-------> What attracts you most to Wataya Arata?
He gives off an aura of maturity and understanding & lives up to it !
26.7%
4
His gentle, pure and kind personality.
20.0%
3
His honesty and straightforwardness
0.0%
0
He is an average guy who lacks lot of things but he is positive and always finds a way to be happy with what he has.
13.3%
2
He has traits I lack and I aspire to have them, he inspires me.
13.3%
2
His mysterious side making me always think and wonder and never calm down.
0.0%
0
The attractive combination of "the clumsy awkward kind-of-naive human being" and "THE GOD" in his characterization.
20.0%
3
He is BADASS !!
0.0%
0
I relate to him.
0.0%
0
He is cute.
0.0%
0
Because Chihaya loves him, I like romance.
0.0%
0
Another reason (Kindly write it in the comments below))
6.7%
1
15 votes
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - โ Does Wataya Arata have a fanbase? โ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - is what we wanted the answer to be explored in this topic: What is it like? what kind of fans does he have? how do they feel about him? and how did he affect them? |
Did anyone realize? Wataya Arata's truest admirer is Mashima Taichi  |
One Mashima Taichi - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “He always let his actions speak for him. He's careful and has a lot of pride. He's always thinking about what happens when he loses.” – Komano, Chihayafuru 2 episode 19 Among his so many fans and self-inserts, I am one Mashima Taichi... I watched him so closely... from my own angle... « I am Mashima Taichi »
When he bullied a child I felt stupid… so I did! When he didn’t want to “share” Chihaya … when he was afraid of disappointing his close people’s expectations … when he felt jealous of the not-very-impressive-Arata who threatened his position on the top… when he was intimidating and manipulative of his classmates although he wasn’t even any violent… So many moments … when he was seen as “the best out there…”, when people pointed fingers at him in envy and appreciation and called him “Perfect”, the little bit more profound ones called him flawed “Perfect" !! when they all by themselves would sit to analyze him and find excuses to everything he does … when he was, in the meantime, drowning in his inner sea of self criticism … โ Wataya Arata โ
A child involved with his parents’ responsibilities while Taichi was just another child playing… it didn’t go unnoticed by me … The pouring rain he was riding under in the cold morning, the guarded posture he had when he was at school, the dirt on him after he was pushed to the ground…the moment he appeared, it looked like his days were "a struggle” no, “a fight" ... about who he was? Taichi was another child having fun … Someone was gonna grow up slower … Damn! “Bullying was supposed to be a sign of superiority”, child Taichi & my younger self thought so, but Arata survived it, never “exhibited” distress [while the insides remain a mystery…] That “child” rather ended up fine, telling his back-then-bully-but-now-friend: “I understand you...” … Taichi had to swallow his jealousy to be a part of that friendship, was this “brave” not “desperate”? Arata … Arata had to keep in mind that he is still the boy whose existence was seen as “lame” by Taichi & Co. and being friends didn’t change that; He was made fun of and heard horrible things this could never be undone (and in front of HIS TEACHER who didn't say anything???)… And if apologies are supposed to ease things in situations like these, he got none! But no, Arata was really fine… so cool!! and Taichi lost “1st place” to him in that “unpopular” battle … And in other things … When Taichi sat “idly” learning "No Buts!!", Arata was forcing himself on the Karuta players and learning Hiragana using the cards… a life sprouting on its own and another needing to be pulled out… A root and an extension: I am someone who sees an aesthetic difference. When Taichi was being ordered around to do this & that to shine and was proud of the results, Arata -at his young age- chose something for himself and worked hard for it with the force of the will coming from within himself! Supported AND not, he was an unspoken battle between his father and grandfather… unspoken but he knew it! The former pressured him to go outside to play more with children (and stay away from Karuta), never paying attention to the anxiety he caused him as he tried to obey while being physically inapt in addition to his shyness & awkwardness that came from SOMEWHERE… The latter, while busy with karuta himself, supported him to stray away from his father and create an identity without guidance… In the midst of it and instead of focusing on the drama & conflict between his two 1st male examples or his ACTUAL and REAL flaws & incompetence, Arata chose to set his eyes on something else he KNEW HE COULD DO and he filled himself with the positivity coming with it… that one thing was enough for him.. Did he lack everything else? it didn’t matter to him ... Arata wasn’t a moon, he was able to find a light for himself inside himself…. ... Taichi borrowed strength from the orders and expectations set on him while he himself was empty inside: He had no “Goal” of his own nor eyes for anything outside what his parents guided him towards, he didn’t have anything else to fight for so he simply embraced what was dictated on him…It was making him a better-than-Arata type of guy anyway, so yeah ... ... Taichi was growing up slower … Chihaya didn’t know that “1ST IN JAPAN” could be about herself, Taichi didn’t know either or didn’t bother to think about it, that's why he rather fueled her -mostly- fruitless support for her sister... but Arata knew, had a mature definition of “a dream” at the age of 12 and was already miles away from the starting line… He came then to teach them: “Chitose is amazing and she can still be without all the promoting done by Chihaya, she is worth the trust: She can work for her own dream” “Chihaya too can be just as great, or greater, she is a complete separate human being...she has abilities of her own” And along the lines, Taichi got the message too and started to look differently at himself: “he was behind …” Arata, in different ways, pushed the two of them ahead … so gently, so quietly …  |
 |
Here is their very nice way to introduce Arata's character: (please click on the links to read more about the tropes, it's very interesting i promise!!!!)  Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hisoya, Yuka Terasaki (young) |
The poll above have been posted on Facebook too, in two groups and the combined results are like this:  Arata is not appreciated only because of the romance and this, in my opinion, speaks volumes! His appearance is limited and in the beginning of the manga, most of it was in Chihaya's imagination, wishes and longing, most of it is seen as romantic STILL Arata is appreciated for more than that. How about Fans here? I wonder ... |
Surely for us honest fans, in Arata’s matches the results are the least of our worries because we are excited enough not to care about how the match will end, we don't even want it to end but saying this doesn’t convince “haters”. Looking at these charts made on Reddit when passionate fans decided to re-watch Chihayafuru 1 & 2 before season 3 (about the best match in the two seasons), we clearly see that Arata’s match is the most enjoyed. Someone might argue that first timers enjoyed it because they watched it for the first time, but the chart about re-watchers shows an even greater percentage of fans who enjoyed Arata’s match even though all of them already know the results and the details. Arata’s Karuta is not boring, he is badass and his matches are exciting, a taste of shounen thrill in a shoujo manga, but this is what hate is, just hate. |
We were sweet crazy Chihayafuru fans ^^ We wrote poems For Chihayafuru ~ For Shinobu chan ~ For Arata ~ For Chihaya ~ For Love & For Taichi ~ |
An said: When I first watched Chihayafuru, I fell right away in love with Wataya Arata... it was like an obsession! a very sweet obsession... I remember how my heart would start beating like drums whenever he shows up, more than any time, when he plays karuta. I was literally infatuated with his 3-directions-sweep I was dying to do that too, but there was no way i could get even a semblance of karuta cards... I had to give up... BUT COULD ANYONE JUST GIVE UP WHEN ARATA KEPT APPEARING IN THEIR IMAGINATION EVERY TWO SECONDS?? So I made my own cards, primitive & modest cards... not karuta cards I knew nothing about Japanese yet, so I took it as a chance to even learn Hiragana with it (yes, years before we were told that Arata did the same in the manga), I created only 30 ones and I chose all one syllable cards plus few other Multi syllables ones, the two Watanohara cards were among the first I "drew", I literally drew them cause I couldn't read or write Japanese. Now years have passed, I'm still very much in love with Arata and I still keep those cards as a memory given to me by him.. Yes I played a stupid game and I swept the two Wata cards after coming back from a wrong direction, I did it!! And it was an amazing feeling! And I will treasure that simple happiness I felt then for the rest of my life.. After all, what's a person other than the positive feelings they accumulate inside them throughout years? We grow up thanks to the energy we are given by these happy moments however simple or stupid they might be, they construct us in a way or another ^^ |
I never doubted Arata. and he never disappointed me ~
 |
Hi hee hoo fellow Arata fans, wanna tell you about this ...ufufufuuuu You know, I've heard a lot of "dress-up games" but I never played them or did I even google them to have at least an idea what they were. but having a Chihayafuru obsession can change lot of things xD I discovered an Android game app "myidol" by TinyTouch and I found myself addicted to it trying to make Chihayafuru characters... And then later I discovered THIS WEBSITE, And I also obsessed over it for some other days lol This one offers you the possibility to mix the features of the characters from the amazing manga "Kimitsu no yaiba" to construct your own character; The website later uses your character as a protagonist in one of 4 short visual stories (a manga but animated ..euh..kind of) it's sooo fun! being a Chihayafuru enthusiast doesn't mean you can't enjoy lot of other things while keeping your passion for CHihayafuru believe me lol I posted what I made in the Gallery in these two posts: WITH MYIDOL || KNY WEBSITE Feel free to check them out if you feel like it ^^ and I'd love to know anyone stories too ^^ |
I decided to quote fans who expressed their feelings about Arata elsewhere โก - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (1) BurningPassion said: Honestly, I fell for his character from the very start. I tend to like mature children/smart characters, so Arata's excellent memory for his age really impressed me. You guys have already mentioned his good looks, sweet personality, and overwhelming talent, so I'm going to be more specific. (Sorry. This might get pretty long since he is one of my favorite characters of all time. And, I just tend to ramble in general. :P) First of all, as a fellow victim of bullying, I empathized with Arata instantly. Also, I respected him for not fighting/causing more trouble like most children would at that age. His maturity is also shown when he tells Chihaya about his dream. It’s not unusual for kids to dream big, but Arata had already taken major steps to achieve his dream (winning national championships/constantly practicing). Arata is also very understanding, as shown when he forgave and befriended Taichi, the source of a lot of his hardship. Later in the series, it’s shown that he’s considerate as well. He didn’t contact Chihaya directly because he didn’t want to get between her and Taichi if they were already in a relationship (which was probably painful for him b/c of his feelings for Chihaya). Adding on to him being understanding, I believe he has a good grasp on the personalities of the people around him. For example, even after years of not seeing Taichi, Arata was able to tell when he was lying (about being the same height as him). Another example is when he reunites with Shinobu. She feigns humbleness, stating that she might lose to him even though he’s been out of practice; when in reality, she had complete confidence. Arata, seeing right through her act, simply laughed. His confidence/competitive nature is another thing that I never get tired of seeing. While he’s confident in his abilities, he isn’t arrogant. He goes into every match with the intention of winning, but he doesn’t boast or talk down to his opponent like Suo does. And when he does lose, he gets fired up and reflects on his loss. Although his matches are usually predictable, they’re always exciting and a pleasure to see. Plus, his karuta style is simply beautiful. Arata’s past is something that never fails to break my heart. When he acted uncharacteristically rude to his childhood friends, I knew something big had to have happened. How he acted still made me upset, but learning what happened between him and his grandfather made me completely understand where he was coming from. How could you not sympathize with this poor boy!? ;^; The way he was able to overcome his trauma with the help of his friends, mainly Chihaya, was also wonderfully done character development. In addition, I love how Arata isn’t perfect. He makes mistakes both in karuta and his social life. The moment that really stood out to me was (spoilers for the manga from here on) when he realized that he was subconsciously looking down on Taichi. Upon learning this, he felt guilty and knew he had to stop because Taichi is his dear friend. And that’s what he always does when he makes a mistake; he learns from it and moves forward. (On a side note, I really loved when Arata declared that Chihaya doesn’t belong to anyone. She is her own person; not a prize to be won. I’m so glad he acknowledged that.) Lastly, even though Arata has the least amount of screen time out of the main characters, he still had the biggest impact on me (and Chihaya). Every time he shows up, it’s a “Yes, finally!!” moment, and I believe that’s the sign of an amazing character. I could go on and on about his lovely accent, his heartfelt confession, his importance to the series, etc., but this post is already way too long and I think I got my point across. Thank you so much to anyone that read through this monstrosity; I really appreciate it~ ^^ I know this is a relatively small club, but I would love if more people joined the discussion. It would be really fun, and this character deserves it. |
I decided to quote fans who expressed their feelings about Arata elsewhere โก - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (2) Trulyash_On_Reddit said: [...] this whole anti-Arata, pro-Taichi movement has really been getting to me, so here I go: Contrary to a lot of arguments, Arata is a realistically flawed person: He's displayed on several occasions how he's a bit socially awkward and shy, and he's also beaten himself up over "looking down on Taichi in karuta." Another prime example of Arata's imperfections is his whole "I'm-aloof-and-quit-karuta" character arc. There's definitely more, but those are just a few for now. This doesn't mean he's not likable. Arata is still extremely pure, morally upright, and considerate of others' feelings Such as when he sent messages to Taichi instead of Chihaya in consideration of the fact that they might be a couple Despite them being considered rivals, he also offered both of them advice on his strategies for playing karuta (A person like Taichi would probably be hard-pressed to do this- I understand his internal conflict, but it's something worth noting) The "Arata-is-just-blessed-and-not-very-relatable" argument: For starters, Taichi is talented as well Even though Taichi'd been playing for about three years less than Chihaya (and had only recently started practicing as hard as her), Taichi very nearly beat Chihaya at the beginning of season 3 - this is the girl that's literally eaten, slept, and breathed karuta for years now. Arata has been practicing karuta much harder, for much longer than Taichi - as I think he mentions at some point, he had consistently practiced hundreds of strikes daily (which Taichi was formerly too embarrassed to do) and had been toiling away at the sport since he was like a toddler Arata's not a bad person for or undeserving of Chihaya One thing before I actually get into this: just because Taichi's her friend, Chihaya's not obligated to love him back - if she likes Arata, that doesn't make her a bad person For Arata, Chihaya's the one who basically made his whole childhood. I mean, he was a pretty miserable child: bullied, poor to the point of (I think) working illegally, and entirely alone in all of these struggles When Arata's ripped away from his sole salvation, karuta, it's Chihaya who once again gives him his livelihood Just because he worked up the courage to be forthcoming about his feelings, that doesn't make him bad - he word-for-word says "let's play karuta together" - Chihaya's interpretation is entirely up to her Bonus points for having the best accent in the show (XD) |
 I'd like to comment. "Enemy" is how Taichi chose to describe Arata (which I believe rather means: "the person who is in my way that I wish to defeat in love, karta & even personality because i am a coward and Arata seems to me fearless") it makes Arata more important to the story because he is giving these dimentions to Taichi and making him have more depths & angles which lot of fans also find attractive (for some reason). |
At first I was taken aback but then I realized that this is not nonsense..it might happen right? -Warning: might contain some spoilers about mentioned series- I admit that Inoue Orihime from Bleach for example was a character that bothered me because I shipped Ichiruki and though Inoue wasn't the perfect of female characters, I don't remember I ever criticized her because I simply didn't find lot to criticize about her, she simply was in the way of my ship and I admit it, this fact never made her look bad to me. Years ago, I loved this guy named "Snake eyes" from "G.I. Joe: Renegades" (he still is one of my most entertaining fictional characters) and because the other guy (Conrad Hauser) was in his way to shine sometimes, he also bothered me so much but could I ever accuse him of anything? Conrad is a perfect male lead and I can't lie to myself about it and my "hate" for him could never change that. The idea of EmmaxNorman from Yakusoku no neverland annoys me too because I feel like if it happens (and I say thankfully it didn't happen), Ray will be separated from Emma who seemed like his closest family and (I don't know if I can call that shipping but I wanted them to always stay together and the closest they could be) But Norman is a wonderful character whether I like it or not, facts are fact and the other fact I KNOW is that Taichi Mashima isn't a great character and me shipping Chiharata has nothing to do with it. I actually started shipping them long after I let go of Taichi who didn't meet my expectations and didn't change to a better character through time. I'm not saying that those who like him are wrong, but we simply don't have the same taste for "great characters", not the same definition for the word. I'm not gonna reply to the message i got nor will I elaborate about what I don't like about Taichi here (though I did in other places..I guess), but whoever wants to know how "one Mashima Taichi" thinks, i'm leaving this here and it is only about ME. |
MashimaTaichi_Feb 24, 2022 3:29 AM
Rambling about Arata's popularity. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Arata is less popular than Taichi; - He is hated by lot of Taichi fans which means he is hated a lot! - and he usually switches places with Chihaya in official popularity polls: second or third. What else do we know about Arata's popularity? I, for one, did not join this fandom a "very" long time ago so I didn't participate in any official popularity poll. The only one I knew about was the latest one but learning about it in a Facebook group where fans called each other openly to vote with multiple accounts for character X, I didn't take it seriously and I didn't vote. ok, that wasn't the only reason. I also didn't really decide which character I was more interested in: Arata was getting my attention more and more but back then I still had a lingering attachment to Taichi whom I always related to. The results of that official popularity poll soon came out and Taichi won Overwhelmingly.. Apparently so many fans were happy with it (Personally, i was more concerned about why Taichi's girlfriend who had a total of 4 panels of appearance in the whole manga scored more than Miyauchi sensei with all her touching moments in Mizusawa's journey -I read somewhere that some Arata fans did that as an anti taichiha move which I don't get cause isn't it stupid to vote for the GF & leave Arata if they were really his fans? Because as far as I heard, you had to vote for the same character for a certain number of days? Also didn't the fact that Chihaya the heroine scored about only 6% of Taichi's votes make anyone else take this poll less seriously?) Today, Suetsugu sensei retweeted a fan's tweet saying that during the unfortunate earthquake of 2011 in Japan, they were fine dying because they were reading Chihayafuru at the time & "it was fine to die because I was with Taichi". I was like: Why doesn't this feel unexpected from a Taichi fan? I don't know if anyone else noticed but more sentimental people tend to gravitate to Taichi (& they are the masses), Taichi the handsome+sad shoujo hero who suffers from an unrequited love is also more appealing to female readers (who are the majority of Chihayafuru readers).. In short, I believe, Taichi's popularity shouldn't surprise anyone. What can be more interesting to analyse is Arata's popularity (or even Chihaya's), they are "different"+"Taichi exists" so who are these people who wouldn't chose Taichi & will chose Arata instead? (or Chihaya) ? How many of them are there out there? What do they think? How do they think? That's how I found myself fascinated with this subject: What's everything about Arata's popularity? Sadly, I can't find enough trustworthy data about it, I'd love to be guided to where I can learn more- Well, someone tagged me some time ago in something else I'd like to talk about, a certain conversation on twitter: I find this short convo very informing: - So some fans believe that Arata is boring unless he is interacting with Chihaya & Taichi - in the same time they agree that Arata's background is interesting and it would have been interesting if that was explored more I don't know how to understand that because when Arata doesn't interact with Chihaya & Taichi, it's his background which is being extended & explained.. - They think that Taichi & CHIHAYA are better written than Arata which should mean that Chihaya is more interesting (But Arata still scored more than 7 times Chihaya's result if the poll was really worth taking seriously?) - And lastly about the screen-time which should have fixed some fans' problem with Arata I say.. I wonder about it... There were some old polls (which I'm ready to believe more because the wars in this fandom weren't serious back then (at least that's what I felt after investigating a bit) In these polls, and checking the content of the manga at the time, we can see that Arata STILL LACKED Screen time + Tacihi was very active, hard working, most his "exceptional quotes" where said back then & he was so in love with Chihaya never clearer in any of the recent chapters. And yet, Arata won lot of those polls. This is not a comparison between him & Taichi. This is merely about Arata the character with "little" screen-time who made fans select him among other popular characters with greater presence. Again, these examples say that the character who is Wataya Arata is attractive despite his lack of screen time. and he is not good looking, and neither the manga nor the anime beautify his scenes the Taichi way, and his love story with Chihaya wasn't openly written And his feelings and inner thought were mostly hidden/concealed so what is it that attracts fans? I'm seriously curious AND WHAT IF HE IS GIVEN MORE SCREEN TIME? Unfortunately, no recent data now that the story reached its climax and he got more focus. I wish for more polls because now I know that I will vote for him passionately and I'll cherish the numbers he will get a lot. Oh, a friend invited me to vote in this one poll months (June 2020) ago and though only 137 people voted, more than half of them preferred Arata. Also, there is this cute trivia about his popularity as Suetsugu sensei, while she was replying to letters she received, mentioned in a tweet that Arata is overwhelmingly popular among elementary school students (considering the child who told her that Chihyafuru is born in the same year as them (2007), it means that the children are between 7 and 14 years old now. wow, this got super long.. I wanted to also talk about the best selling volumes of Chihayafuru & to analyse Arata's presence in them or at least the most important moments in them and how "Unrelated or related" are they to him. Also whether the volumes where he is absent are better selling then where he is present (if he is boring then those should be less popular) but maybe another time? |
Poll time: Which match Arata fans want most to watch? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (Though on Twitter, some non-Arata fans voted too + There are not more options because Twitter only allows 4)  On Facebook:  |
On Arata's popularity (2) ... I guess? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Even though I said in my answer that I don't really care, I still got curious a bit so I checked Pixiv, the very popular Japanese online community for artists/writers with more than 50 million members, over 100 million submissions receiving over 3.7 billion page views monthly. Pixiv offers a flexible tagging system and based on that, you can know the number of works submitted under any tag, be it an illustration, a comic (manga) or a novel. I checked these tags: ็ถพ็ฌๅๆฉ (Ayase Chihaya) ็ถฟ่ฐทๆฐ (Wataya Arata) ็ๅณถๅคชไธ (Mashima Taichi) ใใใกใฏ (Arachiha/Chiharata) ใใใกใฏ (Tai/chiha) This is what I found: (results are relative to today, June 14 2021 (in Japan) & they can change later) 
But whatever this says, I guess it's not more surprising than the fact that Chihayafuru is so unpopular on Pixiv, a community with more than 100 million submissions!! |
I feel so tired, work is getting hectic and I ... cannot stop myself from being consumed by Chihayafuru.. no ..not like this.. When things get tough with my personal life and a chapter is about to come out, I get this strong feeling that I need to stop reading this manga, I get some determination to let it go, this wonderful manga about the interesting characters, journeys and lessons.. And then Arata comes to my mind and I lose all determination and I give in to my attachment to Chihayafuru.. I remember again that things would have been way easier if Chihayafuru did not have "Arata".. I want to say a proper goodbye to this character when time comes and I feel stupid for thinking this he is but an incomplete idea of another human being ..but no.. it's not .. I WILL say a proper goodbye when time comes, I'll also say thank you ... or thank me for letting my eyes wonder his way and paying the right attention. |
NOVEMBER! November is an Arata month  We fans see it that way because it's the 11th month, the "Watanohara-ya" month  I will say my goodbye one November...... But for now, many new fan arts were made this month (gonna share some later in the gallery thread) some for a dear event & some for an amusing one. Japanese fans celebrated chihayafuru on 11/13 but a big focus was on Arata ! TaichixArata shipper invented the TaiArata day on November 16, the 16/Tachiwakare-11/Wata-ya day. And we all celebrated the 17/11, the Chiha-Wataya day, the CHIHARATA day! (a day celebrated every year by the way) Please check this hashtag #ChiharataDay on twitter to see fans' contributions  |
I wanted an Arata_folder_icon and I didn't find one on the net ๐ SO I MADE MINE ๐คฉ๐ฅณ๐คฃ๐คฃ (not HD, and not perfect but I like it nonetheless ๐)  |
Arata drawn by other manga artists (some of them are his fans too ^^) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This is about some popular mangaka who provided tribute art for Chihayafuru's 10th anniversary back in 2018. everyone of them drew what they wanted to in addition to a congratulatory message. Here are some mangaka who drew Arata in their art style (which is so nice) and feel the special care that some of them paid him โก Mari Okazaki, the mangaka of the A. series that sensei tweets about every now & then. I know that she is a huge fan of Arata ^^  Ayu Watanabe is another fan (and her art style is so nice too)  Kazune Kawahara (the mangaka of "My Love Story") loves Arata too ^^  |
Say hi to "Arata"  Do you know this guy? he is Suetsugu sensei's favorite Japanese actor "Arata Iura / ไบๆตฆๆฐ " A friend inform me that she said in a commentary on four-zero-studio that she named our "Arata Wataya" after him! Yep, this is the origin of Wataya Arata's name. (and ofc, "Wataya"comes from the first verse of the 11 poem "Wata no hara ya") Most of the follwing pictures are taken from his movie "Ping Pong" (2002) and am I not right in assuming that sensei was very influenced by him while drawing Arata?  |
"Who do you like better: Arata or Taichi?" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Found this Interesting article about Suzu Hirose, Mone Kamishiraishi and the three girls of the Japanese pop girls group Perfum. They were asked the question above and they answered:  |
decided to quote fans who expressed their feelings about Arata elsewhere โก - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (3) KiraraChin2_On_Reddit said: [...] As most of you know by now, I am an Arata fan and I have been for years. But recently something changed that shifted my perception of him and made me re-evaluate his whole story: I lost someone who was really close to me, a very dear family member. A lot of Arata scenes hit me different now, on a deeper level, and I realise how Suetsugu-sensei depiction of the grief process is just so accurate, including: • The anger: you feel angry at yourself the things you've done or haven't done, you run scenarios in your head thinking of ways you could have helped the situation or saved the person, you blame the the universe or others for taking the loved person away from you. I cannot even begin to imagine the level of pain and guilt in a situation like Arata's in which he felt directly responsible for his grandpa's death, his reaction when Chihaya first reaches out to him/goes to Fukui is so relatable to me now. • You become stuck in time: I've read a lot of people complaining that Arata is the one who's most 'stuck in his ways' out of the main trio, and now I completely understand why. For a long time, Arata was attached to the image of him playing Chihaya in that run-down room, for a long time he was attached to the idea that his only real team was his original team with Chihaya and Taichi. That was the time when he was happy, the time when his grandpa was still alive and before he became really sick. It's really not a coincidence that, when Arata communicates to his parents the decision to move to Tokyo, he does it in front of his grandpa's grave. It's one of the most beautiful scenes of the manga to me, in which he finally takes a step into getting out of the past and moving into the future. • You want to honour their legacy: You don't want the person you lost to disappear, you want to honour their memory, because you want to keep them alive inside you somehow. You find yourself doing things in the way you think the person would like, even if it's not the best way for you. When Arata thinks 'I don't care about my own karuta', he's putting the memory of his grandfather above his own wellbeing, because he doesn't want his grandfather to disappear, he wants to keep his grandfather's karuta alive, even at the expense of himself. • It takes a long time: It's just such a painful, slow, non-linear process, and we really have no control over it. It's been a couple of months for me and still feels fresh like if it was yesterday. For Arata, it's been a few years and he's still processing it, which is actually very realistic. Arata is very lucky he was such wonderful friends: Chihaya, who kickstarted his healing process by drawing him back to the sports he loves. Taichi, who stuck to karuta and worked really hard as a rival and friend. Arata has been saved by both of them, and his decision regarding where he wants to be in the future really doesn't surprise me at all. Ultimately, I'm really proud of Arata, for being able to move ahead, despite all the pain. I hope one day I can do the same. |
This is sweet and I got permission to save it here (โฉ เน แด เนโฉ), another fond memory that surfaced while watching Arata (โ´โก`โ) for those who think that Arata is not relatable, he really is :) -หห เผปโเผบ หห-  |
A power Arata holds! - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I just read this page from manga "Skip To Loafer" and I directly thought of Taichi & Arata. Someone like Arata keeps moving forward and probably misses a lot around him but he goes far & wide, he is not afraid to come back and go again whenever he learns that he "missed" something, he is full of energy and is always ready to move..no fears of embarrassing himself, no fear of being imperfect, no fear of disappointing anyone. But for someone like me, the real power someone like Arata holds is the little to no pressure he exerts on anything on his path while he advances which naturally pulls people like me to start moving, to advance in a similar way with a feeling that it was OUR choice to move!    I don't relate to Arata, he is an airhead & is too simple for my complicated world, too simple that most people around him cannot find -at a first glance- the dark depths in his world they NEED to find to go and save him, but  |
The Biggest Asset In The World Is Your Mindset ! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I know that so many people prefer a character who can make their hearts melt or a character they relate to or a character they want to support I like characters that I feel don't really need help and manage on their own, who learnt to take care of themselves, those who INSPIRE!  The character above is Yatora Yaguchi from manga Blue Period, a manga i'm not very interested in but Yatora is a character I would read a manga that doesn't interest me just to see! I recommend it. |
Arata in a new polpularity poll - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It is currently conducting a popularity poll for Chihayafuru characters, launched on Jun 4th, the poll will remain open for votes until Jun 11th 00:00 Japan time. Most Chihayafuru characters are present in the poll and there is also an option to request a forgotten character in case there is one. And until today (for 4 days), Arata is voted as the most favored character among 1992 fans who voted for now with 32.3% of votes, the rest are divided on 31 other characters, our beloved Chihaya is in 4th place. Some Arata fans also took the opportunity to express their thoughts after voting: He has a strong core and a cool attitude as he never slacks off in his efforts. Arata is the only choice as Chihaya's partner. I love Arata! Straightforward, hardworking and kind hero. Arata is strong and kind. I think he is the one who started the story "Chihayafuru". I voted for Wataya Arata. I can feel the strength of his passion for competitive karuta. I also feel some [of his passion] for Chihaya. I hope that he will carry through these feelings. I love Arata, who is Karuta genius but never neglects working hard. Arata. I wish I had met someone like Arata when I was a kid. Maybe it would have changed my life. I love Arata! No matter what others think, Arata does what what he loves. เซฎโ หถ•โค•หถ โแ ./ใฅ~ ๐ Pss: there is someone who commented saying: As the Taichi vote grows and the gap closes, the Arata vote appears to be growing. I am not sure, but it seems as if foreigners are manipulating these votes. Please double check. ๐. I AM ALL FOR DOUBLE CHECKING!Shame I can't tell this person that if "foreigners" voted, Arata wouldn't have taken the lead to begin with, he is not the most popular overseas, we already know this (or think at least) and that's not what the itMedia service is trying to investigate here. Also I wonder how many people requested a "double-check" when "oveseas" fans really voted and really cheated! โแต.ห.แตโ UPDATE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - It's June 11 in Japan, the poll closed and Arata kept his spot on top. He won with 839 votes vs 727 votes for the second character in the list.  A last comment was added to remind everyone why Arata won and why fans voted for him: Arata! Honest, kind and cool! |
MashimaTaichi_Jun 10, 2022 9:46 AM
but this comment resonates with me so well I'm going to just leave it here ... ๅคชไธใฎๅ่กใฏใชใใฆใใใใใปใฃใจใใชใใใฃใฆๆงๅใชใใ ใจๆใใ ไธ่ฉฑ็ผใใฃใฆใใใฎ๏ผ ๆฐใซใใใไผๆขใใฆใใใใฎใจใใใใใ้จไฝใใฎๅๅใใใ ใใฎ่ก็บใๆฐใซๅฉใใใใใใใชใใใฉใใปใฃใจใใชใ ใใใฏๅคชไธใฎ็พๅพณใ ใใใใงๅจใใซๆ ใใใฆใใใใใใ ใใใฏใใใใไบใจ่ฆ่ฟใใฎ้ฃใๅใใจใใฆใใใ ๅๆฏใช่ก็บใจใฒใญใใใๆ ๅบฆใๆ ็ฑใฎ่ใใงๅๆฉใซๆฏใใใจใใใใใ ใใใใพใ้ฃใๅใใจใใฆใ But also, comparing Taichi not expecting anything in return to his efforts with Sumire not expecting anything either from her care, I find a difference. I can only think of Sumire's feelings as more selfless and out of pure love and longing to make her loved one happy and comfortable even by doing what takes him away from her.. it's not the case for Taichi ... wow, am I back to how I initially saw Taichi? |
wow! the roller-coaster of news, discussions, emotions and reactions outside in the fandom only few hours before the last, the very last chapter of Chihayafuru ... and the peace of this place ... How do I feel? I feel like ... I feel like ... *deep inhale, deeper exhale* I really love Wataya Arata and "Mashima Taichi" ended as the same "disappointment"... what a shame ... waiting for the end ... |
The end came and i feel like it's also long gone lol - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I was supposed to keep working on my current project but a notification about a certain "ASK" on tumblr pulled me out of my business back to Chihayafuru; I read the "question", I answered then I wondered about how many times was I provoked in the 4 years I knew this fandom? and how many times did I give in to provocation? The question I received was:
Anonymous said: Lol, I came to drink your tears D Arachiha will be endgame? how do you feel after losing miserably admin Mashima Taichi? did you finally realize your delusions and saw how everything was clear from the very start? And my answer was: Oh hey, admin Mashima with you and well, I’m afraid I’ll be disappointing my friend, I didn’t cry (surprisingly) & I won’t (most probably) because you are right, the ending is a real mess so I should? … it’s funny as I was just told that because the ending is a mess, many “fans” will feel “not enough” and won’t be able to focus on it so they’ll try to derive some more satisfaction from bullying Arachiha shippers and I guess, I see it with my own eyes. I am sorry, I probably won’t be of much use to you, that ending, please have as much fun as you can with it (if you can ^^ ). I already made peace with the reality of the situation: and your messages are welcome, I’ll entertain you as much as I can. Also, sorry no, I still i’m repulsed by this end, it still has nothing to do with everything written in Chihayafuru til ch246 but you need not to worry, nothing will change because of my pov and Suetsugu will probably try to fix things here & there by adding stuff, maybe she’ll elaborate Taichiha for you guys so it makes better sense, so don’t be impatient alright? Maybe she will even write AraYuu so make up for the “28 years old years” comment which scared some as I heard ¯\_(-_-)_/¯ As for me, I guess, to acknowledge the ending, I’ll need something else from outside the manga, because the manga does not justify it, not convincingly for sure! but alas, I’m not going near Suetsugu’s stories ever again… most probably haha - sorry. I never wished to "argue" with other readers of opposite opinions (I guess, I tried to communicate with some Taichi fans when I was still interested in Taichi and wanted to discuss his unchanging flaws" but I found it impossible) so I just focused on what I started to enjoy more & more as I focus on the story itself, I wanted to enjoy Arata & Chihayafuru and I think that despite sensei's mess, I'm ready to consume more stuff as long as it is coherent with the story I understood from the start and I am more than ready & capable of dismissing whatever doesn't make sense to me now or doesn't go inline with "Chihayafuru"... I am more than ready & capable of dismissing contradictory &/or low-quality Taichifuru yes. |
I mean, I really really like the character of Wataya Arata ! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Who can tell me about my English in this poem-like essay? ๐ I tried to use some pretty words lol Can I become a poet some day with Arata being the subject of my first poem? ๐คฃ  |
Another character like Arata in other media (manga, anime, movie, novel etc)? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I asked about it on Aratafuru, I wasn't looking for something to read, I was just curious about characters Arata fans think are "like Arata" because for me, Arata is extremely UNIQUE. Ofc, I needed to define what I meant by "a character like Arata" I didn't mean the appearance and i was not sure how to define it but at least I wanted someone who "reminds us of Arata" even if we can't pinpoint the reason. the stronger the feeling, the greater the resemblance i guess? Some other fans said before "Yuri" from Yuri on Ice" I felt offended xD Ok he has black hair, wears glasses, he is awkward and shy and has passion for the sport he plays and also has someone he wants to play with/impress/surpass someone to whom he made a promise but I dislike Yuri with Passion :D and I like Arata with passion โค so I personally can't see them as alike. (My pov ofc.) I got some answers, there were characters I heard about and others I didn't and some I was curious to read more about... We finally agreed that yes, Arata is very unique, like yes he is black-haired blue-eyed like many, shy & awkward like many, badass in the sport like many, mysterious in a way like many in their own stories like many, calm & gentle like SO many, enthusiastic and has a child-like soul like also many, but when all this is combined harmoniously in one character he becomes unique! It was sill interesting to know the characters who have elements of his combination and how they look to Arata fans. In my case, I have a character who is for maybe unknown reason so close to Arata in my mind (but who is more developed and more dark & complicated) but I still get easily reminded of Arata in some important moments. He is Emperor Xuanjue from Chinese masterpiece: "The spirit Queen" or "Generations' Queen Ling" I think, I get a close feeling when I witness the Emperor's passion for his people, his character is like a combination of a god & a naive human being, he is badass when he goes to fight his fights .. I dunno, I really want many people to check the manhua (This is the exact same sentence Rawaa told me when she recommended it to me lol)  (please don't hate him because of the snow king, give him a chance, he won't disappoint I promise ๐ ) The female lead is also badass! I give her 9.5/10, The art is 9.5/10, The plot is also 9.5/10 (I want to give everything 10/10 but would that be realistic?) |
MashimaTaichi_Aug 15, 2022 7:00 AM
I heard the news about Chihayafuru.. I see that Karuta keeps it alive, Karuta & hyakunin Isshu.... nothing else really .... ... I should have moved on right? I didn’t.. ... Just a few weeks after the end of the manga, mom was diagnosed with “dementia” and suddenly, I didn't know how to live anymore.. “dementia”… A word I never cared about until I read it in Chihayafuru, it was an interesting “idea” in a fictional story, Later I realized that it’s “utter hell” and Suetsugu did a very...not good job in using the “interesting idea” with one of her main characters. sad, because she seemed to me more..brilliant. I shared this with my therapist and he made me -among other things- look at some pages from Chihayafuru a lot (mainly from chapter 22), he told me to talk about it and face it because they are horrifying & traumatizing to me now ... it's not just about karuta... dementia ...is slow torture for both patients and caregivers.. I didn’t realize it’s another November already November, the "WatanoharaYa" month of the year, I call it like that, it’s Arata’s month for me .. I always said that I didn't relate to Arata, now he is more then relatable, he became a hero in my eyes ... I can't move on & I don't want to... And I definitely did not move on from Arachiha/chiharata either ... Although my sentiment about Chihayafuru remains the same as before but I kept loving what I could love, I made some new edits which I want to share during this month ... but maybe later ... I hope I can make something happy for his birthday too.... |
More topics from this board
» ๐.๐.๐.๐.๐.๐.๐.๐ ! ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )MashimaTaichi_ - Oct 24, 2019 |
607 |
by MashimaTaichi_
»»
Nov 17, 2023 1:05 AM |
|
» G.A.L.L.E.R.Y ใท ( 1 2 3 4 5 )MashimaTaichi_ - Aug 1, 2020 |
221 |
by iNameless_
»»
Nov 4, 2023 6:48 AM |
|
» ๐๐ก๐๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ, ๐๐ก๐ข๐ก๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฎ? ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )MashimaTaichi_ - Jul 12, 2019 |
263 |
by MashimaTaichi_
»»
Jul 27, 2022 10:13 AM |
|
» โณ Data & Analysis โMashimaTaichi_ - May 23, 2020 |
38 |
by KiraraChin
»»
Jul 18, 2022 11:29 PM |
|
» โก Head-canons โก Fan-Comics โก Fan-fics โกiNameless_ - Mar 13, 2021 |
18 |
by MashimaTaichi_
»»
Jul 17, 2022 2:46 AM |