My experience with creative works about sports is that they don’t need to depend on the excitement generated by the sport so much as the excitement that the players have.
One of the things that’s fascinating about Chihayafuru is that it’s totally self-conscious that karuta is totally uninteresting to the general public. I would describe the show’s content as being roughly one third the excitement of karuta matches, one third the interpersonal drama of the three protagonists, and one third the protagonist’s interactions with society at large, which thinks her interest in karuta is silly.
The last two often combine, and I can’t decide if the show is saying “Chihaya’s situation is sad because society doesn’t understand her” or “Chihaya’s situation is sad because she doesn’t understand society,” or both. (Also, maybe her situation gets less sad, I don’t know yet.)
The last two often combine, and I can’t decide if the show is saying “Chihaya’s situation is sad because society doesn’t understand her” or “Chihaya’s situation is sad because she doesn’t understand society,” or both. (Also, maybe her situation gets less sad, I don’t know yet.)
Sounds like a lot of otaku-centric anime, actually—Oreimo, Genshiken, Welcome to the NHK!, Otaku no Video, etc. Sometimes they swing from one extreme to another over an episode (although I think ONV is probably the most extreme due to its negative live-action segments interspersed in the positive anime).
My experience with creative works about sports is that they don’t need to depend on the excitement generated by the sport so much as the excitement that the players have.
One of the things that’s fascinating about Chihayafuru is that it’s totally self-conscious that karuta is totally uninteresting to the general public. I would describe the show’s content as being roughly one third the excitement of karuta matches, one third the interpersonal drama of the three protagonists, and one third the protagonist’s interactions with society at large, which thinks her interest in karuta is silly.
The last two often combine, and I can’t decide if the show is saying “Chihaya’s situation is sad because society doesn’t understand her” or “Chihaya’s situation is sad because she doesn’t understand society,” or both. (Also, maybe her situation gets less sad, I don’t know yet.)
Sounds like a lot of otaku-centric anime, actually—Oreimo, Genshiken, Welcome to the NHK!, Otaku no Video, etc. Sometimes they swing from one extreme to another over an episode (although I think ONV is probably the most extreme due to its negative live-action segments interspersed in the positive anime).