Strap yourselves in everyone, it’s time to WATCH CHIHAYAFURU and GET SAD. Last episode concluded on a brutal punchline, as Chihaya and Arata accepted first and second place tournament finishes, while Taichi was forced to return home after losing to Arata. While all three of these friends are now racing to surpass each other, Taichi has suffered from feelings of inferiority all through his karuta career, and both Chihaya and Arata recently securing “destined matches” against the Master and Queen likely hasn’t helped those feelings. As his two friends soar ahead, Taichi is likely feeling increasingly left behind, distant from them in both a professional and personal sense.

Fortunately, it seems like Suo might actually have taken an interest in Taichi’s destiny, and be willing to give him some training in Master-style karuta. Suo’s defensive karuta style, which depends so heavily on exploiting the psychology of the opponent, seems tailor made for Taichi – ever since Harada pointed out that Taichi is better-suited to defensive karuta, I’ve been waiting for him to study under the true master of the form. That’s my top hope for this episode, but whatever comes, I’m eager to explore another episode of Chihayafuru!

Episode 22

“Just as my beauty has faded.” A title implying the long-term changes of the passage of time, likely tethering into the end of high school for our cast specifically

And it seems the time has arrived for final exams. I guess we’ve reached the end of their second year, some time in the winter

Good. It seems Chihaya actually has come to understand that something is different about Taichi, and that a clear, meaningful distance has developed between them. Chihaya’s focus on becoming more aware of her opponents’ actions and strategies seems like it might actually have improved her ability to pick up on emotional cues even outside the game, which is an extremely Chihaya form of character development

Kana consults with the other girls about improving the negative mood in the club

Oh my god, Kana suggests they do something “fun,” and then further suggests making Valentine’s Day chocolate. IT’S TIME FOR A GODDAMN VALENTINE’S DAY EPISODE

Of course Hanano just catches fire entirely at this suggestion. This actually makes sense – the story has been in full-on tournament mode for most of a season now, and the whole cast could use a physical and emotional break. Plus, a Valentine’s Day narrative is actually perfectly suited to push forward the current Chihaya-Taichi dynamic, where the two of them can barely speak to each other

I was briefly worried Chihaya was cooking alone, but thankfully Kana is also there

Wait, Kana also sucks at cooking. Goddamnit

Hanano, the Master of Love, is of course an expert in making chocolates

“In fact, I’d venture to say that chocolate-making for beginners is all about making something far removed from chocolate, and presenting it as chocolate.” Goddamnit Hanano, don’t get into 300-level Philosophy of Chocolate material with these total amateurs

I thought she meant playing off the inherent amateur appeal of homemade chocolate, but she’s instead describing how actually sculpting tasty chocolate is hard as fuck, and it’s probably better to make a chocolate-flavored brownie or whatnot

Oh my god, these adorable costumes. I didn’t realize how much I needed a goofy slice of life Chihayafuru episode

It’s nice to see Hanano genuinely bond with the other two in a non-karuta environment, as well

Sequences like this also take advantage of season three’s diverse background art, and increasing embrace of the stylized backdrops you tend to see in shoujo manga

Upon realizing how much she’s enjoying herself spending time with friends, Chihaya is instantly gripped by the pain of losing that closeness with Taichi, the honest friendship they used to enjoy

She can’t help him with his pain, and feels terrible about it. Taichi really, really, really, really needs to be honest with her, but that would kind of dissolve the tension this whole narrative is built on. As is often the case, Chihayafuru’s style of star-crossed, destined romance works at odds with its acuity as a character drama; the distance it’s maintaining between its characters is artificially maintained, and we can feel that artificiality in its execution

Having spent a year with this team, Hanano knows her love of Taichi is likely hopeless. But Kana respects her for pursuing those feelings. These two have turned out to have a surprisingly natural point of connection: the type of love Hanano is pursuing is precisely the sort of thing Kana has been guided by her love of poetry to deeply respect

Like a ferocious Love Leopard, Hanano stalks her prey throughout the day, hoping to catch Taichi alone

At last, she gets her moment, and it’s wonderful. The depth of Hanano’s love for Taichi is clear in her telling him how she wants him to tell the person he likes the truth, too. This naturally implies that Hanano cares more about Taichi’s own happiness than actually being with him – a powerful declaration of intent from her, and one that naturally pushes Taichi’s own story along

Another interesting quirk of this narrative’s static love triangle is that as the Arata-Taichi-Chihaya triangle continues to fester, it becomes increasingly clear that Taichi would be better off dating someone else entirely – like Hanano, who understands and clearly appreciates him. “Destined love” doesn’t really feel relatable or personal in the way a doomed love like Hanano’s does; I get the feeling that this is one of the reason also-ran characters tend to often be so loved by fans of stories like this, because they’re the ones whose actions seem driven by messy human emotions, rather than the Turns of Destiny

Yeah, Hanano the GOAT. Scrappy love gremlin has turned out to be an essential addition to Chihayafuru

Oh my god, Chihaya’s dad ate all the fucking chocolates

“And now it’s March.” Damn, quite a jump. Time moves faster as the team surge towards their third year!

Aw, this is wonderful. We spend some time checking in with basically all of the relevant graduating schools, including a charming scene with Rion and Makoto, and an inspiring speech from Amakasu to Retro. Everyone is moving on from high school in their own way, and some, like Amakasu, are graduating from karuta as well

And Taichi articulates the fear that Chihaya is unwilling to acknowledge – the potential impossibility of balancing college’s approach and full karuta practice

Aw shit, Best Bro Hiroshi also knows how to handle his liquor, and can’t wait to drink with Taichi. How is this guy so good

Hiroshi inquires about Taichi’s match versus Arata, instantly sending Taichi into the deep blues of Arata’s karuta style

“It was like he’d been studying his whole life to become the Master. And he was enjoying it.” Perhaps even moreso than Arata’s actual skill, it seems Taichi might be most intimidated by Arata’s apparent confidence in the decisions he’s made, and his choice to dedicate himself to karuta in particular. It’s that confidence which Taichi most clearly lacks – even when he’s dedicating himself to karuta, it often seems like he’s doing it out of a fatalistic desperation. Taichi is desperately unsure of the correct choice for his own future, but sees only calm sureness in Arata’s affectation

Of course, we know the actual truth – that Arata only recently regained his passion for karuta, and is just as insecure about his relationship with his friends. But as Chihayafuru often demonstrates, young people have a pronounced tendency to assign confidence to the choices of others, rather than assuming other people are as uncertain as they are

At the end of their meeting, Hiroshi takes a serious gamble, and admits that Chihaya asked him to talk to Taichi. It’d be easy for Taichi to interpret her concern as pity, which is part of why she hasn’t asked him herself – but Hiroshi has faith in Taichi, and hopes he’ll take this news positively

Of course, Taichi being Taichi, he immediately responds “I bet she just wanted to learn about Arata.” I love this boy, but god damnit, Taichi

These shoujo sparkles as Taichi pays back the fermented squid guts are killing me

Hiroshi and Hanano’s actions seem to have already helped Taichi out of his slump, but in the meantime, the entire club is busy plotting some grand gesture for their captain

Oh my god, they’re throwing him his own birthday tournament. GOD DAMNIT THESE KIDS

And Done

Ahaha, what a charming episode. After last episode’s brutal conclusion, I was expected the worst, but it seems Chihayafuru understood we all needed a bit of a breather after all that stress and defeat. As a result, Hanano received a long-deserved star turn, and we actually got to see the club having fun as normal teenage friends, not just loyal karuta allies. Of course, everyone in this world is so karuta-obsessed that even their response to Taichi’s doldrums is “we’ll throw him a tournament,” but it was wonderful to see this show’s extended cast coming together, not to defeat each other, but to prop up one of their own. This is the true power of creating a karuta world bound by strong friendships, not just strong competitors; however the game may change, and wherever their lives may take them, these characters’ bonds will remain.

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