No big revelations, but we start to learn more about WIXOSS and its many rules.
What They Say
Ruko, along with her new friend, Yuzuki, come across a battle of Selectors, Akira versus Hitoe. Yuzuki must now prepare to fight the winner, Akira.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Yuzuki has taken somewhat of a shine to Ruko, so she decides to search for other selectors. Unfortunately, Ruko is the only other selector at their school. There are rumors that two famous teen models are also selectors, and one of them, Akira, attends a nearby school
The two friends approach Akira, who’s suspiciously bubbly and friendly to the two strangers. Before any battle can be set up, however, a timid girl named Hitoe challenges Akira to the first duel. Akira takes Ruko, Yuzuki, and Hitoe to an abandoned construction site (always a bad sign), and begins a contest with Hitoe.
The LRIGS appear to be personality opposites of the competitors – Hitoe’s Midoriko is straightforward and courageous while Hitoe is shy and afraid. and Akira’s Piriluk-tan is cold and follows as she as told, unlike the passionate and bossy Akira. We’re also informed that decks are color coded, with Akira’s blue, and Hitoe’s red. Each has different strengths and weaknesses, much like the characters’ personalities.
One of Akira’s skills is she’s able to make an opponent discard cards at random. The timid Hitoe has horrible tells, and Akira is able to determine her most valuable cards to throw out too easily. This causes Hitoe to panic, giving an opportunity for Akira to be especially sadistic and guess that Hitoe’s wish is to be able to make some friends. Severely hurt, Hitoe has no will to fight back. Ruko wants to interrupt the game to save Hitoe – but a game can only be interrupted by external factors. There would be a penalty for Ruko to interrupt.
Hitoe loses, giving her only 2 more chances before she’s out.
After the cruel display, Ruko and Yuzuki refuse to play with Akira, but she blocks the path until the two hand over their contact information. Fortunately, there is a shred of hope: In a shady shopping arcade there exists a shop called CARD LUCK where expansion packs can be purchased. A valuable card for Yuzuki’s deck fails to show up, and Ruko finds one that might be valuable, and the shop owner congratulates her on her keen eye. Clearly, the protagonists of these series have to be naturally skilled!
We see a flashback to Yuzuki as a child telling her classmates that she intends to marry her brother, and she is so severely mocked, she defaces a drawing of them that she made. It’s something she greatly regrets, and when she sees Kazuki hanging out with Momoka from the card shop, it’s clear her jealousy might provoke her into rash action.
In Summary
The card game at this point is more about personalities than rules, making this a battle of wills been high school girl archetypes. If Mari Okada is given enough free reign to explore adolescent neuroses, we might get a really good show out of this. Hints that Ruko had a tragic past only add to my grim anticipation. It’s still a wait and see at this point.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Funimation
Review Equipment: Sony VAIO 17″ HD screen
