Episodes
First-year Mizusawa high school student Chihaya Ayase tries to form a karuta club, but no one takes the club seriously. When she ...read more First-year Mizusawa high school student Chihaya Ayase tries to form a karuta club, but no one takes the club seriously. When she is reunited with Taichi Mashima, her friend from East Ōsato elementary school, she remembers when she met Arata Wataya in sixth grade. In an extended flashback, the other elementary school students, led by Taichi, make fun of Arata and his Fukui accent. Chihaya stands up for Arata and discovers his amazing proficiency at competitive karuta. He tells her that his dream is to become a karuta master, the top-ranked male player. show less
In the annual elementary school karuta tournament, the final match is between Taichi and Arata. Feeling threatened by ...read more In the annual elementary school karuta tournament, the final match is between Taichi and Arata. Feeling threatened by Arata's skill, Taichi steals Arata's glasses before the match. Chihaya substitutes for Arata and defeats Taichi. Her mother and her older sister, Chitose, a beauty pageant contestant and aspiring model, are indifferent to the accomplishment, because a talent scout is recruiting Chitose. Taichi's mother scolds him for losing and tells him to attempt only things at which he is guaranteed to win, but Chihaya tells him there is nothing wrong with losing a fair fight. When Taichi returns Arata's glasses and admits to stealing them, he asks Arata not to tell Chihaya, because he doesn't want her to hate him. Arata calls him a coward for stealing the glasses, but he says he understands why Taichi doesn't want Chihaya to hate him. show less
Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi visit a Shiranami Karuta Society practice session. There they meet Dr. Harada, the society's ...read more Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi visit a Shiranami Karuta Society practice session. There they meet Dr. Harada, the society's director, and the oddball Hiro Kinashi, known as Retro (ひょろ Hyoro), a sixth-grader like them. Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi play Retro and his friends in a three-on-three Genpei match. Taichi tells Arata he should just play alone against Retro and his friends, but Arata says he wants to play as a team. At Chihaya's urging, they decide to compete in an upcoming tournament for teams of three. In the meantime, Taichi is accepted into a prestigious middle school, and Arata learns he will move back to Fukui when the school year is over. In the tournament, Chihaya is matched against Yūsei Nishida, whom she quickly nicknames Porky (肉まん Nikuman), in the first round and loses. Taichi also loses his match, so the team is eliminated. After the last day of school, Chihaya says that, as long as they have karuta, they will see each other again. show less
As Chihaya and Taichi say good-bye to Arata, Chihaya declares she will become a karuta queen, the top-ranked female player, and ...read more As Chihaya and Taichi say good-bye to Arata, Chihaya declares she will become a karuta queen, the top-ranked female player, and Taichi declares he will become a master. Back in the present, Chihaya tells Taichi that she made Class B over spring break and that, if she wins a tournament that Sunday and makes Class A, he has to help her form a karuta club at school. When Taichi goes to watch Chihaya play, Harada recognizes him immediately. Taichi tells him that he played karuta in middle school with a club, but it is no longer his dream to become a master. Harada tells him that Chihaya never gave up on karuta, often playing karuta alone in middle school, even though she joined the track team. Chihaya wins and makes Class A. When Chihaya calls Arata to tell him, the first time they have talked since elementary school, he tells her not to call anymore, because he has stopped playing karuta. show less
Chihaya and Taichi travel to Fukui to see Arata. Once at his house, Arata tells them to leave. Chihaya takes out a deck of cards ...read more Chihaya and Taichi travel to Fukui to see Arata. Once at his house, Arata tells them to leave. Chihaya takes out a deck of cards and tries to get him to play karuta, but Arata kicks the deck, scattering the cards. Taichi drags Chihaya away to leave. Yuu, the girl who lives next door to Arata, runs after them with the cards and tells them to take the cards away. She tells them that on a day when Arata was supposed to have been nursing his grandfather, who had had multiple strokes previously, his grandfather had another stroke and died while Arata was at a tournament making Class A. Arata realizes he still wants to be Chihaya's friend and runs after her and Taichi, who see him as their train pulls away. Taichi tells Chihaya that he will help her to form a club and to wait for Arata's return to karuta. show less
Chihaya has convinced Taeko Miyauchi, the science teacher and tennis coach, to allocate a storage room in one of the ...read more Chihaya has convinced Taeko Miyauchi, the science teacher and tennis coach, to allocate a storage room in one of the school's out-buildings as a clubroom. Kanade Ōe, who currently belongs to the archery club so she can wear a hakama, considers joining the karuta club instead, because she thinks they love the classical poems and also wear hakama. She is shocked that competitive karuta is not the refined love of poetry that she thought it was. She is further disappointed that the karuta club does not wear hakama. Chihaya is determined to recruit Kana, nevertheless, and visits her at the traditional clothing store that her family owns. When Chihaya learns that the poems have symbolic meanings and rich historical contexts, she asks Kana to explain all 100 of them. Kana agrees to join the club on the condition that Chihaya models kimonos for the store's catalog and that the club members wear hakama for tournaments. show less
Taichi assesses his karuta skills. His advantages are memorization and adaptation based on what cards have been read. Chihaya ...read more Taichi assesses his karuta skills. His advantages are memorization and adaptation based on what cards have been read. Chihaya has enough speed, however, to take cards even if Taichi reacts first. Chihaya attempts to recruit the second-ranked first-year student, Tsutomu Komano, nicknamed Desk-tomu (机くん Tsukue-kun) by his classmates because he is always studying. Komano is not interested. When Chihaya says that players memorize the positions of all the cards, he does not believe her, but he pauses when he realizes that Taichi, the first-ranked first-year student, is in the club. He challenges Chihaya and Taichi to play a game with the cards turned over. Taichi has the advantage with better memorization and wins. After the match, Komano still leaves, saying he has no talent for karuta. Taichi says he also has no talent and keeps losing, but he would rather have someone who works hard and loses than someone who just has talent. Komano decides to join the karuta club. show less
At school, Chihaya encounters Nishida, who refuses to join the karuta club because he is now in the tennis club. Chihaya ...read more At school, Chihaya encounters Nishida, who refuses to join the karuta club because he is now in the tennis club. Chihaya realizes that he is using karuta timing to play tennis and tells him that that is not fair to tennis. Nishida thinks the karuta club is at an elementary school level, so Taichi challenges him to play Chihaya. As Nishida plays, he remembers how much he enjoyed karuta. Although Chihaya wins, Nishida insists that he is still not coming back to karuta, because he can never be as good as Arata. Miyauchi passes the clubroom and sees Nishida there. When she demands that he explain why he was skipping tennis practice, he realizes he still loves karuta and decides to quit the tennis club to join the karuta club. As Chihaya draws up the list of members to request official recognition for the club, she rejoices that she is no longer alone. show less
Miyauchi grants the club official status, with herself as provisional advisor, if the members select someone other than Chihaya ...read more Miyauchi grants the club official status, with herself as provisional advisor, if the members select someone other than Chihaya as president. When the other members select Taichi, Chihaya declares herself captain. Chihaya sets a goal of winning the Tokyo regional high school team tournament, so the club decides to hold a camp at Taichi's house over a long holiday weekend while his family is away. Chihaya sets an exhausting schedule, especially for Kana and Komano. When Taichi's mother and younger sister come home early, Chihaya and Kana hide, then go to Chihaya's house to sleep. At midnight Kana drags Chihaya to a park where the guys are waiting for a surprise birthday party for Chihaya. Chihya apologizes for the hard practice, but the others thank her for helping them improve. Arata texts Taichi a happy birthday wish to relay to Chihaya. Chihaya decides it is the best birthday ever. show less
Chihaya sends texts to Arata throughout the regional tournament, but he never responds. She asks Taichi why Arata only sends ...read more Chihaya sends texts to Arata throughout the regional tournament, but he never responds. She asks Taichi why Arata only sends texts to him. Taichi says nothing, but thinks that it is because he and Arata think of Chihaya as belonging to both of them. Komano, frustrated that he cannot win any matches, declares that he is going home. Taichi allows him to skip the semi-finals, but orders him to compete in the finals. When Nishida says they should forget about Komano, Taichi faults everyone for not playing together as a team. The conflict affects Chihaya, and she plays poorly. In the meantime, Retro, who now attends Hokuō Academy, uses retrot (ひょろっと hyorotto) tarot cards to divine what order Hokuō should use for the finals. Akito Sudō, the Hokuō captain, wants to toy with Chihaya if Mizusawa wins the semi-finals. Taichi realizes he has not been a good leader and encourages the team. Chihaya sees Komano, who has returned to support her, and recovers. Mizusawa wins and advances to the finals. show less
Harada and Hiroshi Tsuboguchi, the Shiranami ace, go to cheer for Chihaya and Taichi. Chihaya suggests an order that brings out ...read more Harada and Hiroshi Tsuboguchi, the Shiranami ace, go to cheer for Chihaya and Taichi. Chihaya suggests an order that brings out the best in themselves rather than worrying about Hokuō's order. Using Retro's cards, Hokuō matches Sudō against Chihaya, Retro against Taichi, and the rest randomly, since they are confident of an easy win. Mochida, the Hokuō coach, warns them they may be over-confident. Arata finally checks his email and sees all the texts from Chihaya. When Mochida tells Harada that the tournament has only one reader, Harada realizes Chihaya has an advantage, because she has already learned the reader's quirks. Kana and Komano lose their matches. Taichi defeats Retro, and Nishida defeats Nayuta Amakasu. Sudō, unable to pull ahead of Chihaya, reflects that Mochida taught him that karuta is fun, even if the match is going poorly. Chihaya defeats Sudō. Chihaya sends Arata a picture of the team and says he should come to watch them at the nationals at Ōmi Jingū. show less
At home, Chihaya tries to tell her parents about the tournament, but they are preoccupied with Chitose's appearance on a ...read more At home, Chihaya tries to tell her parents about the tournament, but they are preoccupied with Chitose's appearance on a quiz show. At school, Miyauchi minimizes the importance of karuta and says another teacher will accompany the club to Ōmi Jingū. When Chihaya loses a game to Harada at the Shirinami Society, she feels the pressure of representing Tokyo at the nationals, but Taichi tells her that Retro gave him all of Hokuō's intelligence on their competitors. Chihaya returns home and is touched when she finds that her father has started a scrapbook of clippings of her accomplishments. At the end of a day, Miyauchi passes by the clubroom and realizes karuta is not as trivial as she had thought it was. She decides to learn about karuta and to accompany the club to Ōmi Jingū. show less
In the first round of the national tournament, Chihaya has alternating sweats and chills. Meanwhile, Arata makes his way there ...read more In the first round of the national tournament, Chihaya has alternating sweats and chills. Meanwhile, Arata makes his way there and thinks of his grandfather, who continued to coach him even after he had suffered a stroke. After a subsequent stroke, he lost lucidity and even forgot what kuruta was. On the day of a tournament when Arata was nursing him alone, he regained his lucidity and commanded Arata to compete. As Arata won and made Class A, his grandfather suffered another stroke and died. Arata arrives at Ōmi Jingū just as Chihaya passes out. The team forfeits Chihaya's match, but continues the round. Praised by one of the officials who thinks he is there to compete, Arata imagines telling his grandfather that he still loves karuta. Afterwards, the team tells Chihaya how Komano won two matches in a row and how they advanced to the playoffs before losing to Fujisaki. show less
The next day is the individual tournament. Taichi thinks about how he needs to be in Class A to play Arata in a match. Sudō ...read more The next day is the individual tournament. Taichi thinks about how he needs to be in Class A to play Arata in a match. Sudō tells Chihaya that Shinobu Wakamiya, the youngest karuta queen in history and a first-year high school student, is playing Amakasu in the first round. Shinobu defeats him by 24 cards. Chihaya faces her in the second round. Taichi gets a bye in the Class B tournament and goes to watch their match. He sees that Chihaya reacts first, but Shinobu is faster and moves more accurately to take all the cards. As Chihaya falls behind, she stops playing aggressively. Shinobu is disappointed that Chihaya has given up already. Chihaya remembers not being able to take any cards against Arata and resolves not to be weaker now than she was then. Chihaya starts taking cards. show less
Shinobu defeats Chihaya by 20 cards and resolves not to let Chihaya take any cards if they ever meet again, but she is disarmed ...read more Shinobu defeats Chihaya by 20 cards and resolves not to let Chihaya take any cards if they ever meet again, but she is disarmed when Chihaya compliments her Snowmaru t-shirt. Chihaya resolves to improve her accuracy. Eventually Shinobu defeats Sudō in the Class A final. Chihaya goes to watch Taichi in the Class B final, where his fatigue and lack of physical speed lead to his loss. After reflecting on their weaknesses in the tournament, Taichi says the one thing everyone in the club lacks is stamina. They use the rest of the summer to train physically. Arata visits Kuriyama, the Fukui Nagumo Karuta Society director, and asks to join the society. Shinobu trains alone. show less
A recap of the events so far, interspersed with various omake segments.
Taichi researches the schedule of upcoming karuta tournaments so the club can use them to meet their individual goals. Chihaya ...read more Taichi researches the schedule of upcoming karuta tournaments so the club can use them to meet their individual goals. Chihaya needs to train for the eastern queen qualifier. Taichi and Nishida need to make Class A. Taichi also secretly desires to compete in the eastern master qualifier. Komano and Kana need to make Class C. Komano reflects on how much happier he is since joining the club. Taichi frequently travels to tournaments to try to make Class A, discovering Nishida and Retro are also at many of them for the same purpose. None of them succeed. Meanwhile, Harada tells Chihaya to stop relying on her speed. Komano explains the statistics he keeps and how he uses them to form strategies. Kana points out that Chihaya's reliance on sound and speed leads to a lot of faults, but Kana differentiates poems by meanings, so she commits fewer faults. show less
The club members compete in a regular individual tournament. Chihaya tries to play a balanced style that doesn't rely on ...read more The club members compete in a regular individual tournament. Chihaya tries to play a balanced style that doesn't rely on speed, but she is unable to restrain herself and commits a lot of faults. She also recognizes that her opponent, Sakura Kanai, is using the strategy against her that Komano described. She loses the match, but learns from watching Kanai that what she lacks is timing. Afterwards, she and Retro watch the Class B final between Taichi and Nishda and the Class D final between Komano and Kana. Chihaya realizes that she should watch them to learn from them rather than to support them. She is drawn to the match between Komano and Kana. show less
Chihaya reflects that faults are costing Komano his match against Kana, just like her faults cost her the match against Kanai ...read more Chihaya reflects that faults are costing Komano his match against Kana, just like her faults cost her the match against Kanai earlier. Komano realizes he isn't losing to Kana so much as to himself. Kana defeats Komano, and both make Class C. When the match between Taichi and Nishida comes down to luck of the draw, Taichi tries to increase his chances of winning by trying to push Nishida into a fault, but he fails. Nishida defeats Taichi and makes Class A. On the way home, everyone comments that the team is much stronger now. Chihaya expresses her desire to play as a team again. When Arata sees Taichi's and Nishida's rank in the results of the tournament, he decides to enter the western master qualifier. show less
Komano tutors Chihaya and Nishida for exams while Taichi enters a tournament, his last opportunity to make Class A before the ...read more Komano tutors Chihaya and Nishida for exams while Taichi enters a tournament, his last opportunity to make Class A before the eastern master qualifier. Arata, also there, gives him a note with his contact details to give to Chihaya. Chihaya ditches studying, but arrives after Taichi loses. She watches Arata, who loses to Tsuboguchi. Taichi gives him the note back, saying Arata should give Chihaya his information himself. Arata responds that he wasn't sure if Taichi and Chihaya were a couple or not. As Kana drags Chihaya back to studying, Chihaya laments that she only gets to see Arata at tournaments. On the way home, Harada offers Taichi a promotion to Class A, even though it would break a Shiranami rule. Taichi declines, saying he wants to focus on becoming a person who doesn't run away. show less
Nishida points out that Taichi's strength and weakness is seeing karuta only as a mental contest. He says Taichi needs to ...read more Nishida points out that Taichi's strength and weakness is seeing karuta only as a mental contest. He says Taichi needs to start taking practice swings, so he can learn the distance to the cards. At the eastern qualifier, Sudō tells Chihaya that colleges give scholarships to students who place first or second in national tournaments. Chihaya inadvertently bets Sudō that the first one of them to lose must shave their head. In the first round, Chihaya faces Ririka Tachikawa, a child prodigy hailed as the next Shinobu. Chihaya focuses on timing before switching back to speed and winning the round. Harada tells Tsuboguchi that he wants Chihaya to have more weapons than just her talent. At the western qualifier, Shinichi Murao, Arata's usual karuta partner, loses in the first round and tells Arata that no one can beat Hisashi Suō, the current master, anyway. Taichi texts Arata saying that Chihaya won the first round and that he expects Arata to be the western finalist. show less
In the second round, Chihaya faces the former queen, Yumi Yamamoto, who lost the title to Shinobu a year ago. Yumi has a history ...read more In the second round, Chihaya faces the former queen, Yumi Yamamoto, who lost the title to Shinobu a year ago. Yumi has a history of contesting every card she loses, but this year she is unenthusiastic. Watching through the window, Kana is impressed with the clear voice of the reader. As Chihaya dominates the match, Kitano, the Suihoku Karuta Society director, forces open the window and tells Yumi to play her own karuta. She contests cards, which Chihaya is unprepared to handle, and defeats Chihaya. show less
Depressed by her loss, Chihaya hides inside a locker. Harada takes up the defense of Chihaya's hair against Sudō. When ...read more Depressed by her loss, Chihaya hides inside a locker. Harada takes up the defense of Chihaya's hair against Sudō. When Taichi says she needs to come out to cheer for Harada, she comes out but says Taichi needs to watch them because they will be his rivals when he makes Class A. Harada defeats Sudō, but loses in the semi-finals. Tsuboguchi and Yumi become the eastern finalists. Arata loses in the fourth round of the western qualifier. Arata tries to convince Murao to come back to karuta to help him train to become master. Murao says the point of karuta isn't to become master, but he'll play sometime if Arata wants to have fun. Tsuboguchi loses the master challenger match. Yumi wins the queen challenger match. On Christmas Eve, the club members attend parties held by their respective classes. Taichi has given Arata's cell number to Chihaya, so following her party, she calls Arata. show less
The club members watch the master and queen matches on TV at Taichi's house. They are shocked to see that Shinobu is now ...read more The club members watch the master and queen matches on TV at Taichi's house. They are shocked to see that Shinobu is now pudgy, which affects her speed and accuracy. Shinobu, wearing her grandmother's kimono, remembers when her mother divorced her father. She and her mother went to live with her grandmother, who took Shinobu to the Myojo Karuta Society when Shinobu became interested in karuta. As Yumi takes several cards in a row, Shinobu apologizes to them in her mind that she wasn't able to save them. She remembers how her classmates in elementary school stole her cards and hid them. Shinobu defeats Yumi and retains her title. Chihaya realizes she needs to become attached to the cards the way Shinobu and Kana are. Attention shifts to the master match. Nishida tells Chihaya that her style is more like Suō's than Shinobu's. The commentator recounts that Suō said that he has 28 one-syllable cards. show less
Suō reflects that other players may not appreciate how Kyoko Yamashiro, the reader for the match, loves the Japanese language. ...read more Suō reflects that other players may not appreciate how Kyoko Yamashiro, the reader for the match, loves the Japanese language. Watching on TV, Murao thinks about how he has left Arata alone. Arata, also watching on TV, visualizes playing Suō, but knows that he needs to play strong opponents. Suō wins and retains his title. Ise, the Myojo director, invites Shinobu to visit the society, but she politely declines. Komano amazes Chihaya by using his statistics to figure out that she has 20 one-syllable cards. Discouraged that he doesn't have talent like Chihaya and Suō, Taichi calls Arata, who tells him that his grandfather once said that there are plenty of ways to take cards that don't rely on talent. Murao helps Arata train. Kana decides her dream is to become a certified reader, but is daunted when she learns she must first be Class A. Taichi begins training with practice swings. As the new school year begins, the faculty decides to turn over the clubroom to the concert band if the karuta club cannot recruit at least five new members. show less