Chihaya Ayase is obsessed with growing her school's competitive karuta club, with lofty goals like winning the national team championship at the Omi Jingu and becoming the Queen, Japan's—and, by extension, the world's—best female karuta player. As their sophomore year of high school approaches, Chihaya and her teammates must recruit new members, train their minds and bodies, and battle the formidable opponents who stand in their way of winning the championship. Meanwhile, Arata Wataya, Chihaya's childhood friend and the prodigy who introduced her to karuta, rediscovers his lost love for the old card game.