Chihayafuru by Suetsugu Yuki || Anime/Manga Review

Manga Info
Anime Info

Chihayafuru is a sports/competitive Karuta manga written and drawn by Suetsugu Yuki. The start of the series introduces the main characters, Taichi, Chihaya, and Arata, (the OT3) in elementary school as they form a bond with each other through the competitive game of Karuta. Unfortunately, Arata soon moves away, and Taichi and Chihaya go to different middle schools. When they enter highschool, Chihaya and Taichi reunite; the former having improved her Karuta skills immensely, and the latter hating Karuta. Because of Chihaya's eagerness to start a Karuta Club at her school, Taichi helps her out, and they struggle with building a team to go to competition. All the while, Chihaya has never forgotten the person who first got her into Karuta, Arata, and aims to be the best female Karuta in Japan; the title of Queen.

Taken from http://www.goldenjipangu.com/150105karuta.html

I know what people who haven't been exposed to Chihayafuru are thinking; what the heck is Karuta? Well this is from my understanding of the game(click on the link for more info); it is a card game revolved around the 100 Poems by 100 Poets, which is an anthology of Japanese poems written by poets in Medieval Japan. The matches take place on tatami mats, and each player's side starts off with 25 poem cards(which you can position to your liking). There is a reader who reads the verses of the poems, and the objective of the game is to take the corresponding card faster than your opponent. To win the game, you have to get rid of all the cards on your side. But come on, a competitive literature game? Doesn't that sound freaking exciting???(completely serious here, by the way)

This series is just FANTASTIC and honestly a breath of fresh air. I think it might be the effect of the soft art style, but I went into this thinking, "Nah, there can't be a good sports anime with a female lead". This completely blew me away. It reminds me of Hikaru no Go, except with a female protagonist, and both stories are centered around games that are relatively unpopular(although Go is more universal than Karuta because you know...), AND THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR FOREVER. I'm pretty crazy about finding good series with well-developed, strong female protagonists, and Chihayafuru definitely fits it.

The anime follows the manga pretty well so you could watch the 2 seasons(a total of 50 episodes) that are released and then start reading around chapter 87-89 and you wouldn't miss much. Both the anime and manga are brilliant but I would have to say the anime really brings a huge impact in terms of setting the atmosphere and tones of certain scenes. The voice acting, soundtrack, and animation, all bring it together and it's a really enjoyable watch. If you don't want to read/watch it twice, then I'd recommend doing what I said above ^; watching the anime, and then continuing on in the manga.

Characters
What I really want to talk about in this non-spoiler review is that cast of characters, although a bit exaggerated, are all really diverse in terms of personality, and I actually enjoy many of the reoccuring side characters. The interactions between them can be really sweet and hilarious.

I especially love seeing the thought process of different characters as they are playing Karuta. It really gives a new insight on their character, and it also very satisfying seeing them realize their mistakes and growing throughout a game. Seeing Chihaya and Taichi grow are probably my favorite to watch (especially Taichi...boy has got it rough...but he is so intelligent!) Not Arata because he seems to be super relaxed through a lot of his matches(and we rarely get to see his thought process in a game) lol. 
The "enemies"(not really, though, more like really big opponents) of this series are the reigning Queen and Meijin(corresponding title of best player) have really eccentric personalities, but they interesting to say the least. They make for good rivals, as they extremely talented in Karuta.
My favorite character in the series by far, is probably Taichi. I really love his effort, and how he worked hard to compete against talented Karuta players, even though he keeps on saying he hates Karuta lol(do you, Taichi, do you really?)

Taken from http://chihayafuru.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Mikzy/Mizusawa_Karuta_Club

I also can't ignore Chihaya, because despite how she has that typical trait of being dense, she is extremely spirited and intense when it comes to Karuta, and it's, I know I've said this before, but really refreshing to see a female character chase after her dreams with such passion instead of those typical shoujo manga(I know it's josei but Chihaya is still technically in the shoujo age range xD) that just focus on romance. Sure, there is some romance in this series, but it is not focused on. There's just enough to keep you wanting more, but not so much that it disrupts the focus on Karuta.

Karuta:
Because I am a person that enjoys the intense, competitive scenes of anime, I really like watching sports anime to which the genre Chihayafuru falls into. Surprisingly, Karuta not only involves mental strength and endurance but also, physical stamina.
Although, Karuta may sound strange at first, the story and characters really draw you in to make this game all the most interesting. I honestly wouldn't mind trying out a game of Karuta; it seems like fun.

Like with Hikaru no Go, Chihayafuru has sparked more interest in Karuta in Japan(and even worldwide), making it more public. I really like the idea of anime and manga bringing an uncommon game/practice/concept to the table. I believe that anime and manga have the power to influence and inspire people, and I would LOVE to see more series like Chihayafuru getting published/animated.

Also check out my Chihayafuru tag on Tumblr(I'm hilarious...kind of) for feels and probably giggles. ^^

Since the manga is still ongoing, my rating of this series is susceptible to changes but for now....

5/5 stars!! Enjoyable to read and recommended! 

Have a Great Day! -J U L I E (ㅇㅅㅇ❀)