(This is a review for Season One and Season Two)
Here comes spring, now the flower blooms. A simple phrase that is said multiple times throughout the show, but truly invokes many different feelings: anxiousness, trepidation, excitement, confidence. What lies within Chihaya Furu is a spectacular show which has now become one of my all-time favorites.
STORY
Chihaya Furu has a simple story. Our main protagonist Ayase Chihaya is looking to become the Queen, or the best "karuta" player in the world. I think the phrase "it is not the destination that matters, but the journey" fits the show perfectly. The show gives us Chihaya's goal early on. But it is not this goal that truly matters, it is what she encounters along the way that defines the story.
So, why is the journey so important? What I found to be the most compelling was the struggle. Nothing ever comes easy for Chihaya and crew, and it really shows. Every match is a battle. Every match counts, whether it is for practice or it is their chance to advance to the next Class level. They all experience incredible highs and soul-crushing lows. During the matches, you are rooting for them to win, you want them to succeed. But a lot of the time, they don't. And that's what I liked the most; it was real. Chihaya isn't some karuta God right out of the gates. She experiences these amazing fights that test her both physically and mentally, no matter the opponent. However, when they do overcome their tough obstacles, you feel elated and revel in their glory right alongside with them.
At this point, I need to talk about the game they are playing. "Karuta" or Hundred Poets, is a game that pits two players against one another in a game of quick reflexes and memorization. Being from America, I had no idea what karuta was at all before watching. But now, I feel as if I have a complete understanding and could even attempt to play others at the game. Granted, I would not be that good! But this is another strength of the show; it does a fantastic job of explaining all of the rules, all of the penalties, and all of the scenarios. Each match is looked at in-depth, and it never gets boring. You never feel as if they are repeating their motions, despite doing the exact same thing for 50 episodes.
ANIMATION
Chihaya Furu is definitely a feast for the eyes. It becomes apparent right from the OP that the quality of the show is high, and it never falters all the way through. Starting with the environments, the show actually has quite the variety of set pieces, from cherry blossom roads to the shrine at Omi Jingu. The majority of the show takes place within buildings and on tatami mats, but when it is, the show loves to peer into the players minds, giving us beautiful, intense, or serene backgrounds to fit the mood at that moment.
Something that I don't say about a lot of shows is how well done the lighting is. I was always amazed by how the sun struck the characters faces or how the lighting affected the scenes at night or within the rooms.
In terms of animation quality, the most important part and coincidentally the best part, is when they are playing karuta. In particular, the swinging and motion of the players' during every match was always well done. There would be quick-motion stills and slow-motion segments. There were in-real-time swings shown as well. Basically, witnessing the actual playing of the game was never boring and I was always hooked to the matches.
The character designs were actually quite different from what I have seen in most shows. The best way to describe it would be "mature". Sure, there are some who are slightly more "anime" then others (Desktomu, Retro, etc.), but the main players (Chihaya, Taichi, Arata, etc.) seemed like "proper" people. It simply added to an already amazing experience.
CHARACTERS
By far the strongest part of the show is its characters. I cannot stress this enough; EVERY character is good. And there are a lot of them. Why is this the case? This is because that not only are the main players heavily developed, not only are the supporting characters heavily developed, but also the other sub-characters are developed to a great degree. As I said earlier, every match matters, and in the same vein every OPPONENT matters. The show actually takes considerable time to explain many different character backgrounds to let us understand where they are coming from and how they go about playing the game. And in this way, you care even when the one's you are not rooting for lose.
On that note, Ayase Chihaya has become one of my all-time favorite characters. She is funny, beautiful, friendly, passionate, strong, emotional, and any other descriptor you can add on to her. She experiences the most change throughout the show, and rightly so. What I loved about the show in particular is how she doesn't grow simply by playing more. She grows as a person and especially as a player by learning from those around her. She becomes better at memorization through Taichi. She loves the poems through Kana. She utilizes the data gathered by Desktomu. She becomes stronger thanks to Porky. She gets more accurate by watching Shinobu. She takes every match seriously and because of that she constantly betters herself throughout the entirety of the series.
And this is true for all of the characters. They use one another to eliminate their weaknesses and develop new strengths. You care about all of them, especially the gang from Mizusawa High. Each of them has their own style of play, even Chihaya, but it's their sense of family and teamwork that elevates them beyond their opposition.
SOUND
I actually thought the ED for both seasons were nice (season 2 more so than season 1), and the second season's OP was good, but I have fallen hard for season 1's OP, which can be listened to here. It always got me pumped up for the episode to come and I would always find myself singing along (or at least trying to!) with the lyrics and bobbing my head with the beat. This is now also one of my top OPs all-time, too.
But what the show does great sound-wise is definitely the rest of the soundtrack. The battle music, the winning anthems, the ominous tones of imminent defeat; each piece of music fits perfectly with the mood they are presenting and really helps to give each scene a better overall atmosphere.
Finally, the voice actors and actresses did a wonderful job in their roles. Chihaya, Taichi, Kana, Desktomu, Porky, Sumire, Tsukuba, etc. all had did their roles beautifully. Especially Arata, he and his Grandpa have this somewhat unique voice/way of talking (it's apparent when he says "Chihaya") that stood out the most. Among all of them, Chihaya shines again, and she was always a joy to listen to.
ENJOYMENT
If it is not already apparent, I love this anime. I think I would go so far as to say it is now in my top three all-time. Everything about it is fantastic, and I can't really seem to find too much of a fault with it. Season 2's pacing is somewhat slower (for obvious reasons I will not mention), but I never felt as if the show was going too fast or too slow.
There are genuine, real moments that will make you cry. There are heartwarming moments that will make you appreciate the characters on the screen, and make you think about similar experiences in your own life. And the show is also surprisingly funny, too. The humor is not in your face, but situationally relevant and always made me laugh.
I would often find myself breathing in deeply with Chihaya to calm my own nerves. I was constantly rooting for Taichi to overcome his terrible luck. I was smiling alongside Arata as he played the game he loved. The show really got to me, not only as a fan of anime but also as a person; I really care about these characters and want them to succeed no matter what may come there way.
SUMMARY
Story: Great, Chihaya and the crew's journey is filled with every emotion possible
Animation: Great, beautiful scenes, lighting, action, it has it all
Characters: Great, some of the strongest characterization I have seen in a show
Sound: Great, season 1 OP is to die for, entire soundtrack fits everything perfectly
Enjoyment: Great, this show needs to be seen by all
Final score (both seasons): 10/10
