Chihayafuru 2 Episode 1 Discussion

Aeterna said:
CHIHAYA~

I had forgotten just how awesome it feels to watch Chihayafuru and I'm glad we have a second season, and a 25-episode one at that! I'm happy with what I'm seeing so far.

It's a new school year - everyone's older and with a fresh new crop of students in the school, it's a clear opportunity for growth. As much as those first-years were annoying, especially Sumire, it adds an interesting dynamic to the karuta club. What surprised me most was how exclusive some of the karuta club members were, pretty much writing off all the first-years at first glance. I can't exactly blame them because they each have their own priorities that rest elsewhere besides training newbies, but my sympathies were with Chihaya this time, who only wants to spread her love of karuta and to ensure the karuta club keeps going even after she graduates. Karuta is already an exclusive game - its difficult nature ensures that only a few will actually end up playing it - so Nikuman further alienating the new club members makes it even worse.

And going back to Sumire, she is very much a shallow person but don't forget, she's also a young teenager just entering her first year of high school. Remember how when you were at the top grade of your elementary/middle school and you thought you were so cool, so mature...and then you got to high school and became the youngest in the school again? I can see that in her. Added to that, she just got dumped...on the first day of high school. That isn't easy to deal with, and she's rebounding. I've seen older and more mature people than her rebound just as badly. Does that excuse her awful behaviour and attitude? Nope. But we've seen glimpses of a deeper personality in her this episode and so I predict that we'll see plenty of character development in her as the series goes on. Since when did Chihayafuru let a character become static?

Speaking of static characters, it's also nice to see that the karuta club isn't static, either. Like I said, with new students in the mix, it adds a new layer to the story. It's very true that everyone has their own priorities and goals, and I'm glad that it was brought up now even though it's been present since earlier on. It's obvious that, at some point, each of them will grow apart in terms of where they want to go in karuta, if not in life, if they continue on, but I think a part of them wants to keep things the way they are (that is, having fun together as a club) because it's fun and easy. However, if they ever want to progress (i.e. Taichi making Class A, Chihaya becoming Queen, Kana becoming a karuta reader), they will ultimately end up down different paths. It'll be interesting to see what they'll do on top of the added dynamic of new club members to train.

Lastly, I'm interested in what that new male character is like.