（＊〇□〇）……！GAHHHH!!!!! Somehow, I completely missed the fact episode 2 and 3 came out on the same day! (Thanks Berry for letting me know!!! QAQ;||||) So that’s the reason why I hadn’t covered it last week with episode 2! Ughhhhhhhhhhh. Better late than never I suppose. I also learned episode 4 and 5 are coming out the same day on Tuesday, so I’ll be releasing those two entries together Episode 4 & 5 as a double post. ANYWAYS, I guess it makes sense considering how late the show had started this Fall if they want to end it on schedule with the rest.
AND BOY! It was another super fun episode! Even though we didn’t get to see the entire matches, nevertheless, it still got me all fired up! It was great to see some really fun match-ups, many with familiar faces! Chihaya was also able to overcome one of the many hurdles she will be facing as she fights her way to the top, Takemura, the runner-up for Masters (against Suo)! Her next obstacle is in the quarter finals against Inokuma Haruka, former queen, whom Sakurazawa had challenged and lost to four times.
But the biggest thing to come out of this episode was Chihaya’s refined form. As it turns out, it wasn’t that Chihaya’s right hand was rusty due to two months of rest. Rather, she is not using as much excessive force in her swings as she had used to. Thanks to having played with her left-hand, it not only had contributed to improving her hand-eye coordination and broadening her awareness of both her’s and her opponents’ vulnerable spots, but it also helped her get closer to the secrets behind Shinobu’s ‘silent karuta’.
We also got to see the Miyauchi come to watch Chihaya perform. My heart melted when she asked Sakurazawa whether or not Chihaya has what it takes to become Queen. Seriously, Miyauchi is such a great teacher and has to be one of, if not the best club advisor we have seen in sports series! Even though she doesn’t really understand karuta, she respects Chihaya’s passion and wants to support her dreams. It is why it is kind of sad in a way, that there is no opportunity of becoming a professional karuta player. So for Chihaya, aside from her goal of earning the Queen title, she had been inspired to become a teacher herself, all so she could become a karuta club advisor. But with her poor grades, it is a difficult road ahead of her, so Miyauchi wants to help her in any way she can. Actually in hindsight of this, I wonder if this tournament is going to prompt her to figure out a way to get her to the Master and Queen’s qualifiers during their school trip to Kyoto! She has been pretty shrewd with the way she managed to protect their club room, so who knows, maybe she just might be able to get them permission to make it work!
And then we have Taichi, who has found himself on a rocky boat again. His struggle to keep his emotions in-check has proven detrimental to him time and time again. While he has made improvements when Chihaya is present, he is still has a lot to work on. But she isn’t the only one pulls the trigger, (albeit she continues to be the reason for it) Arata continues to be his biggest obstacle in more ways than one. And it is quite frustrating to see him succumb to jealousy. It’s been a problem that had persisted since they had first met. He always feels like Arata either is ahead of him, or just when he thinks he finally has a lead, the guy is already catching up to him. For Taichi, even though there’s a part of him that would like to play against Arata’s team, the one that wins out is his insecurity and bitterness of Arata entering the world which he previously claimed to have left behind. It’s not that Taichi believes Arata is being cocky when he learns he is now trying to form his own Karuta Club at school, but rather he fears this will present the opportunity for Chihaya and Arata to continue to get closer, despite being so far apart. I like Taichi, but I have to admit, these kind of petty reactions do irk me from time to time. Geez, poor Arata. The guy was happy to share some advice, and just wanted to know about how things went when they put together their club. (Turns out while Taichi using humming the school song to reset his memory, Arata uses math!)
Luckily he didn’t let his discussion with Arata get into his head during his match, but still! I wish Taichi could sort himself out so he can actually enjoy his time with Arata. It’s clear in his heart, he wants to be able to discuss karuta with him and such, but as soon as Arata reveals himself to be doing things that in Taichi’s mind, brings him closer to Chihaya, jealousy takes the wheel! Well, at least he’s conscious of it…
Well that’s all I have to say for this episode! Considering the epic way they ended the episode, I suppose my error isn’t all in vain, since now I only have to wait two days until the next ones come out! Haha!
Just wanted to comment that it’s not jealousy that causes Taichi to lash out. He’s struggling a lot on his own in karuta, and team matches are the one place where he doesn’t fear anything, not even Arata. So this is literally Arata invading his safe space.