[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by hyperborealis

See, I don't think there is a love triangle. There is Taichi in love with Chihaya and that is it. We have just hints Arata is interested in her (ie his relief to find out Chihaya and Taichi are not going out), but nothing specific. And Chihaya is an absolute cipher. There is nothing to say she has even the notion of romance in her head--your own argument that Chihaya's response to Sumire has no romantic connotations is the best evidence for this fact.

I agree and disagree with you here. I agree that only Taichi's feelings are absolutely certain when it comes to the romance while Chihaya and Arata's are not clear, but I actually think that is all on purpose on Suetsugu's part to make the romantic element unclear.

I think there is definitely indication that Chihaya could love Arata but does not realize or understand her own feelings. I think this is what Taichi believes. Or it could be that Taichi is misinterpreting strong feelings of friendship for love.

As for Arata we see so little of him that it is even harder to grasp how he feels, again does Arata care for Chihaya as a friend or something more.

However, I don't think the love triangle doesn't exist because only Taichi's feelings are clear cut. The love triangle is being set up for the audience not just the characters.

Romance is a point of characterization, especially for Taichi (it's noticeable only by its absence in the others, as a sign of immaturity). It can't become the defining point of the story, because then the genre of the narrative itself changes. Shippers' demands for specificity and clarity require the story to become the romance novel it is not. So the romantic elements function only as a tease to the viewers, and as a source of suffering for Taichi. It is never going to go anywhere, or at least not until the manga is finished. So I say it again: the romance is a tease.

Oh I agree with you we are not going to find out until the end or at least until near the end of the story. I don't think that makes it tease though.

And yes Karuta is and should be the main focus of the story but I think the reason why fans focus so much on romance because just like how we are never sure who is going to win that match of karuta we are not sure who is going to end up with who. And that type of uncertainty makes for good storytelling.

I wasn't very clear in the first place--I was questioning whether a person's suffering now portends success later. Were you saying that? I might have misunderstood you.

No, I was saying I believe the manga-ka specifically gives Taichi a hard time now because he will succeed in the end and it will be more rewarding. As in a story when you have a character struggle it means more when they succeed. Please note I didn't say what that success would pertain too.

Does struggling always mean you will succeed in real life, unfortunately no. But I think it's not wrong for a reader to expect to see this for a character. Success can of course come in many different forms.

Taichi's suffering and failure humanizes him, so that we can care for him in the first place and admire him for his efforts to achieve his goals. We viewers would like him to succeed, and it would be very satisfying were he to do so, but that success is immaterial to the literary purpose of his suffering, which is to make us care for him. We already do so, and will continue to even if or especially if he finally fails. That's why I don't think there's any connection between Taichi's distress in this episode and whatever his ultimate fate is going to be down the road.

I wasn't just talking about this episode but all episodes. The manga-ka pays in my opinion considerable attention on Taichi and his constant struggle for me to think there won't be some ultimate meaning to it all.

Of course it is admirable that despite failure, Taichi doesn't give up and keeps struggling. This is certainly part of his character growth but I don't believe Tachi's ultimate purpose in the story is just to struggle & that he won't earn something in the end.

By the way, I respect Taichi more for not forcing his own romantic agenda on Chihaya. Romantic love has its selfish element, which Taichi, to his credit, refuses to go along with, whatever his feelings and personal hurt. He allows Chihaya to pursue her karuta dreams, rather than demand that she make a choice to fulfill his own. Taichi is an honorable lover.

While I would like to say that Taichi is just being admirable I think he is also acting out of fear of rejection.

Also I think Taichi finally telling Chihaya how he feels is not just about forcing her to make a choice but being honest. Perhaps now isn't the best time to tell her but I think he should eventually whether she will share his feelings or not.