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ちはやふる [Chihayafuru] #44
치하야후루 44
名人・クイーン戦に挑む千早。アクシデントを乗り越え迎えた第一試合、爪痕は残したものの詩暢の隙のない取りを前に、落としてしまう。一方新は、周防名人と対峙しても臆することなく、一勝をもぎ取る。第二試合、千早は詩暢にある作戦を仕掛けるが――！？
176 pages, Paperback
First published May 13, 2020
About the author
Yuki Suetsugu
139 books71 followersYuki Suetsugu (末次 由紀 Suetsugu Yuki, born September 8, 1975) is a Japanese manga artist. Her career was put on hiatus after she was discovered of being accountable for plagiarism, including tracing. She later resumed her work on March 2007.
She debuted in 1992 in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine with Taiyō no Romance. Her works later moved to Bessatsu Friend magazine, also published by Kodansha.
On 2009-03-24, her work Chihayafuru was chosen for the Manga Taishō.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki_Sue...
She debuted in 1992 in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine with Taiyō no Romance. Her works later moved to Bessatsu Friend magazine, also published by Kodansha.
On 2009-03-24, her work Chihayafuru was chosen for the Manga Taishō.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki_Sue...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 20, 2020
This will be a combined review of the first through forty fourth volumes (which I realize sounds ridiculous, but I reread the whole series in a six-day blur, so I think I'm allowed).
Chihayafuru primarily follows three childhood friends—Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi—and their journey through karuta, a Japanese sport inspired by one hundred classical poems found in the famed Hyakunin Isshu. The trio bonds over karuta as children before they're inevitably separated due to a number of circumstances, until their paths cross once again in high school. Their efforts to rise to the top of the sport's hierarchy in Japan parallel to their personal relationships with each other, as well as their insecurities, hopes, and fears for the future as they grow up.
REP: visually disabled SC.
TW's: verbal parental abuse.
PROS:
- The expansive cast. Karuta is an all-ages competitive sport. People from all walks of life compete against each other, so there's a broad range of characters introduced across the course of the series: old doctors, married women, high school teachers, elementary students. It makes the personal experiences and learning points of the various characters all the richer. The appearances of background characters are also consistently recurring, which makes the fact that the cast is so expansive even more enjoyable.
- The emphasis on teachers. An experience Chihayafuru especially explores in depth is that of teachers, both literal and figurative. They are constantly brought into focus: as competitors capable of displaying as much persistence as their juniors, as mentors who do their best to nurture the younger generation, and as people of a past era fighting to hold onto what grasp of the present that they have left. Their insight is invaluable to the younger characters that the series primarily focuses on, and they can hardly be called backseat players. (Also, although the angle from which Chihayafuru explores parents and their influence on their children is a little different, it's also a just as valuable portrayed experience that I adore.)
- The series' refusal to treat karuta as insular. A lot of sports manga have a tendency to focus almost exclusively on the sport in question, with no thought given to the characters' real-life problems, their families, or their future after high school. Chihayafuru, rather than making karuta the object of its story, instead makes it the narrative medium by which the characters' life stories are told. It's a series about people and their problems more than it is a series about the sport, which is what best sets it apart.
- The use of poetry to parallel the events of the narrative. The second half of the Hyakunin Isshu poems are written out on cards, and the object of karuta is to swipe the correct card away when the first half of a given poem is read aloud. On the surface, it's just another card game; but what makes Chihayafuru special is that poems being read at different parts of the story actually further contextualize what is happening. It's one of the best Easter eggs the series has to offer, and it also lends further understanding to why players must cherish the cards for what they mean in order to truly love the sport.
- The analysis of the human psyche. There are several types of relationships and personal problems Chihayafuru explores. In particular, the friendship between Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi is complex. Their love triangle is deeply entrenched within each of their individual relationships with karuta and their individual insecurities, which is what makes it stand out to me as one of the best of its kind. Each of these characters undergoes expansive development as an individual, and yet the three of them are also inextricable of each other in terms of that development and their goals. This doesn't even touch upon the complexities of Suoh and Shinobu, the two masters at the top of the sport, who have isolated themselves as a result of being the absolute best, and whom the main trio are desperately fighting to reach so that they won't be left alone.
- The women! Among its equally (or more) famous peers, Chihayafuru is perhaps the series that emphasizes on uplifting of women and women's friendships the most (an advantage lent to it by the all-ages, all-genders nature of the sport). There's a vast cast of female characters, and Chihaya and Shinobu in particular are protagonists whose strength is never undermined by the fact of them being women or the object of someone's affections. I also love that Sumire, a character who has her sights set on Taichi, doesn't jeopardize her friendship with or admiration of Chihaya (who Taichi is in love with) as a result.
- The exploration of playing as an individual versus as a team member. Karuta is also a sport that can be played in teams (up through the end of grade school) or individually. Both aspects of play offer different insight about the nature of sports in general, about the characters' personal goals or desires, and about their complex relationships with the support systems that surround them, or lack thereof. One of my favorite quotes from the series is regarding this: Team matches are solo matches. Solo matches are team matches.
MISCONCEPTIONS:
- It's a series where you need to be invested in the long haul. As I mentioned before, Chihayafuru is most prominently a series about people and their problems. The personal journeys the characters undergo span hundreds of chapters. I've noticed before that some people give up on the series as a result, because their favorite character isn't where they want them to be within whatever span of chapters, but I want to encourage potential readers to not give into that inclination! The emotional pay off is absolutely worth it.
- Perception of the love triangle. A lot of people tend to zero in on the love triangle and make it their focus of reading, and especially for readers who attach themselves to Taichi, this often leads to disappointment in where the narrative leads. It's important to remember that each member of the childhood trio is their own individual! The issues tied to the love triangle are certainly important, but readers often miss out on crucial emotional development for characters because they're too focused on who they think Chihaya should end up with, when that's not even remotely the point. First and foremost, the narrative grounds itself in the friendship of the collective.
- This is not a series about sports! This may be a confusing thing to say. But again, I'll reiterate: Chihayafuru is most prominently a series about people and their problems. Some matches can span several chapters, while others barely last a few panels. The focus is not so much on the sport as it is on what the sport or match is doing emotionally for the individual. In that sense, it's a bit different from its contemporaries, where almost every important match is covered in detail, from one move to the next.
FINAL RATING: 5
Chihayafuru primarily follows three childhood friends—Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi—and their journey through karuta, a Japanese sport inspired by one hundred classical poems found in the famed Hyakunin Isshu. The trio bonds over karuta as children before they're inevitably separated due to a number of circumstances, until their paths cross once again in high school. Their efforts to rise to the top of the sport's hierarchy in Japan parallel to their personal relationships with each other, as well as their insecurities, hopes, and fears for the future as they grow up.
REP: visually disabled SC.
TW's: verbal parental abuse.
PROS:
- The expansive cast. Karuta is an all-ages competitive sport. People from all walks of life compete against each other, so there's a broad range of characters introduced across the course of the series: old doctors, married women, high school teachers, elementary students. It makes the personal experiences and learning points of the various characters all the richer. The appearances of background characters are also consistently recurring, which makes the fact that the cast is so expansive even more enjoyable.
- The emphasis on teachers. An experience Chihayafuru especially explores in depth is that of teachers, both literal and figurative. They are constantly brought into focus: as competitors capable of displaying as much persistence as their juniors, as mentors who do their best to nurture the younger generation, and as people of a past era fighting to hold onto what grasp of the present that they have left. Their insight is invaluable to the younger characters that the series primarily focuses on, and they can hardly be called backseat players. (Also, although the angle from which Chihayafuru explores parents and their influence on their children is a little different, it's also a just as valuable portrayed experience that I adore.)
- The series' refusal to treat karuta as insular. A lot of sports manga have a tendency to focus almost exclusively on the sport in question, with no thought given to the characters' real-life problems, their families, or their future after high school. Chihayafuru, rather than making karuta the object of its story, instead makes it the narrative medium by which the characters' life stories are told. It's a series about people and their problems more than it is a series about the sport, which is what best sets it apart.
- The use of poetry to parallel the events of the narrative. The second half of the Hyakunin Isshu poems are written out on cards, and the object of karuta is to swipe the correct card away when the first half of a given poem is read aloud. On the surface, it's just another card game; but what makes Chihayafuru special is that poems being read at different parts of the story actually further contextualize what is happening. It's one of the best Easter eggs the series has to offer, and it also lends further understanding to why players must cherish the cards for what they mean in order to truly love the sport.
- The analysis of the human psyche. There are several types of relationships and personal problems Chihayafuru explores. In particular, the friendship between Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi is complex. Their love triangle is deeply entrenched within each of their individual relationships with karuta and their individual insecurities, which is what makes it stand out to me as one of the best of its kind. Each of these characters undergoes expansive development as an individual, and yet the three of them are also inextricable of each other in terms of that development and their goals. This doesn't even touch upon the complexities of Suoh and Shinobu, the two masters at the top of the sport, who have isolated themselves as a result of being the absolute best, and whom the main trio are desperately fighting to reach so that they won't be left alone.
- The women! Among its equally (or more) famous peers, Chihayafuru is perhaps the series that emphasizes on uplifting of women and women's friendships the most (an advantage lent to it by the all-ages, all-genders nature of the sport). There's a vast cast of female characters, and Chihaya and Shinobu in particular are protagonists whose strength is never undermined by the fact of them being women or the object of someone's affections. I also love that Sumire, a character who has her sights set on Taichi, doesn't jeopardize her friendship with or admiration of Chihaya (who Taichi is in love with) as a result.
- The exploration of playing as an individual versus as a team member. Karuta is also a sport that can be played in teams (up through the end of grade school) or individually. Both aspects of play offer different insight about the nature of sports in general, about the characters' personal goals or desires, and about their complex relationships with the support systems that surround them, or lack thereof. One of my favorite quotes from the series is regarding this: Team matches are solo matches. Solo matches are team matches.
MISCONCEPTIONS:
- It's a series where you need to be invested in the long haul. As I mentioned before, Chihayafuru is most prominently a series about people and their problems. The personal journeys the characters undergo span hundreds of chapters. I've noticed before that some people give up on the series as a result, because their favorite character isn't where they want them to be within whatever span of chapters, but I want to encourage potential readers to not give into that inclination! The emotional pay off is absolutely worth it.
- Perception of the love triangle. A lot of people tend to zero in on the love triangle and make it their focus of reading, and especially for readers who attach themselves to Taichi, this often leads to disappointment in where the narrative leads. It's important to remember that each member of the childhood trio is their own individual! The issues tied to the love triangle are certainly important, but readers often miss out on crucial emotional development for characters because they're too focused on who they think Chihaya should end up with, when that's not even remotely the point. First and foremost, the narrative grounds itself in the friendship of the collective.
- This is not a series about sports! This may be a confusing thing to say. But again, I'll reiterate: Chihayafuru is most prominently a series about people and their problems. Some matches can span several chapters, while others barely last a few panels. The focus is not so much on the sport as it is on what the sport or match is doing emotionally for the individual. In that sense, it's a bit different from its contemporaries, where almost every important match is covered in detail, from one move to the next.
FINAL RATING: 5
April 17, 2021
Always love knowing those characters better, going deeper into their personality. The tention is still there after so many volumes. Impressive.
August 30, 2024
It’s all good, this is Chihaya’s current lowest but she gonna rise from now on 😌
Read
February 5, 2026cette couverture mazette
May 28, 2026
Wonderfully beautiful volume cover again… I am so wordless, it’s just so pretty to the eyes!
I’m getting chills from the “Isn’t she the first to ever come here?”
I’m getting chills from the “Isn’t she the first to ever come here?”
June 18, 2026
Pretty interesting to have Chihaya going through another bump in the road here, but we know she'll end up winning :)
January 28, 2024
A l’image de sa couverture, quel beau tome plein de délicatesse et d’Histoire, celle des cartes du karuta et des relations de nos challengeuses avec elles.
J’ai beaucoup le singulier tournant pris par le match Shinobu vs Chihaya. Jusqu’à présent, on s’est souvent focalisée sur des techniques de saisie, de défense du territoire ou de placement des cartes, mais rarement sur le contenu des poèmes et les personnages qu’ils mettaient en scène. Sachant que c’est LA technique de Shinobu pour développer un lien particulier avec elle, Chihaya compte bien jouer là-dessus et le lecteur découvre ainsi une toute autre façon de jouer.
Ce fut donc un match des plus singulier auquel on a assisté où la logique des choix de Chihaya pouvait même échapper à ceux s’y connaissant qui observait, car loin de se reposer comme d’habitude sur les sons, elle s’est reposait sur le sens des poèmes et leurs personnages. Inédit chez elle. Malheureusement, cela a aussi un peu fait d’elle la méchante de l’histoire et j’ai eu beaucoup de mal à m’attacher à sa démarche, à l’approuver dans le sens affectif. J’avais vraiment l’impression d’être face à une harceleuse s’en prenant à quelqu’un qui était à la fois plus intelligente qu’elle et plus faible aussi, comme dans ces cas de violence scolaire où les « forts » s’en prennent à ceux qui ont des bonnes notes. Je n’ai pas aimé.
J’ai cependant compris la démarche et j’ai trouvé intéressant aussi de la voir attaquer son adversaire sur ce qui est à la fois sa force et sa faiblesse. Cela nous a permis d’entrer plus intimement dans le karuta mais aussi de continuer à découvrir Shinobu, qui est vraiment un des personnages les plus intéressants de la saga. Là où nos jeunes challengers, en reste un peu à ça, on découvre chez la Queen et le Maître une toute autre profondeur liée à leur rapport au karuta bien différent de leurs cadets. C’était donc instructif à la fois de découvrir le contenu et les liens des poèmes, puissant de voir combien cela pouvoir déranger et perturber Shinobu et amusant de découvrir une autre façon de jouer et une héroïne prête à tout, même à changer de style et à passer pour la méchante pour gagner.
J’espère qu’on aura droit au même traitement en profondeur de l’affrontement Suo – Arata, car pour le moment celui-ci est un peu trop survolé alors qu’il est tout autant prometteur. Entre Arata qui joue un jeu qui n’est pas le sien en endossant le masque de son grand-père et Suo qui lutte contre son handicap grandissant, il y a de quoi raconter une fort belle histoire aussi et j’aimerais qu’on lui consacre le temps et les pages nécessaires. De même, c’est bien beau de mettre leurs camarades en soutien autour mais il faudrait aussi leur proposer une histoire comme elle le fait ici pour Brioche. Pitié, ne les oubliez pas, notamment Taichi, qui était quand même membre du trio originel, il ne reste que 6 tomes…
Offrant à ses lecteurs un combat aux formes inédites, Yuki Suetsugu nous régale de nouvelles passes de karuta surprenante où émotion, histoire, lutte et revanche se mélange sous le joli grain des personnages peuplant les cartes. Mignon, âpre et poétique, cette lutte acharnée n’a pas fini de nous passionner et on a déjà hâte de voir la prochaine manche. Il serait juste bon de ne pas oublier les garçons et personnages secondaires non plus, car la série est désormais une vaste fresque et pas juste l’histoire de Chihaya 😉
Avis complet : https://lesblablasdetachan.wordpress....
J’ai beaucoup le singulier tournant pris par le match Shinobu vs Chihaya. Jusqu’à présent, on s’est souvent focalisée sur des techniques de saisie, de défense du territoire ou de placement des cartes, mais rarement sur le contenu des poèmes et les personnages qu’ils mettaient en scène. Sachant que c’est LA technique de Shinobu pour développer un lien particulier avec elle, Chihaya compte bien jouer là-dessus et le lecteur découvre ainsi une toute autre façon de jouer.
Ce fut donc un match des plus singulier auquel on a assisté où la logique des choix de Chihaya pouvait même échapper à ceux s’y connaissant qui observait, car loin de se reposer comme d’habitude sur les sons, elle s’est reposait sur le sens des poèmes et leurs personnages. Inédit chez elle. Malheureusement, cela a aussi un peu fait d’elle la méchante de l’histoire et j’ai eu beaucoup de mal à m’attacher à sa démarche, à l’approuver dans le sens affectif. J’avais vraiment l’impression d’être face à une harceleuse s’en prenant à quelqu’un qui était à la fois plus intelligente qu’elle et plus faible aussi, comme dans ces cas de violence scolaire où les « forts » s’en prennent à ceux qui ont des bonnes notes. Je n’ai pas aimé.
J’ai cependant compris la démarche et j’ai trouvé intéressant aussi de la voir attaquer son adversaire sur ce qui est à la fois sa force et sa faiblesse. Cela nous a permis d’entrer plus intimement dans le karuta mais aussi de continuer à découvrir Shinobu, qui est vraiment un des personnages les plus intéressants de la saga. Là où nos jeunes challengers, en reste un peu à ça, on découvre chez la Queen et le Maître une toute autre profondeur liée à leur rapport au karuta bien différent de leurs cadets. C’était donc instructif à la fois de découvrir le contenu et les liens des poèmes, puissant de voir combien cela pouvoir déranger et perturber Shinobu et amusant de découvrir une autre façon de jouer et une héroïne prête à tout, même à changer de style et à passer pour la méchante pour gagner.
J’espère qu’on aura droit au même traitement en profondeur de l’affrontement Suo – Arata, car pour le moment celui-ci est un peu trop survolé alors qu’il est tout autant prometteur. Entre Arata qui joue un jeu qui n’est pas le sien en endossant le masque de son grand-père et Suo qui lutte contre son handicap grandissant, il y a de quoi raconter une fort belle histoire aussi et j’aimerais qu’on lui consacre le temps et les pages nécessaires. De même, c’est bien beau de mettre leurs camarades en soutien autour mais il faudrait aussi leur proposer une histoire comme elle le fait ici pour Brioche. Pitié, ne les oubliez pas, notamment Taichi, qui était quand même membre du trio originel, il ne reste que 6 tomes…
Offrant à ses lecteurs un combat aux formes inédites, Yuki Suetsugu nous régale de nouvelles passes de karuta surprenante où émotion, histoire, lutte et revanche se mélange sous le joli grain des personnages peuplant les cartes. Mignon, âpre et poétique, cette lutte acharnée n’a pas fini de nous passionner et on a déjà hâte de voir la prochaine manche. Il serait juste bon de ne pas oublier les garçons et personnages secondaires non plus, car la série est désormais une vaste fresque et pas juste l’histoire de Chihaya 😉
Avis complet : https://lesblablasdetachan.wordpress....
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