Impression: Filling for Vantage this week :3
Ahhhh what a beautiful and enjoyable episode. I will never, ever, EVER get tired of that gorgeous slow-motion sequence as Chihaya claims her card before anyone else hears the sound. /SWOONS It is always so pretty!
It was very interesting to see that a handful of committee members for the tournament aren’t very fond of Suo, the present Master. One of the members used the fact that Arata is a true potential that they, officials should not interfere with his growth and take away the opportunity of potentially becoming the next Master. They were even closer to allowing him to play after Arata’s friends came barging in begging to let it slide since it’s entirely their fault and that he was only trying to help them out so that they could play. But Arata felt he deserved the punishment and decided to go along with it until Shinobu gave him a piece of her mind like, “NOPE. NOPE. FIRST THE BIRDMAN RALLY BEING CANCELED NOW YOU ARE BEING DISQUALIFIED? OH HELLLLLL NO. I WILL FORFEIT IF YOU DON’T PLAY.” This also shows how badly she wants to have a match against him, so I am glad he gave in. FOUR FOR YOU SHINOBU!!!! (Also she was amazing, freaking everyone out by peering into the window, being drenched by the rain and lightning flashing! /cackles It was awesome! Actually thanks to her, Chihaya was able to focus again)
One of the main reasons Arata felt that he needed to be punished was that he let his emotions get the better of him. He was jealous that Chihaya and Taichi had their own team, and he regrets not having his own- especially when it would have given him the opportunity to play with them both and also more time playing against them.
With that said, while Vantage and I were talking about this dreadful situation I mentioned that, “As miserable as it would have be for Arata not to be able to compete, it would make it easier for us to choose who the cheer for.” Because lets face it, we are dealing with this horrible dilemma of having to choose which would love to see more:
A) Shinobu VS Arata
B) Chihaya VS Shinobu
C) Arata VS Chihaya
All three matches are something I would LOVE to see, however with the given situation only 2/3 can happen, varying on how it plays out in each of their own individual matches with the other opponents.
However if I had to choose, I would go with A and B- assuming (aren’t I horrible) Chihaya were to lose against the queen. As much as I would love to see Chihaya play Arata, I think it would be in her best interest for the sake of experience and testing her growth to compete against Shinobu first.
Speaking of Chihaya, boy this wasn’t a good game for her. For the majority of the game, she was not in control due to the fact her opponent kept on moving the cards around, making it even harder for her to memorize their locations. I think for situations like this, Chihaya should definitely learn or adapt to either Nishida’s defensive Karuta or Kanade’s brilliant strategy where as she knows of the stories behind the poems and is able to identify where they are located easily, regardless how many times they are moved. Both strategies would help to cover Chihaya’s greatest weak point- but Nishida’s defensive strategy might interfere with her Offensive strategy too much. Since Chihaya has been able to adapt quite well to both Suo’s and Shinobu’s style, I believe if she can find a way balance one or both strategies she’ll have another handy card up her sleeve, she will be on a whole new level, and it’s definitely something I would LOVE to see.
The Empress is their number one supporter. While she is in awe and adores Yamaguichi Mioka High School, she quickly felt offended when she heard their supervisor say how it’s a convenient tool. However, much to my relief: while Nakayama does enjoy and compare it to those buzzer games, he loves competitive Karuta. He has a game sense called Lag Effect, which is when one buzz in while the poem is being read and catch that extra syllable. He loves the intensity and environment he plays in. For him it is incredibly thrilling and exciting. On the other hand, much to my surprise- he was the only player on his team that we actually got an insight on. So with that said, I think it’s safe to assume that other players don’t love Karuta the way he does.
Sumire failed to pick up the fact that Komano is scouting not because he doesn’t want to compete, he genuinely wants them to win, and not let his strong point (scouting and taking notes of their rivals) going to waste. Komano is smart, he knows that he is not the strongest player, and he most importantly he probably wants to let Tsukuba get experience on the field because of his potential. However I would really love to see him play, I really do. I miss seeing him compete- and I think judging his reaction to Sumire’s comment on how she prefers scouting over competing implies that he too misses it. So I am not sure what to think when Nishida suggests they continue without Komano despite the fact Tsukuba requested to switch up (because he is exhausted). Nishida is that one character I go back and forth about when it comes to his decisions so I am crossing my fingers that he and Komano are on the same page.
Chihaya now knows that Arata is in the building, as much as she wanted to get more information from Sumire where he is, Taichi made a smart move- even if it’s partially based on jealousy to quickly cut off her questions about him. He knows very well how easy for Chihaya to lose focus, and he wants her to stay focused so that they can win. He can’t afford to let her thoughts idle elsewhere- nor does he want her to think about Arata at all.
Finally last but not least, while Chihaya may have the beauty of the consolation of Vega (Orihime), without a doubt she is definitely more of Bellatrix (Female Warrior) of the Orion. However I am certain that anyone who who is familiar with Tanabata and ship Chihaya x Arata were probably squealing as much as I did because of all the FEELS!!!!!!! Also Tanabata is one of my favorite folktales of all time.
