Chihayafuru 2 - 10

"Rain Takes Longer To Dry"

It's like the whole anime world is out to make me go back to astrophysics.

It's a sad truth that everyone has an agenda, so I'm not surprised to see the Karuta organizers faltering over whether or not to punish Arata. I, for one, think he should be; I'm a stickler for integrity and as much as it hurts not to be able to play, Arata's actions could have had very bad moral consequences for the team he helped out. That's why I'm impressed to see him accept the gravity of the situation, even if the adults themselves are unwilling to ban him from the individual tournament. In fact, that honesty and integrity probably elevated Arata's worth in their eyes, since he's exactly the sort of Meijin they need (in direct contrast to Suoh, who is bad for publicity and the honor of playing Karuta) and it's more likely than ever that he'll get off. Still, their reasoning really does resemble favoritism a little too strongly, and even though Shinobu forces him to beg to be able to play, I do think it would be best, from a moral standpoint, to ban him. But that's just me; for Chihaya and the others, Arata being unable to play would likely come as a shock they don't need right now.

On the other side of the coin, Mizusawa has been pitted against another strange opponent; this time, one made up of academics ("It's like five Tsukue-kuns!") who are using karuta as mental training for quiz shows and exams. Their uniformity and use of quiz show experience throws the Club off, but none so more than Chihaya, who, as always, is unable to deal with unfamiliarity. Even worse, her opponent excels at memorization, something that Chihaya is very poor at. However, Chihaya's strengths typically arise much later in a match, when there are less cards on the field and she can slip into her groove, so while her astronomically minded opponent dominates the first half (much to Miyauchi-sensei's chagrin), she eventually allows her game sense to take over.

Chihaya has really matured since she was a freshman; she's far more self-aware than before, and she recognizes her own weaknesses without needing to be told by someone else. On the other hand, Taichi seems to be having a genuinely difficult time avoiding using karuta as an excuse to hide his jealousy and self-doubt. While it's true that the team can't afford to think about Arata, he's also using that truth to stop Chihaya from thinking about him too much, though really that's all Taichi can hope to do until he stops running away. There's also the question of Komano's role in the team; should he return to the front lines, or is he more useful as a scout? While it seems to make more practical sense to have him replace the tired and inexperienced kouhai, Nishida seems to have other plans. Perhaps this is the point at which Komano finds his true calling, just as Kanade found hers in becoming a reader (though she must reach class A before that's even feasible).

For now, the storm has been held at bay, but it's only a matter of time before Arata is forced to confront Chihaya and Taichi, and perhaps gain a new understanding of team competition in the process.