Alright folks, buckle in for more Chihayafuru! We’re a week behind after I foolishly took a week off for holiday affairs, and the challenger tournament finals won’t wait. Chihayafuru’s last episode set us up for a fairly unusual pair of matches, with the contrast of eastern and western representatives also neatly falling upon generational lines. In the east, two separate generations of older karuta players are fighting to demonstrate they’re still just as talented as any of their younger peers. Dr. Harada must battle not just his opponent Arata, but also his failing knees; meanwhile, Haruka’s attention is unavoidably divided by her obligations to her family, and as Sakurazawa noted, her reaction time and game sense can’t match her talent in her prime.

Over in the western corner, we’ve got a pair of snot-nosed upstart kids who should really accept they’ve got all the time in the world to become champions, and let their long-suffering elders take the crowns this time. Both Arata and Megumu are obviously sympathetic characters in their own right, but neither of them need this the way Harada and Haruka seem to, and both of the older contenders are such sympathetic characters that it’s hard not to root for them. Regardless of how the matches play out, we’ve got a thorough understanding of the strengths of all of today’s contenders, and I’m eager to see how their styles collide. Let’s get back to Chihayafuru!

Episode 12

“So the flower petals are scattered like snow by the passing storm.” An episode title that seems to emphasize seasonal change, or perhaps a changing of the guard. How dare you, episode title

Apparently the playoff rounds are best-of-three. That might tax stamina a bit, but certainly not as much as a full tournament tends to

Arata’s dramatic appearance in his black kimono is raising some eyebrows. This is an adaptation situation where anime can actually translate manga’s intent quite well – instead of presenting a bunch of rapid cuts between audience reactions, each new commenter’s face is laid over the existing frame, building up a visual chorus of reactions while keeping the visual tension low. Storytelling is often quietly dictated by medium in ways like this; you can’t continuously lay new objects over a static composition like this in manga, but it works gracefully in animation

Chihaya has matured enough to actively reflect on how her younger self would have reacted to this situation. I like this cut of her fondly looking back on her exuberant younger self – she’s not ashamed of who she used to be, and instead just feels proud to have grown up

Nishida’s society coach Kitano claims that people only lose to Harada because they think he’s a bear, which isn’t entirely untrue. Harada is very good at using his imposing presence to intimidate his opponents in both conscious and subconscious ways; he strikes aggressively, yells, looms over the board, and begins to make terrifying faces at the match continues. That might actually help him against Arata, who we’ve already learned is a little unpolished when it comes to managing his opponent, as opposed to the battlefield

Kitano seems to have a crush on Midori, one of the readers

Apparently Harada’s made a lot of enemies in the community!

Harada’s entrance is handled just like you’d expect; he first enters the frame from behind the camera, like a monster sneaking up on us, and is then portrayed from low angles that emphasize his dramatic size, while the soundtrack breaks out its most imposing horn fanfare

Flutes waver between two notes, as if they are also intimidated by Harada’s presence. The drama of sound design is pretty fascinating

Harada tells Arata he played his grandfather once, and that it gives him great joy to be playing Arata as well. Arata is a living symbol of karuta’s hopes for the future, a grand legacy thought lost, but now returned to inspire a new generation

Haruka is doing her best to prepare, but is seriously distracted by Megumu’s “Do your best, Megumu!” headband, as any right-thinking individual would be

Harada works to control the pace of the match even before it starts, by upsetting the beginning of the card reading with a request to turn off the air conditioner. The air conditioner does need to be off, but by waiting until now, he disrupts Arata’s mental focus just as the match begins. No wonder he’s made a lot of enemies

They really let this opening breath. I wonder if they got actual professional readers to do the reader parts for these tournaments?

As expected, Harada’s style here is heavily physical, as he attacks the board with his whole body

Chihaya described Arata’s style to Harada as “like flowing water,” meaning Harada gets to play to his strengths, trying to constantly shake up Arata’s momentum

I like how this episode is embracing Ping Pong the Animation’s style of actively filling in groups of manga panels in a row. Another way to avoid a lot of disruptive cuts, since full shot transitions in animation are much more disruptive than panel transitions in manga

Arata’s counteroffensive is declared through the shift in the soundtrack, as Harada’s horns are replaced with a chugging guitar that builds into a horn accompaniment by the show’s main theme

He shows off one of his new weapons by loading down his left side with cards, but nonetheless catching a right-side card with an insanely fast cross

If he can force Harada to focus on his left side and use his superior cross to guard his right, he can mitigate Harada’s attempts to crowd Arata out by physically looming over the center of the battlefield

Ooh, I love this fade transition from Arata’s face to his childhood self glumly walking through the rain

When he moved to Tokyo, it was Harada’s exuberant welcome that made him feel he could be himself. A perfect match – the boy obsessed with an old-fashioned game that none of his peers care about, and the old teacher desperate to preserve his beloved sport with new players

Oh, that’s nice. They mention Arata’s been going to pick up Harada’s cards, since Harada’s knees can’t really handle it

It’s nice seeing Harada in action in part because you can see Chihaya’s style in his own preferences – her offensive karuta was nurtured by this master of offensive karuta

We get our first rapid cuts in quite some time as Arata demonstrates his own ability to attack. The speed of the cuts emphasizes the shock of the audience at seeing Arata’s own speed

Harada’s strengths help him early in the game, but Arata hasn’t been intimidated by his pressure, and now Arata’s superior speed and recent tactical gains are pulling him ahead. He’s happy to let Harada aggressively attack his right flank, and starting to dominate the rest of the board

Ahaha, I love Chihaya panicking as she realizes we’re going into a Harada flashback. Apparently whatever great crime he committed against his compatriots happened 31 years ago

Jeez, I guess Harada really was a dick back in the day. He refused to play Kitano due to the reader’s inexperience, prompting a lifelong grudge in both Kitano and the reader Midori

A montage of match shots are all framed in deep blue, implying Arata’s slow takeover of the match

Haruka, a karuta natural who relies heavily on game sense and flow (as we’ve learned from her frequent discussions with Sakurazawa), is put off by the reader’s metronome-like reading. Meanwhile, Megumu’s rigorously rigid play actually matches his tempo

Haruka’s position sucks – she’s at this point naturally slower than the younger players, but still expected to easily outplay them due to her past triumphs. You discover a lot more sources of pressure and expectation as you get older

I hadn’t considered what a thematically appropriate opponent Megumu would be for Haruka – all the youthful, passionate fans supporting Megumu play directly into Haruka’s anxieties

Meanwhile, the only person in Haruka’s corner is Sakurazawa, who would never raise her voice even if her hair was on fire. C’MON SAKURAZAWA, SHOW SOME SUPPORT FOR HARUKA!

I still laugh every time they present Suo as this terrifying presence in the distance. I’m very happy this story chose to make both the master and queen total goofballs, but it does make for some dramatic disconnect in moments like this

That trick of filling in panels across the screen one after another is doing a great job of adding some visual intrigue to this battle without demanding more animation, and also taking smart advantage of the original manga’s dynamic layouts

Ooh, this is cool. I like this detailed explanation of Harada’s physical strategy here – he’s moving the bulk of his body to attack Arata’s right side, but leaving his hand hanging free in the center, so he’s able to actively shift targets if necessary. Because he’s always adopting such an aggressive, over-the-board posture, he’s able to attack quickly while mitigating the weakness of having his body gain momentum as he surges towards Arata’s right, since he’s already so close to that spot

It sounds exhausting, frankly – like he’s always tensed half above the board, never resting at all

HARADA WINS THE FIRST MATCH! And his victory is framed in terms of what he most positively represents: a mentor to the next generation, who must embody strength for all those he has taught

Really hoping that helps Haruka get out of her self-defeating mindset

IT DOES, SHE TAKES IT

Christ, though – that was only the first match, and things are obviously going to get harder for the veterans as the matches continue

Ahaha, and Harada even redeems himself to Midori, by forfeiting the second match and saying he prefers her reading. That forfeit was likely necessary – if he tries to beat Arata and fails in the second match, he’ll be far too tired to challenge him in the third. His only avenue to victory is winning, resting through a concession, and winning again a second time straight

WHAT THE FUCK DID CHIHAYA JUST WHISPER TO ARATA, DON’T JUST GIVE US THESE SHOUJO SPARKLES

And Done

AGGHH DAMNIT NOW I’M EVEN MORE HYPED THAN I WAS BEFORE. Harada took the first victory in a truly brutal match, and in a way that ratchets the tension up even higher for his followup game. His concession also opens the door for a full episode focused on Megumu and Haruka’s second match, now that Haruka has proven that following her through a match is almost as stress-inducing as following Taichi. While this episode wasn’t a standout in terms of animation or visual invention, I really enjoyed the various techniques it used to convey the drama of the manga’s peanut gallery, while still keeping the tension between Harada and Arata humming throughout. Both my favorites won, but they won in ways that only make me feel even more nervous for their ultimate victories. On to Haruka’s second match!

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