It’s time for some more Chihayafuru! And holy crap, look at that, we’re already into the second half of the second season. Normally, this would be the point where I start lamenting the approach of Chihayafuru’s end; fortunately, given we exist in the blessed timeline that somehow also features an upcoming Chihayafuru season three, I have very little to grumble about. As for this episode in particular, we’re currently right in the middle of what could be the closest match Chihaya’s ever participated in.

Chihaya was pretty much thrashed by Shinobu and eventually overrun by Yumin, but Megumu might well be the toughest opponent she can actually, currently overcome. Last episode focused closely on the tactical interplay of these two closely matched and similarly gifted players, building up both Megumu and her team around her all the while. With this match focusing so closely on Chihaya specifically, I’m guessing the upcoming finals match will be the true “ensemble performance” highlight, where teamwork is the main focus – in the meantime, I’m very much enjoying this bare-knuckle brawl between Chihaya and Megumu. Megumu’s lead has disappeared, but the support of her teammates has brought her passion back to life. Let’s see if that’s enough to take down Chihaya in one more thrilling episode of Chihayafuru!

Episode 14

Opening with the moment of Chihaya and Megumu arguing over who won a particular card, which seems like a somewhat odd dramatic highlight to recap, but ultimately resolves in a very clear expression of Megumu’s genuine investment in this match. This choice essentially frames Megumu as the “protagonist” of this episode, since her core conflict is the one being framed as point zero

And while Megumu is celebrated for the individual drive represented through her turn, Chihaya’s setup in the cold open emphasizes the importance of her overall team. Chihaya isn’t really the one who needs to grow in this particular match

Now we jump off to Shinobu and Arata, where Shinobu is busy reading off the karuta cards as fast as possible for some reason

Arata of course apologizes as dramatically as he does everything else

“You ooze sincerity. It brings a tear to my eye.” Shinobu seems so much more comfortable with Arata than she does with every other character so far. I wouldn’t have guessed she had this snarky side to her based on her usual affectation; it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out within her evolving relationship with Chihaya, whose endless stores of energetic sincerity might just come off as exhausting to someone like Shinobu

Tajiri, the missing teammate, arrives. You can really hear Arata’s regional accent in all of these voices

A really nice moment of Arata being genuinely thrilled for his friends. The fact that he’s here at all reflects his investment in their stories, but there’s a big difference between “his presence logically indicates his feelings” and “here he is expressing those feelings himself” from an audience perspective

It’s also nice to see Arata’s blue background motif applied to a more positive emotion here. The deep darkness that normally accompanied his color-motif moments is now replaced by a bright light, maintaining his iconography but adjusting it for his shifting feelings

“Team matches are so nice. Like a fun type of recreation. I find them relaxing to watch.” Shinobu seems weirdly bitter about this whole team match situation. Chihaya sees her as an unapproachable figure, but she actually seems pretty darn emotionally fragile

In contrast, Arata’s denial of her offer for a casual game is framed as “today is a day for team games.” This is a pretty silly statement, but it’s more intended to highlight Shinobu’s isolationist perspective than be a meaningful reflection of Arata’s feelings

Hanano surprised to see everyone watching her team’s game, and wondering if it’s really that exciting, or if something went wrong in the other game. I really love what her outsider perspective brings to the table

And yeah, Hokuo’s getting utterly destroyed on the other side. This was inevitable, since a rematch of the regionals in the finals here would be a bore, but it sure sucks for Retro and crew to work so hard only to be beaten off-screen for narrative convenience

Chihaya’s team again getting more notice. I can’t imagine they’ll be unknowns after this tournament

Nishida takes the first loss against Megumu’s key teammate. Nishida’s been taking a bunch of dramatically necessary hits lately, so I’m guessing he’ll be due for a confidence-reasserting focus episode soon

Seven cards left! Granted, we only got through about four cards two episodes ago, but I don’t think Chihayafuru will pull that trick again so soon

A brief flashback starring Megumu and Yuu, Nishida’s opponent. I like how Yuu’s presence has added some new nuance to Chihayafuru’s general opponent flashback structure

Kana takes a win!

For the first time, we receive actual direct commentary from that red-haired girl in the opening. They’re being very methodical about slowly increasing her presence in each episode, making her formal debut feel that much more natural

A brief moment spent with Taichi, which emphasizes his own control over his ongoing match through him gaining a card due to his knowledge of what dead cards still exist

And unsurprisingly, “Impassionate Gods” still hasn’t been read

The focus shifts from Megumu simply being engaged in this match to Megumu acknowledging Chihaya specifically as an opponent worth respecting. I wonder if they’ll actually become friends, or at least as close to “friends” as Megumu allows people to be

OH SHIT MEGUMU STOLE IMPASSIONED GODS. So this is the payoff – “oh yeah, Chihaya? You stole my pet cards? Well fuck you too then.” Megumu is great

Taichi takes a win! Meanwhile, Hokuo is almost routed with a 1-4 loss

Lovely colors for Megumu’s fans articulating her journey. It’s pretty great how Megumu occupies such a classic protagonist role here – she’s the one who’s actually leveling up during this fight, improving through being tested against an opponent as closely matched as Chihaya

“We have to hurry! We can’t leave Shinobu alone!” Huh. Alright then. So that line by Chihaya essentially contextualizes both halves of this episode as sides of the same conflict, and that conflict isn’t one I expected this show to prioritize – the need to rescue Shinobu from being trapped by herself on a lonely throne. Given this is being raised as a conflict at all, Shinobu’s bitterness towards team matches makes a great deal more sense. This is even the rare situation where an episode title is actually relevant, since “People would always ask if I was pining for someone” applies very well to Shinobu’s play if we’re operating under the assumption that her dedication to karuta reflects her loneliness

Oh god, I just realized we’ve been set on the tracks that lead to “the real karuta was the friends we made along the way”

And in the end, Chihaya loses. A terrific sequence here of her trying to catch her breath and almost collapsing before being caught by friends. Chihayafuru lacks the animation chops for too many of these character acting beats, but they’re always welcome

The match now comes down to Tsutomu and his opponent, each possessing one card

A terrific moment for Hanano here. We get a closer focus on the characters guarding their cards, as well as the reader’s actions, while the tactile sensation of hearing opponents clash while you close your eyes is made clear through the excellent sound design. This episode is more aesthetically impressive on the whole than Chihayafuru’s usual standard, presumably because it’s the second cour premiere?

He takes the win, as he must, but it’s a great build

Megumu asks for the actual images of the match, another sign of growth. She wants to learn from her own mistakes and from Chihaya’s play

This framing for Tsutomu’s moment of victory is adorable – instead of flowers or leaves falling across the screen, it’s little white rectangles, representing his glasses frames

Chihaya stresses over what she can learn from her match, and Taichi calms her down without a word. At times their relationship feels totally arbitrary and adolescent, but at others it feels like they’re already a married couple

And Kana’s exhausted, so Tsukuba will take her place in the finals. That seems fair – she’s been fighting all day, and just took a key win

And Done

Alright, that was… well, that was a little of everything! There were some unexpected new insights into Shinobu’s character, plenty of dramatically satisfying back-and-forth through the key match, and a resolution that validated both Megumu and Chihaya’s efforts while also offering some key wins for Chihaya’s unsung teammates. This episode also featured the unexpected introduction of a “save Shinobu from loneliness” thread, which feels like it will naturally play into Chihaya’s specific desire to share karuta with her friends. And on top of that, it was also a real aesthetic highlight, featuring some smart cues of direction and sound design, along with some nice cuts of animation. A great Chihayafuru on the whole, and a satisfying lead-in to the team finals!

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