(L+CR) Chihayafuru

[4Tran]

Chihayafuru - Episode 3

Good episode, good direction, fun characters, well-produced, etc. I really like the three-man competition - Arata was competing against Chihaya and Taiki rather than the opposition! That really brings me back to Hikaru no Go.

To further emphasize the kind of show this is, Chihaya went out of her way to declare that karuta was a sport, not just a game.

Originally Posted by king12354

I want a little more clarification about the game. Are there only 100 poems? So for each game, the cards are rearranged in a different order, right?

For the version they're playing, that's right. Each player is given a set of cards and can place them however they like on their half of the playing surface. Part of the strategy is to place them where it's most convenient for yourself and least convenient for your opponent.

Originally Posted by blue_sora

Love it, love it, love it. When episode 3 continue the flashback I thought I will be mad ( I want the gorgeous Chihaya! One of the beautiful female characters this year and the opening and ending doesn't help) but it was great. My favourite part was their team fight with Chihaya and Taichi's frustrations towards Arata for dominating the fight.

That should be the end of the flashback. The characters aren't going to be in touch with each other after this point until they reach high school. There were two important points that had to be covered in the flashback: Chihaya gaining her passion for karuta and showing that promise in the initial flashback in episode 1. We've got all that, so it's time for new material.

Originally Posted by creb

There are variations of Karuta decks with their own poems. There are even Karuta decks that use Shakespeare. For clubs and tournaments, I imagine they list what particular deck they are using, so the participants and members know what poems they have to memorize.

For competitive karuta, I think that only the Hundred Poems are the only kinds of cards used. Since the Hundred Poems are a major symbol in the show (and it's right there in the title!), I doubt we're going to see any other kind of decks.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Another really powerful episode. After finally finding something that she could channel her passion into Chihaya suddenly finds it all ripped away from her at the end of the episode with Arata's suddenly having to return home to see to his Grandfather's (the best ever at Karuta no less) declining health.

We learn a couple more things this episode as the group completes and then breaks there bond. For one it turns out Chihaya is really good at the one syllable cards and can actually at least tie with Arata on that front. Taiichi is great this episode in his humbled persona, but unfortunately has to leave to attend a more prestigious school, and Arata is just too damn good at the game and possibly unbeatable in prime condition.

I guess this is the end of the flashback part and we'll be moving forward to the present as Chihaya tries to meet up with Arata again. If one thing felt off about the episode it was Chihaya's sister. Seems like a bit of a vain one dimensional character, but maybe we're not supposed to care about her.

[kitten320]

I don't really like her sister, she seems to egoistic. But then again her parents aren't much bettert since all their attention is on her and barely any is given to Chihaya =/
One must admire Chihaya for being always happy, another person in her place could fall into depression because of such one sided treatment.

[Sol Falling]

An egoistic person would not even care about whether her little sister looked up to her or not. She'd be looking down on Chihaya's dream plain and simple, as opposed to feeling lonely. I do not think that Chihaya's sis has been portrayed too one-dimensionally thus far at all. I personally somewhat like her, and hope she also has a notable role in the story.

[kitten320]

She and parents barely ever listen to what Chihaya has to say unless she is admiring the sister, that's not a very positive way of treating a family member.

[Sol Falling]

Chihaya's mom was only treating Chihaya that way due to her past behaviour. As you can see from her reaction after Chihaya revealed her new interests, Chihaya's mom thought it was a good thing that Chihaya had found something to pursue for herself.

As for Chihaya's sis, while I did think her behaviour was rude in the previous episode, what I took from episode 3 is that she actually values Chihaya's support very much. This says to me that she actually loves Chihaya as a little sister, and would/will probably be willing to support Chihaya so long as she is assured that their relationship will always stay close.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

An egoistic person would not even care about whether her little sister looked up to her or not. She'd be looking down on Chihaya's dream plain and simple, as opposed to feeling lonely. I do not think that Chihaya's sis has been portrayed too one-dimensionally thus far at all. I personally somewhat like her, and hope she also has a notable role in the story.

Actually, caring what someone else thinks of you is the very definition of egotism. I personally found what she said pretty revolting, but it's clear that Chihaya has played into this dysfunction by totally subverting her own individuality in support of her sister's glorification.

Seems like Chihaya and Taichi have the exact opposite family situation. Taichi's family obsesses over everything he does and demanding that he always succeed, and Chihaya's family places no priority on what she does whatsoever.

[Sol Falling]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Actually, caring what someone else thinks of you is the very definition of egotism. I personally found what she said pretty revolting, but it's clear that Chihaya has played into this dysfunction by totally subverting her own individuality in support of her sister's glorification.

Seems like Chihaya and Taichi have the exact opposite family situation. Taichi's family obsesses over everything he does and demanding that he always succeed, and Chihaya's family places no priority on what she does whatsoever.

I do not think wanting people to love or admire you is egocentric. I think thinking that you or your achievements are better than others' is. I haven't seen any evidence yet that Chihaya's onee-chan would be unable to support Chihaya's own dreams and passions; all I have perceived so far is that she is jealous of Chihaya's love and support.

[Guardian Enzo]

Well, to be blunt it's not really a question of opinion - it's part of the dictionary definition of the word. It's the drive to make sure people have a high opinion of you and a preoccupation with being adored.

[Sol Falling]

A random dictionary search for "egotism" turned up this:

egotism [ˈiːgəˌtɪzəm ˈɛgə-]
n
1. an inflated sense of self-importance or superiority; self-centredness
2. excessive reference to oneself

I'm sure that there is some word to describe the complex which you described, and it might even apply to Chihaya's sister, but I don't see yet that "egotism" is by definition a word that applies to her.

[Guardian Enzo]

Egotism is "characterized by an exaggerated estimate of one's intellect, ability, importance, appearance, wit, or other valued personal characteristics"[1] – the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself.

You can find literally dozens of sources citing that definition almost to the word, starting with Memidex (a leading medical dictionary) and Wikipedia.

[Sol Falling]

Then let's move onto your extension of "someone" to "everyone". The wikipedia description you quoted there only begins to resemble what you have claimed in the part after the quotations, and even that suggests a focus on "views of oneself" in general as opposed to the view of specific persons. Caring what one, or even a few (important) people think, does not equate to egotism.

There's a difference between wanting to be admired by your little sister and wanting to be admired by everybody.

[Guardian Enzo]

You're right, the sun does rise in the West and I won't try and convince you otherwise. Congratulations on your victory.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

You're right, the sun does rise in the West and I won't try and convince you otherwise. Congratulations on your victory.

Maybe it's just me, but I really find this comment unnecessarily rude.

I also think it might be a good idea to watch the characters develop for a few more years. I mean, do you really think Chihaya's family is going to stay exactly as they are now (or rather, when she is/was 12 years old)?

[Sol Falling]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

You're right, the sun does rise in the West and I won't try and convince you otherwise. Congratulations on your victory.

It's simply the difference between seeing a character as one-dimensional and villainous or seeing them as flawed but still with something to contribute. I don't see why you tried to insist that Chihaya's sister had to be viewed through a lens of motivations which were irredeemable.

[orion]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

.

There's a difference between wanting to be admired by your little sister and wanting to be admired by everybody.

But Chihaya's sis seemed to only want Chihaya to put her on a pedestal and not have interests of her own. In that way, she seemed dysfunctional to me. She should have supported her Chihaya. That whole setup of Chihaya's goal of wanting her sister to be a top model was screwed up imo.

[Sol Falling]

I agree, and I think it's good that Chihaya found her own goal. Still, I think it would be sad if her close relationship with her sister fell apart because of it.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

It's simply the difference between seeing a character as one-dimensional and villainous or seeing them as flawed but still with something to contribute. I don't see why you tried to insist that Chihaya's sister had to be viewed through a lens of motivations which were irredeemable.

It isn't a matter of Chihaya's sister (whom I disagree with you about, as a matter of opinion), but of the actual, factual definition of a dictionary term. If someone wants to argue the meaning of a term that's had an established definition for centuries, what's the point in continuing the discussion?

[karice67]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

It isn't a matter of Chihaya's sister (whom I disagree with you about, as a matter of opinion), but of the actual, factual definition of a dictionary term. If someone wants to argue the meaning of a term that's had an established definition for centuries, what's the point in continuing the discussion?

But if you are concerned with the "actual, factual definition" of 'egotism', then Sol is actually using it more appropriately than you are.

[Sol Falling]

You were saying that the term applied to the character by definition. By insisting that, by my own description, Chihaya's sister's motivations would make her egotistical, you were not making an argument on the definition but on (my understanding of) the character.