"Chihayafuru: Meguri" audience excited by the appearance of Mayu Matsuoka as "Shinobu"

The final episode of the drama series "Chihayafuru: Meguri" (NTV, Wednesdays at 10pm), starring actress Ami Touma, aired on September 10th. The final episode follows Meguru (played by Touma) and her friends as they compete in the final qualifying round to advance to the national tournament, with actress Mayu Matsuoka reprising her role as Wakamiya Shinobu, the same character from the film series. The episode has caused a stir on social media.

◇The following contains spoilers.

In the final episode, Meguru and the Umezono Karuta Club face off against the champion Mizusawa in the final qualifying round to advance to the national tournament. Kanade (Mone Kamishiraishi) serves as the caller. And then, the match finally begins. Umezono and Mizusawa, Meguru and Nagi (Nanoka Hara) face off against each other. Kanade's introductory song echoes throughout the venue, and Mizusawa alumni Chihaya (Suzu Hirose), Taichi (Nomura Shuhei), Nishida (Yamoto Yuma), Sumire (Yuki Mio) and other members of the Mizusawa team in the audience are captivated by her beautiful voice.

The match between Umezono and Mizusawa was a back-and-forth affair with neither side willing to give in. With Chieri (Arashi Rina) and Yakumo (Sakamoto Aito) losing, Umezono was pushed to the brink, but Meguru, Fuki (Jun Saito), and Sota (Soma Santoki) made a furious comeback, and finally it was a fateful match between the three pairs. Meanwhile, Sota won one game, and Meguru began practicing the signal that the Umezono members had decided on to attack the enemy camp. Then the cards were called, but Meguru and Fuki's hands were just a little short of the cards, and the match ended with Mizusawa winning four games... and so it went.

After that, Meguru graduates from high school and becomes a university student, and takes part in a competitive karuta tournament on the same team as Nagi and Chieri. Sitting next to the tournament announcer is the eternal queen and YouTuber, Shinobu. Shinobu is the youngest queen in the film series, and fought a fierce battle with Chihaya, played by Hirose. When asked for a comment by the announcer, Shinobu smiles and says, "I'm always impressed by how good you all are at karuta." Furthermore, when the announcer says, "Maybe one of these players will become a challenger for Wakamiya in the future," Shinobu smiles and says, "Oh, so scary," before calmly adding, "I can't stop trembling."

Shinobu's appearance became a hot topic on social media, with comments such as "She's finally out!", "Her eyes aren't smiling at all lol", "She's as funny as ever", and "I'm relieved to see Shinobu-chan as usual".