selector infected WIXOSS -07
![[HorribleSubs] selector infected WIXOSS - 07 [720p].mkv_snapshot_15.00_[2014.05.15_17.43.43]](https://i2.wp.com/metanorn.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HorribleSubs-selector-infected-WIXOSS-07-720p.mkv_snapshot_15.00_2014.05.15_17.43.43.jpg)
Yo. Queue that giant horn sound they play in all them trailers! BRAAAAAHM!!!1one
Things got to a high pitch last time, which is why I think they dialed down the first bit of this episode.
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That Thin Line Between Love and Hate
![[HorribleSubs] selector infected WIXOSS - 07 [720p].mkv_snapshot_17.54_[2014.05.15_17.46.56]](https://i0.wp.com/metanorn.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HorribleSubs-selector-infected-WIXOSS-07-720p.mkv_snapshot_17.54_2014.05.15_17.46.56.jpg)
Last Selector standing between these two should be epic
I have to admit, that the first few moments of the show kinda ticked me off. No one likes recap episodes, and I get so uptight, I don’t even like recap openings. If you got the time to show a girl running around town calling on folk for two minutes….But not here. It’s about pacing this thing right. Okada has done a good job of pushing and pulling on expectations in this show. She has also played with the shroud of mystery quite well, never overplaying it, never leaving it out. Mystery works best with hints; and neither vague nor murky, but like a bright light shone on a spot for a quick moment, then going out. We wanted the Black vs. White∗ battle right off the bat, but they pulled us back into Ruuko’s reluctance, Yuzuki’s new found drive, Iona’s slow burn, and poor Hitoe’s slide into nothing. Very essential to the core theme of the show. Win.
![[HorribleSubs] selector infected WIXOSS - 07 [720p].mkv_snapshot_11.52_[2014.05.15_17.39.26]](https://i1.wp.com/metanorn.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HorribleSubs-selector-infected-WIXOSS-07-720p.mkv_snapshot_11.52_2014.05.15_17.39.26.jpg)
Iona’s Voice?
It’s really starting to bother me, only in a good way. It kinda freaks me out, seeing Iona hold her Avatar card in front of her like a talisman, letting is speak for her. Are she and Urisu linked that much? All the Avatars had a distinct personality with their Selector’s. Midoriki was protective, Hayano is calming, Ruuko is aggressive, and Piruluk…well, always room for a spoiler. I wonder where Blue went off to? Will she get a send off like Green? But Urisu speaks something very true, and Iona backs her up. You’re enjoying this. This is what you want to do. Why hesitate? And don’t you just love it when your opposition claims similarity? We could call them the different sides of the coin, but that doesn’t quite cut it. With these two, Iona and Ru, we are seeing balanced forces waiting to take advantage of the changing tide, eager to one up. They found the same place, just from different angles.
![[HorribleSubs] selector infected WIXOSS - 07 [720p].mkv_snapshot_14.08_[2014.05.15_17.42.09]](https://i0.wp.com/metanorn.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HorribleSubs-selector-infected-WIXOSS-07-720p.mkv_snapshot_14.08_2014.05.15_17.42.09.jpg)
Just as quirky as her Selector
But for all of Ruuko’s hesitation, she has to give in to what she loves doing. But then, how much of this is being played off as addiction? There is a curious unspoken line of thought going on here, and I may be a bit mean to express it, but this is what I got. Yes, winning means crushing the hopes of the other Selector’s, but why should that make a difference? We all compete for limited resources with each other. In some places it’s life or death, in others it means not making the team, and still other’s not getting a job, or the SO you want, or the house you want. Does the Three Loses Curse and it’s secrecy really matter once you know. It doesn’t change how you play, just puts an edge on it. I’ll do a long time reversal I’ve always wanted to indulge in, “Don’t hate the game, hate the player”. With that in mind, we still see Yuzuki pursuing Battle quite aggressively. I thought they handled that one quite well. Her opponent was faceless front start to finish; was that her third loss, what was her wish, does that even matter? I like how Okada is playing this line.
Not Gone, Not Forgotten
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Looks like someone got an Expansion before street date
How many of you wanted some groveling? Who wanted to see Aki-lucky suffer more? The character is quite set up for that. This is the one player worthy of hating. We know that Iona is a cold one, but she’s practical and methodical. Worthy of hate? I wonder what compelled both Ru and Yuzuki to visit? To see her in a low state, to pull her out of it? I’m asking a bunch of questions, cause it very much ties into how they find her. The expectation level is set for next episode, and if I know the history of the show, it will come latter in the second act of episode eight.
Bateru!
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Oh, it comes with RPGs now!
![[HorribleSubs] selector infected WIXOSS - 07 [720p].mkv_snapshot_14.04_[2014.05.15_17.42.27]](https://i1.wp.com/metanorn.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HorribleSubs-selector-infected-WIXOSS-07-720p.mkv_snapshot_14.04_2014.05.15_17.42.27.jpg)
…whatevs…
∗ I’m thankful that Black Bullet doesn’t have color tropes, cause that would make three shows where I have to come up with new ways to express this stuff.
We are left with some pretty deep questions coming out of this episode. Hitoe’s ultimate fate is undecided. We got a revelation that Iona and Ruuko have, if not the same wish, then a wish that has some heavy coincidences, but without any deeper reveal. Then, of course, they drop a bomb on us with the persistent Aki-lucky sporting a new, and not uncreepy, look. No wait, she always looked creepy, this is just with evil looking mystic marking…stuff. It leaves us quiet a bit to look forward to. What did you folks think?
Preview
![[HorribleSubs] selector infected WIXOSS - 07 [720p].mkv_snapshot_23.42_[2014.05.15_17.53.37]](https://i1.wp.com/metanorn.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HorribleSubs-selector-infected-WIXOSS-07-720p.mkv_snapshot_23.42_2014.05.15_17.53.37.jpg)
Oh, what is that look for?
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: iLurker with 7 comments
Looks like that third loss make Akira even more sociopathic than she was before. She also remembers Ru and Yuzuki as well. Has she become a maverick in the game’s system, solely due to her hatred of Iona or something else?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…with Hitoe I think losing her memories of WIXOSS is a condition tied into losing friends.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
She is doing well following the Book of Sith… Let your anger and hate flow!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Do not hesitate… Show no mercy.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 154 comments
I thought they specifically said that the player forgets all memories of being a selector. I remember that stated somewhere.
POWUH: iLurker with 7 comments
Yes, they stated that back in episode 5. However, it seems that rule did not apply to Akira, or this the form that her wish has twisted into?
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Ya it makes you wonder if she actually lost her last game? Maybe the scar is something she did to herself, I mean she got replaced for the shoot after all so she lost everything, maybe even fired? not sure on that bit. I wonder what her actual wish is, im sure next episode will cover that.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Akira looked broken, mentally destroyed. A loophole must have surfaced during her third loss and she escaped with her memory intact. Her wish was to have Iona’s life ruined so the reversal is directed back at her. Hence the red scar and her cheek that will forever put an end to her hopes of being an idol.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
We only know this as a condition for Hitoe’s wish; it is not necessarily the same condition with Akira.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Haven’t watch this yet, But I wanted to start by saying
FK YA BATERU!~
that is all…. will watch tonight, this morning!
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Woot, what an episode!
I never really thought much about pacing when giving a review on anime, it gives me an idea for when I start again, and ya its don’t pretty nice in this series.
Love hear Urisu voice, hearing Kugimiya, Rie do a evil ish mean character is neat, and its hard to imagine she’s still voice happy from fairytail, so many different roles for her lately
Everytime Tama gets into a Bateru!, I’m always wanting her to go nuts in a crazy psycho frenzy, Soon maybe well get to see that muhaha. The Bateru! itself wasn’t bad at all, seems both where getting into near the end, it almost felt like Tama didn’t win and they got interrupted like the time they played at school, but i guess she won in at the right time hehe.
That ending, Evil Aki-lucky, creepysauce! makes you wonder what her wish was/is? Well I for one wanted Ru to put Aki in her place, But I almost want to bet Ru will try to make friends with Aki… that would make me unhappy hehe, she is worthy of being hated! As for Ru and Yuzuki visiting, my guess is they know she’s creepy. Like they say “don’t go alone, bring a friend” or talk some sense in Aki, not sure but that new look aki-lucky is sporting is just scary.
Lastly,
Ya when you put it that way, it does make it less of a big deal, and your comparison is perfect, It is like that a lot. jobs, work, teams, sports, etc. This one is a bit hard to take though, if you lose, its worse.. but life or death would be far greater lol. I’m just glad this series changes the wishing bit, madoka magica comes to mind right away, could spoil but ill leave it at that. This show handles it different and I’m happy with it. (i’ve not read of seen anything and this is just my guesses and speculations and can stop reading here) I just hope we don’t get a cheesy wish from ru, to make everyone happy, wish for no consequences, or fosh and myself were talking, Make it so their are no wishes,making it a Normal card game.
(Wow I typed more than I should have lol)
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
If Ru does make friends with Akira, don’t expect it to be anything less than a messy affair.
POWUH: iLurker with 7 comments
Yes. It would be the beginning of a very dangerous friendship.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I see nothing but an antagonistic relationship out of that.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
If they play it right, it could be just knives at the very beginning with a gradual softening up. Aki kinda needs it. If we hit it with a Madoka spotlight we could have Sayaka x Kyouko. Well, maybe not…
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Full Killy Killy Joker video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llPtAsnO7bE
English lyrics:
http://www.lyrical-nonsense.com/lyrics/wakeshima-kanon/killy-killy-joker/#page=page-1
POWUH: 600-699 and Romance Expert with 652 comments
really late to the party, but now im shipping ionaXruu.
just look at that dialogue, and how they want to keep fighting forever instead of beating the other to submission like the usual enemy/rival…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…and Iona x Ru ship is not out of the question, if the question was up for grabs that is…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I like that really nothing has changed with Ruuko, yet now Iona and Urisu recognize that she has a requisite wish: to continue playing. You almost wonder if two people whose goal is merely to keep the high of playing, not necessarily winning or losing, would intentionally or semi-intentionally have their battles in places where they are likely to be interrupted, especially as the battles go longer. That way they could get their ‘fix’ without getting a loss for either one of them.
The reveal of Iona being someone who plays for the thrill of playing introduces quite the confounding factor into her challenge and defeat of Hitoe, not least because it’s Ruuko that learns of this. She wants to roundly condemn Iona, but there’s that bit in the side of her head that completely understands. It’s cold and hard to take, since it erased her friendship, but it’s still understandable (not to mention that Midoriko could have completely avoided the whole situation if she’d come clean to Hitoe instead of mincing about and not telling the consequences). How much of Iona challenging Hitoe was compulsion? I think quite a lot, especially since Iona didn’t know anything about Hitoe. She doesn’t regret what she’s done, because she’s played by the rules. Those are just the consequences.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’m beginning to think that the Eternal Girl pay-off might be at risk if all the beans, or indeed the incredibly important she’s-not-going-to-suffer-horribly bean pod, is kept a secret. Why? No real evidence, just that’s the way the road seems to twist.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
(do you mean to say that becoming Eternal Girl is at risk if the result of the third loss is known to the player? That’s what my response assumes)
I dunno, that doesn’t explain 1) the book that Chiyori had that outright states the consequences, even if Chiyori didn’t understand the implications or 2) the fact that everyone else knew about it besides Yuzuki, Ruuko, and Hitoe. It also doesn’t seem to apply at all in Hitoe’s case, because she acknowledged to Midoriko that she’d already achieved her wish and didn’t need to become an Eternal Girl or even battle anymore. Therefore, Midoriko could even have told Hitoe and sworn her to not tell Yuzuki and Ruuko because to know would invalidate their chances of being an Eternal Girl.
To me, that part is the annoyance of the writer passing the idiot ball around the characters. I’m not going to blame Mari Okada specifically, because it’s done far more than she has done it, but I’m sure others would hold it against her personally.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
(Exactamundo!)
I’m not buying to much into the in-universe WIXOSS LN. I smell herring.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Man, what a fix I’m in right now. A single week of absence and I end up backlogged with about 26 episodes of various shows from this season. It’s going to take some time to get up to speed.
I admire Ruuko’s consideration for other Selectors despite knowing they’re her adversaries but this is more than she can handle herself. An event where a winner is bestowed any wish they desire and the vanquished suffer unreasonable penalties won’t be stopped by one individual.
It’s in Yuzuki’s best interest she avoid any battles right now. Her head’s not her shoulders due to rampant, uncontrollable emotions. Her path has darkened quite a bit already.
A bit unnerving that Iona’s LRIG, Uris, was the one carrying most of the conversation. While it seems like the others are there to help their Selectors who call the shots, it looks like vice-versa here.
So Ruuko and Iona’s lust for battling is driven by ecstasy and the feeling of being alive when thrust into it after feeling numb from a pretty much uneventful life. That’s a very primal and animalistic urge, if I do say so myself. A warrior’s spirit. Such a destructive and intoxicating aspect is sure to corrupt a person’s mind.
How Akira still retains her memory with her candidacy as a Selector stripped is beyond me. As per the rules of the game, she shouldn’t even be able to remember Ruuko and Yuzuki, let alone call them out for a secluded meeting. I’ll be anticipating an explanation for this. Then again, those like her who haven’t been taken out are around because they are still in a position to sink much lower.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…as per the coniditon of Hitoe’s wish. She made friends via WIXOSS, so she loses her memory of those times. Same might not be true for Akira.