Chihayafuru 2 - 3

"Feel Love Deepen"

"Mi! Zu! Sa! Wa! Fight!"

Chihayafuru is moving almost too fast for me, yet it remains as utterly captivating and exciting to watch as it has always been. Just three episodes in and Mizusawa Koukou finds itself once again at the Tokyo area regionals, this time as returning champions rather than upstart newcomers. The pressure is on, and anyone who's ever found themselves under sudden expectations to succeed can tell you that pressure isn't always a good thing, something that Akihiro finds out the harsh way this episode.

As new members, Sumire and Akihiro are originally planned to sit regionals out as spectators, but the arrival of Akihiro's devoted younger brothers causes the team to rethink its priorities. Komano particularly remembers what it was like to be given a chance during regionals the year before and what an important experience that was to his growth, so when Akihiro tries to cheat his way onto the participants' list (having just bragged to his awed brothers that he would be playing), it's Komano who realizes that there's no better time to have the kouhai play than during the tournament. Using his position as the team strategist, he has Sumire play the first match and Akihiro the second, both against teams where their presence will be advantageous, while allowing Chihaya, Taichi, and Nishida to rack up the wins needed to advance.

Of course, being given a chance doesn't guarantee victory, and both Sumire and Akihiro lose their matches spectacularly, as expected. However, both come away with something more important than winning. As much as Sumire would like to deny karuta as something fun, she finds herself angry at her opponent, who goes easy on her for being a woman and lets her take cards on purpose. Her sense of pride damaged, she's awed instead at Chihaya, who wins both matches with perfect scores while remaining ruthless, precise, and dignified. It sparks something in her, and she grudgingly realizes that she wants to win cards by her own power. Akihiro, on the other hand, has let the pressure win him over, and he's a nervous wreck, even messing up the school chant before the match. This is what happens when you let hubris, false pride, carry your words: Akihiro boasted of his skills in Second-Verse Karuta, and he let his brothers manipulate him into his situation when in reality he hasn't practiced enough to improve at mainland karuta. His lack of skill shows painfully on the mat, but his loss only inspires him to work harder under Nishida and the others, even at the cost of his brothers' respect.

It's amazing that so much has happened in so little time, and that the series can still feel so fresh and exciting after so many karuta matches, but it's downright exhilarating watching the team improve, and improve they have. The fact that the focus so far has been on the kouhai rather than the team proper doesn't lessen the impact of the characterization on the original group; Chihaya is a monster on the tatami, racking perfect wins one after the other and keeping her cool in situations where she would have otherwise panicked as a younger player. Her maturity definitely shows, and she's become more than a match for the Queen title. Nishida and Taichi are also working hard, and Taichi harder than most, as he continues practicing in his every free moment. Even Kana and Komano have come into their own as sempai, despite being in average rankings and not as obsessed as the other three with karuta. Then there's Arata, who steals the screen in his momentary appearances and with the impact he has on others. He's recently lost a Class A tournament, but it's laughable to think he won't improve in time for the High School Championship, and it's not only Chihaya, Taichi, and Nishida who are haunted by his existence. Even Shinobu, the current Queen, has some unsettled past with him which has yet to come to light, and it's likely that whatever that past is, there will be plenty of drama to accompany it.