#are young children who read bc they're inspired by the passion of the players

[formashimataichi]

I don’t think enough people in the fandom realize just how many kids read and are inspired by Chihayafuru. Reading the captions Suetsugu attaches to pictures of fan mail is really endearing, because there’s so many students in elementary and middle school who are inspired by the passion she charts through her narrative to either pick up the sport or pick up the art of making manga themselves. 

#chihayafuru #this is kind of why i feel staunch on emphasizing #that reducing the manga to just romance feels like a disservice #a huge portion of the jp fanbase #are young children who read bc they're inspired by the passion of the players #like if you go through her fanmail posts on her twitter #so so many are from kids like half my age #and it's rly incredible #bc this is a series so deeply entrenched in poetry and nuance! #and a lot of my friends have found it hard to get into bc of that #but that kids this young are so intrigued and excited is rly heartwarming #and i wish more ppl in the online fandom appreciated that