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Chihayafuru Season 2: Episode 23 FULL LENGTH Reaction! (Patreon)

Published:
2026-02-19 14:00:18
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

*FRUSTRATING HEADPHONE WARNINGS*

Okay, so on the one hand - lots of fun moments with post-Semifinals Hokuo, The Class A Final, and Chihaya just being a LITERAL Angel with her support and kindness towards her friends and fellow competitors!

On the OTHER hand, I am not going to hide my frustration with this episode and a certain B-Ranked player who is starting to test my patience to the extreme -- I'm sorry, not sorry, for for my rants this week! Pay me no mind, I'm sure I'll be back to normal by next week!

LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/mjqg4qa5NsKr3zNR3iothP

Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!

Files

Romania Black - Chihayafuru Season 2: Episode 23 Reaction! TO SEE THE BEAUTIFUL CHERRY BLOSSOMS?!

LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/mjqg4qa5NsKr3zNR3iothP **FRUSTRATING HEADPHONE WARNINGS** Okay, so on the one hand - lots of fun moments with post-Semifinals Hokuo, The Class A Final, and Chihaya just being a LITERAL Angel with her support and kindness towards her friends and fellow competitors! On the OTHER hand, I am not going to hide my frustration with this episode and a certain B-Ranked player who is starting to test my patience to the extreme -- I'm sorry, not sorry, for for my rants this week! Pay me no mind, I'm sure I'll be back to normal by next week! Thank you for watching with me and for all the support! #romaniablack #chihayafuru #chihaya Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RomaniaBlack My Anime: https://myanimelist.net/profile/RomaniaBlack Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/RomaniaBlack You can mail me a letter or anything (except food, please) at this address: Romania Black PO Box 768 Harrisburg, IL 62946 USA

Comments

Will

I agree that the episode felt like it covered a lot in a little time. But I feel like I completely understand Taichi's reasoning. Just like Chihaya really cares about Taichi becoming class A, Taichi really cares about Chihaya watching Shinobu play Arata. The 2 people she admires the most. So it makes sense how he behaves. But I have no issues with people not liking it or being frustrated by Taichi. I understand that view too. But to me, I prefer that characters behave in a way that makes sense, rather than how I wish they would. But that brings tension and frustration, so I wouldn't judge people for feeling that way. One last thing, Chihaya asking why Arata smiles is not a romantic thing, it's about not having fear or seeing Shinobu as a threat. Another last thing, Shinobu has this fake humble persona, when she talks about luck, it's just empty words that mean nothing. But Arata sees through it, so he doesn't fall for her fake humbleness. Which is why Shinobu doesn't like Arata. Okay, one last last thing for sure this time. If you remember in season 1 during the flashback episodes, both Taichi and Arata pretty much confirmed to each other that they both like Chihaya when they are kids.

sanime

I was looking forward to watching Taichis triumphant comeback with you but I'll come back later since I need to steel myself for an angry rant incoming. 😑 I think similarly to Will that being upset with Taichi for being distracted for most of his match is fair but it's very in character that at the end of the day he's going to be more worried about Chihaya than himself and I like that it is a hurdle that he has overcome in stages honestly the slow burn of Taichis character is far more enjoyable to me than even the slow burn of the romance which I still enjoy. Taichi always has his mind racing and so I'm glad that by the end of the episode Chihaya through her compassion helps him to slow down and take in the moment of him making it to Class A.

sanime

So in the manga we don't get focus on the quarterfinals at all basically one panel then we follow Sumire showing what's happening in the other classes then straight to the semifinal for Class A and B. Personally I think that's fine because the outcome of the matchups were obvious. The episode adapts a chapter and a half We start halfway through one chapter and then the next chapter ends with Taichi and Chihaya crying together out of joy for making it to Class A. It's one to one. I think season 2 has been weirdly paced overall and that's probably messing with your perspective of this episode probably.

Clifford

Men can be emotionally distant. I have subscribed to you because I value your appreciation of female to female social interaction. My take on Taichi's lack of proper emotional and social response to Chihaya's genuine relief and celebration of his promotion is that he fears he might go too far if he gets down with her and embraces her: he loves her that much, but he has not told her that truth. He is also giving Arata too much respect where Chihaya is concerned: he is not willing to be ruthless toward any perceived chances of romance between Arata and Chihaya. Furthermore, Taichi believes that Arata's superior talent for karuta might be what Chihaya needs to become the Queen, so he refuses to cut her off from Arata's communication and influence even when it hurts his own chances for a romance with Chihaya.

sanime

Ok so some minor corrections Sumire lost in the quaterfinal not the semifinal. Ok let's talk about Taichi since I didn't have some of the same interpretations. I think that the finals as I stated before was very much him. I think even without the context of Arata vs Shinobu if Chihaya or his mom or just someone he didn't expect to be there or someone he has an emotional attachment to showed up similar to Nishida and his sister in the Hokuo match he would have fallen apart. Winning one match against Eromu while it was a really great moment and match for Taichi does not guarantee that he is magically cured of his lack of confidence and self destructive tendencies but what it has done is helped him to mentally recover much faster by noticing those negative habits and correcting them better and resetting without needing external help like episode 4 in this season. One thing I don't agree with is that Taichi was being down on himself thinking that Chihaya wasnt showing up why would he feel down on something that he adamantly wanted He didn't want Chihaya to be there he wants her to be Queen He wouldn't have any regrets if he won and she wasn't there I think the fact that he fell apart and put himself together with her to watch is actually much better for Taichi in the long run. Taichi in terms of a sports protagonist reminds me of Miyuki from AOD when he's on a roll he's there when he's not on a roll he's not there until he pulls himself together and that inconsistency is Taichis flaw. I was actually so happy that Taichi finally was like wow I was freaking out and making a mountain of a molehill for no reason I can win five matches in a row and be calm about it then he lost that confidence I'm not blaming Chihaya either I love that she came to watch I'm kinda surprised that you misunderstood Taichis confidence for self pity when you said it yourself that him asking why was he here is him finally hitting his stride which is exactly what that was

sanime

So Taichi compares Rion to Chihaya to calm himself down because he feels at ease playing her plus they have similar talents of good game sense and he wants to challenge himself with a much more reasonable goal which is beating Chihaya because thinking of beating Suou in this case or Arata makes him spiral

iHatePiano

I was looking forward to this episode, only to be greeted by yelling.

sanime

I agree that Taichi right now doesnt consider himself to be important to Chihaya which is why he is genuinely shocked when she does prioritize him over Arata because from Taichi's perspective Arata is who she needs to fully embrace her dreams that he saw her cry over the first time she lost to Shinobu and so he is willing to remove himself from the picture to push them closer even though that hurts him. That's why when Taichi is like oh she's not coming to watch me that is coming from a logical standpoint not a woe is me Im sad she's not coming to see me standpoint.

sanime

It's so frustrating its funny at this point. At least we can enjoy the episode in the comment section lmaoo.

Clifford

I edited out that quotation: thank you for catching a spoiler.

Clifford

In my view, Arata is one of the very few people Shinobu does like, even though he makes her mad.

Alexandra Q

Seeing Taichi finally reach Class A is something that I had been waiting to happen for the longest time. It was freaking time. One thing that I noticed and liked is how we start Season 1 with Chihaya becoming a Class A player, and now we're ending Season 2 with Taichi becoming Class A; it's not exactly a one-for-one mirroring, but it works for me in a very fun way, almost like this was a little arc of the story and now we can move on to the next part. Look, I LOVED seeing Taichi win the match against Rion, I was hyped and excited for him... but, yeah, I wanted to scream in frustration at him when he lost all focus because Chihaya showed up. I suspected that was going to be the case, I didn't want Chihaya to show up because I feared she would throw Taichi off his game - especially after Nishida said that Taichi wouldn't really want her there, because Taichi is too emotional for his own good and for how analytical his mind is. Seeing him floundering arround was painful. I wanted Chihaya to see the same cool-headed, in-control Taichi that had played in the tournament till that point. I'm glad Taichi was able to reel himself back and talk himself off that ledge, I think that's a good sign that some progress is been made with him, but I would have rather not have had to see that. Anyways, a moment that I really enjoyed seeing was Fujisaki's coach been so careful and kind to Chihaya; she does seem rather cold and hard, but in the end she's always pretty gentel, yet firm, with everyone we've seen her interact. I want to see more of her in the series. You know, now that I think about it a little, this episode's pacing did feel off. I remember been very surprised that we cut to Arata and Shinobu at the beginning of the episode, I was so sure that the whole episode was going to be dedicated to Taichi. I guess it was needed for Chihaya to make the decision to go support Taichi rather than watch the Class A finals, but it still felt odd to me. At this point, I'm not surprised that this anime doesn't show important matches. I was more frustrated with it in Season 1, but at this point I feel like I have gotten used to it. I do wish that we got to see more Karuta matches, and from more character than just the main three more often. Taichi is one of my favorite characters, he is, but man, seeing him just rush in and forcibly grab Chihaya's arm to drag her to watch Arata's game because he thinks that's what she should be doing was a rough moment; that looked like it hurt, the way he was dragging Chihaya. Sure, he stops once he realizes that Chihaya isn't actually following him, and that's good, but it doesn't quite erase the sour taste in my mouth. So, yeah, this episode was a mix bag of feelings.

Alice

So I guess i'm alone in saying that I absolutely loved the crashout this episode 😂

Alice

For me, seeing that you're so passionate about the discussion and letting out all these feelings mean that you really care about the show and the characters. A person wouldn't be so frustrated if it was about a media that they didn't really care that much about. This is also how I talk about my favorite characters with people sometimes. Being so frustrated at Taichi just means you really want him to improve, and you've already said multiple times that you want to root for him and want him to make Class A. So there's no problem with me with this reaction at all. Everyone reacts to media differently. It would be so boring to want everyone I watch react the same as I do. I watch reactions to get other people's perspectives. Don't feel bad for saying what you truly feel girl ^^

Be Happy

Oh she can be able to admire him while not liking him.. I think both are possible

Greice Conta do YTB

I couldn't agree more. I actually feel sad that she's scared of being canceled for her opinions. Romania was that upset exactly because she's that invested into this story and the characters.

Greice Conta do YTB

I felt sad, but there were some parts that were indeed amusing. I love how protective she's of Chihaya.

Greice Conta do YTB

I love your comment! I didn't really care about him grabbing her arm because it created a perfect parallel when she grabbed his arm in the exact same way in season one. She grabbed his arm and lifted him up dragging him to watch Harada and Suo match because they were going to be Taichis's competition when he reached class A. And now he's doing the same thing to get Chihaya to watch her competition for the queen title. This author loves to work with parallels.

Greice Conta do YTB

Well we actually don't even know if he will or will not hug her because the episode just abruptly cuts. We will have to wait for next week.

romaniablack

Thank you for the comment - this was flagged for spoilers of episodes I have not seen, so unfortunately, I cannot read it - but thank you for taking time to write.

romaniablack

Welp, sorry about that. Thanks for the comment.

romaniablack

Probably why I'm taking a break after this season.

romaniablack

Chihaya is my character and I will stan for her no matter what, haha!

romaniablack

Ha! I appreciate that you at least found it amusing!

romaniablack

Right, but in the match he doesn't compare her to Chihaya until towards the end of the match - I talk about what I didn't like about this in the discussion, but I am well aware this happens.

romaniablack

I am glad you all know that what I'm saying is a fair complaint -- and I went into a lot of detail in my discussion - yes, I was ranting, but it's because I'm passionate about the story and his character. I know he cares more for Chihaya than himself. I know he's selfless. I've talked for almost a YEAR at length on this channel for hours -- it's just after all this time when I have expectations and they aren't met -- I thought it would be best to just be honest and share them. But if it's just upsetting those watching, then I'll hold my tongue and not saying anything, I suppose. But I wanted to be honest with folks as a reactor.

romaniablack

I guess the best way to say it is I understand where Taichi is coming from. I get it. I’ve talked for 47 weeks about his character at length, read comments, and I get where it is. I just think to build up him blazing through the competition confidently, having such a great ride off of winning the team tournament, and to grind to a halt here – it’s a choice by the mangaka that is frustrating to me. I understand Taichi, don’t worry, I’ve talked at length that I do. I just am frustrated with the mangaka’s character work with him. You can like a series and be critical of his character work. You can want to root for a character but get frustrated at him. But I don’t know how else to say that than what I have so far. But I appreciate you explaining Arata’s smile and for the comment.

romaniablack

That is fair to know – it’s just a personal preference I wanted you all to know I have. I’m going to be an honest reactor, as you all know, with how I feel about things. But I do agree, that season 2 has been weirdly paced and that’s probably not been helpful overall.

romaniablack

Ah, thanks for the correction on Sumire! That makes sense! I’m not saying he’s cured of his lack of confidence, but to go from a high and then he’s “on fire” going through the competition only to come to a complete halt - I talked about it at length in the discussion, and I don’t think it’s invalid of me to feel that way about the mangaka’s decision, especially when I’m rooting for a character. I disagree based on the body language and some of the ways he was facing Rion - and her reaction - at the start of the match. And Miyuki - to me - is similar to Taichi but those are apples and oranges in comparison so I don’t know if I personally agree entirely on that. I don’t think I was misunderstanding his confidence at all - I just think that the way the pacing of the entire match was handled felt cheap to me and fishing for drama when, as I explained at length in the discussion, it could have been handled differently.

romaniablack

YES! I’ve been waiting for it FOREVER it seems - it honestly should have happened last season, but the mangaka is making Taichi a work in progress for sure. That is a great comparison to Taichi and Chihaya - maybe Tsutomu is next haha!! I was really hoping to see a different side of Taichi, and to see him regress was not only expected and unsurprising, but felt cheap to me (and yes, I “understand Taichi’s character” for all the naysayers). You basically described what I said in a…more calm manner, hahahaha!! I appreciated Chihaya being pointed out as well, and yes, the pacing was all over the place this episode and it didn’t help matters. I agree as well, I’d like to see more of the smaller matches too, but I get why they skipped over them. I think Grace did a good reply about Taichi grabbing her arm - if Taichi ends up actually hugging Chihaya or something of that nature (as I wanted him to), I wish they would have showed it here – that would have been nice to see. Anyway, THANK YOU for this comment - I honestly needed to feel someone relate to me and I appreciate that.

romaniablack

Thank you - I've really been struggling the last few weeks with whether I express my feelings or not so I am glad there are some that are okay with me ranting every now and then.

romaniablack

Honestly, thank you. I have spent almost a YEAR of my life watching this show week to week and getting invested in these characters. And so my frustration comes from a place of wanting him to improve and root for him and YES - I feel I’ve said I’m rooting for him until I’m blue in the face - but honestly, because I’m not a Taichi x Chihaya shipper, and because I’m critical of him, I’ve felt that a lot of the feedback I get is more correcting and telling me why I should change my opinion, than celebrating what’s so great about this series, otherwise. And it’s brought me down a lot as a reactor and in the discussions. I feel the same way you do - I’d rather hear someone’s honest opinion, than to watch blind praise. So thank you for saying this, I truly needed to hear this and am sorry if folks just didn’t like me taking a tone with Taichi this episode. Thank you for the comment!

sanime

I dont think Taichi's body language before Chihaya showed up was one of him being upset that she wasnt there or one of him being in his own head. Rion is nervous because this is the finals and there is alot at stake for her and she expects that her opponent would be feeling this pressure as well and she looks at Taichi and says why are you so calm and Retro said the same thing that he was surprised how calm Taichi was because usually he wouldnt be and even Nishida said it to Chihaya that Taichi is different from how he normally is. We even got to see what Taichi was thinking about in that moment he was full of confidence wondering why he always failed in the finals because he now has the strength and confidence to visualise himself winning five matches in a row. I dont think Taichi in this moment is wallowing in self pity and crying on the inside that Chihaya isnt showing up. It's fine if you think otherwise but it was presented in the show that Taichi was doing fine until he saw Chihaya walk in and then he started to panic.

romaniablack

It's the nonverbal body communication of him sitting with his head in his hand, without the eyes showing (which is usually when he's in his own head), etc. but also looking...bored? The body language just read that way for me -- it definitely did not read as someone taking the match seriously, which is why Rion makes that comment. I think that people are not reading my critique the way I intended it to come out - I think that Taichi was sad that Chihaya wasn't there watching, but didn't expect her to be. I think that he was definitely thrown off once Chihaya got there, for sure - said that in the discussion - but I think that Sumire's words did affect him before the match began, because he certainly did not seem to have the same fire that he did against Retro-kun from the previous episode at the start with Rion.