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Jul 22, 2019
A few major spoilers ahead.
Overall I think this show is good, but with a few glaring mistakes. It uses tropes such as body switching, age reversal, and telepathy one after another. I can’t say it didn’t work, as it is interesting to see how the characters would deal with such strenuous situations, but I can’t say it was the best way to go about things. For me, many aspects of this show was at a halfway point: it progressed from being terrible but I can’t help but feel there is an ideal out there.
One example would be the plot. At first I was unconvinced by
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the pacing, as climaxes and daily life seemed to go by too rapidly. However, as the show went on I could see some merit in trying to represent the character’s hectic lives. There is also a heavy relationship on relationships: not only as friends when someone is going through a period of angst but also as lovers. Ironically, Yui’s and Aoki’s relationship worked out the best even though it was used as comedy for the majority of the show, as there was room for development there. However, I was not sure how to feel about the love triangle surrounding Taichi (I’ll talk more about his character later). His confession to Iori at the end of the first arc seemed all too sudden, and had neither build-up or development. However, I wouldn’t necessarily fault it as one of its negative points, as it represents how the chaos in their lives wouldn’t allow such them to nurture love. But then Ibana comes in and turns it into a tug-o-war between her and Iori, with Taichi as the rope. Again it’s sort of a mixed bag because for the most part I found it fun and even a little comedic.
But although the I am leaning towards the positive side with plot, it’s not as much so for Taichi. I hated the guy. I mean I get that you want your main protagonists to be sympathetic by making them seem selfless, but that’s literally the only unique trait about him. Throughout the course of the phenomena he tries to be stoic but rather than looking cool he just seems reactionary and bland. I’ve seen modesty in anime characters, but this guy makes me want to cringe whenever he speaks. The only redeemable thing about him is that he’s good with girls, which isn’t much for character. Maybe I’m just biased but once I got my opinion of him it was hard to enjoy his character for the rest of the show.
The two girls that “love” him, on the other hand, are much more multi-faceted and interesting. At first I didn’t like Iori, notably because of the confusing romance between her and Taichi, but gradually I warmed up to her. Her cheerful persona had always been kind of awkward- especially around her mom- and even though it was mentioned early on that she always put up a front the extent of her hidden emotions is never fully realized until the last episodes. Because of this, she’s often the most affected by the harrowing effects of the phenomena, as her outward personality gradually breaks down. However, she is never victimized, and instead remains distant from even Taichi. The culmination of the erosion of her personality occurs in the last episodes, in which she appears emotionless and apathetic, as if her very personality was drained out of her. Although it seems a bit sudden how drastically her character changes, I don’t think it would be too unrealistic to act that way after all of the trauma and frustration she’s been through. She might have even been my favorite character until the last episode when she seemingly reverts back to being the cheerful good-girl.
But I found Ibana to have the most well-rounded character of the group. Other than looking beautiful, she comes as blunt, yet level-headed. But unlike the characters other than Iori, Ibana is both multi-dimensional and not static. She has strengths as well as weakness: Although she maintains an authoritative presence during times of crisis, she also has a cynical attitude towards the friends she has and the situations they face. Overall, she seemed like a cooler and stronger character than Taichi. Of course, they make her fall in love with Taichi, and by the end she’s all lovey dovey over him. I found it slightly more convincing than Iori, as her feelings actually had time to develop, but I couldn’t help but feel that it took away some of her strong points and just made her “Taichi’s girlfriend”. At least it was funny to see how she acts around Taichi.
The music did not stand out very much, but then again I might be biased against this as well. At first I thought the visuals were a little over-exaggerated, such as the sunset making the ocean pure orange as Taichi and Iori have their serious conversation. But it does help set the mood, and other times such as the cloudy sky outside the window during the midst of the released desires phenomenon really fit in.
Overall this show was enjoyable, and would probably be even more so if you don’t take too much of a critical approach like I did.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 22, 2019
An anime unique in its portrayal of the main character as a social recluse. Although I myself check all the boxes, I found that I could only half relate to Hikigaya. Personality-wise, I could definitely see myself in Hikigaya’s shoes: always tending to be alone in a corner, thinking pessimistically about social relations, overanalyzing over everything I said at the end of the day. Especially that last part, It really hit me when Hikigaya started lamenting at home about how stupid he was for the somewhat cheesy things he said To Yukino and Yui. However, the one thing that makes this show an unrealistic portrayal
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of someone with this personality is the fact that Hikigaya was able to forge such close bonds with Yukino and Yui. Of course, realisticness does not equal enjoyment, and in this case no one would want to watch an accurate portrayal of someone who has no social life whatsoever. But I digress.
I felt that the plot was one of the show’s weaker points, especially in the first season. True to its slice-of-life label, most of the episodes in the beginning contain a single, independent story without much connection to prior developments. At first each episode deals with one minor character going to the service club for help and their story, but gradually this shifts to a broader, more connected narrative. I don’t mind the standard slice-of-life narrative, but if it dragged on for a few more episodes I probably would have gotten bored of it, so the shift in focus especially in the second season was refreshing. Instead, the majority of the second season and part of the first focused on more on drama between the different character, which I found more engaging.
And on to the characters. You have the main character, Hikigaya, which I’ve already talked a little on. Overall I found his character unique, as unlike other main protagonists who often suck up to everyone to get sympathy from the viewers, Hikigaya is blunt and at times insensitive. He is also self-conscious and brutally honest, and has trouble getting along with people. Long story short, if he was at your school you wouldn’t want to associate with him. And that’s what I like about him, his uniqueness amidst a plethora of cardboard cutout main protagonists. Interestingly, there’s few other notable males other than him, like in a harem genre. Ayama’s the only other one I found notable, and in his case he would be the stereotypical main protagonist. Popular, cool, nice, and always sympathetic to others, he is almost the exact opposite of Hikigaya. If Hikigaya wasn’t the main character than he would have acted as a foil to Ayama, but now it is the other way around. Because although on the outside Ayama would be on the top of ladder and Hikigaya would be on the bottom, on the inside Ayama has his own insecurities and rarely shows his true feelings even to his closest friends. Meanwhile, Hikigaya is blunt with his feelings, but as a result can come off as inconsiderate to those he speaks to.
And then you have Yui and Yukino, who in many aspects are vastly different. Yukino is serious and level-headed, with a lonely history similar to Hikigaya’s. Yui is cheerful and friendly, and is often the one who tries to bring Hikigaya and/or Yukino together. But along with Hikigaya, these three are the main characters and have the most time for character development. In the first part of the show, the development for each is painfully slow. It’s confusing what relationship each of the girls have with Hikigaya, as it never really fits under enemies, acquaintances, friends, or lovers. But undoubtedly, by the end of the second season the three members of the service club has grown closer together than ever. Through the process, you find Yui and Yukino grow out of their stereotypes into their own personalities through subtle details and emotional moments.
The minor characters were more of a mixed bag. Oftentimes they get their involvement for one episode and then they’re forgotten. Ayama is an exception, but as of now his story seems like an unfinished book due to the lack of screen time he gets compared to the three main ones. Shizuka was actually interesting, as she serves as an adult figure to the club members, while also giving Hikigaya especially life advice (her age and single status jokes were also comedic). As for the rest of the characters, I found my opinions ranging from unnecessary to bland to annoying. For example, there’s Totsuka who seems to only be there for comedic effect as Hikigaya’s only explicit love interest, and then there’s the delusional guy who kinda looks like Professor Birch from Pokemon. The rest I neither liked nor disliked.
Imo the dialogue for this show deserves its own category, seeing as how almost everything is built on how the characters interact with each other. The playful interplay between Hikigaya and the deprecating remarks from Yukino and Yui set up a light mood, not to mention the minor characters and all of their idiosyncrasies. Other times you have the slightly romantic by mostly awkward moments between Hikigaya and one of the other main characters. But occasionally Hikigaya has serious conversations with the girls, usually discussing their relationships. Maybe I’m just not intelligent enough, but sometimes I found these conversations hard to follow. It would probably be better if I read in text form, rather than having to focus on so many different elements at the same time as if a visual medium.
The music was pretty standard, with certain scenes standing out to me, such as the piano version of the OP playing amidst a backdrop of winter trees strung up with holiday lights as Hikigaya and Yukino talk. The art on the other hand was fantastic, although not without some drawbacks. Besides the occasional fanservice, I could tell some characters were drawn just to look cute. Some examples would be Yui and especially Komachi (the show even makes siscon jokes from time to time). I wouldn’t say it’s either good or bad, though I would be curious to see how the story would feel if the characters didn’t look as intentionally cute. Other than that the characters were well drawn, and although I’m no expert the backgrounds looked very pretty as well.
Overall the show is not suspenseful or exciting, but fulfilling nonetheless. It might take a while to get through the first few episodes, since the development is a bit slow then, but without mentioning the cliffhanger it did end on a relatively satisfying note at the end of season 2. I would say though that if I had just watched season 1 without season 2, I would have thought this is one of the more boring animes that I watched, as it was really season 2 that validated a lot of the character build-up in season 1.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 22, 2019
Cihayafuru, one of the anime that makes me want to keep watching anime. Honestly, it’s even better in my memory than it is while I watching it, so although I’ll stick with my initial impression as an 8, it’s getting closer to a 9 for me right now.
Like many other anime, there is a duality between the premise, karuta, and the relationships between the characters. I will address the former first.
Karuta, although it seems relatively pointless to an American person like me, is portrayed in this anime to be more intense and complex than any other sport. The matches contain some of the most suspenseful
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moments in anything I watched, with superpowers being replaced by unique skills shown by each of the members in Chihaya’s karuta club. When matches between two skilled players or teams or shown, it might as well be a fight to the death with the fast arm swinging and calculated precision. The grueling tension during a match is emphasized through the character’s inner thoughts, worries, and analyzing. If there was one complaint to be had, it’s that sometimes the matches drag on for an excessively long time. For example, in season 2 the last two matches of the team tournament took up a whole nine episodes. I’m pretty sure that’s longer than what it would take in real life. However, the length is not too bad that it brings down the show.
On the flip side, there is a myriad of unique and meaningful characters. One of the most important aspects of this show is about growth. The karuta club brings together misfit high school students into a competitive, tight-knit group where each person has changed since they first joined. However, the magnifying lens are focused on three key characters: Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata.
Underlying the karuta, there is a heavily implied love triangle throughout the entire series. But rather than being cliche, seeing the situation through different perspectives is intriguing and effective. Arata is the least expounded upon, as unlike the other two he is miles away and really gets the most attention during the past in elementary school. Taichi is on the other side of the spectrum, with his crush on Chihaya being painfully obvious to the viewer even though Chihaya herself is oblivious. In a way his unrequited love serves to balance his otherwise perfect character (popular, good-looking, athletic, intelligent) by showing his jealousy of Arata whenever Chihaya mentions him and his own insecurities that causes him to keep silent to Chihaya.
Meanwhile Chihaya is someone that immediately stands out as being exaggerated when the other characters seem more realistic. She devotes her whole life to karuta and nothing else. After ever match, win or lose, she starts crying a bucket of tears. Additionally I found the where she repeated Taichi’s name several times when they first reunited a bit awkward, but looking back her quirkiness was not a mistake-- it was an intentional decision. Chihaya, rather than just being about karuta, actually embodies the joys of youth. Whether it being committed to a goal, or having fun with friends, Chihaya is a vibrant character in a colorful world.
The visuals were very nice (although I found Kana-chan’s forehead was distractingly large), and the colors really brought out the mood in each scene. Especially beautiful were the depictions of the different poems, which gave me some insight on why Kana-chan appreciates poetry so much.
I have no faults with the soundtrack either. Whether it be the tension in an important match or the bonding between the group, the music says it all. The main theme might have been a bit overused, but it’s now one of my favorite anime music anyways so I don’t mind. I can’t really say much for the OP and ED, since those are not my specialty by any means, but I did enjoy both season’s ED.
Overall this show was very enjoyable, and I recommend to anyone who wants to see a group of friends learning to grow closer together, a highly competitive sports game, or a little bit of both. For me this was a good refresher, and a reminder of why I think anime stands out from other medium.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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