# Where to Watch Chihayafuru

**Chihayafuru streams on Crunchyroll. It's the beloved series that turned competitive karuta — a lightning-fast card game built on classical poetry — into one of the most gripping sports anime ever made.**

## Where to Watch

- [Crunchyroll](http://www.crunchyroll.com/chihayafuru)

Crunchyroll carries it — the whole journey starts with this first season.

## Synopsis

Chihaya Ayase spent her childhood as her model sister's biggest supporter, with no dream of her own — until transfer student Arata Wataya showed her karuta played at full speed, where a hundred poems become a battlefield of reflexes, memory, and nerve. Years later, in high school, Chihaya sets out to build a karuta club and climb toward the title of Queen, Japan's best female player, hoping the game will reunite her with the friends it first gave her. It has everything great sports anime need: obsessive rivals, agonizing near-misses, and a heroine whose love for her game is completely infectious.

## Fast Facts

- **Format:** TV
- **Episodes:** 25
- **Premiered:** 2011
- **Studio:** madhouse inc.
- **Score:** 8

## Watch Order

Start with this first season; the story continues across the sequels from here.

- Chihayafuru 2 — sequel

## If You Liked This

- **[March Comes in Like a Lion](https://hozuna.com/anime/march-comes-in-like-a-lion)** — March Comes in Like a Lion pairs a traditional Japanese game with even deeper emotional storytelling — shogi as a lens on loneliness and healing.
- **[Haikyu!!](https://hozuna.com/anime/haikyu)** — Haikyu!! delivers the same team-building, rival-chasing sports euphoria at maximum energy.
- **[Your Lie in April](https://hozuna.com/anime/your-lie-in-april)** — Your Lie in April shares the blend of competition, artistry, and aching adolescent feeling.
- **[Frieren: Beyond Journey's End](https://hozuna.com/anime/frieren-beyond-journey-s-end)** — 
- **[Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc](https://hozuna.com/anime/chainsaw-man-reze-arc)** — 
- **[Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood](https://hozuna.com/anime/fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood)** — 
- **[Re:Zero Season 4](https://hozuna.com/anime/re-zero-season-4)** — 
- **[Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2](https://hozuna.com/anime/attack-on-titan-season-3-part-2)** — 

## FAQ

### Where can I watch Chihayafuru?

It streams on Crunchyroll.

### How many episodes is the first season?

Season one runs 25 episodes.

### Do I need to understand karuta first?

Not at all — the series teaches you the game as Chihaya's club learns it, and within a few episodes you'll be reading matches like a veteran.

### Is Chihayafuru a romance?

There's a beautifully drawn love triangle woven through it, but the competitive karuta is the engine — it earns the sports-anime label first.