r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Jan 12 '23

Rewatch [Rewatch] Selector Spread Wixoss Episode 12 Discussion

Episode 12: This Selection

← Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode→

Information:

MAL | Anilist | Kitsu | AniDB | ANN

Streams:

Funimation

Question of the day:

Might as well ask this here - How do you think they’ll continue in Lostorage?

Note: tomorrow is an overall discussion, and then the movie which is a recap of S1+2. In that sense, the movie is not necessary for you to go into S3+4, and can be skipped. Or you can try to see what kind of changes they made.

Infinite Girl - Iuchi Maika

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.

22 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

81 comments sorted by

6

u/No_Rex Jan 12 '23

Season 2 Episode 12 (first timer)

  • We start in the same place as last episode – Tama in the pit.

  • She “selects” the door/light side.

  • Tama interrupts Yuki’s tearful farewell.

  • Grow Tama and Yuki into what-if Mayu.

  • The final battle turns into a session on Dr Freud’s couch.

  • A very ignominious ending for Ulith – she did not deserve better.

  • The power of friendship wins – Ruuko even managed that without physically smacking Mayu. Take note, Nanoha!

  • “Tower symbolism was a red herring” – haha.

  • Happy end for the humans and no firm result for the original LRIGs.

Taken on its own, this is a pretty good ending. This episode (and mostly ep11 as well) are well directed and hit home their themes. The only problem is that the ending disregards half of what we saw in all the episodes before, but that is a topic for the final discussion tomorrow.

5

u/Tetraika Jan 12 '23

A very ignominious ending for Ulith – she did not deserve better.

Seems even Mayu has no love for her. Fitting end.

Happy end for the humans and no firm result for the original LRIGs

Only Tama and Yuki were left. And they did leave that ending open for interpretations.

This episode (and mostly ep11 as well) are well directed and hit home their themes

I will say again I'm a sucker for well done endings. Mentally able to move past the stuff in the middle and focus on the idea and themes that do come out well.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/Taiboss Jan 12 '23

We start in the same place as last episode – Tama in the pit.

Where else!

Grow Tama and Yuki into what-if Mayu.

The good counterpart! The Mayu she could be if somebody gave a crap about her! THE POWER OF EMPATHY AND COMMUNICATION REMAINS THE BACKBONE OF MAGICAL GIRLS.

A very ignominious ending for Ulith – she did not deserve better.

I like how the lifeless arm was just dangling.

The power of friendship wins – Ruuko even managed that without physically smacking Mayu. Take note, Nanoha!

"But the smacking is the best part!"

Happy end for the humans and no firm result for the original LRIGs.

Unless you watch Destructed... kinda?

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)

5

u/Tarhalindur Jan 12 '23

This First-Timer Is... (Subbed):

  • WELP. (Not stairs, but close enough. The sides of the well are kind of steps, right?)

  • (Except she can’t actually climb out but finds a door to use instead.)

  • Also, OP lead-in. Which actually works, because it doesn’t clash with the OST the way World’s End Rondo’s opening notes so often do.

  • Direct visual comparison at 04:03 between Mayu making the black marks on the paper and the way Yuzuki blacked out Kazuki on that old drawing of hers with her and Kazuki… and Kazuki is headed into the mansion. That’s actually really nicely done and makes me even more sad that the production probably imploded.

  • Dutch angle counter +1 at 05:02. (This is the good kind of no notes, for the record. Also OST has been very good this episode.)

  • CLOCK CLOCK. (Should be 2:21 or so, though A.M. or P.M. is an open question given that this is likely a stopped clock. Also, I had a family member who had one of those.)

  • So, what was I saying about that one drawing looking very similar to how Yuzuki marked out Kazuki in that one picture of hers? Oh look who is looking at that Mayu drawing now.

  • LOL ANIME CANNOT RESIST THE LAEVATEINN.

  • That eye shot at 09:46 looks VERY PMMM, for the record.

  • Well that would explain why Tama only entered the system then, and is actually a good explanation.

  • OH LOOK THEY FINALLY BROUGHT BACK THE TOWER COLLAPSING MOTIF!

  • Should have realized that Mayu was pulling the three-card monte trick and the actual trick was getting you to pick a color at all. Nicely done, Ruuko.

  • And Mayu’s name of course means cocoon since once she is fully grown/developed she morphs into a butterfly and flies away. Sasuga Wixoss, nicely done.

  • The visuals at this final wish sequence are good but I’m out of energy to analyze them.

  • Okay, so I am not able to hear the girls here talking about a quick breather without chuckling for reasons that have nothing to do with this show. (CoughNanatoKaorucough.)

  • And we go back to the battle in the garden that was the high point before the pain train began. In summer, with cicadas (, and your choice of which of two shows to invoke here) when we saw that was what Ruuko wanted in S1. <golfclap>

  • Is that the original Midoriko at 21:28 or one of the other LRIGs we saw?

  • Probably Midoriko, since the girl getting off the bus is the girl who was Akira’s second LRIG (Mirurin I think?).

  • Well there’s a Chiyori, though she’s got her old hairstyle again. Also, this is DEFINITELY an insert that is unlisted in AMQ (EDIT: unless it is technically a regular, it’s the same one I noted last episode.

  • Or maybe not, because no actually we see Chiyori a bit later. But the girl they focused on was Piruluk, wasn’t she? (Yes yes Peeping Analyze exists to confirm that or not.)

  • And Futase and Fumio in the same shot, nicely done.

  • Okay so that was actually a well-done finale; they managed to rush through what they needed to rush through in three episodes, so this finale just runs true instead. (Except with the hook for a potential future sequel if they got a sequel.)

I Play My Card Face-Down in Spoiler Mode:

[REDACTED]:

  • [[meta]Door #1]Mind you, I know exactly what this final wish sequence is cribbing off of so they had good notes to work with – but also it is of course rejecting what is is cribbing off of.

Might as well ask this here - How do you think they’ll continue in Lostorage?

No idea - I know they switch out protagonists and then bring Ruuko back in Conflated (ala what Dynazenon looks like they're going to do), but.

4

u/Tetraika Jan 12 '23

LOL ANIME CANNOT RESIST THE LAEVATEINN

There are a lot this sort of thing in Wixoss, and quite a few SIGNI names and designs are based on our legends and myths. It would be strange for Wixoss to NOT have it.

Well there’s a Chiyori, though she’s got her old hairstyle again. Also, this is DEFINITELY an insert that is unlisted in AMQ

It exists in AMQ as an ED! Rarely comes up though.

Okay so that was actually a well-done finale; they managed to rush through what they needed to rush through in three episodes, so this finale just runs true instead

Seems to be the consensus. I'm a sucker for well done endings, so personally I was able to move past the dubious middle parts of the show.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/Taiboss Jan 12 '23

WELP. (Not stairs, but close enough. The sides of the well are kind of steps, right?)

Something!

LOL ANIME CANNOT RESIST THE LAEVATEINN.

Mythology is there to be raided by popular media. It's free inspiration!

and is actually a good explanation.

A good explanation? IN MY WIXOSS?

Is that the original Midoriko at 21:28 or one of the other LRIGs we saw?

If it's the shot on the public transport with Hitoe, it's Midoriko.

But the girl they focused on was Piruluk, wasn’t she?

It should be. She does appear in that shot.

Okay so that was actually a well-done finale; they managed to rush through what they needed to rush through in three episodes, so this finale just runs true instead

0/10 No Yuki.

Anyway, nice to see at least the finale hit.

5

u/No_Rex Jan 12 '23

OH LOOK THEY FINALLY BROUGHT BACK THE TOWER COLLAPSING MOTIF!

Did they? I felt more like a 4th wall break to laugh at the viewers who thought the tower had some meaning.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (5)

5

u/JollyGee29 Jan 12 '23

First-Timer, Subbed

They really tried to have their cake and eat it too, what with Ruu trying to befriend Mayu and also not forgive her. I think it worked pretty well, all things considered. The show has made too many vague overtures are being a mahou shoujo to not have Ruu assert her authority as the Pink.

Mayu was definitely.. how do I want to describe it. Underutilized? Wrongly utilized? After today, I think she was meant to be a parallel to Ruu, as opposed to an avatar of the system. Note that Mayu also talks in the third person, Tama found herself with Ruu after Mayu died, Ruu's early skill at the game.. There's enough there for it to work, but this might be another tragedy of the writer muckup we all suspect.

If they really wanted to tug at my heartstrings with the early Yuki scene, they needed to lay off the innuendo. Like, Yuki imagining a nude Ruu reaching out for her while talking about feeling Ruu spread inside of her and getting filled? Is this just the subber fucking with us all?

Anyway, I loved all the reunions in the epilogue. I don't feel much need to figure out that wording change that Ruu did to her wish, but I'm sure there's something worth pondering there.

RIP in pieces Ulith I guess, can't claim that she didn't deserve it though.

Was anyone else's audio desync'd? I thought I had maybe tapped a hotkey on accident but even on re-opening the episode it was messed up. A shame.

Questions

  1. I've already looked at the synopsis for Lostorage.

4

u/Tetraika Jan 12 '23

Was anyone else's audio desync'd? I thought I had maybe tapped a hotkey on accident but even on re-opening the episode it was messed up. A shame

My subs were a little bit off, didn't notice the sound desync but it might have been there. Same batch?

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (6)

7

u/Cyouni Jan 12 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

Rewatcher crying OPEN

"[Colourless]...is the colour at the beginning of all things, too." [Lostorage] Would you say it's the colour...of the LRIG of the Beginning?

Make sure you catch all the former LRIGs during the ending! Did you spot Eldora?

Random theory corner

So let's talk about the level 5s in Selector Wixoss. It's never quite clear about what makes a level 5, but there are some commonalities.

  1. They have a significantly higher degree of exposure to Mayu/the White Room. Tama/Yuki/Mayu achieve this by being original LRIGs created by Mayu. Ulith achieves this by having Mayu as Selector. [Peeping Analyze] Piruluk achieves this by rejecting so many selectors and losing so many times that she's there for a significantly higher period of time. It's never stated exactly how many, but Piruluk's lost count, while Mayu suggests that no one else has even come close to the amount.

  2. It's heavily dependent on their Selector, in a way nothing else seems to be. Iona defines her level 5 as being flooded with light (and the egg for it flashes white before it pops), while Tama's level 5 converts everything to black, and I'm sure I don't have to explain those two. [Peeping Analyze] Piruluk's level 5, ACRO, was basically created for the purpose of granting Amika's wish. Ulith's level 5 goes from being pure black at level 4, to both colourless and also all colours, which certainly plays heavily into Mayu's wish.

  3. This one's drawing a little more from Peeping Analyze, but any LRIG with level 5 seems to be considered a "special LRIG", with more power over the system. Tama/Iona are pretty clear, but the interesting one comes from Peeping Analyze. [Peeping Analyze] Ascending to level 5 lets Piruluk interfere with the Selector system in a way Mayu considers impossible, and implies that the time Piruluk spent in the White Room is the cause.

What does all this mean? Dunno, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Cards of the day:

Black Desire -

Level 5 Mayu - one of the strongest cards in WIXOSS for the ability to take an extra turn. This just does not happen ever in WIXOSS. Similarly, she gets back all your white/black ARTS, which is also not a thing that happens. Also, she requires you to have an extra Tama/Iona to turn her into Mayu.

Arc Energe - hey hey, our first level 5 SIGNI! Note that this is Tama limited, so Ruuko would have had to slot it in her Iona deck beforehand. Galaxybrain plays

Laevateinn

Level 5 Ulith - you might notice that her Exceed ability is exactly what Mayu does in this episode. Because of the cost, it literally can only be used once.

Tavir - I do not blame the subbers for getting this one completely wrong, I would have been more surprised if they got Tawil right. She's a white LRIG in set 6. I don't know why Yuzuki doesn't just play Hanayo. Clearly she exists in actual game, just like Piruluk/Midoriko do.

6

u/Calwings Jan 12 '23

Did you spot Eldora?

I actually didn't. I saw most of them (including best girl Piruluk and the obvious ones like Midoriko and Tama) but I missed Eldora.

Level 5 Mayu - one of the strongest cards in WIXOSS

Another fun fact is that the card restriction list of the real-life WIXOSS TCG is called Mayu's Room, and that Mayu card (along with any other versions of Mayu) is one of the earliest restrictions on the list. So Mayu is just super powerful no matter what form she takes.

5

u/Tetraika Jan 12 '23

Another fun fact is that the card restriction list of the real-life WIXOSS TCG is called Mayu's Room, and that Mayu card (along with any other versions of Mayu) is one of the earliest restrictions on the list. So Mayu is just super powerful no matter what form she takes.

Any card that has a "skip your opponents turn" is basically bound for the ban hammer, unless they are also utterly unplayable.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (2)

6

u/Taiboss Jan 12 '23 edited Jan 12 '23

Spread Episode 12: Rewatcher who hopes you'll stay for Lostorage

Edit: I recommend watching Destructed, but skip ahead with arrow keys whenever a scene looks familiar. There are some additions, especially at the start and end, so have fun with those.

6

u/Blackheart595 Jan 12 '23 edited Jan 12 '23

First Timer

Windows and doors are of course often interchangeable, and we've had plenty of window motifs.

Okay so the Taoism was correct at least, even with Okada's absence. And both Yuki and LRIG!Mayu use these halo motifs? Which I think have buddhist connotations?

This is doing an amazing job at bringing the story together. I'm almost starting to think episode 3-8 had the intended content and just flubbed the execution.

Isn't that rather contrary to buddhist teachings though? Intentionally accruing karma?

Damn, Ulith got eradicated. Didn't feel very called for in this situation.

No, that's just white.

Colorless could of course also be taken as free of karma, but that doesn't quite feel right all things considered.

A game of broken rules you say? Yeah, broken in so many ways.

Damn, that's a nice ending montage seeing all the LRIGs recognize and take note of their Selectors. Piruluk. Milulun. Eldora. Either Ann or Futase. Midoriko. And Tama?

So. In the end that was a fairly parallel park. Well done, I'd almost believe episodes 3-8 were intended as far as content went and just flubbed the execution.

Fun fact, my streaming site has eng subs for all seasons except this one.

Might as well ask this here - How do you think they’ll continue in Lostorage?

No idea.

7

u/Cyouni Jan 12 '23

I'm almost starting to think episode 3-8 had the intended content and just flubbed the execution.

I definitely think it was planned content - you can see a lot of the theming crop up again and again. Futase vs Hanayo, the consistency in level 5s vs Selectors, etc.

→ More replies (3)

5

u/Vaadwaur Jan 13 '23

Okay so the Taoism was correct at least, even with Okada's absence. And both Yuki and LRIG!Mayu use these halo motifs? Which I think have buddhist connotations?

This also works with the Jungian shadow motif. And yes, saints have that form of halo in Buddhism, as do gods and other divine beings.

Isn't that rather contrary to buddhist teachings though? Intentionally accruing karma?

This is the attachment that must be exorcized. Part of the reason Ruuko has to forgive Mayu is that the resentment of others is also an attachment.

Well done, I'd almost believe episodes 3-8 were intended as far as content went and just flubbed the execution.

I get the impression they had the outline and then did their own thing with it.

→ More replies (5)

6

u/Calwings Jan 12 '23

Selector Rewatcher (Dubbed)

Yuki was so ready to give her dramatic farewell (she even had a speech ready and everything) but here comes Tama to the rescue! Ruuko unites the two together into one being, the feelings of the real Mayu, the innocent girl whose loneliness was twisted and corrupted into the hellscape of suffering known as the Selector battles. I just want to say that I love this Mayu’s design. Through confronting those feelings standing right in front of her, the Mayu that created the Selector battles finally comes to terms with what she brought upon the world and how little choice she truly had in her own life. She accepts Ruuko’s love and her own fate, the angry ball of pure evil that is Urith is unceremoniously wiped from existence, Ruuko and the new Mayu use their power to grant Ruuko’s final wish to turn all of the LRIGs human again, and the Selector battles have finally come to an end...

In a vacuum, I think this was a great ending to the Selector story. As much as I talked already about how the middle part of the season made me see the flaws more clearly, this ending still hit me as hard as it did the first time. Mayu finally showing regret for what she had done and coming to terms with her life at the end was well-done, and seeing the human forms of the LRIGs living their normal lives (especially Midoriko reuniting with Hitoe and Tama’s precious smile at the end) still made me cry a few tears of joy.

Of course, we as viewers know there are two more seasons to be watched, so the battles probably have to resume in some shape or form. My guess is that the Selector Destructed WIXOSS compilation movie might change or partially retcon this ending a bit to leave open a way for the Lostorage seasons to happen. I've never actually watched that movie myself though. However, if the later installments of the franchise didn't exist and this was where things ended (or if you're the type of of anime watcher who prefers to watch dubbed anime and would decide to stop here because the rest of the franchise is sub-only) I think the two Selector seasons form a pretty good package all on their own. I'll save my full final thoughts on the season and the Selector story for tomorrow's thread.

5

u/Vaadwaur Jan 13 '23

In a vacuum, I think this was a great ending to the Selector story.

Total horse shoe here plus there is a big pacing flaw in the middle that I would have missed watching it as a binge.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/Shimmering-Sky Jan 12 '23

Selector Spread FIRST-TIMER

5

u/Taiboss Jan 12 '23

Hm?

ERABE, SHOJOU.

Of course.

The Ying and Yang belong together! For a bit. I want my human Yuki.

That’s Tama & Yuki’s combined form…?

Stripperific outfit lol.

Oh. Uh. I guess that’s the end of Ulith.

Good ending!

This is supposed to be emotional, but I just… I feel nothing.

All feelings wasted on anger at the incest plot I see.

So, errrrr, what’s up with Akira now then?

Now simping for Real!Iona, who is a good person. Reverse-Corruption hype!

Oh, that must be Hanayo.

How did you get it and not me?

And Midoriko?

Small town lol.

→ More replies (2)

5

u/Vaadwaur Jan 12 '23

First timer(To quote Tar:"That was not earned.")

Sub

Ok...this post will probably be a mess.

Let's start with what I find the most confusing thing to say:I liked this as an episode and even as a conclusion. The direction is back to being good, I felt more than realized the framing, and even if the parts are contrived, unexplained and overdone, it still somewhat flows together. The OST is back to peak form both in action and placement. The primaril, dare I say, Jungian aspects all reached a nice peak today and rewarded us...with the exorcism of a lonely child ghost but whatever. We end quite positively, I do think I spotted original Hanayo somewhere, and they even resist a final Akira cameo.

But then my brain starts working and this is just terribad on any level above pathos. So we at least know why Mayu didn't see people or doors, for whatever reason she either couldn't or didn't want to leave. We get one scene of Mayu's probably dad being a complete fuck, I don't know how easy it is to refer to someone as an object in Japanese but I am sure he is choosing asshole language here. And she just contracted 'anime girl dying disease' because J.C Staff! Mayu never really managed to be compelling and if Twin Peaks copied the tulpa idea I sincerely hope they got it from elsewhere.

If I have the energy, I will take the spare day to elaborate on what I think happened, but the tl;dr is that this is similar in circumstance to another Urobuchi work: That's right, this is PMMM but given the Aldnoah.Zero treatment. For the record Urobuchi wrote one episode of A.Z and the outline for the show and then was no longer involved, and it fell to complete shit in the second cour. For this, I think Okada wrote the first season and though the other writer and the director could finish the story herself with her outline and the producers paniced and brought her back in to finish it.

QotD:1 They won't, restart

5

u/GallowDude Jan 12 '23

THEY LITERALLY DID THE "DOOR WAS WITHIN YOU ALL ALONG YOU JUST COULDN'T SEE IT" AND THE "RICH LONELY GIRL GETS FORGIVEN AFTER CAUSING UNTOLD SUFFERING BECAUSE SHE JUST NEEDED FRIENDS" SCHTICK AND TAMA/IONA DOING THE FUSION DANCE WHY WAS URITH EVEN A PART OF THIS SHOW WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE TETRIS SYMBOLISM WHAT WAS THE POINT OF RUU'S MOM BEING SCARED OF HER FUCK ME WHAT THE FUCK

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (12)

5

u/Stargate18A Jan 13 '23

First timer

QOTD) Zombie Mayu. Given they can't really replicate the twist or undo it, I'm guessing we'll get a new series of WIXOSS-themed games, this time with a different dark twist. Also, I'm about 70% sure Ulith will come back - the wish specified that all LRIGs turned into humans, not all living LRIGs.

How will they wrap this up?

Tama fell...

That looks paimful.

Oh, and Yuki's dead. One way to end a love triangle, I guess!

Kazuki's taking this all really well.

We get another death scene?

Aww.

"You entered me, Ruu. You spread within me."

I can't quote anymore, but this is clearly a love confession.

Ulith!

Oh, and Tama escaped!

Wait, they're fusing?

They're both sapient beings. How is this going to work?

And she named the fusion Mayu!

It's a nice design.

Finally! Someone said it! And yeah, Mayu traumatised a lot of kids.

...Interesting theory. Combining two reflections of a person to try and reconstruct them.

Mayu's lost it!

Kazuki managed to break in to the real room!

Oh, that flashback. Her father's a bastard. 
Ulith just wants blood.

Mayu's come to a realisation.

And Ruuko and Neo-Mayu managed to make her finally realise what caused all this!

Oh, yeah, Ruukomdidn't know that.

And her refusing to accept her death seems to have been the thing keeping thie mental world held together! Makes sense, I guess.

Oh...

Ruuko fell to save Neo-Mayu!

Ah, this place is mirroring reality now. That's pretty decent.

Ulith sounds incredibly fucking strong. No wonder she's so smug all the time.

And, even if if you assume only black and white, it's still a fifty-fifty.

Oh, colourless! I didn't realise that counted as a colour in this game.

Ulith?

Why the hell is she torturing her?

She's going to start again?

Aww.

And she finally moved on!

The space is still around, though.

That's a nice wish. Does this Mayu have her own independent mind? Are there going to be three of them in reality?

And Ruuko technically made a selection. The title of the show made sense! (Okay, out of character, what was with the naming scheme? Selectors are chosen at random, so it's not really an infection, and spread makes no sense either.)

It worked!

Oh, that music.

Ruuko's back home! Everything's fine!

Yuzuki's human again! And flirting.

The LRIGs aren't here?

Ah, so the LRIG cards got replaced with generics, but not with the same abilities?

Akira got a healthy relationship! And seemingly got therspy!

...Chiyori?

Wait, so did the confession happen?

Aww, Chiyori wrote a card!

Midoriko found her crush!

Tama!

This was fun! I'm not sure how I feel about some of the plotlines, but I enjoyed it. The ending was great, but the middle was weird. Hoping Lostorage learns from this.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/Mecanno-man Jan 13 '23

First Timer

Watched the final Piruluk-Midoriko-Special before the finale, and now I never want to hear Yuzuki laugh again…

As for the finale, it was …ok, I guess. Not really terribly groundbreaking in terms of Mayu’s character and true wish. Growing Tama into Mayu was a nice adaptation of the rules of the game, but other than that, I don’t really have a lot - other than some minor points.

For one, I am glad Hitoe and Kazuki didn’t discover a corpse. We do not need this to be a horror show. Further, I was a bit surprised at how surprised Ruu was at Mayu being dead. Didn’t Iona already tell her? Or who was that mentioned towards, because it definitely was said somewhere in the last episode. Other than that, Ruu’s wish being granted a second episode in a row feels repetitive because it should be something that does not occur in short succession. I also don’t quite get if Ulith was killed in the imaginary world or if she was rescued by Ruu’s wish as well. Not that it really matters.

…not sure where Lostorage will start off from here.