Chihayafuru Season 2: Episode 23 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2026-02-19 14:00:18 +0000 UTC
Comments
Ah, thanks for the correction on Sumire! That makes sense! I’m not saying he’s cured of his lack of confidence, but to go from a high and then he’s “on fire” going through the competition only to come to a complete halt - I talked about it at length in the discussion, and I don’t think it’s invalid of me to feel that way about the mangaka’s decision, especially when I’m rooting for a character. I disagree based on the body language and some of the ways he was facing Rion - and her reaction - at the start of the match. And Miyuki - to me - is similar to Taichi but those are apples and oranges in comparison so I don’t know if I personally agree entirely on that. I don’t think I was misunderstanding his confidence at all - I just think that the way the pacing of the entire match was handled felt cheap to me and fishing for drama when, as I explained at length in the discussion, it could have been handled differently.
Romaniablack
2026-02-23 15:50:46 +0000 UTCThat is fair to know – it’s just a personal preference I wanted you all to know I have. I’m going to be an honest reactor, as you all know, with how I feel about things. But I do agree, that season 2 has been weirdly paced and that’s probably not been helpful overall.
Romaniablack
2026-02-23 15:43:26 +0000 UTCI am glad you all know that what I'm saying is a fair complaint -- and I went into a lot of detail in my discussion - yes, I was ranting, but it's because I'm passionate about the story and his character. I know he cares more for Chihaya than himself. I know he's selfless. I've talked for almost a YEAR at length on this channel for hours -- it's just after all this time when I have expectations and they aren't met -- I thought it would be best to just be honest and share them. But if it's just upsetting those watching, then I'll hold my tongue and not saying anything, I suppose. But I wanted to be honest with folks as a reactor.
Romaniablack
2026-02-23 15:36:32 +0000 UTCRight, but in the match he doesn't compare her to Chihaya until towards the end of the match - I talk about what I didn't like about this in the discussion, but I am well aware this happens.
Romaniablack
2026-02-23 15:34:37 +0000 UTCI love your comment! I didn't really care about him grabbing her arm because it created a perfect parallel when she grabbed his arm in the exact same way in season one. She grabbed his arm and lifted him up dragging him to watch Harada and Suo match because they were going to be Taichis's competition when he reached class A. And now he's doing the same thing to get Chihaya to watch her competition for the queen title. This author loves to work with parallels.
Greice Conta do YTB
2026-02-21 17:38:57 +0000 UTCI felt sad, but there were some parts that were indeed amusing. I love how protective she's of Chihaya.
Greice Conta do YTB
2026-02-21 17:34:28 +0000 UTCI couldn't agree more. I actually feel sad that she's scared of being canceled for her opinions. Romania was that upset exactly because she's that invested into this story and the characters.
Greice Conta do YTB
2026-02-21 17:33:42 +0000 UTCFor me, seeing that you're so passionate about the discussion and letting out all these feelings mean that you really care about the show and the characters. A person wouldn't be so frustrated if it was about a media that they didn't really care that much about. This is also how I talk about my favorite characters with people sometimes. Being so frustrated at Taichi just means you really want him to improve, and you've already said multiple times that you want to root for him and want him to make Class A. So there's no problem with me with this reaction at all. Everyone reacts to media differently. It would be so boring to want everyone I watch react the same as I do. I watch reactions to get other people's perspectives. Don't feel bad for saying what you truly feel girl ^^
Alice
2026-02-20 10:48:42 +0000 UTCSo I guess i'm alone in saying that I absolutely loved the crashout this episode 😂
Alice
2026-02-20 10:43:03 +0000 UTCSeeing Taichi finally reach Class A is something that I had been waiting to happen for the longest time. It was freaking time. One thing that I noticed and liked is how we start Season 1 with Chihaya becoming a Class A player, and now we're ending Season 2 with Taichi becoming Class A; it's not exactly a one-for-one mirroring, but it works for me in a very fun way, almost like this was a little arc of the story and now we can move on to the next part. Look, I LOVED seeing Taichi win the match against Rion, I was hyped and excited for him... but, yeah, I wanted to scream in frustration at him when he lost all focus because Chihaya showed up. I suspected that was going to be the case, I didn't want Chihaya to show up because I feared she would throw Taichi off his game - especially after Nishida said that Taichi wouldn't really want her there, because Taichi is too emotional for his own good and for how analytical his mind is. Seeing him floundering arround was painful. I wanted Chihaya to see the same cool-headed, in-control Taichi that had played in the tournament till that point. I'm glad Taichi was able to reel himself back and talk himself off that ledge, I think that's a good sign that some progress is been made with him, but I would have rather not have had to see that. Anyways, a moment that I really enjoyed seeing was Fujisaki's coach been so careful and kind to Chihaya; she does seem rather cold and hard, but in the end she's always pretty gentel, yet firm, with everyone we've seen her interact. I want to see more of her in the series. You know, now that I think about it a little, this episode's pacing did feel off. I remember been very surprised that we cut to Arata and Shinobu at the beginning of the episode, I was so sure that the whole episode was going to be dedicated to Taichi. I guess it was needed for Chihaya to make the decision to go support Taichi rather than watch the Class A finals, but it still felt odd to me. At this point, I'm not surprised that this anime doesn't show important matches. I was more frustrated with it in Season 1, but at this point I feel like I have gotten used to it. I do wish that we got to see more Karuta matches, and from more character than just the main three more often. Taichi is one of my favorite characters, he is, but man, seeing him just rush in and forcibly grab Chihaya's arm to drag her to watch Arata's game because he thinks that's what she should be doing was a rough moment; that looked like it hurt, the way he was dragging Chihaya. Sure, he stops once he realizes that Chihaya isn't actually following him, and that's good, but it doesn't quite erase the sour taste in my mouth. So, yeah, this episode was a mix bag of feelings.
Alexandra Q
2026-02-20 04:10:46 +0000 UTCIn my view, Arata is one of the very few people Shinobu does like, even though he makes her mad.
Clifford
2026-02-20 03:01:42 +0000 UTCIt's so frustrating its funny at this point. At least we can enjoy the episode in the comment section lmaoo.
sanime
2026-02-20 00:19:21 +0000 UTCI agree that Taichi right now doesnt consider himself to be important to Chihaya which is why he is genuinely shocked when she does prioritize him over Arata because from Taichi's perspective Arata is who she needs to fully embrace her dreams that he saw her cry over the first time she lost to Shinobu and so he is willing to remove himself from the picture to push them closer even though that hurts him. That's why when Taichi is like oh she's not coming to watch me that is coming from a logical standpoint not a woe is me Im sad she's not coming to see me standpoint.
sanime
2026-02-20 00:01:10 +0000 UTCI was looking forward to this episode, only to be greeted by yelling.
iHatePiano
2026-02-19 23:45:38 +0000 UTCSo Taichi compares Rion to Chihaya to calm himself down because he feels at ease playing her plus they have similar talents of good game sense and he wants to challenge himself with a much more reasonable goal which is beating Chihaya because thinking of beating Suou in this case or Arata makes him spiral
sanime
2026-02-19 20:12:03 +0000 UTCOk so some minor corrections Sumire lost in the quaterfinal not the semifinal. Ok let's talk about Taichi since I didn't have some of the same interpretations. I think that the finals as I stated before was very much him. I think even without the context of Arata vs Shinobu if Chihaya or his mom or just someone he didn't expect to be there or someone he has an emotional attachment to showed up similar to Nishida and his sister in the Hokuo match he would have fallen apart. Winning one match against Eromu while it was a really great moment and match for Taichi does not guarantee that he is magically cured of his lack of confidence and self destructive tendencies but what it has done is helped him to mentally recover much faster by noticing those negative habits and correcting them better and resetting without needing external help like episode 4 in this season. One thing I don't agree with is that Taichi was being down on himself thinking that Chihaya wasnt showing up why would he feel down on something that he adamantly wanted He didn't want Chihaya to be there he wants her to be Queen He wouldn't have any regrets if he won and she wasn't there I think the fact that he fell apart and put himself together with her to watch is actually much better for Taichi in the long run. Taichi in terms of a sports protagonist reminds me of Miyuki from AOD when he's on a roll he's there when he's not on a roll he's not there until he pulls himself together and that inconsistency is Taichis flaw. I was actually so happy that Taichi finally was like wow I was freaking out and making a mountain of a molehill for no reason I can win five matches in a row and be calm about it then he lost that confidence I'm not blaming Chihaya either I love that she came to watch I'm kinda surprised that you misunderstood Taichis confidence for self pity when you said it yourself that him asking why was he here is him finally hitting his stride which is exactly what that was
sanime
2026-02-19 20:03:07 +0000 UTCMen can be emotionally distant. I have subscribed to you because I value your appreciation of female to female social interaction. My take on Taichi's lack of proper emotional and social response to Chihaya's genuine relief and celebration of his promotion is that he fears he might go too far if he gets down with her and embraces her: he loves her that much, but he has not told her that truth. He is also giving Arata too much respect where Chihaya is concerned: he is not willing to be ruthless toward any perceived chances of romance between Arata and Chihaya. Furthermore, Taichi believes that Arata's superior talent for karuta might be what Chihaya needs to become the Queen, so he refuses to cut her off from Arata's communication and influence even when it hurts his own chances for a romance with Chihaya.
Clifford
2026-02-19 20:00:00 +0000 UTCSo in the manga we don't get focus on the quarterfinals at all basically one panel then we follow Sumire showing what's happening in the other classes then straight to the semifinal for Class A and B. Personally I think that's fine because the outcome of the matchups were obvious. The episode adapts a chapter and a half We start halfway through one chapter and then the next chapter ends with Taichi and Chihaya crying together out of joy for making it to Class A. It's one to one. I think season 2 has been weirdly paced overall and that's probably messing with your perspective of this episode probably.
sanime
2026-02-19 19:26:24 +0000 UTCI was looking forward to watching Taichis triumphant comeback with you but I'll come back later since I need to steel myself for an angry rant incoming. 😑 I think similarly to Will that being upset with Taichi for being distracted for most of his match is fair but it's very in character that at the end of the day he's going to be more worried about Chihaya than himself and I like that it is a hurdle that he has overcome in stages honestly the slow burn of Taichis character is far more enjoyable to me than even the slow burn of the romance which I still enjoy. Taichi always has his mind racing and so I'm glad that by the end of the episode Chihaya through her compassion helps him to slow down and take in the moment of him making it to Class A.
sanime
2026-02-19 19:12:39 +0000 UTCI agree that the episode felt like it covered a lot in a little time. But I feel like I completely understand Taichi's reasoning. Just like Chihaya really cares about Taichi becoming class A, Taichi really cares about Chihaya watching Shinobu play Arata. The 2 people she admires the most. So it makes sense how he behaves. But I have no issues with people not liking it or being frustrated by Taichi. I understand that view too. But to me, I prefer that characters behave in a way that makes sense, rather than how I wish they would. But that brings tension and frustration, so I wouldn't judge people for feeling that way. One last thing, Chihaya asking why Arata smiles is not a romantic thing, it's about not having fear or seeing Shinobu as a threat. Another last thing, Shinobu has this fake humble persona, when she talks about luck, it's just empty words that mean nothing. But Arata sees through it, so he doesn't fall for her fake humbleness. Which is why Shinobu doesn't like Arata. Okay, one last last thing for sure this time. If you remember in season 1 during the flashback episodes, both Taichi and Arata pretty much confirmed to each other that they both like Chihaya when they are kids.
Will
2026-02-19 17:47:50 +0000 UTC
