selector infected WIXOSS – 08
/it’s a nice day for a red wedding/ Billy Idol? Game of Thrones?
So, first things first. This will be a very spoiler heavy post. Well, fairly heavy. So read on if you dare!
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Eternal Girl
I loved the color in this shot
I’ll get some of my gripes out of the way first. One, did Yuzuki just win the thing cause she really really really decided she was going to win? Or just said, “Today is the day, it has to be”? I mean, I know she has taken more than her fair share of defeats both the ones she has witnessed in Battle and in real life with the accusations her friends make about her and her brother. But that determination felt a little to manufactured. My next gripe is Ruuko’s ambivalence. She is so tsundere at this point, I fear a break in the character. I discuss it below, but she feels like an addict declaring “I can quite any time”. And while that has merit to the story, I feel they have taken it to far. Give her a real reason to play the game, even if it isn’t a wish. Something outside the box. With the griping out of the way, I thought this final battle played off very well. Isn’t it apropos, given how Hitoe might become a newer(er) Selector with Red Ambition, that Yuzuki defeated a Green player? Also, very well played by Okada to orchestrate the win with a card that Kazuki got for her.
…real life is just like Battle…always gets interrupted…
One of the things I appreciate about the show is how much the losers are still influential. In this case, attempted homicide is very influential. So here we see Akira at her lowest yet, her own life is meaningless to her, and other’s lives hold no value for her. I said it in comments last episode, but I feel they need to give her more depth; the dimensions they’ve explored with her are getting pushed to the border. Give me something! Anything to make her sympathetic, and more approachable. That way this influence can have a better structure. With that in mind, our feelings we have toward Hitoe make the reveals that much more enticing. Her character was a great Mirror Mirror to both Yuzuki and Ruuko this episode. Yuzuki put it behind her. She acknowledges that Hitoe was weak, and that that is the outcome of weak players. She feels terrible about it yes, but she won’t let it stop her. Ru, by contrast, cannot let it go. That scene where Yuzuki says her goodbyes…surrounding that was the addicting nature of the game. Ru is caught in the “I can quit any time” moment, and Yuzuki is pushing for that last High.
Be careful what you wish for
Yuzuki got exactly what she desired. Or did she? Given the nature of the Reveal, I wonder if that isn’t Hayano running around in Yuzuki’s body. I love how this just begs more and more questions. So does this mean that Yu is going to be just a secretive as Hayano was? Is Hitoe going to use her new Red Ambition, and how much will that change her? Does she get some memories back? Will she be a different person entirely? In Ruuko, is the monster she is seeing in her visions Tama, or is it somehow herself, after she wins Eternal Girl status? Is there a bigger game being played, and do the LRIG’s have other goals in mind?
…
If you’ve seen the episode (and you must have if you Dared read this far), there was this scene. I could have picked from a ton of potential images,but nothing showed the intimacy quite as well as the one above. Is it a point of no return? I wonder how much of a choice he has against the Eternal Girl wish? If I’m right about the body swap, will he catch on that it isn’t his sister calling the shots? I’m asking a ton of questions this time around. I’m loving that. In contrast, we can have some very definitive statements. When confronting the latest Mean Girl, of course he defends his sister. That is what family does. With Mean Girl isn’t it quite telling how when she cannot have him, she just digs on the rumor? Hurt me, I’ll hurt you back. That stabbing jealousy just twists his defense around. But it does make him think about it. In his own mind he sees the other girls as “terrible”; and remember he declared he wasn’t interested in any relationship previously. But he sees the best in his sister. Well, yeah. Family. All that in mind, we see the twists in this wish.
All in all, she isn’t such a bad girl
Extra Cards
Yep, in my first season writing for Metanorn (Hurrah for the Sixth Year!), I get to officially declare myself a broken record. This show just keeps getting better each episode. It went from one that I was lackluster about the first few episodes, to one that the past five have been incredibly pleasing. I’m anxious to see how well these new revelations play out. What did you folks think?
Preview
…do you even WIXOSS…
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: 800-899 and Self-proclaimed Manga Queen with 874 comments
~God this episode was so good. Definitely feels like a turning point for this show and I’m so excited to see what happens next. I didn’t expect to like this show this much.
I do hope they explain HOW Yuzuki became an Eternal girl because having the reason that she was just so DETERMINED is pretty lame. I want something more concrete…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
They’ve done a good job in moving far forward, then taking steps back to cover the missed ground. So we probably got more to look forward to…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Whatever the series has in store isn’t going to be pretty. Even the next episode is titled “The Cruel Truth”.
POWUH: iLurker with 11 comments
I remember it being explained back in episode 1 (was it?) that the battles do not grant wishes per say, but rather makes the Selector move closer into achieving what they wished for. Since she moved on with her determination to do away with public perception of her love and mending bridges with her brother, she is already near the finish line in getting her wish.
Now for the speculation part, I think Hitose would’ve become an eternal girl as well if she won her next match. And Akira has won countless battles but not going forward at all. Thus I think the penalty on losing is proportional to how close you were to getting your wish. I think that kinda explains why Akira only got a messed-up face and no mindwipe, because the rest of the shitty things that happened were directly caused by Akira herself.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yes, I mentioned that the means create the ends in this world, and boy have you cited some wicked good examples.
Best quote.
POWUH: iLurker with 1 comments
Just so you know, a second season has already been announced. Liking that show more and more each episode !
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Good to see you here Chnossos. Yeah, I was aware of the second cour come this fall. That’s good news, as I think the show will be even better with more time to develop all the characters. Glad to see you enjoyed, come around any time.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
What can they do with another 12 episodes? Does that mean more WIXOSS people or a possible time skip? Personally I would love a time skip xD
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Really, I thought time skips were maligned. It would be interesting here. Or time travel. Ru could be her own grandmother…
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
pff What else? more Fking BATERU! game on son! And look at that 100th comment.. soo.. ill bateru the other high commentator!
But ya a time skip could be fun, or everyone becomes a card and see how they deal with it till they get free! ya that would suck.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I agree. The series is coming a long way after an otherwise unimpressive start.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
yep, pretty much, slow start a little “comeon tama kick ass, take names and BATERU!
POWUH: iLurker with 7 comments
What in the hell just happened? 0_0 Never thought that Akira would go as far as commenting homicide (or torture). She’s just going to stab one of them characters one day. They still haven’t established a back story for her. Wonder if it will happen.
So Yuzuki became an Eternal Girl? I did not get that part. Isn’t that Hayano hijacking her body, or have they merge into one being? And is that really Yuzuki Red Ambition when she appeared before Hitoe?
Jugding by that preview, it looks Hitoe’s demeanor pulled a 180. So many questions, gotta look through this a few more times to get this.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’m going with an identity swap. Maybe. Yeah, still scratching my head over that. But that’s what makes it fun.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
She’s lost everything so it wouldn’t seem a big deal to her with nothing left to lose and the rules of right and wrong no longer applied.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Plus, she never thought much of other people to begin with. So not so much the slide down the slope, as she was mostly down there to begin with.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It’s just that with her current situation, Akira’s ego will continue to decay. Not that I think a lot of difference will be noticed as she hasn’t shown any redeeming qualities thus far.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
I know Ruuko will become friends with her.. watch! it the right thing to do!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I know the magical girl trope is Defeat equals Friendship, but I don’t think that Knife to the Face is the same thing…
Oh, and how did you and Fosh decide who would be the Stand User and who would be the Stand?
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Mmmh ya it was pretty odd and not sure what happened, But one thing for sure was..Soon as Hanayo said lets finish this together I was like…
“ya..oh..OH wait a minute.. oh that.. OHH snap!”
my guess is.. the desire carries over, and everything else is forgotten, memories and all that. but the first bit is a little strange..so the person lives on as a zombie with lust for Kazuki? ugh not sure, but hopefully next episode will tell us lol.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
That should have been the end of the series. I don’t know how they would have dragged it out, but that would have been the perfect horror end to the series.
I wonder what the source of new LRIGs is, since there’s a drain built into the system unless losers like Piriluk and Midoriko are recycled into new LRIGs for new Selectors. Or maybe the new ones are like Tama, white and just itching for battles, before being colored by the wishes of their Selector. Perhaps that’s what Midoriko and Hanayo were commiserating about behind Tama’s back, what she “didn’t know”.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Oh, I want to agree with you on this, but I must take the other side. Big Reveals such as this as the end have been done (whether or not -to death- is up to a good argument), and I’m happy to see they didn’t take that route. And thou I have been crying for the past month for more character background, I’m starting to see a certain wisdom in not doing that. All we are left with is these, somewhat, isolated impressions.
Why not both? Until they say so, I’m happy to sit back and let the big reveals come.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’m not usually a fan of big twists or happenings right at the close. Just this one. This was the perfect one to have been there, and just end the show with these questions like I asked. Now they have to answer them, and there’s always a concern that the answers will get messed up.
This also adds a lot more to the character of Midoriko, who despite her cravenness at being unable to tell Hitoe about the three losses condition, was apparently willing to give up her chance to get out of being a LRIG to see Hitoe continue to be happy.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…yeah, I want to agree with you..arrgggh
They’ve been doing better than I expected so far. With that track I’m not thinking any other revelations they have will be messed up…but in a good way.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Whoa, everything’s getting screwed up as it progresses and I’m continually being impressed. The “Psychological” tag for the series is well warranted. Not surprising a mentally broken Akira would want other Selectors to feel her pain even if by physical harm now that all is beyond her reach. Misery loves company. While there’s still the wait on how Akira still has her memories, like Hitoe, she might have another shot at playing the game.
So Yuzuki has become an Eternal Girl but once again her LRIG seems to be keeping information to herself again. Is this what it means to be a Selector? If you lose, you’re screwed. If you win, it doesn’t seem any better. Something came to mind a while ago. Put the word LRIG in reverse and you get GIRL, which might be a clue to what happens when a Selector achieves their wish. My theories are either there’s been a complete switch or the two have had their minds split into two and one half was joined with the other. Hitoe’s new LRIG looks like Yuzuki but acted like Hayano.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
OMG AGAIN! There is nothing in the condition of Akira’s wish/tainted wish that states she has to lose her memories either in total or connected to being a Selector. That was totally and only Hitoe’s bag…no other character has to have that bag!
::breath breath breath:: OK. I’m cool. Sorry.
Until I see more, I’m only going to favour a switch. Hayano was pretty straight laced in all her dealings with Yuzuki, but Yuzuki!LRIG looks like she isn’t enjoying this deal at all…well, the preview gave her a wicked smile…Heck, I don’t know!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Hayano and Yuzuki didn’t act all that different, really. I’m kind of surprised that Hitoe’s new LRIG (I’m not going to call it Yuzuki until the show does) wasn’t more stylized, at least in dress.
I wonder how much of the Mugen Shoujo’s memory remains.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
If they play the pain, then most if not all will remain.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I freaking knew there had to be some price to pay for the wish and i so called the body takeover! Damn what an intense episode.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…you did call that, didn’t you?
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Heheheh yeah but still epic and insane! Also Yuzuki was acting kind of funny with her brother especially with the way she started to talk.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Kuubey appears.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Shooo don’t you be taking my magical girls… wait… um.. these magical girls that i do not own in any way shape or form…. umm… “throws kuubey out the window*
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
What were the odds on your hunch being right?
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I have no idea but I guess it was the way the cards acted around their masters? They seemed fishy…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
You could say Hitoe’s LRIG kept her silence because she was rattled at the beginning but Yuzuki’s LRIG Hayano deserves less leniency. She didn’t say anything either but you could sense she had an ulterior motive.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
At first I figured she have to win more and realize there is no winning this game!
However, mine where right when Hanayo kept asking.. “are you sure?” “this is your last chance” and.. what could this show do differently if you actually win, then sealed right when she became the same size.. done, your going to become a card!
POWUH: 600-699 and Romance Expert with 652 comments
honestly I hope it isnt just a swap, as otherwise that just deflates my whole twincest ship. preferably its close to a merge.
then again though the tricky thing is the new akira card, like if that’s just a copy of yuzuki its not gonna be that important.
the smile at the preview and card yuzuki being chill here at least gives me some hope that its not a simple swap, im gonna go with it being like some of yuzuki’s personality/qualities got meshed into a card while hanayo got herself merged to yuzuki.
one notable thing that someone brought up in the forums, was the dialogue in the early parts of the anime where yuzuki was asking hanayo about the wishes:
hanayo: “if you win in battle, the selector can become their ideal self.”
yuzuki: “you mean their wishes come true?”
hanayp: “well, I guess so. to be specific, thats a bit wrong. you become a person who can make the most outrageous wishes come true.“
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
If it were just a straight swap, that would be a weird thing, to make – for example – Hanayo beholden to Yuzuki’s wish. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. If Hanayo went into the game as a Selector, and had her own wish, what motivation is there to have some other person have to execute Hanayo’s wish, while Hanayo has to execute Yuzuki’s wish, while Yuzuki has to execute Hitoe’s wish, and on down the line? There would have to be some continuity of self so that Yuzuki’s wish would stay in Yuzuki’s body.
POWUH: 600-699 and Romance Expert with 652 comments
then again though, the question that begs here is that if hanayo’s pretty much clear in the know about how this works, so whats this yuzuki card being… not panicky?
if hanayo was like a selector that turned into a card that also knew about the body swap, this begs on why yuzuki card here relatively different and very unlike the usual yuzuki, who should be panicking right now in this situation.
really need the next episode to come sooner, too many unknown variables.
POWUH: 600-699 and Romance Expert with 652 comments
oh and as for hitoe, not sure if mentioned before here, but the reason why she’s “forgotten” couldnt really be so much of the rules itself as much as the corruption of her wish.
perhaps its just like they’re still there inside her, heck she does get flashes of it, but the curse causes her pain when she thinks about it so its more or less suppressed.
this does also fall in line with how the wishes seem to just affect the selector and not so much the entire world.
take for hitoe, its only on her side she cant make or even think about friends due to the backlash, the other people can still consider her as a friend.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yeah, it’s easy to remember that “she lost all her memories of her friends and her time as Selector” but…she really didn’t. They are very much still there. But instead of being in the happy place of the mind, it’s in the despair place. Ah, anime you never can quite the zestubo can you?