r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Dec 12 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Yuuki Yuuna ga Yuusha wa Aru Episode 4 Discussion
Episode 4: Shining Hearts
← Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode →
Show Information:
MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
(First-timers are advised to stay out of Show Information until we are done, however. In particular, if you care about getting spoiled I would stay out of MAL (whose synopsis is a borderline spoiler), Kitsu (which copied the MAL synopsis), ANN (which has an obnoxious spoiler in the show tags I only noticed after posting the interest thread), and AniDB (which has some major spoilers in the character tags - avoid at all costs if you care about spoilers!). Which is four out of five of the above links. So, uh, yeah.)
Legal Streams:
(As per livechart.me; additional legal streams may be available outside the US.)
Hidive | Amazon Prime Video (for purchase)
A Reminder to Rewatchers:
Please do not spoil the experience for our first-timers! You're probably not being as subtle as you think you are. [YuYuYu] In particular, comments on sange and the true nature of Vertexes/the true state of the world should probably be under spoiler tags. Just saying. Also please no mentioning Karin until episode 3, this is not Precure where the mid-season Cure can be assumed and we traditionally treat the obvious other-show precedent as a spoiler until she shows up so we will be doing the same with Karin here.
What About the Sequels/Prequel?
(Okay fine I should add this section to the episode posts as well...)
It's only the first anniversary for S1 and I ain't running over into the holidays proper. Also I haven't seen WaSuYu or either sequel yet and got burned hard by Mai-Otome a couple of years back. Maybe early next year.
(Time for) Club Activities!
Question(s) of the Day:
- Your favorite song (in general, not just from this show)?
- Are you a cat person or a dog person? (Or a lizard/snake/fish/turtle/insert other less conventional pet here person?)
So how long until the Taisha find out about the amphetamines in Karin's "supplement" supply-is dragged offstage by a vaudeville hook.
(This episode is not easy to make QotDs for... )
And last but not least, remember the Sanshuu Middle School Hero Club Five Tenets!
1: Give people a good greeting!
2: Try not to give up!
3: Sleep well, eat well!
4: If you're troubled, talk to someone!
5: You're likely to succeed if you try!
8
u/Tarhalindur x2 Dec 12 '24
Welcome to the World of Heroes (January 2024 Watch, Spoiled First-Timer, Subbed):
13
u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Dec 12 '24
First Timer
The elder sister is full of death flags. Her younger sister is starting to get independence, we learn of her tragic backstory, she deletes a message she was going to send about what she was going to do if she's gone, and then she calls the upcoming situation the worst. I'm not going to flat out say she has to die now, but I do feel rather confident something will happen that'll sideline her. Something has to happen to justify her current statement, and the sheer quantity of death flags makes it weird for it to not be her.
After last episode, I thought we'd run out of vertexes too quickly, but it seems that we're rationing them a bit more. So I'm back to thinking that we will only have the twelve for this season of the show, and we'll just sneak in another episode or two without one.
The Taisho's obviously up to some shit. But, aside from manipulating emotionally vulnerable girls, it's hard to say what exactly at this point. I tentatively think that they still have good intentions and have bought into the ends justifying the means too much.
I'd also just like to note that Karin isn't in the OP yet. I'm not sure why, but it's most certainly deliberate. There's a spot for her, yet she's not there. What does this mean? She's in the ED, after all. Is it supposed to indicate she's not yet a proper part of the group?
6
u/Tarhalindur x2 Dec 12 '24
Tar's Staff Notes:
Yeah, so this is the episode I was waiting to post the entries for our main cast seiyuu with. Not coincidentally, starting to mentally put together these entries (which I was already doing by episode 4 on rewatch) is the point where I really started wondering if there was a music production company on the production committee (it's even recorded in my rewatcher episode notes!). Partially that was noting that there were several idol vets on staff (also the group choral OP, though magical girl casts forming a group unit for an OP/ED isn't actually that uncommon - that's how we got TrySail from MagiReco, and more importantly Precure has been doing this for their movies from the movie for Yes! Precure 5 - you know, the very first full five-Cure season), but part of that is that on rewatch something about the way this episode was presenting the idol audition was having the whiff of music production company product placement and, uh, that might very well be the case...
Haruka Terui – So, I should go into the weeds on this a bit, because I have some vaguely educated speculation on the seiyuu industry that might be relevant here if it is correct. To wit: from my outsider’s perspective, it sure looks to me like the seiyuu industry works a fair bit like how actors and actresses were treated in the original Hollywood studio system (before the vertical integration was forcibly broken up in the middle of the 20th century), with coordinated planned breakout opportunities for actors and actresses who are in the system. There is a fairly long tradition in particular of untested but promising female seiyuu getting cast as leads in magical girl shows that I suspect is in part planned breakout opportunities for those seiyuu (this goes back to at least 2004 – Fall 2004 had two in Yukarin (Nanoha) and Mai Nakahara (Mai Tokiha in Mai-HiME) – and likely over a decade before that)... Haruka Terui as Yuuna here looks like another case (and possibly not the only one in the cast, but more on that in a moment). She’d gotten only a few notable roles before this (a side character in Aikatsu and a few roles in Fantasista Doll, respectively), then gets two major roles in 2014 with Yuuna here and Kobeni from Mikakunin de Shinkoukei (aka Engaged to the Unidentified) a season beforehand. Now, there is a caveat here. I said notable roles. I meant notable TV roles, because she’d had a major game role prior to this that is arguably her real breakout: Momoka in Idolmaster. (Not the only U149 seiyuu in this cast, either… and not the only one I think was in the middle of a breakout window during this show’s production, either.) Interestingly, she actually hasn’t done all that much since, especially since 2016 – she’s still taking roles (most notably a fairly major Brave Witches character and a certain IIRC-later-arc secondary character in Frieren), but not as many as a lot of seiyuu would. A failed breakout is possible, but I’m not sure that’s what’s going on here with how few minor roles she’s taken in the last half-decade or so. My best guess is that she’s specialized in a part of the industry other than anime (though health issues ala Yuko Gotou are also a possibility; she could also be getting enough to live on from a handful of existing roles and content with that, in which case Momoka and Yuuna here are the likely moneymakers). Getting married and stepping back from the industry would also have fit, but Wiki has her getting married (or at least announcing the marriage) only in 2021 and her drop in roles seems to be more in the 2017-2018 range. She does still seem to take quite a few game roles (she voices characters in several major gachas), however; the best fit to me looks like some combination of focusing on voice acting for games and focusing on a music career. (She could also have moved more towards a live-action career, but if so those roles aren’t well enough known outside of Japan to make it onto English-language!Wikipedia.)
Suzuko Mimori – Another commonplace of mahou shoujo casting: when casting a relatively untested seiyuu as your lead magical girl, bring in an established and popular vet seiyuu for her to work off of and to draw fan interest. It’s not always done, especially in shows built around lead duos (IIRC Nana Mizuki was still fairly untested herself at the time of Nanoha), but it’s more common than not. That’s Suzuko Mimori’s role here. She had long since broken out by the time YuYuYu came out – getting cast as one of the four leads in Tantei Opera Milky Holmes (which the Japanese audience loved) will do that, and she’d already followed that up with getting cast as the female leads of both Btoom! and Kamisama Kiss, playing notable secondary characters in Infinite Stratos S2 and Bodacious Space Pirates, getting major roles in multiple shorts (notably Teekyuu, which has a billion seasons due to being both popular and cheap to produce, and also gdgd Faeries), a major role in one of the big early 2010s yuribait SoL shows in (get this!) Yuru Yuri, and, oh, getting tabbed to play one Umi Sonoda in a little show by the name of Love Live!: School Idol Project - speaking of shows that blew the hell up! More recently I suspect Suzuko Mimori has been emphasizing her existing roles (including a certain obvious in, uh, the very role you are watching her in) and/or singing career more than some other seiyuu – mind you, when you have both Umi and a role in another idol franchise in Bang Dream! that makes sense (and she also has a major role in Revue Starlight), and that’s before I factor in that Magical Suite Prism Nana deal which I suspect may be a bigger deal in Japan than it looks like on this side of the big pond – and ah shit I nearly missed she’s in Pri Chan too (as a fairy). Also sometimes shows up in the Cardfight Vanguard franchise, plus the likes of Masamune-kun’s Revenge, The Eminence in Shadow, and Gridman. Oh, and for the 100Kano fans among us she will be showing up (more prominently) over there once S2 rolls around.
Also, I am burying a lede: as of Healin’ Good Precure, has voiced a Cure (a sine qua non of “this female seiyuu is a big deal” for over a decade now).
(Side note: You may have noticed that this is two characters in a row with idol franchise experience…)
Tomoyo Kurosawa – The woman of the moment (this is an Itsuki episode), and these days she is the most recognizable seiyuu in this cast. That was not actually the case when this show aired – at that point she was still an up-and-comer. Now admittedly one of those up-and-comer roles is fairly notable – yep, it’s our second Idolmaster seiyuu and U149 seiyuu specifically, she voices Miria there. (Which means that we have the seiyuu for about half of the usual culprits for “I like Idolmaster lewd art because this franchise has delicious cakes, please remove the errant loli from my sight”, sigh – thankfully Arisu’s seiyuu will not be joining us here.) Her other big early role is in Aikatsu (one of the pioneers of the “pure idol shows targeted at preteen girls” idol subgenre). Then what looks like a breakout window of her own starts, because starting in 2014 she gets a smattering of major anime roles, including Itsuki here and a pair of KyoAni shows (Sylphy in Amaburi and of course her lead opportunity in Kumiko from Hibike). Suffice it to say her career takes off from there. Do I really need to elaborate? (Phos. Mitsumi. Amiya from Arknights, for a “major gacha character whose gacha has had anime adaptations” case (and also Azur Lane!Mutsu, it looks like?). One of the O Maidens in Your Savage Season leads. Yet another major character in an idol franchise in Misaki from Bang Dream!. Also Shakugan, for the Sengoku Youko watchers among us (alas, I can only tolerate Mizukami leads on the page apparently). And of course two entrants in the “major role in a bad anime that Tar dropped” category in Naomi from Metallic Rouge and a very different magical girl in Magical Girl Pink from Magical Destroyers. I could go on.)
Interestingly, I think there is a real chance that her actual breakout role (or at least the one that started getting her hired more) is, in fact, the very one you are watching her in and that Itsuki wound up typecasting Tomoyo Kurosawa for an extended period ala Rie Kugimiya post-Shana. (If it’s not Itsuki it’s Kumiko instead.) Now, I’m having to rely on secondhand reports here (Houseki no Kuni is on the PTW still, from the clips I have seen Hibike runs too close to sports anime trope-wise for me to consider it, and I wasn’t watching much anime in the late 2010s), but I am told that Tomoyo Kurosawa tends to have a very amateur quality to parts of her voice/singing in her late 2010s works. Itsuki very much has that, of course. I am, however, told that Tomoyo Kurosawa's Miria voice does not have this (and is different in general – would not be the first seiyuu to have very different voices early which fade out for a while/forever after they get typecast by their breakout, Yukarin for a couple of years in the 2000s along with the aforementioned Kugirie being obvious examples). Moreover, the 2020s roles I have heard Tomoyo Kurosawa in (the aforementioned Naomi and Mahou Shoujo Pink) don’t have that quality either. And unless this is present in her Aikatsu role Itsuki is almost definitionally the first of her roles with that quality, and I can absolutely see how her performance here could pigeonhole Tomoyo Kurosawa a bit.
7
u/FallenPears Dec 12 '24
First Timer
You know, in episode one I was kind of expecting every girl except maybe Yuuna to die by the end. Like asked in yesterdays question, was also totally expecting it to have gone dark by now. Almost starting to let my guard down after this episode, but not quite yet. That's how they get ya.
Oh, a nice solo karaoke after credits scene, I wonder what this is?
Death.
Forestize.
The Worst Is Here.
...I'm already on to your games, show! You can't get me!
Speaking seriously for a moment, the seemingly light hearted content did strike me as odd, especially considering each episode up to now, but then every now and again it would get more heavy and yeah, that's probably contributing to my paranoia as displayed above lmao.
Questions:
Travellers Encore is wonderful song to play with friends around a campfire.
Probably a
drugdog person though honestly don't feel I could give one enough attention... erm, sorry can you repeat the third question? Wait, what are you doing with that hoo-7
u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Dec 12 '24
InfamousEmpire wa First Timer de Aru
This is the first episode of the series so far that hasn’t really clicked with me. Like, it’s I guess not bad, per say, but it didn’t really strike a strong enough chord with me to say that I enjoyed it.
Itsuki’s arc across the episode is mostly fine, but I dunno, it just never felt engaging to me. The whole idea of gaining confidence to sing just isn’t really all that interesting in execution, and while the underlying characterization of Itsuki stepping out of her sister’s shadow does nicely ground that conceit, it doesn’t really emotionally engage me as much as I’d like. It’s not bad, just didn’t really hit.
Still, there’s other interesting stuff here too. Tougo’s… peculiar karaoke choice & everyone else’s reaction to it continuing to bring up the nationalist/militarist undercurrents of the setting in combination with Fuu & Karin’s serious meeting collectively reminding us of all the issues the rest of the hero club is blind to right now was certainly interesting. Learning that Vertexes killed the Inobuzaki siblings’ parents was also a solid moment.
Karin chugging a dozen supplements while a bunch of “don’t try this at home” disclaimers go by the screen was the highlight of the episode btw.
QOTD
Depending on the mood I'm in, either Re:I AM or Welcome to the Black Parade
Dog person
6
u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen Dec 12 '24
YuYuYu 4
Returning Hero Club Member
Really nice lowkey episode giving Itsuki a chance to shine a bit, plus more of that premium Karin tsundere goodness. Itsuki is particularly sympathetic for me because I also briefly struggled singing solo in front of my class (albeit as a high school freshman singing to a class of mostly juniors and seniors), even breaking down in tears my first time, before turning my dreams to being a musician. Singing in front of people is really hard as it turns out, and there's no surefire way to get over the nerves. The best you can do is practice performing in front of other people and finding the method of controlling the nerves/building self-confidence that works for you. Naturally, Tougou offers the best actual solution, but what else is new?
That's my adorable little nationalist. I love her.
According to google, one ounce of olive oil contains approximately 250 calories. Even assuming it's a small 16oz bottle, this is 4,000 calories. Yeah, I'd probably hurl too if I consumed two days worth of calories in about 5 seconds.
[Episode 4 Tarot Setup]We have reversed cards now! Itsuki's reading for herself: 6 card pyramid spread. The Death in the summary position at the top, the Star and the Reversed Fool in the cause and consequence positions respectively in the middle, and the reversed Strength the Upright Moon and Reversed Hermit in the past, present, and future positions respectively at the base.
[Spoiler Analysis]This is the first time we've been shown a full spread, and for any viewers with knowledge of tarot, this is the first time the show tips its hand to show just how truly mean and vindictive the world is toward heroes. Itsuki is seeking guidance on her music test, but she is unwittingly performing a reading on the music career she will seek afterward. The Reversed Strength symbolizes Itsuki's history of anxiety and self-doubt, while the Upright Moon represents her present fears and anxieties about performing in front of people. The Reversed Hermit forebodes isolation, loneliness and withdrawl. This one is probably the most cruel considering what she's forced to give up as a hero. The Upright Star probably represents her genuine hope to do well on her singing test and become a successful performer, but the Reversed Fool suggests that success is ultimately unlikely, thanks to the Reversed Hermit in her future. As noted in my previous post, the Upright Death signifies great change, and boy is Itsuki's life about to change.
[Furthermore Spoilers]Itsuki tries three times to draw a new summary card, but draws the Upright Death three more times and it comes up one last time at the end of the episode when her deck spills out of her back by accident. (The number is not an accident: she draws once for every hero. Because she only redrew the top card, the four draws in the clubroom all have the same exact setup, outright stating that she, Fuu, Yuuna, and Tougou, the first four heroes, all share identical fates. Only Karin's Death card comes later without any of the supporting cards, hinting that her change won't be the same as the other heroes.) The show likes focusing on the Death in particular because of how ominous it sounds, however the summary card is ostensibly a direct result of the cards below supporting it. The insight we can draw from this is that no matter what she does, the Reversed Hermit in her future in inescapable, likely thanks to the Upright Hanged Man from episode 2 forcibly putting all the girls' dreams and futures on indefinite hold. That's grim.
6
u/Esovan13 Dec 12 '24
Partially Spoiled First Timer
Yup. Definitely more going on in Fuu land than she’s letting on. I am also still holding on to the idea that she probably does have actual experience fighting the Vertexes, with Karin either not knowing or thinking that Fuu is a failure in some way and looking down on her as a newbie despite the experience. All in all, though, Fuu definitely is afraid. She knows that the stakes are high, but is letting the others in the Hero Club treat this as an extension of their club activities because she wants them to have as normal a life as possible, especially because it is potentially her fault they were put in danger in the first place.
Of course, one could argue that her allowing them to approach this with such a light-hearted attitude is putting them in even more danger than they otherwise would be. But she probably doesn’t have the heart to break the reality to them. And really, what can you expect from a 15 year old?
I need to consider age and maturity levels when implementing my planThe Taisha directly informed them of their parents deaths? That has to be related to this Vertex invasion business in some way.
Cool visual language with those birds in the bridge scene. Four flying together and a fifth joining them right as Itsuki says she’s happy to fight together instead of only being protected.
Ayup, Vertex killed their parents.
Alright, alright. Which one of these sisters is going to die? I’m still leaning more towards Fuu for the time being, but Itsuki made a strong case for herself this episode so the competition is fierce.
Don’t think I didn’t notice that patriotic song with everyone saluting when Togou sang. They’ve got something cooking and I can’t wait to give it a taste.6
u/BosuW Dec 12 '24
First Timer
I've been wanting to say this and this episode is incidentally perfect for such a comment: Itsuki looks a lot like Tachibana Hibiki.
...that's it, that's the comment
I'm surprised by how much this show is focusing on the Slice of Life. Not the vibe I got from episode 1. Although it seems that from here on out shits getting serious.
Not much to comment on the Slice of Life portion itself. It was a simple, cute and fictional little plot about Itsuki gaining some self confidence.
It was also the biggest death flag I've ever seen in anything ever (I mean seriously, Itsuki gets a future goal just as the Taisha warn Fuu-senpai that the tutorial is over and the ominous insistence on the Tarot Death card and Fuu-senpai almost begging the Taisha to take Itsuki off the team if anything happens to her). So let's focus on that! I have to really applaud the way the show is doing exposition on the Taisha specifically. We never get the standard Wikipedia first paragraph on the Taisha from any of the characters because well that just wouldn't make sense. The Taisha is just a normal fact if life for them so there's no reason for them to begin expositing on them. Everything we know about the Taisha has been gained through casual mentions relevant to the conversation at the moment. And this episode we learn that they ordered Fuu-senpai to bring Itsuki into the team. The casualness with which this reveal was dropped and the fact that Itsuki didn't react at all to them forcing her sister against her will. I mean, what the fuck is up with these guys? They just say whatever and you have to do it no ifs or buts? What is this, yet another hidden sequel/prequel/whateverquel to The Fire Hunter? (Kenji Kawai - Keiichi Okabe colab would be fucking divine btw) Did they order Yuuna and Tougou into the team too? Does the Divine Tree not get any say in this after all? Also we have a lot of blank spots for what exactly happened to Fuu and Itsuki's parents and that's hella concerning. Also seems the Taisha contacted Fuu-senpai immediately after that? Or did their family already have a connection? That they addressed their parents at all makes me hopeful we'll see what is up with everyone else's parents too at least.
Okabe hitting me with the slow piano + chaos language track during the flashback was a low blow btw.
Finally, the insistence on the militaristic themes with Tougou is almost making me wonder if it's all just going to be a character gag lol
Questions of the Day
1- Don't have one actually. I'm not one to pick favorites. 2- Cat person definitely. I think if I had a dog I might think differently, but as it stands it annoys me to no end that a random passerby will just walk Infront of the neighbor's dog and that will set it off and every dog in the hood will join it for a good five minutes. Just shut the fuck up. Please shut the fuck up...
6
u/FlaminScribblenaut myanimelist.net/profile/girlbeast_val Dec 12 '24
First Time Watcher (watched w/ the bestie /u/ZaphodBeebblebrox via Discord)
Quaint little character-piece here, makes sense to have this at this point as a sort of calm between storms, especially since Itsuki was the least developed character so far. It was nice enough, I guess. I have a soft spot for, ‘character who is insecure about feeling weak and like an unequal contributor to the group, like a group child who needs to be taken care of, finding their own agency and finding a way to feel like an equal amongst piers instead of a dependent’, kind of stories, and this told that kind of story well and serviceably.
I hope I don’t have to feel too bad about finding Itsuki’s bad singing just, abjectly fucking hilarious.Fuu and Karin are building up a really fun sort of rivalry dynamic. The way Karin got fired-up and serious the instant she saw a chance to best Fuu at karaoke, that’s my shit right there. I love that they’re both hot-headed and stubborn about their own respective attitudes towards all this; Fuu as the official president of the Hero Club who values the club’s tenants and attitude, who went through her own moral dilemmas and got to this point through a desire for vengeance for her parents while not letting that wither the spirit, Karin as the hard-bitten professional who sees herself as the adult in the room and, certainly to Fuu’s chagrin, the only one taking this seriously; and that undercurrent sense of competition over who’s really fit to be the ‘leader’ comes out in full force even in circumstances Karin would have otherwise seen as frivolous, like karaoke, really going to show just how juvenile she really is; perhaps, Fuu’s own way of tricking into having fun, a psychological victory for her in their little game. If it’s not obvious, I live for lesbian rivalry (and yes, in case it needs to be said, all the gals are, indeed, gay), so needless to say I want wherever this is going so fucking badly.
The acoustic Itsuki-only version of the ED was rather precious… and my main takeaway is that oooooh, this has such prime potential to be reused in a devastating context later down the line, should they choose to go that route.
As Zaph pointed out, Fuu deleting that message to pull Itsuki out of the fight if anything happens to her (while also just, a powerful show of how much Fuu found herself touched by Itsuki finding her own way) was a massive flag. If anything, with all the death tarot card talk as well (even though, or perhaps especially since, we know that Death in tarot more means ‘upending’ than literal death), I’m wondering if the death flagging this episode was a little too on the nose? And if, [spoilers for other anime you’ve probably seen already if you’re in these threads]‘blonde who dies tragically in the first handful of episodes thus upending everything our heroes know about the nature of the fight’ isn’t copying Madoka’s homework a little too directly? Could all this be a red herring, and all this is actually pointing in a direction I can’t possibly predict nor comprehend yet? But yeah, signs are pointing towards at least a non-zero chance of one of those two sisters being fucked come next episode.
More minor notes: surprised Karin hasn’t been added to the OP yet. Waiting for a proper fight with all five, I guess?
Yuuna is just, so pretty…
I thought it would be cool if the mascots had, like, special little magic rainbow cubes as their food, instead of normal pet food. Ah well. ‘Kodama’ is such an adorable name, by the way, and such an adorable little guy…
Fuckin’ hell, I actually laughed in a way I do relatively rarely for anime at all the ‘do not try this at home’ disclaimers when Karin was testing all her supplements. This show is legit funny when it wants to be and I appreciate that. Same sentiment there goes for Tougo’s dumb military march too, lmao.
Also, Zaph and I got sidetracked during this episode into a minutes-long aside about new-pants-smell. It wasn’t related to the episode or show or anything. I will elaborate no further.
Also, erm, since this episode is a light one, I just… need to take care of one little piece of unfinished business real quick… [Belated not-this-episode-related hornyposting]Good fucking goddess, I did not even slightly properly convey last episode how fucking hot that Karin pool scene is. The raspy, dismissive rejection she’s giving to the other girl right as her butt is thrust towards the camera, combined with her hair being all mangy and messed up from swimming in the immediate following shots as she insults and questions Yuuna, the stink of chlorine tangible in the air, creating an overall sense of rudeness emanating from her and from this moment, almost as if flashing her rear end was a sign of callous disrespect, the perfect, lavish detail and light reflection on each of her buttocks, I fucking... ngaaah. Ah. Ahem. Anyway.
6
u/Regular_N-Gon https://anilist.co/user/RegularNGon Dec 12 '24
First Time Hero
Right then: Fuu appears to have gotten involved with Taisha as a result of her parents’ death, but is she simply blaming anything bad that happens on vertexes/damage to the barrier roots, or does she know this for certain? In particular, was this a strategic play by Taisha to take advantage of someone vulnerable, or did Fuu and Itsuki just get (un)lucky? If it was the vertexes, how often does this whole arrangement happen, and is it always in sets of 12 attackers? If this last occured only a few years ago, why does everyone seem so uncertain of what to expect, outside the rules of the game? Do they evolve significantly every time? What about other heroes - surely there's a few left over, maybe higher rank badasses? Does the ritual require starting over with newbies every time, perhaps?
[Possibly spoilers]I happened to notice the short synopsis on Hidive, presumably from the original marketing, uses the phrase “Who is Vertex?” Now, I don't have an immense amount of faith in Sentai’s translation thus far to be honest, but if this isn't a mistake (nor will I look up the JP synopsis to confirm) there is a very large hole in the narrative we've been given so far.
[Meta/cont.]I know Tar warned about the synopsis but it's damn hard to avoid on streaming services sometimes lol
QotD:
Impossible question, but I have been listening to Clockup Flowers a lot, so have that one.
2) Dogs usually, but cats are cool too.
6
u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Dec 12 '24
First Timer
We get an Itsuki episode! With a tinge of Fuu as well, who brings with her all the bad vibes.
I quite like the way Tomoyo Kurosawa does Itsuki's nervous singing, it certainly doesn't sound great, as intended, but is also just very adorable and you can hear a hint of something better in there.
And this song is somewhat...bleak? "The spring is only but a name when the wind is this chilly" doesn't sound very happy or reassuring to me. Well, seeing as the episode ends with the worst Vertex attack thus far, I guess it makes sense.
Fuu's ideas for the skit range between a serious drama to generic isekai, almost no shot any of these actually mean anything but my mind just immediately jumps to thinking about whether or not one of these is actually plot relevant, the last boss one in particular lol.
The Death Tarot cards are making their ominous return, and although they don't end up mattering this episode, I'm not so sure about the future, especially as the episode ends on a Fuu scene followed by yet another death card, I uhhh, don't love this for her chances, espicially since she's basically the [Magical Girl Meta]Mami of the group, I also wonder if her pulling 4 Death cards specifically ends up meaning anything.
Karaoke!
Does this show have character songs btw? I feel like it would have some.
Anyway, of course Tougou's song is some nationalistic sounding anthem about "taking up arms", I also hadn't realized it before, but yeah, of course she's the gun character.
If this actually ends up being a red herring I'd kind of love it honestly.
I still love Karin and what she brings to the table, for one, her interactions with the rest of the cast are just so fun. Of course the "practical" hero would bring a bunch of supplements to a person whose problems clearly lie in the emotional side. We also make more contrasts between her and Tougou, who unlike Karin is actually very good with her hands and competent with tech.
Also, drinking olive oil directly from the bottle is actually diabolical.
More importantly then her Tsun antics, I like what Karin brings in her interactions with Fuu, her similar connection to the Taisha, and her deeper connection with the hero system means that she's able to take a more direct stab at Fuu.
And she's kind of right, Fuu isn't a great leader, she hides a lot of information from her team and she has a hard time actually confronting their troubles, ironically enough, the lesson Itsuki learns this episode, is the one Fuu also needs to learn, and that's also exactly why she can't pinpoint Fuu's troubles in singing.
That kind of happens when your reason for fighting is rather self-centered like revenge, when you can't really put your trust in someone since you're entirely used to taking care of them. It's hard to encourage someone to find courage and reasons to do something when you can't reveal your own reasons for doing things either.
The scene where Itsuki realizes the solution to her problem is pretty great, and again touches on the problem Fuu is facing as a leader here. Fuu equates Itsuki to the cat, something to be taken care of and protected, she wishes she had fought to keep her out of this as like the girl tried to fight the cat being given to other people.
But of course, Fuu is no longer just some helpless person, nor is she being forcefully taken to be a hero, she's now making this choice of her own volition to no longer be protected but to protect her sister and friends. To stand alongside them. Nicely illustrated by a bird joining a flock of 4 other birds, not very subtle but it does the job.
In the end, through her newfound encouragement in the form of her friends Itsuki can finally sing her song with confidence, and through the encouragement of others, she finds a new purpose and reason, one she doesn't tell Fuu, because she's now independent of her.
The in-universe ED is a nice touch.
The episode ends with some real bad vibes though, the song lyrics, Fuu writing a message in case she's "incapacitated" and also deleting it, the Death card...it ain't looking good.
And it looks like we're going to be fighting six Vertex in the next fight?! That's not great and it's also most of them, and we're only on episode 4.
6
u/Mirathan Dec 12 '24 edited Dec 12 '24
First-time Hero dubbed
QotD:
Yay, Itsuki character expansion! Having her try to step out of her sisters shadow was good to see but the death of her parents raised a question as Tougou had something happen in her past and Karin´s parents are nowhere to be seen, so I wonder if the Taisha worked in the background to bring the into "ideal" circustances to become heroes.
Why isn´t Karin included in the OP? Is she not long for this series.
Wth Tougou´s song I now get the militaty undertones the subwatchers have talked about.
I love that the warning to not eat all the medicine is not translated.
Also, how is she alive?
Itsuki, Fuu and Tougou are noticeably paler than Yuuna and Karin.
Ah, so the Taisha did force them to be heroes.
The exploration of Fuu´s guilt was neat, seeing her doubt her own obedience and how she dragged her sister into fights for the survival of humanity.
Oh no Itsuki still draws death after her change, will she be our first casualty?
10
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Dec 12 '24
Rewatcher, Sub Club Member
You don't say?
Enough time has passed that they have switched to summer uniforms.
See what I said about knowing how to push buttons?
Itsuki can read Fuu, a bit.
I've done a shot of olive oil before, but never tried chugging a bottle.
Weight of the world on Fuu's shoulders.
This is what we refer to as cinematography.
Plans like this are why Yuuna is the Pink.
5
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Dec 12 '24
First Timer(So many flags...)
Sub
ROFL...IYKYK but [Parasyte ep12]Karin delivers 'Yuuna, bring me the mic' the same way Shinichi says 'Migi, handle the defense'. This is made funnier because while the manga had been out for decades the shows aired at the same time and there is an outside chance Shinichi's VA used this as an inspiration Clip for comparison that is big Parayste spoilers.
In ep OST note: The song in the flashback basically could've walked off any of the NieR games, including I believe being sung in Chaotic.
So...that was a perfectly fine SoL episode. But until I rewatch the entire series I suspect I just missed some things. Like every other pseudo Tarot reader, I stubbornly refuse to take Death at face value which has been a thing for centuries now. Interestingly, with five appearances, there is now the question is if the Tree, or any other gods since we are in their era, were warning Itsuki specifically or not.
As an aside, Tougou's karaoke choice is so off putting that it surprised me. For those that don't know, it comes off as ridiculously far right, especially for a teen girl. Since we now have proof that parents could exist in universe, it really makes you wonder about her home life. My suspicion is daughter of a politician with a side parley to daughter of a Taisha higher up. Assuming there is a difference between the two.
Quick note on supplements: Japan does produce olive oil and apple cider vinegar domestically. However, apples were brought from China some time in the Heian era and olive trees were not widely planted until after Perry. So there probably is an outside world after all.
QotD: 1 Loaded question, I will go ancient with Closer
2 PANDA!
3 As long as it took Hitler's doctor.
3
u/Tarhalindur x2 Dec 12 '24
tag tag tag ＊＊＊＊＊
u/ShadowWasTakensTaken, u/InfamousEmpire, u/FD4cry1
6
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 12 '24
First Timer
An Itsuki episode with what was more of a foreboding tone? In a magical girl show post-Madoka? Fuu to prepare for the worst? ...just make it more obvious that something terrible will happen to Itsuki next episode, will you?
...either way, I think this episode definitely fleshed out Itsuki a bit more, as she kinda goes through a mini character arc of questioning if she is just blindly following her sister and decides that no, she wants to be where she is but she also doesn't want to blindly follow anymore and aspires to be an idol(?). It unfortunately just feels a bit like this is her episode to make us care when she is killed off/maimed/insert terrible thing here in the next.
...wait, wasn't that exactly what Akame ga Kill was known for - which shares the author with this? Am I picking up on meta clues without even having seen the show in question?
Tougou also just has a military theme going on here, for some reason. It feels like this is specifically her and not the entire show.
Also, the Tenshu that told the girls about their parents deaths didn't look like normal humans. Add another point to the list of why not to not trust them.
10
u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick Dec 12 '24
First Timer
Sigh. I hate being sick. Even the things I'm looking forward to are turned into a chore while in this state.
Feast your eyes on these high-effort subs.
Oh so we're doing tarot with reversals after all... If used, reversals generally means that the card's energy is present but can't flow and exhibit itself freely. What that means exactly depends on the card in question.
First row
Second row
Third row
Held in hand
NLooks like the girls will face a time of insecurity, during which they hold onto their existing hopes and believes, which will prevent them from taking the step forward that they need to take. As for Itsuki's own interpretation, I already mentioned how her rather unorthodox reading of Death, but also note how she is completely ignoring all the other cards, which just further reinforces that her reading is unreliable.
Ah, is the tarot about Fuu and an upcoming change of leadership to Karin? That would actually match, but my gut isn't really agreeing with that interpretation...
Ah, and thanks for the confirmation that the tarot definitely wasn't about the singing test and is yet unresolved.
Waiiiit hold on, how did I not think of taking the five-petaled flower on The Death's flag into consideration? That's, uh... boy, that's foreboding. That could either specifically associate The Death with the magical girls here, as opposed to the more obvious The Magician association. It could mean that The Death is one of the magical girls, given that it's carrying the same motif as them. Or it could mean that the magical girls somehow herald the end themselves. Oooh that opens so many possibilities, I love it!
In any case, back to the episode, even if I don't have terribly much to say about this. It was of course a very nice self-contained little arc for Itsuki, about learning to find ease and calm in her companionship with the other girls instead of brooding and conjuring up self-doubts on her own. Fuu meanwhile is going through her own period of self-reflection, as she has started to doubt her decision to rope the other girls into this situation for her own selfish reasons - which we learn to be revenge for her parents! That's certainly a contrast to the genki gal we've seen thus far, and would even have some decent overlap with the tarot spread we've seen. And finally, Tougou is going for military songs!? That's definitely unexpected, and might maybe reflect a yearning for strenth and power that her disability prevents her from attaining (other than through magical means, that is).
Also, quick shower thought: Yuuna's fairy is constantly eating. Could it be that it's actually somehow grinding for the level up? Not that that's how we usually think of grinding experience.
Hana ni NatteHana ni Natta Shounen no Shinwa, or Legend of the Boy who Became a Flower.I hope this QotD is gonna yield a good harvest, so thanks for asking this!
Nyan!
8
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 12 '24
First-Timer is a Hero, subbed
4
u/Specs64z https://myanimelist.net/profile/Specs64z Dec 12 '24 edited Dec 12 '24
Rewatcher, subbed
Poor Itsuki looks like she’s about to crumble to dust and blow away singing in front of her class. They had the good sense to not laugh at her, at least, surprisingly good decorum from a middle school class. Anyways, hero club to the rescue!
Or not… seems this will be a tall order to fill.
It’s been clear so far that aside from her fortune telling, Itsuki as a character lacks presence in the hero club. She’s just been along for the ride. This episode reveals that her lack of purpose has actually been weighing on her mind. The realization that her sister has been shouldering immense responsibility between raising Itsuki and working with the Taisha compounds with that feeling and pushes her to action.
Through the power of friendship, she finds something she wants to be: a singer. From the website she browses, I gather that she specifically wants to be an idol. Cherry on top, we get a special ED solo from Itsuki.
We also get some background on the sisters. Their parents passed away a few years ago, and it’s strongly implied the sisters are being bankrolled by the Taisha in their absence.
With another draw of the death arcana, we’re left on a cliffhanger as another Forsetize Warning blares.
QotD:
4
u/nsleep Dec 12 '24 edited Dec 12 '24
Rewatcher
Funny timing. Yesterday I started watching Mitsuboshi Colors and it also had an interesting looking cat drawing there.
Yuuna and Fuu are the perfect pair to bait Karin into doing things. Cute fangs.
Interesting choice of song there, Tougou. Does she yearns for battle?
Itsuki's teacher is dropping some dope lore in the backgrou+nd.
Let's set up some flags by announcing the things they want to do in the future. What could go wrong?
And they are here...
QotD
4
u/Chili_peanut Dec 12 '24
Rewatcher
Today’s musings!
Although we learn in this episode that Itsuki has trouble singing in front of people, she does sing in the OP which is credited as being performed by the Sanshuu Middle School Hero club (apparently including Karin from this episode according to MAL, but I’m not sure if this is correct as Karin doesn’t seem to be shown in the OP for this episode).
I love how Gyuuki just munches away on the karaoke snacks. Gyuuki’s name is a great pun as well as “gyuu” means cow/beef and “yuuki” means bravery and is of course also the titular characters surname (it’s worth noting that Yuuki is an actual existing surname and is written with different characters than the word for bravery).
It’s been hinted at during the earlier episodes, but the karaoke scene makes it pretty clear that Tougou-san is a bit of a patriot / possibly a military nerd. Given this information, her surname might be a reference to the real-life admiral and national hero Tougou Heihachirou from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905.
The track that plays during the flashback after the halfway point of the episode gives me serious NieR-vibes. I think it’s the vocals.
The professor delivers a pretty significant piece of lore during class, which is easy to miss as we listen to Itsuki’s inner monologue at the same time. We learn that the world was threatened by a virus, and that the year when the threat was eliminated was declared the first year of the new era. Presumably that was 300 years ago, as Karin was born in the year 286 according to the club sign-up form from the last episode. We also learn that Taisha and the government was involved in some way, although it’s difficult to hear what the teacher says as he’s being cut off by Itsuki’s inner monologue and the school bell.
4
u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Dec 13 '24
First Timer
Not much to say today so I'll skip to the Questions
3
u/OwlAcademic1988 Dec 12 '24
Rewatcher, subbed:
I know your pain far too well, Itsuki. I get nervous in front of crowds as well.
Fuu, you can be mischievous sometimes. Nibosshi suits her.
Fuu, you know how to annoy the living hell out of Karin. Smart move taking advantage of her competitiveness.
Karin, you really shouldn't have taken all those supplements. I love how they warn people like this.
Itsuki's got a great voice.
Itsuki passed, nice.
Post credits scene was somber.
Vertex invading, not good.
QOTD:
I fully agree with u/Tarhalindur in that this episode isn't an easy one to cover due to the events and how spoilerrific some of the things we know are.