seirity

Untold musings of a scientist who reads copious amounts of manga and fanfiction and enjoys understanding how, why, and what makes humans tick the way they do.

[emperanas]

As long as we keep playing, we’ll meet each other again. I just know it!

[fairykitsch]

[xxxxoxxxxxoxxxxxxoxxxoxxoxxxxx]

Awwwwwwhhhhhhh 😍 there is like little space between her head and his arm *dies from the cuteness*

[aanyaforger]

“Taichi! I’ll give you the last bit of the crust! Just kidding! It’s all mine!”

[asterein]

“You must never give in to despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength.”

[aanyaforger]

“e-excuse me! can i have a towel?”

[animepoint]

I’m barely living right now

[nukunukusirokuma]

こいのぼり/2020

[tineechi]

Kono Oto Tomare Chapter 91 Summary

Raw link: https://raw.senmanga.com/Kono-Oto-Tomare!/091

Hey! Sorry for the delay. Working from home drains a lot from people. T_T

Anyway, all the disclaimers are applied (Not a native speaker; may have a LOT of mistakes… you know the drill).

The chapter starts off with Chika and Satowa riding the train to go to Satowa’s house. (Momoya’s suggestion for Chika to go to Satowa’s house as their representative is the starting narrative.) The two of them are not looking at and talking to each other. The train brakes suddenly and Satowa is lightly thrown onto Chika’s chest. Satowa’s surprised and immediately apologizes. Chika says that it’s nothing/it’s not a big deal. (while thinking to himself that she is light.) Satowa blushes a bit and Chika asks if Satowa and her mother are doing okay recently. Satowa haltingly says that “Yes. Thanks to you.” and Chika answers “Oh. That’s good.”

Satowa suddenly becomes curious and tries to ask about Chika’s mom but stops midway. Chika asks what is she trying to ask but Satowa says that “It’s nothing.” instead. Chika looks at her curiously as well but Satowa keeps quiet. She thinks to herself that they are together everyday but there’s a lot of things that she doesn’t know about him. (BTW, the chapter title is Promise.)

Scene changes to Satowa’s house and Chiharu welcomes Chika at the genkan. Chika politely says “Thanks and sorry for disturbing.” and Chiharu asks them to enter. Chika removes his shoes and is surprised when he looks up and sees the Ranunculus flower that he gave Satowa framed on the wall. Satowa tries to ask what is it about but she also suddenly sees the flower and panics. She tries to cover it with her arms and tries to explain with “It’s not… This is… that is to..” Chiharu then says “Ah. That’s the flower that Kudou-kun gave you during the announcement party.” Satowa was speechless and Chiharu continues with “Satowa doesn’t want it to wilt so she made it into oshibana (pressed flower)”. Satowa shouts “M…Mom!”. Chiharu smiles and says that it turned out beautifully and Satowa says that it is enough.

Chika looks very surprised and flattered. Satowa pushes Chika to walk forward and says that it is okay to not look at it anymore. Chika says that during that time she also got many flowers from other people. Satowa blushes profusely and says that “This flower was the most beautiful one.” (GAAAAH)

Chika smiles serenely (GAWD! This boy’s smile will kill me, I swear!) and teases her a bit and Satowa says shut up. The scene changes to a different room and Chiharu tells Chika that musical scores and their sources are generally placed in this room. She also tells him to listen to anything he likes. Chika is very amazed and asks if these are all koto songs/music. Chiharu tells him that there are other things mixed in. Chiharu tries to say that she’s leaving but Satowa stops her and says “Mother! I don’t know which song is located where so…” (trying to stop her from leaving them alone). Chiharu says “Oh, that’s why.” Satowa asks for her help finding the pieces. 

Chika looks at one and asks about it. (If I am not mistaken, it is Seoto - popular classical music composed by a famous blind Koto composer and player Michio Miyagi in the 19th century. Satowa says that it is the song performed by Eidai in the recording. Correct me if I’m wrong.) Chiharu says that she also remembers that song. Satowa asks “Is that so?” and Chiharu says “Fufufu…actually…” (They play the record and Chika is surprised.)

Chiharu explains that the Seoto is a duo of the Koto and the 17 string koto (Jyuushichigen) that expresses the flow of the Tonegawa river. Chika is a bit stunned and says that “Oh. It’s not a fierce river. Cool!” Chiharu says that it really hasn’t been a very fierce river (and again correct me if I’m wrong but I think Chiharu says that it is near their area). Chika says that even kids can play in this river. Chiharu then says that before getting married, she played this with Reiji (Satowa’s Dad). Satowa asks “with Dad?” 

Chiharu talks about that time and the flashback shows the two of them practicing to play it. She narrates that during that time she hadn’t thought much about the koto and music.  Chiharu asks how Reiji thinks they should play a tremolo part. She answers that it doesn’t sound good. Then, Reiji played the same part without saying anything and then asked “How does it sound now?” Chiharu says that she was surprised. It was the same tremolo part but Reiji’s sound was like a river murmuring accompanied by light. (Awww.) Chiharu proceeds to tell them that from that time she noticed various things and all at once she felt like the world had expanded. Chika and Satowa both look stunned. Satowa says that she didn’t know about that story and Chiharu giggles a bit and says sorry to Kudou for telling this type of story. Chika answers with “Umm.. No.. It’s a great thing to study/learn.” Chiharu smiles at him. Chiharu then says that she needs to make tea but Satowa insists that she will do it instead (to avoid being left alone with Chika in the room. HAHAHAHA). 

Satowa looks at the refrigerator and thinks that they don’t have the sweets/snacks that Chika likes (Hehehe. She definitely knows what he likes in food and drinks.) and she tries to at least find something sweet. 

Back to Chika and Chiharu, he asks about improving the pauses between the notes. Chiharu says that he is thinking in a very high level and Chika says that it wasn’t him but his kouhai who thought about it. He also says that he himself still doesn’t understand it very much. Chiharu says “I see…” and thinks for a while. Then she suddenly asks “Kudou-kun… What do you think about Satowa?” Chika is startled and says “Ha? What’s with this suddenly…”  Chiharu says “It’s okay, it’s okay… even if it is an impression or even if it is something she needs to improve on…” Chika thinks about it and says that he thinks she’s become cool. Chiharu asks “Cool?” and Chika continues with “…especially when she’s playing the Koto. It’s like… Houzuki’s sound is always pleasant and steady (isn’t fumbling/shaking). Chika looks somber and says that those are not the only things she has been accumulating/piling up while he always looked like an idiot fighting and hitting someone else. Chiharu looks a bit shocked and Chika quiets down for a while thinking to himself that honestly there are times when he thinks that he doesn’t have the qualification to play together with her (Chika remembers the scene where Satowa plays Koto wearing a kimono). He remembers the turbulent times he had fighting a lot and thinks to himself that next to a person who has faced the koto all her life, he hasn’t been able to live up to that. 

He then remembers Tetsuki’s crying face, Grandpa Gen’s face and Takezou senpai’s face when he saved Kudou from the vice principal’s accusation and thought to himself that ‘Hitting…getting hurt… being an annoyance/burden… even so… always being saved by someone’ T_T

He then recalls Chiharu asking him what he thinks about Satowa and he thinks of the times with her (Satowa playing the koto, Satowa giving her the snacks and saying thank you, Satowa giving him the omamori, Satowa pulling his tie, Satowa’s teary face, Satowa bravely walking to perform, the flower, Satowa smiling when she received the flower. GAAAAAH). Chika then remembers the Nationals poster that they wrote and says that “I respect Houzuki. Sincerely (心から or kokoro kara - literally “from my heart”).” Satowa overhears this from the hallway and Chiharu is speechless for a while too. Chika asks if that doesn’t answer her question and Chiharu says “No… Thank you for that wonderful answer.” She then closes her eyes and says “Ne Kudou-kun, did you notice while you were talking just now?” 

Chika asks “Eh?” and Chiharu says “Between the words…” Chika is astonished and Chiharu continues to explain that “Kudou-kun, just now, while you were talking to me you were thinking about/remembering various things, right? Between Kudou-kun’s words, there’s a lot of thoughts and kindness… Even if you don’t hear it, it was conveyed/transmitted properly.” Chika is a bit astounded and remembers that sound/music is another form of word/communication.”

Scene changes to Chika about to go home and saying sorry for staying too late and for the CDs that he was taking home. Satowa looks a bit serious and says “Un./Yes.” When Chika was about to say “See you tomorrow”, Satowa interrupts and says “Ne… Kudou, do you remember what you told me before?”

Chika is confused and Satowa says “Catch up to me until Nationals.” She looks very serious and says again “Catch up.” They are both facing each other seriously and Satowa repeats it for the third time “Catch up.” Chika finally speaks up and says “Of course! Just wait/wait for me!” Satowa smiles and says jokingly “I won’t wait!”

Chika shouts “AAAH?” and Satowa answers with “Do your best!” and Chika shouts “Fine!”

THE END. Whew! Sorry that was a loooong and unedited summary. I’m sorry. I’m so tired to edit it right now. I’ll try to check it tomorrow again. HAHAHAHA.

Until next chapter. :D

For appreciation, project support and improvements on Japanese translations: https://www.patreon.com/tineechi

[seirity]

Good job summarizing chapter 91! You got the vast majority of it right, but just wanted to let you know there were a few mistakes in your summary.

1) Kudou gave the flower to Satowa at her debut as the successor for the Houzuki association. It’s not really an “announcement party,” but I understand why you called it that. xD 2) Reiji is the one who asked Chiharu, “What are you thinking when you play this part (the tremolo)?” as they are practicing Seoto. Then since Chiharu didn’t really think about the koto or music on a deeper level back then, she answered “Trying to play the tremolo to make it sound pretty.” That’s when Reiji, without saying anything, tried playing the tremolo. Afterwards, he asked her, “How does it sound like now?” She was surprised. Even though it was the exact same tremolo, Reiji’s sound was like the murmuring of a stream accompanied by the light. That was the first time she had noticed various things and ever since that day, her world suddenly expanded. Satowa says, “I never knew about that story.” Then Chiharu says, “You probably didn’t want to hear this kind of story from me, huh? I’m sorry, Kudou-kun.” Kudou answers with, “It was really informative though.” This is also really funny because Kudou is trying really hard to talk politely, but he’s failing because he starts out in casual speech and ends in polite speech. Even Satowa makes a comment about it and says he doesn’t need to force himself to speak politely. HAHAHA. 3) When Chiharu asks Kudou what he thinks of Satowa, Kudou tells her, “I think she’s cool.” When Chiharu asks him what he means by cool, he goes on to say that, “Especially when she plays the koto... that’s how I feel.” (He’s also failing with speaking politely here too HAHAHAHA.) “... like Houzuki’s sound is always graceful/poised/proper or like... it doesn’t waver and it’s steady.” “Maybe those are all things she’s acquired from playing for so many years... while I’ve always been getting into fights like an idiot and beating others up.” Kudou goes on to think that:

The truth is there are times when I feel like I don’t have the right to play alongside her. There’s no way I can stand next to those who have spent their entire lives playing the koto, who can hold their heads up and proudly follow that way of life. I’ve beaten people up, hurt them, and caused nothing but trouble for others. Yet, despite that, someone always comes and saves me. There’s a flashback to Chiharu asking him “What do you think of Satowa?”

In the end, Kudou says, “I respect Houzuki, truly.”

Afterwards, Kudou tells Chiharu that he probably didn’t answer her question at all, but Chiharu refutes that and says it was a wonderful answer. She then goes on to say, “Hey, Kudou-kun... I wonder if you noticed just now while we were talking...” To which Kudou, says, “Eh?” “The words in between the words/in between the lines,” says Chiharu. She goes on to say, “Just now, you were thinking of and remembering various things while you were talking to me, right?” “A lot of Kudou-kun’s feelings and kindness were in between the words.” “Even if I couldn’t hear them, they were properly conveyed.” 4) At the very end, Satowa asks Kudou if he remembers how he was the one who said he’d catch up to her by nationals. She goes on to say, “You’re catching up to me, right?” “Catch up to me” To which Kudou retorts, “Obviously! Wait for me!” Satowa tells him she won’t wait and tells him to do his best. To which he retorts, “That’s fine with me! Bring it!” As always, these are my interpretations. Please let me know your thoughts!

[seirity]

Part 3: The aftermath

I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long write this post. Originally, I was just going to write this post about the aftermath and then another one regarding Taichi’s character development, but in the end, after much deliberation, I decided to combine the two posts into one. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

This is the third part of my post regarding episode 23 of Chihayafuru 3. If you would like to read the first two parts of this series, you can find them here and here.

So, it’s been at least a few days since Taichi’s confession and there’s clearly some tension between the two. We aren’t explicitly told how much time has passed exactly, but it seems at least five days have passed based off of the number of times their clothes have changed. It’s surprisingly how no one has made a comment about it, since Chihaya and Taichi are clearly not talking to each other.

It’s interesting to see how Suetsugu-sensei makes this evident by covering both Chihaya and Taichi’s eyes.

Suetsugu-sensei has also done this before in episode 21 when Chihaya was trying to figure out why Taichi always has to do things by himself.

I’ve noticed it before, but there is such a clear focus on eyes in Chihayafuru. Suetsugu-sensei uses them for a variety of purposes. She uses them to inform us when Chihaya is serious about her match and is going to play without holding back. She also uses them to tell when there’s going to be a change of pace within a match or when Chihaya is having pivotal moments during her self-reflections.  

When she realizes she’ll have to figure out why Taichi does what he does after the tournament:

When she wonders whether or not this will be the start of something new for herself after witnessing Shinobu-chan fall apart emotionally only to pick herself up again, Harada-sensei’s passion, Suou-san’s strength, Arata’s determination, and Taichi throwing down the gauntlet:

When she realizes Taichi had created a placement just to play against her:

When she realizes that Taichi loved her all this time:

These are just a few examples that come to mind when I think of Suetsugu-sensei’s inclination of focusing on eyes to get the audience to focus on certain key pivotal moments or emotions the characters are feeling at that point in time.

It’s so iconic that even the live-action uses this framing technique.

But I digress.

It’s not until the start of the new year that something actually happens: Taichi quits the karuta club.

Only Nikuman-kun and Tsukue-kun are aware that this is going to happen. None of the girls in the club know. Funny enough, it’s Chihaya who realizes something is amiss when Taichi is no where to be seen before it’s her turn to introduce the karuta club.

Interesting, huh?

It’s only when Miyauchi-sensei comes to make a revision to Chihaya’s script that all the girls realize what has happened.

The framing used here is beautiful and once again Chihaya’s eye is visible.

The sound effects in this particular scene gave me the chills. I loved how the fact that Madhouse suddenly made the introductions from the other clubs and the accompanying applause audible. I could literally feel my heart drop during this scene.

I also liked how they added an animation to make the image drop, since you could also visually see the moment when Chihaya’s heart just drops.

While this particular scene isn’t in the actual manga, I feel like this addition definitely had an impact. It’s almost as if you can see the wheels turning in Chihaya’s mind as she’s processing this sudden change.

Once again, eyes anyone?

It’s only after she’s vocalized how many members are in the club that she’s finally processed what has happened. The audience can feel time stop and my heart just breaks. I felt myself tearing up as tears began to well up in Chihaya’s eyes.

As tragic as this scene is, it is also done really well. Madhouse timed everything perfectly. From the moment where she stops to the poignant climax the soundtrack comes to when tears well up in Chihaya’s eyes, and even when she finally drops the microphone. The animation for this scene is amazing, and even though my heart breaks, it’s still one of my favorite scenes in this episode because of how well it was executed.

Chihaya rushes off to catch up to Taichi as he leaves school and tells him that she doesn’t want him to quit the club. She’s desperate and completely distraught over the fact that he’s quitting the club. She can’t even comprehend him not being a part of the club anymore.

Chihaya’s reaction to the news is not a surprise when we consider how selfish and self-centered she can be. What’s different here is the desperation you can hear in her voice and the way she basically throws herself at him to make him stop walking away.

Now we’ve reached the second most controversial part of this episode: the kiss.

The scene is so powerful all on it’s own that they simply chose to have nothing in the background, except for Chihaya’s crying. It’s only when Taichi takes a hold of her sleeve and brings her face closer to him that you hear a chime-like sound effect, almost like an eureka moment of sorts. The only difference is this time Chihaya is actually realizing how Taichi is not as calm as he has seemed to be since his confession.

I love the use of silence here and to be honest simplicity is best in these kinds of situations.

As controversial as this scene is, I think the fact that Taichi starts to kiss her, but stops himself from completely doing so is extremely significant.

While on one hand, Chihaya did technically earn a kiss as a prize for winning the tournament on Taichi’s birthday, I’m sure this wasn’t really what she had in mind when this happened.

Eyes!

As funny and ironic as this may seem, I digress.

For me, this kiss is NOT something that Taichi TRIES to force on Chihaya, but something that happened in the spur of the moment. He’s at the end of his rope and seeing Chihaya absolutely devastated because of him is something that’s never happened.

From Taichi’s point of view, it only looks like Arata has the power to sway Chihaya’s heart or to have an impact on her. Taichi always thinks he is insignificant and that she will be fine without him.

There’s only so much someone can take before they reach their limit and realize that they need to just focus on themselves. It’s why he asks Chihaya this particular question:

Taichi is only human. He can only take so much and it hurts for him to be near her so shortly after his confession.

As conflicted as he may feel, Taichi’s eyes here are animated in such a manner where you can feel the intensity of his gaze. His eyes appear to be burning here with how intense his feelings are and the audience is naturally drawn to them.

Other than being something that he did in the spur of the moment, a part of me also feels like Taichi almost kissed her to get Chihaya to actually realize what him loving her means. Or in other words: to make her realize that even though he is a gentleman, he is STILL a man. In general, Chihaya has little to no qualms about invading someone’s personal space. In Taichi’s case, she has no concept of what personal space is for him, especially since they are childhood friends. As a result, I feel like the kiss is his self-control finally breaking and he suddenly has the urge to kiss her because she is so close to him. However, Taichi’s resolve returns before he can completely kiss her, hence why he stops midway. He stops because he knows it’s wrong and that once he crosses that line, he can never go back. It’s the point of no return.

Once again his eyes are covered and the audience is unable to see his true emotions.

The inner-turmoil that he feels is apparent here by how he clenches Chihaya’s shoulder, but suddenly let’s go of her.

And tells her that all 100 cards are completely pitch black to him.

These screen shots don’t do this scene justice, but I love how the flashbacks that are used in the background are ALL crucial moments of Taichi’s life where karuta was involved.

By saying the cards are completely pitch black to him, Suetsugu-sensei is letting the audience know how devastated Taichi is after confessing to Chihaya.

In English, we often say the world looks a little brighter when you’re in love. In Japanese culture, there is a similar saying that can literally be translated along the lines of “adding color to one’s world.” I can’t remember where I’ve read this, but I did see it somewhere that in Asian culture “dyeing/adding color” to someone else’s or one’s world also has a sexual connotation. For me, this makes a lot of sense since I always hear lines like 「世界に色が付く」 (literally: to add color to the world) or  「貴方が私の心を朝焼けに染めた」 (You’ve dyed my heart with morning glow/You’ve dyed my heart red like the sky as the sun rises) in Japanese love songs whether they’re happy or sad ones.  As a result, no matter what culture you come from, the fact that love is often associated with colors is universal.

Thus, Taichi saying the cards are completely pitch black to him now is the equivalent of saying he feels like he’s lost the one thing that played a key role behind his motivation to play karuta: his love for Chihaya.

This isn’t to say that he doesn’t love her anymore, but more the fact that his heart is broken, which makes it feel as if his love for her is completely gone.

Notice that I’m NOT saying his love for Chihaya was the sole reason why he plays/played karuta. While Chihaya was definitely the reason why Taichi started and was one of the reasons as to why he worked so hard at karuta, she is not the sole reason why he played.

At this point in time, he just doesn’t know it.

DISCLAIMER: this includes spoilers for those who only watch the anime, so please proceed at your own risk.

There are scenes in the manga that allude to how Taichi has come to enjoy playing karuta over the years. Despite the fact that all 100 cards look completely pitch black to him, he continues to play with Suou-san after quitting the club. If his sole motivation to play karuta was Chihaya, then why play karuta without her at all? He has to enjoy playing it on some level, even if he himself doesn’t realize it or is in complete denial.

Yes, I know there is a huge scene where Sudou essentially calls Taichi out on the fact that Taichi always looks like he’s ready to throw in the towel and quit playing karuta forever, but then why continue to try to get better after leaving the club?

The answer lies in a scene that happens long before Taichi has that match with Sudou at the Queen/Meijin qualifying matches of Taichi’s senior year. This particular scene is when Suou-san tells Taichi that it was admirable how Taichi continued to play karuta and tried so hard at it, despite not liking it. That he loved those who played karuta so much that he continued to play, while essentially sacrificing his own happiness and enduring such hardships for their sake. Taichi himself even acknowledges the fact that he doesn’t like karuta, but could never say that because he wouldn’t be able to stay by their side anymore. Instead of just leaving things as they are and essentially admitting that Harada-sensei’s words and the days he spent with the Mizusawa karuta club turned into a curse, he refuses to continue believing that everything was for naught. For me, this is the moment where Taichi starts playing karuta, not for Chihaya or for all the people he loves, but honestly for himself. It’s unclear what actually happens after this sudden realization, but I have a feeling he runs after and catches up with Suou-san. 

But, I digress.

END SPOILERS

Anyways, the symbolism here is just beautiful.

As Chihaya realizes what Taichi is truly saying, her eyes widen and the second half of poem #46 flashes across the screen.

‘Where, over the deep of love, The end lies, I do not know “

行く方もしらぬ 恋の道かな

This scene isn’t in the manga, but I love how the animators did this since it just reiterates what happened: Despite not knowing where this love would lead him, Taichi look the chance and told her how he felt anyways.

Episode 23 ends with this haunting scene: Taichi walking away from Chihaya as she stands there in complete shock in the background while the black cards flutter in the foreground.

To be honest, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Taichi to force himself to stay in the club until the start of the new school year. It’s tortuous: Wanting to be near here because he’s in love with her, but at the same time wanting to run away from her because it’s a reminder of what happened/what he thinks he’s lost.

Yet, it’s almost as if him not being first in his class was the excuse he needed to quit the club and end this long, endless cycle of suffering. My heart bleeds for him. He put himself out there to tell Chihaya how he felt, even when he wasn’t really sure how it would turn out.

Confessing to Chihaya is very significant to Taichi’s character for two reasons. The first is by doing so, he is no longer a coward. He’s put his feelings out there and he’s stopped taking the easy way out. It’s easier for him to be a coward and simply maintain the status quo by not confessing to Chihaya. Not telling her how he feels would allow him to stay by her side, but he would be forever making himself the martyr. He would never truly be able to be happy, especially if she ends up with Arata because he never took a chance to see what would happen if he told her how he felt.

It’s only with Sumire’s confession and her plead for Taichi to tell Chihaya how he feels that Taichi is finally able to take that leap of faith and muster up the courage to finally do it.

However, by confessing to her, he’s made the declaration that he doesn’t want to be a coward and take the easy way out, which is to simply maintain the status quo.  He confessed to Chihaya because it was something that he had to do in order to become someone who wasn’t a coward.

"It doesn’t matter how this looks to other people. If this is something that you got to do, then you do it." (Geraldine Hughes)

There are people who would argue that Taichi confessing to Chihaya now is simply because he’s being selfish and that he’s only doing it because he doesn’t want to stay her friend. It is really selfish if we are simply doing something because we don’t want to live with regret of what could have been if we had done what we wanted to do? Perhaps it is on some level, but haven’t we all felt this way before? If you must condemn Taichi for confessing to Chihaya because of this, then you too must face the same fate for doing something that you want to do because you didn’t want to live with regrets for the rest of your life.

Honestly, this same logic can be applied to Arata’s confession in the sense that wanting Chihaya to see him as something more than a friend is also selfish. Just the act of confessing your feelings and watching someone else to see you as more than a friend is fundamentally selfish on some level.

The second reason is that by confessing to Chihaya, Taichi is now living for himself. This sounds very similar to the first point I’ve made, but there is a very subtle, but crucial difference: he’s no longer putting his needs on the back burner and he’s prioritizing himself over others, especially Chihaya. This is also why it makes sense for him to leave the club and to focus on his studies. He has to start thinking about his own future and needs to stop focusing on Chihaya. Not to mention the fact that seeing her right now is completely painful for him. Up to this point, Taichi has managed to flawlessly maintain his grades, support the Mizusawa karuta club, and be there for Chihaya in whatever capacity she needed him to be.

I will probably get around to doing a post regarding Taichihaya in the most recent chapters of the manga. There’s still quite a bit I wanted to say, but I feel this is a good place to end things.

Anyways, that was an extremely long post. I hope it all made sense! Thank you to everyone who have read this entire series of posts! As always, please let me know your thoughts!

[khilluas]

“I love you, Chihaya. I love... the fingernails that never grow out. Your finger, your hair. The mouth that you always open wide like an idiot. Your face when you laugh”

[canongf-archive]

here’s a post sponsored by my momma, who is a clinical psychologist: our brains don’t know these characters are fictional. i mean, they do. kind of. we know on the outside, but our temporal lobe just registers that we recognize their face and that we feel deeply for them. our brains release dopamine and adrenaline because of it. there’s no different kind of dopamine or adrenaline for fictional people vs. real ones. scientifically it’s the same. of course you feel deeply for them. of course you do. there’s no reason why you wouldn’t. you know intimate details about them that have brought you closer emotionally in the same way you’ve learned intimate details about your friends. you empathize with them the same way you would with a person you can touch. people want to give self shippers a hard time for blending fiction with reality or whatever, but that’s kinda how humans’ brains work. it’s not “i love this real person” AND “i love this fictional person”, it’s just “i love this person” and that’s it.

[seirity]

Truth. I love how this can be all explained scientifically. ❤️

[words-for-weebs]

The fact that Chihiyafuru continues to find such success really highlights how the main appeal of sports style anime is rooted in feelings of intense competition and the clashing of personalities more than any aspect of whatever game they are playing. Karuta is a game I will never be able to play even casually, never mind the mind boggling level that the show features, but I can still be engrossed in the show because of the framing. Truly marvelous.

[classic-literature-lover]

Theory: Why, Story-wise, Chihaya will end up with Taichi

              I will try to make this short and quick:  Chihaya WILL end up with Taichi, NOT Arata.  The title of the anime “CHIHAYAFURU” screams it out.  That is my theory, and I believe I have some pretty strong evidence to back it up, at least on a literary point of view.

                So why should you care for my opinion?  I feel like i have to maintain a sort of credibility to you, my dear readers, so here goes:  I am a college student majoring in literature, and I analyze symbols and pay attention to details when i read a story.  When it comes to anime pairings, I try to be as objective as possible, and see the story from a literary perspective. Basically, I believe that story-wise, Chihaya x Taichi is a much more practicable match than Chihaya x Arata.

                Let’s go back to what I’ve mentioned before—the title—CHIHAYAFURU and why I think it’s the most crucial clue to my theory.  You see, the title of an artistic piece, be it a novel, a short-story, a painting, a musical composition, or in this case, a manga, speaks a lot about what the story is about and the theme it is trying to convey. 

                In this case, the title CHIHAYAFURU conveys different meanings if we look at it through the eyes of each of the three main characters: Chihaya, Arata and Taichi.

Chihaya—the  connotative meaning of CHIHAYAFURU

               Words can have multiple meanings.  Connotative meaning is the expressiveness of the word, or  the associations  that comes into mind when we use it.  For example, the connotative meaning of the word “home” is love, security, and belongingness.

                CHIHAYAFURU tells us about Chihaya’s love and passion for karuta.  It’s basically the bulk of the story:  a girl’s journey in competitive karuta and finding herself along the way.  CHIHAYAFURU is “her” card, the card she first took from Arata.  It is to her, the only red card in a field of karuta cards.  Wherever it may be placed, she is bound to take it, because she is connected to it, as a soul is connected to its body.  In a sense, we can say that Chihaya and CHIHAYAFURU are inseperable.

                From Chihaya, we learn that passion, despite its drawbacks, will always give the person a sense of fulfilment.  Our passions are us.  Our individual passions speak a lot about us, about who we are and what we desire in life.  We are taught that even passion requires hard work and we must not stop until we achieve our dreams.  Thus, the connotative meaning of CHIHAYAFURU is perseverance and dedication.

Arata—the denotative meaning of CHIHAYAFURU

                 Denotative meaning is the literal meaning of a word.  In our previous example of “home” its denotative meaning would be, “a place of residence”.

                 The title of the series, CHIHAYAFURU are the first syllables of a Karuta card that Arata once told Chihaya was her “namesake” card, a word that means “with deep feeling.” Both would always see that particular card as special, and representative of their friendship. Incidentally, it becomes Chihaya’s strongest card because her hand is always drawn to it. Kana later explains its true meaning as “a red colored love/passion that never fades.”

                  From Arata, we learn the literal meaning of CHIHAYAFURU.  After all, Chihaya’s motivation in karuta was largely due to Arata whom she looked up to as a role model and example.  Memories of Arata and the times they spent playing karuta, led to Chihaya’s “love/passion that never fades”—the literal meaning of CHIHAYAFURU.

 Taichi—the love in CHIHAYAFURU

                   So how does Taichi fit into the picture?

                    If from Chihaya we learn the connotative meaning (perseverance and dedication) and from Arata the denotative meaning (love and passion that never fades) what do we learn from Taichi?

                    My friends, we learn from Taichi both things! He has both perseverance and dedication AND unfading love!

                    Taichi’s love for Chihaya is unrequited.  It is from him that we learn about love and how it is to love.  It’s when “things don’t turn out the way you want them to and you’re not having fun, and yet you still want to be with him/her.”

                    Taichi’s love for Chihaya is not mere infatuation, but it is REAL.  True love differs from infatuation, for the latter does not see the flaws in a person, while the former sees the flaws but loves the person anyway.  This differs from Chihaya’s feelings for Arata.  Her adoration for karuta eventually led to her adoration of him, whom she looks up to as her role model, a “God of karuta.” 

                    Taichi, on the otherhand, knows Chihaya’s feelings for Arata, he is aware of her eccentricities and yet he loves her whole-heartedly and is the person by her side as she goes to fulfill her dream.

                    Taichi has seen ALL the sides of Chihaya, and yet he is still, “hopelessly in love with her.” 

                     So how do we relate the two meanings to Taichi?

                     During the meijin qualifier match, Taichi lamented over the fact that he was unable to take the CHIHAYAFURU card.  In his mind, we saw that he immediately associated Chihaya with the CHIHAYAFURU card saying that “wherever it is, I ought to take it.”  Losing the card was like losing Chihaya.

                      From Taichi, we learn a lot about love.  Love is like aiming for the CHIHAYAFURU card.  To get it, you must have perseverance and dedication.  To keep it, you must have passion that never fades.  That is what Taichi is trying to be all throughout the story.

                So basically, we can see the two meanings of CHIHAYAFURU in Taichi.  Of all the characters in the story, he is the most human and the one most of us can very well relate to.  We feel his burden and pain as much as we feel ours.  But just as Chihaya will someday be queen because of her perseverance and dedication, just as Arata will continue becoming Chihaya’s role model for his unfading love and passion, so will Taichi continue loving Chihaya for both reasons.  And it will only take some time until Chihaya notices it, and might perhaps, return it.

That is my simple logic.  Taichi only needs to be himself, and not try to be anyone else.  Also, I think that until Taichi overcomes his insecurities, Chihaya will never see him more than a friend.  Fortunately, in the later part of the manga, Taichi has become much stronger because he had gradually accepted his weaknesses, and we can see that CHihaya had started to see how unique he is.

                Story-wise, Chihaya x Taichi makes much more sense than Chihaya x Arata for the following reasons: 1.) the former has gone through a lot of development, trial and testing, and is 2.) more suited to the meaning being implied by the title, and is 3.) more consistent with the theme of the story, than the latter.

                So that’s my theory.   Chihaya will end up with Taichi, or the writer might choose not to settle with anyone at all, but a Chihaya x Arata ending will be highly improbable.  Arata’s confession makes no difference.  A common love for karuta, is a poor basis for love.

                If the story doesn’t end this way, either the writer is completely cruel and twisted, or I’ve made a mistake in analyzing the symbolisms present in the story.  Perhaps when I’m through with my literary criticism course, I’ll make another analysis of this very splendid story.  

[animepoint]

[seirity]

Suetsugu-sensei is so cute here. It’s not just the fans who want the anime to have a fourth season. She also wants it. :3

「4期やりた－い 」means “I want to do a fourth season”

This photo was posted on her instagram here.

「6年待っての第3期ちはやふる、この半年見続けてくださったみなさんありがとうございます‬！練りこまれた色と音と動きのついたこんな特別な作品にしてもらって、ちはやふるは幸せです。応援してくださった皆さんのおかげです。一緒に見続けてくれてありがとう！ あーほんとにわたしが大富豪ならよかった・・・14期くらいまでやるのに…。」 “Thank you to those of you who have been watching Chihayafuru for the past year and a half after waiting six years for the third season! I am happy/blessed that Chihayafuru has been made into such a special piece (of work) that has  elaborate colors, music, and animation. It’s all possible thanks to everyone who has supported us. Thank you for continuing to watch Chihayafuru with us! Ah, if only I was a millionaire/I wish I was a millionaire... then I would make up to at least 14 seasons...” (disclaimer: this is my interpretation of what she said. If anyone knows a better way to translate  「 練りこまれた色 」, please let me know.)

This only confirms my hunch that season 3 ended the way it did due to budget constraints. So with that in mind, I think they did the best they could, even though a lot of fans will be disappointed. :<

Ahhh, I hope we get a fourth season!! :3

[moonlightsdream]

Anime Watched in 2020: Chihayafuru 3

[kanralovesu]

How Chihayafuru Made Its Confessions Special

Today I just want to shortly mention some observations I had about the two confessions in Chihayafuru:

- Arata confesses directly after this semi-finals Master match, indicating that he lost because he was too focused on the Chihaya card so he decided he needed to lay his feelings bare and confess. For one, this is a symbolic place and time for Arata to confess because his bond with Chihaya has always been through Karuta and his dream to become a Master which he passed on to her as well. Its also great how this confession comes as a character moment where Arata where he learns that to become Master he’s got to stop hiding his feelings.

- Taichi confesses in the club room after telling Chihaya he was the one who stole Arata’s glasses. Just like for Arata, this location is symbolic of Taichi and Chihaya’s relationship: the club room for the Karuta club they built together. Its also symbolic of their long and unbroken bond as childhood friends, hence the callbacks to the original flashback from the very first episodes. Of course this is also a character moment for Taichi as well, which he explicitly states as him trying not to be a coward anymore.

Series like this where there is an obvious love triangle the entire time can often fall flat with their confessions as the characters are so obviously in love they could really just confess at any spur of the moment opportunity and have it make sense narratively. Where Chihayafuru excels is realizing that the confession is as much a climactic moment as the battle with the big bad at the end of any other shonen anime and so it injects at level of symbolism and character growth into the moment to make it truly special!