Chihaya Ayase is a 6th grader with a dream of supporting her older sister becoming the top model of Japan. One day a boy named Arata Wataya transfers in to her school. As they become friends, Arata tells Chihaya "Your dream goal should be about yourself." Arata's dream is to become the master player in the Japanese competitive card game of Karuta. During class, Arata is a quiet kid but when it comes to Karuta, he takes the game serious and plays to win. Chihaya is impressed with Arata and together with her friend Taichi Mashima they get engrossed the game of Karuta.

The anime is based on the original comic by the same name drawn by Yuki Suetsugu. The comic is currently published in the BE-LOVE (Published by Kodansha). The original comic is appraised by comic fans and is awarded with 2009 Manga Grand Prize and selected as "This Manga Is Awesome! 2010 Girls Selection" (Kono Manga Ga Sugoi! 2010 Onna-hen). The comic is about a fantastic teenage drama based around the world of sports Karuta. Asaka Morio, who has directed the popular animation series such as "Cardcaptor Sakura" and "NANA", directs the animation. The animation will be brought to life by Asaka with intense competition between the characters and along with it the careful depiction of their inner struggle.