It is about a high school girl, Chihaya Ayase, who after seeing her sister become a fashion model, is inspired by a new classmate to take up karuta competitively.
Written by Squidmonkey on February 28, 2013 at 11:27 AM
Overall Rating
Excellent
Story: 5
Dialogue: 4
Animation: 5
Entertainment: 5
When I first saw this anime some time ago, I wasn't much interested in watching it. Only now, some time after, I decided "why not?" - and subsequently downloaded the first season. Let me quickly summarize: I watched it all, from start to finish, in one session! It is brilliant!
Few anime's have drawn me in as much as this one has. There is some aspect to it, that I cannot explain in words. It's funny, entertaining, dramatic and sad (at times) - but none of these characteristics are over-emphasized at any point, which leaves it feeling more natural and realistic.
Story wise, it's pretty damn good. A card game, made immensely interesting via an overshadowing, highly dramatic love-story which draws people together. Their being extremely competitive and yet, none of them lose sight of their own personal goals. (Chihaya, for example, never gave up on the game since elementary school as she held on to the hope that she would meet with Arata once again - the one who taught her the game (and in a sense, she saved him from depression at that time.)) Really, the story is far more deep than you'd expect.
Dialogue is especially worth a mention. It's great. One aspect that caught my attention was the use of differing accents/dialects. I personally enjoyed that. Animation is very good as well, but alas, there is one slight little thing that kinda put me off. The animation of eyes is somewhat strange. Not bad, just weird.
In the end. this anime is truly good. definitely worth a watch. Even if the notion of "card game" puts you off, don't pay attention to that! Watch it anyway!
