Chihayafuru
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EP 1Chihaya forms a club and recalls Arata's karuta talent from childhood
Oct 5, 2011First-year Mizusawa high school student Chihaya Ayase attempts to establish a karuta club, but she struggles to gain serious interest from her peers. Her efforts are interrupted by a reunion with Taichi Mashima, a friend from East Ōsato elementary school. This encounter triggers an extended flashback to sixth grade, where Chihaya remembers standing up for Arata Wataya against elementary school students led by Taichi, who mocked Arata for his Fukui accent. During this past event, Chihaya discovers Arata's exceptional skill in competitive karuta. Arata shares his ambition to become a karuta master, defined as the top-ranked male player in the sport.
EP 2Taichi steals Arata's glasses during the karuta tournament, leading to Chihaya's victory and subsequent family reactions.
Oct 12, 2011During the elementary school karuta tournament finals, Taichi steals Arata's glasses out of fear, prompting Chihaya to substitute and win. Her mother and sister Chitose, a model hopeful, ignore the victory due to a talent scout's interest. Taichi's mother scolds him for losing, advising him to only attempt guaranteed wins, but Chihaya defends his effort in a fair fight. Taichi confesses his theft to Arata, begging him to keep it secret from Chihaya to avoid her hatred. Arata calls him a coward for the theft but acknowledges his fear of losing Chihaya's affection.
EP 3Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi play a team match against Retro and face school changes
Oct 19, 2011Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi attend a Shiranami Karuta Society practice where they meet director Dr. Harada and sixth-grader Hiro Kinashi, known as Retro. The trio competes in a three-on-three Genpei match against Retro and his friends, with Arata insisting on team play over solo competition. Encouraged by Chihaya, they enter an upcoming three-person team tournament. Meanwhile, Taichi gains admission to a prestigious middle school, and Arata learns he will return to Fukui after the school year ends. In the tournament's first round, Chihaya faces Yūsei Nishida, whom she nicknames Porky, but loses. Taichi also loses his match, resulting in the team's elimination. Following the final day of school, Chihaya expresses confidence that they will reunite as long as they continue playing karuta.
EP 4Chihaya achieves Class A status while Arata ends his karuta career
Oct 26, 2011Chihaya and Taichi bid farewell to Arata, with Chihaya vowing to become the top-ranked female karuta player and Taichi aiming to become a master. In the present, Chihaya reveals she advanced to Class B during spring break and challenges Taichi to help establish a school karuta club if she reaches Class A by winning a Sunday tournament. Harada recognizes Taichi, who admits he no longer dreams of mastery despite playing in middle school. Harada notes Chihaya’s persistence, recalling how she practiced alone even while on the track team. Chihaya wins the match and secures her promotion to Class A. She calls Arata, their first contact since elementary school, but he instructs her to stop calling as he has quit playing karuta.
EP 5Chihaya and Taichi visit Arata in Fukui, where he rejects them before Yuu returns the scattered karuta cards.
Nov 2, 2011Chihaya and Taichi travel to Fukui to see Arata. Once at his house, Arata tells them to leave. Chihaya takes out a deck of cards and tries to get him to play karuta, but Arata kicks the deck, scattering the cards. Taichi drags Chihaya away to leave. Yuu, the girl who lives next door to Arata, runs after them with the cards and tells them to take the cards away. She tells them that on a day when Arata was supposed to have been nursing his grandfather, who had had multiple strokes previously, his grandfather had another stroke and died while Arata was at a tournament making Class A. Arata realizes he still wants to be Chihaya's friend and runs after her and Taichi, who see him as their train pulls away. Taichi tells Chihaya that he will help her to form a club and to wait for Arata's return to karuta.
EP 6Chihaya secures a clubroom and recruits Kana with hakama and modeling conditions
Nov 9, 2011Chihaya persuades Taeko Miyauchi to provide a storage room for the karuta club. Kanade Ōe, currently in the archery club to wear a hakama, considers switching because she assumes karuta players share her love for classical poetry and traditional attire. She is shocked to discover that competitive karuta lacks the refined poetic atmosphere she expected and that members do not wear hakama. Despite this, Chihaya visits Kana at her family’s traditional clothing store to recruit her. Upon learning that the poems hold deep symbolic meanings and historical context, Chihaya asks Kana to explain all 100 poems. Kana agrees to join on the condition that Chihaya models kimonos for the store’s catalog and that club members wear hakama during tournaments.
EP 7Taichi and Chihaya test their karuta skills against reluctant recruit Tsutomu Komano
Nov 16, 2011Taichi evaluates his karuta abilities, relying on memorization and adaptation, while Chihaya demonstrates superior speed to claim cards even when he reacts first. Chihaya attempts to recruit Tsutomu Komano, the second-ranked first-year student known as Desk-tomu, who is constantly studying. Although skeptical of her claim that players memorize card positions, Komano pauses upon learning that Taichi, the first-ranked first-year, is already in the club. He challenges the pair to a game with cards turned over. Taichi’s stronger memorization allows him to win. Despite losing, Komano initially departs, claiming a lack of talent. Taichi reveals he also lacks natural talent and loses frequently, but prefers hardworking individuals over those with innate ability. Moved by this perspective, Komano decides to join the karuta club.
EP 8Chihaya confronts Nishida about his unfair use of karuta skills in tennis.
Nov 23, 2011At school, Chihaya encounters Nishida, who refuses to join the karuta club because he is now in the tennis club. Chihaya realizes that he is using karuta timing to play tennis and tells him that that is not fair to tennis. Nishida thinks the karuta club is at an elementary school level, so Taichi challenges him to play Chihaya. As Nishida plays, he remembers how much he enjoyed karuta. Although Chihaya wins, Nishida insists that he is still not coming back to karuta, because he can never be as good as Arata. Miyauchi passes the clubroom and sees Nishida there. When she demands that he explain why he was skipping tennis practice, he realizes he still loves karuta and decides to quit the tennis club to join the karuta club. As Chihaya draws up the list of members to request official recognition for the club, she rejoices that she is no longer alone.
EP 9Miyauchi grants club status if Chihaya is not president, leading to a camp and surprise party.
Nov 30, 2011Miyauchi offers official club status with herself as provisional advisor, provided the members choose a president other than Chihaya. The group selects Taichi, prompting Chihaya to declare herself captain. She establishes a goal of winning the Tokyo regional high school team tournament and organizes a training camp at Taichi's house during a long holiday weekend while his family is away. Chihaya imposes a rigorous schedule that exhausts Kana and Komano. When Taichi's mother and younger sister return early, Chihaya and Kana hide before moving to Chihaya's house. At midnight, Kana takes Chihaya to a park where the boys have arranged a surprise birthday party. Chihaya apologizes for the intense practice, but the others thank her for their improvement. Arata sends a text wishing Taichi a happy birthday to pass along to Chihaya, who considers it the best birthday ever.
EP 10Chihaya struggles with Arata's silence while Taichi addresses team unity issues.
Dec 7, 2011Chihaya texts Arata during the regional tournament without receiving replies, prompting her to question Taichi about his behavior. Taichi remains silent but reflects that both he and Arata view Chihaya as belonging to them. Meanwhile, a frustrated Komano quits after losing matches, though Taichi permits him to skip the semi-finals while mandating his participation in the finals. Taichi reprimands the group for lacking teamwork, which negatively impacts Chihaya’s performance. At Hokuō Academy, Retro uses tarot cards to determine the finals lineup, while captain Akito Sudō plans to toy with Chihaya if Mizusawa advances. Realizing his leadership failures, Taichi rallies the team. Chihaya is bolstered by Komano’s return, and Mizusawa secures a victory to reach the finals.
EP 11Harada and Tsuboguchi cheer for Chihaya and Taichi while Hokuō underestimates them
Dec 14, 2011Harada and Shiranami ace Hiroshi Tsuboguchi attend to support Chihaya and Taichi. Chihaya advises her team to rely on their own strengths rather than stressing over Hokuō’s lineup. Hokuō confidently assigns Retro to face Taichi and Sudō to face Chihaya, leaving other pairings random. Coach Mochida cautions against overconfidence. Arata reviews messages from Chihaya after learning the tournament has only one reader, realizing Chihaya holds an advantage due to her familiarity with the reader’s habits. Kana and Komano lose their matches. Taichi defeats Retro, and Nishida beats Nayuta Amakasu. Sudō struggles against Chihaya but remembers Mochida’s lesson that karuta is enjoyable regardless of the score. Chihaya wins against Sudō. She then sends Arata a photo of the team, inviting him to watch them at the nationals held at Ōmi Jingū.
EP 12Chihaya faces pressure while her father creates a scrapbook and Miyauchi changes her mind about karuta
Dec 21, 2011Chihaya attempts to discuss the tournament with her parents, who are distracted by Chitose’s quiz show appearance. At school, Miyauchi downplays karuta’s significance and states another teacher will accompany the club to Ōmi Jingū. After losing a match to Harada at the Shirinami Society, Chihaya feels the weight of representing Tokyo at nationals. Taichi informs her that Retro provided Hokuō’s intelligence on competitors. Chihaya returns home to find her father has started a scrapbook of her accomplishments. Later, Miyauchi visits the clubroom and realizes karuta is not trivial. She decides to learn about the game and accompany the club to Ōmi Jingū.
EP 13Chihaya collapses at Ōmi Jingū while Arata reflects on his grandfather's legacy
Jan 4, 2012During the national tournament's first round, Chihaya experiences alternating sweats and chills before passing out at Ōmi Jingū. Her team forfeits her match but proceeds with the round. Arata arrives at the venue, recalling his grandfather who coached him through a stroke, lost his lucidity, and forgot karuta. The grandfather regained clarity to command Arata to compete, leading to Arata’s Class A promotion before dying from another stroke. Praised by an official who assumes he is competing, Arata imagines confessing his love for karuta to his late grandfather. Meanwhile, the team informs Chihaya that Komano won two consecutive matches to reach the playoffs before losing to Fujisaki.
EP 14Chihaya struggles against Shinobu Wakamiya in the individual karuta tournament match.
Jan 11, 2012The individual tournament begins with Taichi aiming for Class A to face Arata. Sudō informs Chihaya that Shinobu Wakamiya, the youngest karuta queen and first-year high school student, defeats Amakasu by 24 cards in the first round. Taichi receives a bye in the Class B tournament and attends Chihaya’s second-round match against Shinobu. Although Chihaya reacts initially, Shinobu’s superior speed and accuracy allow her to claim all cards. As Chihaya falls behind, she ceases her aggressive play, disappointing Shinobu. Remembering her inability to take cards against Arata previously, Chihaya resolves not to be weaker now. She changes her strategy and begins taking cards.
EP 15Shinobu and Chihaya reflect on tournament losses while Taichi identifies stamina as a critical weakness for the club.
Jan 18, 2012Shinobu defeats Chihaya by 20 cards and vows to protect her cards, yet Chihaya’s compliment on her Snowmaru t-shirt disarms her. Chihaya resolves to improve her accuracy. Shinobu later wins the Class A final against Sudō. Chihaya watches Taichi lose the Class B final due to fatigue and slow physical speed. Taichi concludes that the club lacks stamina, prompting the group to use the remainder of the summer for physical training. Meanwhile, Arata visits Kuriyama, the Fukui Nagumo Karuta Society director, to request membership. Shinobu continues her training in solitude.
EP 16recapRecap of past events and omake segments on Mount Ogura
Jan 25, 2012This installment serves as a retrospective summary of the narrative developments that have occurred up to this point in the series. The standard recap content is interwoven with several omake segments, which provide additional lighthearted or supplementary material. These segments are interspersed throughout the episode, breaking up the summary of previous events. The content focuses on reviewing established plot points and character interactions without introducing new major story arcs or significant plot progression.
EP 17Club members pursue karuta ranking goals while Chihaya adjusts her training strategy
Feb 1, 2012Taichi researches upcoming karuta tournaments to help the club achieve specific objectives. Chihaya must prepare for the eastern queen qualifier, while Taichi and Nishida aim for Class A, though Taichi secretly hopes to enter the eastern master qualifier. Komano and Kana target Class C, with Komano noting his increased happiness since joining. Taichi travels frequently to tournaments to improve his ranking, often encountering Nishida and Retro who share the same goal, but none succeed. Meanwhile, Haruda advises Chihaya to reduce her reliance on speed. Komano details his statistical methods for strategy, and Kana highlights that Chihaya’s focus on sound and speed causes errors, whereas her own approach of distinguishing poems by meaning results in fewer faults.
EP 18Chihaya loses to Kanai and learns about timing before watching finals
Feb 8, 2012During an individual tournament, Chihaya attempts a balanced style but commits many faults while losing to Sakura Kanai. She realizes Kanai is using a strategy Komano previously described. Although defeated, Chihaya identifies that her main deficiency is timing. Later, she and Retro observe the Class B final between Taichi and Nishda, as well as the Class D final between Komano and Kana. Chihaya shifts her perspective, deciding to study her peers rather than simply support them. She finds herself particularly captivated by the match between Komano and Kana, seeking insight from their gameplay.
EP 19Chihaya reflects on faults while Komano loses to Kana and Taichi falls to Nishida.
Feb 15, 2012Chihaya notes that personal faults caused Komano to lose to Kana, mirroring her own past defeat against Kanai. Komano realizes his loss stems from himself rather than his opponent. Kana wins the match, securing Class C status for both competitors. In the subsequent bout, Taichi attempts to force a fault from Nishida by pushing him, but fails. Nishida defeats Taichi, earning a spot in Class A. During their journey home, the team observes significant improvement in their collective strength. Chihaya voices her wish to resume playing as a unified team. Upon reviewing the tournament results, Arata sees the rankings of Taichi and Nishida and decides to enter the western master qualifier.
EP 20Taichi's Tournament Loss and Arata's Unsent Note to Chihaya
Feb 22, 2012While Komano tutors Chihaya and Nishida for exams, Taichi competes in a tournament to reach Class A before the eastern master qualifier. Arata attends and gives Taichi a note with his contact details to pass to Chihaya. Chihaya skips studying but arrives after Taichi loses. She watches Arata lose to Tsuboguchi. Taichi returns the note, suggesting Arata give Chihaya his information directly. Arata admits uncertainty about whether Taichi and Chihaya are a couple. As Kana forces Chihaya back to studying, she laments seeing Arata only at tournaments. Later, Harada offers Taichi a promotion to Class A, violating a Shiranami rule. Taichi declines, stating he wants to focus on becoming someone who does not run away.
EP 21Taichi advises Chihaya on strategy while she faces prodigy Ririka in the eastern qualifier.
Feb 29, 2012Nishida critiques Taichi’s mental approach to karuta, urging him to practice swings to gauge card distance. Meanwhile, at the eastern qualifier, Sudō informs Chihaya about scholarships for top national tournament finishers, leading to a bet where the first loser must shave their head. Chihaya defeats Ririka Tachikawa, a child prodigy compared to Shinobu, by balancing timing and speed. Harada instructs Tsuboguchi to help Chihaya develop skills beyond her natural talent. In the western qualifier, Shinichi Murao, Arata’s regular partner, loses early and claims no one can defeat current master Hisashi Suō. Taichi texts Arata to confirm Chihaya’s first-round victory and expresses confidence that Arata will reach the western finals.
EP 22Chihaya loses to former queen Yumi Yamamoto in the second round
Mar 7, 2012During the second round, Chihaya competes against Yumi Yamamoto, the former queen who lost her title to Shinobu a year ago. Although Yumi previously contested every lost card, she appears unenthusiastic this year. Kana observes from outside and admires the reader's clear voice. Kitano, the Suihoku Karuta Society director, forces the window open and urges Yumi to play her own karuta. Yumi begins contesting cards, a tactic Chihaya is unprepared to handle. Consequently, Chihaya is defeated by Yumi in this match.
EP 23Chihaya emerges from hiding while Arata seeks Murao's help for karuta training.
Mar 14, 2012Depressed after her loss, Chihaya remains hidden in a locker until Taichi urges her to support Harada. She exits, warning Taichi that she and Harada will be his rivals when he reaches Class A. Harada defeats Sudō but loses in the semi-finals, while Tsuboguchi and Yumi advance as eastern finalists. In the western qualifier, Arata is eliminated in the fourth round. He attempts to persuade Murao to return to karuta to help him train for the master title. Murao argues that the goal of karuta is not mastery but agrees to play with Arata for fun. Tsuboguchi loses the master challenger match, whereas Yumi wins the queen challenger match. On Christmas Eve, club members attend their respective class parties. After her party, Chihaya calls Arata using the phone number Taichi provided.
EP 24Club members watch matches while Shinobu recalls her past and defeats Yumi to keep her title.
Mar 21, 2012At Taichi's house, club members view the master and queen matches on television. They are surprised to find Shinobu has gained weight, which impacts her speed and accuracy. Wearing her grandmother's kimono, Shinobu recalls her mother's divorce and moving in with her grandmother, who introduced her to the Myojo Karuta Society. As Yumi captures several cards, Shinobu internally apologizes for failing to save them. She also remembers elementary school classmates stealing her cards. Despite these challenges, Shinobu defeats Yumi and retains her title. Chihaya realizes she must develop a deeper attachment to the cards, similar to Shinobu and Kana. Attention then shifts to the master match. Nishida informs Chihaya that her style resembles Suō's more than Shinobu's. The commentator notes that Suō possesses 28 one-syllable cards.
Frequently asked questions
- How many episodes does Chihayafuru have?
- Chihayafuru has 25 episodes.
- When did Chihayafuru come out?
- Chihayafuru came out in 2011.
- Which studio made Chihayafuru?
- Chihayafuru was produced by MADHOUSE.
- Who directed Chihayafuru?
- Chihayafuru was directed by Morio Asaka.
- Is Chihayafuru finished?
- Current status of Chihayafuru: Finished.