Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Chihayafull Japanese: ちはやふる
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 25
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 5, 2011 to Mar 28, 2012
Duration:
22 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.441 (scored by 23923 users)
Ranked: #1182
Popularity: #313
Members: 49,092
Favorites: 1,184 1 indicates a weighted score
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SynopsisChihaya is a lighthearted tomboy, who's not especially good at anything in particular. Her dream has always been for her sister (an aspiring model) to become the number one beauty of Japan, or perhaps of the world. But then one day she meets someone who tells her that a dream is something that should concern only herself—and something she has to work hard for as well.
At the same time, Chihaya discovers a passion for the old Japanese game hyakunin isshu, also called "karuta". |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Chihayafuru
Sequel: Chihayafuru 2
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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MotherOfUltra
14 of 20 people found this review helpful
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25 of 25 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
This is my very first review, and I'm glad to give my first time to this anime...wait what?
I first started watching this because I was bored. I just thought the art was okay (looking at the poster) and so started this five whole days ago. Pretty long time ago huh.
Well then, all jokes aside, let's start the review.
Overall-10: I haven't had such a beautiful anime for as long as I had started watching anime. The mix of the beauty of karuta, enjoyment of life, perfect sound, smart character selection...this anime was a new experience on my part. At first I was worried on whether I was going to enjoy this anime, but I decided to watch it, since I had nothing else to do--as a time killer. Who'd have thought that an anime I selected at random was a time mass murderer, and not a simple enjoyment!
Well, then, let's go part by part.
Story-10: Karuta--I have not seen any anime with such a traditional theme before. Even more, this kind of theme is something anime writers avoid because of the lacking interests in people. However, despite that, this anime was able to draw the viewers into it via tackle of current issues. The blend-in of the issues and the main genre, moreover, was unbelievably coherent that I wasn't caring if Karuta was an inexplicably old game. The author did an amazing job of drawing people into the art of karuta. However, the author did not only focus on other "more immediate issues" either. The story's pace was steadily growing on the main theme of karuta and by the end of the episode, I was very absorbed into the game of karuta that I had my eyes stuck on the monitor, waiting for the next move. The author's unbelievably clean and beautiful job made chihayafuru not your everyday "filler anime" but a masterpiece.
Art-10: As I said before the start of the review, the art is what really drew me into this anime. At a glance of the poster, I couldn't tell the beauty of it, but when I actually saw the anime, I was surprised at the delicacy of the anime. Unlike other anime where "moeness" is a great factor, this anime had a very decent body curve and a very "traditional" style of art. It did have some points where the face appeared more simplified than usual, intending the moe factor to be a part of the art, but that was really intended for comedy rather than "cuteness overload". If, for example, sword art online is cute, chihayafuru is beautiful. It was as if the artist has spent few hours per every 1080 pages.
Sound-10: The music was kicked in at an appropriate time and was stopped at appropriate time, building tension and relieving them continuously. The opening and the endings were not just a fun-themed song but also a river-like, flowing type of music. These added to the traditional theme of karuta, adding up to the beauty of the 100 Japanese poems.
However, the most notable sound in this anime was the sound of the readers.
Reading a poem is very different from reading a poem in 100 poems. They need to be pitched right, stopped right and started right. The poem must not end in a loud pitch--it must fade out like the sun during sunset. The poem must not tremble too much, but it mustn't be in unison either.
In other words, reading in karuta is harder than playing karuta.
Despite the constant banging of the straw mat, despite the interesting turn of event, despite the heat, the coldness, the itchy feeling, flowing sweat, readers must keep their composure and read the poems the right way. These are very hard to achieve. It's a natural thing that there're not much readers. However, this anime was able to deliver that right pitch through vibrations of ear buds. It was able to connect to the audience few thousand kilometers away. The sound is undoubtedly a masterpiece's.
Character-10: Chihaya is a very boyish girl. Her pace is very straightforward yet she's a lovely girl towards her family, especially her sister. She grows as a person as the story goes by, from your average tomboy to a determined adult. The development and the selection of the character was a very smart one, and for that I give 10.
Enjoyment-10: Besides the slapstick comedies in between, the anime made me smile in those heart-throbbing moments. If comedy-genre anime is just a pure fun, chihayafuru is a fun in life. We all have downs and ups, but the downs are what makes ups more fun and enjoyable. The ability to deliver such an enjoyment--not a pure comedy, but a natural fun--is an ability the authors spend their entire life for. I give my bow to the wonderful writers of this anime. read more
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valdemort
241 of 370 people found this review helpful
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17 of 25 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
This is my first time writing a review, so bear with me as I try to sort out my thoughts on this wonderful anime.
I almost didn't watch Chihayafuru, and I hadn't even heard of it until it was already a few weeks into the show. As time went on, more and more people were raving about how great it was, how it was going to be the sleeper hit this season, so I finally decided to give it a shot and see if a show about a card game really was THAT exciting. And let me tell you, it is. I am writing this review because I really, really, really want you to watch Chihayafuru and love it as much as I do.
This show is so much more than a card game. To Chihaya, the protagonist of the series, karuta is also about creating a dream for herself, and the bonds she formed with her classmates Arata and Taichi back when she was twelve. Before graduating into middle school and going their separate ways, the three agreed to meet again when they all became Class A players. Arata moved back to Fukui, and even though he was fantastic at karuta (and the one who taught Chihaya!), he eventually quit playing after some unfortunate events. Taichi ends up at the same high school as Chihaya and helps her to form a karuta club, through which we are introduced to more wonderful characters.
I remember someone saying that "Chihayafuru loves its characters." This is certainly true. All of the main characters have grown since the start of the series and seem much more three-dimensional than those of many other shows out there today. Even supporting characters are fleshed out enough to be likable. In fact, there isn't a single character that I dislike. And if you know me, that's really saying something. I love hating on characters.
The animation for Chihayafuru is absolutely stunning. From the characters to the backgrounds, everything is breathtaking. The OST for the series is gorgeous as well, one of the best I've heard in a long time. They all complement each other to create a unique and wonderful tone for the series.
Maybe this still isn't enough to convince you to watch Chihayafuru yet. Even though it doesn't sound like a memory card game can be entertaining, it really is. The karuta matches are some of the most intense scenes throughout, and you'll probably find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat when it's finally over. Karuta isn't simply memorization either. It's about reflexes, and mental stamina, and Chihaya even has extraordinary hearing which sometimes helps her to quickly win cards over from her opponent.
Honestly, I don't know how else to put it. The cinematography of this show is amazing. The characters are developed and lovable. The story, while often predictable, is still exciting and endearing. There wasn't a single episode that I didn't enjoy. I breezed through the seventeen currently-aired episodes in just under three days, which I haven't been able to do even for some of the most exciting anime I've seen. I just couldn't wait to see what happened next! (Also, this show will give you a LOT of feelings. Just wait). I can't believe I waited so long to watch this series. And if you decide to watch it too, believe me, you'll be saying the same thing. read more
Recommendations
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Each person has to come up with a dream for themselves. However, sometimes you need someone to show you the way. Both of the females try to make their dreams come true, one in finding her dream, and one in achieving the dream she's already found.
the protagonist in both is very similar in personality. both anime are about achieving a dream. In both the protagonist has a school friend that has feelings for her. Both give you a nice relaxing happy feeling. Great animation and ost too.
Ohana and Chihaya are strong-willed female leads. Both series are similar in terms of tone, themes, and execution with regard to character building.
it has the similar feel and almost the same kind of character vibes..
•Both Females have the same view on life
•Both feature people trying new things with new friends
•Both have the same warmhearted feeling to them
•Exploration & Emotion!
Both have gorgeous animation and are about the lead characters pursuing their dreams. They also give a similar feeling when you watch them.
Similar main female leads with straightforward personalities. Both series involve the main character trying to achieve her dream. Both series are also dramatic and emotional at times, especially Chihayafuru.
Both series are lighthearted and contains a small cast of likeable characters in a typical every day life of view.
Both series contains characters who are following a dream and hoping to make it into a reality through hard work, determination, and a little help with the encouragement of their friends.
The series' main characters also has strong wills and determined to achieve that dream.
Both series contains drama, comedy, and a little inklings of romance here and there as the characters interacts with one another (either from the past, present, and what's to come for them into the future).
Both series' main female protagonists also has similar personalities.
Both Chihayafuru and Hanasaku Iroha are coming of age stories about young women struggling to find their place in world. Ohana and Chihaya both search for something to be passion about and their stories follow them through their hard work and determination towards their goals: becoming the best, succeeding and making the people around them feel good. Both stories center themselves around traditional Japanese cultural themes (inn keeping, karuta). Both have beautiful animation and character designs, paired with wonderful costumes. There is also a degree of romance (specifically love triangles) in both series as well as lot of female bonding. Both of these series are exceptionally good and I would highly recommend them to anyone who likes female-empowerment stories or slice-of-life in general.
Both of these shows are about the main character's finding of a unknown hobby. Ohana and Chihaya are also very similar personality-wise.
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Both series centre around a protagonist who becomes aware of and learns to love a classic Japanese game that's faded to 'niche interest' status, aspiring to become the very best and accumulating similarly-minded friends along the way. Although Chihayafuru lacks the mild supernatural element found in Hikaru no Go, Chihaya's motivation of improving to Arata's level of skill function similiarly to Hikaru playing go at Sai's urging and wanting to catch up with Touya.
both feature characters striving to be the best in the world at a fairly niche game
In both, at first the main characters are not interested in the game, and found it boring (Hikaru no Go) until they met(played the game with) someone around their age who is very strong in the game (Go/Kurata). Both of them got inspired by the someone and wanted to keep playing, to improve, to catch up to the someone and to win.
Also, both are rather unpopular traditional Japanese games. There's no club in their schools, they started a club and found it hard to recruit people into their club.
I think Hikaru no Go is the better of the 2. But most likely because Go is much harder to understand, there's more rules, too many strategies and ways to win which bring down the scoring. As there're many people who can't understand a thing after watching several episodes, not getting heated up in the exciting games they played and dropped the series, thus lowering the score ><
Old Japanese game in the center of the plot.
Introduction to a competitive yet uncommon "sport"
Showcases character growth and development both inside and outside of the "arena"
Both contain intensity and bouts of seriousness but manages to incorporate light humor where appropriate.
Chihayafuru although little success maybe is the best anime of this season (winter 2012). Discover the joys of not only an anime very well done and entertaining, with a game unknown but equally interesting. Don't stop at the first episodes, let yourself be carried away by the wonderful episodes! Unknown game, just like Hikaru no Go I do not know if we can call it a common point, but you will also be carried away by this game if you wear a little interest in the anime. Both want us to enter their world and it is successful.
Both have main characters who slowly become good at a niche game,and have intense matches.
If you like intense game anime then they are really alike... both are really good... when i was watching Chihayafuru... it was still ongoing... so i really wanted to find something alike.... and i found Hikaru no Go..... they are sooo alike.... both 10/10!!
Hikaru no Go and Chihayafuru both feature characters wanting to become the best at a competitive game after encountering someone who is really strong and inspiring them to enjoy and love Go/Kurata.
Both series and mostly about the main characters growing and becoming better at the game and the friendships they develop on the way. They are both enjoyable series and each made me become interested and want to know more about GO and Kurata.
Some people don't watch animes like these because they believe the shows will be boring show about a game they don't even understand but they will really regret missing out on amazing shows like these.
All the characters are driven by their love for the sport
Both anime have a time progression and character growth
Both show a competitive side of traditional "boring" sport
Both shows have a naive main character
Both shows could of been longer with no problem
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Opening Theme"YOUTHFUL" by 99RadioService
Ending Theme#1 "Soshite Ima (そしていま)" by Asami Seto (eps 1-24)
#2 "YOUTHFUL" by 99RadioService (eps 25)
Fansubbing Groups
Which fansubbers do you like the best? Click + to approve of their subs for this show. Click - if you don't think they did such a great job.
Related ClubsWakamiya Shinobu Appreciation Society, Stuff That Needs to Come out of Japan, A.M.C. (Anime Manga Club), Arata Wataya FC, Chihaya Ayase Lovers, Recommendation Club, Yukiyo Club♥, Chihaya x Taichi FC, Chihayafuru FC, Realistic Anime, On Goings Club, VOMIC (^o^New Member Badges R UP^o^), Missile Punch, Animesters, BOY-GIRL-BOY/ REVERSE HAREM GARDEN <3, The Planet of Cards!, Oxford Anime Vision, ★Josei Anime★, Support Women & girls rights!, Anime Power RankingsTaichi Mashima FC, Romantic comedy Anime <3 (RCA<3), Polski FC Anime I Mang Sportowych, Chihaya x Arata FC, - ~ Miyano Mamoru Fanclub ~ - , ♔ ~ The Rich Bishounen Club ~ ♔, Emperors of Sports, Anime Revolution ♡, ღ Paramour Paradise ღ, The Sweet♥ Elixir, Legendary - Anime & Manga !, Mutirão Brasil - Ver. Summer Season 2012, Overrated or Underrated Animes and Mangas, Ai Kayano Fanclub!, ~ Childhood Friends Love Stories ~, Chihayafuru fans, katrenzo anime viewing club see all
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