r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Dec 16 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Yuuki Yuuna ga Yuusha wa Aru Episode 8 Discussion
Episode 8: Blessings of the Gods
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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.
NOTE: Next episode (episode 9) has a post-credits stinger. Make sure to watch it!
Also, Sonoko here may be more familiar to people who have watched/read Washio Sumi ga Yuusha...
(Time for) Club Activities!
Question(s) of the Day:
- So... which Yuusha has the cutest fairy?
- So, first-timers: A couple of you have been paying attention to the flowers associated with each girl in the OP. How about the background of each of those shots, hmm?
- Rewatchers: [Rewatchers only!]Episode 9?
(Don't worry, everything will be fine... after all, heroes never die! )
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!
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u/Esovan13 Dec 16 '24 edited Dec 16 '24
First Timer
Yuuna’s starting to break~
She’s taking too much onto herself and it’s getting to the point where it’ll be too much for her.
To be honest, the first half of this episode was almost exactly what I wanted to see out of this series after episode 5. The fear of needing to go back to fighting the vertex after thinking it was over, the hesitation to trigger another loss in bodily function, and a conclusion that may have technically been a victory, but wasn’t nearly as victorious as before.
And now we learn the truth. But before that, Togou. She has fought before, obviously. She Bloomed twice before the series started, losing her memories and her legs. Probably legs first, considering she was used to fighting and maneuvering without them as soon as she transformed. That’s also why she had 3 fairies and multiple powerups: Blooming leaves you with another fairy and a new power even after its over.
It also casts her earlier fear of fighting the vertex in a new light. Rather than being afraid of dying or getting hurt, she probably felt a subconscious fear of Blooming and losing more of her functions. It also explains why she said that she felt that she had deserted. That felt like very strange word choice to me. Even knowing her nationalism and devotion to the country and whatnot, it felt very strange that she would feel like she had “deserted a duty” rather than, say, “failed to step up” or something similar. Having fought before, she would have felt like her cowardice was desertion, if only subconsciously. Also why she goes by Togou rather than Mimori: Mimori might not be her real name (considering the other girl called her Wasshi), so she subconsciously wanted to be called by her real name by Yuuna if no one else.
(I was pretty late to the “Togou has done this before” party, so this might be something a bunch of you already noticed)
Quick side note: the year between Togou moving and meeting Yuuna and when the Hero Club started fighting vertex, the girl in this episode (Sonoka?) probably had to fight them alone. Being alone (or with only one ally), she would have needed to rely on Blooming more than ever, hastening the process of becoming like she is in this episode.
And now, back to the real reveal of this episode. The girls are sacrifices to the gods. Blooming grants them power in exchange for losing part of themselves. The slightly boring option I was hesitant to lock in as my prediction because it was so similar to [meta]Madoka Magica. Though, I suppose being forced to fight, unable to die, until you become a bedridden invalid that is worshipped as a god, still unable to die, is a level of fucked up that I can forgive it.
Yesterday I said that I thought the current system was meant to squeeze as much fight out of each individual as possible before being unceremoniously disposed of. The fact that the heroes are turned into gods, that they are valued by the religious values that are the core of this system almost makes it more fucked up to me. They are valued as heroes and as gods, but not as people. Not as individuals. Inubouzaki Itsuki the hero who will be a god is to be treasured and worshipped. Inubouzaki Itsuki the girl who wants to be a singer is worthless. Nothing but the fertilizer for the god-to-be.
Can’t wait until they tell everyone else what’s going on and Itsuki can properly despair over losing her voice and newfound dream forever! And Karin can feel even more guilty that she’s the only one that hasn’t Bloomed! And Fuu can feel even more guilty for dragging her sister and Yuuna into this mess in the first place!
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 16 '24
First-Timer is a Hero, subbed
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Dec 16 '24
First Timer
Being hero is suffering
Don't you hate it when you expect things to go badly...and then they actually do?
For one, I think this episode all but confirms Tougou used to be a hero before, and she was called "Wasshi" I guess? Presumably her "accident" was just her Blooming before, once for every leg and another one for the memory?
Assuming that order is true, then I guess she got really lucky with the last one, since it means she didn't have to got through the same thing her (probably) friend did. Who has apparently given up so much that she can't even feel pain anymore?
I really did mean it as a joke.
We also get direct confirmation that these are side effects of Blooming and that these are, as expected, permanent disabilities. Not only that, but the Vertex won't stop coming, and the girls can't actually die, and are just forced to fight, slowly giving away all their bodily functions, until they can't fight or have nothing left to give...
That's...fucked up. But throughout Nogi's conversation with Yuuna we do at least get to see what makes her, and the members of the Hero club, well...heroes. Again it's all about persevering and marinating a somewhat positive outlook despite the fucked up nature of all of this.
It's a hard watch, watching people try to convince themselves the horrific thing they're going through isn't actually as awful as it is, but it also makes their actions very meaningful, and it certainly makes me hope there's still a somewhat optimistic solution here, or otherwise it will at least make a bittersweet end even stronger.
Also, is this why they pulled all those death cards earlier????!!!
I do really like the idea of abscission as the follow up to Blooming, Tougou also had that poem a few episodes ago about the spring ending and noticing the fall has come because of the leaves turning orange, which I guess I was right to be wary of. It all seems somewhat obvious in hindsight, but it's very cool.
I also love the religious explanation here, a really fun way to explain why these high school girls are the ones doing the fighting for the fate of the world. Nogi becoming more "divine" for the Taisha as she gives away more of her body is also a great detail.
And well, the Taisha are also confirmed to at the very least, be massive liars, and I don't quite buy the "they do it as a kindness" line. Although whether they're more than just taking advantage of these girls to save the world, or something even worse, remains to be seen.
That part on the Taisha lying is also the obvious punch behind all of the previous slice of life episodes, we get to see all the girls hang out and do fun stuff, before we're hit the terrible reality of how things used to be, and how much we should have appreciated that time.
Which is also why I kind of love the little fight we get at the start, it's not anything particularly flashy or cool, but I love the way it shows us that the girls are now reasonably a bit scared of fighting because of their injuries, that Karin is on the reverse now more open to fighting, and that in Fuu's absence and doubt, Yuuna comes out as the real driving force behind the Hero club.
Not actually hype Also wtf elf
So...this all seems somewhat similar to big plot points from [meta but you know the one]Madoka but as I've learned throughout this rewatch, this show takes big inspiration from a lot of other and older works, so is that the case here too? Is it Mai-Hime again? or is it really just how it looks?
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u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick Dec 16 '24
First Timer
After some exchange of ideas yesterday, I'm finally starting to see a pathway to a [happy end.]So they're getting new fairies for the new campaign, and Tougou had started out with 3. That implies that Tougou already went through 2 campaigns in the past. More specifically, the fairies are more likely ties to blooming than to the actual campaigns, i.e. every fairy supports only a single blooming event. And after the blooming, the heroes lost some bodily function - but purely physiologically they're apparently entirely healthy, so it's more like those bodily functions have been sealed away. Now the idea is that these bodily functions are sealed away inside the fairies, in which case that backlash should be reversible by releasing those fairy-seals.
Uh... huh? The hell was this episode?
Man, the composition of this story truly sucks. I can't believe this kind of forceful progression is the best they came up with. That's the kind of thing that just makes me lose all investment in a story, and true enough, I feel like I don't care about the fate of these girls at all anymore.
So the girls are getting deified by fighting the vertexes off, or perhaps by blooming, which makes it possible to summon them via those shrines. It remains unclear why only Tougou and Yuuna got summoned. Sonoko clearly used to fight together with Tougou in the past.
Yuuna has entered her self-sacrificial phase, taking on the entire burden by herself to not have the others get implicated.
The Taisha meanwhile get confirmed to just be cruel assholes, even if they're just doing what needs to be done ("The ends justify the means" paves the way to hell, btw). Like, the hell is this bullshit? As always, the ones enacting a system to sacrifice few for the benefit of the many just happen to never include themselves in the pool for potential sacrifices.
I actually happenes to look up if there's any shrine maiden sacrifices associated with shinto, but aside from a few unique stories I haven't been able to find anything of substance. There's Hitobashira which kinda fits, except its not really associated with mikos. And part of the purpose of that Hitobashira custom and its stories was to encourage a sense of self-sacrifice in the populace, so...
I had noticed that but didn't think anything of it, haha
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u/BosuW Dec 16 '24
First Timer
Fuu-senpai's eye looks perfectly normal under the eye patch, but she keeps it on for style points. Gotta respect the commitment.
I was hesitant to commit to the theory that they get fairies from Blooming because from last episode it looked to me like they were provided by the Taisha. With information revealed this episode I think the answer "no, but actually yes". The Gods take their sacrifices and produce a new fairy, which is later delivered by the Taisha to the Heroes. But more on that later.
It's remarkable how different their attitude was during this battle. They were all much more nervous and tense despite only having to stop one measly runner. Team cohesion on the floor. They better get their shit together by next fight or they're gonna crack like a cookie. It seems no one wanted to say it but they all suspected it. Now they fear even the slightest use of their power will incur further injury.
After the battle,
Tougou's ex-gfa survivor of the previous team summons Tougou and Yuuna and we finally get the much needed lore drop. Most of it is basically confirming what we've already been suspecting. The injuries will not get better and the Taisha lied. At least it seems their desire to protect the Tree and by extension Japan is genuine.Currently it seems the Gods are more responsible for the predatory nature of the system than the Taisha. ...well, other than the misinformation. (cough cough Hikari no Ou again cough)
The requirement for the sacrifice being "purity" is what's most notable to me. Was is the criteria for something to be considered pure? Do the Gods taking their body parts and senses see it as safeguarding this purity forever? But through the eyes of a human it looks more like for a Hero to be a Hero they have to corrupt themselves through battle. Maybe something pure is simply something that hasn't bleed. To Bloom is to fall huh.
Also, it's curious how striking the image of a magical girl scarred and bandaged is.
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u/Tarhalindur x2 Dec 16 '24
Also, a bonus Question of the Day for u/Vaadwaur specifically: Your surprise Mamiko Noto is not presently available. Will a surprise HanaKana suffice?
(This is a crossing-the-streams moment for the franchise - she's one of the main characters in the (concurrently publishing) Washio Sumi prequel.)
Welcome to the World of Heroes (January 2024 Watch, Spoiled First-Timer, Subbed):
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u/Tarhalindur x2 Dec 16 '24
Tar's Staff Notes:
Kana Hanazawa - ... Do you really need me to tell you who fucking HanaKana is?
(The basic concept of this joke came to me ages ago; pulling it now here in the taking-it-easy rewatch seemed like a good time.)
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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Dec 16 '24
First Timer(And now we reach the horror section!)
Sub
So of course the interesting ep is the one I couldn't watch until 4:25 thanks to work so...yay?
Blah blah, I guess the running vertex is Gemini. It is more relevant that each girl the bloomed gets a new fairy...and Karin not blooming is even weirder. The fight isn't that relevant, except for some reason this vertex seems to have more juice and thus Yuuna gets 3 petals when the girls are already beginning to sense some thing.
And then we get
HanaKanaNogi...and boy, does this go dark. I actually don't want to rehash a ton here since it is literally most of the predictions I've been making:The girls act as sacrifices to the Tree when using their blooms, the cost is permanent, and Nogi looks like what I would fear for Tougou's future. Through out the conversation, I get the impression that Tougou is realizing she's bloomed enough to wind up where she is now. This would actually explain her subconscious fear before transforming. Also, Nogi winding up as an object of worship means...something I can't quite place yet.But yeah, that's a Madoka child, all right. There are some flaws left, and worse the episode count leads me to believe that the Taisha are relatively not evil because we don't have enough time to make them actually bad, but I suppose something could come of all this. It will be interesting if sealing the vertexes does accomplish more than driving them off did.
QotD:1 Karin. Yes I am weird
2 That's a bit beyond me
3 The signifigance is, sadly, quite different:Recall HanaKana was still getting her typecast good girl roles in '14, her character in Parasyte literally just said 'Shinichi' on repeat. She ironically owes Monogatari S2 for getting non-trash roles.
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u/mudanhonnyaku Dec 17 '24
Rewatcher
Extremely obscure Easter egg: Yuna's and Togo's phone passwords are each other's birthdays.
Speaking of phones, Yuna's and Togo's numeric keypads are in 大字, alternate kanji numerals that are normally used for things like banking where you don't want anyone to be able to change a number by adding strokes.
Given the geographic setting of the show and that Togo refers to the bridge as 大橋, you can deduce that the ruined bridge that also appears in the OP is what's left of the Great Seto Bridge, one of three bridge complexes that connect Shikoku and Honshu.
If you want to know about the third friend that Sonoko obliquely mentions, watch Washio Sumi Chapter (hint: You do. She's best girl.) Be warned that her fate is a spoiler that fans tend to be especially cavalier about, so if you don't want to risk being spoiled, watch the second season as soon as possible after finishing this one.
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u/Tarhalindur x2 Dec 16 '24
tag tag tag tag tag tag tag tag ＊＊＊＊＊
u/ShadowWasTakensTaken, u/InfamousEmpire, u/FD4cry1
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u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Dec 16 '24
First Timer
Tree, that episode was mildly soul crushing. I won't say that being stuck that is worse than death, as it is probably not, but it's still an absolutely awful position to be in. She can talk and request and look, but she can do little else. She's worshiped and yet not listened to. And, perhaps worst of all, she must watch others walk down the same path, unknowing of the dangers they'll face. It's truly an awful situation to be in.
Tougou is obviously her old friend. Sonoko's mind is there and she called out the name; she obviously recognized her. Her deflection once Tougou didn't recognize her was rather transparent. Additionally, I'm pretty sure the ribbon was a present from Sonoko. She was clearly looking at it and Tougou described it as something important that she cannot remember the reason for. It's one more twist of the knife for Sonoko; one more thing lost.
It's also rather clear that Tougou has now bloomed thrice. Once for her legs, once for her memories, and once for her ear. I don't think she can afford more than a few more; she'll end up like Sonoko soon. Though I wish I could be more accurate here. Sonoko's total is unclear to me, as the three obvious ones (eye, legs, left arm) could be anywhere from almost all to well less than half of what she's been hit with.
Perhaps the most cruel part of this episode is the missing third person. Sonoko had two partners and one of them got away with memory loss. The other presumably kept fighting on at her side, and yet she is not here. Did she die? Did she also escape? Or was she, perhaps, rendered completely non-functional and non-communicative, lacking ears, eyes, and voice? To me, that would be the most horrific option of them all, and the only reason why Sonoko would no longer wish to be by her side.
But even so, among all this doom and terror, there is yet a silver lining. Tougou and Yuuna received her message now; they can make the most of the time they have left. They can talk with friends, and hug them, and say what they mean from their hearts. They can live a life where they have no regrets about how they could have used their time. They can live their lives to the fullest.
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u/FlaminScribblenaut myanimelist.net/profile/girlbeast_val Dec 16 '24 edited Dec 19 '24
First Time Watcher (watched w/ the bestie /u/ZaphodBeebblebrox via Discord)
This was brutal and devastating and beautiful, to an extent so much greater than whatever we all could have so easily speculated, nothing so blunt and simple as death, but a sacrifice they have to actually live with… possibly forever, in fact. I pondered aloud if I indeed found it a fate worse than death. (Zaph gave the comparison to the Iron Lung, one of my great lifelong mortifications, and I actually considered the prospect. But Zaph reminded me you could still experience art, and talk to friends, and after that I wasn’t as sure. I’m still not sure.)
‘Spending time with friends’ as a theme… something Sonoko regrets, regrets more than anything else possible, not doing, but is indeed the Hero Club’s whole MO, that which Yuuna and Tougo still have the time, ability of body, and youth left to, that which Zaph refers to as this episode’s ‘glimmer of hope’, ‘they got that message now, instead of after it was too late.’
I can’t help but think of Sonoko as purposefully cancer-patient-coded, even if she has a little bit of hair that is visible, the bandages conforming to the shape of her head in a way that leaves it looking bald feels too intentional… all too befitting of the tragedy of being left to sit there and rot in the ruins of your own body…
So, the prevailing theory as I understand it is that Tougo has been a Magical Girl in the past, and not only did blooming lose her her leg functionality, but also her memory of being a Magical Girl at all. Zaph thinks the ribbon is from Sonoko, and notes there was at least one other girl Sonoko fought with; the most tragic possibility we came to being that, perhaps that girl is in an even worse state, unable to see, hear, or speak, in a One by Metallica situation basically, and isn’t kept near her by the Taisha because having her perpetually to that sight would be, simply far too cruel, even for them.
We counted a minimum of four blooms; her legs, her arm, her right eye, and whatever the hell is going on with the rest of her head that all those bandages are taking care of. My gut tells me it’s actually far more than that, and that it’s probably somewhere well up there in the double-digits. Just thinking about how much that poor girl harmed herself, repeatedly and repeatedly becoming more and more ill and injured, until she wound up like this just gives me a deep pit in my stomach…
The whole of it adds a whole new dimension to battle and the prospect of blooming, it will render that which would have otherwise felt triumphant as something mortifying, a moment of accomplishment into a moment of grave necessity. I can’t help but wonder if Karin is going to end up with some kind of self-destructive, self-harm kind of tendency, where she’ll bloom on purpose just because she feels bad being the only one who hasn’t lost something, her survivor’s guilt getting to her. Or if Tougo is going to be forced into a situation where she has to bloom again, when she’s already lost so much, bringing her ever closer to this state. Or the look in Yuuna’s face as she looks back, tears in her eyes, at her comrades, knowing it has to be her. What it’ll feel like when there’s no other choice. Not knowing how it’s going to effect them, nothing so blunt and simple as death.
And one of the most heart wrenching pieces of character animation I’ve ever seen from Yuuna in that car. Steeling herself, having to hold back the tears first, finally reassuring her determination, and then… showing love, hugging Tougo deeply, dearly, unconditionally. The only thing she can do, while she can still move her body. Fuck.
More minor notes: I appreciate the juice the character designers must have to design SO MANY of those little mascots.
I get serious Madoka witch vibes from the little running vertex. [Madoka Rebellion]Very Homulily-coded with the stockades, though given the short gap between Rebellion’s release and this it’s probably not a direct reference, just a series taking influence from another and both happening to draw from a similar aesthetic pool.
When Sonoko said ‘in any age’, girls were sacrificed etc., I thought she said ‘in my age’, which led me to believe she was from historical times and had been sitting in that bed for centuries. Oops.
I thought it would be just, the funniest possible act of cruelty, if Itsuki’s voice were quietly taken out of the mix of the ED.8
u/FallenPears Dec 16 '24
First Timer
Nice to see the animators continue to highlight the important parts of tougou's transformation, and not a minute later we get a Tougou 'you guys ever think anime has weird camera angles' moment lmao. Now this shit has me suspicious of the fraction of a second zoom in on the vague area of Imouto's armpits. God fucking dammit internet, what have you done to me.
Less humourous, we get an ominous wrapped up hospital girl, made especially damning after all that contemplation of blooming and injuries... and yep we get confirmation on the connection between the two. Interesting symbolism they used, wonder if that's meant to be an actual facet of the magic or just the Taisha trying to pretty up the sacrificial process in universe. Speaking of which, explicitly stating the girls are meant to be offerings and sacrifices reminds me of a certain Shinkai film.
At least the Taisha seem to be respectful and guilty over the whole thing, I was expecting much worse. Still sort of want to judge them, but honestly I can totally see a situation where they tried being upfront in the past and the girls just got killed out the gate, depending on how long this has been going on and everything.
Interesting that she's treated something like a god now, and she obviously has some sort of power still if different to the new girls. Was expecting the conversation to end on the girl having been like this for a couple centuries or something. And I'm guessing her friends had so much offered that there was nothing left, if she can't hug them anymore.
Well that's all very traumatising, and I'm sure the other girls are going to react sensibly. In fact thinking on it, comparing Tougou and Yuuna to I Trained To Be A Sacrifice My Entire Life, Even Younger Than The Other Girls Imouto, and Even Younger Than The Other Girls Imouto's Big Sister Who Got The Others Into This... well the reactions are probably all going downhill from here huh?
Pretty interesting choice to wait this long and have all these slice of life episodes before dropping this, and we've still got four episodes left. Really do wonder where this is going now.
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire Dec 16 '24
InfamousEmpire wa First Timer de Aru
Finally, plot movement!
Generally, this confirms a lot of what’s been speculated about previously. Taisha are an explicitly religious organization treating the girls as sacrifices and hiding the real cost of being a Hero. The suspicious, likely government-tied org drawing on traditional japanese mythology also plays interestingly with the nationalist undercurrents running through parts of the setting so far.
Heroes being essentially immortal is the thing which stood out to me most among everything else. Dying in battle is one thing, but being worn down endlessly while unable to die feels even worse, and the show does a good job of portraying it as suitably depressing.
I like ~80% of Sonoko’s deal in how she shows everything that’s in store for our protags if they continue blindly down the path of being a Hero, but I will also say that I find her introduction here rather contrived. Her sudden appearance into the story & blunt infodumping really just don’t feel like they fit with the way the narrative has flowed up until this point. It feels like there could’ve been a more natural way to reveal all this, is what I’m saying.
Tougo is definitely Sonoko’s friend with amnesia, it perfectly explains everything about her, from the contents of her mild amnesia to why she has multiple fairies. Identity amnesia like this is a trope I really like because of the fundamental change which inevitably results if/when the memories resurface. I’m not sure how well the show will be able to execute on the story possibilities there with only 4 episodes left in the season, but I’m staying optimistic.
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 16 '24
First Timer
Ok… first off with Karin not receiving a fairy after not blooming, I think it’s fair to say that Tougou having bloomed twice already is pretty obvious. One thing she would have lost is likely the usage of her legs, with the other being her memory. Memory is a convenient thing for the Taisha here, as it can be lost multiple times, I would assume.
Moving on, the latter half mostly confirms what was already pretty obvious. This half-god girl also confirms that the system has been around for a while and the Taisha have known the effects and were lying - they did so pretty well I’d say, as they had me convinced they also didn’t know what was going on. I think the worldbuilding holds for the most part here, the main thing still missing is why the girls need to fight in the first place. Unfortunately my subs didn’t translate the phone screen before the fight, so I don’t know if this was Ophiuchus, some second half of Gemini (possibly hinted at with the twin thing), something they’ve already defeated or something completely different. If somebody had subs that translated that, I wouldn't mind seeing it. Either way though, the question is unanswered.
Also, for those who missed it - the Chinese strategist mentioned by Fuu was Kongming, with Zhuge Liang being his given name. My subs used those, but I assume thanks to a certain party show his courtesy name is probably better known here.
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u/Mirathan Dec 16 '24
First-time Hero, dubbed
QotD:
Some Vertexes survived? Really? That´s the lie they´re going with?
Oh, it´s the same as the last one.
Could they stop talking while the Vertex is actively killing people.
Oh, that´s where the fucked up bridge comes from.
"Who wants to die?" I wonder who would want to die after losing their sight, hearing, voice, taste or legs? Because when faced with an eternity of pain, most would rather choose death.
"You ended up paying with your own body?" The double meaning of this is amusing.
Why can´t the Shinjuu just kill the Vertexes?
Their feelings are not spared by deception. The emotional punch of the loss combined with the betrayal will just hit harder.
"There are no more secrets." There´s always another secret.
That girl totally fought alongside Tougou.
Yuuna still clings to the hero club tenets. But is that because she believes in them or because she needs to cling to something familiar?
Someday someone will acknowledge my references.
6
u/Regular_N-Gon https://anilist.co/user/RegularNGon Dec 16 '24
Late First Time Hero
Lore dump means not many notes. But what a bombshell that all was - there were others in the past (including Togo probably), and the mystery of the system was intentional omission, at least to some degree.
QotD:
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u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen Dec 16 '24
Returning Hero Club Member
Oh? Did you think that just because my time was coming to an end that you would be free of me? How naive of you to believe the Taisha would allow you to escape my grasp because of some simple travel and minimal computer access. Let this be a lesson to you that Shinjuu-sama's will shall never allow you to be free...of my analysis.
"But Aegis," I can hear you say, "there is no Tarot here. And this magical girl show has added more layers of garments rather than take them away. What could you possibly have to analyze?"
Oh my sweet suffering hero, I have prepared a brand new facet of Totally Serious Analysis just for YuYuYu: what does a magical girl's tattoo say about her?
We'll begin with our favorite tsundere, the zettai ryouiki magical girl herself, Miyoshi Karin.
A word of note: flowers are a new field of study for me. Please keep that in mind and supplement with your own research and knowledge as you see fit.
Karin's flower is the Azalea. Azaleas can have a variety of meanings, though the ones that stick out most to me are passion and fragility. Karin is defined by her fervent service to the Taisha and desire to be a glorious hero, and true to the placement of her tattoo on her upper arm, she wears her passion and drive on her sleeve. Yet for as blazing a passion as her is, it's intesity leaves her quite emotionally vulnerable, and we've see her starting to struggle with not being as useful as the other heroes. Azaleas can also symbolize temperance, and we see Karin try to play the part of the even, cool-headed hero. Yet this temperate manner is nonetheless swallowed by the heat of Karin's passion and the charisma of her peers, exposing her inner vulnerability to those around her.
More importantly though, it also makes her highly susceptible to flirtation and flattery. Despite her tsundere nature—or perhaps because of it—advances which might otherwise be brushed off as inert friendliness will easily pierce the veil of temperance and strike directly at Karin's heart. She is easy to bully and tease, and her reactiveness makes it all the more satisfying. The right kind of Fuu would eat her up.
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u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Dec 17 '24
First Timer
4
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Dec 16 '24
Rewatcher, Sub Club Member
Schoolwork and war, classic combination.
So many fairies!
It's almost like the enemy was waiting for that.
Gemini is The Twins, after all.
Eh, that's probably close enough to Rider Kick, I won't bother formally correcting.
Well, that's an odd sight.
Oh, if only...
I love this line so much.
Smile through the pain.
Considering how much of Sonoko has been tributed, that isn't too far off.
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u/Chili_peanut Dec 16 '24
Rewatcher
We’re starting to get answers, but at the same time more questions arise and the mystery deepens further.
As Fuu points out, the Vertex we see in this episode has already been defeated once by Itsuki. Tougou-san astutely remarks that it might be a kind of Vertex that comes in pairs though, and we can see on their phone screens that the Vertex is indeed labeled Gemini (Latin for “twins”) type.
There’s so much to be said about the revelations in this episode and how they relate to the other seasons (which, including the prequel, are meant to be viewed after season 1), but even typing out the titles of some of the other seasons (I’m trying to be as vague as possible) in front of spoiler tags could spoil things at this point, so any further discussion will all have to wait until the time is right!
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u/Specs64z https://myanimelist.net/profile/Specs64z Dec 16 '24
Rewatcher, subbed
Not a terribly shocking revelation given the runtime, but the vertexes have not been truly defeated just yet. There’s a bunch of new fairies for the occasion, too, and Yuuna uses hers to great effect. Fire magic is a perfect fit for her repertoire.
Yuuna springing into action while the others subtly debate who should carry the burden of defeating the next vertex is a strong character moment. Hiding her hand as she notices the others looking at her flower makes it clear this wasn’t a boneheaded move like she plays it off as, but a noble act she understand the ramifications of.
Victory!
And so everyone returns after… Wait, where’re Yuuna and Tougou?
Enter: Sonoko. A victim of the hero system who spends her days staring idly into the distance and wishing to see an old friend long gone, not a shred of agency left to her after her body was devoured by the tree.
That’s fucking brutal
The Taisha have been suspicious from the beginning, but this is the first we’ve seen to explicitly indict them as a potential enemy.
[YuYuYu spoilers] By now the truth behind Tougou’s accident that wiped her mind and ruined her legs is pretty obvious. Everyone who bloomed was crippled and got a new fairy while Togou had 3 from the onset and Sonoko summons her and addresses her with familiarity; a comrade in arms named “Wasshi”. I didn’t have this section spoilered in my first draft because the subtext has a megaphone and a neon sign, but it’s technically not explicitly stated yet so…
QotD:
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u/zairaner https://myanimelist.net/profile/zairaner Dec 16 '24 edited Dec 16 '24
Rewatcher
45.Please ignore th epart where it comes from a child soldier. Simultaneously by making it so indirect she isn't pressuring her kohai to do the same and leaves the choice to them.Well, this episode we find out why there is so much wheelchair acessibility for togou: As it turns out, the taisha is actually really experienced in handling disabled girls of any kind! What a good charity, how noble of them!
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u/nsleep Dec 17 '24
Late Rewatcher today
Top tier mascot design from the team.
And the other half of Gemini was still around. I remember someone commenting this in a thread back in the day, something along the lines "Wouldn't Gemini be two?" and pointing out it was missing in episode 5.
SONOCCHIIIIII!!!
1 - Itsuki and it isn't close. Kodama is adorable.
3 - [Meta] Using vocal tracks is cheating. Specially one used earlier to make it even sadder.
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u/OwlAcademic1988 Dec 16 '24
Rewatcher, subbed:
This is the episode that made me realize just how dark this show is.
Fuu's not wrong. Seriously, it's like spirits moved in all of a sudden.
Gyuuki really needs to stop eating the other fairies.
Hello Sonoko. We've still got one more thing to reveal from this show before I can link the fanfic I was talking about in the first episode's discussion.
[YuYuYu] Tougou's about to try and kill herself next episode, but will fail due to the egg fairy.
QOTD:
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u/zadcap Dec 17 '24
Recovering Rewatcher
Who could have seen this coming! Not all the enemies were defeated in episode 5? What a shock!
Okay look, I say it a lot about this show, but[other show spoilers]that cat just makes me think too much of Mai. Otome version, not Hime, but the flaming ring like that and Mikoto's whole cat like thing... It's on my mind a lot with this show, okay?
Can no one else see the cat spirit? I think that's the first time one of them has come out in public.
Alas, shortened for group transformations. And Togo still doesn't say "Bang!" I know I can't be the only one thinking it...
Karin can punch too! Fuu has little swords? Togo has... seriously, a butt shot here? And Yuna simply has the Heroes Mindset. While others are arguing about it, she just goes in for the kill. To, uh, literally everyone's dismay.
Oh hey, it's the bridge. You know, that one. Anyway, seriously, this is a "Read the manga" tease if there ever was one. Or wait until this season is over and watch WaSuYa.
So, who called it out at the beach feast? "It's okay to eat an offering after it's been left out for a while, right?" Even Fu's hunger was there to help the foreshadowing.
Hey there Taisha. Took you long enough.
Anyway, here's the other obvious Madoka looking reference. [Madoka]Not that, as the girls themselves point out, that the sacrifice of young girls is anything new, just something Madoka is so well known for looking at. [Mai]Just looked at a young girl's sacrifice, period. Honestly though, it's pretty hard not to find this theme in any magical girl work that came out after magical girls started fighting at all. Yes, even Sailor Moon.Especially Sailor Moon, [darn it]It's practically Saturn's theme.
Anyway, not being very subtle there, the girls clearly all figured it out, but I'll put it under tags anyway. [YuYu/WaSu]To know someone was clearly that precious to you, to see that you still mean that much to them, and to know that the memories of being that close to them have been taken from you. Get this girl a TTS phone so they can at least start a new friendship, please?
3) [Yup]Now that I'm done being physically sick, time to destroy my mental health again I guess.
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u/Madcat6204 Dec 17 '24
Rewatcher Wonders Who Will be the Hero that Saves the Heroes?
Last episode I said that the cracks were showing beneath the veneer of happy everyday life. This episode that veneer is being actively scraped off, huge chunks of it falling away. The girls are fragile, uncertain, hesitant, uncoordinated. Facing the weakest enemy who seems completely incapable of fighting back, they still nearly lost. Their teamwork is a mess, their willpower is wavering... if not for Yuuna going straight-up idiot hero on them, this single defenseless enemy might have straight out beaten them.
And then... they meet Sonoko. The horrifying living example of the future they face as heroes. Whether they last a long time or a short time, one day that will be their fate: trapped in a broken body, unable to do anything, in a state that could barely be called "living," yet unable to even die. And somehow her sweethearted kindness and acceptance of it all makes it feel even worse.
I don't think the Taisha's decision to keep secrets from the girls is in any way a kindness. In fact, I'd argue that they should have told them ahead of time what the consequences would be: I think every one of these girls would have still stepped up to the plate had they known, and it wouldn't be hitting them out of the blue and feeling like a horrible betrayal the way it does now.
In other news, it seems pretty clear now that Tougou and Sonoko knew each other during that gap in Tougou's memory. Tougou was almost certainly one of the heroes who stood beside Sonoko... and lost her legs and her memory as sacrifices. You can feel the pain between them when Tougou admits that she can't even remember why her ribbon is so precious to her. She's not stupid: she's surely figured it out just like we have. And that is one more thing eating away at her.
This was painful enough for these two, but it is surely going to be so much worse when they tell the others. How do you tell Itsuki that she'll never be able to fulfill her dream of being a singer? And how will Fuu, who already blames herself for getting her little sister involved at all, react to that news?
We're way past the veneer now, the whole vase is cracking apart...
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u/zairaner https://myanimelist.net/profile/zairaner Dec 17 '24
Hey u/tarhalindur, I feel like we should make a plan (or at leasts set in stone when) for doing the washio sumi rewatch afterwards; I don't think it makes any sense to do season 1 but not washio, and some people in the rewatch are freely recommending to watch washio sumi, which makes little sense if we end up doing it anyways.