Chihayafuru

Just like Hikaru no Go introduced Go to the world, it looks like Madhouse studio is introducing the world to Karuta. The closest resemblance of this game to Western audiences- is memory cards. Karuta however, is played competitively. The feel and style of the anime is definitely Josei…. As I have only seen the 1st episode we still need to see the story arc and character growth as the series progresses. The unusual nature of the theme has piqued my interest.

Ayase Chihaya is a sixth grader whose dream is for her older sister to become the top model in Japan; but one day Wataya Arata tells her that her dream should be about herself. Arata's dream is to become a famous competitive Karuta player. Chihaya is somewhat shocked when she sees how intense the normally reserved Arata gets about the card game. Eventually, she and her childhood friend Mashima Taichi find themselves being captivated by Karuta.


Chihayafuru is an interesting show and with this first viewing I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. It seems like the show will be centered on the characters rather than the game of karuta which makes more sense because karuta is very boring to watch. Karuta is a card game where someone reads the first section of a poem and then the players must snatch up the card that has the second part. I personally found that I was more interested in the poetry than the game. The animators have put a lot of effort into making it interesting with cards flying like ninja stars but in the end the audience is just watching to kids play a very slow card game. On the visual side of things though this show is beautiful; with pastels and warm colors the look of the show is very crisp much like the autumn leaves that make up its ending credits. I’ll stick with this one to see how the characters develop. By starting with them in high school we know where they are going but we do know their journey, which I always enjoy in a story.

The first couple of episodes to Chihayafuru have been beautifully solid and I intend to see this series through.

The artwork is lovely, particularly the character designs. The relationships between the main characters and their background stories are relatable and very human. You can really lose yourself in an episode thanks to the steady pace of the storyline.

The introduction to the game of Karuta was handled brilliantly. What sounded like a simple card game in the description of the series turned out to be more challenging and intense than expected and I found myself wanting to know more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karuta

I think this series would be most enjoyed by a 16+ predominantly female audience as it has elements of a mature nature and the stirrings of complicated romances and raw emotion.

I look forward to the release of each new episode!

Hyakunin-isshu which is called Karta is a quite new theme for anime, I think. So, Chihaya started hyakunin-isshu after she met Wataya? I wonder what happend to Wataya, he didn't return a greeting card of new year.

Hyakunin-isshu is called Karta in this anime. Players try to get cards which have half part of Tanka, most of them are from Kokin waka-shu, that was treated as a text book of Tanka (Old poem which has 5 7 5 7 7 sounds). In this game, players don't have to understand what these tanka mean.

As Ooe kanade said in Episode 6, Hyakunin Isshu were tankas Fujiwara Teika selected and they have translations in many ways. Yes, "Chihayafuru......." is a poem of burning love. I like this.

*fangirly squeal*
I think I've found my anime for the fall/winter season!

This story is absolutely adorable!! It's relatively early int he series, but judging from the current episodes, this is a series to stick with. It seems to stay true to the manga (or the few chapters I've seen floating around online)
The pace seems just right, establishing a deep reason and love for the game from the very beginning. It unique from other card game animes in the sense that you get a sense of practice and growth from Chihaya, rather that the classic "The heart of the cards will guide me~!"
The supporting characters seem well developed so far, and I hope they develop them further! The effect of the characters and their chemistry together is absolutely heartwarming, and I hope it becomes a theme in the anime (but hopefully not to the point where it becomes cliche ^^; )

The animation to me, is pretty unique. I've seen other series' with this sort of animation style, but I didn't really enjoy them. Mostly because the guys tended to look like girls. But in this one, the animation is gorgeous. The scenery is beautiful and the people look like their correct genders :D
I especially like the clothing thus far. The kimonos in this weeks ep (ep6 for us non-members) were especially gorgeous! I hope the attention to detail is maintained. I have high hopes for this series!!

Lastly, the music, for me, is unremarkable. It works with the series, but is not outstanding. At least not compared to scores from series' like Madoka Magika or Angel Beats. But yeah, as I said, it's not bad, and it works for the series. I think that's the only non-glowing comment I have about the series thus far ^^;

I look forward to what the series has to offer in the upcoming episodes!! <3

I admit, I was compelled to join those who had written a review after first episode or two. However, I felt that it would not do the series justice by writing one so early and having to revise it a few times. Now that at the time of this review, the eleventh episode was released for subscription members. I feel that I can give a better opinion than if I wrote one on the first episode or two. Initially what brought me to Chihayafuru wasn't an interest in the card game, or the poems themselves. It was the animation quality that I had witnessed in the first episode. It wasn't until after I had watched the first episode that I had that urge to watch more, and so I waited. I waited until more released, that gave way when episode six was released. Since then, I've joined many who wait week by week for the new episodes to come by.

As a tournament/sport style series, I was surprised by the amount of heart that's put into the characters. I was a bit cautious about giving the story a five, but now that so many episodes has passed by, I feel that this is what it deserves. As Chihaya grabbed more members for a karuta club for her school. While I found Chihaya's character to be a bit unrealistic even during the childhood scenes. It wasn't in a bad way. It works in the way that she interacts with everyone around her. Chihaya is definitely the spice that makes everyone in the series work. Without her, they all seem a little bland.

The music is largely background and complimentary music, the opening and ending sequences are nice pieces. While there's not much I can say about it, when it comes in, it definitely adds a good feeling to the scenes.

The animation quality is clean and sharp. The only times I noticed drops in quality isn't during the quick movements during the karuta games, or the background scenes of the city, countryside, or in a train. It's during the scenes that have exaggerated faces which are intended to look the way they were. That's the only downside. The way the cards were soaked up by water after they fell in a puddle, the way tears started to well up. The small moments are excellently animated and it's hard to spot any flaws.

With almost half the series watched, and another half to look forward to. I can only imagine how this will end. If it continues this pace, this can easily become one of my favorites series, and so far has become my favorite series of 2011. In this fan's eyes, it's not Christmas that I look forward to, or the New Years. It's the upcoming episodes of Chihayafuru that I've constantly looked forward to week after week. As I long for, or rather escape the idea of a conclusion. I can imagine the thoughts I put forth for this review won't change much, and if any it could only praise the series more. I only hope for a conclusion that can work well for a manga series that's ongoing.

When I first noticed this simulcast being added, my interest was in no way piqued. I didn't like the red lettering, or the simple font used for the title in the banner, and the characters didn't look too interesting. Plus, the card at the edge of the banner reminded me of hanafuda cards and I remember trying to play a game with them before and failing miserably at grasping the point of the game.

I only checked out Chihayafuru when I was out of options and by chance, one of the screen caps used for an episode preview showed Chihaya looking cuter and more beautiful than usual (at the expense of sounding superficial, which I will admit I am). I am so not sorry that I did. This karuta game is nothing like what I imagined. In fact, I never even thought that a game like this could be played with cards, let alone competitively at a professional sport level. The concept of having to memorize 100 poems and then matching the second verse (printed on the cards) to the first (being read aloud) was so intriguing that I was compelled to watch more and see what strategies the characters will learn to improve, even though having to read the translations of the poems is somewhat distracting from the flow of the anime and the dialogue. I can definitely see this being a huge hit in Japan since the poems and the cards and the mention of the different types of cards can be easily understood by someone with a decent grasp on Japanese.

Three or four episodes in, I definitely thought that Chihayafuru is reminisce of "Hikaru no Go", which isn't a bad thing at all, in my opinion. I remember loving Hikaru no Go (thought I never watched the anime or finished reading the manga) because I was exposed to a world that I never knew existed, while it actually held a lot of significance. Being educated about foreign culture is always interesting, especially when you get to see the very different type of skill sets and amount of talent required to become masterful at these mentally (and in karuta's case, physically also) challenging games. You get to see a type of amazing that has been hidden away, like discovering a treasure that was there all along.

I love the art style, too. The way the eyes are given such beautiful and natural looking colours along with depth, the way petals are animated, the picturesque nature scenes, and the cloth patterns in Kana-chan's kimono shop! So breath taking! The animators really know how to place emphasis where it's due! Character design art wise is also very good. Always love the way Chihaya is drawn, child and teen versions.

Music is pretty fabulous as well. Both the opening and ending themes suit the anime really well, especially the ending. Really compliments the classical poems. Background music sets the mood well, and I like how they always use the "swish" sound effect whenever players grab for cards. It really helps emphasize the speed needed for the game. Really makes it exciting.

I like all the characters, but I don't know if it's because I'm jealous or something, I definitely like the two boy characters much more than Chihaya Ayase. She has all the perfect qualities to be the heroine, and she redeems herself every time by realizing her mistakes, but there is just something about her that gets on my nerves sometimes. Maybe it's her unrealistic commitment to the game, maybe it's her unfounded stubbornness, or maybe it's just because I don't understand why these two great guys are fixated on her, while she's so dense about romance, it's like even Superman wouldn't be able to see through her with his X-ray vision. Her best quality, in my opinion, however, is that she has a strong sense of righteousness and equality. In the end, when she forms the karuta club she doesn't care about appearance or popularity or perks. She rallies in a mixed bag of misfits and you can tell that later on, they will all be extremely grateful to her for it. I'm sure her unbiased nature is also what attracts Taichi and Arata to her.

As riveting as the karuta games are, and also their journey to greatness, I have to say I think I might be watching this anime for the love triangle between Chihaya, Taichi and Arata. I'm almost certain that it is only Chihaya who doesn't realize this is going on, but I love the way it's going so far at episode 10. The romance side of the plot is progressing and I imagine Chihaya's realization of her romantic feelings will only make her a better player at karuta. I'm really glad I gave Chihayafuru a shot, because it is beautifully written and animated, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good romance or sports/game anime. Both the karuta and the love triangle compliment each other and make it more interesting and compelling overall.

Last comment: The reason why it is titled Chihayafuru is by far one of the best titles and explanations I have ever seen/heard. Smart, sweet, meaningful, and romantic is a wonderful combination as characteristics for any kind of title!