Chihayafuru 2 - 23

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You know things are about to get really good, don't you?

After a long, slightly drawn out, team arc, watching the individual tournament is a treat indeed.  Perhaps it's because it brings back memories of why Chihayafuru's first season was so good or better yet, it's focused on the main characters who, let's face it are a big attraction of the series.

Chihaya may be out, but that didn't stop the other main characters from getting some exciting build-up and in Taichi's case, a long-awaited win.  A win that would have undoubtedly had Taichi fans screaming for joy everywhere and at the same time, has me wondering about his slow rise to the top.  As Retro-kun pointed out, Taichi lost his cool when Chihaya came in to watch him after destroying Retro by a large margin, further implying that his crux is the very reason he got back into karuta.  Sad news for the constant bad luck loser of Chihayafuru, though I suspect that'll be changing now that more people have started to notice his weakness when it comes to Chihaya.

On the other, more elevated side of the karuta finals we got the beginning of an even more anticipated - for this season and for me - showdown between Arata and Shinobu.  We didn't get to see much for the time being, but it was enough for the time being, as we anticipate the main event of the individual tournament.  An event that will probably leave us scrambling for chapters of the manga.

The individual tournament has flown by and yet it feels like the pacing in Chihayafuru is spot on.  Most likely to do with the character focus narrowing to just the main actors, who've taken less prominent roles for the majority of the season.  It's sad that we won't get much time with them, but at least there won't be pacing issues.

Final Notes:

• For those keeping track of the other matches; Kana lost in the semi, Komano is in the C class final and Tsukuba is in the D class final.
• The anime has now got to the point where the manga scans start up again (chapter 89).

Chihayafuru 2 23 - Extra Screen Caps

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