Chihaya is a girl in the sixth grade, still not old enough to even know the meaning of the word zeal. But one day, she meets Arata, a transfer student from rural Fukui prefecture. Though docile and quiet, he has an unexpected skill: his ability to play competitive karuta, a traditional Japanese card game.Chihaya is struck by his obsession with the game, along with his ability to pick out the right card and swipe it away before any of his opponents. However, Arata is transfixed by her as well, all because of her unbelievable natural talent for the game. Don't miss this story of adolescent lives and emotions playing out in the most dramatic of ways!
Both the Mizusawa High Karuta Club and Hokuou Academy have made it out of the Tokyo qualifiers, one of the toughest districts across the country. They go next to Omi Shrine for the finals, aiming to win it all. There they find a daunting wall consisting of unconventional tactics and the extraordinary players who use them. Mizusawa's goal has always been to be the best in Japan, a distant dream that can only be attained by a tenacious team that puts in the effort to win their way through the tournament. Chihaya and the rest believe in themselves and in their friends as the battle begins!