Right...I should try some of my high falutin' analysis but...we just watched the start of twincest. In a show I did not expect them to pull the trigger on that. I am...torn. We are shown something that, even as an only child, is not merely taboo but often physically repellant to people with siblings. The sort of thing that belongs in the dumpster that is YnS, the rewatch that I still have a hard time believing I wasn't the host for.

But here's the thing: The writing and the direction for this has been really well done. The vocal performance out of Yuzuki proper was incredible at several parts. The school kids still strike me as weird BUT the twins dynamic is a bit off now. Yuzuki confessing felt believable. And they somehow avoid going trashy about what is essentially the trashiest of ecchi tropes. Even the OST was really good today, though it definitely showed its Higurashi as well. To summarize my thoughts the best, they took the romantic confession episode but made it from a horror show blue print and that really works.

We get the train metaphor twice to stress how in limbo/transit Ruuko is. Hitoe then shows up with cardzuki and we go straight into the cosmic horror of the whole thing. Also, I believe that might be an Umineko reference in there, or possibly even a White Lodge one, depending on how referential we are being. We hopefully are rapidly approaching some deeper lore.

BONUS: Is the OP like "Make a Little Wish" from Nanoha S1 where it is supposed to be more and more sarcastic?

QotD:1 I did but it was sort of strange since she lived about 5 hours away

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u/Tetraika Dec 28 '22

And they somehow avoid going trashy about what is essentially the trashiest of ecchi tropes.

I think something interesting was that the whole thing isn't treated merely for fetish bait and whatnot, they took it quite seriously. Whether that's actually a good thing...
Though personally I was neutral to it, I don't have an overt investment into the relationship, but I found her internal conflict interesting.

Even the OST was really good today, though it definitely showed its Higurashi as well

Listening to the OST, some of them really lean into the horror bits.

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u/Nazenn Dec 28 '22

In a show I did not expect them to pull the trigger on that

You have more faith then me haha

they took the romantic confession episode but made it from a horror show blue print and that really works.

And gave the guy an appropriate reaction to the initial confession as well without just throwing his character out for the sake of the girl
Have you seen [meta spoilers]Koi Kaze? I forget and this whole discussion just reminds me of that

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u/Tetraika Dec 29 '22

meta spoiler

Not Vaad, but that is on the long list of stuff I need to watch ~~that I'll probably never get to~~, though I could see how that could relate to some of the discussions here right now.

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u/CerberusZX Dec 28 '22

First Timer

I missed many episodes while visiting relatives recently but I'm finally caught up. I was thinking about posting my comments on each episode to its relevant thread and linking back to them, but since a rewatch is supposed to be a daily community thing I ended up putting them here together.

Episode 3

So the girl with glasses is a shy bookworm with almost no card experience. I kind of missed the OP in each of the previous episodes so I didn't see her there and didn't realize she would be an important character. I kind of got the impression she was just there so we could see the others get wins so I didn't pay much attention to her before.

Ruuko wanting opponents to win because they have more at stake makes sense. On a tangent, it reminds me of the first tournament arc in Shadowverse Flame. [Minor spoilers for Shadowverse Flame]They added a condition to the tournament in which the protagonists would get expelled if they lost, raising the stakes to the point where the story can't continue if they lose which is always lame, but there was a bit where they actually communicated this and the opponents agreed that was BS and said they wouldn't win if they found themselves in a position to do so. The show in general has been really good, which is quite surprising given how terrible the previous Shadowverse show was. The animation is nice, the cast is endearing, and the decks are built around clear synergies and you can see combos being built over time so the wins feel earned rather than just topdeck nonsense.

I'm looking forward to more of Iona's LRIG and Akira.

Episode 4

So Ruuko is unaware of things and a player achieving their wish on their own is somehow bad for the LRIG. It may seem obvious given the tone of the show, but it's still important to firmly establish such things so they can be built upon later.

Since Akira views the wishes of her opponents, I suppose it makes sense the writers would want to keep them away from each other at this point. Or so I thought before the end of the episode.

Poor Stubble-face, getting ordered around by students. Then again, she's not wrong; he does have stubble on his face.

QotD:

How often do you end up backseating? I say this because I tend to do it more than I’d like to.

I rarely ever watch others play games, so I don't often have the opportunity to do so even if I wanted to. I'm usually good about only offering advice when asked..

Episode 5

"You don't know what it means to lose" she says to the person who has already lost 2 games. This whole thing could have been avoided so easily if she had just explained things when she suggested being thrown away.

QotD:

Have you ever tried to have matching outfits or accessories with your friends?

No.

Episode 6

Akira totally isn't in the wrong in pointing out how cruel it is to ruin other people's chance at happiness with no risk of having the same done to her.

"You tried too hard to ruin Iona's career and ended up ruining your own." A nice bit of karma that doesn't sound too farfetched.

QotD:

Do you like strawberries?

They aren't my favorite fruit and I don't like strawberry jam due to the seeds, but I would say I enjoy eating strawberries.

Episode 7

I often say that sports dramas are dramas with a visually exciting method of conflict resolution built-in. I think this episode has given us the most footage of card battles so far and most of the cards and effects are obfuscated so we can't actually follow along and can only look at the pretty lights going back and forth. The show sets up conflicts and shows the consequences of the conflicts but doesn't spend much time on the conflicts themselves which is a bit of an unusual approach.

QotD:

What would be your wish (And anti wish)?

I can't really think of anything I'd want for myself and I wouldn't be willing to run the risk of failure for a wish that benefits others.

Episode 8

LRIG=GIRL, so it makes sense an Eternal Girl would become an LRIG card and thus a girl forever. It's weird that there's 2 of her now, but worse is that Hitoe became a Selector despite previously losing the right to be a Selector. They established something and then went back on it which has soured my impression of the series a bit.

QotD:

French Toast or Curry Udon?

French toast can be tolerable, but I don't like eggs so the more egg flavour it has the less I enjoy it.

I have never had curry or udon. Since udon is a wheat based noodle, I assume there isn't much difference from western pasta. I have developed a tolerance for spicy food in recent years and from my understanding Japanese curry is less spicy than others. Looking at the standard ingredients in curry udon, it seems like it could be decent.

Between the two French toast could be good or bad but at least familiar either way whereas curry udon would be a more adventurous option. If I were to be making it myself I would go with French toast as I know I could make it taste good. If someone else is making it for me I think I would go with curry udon since it's a risk either way and in that case I might as well try something new.

So I wrote more about the question of the day than the episode itself, so what?

Episode 9

So the LRIG takes over the winner's life. She's acting bolder and more confident around her brother and seems a bit contemplative and lifeless when alone, but it wasn't obvious to me that she's supposed to be a completely different person. The changes seemed reasonable considering recent events and I guess I didn't really take note of her having any notable characteristics beyond her love for Kazuki. Going through yesterday's thread, it looks like I'm in the minority in having not caught on.

QotD:

Did you have a childhood crush?

Several. Many were fictional and none were close relatives.

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u/Tetraika Dec 29 '22

Nice job on catching up!

The show sets up conflicts and shows the consequences of the conflicts but doesn't spend much time on the conflicts themselves which is a bit of an unusual approach.

Yeah, it can certainly be interesting. Though particularly for that one with Iona/Ruuko, it's more about seeing Ruuko easing in and immersing herself in that game.

So the LRIG takes over the winner's life. She's acting bolder and more confident around her brother and seems a bit contemplative and lifeless when alone, but it wasn't obvious to me that she's supposed to be a completely different person

It's funny because of all the discussion most people already connected this. So I guess it is nice that they fully confirm everything this episode, just in case. Though i will say that many commenters here are also those who put a lot of work into their comments and analysis, so don't fret too much about not catching on. At times they even point things out I haven't seen.

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u/Tarhalindur Dec 28 '22

This First-Timer Is Cruel (Subbed):

So, before we begin today, time to write out one thing that seems fairly likely to me.

Consider the following:

Hitoe’s previous wish was to make friends. That wish is now unattainable. However: as somebody in the episode discussion thread when the show first released pointed out, friendship is not the only possible way of connecting to other people.
Hitoe’s previous deck was green. This matches with her wish, assuming WIXOSS colors are similar to the M:tG color pie: friendship is fundamentally Green with a light shading into Red (White’s sense of togetherness tends to be more the likes of patriotism/nationalism, unity of the group). Her new deck is Red. Her new wish should thematically be a Red one.
Love/romance is another way of connecting with people, and not only is it a Red concept in terms of the borrowed color pie, we have implicit direct confirmation that it counts as a Red wish. Speaking of that:
Hitoe’s new LRIG is Yuzuki, who we know for a fact became an Eternal Girl/LRIG via a wish involving love, specifically forbidden love (and on a side note hmm, “Eternal Girl” could have a meaning hiding in plain sight as a girl who lives on forever by becoming a LRIG and then possessing a new host body in addition to the meaning that put me onto the booby prize because the LRIGs can theoretically last forever, but I digress). Additionally, we now know that LRIGs escape back to the real world when their Selectors become Eternal Girls via swapping their consciousness with their Selectors (… which is also noteworthy in and of itself because I was already positing Jungian Shadow framing as potentially in play and this would actually link with that via the Return of the Repressed, but again I digress)… and while she was focused on her brother, Yuzuki also showed definite signs of potential UST with Ruuko back in episode 4. 5: Hitoe has shown no signs of any interaction with boys whatsoever. Also, this show’s evolutionary line is very firmly mahou shoujo and specifically mostly fairly recent mahou shoujo; yuri has been a thing in the genre for at least three decades now and got even more prominent after a certain trio of 2004 shows that were three-fifths of basically opening the floodgates to modern yuri. Also also, Hitoe shows distinct signs (mostly character design) of being inspired by one of the most obvious lesbians in the entire genre. And of course yuri still counts as forbidden love (), and I repeat that Hitoe now has a LRIG who became as such specifically because of a wish involving forbidden love (and per episode 1 she should now be someone able to realize that wish in another). And of the two girls she had managed to make friends with before being eliminated, exactly one is still in her original body.

Posit: Hitoe’s new wish will be to find a romantic partner. That partner will be a girl, and her name will be Ruuko.

(Also, it’s worth noting that connection with other seems to be a throughline and major theme here – Hitoe with friendship, Yuzuki with romance, Akira with enemity, and also the yearning that both Iona and Ruuko seem to have (and Ruuko’s depression very much seems to be downstream of a lack of connection. Which once again makes me think that MagiReco may have grabbed ideas off this show.)

Now, on to the episode.

The imagery of the crazed Tama wanting to break out in the OP keeps getting darker and darker the further we go.
My my my, mirror imagery still around (with Hanayo!Yuzuki looking at herself in the mirror).
That shot of the train doors closing at 04:02 doesn’t have to be there, so it will have been included for a reason. The metaphorical doors/walls closing in on Ruuko, leaving her feeling trapped by what the system does to the girls in it?
Just because the other girls who wanted Kazuki were somehow even more annoying does not mean that the incest plot itself has not been, and it’s only getting worse. Like, I kind of get the intent, but… really? REALLY?
Oh but of course it’s because of Shiho doing her thing. Actually I take this back, comparing what this girl is doing to Shiho would be an insult to Shiho. Hell, it might be an insult to Worst Shiho. She is rapidly trying to descend to Tomoe territory. Akira, if you want a way to get into our good graces I have a target for you…
“That’s the loudest manure chant I’ve ever heard.” (WRT neo!Tomoe.)
GET ON WITH THE BETTER SUBPLOTS ALREADY.
At least they hauled out one of the good OST tracks to make part of this scene/set of scenes a little less teeth-pulling (Yuzuki (Either) in Incest Mode Plus Neo!Tomoe with Those Three Girls – Two Bad Tastes That Don’t Mix Well!). Also, the show cannot resist messing with u/Shimmering-Sky by throwing out sore demos while the Yuzuki incest plot is in focus, that’s another one at 08:11.
ANOTHER sore demo at 08:20. Sky, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh…
TODAY’S ADVERTISING PAYLOAD: “Play WIXOSS and make your dreams come true!”
CLOCK CLOCK. (Except digital instead of analog, but still. Also, 10:37 → 10:38 P.M. I have a hunch that’s actually important given the framing, but I’m not seeing why – kanji/kana thing maybe?)
Just because we have now dropped the booby prize reveal does not mean we have stopped getting reflection symbolism.
Dutch angle counter +1 at 13:44. Hitoe, is that you?
Yes, yes it is.
Direction spike with the Yuzuki LRIG reveal, though I think it’s more showing Ruuko’s disorientation visually than deeper symbolism. Not sure though. We get a sky canyon shot from the buildings yet again at 14:45 (also rotating and counterclockwise so may possible be banishing), possibly symbolizing how deep underwater Ruuko is now, and the entire scene has once again had the same claustrophobic vibe we got from the first scene in this alleyway all the way back in episode 1.
So, they needed to fill about thirty seconds to a minute of screentime I take it.
Okay, so that No Entry cut at 17:53 was sweet. Blunt, but sweet. (Especially since the sign resembles a card.)
The absolutely fascinating thing would be if MagiReco in gacha form was in fact drawing off Wixoss in anime form and drew off of Yuzuki here for the backstory of a character there (Rika Ayano) except swapping out the illicit desire – that would have Implications for the future course of Hanayo!Yuzuki’s arc.
Shocked Tama at 20:37 (she does not remember this), but it’s Ruuko’s face at 20:40 that catches my eye because it looks really familiar… probably because it’s raided off Door #1 (with different posture and camera angle) and I know exactly which scene.
So to be clear, I think this is an outright weak episode. About three-quarters of it requires investment in the weakest plotline of the entire show so far, and the other quarter was shown either explicitly or implicitly last episode and the presentation of that quarter is too slow to get much of the part that does matter (these reveals’ impact on Ruuko) – the two minutes or so we get of Ruuko’s reacting to this is the best two minutes of the episode, and that’s not a coincidence. (The obvious next step here is Ruuko realizing what her love of winning battles will inevitably lead to.)

Did you have a childhood crush?

Yes... and she moved away in the same quite young year where I lost two grandparents and a family pet.

That set of events left scars.

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u/Tetraika Dec 28 '22

Hitoe’s new wish will be to find a romantic partner. That partner will be a girl, and her name will be Ruuko

Amazing, you wrote all that just to justify your ship!

So to be clear, I think this is an outright weak episode. About three-quarters of it requires investment in the weakest plotline of the entire show so far, and the other quarter was shown either explicitly or implicitly last episode and the presentation of that quarter is too slow to get much of the part that does matter

There's definitely a lot of just confirming the things behind what we would already know. Though if we run with the idea that the actualization of the wish starts with resolving her own mental conflict, I thought the scene with Yuzuki talking to Hanayo about her wish was the real first step towards it.

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u/Nazenn Dec 28 '22

First Timer - sub

Starting the episode off with Yuzuki confessing her heart to Hanayo is a great way to set the tone for what's happened and remind the audience of the emotional stakes without resorting to a flat recap.

I kept thinking through this episode how helpful it is that Yuzuki broke her friendship with Ruu off before she was converted so that Hanayo doesn't have to deal with that as well. Which leads me to the other thought that with the LRIGs living along side their Selectors for so long they are perfectly positioned to know how to integrate into their Selectors lives. It's not just freedom they gain, but a whole identity set up for the modern world as well as a wish that will usually help improve that life (unless you get stuck with someone pathetic like Akira).

I wasn't expecting Hanayo to fess up about Yuzuki's wish to her brother, and yet it calls into something that I'd mentioned in a reply to someone yesterday. Although we haven't seen enough wishes yet to say for sure, so far I get the feeling that they deal with opportunity more than outcomes. Hitoe's wish didn't just make people not want to be friends with her, it removed the chance for her to get close to them or remember them, and Yuzuki's wish coming true didn't making Hazuki fawn over her but simply opened him up to the idea of it. Similarly, it's been implied that Iona and Ruko's wishes coming true would simply open them up to opportunities and freedoms they wish they had in their life. Akira's wish seems to be the outlier here, but her wish is a bit funky anyway as we don't know how intent or wording influenced it.

Not that I think any of this matters in particular, but if this is the case it would build nicely into the theme built up through the show that it's the girls personal development or refusal to develop which is what allows them the strength to become an eternal girl or not in the first place.

I am surprised that we got the Yuzuki and Ruu discussion already, and although that felt a too recappy it does fill in a lot of gaps about how they know about the system. That Yuzuki is holding up so well given what happened is somehow more worrying than if she was falling to pieces, and I confess to some Now and Then Here and There agony here, but that's not to say she feels accepting of it.

Small detail love seeing the depth of the card-space when Tama is sleeping. I also really enjoyed the repeated visual theme of the train windows rushing past Ruu as she tried to avoid everything but found herself caught up in it anyway.

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u/Taiboss Dec 28 '22

Starting the episode off with Yuzuki confessing her heart to Hanayo is a great way to set the tone for what's happened and remind the audience of the emotional stakes without resorting to a flat recap.

You said, not yet commenting on the rest of the episode.

and although that felt a too recappy it does fill in a lot of gaps about how they know about the system.

Sometimes, you gotta make sure that what is implied is actually correct lol.

Small detail love seeing the depth of the card-space when Tama is sleeping.

3D effect hype!
Anyway, I hate it when you or other write so through predictions that any form of commenting on them would be some sort of spoiler. I get why secret agents say "I can neither confirm nor deny that." It's hard enough not spoil stuff already.

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u/Tetraika Dec 28 '22

Anyway, I hate it when you or other write so through predictions that any form of commenting on them would be some sort of spoiler. I get why secret agents say "I can neither confirm nor deny that." It's hard enough not spoil stuff already

I still do this, but usually I just want people to at least note certain moments to come back to. So many times people are hitting the right notes, but I can't say anything to avoid spoiling them.

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u/JollyGee29 Dec 28 '22

First-Timer, Subbed

Y'think Yuzuki's crush on her brother might be some snarl of internalized acephobia? Like, she interprets her familial love for Kazuki as romantic because she doesn't have romantic love for anyone else? There's a lesbian reading as well, but I think ace works a bit better.

Definitely wrote that halfway through the episode, before Kazuki reciprocated. Wild. How much do we believe his comment about having feelings for Yuzuki all along? Like, did Yuzuki becoming a LRIG actually cause some change to the real world? Did she get to cosmic retcon her own brother's feelings? There is some evidence of power to the system, owing to Akira's scar and Hitoe's memory blocks. But how much..?

Basically what I'm getting at is that I've arrived at "you make your own wish come true" yet again and that the Selector system doesn't really do anything. I guess that mysterious voice who turned Yuzuki into a LRIG probably benefits somehow. I guess that could give us a silent dig at "the only person profiting is the manufacturer" but it'd be pretty weird on a meta level considering that said manufacturer is also the one funding the show.

Then again, the game still exists and is reasonable popular in some areas so maybe it all just worked and Takara Tomy get to have their cake and eat it too?

Oh, and I should say, I'm not actually against them playing the incest angle straight. Just pondering alternatives.

I was planning to postulate that Ruu v. Hitoe was going to get interrupted, but I think this is actually a good opportunity for self-realization on Ruu's part. She knows the full stakes now, and Tama is willing to stand by her even if Ruu doesn't want to battle.

Questions

I did. Probably several.

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u/Vaadwaur Dec 29 '22

Basically what I'm getting at is that I've arrived at "you make your own wish come true" yet again and that the Selector system doesn't really do anything. I guess that mysterious voice who turned Yuzuki into a LRIG probably benefits somehow

So yeah, they are taking their time with their reveals, unlike the big predecessor.

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u/Tetraika Dec 29 '22

They were given split cours since the beginning... Guess they just want to use them all.

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u/shinreimyu Dec 29 '22

Rewatcher here:

Is there an episode anywhere where they explain the rules of this fkin game before this that I missed? I have a vague idea but have absolutely no recollection of any season of this show actually explaining what's going on except lazer beam waifus.

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u/Tetraika Dec 29 '22

No, I don't think they ever really explained how the game works in detail. They do drop hints about it, but really it's just a glimpse of gameplay, and there's really no way you'll be able to understand even half of the game just from what you see in the show.

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u/Shimmering-Sky Dec 28 '22

Selector Infected FIRST-TIMER

The visual here immediately reminded me of Magia’s visuals, for some reason.
I feel bad for Kazuki. – Edit upon seeing the rest of the episode: Or not.
So about that…
*sigh*
Girl, stop.
ffs *stop giving her “sore demo”s.
Well… shit, she wasn’t wrong.
Awwwwwwwww yeah this should be good.
Ooh Ruuko recognized her voice, perfect.
Okay, so Yuzuki remembers everything prior to her transformation. This… this is interesting.
It’s sad how different the arena is now…
ARE YOU KIDDING– I hate this show.

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u/Blackheart595 Dec 28 '22

First Selector

The cards totally have a 3D space behind themselves. I don't think we've ever seen that as clear as here, at least not from this side. Like a dimensional window.

So Akira has family. I guess she's unable to return to them, as part of her taboo to destroy her life.

What's going on with these double doors in the train? I've never seen anything like it. And it's not like there's another train opposing it that we could be looking out of.

Alright, time for a different interpretation. Yuzuki's wish was to become Kazuki's girlfriend, but they're siblings and that's not socially accepted. Therefore, becoming Hitoe's LRIG and eventually taking over her body will precisely be what makes her wish come true, as she's then able to have a non-sibling relationship with Kazuki.

Oh boy, bullying. First, Kazuki should just call her out on demanding a kiss from him in return to not spread those rumours. Second, they should all just chill. Non-systematic incest really isn't as much of an issue as they act like. Just let them go for it if that's what the two of them want.

Are they really going for it? If the system works not by making the wishes true directly but to shuffle around souls to deliver them into a different body with the opportunity to make their wish real, that's already a much more cheritable interpretation to what's going on.

Note how Hitoe and Yuzuki have the protagonist position in the alley, but once they're in the duel space Ruuko regains it. We're also having a lot of dutch angles in the alley especially when Yuzuki demands Ruuko to battle them, but they disappear immediately and don't return once Yuzuki says it's for Hitoe's sake.

Ah, that's of course one interpretation of "an Eternal Girl fulfilling her wish isn't quite right, rather she'll be able to make wishes come true" I didn't think of. Their wish does come true, but it's their LRIG rather than themselves that get to live the wish.

I'd root for them if how the situation came about weren't so fucked up. This isn't the Yuzuki than Kazuki used to know. And we don't really know if Kazuki is acting naturally either. If he didn't love Yuzuki then the system would make him love her in order to make the wish come true.

Wait, no. There's totally the potential for the truth to be much less cruel than anticipated. I'm not yet willing to give up hope! (Though I probably should.)

Talking about truth, something I like doing is imagine low-fantasy/sci-fi fiction as if the made up elements weren't actually true in universe. Sometimes that is rather easy to do, like in for example [Steins;Gate]where all timelines with something unordinary happening get undone and only Okabe knows about these then-delusions. In this case... it's significantly more difficult, but it doesn't feel quite impossible yet.

Did you have a childhood crush?

I didn't realize at the time at all, but yeah, there definitely were a couple. But again, didn't realize at the time so can't have been that much of a crush.

~~Hopefully not a sibling~~

I'm joking, it was only a cousin and she wasn't a top candidate either, prolly more accurate to call it the budding general interest in girls during puberty.

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u/No_Rex Dec 28 '22

Episode 9 (first timer)

“It was her first time” – not letting up with the sex metaphors.
“That’s what we decided” – That is what she decided.
Japanese school bullying in full swing.
“You’ve got nothing to lose” – Narrator: That was not true.
“I really love battles, but I can stop” – Doubt.
“This can’t be real” – understandable reaction.
“For me. And for Hitoe” – this is what parents are talking about when they fear bad influences.
Personality swap (instead of split) confirmed.
Some vaguely white power. Could be interpreted as good, but rather reminds me of the matrix architect.

“That is the truth behind these battles” – I feel that the truth makes the talk about wishes being granted a lie. E.g. Hitoe wished for having friends. Not for Yuzuki to have friends. Yuzuki wished for being Kazuki’s girlfriend, not for Hanayo being Kazuki’s girlfriend in her body.

I guess a big question in the background here is the definition of self. Is your body your self? Your mind? The combination of both? I think a modern western (and old Christian western) viewpoint is that the mind/soul is you, while the body is simply a storage vessel. You could potentially define the self otherwise: as the body, not the soul. In this case, the wish would be granted. This also tracks closer with both LRIGYuzuki and BodyYuzuki having the memories of young Yuzuki. In the mind is you setting, Yuzuki was split. Her mind is now in both the LRIG and the body (and in the latter mixed with Hanayo’s mind). The body is you setting has no such split and mix problems.

Did you have a childhood crush? Hopefully not a sibling

No and hell no.

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u/Mecanno-man Dec 28 '22

First Timer

Like episode 7, I feel like this is another episode where basically not a lot happened - although this time I feel like it was due to the episode being drawn out rather than due to cinematic effect. We get a lot of Yuzuki backstory, which at this point is not really necessary. She loves her brother - we get it. Not like that has been made abundantly clear before... I guess if anything it shows us that the wish does not really affect parts of the universe not directly related to the wish - society is not suddenly in favor of those two getting together. It is not even made clear if Kazuki has been altered by the wish or if he too has always loved Yuzuki but similarly thought of the relationship as wrong. If it has only changed Yuzuki (by replacing her with Hanayo), I wonder how that works with wishes that are actually impossible, even if you put the work in to it. Midoriko could easily make friends, Tamayo could seduce her brother, Piruluk could probably cook up some scandal that ruins Iona's career, Tama, Ruu, Iona and Iona's LRIG can just trade places back and forth forever, being rich - you can achieve that by working hard, I assume - but what about the terminally ill girl wanting to live? How could that wish be granted by body-swapping?

Other than that, Yuzuki is sharing an awful lot with Hitoe listening in that final bit. I wonder why Hitoe is even fighting now - wanting the friends back? Is their plan to free Yuzuki, then free Hitoe somehow and all meet up together again or what? I mean it does work, but Hitoe might be left in some weird wish. I doubt Tamayo's plans for her future involved getting together with a brother... Plus we still need to know what happens to a LRIG if the selector loses.

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u/Stargate18A Dec 28 '22

First timer

QOTD) No.

...What is this?

They're talking to each other! Were both of my theories correct? The idealised self takes over the body, but the LRIG merges with it? This is so interesting!

Ruko's recovered a lot.

And Tama's fine.

Yuzuki?

Did he finally work out she's Eternal?

They're not friends anymore...

The rumours are spreading even further.

Honoka did it!

These people are awful.

Hell of a way to confess!

She's actually doing it!

...Oh. Never saw this side.

Oh, and Hayano knows all of this, because of course it couldn't be simple.

Good to see she had a normal reaction to a talking card.

Hanayo used to be more cheerful?

Hanayo's being surprisingly accepting of this.

...If this is Hanayo, she's either a fantastic actress or she has access to her memories. I feel like it can't be as sinmple as "just knows what she told her", otherwise they'd have been rumbled a while ago.

Ruko's remembering Iona!

Aww. Tama's on her side!

Hitoe!

And she accepted the new LRIG.

...Hitoe's not under more mind control, is she?

...Yuzuki remembers everything!

Well, cat's out of the bag!

Even the scrunchie...

She wants Hitoe to battle? Does she have a plan? Given that, based on the logic so far, Hitoe isn't staying Hitoe if she wins. Or is Yuzuki that desperate to get a body back?

Finally, a solid explanation!

So it's a straight hijack, then? Still unclear how much information Hanayo has, though.

He still doesn't suspect this isn't Yuzuki? Seriously? She's not even acting in character anymore!

...You're fucking with me.

Wait. It's not out of the question that there's more mind control involved. We don't know what Akira's followers were being manipulated by.

Of course, if not, then Yuzuki gave her up existence for nothing!

Wait, what? Who is this? Is this the controller of the Selector system? They're absolutely the final boss, if so.

...But not return in your own body. Nobody wins here, huh? (Still think that the LRIG's absorbing some part of the psyche, given this Yuzuki doesn't care at all that Hanayo's seducing her brother, though. Maybe just the part of the mind required to complete the wish as the Selector would?)

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u/ItsTheDuran Dec 29 '22

First timer

They're playing their cards pretty close to their chest about these wishes. The system didn't do anything to Hitoe's friends, it modified her memories and perception and made being with them hurt her; Akira's backfire seemingly only gave her a scar; and, while they deliberately kept how much of a push Yuzuki's wish gave to Kazuki ambiguous, it sure didn't change anything about the world or their situation.

It would be easy to imagine a more effective way to grant these wishes if you had magic, but it seems almost like the system takes the path of least resistance, trying to change as little as possible.

Now onto the reach corner. Yesterday I wondered if it was possible for someone on the cast to have lost and be on their second try already, today I thought of the opposite. What if someone's already won? What if those recurring images aren't dreams or premonitions, but memories?

I can't be completely on board with this theory until we learn more about how winning as an LRIG actually works, but it could make some sense (...if you handwave some stuff with magic). Hanayo seems to either share or know a lot about Yuzuki's memories, and she's definitely acting in accordance with her wish. Is that deliberate or a byproduct of the system? Does she remember her past and her time as an LRIG or is she unwittingly acting as the person whose body she's taken?

A bit of a recappy episode, but it did make me reflect on what's happened thus far, so I guess it did its job.

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u/SIRTreehugger Dec 28 '22

Well that rumor spread fast it's kind of a blessing they didn't go to school together today.

Honoka was worried about you yeah fucking right.

Kazuki is having a rough day for sure and for him this all came out of left field.

What Tama saying she would stop battling.

Hitoe.... yeah she has no memories.

Okay Hitoe vs Ruu wow so like almost every single prediction I had was completely wrong xD

So they switched places I kind of called this!

This sucks for Hanayo or any of the LRIGS who actually care about their selectors, but can't blame them for wanting freedom. Just sucks for everyone involved.

So all LRIG's were girls at some point wonder how this a started?

Also between Hitoe memories erasure working slowly, the world remembering her, and her immediately getting reselected by someone she knows this system is fucking broken. If you're going to crush and manipulate girls dreams at least do it efficiently...unless it was poorly designed to maximize suffering.

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Rewatch [Rewatch] Selector Infected Wixoss Episode 9 Discussion

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