Chihayafuru 3 Episode 10 Discussion

KireiHanabi said:
For some reason, I want Dr.Harada to win. It's going to be a great match.But who won in the east woman qualifier?

Kipo0007 said:
Who is she gonna support. her beloved Sensei or her beloved Arata? xD

nazsa said:

Here's a spoiler from the manga of who's gonna win:

Another great episode. Madhouse is keeping up to the expectation. It also helps that the manga was still very good at that point... *sighs

nazsa said:

The word "beloved" is alien to her lol. Chihaya be like -

Monty3610 said:
Dr. Harada beat Sudo?! I mean wanted Harada to win, but at the same time I wanted to see him do it :/ Wonder if'll they show it next episode?

cchigu said:
Chihayafuru when focussing on Arata feels much better when it is not, imo. Arata is my favorite of the main trio by far, and this episode only made my feelings stronger. Feeling sad for Taichi tho.

Murao is an S-tier side-character. Much respect for him.

Best Chihayafuru episode yet/5

shanimebib said:




Notice the difference between Taichi and Arata's respective reactions to losing the Chihayaburu card which they both hold so dearly. These are the moments that make Arata come out on top for me. Notice how Arata has already started to see Taichi in a different light, acknowledging Taichi's growth yet Taichi still holds that inferiority complex above anything else, undermining his own potential and always harboring resentful emotions towards Arata. These are the differences that Taichi will need to bridge if he ever wants to reach Arata's passion.

cchigu said:
But with how much Taichi has been improving as of late, + what Suou said to Arata, gives me a feeling that Taichi is gonna surpass Arata in the future I hope I am wrong though. I mean, Arata losing is the worst feeling ever.

MaahHeim said:
Jesus fucking christ. They did only THE BEST. The bits where the cards look all black to Arata (oh, boy) and Murao saving him from it... The dark petals... Everything was beautifully done. The despair/agony... They did it perfectly. PERFECTLY. I have no words. This episode was absolute. I'm not a big fan of Arata or Murao, but I really like this match (and them in this match). Murao is excited that he's going to win, but he CAN'T, he can't just leave Arata. So he tries to help him, even though he's his opponent. I love it so much. And Arata recognizing that all this time he looked down on Taichi... This is so important for his character development and for his friendship with Taichi. Goddammit. I love all of it.

I also love the sadness that comes afterwards, with the Taichi/Chihaya scene. Honestly, it's a small scene, but it's one of my favorites. I love that Chihaya realizes that Taichi is becoming more distant... And the way he tells her. He already expects her reaction, so he is hurt. He is tired, frustrated and sad. Mamoru Miyano did such a good job (as always). Seriously, it's amazing that this studio and those VAs were the ones chosen to bring this story to life (animated). They're perfect. Everything is perfect. I'm emotional as hell.

VoidScreamsBack said:

My boy Taichi struggling with his emotions again. Just can't catch a break. I loved the moment with him and Tsukue though - literally the relationships in Chihayafuru, especially friendships, are my favorite part of the story. I like the matches, especially the animated ones (damn, when Taichi's VA starts whispering the cards that haven't been read yet I MELT), but just the friendships between everyone, ugh, I live for that.

_MushiRock11_ said:
What. An. Episode! God, that effect with the petals darkening up in particular was bloody stunning, mad props to Madhouse Inc. yet again! It's hard to come up with "the best episode of the season" because they're just all too darn good ffs.

Damn, didn't think Arata would pull off such a miracle though and found it really awesome how he was figuring out the dead cards and taking advantage of Murao-san's stiffness! Respect to Murao-san though, he could've easily stole the victory but that would obviously go against his motto (lol at the following tummy siren, happens much too often to me as well xD). And then those final few moments too, truly beautiful! At the end of the day, those with latent talent almost always excel - that's life in a nutshell really.

Chihaya, meanwhile, was trying to take the trip seriously but of course it wouldn't last until upon a coincidental meeting lol. Hilarious how she ran back for her phone and her friend let out that "huh?". Got to be tough to choose between the two athletes though, my condolences to her.

Dr. Harada qualifying in all honesty is what made me most happy, he really deserves it. I've a feeling he'll get crushed next episode but you just got to love the man. He breathes Karuta quite literally. Can't wait to see the showdown!

We'll be seeing Suou-meijin in an official match soon, hype! Congrats to the female representatives too! It's fairly obvious that Shinobu-chan will retain her title but I feel like Suou-meijin will be challenged, if not defeated at least, for getting a little ahead of himself. Welp, only time will tell. If only we could get 2 episodes per week.

shanimebib said:


Can I give you a hug for mentioning the Tsukue moment? Tsukeue and Nikuman are two of the most underappreciated characters in the story. Them acting bros to Taichi from time to time is some of the best moments in the story.



^this moment. This moment torn my heart to pieces.

shanimebib said:
Keep your eyes peeled for the official Suou-meijon match! But before hyping over it, which is understandable, let's get hyped for the Teacher versus Student! Remember that even if it was short lived, Arata was once Harada-sensei's student. And he has mad respect for him!

Linaeris said:
I am sorry to say this but as much as I love Chihayafuru this episode was a letdown.
Don't get me wrong, it looked beautiful but it was so boring in the sport/competitive/emotional aspect it hurt.

Arata winning was both expected and somewhat... meh in a sense that whether it would have been Murao or Arata - wouldn't make much of a difference. Both from the same society, similar personalities even both wearing glasses. Also that stomach ache motif and coming back from what... 11-card deficit against a similar level and more experienced player is kinda hard to believe to borderline ridiculous.

Why not show Harada vs Sudo? - much more interestingly looking encounter in every imaginable aspect (age, personality, style of play, rivalry).

Why not show Inokuma vs Yumin? - former queen making a comeback after many years vs former queen and current two-time runner-up - (again different personalitles, styles of play, ways of life).

Why not show Megumu vs Yuikawa almost at all? Ok this wasn't as promising as Harada vs Sudo and especially Inokuma vs Yumin but still better than Murao vs Arata.

Why show the only match which did not have any emotion attached to it.

I was really hoping to see other finals, very disappointing they didn't show any of them (besides a short glimpse of Megumu's match). Even if they will in the next episode, knowing the results it won't be nearly as exciting.

Oh yeah the subs haven't shown the result of Yumin vs Inokuma encounter but if you look closely at Sumire's message and compare kanji of the name seen on screen to kanji in their names you can guess who will be Megumu's rival (unless it was a red herring which is very unlikely).

Fionavar said:


I know people may have forgotten at this point but believe it or not, Arata is actually a main character. Of course we would focus on his match.

Kipo0007 said:


Arata is one of the main characters, why wouldnt they show his match? It didnt not only looked beautiful they also amazing displayed the turmoil inside arata how serious it was and the depth of his character for the first time in all these seasons. He never gets enough screen time.

And just because they belong from the same society and look similar because of the glasses doesnt mean they have similarities or it was boring. Also it was not expected, Arata has lost countless times to murao and as his mentor and senpai ,murao performed the role of bringing arata back to his senses from the dark karuta and the internal struggle which he was going through, and he did all this inspite of being the opponent, which shows character value of a non-main character.
Everyone were looking at them because how the tension in the room rose with such grace with that slap and lightened the atmosphere. Even the Reader smiled as she could understand as well.
Then the humorous Arata's bathroom problems came in and later how it transitioned back to a serious match.
Plus Arata's win wasnt ridiculous, they literally show how he calclulated all the ghost cards and the cards that were read from the future plays that happened and slowly was reducing the lead without murao noticing. Thats why murao says its not just talent, Arata has hard work too and it ended on a happy note.
You are just looking at the surface value, while there is so much depth and value to the scenes depicted in the episode with that match.

I can understand it was disappointing to not see Harada and suo's match which i was looking forward to as well & also other qualifier matches, but just because of that you cant take away the beautiful and intense display of karuta & the relationship between murao and arata.

You need to look more beyond the usual exciting matches and see what it means to the characters and their development and what they try to portray with their games & conversations. Thats what makes this series is so amazing.
But its your perspective at the end. So whatever makes you happy .

cchigu said:
They did mate. In the previous episode.

Linaeris said:
@Fionavar , @Kipo0007
He was one of the main characters for like first 3 episodes of season 1 and last 3 episodes of season 2 which is 10% of the whole show thus far.
He was/is the main character in Chihaya's and Taichi's head (and viewers' by proxy) from time to time and that's it. The problem with Arata being the main character in Taichi's and Chihaya's head began in last tournament where Arata should definitely stop being the main character in their heads (the image of Arata - being some sort of god of karuta in Chihaya's head, and the image of Arata - being Chihaya's god by being god of karuta in Taichi's head). Same should be for viewers.

By this point Arata should only remain as Shinobu's personal rival to beat and maybe his parent's account potential nemesis depending on circumstances.

The only turmoil inside Arata that was believable and kinda realisticly shown and dealt with was his diarrhea.

Murao's behaviour was indeed great (not his performance during the latter half of their match) if we look at it from the perspective of him being Arata's senior but that is also exactly what made this match boring from the sheer sport's emotion perspective. Why should a spectator care who wins if contestants don't. Unless spectator is a hard MuraoxArata fan.

If Murao had let Arata take those 11 cards back after him coming back from the toilet because he would want to beat Arata while he is playing his best and the only reason of Arata's poor performance in the begining was his stomach problems. That would be perfectly acceptable and understandable for a viewer. Great sportsmanship. Why? Beacuse things like diarrhea are or can easily be considered (although in this case arguable) as accidents which couldn't have been dealt with earlier or later. Arata's head/heart/howeveryoucallthem issues most definitely could.

Similar yet very different situation was in the last tournament where Hiroshi forfeit his match with Chihaya but it was perfectly understandable since they were from the same society and a winner from their match could have met Murao in the final.
Here we have a competition for basically being a world champion. Totally individual matter.

Fionavar said:


Summarized my thoughts perfectly. Honestly people are never satisfied, first they complain about how Arata doesnt have enough screentime and development. Now we finally got both, and they still complain. This episode so far has to be the best of the season yet, and it only gets better and better with each episode.

sweetangie said:
OMG, THIS EPISODE IS TOTALLY AWESOME: Arata is really focused just the way I love it <3: his match against Murao carried a lot of affections and tense attention of winning really brought Arata a huge challenge he never expected and yes I'm so happy he came through it: THAT'S OUR BOY!!!! Seeing Arata inner thoughts of guilt during the match brought into a field of darkness that reflects Arata's insecurity: for Arata feelings bad looking down of Taichi affected him so much that for a moment he lost focus of the game where he was going through a moment of crisis and brought back his most painful memory of his grandpa's funeral. I'm sure through the time where Arata stopped playing karuta after his grandpa passing that was the image in how he saw the karuta cards throughout the whole time, poor Arata... he must have suffered a lot;_; I can't stand seeing my boy suffering and I hope he doesn't have to go see that phrase again. -_- I'm so grateful that Murao was his opponent who snaps Arata out of it and brought him into the present seeing the light and a beautiful cherry blossom scenery into the field: OMG that scene really brought me into tears. and even after the match where Arata was crying and Musao told Arata to smile: THAT'S SO CUTE: Musao surely is like Arata's big brother he could of have: their bond is so sweet and true. Now the moment is here, Arata will be challenging against Harada at the Meijin challenger match: THE MOST EPIC MATCH OF THE SEASON JUST AWAITS: OMG I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!! XD

chiakimagoto said:
This episode made me appreciate the chapter of the manga more. It didn't have the same effect while reading it. It was better and funnier animated but definitely not the best episode of all. At least for me. Kudos to Madhouse for the whole adaptation up till now, following the manga in a very accurate way with some miss outs. Like the first time we see Suou San in the manga is when he speaks to Taichi whearas in the anime that is out....

Of course if you're an Arata fan, it was an episode focused on him on a more personal level. He finally was having some inner struggles pictured,saying "Taichi, you are in my way!". He is as jealous as Taichi, only he is far away and doesn't go through the constant torture Taichi does....

After 2 seasons and especially all those team matches, and stuff they go through....I can't help but loving the team, Chihaya and Taichi most.
The fact that Arata is far away and didn't go through all that stuff these last 2 years in manga time just makes him feel distant......which he literally is. It's just too late for me to let him into my heart, even if he's nice or whatever......my focus is already elsewhere.