Our rampage through Chihayafuru continues today, as we explore the third-to-last episode of the second season! Like season one, it appears that season two will be climaxing with a big tournament final, but not a Chihaya-focused final – instead, it seems extremely likely that the last match of this season will be Arata facing Shinobu for the A rank crown. Arata has so far been presented as “stupidly strong, even for an A rank player,” so I’m excited to see how he fairs against the best of the best – and beyond that, the show’s also been building up this personal reunion for most of a season now, so I imagine sparks will fly even beyond the tatami mat.

Of course, we’re not quite there yet. Chihaya was beaten very quickly in the third round, and her defeat leaves us with Taichi, Tsutomu, and Kana still in the running for Mizusawa. Of the three of them, Taichi easily has the most on the line here, as a victory in any major tournament would cement his transition into A rank. He’s fighting Retro in the third round, but even if he succeeds here, he’s likely got Rion waiting for him somewhere up ahead. The stakes are high for our deeply self-doubting hero, but he certainly has the skill necessary to move up in rank. Let’s see if he can face his anxieties and triumph at last!

Episode 23

Basically all the cards are on Retro’s side of the board, which is… a good sign? I think? Does that mean Taichi’s been defending well and sending all of his cards, or does it mean Retro’s been attacking well and keeping all of his cards? HOW DO I STILL NOT UNDERSTAND HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME

Over in A rank, it appears we’ve moved on to the semifinals. Match one is Megumu against Shinobu, unsurprisingly, while match two is Arata against one of the Fujisaki players. Looks like Retro’s teammate was knocked out along with Chihaya, unfortunately

Shinobu is continuing to impress through sheer speed, but Arata’s doing something very different – he’s managing the tempo of the fight and disrupting his opponent’s rhythm through continuous card movements. That’s all tactics over physical strength, and I’d love to get inside his head and hear his thought process

Sakurazawa, the Fujisaki coach, confirms that two separate subordinates are taping the match before exiting the room. She’s so damn great – she might actually be the most clear-headed play analyst we’ve met, she just doesn’t happen to be allied with any of our key players

And then she calmly tells the other teachers that her team captain is likely falling to Arata. Individual losses aren’t terribly meaningful to Sakurazawa – her loyalty is to Fujisaki the institution, and Fujisaki overall will be gaining terrific data and mountains of experience from this tournament

We offhandedly learn that Sakurazawa was a top player herself back in the day. No surprise there

And she’s also one of the few people at this tournament who’s realized Chihaya is one of the best players in the country. Given her major victory was in the team bracket and she scrubbed out after two mediocre left-handed wins in the singles bracket, it actually makes sense that Chihaya’s strength would still be relatively unknown

Arata wins by twelve cards, Shinobu by fourteen. Megumu made her work for it, at least

Shinobu starts up her usual trash talk with Arata, which he just answers with a smile. Her focus on karuta really has left her with some unfortunately arrested emotional development; she’s created a shield to keep her from getting hurt, but it’s the shield of a child

Kana made it to the C class semifinals, which is pretty damn good. Both Kana and Tsutomu made key contributions during the team tournament, and I expect they’ll both be solidly class B players by the time next year’s tournament rolls around

And Tsutomu made it to the finals! Our kids are doing great

Both Tsutomu and Taichi are in the finals of their brackets, but their combined matches are taking place on a different floor from Arata and Shinobu’s. That’s a cruel stroke, but how can Chihaya abandon her teammates now?

“Taichi would tell you not to come see him, and focus on your Queen match preparation.” That is… entirely true. Fair enough, Nishida

“Retro lost to someone he thought was his rival by eighteen cards.” Oh, that’s why they didn’t show that match – it was a total blowout. Taichi has evolved past Retro’s tier at this point

“Mashima was completely calm in a match.” A small payoff in that this doesn’t require further explication; “Mashima” and “calm during a match” seem like an utterly impossible combination based on pretty much every battle we’ve seen him in ever

Arata has already accepted Chihaya won’t be watching… and yep, his opponent is Rion after all. Class A might be stacked, but we’re a little light on Class B ringers to throw around

Not to undercut Rion or anything – she’s a fine opponent, and this prep material is demonstrating how much she’s grown through Chihaya’s match. She now seems emotionally invested in making sure Fujisaki can bring home a win

AW SHIT CHIHAYA CAME TO HIS MATCH. Whew

“Right now I care the most about Taichi making class A.” Chihaya’s heartfelt declaration only somewhat undercut by Taichi’s consistent “this is HIGHLY illogical, Chihaya” responses. God, Taichi is such an adorable bundle of anxieties

Ah good, now Taichi has a real reason to win: so his match can end quickly and Chihaya can go watch the match she actually wants to see. Goddamnit Taichi

Looks like at the top levels, Arata’s infamy as his grandfather’s heir means he’s not really an unknown property. They don’t know how he’ll play, but expectations are high

Shinobu’s memorization routine echoes her close personal relationship with the cards. She greets them all with a soft, loving touch, promising to take them up soon

Shinobu wants this match to stand as a testament to the fact that nobody needs friends, because she’s definitely a mature and well-adjusted young woman

The first two cards “go to” Shinobu, but it seems like they actually hit the cards at the same time and Arata was just willing to give them up. His lighthearted approach to this match seems to be throwing Shinobu off her game

“Arata, you break an opponent by attacking their strengths.” Arata’s doing that in terms of speed and accuracy, but he’s also undercutting her very serious mental framing of this match, which can’t help either

And yeah, as expected, Arata’s play is deeply focused on pursuing some clear strategic aim, not just playing as fast and accurately as he can

This is wonderful. They’ve slow-rolled the reveal of Arata’s play style for entire seasons now, but if the answer is “Arata reads his opponents and alters his play to deliberately undercut them,” it’s all been worth it. Chihaya and Shinobu excel through their fundamental strength, Taichi constantly reexamines his own play, and Arata casts his eyes outward, finding his victory in his opponent’s weakness

Both Rion and Taichi are playing under extreme artificial pressure, and faulting repeatedly as a result. Taichi needs to calm his ass down and focus on one card at a time – but of course, this is Taichi we’re talking about, so good luck convincing him not to overthink things

“I need to win this match quickly!” Goddamnit Taichi, Chihaya doesn’t want this

Fortunately, the current reader is being assessed by three high-level readers, so he’s stressed as hell and making mistakes, which screws Rion up in turn. A fairly natural way to balance this fight

“What is it that she’s hearing?!” I know Chihaya’s messing up your flow Taichi, but damnit, you’re better than this. Obviously you can’t get caught up trying to counter Rion’s signature skill mid-game, you gotta focus on your own house

“How am I supposed to play against this kind of talent?” Taichi’s most persistent nemesis arrives: his own friggin’ brain

Alright, finally Taichi makes the long-necessary reset. I’m disappointed, because it takes a tactical revelation for him to realize he just needs to stand up and breathe, but either way he’s back in it. He realized he was treating Rion like the unbeatable Master Suo, instead of treating her like the equally unbeatable but much more familiar Chihaya. He can’t beat Chihaya, but that doesn’t stop him from playing against her comfortably, and working on his own fundamental skills

Kinda funny to see this revelation contrasted against Arata’s style. Arata wins by analyzing and countering his opponents, but Taichi does far better when he’s not thinking about his opponent at all

And now, though he’s over-analyzing as ever, it’s productive analysis. Taichi is back in his comfort zone

And Taichi takes it! Stick to the fundamentals, fight for every card you can, you only need to win by one. VICTORY

“Mizusawa’s leader fought well. He’s worked hard, and learned how to fight against talent.” High praise from Sakurazawa, who has swiftly become the only peanut gallery member whose opinions I care about

And Done

Wam bam wapow! God, it’s just all brutal fights all the time this season, huh? Anyway, this was another great episode with two major payoffs: the long-awaited reveal of Arata’s play style, and Taichi’s final, desperate fight for class A. In the end, Taichi only won when he simplified his thinking; no focus on Chihaya’s desires, no frantic analysis of Rion’s weaknesses, just a straightforward focus on his own tactical decisions and his desire to one day beat Chihaya. It was a messy match, and he wouldn’t have won against a Rion who was either less tired or better attuned to the reader, but victory is victory. Taichi joins his class A teammates at last!

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