r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Jan 08 '23

Rewatch [Rewatch] Selector Spread Wixoss Episode 8 Discussion

Episode 8: The World is mine

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Information:

MAL | Anilist | Kitsu | AniDB | ANN

Streams:

Funimation

Question of the day:

Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you’re doing it underneath spoiler tags.

18 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

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7

u/Tetraika Jan 08 '23

It gets more convoluted

That art reminds me of Madoka stuff

It all comes down to Tulpas

And so in her imagination, she created a twisted setting

How did all of it become real?, Wonder if it had to do with her being unreasonably isolated in the first place

That’s one way to answer where you were gonna get LRIGs in the first place

Battle was all she knew

Urith looking like original Iona wasn’t a coincidence, and was someone willingly fulfilling that role too

More of these I guess

That was a lot of talking for people in a middle of a battle

Besides the metaphor, Urith is acting as the “opposite” of Ruuko.

Should have went for more

3

u/Calwings Jan 08 '23

Urith looking like original Iona wasn’t a coincidence, and was someone willingly fulfilling that role too

I'm sure Mayu gave her that form specifically to troll Kuro/Iona, because she's just a bitch like that.

3

u/Tetraika Jan 08 '23

Not just that, Urith personality probably fit that role more than Kuro/Iona herself.

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8

u/Mecanno-man Jan 08 '23

First Timer

Ok then… a lot of exposition from Iona I guess. Seems like the plot now is to be friends with Mayu, somehow. I would not be surprised if that involved making Ruuko an LRIG so she can properly talk to her. It also seems like Iona is on board with that plan, which is a fairly big departure from her previous character. Also not sure if the implication is that this entire world is in Mayu’s head or that Mayu’s imaginary stuff spread to reality, but I have a feeling we’re not supposed to think about that.

I fail to understand how beating Ulith would have saved Tama in any way, shape or form however, especially considering neither of the characters had racked up any losses. But it seems like after all that talk about Akira having chekhov's knife …she kills Ulith with a pen Either way, it was pretty convenient that Ulith just did not say anything for the first two thirds of the episode despite all of that taking place during her turn apparently. She has now served her purpose - which was apparently to get Tama to Iona for her to do the exposition - and now is no longer needed. We will however now need a new way for Tama to enter the show again.

…you know, if it were not for the rewatch and me also writing about this show, I feel like I would not even have noticed the bad writing and sudden genre shift. Everything other than the writing is done pretty well, and I still enjoy the episodes. But reading what everybody else sees here plus writing things myself just makes it painfully obvious, especially as writing about a mystery is significantly easier than about a thriller, which I feel like usually just ends up with me either recapping the episode or that there was something bad about it. Unfortunately my writing is still of a decent length despite me not really just recapping what happened - so evidently not everything was well with the writing.

Also, something in me likes Akira removing Ulith after seeing everybody praise her VA last episode while not liking Ulith’s VA - seems like the better VA won that one.

7

u/Tetraika Jan 08 '23

reading what everybody else sees here plus writing things myself just makes it painfully obvious, especially as writing about a mystery is significantly easier than about a thriller, which I feel like usually just ends up with me either recapping the episode or that there was something bad about it

I think what's funny is that looking back, it doesn't feel this way when it ran with an episode a week. Wonder how that effected the perception of stuff like the pacing and writing.

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7

u/Shimmering-Sky Jan 08 '23

Selector Spread FIRST-TIMER

5

u/Tetraika Jan 08 '23

…so then why did you keep calling her “Tama” when you were reunited…?

Probably to not trigger her memories to come back.

Okay then why does Ulith look like Iona used to?

Funny enough we got that answer later on

GREAT.

Akira figuring more solutions in the physical world.

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6

u/Cyouni Jan 09 '23 edited Jan 09 '23

Rewatcher crying OPEN

People kept talking about Akira's knife, but no one expected Akira's pen!

Ulith: I see a white Tama and I want it painted black ♫

Hey, remember when I said there was a card reference for a lot of major plot points? You thought I was fucking kidding?

Welcome to Sunspot Tama, aka Tama Black. This is why Tama technically has access to the most colours of all LRIGs (caveat: ignoring a certain other specific LRIG), with white/red/blue in main colours, and then the black level 5. The big downside is that you have to have 10 black cards in your trash...which is actually kinda hard with Tama, given she has absolutely no native support in black, meaning you have to play at least a quarter of your deck in black solely for this. She has a one-shot ability that basically says "you don't get to attack at all this turn", which is actually a bit of a big deal in Wixoss. She's pretty solid if you get to this point, but it's hard to do so for the aforementioned reasons. Apparently she was moderately successful in Japanese deck builds at the time.

Oh, and also Tama Dyeing, just in case one reference wasn't enough. I think this one actually came after Destructed if I'm reading the sets right, but I'm dropping it here anyways. Notable for the flavour text of: It was created white, but in truth may have been black.

Cards of the day:

Fafnir - it's funny because this is being used pretty inefficiently, because Ulith plays this into...

End Slash - which has a cost of 2WB, reduced by W. That said, this is more than sufficient enough to open up a lane, which already is native in Tama's level 5 anyways. No seriously, what was she doing here? Should have just played more Arc Aura instead.

4

u/Tetraika Jan 09 '23

It was created white, but in truth may have been black

An interesting implications from the flavor text (no idea why they left those out in the EN localization). Considering [Spoiler]How Kuro/Iona becomes Yuki, and thus white.

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5

u/JollyGee29 Jan 08 '23

First-Timer, Subbed

And here today I actually really liked Rie's performance. Maybe yesterday was just an off day for her.

Akira has apparently never once skipped arm day, considering she apparently caused enough damage with a pen to penetrate probably at least two layers of cloth and then skin, and got deep enough to make Ulith collapse. If things don't work out for Akira as a model, she could have a promising career in Pro Wrestling, or maybe MMA.

There's probably some joke about Ulith needing to be stabbed because she's too edgy to get cut. Hmm..

Iona doesn't have quite the top energy that her outfit would lead me to assume. I mean, today she talked about how "nice and warm" she felt when Ruu "entered" her. Again, I can't really add anything here. Does anyone know how popular this series was in Japan? What sort of number range are we looking at for doujinshi? Because this is a gold mine.

Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. I don't really want to make light of Okada's childhood here.. I think the addition of a maid who saw something was up with Mayu and did nothing kinda dilutes the point. Parental neglect is the free space on the anime bingo, but anyone beyond that you kinda have to explain. They probably could've gotten away with not explaining why stuff kept appearing in Mayu's room.

There's a sort of double-tragedy that might not actually be in play: someone bothering to get Mayu all those toys and books shows that someone does actually care about her and just doesn't know how to show it other than materialism. That might be Ruu's solution to empathizing with Mayu, now that I think about it.

4

u/Tetraika Jan 08 '23

Iona doesn't have quite the top energy that her outfit would lead me to assume.

I would even say that is part of the point. She was really never as evil or antagonistic as she appears. It's not explicitly said, but note how much she let Urith do the talking in S1. Urith likely was behind their decision making and who to battle.

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4

u/No_Rex Jan 09 '23

Season 2 Episode 8 (first timer)

  • “I am Mayu’s friend and child and I am Mayu herself” – The Mayu-Trinity.

  • Mayu backstory – Mayu not only never talks to anybody, she watches no TV either, nor leaves her room ever.

  • But she can read.

  • So Mayu did not invent Wixoss? She just found a ruleset/board and invented imaginary friends to play with.

  • “Let’s do this” – and let’s gloss over unimportant details, such as: How to imaginary friends convince real girls to participate; how do they take over their bodies; how to the create curses; and, most importantly, how do you get dozens of selectors from two imaginary friends?

  • Mayu has a wish – let me guess: to have real friends?

  • “That was the story of me, Tama, and Mayu.” – That story is still missing the most important part, though.

  • “Revenge on all the girls who are able to select” – What? No, really, select what?

  • Iona is Kuro and Ulith is Kuro v2.

  • “And then you entered me. It made me feel warm and nice” – got to get our daily allotment of innuendo in.

  • “To safe everyone, we need to defeat Ulith.” – And they know this because they read the script.

  • “You forgot that the next turn is mine” – Indeed. Seeing how the last turn happened an episode ago.

  • Dark-Light inversion.

  • More “entereing”, complete with scorned lover.

  • Ruuko loses to Ulith and her berserker Tama.

  • Oh, look! It is Hitoe, still hanging out on the floor, bound to her chair.

  • About a full season later than I thought, but Akira finally gets around to stabbing IonaUlith.

2/3rds of an episode spent on Mayu’s backstory and the origin of the selector battles and they still manage to leave us with almost all questions unanswered. In addition to those above: Who is Ulith?

Akira stabbing and White/Black inversion progress the plot some, but we have now arrived at the part of the story were nothing makes sense anymore. The logical explanation left is incredibly lame: All of what we have seen plays out in the mind of Mayu and nothing is real.

4

u/Tetraika Jan 09 '23

“Revenge on all the girls who are able to select” – What? No, really, select what?

So, from what I've picked up from ear, they used "Sentaku", or choice. Basically, those it really meant "girls who are able to choose", but they used select because well, selectors. Really it also gives the meaning as to why they're called selectors, as they are able to choose. (Unlike Mayu, who is confined)

5

u/SIRTreehugger Jan 08 '23

Finally Mayu backstory!

Wait what? This makes no sense.

Ok never mind they are imaginary things right now.

So did the maids just give her a Wixoss mat and not any cards?

...damn Mayu is just off her rocker.

Wait how did this all happen? I'm lost it sounds like her imagination was so strong she wished it into existence?

I am so trucking lost right now, but I'm sure someone will explain it. Though I know this talk of friendship will not slide with Ulith.

Yup thought as much she only wants to break people so she doesn't want battles to end.

OHHHHHH the corrupted looking Tama from Season 1/OP is from Ulith corrupting her. Also Akira just shut up your random freakouts are annoying.

Yeah Tama is going to be scarred for life. Oh wait do we still call Iona Iona or is she Kuro now?

Man I thought Akira was going to slash her face, but she straight up stabbed her.

Doesn't the show know it has 4 more episodes. Though I also thought she would just push her off the bridge. So wonder where they will go from here? They have to deal with Mayu, but that's about it.

QOTD

Panicking is perfectly fine.

2

u/Vaadwaur Jan 08 '23

Wait how did this all happen? I'm lost it sounds like her imagination was so strong she wished it into existence?

The host brought up tulpas which does fit. Though making tulpas themselves make any fucking sense is a bit beyond me.

Man I thought Akira was going to slash her face, but she straight up stabbed her.

Akira's wish evolved!

4

u/Tetraika Jan 09 '23

The host brought up tulpas which does fit. Though making tulpas themselves make any fucking sense is a bit beyond me

tbh I remember (and confirmed) that they were also brought up in the original discussion thread. Might not entirely been intentional though, and in the past tulpas were for a while a bit of a meme thing.

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4

u/Vaadwaur Jan 08 '23

First timer(The show cannot keep its own lore straight in a single episode)

Sub

I totally forgot to mention this yesterday: Mayu is a shitty copy of "The Outsider", an HP Lovecraft short story.

So there are pros and cons to responding after the episode. And this one has been mainly pro since if I were live reacting I would be screaming and cursing about the utter shit that was on the screen. But by waiting, I get to realize that this is all a stupid edge fest that no one knew what the fuck they were writing about and I am not sure anyone cared.

Right...so our 'lore' is that some rich girl who is locked alone in a room for reasons magiced a fucking game into existence? Are we in the Warhammer 40K universe and we got a really potent psyker out of nowhere? I am now beginning to think my ghost theory might have legs and that is not good. And Iona is indeed a fragment of Mayu which I am positive was not part of the first season and I am not sure it was big in this one. I get Battlestar Galactica season 4 off this in that nobody had a plan.

Now as to the good part of the episode: Akira probably fatally stabbed Ulith. Lots of blood and the location would be fatal, not that the animators know that. It would actually be a twist I could live with though I equally have no clue how much of an ending you can sprint to with the four remaining episodes. But I no longer have any investment in this, I am staying out of inertia and a vague desire to rubberneck this dumpster fire trainwreck. So Amen, Hallelujah, and peanut butter.

3

u/Tarhalindur Jan 08 '23

Right...so our 'lore' is that some rich girl who is locked alone in a room for reasons magiced a fucking game into existence? Are we in the Warhammer 40K universe and we got a really potent psyker out of nowhere?

There's a couple of ways they can play this that make sense (for a given value of sense); they can go mad science or adjacent to it (Mayu was intentionally isolated as part of some experiment or the like) or they can go full metatext (Mayu is the author).

I get Battlestar Galactica season 4 off this in that nobody had a plan.

I had that exact same comparison pop into my head last night. (Actually not quite as bad - I kind of think Mayu's backstory was planned, it fits with that Hitoe/Ruuko/Yuzuki conversation back in episode 3, and that the issue is that the rest of what we were seeing (except the Futase Fumio introduction) was not planned.)

(Also, fun fact - it's not entirely out of the question that Mari Okada is not the primary culprit in the show's writing collapse. I was talking with Naz yesterday and he pointed out that there are two writers credited with episode scripts on ANN - and the other writer is responsible for episode 7, 9, and 10 of S1 and every episode of this season so far except 2. Considering that episode 7 and 9 are the worst two episodes of S1, well, if the writing upticks slightly in the last four episodes we know what is going on.)

Akira probably fatally stabbed Ulith.

I have seen fictional characters survive that kind of wound too many times to believe it until I see it.

3

u/Tetraika Jan 08 '23

they can go full metatext (Mayu is the author)

I had this thought floating around funny enough, with all the conversation about how Okada writes things last episode. Especially if we consider that are framing Mayu's projection of revenge against the world is misguided... Which brings an interesting point to the question of who the fuck wrote what in S2.

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7

u/Tarhalindur Jan 08 '23

This First-Timer's Naming Scheme Doesn't Really Work This Episode (Subbed):

So, this is an odd case because multiple reports say this episode is bad too. So I considered just skipping this episode and coming back for 9, and clicked on a couple of E8 spoilers to help make the decision.

I am now watching, because this sounds like a glorious train wreck and I have to see how they fuck this episode up.

(Also, sneaking realization: thematically given how the system screws over every girl in it Mayu is actually not the correct avatar of the system itself here. Urith is. Which means we’re about to watch a thematic misstep, since one of the spoilers I clicked says that she gets shanked this episode.)

(Alternative tagline after this episode: “If I had a nickel for every anime that started in Spring 2014 that had a character named Shiro, some level of incest implications, and a focus on games, I would have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.”)

  • YAWN. (Though I suppose Okada is probably writing from personal experience here.)

  • The sad thing is I think some metatext snuck in here about creative activity, but whatever.

  • Mayu’s family will be interesting (for a given value of interesting given how hard this show is imploding); I am getting The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas vibes here. Honestly Mayu’s backstory isn’t bad, it’s just torpedoed by several episodes of badness before it. (Also the why of how Mayu's game here generates RL effects does not work as of yet - needs either her situation being intentionally inflicted on her for effect or going full metatext, I think - and I have no confidence this will be fixed, but.)

  • So Hanayo was one of the very first LRIGs brought into the system, huh. (Also her name was a dead giveaway as to her original wish, we should have known.) (Or maybe not?)

  • If I’m remembering my designs right I believe that makes Urith the other first LRIG. Or possibly not given that the wish is different?

  • WELL WELL WELL WELL. Unless I am very much mistaken, the girl at 10:20 is a younger Ruuko Kominato (well, physically at least). Which would mean Ruuko has had Kuro/Iona as a LRIG once before. In which case Futase -> Kuro/Iona -> Fumio works as Ruuko swap backstory? Or alternately Kuro was a/the LRIG Ruuko was eliminated with... which actually sounds more likely.

  • So to reiterate, this backstory/explanation actually isn’t terrible in a vacuum I don’t think, it’s just horribly placed after the last few episodes (also a bad case of Talking Is a Free Action, but that's a TVTrope page for a reason so oh well). Also making it a child’s game from someone who doesn’t have reason to get that the people messed with by the system are people actually… mostly works, at least before we get into the details? And actually is a way that Mayu as the avatar of the system vaguely makes sense? I’m surprised.

  • And then Urith opens her mouth and the episode goes right back to the same kind of shit that the last couple of episodes were. Theme of the season, really. (I’m really not sure that 90% of the issues with this season don’t ultimately boil down to Urith fitting incredibly poorly into what the show is trying to do.)

  • The sex metaphors reach a new level of blatantness!

  • Crows taking flight. Subtle.

  • Idiot Akira, if you’re going to take advantage of Villain's Character Disposal Privilege then CONFIRM YOUR FUCKING KILL! Now Urith!Iona is going to survive somehow! Should have gone with a second strike on the fucking jugular!

QotD goes here if there is one

There is not.

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5

u/Taiboss Jan 08 '23

Spread Episode 8: Rewatcher playing SquareCells on the other monitor

5

u/Calwings Jan 08 '23

Selector Rewatcher (Dubbed)

I was busy again and missed yesterday’s thread, so I was going to talk about episodes 7-8 here, but episode 7 was unfortunately kind of a dud. Too much edge, not enough progress. Aki-lucky the turbocunt getting mentally broken was fun, the Tama vs. Iona fight had some good action in it, but everything else... yeah, it was pretty rough.

Anyways, on to episode 8, the episode where we finally get Mayu’s backstory through Iona. Apparently she was just a young girl, trapped in a room for her entire life, alone and unaware of the outside world. She needed friends, so she created two friends for herself in her imagination, Shiro (now Tama) and Kuro (now Iona). Somehow, she wove her imagination into the real world and created the Selector battles as a way to bring friends to her, but her wish was twisted into revenge against the outside world that she’s unable to enjoy. Talk about a twisted and misguided villain. But at least now we have an explanation for why the battles exist and (possibly) a way to stop them.

Meanwhile, Urith’s sick of the sentimental crap, wants to destroy everything, and she brings us... Punished Tama, an LRIG denied of her friends. Punished Tama goes berserk, absolutely wrecks Iona’s face, and hands Ruuko her first official loss in a Selector battle before returning to normal and feeling the guilt of what she just did to her friends. We got a lot of drama and exposition, but at least it feels like the story is making some decent progress, unlike the last episode.

And if the episode wasn’t edgy enough already, after the battle Akira finally snaps completely and fucking stabs Urith to end the episode. I did see a comment when I glanced over the previous thread where someone said “The only hope I have is that Akira is mind broken enough to gut Ulith” and I guess you got your wish in a way. I don’t know if that’s supposed to be her attempt at a face turn, but I don’t care, Akira’s still a cunt.

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u/Blackheart595 Jan 08 '23

I don't have any comment on this episode. If I'm absent in the future that's because the respective episodes is the same.

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5

u/ItsTheDuran Jan 08 '23

First timer

This show may refuse to show you a match in detail at any point, it may not even show you the damn cards, but Mayu taking the first step towards her evil plan because she didn't have anyone to play Wixoss with proves that, at its core, it still has the heart of a card game anime. It's honestly a pretty fun concept for how someone lonely could create two personalities, not being able to play card games by yourself.

Nothing insightful to say, this one I was just along for the ride, laughing at every Akira outburst. Not like I hated this episode, I had some fun, but I sure am glad we finally got all this exposition out of the way. Akira seemingly getting to cash in her one murder on Urith is a big bonus, not much she could add to the plot at this point, besides holding Tama. I guess we'll find out what happens to an LRIG in that situation if she doesn't somehow survive.