Chihaya Furu 23: Who will be the challenger?

The episode picks up right where the last one left off. That is, Chihaya is devastated from her ignominious defeat by Yamamoto Yumi. So much so that she can't even face her club members afterwards and runs to hide inside a locker. To make matters worse, Sudo-kun comes around to remind her and everyone about the bet they made and assures her that some girls look pretty with a bald head. A horrified Taichi, Nishida and Desktomu-kun volunteer to shave their own heads. Even Kana wants to do it but Nishida objects to this solidly. Then, Harada-sensei arrives and, after learning about the bet, tells Sudo-kun to drop it if he loses to Harada-sensei. But even with that taken care of and a bribe of chocolates from Desktomu-kun, Chihaya still doesn't come out of the locker, prompting Taichi to tell everyone to watch the games while he stays behind. After everyone leaves, Taichi gets an email from Arata, saying that he's made it to the fourth round of the Western qualifier. Taichi tells Chihaya the news, which naturally draws some fierce reaction from her. Kana later returns to announce that Harada-sensei won his match and is next playing Sudo-kun. Chihaya suddenly opens the locker door then, causing Taichi to fall back and onto her lap. A tear-stained Chihaya urges him to go, not to cheer Harada-sensei on, but to watch the game as these two will be his rivals once he becomes a Class A player next year. Kana reasons that Taichi is only staying for her, which Chihaya realizes just now so, wiping away her tears, she stands up and drags Taichi with her. Taichi is too shocked to say anything, thinking only to himself that he is hopelessly in love with Chihaya. At the match, Harada-sensei is demolishing Sudo-kun despite a bad knee. The gang is standing outside, watching the game through the glass windows when Taichi offers Chihaya his jacket as she looks cold. Chihaya keeps thinking back on her match with Yumi, realizing that it was because she did not want Yumi to contest every card that she sacrificed accuracy for speed. Also, she realizes only now that she's been too focused on herself, not even realizing that her friends were all watching. Eventually, the match ends with Harada-sensei scoring a win for Chihaya's hair (though he's totally forgotten about the bet until they remind him about it) only to lose the next one that will determine the Easter Master/Queen challenger finalists, who turn out to be Yumi and Tsuboguchi Hiroshi. The month that follows has Chihaya getting asked out for the first time by a boy from another school. Kana advises her to reject him, which bothers Chihaya somewhat as she's worried she'll never be asked out again. This, of course, brings up the fact that Chihahya is a beauty in vain. A mopey Taichi first tells her to try it out and see for herself that it will never work out, then seems to have a change of heart as he blocks the poor boy's number from Chihaya's phone. Kana remembers two poems that portray just how Taichi is feeling and secretly supports him. Chihaya is, of course, clueless about it and continues to wonder about Arata, who by the way did not make it as the Western Qualifier. Sometime later, the finalists' round is held and the Queen challenger is none other than Yumi and the Master challenger is Hiroshi. The latter's win is especially touching as it has always been Harada-sensei's goal to produce a Master one day. Back in school, it's the Christmas season and Chihaya gets suckered into attending the class party where she wows everyone (especially the boys) with her fashionable outfit. In the midst of all this fun, Chihaya finds herself wishing that other club members were there as well. Desktomu-kun points out that it means she thinks of those people as family. Later that same evening, Chihaya calls Arata, who knows it is her almost immediately. Chihaya can barely say anything, thinking only of that one poem about the misty bridge that connects two people together.

COMMENTS:
Well, well, well. My worst fears are true. The final match with the Master and Queen are really between characters we barely know. But the beauty about the story is that, take Hiroshi, for example, he's a character that's been around for some time but we don't really know him and then this one scene shows him, not saying anything, but suddenly crying at the sight of Harada-sensei, knowing that he's just one more step closer to achieving a life-long dream shared by everyone...I have to be honest, it brought a lump to my throat. This, about a character I don't know and don't really care that much about. Ah, hot damn. Now I want to see him win the Master match just for the pleasure of seeing him play against Arata in the next one. And Yumi? She had her spotlight in her match with Chihaya and the way the show portrayed the whole thing, even though I love Chihaya to death and would always root for her, I couldn't help but wish Yumi to rise up, too. Her match with Wakamiya Shinobu will be that much more devastating, because, of course, Shinobu will win it because she is Chihaya's one and only opponent. Oh no. Two more episodes. Are we going to see a second season? Because I can't think of a good resolution for this series at this point.

more screencaps from episode 23:

Another 10: The Color of Death

Class 3 goes on a trip. Upon their arrival, they decide to take a class picture. Mochizuki and Teshigawara take turns taking the picture. Later, after everyone has settled in, Mochizuki, Teshigawara, Kouichi and Mei listen to Matsunaga's tape some more and finally they find out how Matsunaga stopped the tragedy once it has already begun. Apparently, Matsunaga accidentally killed a classmate during the 1985 Class 3's summer trip to the shrine. However, when he asked his classmates about the dead one, they couldn't remember anyone with that guy's name. That was when Matsunaga learned that the one he killed was the extra student. All of his classmates memories had been altered. Knowing it was only a matter of time before his memories of the incident likewise fade, Matsunaga created the tape as his confession. Later that evening, everybody joins together in the dining hall to have an awkward dinner. Akazawa takes the floor to apologize for bungling up her role as Head of Countermeasures and then accuses Mei of being at least partly responsible for the deaths, for not being totally complicit in her role as the nonexistent student. She demands that Mei apologize as well. This causes a scene as Mei is defiant and Kouichi and Teshigawara rise up to her defense. However, Mei does apologize when Teshigawara almost spills the beans on what they found out in Matsunaga's tape. The whole thing is interrupted when one student collapses from an asthma attack. The auxiliary librarian, who is now the substitute classroom adviser, drives him to the hospital, leaving Mikami-sensei in charge of the students. This new development has everyone returning to their rooms. Mei, however, asks to go to Kouichi's room as she wants to see his mother's Class 3 picture, the one with Misaki Yomiyama in it. They also talk about how Reiko looks a lot like Ritsuko, Kouichi's mother. Then Mei reveals that the girl who died in the hospital that day was not her cousin but her twin sister. It turns out that Mei is not Kirika's biological daughter but that of Kirika's twin, who, suffering from financial troubles, sold Mei to her sister who is grieving from the birth of a stillborn baby. Mei finds out about it when she is in 9th grade and has secretly been meeting with her twin. But some time in April, Mei's twin dies, which leads Kouichi to believe that this is actually the first death, which also means that Kouichi's breaking of the rule couldn't have been the catalyst that jump-starts the tragedy. Mei affirms this when she also says that her glass eye can see the color of death and that she already knows who the extra is. Their conversation is interrupted when Teshigawara bursts into the room, shouting about how he may have made a huge mistake. Outside, a student lies in the mud, apparently dead.

COMMENTS:

I knew about Mei's background because of the spoilery stuff I read on Wikipedia. Still, this was pretty good to see. What is up with the talk about Ritsuko and Reiko? Although I guess it provided a nice segue into the whole bit with Mei's twin. Still, it makes me worry that the anime is really going to follow the light novels. I didn't think they would since the two characters look and act nothing alike and I just kind of assumed their two different people in the anime. The other one seems loud and brash while the other just disappears into the background. But I guess not. Anyhoo, what a revelation. So that's how you do it. Teshigawara, you idiot. This piece of information isn't something you blurt out to a classroom of scared, desperate people. One of them is going to go batshit crazy and start murdering everyone in the hopes of getting the extra student. I guess it's really happening, if the first scenes of the anime is any indication.

more screencaps from episode 10:

Natsume Yuujin-chou Shi 11: A Picture's Worth

The episode begins with Fujiwara-san taking a picture of Takashi as he comes home. Later, Takashi gets a surprise from his youkai friends who are all waiting for him in his room. It turns out another youkai wants its name back and Takashi has to do his thing. Afterwards, an exhausted Takashi falls asleep and dreams of Reiko. The next day, Takashi goes through his old stuff and finds a picture of his parents. He tells Nyanko-sensei that he can finally look at this photo now without feeling the old hurt. Takashi's human friends drop by but their fun is cut short when Takashi gets a call from a Tachibana-san, who tells Takashi that he's finally found a buyer for his parents' house. Takashi convinces himself that he doesn't need that house anymore as he has all that he needs with the Fujiwaras. Nishimura then joins them and the boys find out about all the photos of his friends that Takashi keeps in his closet. The next day, the boys go out into the woods to find Nishimura's fabled soda water spring, using a confusing map that Nishimura made as a kid. The map turns out to be useless but the boys decide to have an adventure anyway. Then Takashi gets distracted by memories of his father and, thus, gets attacked by a hungry youkai. Nyanko-sensei comes to the rescue and then gives him a scolding. Takashi notices that he's dropped his parents photo but lies to his friends about it. They are just about to continue on their way when Tanuma figures out what happened. Angry at Takashi's deception, Tanuma tells him not to lie when he doesn't have to. Takashi apologizes and tells them that what he dropped is something very important to him. They all pitch in and look for the photo together. Nishimura finds it and comments that Takashi looks a lot like his mother, much to Takashi's embarrassment. On their way back, the boys stumble upon Sasada and Taki, which gets Nishimura excited but unfortunately for him the object of his affection only has eyes for a certain ball-shaped white cat. Much later, Takashi decides to be honest with the Fujiwaras and asks them to let him go visit his parents' house one last time.

COMMENTS:
Honestly, this episode caught me by surprise. One minute, it's completely nothing, and the next, I'm holding back tears. A really wonderful episode and one that really captures what this anime's entire appeal. It will get to you. Of course, it helps that Reiko gets featured in all of three seconds. God, I wish they'd devote at least an episode of Reiko, but at the same time, I don't want to see it because that's her appeal: her mystique. Anyhoo, love this episode.

more screencaps from episode 11: