Chihayafuru

Chihaya Ayase spends much of her childhood supporting her sister's modeling ambitions until meeting Arata Wataya, who recognizes that Chihaya may have unusual potential at competitive karuta. His encouragement gives her a dream of her own: becoming Japan's best karuta player. Circumstances later separate Chihaya from the friends with whom she played, but her enthusiasm for the game remains. By high school she is still practicing karuta, driven both by the goal of improving and by the hope that the game will eventually reconnect her with the friends who helped inspire her.