About “Chihayafuru” in a few words:

Chihayafuru is an anime and manga series that follows the story of a high school girl named Chihaya who is passionate about the traditional Japanese card game called karuta. With her friends Taichi and Arata, she strives to become the best karuta player in Japan while navigating the ups and downs of high school life and relationships. The series is known for its intense and emotional storytelling, beautifully animated karuta matches, and well-developed characters.

Meet the characters from Chihayafuru

Hideo Harada

Hideo is that quietly terrifying powerhouse of karuta — calm, imperious, and somehow always a step ahead. He’s stoic and strict, but like, secretly fond of small comforts (maybe green tea and an obscene number of bookmarks, who knows). His leadership is the kind that makes people follow without asking; also he’ll roast you in silence until you improve. He’s not flashy but every move counts, and he has this weirdly tender way of correcting you that is somehow worse than yelling.

Tsutomu Komano

Komano is the meticulous brainiac of the group — small, sharp, obsessively organized and somehow adorable about it. He treats karuta like a science, with diagrams and notes and probably a binder full of strategies (I swear he has a sticker for everything). He’s socially awkward in the most charming way, like he means to be blunt but ends up being sincere and painfully honest. Under the nerdy exterior there’s real loyalty and fierce pride, especially when defending friends or a good sequence of cards. Also he sometimes overeats cookies when nervous, which is wildly out of character but very believable.

Chihaya Ayase

Chihaya is pure, wildfire-level passion for karuta — obsessed, bright-eyed, the kind of person who will sprint for a card and make you cheer even if you don’t know why. She’s single-minded and adorable and kind of terrible at expressing other feelings (like romance? friendship? she’s great at both but also terrible). Her intensity is inspiring; she can be naive and stubborn and then suddenly tender in a way that surprises everyone. She collects things too, I’m pretty sure she hoards old poems in a shoebox or something, and she cries at the weirdest moments (in a good way).

Kanade Ooe

Kanade is the warm, steady heart — reliable, gentle, always making tea and somehow the calmest person in a crisis even when she’s panicking on the inside. She’s supportive to a fault, knows everyone’s birthdays, and will punch you with kindness (figuratively, mostly). She’s quietly competitive sometimes, which is hilarious because she’ll deny it with a smile, and she has this quiet bravery that sneaks up on you. Also, she collects hairpins? Maybe, minor detail, but it feels right.

Taichi Mashima

Taichi is the anxious, lovelorn center of so much drama — he’s endlessly caring, awful with jealousy, and brilliant at pretending he’s fine while panicking inside. He’s so loyal it hurts; he organizes, plans, and overthinks every tiny possibility before making a move (and then he forgets to actually say anything). He can be frustrating because he holds back, but then he’ll man up at exactly the right moment and you’re like, of course, Taichi. He’s got a dorky habit of tying his shoelaces in a way only he understands and he’s inexplicably good at making bento boxes.

Hisashi Suou

Suou is the big, charismatic rival with a secret soft center — intense, theatrical, and borderline terrifying in competition but also surprisingly maternal (or paternal?) off the dohyo. He’s a strategist and a showman, loves drama and discipline in equal measure, and will lecture you about honor while also slipping you candy. Don’t be fooled by the glare though; he’s loyal to friends and causes and has this weirdly poetic side that shows up in the strangest moments. He also wears earrings? Maybe that’s wrong, but it’s fun to imagine.

Arata Wataya

Arata is the soft-spoken prodigy who probably wrote a manifesto about karuta in pencil and hid it under his pillow. He’s gentle, a little fragile, and inspires people without even trying — like a calm lighthouse in chaos — but he’s also weirdly stubborn and stubborn in a soft way. There’s this melancholy aura about him that makes you want to protect him while also wanting to be better because of him. He’s enigmatic and honest, and I keep thinking he secretly loves making tiny hand-drawn poetry cards for his friends.

Shinobu Wakamiya

Shinobu is the dazzling, eccentric genius — precocious, haughty, and gloriously theatrical, like she was born mid-curve of a dramatic line in a poem. She’s ruthless in competition but in this adorable, bratty way where she’ll pout if you beat her and then immediately demand a rematch. She also has this weirdly childish side (plushies? compositions? tiny plays?) that pops out and makes you both annoyed and totally amused. Basically, she’s brilliant, complicated, and impossible to ignore — a walking spoiler alert and also the best kind of chaos.