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New character next episode? Building up the Karuta club? Looks like we might get away from the drama with Arata for awhile. Is the setup phase over?
These past two episodes were pretty good, but I didn't feel like I had much to say as it was basically playing out exactly as I thought it would. The inter-relational drama has been set up now, so let's get knee deep into the game.
On Taichi. His voice was a bit flat calling out to Arata at the end, but I thought he was acting (mostly) genuine the rest of the time. Aside from that creepy guy thing he did in trying to nervously reach for Chihaya's hand without saying anything, he mostly has my respect. I think Taichi is willing and able to take Karuta (and along the same lines, Arata) seriously, and I also think Taichi is able and willing to genuinely put Chihaya's happiness before his own. He will grow.
On the other hand, the convenient romantic framing which keeps popping up between Chihaya and Arata might even turn sickening if the show plays it this straight all the way through. Neither Chihaya nor Arata seem to be remotely looking for romance, I am not interested in 'kyaa!'-ing over them falling into awkward positions over each other. "Friends" is great, the innocent feelings on both ends are heartwarming, I could do without the suggestive subtext.
Anyway, this is five episodes on Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi's relationship now, I'm ready for this show to slightly widen its scope. Let's see the next episode.
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