet and has no friends yet.
Chihaya is a very extroverted, nice girl, while Taichi is trying to be the "king of the class". No wonder as his mother is a "monster parent". She has high expectations and wants her only son to be the best in everything he does.
Naturally Taichi starts teasing Arata, but Chihaya tries to defend him.
One day Arata invites Chihaya to his house where he asks her if she likes karuta.
They sit down and play karuta and Chihaya immediately is blown away by Arata's skills. She tries hard to take at least ONE card from him and she manages to do so.
The kids are currently learning the 100 poems in school and only the kids who manage to memorize all of them can take part in the school's karuta tournament.
Taichi is taking part, of course. His monster mama expects him to win.
Arata also takes part and is - of course - super strong - which pisses Taichi off.
Taichi fears he cannot win and steals Arata's glasses. Without his glasses Arata can barely read the cards. There's no way he can win, yet he's doing well.
Chihaya realizes that Arata has lost his glasses and after she's unable to find them, kicks Arata away to be Taichi's opponent.
Of course, Taichi wins in the end.
Chihaya runs off to find Arata's glasses while Taichi gives them back to him, regretting what he did.
He makes Arata promise to never ever tell Chihaya that he took the glasses.
The three of them become friends, play karuta together and even join the local karuta community, fighting together in a team of 3. It's the happiest time for them.
But towards the end of their elementary school time Arata has sad news. He has to go back to his home town because his grandfather is really sick.
Fast forward and we're at high school again.
We see Chihaya who has become a BEAUTIFUL girl. No wonder as her older sister is a famous model and aspiring actress.
But everyone at her new school quickly figures out that she's a "muda bijin" (her beauty is wasted on her). As soon as Chihaya moves or talks she's wasting her beautiful appearance. XD ......
She's trying to create a karuta club at high school and surprisingly meets Taichi again.
They haven't been in the same middle school.
Taichi is surprised that Chihaya is still into karuta. But he soon notices how serious she is about it when he visits their old karuta society.
Meanwhile Chihaya has taken A-kyuu (A rank) - the highest rank for competitive karuta players.
After seeing how serious Chihaya is, Taichi decides to help her create a karuta club.
Chihaya wants to meet Arata again so badly and she's sure she'll be able to meet him in tournaments if only she can create a high school karuta club.
Taichi's not so amused to hear Arata's name.
It's pretty obvious that both guys have been in love with Chihaya from their childhood days onwards. And I don't know why, but I already figured out right from the start in which direction this would go .... though I won't mention it until later (beyond the spoiler warning).
Chihaya finally calls Arata to let him know that she's made it up to A-rank, but Arata gets angry and tells her he's not into karuta anymore and not to call him ever again.
Chihaya is totally shocked. So Taichi and her take the next train to Fukui to ask Arata directly what happened.
Will the three of them be together again?
Why won't Arata play karuta anymore?
What about the triangle relationship that's about to start?
From here onwards it's going to be spoilery, so you might not want to read on:
So apparently Arata's grandfather died while Arata was having his final karuta match to move up to A-rank. Arata's grandfather was a super master of karuta himself which explains why Arata was so into karuta at such a young age.
Arata blames himself for putting karuta first and not being there when his grandpa died.
In the end, Taichi and Chihaya have to leave without Arata changing his mind.
They actually manage to create a karuta club and slowly gather members.
Eventually they take part in the high school karuta tournament although they can't win the championship.
To cut a long story short, Arata comes back to the karuta world - and from here the drama begins. ;)
Chihaya's dream is to become the "Queen" which is the title for the strongest female karuta player while Arata wants to become "Meijin" (master) which is the same title for the strongest man. Arata told her about his dream back in elementary school and it's thanks to Arata that Chihaya became all crazy about karuta.
She's often called a "karuta baka" - and she really is. XD
But there's one strong opponent, the current "Queen". Her name is Shinobu, she's from Kyoto and thus also speaks Kansai-ben just like Arata. Both have been playing karuta forever, so naturally Arata and Shinobu know each other.
Shinobu is weird, super strong, but I love her! ^___^
And I guess now I can finally tell you ..... from the start I knew that I want Taichi and Chihaya to be together and from the start I knew that it's not gonna happen. I knew from the start that my heart will be broken YET AGAIN! I guess I'm so into the series because I still have this 1% of hope that my guts are wrong. XD
I often end up falling for the male chara who gets heartbroken. Some examples: Nobu (Nana), Miwa (Marmalade Boy), Nakatsu (Hanakimi)
But this time I just can't take it. Never before have I thought that two charas should be together more than this time. WOAH!!!!!!!!
I've seen so many Arata shippers who badmouth Taichi and I really don't get it.
It's not like I hate Arata. Not at all. He's the one who inspired Chihaya, but TAICHI is the one who's always at Chihaya's side, who's supporting her, who's watching over her. He regrets so much that he was an asshole in elementary school and he's working so hard to become a better person.
I love how hardworking and considerate he is.
Arata hasn't done anything for Chihaya other than giving her a dream of her own and turning her into a "karuta baka". Which is great, but ...... that's not LOVE! T_T ....
It become absolutely OBVIOUS who's the better fit and who deserves Chihaya more if you look at their confessions:
Arata just blurbed it out totally unexpected after a karuta game. And all he said was "I love you."
He didn't even give Taichi a chance or warned him or told him afterwards that he confessed. GOD, I was so angry!
Taichi - on the other hand - had many chances to tell Chihaya, but he knew Chihaya better than anyone and he knew that she's not ready for love yet.
Even after he heard about Arata's confession he still managed to keep quiet somehow.
When he finally confessed it was the PERFECT moment, the perfect atmosphere and such a LOVELY and long confession. He didn't simply say "I love you." He also could tell Chihaya exactly what it is he loves about her. (Though you can't see that in the panel above .. XD)
Also, before he confessed his love, he also FINALLY told her what happened back in elementary school .. that he was the one who stole Arata's glasses.
AWWWW!!!! ;_________________; .............................
But after that confession it also became obvious (what I already knew from the start) that Taichi x Chihaya is never gonna happen. I'm so crushed.
I fell in love with Taichi almost at first sight .... and yeah .. him having my favorite voice actor's voice (Mamoru Miyano) was just the tiny super extra bonus on top of that. ;P
Oh, and I actually think that Shinobu and Arata would fit together much, much better anyway!!! ^^
Why is Taichi always alone? I cried with him. At least crazy Suou was with him. The only guy that can have Chihaya besides Taichi! XD .... Never mind.
In the few most recent manga chapters it's really tough to watch Taichi. It's not fair what happened to him.
He's even given up on karuta, though it looks like he's coming back now.
Chihaya's dream: She's challenging Shinobu for the Queen's title and Taichi and Arata are fighting for the Meijin title .... and somehow this could even happen in the future .... ^^;; ... -___-;
It's such a shame that it's a MONTHLY series. That means ONE chapter per MONTH. It takes forever! -___-
There are 2 seasons of an anime series - which is what I started out with, but there's a lot more happening after that, so definitely also read the manga and SUFFER along with me ... unless you're an Arata x Chihaya shipper, I guess .... T___T ......
Of course there are a lot of other lovable characters as well.
Omi Jingu in Otsu (Shiga Prefecture) is also shown as that's where the karuta tournament is held (in reality, too, btw.)
Aaah, if only I had watched this BEFORE leaving Japan. I've been in Otsu so many times, but never to Omi Jingu. *headdesk*
And I'm actually QUITE sure that I've seen a train in Otsu with pictures of Chihayafuru on it. I also should have a photo of that somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. XD ....
Only that back then I didn't know what it was, of course. XD ......
Oh, and there's also the real tournament to decide the yearly "Queen" and "Meijin". You can watch a real match on Youtube - it's quite interesting. ^___^
Have you read / watched the series yet?
How do you like it?
Who are you shipping? (And if it's Arata, WHY OH WHY???
... XD ...)