Quote:
Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo
Boy, that's a mighty semantic argument. He's not with his friends so he wants to move closer to them - but he's not lonely?
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Oh, absolutely. This is one of the principal themes of
Chihayafuru, after all--that karuta, childhood dreams, and shared memories bind friends together, beyond the power of distance and time to separate. That is why the narrative begins with the main characters in elementary school--it is to frame all of the current action, in high school, in a relation to the past.
Even the "present" we are watching is already a memory. "Tokyo. Six years ago." So the manga begins, by jumping back to Chihaya's sixth grade. Chihaya is telling us the story in retrospective, from twelfth grade. The whole narrative itself illustrates the vital reality of memory.
Anyway, watch again the opening of episode 4, and see what you think. It really doesn't play as an Arata who lacks meaningful relationships or is lonely. It's Arata affirming the deep sense of connection he feels with Chihaya instead.