Chihayafuru Episode 1--Who Needs Ninja Stars

My concerns about karuta being a boring premise for a show are gone now.




This show probably has the best premiere episode of the season so far (not counting the sequels and prequels, which have had great openings but are based off of previously aired material). A lot of this success, I think, is due to the characters, and while there are some elements of standard shojou floating around, it doesn't bring this first episode down, like a good josei should be. The episode starts in the present, with an introduction to tomboyish main character Chihaya (she wears sweats under her skirt! How unladylike!) and her childhood friend Tachi, and then jumps to the past to explain why Chihaya wants to make a karuta club so badly. The flashback introduces another character, Arata, who is picked on by his classmates for being poor and having an accent. At my elementary school, these kids would've gotten detention. Anyway, Arata is apparently a ninja master at karuta, which inspires Chihaya to find her own dream instead of rooting on her grumpy older sister.




Even given the respective ages in the flashback, the budding love triangle between these characters already has some weight to it in just one episode. For example, in the flashback section it's made clear that Tachi's bullying of Arata really stems from jealousy since he likes Chihaya (even though she's oblivious to it). This is directly contrasted with the present-day high school section at the beginning, when Chihaya finds out that Tachi finds a girlfriend. And its not just the change that is interesting; of course people change from elementary school to high school. It's the mystery of how this change has been brought about that makes this premise and its characters really work for the first episode. There's plenty here for the series to explore. And all of this is just talking up the story angle; the animation in this episode is great as well. Although when the characters are viewed from any distance the animation frequently goes off model (hand mushing, face melting, etc.), up close this anime is gorgeous. They're clearly saving the budget to animate those huge reflective eyes. Overall, this first episode has exceeded my expectations for this series, and hopefully it will continue to deliver on this level every single week.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.