Chihayafuru 2 Episode 23: The Individuals Finals

“That one card is all I need”

Impression:
ALL THE FEELS!!! TAICHI I AM SO PROUD OF YOU BABY! CONGRATULATIONS FOR CLAIMING A SPOT INTO THE A CLASS!!!! Oh man, I cannot right now- I was so worried about him because he was cool under fire in the beginning because he was able to focus until Chihaya came into the picture and felt that he needed to rush to ensure that she gets to see Shinobu and Arata play against each other. Thankfully he was able to find his ground again by comparing his opponent, Rion to Chihaya who shares the similar game sense. It was definitely the way to go, especially since Rion as mentioned lacked the stamina Chihaya has. But I wasn’t surprised that Chihaya had chosen to go to Taichi’s match instead of Arata’s and Shinobu’s because in order to fulfill their childhoood promise, it takes all three of them to be in Class A in order to compete against each other and this is exactly why Chihaya is so emotional right now.
I was both surprised and a bit sad that Retro-kun was not Taichi’s final opponent, but having been defeated by 18 cards tells you that Retro-kun still isn’t quite there yet, especially if he wounds up facing Rion in the future. As for Rion, I was glad that she was Taichi’s opponent because she is a powerful player with a good game sense like Chihaya. This was probably one of the best opponents Taichi could ask for to go against because not once has he ever won against Chihaya, and to defeat Rion who shares similar strengths only brings him a step closer to accomplishing that.
That being said, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed by the lack of time spent on Taichi’s match. The tension was there, but I felt it was rushed a bit because you have three players that we all care about in the finals but in different rooms. Although we didn’t see anything from Tsutomu who I am very proud had made it into the finals, just going back and forth between Taichi’s and Arata’s match and insert non-match related stuff in between kind of threw off the consistency. It is a a pity because Taichi’s match to get into the A Class is something very important to all of us, but I suppose it worked out because of all the faults the two of them were committing throughout the match.
On the other hand, I am absolutely thrilled that we will be able to see Shinobu VS Arata. This match certainly won’t end quickly since the two of them are up to par with each others’ level of play. Shinobu has her unique spiritual connection with her cards, and Arata has his grandfather’s teachings and advice of, “You break an opponent by attacking their strengths” which is admittedly quite a nasty style, but works. It’s fascinating though because we’re seeing a whole different side of Arata since he is playing against such a powerful opponent. He has this really intimidating competitive air around him and his knowing smiles are really getting under Shinobu’s skin, especially when she claims, “You and I don’t need friends” and he goes, “Are you sure about that?” because secretly deep within her heart, we know that Shinobu wants friends. So I am really excited to see how this match will unfold and resolve because if Arata defeats Shinobu, while he does not claim the ‘Queen’ Title himself, he will (if such title exists) the second King to defeat Suo who would then be the present King who is the Champion- meteorically speaking. Also by stripping Shinobu of her title, this would also result her first loss in years and honestly I can’t tell whether she would be happy or not because she has always desired a powerful opponent to play against.
Finally last but not least, ahhh the poor reader for the Class B finals. He absolutely failed the certified readers exam since he completely snapped under the pressure of being judged for his readings.
By the way although we still have two more episodes after this…
CAN WE HAVE A THIRD SEASON PRETTY PLEASE!? *SPARKLING EYES*