Chihayafuru – 17

“Do these pants make my butt look big?”

Misuzawa Fighto~! Now that we are done with the filler recap episode, which did have some funny moments like Taichi’s OTLness of trying to date Chihaya and him getting beat with the master of none tag. Time to rejoin Kara in the current bumtastic episode of Chihayafuru~

Well we skipped over last episode because it was fillertastic and 90% flashbacks, but we’re back this time! Will all of the extra work the team put in pay off? Let’s find out!

If you’re curious as to what actually happened in episode 16, it was entirely flashbacks with a few extra jokes here and there so people would actually sit through the episode. If you like incessant jokes about Kana’s boob size or how undatable Chihaya is, go ahead and watch. Episode 17 starts with the Mizusawa Athletic festival and the Karuta club running in a race against other more athletic teams. They win, but despite the extra attention, they don’t get any new members. As Taichi goes over the upcoming tournaments and a strategy to win, his girlfriend calls and the two break up. Everyone reacts as apparently none of them have luck with the opposite gender (though we all know that Chihaya is more interested in card games than relationships), but Taichi is too busy thinking of Arata. ….Uhhh…

This romance-card games thing appears to be contagious.

Anyways, the team practices and Desktomu almost gives up again since he’s got the body of a stick and can’t build muscle. However, advice from Chihaya to Kana about her similar problem helps him not to give up. Later, Taichi invites Chihaya to a tournament in Kanazawa, but she ends up not being able to afford it. Next thing you know, Chihaya is asleep on Taichi’s shoulder and he looks like he’s going to hold her hand. HOWEVER, he claps instead, causing Chihaya to wake up and react. He feels guilty about a bunch of things and that’s what stopped him. Tables were flipped.

(ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ 彡┻━┻

At the tournament, Taichi is surprised to run into Nishida since neither of them told each other that they would be there. Also, Retro-kun is there, but nobody cares notices him. However, the guy Taichi plays against is super fast. Meanwhile, the people at Chihaya’s Karuta society notice how much she’s improved since her last run in with the Queen. However, Chihaya still makes the same amount of mistakes, so Harada tells her to stop taking cards using her speed. It also doesn’t help that a future career survey is handed out at school and Chihaya can only think of becoming Queen.

Chihaya doesn’t understand Harada’s statement about her speed and Taichi and Nishida are both tired from losing the tournament. In the next round of practice, Chihaya and Desktomu play a round and Chihaya wins. However, Desk-kun then pulls out a notebook and notes that Chihaya is really good at taking cards from some areas but fails at others. So hypothetically speaking, Desk-kun could position his cards strategically and Chihaya would have a harder time winning. This both impresses Chihaya and makes her finally understand Harada’s advice. Also, Kana points out that two similar sounding cards are written many years apart and feel like different colours (it sounds less like a drug trip in the actual anime).

Later, Chihaya’s teacher comes by to remind Chihaya about the future survey and is shocked to find her in the library. It turns out that Chihaya is studying the Karuta poems.

You know that it’s srs bsns when Hermione Chihaya is in the library.

May the card games be with you:

Arata, you perv!

Taichi’s life is suffering

Breaking up #likeaboss

And immediately thinking about Arata as a goal…

Our reaction: DO NOT WANT!!!

Because when you think prostitutes, you think rich green.

End Thoughts:

Since when has Kana’s bust size been such an important part of the story? Honestly, they mentioned it for the first time last episode and suddenly Kana has actual in anime fanboys. This had better not become a running joke. I was quite happy with this anime without it being your stereotypical fanservice trap. Moving on, it looks like Chihaya will finally show improvement. …Not that she hasn’t improved before, but I mean improving beyond remembering to breathe or moving faster. It looks more like she’ll be changing her paying style and making it more accurate, which in my opinion, is probably one of the biggest things she’s done thus far. …Or in this case, one of the biggest things she’ll be doing. Assuming she actually does it. I hope she does.

The entire team seems to be in a losing streak now. Not only the losses from Omi Jingu, but Nishida and Taichi lost their chance to be A Class and if Taichi was any indication, I’d say that they lost in the first round. Psh, Chihaya makes it look easy. Once again, Nishida’s match was forgotten and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kana ever actually take a card. Sure she’s been seen after winning some, but have we ever actually seen her physically move to get it? If she has, I don’t remember it. Anyways, the team is trying to improve now, but we’re not really seeing the results of their efforts. Hell, it looks like they were doing better BEFORE they started training. Hopefully it pays off by the end.

I thought that Taichi had broken up with his Chihaya-replacement girlfriend a loooong time ago, but apparently not. While I kind of feel sorry for the girl since she was ignored for so long for a card game, I find it hilarious that Arata is the #1 thing on Taichi’s mind at the moment. Chihaya dreaming about Shinobu is one thing, but now Arata and Taichi as well? AHAHAHA… Whatever happened to the cute love triangle this show started out with? There was ALMOST some romantic development here, but it looks like Taichi will have to get over his budding homolust inferiority complex about Arata before anything can happen. DAMN IT, MAN UP TAICHI!

Like I predicted previously, the Karuta club is all set to train and make themselves better. I loved how they won in the track race but mannn, like Kara I want some winning now too. I want to feel that euphoria of WINNING because man, all of them have sure been working hard and still being left behind. This is the reality check of this sport though, because it’s definitely not easy and you always tend to find better and more dedicated players. So, Kana and Desk-kun in particular have a long way to go, while Nishida and Taichi are getting there but they definitely need that nitro-boost now to level-up and win the final bouts of Karuta-class-race. Whatever the next tournament is, move alone folks! I need some excitement!

Though I always thought that Taichi had broken up with that clingy girl already, I was surprised on his short and curt call of ‘Hmm, let’s break up.’  Of course, I would have preferred him to actually say it on her face rather than phone but oh well, she was never important to begin with; though this also proves that he hasn’t really grown and manned up in the fact of being candid about his feelings and his goals. I actually resented the fact and understand why Crusader is always at his throat with a proverbial giant knife, calling him a coward. Though I won’t go that far, I definitely want him to MAKE A MOVE at least soon. And of course it’s through Karuta that he will speak and show his skill. Yeah, Class A GET. Also, I know he’s piping down his confession because he first wants to BE SOMETHING and maybe beat Arata in future but he really needs to catch up and train harder.

Props to Chihaya for getting all serious about the play with learning and adapting. In any kind of sport and even in work life, if you fear change and are not willing to adapt, you’ll be left behind feeling high and dry because time stops for no one. To keep up with time and developing skills you have to be on the learn-mode forever, while keeping every external and internal factor in check. I’m liking how Desk-kun has an internal roaster of opposing players’ strength and weaknesses, which will help the other  team members to overcome them in the long run. Currently, everyone needs practice to prepare for the next round, especially Chihaya of course because if Harada-sensei’s observations is to be believed, she has to develop her own style of speed + accuracy. And soon.

Preview: Card games. Maybe Chihaya will change up her playing style and someone might actually win a game for once.

About Tag Team

We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.