Chihayafuru

Chihayafuru is an anime series written by Naoya Takahama, directed by Morio Asaka, musically composed by Kouske Yamashita, and Produced by Studio Madhouse with 2 seasons of 25 episodes a piece anda third season on the way. It's also recieved three live action movie adaptations, the first two released in 2016, and the third and final one released in 2018. The anime and movies were based on a manga series written by Yuki Suetsugu and published by Kodansha in Be Love Magazine. The manga started on December 28, 2007 and is still ongoing with a total of 36 volumes so far.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Good animation, art style and character designs. The show has the thick outlines and colors that Studio Madhouse is known for.
 * 2) Incredibly interesting, likable, lovable characters; the characers carry the show.
 * 3) A great amount of tension in each of the games of Karuta, despite the fact that the game doesn't even exist.
 * 4) Good drama that feels natural and not forced.
 * 5) This anime actually has GOOD live action movie adaptations.  In fact, it has three of them.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Like many sports anime, Chihayafuru can be very slow at times.