Selector Spread 02 – Ambivalent Pairings

We begin this episode with talking about a “MASTERMIND”.

Naturally, they meant Mayu, the mysterious girl in the white room. Unfortunately, the only known way of corresponding to Mayu is to become an LRIG. Something which is kinda a no-go. (unless your wish is to be an LRIG in the first place, then please do so and give us the juicy hints.)

As for me, I think there is an easier solution to their problem. WIXOSS is a card game right? It even have an official novel guide which is suspiciously true to life. Why don’t you girls  investigate the company making this cards. A simple google will at least get you the higher-ups. And if you’re lucky you gals might even be able to pull some publicly available information regarding said higher-ups.

<psst> Remember, be on the look-out for trips to foreign locales such as Egypt or some tragic event in their background.

…. Oh wait. Wrong series. ^^

Still, I’m suspicious of the company making these cards. And some of the dropped information in the novel is starting to look ominous. Like the seven loses bursting-thing due to WIXOSS factor that has been stated.  Considering the fact that failed Selectors can become Selectors again. I won’t discount that.

….

….

This game is looking more rigged by the minute. Fortunately, Ruuko is aware of this as well as we can see from her monologue.

I have no wish.

I have a wish now.

It’s interesting that the sequence starts from this. I wonder, is it acknowledging that Ruuko’s character development? Or something deeper about said wish or non-wish.

Ruuko: I want to release her from the card. My precious friend!

Iona: You want to see Tama again, right?  That wish might come true.

Hitoe: There is no telling what would happen if you battle again.

Yuzuki: Next time, something worse might happen!

These basically summarizes the pro and cons of the situation. As I’ve said in the previous blog entry. Hitoe and Yuzuki are the ones acting as the voice of reason for Ruuko here. Ruuko herself wants to battle. She still has a wish that she wants to come true.

Whether you believe that is from latent battle lust or from her wish to see Tama and free the LRIG is up to the air. To be honest, I’m leaning on both. Ruuko enjoys battling but she won’t do it until you gave her a good “acceptable” reason which her failed wish conveniently does.

Anyway, more interesting monologue.

The selector battle is steeped in lies.

The truth could be turned over at any time.

 

You’re telling me!

One season has passed and we still haven’t gotten definite hints of what the selector system thingy is. Is Mayu the Mastermind? Our gals assumes she is but we don’t know that for sure. Is there really a special LRIG and is Tama one? We don’t know that because the wish on S1 failed. Heck, some of the things like the penalty of losing three times cannot be overturned is frankly untrue because Hitoe clearly overturned hers. Akira might also count for that.

I don’t hold it against them though. Because most of the information comes from Hanayo who frankly should have incomplete information herself.

I can’t depend on a wish like before.

But, then…

I’ll just be stuck, unable to do anything, and…

 

Back on S1, when the shenanigans happened, I thought that the whole point of the story is you can’t depend on the magical genie fairy. Instead of focusing on the magical solution, you should try to make your wishes come true through your own hard work. Yuzuki and Hitoe’s situation gives evidence to that.

But, then, what happens if you get a wish like Ruuko’s?

Trying to free the LRIG and infinite battle wish is both only achievable through WIXOSS. What do you do then?

I don’t know how to feel about Iona to be honest.

 Ruu doesn’t even want to use Iona in ordinary WIXOSS battles.  That is actually understandable. Ruuko is still hang-up on Tama. But, that is still a bit jerkish. The fact that Iona just takes the silent treatment is a bit admirable.

Or actually not so admirable, considering her last thoughts.

My wish is sure to come true.

After all, she’s still here in this world.

 She in this context could only be Ulith who must carry out Iona’s wish.

 We meet Aki-lucky.

… Complete with Scar.

… Which isn’t shining with supernatural light but looks horribly disgusting.

First thought, wow, Aki-lucky you’re not even bothering to put a fake persona this time. And how the hell can you stand walking around with that scar? Didn’t you steal a mask last time even though you’re trying to murder Ruuko and Yuzuki because you’re ashamed of your face or something?

And holy hell! Why are you buddy-buddy with Iona  Ulith? Did the director took some drugs before Season 2 started?

Thankfully, for us, she didn’t. (Bad for Akira though. Good for my Schadenfreude ^^)

And some flashback to give some depth to Aki-lucky! Or not…

We learn that Akira is poor and she has become a NEET due to what happened to her face. She even treats her mother horribly. Asking for money to pay for public surgery or else she won’t ever go out on public again.

I would like to say that this is a horrible stereotype of poor people but this is actually pretty common and it’s not like the show hasn’t given us Iona, also a stereotype of the rich person who has everything but can’t find meaning to any of it.

Knowing Akira’s personality, we even see the seeds of why she hated Iona. Someone who has everything without looking like she worked for it or even want it.

I really love this scene.

Akira just found out that all her effort in taking Iona down is USELESS!  And she’s crying and laughing at the same time in the farce that has become of her life. Her most dearest wish was to see Iona destroyed. And due to that Akira destroyed her own life in an effort to do so.

In Akira’s own words.

I hated her.

I hated Iona.

I’m not exactly smart and my family’s poor,

But, at least I have confidence in my looks.

I was always the center of attention up until I became a model.

But, ever since Iona invaded my life…

No matter how I dressed up or posed, all their eyes were always on her.

I was just there to make her look better.

It really got me that no one was looking at me….

 

So yeah. Akira is pretty easy to understand. It’s not exactly redeeming though. A more moral or ethical human being would have wished just to be better than Iona than the path that Akira took. But, this is depressingly common in  real life.  

And then, Ulith does this.

Ulith says that even when she was an LRIG she admired Akira. That she paid attention to her even when everyone paid attention to Iona.  And she promised to fix Akira’s life and make her shine brighter than Iona ever did.

Even, when Akira initially rejected her. Ulith kept coming back. She gifted Akira with expensive make-up to cover her face and allow her to go out in public again without feeling humiliated. Ulith also metaphorically twisted the producers arms until Akira co-stars with her setting Akira’s career back on track.

Ulith gave everything that Akira has perceived she lost, and she supposedly did it because she admires Akira.

Really, Ulith’s actions is quite endearing.. I’m not surprised that Akira fell for her.  It would probably be recorded as a milestone in yuri history as the heartwarming tale of two lovers.

It’s just a pity because

I’M 99% SURE THAT ULITH IS FAKING THIS! 

And the 1% chance that I’m wrong. That Ulith truly loved Akira. I say it’s better to be hated than to be loved by Ulith!

Because really look at this dialogue.

The more negative emotions you harbor

the brighter you shine

Only as long as you remain that way,

will I shower you with my love.

 

Translation. I’ll only love you as long as you’re a piece of scum for a human being that is filled with jealousy, resentment, anger and who knows what else.

And the sad part, Akira is vulnerable enough that she’s going to accept this.

It’s not even real passion, I hesitate to call that love in any sense. Because I’m sure that Ulith is just doing this to fulfill Iona’s wish.  Heck,  I’m pretty sure that’s Ulith’s request for Akira. Only she probably twisted it so she’s the victim.

Anyway back to our heroes.

Yuzuki and Hitoe call Ruuko and say that Akira is back! And she appears to have lost her scar. Ruuko being a good girl says that’s nice or if you want to read deeper than that, it could be some sort of sign that Ruuko just doesn’t get emotions.

There is also a blink  and hypothesize moment here where Hitoe thinks that Akira must have gotten her wish fulfilled somehow or become a selector thus reversing the backlash on her.

Really. Sometimes it just clear that the girls are over their heads regarding this and making up the rules as they go. They don’t know why the punishment is lifted even when it happened to Hitoe so they’re throwing darts and hoping one would stick.

And I wonder about Baa-chan. I still haven’t forgotten about the mysterious ending of Season 1. And considering that Ruu is supposed to be a really strong selector, its kinda suspicious that she kept losing to her  grandmother.

I also wonder if Akira expect Ruuko to buy that sob story. Really. Who will buy this especially with the glimpse we saw of Akira’s personality?

I think I can find the strength to live again if I get to battle Ruu-ruu!

 

I’m beginning to see that Akira isn’t quite a manipulative bastard, she’s a bit too transparent. And I’m glad that Ruuko hasn’t bought Akira’s sob story. (Or did she?) I’m still wondering about her easy acquiescence

What the hell is she thinking there….

Considering her last dream, she fears getting stuck if she doesn’t do something. Did Ruuko finally decide that she wants to pursue her wish to find Tama and battle even with all the cons?

As Ruu and Akira-lucky begin  battle, we segue to Hitoe and Yuzuki, and they are both worried about Ruuko. They believe that if Ruuko battle Akira now without Tama she might not do so well. Because Tama is Ruuko’s precious friend.

…. I find this scene coming at an odd time. Don’t get me wrong, its nice to see some well-adjusted partnership against the dysfunctional Ulith/Akira and Ruuko/Iona that is dominating the show. But, I think it would be better served if we get the show not the tell part here.

This scene, I believe, is supposed to re-emphasize how lost Ruuko is supposed to be without Tama as her LRIG in battle.

I can dig that. Its possible. Highly probable even.

But, do you have to put that there now?

Sigh fine.

We go back to Ruuko vs. Akira

If my understanding of how this works, Ruuko has only 2 life cloth left from the seven she started with. We don’t how many Akira has. No clear shot of it was shown.

And I think that Iona is in her level  2 or 3 form. I can’t be too sure because Iona’s design in the anime is very far from her design on the cards. For one the design color appear to  be inverted.

Still, from the gist of it, Ruuko is really off in this battle.

Iona has to remind her about her special ability which could mean two things. Ruuko did not even look at Iona’s card description before.Highly unlikely but possible given how Ruuko is behaving toward her LRIG.  Or she just plainly forgot.

I suppose I, now, know what that earlier sequence with Yuzuki and Hitoe is supposed to imply. That Ruuko will not be giving her A-game if she battles now.

As for the card that Ruuko is going to place: 

=

Since I don’t know anything about WIXOSS battle. (Thankfully, the official site also releases the official explanation for the battles so yey. Though, I did ask someone who played this game because its fun to speculate all the same.) ^^

Apparently, the effect is useful so that the opponents doesn’t put a SIGNI on an empty row and just attack the life cloth directly. Considering that Ruuko appear to have no SIGNI on field, this would be very useful.

Though, he also said that it might not be useful if it come out at middle to late game which the Ruuko vs. Akira battle appear to be on. Quite a lot of SIGNI of the same level just crushes the power of Babel. Thus, Iona is correct, a higher level SIGNI would be more useful.

(He also doesn’t really recommend the Code Maze Babel if you’re playing as Iona despite the fact that it’s an Iona exclusive.  Instead of Babel something like Square, Medium Shield would be preferable.  Or if you want a Code Maze Signi, he rather like Code Maze Tajmaha. )

On the other hand, the fact that Ruuko’s next move is Slash Miracle might meant that she’s looking for a higher SIGNI to play from her deck. Thus, she’s just using the Code Maze Babel ability and saving Slash Miracle for other uses. Or she might have taken Iona’s advice to heart and using Slash Miracle to soften the opposition (Also recommended that you nix Slash Miracle from your deck and change it to Ancient Surprise or Get Bible)

.Anyway,what I got from this?

Ruuko is unprepared for a serious fight. Beside the Tama issue, she might have just thrown a haphazard deck for Iona or you know bought the Black Crave starter deck. She’s probably also inexperienced with it as well considering she doesn’t even use Iona even for casual games.

In any case, the battle got interrupted but if it continued I wouldn’t be betting on Ruuko.

I really wonder what Iona feels about Ruuko now, though. Our protagonist hasn’t really shown her best side lately.  That and her reason for it is weird. She doesn’t find battle fun because she’s not with her friends – with Tama.

Ergo, she doesn’t consider Iona her friend.  No brainer or Ouch for Iona?

End Notes: 

This episode really threw a curveball with me at the UlithxAkira pairing. Seriously, who expected that? It did a lot of fleshing out for the pair though.

If I’m right, Ulith is actively malicious. I’ve always thought of the Iona-Ulith combo as a single entity, thus, seeing them separate is an eye-opener. She’s playing Akira like a fiddle that doesn’t care about her instrument. When, Akira said that she didn’t even wear make-up because she wants Ulith to praise her more, I thought, aren’t you on the idol industry? Seriously, Ulith is getting you to destroy your life with a happy face.

As for Akira,  I have to say that I almost feel sorry for her once Ulith plans goes full circle.  I still don’t think she is redeemed. She’s still a terrible human being, she’s just in love now. Once she knows that she’s being used though, whatever happens fireworks are going to explode.

The other main pair RuukoxIona is harder to get into.  I don’t know what the heck Ruuko is thinking on the last part of the episode. Goes double for Iona. Though, it has greater staying power than the UlithxAkira which I feel has the chemical makeup of nitroglycerin.

Still, if the next episode doesn’t prove me wrong, Iona is at least  established to be not as malicious as Ulith is proving to be. She’s actually behaving quite passively from what I expected. Despite the fact that Ruuko-Iona appear to be not syniching with each other, I still have great faith in them.

As for the side pairings..

Hitoe-Yuzuki makes a great team. They’re not dysfunctional as the other two. I’m kinda touched they are on the same brain wave about their priorities as well as their concern with Ruuko. (When S1 is running I can’t believe I will say this ever).

Chiyori-Eldora is weird. But, this episode established that Eldora is hiding the harsh truth from Chiyori and is glad that she doesn’t need to trick her or feel guilty for snatching her body in the future.

And they have a wild Ulith ahead of them. All I can say. RUN!!

Next time, we meet Tama? Right? I bet she’s Ulith LRIG due to the positioning on the OP. And is that Iona’s voice actress along with Ruuko narrating the preview?

…Why do I have a feeling that I’m going to eat my words about Iona not being as malicious as Ulith,