This was not what I expected to say, but Chihayafuru had the best first episode yet. It’s been slim pickings so far this season, but still. Pretty good.
We have the theme of destined lovers who were childhood friends, but for once, they actually have an interesting backstory. There’s no childhood promise to marry each other. Instead, they actually became friends over a card game, of all things. This is a childhood friendship that I can take seriously.
Our lead characters are quite likable as well. They both have their quirks, and couldn’t be accused of lacking a personality.
I enjoyed the card game scene. Reminds me of when I used to play Egyptian Rat Screw all the time. Those games were pretty intense.
I doubt I’ll blog this, but we’ll see how the rest of the new shows turn out. Right now I’m leaning towards Guilty Crown, Un-Go, Mirai Nikki, and Fate / Zero. I’ll probably aim for one or two more, possibly including Last Exile.
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Definitely looks like one of the best of the season. This ep was very exciting/fun. Can’t wait for more!
Same here, looking forward to it!
I liked this one! Not a lot to say just yet, this was just a really good first episode. Characters are fun to watch, and I really liked that things aren’t too comedic or dramatic so far. Karuta seems like an interesting game to serve as the basis of the show, too.
Easily the best new show I’ve seen this season. I’m looking forward to seeing where this show will go!
Karuta’s an odd choice, but it works well— it’s high paced and there’s a lot of tension. I’m still holding out hope there’ll be better shows this season, but I’ll be watching this one too.
This series seem to use what made Hikaru No Go a good series. By putting drama meshed in the main theme of the story. This way, even if the card game can become confusing; the emotions and the drama that is happening between the characters will still give you the same level of suspension that the game is providing. I’m totally sold for this.
*tension
I actually haven’t watched Hikaru no Go. It looks like I’m going to have to now.
It’s 64 episodes all of them are good. I hope you could do a batch review of it, if this season fails to get any better.
I will when I watch it. It might be a while though, my to watch list is pretty long. 🙂 http://myanimelist.net/animelist/draggle&status=6&order=0
Kaiji and Akagi are good too, if anyone hasn’t seen them before. The first Kaiji series is the best. Mind games (most of which are card games), crazy characters, and that art style…
I enjoyed this one, although I’d say that it would’ve been much better if the card game isn’t all about memorization. What I didn’t totally enjoyed though is the flashback, indeed there’s no confession but it’s so cliche and somewhat lacks substance. I think that part is missing creativity and worth remembering theme.
They became friends over a newspaper delivery and a game of cards. How is that cliche?
There’s not really much thought to the card game, but the way they portrayed the game gave it a lot of tension.
I think you totally miss the point here. Making a good story doesn’t mean that you have to be originial in your approach, you just need to execute them properly.