Chihayafuru: Mid season impressions

Chihayafuru (2011, midseason)


True to her underdog character, Chihaya managed to attack her way onto my shortlist of best anime of the new year with a powerful mid season finish. While the series uses a traditional Japanese card game (karuta - a real game, i.e., not pokemon or yu-gi-oh) as a plot vehicle, the real story is the understated love triangle that develops among the three lead characters.

The titular heroine, Chihaya, is my one of my favorite new characters for this upcoming year, and there will be hell to pay if Taichi doesn't win her over in the end. Just saying.