Chihayafuru 2 - 9

"My Only Thought"

As if the soundtrack isn't enough to always drag my emotions along, Arata's first true appearance in ages is only that much more powerful to watch.

I've gotten used to the idea that Arata is only important in absentia, so even though he's part of the trio of main characters, it's easy to put him aside as an outside influence. After all, his presence is felt more than it is observed, so getting an entire episode more or less to himself finally gives him the chance to reintegrate himself as a flesh and blood member of the cast, rather than as an idealized goal for Chihaya and Taichi. Watching Arata come into the realm of the ordinary humans is an interesting experience, which, I think, goes a long way to explore the loneliness as a character. For example, Shinobu-chan (whose dramatic entrance is ruined by Arata's inability to recognize her; "how do you gain and lose weight so quickly?!"), another otherworldly figure, echoes Arata's own words to Chihaya: team tournaments are not of interest to "true" lovers of Karuta. This separation from others describes them both, children who were outcasts and grew up loving Karuta because of it.

However, Arata is not quite like Wakamiya Shinobu (who fits perfectly into Komano's assertion that all skilled players are weirdos) in that, lonely as he might be now, he knows what it's like to be part of a team. It's important not to be too focused on oneself, just as it is important not to focus enough on oneself, as is Taichi's problem, and Arata rediscovers the unique experience of being part of a team when he illegally fills in for a player from a different Fukui high school. To be honest, I think Shinobu is dead wrong; team sports are amazing experiences, and even sports like Karuta, archery, or tennis, where the individual is the focus, there's something really special in trusting others to have your back, or acting as that support yourself. It's all in the communal experience of sharing emotions and ambitions, and it almost always feels better to help bring a win to a team rather than winning a medal or trophy for yourself. In helping this team out, Arata is exposed to those feelings for the first time since elementary school, something he'd always associated exclusively with Chihaya and Taichi.

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. Arata's determination to be of help causes his unique style to be recognized by one of the organizers from his Karuta society, and to the horror of them both, fairness dictates that he be punished, which threatens his inclusion in the individual tournament. Perhaps in retrospect, that's a good thing for people like Taichi, who surely aren't prepared to meet Arata in a fair match, but for Arata himself, that's quite harsh. Perhaps, however, this is good for him as well, now that he's remembered what it's like to be part of a team once more. Regardless of how this particular dilemma turns out, I think it's interesting that we got virtually no time with Mizusawa this week, which is quite in line with a trend I'm noticing for the season as a whole. Instead of focusing on Chihaya's inner struggles like the first two cours did, this seems to be the season of the team and of the greater Karuta community at large, including characters like Hanano and Arata, who normally wouldn't get as much screen time as they have been.