(L+CR) Chihayafuru

[Sol Falling]

Nikuman in Japanese means "meat bun". I.e. what Nishida had in his mouth when Chihaya first ran across him at school. Also what he wagered the Karuta club would have to buy him a one-month supplies' worth of for participating in a Karuta match.

It's tactless, of course, but the context exists. Chihaya isn't making a specific commentary on his body image; in her continuing usage of Tsutomu's "Desktomu" nickname, it's clear that Chihaya is being just as tactless towards everyone else.


Anyway, this episode. Not that I didn't like it, but yeah it began to feel pretty clear that it was filler. Taichi's character was kind of all over the place this episode. Another thing which sorta baffled me was the stern chemistry teacher lady. Okay, so she turned out to be Nishida's tennis club advisor, but why did they give her such a mean look.

Nishida does fill a unique role in the cast as someone who came to genuinely enjoy Karuta (as a game) without external context. He pairs well (in a non-romantic sense) with Chihaya. Not much interesting to actually say about this episode's plot or development though.

I did like the ending/post-credit sequence.

[Guardian Enzo]

Sorry, calling a fat kid "Meat Bun" is very much a commentary on his body image. She's just too clueless to realize how cruel she's being, but she'd be a better person if someone clued her in.

[musouka]

It doesn't really matter what Chihaya's intentions are. Nishida made it obvious that he doesn't want to be called by that nickname and she persisted in doing it after being told multiple times to stop. That's rude no matter how you look at it.

[KyriaL]

Its hilarious the way the subbers translated Nishida's nickname, whether intentional or not. Adding on to that is Chihaya's insistence on calling him by that nickname.

[LKK]

Originally Posted by musouka

It doesn't really matter what Chihaya's intentions are. Nishida made it obvious that he doesn't want to be called by that nickname and she persisted in doing it after being told multiple times to stop. That's rude no matter how you look at it.

I agree completely. Chihaya's social obliviousness has always been a minor annoyance to me. But her behavior this episode was over the top IMO.

[Flo]

Don't mind me, just porking (sic) fun of Porky here

[ars89]

So since the anime changed Nishida's sequence. Did he still quit karuta in the manga and go play tennis?

[Rei.K]

Man I still can't get used to how good Chihaya looks. I enjoy good looking heroines as much as the next guy, but this is so out of character for such a tomboyish, tactless, childish one as her... just why does she have to look like a professional model while she clearly doesn't take care of her looks or the way she dresses, as karuta seems to be the only thing on her mind. Doesn't make sense, it's just mindless fanservice to me.

Oh well.

Eventhough I don't read the manga, I did feel something was off in this episode, and the events were a bit too predictable. At least we got more insight to the rules of karuta though, that's still worth taking.
Can't wait for the real stuff to actually begin, and hopefully more Arata soon.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by ars89

So since the anime changed Nishida's sequence. Did he still quit karuta in the manga and go play tennis?

Spoiler for manga Nishida:

He never played tennis. As for whether he quit karuta... IIRC he did say something about it but I'm not sure. I mean the manga didn't focus on this stuff at all so I don't remember for sure. Maybe he did, mybe he didn't. It doesn't really matter either way.

[Triple_R]

Well, as an anime-only watcher, I thoroughly enjoyed episode eight.

I'm sympathetic to manga readers who feel that Nishida's characterization in this episode is off from what he's like in the manga, but his anime self worked for me here.


Mind you, due to my own girth/size, I can relate a fair bit to Nishida. Being called "porky" or something like that would make me feel very self-conscious and uncomfortable.

That being said, I think that Chihaya means it endearingly.

One thing I'm coming to love more and more about Chihaya is how she just doesn't care about factors like social status, or how well-liked/popular someone is, or how good looking someone is. She has this great ability to see pass surface assessments and the superficial aspects of an individual, in order find and key in on the real worth of the full person before her.

It doesn't matter how nerdy you are, how bulky you are, how socially awkward you are, or how much of an outcast you are; none of that matters one iota to Chihaya. I have to say that I find that very appealing and distinctive about her. She is someone who is the very opposite of vain and shallow.

I also get a sense that this is gradually rubbing off on Taichi. He himself is a top student with dashing looks, but there's no arrogance with him about it. It doesn't change how he treats other people, which is a significant contrast with how he initially treated Arata back in the first couple of episodes. His character is really rounding nicely into shape, imo.


Thus far in Chihayafuru we've had basically two arcs (the flashback arc, and what I'd call "the recruitment arc") with a brief break between them in order to showcase Chihaya's attempt to rebuild her friendship with Arata. These two arcs have been executed marvelously, imo. This anime has truly made the most that could have been made out of these two arcs. Together, they have given this anime a supremely strong starting point, and have laid a fantastically firm foundation for the story to grow out from. This anime deserves very high marks for how it has handled the introduction and fleshing out of its main cast over these past eight episodes.

But the trickier challenge comes next, imo, as the anime must now balance its protagonist cast carefully, and find new and interesting goals for the Karuta Club. My hope (again, keep in mind I'm an anime-only viewer) is that there will be something akin to Saki's high school team tournament arc in this anime. That would be a good way to further showcase the full Kartua Club, and have them work cooperatively.


Overall, I give 9/10 for Chihayafuru Episode Eight. It truly left a smile on my face, and even awed me slightly by just how consistent and tight this anime is.

[Grifis]

I like the art and character designs. This has a bit of a HnG dramatic feel but not as exciting. (I'm not digging the game. I guess I'm watching for the wrong reason.) The eps are so boring without hot boy Arata. Where art thou?

[Kaoru Chujo]

This wasn't my favorite episode, but I still enjoyed it. Chihaya is criminally oblivious, but I can't quite blame her for her innocent self-centredness. She sees nothing but her goal, and has fond memories of the rather objectionable fat kid who was so great at karuta. Calling him "meat bun" seems to her more like a term of endearment, perhaps. She should know better, but she is blinded by her own enthusiasm.

As for her being so good looking, I actually don't see it that way. She's nice-looking, and has a rather conventional prettiness, but nothing special to me. Of course, I think Nanjou Yoshino is the most beautiful of all seiyuus, so perhaps my view of people is weird. In any case, I am actually related to someone who is big and aggressive and self-confident and smart and nice-looking, so Chihaya doesn't seem all that out of the ordinary to me. My relative is just a bit more aware, and intentionally provocative, rather than innocent.

[hyperborealis]

Another completely fascinating episode.

I understand the episode as a continuation of the previous one, as an exploration of the ethos bound up in karuta. We cover some of the same ground. Nishida initially believes that "talent" is paramount in karuta: "Karuta is about talent! / It doesn't matter how hard we practice! / We can never beat Wataya Arata!" Taichi then invites him to observe for himself the power effort has to improve a person's ability, by playing a match with Chihaya: "Why don't you see for yourself how strong someone can become / when they put in the effort?" All of this is familiar to us from the previous episode.

The current episode extends this ethos further. We learn from Nishida that the key to Chihaya's amazing ability is her love of karuta. Nishida is in the midst of his comeback, and Taichi cannot understand why Chihaya is smiling, when Chihaya explains herself to Nishida: "You don't hate karuta!" She then goes on her own comeback, takes a card that Nishida has been camping on right from under his hand, and Nishida understands the true source of her power: "She just happens to really love karuta..."

Playing karuta for love then opens up the game so that playing it becomes fun, and is played simply for the sake of this fun. Chihaya's response to winning the game emphasizes just this: she is happy, not since she won or beat Nishida, but simply it was so much "fun!"

Nishida himself has experienced the violation of this ethos: "I started playing karuta because it was fun. / But at some point, I started playing to win. / He [Arata] showed me what a difference talent made. / That's why I ran away. / Ran away from karuta." But in playing Chihaya, Nishida rediscovers himself in the love Chihaya has for the game and the fun she has in playing it: "Was this how I used to play karuta?" As in the previous two episodes, where Kana sees herself in Chihaya's passion for her knowledge of the hyakunin isshu, where Taichi discovers his own true motives for playing karuta, so too does this episode hinge upon a character's self-discovery in karuta.

Triple R describes these last three episodes as a recruitment arc, and so they are. But the recruitment is not just into the club, but into this ethos associated with karuta, whose motive is love, whose experience is fun, whose method is effort, and whose result is improvement, becoming "strong," and finally victory. We learn the rules of the game, but also are invited to identify with the heart of the game. These have not been filler episodes, but on the contrary, explanations of why people play karuta and of how they ought to play the game, even, of how they ought to live their lives. It is just because the anime cares to speak at this deep level that I find the show so interesting and important.

-------------

Nearly out of time. Let me finish by making two points. It is interesting that Nishida is balanced between two sports, karuta and tennis. Should not the ethos I was talking about apply to tennis as well? In the abstract, yes. But concretely, no. Nishida insists to Miyauchi-sensei that "tennis can never replace karuta!" (And she accepts what he says! no doubt at all who their club adviser is going to be!) All sports are not alike, and karuta has something of its own that calls to Nishida, and which finally he has to respond to.

What is it? This is speculative, but I think that at the very heart of this show is a mystical idea: that there is a deep connection between karuta and those whom karuta has chosen. It's hard to pin this idea down: it's invoked when Chihaya talks about having to become "friends" with the cards, in Arata's grandfather's explanation to the child Arata as to why the grandfather is so good at karuta, and in this episode, the moment at the end when Chihaya restrains Taichi from pursuing Nishida, since she knows he already belongs to karuta. Here karuta is an aspect of Japanese tradition, so that the choice between karuta and tennis is between native tradition and foreign modernity. And the "choice" for tennis, as Nishida exemplifies, is really a flight from what one truly is, from this deep mystical connection with tradition that constitutes authentic Japanese identity.

Something to think about on Thanksgiving...

[Kaioshin Sama]

Episode 07 was a great episode for Taichi. Really nice to see the guy finally beat Chihaya just once and I like that they keep highlighting that she does in fact have weaknesses and could stand to improve in certain areas. To strike a comparison, this isn't like Saki where the lead just has the power to magic herself the win out of any situation, if you take away Chihaya's sight it's not something that's that easily overcome by her insane reflexes and recognition of the poems. I'm actually kind of surprised and impressed how far they've managed to stretch what looks like a simple card recognition game and how complex and involving they've made it look in just 7 episodes.

Episode 08 has the return of another character influenced by Arata that I never thought we'd see again let alone that would end up joining the club in "Porky", who I was surprised to see is actually quite athletic and a solid Tennis club member. Continue to love how this show just breaks so many molds and expectations because it would normally never be acknowledged in an anime (let alone anything really) that an overweight character could still be decent. He'd probably be a fat otaku comic relief character that's always carrying around a bag full of food just about anywhere else, but here he makes things interesting in that he's arguably the most experienced and skilled player of anybody in the club even if he's a bit rusty and loses to Chihaya anyway. And although it looks like the club finally has enough members, that angry battle axe of a teacher looks like just the type that dislikes Chihaya enough to try and get in the way of the clubs recognition somehow. Guess we'll have to see where this leads

So yeah, Chihayafuru is a show where characters are allowed to have some depth, be complex, have real feelings, hell even look kind of average in appearance and it's probably now my undisputed favourite show of the season.

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Sorry, calling a fat kid "Meat Bun" is very much a commentary on his body image. She's just too clueless to realize how cruel she's being, but she'd be a better person if someone clued her in.

Isn't that why Taichi is there? I think at some point he'll have to intervene and get her head back into things, but right now she's lost in her Karuta fantasy that's currently in the midst of taking off and that's all that matters to her.

[Hooves]

I don't know why... But this anime keeps getting me pumped up no matter what, even though the results are easy to predict. The feel from the anime overall are just brilliant and just makes me want more... *cough* Of course Shana season 3 is still my favorite anime this season, Chihayafuru is easily reaching #2 falling behind a couple of other animes like Fate/Zero.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Rei.K

Man I still can't get used to how good Chihaya looks. I enjoy good looking heroines as much as the next guy, but this is so out of character for such a tomboyish, tactless, childish one as her... just why does she have to look like a professional model while she clearly doesn't take care of her looks or the way she dresses, as karuta seems to be the only thing on her mind. Doesn't make sense, it's just mindless fanservice to me.

It's a shoujo manga/anime....almost every main character looks like that...

Hope to see Nikuman vs Arata redux in the future

[-Sho-]

For a moment i thought Nishida was Komano's brother. Well , it's good to see that they look alike as Taichi & Chihaya look too.

[User68604]

i was hoping for more arata/taichi/chihaya love-triangle, karuta rivalry from the series. its good, but has been disappointing because of the lack thereof.

[Hooves]

Well, Chihaya and Taichi need to improve in order to atleast get on Arata's level. But the small glimpses of Taichi's jealousy over Arata because Chihaya enjoys playing karuta with him does seem to spring up on occasions. But it will probably hit hard in later episodes as Chihaya and Taichi get more time to chat with eachother for lost times. While completely restoring Taichi's feelings for Chihaya over his girlfriend.

[Archon_Wing]

Porky's awfully fast for his apperance. He's apparently no pushover, and despite being owned by Arata in the past, he is still on the level of Chihaya and Taichi; that's even having ragequit the game a while back.

It's nice to have a fat dude avoid the stereotype of being slow and clumsy. Last time I saw anyone like that in a Japanese production it would have been Ehonda.

It's also great that the anime is focused on the characters, with the game being a tool to advance the plot and characters. I find that kind of approach tends to work better, and helps creates people we care about. Nice as always, so I give 8/10 to this episode.

Can't wait for any official tournament arcs.