I’ve been really waiting to watch this episode. The anime adaptation gets better and better as the story progresses. I admire how the producers could convey the beautiful story into action. The episodes came out really fast! I just can’t believe the 4 volumes could be condensed with just 15 episodes!

Okay this is my first time reviewing an episode, I mostly review a whole series or a movie but this episode is just superb I can’t stop my hands from typing the words out from my head.

**SPOILERS ALERT!**

Episode 15 contains two of the most heart-breaking yet most inspiring scenes in the series. First is when Chihaya tremendously lost against Shinobu Wakamiya, the current Queen of Karuta. Second is that Taichi falls three cards behind on the final round in the B Class category garnering him the second spot.

This episode continues the battle between Chihaya and the Queen on the Individual Competition category. Chihaya somehow regains her pace when she attacks and gets two consecutive cards. In the end, Chihaya just manages to get five cards.

On the other side, Wakamiya Shinobu’s character is just pure genius. I commend the mangaka for creating such a fearsome character with a very cute side. The Queen’s personality is something you could really get pissed off, just like with Sudou’s, but you can’t really hate her. What I really love about her is the mole on her left eye. I find it extremely cute. She really looks like Arata, when I first saw her on the manga I really thought Shinobu was Arata’s long lost sister.

It is not the first time we’ve seen Chihaya lose in the battle but it is still quite heart-breaking to see her crying desperately because of defeat. In this scene we could really see her intense feeling of seeing Arata once again. What is more heart-breaking is seeing Taichi wanting to cheer Chihaya up but restrained himself because he could clearly understand his stand on the girl’s heart. <\3

^Funny how his shirt tells his current predicament.^

After Chihaya’s lost we could see Taichi battling for the final round in the B Class category. It was a very tough battle for him. His brain was still on the groove but his body won’t allow him to attack. Who wouldn’t be tired playing 6 matches straight of this brain-exhausting game? His lack of stamina puts him three cards behind his opponent. This episode is quite heart-breaking especially for his fans.

In the previous episodes Taichi was very firm on knowing his stand between Arata and Chihaya saying, “Even if I spend all of my youth playing Karuta, I would never win against Arata.” But this time, he is quite determine to win no matter what, having in his mind what Harada-sensei replied to him before. I commend the mangaka for Taichi’s character development. It is so amazing how this selfish little brat transforms into such a very cool teen. Remember when he stole Arata’s glasses just so he could win against him? His personality is one of the best thing in this series. He turned out to be such a good man, a real role model. Though it still bugs me that he currently has a girlfriend while keeping his feelings for Chihaya. He is such a good sportsman and a reliable president of Misuzawa Karuta Club. His character is one of the good things we should look forward in this series.

Porky-kun (Nishida Yusei) somehow shares similar feeling with Taichi. He ones experienced losing against Arata when he was in elementary, garnering him the second place. From this point, my admiration for Taichi sky-rocketed. Though he perfectly knows that he won’t be able to beat Arata both against Karuta and Chihaya’s heart, he still keeps on going. That’s what a real man does!

Besides the amazing story, the character developments, and the exciting pace, the details on the animation is something you should really look forward to! This episode shows us how detailed the producers are in making the anime adaptation. Just look at Chihaya’s tatami mark from sleeping!

Another great thing about this episode is that Arata is finally back on the game! We could now see more of him. :’)

^I do not own this gif. Credit to its owner.^

Honestly I’ve been very vocal on being a ChihayaXArata fan but after seeing this episode, my heart is now divided into two! I just really hope that whoever Chihaya chooses, the three of them would be happy and stay friends forever. ^_^

I’m looking forward for the next episode. Lots of new characters would be introduced. Misuzawa’s Karuta Club would gain another member. I just hope that the quality of the next episodes would be as great as this one.

The anime release is quite fast so we need to increase the speed of our scanlation release. I’m currently working on the 17th chapter. Our translator is done up to chapter 18. I can really feel the pressure right now.. T_T