Tokiko Kofudo– Author –

Amazon Here! — The Person Protecting the Atmosphere — Airu never blamed anyone. Not when Kizuki acted. Not when Shin kept waiting. Not when Shugo chose silence. Airu stood in a slightly different place from the rest. Because the person Airu truly loved was never Mizuho. It was Kizuki. And the person Kizuki loved was Mizuho. Still, Airu never once brought that feeling into the space between them. This essay looks at Airu as the person who chose to protect the relationship i...

Amazon Here! — The Person Who Moved First — Kizuki did not hesitate. While Shin waited, while Shugo hid his feelings, while Airu quietly watched over everyone, Kizuki was the one who acted. As the pandemic canceled tournament after tournament, and the ordinary world he had always known began to fall apart, Kizuki put his feelings for Mizuho into words. Was that courage? Or was it something closer to running from the fear of watching his own world collapse? This essay looks...

Just finished volume 1 of Chihayafuru, and it's such a beautiful read! This series has a lot of doors you can walk through. The manga. Three seasons of anime. A live-action trilogy. A sequel manga. And, starting in 2025, a brand new drama. If you're not sure where to begin, you're not alone. Here's a spoiler-free breakdown of how everything fits together, and where to actually start. The Big Picture First Chihayafuru basically splits into two separate "tracks." One is the ...

Just finished volume 1 of Chihayafuru, and it's such a beautiful read! ⚠️ This essay contains spoilers from the Chihayafuru manga, as well as content from the 2025 drama sequel Chihayafuru: Meguri. Why were these two the only ones who never rushed? Taichi, Chihaya, and Arata's story was built on years of tension, and confessions that kept missing their mark. Shinobu's story was about slowly letting go of a solitude she'd built for herself. Kana Oue and K...

Just finished volume 1 of Chihayafuru, and it's such a beautiful read! When you're reading the manga, it's easy to forget. This isn't a fictional sport. What Chihayafuru depicts is a real competition. And at the heart of that competition is a collection of 100 poems, written 800 years ago. First, Here's How It Actually Works Competitive karuta uses a set of 100 cards from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Matches are one-on-one. Each player draws 25 cards at random from the full s...