Hello again, everyone. You all ready for Taichi’s Birthday Party Tournament? I know I certainly am – frankly, I wasn’t aware quite how much stress I was carrying for the sake of these mixed-up kids, until Chihaya suddenly announced it was time for a birthday party.

Though the friction of misunderstandings and hidden romantic longing has always been a key element of Chihaya and Taichi’s relationship, Taichi’s increasing feelings of inadequacy as a player, as well as his insecurity regarding Chihaya and Arata’s relationship, have recently made it so they can barely even communicate with each other. Taichi is a tightly wound ball of anxiety and inferiority, and by throwing this party tournament, Chihaya will hopefully prove to him that he is loved regardless of what he chooses to do, and that he can still play karuta just for the fun of it, and not only to prove his value. We are fixing your headspace whether you like it or not, Taichi. Let’s get to it!

Episode 23

“Like a Boatsman Adrift,” a perfectly Taichi title

We open on Arata’s hand dramatically stabbing into the frame, in the midst of another practice session between him and Murao. Not sure if this means Arata isn’t at Taichi’s party, or if we’ve flashed back and are about to witness his invitation

Apparently Arata wasn’t really able to re-focus after his match with Taichi, leading into his loss against Murao. Small consolation to Taichi, I’m sure

Taichi diving into the cold water that is Arata’s karuta in order to try and grab the “impassionate” card representing Chihaya is like three levels of goofy metaphor too deep for me. Please Chihayafuru, you don’t have to do this

Yeah, this is some fairly weak tea as far as laying down future hooks is concerned. This mental discussion is largely framed around the fact that “impassioned” was not read during their match, in spite of Taichi targeting it the whole time. Arata’s musing on “who would have grabbed it” is clearly intended as a metaphor for their mutual pursuit of Chihaya, but I dislike how framing it this way robs Chihaya herself of any agency – and more to the point, this is just a metaphor anyway in the first place, and doesn’t actually mean anything real. I can invest in this show’s focus on “fated” events basically only as much as the characters themselves care about them, because the characters’ feelings are actually real and substantive. But it’s hard for me to emotionally invest in things like “who would grab the Chihaya-representing card” for my own sake, because it feels like a narrative device with no actual weight to it

Aw shit, looks like Arata’s finally getting enough players to make his own high school team, just in time for his third and final year

Alright, enough of that, time for the Taichi Cup!

The Taichi Cup is such an extremely Chihaya idea, and it makes Taichi so damn uncomfortable. It’s so wonderful – see, this is drama based in character fundamentals, even if it’s just for the sake of a gag

Granted, all three of these kids also really care a whole lot about destiny, but that feels almost like an authorial mandate

They’ve got a fascinating point-scoring system here. Everyone sorts into randomized 3-on-3 teams, and you count the cards you take individually, as well as getting a team win bonus. Then that process is repeated three times, and the highest individual point-scorer is the winner. Taichi is already panicking, of course

It seems like Taichi’s two default states are Panicking or Sulking, and Panicking is actually the healthy one

“The prize is a kiss from Taichi!” Amazing, Chihaya

Harada’s gonna win it, isn’t he

The tournament’s kind of nonsense, but Taichi can see Chihaya is having a good time, and clearly did all this to cheer him up

Taichi’s team is actually pretty busted – it’s him, Harada, and Retro. Retro is whatever, but Taichi and Harada are probably both within the top fifteen male karuta players

Sudo refuses to wear the stupid shirt, so he’s volunteering as reader instead. An extremely Sudo compromise; but of course, being here at all is a reflection of his respect for Taichi

This tournament is actually very neatly designed. The fact that it’s quasi-round robin, and that your own score is separate from your team, means no one has to feel the frustration of being eliminated early. At the same time, the rotating team structure encourages solidarity and good feelings across the whole cast, emphasizing that they’re all friends here. It’s one of the most friendly structures you could come up with, while still rewarding individual hard work

Ah, interesting. In this style, all one hundred cards are actually split across the six players, meaning there will be lots of cards that any individual teammate can’t actually reach for. So this is why Sudo said this would mess with their usual practice

And of course, since your scores are tallied individually, you’re also fighting for your allies’ cards. What an absurd setup

The tournament ends in a tie between Taichi and Chihaya, unsurprisingly. And of course, rather than thinking about the kiss, Chihaya can’t accept a tie and demands a final showdown. Chihaya will always be Chihaya

Taichi keeps asking himself, “have I gotten stronger,” but what he has truly gained is clear in all the people who came to celebrate his birthday. Even without realizing it, he has taken on the mantle of Harada’s communal approach to karuta, and built a community that supports him through good times and bad. He is “strong,” but his strength is not the same as Suo’s or Shinobu’s

A series of quasi-pillow shots emphasizing physical details of his school and clubroom emphasize how he’s looking at the world around him anew, and recognizing the environment he’s come to take for granted as if for the first time

And then Chihaya brings in new curtains for the clubroom. We can still cherish the old while moving on and embracing the new

Man, the tension in this scene is intense. And Taichi, being himself, reveals not that he loves Chihaya, but that he stole Arata’s glasses all those years ago

Arata’s “Mashima, you’re a coward” has likely been haunting Taichi ever since then. Taichi has always seen Arata as more perfect than himself – as the true protagonist, compared to which he is only an imitation. He cannot overcome that sense of inferiority, and with that inferiority in mind, he’s likely incapable of being honest with Chihaya, as well. As long as he believes himself to be a coward, he can’t confess to Chihaya – and as long as Arata is defeating him, he will likely consider himself Arata’s shadow

BUT HE FIGHTS THROUGH IT. HE SAYS HE LOVES HER. HELL YEAHHHHHHHH

Gosh, the hair animation here is gorgeous. Just a beautiful sequence in general, with the combination of rich sunlight, floating cherry blossoms, and flowing hair perfectly capturing the glory of the moment, as well as the heightened focus of both characters

Even having said the truth, Taichi is still terrified, and has to fight back his instinct to say it was all a joke. That fraught, terrifying moment in between, when you’ve revealed your most personal secret, and don’t yet know how the recipient will respond

Arata said “let’s live our lives together”? Goddamnit, Arata, you’re not even dating. SCREW THIS DESTINY STUFF

Wait, what? Chihaya’s response is drowned out by the bell? NO NO FUCK THAT, TURN RIGHT AROUND TAICHI, YOU CLARIFY THIS SHIT

“I’m sorry”? NOOOOooooooOoooooo

Brutal to watch Taichi’s bright, fake smile as their days continue, and the rest of the club wonder about attracting new members

Some nice screen-in-screen shots for the reveal of their proficiency test scores. I’m guessing Taichi’s grades have been slipping over the past couple months

And yeah, it turns out he’s officially leaving the club. Not surprising from our perspective, but still devastating for Chihaya. As his birthday party demonstrated, Taichi has become a part of a larger community within karuta – but ultimately, his attachment to the sport was in large part just an extension of his love for Chihaya. Karuta has always been difficult and painful for Taichi, and contributing to the club after Chihaya has already rejected him was likely an excruciating experience

Chihaya makes it halfway through their club presentation before losing the thread, and running off after Taichi. As always, beautiful golden hour backgrounds as she catches up with Taichi returning home

“Chihaya, do you think I’m made of stone or something?” Excellent brief cut of his fingers clenching on Chihaya’s hakuma, before he pulls away. He tries so, so hard to be the person he thinks he should be, but at this moment, there’s so much pain beneath his words that even he has trouble hiding it

And Done

NOOOOO NOT THE SADNESS AGAIN WHY. God DAMN this evil show, tricking me with the Funtime Taichi Birthday Hour, and then stabbing me in the gut with that brutal second half. I always kinda figured Taichi’s ultimate confession would be as messy as the rest of his narrative, and I’m certainly happy to see the show at last pushing past the relational stasis it’s occupied for so long, but what a painful way to move this story forward. This, right here, must be Taichi’s lowest point – the point where he feels he’s lost both Chihaya and karuta as well, and must give up on the dreams that pushed him to rebel from his mother and choose his own path. Damn you, Chihayafuru. Why do you treat my heart like this!?!

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