To review Chihayafuru is a hard task, to describe how brilliant this little-known anime is, to explain why I like it so much, to tell you why it's such a great anime to watch is very hard, because Chihayafuru is unique, the only word I can describe it is unique. It may seem like your ordinary sports-romance-drama series at first glance, though there is absolutely no series of my knowledge to compare it to properly.
The way the story is presented, the way the characters interact with each other, the way the atmosphere feels, It's very real and very unique.
= Story (10) =
The story is one of the most interesting parts of the anime. I won't describe too much or really anything because if I did it would probably spoil a lot of things. What I will say is that the first couple of episodes, Chihayafuru sets it self in the present and the past, interchanging in various lengths, this unique way of starting off the story is incredibly good at letting the viewer get to know the three main characters, Chihaya, Taichi and Arata, It also allows you to see the way they change over time.
= Character (10) =
What really makes Chihayafuru special are the characters, they're all very likeable and you can at least relate to one. The way you see them develop from little kids into somewhat mature teenagers makes you grow attached to them. The dialogue and the way the characters interact with each other is incredible, just like how people interact in real life.
= Art (9) =
The art is very nice. The character designs are great, especially the one's for Chihaya, Taichi, Arata and Nishida since you can see the resemblance between the child and teenage versions of themselves. A great part of Chihayafuru is the art direction, the scenes where they're playing Karuta look amazing.
= Sound (9) =
For a 25 episode series, Chihayafuru uncommonly uses only one opening theme and one ending theme, which is okay since both songs are really great to listen to. The OST can be repetitive at times, though that doesn't really matter.
The voice acting is fantastic, each seiyuu (voice actor) really suits their part. Especially Yoshimasa Hosoya who voices older Arata.
= Enjoyment (10) =
When I first started Chihayafuru, I didn't know what to expect and I was amazed by how much I enjoyed every minute of it, It's amazing how watching two people playing a card game can be so thrilling, the way you can't wait to see what happens next. Not many anime series can do that week in and week out.
= Overall (10) =
Overall, Chihayafuru is a masterpiece in it's own right, a series which actually has heart, as corny as that may sound. The characters all have had struggles which are very realistic and relatable, the story is original, something hard to come by in recent anime, the art and sound match the series near-perfectly and the enjoyability of this series is unexpectedly great.
Chihayafuru is a must-watch and in my opinion the best anime of Fall 2011.