Chihayafuru
2 - 25 (End) and Series Review
First things first. Kanade, you sweet,
wonderful, kind, perceptive girl - I adore you. You have a heart as big
as all outdoors and a soul that's always reaching for the Heavens. What a
shame we didn't see more of you this season.
In fact, that thought leads me to a couple of other observations about
this last episode. First, my favorite term for Chihayafuru 2 - "exquisite torture".
This finale was all about exquisite torture. Exquisite torture for
Taichi, and for fans who love the character. And for every fan of Chihayafuru who was presented with this emotional
blockbuster, and now has to wait the better part of three years for more anime,
if we get more at all (with one small but potentially important exception,
which I'll touch on shortly).
And second - this finale is a stark reminder of what this season could
have been, if it hadn't spent most of its time on one three-day Karuta
tournament, and why the first season was on the whole the better. Chihayafuru is almost unmatched when it comes to
really emotionally compelling character dynamics, and they've been few and far
between this season. I love the way it portrays Karuta too, but I don't
love it as much. I understand that this is mostly a result of Madhouse
and Morio-sensei following Suetsugu-sensei's script faithfully, but the annals
of anime contain many examples of directors who've made changes in adapting
manga that made the anime better. Well over half the season on the High
School tournament was not the best scenario for Chihayafuru, in my opinion.
Be that as it may, the finale was indeed a whopper - a WMD of emotions
that cut right to the heart of what makes Chihayafuru such a wonderful (and agonizing)
viewing experience. We started out with the afterword of the tournament,
though it was surprisingly brief (I think a good decision, in hindsight). We're
reminded that Arata is 4-0 lifetime against Shinobu. Sakurazawa-san asks
of herself whether anyone noticed who the only undefeated players at the
tournament were, to which I
answer - "Yes!" I most certainly did notice, Sensei.
Taichi leaves Arata hanging on a
high-five. Sadly, there's no
cut-in on the finale of Tsutomu and Tsukuba's matches - only a quick notification that they've
in fact won.
The impression that T2 and T3 have really been shafted is hard to
escape, because in addition to their matches being completely ignored, in point
of fact their victories are only really important because they set up the
narrative needs to move the story to the next level - that Chihaya is the
reason the team wasn't able to fulfil her outlandish promise that Mizusawa
would sweep every category. Mind you, what they've accomplished is still
incredible, in winning every class but one and the team event, and the truth is
that even uninjured it's clear Chihaya would have defeated neither Shinobu or
Arata. But still, this serves to further deepen the sense of frustration
for Chihaya. She sees Arata and Shinobu on a level far above her.
She sees her teammates winning their events, while she falters. She sees
the "impassionate" serenity of Arata, and curses her own restless
impatience.
This is a crisis of confidence of sorts
for Chihaya, and it isn't helped when her fourth (!) medical opinion tells her she has
Enchondromatosis (I'm guessing that Wikipedia page has never been busier) a
softening of the bone in the injured finger of her hand. For most people
it's no big deal, but for Chihaya as a Karuta player it's a problem - and it
necessitates surgery to implant firm material inside the bone for
support. I've never heard of a week's hospitalization for a finger
operation (I suspect the existence of nationalizaed health insurance has
something to do with that) but it's clear the operation is not completely
routine. And obviously, this also means Chihaya is cut off from playing
Karuta at just the time she'd most like to be obsessively practicing (though
this requires the full vigilance of her put-upon nurses).
Sakurazawa-san has proved to be quite an important character in these
last few weeks, and it's she who gives Chihaya a copy of the video of the Class
A final, which provides something else for the restless heroine toobsess over in the hospital. The first of the big blockbuster moments comes
as Chihaya makes a phone call to Arata after her operation (interestingly, it
seems she doesn't tell him about it). It's a revealing conversation in so
many ways, starting with Arata (who happens to be ogling a photo of Chihaya's
sister at the time - I like
anything that shows off his human side). Arata confirms what's been the
dominant theme of his personal journey this season - he's never felt as
connected and at peace as he did during his time in Tokyo. Most
especially, of course, the time he spent with Chihaya playing Karuta in his
humble apartment. "No matter the match, I
always flash back to that room."
This is a conversation that's going to be analyzed to death, though
there are parts of it that certainly speak for themselves. To me, it
seems clear that it awakens a kind of self-awareness in Chihaya that's been
absent up until that point. She realizes that it was those moments that
were the pivot-point in her life, and that started her on the journey she's
obsessively (yes, I'm using that word with her a lot, and it's no coincidence)
followed ever since. Once again, we see Crunchyroll make a curious
translation choice, which has been a theme with Chihayafuru. They translate
Chihaya's thought as "I'll always love Karuta, and I'll always love
Arata." In fact, Chihaya uses the word "suki" - which
translates more correctly as "like" - but can also mean
"love" in certain contexts.
I don't want to make too much of this, but I think it's a fascinating
illustration of why Japanese doesn't always translate well into English - and
also a crucial one in the context of the moment. In Japanese, many times
translation boils down to context - the same word can mean different things in
different situations, and even then it isn't always clear (as witness Taichi's
use of "teki" earlier, which could mean "enemy" but
probably meant "rival" as he intended it). In terms of "suki",
it generally means like - the only time it would normally be used to express
love would be in directly addressing someone. In referring to someone in
the third person "daisuki" or "ai" would usually be used to
express love. Of course, it's clear Chihaya loves Karuta, and she's
certainly expressing her love for Arata here. It's also clear in this
moment that she has romantic feelings for him. But I think the reason
Suetsugu used "suki" here is to express the fact that Chihaya still
cannot separate her feelings for Arata and her feelings for Karuta - which I
think is a vital theme going forward. It isn't so much that the CR
translation was wrong, but that it - like the later line translated as
"receive Arata's passion" when the far more natural translation is
"respond to that kind of passion" - seems intended to convey
something definitive when the author probably intended to be ambiguous.
Any way you slice it, this amounts to the biggest lurch forward in the
romantic side of the story so far. While Chihaya saying she's been
working hard to get strong enough to "receive Arata's passion" is
another inexact translation that doesn't tell the whole story, it has very
broad implications, and reinforces the notion that Arata and Karuta are
inseparable in her mind. During one of their visits to the hospital
Taichi and Kana see some poems that Chihaya has been writing (having received scary instruction from Kana-chan) for a school assignment. Kanade, however,
keeps reading after Taichi has tilted at how lame the first two were - and sees
two poems that express Chihaya's feelings for Arata in clear and surprisingly
articulate terms. It's a beautiful notion, that Chihaya, still so clumsy
when speaking and clueless about her own feelings,finds her voice when using poetry.
Poetry, of course, speaks directly to Kana's soul - and it's in this
scene and the ones that follow that she has her finest moments of the
season. It's been clear for a long time that Kana knew everything about
Taichi's feelings for Chihaya, and desperately wanted the two of them to be
together. I lost it when she lost it - when she stopped in the middle of the
sidewalkand pounded Taichi's back,
over and over, before exhorting him "You have to try harder - Chihaya
won't be clueless forever!" What a sweet, sensitive and beautiful
person she is, and this is the conversation Taichi has needed to have for two
seasons. Yes he does know, as he tells her - and this is the ultimate
test of his continuing quest to be a person who doesn't run away.
There's an almost staggering brilliance in the way Suetsugu connects the
big moments in the series the way Shinobu connects herself to the cards -
there's a red string of fate from Taichi's moment on the train platform with
Harada-sensei in episode 20 of season one that leads right to this moment with
Kana-chan. This is the most visible and dynamic journey inChihayafuru, and it hasn't been a smooth one -
there have been fits and starts and self-inflicted detours. But Taichi is progressing
- he is moving forward both as a person and as a Karuta player. Now he
faces the highest hurdle yet - to declare his love to Chihaya, knowing
full-well he might be rejected. "Forward. We can only go
forward." he says, and he's correct - this is the only direction his
journey can go, and this step can be delayed no longer. He's finally
reached Class A, and Chihaya has finally acknowledged him as a rival in
Karuta. Now he has to step up and declare his love for her no matter how
terrifying that is.
It says something about how incredible this three-way dynamic is that
despite being largely ignored all season, it remains the most compelling
romantic triangle in recent anime. Arata and Taichi could hardly be more
different, physically and otherwise. Taichi is all turbulence and
self-doubt and struggle, and Arata is forever the spinning top, moving so
swiftly and smoothly that there appears to be no effort at all. In a
sense Taichi is right to consider the moment Chihaya acknowledges him as a
rival a crucial one, because it's clear that the path to her heart is through
Karuta. If Arata is indeed moving ever closer to being an object of her
romantic love (as he surely is) it's partly because he's still the God of
Karuta in her eyes. Arata's move to Tokyo (Grandpa's insurance policy
seems to guarantee it will happen - sorry, Dad) is so crucial in every respect
because at last, Chihaya will come to know the person and not the God - the
reality and not the fantasy. And so, at the same time, will we - for
Arata has remained for most of the series a distant presence, only rarely
showing us his vulnerabilities. Nothing will ever be the same once that
move happens.
This is a cruel time indeed to cut off the series, on the eve of a
Karuta training camp Fujisaki is holding, and that Sakurazawa-sensei has
invited Mizusawa to. It's crucial because Kana has engineered it as a two-person trip for Taichi and
Chihaya - a chance for Taichi
to at last share his feelings, if he can summon the courage. The reality,
as I've mentioned before, is that there simply won't be enough manga material
for a third season for a very long time - probably the better part of three
years. By any measure Chihayafuru is more successful than ever - the
manga remains a powerhouse (over 300K in the first two weeks for Vol. 21) and
despite a shift to a more expensive format Blu-ray Vol. 1 outsold the first
volume of the first season. But will the impetus to move ahead with a S3
still be there in 2016? We'll see. The wild-card here is an OVA due
in September. Normally OVAs don't deal with heavy canon storylines, but
the tea leaves seem to indicate that this one will - that training camp will
likely be the subject of the episode, and with it a crucial moment in Chihaya
and Taichi's development.
And with the end of the season comes another dilemma for me. When
S1 ended there was no decision about reading the manga, because there were (and
are) no translations of the bulk of the chapters that make up S2, and a second
season seemed like a better-than-even bet. Now, we're looking at a long
wait if we get another season at all - and the continuation of the storyline in
manga form is very much available in English. Do I cave and finally read
the manga, spoiling myself for a potential third season? Or do I remain a
pure-pure boy, saving myself for a season that may never come? Agony, I
tell you - I suppose I'll take a few days to decide one way or the other.
In the meantime, I can look back on an astonishing year's worth of anime
from Madhouse. What an emotional roller-coasterChihayafuru is, combining the most stressful
elements of shounen, shoujo and josei into an impossibly compelling and
frustrating package. I adore this show, even if I don't love the second
season as much as the first. I'e already been quite clear on why - the
balance and pacing of the season simply haven't been as spot-on as they were in
S1. Too much Karuta, too much time spent on marginally interesting
moments and preliminary matches, not enough focus on the core cast like Taichi,
Arata, Kanade and Tsutomu. I would have been fine with Morio-sensei
speeding up the tournament some and devoting the last few episodes to the
chapters that follow - as I said, I don't take it as holy writ that directors
have to be letter-faithful when adapting manga (look at the wonders
Watanabe-sensei achieved with Nazo
no Kanojo X by making major
changes in pacing and chapter order). But of course if he had, he would
have been delaying any possible third season even further - so let's be
optimistic and hope he didn't because Madhouse fully expects that season to
become a reality.
Remembering just how great this show is, even with its inconsistencies,
is probably a good way to finish. Watching a well-written show about
fascinating and endearing kids you come to care about deeply is one of anime's
greatest pleasures, and moments like that scene between Taichi and Kana-chan
can only come with the deep emotional buy-in Chihayafuruhas.
Thank you sincerely to Suetsugu-sensei, Mori-sensei and Madhouse for bringing
us one of the greatest character arcs - and characters - in amime with
Taichi. And for Arata's nobility and class, for Chihaya's shounen
male-lead intensity and emotional vulnerability, Kanade's beautiful soul and
Tsutomu's self-effacing courage and determination and Nishida's everyman
struggles. For supporting players and opponents and the wonderful coaches
and adults like Harada-sensei and The Empress, and for bringing my attention to
the strange and utterly fascinating ancient sport of Karuta. Chihayafuru is very, very special, and whether the
OVA is the end of the anime or not, I'll never forget the experience of
watching it.
