What the heck are we even doing now, folks? Following its initial tournament and the Chihaya-Taichi faceoff, basically all the rest of season three has so far been dedicated to the leadup and dramatic battles of the Master and Queen challenger matches – and now, those matches are over. Both Harada and Haruka proved themselves unable to defeat the defending champions, and the gauntlet has already been thrown down for Arata and Chihaya’s next-year challenge. But that challenge is still twelve friggin’ months away, and in the meantime, Chihayafuru’s stars will be navigating their last year of high school, and deciding where their lives go from here. After a long, long segment of purely tournament-focused drama, Chihayafuru is at last raising its head back out of the sand, and acknowledging a wider world once more. So where do its characters go from here?

For Taichi, the next step seems to be “reclaim confidence through seizing more tournament victories.” Taichi’s ideas of self-improvement all generally end up being some kind of self-flagellation, and with his mother now actively aware he’s been disobeying her, it surely won’t be long until he has to directly confront their differing perspectives on his future. For Chihaya, the end of this tournament means the questions she’s been delaying answering return to the foreground: what steps will she be taking to actually become a teacher, and how is she planning to answer Arata? And for Arata himself, well, he’s always been the wildcard – though having now challenged Suo directly, I imagine he’ll soon be consulting with Harada, or perhaps powering through more tournaments of his own. Whatever happens, the narrative gates have been opened wide, and I’m eager to see where this story now goes. Let’s get to it!

Episode 21

“To restore my faith.” A title that seems to promise a Chihaya-centric episode, as she’s the one who needs her faith in karuta restored, after watching the detested Suo defend his throne

This series of severely distressed Chihayas is hilarious. The lack of animation actually makes it feel even funnier – like she’s slowly transitioning between a few “despair poses,” and stopping to acknowledge each one

But after her initial burst of frustration, she realizes Taichi would never tell her he’s competing, because he’s Taichi. His pride, insecurity, and deeply private nature are all major parts of his identity, and Chihaya knows him well enough to accept all of those things

Of course, that’s not all there is to it. Kana silently urges Chihaya to go beyond simply accepting “that’s the way Taichi is,” and realize why he can’t share his vulnerability with Chihaya specifically. She’s definitely on the captain’s side!

Meanwhile, Taichi is sitting in a hotel room by himself, watching the aftermath of the finals on television. Between Shinobu’s “I’m looking forward to next year’s match” and Arata’s dramatic challenge, Taichi must be feeling even more acutely than ever that he is the odd one out. Both of his friends have secured themselves “destined matches” on the precise stage he wishes to reach, and both the Master and Queen have directly acknowledged them. While Chihaya frets that Taichi is “getting ahead of her” through competing in more tournaments, he must be feeling his friends are far ahead of him, and have perhaps even reached a level he never will

“Harada is my master. I should have been the one to say that.” During the Master match, I at one point hypothesized that Harada would win because it would result in a “cleaner,” more natural dramatic setup for the following year. In retrospect, Chihayafuru is smartly capitalizing on the messiness of the alternative – rather than pursuing a clear “destined match,” Taichi and Arata are both squabbling over the same territory, which promises more interesting emotional friction

The rest of the gang arrive at a new year’s tournament, where Kana is showing off her lovely new year kimono

The advent of the new year also reminds everyone that this is their final year, at least for the majority of the karuta club. They really ought to find some new members; I know they don’t technically need more for the sake of team battles, and that adding new characters is an inherent dramatic cost, but I really can’t imagine Hanano sticking around in a club that’s just her and Tsukuba

Unsurprisingly, Chihaya’s ultimate conclusion is that she cannot know what Taichi is thinking, and must focus on her own battles

The soft-spoken, often awkward Arata now has an incredible spotlight placed on him, and he’s clearly struggling with it

Arata is reassured by a man who drops a new name with maximum portentousness: “Sato Kiyohiko”

I’m sorry Retro, but I just cannot possibly give a shit about your journey to Class A. In spite of existing in this narrative for the longest of almost any of its side characters, Retro is simultaneously one of the least-developed, and mostly exists to be a punchline. It’s a hard life he leads

Retro and Chihaya are each fighting the “Tamaru twins,” whose unique strategy is to be incredibly obnoxious opponents, regularly second-guessing who earned a card, and attempting to attack their opponents’ focus. Karuta’s lack of any formal judging continues to result in some hilariously bullshit strategies

I love this cut of Chihaya briefly assessing this guy’s style, and then sinking into Terminator Mode. No time for bullshit anymore

Beautiful color overlays over this fluidly flowing cut of Chihaya taking a card

All of our protagonists are currently awash in insecurities, and certain that all of their friends are far more confident than they are. It’s the classic high school experience, just draped over the context of karuta mastery

Nice, almost chalk-styled background art for Chihaya realizing she forgot her tasuki. Chihayafuru’s background art and post-processing have both really upped their game this season

Hanano’s fears regarding the approaching end of their time together are naturally echoed by this composition, where she’s looking through a window into the brightly lit game room, as if already separated from these happy moments by the passage of time

Welp, looks like Taichi and Arata are already facing off

Arata’s society has four members in the quarterfinals, including Murao. Meanwhile, it looks like Rion is joining Taichi on the opposing side

Chihayafuru’s ensemble approach seems to only offer even more consistent dramatic dividends as the characters continue their journeys; they’re now near the peak of professional karuta play, meaning they keep running into the same equally talented players

Murao once again proves he’s a number one bro by diffusing some of the tension between Arata and Taichi

Taichi feels deeply separated from Arata, unable to cross the void of insecurity and professional rivalry in order to genuinely connect with his old friend. But then, he notices an unexpected point of connection – Arata’s card layout feels familiar to him, because he was practicing with Arata’s layouts in order to prepare Harada for his match. It’s an encouraging moment that supports what Chihaya has always believed: no matter how far apart they are, they can still come together through their communal love of karuta. Even their separate roads towards the summit can actually unite them

The diffusion of the stiffness between them is conveyed indirectly as well, through the comfort with which they argue about who earned a card. Normally, neither of these competitors are the type to vigorously argue with their opponents – but before they were karuta competitors, they were friends who’d bicker about everything

Suo recognizes Harada’s influence in Taichi’s overbearing style, along with Taichi’s own psychological manipulation

And while Taichi is doing his best to psychologically corner Arata, Arata is just enjoying this joyous match with an old friend. Arata is kind of like Shinobu, in that he’s so goddamn good at karuta naturally that his matches tend to come down more to mental state than strategy

It seems Arata was genuinely worried Taichi wouldn’t be a match for him, and is thus overjoyed he can fight Taichi at full strength, and fully express his love of karuta. I’m not a particularly great player of fighting games, but I can understand this feeling – competitive games are at their best when both players are able to try their hardest, and express their fullest understanding of strategy, as well as their unique personality and approach to the game. That’s when you reach a point of true “communication,” as each player raises tactical questions that the other must answer

This is wonderful. This isn’t a tactically driven match sequence – it’s more of a long-awaited reunion, as Taichi and Arata at last share a conversation in the language they know best

“Arata, did you say something to Chihaya back in the fall?” AH SHIT

“I play offensive karuta. The more I want a card, the faster I let it go. Then I go in determined to take it.” Oh my god, are they using offensive karuta as a metaphor for Taichi’s approach to romance? CHIHAYAFURU PLEASE

Oh goddamnit Chihayafuru, don’t make me feel sorry for Retro right after I said all that. His despair in defeat here actually reminds me of Ping Pong the Animation – the absolute, devastating realization that you’re possibly just not cut out for this sport, and that no matter how hard you try, you will never match those with greater natural ability

Retro’s girlfriend offers a poem whose true intent is likely “treasure your memories of times passed,” but which she helpfully interprets as “your problems are incredibly petty”

And his friends offer the equally helpful “it’s fine, we never expected anything out of you anyway.” FRIENDSHIP

Sudo acknowledges one of Chihaya’s great strengths; her ability to completely push aside every single thing except the game she is currently playing, thus making herself “empty.” Chihaya signals her agreement by falling asleep

And Done

Aw jeez, what a brutal stinger that was. Chihaya won yet another tournament, Arata only lost to Murao… and Taichi once again was forced to accept defeat, and falling behind his friends. His only consolation here seems to be that Suo has taken a unique interest in him, which makes sense. While Taichi angrily declared this episode that Harada was his teacher, in truth, Harada’s style has never really synergized with Taichi’s inherent strengths. On the other hand, Suo’s style fits Taichi perfectly, and with that one year deadline in mind, I’m hoping Suo will spend at least a portion of this year training his natural successor. Keep fighting Taichi, I’m rooting for you!

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