(CR) Chihayafuru Season 3

[Jan-Poo]

Yes the wikipage I mentioned before (it's here btw) shows that the eternal Meijin and Queen had won between 8 to 15 times.

So they definitely can still participate after they gain the "eternal" title.

This is probably the reason why there's so few of them.

[Kanon]

This episode was completely worth the wait.

Slightly disappointed that the Haruka (finally learned her first name) vs Megumu match received so little focus, but what focus it got was great. Besides, it makes sense to focus more on Harada vs Arata since they're both major characters unlike those two. I'm glad Haruka won, and I hope she'll put up a good fight against Shinobu. Not even hoping she'll win because that just seems impossible.

Suo sounding super mysterious, asking Chihaya repeatedly if there wasn't something else she wanted to ask him with that soft voice of his, and then it just gets revealed he was hoping she'd ask him out because he doesn't have a girlfriend
A new rival appears?

Now that I know what Chihaya told Arata, I'm fine with it because it ended up bringing Harada a lot of joy. Grandpa Wataya was the Alain Delon of Karuta, huh. I know Alain Delon is (was?) famous in Japan, but it's not often you hear his name dropped in an anime. A shame the magic was broken by the physical pain Harada experienced. I'm sure he's not down for the count, though. Suo wishing to face him rather than Arata seems like a good sign.

Really great episode!

[Wandering Soul]

Getting Haruka's victory out of the way was a good move as I didn't see her losing and we can focus on Arata vs Harada. I'm still glad she won though.

As if the Chihayabowl didn't have enough competitors., now Suo is joining the race.

Despite Harada injuring his knee again, I still see him pulling out a win.

[BBOvenGuy]

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

As if the Chihayabowl didn't have enough competitors., now Suo is joining the race.

"I don't have a girlfriend!"
"Neither do I!"



The Chihayabowl is pointless, because Chihaya doesn't care. I mean, yes she has feelings for both Arata and Taichi, but they flit into her brain and then right back out again. When they pop up, she reacts to them and then she moves on. Becoming queen is her obsession, and no boyfriend - or girlfriend - is going to top that.

[SeijiSensei]

And when Taichi hands Arata a card he had won, Arata thinks to himself, "Wait, was that Taichi?" He's often as oblivious as Chihaya.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

And when Taichi hands Arata a card he had won, Arata thinks to himself, "Wait, was that Taichi?" He's often as oblivious as Chihaya.

I think it's pretty forgivable, given the circumstances.

[shanimebib]

I didn't know we had an active Chiahayfuru S3 board in AS. You guys are having a good discussion.

You guys all rooting for Harada-sensei instead of Arata makes me sad. But I am gonna have the last laugh! I am sure! What is not there to believe! If you can predict what can be read in the luck of the draw, you should also be able to predict the winner, no?

Also, I am gonna go back few episodes and bring to light it's not just because of her wanting to be a teacher that was the reason she decided to go to the school trip. Michiru is not just a random classmate. She is Chihaya's best friend and they are closer than you guys think because their bond is off screen the main story. Michiru played one of the biggest roles in Chihaya's life when she was going through the worst time of of her life. The middle school arc story which is approved by Suetsugu-sensei covers Michiru's role.

Also, this has turned into a reverse harem with Suou entering the fray.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by shanimebib

Also, I am gonna go back few episodes and bring to light it's not just because of her wanting to be a teacher that was the reason she decided to go to the school trip. Michiru is not just a random classmate. She is Chihaya's best friend and they are closer than you guys think because their bond is off screen the main story. Michiru played one of the biggest roles in Chihaya's life when she was going through the worst time of of her life. The middle school arc story which is approved by Suetsugu-sensei covers Michiru's role.

I kinda wondered just how close those two were. That would have been impossible to guess, given that Michiru must have add five minutes of screentime in total across the first two seasons.

I think there's something wrong with that. Arata's relationship to Yu was properly established in the main story, for example.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

"I don't have a girlfriend!"
"Neither do I!"



The Chihayabowl is pointless, because Chihaya doesn't care. I mean, yes she has feelings for both Arata and Taichi, but they flit into her brain and then right back out again. When they pop up, she reacts to them and then she moves on. Becoming queen is her obsession, and no boyfriend - or girlfriend - is going to top that.

The classic clueless shounen lead. In a (nominally, anyway) shoujo.

[Arya]

Go go Haruka (so is that her first name?) Go!

Glad I'm in the minority here that see Harada with zero chances to win. Despite, well, from my point of view he should. Yeah, I didn't appreciate much this transformation of Arata in his Grampa. Harada is playing true to himself. Being himself. So that should be enough for his Karma to give him the edge.

Also I won't tell you that Chihaya's siding with Arata rubbed me in the wrong way. I won't ... despite it makes sense from a certain angle, I mean, they are all young and Harada is their "father" and whatnot. It also makes sense from a narrative point of view. Arata and Chihaya see only Karuta. The imagery of Arata not seeing Taichi is not that far from the reality of things. Chihaya not telling him what she told to Arata is not far from there either. But on that she at least was unbiased, ditching the second match to go out with Suo. That's the scale of priorities for her

So, back to Harada, yeah, I'm expecting him to lose. He is the underdog, he and Taichi are the underdogs. They are kinda at the mercy of the God of Karuta. In this perspective Suo telling us he'd be glad to face Harada is a sort of Karuta blasphemy So he won't win.

Seriously I'm glad that a prominent, even if quite obscure, character as Suo pointed out Arata being boring (for him). There's some awareness in the writer that gives me some trust for the future. Sure he then hit against Chihaya's beauty and lost some of his credibility. But that's one of the main and few Chihaya's traits so we can't go against it

[Jan-Poo]

I don't quite like the fact that Arata is trying to emulate his father either, both because Arata should just be himself and also because it isn't very realistic for him to change his playstyle to something else and be very effective at it, unless he already trained with that before.

As for Chihaya helping Arata, I honestly don't see it as something wrong because she shouldn't have sided with Harada to begin with. Harada is her mentor but Arata is her childhood friend, she should have simply decided to be neutral or help them both equally from the beginning.

Will Harada or Arata win? I'm not sure, but the fact that the episode ends with Harada being on the losing side kinda sets the condition for an exciting comeback. Otherwise the cliffhanger would kinda fall flat on the next episode, but who knows.

[Arya]

The fact she did sided with Harata though.
Anyways, I expressed myself incorrectly before. I don't have many issues with Chihaya siding with one side or the other. And honestly I thought she would have sided with Arata after all. And I'm sure I'm not alone. What I didn't like was her to be active in that, giving an advice to him. (and I know that the concept behind is: ehi she didn't give it because she wanted him to win, she gave it because this way he could truly honor the match .. and all the BS corollaries that stem from there).

[Haak]

Originally Posted by Arya

The fact she did sided with Harata though.

[Kanon]

The ultimate challenger!

[BBOvenGuy]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

The classic clueless shounen lead. In a (nominally, anyway) shoujo.

At least it makes it easier for the show to pass the Bechdel Test.

As for Chihaya whispering to Arata, I didn't particularly read it as "siding" with him over Harada-sensei. She didn't divulge any of Harada-sensei's strategies or how he'd been practicing. She didn't suggest that Arata imitate his grandfather - Arata came up with that on his own. She simply made an observation. She could just as easily whispered something to Harada-sensei, if she'd noticed something she felt was related to him.

[shanimebib]

@Anya: Harata lol. Was that on purpose?

@Kanon: As for Michiru, I guess I can share the small bits here because they will not be animated. It was just shown a bit at the beginning of this season (episode 1), but there is more.

In the school trip, Michiru taking Chihaya's phone's battery and even yelling at her while tearing up for not enjoying the trip might seem excessive/ overreaction to those who don't know how close these two actually are. She even specifically chose the locations so Chihaya would enjoy the trip.

This is how it all re-started: Chihaya in middle school became very lonely after Arata moved back to Fukui and Taichi went to another high profile school. At the start of her middle school, her loneliness was compounded by how she was kind of avoided by everyone in her class, especially the girls, because of her obsession with karuta. It was understandable when the girls were interested in girl-talk or accessories, Chihaya always wanted to discuss about karuta - a not very interesting topic for the girls her age (or anyone in general, to put it bluntly).

In the end, she didn't have anyone to talk with. At that time, the only one who approached her on her own and stayed by her side during that entire time was Michiru. Chihaya also got a place of her own in the track and field team thanks to Michiru. And little by little, she got used to her classmates and made more friends. Michiru is also her first friend who visited her house to play with her. Although Michiru never got into karuta in the end, she respected Chihaya's passion for karuta which healed Chihaya little by little. Michiru was basically the person who filled the void in Chihaya left by the departures of Arata and Taichi from her life. That's how much important Michiru's existence has been in Chihaya's life.

Little backstories always help. But we cannot cover everything I guess.

[Arya]

Originally Posted by shanimebib

@Anya: Harata lol. Was that on purpose?

No, sadly not

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by shanimebib

@Kanon: As for Michiru, I guess I can share the small bits here because they will not be animated. It was just shown a bit at the beginning of this season (episode 1), but there is more.

In the school trip, Michiru taking Chihaya's phone's battery and even yelling at her while tearing up for not enjoying the trip might seem excessive/ overreaction to those who don't know how close these two actually are. She even specifically chose the locations so Chihaya would enjoy the trip.

This is how it all re-started: Chihaya in middle school became very lonely after Arata moved back to Fukui and Taichi went to another high profile school. At the start of her middle school, her loneliness was compounded by how she was kind of avoided by everyone in her class, especially the girls, because of her obsession with karuta. It was understandable when the girls were interested in girl-talk or accessories, Chihaya always wanted to discuss about karuta - a not very interesting topic for the girls her age (or anyone in general, to put it bluntly).

In the end, she didn't have anyone to talk with. At that time, the only one who approached her on her own and stayed by her side during that entire time was Michiru. Chihaya also got a place of her own in the track and field team thanks to Michiru. And little by little, she got used to her classmates and made more friends. Michiru is also her first friend who visited her house to play with her. Although Michiru never got into karuta in the end, she respected Chihaya's passion for karuta which healed Chihaya little by little. Michiru was basically the person who filled the void in Chihaya left by the departures of Arata and Taichi from her life. That's how much important Michiru's existence has been in Chihaya's life.

Little backstories always help. But we cannot cover everything I guess.

Thanks. Wish it had been animated. I can see how a girl like Chihaya would not fit in middle school.

[Ulin]

Originally Posted by shanimebib

@Anya: Harata lol. Was that on purpose?

@Kanon: As for Michiru, I guess I can share the small bits here because they will not be animated. It was just shown a bit at the beginning of this season (episode 1), but there is more.

In the school trip, Michiru taking Chihaya's phone's battery and even yelling at her while tearing up for not enjoying the trip might seem excessive/ overreaction to those who don't know how close these two actually are. She even specifically chose the locations so Chihaya would enjoy the trip.

This is how it all re-started: Chihaya in middle school became very lonely after Arata moved back to Fukui and Taichi went to another high profile school. At the start of her middle school, her loneliness was compounded by how she was kind of avoided by everyone in her class, especially the girls, because of her obsession with karuta. It was understandable when the girls were interested in girl-talk or accessories, Chihaya always wanted to discuss about karuta - a not very interesting topic for the girls her age (or anyone in general, to put it bluntly).

In the end, she didn't have anyone to talk with. At that time, the only one who approached her on her own and stayed by her side during that entire time was Michiru. Chihaya also got a place of her own in the track and field team thanks to Michiru. And little by little, she got used to her classmates and made more friends. Michiru is also her first friend who visited her house to play with her. Although Michiru never got into karuta in the end, she respected Chihaya's passion for karuta which healed Chihaya little by little. Michiru was basically the person who filled the void in Chihaya left by the departures of Arata and Taichi from her life. That's how much important Michiru's existence has been in Chihaya's life.

Little backstories always help. But we cannot cover everything I guess.

I have very very bad memory, but... all of this is narrated in the main story or the spin off? since I can't remember it at all
Thanks anyway for the summary

[shanimebib]

Originally Posted by Ulin

I have very very bad memory, but... all of this is narrated in the main story or the spin off? since I can't remember it at all
Thanks anyway for the summary

It's not from the main story but the middle school story written by Tokiumi Yui-sensei which is collaborated by Suetsugu Yuki-sensei, especially the first few chapters which covers Michiru's story. They run simultaneously in Be-Love for a while before the middle school story ended. Some of the contents are similar to the Novel (middle school arc) as far as I heard but I never read the novel so cannot confirm.