Folks, it is wonderful to see you all again. After an end of December dominated by family activities and an early January consumed by the preview guide, I can at last return to my regularly-scheduled reader projects. And you know what that means: it’s time for more goddamn Chihayafuru.

When we last left off, Chihayafuru’s two most senior competitors had each pulled off victories of inches, just barely defeating their much younger opponents. But along with speed and reaction time, youth also blesses us with tremendous stamina – and as Harada and Haruka’s own stamina is used up, their chances of securing a second win become that much slimmer. Harada’s response to this reality is to immediately forfeit the second round, thus giving himself a chance to recover his strength for the deciding match. That leaves Haruka to face Megumin alone, as her anxieties about aging, guilt regarding her children, and complicated relationship with her own professional legacy all collide.

Haruka has become this season’s breakout star, with her and Harada’s feelings expanding Chihayafuru’s emotional scope from the pains of adolescence to the compromises and disappointments of adulthood. Her fear of aging out of karuta is palpable, and though this season has consistently emphasized that change is inevitable, I can’t help but really really hope she wins. Let’s see how she fares against Megumin in the second round!

Episode 13

“Yet it is I who withers and wilts.” Goddamnit, stop giving us these darkly prophetic episode titles

Oh right, I forgot last episode ended with that secret message between Chihaya and Arata. Dick move, Chihayafuru

Taichi probes her, but she says nothing, of course. Only the healthiest relationship between these three!

The peanut gallery are starting to see the wisdom in Harada’s choice, though of course his old rival will hear none of it

Haruka’s son Aki brings her some flowers. “Here you go, Queen!” I AM GOING TO DIE

I am so happy to see this show tackling questions of adulthood that anime as a whole so rarely explore. Is it possible to live for your kids while simultaneously pursuing your own passions? Is that fair to your children, or to your passion? These are questions without clear answers, as Haruka cannot truly give up either of these things while remaining true to herself. But through the gift of this flower, Aki essentially gives his own blessing to her dreams – with her children actively supporting her, she can truly strive to be her best self

And in the end, Haruka and Megumu can actually find a connection between them, through how each of them are lifted up by the people who support them. Haruka no longer feels jealous or anxious regarding Megumu’s youth; having been reminded she has people she loves more than anything, and who love her more than anything in turn, she can only comment “we’re both so blessed, aren’t we?”

Ah man this is killing me and the match hasn’t even started. That feels like such a victory for Haruka, though – she was fighting through her own doubts all throughout the first match, and now she can instead think of her children as a source of strength, rather than a reminder of her age and theoretical selfishness

I greatly appreciate that Sakurazawa has taken the role of Haruka’s lead commenter. This match means a lot to both of them

This match is doubling as a conversation between the two of them, as they reflect on how Haruka’s youthful natural talents have been replaced by something perhaps even stronger – the wisdom and hunger born of struggling and losing

Wait, she won. SHE WON. SHE ALREADY WON

Ahaha goddamnit. I thought this was gonna take a whole episode! I’m relieved, but also, god damn

So the slate is now clear for the third round, where we can focus solely on Harada and Arata

Meanwhile, Arata has wandered outside and gotten lost

Along with preserving his physical strength, conceding the second round puts Harada way ahead in terms of the mental game. If Arata were actually coming off a competitively earned victory, he’d have both confidence and momentum on his side – as is, he needs to win his second match without the confidence of having won his first

Chihayafuru turns up the saturation and simplifies the background into block colors to emphasize Arata’s overwhelming presence. When he draws your attention, everything around him disappears

I like these tense, wavering flutes just playing little embellishments in the background. It feels like a samurai dual, all tightly strained tension waiting for one brutal moment of release

Makino starts reading and Kana immediately loses her shit

This seems like a new effect; a post-processing filter that looks somewhat like smoke, or light dancing on water, designed to emphasize the smooth flow of Makino’s tone

I find myself lamenting that Harada isn’t thirty years younger, and able to combine his peak talent with all these tactical tricks he’s been employing. But that itself is something of the point: those thirty years weren’t wasted, all that time contributed to his current mastery of strategy

And Arata’s counterattack, as always, comes framed as a rush of water

We finally get Chihaya’s whispered words: “no matter how far you go, Dr. Harada is still a mentor to all of us. You can’t beat him as just Arata.” And so, in order to surpass his mentor, Arata can no longer think of himself as a student. He must embrace the ego necessary to truly see himself as his grandfather’s successor

Chihaya was apparently lured from the competition hall by Suo’s snacks

Nice to see Chihaya’s maturation in how she handles her disappointment at not competing by reminding herself of her Kyoto trip, and affirming she’ll compete next year

Aw shit, she challenges him to a game!

I love the shift in backgrounds for Suo’s larger-than-life presence. Soft watercolors against a blinding white background impress upon us the beauty and tension of this moment, as if nothing exists but their immediate surroundings

Oh my god, Suo thinks this is a romantic shoujo encounter. GODDAMNIT SUO

“I don’t have a girlfriend!” “Neither do I!” C’mon Chihaya, don’t treat Shinobu like that

Hot damn, that’s a crazy transition. Shoujo flowers getting frozen by Arata’s energy is a much bolder, attention-drawing trick than this show usually allows

Arata keeps shifting up his board positions in unusual ways, baffling Harada. That’s not a good sign for Harada in a narrative structure sense; at this point, it feels likely Arata will be claiming the final reversal in fortunes

Arata is actually using the same sorts of tactics Taichi used to fight Chihaya: abusing his opponent’s familiarity with his positioning by shifting his usual arrangement mid-match. It’s nice to see Arata isn’t just winning through talent and speed, he’s actually competing on tactical grounds just as fiercely

Harada is no longer playing like a canny old man – inspired by Arata’s resemblance to his grandfather, he’s fighting with the carefree, destructive energy he did as a young man. His body likely can’t take this, but I can’t imagine he’d give up this chance for anything

This match is offering a different but equally compelling perspective on aging relative to Haruka. In contrast with her embrace of compromise and pride in her adult accomplishments, this match is emphasizing that we are as young as we feel, and framing Arata and Harada as equals in their reverence for karuta’s past and relevance to its future

Even when he faults, Harada looks far more happy and energetic than he did in the first match

“I never thought I’d get to feel like a teenager playing karuta again!” What a gift Arata has given him

Ah, but his GODDAMN KNEE starts up again!

And Done

Welp, looks like Chihayafuru surprised me once again. I expected this episode to be an incredibly tense, stressful experience, focused entirely on Haruka’s attempt to secure the Queen qualifier spot. Instead, Haruka won in about five minutes, and the episode actually ended up being a jubilant celebration of the joy of playing karuta freely, as well as its history and future.

Harada and Arata are absolutely bringing out the best in each other – just as Taichi and Chihaya play at their best when they’re matched up, it seems like Harada and Arata are able to light a fire under each other, summoning both Harada’s youth and Arata’s grandfather. This was a thrilling and beautiful episode, and though I know it’s going to get uglier from here, I’m happy the two of them were able to share this moment.

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