Chihayafuru 2 - 15

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You have no idea how painful it is to be watching Chihayafuru's second season on a weekly basis.

The slower pace this season has adopted is both a blessing and a curse.  On the one hand, it allows for plenty of suspense to be built up.  On the other hand, it makes me wish I could somehow access next week's episode in advance.  In any case, Chihayafuru continues to tease as it enters the final team game.

It's quite difficult to talk about this episode.  Looking back, there isn't much in terms of plot progression to speak of since it was all build-up and a prolonged introduction to the peculiar Fujisaki team.  Humorous as always, and continuing on the notion that karuta players are a buffet of oddity and quirkyness, these final opponents are as entertaining as their predecessors.  Probably more.

Each Fujisaki player certainly brings a lot to the table in terms of comedy.  I could go on to list each and every comedic trait and moment they're responsible for in this episode, but I don't have the time.  Even if we were only introduced to them in this episode, one of them has been in our sights for a little while now; Chihaya's opponent.  Right now she's being downplayed as the least experienced player on that team, however that'll probably pass once the match starts and we see some intense competition coming forth.

The other characters seem to be appropriately matched up, and the one who stands out most right now is Komano.  Fresh off his win against Akashi, Komano has really come out of his shell and luckily it wasn't a "one-night" only deal.  His streak continues with his expert analysis of Fujisaki and goes as far as to include mocking his opponent.

Not much else I can say about this episode of Chihayafuru.  It looks like the final match will be drawn out, but as we've seen in this season, that only adds to the building of tension (and impatience).  Chihayafuru is still on track for a glorious finish to the arc; a glorious finish to the season has yet to be secured.