Competitive Karuta or simply Karuta is a game from Japan that are compose of two opponents in one tatami mat. Each should comply under the rules set by the All Japan Karuta Association. There, players must put 25 cards out of 50 in the mat that were randomly selected from s total of 100 cards. Then, players must place it face-up wharever they want in a 87 cm wide and separated from their opponent's cards by 3 cm. Afterwards, players had a chance to memorize the cards or practice their strikes in 15 minutes.
Then, the reader starts the game by reciting an introductory poem, that given poem is not part of the game itself, it's more like a "Ready, Set..." phase of a match. Here's the transcript of the "Ready, set..." phase of Karuta:
"Naniwa Bay, now the flower blooms, but for winter. Here comes spring, now the flower blooms."
After the reader reading it aloud, the reader now reads the first part of the poem, which is now the "...GO!" phase or the start of the game itself. The game of Karuta is unique as it uses your auditory senses and mental memorization with a mix of speed and agility to win this game. So, for example, if you hear "Roses are Red..." then you have to find the matching card of the given poem, which is "violets are blue." If you touched the given card on your opponent's turf, remove it from play and give one card to your opponent's turf. You touched the wrong card, however, you get one card from the opponent instead. You can also defend the "violets are blue" card as well, when it was already recited, you can now remove the card from play. If both of the player's hands touched the given card, whoever card was set on the player's ground gets it.
The first player to get rid of all the cards in their territory wins.
Alright, now that it's already out of the way. Let's talk about the anime itself. (LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD)
"Chihayafuru" is a Sports game which was surprisingly... developed by Madhouse. Known for their brutal animes like, Stitch! (screams in fear), The Girl Who Leapt Thru Time (screams in fangirl), and... DEATH NOTE (screams in a traditional Death Note orchestra theme). Yep, the Studio who are responsible for their metal songs, mindgames and heart attacks, are also responsible for their light, well-written love story with a horrible cliffhanger... until Season 2 announced and released.
The story was executed great from Start to finish as it tells about the story of Chihaya Ayase, a "Beauty in Vain" who is die-hard fan of Karuta thanks to her potential love-interest and the one who introduces her to the game, Wataya Arata alongside Taichi Mashima. Arata appoints Chihaya back when they were a kid to become a queen thanks to her skills, Taichi was a brat still, telling Taichi that he is a loner, and bullying him both verbally and Physically. But, they work together as a team as they fight in a Team Karuta match in a nearby Karuta Society. Quite frankly, they detailed the main backstory real great as it covers first four of the 25 episodes of the main story. And this ain't a filler, no doubt! It's freaking fantastic and the game really hooks me up until the end of the game. The story also has a well-balanced Romance, Sports, Slice-of-Life and Comedy. But what I really do not like the most is how it was ended. As it was released last 2013, I understand how fans are wanting to see more of Chihayafuru, some animes out there tend to end an anime in just one season enough. So cutting to that really, REALLY makes me want to see Chihayafuru more. But, since I'm late for the party, I've watched it this 2019 as I heard that the Season 3 is in the works. So, I gave it a try after watching some of the episodes before in our local Animax channel around 2014. At first, I don't really understand how the specifics works in this game, all I can see is just swiping cards and that was it. But as I watched the following episodes, all I can say is... Holy s***! That was good! But the cliffhanger is really a big nutcracker to me... I understand those who did waited for 3 years until the announcement of Season 2. But not me, though. Hahaha... :)
The Art is TOO BRIGHT, I had to adjust the brightness of our TV. I mean, jeebuz. But yeah, it's colorful indeed. But the brightness drawn in this game, especially when the competition or tournament arc came around, the insides really kind of messed it up for me, though. But the characters drawn here really characterize who they are. From a bland personality of Yumi Yamamoto to a beautiful girl like Chihaya. You get my point when it comes to the male counterparts...
Also, the character development, was achieved here also as well! I can't say more... :)
The Sound, hahaha... The opening song, YOUTHFUL by 99RadioService, really puts you on the edge of the seat and it is one of my favorite songs in an anime I've downloaded legally! I can't count how much I've repeated it and I don't skip them on the OP either. :) The Ending song, Soshite Ima by Asami Seto, was emotional too... That really balances on how the story has to offer for every following episodes. The cheerful song of YOUTHFUL represents the school life and describes the slice-of-life genre itself when comes to the tune while the melancholic tune represents the hint of what it is to come, mostly, hints about Chihaya wants to be with Arata. About a song depicts on no matter where is the lover is, she wants to know that she needs him and wants to meet him if they had a chance. The Voice Actors, is great too! I have no complaints. And the OST, the background musics on every episodes is, no doubt, one of the best composed songs I've ever seen that will definitely get you on the edge of your seats, especially when they are now playing Karuta.
Overall... despite this anime was focusing on girl demographic. I, for one, as a male demographic who likes a more competitive sports anime, fantasies, comedy and loves Slice-of-life anime, really sets my expectations to this anime what other anime has to offer. But the Karuta represents here was a bit rushed though, I really hope they do it longer for about two episodes and describe more about the sports itself, especially those who are not familiarized in this very unique sport from Japan. It might easily be missed, sure. But, I for one, wants to watch it more about the sport itself. I really do hope it would be better like this one, or even higher on Season 2 and it's upcoming sequel. :)
So, I'll give this anime... A GODDAMN 9/10!!! RECOMMENDABLE!!!
