When we last saw our future champion karuta players, they'd each decided to pursue a goal that would hopefully make them better players in the process. But no one said that it would be easy... An alternate title for this episode could've been "Chihaya Gets Serious," since her realization at the end of the episode seems to be finally clearing the way for some solid character development. Not to say that she's never been serious--the way that she plays karuta is more than enough of an indicator of that--but if she's going to become Queen, then she has to play on a whole different level than she has so far. She's succeeded in unnerving the current Queen; now she just has to refine her skills. But as this episode points out, it's not just her speed that's lacking. Her entire outlook on what the game means to her needs to change. I've pointed it out before, but it bears repeating that Chihaya's personality seems like it's been frozen since the time when Arata and Tachi left her and she continued to pursue karuta on her own. There's a difference between having the same personality from when you were younger and not growing up at all, and Chihaya seems to be more of the latter. For instance, let's look at Tachi for a second. He still struggles with some of the same problems that he had when he was a kid, but overall he's more mature. I can't say the same thing about Chihaya. Hopefully in the next few episodes, she'll really start to mature. I think that understanding the meanings of the poems is a good place to start, although I'm a bit surprised that she didn't do this earlier, after Kana's first lecture on the subject, but it was nice to see that great poetry imagery return again. Speaking of Tachi, we finally got a concrete answer about what happened to his girlfriend. I have to say, that was the most subdued break-up call that I have ever heard, and my reaction was pretty much along the lines of the other club members. However, the break-up itself wasn't that shocking. What was surprising was that even though he's now a free agent (instead of just mentally) he's still holding himself back from making a move on Chihaya, choosing to completely focus on making A-rank instead so that he can face Arata. Tachi fans, that must have been hard to watch. Even I was cringing a bit, since I've gained more respect for Tachi throughout the tournament episodes. But you have to admire his drive. He knows that if he's ever going to stand a chance with Chihaya he has to get on equal fighting ground with Arata first, and the beginning of that is making A-rank. Of course, that goal is also not as easy as just putting your mind to it, and I think that Tachi is going to have to make a self-discovery around the lines of what Chihaya realized in this episode if he wants to move forward. Why does he play karuta? Once upon a time, he told Tsutomu that he played because he enjoyed it, but it's possible that he desire to beat Arata may be making him forget that. Those are some pretty deep character questions going forward, but I'm confident that these characters will find their answers. Additional Screenshots                                                                     Images from Crunchyroll.com.
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