Chihayafuru (no spoilers!)

Okay, so this is an anime I first watched a couple years ago, maybe in 2013. I have been slowly rewatching it over the course of the last couple months, so its been a slow process. I want to start off by saying this is one of the most underrated/best unknown anime's I have seen. I really enjoyed this anime. After reading a synopsis and hearing the premise, I was not prepared for how good it would be.

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This anime centers around three main characters, all of whom are in school, and a card game known as Karuta. So you might be thinking, "wtf, how is an anime about some card game I've never heard of supposed to be good?" That's similar to the line of thinking I had when I first heard about this. One aspect of this anime that I think made it so good, was how the card game helped bring along the characters and even help develop them. In fact, these characters owe most of what you see in the anime to the card game. Karuta, the card game, is such a cool world to become immersed in. This game acts as an escape for the characters and allows them to focus on something other than the negative aspects of life. This is significant as all of the characters have something deeper like this going on with them. Karuta is what binds the three characters together.

Once you get to know the game, which the anime does a great job of teaching btw, it becomes so interesting. It is very competitive, and requires physical endurance and mental prowess. It's a game based on poetry, which makes for deeper and beautiful meanings behind the game, that only masters of the game can see.

Now that I've went on about Karuta itself, I want to talk about the characters. I really love the three main characters. There are two guys and a girl. All three know each other from childhood, and of course, all three play Karuta. I'm trying not to spoil things in this review, unlike my Akame ga Kill review haha. My favorite character is a guy named Arata. He is quiet, extremely talented, and has some emotional issues revolving around the death of his grandfather and Karuta. There are definitely some romance themes at play between the characters. I love seeing how they interact, as they are three totally different people, and all have different relationships with another.

So to talk about the art of the anime, I personally really liked it. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I feel like the characters were animated in a very defined way. The lighting was nice too; it was very bright and cheerful. In addition, the sound was great. You'll notice all these "intricate" noises as they are playing the game, which adds to the intensity of the card game. In addition I enjoyed the soundtrack, simply because its catchy.

Idk what else to say about the show without spoiling it. Mortar has updated me that it's getting a third season! I can't wait. I'll always be rooting for Ararta!

I give this show a 9/10

Has anyone else seen Chihayafuru? Did you like it as much as I did?