Continuing the trend, this tournament finale was more intense than the last.
From the way the last episode ended (and the way this one began), I thought that the show was going to ignore the Kana vs. Tsutomu match for a while to put some of the focus on Tachi vs. Nishida, but that wasn't the case. We get to see the final plays in the former match, with Tsutomu taking some risks by moving his cards but ultimately paying for it with faults. I didn't really understand what a fault meant in a match until this episode; I got that it meant that the player took the wrong card, but I didn't know what it meant for the score. Now it's clear why precision is just as important as speed, since if you get a few cards wrong it could cost the player the match. While the match was great to watch, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Tsutomu at first because he worked so hard yet he didn't get to advance in rank (although to be honest, I would've felt the same about Kana as well) but the statement at the end that the top three in their division got to advance removed that feeling. Even though they're fictional characters, I can't help but feel so proud of them! They worked so hard and it finally paid off!
However, as great as all that was, I'd say that this episode belongs to Tachi. Even without seeing what was happening in his match against Nishida, I was pretty sure that he was going to win. Then we see that they're both down to one last card... Like how the show clarified how faults work in the game earlier in the episode, I'm glad that we got to see what happens when it comes down to a lucky draw. No offense to Nishida, but I was rooting pretty hard for Tachi in this match and was sad when his offensive strategy didn't work in the end. Even worse was the way he beat himself up about it afterwards, thinking that it was a lack of skill that got him to that point. On the plus side though, I don't think that we've lost the opportunity for a Tachi vs. Arata rematch just yet. I don't think Arata would've reacted that way to the tournament ranking if only Nishida was listed... And for you Tachi/Chihaya fans, there was a nice fluffy moment at the end that had me smiling too. I may be shipping the other side, but I've got to admit that Tachi has the upper hand right now. I'm getting really excited for that rematch.
Images from Crunchyroll.com.
Noted and appreciated, says the Taichi shipper. Of course, the sparkly moment may be only a consolation prize for the likes of me.
ReplyDeleteActually, both matches surprised me. It's interesting how they're presenting the game of karuta (which I still have only the shakiest grip on myself). Clearly the race is not only to the swift, like Chihaya - but neither is it to the Go-board-style positioning strategist like Tsutomu (who also reads opponents really well), or to the card-counting memory prodigy like Taichi. Clearly you've got to play with everything, not just your given strengths, to get good at this.
As for the Arata/Taichi match I hardly care if they play each other in a competition - as long as they play each other, somewhere, sometime.
I'm really appreciative that the presentation of karuta in this show isn't over the head of someone like me, who has barely heard of it and never played it. And like we were shown in this episode, there's still more to learn. Rather than just being about speed or memorization it looks like a champion would have to master all of the skills that it takes to win a game and them tailor them to each opponent. It's fascinating.
DeleteAnd I have to agree there--I just want the rematch, tournament or no tournament. XD