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Chihayafuru
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Aug 3, 2023 1:35 AM
#1

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Jun 2021
74
So waay back in the day somewhere around 10 years ago after watching Nodame Cantabile and reading the manga I stumbled upon Chihayafuru on some list of best/similar Josei shows. I was excited, I really wanted to watch the show. I even liked the characters and didn't mind the flashback but I just can't stand karuta. It is such an amalgamation of things that I hate about card games and Japanese culture. The annoying and pretentious poems, the ear bleeding slow singing/reciting of the same, the traditional clothes many characters wear in the matches (I really hate yukata centric episodes that are in EVERY drama/romance show but they are usually just 1 or 2 episodes so I don't mind them especially if they deliver in character development) , the design of the cards, the rules that are too simple and prone to exploiting, the taping that is animated over the top which wouldn't be a problem in any other boardgame/sport show, example is Hikaru no Go, but here it is so over the top that I just can't take the drama seriously because it is in heavy focus and everything about the game just hinders it. I tried several times over the years to watch it again but every time the kid with the glasses plays the tape and I hear the "singing" I just shut down the episode.

TL;DR
I hate karuta and everything about it but like the characters. Give me a constructive and good enough reason how to deal or ignore with karuta theme to continue watching it.
Aug 3, 2023 2:11 AM
#2
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May 2021
25
dont lol what kinda cope is this ☠️
Aug 3, 2023 2:16 AM
#3

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Oct 2013
2265
I mean, no one forced you to watch it... So just watch other shows?
.
Aug 3, 2023 2:20 AM
#4

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Apr 2016
516
I have zero interest in karuta and I absolutely love this show.

So, unless you WANT to hate this show, there shouldn't be a problem. I don't like car racing nor football and I can enjoy a show about that if it's good.
Aug 3, 2023 2:49 AM
#5

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Jun 2021
74
4vant__slatt said:
dont lol what kinda cope is this ☠️
Scavendgarr said:
I mean, no one forced you to watch it... So just watch other shows?
Pretty nothing answers. At least you could try not answering at all if you are going to be toxic. I asked for a reasonable discussion and not insults. 

Daninokuni said:
I have zero interest in karuta and I absolutely love this show.

So, unless you WANT to hate this show, there shouldn't be a problem. I don't like car racing nor football and I can enjoy a show about that if it's good.
That's the thing I don't WANT to hate the show, I also don't like sports but have loved sports anime, hell I even think that Cross Game is one of the best anime shows ever made. But everything about karuta here hinders it for me, maybe it's because the melodrama is so absurdly connected with a pretty shallow game? I don't know, and that's the thing, I want some new insights that can make me retrospect my opinion of it. Something that can make me see it from a different perspective.
Aug 3, 2023 2:58 AM
#6

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Oct 2013
2265
Malisa90 said:
4vant__slatt said:
dont lol what kinda cope is this ☠️
Scavendgarr said:
I mean, no one forced you to watch it... So just watch other shows?
Pretty nothing answers. At least you could try not answering at all if you are going to be toxic. I asked for a reasonable discussion and not insults. 

Daninokuni said:
I have zero interest in karuta and I absolutely love this show.

So, unless you WANT to hate this show, there shouldn't be a problem. I don't like car racing nor football and I can enjoy a show about that if it's good.
That's the thing I don't WANT to hate the show, I also don't like sports but have loved sports anime, hell I even think that Cross Game is one of the best anime shows ever made. But everything about karuta here hinders it for me, maybe it's because the melodrama is so absurdly connected with a pretty shallow game? I don't know, and that's the thing, I want some new insights that can make me retrospect my opinion of it. Something that can make me see it from a different perspective.
why you see my answer as an insult tho. It's based from my own experience. So you insulting my experience or what? If i don't like a show, why should i bother continue watching something i don't like with my limited lifetime? I just give you my answer based on what i would do. No insult, no toxicity, no ill intention whatsoever.
.
Aug 3, 2023 3:24 AM
#7

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Jun 2021
74
Scavendgarr said:
why you see my answer as an insult tho. It's based from my own experience. So you insulting my experience or what? If i don't like a show, why should i bother continue watching something i don't like with my limited lifetime? I just give you my answer based on what i would do. No insult, no toxicity, no ill intention whatsoever.

Sorry but it was condescending in my eyes. You threw away my question without any regard. I know I can watch something other but I wouldn't have made the topic if I didn't want a discussion about it. Also never have I said I don't like the show. I don't like karuta and everything about it makes the show lesser in my eyes and not worthy of watching. 
I hate Honey and Clover because of the characters, that is something that I can't get over in a show that is trying to be dramatic and serious, wihch here isn't the case, characters are fine at least in those 6~8 or how much episodes I have watched at some point. 
Malisa90Aug 3, 2023 3:28 AM
Aug 3, 2023 3:28 AM
#8

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Apr 2022
302
Well its true Karuta is not for everyone, thats why I didnt start Chihayafuru yet. Actually you can compare it with other animes with the same topic like sports anime. But this show is not only focused on karuta, since it is more romance than anything else. If you want to keep seeing it better look at it from a romantic perspective or something like that. And if in the end you don't like it, stop watching it
Aug 3, 2023 3:32 AM
#9

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Jun 2021
74
MrPro06 said:
Well its true Karuta is not for everyone, thats why I didnt start Chihayafuru yet. Actually you can compare it with other animes with the same topic like sports anime. But this show is not only focused on karuta, since it is more romance than anything else. If you want to keep seeing it better look at it from a romantic perspective or something like that. And if in the end you don't like it, stop watching it
I tried that but the drama surrounding karuta was, well stupid. I just can't take seriously the game where there isn't much of a strategy or skill. At least there is no skill if you compare it with any other 1v1 game/sport.
Aug 3, 2023 3:36 AM

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Apr 2022
302
Malisa90 said:
MrPro06 said:
Well its true Karuta is not for everyone, thats why I didnt start Chihayafuru yet. Actually you can compare it with other animes with the same topic like sports anime. But this show is not only focused on karuta, since it is more romance than anything else. If you want to keep seeing it better look at it from a romantic perspective or something like that. And if in the end you don't like it, stop watching it
I tried that but the drama surrounding karuta was, well stupid. I just can't take seriously the game where there isn't much of a strategy or skill. At least there is no skill if you compare it with any other 1v1 game/sport.

Thats the problem then. If you want to enjoy Chihayafuru you need to not compare it with other sports
Aug 3, 2023 4:04 AM

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Jun 2021
74
MrPro06 said:
Malisa90 said:
I tried that but the drama surrounding karuta was, well stupid. I just can't take seriously the game where there isn't much of a strategy or skill. At least there is no skill if you compare it with any other 1v1 game/sport.

Thats the problem then. If you want to enjoy Chihayafuru you need to not compare it with other sports
That's... actually something that I never thought about. That's actually the type of an answer which I was hoping for, something that provides a different insight. I don't know if I would be able to do that but it's worth trying.
Aug 3, 2023 4:56 AM

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Apr 2022
302
Malisa90 said:
MrPro06 said:

Thats the problem then. If you want to enjoy Chihayafuru you need to not compare it with other sports
That's... actually something that I never thought about. That's actually the type of an answer which I was hoping for, something that provides a different insight. I don't know if I would be able to do that but it's worth trying.


Yeah, you should try it. Good luck with it!
Aug 3, 2023 9:09 AM

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Apr 2016
516
Malisa90 said:
MrPro06 said:
Well its true Karuta is not for everyone, thats why I didnt start Chihayafuru yet. Actually you can compare it with other animes with the same topic like sports anime. But this show is not only focused on karuta, since it is more romance than anything else. If you want to keep seeing it better look at it from a romantic perspective or something like that. And if in the end you don't like it, stop watching it
I tried that but the drama surrounding karuta was, well stupid. I just can't take seriously the game where there isn't much of a strategy or skill. At least there is no skill if you compare it with any other 1v1 game/sport.

We can say the same about every sport in Earth. You don't need to take it seriously since the caracters do it.
Sometimes you will say "don't take this that seriously" but, even if you don't like this game, you have to empathize with the character, not with the sport.
Aug 3, 2023 9:14 AM

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Apr 2016
516
Malisa90 said:
MrPro06 said:

Thats the problem then. If you want to enjoy Chihayafuru you need to not compare it with other sports
That's... actually something that I never thought about. That's actually the type of an answer which I was hoping for, something that provides a different insight. I don't know if I would be able to do that but it's worth trying.

Well, this is a spokon anime, but that doesn't mean karuta is a sport.
You can make a good spokon with games such as Tetris, 3x3 or even Rock, paper, scissors.

This is not about the game (though it is of course better if you like it) is about the characters doing their best and developing themselves through the story.
Aug 3, 2023 11:02 PM
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Nov 2020
213
To be honest, you kinda have to get somewhat invested with the karuta game when consuming this series. Sure, this series is more concentrated on characters rather than the actual game but a lot of those are told through those same karuta games. It's hard to simply to ignore those elements. Best thing I could say to you is that the drama especially later on is so good that if you can willpower through the karuta, it will somewhat satisfying to your case. Personally, I'd suggest just reading the manga instead if you can because the audio is absent there.
Aug 4, 2023 11:53 AM
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Sep 2021
89
For the convincing reason for you:
Watch with the feeling like watching other sport, you don’t have to know all of the rule all remember the karuta word.
Focus on relationship and character improvement, later focus on romance. **the character and character relationship were written so well!!!!!!!!!!! season3>2>1 (I read manga after watching anime)
Aug 4, 2023 12:12 PM
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Jun 2022
6
Malisa90 said:
MrPro06 said:
Well its true Karuta is not for everyone, thats why I didnt start Chihayafuru yet. Actually you can compare it with other animes with the same topic like sports anime. But this show is not only focused on karuta, since it is more romance than anything else. If you want to keep seeing it better look at it from a romantic perspective or something like that. And if in the end you don't like it, stop watching it
I tried that but the drama surrounding karuta was, well stupid. I just can't take seriously the game where there isn't much of a strategy or skill. At least there is no skill if you compare it with any other 1v1 game/sport.

How funny you react like people are insulting you even if they don't, and even if it is you who are insulting others and being condescendent by saying karuta is "shallow" and there no strategy or anything... Clearly you are not open to discover this game, which is full of strategy, skills and needs a lot of training ! You may not like this game and that is ok, but you have no right to insult it.
Moreover, to answer your question, you speak like Karuta is spoiling your romance anime, but you are wrong, Chihayafuru is a sports anime before being a romance anime, so if you don't like karuta moments in the show, there is no way of you liking this anime... This is just not for you
Aug 5, 2023 1:09 PM
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Dec 2016
12
Don't binge it. Just watch it when you have the time. As time goes, you'll love it. Really.
Aug 6, 2023 3:28 AM

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Jun 2021
74
mangele said:
Malisa90 said:
I tried that but the drama surrounding karuta was, well stupid. I just can't take seriously the game where there isn't much of a strategy or skill. At least there is no skill if you compare it with any other 1v1 game/sport.

How funny you react like people are insulting you even if they don't, and even if it is you who are insulting others and being condescendent by saying karuta is "shallow" and there no strategy or anything... Clearly you are not open to discover this game, which is full of strategy, skills and needs a lot of training ! You may not like this game and that is ok, but you have no right to insult it.
Moreover, to answer your question, you speak like Karuta is spoiling your romance anime, but you are wrong, Chihayafuru is a sports anime before being a romance anime, so if you don't like karuta moments in the show, there is no way of you liking this anime... This is just not for you
See this is the kind of response that means nothing. Yes karuta is bad and shallow and those are the facts. The rounds are finished in seconds, the strategy is to just tap and destroy the whole board and then pick the card from the bunch that you just made a mess of. If there's one think about karuta that can be commended it's that you haveto have a quick reflexes. But google the game Dobble. It's basically the same, you need reflexes and memory, almost everything that you need for karuta and it's played just for dumb fun between something else. It's shallow and dumb and it's ok for a 15 min breaks or something. And here you are supposed to expect that its some super serious psychological game when it really isn't. If you think that facts are me insulting people than by all means think like that, but instead of saying something constructive like MrPro06 and Daninokuni you are purposely trying to start a flame war.
Also you saying about it spoiling my romance anime... what? Where did I ever spoke of it like it's just a romance anime? If you have read my posts clearly you would saw that I never leaned heavily on to the romance aspect. From the very beginning it was my understanding that the show was more of a drama with a bit of a love triangle spliced in between. The only reason why I mentioned Nodame who actually is heavy into the romance plot is because it was a praised josei, something that I was looking at the time. But I would assume that you just read the title or only the first post and decided to interject without reading anything else.
Aug 13, 2023 4:55 PM
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Dec 2021
856
Chihayafuru is not about karuta, that's just a theme.
Aug 16, 2023 12:08 PM
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Jan 2020
20
I watch shows like you do, it sounds like.  I try shows multiple times because I want to like them, but I just don't.  But sometimes a show I've tried before will just randomly hit me differently on the like fourth try or something, and I'll like it.

How far into the show were you able to get the times you tried before?
Aug 26, 2023 8:54 AM

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Jul 2015
12293
I also had this exact same problem. Show by itself is great. Fantastic characters with great chemistry and phenomenal visuals. But I just don't care about this karuta game. Those episodes in which they are playing it, especially tournaments, are easily the worst and most boring episodes for me. Sad, but what can you do.

Sep 17, 2023 9:57 AM

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Feb 2019
87
Karuta is whatever I just hate the glasses guy so passionately it brings down the show a bit
Oct 10, 2023 1:51 AM

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Jun 2009
302
So basically you hate Japan and anime and everything that makes anime stand out in comparison to what the West offers, yet you're here whining about that.
It's like saying you hate enka but want to watch a show about Enka. It's like saying you hate the American depiction of super heroes, yet you wanna watch every Marvel movie. It's like saying you hate sport shows, but wanting to watch this.
Doesn't make sense, now does it?

Chihayafuru is btw in my opinion a sports anime, with Karuta being the sport. If you don't like the sport there's little sense watching it.

And I just can't fathom how someone can hate a piece of clothing, especially something that is so essential to the culture. Sure you wanna continue watching anime in the future?
ScrewFictionOct 10, 2023 1:55 AM
Oct 11, 2023 4:45 AM
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Sep 2022
57
It is great anime if you just want to fill your free time with some lengthy story but don't know what exactly to pick. Happy that there are 3 big seasons to watch.

I felt that show really tests my patience first ~10 episodes but after those were done I found myself synced with the flow and it is kind of nice now. It's not like first episodes were particularly worse than following ones, it's just the show has very steady flow, there's no hook that drags you into it at some point. So you either get used to it's pace or drop eventually, it's subjective of course and the only way to find out is to give story a chance to soak in.
al_vlOct 11, 2023 5:09 AM
Oct 20, 2023 3:42 PM

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Jun 2021
74
Reply to ScrewFiction
So basically you hate Japan and anime and everything that makes anime stand out in comparison to what the West offers, yet you're here whining about that.
It's like saying you hate enka but want to watch a show about Enka. It's like saying you hate the American depiction of super heroes, yet you wanna watch every Marvel movie. It's like saying you hate sport shows, but wanting to watch this.
Doesn't make sense, now does it?

Chihayafuru is btw in my opinion a sports anime, with Karuta being the sport. If you don't like the sport there's little sense watching it.

And I just can't fathom how someone can hate a piece of clothing, especially something that is so essential to the culture. Sure you wanna continue watching anime in the future?
@Mitsuru-Senpaii
Nice way of completely misunderstanding my entire point. Yes I hate certain pieces of Japanese culture. But it's not like it can't be engaging. For example Kono Oto Tomare, I don't like koto, I don't really like the sound of it. But majority of songs in that show were amazing, especially the final song of the main band. I would even go so far that I actually like it because it isn't "traditional" song.

Yeah I know it is a "sports" anime that's not my gripe. I watched many sports anime, heck I even think Cross Game is one of the best anime shows ever made. And old Major was amazing. And you know what? I HATE baseball, and I even don't understand half of the rules and in my eyes it's just some really dumb american sport, that's even worse than football (or soccer if you'r american). And Major and Cross Game are about baseball! But those shows have amazing characters and have really good hooks from the very beginning.

Yes, I hate yukata and similar style of clothes, but that's purely superficial, It's not like I said I can't watch it because I don't like how they look. If just that was that reason for not liking the show than I would deserved to be called a troll, idiot, etc.

Yeah I hate Marvel, but I watched every movie up until the first part of the last Avengers where I just gave up, it was too much.

And I'm not entirely sure how you came to this conclusion if you read my entire argument?

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