Chihayafuru 2 - 19

"I Do Not Know Where This Love Will Take Me"

I just held my breath, screamed, laughed, choked, and cried within a span of two minutes.

To say that I didn't expect this result is an understatement. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect Mizusawa to win Nationals on their second go (especially after the fiasco that was the first attempt), and never did I really expect it to be as satisfyingly emotional as it was. To be perfectly honest, I was completely assured that though Chihaya would win against Rion, Taichi and Nishida would ultimately succumb to their bad luck and lack of stamina and relinquish the title to the third years of Fujisaki. That's the way it always goes in sports anime; the second years lose and become stronger to fight another day, so seeing that not be the case here is both shocking and wonderful.

The best part about this episode is that we're once again Taichi-centric and looking at his character through Karuta, rather than watching Karuta through characters as the rest of the season has been so far. There's no doubt that he earns his win, even if it does ultimately come to another luck-of-the-draw; it isn't luck that brings down the abysmal deficit and forces his opponent to commit faults. Taichi isn't willing to go down without a fight this time, and like most of his matches, that's a fight against himself and his fate. His belief in his own luck is so poor that he even assures himself his card won't be read no matter what, and everyone seems to feel the same. Even when synced up with Nishida (a wise trick to learn indeed) and having their chances bettered, Taichi still has to pray to God, promising that if this is the only time in his life where his card is read, he'll never ask for it again.

As ominous (and frankly sweat-inducing) as this promise is, in the end Taichi and Nishida manage to bring the game home, overturning the match in a beautiful and utterly tense wait for the right card to be read. I can't help but feel both ecstatic and awful for poor Taichi, who not only revealed his inner struggle with himself and his feelings for Chihaya more openly than he has all season (and that card was downright ironic and in his face too, though who knows if he caught the message during the heat of battle), but also has his parade rained on once Arata finally meets his old companions at the end of the match. For Chihaya, everything else always melts away in Arata's presence, and though her attempt to make him understand team matches is futile (for he's already understood their value), this is only the latest bit of torture Taichi will have to start paying his small promise back with.