I loved Chihaya Furu from beginning to end. I can't believe how into the kurata matches I became. Chihaya is a beautiful HS student that is the opposite of her looks. She's not the best student. She's not graceful. And she's a bit of a tomboy. She also love the game kurata in which you must snatch a card that has the correct line of a recited poem before your opponent. She decides to start a club with an unlikely group of people including her old grade school pal, Taichi, who slowly begins to fall for her. Her hope is to one day play another old friend, Arata, who taught her the game.
I loved the animation. It was "soft," but fit the dreamlike state and mindset of the lead character, Chihaya, and her ability to pull people in. The writing is very good. The characters were written with great care and chemistry which was expressed exceptionally well by the seiyu. The only problem with Chihaya Furu is that it feels too short.
