Yuusei worries that Tsutomu will slide into supporting role once he is no longer passionate about playing the karuta game itself. While all the pressure lies on Taichi to decide whether Tsutomu should play in the next match or not, Chihaya makes a wise decision for once. Tsutomu is not playing. Not because he is no longer passionate, but because he just finished observing another match. Apparently, closely observing a match is more tiring than playing the match itself.
I guess Tsutomu is the real star of this episode. Without playing the game itself, he saves the team from their match with his accurate data about the opponents. It is funny to see Yuusei runs to cafeteria when he’s upset. Though I guess it’s not a surprise, looking at his body, lol.
Arata is finally allowed to participate in individual tournament. And the drenched “queen” is just hilarious.
Mizusawa wins the first-half match, and advances to the next match: the semifinals. This time, they need to decide whether they want to play safe by putting Chihaya, Taichi and Yuusei against “weak” opponent, or playing “fair” like the final round of regional tournament few episodes ago. And Taichi decides to do the “fair” arrangement. For better or worse.
