Chihayafuru 2 - 10
Chihayafuru 2 10
Spoiler
While Arata wonders about his fate regarding playing in tomorrow’s individual tournament, a group of officials discuss the situation. One particular topic of discussion is about Suo, the current Master, who is apparently a radical of sorts regarding the image of Karuta. While some people argue that Arata should be disqualified, others say that Arata could/should be the face of Karuta instead of Suo. Shoji, the Fujioka West captain, barges into the room saying that it isn’t Arata’s fault and Arata enters to restrain and pull back his Fukui compatriot and apologizes for the intrusion.
Mizusawa is up against Yamaguchi Mioka, a prestigious school known for it’s academics and students that are usually accepted by Tokyo University after high school. Miyauchi engages the Mioka coach in some small talk but when he mentions that Karuta is only a tool to be used to enhance concentration and memorization and that the Mioka team is doing quite well against teams that play competitive Karuta, she hopes that Mizusawa will crush them despite her admiration for Mioka’s academics. The Mioka lineup/roster is interesting: five guys who seem to channel Komano (smart guy with glasses) and Taichi recognizes three of them as high school quiz show champions. However it is their tactics that cause a bit of confusion for Mizusawa: a somewhat standard row/column card placement with occasional shuffling during play. The match begins and Chihaya is flustered while playing her opponent, Nakayama (of Mioka), who makes full usage of memorization/concentration techniques as well as hearing/reacting stuffs when it comes to card taking, and every time Nakayama takes a card, he rearranges his card field, which confuses Chihaya even more. When Chihaya manages to take a card, she rushes off to collect it, but when she looks up at the side-window, a ‘sight’ of the current Queen, Shinobu, shocks the players and onlookers alike.
Shinobu has returned from the canceled Birdman Rally, albeit rain-soaked. Upon entering the facility entryway, Arata (who is present) sees Shinobu and goes to her, telling her that he might not be able to participate in tomorrow’s individual tournament due to his actions from earlier. The statement shocks/surprises Shinobu who makes a play to tell some nearby officials that if Arata doesn’t get to play, she’ll also not participate in the individual tournament and while both players offer a respectful bow, Shinobu expresses that she wants an opportunity to play Arata. Elsewhere, Sumire is wondering what to do about the rain when Komano arrives to meet her. Komano asks for the notes that Sumire took while the Akashi girls’ match went on and though Sumire says that she wasn’t able to get much information of their playing tactics, Komano is apparently pleased with the info that was gathered, mainly descriptions about the girl players. The mood quickly changes when Sumire says that she’s thankful for not being chosen to play, which ends up making things a bit awkward for Komano and Sumire.
The match between Mizusawa and Mioka continues. While Nakayama offers some insight (via his thoughts) on audio aspects of Karuta and quiz show stuffs, he notes that the other matches between the other members are quite close with Mizusawa edging out ahead. The remaining Mizusawa members, save Tsukuba, all seem to have a plan of action versus Mioka’s playing tactics: Nishida references his Suihoku Society training of playing defensively, which allows him to protect his cards while being able to take his opponent’s cards instead. Kana is able to recognize the individual poems that are read despite her opponent’s shuffle tactics. Taichi happens to also have an analytical mind like the Mioka players, but he also happens to have the physical ability to match. Chihaya continues to be flustered against Nakayama in regard to the shuffling tactics, but when she takes a moment to breathe and as the playing card field is reduced in number, she goes into ‘serious mode’ and is able to exercise her ability to the fullest, making Nakayama take notice of her ability (and beauty) as she makes quite a turnaround in the match.
Mizusawa takes the match 3-2, with Chihaya, Taichi, and Nishida winning their matches, though Kana was quite close only losing by 2 cards. When Mioka’s coach offers to console his team regarding their loss having no bearing on their academic stuffs, a tearful Nakayama says that the loss matters in regards to Karuta only, something that he is quite passionate about after his experience with it. Sometime after the match, all the Mizusawa members are reunited, with Komano and Sumire reporting in about their scouting expeditions and Sumire mentions something regarding Shinobu and Arata, confirming his appearance at the (team) tournament to both Chihaya and Taichi. Though Chihaya is excited at the thought of knowing that Arata is present, Taichi reprimands her saying that they need to focus on their own stuffs at the moment, but the thought of Arata being present continues to cause Taichi to worry about Chihaya and himself to some extent. Tsukuba says that he wants to be replaced by Komano in the next match, which a mindful Sumire chastises him about having the opportunity to play when he actually wanted to participate. Though Tsukuba says that the lineup should be changed for the more-experienced Komano, Nishida argues that Mizusawa should continue using their current lineup - sans Komano.
Kotoura-san -10
Kotoura 10
Spoiler
When Haruka and Manabe arrive at school, the duo learns that Hiyori has been arrested in regard to the newest incident. They go down to the police station and cause a ruckus and as Yuriko and Muroto reprimand the duo for acting hastily, Tsukino (the female detective) takes them in to see Hiyori. Though Hiyori is innocent, because Haruka knows who is actually responsible, Yama (the lead detective) says that the police can’t take her words at face value due to the non-acknowledgement of psychics/ESP, even though his thoughts are read by Haruka. Yuriko brings up the past incident with her mother, which Yama acknowledges before telling the gathered ESP Society members to go home, though Hiyori will remain in custody until she is cleared. While the group is walking home, Yuriko says that they should look for the culprit and Haruka agrees, but Manabe argues against the action, causing him and Haruka to have a disagreement before he leaves on his own.
The separation is apparent the next day as Manabe doesn’t show up to the ESP Society clubroom. When Haruka is walking home, she is approached by Tsukino and the two of them engage in some small talk regarding Haruka’s ability and her friends, something that Tsukino comments on. Hiyori is released the next day (much to the happiness of the Mori Dojo faction) and the ESP Society members, sans Manabe, work on gathering more information about where the culprit may strike next. Yuriko proposes to use herself as bait to draw out the culprit though it’s a risky plan and Tsukino calls Haruka telling her that a certain place might be the new target area. As the group goes to check things out, Haruka hears some thoughts made by the culprit regarding Yuriko’s presence, but in the process, the group loses sight of the ESP Society president. As Yuriko is walking down an alleyway, she hopes to use the experience of the scenario to make the existence of psychics/ESP aware to the world. Suddenly, the culprit approaches Yuriko from behind and strikes…
