Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to check back in on Yuki Yuna and her continuing heroic escapades, with the team having just secured a victory against three simultaneous invaders. Yuki Yuna’s second episode answered some questions and raised others, affirming and expanding on its internal mythology while leaving the mechanisms and larger motivations of this conflict conspicuously vague. This ambiguity stands in contrast to the show’s highly specific sense of place: as one of my readers helpfully explained, Yuki Yuna is specifically grounded in the city of Kan’onji, on Shikoku Island.
Aside from overt reveals, last episode’s emphasis on Fu and Togo reconnecting, as well as the gamified resolutions of its final battles, made it clear that explicating personal bonds and illustrating strategically grounded conflicts are also among the show’s top priorities. I’m a little wary of the show’s emphasis on “national defense” (no Togo, high schoolers are not deserters if fighting monsters seems outside their comfort zone), but we’ll have to see if that’s an ongoing thread or just a few odd turns of phrase. We’ve got Vertices to bash, so let’s get to it!
Episode 3
We again open in the closed battle realm, with the Divine Tree looming in the distance. This shot makes it clear that all these variably colored root systems are expanding outwards from the tree, presumably representing its life-bestowing power. Everything flowing from this one central point is an interesting wrinkle on formula; rather than casting magical girl battles as something happening everywhere all the time, Yuki Yuna seems to be implying that this particular island is the source of all life
We learn it’s been a month and a half since they were selected as heroes. Interesting pacing of their enemies’ attacks here, emphasizing constant vigilance over a quick gauntlet of fights
Tomoyo Kurosawa can’t really stretch her full gremlin capabilities as the squeaky-voiced Itsuki, but I’m still happy to have her
Suddenly a new magical girl appears, bearing a red uniform and brash confidence that seem to mark her as the Kyouko of our group
“Behold my power!” She seems pretty great
She introduces herself as Miyoshi Karin
“In other words, your work here is no longer needed.” I’ve watched a fair number of magical girl anime, but not so many as to know whether this is a broader archetype within the genre. “Brash, red-themed magical girl who arrives late and attempts to take over for the team” seems pretty explicitly Kyouko
“Moral Poise”
Very amused by Yuna’s light “waaaah” as Karin is introduced as a transfer student
Apparently this is the only episode aside from the first and last that was personally scripted by series composer Makoto Uezu, so I imagine it’ll be an important one in terms of setting out our overall conflict here
Her mascot is a little floating samurai, matching her no-nonsense warrior attitude and manner of speaking
“The Taisha used the battle data from you advanced troops to make a perfectly calibrated, completed Hero”
Karin of course gets huffy and defensive when Yuna refers to her by first name. A classic dynamic, with Yuna performing the standard protagonist role of being the earnest glue that holds the group together
Yuna successfully browbeats her with friendship into joining the club. In spite of her efforts, Karin can’t help but get drawn into the pace of the other club members
Apparently Gyuki is prone to chewing on the other faeries
Considering Uezu wrote this episode himself, it seems this focus on personal bonds as an essential complement to and even motivation for your official duties is integral to his conception of the show’s themes. Quite interesting how he personal wrote the episodes that are actually least focused on the supernatural conflict, further implying it is the bond between these heroines that is most essential
Given this is only a twelve episode production, I wonder to what extent our appreciation for these character relationships was supposed to be supplemented by our engagement with Yuki Yuna’s larger media mix. This show still seems perfectly coherent without that, but we’re definitely seeing an increase in productions that assume you’re already fully invested in character relationships before they even begin (like the various Fate/GO adaptations). This era’s going to leave behind some curious aesthetic artifacts once the economic ecosystem propelling these IPs begins to shift and degrade
Apparently Karin can just text the Taisha directly
Karin’s private life is characterized as ostentatiously lonely, her private dinner contrasted directly against the club going out for udon
“Heroes have to be impressive to save the world. A Hero’s combat ability is influenced a lot by her basic fitness.” Karin’s proclamations are deliberately contrasted against Togo in the pool, seemingly providing an immediate counterpoint to her philosophy
“Togo-san is a snack-making genius.” And then the very next scene offers a different way to be strong, one that naturally lends itself to establishing the sorts of personal bonds that this show so venerates
Another nicely understated comedy beat of all the other club members enjoying Togo’s snacks while Karin continues her lecture
“By gaining battle experience, you can level up and become stronger. We call that ‘Mankai.’” “I didn’t know that.” “It’s written in your app!” It’s an odd feeling seeing the segments that would in Pretty Cure be dedicated to selling plastic tchotchkes here applied to explaining gacha game mechanics
The Hero Club’s Fine Tenets are all about the importance of putting in an effort no matter the result, a charitable ethos that Karin of course finds wishy-washy and weak
“Stop overthinking things. You’ll go bald.” Fu has at this point established herself as a font of random old man aphorisms
Itsuki introduces their next topic of discussion, helping with the attractions at a Children’s Festival. Karin’s arc here seems clear – she’s currently fighting for pride and “because it’s her duty,” but gaining friendships and engaging with the community will presumably teach her to fight in order to protect the people and places she cares about
“I happen to have that day off.” Karin of course has nothing else going on
Another cycle through Karin’s daily life further emphasizes her isolation, now tempered by the prospect of the coming festival
“I-I should call back, right?” Karin is as uncomfortable with personal relations as she is confident in battle
Her anxiety over calling Yuna back, and subsequent attempts to convince herself it’s correct to ignore this festival meetup altogether, ring very true to the experience of social anxiety. It seems her embracing the identity of a gallant, isolated Hero is a defense mechanism, a way of justifying her insecurity and loneliness through the necessity of focusing on her training
In spite of her attempts to isolate herself, the hero club stop by anyway
Apparently today is also Karin’s birthday. Does she even have a family?
“I’ve never had a birthday party!” What is her history?
And Done
And so our proud, reluctant Karin joins the club, and is immediately overwhelmed by the warm fuzzy camaraderie of her fellow Heroes. This episode didn’t offer us any new hints regarding the nature of our overarching conflict, which made it all the more interesting to me that this was the only non-bookend episode that Uezu personally scripted. That implies the personalities and relationships between these girls are Yuki Yuna’s most essential features; that said, Karin’s unknown history and archetypal personality didn’t really provide the texture necessary to invest in this drama on a personal level yet. At three episodes in, Yuki Yuna is still holding quite close to the imbedded assumptions of its genre space, meaning I suspect we’ve got a twist or complication arriving soon!
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