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!

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Folks, it is Chihayafuru time, and we do not have a goddamn minute to lose. After nearly a full goddamn season of building up the Master and Queen challenger matches, I at this point feel like a finely squeezed orange, my emotions entirely drained out of me, nothing remaining but a bruised shell of a human being. Haruka has been built up into one of Chihayafuru’s most distinctive, sympathetic characters so far, and last episode saw her defeated by Shinobu, and step off the professional stage for what is likely the very last time. My only consolation regarding that match is that, now that it’s over, the trials of competition can’t hurt Haruka or Shinobu anymore.

Over on the Masters’ side, Harada and Suo’s grueling faceoff is ending on one more goddamn luck of the draw. I definitely feel these recent matches have abused luck of the draws enough to result in some diminishing returns, but I also can’t deny that they’re one of the most powerful dramatic tools in karuta’s toolbox, and furthermore seem particularly appropriate for a match that may influence karuta’s overall destiny as a sport. Let’s see how this brutal battle ends!

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The Master and Queen matches have evolved into an emotionally and physically exhausting battle for the future of karuta, with all four contenders playing as though their very lives were at stake. And in a way, they are – all four of these competitors have given a great portion of their lives to karuta, and all four of them are hoping to honor that time, and validate the karuta philosophy that has carried them this far.

For Harada, this match represents his last, best chance to become the Master, before his body is no longer up to the task of holding out for full tournaments of competition. He cannot possibly match Suo in physical dexterity, but what he lacks in youth, he’s making up for in endless tactical invention, as he deploys new weapons for each separate round of play. For Haruka, her approaching third child means this is her last chance as well – and she’s fighting not just for herself, but for anyone who’d hope to balance both karuta and family life.

On the defending side, the reveal of Suo’s vision problems may imply he’s facing a physical clock as unforgiving as either of his opponents’, while simultaneously standing on the precipice of adult life and its time-sapping demands. And yet, in spite of the stress-inducing finality of all three of these positions, it might actually be Shinobu who needs this win the most – Shinobu, who has chosen never to compromise on her passion, and who has instead worked to wrap herself entirely in karuta, and build her identity solely out of love for the sport. Shinobu is strong, but her single-mindedness also makes her fragile, and her fate in this tournament may ultimately rest on those human connections she’s so long denied. However these matches end, the landscape of Chihayafuru is sure to be forever altered as we enter the final battles!

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We return to Chihayafuru in the midst of the challenger matches, with both Haruka and Harada having fought through difficult first rounds to arrive at luck-of-the-draw conclusions. Harada actually succeeded in beating Suo in that faceoff, but it remains an open question whether Suo is merely letting Harada win in order to prolong his final match as Master. While we’ve gotten a closer look into Suo’s psychology over the past several episodes, basically none of that context has made him more likable in any way – he’s proven himself to be not just selfish, but genuinely invigorated by toying with his opponents. And given how much of a physical toll just two rounds with Arata wrought on Harada, defeating an even stronger opponent who’s determined to drag this out across five rounds seems next to impossible.

Meanwhile, Haruka lost her own first round, but given the emotionally turbulent nature of Shinobu’s post-match experiences, it’s hard to say how future rounds will play out. Shinobu entered this match on an emotional high, energized by the knowledge that her grandmother actually supports her decisions – but after the first round, her mother stole that energy, by cruelly stating that her grandmother was just using her as an advertising prop. That blow was followed by a second, accidental jab courtesy of Chihaya, who unthinkingly admitted she’d prioritized her class trip over karuta, thereby proving in Shinobu’s mind that they don’t actually share the same passion. Will all this betrayal rattle Shinobu, or will it actually clarify her self-image, and return her to an unmatchable kinship with the cards themselves? I mean, I don’t know, but I’m guessing this episode will probably clarify that pretty soon. LET’S GET TO IT!

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