Chihayafuru Episode 5--The World's Slowest Train

I didn't expect Chihaya to just drop everything and go after Arata like that, but this is Chihaya we're talking about.




While Arata deciding to not play karuta anymore was shocking (at least for me) the reasoning behind it was not so shocking; it did have to do with the death of his grandfather, the karuta master who taught him how to play in the first place. While sad, that alone didn't seem like a good enough reason for Arata to give up the thing that he lived for, but in a plot twist of daytime soap opera proportions (not that I'm complaining) it turns out that his grandfather died when Arata went to a karuta tournament instead of looking after him. So for the majority of the episode, we get Emo Arata who wants nothing to do with Tachi and Chihaya. While I think that the drama probably could've played out over the course of a few episodes, I'm glad that it was resolved here, since seeing Arata like that along with Chihaya's inability to accept his decision just made it too sad. There was a lot of crying in this episode, along with some cool stuff with light and shadow in the room with the family shrine that I liked from the perspective of atmosphere. And the payoff was great, with Arata chasing after the train on a bike. They stretched my suspension of disbelief a little bit by using Chihaya's superhuman hearing (seriously, how did she hear him?) but it was a great emotional scene nevertheless.




Drama aside, this episode also puts the love triangle back in center stage now that the three main characters have met again. The scene where Tachi hesitates to take Chihaya's hand only to get upstaged by Arata going by in a bike was another great moment in showing what's changed over the last couple years and what hasn't. While it's been clear since the second episode that both boys like Chihaya, this episode hints that Chihaya may like Arata more than just the friend who inspired her dream, even if she hasn't realized it herself yet. This show does give me the opportunity to do something that I haven't done for a while: fangirl shipping. Pick a side and root for your favorite, but be careful not to let it get too personal! I myself am now declaring my allegiance to the Arata/Chihaya ship. You can't deny the cherry blossom filter of DESTINY. That said, this show is now getting a little more shoujo than josei, so those of you who do not like this kind of thing might want to back away slowly if the episodes continue in the same way that this one did. Meanwhile, I will be waving my ship flag all over the place. Down with cowards! Karuta gods for the win!

Images from Crunchyroll.com.