Chihayafuru Season 2: Episode 18 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2026-01-15 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
Comments
Thank you for your comments! I could read this one (the other was flagged for spoilers, hints, or clues, so I couldnβt read it)! Thank you for the talk about Taichi characterization. Thank you for all this information on Taichi from your perspective! I love those points about Taichiβs thoughts on Arata! And yes, this mangaka is going to give Taichi so much angst - our poor dude! I had not thought of the fact that his reinforcement makes him fear his relationship with Chihaya and Arata being on edge. And yes, bless Harada-sensei! And for Taichi to come so far since that moment a year ago? Definitely great for our dude! Heβs growing! I look forward to seeing more with him! Thank you for the comment!
Romaniablack
2026-01-22 02:00:57 +0000 UTCSo I wanted to have a separate comment for Taichi. Im not Foranoda who has more information on the poems but I wanted to look up the poem and talk about the characterization we get for Taichi this episode. The poem goes My fear is that you will forget your promise to never forget me so I would prefer to die now while I am still happy. Well that's not heartbreaking at all cries internally I agree that if we apply the poem to Taichi then I think you are right that Taichi doesnt want to be forgotten by Chihaya and I would say by Arata as well. I think there is a side of Taichi that is jealous of Arata and wants to "forget" Arata and create distance between himself and Arata because of his romantic feelings for Chihaya which is why he's happy to forget as he says but he cant fully forget because as Taichi says he's bad at forgetting he cant forget their promise that they made as children and he cant forget the beautiful memories they've shared. Despite Taichi's conflicted feelings remembering Arata is encouraging for Taichi because Arata is genuinely the one person his age who acknowledged Taichi and was friends with him for who he is despite faults and all and became a reason for Taichi to change and improve through karuta . I say that he is the one person because Chihaya is not aware of their conversation as kids of Arata calling out Taichi for being a coward and so I feel that Chihaya has a different perspective on Taichi than Arata does . I agree from the discussion as well that even if Taichi was popular in middle school Im sure he was miserable not being able to be with Arata and Chihaya. Of course in the climax of this finals the mangaka had to give us more angst with Taichi and make us think of these sad details. In thinking more about the poem and Taichi's character and upbringing I do think that for Taichi he believes that karuta is what mainly ties him to Arata and Chihaya and so while Taichi is using karuta for self-improvement and striving to become someone who wont run away I also feel that Taichi's desperation to improve is so not to be left behind by Chihaya and Arata which has kind of come up in this match. Considering that Taichi was probably only given positive reinforcement at home when he won it wouldnt surprise me if subconsciously there is a fear or anxiety for Taichi that his relationship with Chihaya and Arata will only last if he plays at their level of karuta. I think apart from his thoughts on Arata I love Taichi drawing inspiration from his matches with Harada. I always get emotional when it comes to Taichi and Harada's relationship because I genuinely think that Taichi would have lost all hope and confidence in himself if he didnt have Harada sensei. It was just a year ago in Chihayafuru that Taichi lost his second Class B finals and was overwhelmed by Arata's presence and Harada tried to encourage a depressed Taichi by offering to bend the rules and advance him to class A. Taichi has grown so much from declining that offer till now and I really want his hard work and determination to be rewarded in this match and in the individuals as well.
sanime
2026-01-16 09:43:56 +0000 UTCThis was a really good episode for everyone even if Tsukuba and Tsutomu lost. I was really glad that Tsukuba defended his Tsukuba card as I call it since it starts wit his name and it sucks that he lost but he did really well. I also wish he had tapped into his inner weird more. I like that even though Tsutomu's analysis was correct for most part Im glad that he doesnt want to just be limited by that analysis and wants to overcome it. I think that Tsutomu is going to be incredibly good next year as long as he keeps this mindset. I really love his development. Makoto revealing that he finds Rion's karuta and Rion beautiful yeah right I dont love Rion he's fooling no one. Makoto's way of being all grumbly and flustered is actually so funny and adorable. Im looking forward to what he'll say to Rion after the match. Shinobu just awakened a new drive leading up to the individuals and that's terrifying but exciting. Ive said enough on the whole reader thing I just wanted to add that Yamashiro was reading for both the third place match and finals since they were in the same room - the other guy beside her was overseeing the third place match like Murao. As controversial as it is, karuta is a pretty niche sport and on top of that being a reader for these matches already requires you to be Class A plus other qualifications and so I genuinely dont think there was anyone else on the level they needed to read for the finals and if Im wrong about that then that's fine. I dont know how they organize it but it could also be that if there are other readers on Yamashiro's level then they are booked for other tournaments throughout the year but it seems like Yamashiro generally is the main reader for the more prestigious matchups. Suou is quite interesting. He is either someone who is strategic or he just acts on impulse but asking for a personal recording from Yamashiro is interesting. It is quite ironic to me that the coach of Shinobu's karuta society keeps inviting her there to practice with others and is surprised that she refuses. I mean for Shinobu going to that karuta society and being around people who are her age is just going to remind her of her isolation and what she's been told this entire time that it is better for her to be alone to be stronger. When Nishida's coach said last season well both the current master and queen have no teachers in their lives so they wont advance karuta through teaching others now we know at least for Shinobu that she was isolated and molded to be an ideal queen and nothing more so her not having any interest in teams or teaching karuta at least makes lots of sense. Shinobu while she is similar to Arata in the sense that she is really good she was kind of forced to take this path even though Im sure she wants to be queen while Arata chose to strive for being master. At least Shinobu is realizing that there are many players like Rion Chihaya Yuube and Megumu who would face her head on and not run away from a challenge. I love Arata's description of the competitive environment describing the air getting thinner as there is alot more pressure and tension as the players are both on the edge of their seats but struggling to keep up at the same time and so him saying who will win and be the first to breathe was such a good way to describe that release of the tension building up in the karuta room. I think I'll comment on Taichi separately because there are some interesting details to talk about. I really want all three of them to win and even if all three of them dont win I agree that at least Taichi and Nishida need to win their matches for a confidence boost.
sanime
2026-01-16 08:23:54 +0000 UTC
