Chihayafuru 22 ~ the previous queen
March 7, 2012
Tsutomu Komano X Kanade Ooe.
Chihayafuru episode 22 had a stunning conclusion and I really wonder where we are going for our season conclusion. I’m gonna keep it short this time.
Tsutomu X Kanade.
First the good news: Tsutomu was really working the charm this episode. This was probably the biggest romantic development of the whole series.
Shinobu Wakamiya, the queen, in battle gear.
Now for the bad news. Chihaya’s opponent (who shall remain unnamed) turns out to be the previous queen, the one from whom Shinobu took her title.
All I can say is I hope Shinobu crushes that bitch.
It turns out that part of her opponents style of play is to contest every close call. In effect she was almost certainly stealing cards from Chihaya. In the end Chihaya lost. I guess next week she shaves her head. T.T
Abandoned Factory Anime Review 
March 7, 2012 at 10:14 pm
A lot of people seem to be annoyed at this episode due to the opponent’s sneaky tactics. I thought it made sense, though — it’s ultimately a competition, and some people will unfortunately do anything to win. I think Chihaya is clearly talented and very dedicated (a dangerous combination) but still too soft, and her opponent took advantage of this. The match was within Chihaya’s grasp, but when the opponent started contesting the cards it completely threw her off balance and she fell to pieces. It’s a great learning experience, though — in the future, she’ll hopefully argue back without just letting her opponent get away with such tactics, and maybe she’ll be mentally tougher and a bit more prepared for things like this.
March 7, 2012 at 10:56 pm
I agree with you. I’m not annoyed at the episode; I’m annoyed at the “previous queen” for playing that way. It is very realistic that someone would, but that doesn’t mean I have to respect them for it. And I completely agree that Chihaya is going to have to toughen up a bit if she is going to become the queen.
March 7, 2012 at 11:27 pm
I know what you mean about not being able to respect her — winning like that is really lame. I wonder how she could even be happy with her performance when she had to resort to such silly tricks. I like the fact that the episode stressed the mental/emotional aspect of Karuta, though. I’m curious to see how Chihaya reacts in the next episode, because she seemed pretty shocked at the end of this one.
March 8, 2012 at 12:46 am
Not to mention she has to shave her head. Oh well, I haven’t been able to wait until the next episode week after week.
March 8, 2012 at 12:15 pm
The only thing that really “bothered” me about the episode was that Nishida thought her tactics were okay, and was actually rooting her on — AGAINST Chihaya. THAT bothered me.
What I liked especially was the hint that Kanade may have found her calling. As someone who doesn’t really like the competitive aspects of karuta, the idea that she could find such a perfect outlet for her passion about it is kind of all warm-and-fuzzy making. These writers are so much better than good.
March 8, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Nishida: I’m not sure it was quite like that. Nishida seems to respect the Previous queen’s gameplay (even Chihaya is impressed with the signs of her effort, and her “compact” swing). In other words, I think Nishida thinks highly of her gameplay DESPITE (not because of) her challenging every close call. The only thing is that when she started doing that, it became apparent that she had “the fire in the belly” that she didn’t seem to have, when the match began.
Regardless the constant challenging pissed me off.
Re: Kanade — yes! That is a great direction for her to go in, and it was pretty cool to set it up as a challenge as well. I think that role would be perfect for her, and it can be an actual GOAL, not just a consolation prize.
March 8, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Over at the Star Crossed anime site someone’s posted screen captures that seem to show the prior queen actually DID touch the cards first. D’oh!
March 8, 2012 at 9:04 pm
The link, in case anyone wants to look: http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4042472#post4042472
March 12, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Joojoobees —
I thought you might find this amusing. Over on Ani.me, LB Bryant has a rather unenthusiastic post pointing out that “Rinne no Lagrange” has already been upped for a second season. I left this comment:
“I keep waiting for this show to blossom — as its name implies it will — but so far, not so much. On the other hand, I’d strangle Madoka with her own jersey if that would get me another season of Chihayafuru.”
(Lagrange is the other show this season directed by B.S.P.’s Sato, of course…bizarre as that seems.)
March 12, 2012 at 9:28 pm
I looked at the first few episodes of Rinne no Lagrange, and it certainly has some nice looking action scenes, but I just didn’t see anything that interests me character or story -wise. In the meantime, just today I saw another review that was dismissive of Bodacious Space Pirates, while it praised Rinne no Lagrange.
I would like to think that Chihayafuru has finally found it’s audience, but in a way, I don’t care. If my tastes are so out of step with those of the anime target market, then so be it. I’ll enjoy the shows that I enjoy, and won’t bother watching those that I don’t enjoy. Honestly I expect High School DxD to get a second season before Chihayafuru.
March 12, 2012 at 9:49 pm
I keep on with “Lagrange” only because, given its director, I keep thinking it might do something interesting by the end.
Your last comment makes me shudder. (If I want hentai, I’ll buy the real thing.)
March 12, 2012 at 11:01 pm
And I just might be in a cynical mood, but it does seem that selling figurines of busty ladies is a better way to get your anime okayed for a second season than providing interesting character development and tense drama.