Chihayafuru 2 - 09
Chihayafuru 2 09
Spoiler
The meeting between Arata and Shinobu is interesting because he only recognizes her from her ‘alternate form’ during last year’s Queen match and she recalls losing to him a few years ago. During some small talk, Shinobu expresses her dislike of the team karuta tournament, saying that it’s for people/players that don’t love karuta. Shinobu plans to head off to watch the Biwa Birdman Rally after paying her respects at Omi Jingu.
After Mizusawa’s win in their first match, Komano is talking to Taichi (via phone) and reporting his findings on the Fujisaki team, who apparently sent out five Class A players in their first match. One of the Fujisaki players notices that Komano is ‘scouting’ and says to jot down in his notebook that their females are more dangerous than their males. The male then does a weird trick that makes Komano believe that the top karuta players all have peculiar personalities.
Prior to the second match, in the lobby area, Arata sees Chihaya and Taichi off in the distance. An acquaintance of Arata almost makes his presence known but he manages to hide. Chihaya appears to have heard Arata’s voice and wonders if he is there but Taichi tells her that he isn’t and that she should focus on their next match. Arata catches up with Murao where Murao mentions that a team from Fukui is having some trouble and that the individual matches are where the action is. Outside the hall, Arata overhears that a member of Fujioka West (the Fukui team) is unable to make it to the tournament due to traffic and that his team members will be unable to play since they are down a member (there are only three players total). The captain of the team is recognized by Arata and seems to want to ask a favor of the known karuta player from Fukui. As Mizusawa’s next match is about to start, Taichi is thinking about Arata’s possible presence at the team tournament. It is Chihaya that tells him to focus on the match and also says that she wants to show-off the strength of the Mizusawa team, which for some reason interests Tsukuba.
The Fujioka West Team is starting their next match with it’s two members and Arata in disguise, who isn’t sure about the plan but he is asked to go along with it. The team captain explains to Arata that they would have to forfeit the match and opportunity to play without a third player present, with the team already at a disadvantage (three players to the opponents five) and the other team up two wins by default because of the player difference. Things aren’t working out for Arata who not only has his glasses taken off to help with his disguise but he also notices that the official watching the match is someone from Fukui (Nagumo Society), making him unable to play as he would. Various thoughts are in Arata’s mind: the other team members having the experience of playing an actual match, his inability to fight back against his opponent while being watched by the familiar official, and past experiences when he played karuta without glasses. Suddenly, the team captain loses his match and the opposing team realizes that they have secured victory. Knowing that the Fujioka West team has already lost, Arata decides to just play - he puts his glasses back on and goes into ‘serious mode’. Arata makes an incredible comeback and the other player that is left also rallies to win his match. The official takes notice of the skill shown by the certain ‘player’ and realizes that it is indeed Arata. Though Fujioka West loses, Arata recalls something related to his experience with playing karuta, despite the words from both Shinobu and Murao earlier, and remembers that the only team that he really wanted to be a part of was with Chihaya and Taichi.
With the match over, the ruse is discovered by the official who scolds Arata and the Fujioka West team for their actions. The team will be reprimanded and Arata is notified that he may be disqualified and unable to participate in the individual tournament tomorrow. At Lake Biwa, the Birdman Rally is cancelled due to rain and Shinobu finds out that the event will continue tomorrow.
Kotoura-san - 09
Kotoura 09
Spoiler
Some detectives are investigating the cause of attacks made against high school girls.
At school, Haruka tells the other ESP society members about the visions she had that prompted the return of her ESP ability. For now, the group decides to keep the news to themselves. However, a rumor starts up among the other students that Haruka knows something but won’t say anything about it due to a fault of Hiyori. Later that evening, Haruka is scared to be left alone so she asks Manabe to stay the night, which excites him for obvious reasons. However, when he leaves for home and later returns, Manabe is greeted by Hiyori, who punishes him for exploiting Haruka for his perverted thoughts.
On the way to school the next day, Manabe gets an earful from Haruka’s grandfather for ‘failing’. The group then encounters the detectives who are investigating the case as they enter the school, but they don’t say anything to the duo. When Haruka has news that her grandfather wants to take the group out to dinner, Hiyori tells her that she won’t be able to attend.
Dinner plans seem to be interesting as the group gets dressed up in formal wear but Haruka’s grandfather takes them to a casual instead. Later, he ends up taking the group to a fancy restaurant in a hotel where the group encounters Haruka’s mother, Kumiko. Kumiko has some words for Haruka, who is unable to tell her mother the good things that have happened to her. Though she initially is unable to say anything, Haruka musters up the courage because her friends are there, though Kumiko says things could still end up how they did before. Manabe introduces himself to Kumiko who doesn’t seem to care for him at all, but when he goes into ‘pervert mode’, Kumiko reacts and knocks him down. The act surprises everyone and though Kumiko leaves shortly afterwards, it appears that she may yet still care for Haruka in some form.
In an alley somewhere, another high school girl is injured and Hiyori’s hands are covered in blood.