Chihayafuru 2 Episode 12: The Only Sign of Summer

Megumu

If it wasn’t in stone before, it is now. Chihayafuru is the best anime of the year. Afterall, the best things in life, Voltron and sex, gets better with more. We were just introduced to Megumu an episode or two ago and now she’s a third contender for Queen. Did anyone see this coming? It came as a shock to me like that scene in Super with Ellen Page.

There’s one thing that bothers me. All the three queens are depicted as having a loose screw in some way. There is certainly an element of humor at play here especially in the case of Chihaya but this is not something we see in male protagonists in other animes. Chihayafuru is above being this lazy in adding imperfection to a character. It could easily build something into the story where one makes an error in judgement and grows from it. Ahem, Arata.

Why can’t we have (a) strong female lead(s) that is not a klutz?

But now that all possibilities are wide open, I am hoping Kana-chan gets a run at Queen as well. She is certainly deserving.

While we’re on the subject of queens, Shinobu’s physical changes have always been on my mind since season one yet I am still puzzled. Given the rigid standards of beauty society places upon women, it was refreshing to see the Queen gain weight. Then she reverted back. Uh ok. It’s funny that this is a point to dwell upon because so much emphasis is place upon a woman’s physical attributes. I can’t think of an example where a male anime character undergoes such changes.

Megumu is swoon. She invites others to take photos of her karuta demonstration then proceeds to delete the photos. I am totally cosplaying her and doing this at Otakon when people ask for my picture. Anyways, I am dismayed at the flashback where the maid cafe accused the guys of being creeps for wanting to take photos. I wholeheartedly agree with Lauren and Patrick from their AUSA panel  that the act of cosplaying does not invite photos but I am sick of this creep trope. Besides, it’s fairly obvious it was during a cultural festival so wanting photographic memories for later is natural.

Megumu

So uh, I stayed up till 5am playing League last night. I blame Shaun, ToastCrust, Jake and Emily mainly =P In one game, my team ended with 18 kills versus 40+ for the opponent. We won.

Teamwork.

We see it with the Akashi Girls School and how they rallied around their beloved ace after the challenger match last year. Definite hnnnng moment. But that gesture when Kana-chan tapped Chihaya’s shoulder caused my heart to flutter. I had no idea what was to happen but I knew it had to be special. Kana goes into her trademark adorable poetic wax on… poetry… ALL MY FEELS. Her authority on those one hundred poems rivals Chihaya’s passion and Desktomu’s homework. The Misuzawa team is like Power Rangers, each member having a special ability.

For the time being, I am content to erase Arata from my mind. The semifinal is shaping up to be an epic battle!

Kana/Chihaya

Author: The Paper

The Paper <3s music.

4 thoughts on “Chihayafuru 2 Episode 12: The Only Sign of Summer

  1. Dojikko (klutz girl) is one of the moe attributes. So, it was an appeal to moe pig otakus. I’m not into dojikko, but more like oppai-seijin! Yeah, Kana-chan would have been exhausted the most, but her things-in-themselves function as camel’s humps. A lot of nutrition! Fecundity and fertility! Abundance! So, she got the highest stamina!

    Oh yes, these maids were really mean, but probably they weren’t really professional maids but high school girls dressed as maids as a class event at school cultural festival. Yes, high school girls are cruel, I mean, 3D girls!

    But the next episode will be really epic. Semi-final!

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