Recap / Mashin Sentai Kiramager Ep 09 This Is My Youthful Path Of Karuta

This Is My Youthful Path of Karuta

Original Airdate: May 3, 2020
Written by: Naruhisa Arakawa
Directed by: Kyohei Yamaguchi

Summary:

Sena unexpectedly reunites with an old friend of hers, who harbors a resentment for her over karuta.

Tropes specific to this episode:

• Always Someone Better: Sena initially thought that Makino was this because of her immense skill in karuta, something that Makino will attest too. It's then revealed that Makino actually thought this towards Sena because Sena was able to swipe the cards at lighting speed - even when the opponent has made the first move. This is what triggered Makino's jealousy and their subsequent fallout.
• Awesomeness by Analysis:
  • Sena gets to show this off in full-force when she's up against Hyakuin Isshu Jamen. Rather than relying on trying to read the rigged cards, she simply analyzes the Jamenshi's moves to see where he'll go next, using her speed to knock the card out of his way.
  • Juru gets to show off his observation skills by correctly guessing that Makino was fearful of Sena's skill.
• Childhood Friends: Makino and Sena used to be good friends back in the day, but Makino's jealousy got the best of her. This led to her misdirecting and goading Sena into leaving karuta altogether so that she would be the "Karuta Queen". Luckily, they patch up in the end.
• Contrived Coincidence: Imemdiately after running into her old Karuta rival, Sena runs into a Karuta monster. She wonders if Makino has somehow cursed her.
• Crippling Overspecialization: It's heavily alluded that Sena's speed allows for her to get the cards at lighting speed - at the cost of sometimes picking the wrong card, especially when following the opponent's actions. However, it's downplayed as she's still quick enough to understand the poems - she just prefers putting her speed above everything else (which comes in handy with the match against the MOTW).
• Green-Eyed Monster: Makino became this after seeing how fast Sena is at getting the cards, even when she made the first move. This is what led to Makino trying to do everything to win, even misdirecting and goading Sena in order to be on top. She gets over it in the end.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: For all of Makino's bravado, it's revealed that she was jealous of Sena's speed in karuta and vowed to do anything and everything to stay on top.
• Mundane Made Awesome: This episode takes competitive karuta ^note  A card game where a reader reads off a clue (with this episode using the Hyakuin Isshu version - with the clues being traditional Japanese poems) and the players have to grab the card that has the last phrases of the poem before the clue is fully read. (which is already a pretty stressful game) and makes it into a life-or-death situation thanks to the MOTW's gimmick (which is obviously based off of karuta).
• Mythology Gag: The role call takes some heavy cues from Shinkenger and Ninninger with overdramatized speech patterns, traditional posing (as opposed to their usual campy posing), and a traditional Japanese background that seems to be plucked straight out of the latter series.
• Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The episode title is a reference to the Captain Harlock film Arcadia of My Youth ^note  Waga Seishun no Arukadia . ^note  The Japanese title of the episode is "Waga Seishun no Karuta-dō".
• Pun: "Se wo hayami" with "Sena Hayami".
• Shout-Out: This episode takes some cues from the Josei manga Chihayafuru, from the bubbly tomboyish protagonist with insane speed all the way down to the concept (being competitive karuta). Hell, even Sena gets into an outfit that's similar to what Chihaya wears during matches.