Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru – 08
You can’t control the wild mascots.
What are we in for this week?! Last time we had some fun in the sun, but the ending of the last episode left us hanging because there are still monsters to battleru! I sure hope the girls don’t have to give up more to save the world…
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Welcome back, everyone! Well, after the last two episodes of slice of life goodness we are now going deep into serious business….
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The Truth Revealed
Magical girl team! ASSEMBLE!!!
For the viewers out there we already figured out after episodes six and seven that the powerful Mankai form requires a certain sacrifice to use that power, but for the characters themselves they sort of figured that they would recover what they lost after some rest or was it always in the back of their minds that they were not going to return to normal? I think out of all the girls I think that Tougou and Fuu realized things were a bit screwy after that battle; however Yuuki and Tougou met with a strange bedridden girl named Sonoko Nogi who told them the truth about the flaws in system. So let’s wrap our minds around this for a moment! Whenever these magical girls tap into the Mankai power they are provided that power through Shinju-sama, but he requires a sacrifice as payment usually resulting in giving up something much like Fuu’s eye and Itsuki’s voice. Sounds simple enough right? Also apparently these magical girls can’t die and as a reward they become gods? I mean damn that might be the greatest deal ever until you actually see just what Nogi gave up! It seems that she lost one of her eyes, legs and part of her arm which means she must have used her Mankai powers a few too many times before figuring out that she was slowly destroying her body.
Those feels were real…
So is there any way for the girls to break the curse of being a magical girl in this universe? As it stands right now I don’t see how they can because unlike many magical girl shows in the past there is no magical wish reset button in this series right now or will one magically appear out of nowhere? I mean honestly I don’t really want there to be an easy fix band aid wish to make things better or do you actually want a wish system or item to fix things? Personally I am on the fence about this series having super happy everybody wins ending versus an ending where we have an actual character death or in this case of the system currently in place it will probably end with one of the girls sacrificing her whole body in order to save everyone. While we now know that I want to throw out a random theory which might sound CRAZY, but what are the Vertex really? Part of me can’t help but wonder if they are fallen magical girls? Like what if they are magical girls who abused their powers or possibly died before the current system was perfected? Like what if they killed themselves in the real world after figuring out the truth? Sadly I know Nogi said that they can’t die; however that of course was through the Mankai system but what happens if you die without using Mankai? I mean sure if the creative team behind Yuuki Yuuna wanted to add more dispair to this anime they could easily add that in right? Anyway we will have to wait and see if my theory works or falls apart.
Victory or defeat!?
Karin ANGRY! Karin SMASH!
After such huge victory, it’s hard to think that anything could have survived the Mankai onslaught, but one trickery buggery little Vertex made it out functioning, and as Fuu clearly states, it’s overtime. And no sooner than they can come to grips with some mildly mischievous yousei, they are called to action. Then it’s the standard transformation, and onto a wrinkle in the story. Yuuki notices that her Mankai gauge is clear and empty. So it’s safe to assume that she isn’t in any danger as of yet, and safe to assume the same with the rest. That would be one thing, but the other is the possibility of sustaining more negative effects. This has made them, understandably, combat shy. Well, everyone but Karin, who is eager to to charge in. Yuuki, not to be left by the sidelines, leaps in as well, only to take care of the long Vertex pretty much by herself. Ah, nothing like a hot headed hero eager to use her new yousei, Kasha (The Corpse Eating Demon Cat!!!!!) seriously folks read that link, it’s somewhat illuminating, but her price to pay it three of five petals on her Mankai gauge being filled.
Surprise HanaKana appearance!
And then just when it seems like it’s going to turn back to normal…we get a bridge to nowhere. Tougo and Yuuki are separated from the rest; not appearing on the roof of the school (near one Shinju-sama shrine) but at the foot of a destroyed bridge (near another one). And it’s here they meet Nogi, the shadow of a former Hero. I wonder why her friend’s name is can be seen as eagle? Goodness, this was a tense scene, as most of you know. The long and the short of it is, the Hero system sacrifices the well being of these girls so that the world may live on. And bless Nogi, she wanted to let these two know that had she know it was going to be this cruel, she would have wanted to be closer to her friends. Now that does seem blessed indeed, but for a ton of clues given for what’s coming next. One, it looks like they are immortal now. And we know those stories rarely go well, and two, they will never be healed. This system ticks Yuuki off quite a bit, and she aims to change it. But if all the Vertex are gone, is there going to be a need for more Heroes? What exactly is the Taisha and Shinju-sama? I would love to see the shape of this world more, cause that ruined bridge just tugs at my imagination.
FK YA EXTRA MAGICAL GIRLS
Surely nothing can go wrong right?
I mean it! No playing around guys!
Pancake-sama and Fuu are a great pair.
KICK SOME ASS GIRL!!
End thoughts
Holy HanaKana Virus batman! Who knew she could pull off sick moe girl so well? Just kidding I think she has had enough practice voicing characters to hit that range, but the highlight of the episode for me was Nogi revealing the dark truth around using that Mankai power! I mean sure we all figured it out that the girls lost something after that battle right? That said I feel bad that Togou and Yuuki can’t tell the others about their discovery because it is meant to be a secret? Seriously that is really screwed up and it makes me think about the horrible wish system found in WIXOSS! Ah well at least Yuuki Yuuna is doing their own thing without being a clone of a certain other magical girl series.
I love what this show does each and every week. It has maintained a fine level of charm and enchantment, will give us plenty of good action and surprises. I love this weeks guest VA in Nogi, a bit of HanaKana going back to moe form, and she was a perfect vehicle to deliver this incredibly sad story. With all said and done, I look forward to Yuuki Yuuna continuing to arrive!
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 261 comments
That Bedridden Lady (Sonoko Nogi) Seems Familiar (Again maybe it’s just me!)…she suppose to be like this…Wait…i mean this one, and she was seeking a long lost friend, but nobody knows where is she now!
and I wonder if Mimori Tougou will became the Next NEGRO THE LOSER…well, hopefully not, we don’t want be like her do we!?
OOPS…Did i spoil something!?
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Hah… Of course not.
I’m gonna haunt your worst nightmares, be prepared >:D
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 261 comments
…Fine….(Deep Breath and…) haaah!
I’ll Just Keep Quite Then!
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
I’m really… Really scared of watching this right now… It’s like another deconstruction of the magical girl genre, though slower than Madoka, and aiming for a higher level of mindfuckery than one of the magical girls having her head eaten.
It didn’t quite hit me at the moment but now that I think about it, Tougou and Yuuna seeing Nogi was almost like a mirror to their own futures, which must have been really terrifying. I’m really hoping that their expectations are true and there isn’t any more reason to fight, but we know that if it does happen, there probably won’t be a plot to be explored.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Also, as a matter of curiosity, I just discovered that Akame ga Kill!’s author is writing Yuuki Yuuna. Now I’m scared.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
How charitable does one want to be to the Taisha? I think that Sonoko’s example shows that there never were “12 Vertexes”. There are always going to be the threats, and the Taisha are going to always recruit magical girls to fight them. I don’t think that the Taisha are ‘bad’, and they don’t seem to be making Faustian bargains in the vein of Kyuubey (I’ll give you power in exchange for a relative bauble, but the power itself will corrupt you). This is somewhat different, although it’s not particularly nice of the Taisha to have lied about it and feigned ignorance. Actually, it’s unconscionable. But thanks to Sonoko, they now know.
So what do the heroes do now? I thought I saw an out for them, should they choose to take it: didn’t Sonoko mention something about innocence? There are many ways to lose one’s innocence. One might argue that Tougou and Yuuna’s has been lost already (but that might not count). I can see Karin blowing this off, and continuing to fight until she ends up like Sonoko. But what will the others do? And do they even get to pick when they quit?
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Time to lose their virginity quick. After all, wasn’t it virgin girls who were traditionally sacrificed to the gods? But I can’t see this show doing that.
As you pointed out there are other manners of innocence than just sexual innocence. Finding out there’s a dark side to the Taisha is one manner of losing innocence. It’d be one thing if they recruited girls who knew they could lose parts of themselves and then replacing them before they lost too much, but instead they get girls who have no idea of the sacrifices they’ll make and the Taisha essentially use them up.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, if I’m being charitable to the Taisha, since we don’t really know what the details of the situation are, it’s possible that the girls are free to stop being heroes whenever they’d like, without having to make some other big mistake. And while they were unaware of the sacrifice before the first time, they were all fairly sure before this last fight, and now they will all be definitely sure.
And with Sonoko, she seemed to know what the consequences were well before she was so far gone, yet she continued to fight. Did she fight because she was forced to? Or because she still got a benefit out of it that was worth the price she thought she was paying.
(I don’t believe in altruism. If someone is doing something that seems altruistic, in every case you’ll find that they gain a benefit, either in piece of mind or in feeling better about something else.)
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Well, if we’re going to be charitable to the Taisha, it’s always possible they can’t tell the girls ahead of time what the price is. Maybe ignorance of the system is the innocence they must have. Whatever the case is, I hope the show tells us why the price is kept secret from the girls. It would seem to be a key point.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I wouldn’t think that would follow. Otherwise, Sonoko is the densest person on the planet. “Woohoo, another mission done! Hey, why doesn’t my right leg work now? Well, I guess it’s just like my left leg, my right eye, my left arm, and my sense of taste. Sometimes these things just happen.” At some point girls smart enough to fight are going to put a bit of cause and effect together.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Yes, but why is it kept from them at the start? Why doesn’t the Taisha switch to other girls after the present heroes lose one or two functions? Is it because the girls have to become completely unable to function before new heroes can arise? And why are they rewarded with immortality, yet left helpless? After a while I’m sure most people would want to die. Or is this part of the sacrifice they must make? There’s a lot of questions about that system that should still be answered.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, that’s where it’s harder to be charitable to the Taisha. The only plausible excuse I can come up with is “Well, we thought it wouldn’t happen this time because we made XYZ changes.” And you’re right, the ‘gift’ of immortality sure sounds like a bitter pill, especially in a situation like Sonoko’s. Your vitality gone, your friends gone, yet you have no choice but to be a mascot, charitably described as a ‘god’.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
This kinda makes Shinju-sama feel like The Darkness from The Cabin in the Woods.
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
Theories I’ve found regarding Nogi:
1.) Her chest seems flat and bandage so it means Sinju-sama accept breast as sacrifice (not really important but still interesting heh )
2.) Her outer appearance consist of everything that is lost from the current hero team (left eye of Fuu, mouth of Yuuki and Itsuki, and memory of Togo) which probably means Karin either going to lose her body (I don’t think Sinju-sama will crippled his hero that bad that early) or her right arms (more likely, you still have your left arm)
Now I am really worried about Karin…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Hey, welcome to Metanorn Mark.
Well, hospital clothing is not designed to be flattering, and she was wearing what looked like a cross between a dressing gown and a temple robe, fitting her role as a God. I doubt they were think of breasts at this point.
Dunno about this. The Eye, yes, but she was speaking, and Togou’s memories were lost from her pre-Hero days.
I’m worried about Karin as well. Mostly because she will not hold back when a new fight comes along. She feels she has to much to prove.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
I just recently read the first chapter of the Chinese translated Washio Sumi wa Yuusha de Aru LN. Apparently the bridge used to be the choke point where the previous 3 heroes (Sonoko, Sumi and Gin) fought and drove off the Vertexes in their time as they do not have the Sealing System yet. I can only assume something big will happen there later resulting its current appearance.
I’m not sure if my following commentary is spoiler or not so I’m hiding it under the spoiler tag.
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POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Since you put it in spoilers, I’ll put my comment in spoiler as well
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Suddenly the plot got so much deeper.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
From what I’ve seen from people who read the rest of the LN,
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