Chihayafuru EP 12 – Set These Forbidden Fields Aglow0

Summary:

This week it appears that the major plot took the back seat while the karuta club was given its final ‘developmental’ debut. What continues to surprise me is that despite this brief (and welcomed) deviation, Chihayafuru never missed a beat. I think the appeal of the series comes not from the humor—which has proven to be altogether ‘double-faced’, like when Retro bursts in to steal the trophy, only to confide his sincere encouragement—but from the deeply-rooted emotion and passion demonstrated by every single character. Continuing along those lines, the way in which the show has presented the major characters as full of complexity and initially not easily understood, only to develop and evolve at time goes on—becoming more relatable and definitely more interesting in the process—has proven to be the focal point of the entire series. Although it seems self-explanatory that a series would implement such a strategy, those who have tried could attest to its difficulty and I as a viewer can attest to it’s rarity. And despite the fact that most of the main characters have already had their ‘moment in the spotlight’, it was fantastic to see a few of the background characters emerge to be seen in new light—the most prominent being former grouch, Miyauchi-sensei.

I’m sure that most of us have had our share of family skirmishes, but watching Chihaya at home was near heartbreaking, not only for the obvious reason that her can barely acknowledge her while busily marveling over Chitose’s beauty and success but also because her lacking self-worth has crippled her to the point of not being able to bring herself to break the news about the marvelous tournament win by the Mizusawa team. To make matters worse, it appears that her her dad’s obsession of watching his oldest daughter succeed has left him discernibly desensitized even to the point that consuming his free time collecting enough news clippings to fill seven complete scrapbook albums out of devotion to Chitose—in the face of Chihaya, no less—has become daily routine. It is also interesting to consider that Chihaya and Taichi fall at nearly polar extremes in terms of parenting—her family can’t seem to take notice of her achievements and his parents squash him under pressure while expecting nothing less than perfection. In the end, the payout came in the form of Chihaya discovering her dad’s album created just for her, including the latest clipping of their win at the tournament, which was a heartwarming—and tear-eliciting—wrap up to the difficulties at the Ayase home.

Not unlike Chihaya at the commencement of the episode, Miyauchi-sensei—The Empress—appears all but completely uninterested in the karuta club’s most recent win and even dismisses the offer to supervise them at the Omi-Jingu. However, her apathy is soon replaced with awe as she witnesses the passion possessed by the members during their practice—which also brought a few new bits of information that came across as quite interesting to me as well. Nishida, his spirit still burning with the same enthusiasm as it did in the finals, finds himself shouting out of exhilaration while Kana-chan demonstrates her unique, self-created card placement style that involves sanctioning the cards based on the season in which a particular card takes place—an interesting strategy that aids in memorization (and also it’s completely adorable ).

Even with the teams undeniable success and remarkable teamwork, I’ll be interested to see if the pressures of competing at Omi-Jingu will cause some contention between members. Taichi is the immovable center of the team while Chihaya is the passionate ace, but it is easy to forget who actually has the most experience. The truth is that Nishida clearly has been in the karuta business for the longest period of time—in which span he has developed his skills to an exceptionable level, not to mention he’s the only member with personal experience competing at Omi-Jingu. Up to this point it appears that he’s content being 3rd in line, but as we’ve seen in the past, he does have an ego which tends to cloud his ability to adapt when teaching the younger members—clearly seen with his feeling that Kanade’s seasonal card arrangements wouldn’t suffice at the National level. The interesting thing with Kana-chan, however, is her amazing ability to relate directly to the stories behind the poems than the beginning syllables and characterizing phrases even when her methods may deviate from the norm, like her favorite poem not being one of the “One Hundred” (understandable that it might not be a karuta-specific one since she’s so darn smart!).

So this is the current standing of the Mizusawa team. Chihaya and Taichi, despite their high level of passion for the sport, are still aware that there skills need sharpening—a call for Harada-sensei and the second best player at the Karuta Society to give them some eye-opening pointers while temporarily shattering Chihaya’s confidence. Fortunately, Taichi is always by her side to set her straight (though not close enough in my opinion), after all, he is probably the person that knows her best. With the teams competing at Omi-Jingu almost definitely having much more experience than even Mizusawa’s best players, everyone will have to set nerves aside and be on their game. Basically, their strategy in the last tournament, namely having Taichi, Chihaya, and Nishida as the ‘constants’ in terms of wins, will be their only chance of surviving the brutal competition, unless one of the rookies is able to pull out a win (at least one is what I’m hoping for). I’ve been greatly impressed by how well the two youngest members have performed despite having no prior experience, with Kana-chan’s love for aesthetics being one of the most genuine elements of the entire series, and Tsutomu’s desire to succeed laying the groundwork for his miraculous advancement. Though in a competition as challenging as this, everyone—including Kanade and Tsutomu—will have to be in extended overdrive in order to come out victorious.