Ep. 11: Harada and Tsuboguchi cheer for Chihaya and Taichi while Hokuō underestimates them
Harada 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.
Episodes
- Ep. 7 · Taichi and Chihaya test their karuta skills against reluctant recruit Tsutomu Komano
- Ep. 8 · Chihaya confronts Nishida about his unfair use of karuta skills in tennis.
- Ep. 9 · Miyauchi grants club status if Chihaya is not president, leading to a camp and surprise party.
- Ep. 10 · Chihaya struggles with Arata's silence while Taichi addresses team unity issues.
- Ep. 11 · Harada and Tsuboguchi cheer for Chihaya and Taichi while Hokuō underestimates them
- Ep. 12 · Chihaya faces pressure while her father creates a scrapbook and Miyauchi changes her mind about karuta
- Ep. 13 · Chihaya collapses at Ōmi Jingū while Arata reflects on his grandfather's legacy
- Ep. 14 · Chihaya struggles against Shinobu Wakamiya in the individual karuta tournament match.
- Ep. 15 · Shinobu and Chihaya reflect on tournament losses while Taichi identifies stamina as a critical weakness for the club.