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REVIEW: Chihayafuru episodes 1-25 streaming


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belindabird
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Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 134
Location: Minneapolis
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 11:15 am Reply with quote
I'm glad to see that this series has garnered such high praise from various reviewers here, it's definitely a diamond-in-the-rough as far as anime goes. It's the type of anime that I can recommend to people who'd potentially be turned off by the some of the more otaku-targeted series, or who are interested in learning another tidbit about Japanese culture.

I can only hope that maybe the stars will align someday and bring with them a DVD or Blu-ray release, which would make it even easier to share. I suppose the poor disc sales in Japan would make that less of a given, unfortunately Sad
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Volibear



Joined: 29 Nov 2011
Posts: 344
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:00 pm Reply with quote
belindabird wrote:
I can only hope that maybe the stars will align someday and bring with them a DVD or Blu-ray release, which would make it even easier to share. I suppose the poor disc sales in Japan would make that less of a given, unfortunately Sad


i was hoping that Japan's poor sales would kind of help the chances of a license, i highly doubt a show that had such poor sales would cost a whole lot to actually license and the strong core fan base of the show has over here might be enough for a company to take a chance on it despite the perceived risks of licensing such a niche show
as well as that, i heard that Princess Jellyfish was doing quite well, and thats a niche, Josei show so i'm kinda hopeful for Chihayafuru


as for the show itself, i absolutely loved it, although i do agree that an inconclusive ending does kinda spoil the end slightly, but then again it's a long, ongoing manga series so it's to be expected and in my opinion prefered, i'd rather it end faithful to the manga than try something new just for the sake on closure, its too good of a show for that plus the way the show was going Chihaya still had a very long way to go to get to any sort of conclusion in her skills or making Queen etc. so in the end it ended the right way, although no ending would have been truly satisfying for the audience
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belindabird
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Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 134
Location: Minneapolis
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:08 pm Reply with quote
Volibear wrote:
i was hoping that Japan's poor sales would kind of help the chances of a license


That does make a lot of sense, I'm just a bit cynical since I've heard several times in the past company reps say that "poor Japanese sales" were a factor in keeping them from looking twice at a show that might otherwise be deserving. That line of thinking might be obsolete at this point, I'll admit Smile
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zensunni



Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 1291
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:41 pm Reply with quote
The chances of Chihiafuru gettting a 2nd season of anime probably hinge more on how the manga sales fared as a result of the anime.

The volume that came out prior to the anime, volume 14, sold 171,725 in the first week. The first one after the anime's release, volume 15, sold 192,448 in the first week, and was nominated for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. If the manga continue to trend upward in sales, that could lead to a 2nd season to try to drive sales even higher! As for a US release, we'd be lucky to get one, but I'm really glad Crunchyroll simulcast it. I really liked it!
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shi666san





PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:00 pm Reply with quote
oh, Chihayafuru, how I love you Smile
The 'problem' I had with the anime was Arata. When comparing to the manga, the anime let us down with him. The anime took out quite a few of his scenes & when he was on screen it totally rushed through it...which was quite disappointing. The director really must have liked Taichi because I feel like his scenes were even more drawn out & more centered on developing his character. (In reality this is all good).

But, of course, this is if you compare it to the manga; however, I do think the anime did a darn good job adapting the series & the added scenes with recruiting more members was nice.
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Takamachi Ryoko



Joined: 27 Apr 2008
Posts: 332
Location: 東京, 日本
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:36 pm Reply with quote
I was waiting for a full Chihayafuru review and was hoping that it'd be Bamboo who does the review, but Rebecca came with a surprise for me. A very good review, although I do think that the music deserves more praise.

I admit, Chihayafuru was a surprise, consider its author was criticized for plagiarism, Chihayafuru becomes a total hit last year. Story about cards, you saw them many times but karuta, this is literally a new theme in anime. Glad that Chihaya's seiyuu receives popularity after this role. Chihaya, so far, is one of the most lovable shoujo protagonist I've encountered in years, a karuta crazed airhead with colorful personalities. One of the biggest problem perhaps is the lack of romance, when comparing to many shoujo anime, it lets down on this side. The only important romance character seems to be Taichi, the show never went and developed more about this part sadly. But overall, though I don't give it a Masterpiece rate, Chihayafuru comes out as the best 2011 anime on my list, beating the likes of Ano Hana and Steins;Gate.

Too bad that the ending was left open, but I expected it this much, since we have a similar (genre) show like this Skip Beat!. Unless we get a sequel of I don't know Kare Kano, the chance for Chihayafuru is very slim. Hope that the sell will go well, and please Madhouse bring another season.
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mewpudding101
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Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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Location: Tokyo, Japan
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:21 pm Reply with quote
I watched Chihayafuru for 22 episodes and dropped it. I just really didn't like it. Chihaya's kind of annoying, but she should be a little less dense please. Taichi is trying so damn hard! I don't see the real reason to love Chihayafuru. I can't get connected to the characters, the story leaves me yawning, and the love subplot isn't that interesting (Is she really in love with Arata? Or is she just like a puppy, always wanting to play? I can't tell).

However, this is only MY opinion. I love the well-written review, and I hope other people enjoy this anime. :3
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Maidenoftheredhand



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2633
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:39 pm Reply with quote
Loved Chihayafuru, hope there is more of the anime or at least the manga gets licensed here. Actually I hope the anime gets licensed too.

On another note there are two bilingual editions of vol 1 & 2 of the manga released from Kodansha (not sure if there will be more)

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=NEOBK-1062000
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=NEOBK-1087888


I ordered them both, obviously they are not going to offer anything new in terms of the story because it's just the first two volumes but it is nice to own something of Chihayafuru I can actually read.


Last edited by Maidenoftheredhand on Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:10 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed this series tbh and hoping for a season 2 as the final episode didn't get the intention I originally hoped for.
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Arsenette



Joined: 02 Jun 2011
Posts: 175
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:46 pm Reply with quote
I came late to the series and only started to watch it when ANNCast was talking about it. I loved it personally. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but I loved every moment. I didn't read the scantilations as they aren't even midway through it. I really really hope it comes out here. I'd love to have it as part of my collection. In the meantime I'm enjoying replaying the series over and over on Crunchyroll Smile
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:00 pm Reply with quote
I really enjoyed Chihayafuru, but also found myself uncaring about Chihaya and her two potential choices. Instead, I want the other three karuta members to shine more, I was always glad when they had more to do onscreen, I love the little bits of chemistry between Kana and Tsutomu, and I love Porky just for his brash and blunt demeanor. Actually, I find him refreshing because he's always true to himself and doesn't tend to hide his emotions or allegiances.
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Gewürtztraminer



Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 1028
Location: Texas - Its like whole other country.
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:11 pm Reply with quote
The outcome of episode 22 has never been explained to my satisfaction. All that follow are then made suspect.
Episode 22 had Chihaya lspoiler[osing in spectacular fashion after blatant opposing coaching interference.] A major plot point was that to eliminate any interference, air condition would be cut off. If what transpired was ok, spoiler[then why not flashlights and airhorns? Ah, it was a plot device to advance the story.] Sloppy.
Granted had when said event occurred, she had bowed and thanked her opponent for the win via forfeit, she would have lost in the next match. So nothing really changed as far as the story we were presented. As a result, the last 3 episodes we got to watch the Karuta club wspoiler[atch television].
Yeah!
Even with all that nonsense, it still was a great show.
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dragon695



Joined: 28 Nov 2008
Posts: 1377
Location: Clemson, SC
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:32 pm Reply with quote
walw6pK4Alo wrote:
I really enjoyed Chihayafuru, but also found myself uncaring about Chihaya and her two potential choices. Instead, I want the other three karuta members to shine more, I was always glad when they had more to do onscreen, I love the little bits of chemistry between Kana and Tsutomu, and I love Porky just for his brash and blunt demeanor. Actually, I find him refreshing because he's always true to himself and doesn't tend to hide his emotions or allegiances.

I agree, I found the romance love triangle boring between the three and much preferred the others. At this point, I'd much rather see the other characters grow more and the other three stay single.
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14746
PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 12:25 am Reply with quote
Volibear wrote:
belindabird wrote:

I suppose the poor disc sales in Japan would make that less of a given, unfortunately Sad


i was hoping that Japan's poor sales would kind of help the chances of a license,


Seems Japanese couch potatoes have as poor tastes as American couch potatoes. Laughing


zensunni wrote:
The chances of Chihiafuru gettting a 2nd season of anime probably hinge more on how the manga sales fared as a result of the anime.

The volume that came out prior to the anime, volume 14, sold 171,725 in the first week. The first one after the anime's release, volume 15, sold 192,448 in the first week, and was nominated for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. If the manga continue to trend upward in sales, that could lead to a 2nd season to try to drive sales even higher!


"If it takes at least 500 million yen to fund a television anime, the anime has to boost the total manga sales by at least 3.3 million copies to be profitable for the publisher."

Again, that's total manga boost over its lifetime, not per volume. So that's the goal for every 500 million yen spent on the anime.
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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 1945
PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 3:36 am Reply with quote
Well, i for one was happy about the lack of romance. In the beginning i feared that it might turn into some melodramatic love triangle but it soon became clear that the focus lied on their friendship and passion for karuta.

I was actually surprised that i came to like Taichi so much while Arata kinda irritated me because i usually prefer the 'mysterious, brooding type', but except for making Chihaya love karuta, he didn't really do that much spoiler[and i found the story with his grandfather dying and him quitting karuta a bit overdramatic, to be honest]...

Loved all the side characters even the rival players, the characters are defintely the strong point of this series. While the game tiself did become more interesting the longer i was watching, i wouldn't have finished the series if it wasn't for the characters.
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