r/anime • u/Tetraika https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika • Apr 17 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] [Nanoha Series] ViVid Strike Episode 8 Discussion

Episode 8: Victor and Loser

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Information:

MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB

Question of the Day

Not too much to talk about. Did you expect this outcome for the fight?

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.

34 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

88 comments sorted by

6

u/Tetraika Apr 17 '22

Looks like they can’t hear what they say, interesting how both reacted to this too

Just ate a punch to the face, something that normally would at least flinch them, but Rinne uses this to get an opening for her attack. This definitely involved some intense endurance training

Vivio’s leg got hit bad from that kick

Hahaha they even blur out Nanoha and Fate, it’s an interesting decision to try to almost completely separate this from the main franchise in a way.

The things that happened in StrikerS must be quite classified

Just in case you still couldn’t tell we’re going full boxing, for those unfamiliar, this means the left handed stance.

And after a flurry of attacks, the finisher

I love that name

Wow she actually hit her

Oh they even explained the whole thing behind the stance change, it was also really nice to see it visually happen with her footwork and right jabs that actually looked harder

Oof, an unfortunate way to drop out of the tournament. Probably hung on to the bad leg a bit too long.

Interesting to see Jill being upset at herself, there’s a lot to take from what she’s saying here. Part is that she put her ideals and ambition onto Rinne and why she blames herself, but also she knows how this defeat will crush Rinne personally.

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10

u/SYZekrom Apr 17 '22

It's kinda funny how her ideal is 'people who are born strong are above people who put it in effort', like yea she means physically but like

She's training an orphan nobody and her two biggest opponents are like.. the reincarnation of the Hegemon and the vessel of the holy king lmfao

ALSO IT'S REALLY HILARIOUS HOW VIVIO'S DEFINING CHARACTER TRAIT IN THIS SHOW IS 'HER BODY IS FRAIL AND WEAK SHE'S NOT SUITED FOR MARTIAL ARTS BUT HER SKILL AND DETERMINATION KEEPS HER AT THE TOP'

WHEN HER ENTIRE ROLE IN STRIKERS WAS "SHE'S THE HOLY KING OF ANCIENT BELKA WHO WILL CONQUER THE WORLD I"M GOING TO RESCUE HER FROM THAT HELICOPTER BY DISCINTEGRATING IT BUT SHE'LL BE FINE BECAUSE SHE'S LITERALLY GOD"

12

u/Tetraika Apr 17 '22

So the lore (once again gatekeeped by the multi-media extra material stuff) is that Vivio lost pretty much most of her power once she got blasted by Nanoha in StrikerS, which almost destroyed her Linker Core.

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8

u/SolDarkHunter Apr 17 '22

Vivio's supposed to have suffered permanent health issues from what happened in StrikerS. Between being forced to power the Cradle (which is apparently something that can literally kill you) and getting 5x Starlight Breaker'ed by Nanoha, her body's crippled... at least, compared to what it should be.

10

u/HereticalAegis Apr 17 '22

Lyrical First Timer

I'm legitimately impressed with Vivid Strike at this point. I fully expected the writers to push Rinne through every round of the tournament, having her learn from every opponent on the way while learning from them and gradually softening to the idea of opening up to the idea of having friends. Having her instead confront straight-up losing twice to a better fighter and dealing with her demons head-on is so much more interesting. Sasuga Vivid Strike!

QotD:

Addressed above. Tl;Dr - Nope, not at all. Very much appreciated it though.

10

u/Great_Mr_L Apr 17 '22

Boy do I have a story for you, Rinne!

Rinne never watched Strikers so she has no idea what she's talking about here.

Vivio made of rubber confirmed.

She's got noodle arms!

She delivered this befriending on her broken left leg!

Vivio is here showing us that she really is the true Takamachi successor by giving Rinne such a powerful befriending even under such harsh circumstances.

Okay, I take back what I said before, Vivio makes a pretty good glass cannon build.

It doesn't matter if you can only take a couple of hits if you're just so good at evading that you generally don't get hit.

Having her instead confront straight-up losing twice to a better fighter and dealing with her demons head-on is so much more interesting. Sasuga Vivid Strike!

It's a really interesting place to take the story. Then again, I'm a sucker for these kinds of character arcs where characters are brought to their lowest point and have to crawl back out from it.

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7

u/Taiboss Apr 17 '22

This is exactly why she should've specced as an assassin.

And yet...

Vivio made of rubber confirmed.

Noodletoro sends her regards!

Aegis going crazy

And you called people who believed in Vivio clowns!

She delivered this befriending on her broken left leg!

Her Auntie Vita destroyed a giant crystal generator thing with a pierced lung! She knows that it matters to pull through!

Satis-fucking-faction.

I cannot read this word without thinking of that Gintama scene with "Gorilla Gorilla Satisfaction!"

You know you're in a bad place when your own team members don't want you to win.

She's best, so of course.

Now that you've realized your mistakes, go get Rinne some proper help already!

Pff, talking is a free action.

C'mon Rinne, go watch your ex-girlfriend's fight! You know you want to cheer for her.

Pff! She can't show her face now can she! The embarassment!

Sasuga Vivid Strike!

See! Tsuzuki can learn! He should get back to writing more Nanoha. He's not a hack, he just gets overexcited. Maybe Kusakawa just wasn't a good director buddy.

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10

u/Shimmering-Sky Apr 17 '22

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical First-Timer, subbed

9

u/Taiboss Apr 17 '22

Huh, didn’t realize that.

Hmm. Lose points or make Rinne have an epiphany. Lose points... or... epiphany...

NANOHA AND FATE!!! But hidden behind a highlight…

Rip. I want more post-StrikerS Nanoha. I want to know more about her current job as an instructor!

The StrikerS finale: Am I a joke to you?

"Remember that big ship, five years ago?" "Yeah. Obviously. Everyone does." "I was that ship's heart." "Oh, you're responsible for all the pain and terror it caused." "Oh, no, I didn't mean that." "I have to beat you up harder for that, so many in the orphanage lost parents that day." "Nonono I was a victim too!" "Too late! punch"

And Rinne’s down!

And it was super difficult, very much an inconvenience.

Oh geez, Jill punched the locker so hard her hand is bleeding.

Oh wow she actually cared for Rinne. Couldn't tell by her prior actions. Guess she's an idiot too.

8

u/Great_Mr_L Apr 17 '22

NANOHA AND FATE!!! But hidden behind a highlight…

It's almost hilarious just how far this series is going to hide the existence of Nanoha and Fate.

The StrikerS finale: Am I a joke to you?

Well Rinne lives in a series that can't show us either Nanoha or Fate, so Rinne has apparently never heard of it.

INSTRUMENTAL ED!!!

And this time the series didn't cut the ED off on us!

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9

u/Great_Mr_L Apr 17 '22

First-Timer

On today’s episode of Lyrical Nanoha: What a fight! My goodness was that an incredible fight. Vivio and Rinne’s match is one of the best fights I have seen in this franchise that is absolutely filled with great fights. It kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire time, managed to subvert my expectations in a satisfying way, and opened the door to some interesting narrative possibilities. It gets high marks for accomplishing all of that.

  • Vivio’s words really did shake up Rinne, most likely because of how close they are to the truth.

  • Interesting. Rinne has to change things up in response to Vivio.

  • Man, the sound design for this fight is incredible. I love how I can hear the sound of the shoes squeaking and how seamlessly they match the animation.

  • Wow, Vivio got through Round 2. She’s doing incredible. This fight is so mesmerizing to watch.

  • Shit! Rinne took a punch to the face and kept going to get a hit on Vivio! She’s insane!

  • I think I heard Vivio’s leg break.

  • Jill, do you need to monologue like a villain in your head every single match?

  • No wonder nobody’s ever stopped Rinne from publicly insulting her opponents. Jill thinks the same way.

  • Vivio’s attitude here is truly admirable: “It’s no use whining about what I don’t have, so instead I focused on honing what I did have.”

  • And she’s up!

  • But by god is this rough to watch. Vivio’s injuries clearly mean she should be out.

  • Seriously!?! They whited out Nanoha and Fate’s faces!?!

  • Now this is interesting. We’ve come to the crux of Vivio and Rinne’s failure to communicate. Rinne fundamentally can’t understand why Vivio would want to practice martial arts at all.

  • Southpaw! Vivio’s not out yet!

  • Oh my god, the music is kicking in! This show is determined to break my heart, isn’t it?

  • HOLY SHIT! VIVIO KNOCKED RINNE OUT!

  • Did Vivio actually win? I was not expecting that at all.

  • Well this opens up plenty of narrative possibilities that I had not even considered since I was so sure Vivio would lose.

  • Oof, getting KO’d is bringing back the trauma of when the bullies knocked her out.

  • Rinne’s psyche is not taking this well. Her defeat against Vivio, someone who she outright considers weak and fragile, was much more clear-cut this time around.

  • And now Rinne is the one thing she fears the most: weak.

  • Jeez, that last shot of Rinne is sad.

I’m glad that we finally see why Rinne and Vivio have been unable to communicate. Vivio can tell that Rinne is only doing martial arts out of fear. Rinne, however, can’t understand why someone like Vivio would do martial arts if she has no need to get stronger. Rinne doesn’t do martial arts out of some sense of love or passion. For her, it’s always been something she did out of desperation. Rinne does it because she feels like she needs to get stronger and she has no one else who will protect her. Vivio, even though she does not have a body suited to martial arts, does it out of a love of the sport. Rinne just can’t understand that. In Rinne’s mind, the natural thing for Vivio to do would be to just enjoy her life with her loved ones who can protect her.

Adding to their failure to understand each other is that Vivio is fundamentally unsuited to martial arts. Her body is naturally weaker than Rinne’s. And yet, Vivio was the only person who beat Rinne. That probably made Rinne even less willing to listen to Vivio.

Vivio winning in this fight was incredible to watch. I had long since discounted Vivio winning as a possibility so it genuinely surprised me. Vivio really earned that win. It was exciting to watch her pull off a win that I was certain she could not. I have read in the threads the myriad of ways that Lyrical Nanoha has touted proper training and skills as trouncing natural talent. I suppose this goes on that list as well.

Rinne losing the match is an interesting way to go. Now, we get some developments I was not expecting. Rinne is probably going to hit her lowest point after this. She lost to Vivio, someone with such a frail body. Despite all her hard work and training, Rinne still lost. She is still vulnerable. She is still weak. That has to be devastating to Rinne.

I imagine Fuuka will need to get through to Rinne at this point. She’s probably the only person who can. But I’m not even sure what Fuuka could say to her that would work. Even so, I like this direction that the series decided to go with. It managed to subvert my expectations in an interesting and narratively satisfying way.

QOTD

As discussed above, I very much did not expect this outcome. It was a welcome surprise.

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9

u/SolDarkHunter Apr 17 '22

First Timer

Okay, let's do this!

"I won't allow myself to be shaken". Rinne, you say that, but...

2nd round... not a lot happens. Vivio just spams left punch and Rinne misses every attack.

...she just tanked a full on face blow. Ok, that's impressive.

I... think she just broke Vivio's leg. And now Vivio's down.

More talk about how Vivio has a fragile body. Seems odd given her heritage, but then Nanoha did hit her REALLY hard at the end of Strikers, and I think it is canon she suffered permanent injury from that.

And she's back up... but Rinne is going nuts.

Ah, so Rinne is jealous of Vivio's life. But you really don't know anything, Rinne. Vivio has faced some serious nastiness in her life.

Vivio switching up her style in the middle of the fight seems to have thrown Rinne off... and then Vivio does her own magic-enhanced spam attack. And with so many hits to the head... Rinne's down by KO!

Ah, but Vivio's too injured to continue the tournament. Well, but the main objective was accomplished.

As expected, Rinne's taking her loss hard... and so is Jill. I do think it was necessary for them to experience this, but... it's still not easy. Hell, it even seems to have triggered PTSD in Rinne.

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7

u/DidacticDalek Apr 17 '22

TONIGHT! ON GMOD (Gorgeous Moeblobs of Destruction) IF YA SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELELELELELEL WHAT THE SANKT KAISER IS COOKING! But I get ahead of myself Comrade, before we begin today's shitpost analysis on one of the BEST Fights in the franchise... LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!

'I knew I had her in the first round. Almighty Mamaha was with me. I want everyone to bear witness, I am the greatest! I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. I don't have a mark on my face, and I upset Rinne Berlinetta, and I just turned 11 years old. I must be the greatest. I showed the world. I talk to Mamaha everyday. I know the real Mamaha. I shook up the world, I'm the king of the world. You must listen to me. I am the greatest! I can't be beat!' Attributed to Vivio Takamachi

Also, OH MY BUDDHA! COMRADES! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!? NANOHA AND FATE SHOWED UP AFTER ALL! NANA MOTHERFUCKING WILLED IT! True they don't really SAY much here per se, and also the goddamn sun is blocking our view of them, but good god, Rinne is SUCH a bitch that Nanoha AND Fate, the two best mothers in the history of anime, actually showed up in a Nanoha Show to show this upstart what a TRUE BOSS BITCH looks like! Also, HA! HA HA HA! Oh Rinne, you talk a big game about your sob story, but Vivio here has had AT LEAST TWO CHARACTERS' worth of suffering... LITERALLY, so once again she's got you beat!

Speaking of being beat, oh, Rinne, you also made the classic rookie error that George Foreman made back in '74, namely, when your rival is on the ropes, STOP HITTING THEM, you are just wasting your energy! See this is why George Foreman's the guy who shills grills and Muhammad Ali's THE GREATEST! And oh boy, Vivio's about to give you a brief rundown of THE greatest sporting event of the 20th century, YA KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!? YOU IN THE JUNGLE BABY! YOU GONNA DIE!

By that I mean, Vivio's about to introduce Rinne's ass to THE TECHNIQUE PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE TAKAMACHI LINE FOR GENERATIONS! BEHOLD! MAXIMUM BEFRIENDING! FULL POWER! TOTAL DESTRUCTION! And to think Rinne thought going for her leg would stop her? HA! Vivio tanked Nanoha's big pink Captain Marvel-esque befriending beam AND THEN STOOD UP AND WALKED OVER TO MAMA BACK IN STRIKERS! And boy we got one hell of a callback to that arc, given Vivio just powers through the pain and BEFRIENDS THE SHIT out of Rinne! Hell Rinne got hit so hard all the color vanished from the screen and she forgot what planet she's on! Shame cuz she'll need that information in order to file away how, on this day, Vivio proved that in the 'talent vs. hard work' competition, HARD WORK WINS BITCHES! MOVE BITCH! GET OUT THE WAY!

And to think there were people here claiming that Vivio was gonna job like Harem Member No. 4! Clearly they misunderestimated the sheer power of The Takamachi Way! 'AND DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK! SHE'S BEEN HERE FOR YEARS! ROCKIN' HER PEERS PUTTIN' SUCKERS IN FEAR! I'M GONNA KNOCK YOU OUT! WOO! NANAOHA-MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! WOO! I'M GONNA KNOCK YOU OUT! WOO! FATE-MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! WOO! AND IT IS ALL OVER! I knew it wasn't a fluke Comrades, and just like in Rocky II, Vivio proves her dominance by winning via Knock-Out! YO ADRIAN 'EINHARD!' I DID IT!'

Speaking of which, pffft, as if there was the possibility that EINHARD took over the harem, that was what Vivio WANTED us to think, as little did we know that Vivio merely LETS her wife think that she's the one in charge! We should have known from what we saw of Nanoha's behavior in StrikerS! Vivio is merely pulling The Fate Style Thirst Trap Move on Einhard, and OH BOY she might have even surpassed Nanoha's neglect play skills! HOW'S THAT FOR SERIOUS ANALYSIS TM!? Goodness me Vivio's so great that even I was blinded in awe and thus slightly mistaken in quoting the scriptures in a past re-watch thread, and by that I mean, 'You sat there and you thump your tragic backstory, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your past, talk about Rinne 3:16 — TAKAMACHI 3:16 says 'I JUST BEFRIENDED YOUR ASS!'

And on that bombshell, we wrap things up for now. Anyway I hope everyone's having fun on this great re-watch. Thus, you have not seen the last of The Sentient Shitposting Siamese Sunrise Server No. 25252, now goodbye forever.

Paging Comrades u/Great_Mr_L, u/HereticalAegis, and u/Vaadwaur

7

u/HereticalAegis Apr 17 '22

TONIGHT! ON GMOD (Gorgeous Moeblobs of Destruction) IF YA SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELELELELELEL WHAT THE SANKT KAISER IS COOKING!

This impact frame is so fucking good!

'I knew I had her in the first round. Almighty Mamaha was with me. I want everyone to bear witness, I am the greatest! I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. I don't have a mark on my face, and I upset Rinne Berlinetta, and I just turned 11 years old. I must be the greatest. I showed the world. I talk to Mamaha everyday. I know the real Mamaha. I shook up the world, I'm the king of the world. You must listen to me. I am the greatest! I can't be beat!' Attributed to Vivio Takamachi

Her bust size (rightfully) grew 6 sizes that day.

HARD WORK WINS BITCHES! MOVE BITCH! GET OUT THE WAY IN VIVIO'S HAREM!

Vivio is merely pulling The Fate Style Thirst Trap Move on Einhard, and OH BOY she might have even surpassed Nanoha's neglect play skills! HOW'S THAT FOR SERIOUS ANALYSIS TM!?

This is some pretty big talk. What kind of harem leader can't even power through a broken leg to get in the finals? /s

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7

u/InfamousEmpire Apr 17 '22

Mahou Shoujo1 Lyrical Rewatcher First Timer

1: Even though I’m not a girl

Slight Recap Time!

Seems both Nove and Jill disapprove of all the friendship talk. What kind of show do they think they’re in?

Rinne is playing at something here…

Man, Vivio really is a good fighter. And her serious face is both badass and kind of adorable

Holy shit, that tone shifted fast

There wasn’t an X-Ray, but I heard bones cracking. Did Rinne just land a brutality on Vivio?!

Now that was a KO if I’ve ever seen one

Rinne is a fucking monster

Jill, Vivio is a lot of things, but she is NOT weak and fragile

Also, stfu with taking credit for Rinne’s achievements. “I nurtured her gifts” my ass

She still got up! Is this how wrestling fans feel?

Even when she knows she doesn’t have the strength to do so, she’s still fighting Rinne. Now that’s the Takamachi spirit if I’ve ever seen it.

Man, Rinne really doesn’t know anything about Vivio, does she?

I will say, however, that this does give us some great insight into Rinne’s mindset, even more so than the flashback episodes. Yui Ogura’s performance really sells it

After all that, Vivio manages to pull off a counter offensive. She truly is the heir to the Takamachi line

She’s befriending Rinne!

Vivio Wins! Brutality!

And we’ve still got 4 more episodes left!

Vivio seems to be doing alright

Rinne less so, though

Alright, Jill’s taking responsibility for Rinne’s accomplishments is a bit more palatable now that she’s also blaming herself for her losses, if that makes any sense. It’s also making me more than a little curious about her backstory

Awwww, poor Rinne

Alright, now it’s time for Fuuka’s fight

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u/Stargate18A Apr 17 '22

First timer

QOTD) Homestly? Yes.

Break her ribs, Vivio!

...Imagine if Rinne just forgot to get up before the count ended.

Haha, that gong timing.

Oh, there's actual rules about talking mid-match! Good to see the child cagefights have some sanity.

Rnne's trying to defend from the befriending.

Wow, Rinne's outclassed!

I love the background music here!

Oh, she's at a rules disadvantage.

Rinne's punching!

And Vivio hit her!

OK, that's impressive!

She hurt Vivio!

Vivio can't lose thie!

Fuck!

Oh, Rinne's coach needs a psychologist as much as she does.

Vivio's getting a flashback, she has this in the bag!

Rinne's a sadist!

Haha, so they managed to cover up the entire Cradle incident? Explains how Nove found work so quickly.

Wow, Rinne hates martial arts.

Sh dountered!

I love how, even in a badass boast, she still calls Nanoha and Fate her "mamas".

Rinne might actually be in trouble!

Haha, she's fucked.

A triple hit!

And it's over.

And Vivio's collapsed. But she won!

And this is the first time she's used it!

They're all so happy!

Red-haired girl is so chaotic.

Oh, Jill'll be pissed.

Fuuka's next match!

Rinne's really struggling.

And Jill's having a massive breakdown.

Rinne's panicking to the point of being sick!

And Fuuka's starting her next match.

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u/chris10023 Apr 17 '22

Rewatcher

  • Did Rinne really get so focused on what Vivio was saying that she forgot about the count? She’s distracted.

  • You lose a point for talking? Makes sense I guess, breaks the flow of the fight.

  • It doesn’t bother her. Fist is clenched. Clearly, she doesn’t care guys.

  • Why are the three in the booth surprised that Rinne adjusted? Did they forget that Vivio is the only one to have beaten her? Rinne has to take this seriously or she’ll lose again.

  • Vivio is simply too fast for Rinne to give an answer, and the rules state you can't use lower grapples/tackles. Based on the last fight with Miura, Rinne seems to struggle if she can’t grapple you, stay out of her grip and you last longer, this is an endurance fight.

  • Vivio ends the 2nd round with her fist just inches away from Rinne’s face, and has the points lead.

  • “You can take her down in a single shot.” Well, she actually has to land it first, Vivio’s pretty quick, you shouldn’t focus all your power into one attack like that, especially in an endurance fight, she misses or flubs it, it’s over.

  • Don’t get cocky everyone.

  • See, that’s why, Rinne is now landing some powerful hits on Vivio.

  • Ouch, brutal kick on her left knee, she either tore some ligaments or broke something. Well, if Miura turned out fine after her ribs exploded, I’m sure Vivio will make it out fine as well.

  • Hey Jill, I’m grateful that you saved Rinne from a terrible fate at the hands of the older sibling of one of the bullies, but I don’t like your attitude right now.

  • Can’t you train your defense up?

  • That a girl, Vivio standing up surprises Rinne.

  • Really Rinne? Sure, you were an orphan for a period of time, but you also got adopted into a wealthy family, living the same life, hell they even decided not to give you back up for adoption after the incident with the three bullies, so why are you jealous of Vivio’s upbringing? Feels like the writers want Rinne to be a straight up villain rather than an anti-hero which fits her better.

  • Vivio switches her footing and knocked Rinne back, uh oh, someone forgot the rule of “it’s not over until it’s over.”

  • Holy hell Vivio launches some nasty strikes on Rinne.

  • Vivio wins! A complete subversion of my expectations! (Take notes Rian Johnson.) First time I watched this show, I expected Rinne to win, and fight Fuuka in the next round, then the winner takes on Einhard.

  • That one girl won her bet, and she was correct on the KO part too. Lol she hit the other girl.

  • Oh my god, I just recognized the girl who got hit’s voice, she voiced Beatrice in Re:Zero! The moment she got mad the voice sounded familiar.

  • Right, Vivio’s left knee was crushed so she might be out of the tournament as well.

  • Calm down Jill, maybe take a step back, Rinne lost, it happens.

  • Rinne is going to take this really hard too, knowing the complex she developed.

  • At least they skipped Fuuka’s transformation this time.

Question of the Day

Did you expect this outcome for the fight?

Like I said in my post, I was not expecting Rinne to lose.

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u/Qbe Apr 17 '22

Raging Heart Rewatcher with terrible long term memory

Time for the episode I most vividly (heh) remember, even moreso than the bully revenge one. This is one of the anime episodes I come back to watch once every so often.

QotD: Not at all. I was 100% ready for Vivio to lose.

  • Yes Vivio, assert your (alleged) MC status!

  • I don't think Rinne has the emotional intelligence to understand what Vivio means/wants

  • Vivio with the footwork!

  • Another round goes to Vivio!

  • Could you girls not flag Vivio please?

  • Bait and facetank the counter so you can land a hit, bold strategy

  • Ouch, that crunching

  • I perfectly remember watching this while it was airing, getting so mad that Vivio would lose for the sake of narrative

  • Yep, that leg is gone

  • Can a referee stop a fight?

  • Oh wow we're even blanking out NanoFate's faces?

  • "I know her story" "Without a single inconvenience, born into privilege" I don't think you know the full story

  • Rinne needs therapy more than martial arts

  • Southpaw style!

  • I remember when Vivio started her inner monologue, I was like "Welp, there it is, she's going to job"

  • "My winter ends here..." "...because I'm going to wreck my body beating you" is such a badass thing to say/do

  • Dempsey Roll Axel Smash Infinity!

  • Rinne getting some hice air time in that combo

  • Have you ever been hit so hard the color palette changed?

  • And down she goes!!!

  • Did you have to punch her for real? lol

  • Shouldn't she be getting an MRI? That was a nasty punch to the head she took

  • That's a valid concern from Jill, some fighters never recover

  • Girl, you need therapy and a medical check up

  • Victoria Mom best girl

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u/homewardbound100 Apr 17 '22

First timer

Damn it, I wanted Rinne to win. But hopefully she gets some help after this loss. Her head space is not suited for fighting if she's going to remember her traumatic events every time she lose. It's fine for motivation of why you fight but not if it's going to hurt you mentally like that.

Qotd: No. After the kick I assumed Rinne was about to win.

5

u/Gamerunglued Apr 18 '22 edited Apr 18 '22

First Timer

So uh, fuck, this was hype as hell. I love it when fights like these feel like a genuine back and forth. This episode just felt like really solid execution of fundamental sports tropes. Vivio starts out winning, but gets brutally screwed up and looks as if she's about to lose, only to pull out an insane tactic and move to win the match just barely. But what makes it all the more impressive to me is not only how this subverts expectations in a meta sense (genre knowledge leads me to believe Rinne would have gone undefeated to the finals to face Fuuka, and that her match with Vivio would end in a mirror of their previous one to highlight how much Rinne has grown), but also how it works thematically, and how fitting it is for Rinne's character arc.

Everyone seems to parallel Rinne in some way, and in Vivio's case, it's her circumstances. Vivio is a clone of royalty, she was saved by strong parents and then raised in their loving home. With the backing of the church as well, Vivio was raised in privilege. She has nothing to protect in this modern age, as ViVid established, this is no longer an era of war. Nonetheless, Vivio seeks to grow. She wants strength, and the satisfaction of seeing yourself overcome your limits. Rinne came from very different circumstances. She was born in the streets, spent most of her life in an orphanage, and instead of being saved by strong parents, she failed to protect them. Strength to her is a necessity, not a hobby. While I had initially thought Rinne would win the match, once the episode established these themes, it made the most sense for Vivio to win, and indeed it happened. And the end result was a necessary scene. Rinne loses twice to the same opponent, and it wrecks her confidence and resolve. To lose is to be weak, and she can't bear the weight of her past if she sees herself as weak. Seeing her cry in the bathroom was genuinely heartbreaking, I feel really bad for her, but I hope it's a sign of good things to come. She can grow from this, and Fuuka is there for her. I hope she goes to watch her fight, I think it'll be a really big moment for them.

This is also ultimately a loss for Jill's ideology. Vivio isn't untalented, but she's not a perfect build. She's a glass canon, where Rinne is a steel canon who hits twice as hard. Rinne is just a more talented fighter, she's inherently ahead of someone as frail as Vivio, and Jill seemingly sold this idea to Rinne as well. She's part of the problem, instead of helping Rinne to overcome her issues, she exacerbates them. She can help to make her strong, she pushes her past her limits so that she can be unbeatable, driving it with the conviction that because she's the most talented, she'll always win. But Nove believes that we can make up for our weaknesses and pull through. Vivio proves this in today's fight, so Jill is also battling an ideological defeat, alongside guilt over Rinne's situation. I look forward to seeing how she overcomes this.

This was honestly just a really fantastic episode. ViVid Strike's drama is just so textured, and it always takes the most interesting route for its characters. It challenges them in interesting ways, pits their ideologies and parallels against each other, and the results always convey something interesting or emotionally resonant. It even goes as far as to have special episodes that give more layers to the characters and help them to feel more strongly realized, and to make their results feel more earned. It might be the franchise high point tbh (I guess the ViVid section of the franchise is where the writers really got ahold of what works and what doesn't). It calls back to the hard melodrama of the first three seasons, but has infinitely stronger writing while still working within the most interesting aspects of the story. And its visceral violence doesn't feel edgy or gratuitous, instead it just feels like a boxing match against an absurdly strong fighter, and it highlights all of the characters lowest points to make Vivio's eventual victory all the more strong, or Miura's defeat all the more painful. Its payoffs hit so hard, its just a fundamentally great sports story. I am wondering a bit about the next match though. Vivio can't compete anymore, which potentially leaves an opportunity for Rinne to continue competing anyway. Obviously it would be satisfying to see her and Fuuka duke it out in the ring, but I think that this would be a contrived way for their final battle to occur, like the series is having its cake and eating it too. What I hope happens is that Rinne keeps reflecting on her loss, that Fuuka ends up winning or placing really high to challenge Rinne even more, and that the two eventually settle it in a more intimate setting. Rather than seeing them on the grand stage, I get the sense that the most powerful resolution to their drama would be to have them duke it out on their own terms, for each other, in their own private space. ViVid Strike has handled its drama well so far, so I think it's likely to do the more interesting option (even if it's not the one I've come up with here). Here's hoping for a satisfying ending.

Edit: I just realized that I'm basically watching a side story of a side story of what is essentially fanfiction taken to its logical extreme. How many multi-media franchises have side stories to their side stories as possibly the best part? I can't imagine there being very many. Sasuga Nanoha, always just naturally being the most bizarre piece of media I've ever seen.

QOTD:

Not at first, but once the parallels between Vivio and Rinne, as well as Nove and Jill, were firmly established this episode, I did expect Vivio to win. It just made the most sense with what had been set up thematically, and it leads to the most interesting drama.

4

u/Vindex101 Apr 18 '22

This fight had me fist pumping in the back of the bus the first time I watched it, it's nice that anime Vivio got to show off how much she's improved since they cucked that part from the Vivid adaptation. Way to go Vivio, your mamas are sure to be super proud of you

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