(L) Chihayafuru [Manga]

[Verso Sciolto]

A couple of days before the next issue of Be Love becomes available. Previews of the cover illustration are starting to appear. Chihaya and Shinobu drawn together in a corner. One text-blurb promising a date for the next tankōbon, the other questioning If Chihaya can overcome Rion in a battle at the speed of sound... !?

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August 1, 2017. Chapter 185 has been released in Be Love 16 earlier today. Continuation will be in Be Love 17, a magazine issue which will have a Chihayafuru cover, scheduled for release on August 12, 2017, according to the text printed over more familiar images in various announcements:

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Scans from the magazine were uploaded to Be Love’s Twitter feed this morning, after the release of Be Love 16. Two non sequential pages from Verse 185, setting up for the detailing of different, personal, approaches to karuta strategy. The additional image is a colour page from the magazine with details for the gift campaign mentioned in the other announcements as well. All those who apply for the gift after purchasing both Be Love 17 and Chihayafuru Volume 35 will receive a A5 sized zip locked pouch with the pictured Chihayafuru illustration as a present.

Another colour page in the magazine also has a little preview image -for August 10- that is showing up here and there online.

Spoiler for Volume 35 dust jacket illustration:

[Verso Sciolto]

According to the New Releases page on Kodansha Comics website, Volume 4 in their English language Digital Edition is scheduled for release on August 22, 2017. With this release of verses 18 to 23 they'll be going beyond where the bilingual edition stopped.

[Ulin]

Still waiting for the physical copy V_V

[Verso Sciolto]

Originally Posted by Ulin

Still waiting for the physical copy V_V

I’d like to see a physical edition as well … still, it was a relief to me to see Volume 4 announced since it seems to indicate there is enough interest for this Digital Edition in the United States of America to have Kodansha Comics continue producing their English language translations of Chihayafuru for that market. At the current pace their release schedule is also nice for a series like this, it seems to me. There is enough time between each volume to read the chapters thoroughly but each consecutive volume is released fast enough to keep readers connected with continuation without magazine serialisation in the same market.

Physical copies of Japanese Volume 35 (Verses 179 to 183) went on sale yesterday -in most places- alongside the -cheaper- electronic version. Free sample pages have started appearing on websites of eBookstores. (Be Love publisher Kodansha Japan publishes an electronic store list. It is my intention to write a bit more on that later.)

Edit, August 12, 2017:
Kodansha Japan have enabled an online reader on the Be Love website. "Buttons" marked [お試し読] give access to previews of their eTexts. Perhaps the following works as a direct link to the free trial pages from: Volume 35.

Perhaps the poem associated with each volume is only not shown in the free samples but in such online previews of Volume 35 there is no "flap" text while a poem does appear there on the dust jacket of the print edition:

Spoiler for poem:

tsuki mireba (23).

I like that the title page for chapter 181 was reprinted in this tankōbon without text covering the motifs and patterns on Chihaya's kimono and her hair ornaments. Can't help but linger on those decorative elements once again.

Probably due to Obon vacations, Be Love 17 was also already on the stacks and shelves in the bookstore on August 11. The latest Japanese magazine issue has a very similar looking front cover illustration as the picture of Taichi adorning the dust jacket of volume 35. With Chihaya's image from previous covers re-appearing on the magazine for the gift campaign. Inside the magazine, the colour pages include photos from the last day of shooting / wrap events for the final live action film.
The fascinating new chapter, verse 186, in the magazine has continuations in the various regional qualification matches with attention for thoughts on cards, their placements and karuta strategy, with an interesting and unexpected interlude.

Spoiler for Cover image Be Love 17 and a preview image from chapter 186 in this issue:

I don't see Chihayafuru in the line up for Be Love 18 (Scheduled to be released September 1, 2017).

Edit, updated, August 26, 2017
On August 22, 2017 Kodansha Comics added Volume four to their Digital Edition of the series in English. Can’t really look into this one either but the previewed first pages reveal that a portrait of Tsutomu Komano has now been added to the “Characters & Story” pages in this edition too. These little profiles give us an idea where this publisher stands on the translation of names and nicknames. As in the original Japanese, Kanade Ooe -as her name is spelled there- is not identified as Kana-chan. Tsutomu Komano, however, had his nickname mentioned and translated as "Desk-kun" upon his first appearance in this volume. In volume three it says Nishida is nicknamed “Meat Buns”.

Fun to see who shows up in this gallery and when. Some never do, or only very briefly, while others have a steady presence as soon as the pages are added in the front of each book. Something else apparent -when checking the evolution of these short biographies in sequence- is the steady increase of Furigana.

Translations of names and nicknames are among the reasons to be curious about the translations employed for the upcoming Sentai Filmworks disks too.

[Ulin]

I finally caught up with the latest chapters, and I have to say that this queen matches are pretty good. Seeing Taichi playing the villain has make his character much more interesting and the upcoming Chihaya vs Rio is going to be probably the top match, since the finals will probably be against Tamaru and I guess she is no match for Chihaya (maybe a learning lesson for Tamaru so she improves as well)

[Verso Sciolto]

Originally Posted by Ulin

I finally caught up with the latest chapters, and I have to say that this queen matches are pretty good. Seeing Taichi playing the villain has make his character much more interesting and the upcoming Chihaya vs Rio is going to be probably the top match, since the finals will probably be against Tamaru and I guess she is no match for Chihaya (maybe a learning lesson for Tamaru so she improves as well)

It seems to me that the coverage of these matches -which I've also really enjoyed seeing unfold in such detail- is more about the way they unfold -with focus on karuta strategy as well as on the conduct of the competitors- rather than about the eventual outcome of the matches per se. More about how the battle is won than about who emerges and progresses to the next round. Journey v. destination. Destination known.

Since you wrote "upcoming" and "going to be" - regarding the match between Chihaya and Rion, it may be safe to assume that you're still catching up to the very latest chapters. With the hiatus in Japan there is some extra time to read those remaining chapters before the next chapter comes out.

On a related note, translations and availability. Not sure if you've seen the announcements regarding HIDIVE's streaming of: “This Flower has Bloomed at Last”. The first episode of the Chihayafuru anime, as they've started broadcasting it with the new English dub last Tuesday. Have you been able to watch their streams by any chance? Neither their subtitled not their dubbed version is available where I live, unfortunately. Nor Crunchyroll's either, for that matter.

Back to the manga. Confirming earlier announcements, the preview for Be Love 19 shows the next chapter, poem 187, is scheduled for that issue, to be released September 15, 2017.

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… and part of the text transcribed:

Spoiler:

愛はパワーだ!
ビーラブが
お届けする、さまざまな
愛のカタチ!!

It is probably safe to assume we all knew there wouldn't be a new Chihayafuru chapter in Be Love 18 released at midnight. This is one of those “just in case” comments where the heads up gives an opportunity to return to a previous issue. We have some extra time on our hands.

Originally Posted by Verso Sciolto

(Be Love publisher Kodansha Japan publishes an electronic store list. It is my intention to write a bit more on that later.)

In addition to that store list, Kodansha have also singled out Yahoo Japan’s Bookstore and embedded a direct link with the “Joshicomi” offer. One of Yahoo’s various subscription systems providing discounted access to a selection of series based on demographic magazine categories.

Yahoo is among the online bookstores where individual chapters are previewed and can be purchased separately from an entire magazine. Useful in case you only follow one or a few series in each magazine. Chapters are uploaded with a delay and only the most recent chapters remain accessible online for a limited time (while the first chapter has -so far- remained accessible as a free preview throughout its run on that platform). Currently Chapters 185 and 186 are available in their serialisation of Chihayafuru. The series is Listed in the "Saturday" (土) column in the release schedule. Those chapters and their links will expire in a few weeks when chapter 185 is replaced by 187 etc. Direct link for testing their online viewer: Ch.186 Sample

One of the disadvantages of this chapter based approach is that the extra pages from within a magazine will not be reproduced. This is similar to how the chapters will eventually be bundled into tankōbon volumes. The glossy picture pages with interviews, special reports and offers etc aren't included in those either but they are reproduced in the full e-text versions of the magazine provided through other arrangements and from the majority of the other stores. Matters of choices, options and personal priorities greatly expanded.

One of those other online stores also previously confirmed to be working in some locations outside Japan is Bookwalker. Here is a direct link for their viewer trial of Be Love 17 in which Ch. 186 is right in the beginning, preceded by, among other things, a page of images from photo shoots related to the final film.

More to be said but... to be continued later...

[Verso Sciolto]

With the typhoon comes unpleasant news for those who intended to attend the events scheduled for the Chihayafuru week in Awara in the next few days.

Be Love 19 released yesterday, with a "Peach Girl" cover and cover story but Chihaya does reach out, in full colour this time, from the corner... A sample page from chapter 187 was released via this post on Be Love's Twitter feed.

Spoiler:

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Contended cards. T-shirt communication continues...

The manga continues in the next issue of the magazine, scheduled for September 30.

[Verso Sciolto]

That preview image from chapter 187, posted on Be Love's Twitter feed and linked above, makes it tempting to focus on the card and thereby on finding the associated poem read on the page directly preceding the depicted moment. Spoilers remain tricky business. It was tempting to take this singled-out page and see it as a starting point for the exploration of this chapter. Tempting to first check only the poem read immediately before this moment on the previous page and then separate it from the flow of the story, the match up to that point and the string of cards preceding that one. I think it is okay to give in to that particular temptation because to do so reveals one of the beautiful paradoxes which makes this story so enjoyable to read - even though to reiterate once more - there is still the distinct possibility that I won't like the eventual ending, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself with the series at the moment. Doing so, reading up on this poem, is a reminder that it is not in fact possible to separate each card and examine it only by itself - and that, it seems to me, is one of the messages in a chapter so full of uniquely distinctive poems within the context of this story.

The actual start of the chapter may be just as arbitrary a moment to continue reading this. It seems to me this chapter begins with consequences, with blurry vision in flashback, and with that too we're reminded once again that this is an ongoing story because it doesn't end there. Chihayafuru is -and probably will remain- a story of shifting perspectives in which the past again became a little clearer as a result of those fuzzy images...

[Verso Sciolto]

「千早たちの世界で思う存分遊んでやってください。」 - Suetsugu Yuki.

[Verso Sciolto]

Today Volume Five became available in English in Kodansha Comics' Digital Edition.

[Verso Sciolto]

Cover image for the Kindle edition of Be Love 21. Chapter 189 and the start of the spin-off manga. Midnight (JST).

Spoiler:

[Verso Sciolto]

Only just saw this ... Looks like Volume 36 will be released in two versions - both to be released on 13 November 2017.

In addition to the regular volume, the following item is also listed as an upcoming release in Japanese online bookstores:
ちはやふる(36)特装版 (プレミアムKC BE LOVE)
[Chihayafuru (36) special edition (Premium KC Be Love)]

Three mini files, Vol. 36 special edition - Kodansha Japan's announcement via their YouTube channel:

0:15 video, titled:「ミニファイル3種つき♪ 『ちはやふる』36巻特装版 11月13日発売！」
YouTube channel: KODANSHAcojp
Published on Oct 16, 2017.

Kodansha also uploaded the announcement clip to Google+

[Regional restrictions may apply to these videos]

[Verso Sciolto]

17 March 2018 - Theatrical release date announced for the live action film.

The Official Website has been updated and rearranged, "Musubi" is now the front page. The Introduction page has been updated and so has the News...

[Verso Sciolto]

Preview image for Be Love 22. The Chihayafuru cover illustration as shown in Amazon Japan's Kindle Store.

Spoiler:

The magazine issue, to be released at midnight on November 1, 2017, has also been added to the list on Bookwalker

The preview with the contents scheduled for the issue after that is up as well: Be Love 23.

[Verso Sciolto]

Kodansha Comics (USA) has scheduled the release of Volume 6 for November 14, 2017. A little over a month after the previous volume.

[This eBook has a region limitation] - but I'm still glad they're committed to continuation - grateful to those who are buying these volumes in their English Language Digital Edition. Hopefully other people outside the region are letting them know about their interest too...

Taichi Mashima's first cover illustration. Surrounded with -what looks like- Ivy. An image retained from the original Japanese release. As with previous eTexts, the "cover poem" will probably be omitted in this edition ...

[Verso Sciolto]

This time tomorrow Be Love 24 will already have been released digitally for about an hour. Containing the next chapter of ちはやふる中学生編, the next "Musubi" cast member interview as well as an announcement of the contents for the next magazine issue after that, Be Love 1 for 2018. The latter have already been announced online as well - an announcement of an announcement, you might say 「重大発表あり!」。
Waiting for Twitter updates from the magazine's account and for the next time Yuki Suetsugu retweets one of those. Mostly about the live action film and its Twitter account at the moment since -in the mean time- a finished version of "Musubi" has apparently been pre-screened. Conclusions. Who will draw them?

[Blaat]

Announcement of an announcement, assuming it's not movie related could it be another spin off series or... no I musn't get my hopes up.

[Verso Sciolto]

Originally Posted by Blaat

Announcement of an announcement, assuming it's not movie related could it be another spin off series or... no I musn't get my hopes up.

What I've seen of the actual announcement is only that single line -quoted above- from the preview page - there printed together with the image of Chihaya and a short text summary representing the resumption of the main series in the issue to be released on December 15. Appearing alongside Chihaya as a junior high school student representing the next instalment in that spin-off (Chapter 3 twelve hours from now, chapter four two weeks after that - 2018年　大注目連載!!). It's all still very cryptic but that news is already enough to make me happy for now. Except for an announcement on that day telling us that the main Chihayafuru manga series will be entering its final arc, after 191, I'd welcome any other news related to this series in its various formats. There is still room for expansion into other media as well... Weekly Chihayafuru Live Action TV drama? I'd watch that ... "Musubi" split in two? I'd go see them both...
Even without any solid grounds for engaging in it - speculation is fun too.

For the moment Yuki Suetsugu has added a retweet about pancakes - to follow up after her celebratory message for Nishida's birthday before that. Congratulations accompanied by what appears to be a somewhat apologetic message about his nickname...

[Verso Sciolto]

Kodansha Comics (USA) has scheduled the release of Volume 7 for December 12, 2017. That's a little less than a month after the previous volume.

[This eBook has a region limitation]

Curious what they'll do with that cover.

Spoiler for poem:

konu hito wo

[Verso Sciolto]

Happy 10th anniversary!

(Cover image from a post on Be Love's Twitter account - with chapter 191 sample pages.)

2008年02号, the second issue of Be Love for 2008.

A little premature, as usual, but the excitement is real and celebrations can't start early enough, though some speeches, as usual, will be a little long winded, or may seem that way. Congratulations!

From the Be Love Chihayafuru gallery. Pictured, Chihaya's first appearance on the cover of that magazine in which she made her first appearance. Seen swiping a card which must by now be familiar to all of us here. Seen from the perspective of her opponent. Seen coming right at us, a familiar scene, although few of us will sit in that position.

This image of Chihaya Ayase also made it onto the dust jacket of the second tankōbon. When someone asked us to wonder, Tare wo ka mo?

Se wo hayami, when there were three.
Then four...

Long may it continue! as Kiszoki put it on r/chihayafuru.

A poem on every cover and a cover for every poem. That's what I still hope for but I'll settle for less if that isn't on the books. So much still to look forward to, not going by the numbers. So much already to look back on and remember fondly. Talked about among likeminded friends. Some taking on the seats of opponents, assuming adversarial roles, as we must in this setting of competitive karuta. Meguri-ahite to Mi-Yoshino. Which one have you saved for last? Whenever you're ready to reveal. To your health, therefore, and in celebration of your imagination, Suetsugu-sensei.

Fortunately, Yuki Suetsugu loves drawing.

Perhaps interesting to note here as well, that she is one of the mangaka who contributed to the "Kimi ni Todoke Special Tribute Book", the 36 page bonus provided with the January 2018 issue of "Betsuma".