The BEST episodes written by Sumino Kawashima
#1 - It Echoes Through History and These Rocks Resound Once More
Chihayafuru - Season 2 - Episode 21
Chihaya tries to grow accustomed to playing with her left hand whilst Arata and Shinobu effortlessly win their first matches. After eventually realising her card placement was designed for right-handed players, Chihaya flips her card positions, helping her to play more naturally and win her match. In the next round, Yusei finds himself up against Arata and, despite showing a strong start, is inevitably overwhelmed by Arata's pure speed, but makes sure to play his hardest til the end. After Chihaya makes it through the second round, she finds her opponent for the third round is none other than Shinobu and decides to put her right hand into play.
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#2 - Ah, the Forgotten Splendor of the Age of Emperors
Chihayafuru - Season 2 - Episode 5
Having scouted Hokuo during the semi-finals, Sumire reports that they plan to target Taichi, Tsutomu and Kana to secure three wins without much effort, which pushes them to become more serious about their match. To everyone's surprise, Hokuo's Hiro Kinashi decides to arrange the order to have a fair match up using their full strength. As Sudo is chosen as the speaker for the final match, motivating Hokuo not to slack off, Taeko brings Misuzawa some tasuki to help them cool down. Whilst Kana manages to perform well against her opponent thanks in part to Sudo's reading rhythm, Chihaya struggles against her opponent as she focuses too much on emulating Shinobu's technique. However, after Yusei ends up losing his match, Chihaya starts to make her comeback.
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#3 - Even in Dreams You Don't Dare, Do You Fear What They Will Say?
Chihayafuru - Season 2 - Episode 13
Chihaya's comeback is short lived as she once again loses focus whilst Megumu retains hers. Chihaya soon fights back using the techniques she learnt from her friends, pushing Megumu, who has no interest in becoming the Queen, to want to beat her. Heeding Harada's advice on not focusing on her speed, Chihaya starts to close the gap between her and Megumu. However, Megumu's teammates give her their support, pushing Megumu to become more determined.
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#4 - 'Forever', He Said
Chihayafuru - Season 2 - Episode 18
With a newfound passion, Misuzawa begin to work on their flaws and fight back against Fujisaki, although Tsutomu loses his match. Meanwhile, as Chihaya tries to endure the pain of her injury, she spots Shinobu in the crowd and gives her teammates some encouragement to focus on winning. With the playoff match also showing intense dedication, Shinobu recalls how she was forced to be alone in order to become a strong individual player. Despite how she had always been focused on individual matches, she finds herself strangely drawn to the passion flowing the from the teams. Back in the match, Misuzawa is under pressure as Taichi falls behind and Akihiro loses his match, but Taichi encourages the others to aim for three wins.
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#5 - This World I Forsook
Chihayafuru - Season 1 - Episode 17
As Taichi gathers intel on upcoming karuta tournaments, the others are surprised when he breaks up with his girlfriend to focus on the club. Both Taichi and Yusei enter a Class B tournament in Kanazawa, but both end up failing. Meanwhile, Chihaya becomes downhearted when Haruda tells her to stop focusing on her speed, since that has been how she always played her karuta. However, Tsutomu and Kana help point out there's more to karuta than speed, and Chihaya starts to work on her flaws.
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#6 - Mt. Fuji and Its Lofty Peaks, Still White from Never-Ending Snow
Chihayafuru - Season 2 - Episode 25
As it is revealed that Tsutomu and Akihiro had managed to win their own tournaments, Chihaya laments how she hasn't managed to live up to her own goals. As they leave, Chihaya exchanges contact details with Midori, who offers to send her a video of the Class A final. Later, a hospital examination of Chihaya's finger reveals she has enchondromatosis in her index finger, so Chihaya decides to undergo an operation. Whilst hospitalized, Chihaya expresses some of her frustrations over the phone to Arata, who tells her that whenever he plays, he thinks back to his old apartment where he used to play with Chihaya. As Chihaya spends the next week recovering from her operation, she comes to realise she is in love with Arata. Taking note of this, Kana prompts Taichi to try harder in expressing his true feelings towards Chihaya. The next day, Chihaya calls Midori, who offers to take her to a Fujisaki training camp, which Chihaya and Taichi go to.
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#7 - Flowers Lap at Your Ankles, Running Through Locked Fields
Chihayafuru - Season 1 - Episode 12
Despite the victory at the tournament, Chihaya still feels overshadowed by her sister. After playing a match against Dr. Harada, Chihaya grows concern about living up to the expectations of being Tokyo's representative in the nationals, but she is soon cheered up by Takashi, who received some useful tips from Hokuou Acadameny. She also feels touched when she finds her father has started a scrapbook of her accomplishments. As the team work hard to train for the nationals, Miyauchi acknowledges their efforts and decides to accompany them to the nationals in Omi Jingu.
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#8 - Their Colors Dimmed in Vain
Chihayafuru - Season 1 - Episode 22
In the next round, Chihaya faces off against the former Queen, Yumi Yamamoto, who had become downhearted after losing her title to Shinobu the previous year, showing no real confidence in her match. As the heat builds up, Yumi's coach, Kitano, forces the window open and gives Yumi some encouragement and awakens her nature of contesting cards, allowing her to defeat Chihaya.
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#9 - But Many Times Brighter Still, They Light the Courts of Kyoto
Chihayafuru - Season 1 - Episode 6
Having obtained a clubroom, Chihaya and Taichi need to find three more members to be officially recognised as a club. Kanade Ōe, a girl who loves traditional clothing, takes an interest in the club but feels dejected when she finds out they don't wear hakama. As Chihaya continues to approach Kanade about joining the club, she comes to learn about the true meanings behind the hundred poems, which helps her improve in the game. Feeling pleased by this, Kanade agrees to join the club on the condition that they start wearing hakama during matches.
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#10 - Those Who Come, Those Who Go, and Those Who Part Again
Chihayafuru - Season 1 - Episode 10
The day of the prefectural tournament comes and Chihaya's club comes in with hakama at the ready. As their team progresses through the group stage, Tsutomu grows less confident as he continues to be beaten in his matches. As he grows irritated and chooses to skip the semi-finals, Chihaya feels downhearted that the club has not been able to become a true team, which begins to affect her karuta skills. As Taichi realises he has not been perfect himself, he helps motivate the others to get them back on track, and when Chihaya sees Tsutomu comes to support her, she regains her form and makes a comeback and helps the team to win. After the match, Kanade manages to talk Tsutomu into coming back onto the team as they prepare for the finals.
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