Chihayafuru - Suetsugu, Yuki

Synopsis

Always deemed inferior to her elder sister, the strong-willed yet aimless Chihaya Ayase has no dream of her own. In contrast to her, Taichi Mashima, the son of a surgeon, is gifted yet insecure as he is burdened by the heavy expectations of his strict mother, who wants him to be perfect in everything. However, the lives of Chihaya and Taichi soon change as they encounter Arata Wataya, the new transfer student in their class.

Inspired by Arata's dream to become the best at competitive karuta—a card game based on the classic anthology of one hundred Japanese poets—Chihaya quickly falls in love with the game. Refusing to lose to the talented Arata, the prideful Taichi joins along and immerses himself in the game, aiming to one day surpass his fated rival. The three friends spend their childhood practicing karuta everyday, until certain circumstances force them to part with each other.

A few years later, now in high school, the trio finds themselves reunited through the world of competitive karuta. Alongside their newfound comrades and rivals, they embark on a journey of self-discovery, friendship, and romance.

[Written by Animeranku Rewrite]

Background

Chihayafuru won the second Manga Taisho award in 2009 and the 35th Kodansha Manga Award in the shoujo manga category in 2011.

Kodansha published the first three volumes of Chihayafuru, consisting of the first seventeen chapters, in two English/Japanese volumes under their Kodansha Bilingual Comics line, on December 21, 2011 and February 23, 2012 respectively. Kodansha Comics USA has been digitally publishing the series in English since February 14, 2017.

Two live-action films were released in 2016. The first, titled Chihayafuru Kaminoku, opened in Japanese cinemas on March 19, followed by a second film, titled Shimonoku, on April 29, 2016. During a stage greeting event for the second film, a surprise announcement was made that a sequel would be produced, although details for a production schedule or release date were not revealed.

Characters