Chihayafuru 2 - 14

"People Would Always Ask if I Was Pining for Someone"

Holy HELL, that was too much!

Who would have thought that in a week full of premieres it would be Chihayafuru that would deliver one of the most exciting episodes yet? As much as I love this series (and I mean that in a very very powerful way), I somehow let this entire match slip under my anticipation radar, which only made it that much more overwhelming to have it throw all its punches at once. Every single minute is rife with unbearable tension, and like Sumire, I found myself unable to bear the anxiety as the semi-final match dragged on. Every card read, every thought the players had, the wonderful soundtrack playing in the background... it was as exciting as an actual battle til the very end. Nothing went exactly the way I expected it to, but the end result was one of the very best episodes that this series has managed to give us this season. Is it perfect? No, but it certainly is damned great.

It's interesting that this match is decided not by the aces, as is usually the case, but by the support members and the less experienced ones. Nishida is the first to go, his gender-skewed perception clouding his ability to play effectively (you'd think that after watching Chihaya play for over a year, girls, masculine or otherwise, wouldn't intimidate him) while Kana manages to win the first point in favor of Misuzawa. Taichi too, who has consistently been playing well but has been overlooked, wins another one for the team, but in the end Chihaya proves herself still too unexperienced to beat Megumu. It seems that the latter player suffers only from a lack of motivation, though Chihaya certainly gives her a run for her money regardless. Losing their best cards to each other only intensifies the tension, but unfortunately for Chihaya, whose concentration is always subjective to distraction, losing Chihayaburu is the beginning of the end. Megumu takes the win, and Chihaya nearly succumbs to her depression, but the match isn't over: Komano's match ends the semi-final on a heart-pounding luck of the draw, and 50-50 though it is, he trusts his own belief in the power of his data and manages to scrape a win to the finals for Misuzawa.

As emotional and riveting as the match itself is, there's so much more to take away from the episode than just another win in the bag. Megumu's reviving interest in winning her match echoes Shinobu's psychological state in regards to Karuta. As Arata notices, there's no more enjoyment in the game for the current Queen, and she plays to kill time, not to win or to enjoy herself. Though her reasons are different, both she and Megumu need something to motivate them back into shape, and while Chihaya is that something for Megumu, Shinobu is still waiting for just the right opponent to come along. Chihaya too has much to learn before she's ready to face the Queen, though she's becoming ever more adept at assessing her own strengths and weaknesses. Still, no one understands her more than Taichi does, and perhaps that little support his hand can offer her will be enough for her to win her confidence back for the final match. As for the rest of team, they're up against the monstrously good Fujisaki next, though everyone is exhausted by this point, and none more so than Kana, who is ready to acquiesce her spot to Tsukuba. Whether or not they have a chance in hell is really up in the air at this point, and it will be an excruciatingly long wait to find out.