Chihayafuru - Reviews

Story:

I have never seen an anime based on this game called "Karuta", however there's plenty of tournament love triangle shows out there. Chihayafuru is a show that never really tries to do anything special or different with the plot, it simply bounces from one arc to the next- from the setting up arc where characters are introduced and backstories are told (at least for Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi.) right into a plethora of different tournaments (all of which seem to drag out their matches for as many inner monologues as possible.)

I guess right about now I should give you the disclaimer that the only other tournament show I've watched is Bamboo Blade. BB was not quite as excessive with inner monologues.

At the beginning the show is very sweet and fun, but around the middle I started to find myself getting bored with it. Not to the point of staring at the wall behind my computer, but there were times I felt like the show was just too formulaic to hold my attention much longer.

Animation:

The animation itself was decent (other than one part of the OP wear Chihaya moves but the pattern on her hakama doesn't. YOU WILL NOT UNSEE.) and the art was pretty. The palet was soft and the character designs were clean and, if not memorable, they were at least suitable. The three main characters were all bishounen/bishoujo.

Sound:

The OP was fantastic (I downloaded it instantly), but I skipped the ED. The soundtrack I always noticed because it followed a pattern and was pretty suitable for the over-the-top drama in the show.

Characters:

The majority of the show was focused on Chihaya's quest to become Queen while the rest of the characters struggled to improve. While near the end, Kana got some development with her goals, most development was hogged by Chihaya and Taichi. Even Arata was fairly 2-dimensional. Chihaya as a main character was not much more than your average loud-mouthed determined girl who doesn't excel at school work, etc. She's fairly mediocre as a lead character. Taichi recieved a bit of character development, and was actually a fairly interesting character to watch. The other three in the Karuta club, Kana, Desky, and Porky, recieve little to no character development.

Overall:

I want to rate Chihayafuru higher, but it's just too average to rate too highly. Chihayafuru knows what it is and doesn't try to be anything but. It bounces from tournament to tournament and never tries to be superb or unique.

It's still a good anime, and if you like tournament anime then you shouldn't skip Chihayafuru. Just don't go in expecting to be blown away.

(spoiler free review) i loved the cute bond formed between the characters in this anime. The art is pretty plus the story and soundtrack r also hopeful and uplifting. It was entertaining seeing the strengths/weaknesses of the different characters and seeing how they grow and help each other out. The viewers can definitely find someone to relate to. This anime shows the characters growth not only as karuta players, but also as people. Watching and learning about karuta was also rly interesting, and the focus/emphasis the anime puts on it makes it unique. U will be rooting for the characters and hope they succeed. 

I LOVE THIS ANIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In their darkest hour, when everybody else was dead and have become distant memories, 3 normal kids take it upon themselves to play a card game to determine the future of mankind....Or who will bear the right to bone the blond chick before she turns old and ugly.

This pretty much is what i have to say so bye now...Or not?

You see Chihayafuru is a very strange case and i don't think that as time passes and i let what i watched sink in even more is gonna help all that much. Let me explain what i'm on about. I finished this anime 6 days ago. As i was watching it i kept some notes to remind myself what my thoughts were cause i'm odd and old and my erections are chemically fueled.. No actually i'm lying but you should have seen the expression on your bloody faces.

Erections apart i was confused by how they managed to make an anime about a card game and make it seem like you were watching porn for the first time..Exciting, messy, with animal sounds(if you're into that stuff), with heavy breathing and a bloody white mess to finish it off.

But that is part of the story and speaking of which i just realised i started this review all wrong and haven't talked about what Chi is all about. Like i said i'm old and i have the attention span of a fetus.

The story then,is about a girl Ayase Chihaya who spent a chunk of her childhood chasing after her successful sister's dreams,never to have her own. That changes when she meets the four eyed stud by the name of Wataya Arata, who not only is a stud but also finds a perversive satisfaction teaching her the ways of tantric sex...Yeah fucking right,he teaches her about a card game, karuta. And our little Chihaya was entranced. But in order to take the hard journey of pursuing dreams they had to find a 3rd person to join the party.. Mashima Taichi would be known forevermore as the third wheel and a stepping stone to achieve her dream of becoming the world’s best karuta player and jump Arata. After that some shit goes down, they get separated from Arata and enough cause the force of spoiling is strong with this one. Only thing i will say though is that the scenes where they were kids felt very much natural, their dialogues their interactions.

And you might be wondering-as did i at first-what the hell does this card game have that is so interesting..To achieve the ultimate knowledge you have to resort to Google and find out more about karuta, which is very much unknown to us westerners..I mean i only play some poker from time to time and that's my relationship with card games..Oh and i watched some Yu-gi-oh eps..So not an expert on this one. Anywho, as it turns out, the card game karuta in is nothing like Yu-gi-oh and it's definitely not something that springs to mind easily when talking competitive card games. And as i'm not a fluent lad i will describe it to the best of my ability..Ok, ready?...........Sitting down?...............Ok here it goes...Hit the card with your hand before your opponent does..Sounds simple? Well that's were most people get it wrong..And since i'm not able to fully explain all the workings of the game, you have to watch it to understand what it's all about..That's the magic of coming to learn of something new.

Karuta as card games go, or even sports for that matter, is as fascinating as it is unusual. It's really second to none. From swipe techniques to card layout and prioritisation to mental challenges, it's all there..That said i cannot sit here and tell you that all is well cause you can only go too far with this premise, or at least for me the matches were becoming stale after a while..It's like Chihayafuru found a spot that could sit comfortably and sat there for the rest of the way.

But Chihayafuru to make up for it also combines this game with some drama and with each characters hopes and desires and it does it in such a simple way that makes this a very easily digestable watch for most of the time.

That doesn't always work though, as the characters tend to get very emotional and cry over the smallest things possible. And that would be fine and understandable if they lose a match they poured their soul into but crying over a pencil that broke? Ok that didn't happen actually but you get the idea..If not there's a word that will help you out.. Overdramatisation.. And that always rubs me off in a bad way.

The visuals are another thing that caught me off guard along with the precise use of music.The animation is colorful and vibrant and the characters are just stunning. The music is comprised of orchestral pieces strategically positioned for maximum attack.

Now to sum it up cause my skeleton is not what it used to be, Chi is a perfect example of anime that doesn't have the need to resort to ridiculously grand plotlines or pseudo-intellectual fanfares to transfer what it wants to the viewer. The cast are as easy to understand and connect with, as are interesting.

There are many complaints i didn't address and ones that held this anime back. Make no mistake this is a good anime but it's far from spectacular. A jack of all trades and master of some.. Should you watch it? Yeah why not..I mean compared to some overrated anime that come to mind this is by far superior and way more interesting and realistic. Am i talking rubbish? Maybe i'm mentally unstable and i might change my mind in a couple of mins.

Since there are a lot of good reviews on this anime already, i am gonna ask a simple question:
why on earth is this tagged "romance" when its 99.99999999999% about sports?