never seen the red that is the
Tatsuta River."
-Poem 17 of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu
The poem now most well known to viewers of Chihayafuru was written by Ariwara no Narihira, detailing his unsuccessful relationship with Fujiwara no Takaiko. After falling madly in love with each other, the two would be lovers attempt to run away from the palace. Naturally, given the rather wispy and nostalgic tone of the poem, this attempt failed in a spectacular fashion. Despite this, Ariwara no Narihira became well respected much later on and was most likely the basis for the nameless hero of "The Tales of Ise." His name, along with other famous poets, such as Ono no Komachi and Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, were later included in the Thirty Six Immortals of Poetry.
History lesson aside, the poem invokes an impression of a deep crimson color, both literally and figuratively. The literal reflection of the water and the red of passion and emotion. The second season of the sleeper hit "Chihayafuru" certainly adds to the overall experience of the series, building on the budding character relationships and the surprisingly intense matches of karuta. Virtually unknown to most before watching "Chihayafuru," I can say with confidence that the game of karuta depicted in the series is as action packed as a card game based around classical Japanese poems can get. "Chihayafuru 2" builds largely on what made the first season successful, but seems to crank up the intensity to sweltering levels.
Of course, if you happen to be reading this review and have not yet seen the first season of "Chihayafuru," do yourself a favor and watch the first season before naturally going on to the second season.
The story continues the adventures of karuta-obsessed high school girl Chihaya Ayase and the Mizusawa High School Karuta Club, as they reach greater heights, challenging themselves and the swarms of intense competition around them. Highlights of their karuta careers involve the high school and national tournaments, events that are a central focus to the members of the karuta club. The first and second season differ in that the second season focuses much more attention on the tournaments and the individual mindsets of the characters. Character development takes place during the fierce matches everyone plays and the interactions during down time. Karuta, despite the rather simple premise of matching one half of a poem to another, takes a surprising amount of stamina, speed, and strategy. Chihaya comically seems to immediately fall asleep at the conclusion of her matches, a cute way of relating the tremendous physical and mental endurance needed to play competitively.
A popular dilemma for club based shows are the disturbingly small amount of members becoming a major problem for school administration, and of course, the club will be disbanded if they don't find new members. Chihaya and the team manage to find two freshman to fill the empty spots, managing to find two people with very different reasons for joining the club. The two new members, Sumire Hanano and Akihiro Tsukuba, are honestly overshadowed by the beloved returning members, but their presence gives interesting contrast to the veterans of the team. For Sumire, who joined only to get closer to the club president, Taichi Mashima, and for Tsukuba, who joined to learn the mainland version of karuta, their growth and development towards their love of the sport and the team is a wonderful journey.
While karuta remains the main focus of the show, another major focal point of the show is the love triangle between Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata Wataya. The first season introduced this romantic subplot and highlighted mostly Arata's struggle to come to grips with his grandfather's death and the return of his old friends and Taichi's exasperated attempted to get his dense childhood friend to notice his sincere feelings for her. As Chihaya's love for the game of karuta grows, she begins dedicating more and more of herself to becoming the best she can be, coming to terms with her current relationships and her shortcomings as both a karuta player and as a normal person. Romance is definitely in the air, with looks of longing from Taichi, Chihaya's fascination with Arata, and Arata's desire to reunite with his old friends. There are some very beautiful scenes involving bringing the poetry to life and trying to understand what the poet was trying to convey, using images of summer days long past and flowers adorning the trees. Romance amidst classical poems can only add to the flowery nature of this series' romance and the passion for both others and the game itself.
In regards to animation quality, it is still excellent and crisp. Set in everyday places like school and classrooms give little room for diversity, but the artwork for "Chihayafuru 2" is vibrant and rich with color and light. Sparkles of sunlight bask the rooms of competitors and drops of rain accent the storm outside. Some of the most beautiful scenes concern explaining the meaning of the poems, invoking rich metaphors of ancient Japan, with calligraphy, flowers, and the gradual changing of seasons. Flashes of red, mountain ridges, the ever expansive sea and falling snow are just some of the images portrayed. It adds a more literary and poetic beauty to a show set in modern times.
A familiar soundtrack accompanies the show, and adds to the mood of the show. The opening theme is "STAR" by 99RadioService, who also did the first season's opening, and the ending theme is "Akane Sora" by Asami Seto. Regarding the ending theme, it is played in different fragments at the end of the episode, and eventually the whole song can be heard if you string together the related parts. It was a fun way to get a glimpse of the wonderful full song, and the sweet, emotional music was a great way to end another intense day of karuta.
"Chihayafuru 2" is my personal winner for this season of anime, and I am sad to see it go. Remembering my thoughts all the way back to the first season, I am surprised that a show with such a niche game could engross me so much. I looked forward to this show every week, and my Fridays are going to be a little less cheery with "Chihayafuru 2's" absence. Shows like these invoke emotion and transport viewers to the heated world of sports and makes the characters so much more likable, so much so that we will be cheering for their victories and feeling down at their defeats. This sequel builds on the world of karuta so expertly built in the first season and adds another layer of intensity and beauty, sometimes even exceeding the success of the first.
