Chihayafuru
Encyclopedia
is a manga
series written and illustrated by Yuki Suetsugu
, serialised in Be Love
and published by Kodansha. It is about a school girl, Chihaya Ayase, who after seeing her sister become a fashion model, is inspired by a new classmate to take up Hyakunin Isshu
karuta
competitively. It has been adapted into an anime
television series, screening on Nippon Television
and Crunchyroll
from 5 October, 2011.
The manga has won the Manga Taisho Award and the Kodansha Manga Award. Since its fourth volume was released in March 2009, it has regularly appeared on the Japanese Comic Ranking chart, and in August 2011 was estimated to have sold over 4.5 million copies. Its popularity has boosted the profile of Competitive Karuta
in Japan.
player. He thinks that Chihaya has a potential to become a great player. As Chihaya takes on a new dream of becoming Japan's best karuta player, she is soon separated from her karuta playing friends as they grow up. Now in high school, Chihaya still continues to play karuta in the hope that she will one day meet her friends again.
poetry anthology, which is printed on the karuta cards.
since 2007, and has been collected by Kodansha into 14 bound volumes
as of September 2011, which is also available in eBook format. The manga is licensed in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing.
under the direction of Morio Asaka
with script supervision by Naoya Takayama and character designs by Kunihiko Hamada. The art director is Tomoyuki Shimizu, the director of photography is Kenji Fujita, the colour supervisor is Ken Hashimoto, the CG director is Tsukasa Saito, the music is by Kousuke Yamashita
, and the sound director is Masafumi Mima. The opening theme is "Youthful", performed by 99RadioService, and the ending theme is "And Now", performed by Asami Seto. There are 25 episodes announced. The series will begin its broadcast run on NTV starting 5 October, 2011. The series is simulcast
in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand by Crunchyroll
.
The series is planned to be released on DVD
and Blu-ray Disc
on 21 December, 2011, with a limited character charm of young Chihaya.
app has been released which allows the user to play karuta with other users of the app.
award, and the 35th Kodansha Manga Award
in the shojo manga category. When Chihayafuru won the Manga Taisho award, it was commented that the series combines elements of the sport genre and literary elements with a discerning eye on the subject matter.
In the week of 10 March - 16 March, 2009, the fourth volume of Chihayafuru appeared at #24 on the Japanese Comic Ranking chart, selling 29,776 copies in that week. In the week of 8 June - 14 June 2009, the fifth volume appeared at #11 on the chart, selling 46,774 copies in that week. The next week, it slipped to #21, selling an additional 40,344 copies in that week. In the week of 7 September - 13 September 2009, volume six of Chihayafuru appeared at #8 on the list, selling 61,089 copies. The next week, it appeared at #23, selling 45,028 copies in that week. In the week of 7 December - 14 December 2009, the seventh volume ranked at number nine on the list, selling 70,790 copies. The following week, it ranked at #15, selling an additional 55,266 copies. The eight volume of Chihayafuru ranked at #5 on the bestseller's list, selling 92,555 copies in the week of 8 - 14 March, 2010. The following week, it slipped to seventh place, selling an additional 72,957 copies. For the week of 7-13 June 2010, the ninth volume of Chihayafuru appeared at #6 on the chart, selling 99,296 copies in that week. The following week, it slipped to ninth place, selling an additional 74,885 copies. The tenth volume of Chihayafuru placed first on the list for the week of 13-19 September, slipping to nineteenth place the next week. For the week of 13-19 December, the eleventh volume debuted at #2, slipping to #23 the next week. The twelfth volume appeared at #9 for the week of 7- 13 March 2011, rising to #4 the following week. The thirteenth volume debuted at #3 for the week of 13-19 June 2011, slipping to #20 the following week. The fourteenth volume debuted at #3 for the week of 12- 18 September 2011, slipping to #24 the following week.
As of August 2011, it was reported that there were sales of over 4.5 million copies of the manga volumes.
The popularity of Chihayafuru has boosted the popularity of competitive karuta.
Gia Manry, writing about the first episode of Chihayafuru, felt that despite the animators' efforts, karuta seemed boring, and criticised the overuse of CG sakura
, describing it as a "mixed bag" of an anime. Bamboo Dong says that Chihaya's passion and characterisation make karuta interesting. Carlo Santos felt that the series was the "first genuinely good show of the season", citing its characterisation, unusual subject, and polish of the first episode. Marcus Speer enjoyed the production values of the first episode, but felt that the theme songs were "standard fare". He was intrigued by how the characters' childhood impacted on their present interactions. Martin Theron appreciated the focus on the characters rather than the game, feeling that while the teenage Chihaya seemed "gimmicky", her younger self was "quite likable". Chris Beveridge praised the tension shown between Arata and Taichi in the second episode's karuta match. Martin Theron felt the second episode's karuta tournament was tense and compelling, and that despite the plot unfolding in a predictable fashion, the execution made this forgivable.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series written and illustrated by Yuki Suetsugu
Yuki Suetsugu
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...
, serialised in Be Love
Be Love
Be Love is a Japanese manga magazine targetting women published by Kodansha. It debuted in September 1980. It is one of the leading manga magazines for adult women, the first of its kind, and was instrumental in the rising popularity of josei manga in the 1980s, which led to the creation of other...
and published by Kodansha. It is about a school girl, Chihaya Ayase, who after seeing her sister become a fashion model, is inspired by a new classmate to take up Hyakunin Isshu
Hyakunin Isshu
is a traditional anthology style of compiling Japanese waka poetry where each contributor writes one poem for the anthology. Literally, it translates to "one hundred people, one poem [each]"...
karuta
Karuta
is a Japanese card game.The basic idea of any karuta game is to be able to quickly determine which card out of an array of cards is required and then to grab the card before it is grabbed by an opponent. There are various types of cards which can be used to play karuta...
competitively. It has been adapted into an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series, screening on Nippon Television
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
and Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...
from 5 October, 2011.
The manga has won the Manga Taisho Award and the Kodansha Manga Award. Since its fourth volume was released in March 2009, it has regularly appeared on the Japanese Comic Ranking chart, and in August 2011 was estimated to have sold over 4.5 million copies. Its popularity has boosted the profile of Competitive Karuta
Competitive karuta
is a Japanese card game played with uta-garuta cards. There are many other ways of playing karuta that are not demanding and are very easy to play. Thus, they are popular among the general public...
in Japan.
Plot
Chihaya Ayase is a girl who has spent most of her life simply supporting her sister in her model career. That changes when she meets a boy named Arata Wataya, a talented karutaKaruta
is a Japanese card game.The basic idea of any karuta game is to be able to quickly determine which card out of an array of cards is required and then to grab the card before it is grabbed by an opponent. There are various types of cards which can be used to play karuta...
player. He thinks that Chihaya has a potential to become a great player. As Chihaya takes on a new dream of becoming Japan's best karuta player, she is soon separated from her karuta playing friends as they grow up. Now in high school, Chihaya still continues to play karuta in the hope that she will one day meet her friends again.
Characters
- A determined schoolgirl who "possesses a remarkable hearing ability". She believes that by persevering in karuta, she will meet Arata again, and begins a karuta club at her high school with Mashima. While she is beautiful, she is considered too weird, her classmates referring to her as a "waste of a beauty". Carl Kimlinger from Anime News NetworkAnime News NetworkAnime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
described her as a "tomboy trapped in a supermodel's body". Her "guileless" nature has been criticised as seeming unrealistic by Shigeko Matsuo of the Asahi Shimbun, but Bamboo Dong feels that her "pure, sweet" characterisation "just works", although Dong feels Chihaya's attachment to Arata and Taichi is "a little weird". Chihaya is extremely childish, and when she was younger, looked very much like a boy due to her short hair. She has a pronounced sense of right and wrong, which causes her to befriend Arata when the other kids made fun of him.
- , Yuka Terasaki (young)
- A transfer student to Chihaya's elementary school, grandchild of a master karuta player, Arata inspires Chihaya to take up karuta. He has difficulty fitting in at Chihaya's elementary school because of his Fukui dialect and passion for karuta, but Chihaya befriends him. His dream is to become a karuta MeijinMeijinMeijin , literally translated, means "Brilliant Man." It is the name of the second most prestigious Japanese Go Tournament. It also refers to a traditional Japanese title given to the strongest player of the day during the Edo period.- The tournament :...
. After graduating elementary school, he returns to FukuiFukuiFukui is a Japanese name meaning "fortunate" or it can mean "one who is from the Fukui prefecture". It may refer to:- Places :* Fukui Prefecture** Fukui, Fukui - the city of the same name in the prefecture...
to care for his grandfather. After returning to Fukui, he quits karuta because his grandfather died while Arata was competing in a karuta tournament to rise to A-rank.
- , Ayahi TakagakiAyahi Takagakiis a Japanese voice actress and singer. She had her first major voice acting roles in 2007, voicing Jasmine in Deltora Quest and Lucia Nahashi in Venus Versus Virus....
(young) - An all-round sportsman, and Chihaya's childhood friend. His mother is very strict with him, telling him he should stick to activities he can win at. Because he is a sore loser, he becomes Chihaya's rival in karuta. He seems to have feelings for Chihaya although he has a girlfriend, and is jealous of her feelings for Arata. A talented student and athlete, he claims to have outgrown karuta, but then, after watching Chihaya excelling and obviously having fun, he decides to help her form a karuta club.
- A girl with a taste for the classics, Kanade is a quiet girl who works in a kimono store and loves all kinds of traditional clothing. She is quite knowledgeable about the true meanings behind the One Hundred Poems and joins the karuta club on the condition that they start wearing hakamaHakamaare a type of traditional Japanese clothing. They were originally worn only by men, but today they are worn by both sexes. Hakama are tied at the waist and fall approximately to the ankles. Hakama are worn over a kimono ....
.
- A rather tubby boy who is reluctantly often called by Chihaya. Once a top karuta player who had previously played against Chihaya, Arata and Taichi in an elementary school tournament, Yusei quit karuta after suffering a defeat against Arata and took up tennis as a refuge. However, Chihaya manages to remind him how he used to play for fun and he ends up joing the karuta club.
- An intelligent boy in Chihaya's class who is second only to Taichi in test scores. Often tied to his desk and anti-social, he feels that nothing is worth doing unless it makes you smarter. However, Chihaya and Taichi help to convince him that karuta involves a lot of strategy and he joins the club.
- The current Queen of Karuta, she is also the youngest Queen in history.
- The former Queen of Karuta, she is 24 years old.
- The current MeijinMeijinMeijin , literally translated, means "Brilliant Man." It is the name of the second most prestigious Japanese Go Tournament. It also refers to a traditional Japanese title given to the strongest player of the day during the Edo period.- The tournament :...
of Karuta. He began karuta in college, and took three years to take the title of Meijin. His favourite food is sweets.
Development
Yuki Suetsugu belonged to a karuta club in senior high school, and feels that the school years are a period of a person's life where "you can dedicate the most genuine part of yourself to something". The name of the series comes from the first five syllables of a poem in the Hyakunin IsshuHyakunin Isshu
is a traditional anthology style of compiling Japanese waka poetry where each contributor writes one poem for the anthology. Literally, it translates to "one hundred people, one poem [each]"...
poetry anthology, which is printed on the karuta cards.
Manga
The manga has been serialised in Be LoveBe Love
Be Love is a Japanese manga magazine targetting women published by Kodansha. It debuted in September 1980. It is one of the leading manga magazines for adult women, the first of its kind, and was instrumental in the rising popularity of josei manga in the 1980s, which led to the creation of other...
since 2007, and has been collected by Kodansha into 14 bound volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
as of September 2011, which is also available in eBook format. The manga is licensed in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing.
Anime
An anime television series based on the manga was announced in May 2011. The series was produced by Studio MadhouseMadhouse (company)
is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...
under the direction of Morio Asaka
Morio Asaka
is a Japanese anime director.A graduate of the Osaka Designers' College, he is a member of the studio Madhouse. His noted works include, among others, Cardcaptor Sakura , Galaxy Angel, Gunslinger Girl, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII and Nana.-Directorial style:Asaka has covered a wide range of...
with script supervision by Naoya Takayama and character designs by Kunihiko Hamada. The art director is Tomoyuki Shimizu, the director of photography is Kenji Fujita, the colour supervisor is Ken Hashimoto, the CG director is Tsukasa Saito, the music is by Kousuke Yamashita
Kousuke Yamashita
is a Japanese composer from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. Yamashita is perhaps best known for his work on Digimon Xros Wars, Xenosaga: The Animation, and the tokusatsu television series Mahou Sentai Magiranger and Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger...
, and the sound director is Masafumi Mima. The opening theme is "Youthful", performed by 99RadioService, and the ending theme is "And Now", performed by Asami Seto. There are 25 episodes announced. The series will begin its broadcast run on NTV starting 5 October, 2011. The series is simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand by Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...
.
The series is planned to be released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on 21 December, 2011, with a limited character charm of young Chihaya.
Episode list
| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
App
A mobile phoneMobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
app has been released which allows the user to play karuta with other users of the app.
Guidebook
A Chihayafuru guidebook to the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu poetry anthology used in karuta was published on 11 November, 2011.Reception
Chihayafuru won the second Manga TaishoManga Taishō
The is an annual Japanese manga award.-First iteration:In the inaugural edition of the award in 2008, twelve manga were nominated and the winner was Gaku, by Shinichi Ishizuka.*Winner: Gaku, by Shinichi Ishizuka*Nominees:...
award, and the 35th Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
in the shojo manga category. When Chihayafuru won the Manga Taisho award, it was commented that the series combines elements of the sport genre and literary elements with a discerning eye on the subject matter.
In the week of 10 March - 16 March, 2009, the fourth volume of Chihayafuru appeared at #24 on the Japanese Comic Ranking chart, selling 29,776 copies in that week. In the week of 8 June - 14 June 2009, the fifth volume appeared at #11 on the chart, selling 46,774 copies in that week. The next week, it slipped to #21, selling an additional 40,344 copies in that week. In the week of 7 September - 13 September 2009, volume six of Chihayafuru appeared at #8 on the list, selling 61,089 copies. The next week, it appeared at #23, selling 45,028 copies in that week. In the week of 7 December - 14 December 2009, the seventh volume ranked at number nine on the list, selling 70,790 copies. The following week, it ranked at #15, selling an additional 55,266 copies. The eight volume of Chihayafuru ranked at #5 on the bestseller's list, selling 92,555 copies in the week of 8 - 14 March, 2010. The following week, it slipped to seventh place, selling an additional 72,957 copies. For the week of 7-13 June 2010, the ninth volume of Chihayafuru appeared at #6 on the chart, selling 99,296 copies in that week. The following week, it slipped to ninth place, selling an additional 74,885 copies. The tenth volume of Chihayafuru placed first on the list for the week of 13-19 September, slipping to nineteenth place the next week. For the week of 13-19 December, the eleventh volume debuted at #2, slipping to #23 the next week. The twelfth volume appeared at #9 for the week of 7- 13 March 2011, rising to #4 the following week. The thirteenth volume debuted at #3 for the week of 13-19 June 2011, slipping to #20 the following week. The fourteenth volume debuted at #3 for the week of 12- 18 September 2011, slipping to #24 the following week.
As of August 2011, it was reported that there were sales of over 4.5 million copies of the manga volumes.
The popularity of Chihayafuru has boosted the popularity of competitive karuta.
Gia Manry, writing about the first episode of Chihayafuru, felt that despite the animators' efforts, karuta seemed boring, and criticised the overuse of CG sakura
Sakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...
, describing it as a "mixed bag" of an anime. Bamboo Dong says that Chihaya's passion and characterisation make karuta interesting. Carlo Santos felt that the series was the "first genuinely good show of the season", citing its characterisation, unusual subject, and polish of the first episode. Marcus Speer enjoyed the production values of the first episode, but felt that the theme songs were "standard fare". He was intrigued by how the characters' childhood impacted on their present interactions. Martin Theron appreciated the focus on the characters rather than the game, feeling that while the teenage Chihaya seemed "gimmicky", her younger self was "quite likable". Chris Beveridge praised the tension shown between Arata and Taichi in the second episode's karuta match. Martin Theron felt the second episode's karuta tournament was tense and compelling, and that despite the plot unfolding in a predictable fashion, the execution made this forgivable.