Forum - View topicChihayafuru 3 (TV).
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Stark700
 Posts: 11762 Location: Earth |
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Chihayafuru 3 (TV) Genres: Game, Slice of Life, Sports, Drama, School, Josei Themes: Karuta Plot Summary:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season 3 of the franchise. Last edited by Stark700 on Wed Oct 23, 2019 1:46 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ACｘS
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1:
SIX LONG YEARS... It's everything I love about the show and then some. This is basically a re-cap episode... well, you damn right it is. It's been six long years, so a re-cap will come in handy for just about anybody. I feel like the episode's too rushed. I vaguely remember how Chihayafuru has always been a pacy show, but somehow it feels compressed. Like how the actual full-length episode is compressed into two-thirds of it, because the first one-third is specially meant for re-cap. I get the conscious decision behind this, and I hope this is just a one-off experience. But to call this one-third re-cap and two-third episode one feels a little off too. This whole episode is a re-cap in itself; the first one-third are mostly flashbacks, and the remaining two-thirds are reminders of what happened at the end of the previous season. That being said, for those asking whether first-time viewers should watch the first two seasons, I'd say that that would come in useful. Season three is going to further build on top of the previous two by the looks of it, and we're going to see characters returning too (we've already seen familiar faces now). Some re-cap key points: Chihaya is single-minded in karuta (and absolutely clueless in everything else... tunnel vision much), Mashima has a complicated relationship with Chihaya (a mix of envy, jealousy and admiration... maybe infatuation too). Arata is Chihaya's single source of admiration. Oh, and Megumi Hayashibara as Sakurazawa is <33
Link goes to Lime-iro Senkitan. Heheh. |
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Stark700
Posts: 11762 Location: Earth |
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Fixed. I'm not sure how that happened lol
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Spastic Minnow
 Bargain HunterExempt from Grammar Rules  Posts: 4609 Location: Gainesville, FL |
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Chihayafuru 3: id=21851... you somehow deleted the 8. 
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ACｘS
Posts: 876 |
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2 - 3:
I'm not sure if there's another shoujo-sports anime quite like Chihayafuru. Most sports titles then to be shounen (Slam Dunk [okay, this one may be seinen], Hajime no Ippo, Captain Tsubasa, Cross Game) but Chihayafuru is its a realm on its own. Maybe Yuri on Ice is another example for shoujo-sports, but I can't quite think of anything else. I mentioned before that Chihayafuru is pacey. Like, breakneck pacey. It's both a good and a bad thing. The pacing is what makes this show absorbing to watch (and that's a key characteristic for sports anime): it never loses momentum and people don't get tired watching it. It even feels like a competition to watch and get roused by by this show. But at the same time it feels rushed and compressed. Like, it's too impatient to let a scene sink in a little before it moves on to the next bit. It's as if Desktomu's personal challenges are merely a side-note before the show segues into the Class A / B matches, and mentioning his challenges was just a polite formality that is relegated to the footnote. And then there's the upcoming climactic match between Chihaya and Inokuma, a potential Queen versus a former Queen. It's climactic only because we know she used to be a Queen, yet I don't feel so because the show introduced her only now. See, that's the problem with their pacing; if only had they make more time developing her as a karuta competitor and as a person (we know how formidable Chihaya is only because a lot of time has been spent developing her as a character), then we can learn and appreciate the sheer weight of this match. This is something that another sports anime (if I may quote to compare) did amazing well: March comes in like a Lion, with their shōgi. But I digress and perhaps demand too much. This is an amazing show, nonetheless. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 876 |
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4 - 5:
It should have been a shocker to see Ayase defeating Inokuma, and perhaps more importantly, Arata actually losing a match. But when I think about it, it actually isn't supposed to be. It's tempting to relent that Inokuma lost because family life has caught up to her and that old familiar message that we should always give way to young blood to take over the mantle. But as true as it may be, it's a storytelling cliché. Inokuma's graceful bow-out from the game is classy, but we know why Ayase really won: because this is Ayase's story, and had she lost, we can't get our destined match between her and Shinobu. In a way I feel sorry for her; she is obviously one of the most formidable opponents Ayase has faced so far, yet she's there only to make Ayase shine. Speaking of which, that's also the reason why Arata lost: because it's not his story, at last this time round. He had his time at the end of the previous season, so now it's Mashima's time to shine. If you think about it, the show's quite diplomatic about treating their characters. Does this accurately reflect the competitive world in real life (not necessarily in karuta, but in any kind of sports)? Hard for me to agree; how often have we seen amazing sportspeople who haven't had their deserved spotlight? And how messy is real life compared to the fictional sports world where we get our happy endings? (i digress, but only because i love this show) |
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ACｘS
Posts: 876 |
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8:
The endgame is pretty obvious at this point; if Suou's ominous comment isn't any more evident, Arata's ultimate challenger isn't Suou himself. It's Mashima. Even Ayase is swept to the curb to allow this to happen. Among the trio, you can somewhat tell that Mashima is fundamentally different from Arata and Ayase. What he lacks for skills, he makes up for sheer determination. That's something Arata is having trouble envisioning for himself lately; even if there is some expectation surrounding him as the son of Master Wataya (hopefully Suou's comment will give him a boost), it's not as much as Mashima's borrowed time as a high school student. Not sure if Ayase has any major this season; by going to the field trip instead, she just missed out on the most important tournament in her youth. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 876 |
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9:
Dr. Harada's advice to Taichi is basically the same thing researchers discovered about what separates chess grandmasters from the novices. When you play the game often enough, you can kinda tell which cards will not be called. It's not about a game of luck and probability anymore (even though technically it still is); it's a game of prediction and anticipation. There's always some risk involved when anticipating what card will be called next, but at the benefit of gaining some mental prep time going for it, it's a risk veterans are willing to take. I feel sorry for Taichi. I'm not sure if this season is still going to be about Taichi versus Arata anymore, but I feel sorry at how fateful his loss is (was it pure coincidence that the card that broke him was the same card that made Chihaya?). |
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ACｘS
Posts: 876 |
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10:
I guess it's not Taichi's time yet. You might be wondering, why would Murao help snap Arata out of the rut? Wouldn't that jeopardize his chance of winning? Truth be told, that small act of encouragement might have costed him the challenge at East-West qualifier but perhaps out of benevolence and sportsmanship for his fellow society mate, he chose to play the nice guy. Murao highlights a few things that applies for any competitive match: there's a lot of stress for being in the lead as well as being in the deficit. Usually when you have a big lead, the pressure is going to be maintaining that lead and many times you fumble. When you're down, the pressure is on but it might be easier to play catch-up. It's a twist to a classic conundrum: in a pursuit between an escaping thief and a chasing policeman with equal physique, who is the one more likely to catch the other? Add the luck of the cards being called while Arata being away, plus the payoff of sheer perseverance and talent, and Arata got his win. |
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Spastic Minnow
Bargain Hunter Exempt from Grammar Rules Posts: 4609 Location: Gainesville, FL |
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I was kind of expecting the game would hinge on Arata finally having to argue a card. Maybe in the East-West final or king match
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ACｘS
Posts: 876 |
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11:
I've never watched an episode so poignant in Chihayafuru before. And I have Inokuma to thank for that. I don't think I've come across any other anime series that covers motherhood and the sacrifices that come with it. Inokuma's sheer mental load and anxiety are exactly the kind of thing that competing mothers would fully empathize. This is something even competing fathers wouldn't understand; in a society where women are traditionally thought to retire simply because they have kids, it's all the more reason why Inokuma tacitly knows how difficult it is to compete against younger opponents who have much less weight on their shoulders. This is the kind of hardship that people in RL experience... this makes Chihayafuru an amazing series. Simply outstanding. (someone should tell ayase to consider method acting) |
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ACｘS
Posts: 876 |
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12:
Youth versus Experience. One of the most common themes in sports. Even clichéd, for a good reason: it's valid. Arata epitomizes Youth: speed and flexibility with some audacity. Dr. Harada? Presence and knowledge with a lot of tenacity. Not much focus is on the Queen's match unfortunately; maybe it's because either the theme will be the same, or the show's saving it up for the next episode. But I feel sorry constantly for Inokuma. For the pros of Experiences as Dr. Harada's strength is his theme, for Inokuma it's the lack of Youth as her weakness. Sakurazawa's speculation that maybe Inokuma's getting used to losing isn't meant to be a sick burn; it's the reality of how hard it is to climb back up from a losing streak. This is where tenacity comes in for Experience, and that's why she still won albeit only by 2 cards. Not sure who's going to win eventually (Youth or Experience). Gut feeling tells me it's Youth; it's the old familiar "giving way to Youth to take over us/our time is over" narrative. But I can't tell for sure; Harada threw a big wrench into Best 2 of 3 so who's to say. But for now: Experience 1, Youth 0. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 876 |
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16:
It's the Master / Queen finals! So it's come to down Ayase/Taichi's mentor versus the enigma. This is going to be exciting, and not just because it's the battle of the two most experienced karuta players of this generation. Dr. Harada and Suo come from fundamentally two schools of thought. Dr. Harada is the School of Offense. A player who uses intimidation, overwhelming presence and all-out attack, he's analogous to George Foreman in boxing or Guardiola's FC Barcelona in soccer. Suo is the School of Defense. A player who uses strategy, underwhelming presence and all-out defense, he's basically your Italian-style catenaccio in soccer. For both schools, their respective priorities are clear-cut. For Harada, just take as many cards as possible. For Suo, take the minimal amount. It's just like soccer: you often see one team who tries to score as many goals as possible (and yes, Suo likes this kind of player for two reasons: it's the kind he can negate with his polar opposite playing style the most, and it's also the most exciting kind of player to watch; people love watching soccer matches with plenty of goals, right). Then you have the other team, whose priority is the opposite: dominate the game by controlling the pace, and commit zero faults (in soccer, uphold clean sheets). Suo perfectly balances immaculate defence and sufficient offense by owning the game from the onset. This is evident from his game with Taichi: he hates going against him because it's basically fighting fire with fire. It's basically fighting fire with ice between Harada and Suo. Naturally this is going to be exciting. The only letdown from this finals is the lack of buildup (and story's focus on the show's part) between Inokuma and Shinobu. Inokuma is about intuition and experience, whereas Shinobu is about precision and efficiency (her Euclidean approach to her game-play is a dead giveaway). But other than that, there's no hype behind the face-off. What a shame; I was hoping that the show spent just as much effort building it up as much as the male's face-off. Side point: Suo's cryptic message towards Ayase at the end of their practice match? Ayase seems to have everything a high school kid wants... no wonder she can't become a Queen. He's implying that to become a Queen, Ayase must give up some form of privileges in her life. Shinobu gave up having friends and even family in a sense; she even admits that her only family is her deck of karuta cards. In some sense, Suo's message is tinged with melancholy and envy; it stings for Ayase because it's personal. Like how Suo's junior put it, he's nasty, |
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