Chihayafuru Season 2 – The Triumphant return of Chihaya!

Chihayafuru was one of those special series that managed to fit high school romance together with a traditional Japanese card game called karuta. Part of the fun of the first series was watching how oblivious Chihaya was to the increasing affection from both Taichi and Arata, even though the later spent half the series as an invisible force without any physical presence. It was a series with complicated character that were all struggling with their own view of the world, and karuta acted as a way to bring them all together under a common cause. The brilliance of the original series was how much tension an apparently simple game could produce and the increasingly complicated nature of Chihaya’s relationship with it and her schools karuta club. Karuta is a fascinating game, one that relies upon an intimate knowledge and understanding of 100 cards that represent 100 classical Japanese poems. It is a popular, and also rather complex game at first, and because it is a classical Japanese card game doesn’t necessarily appeal to everyone of the same age as Chihayafuru’s characters.

The Illogicalzen Top Twelve Anime of 2012

It appears to be that time of the year where many bloggers begin to list their favourite anime and make lists that may differ wildly from each other while containing a few common links. I didn’t do this last year, partly because I wasn’t really as involved with anime blogging as I am now, but this year shall be different! I have to admit that I don’t really believe in lists, finding them too restrictive and forcing you into picking your favourite, but for lack of a better format, and because I am taking part in Kidd’s Ani-Bloggers Choice Awards I shall have to come up with a list and an order for my favourite anime for the year. But, even thought they will be in order, these anime are essentially equal for me since I enjoyed them for different reasons and at different times, and in all cases there were points where they didn’t quite work as well. But, before I get into the list proper there are a few honourable mentions, all series that I enjoyed but weren’t quite good enough to make onto my Top Twelve List for a variety of reasons.

Chihayafuru – First Impressions