(L+CR) selector infected WIXOSS

[Pellissier]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

The curse doesn't strike me as being about inflicting maximum pain on its victim. It seems to me to be a very consistent and methodical curse with one clear aim: Anything that could lead to Hitoe enjoying friendship is prevented from happening. That's all the curse seems to be concerned with. Hitoe is only effected when things are happening that could lead her into enjoying friendship.

How does Hitoe committing suicide lead her into enjoying friendship? So I don't see why the curse would prevent her from committing suicide, or prevent her from staying dead.

I'm trying to see things from a different perspective and from a larger scale. All this grief and sorrow seem to be common traits for the Selectors, especially once they end their downward spiral by losing 3 times. Now, what's the point of all this (emotional) pain if there isn't someone, or something, gaining from it?

My theory is that grief and sorrow are precise objectives of whoever is behind this, they are thus needed. But we've indications that at least for a few selectors the curse makes their lives so tragic that they may as well prefer to die, rather than endure their lives being ruined in what they hold dear the most.

All this considered, death would clearly represent a stop for grief and sorrow, consequently making the curse ineffective.
But if there's someone who's taking profit from this "business", I don't think he would allow death, since it's a too easy way out. Hence he must have some countermeasures, like reviving the person and possibly taking a toll from him/her so that he/she wouldn't dare to try again.

[NinjaRealist]

Originally Posted by Pellissier

I'm trying to see things from a different perspective and from a larger scale. All this grief and sorrow seem to be common traits for the Selectors, especially once they end their downward spiral by losing 3 times. Now, what's the point of all this (emotional) pain if there isn't someone, or something, gaining from it?

My theory is that grief and sorrow are precise objectives of whoever is behind this, they are thus needed. But we've indications that at least for a few selectors the curse makes their lives so tragic that they may as well prefer to die, rather than endure their lives being ruined in what they hold dear the most.

All this considered, death would clearly represent a stop for grief and sorrow, consequently making the curse ineffective.
But if there's someone who's taking profit from this "business", I don't think he would allow death, since it's a too easy way out. Hence he must have some countermeasures, like reviving the person and possibly taking a toll from him/her so that he/she wouldn't dare to try again.

I sort of get the impression that being a Selector is your standard zero-sum game. No one can receive their wishes unless they destroy the wishes of someone else. That's just a theory and there's probably more to it than that, but if I had to guess, that's how I would say it probably works.

So looked at that way, the pain is just a side-effect, not the actual goal. There could be some kind of crazy Madoka scenario afoot here, but so far this seems like a more conventional metaphor for social competition in my opinion.

[Miraluka]

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

WIXOSS debuts in the Amazon Rankings at #5 for the Anime DVD Ranking and #8 for the Bluray Ranking. For the overall DVD ranking:

***,*10位/---,---位 ★ (---,--- pt) [*,**0予約] 2014/08/27 【Amazon.co.jp限定】「selector infected WIXOSS」BOX 1

Is it bad or good?

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Solace

But it doesn't matter if Ruko cares about her.

It might matter. Some of us are speculating that Hitoe might get rescued in some fashion. If she does get rescued in some fashion, it'll likely be because of Ruko trying to help her friend.

The wish cuts Hitoe off from all friendship. The book didn't actually change either, but it "removed" all mention of her friends when she tried to look at it. It didn't literally do this, since her mom can still read the names, but it made Hitoe believe the words were disappearing, which is just the same.

If the book had actually lost those mentions, then maybe Hitoe's mother doesn't try to get help from Ruuko. So this could also make a difference later on.

Are you sure it's not doing just that?

We're not hearing any funky sounds just from her talking to her parents, and her parents don't seem to be getting any direct impact from the curse. So I'm inclined to think that no, the curse is not preventing Hitoe from interacting with her parents.

She's not exactly interacting with her parents like she did before the battle.

Because she's depressed. It's a side-effect of the curse, rather than a direct effect.

Her wish was to make friends. An equivalent backfire would be the inability to make friends.

What's the point of a wish-negating curse if it allows you to have your wish achieved through your own non-supernatural efforts? For the curse to have the same weight as the wish, it has to also be able to supernaturally override what's naturally the case (just like the wish can).

So I don't think this goes above and beyond negation. I think it is simple complete negation of the wish. Or, perhaps more accurately stated, it is the complete inverse of the wish. If the wish was a person, the curse would be that person's dark doppelganger.

That's a bit too utilitarian of a viewpoint.

Not necessarily. What I wrote is entirely in line with what Yuzuki's LRIG said to her on this topic.

Originally Posted by NinjaRealist

I sort of get the impression that being a Selector is your standard zero-sum game. No one can receive their wishes unless they destroy the wishes of someone else. That's just a theory and there's probably more to it than that, but if I had to guess, that's how I would say it probably works.

So looked at that way, the pain is just a side-effect, not the actual goal. There could be some kind of crazy Madoka scenario afoot here, but so far this seems like a more conventional metaphor for social competition in my opinion.

This being a zero-sum game would make it more like Madoka, in my view. But in any event, I agree with you on Selector being your standard zero-sum game.

Solace and Pell's speculations are certainly interesting and worth exploring, but it's quite possible that the situation is just like how Yuzuki's LRIG explained it to be.

And personally, I'd prefer something both dark and fair (in a mathematical sense), because in my view that makes for a much more compelling "dark system" than something that's just arbitrarily cruel to the max. It's like the difference between a sympathetic villain and an obviously evil over-the-top villain. The latter may be more entertaining, but the former is more interesting and philosophically challenging.

[Marcus H.]

Is it bad or good?

It's really good, especially for a merchandise anime. From out of nowhere, it went past the figures of Sidonia, which was second to LL before WIXOSS was up for preorder.

***,*11位/***,*10位 ★ (---,--- pt) Wixoss
***,*14位/***,*14位 ★ (---,--- pt) Wixoss
***,*16位/***,*16位 ★ (**2,695 pt) Sidonia
...
***,273位/***,254位 ★ (**2,094 pt) Mahouka
***,295位/***,269位 ○ (---,--- pt) Wixoss

[silvercover]

if the wishes corruption was really above that, then the words from the diary should have been not visible to anyone at all. hitoe's mom clearly saw the diary as fine, with only hitoe seeing nothing.
so yeah, im with triple R here in that its just negation of the wish.


like the others, I also felt it was too angsty. like they were really pushing too much on "despair, hopelessness, death" tone.

[Galacticichi]

I thought the revelation that Akira was the one to actually put the girl in the hospital was nice. Definitely gets rid of the evil image Akira painted Iona in and emphasizes even more how ruthless Akira is. Akira probably is on the verge of losing but the battle is interrupted by a non-selector, since Iona has a shoot to go to. Either way, Akira can't compete with Iona and has only one more loss until she's out so she'll be much more unstable than she has been. Delicious.

The most interesting thing so far has been Ruuko. I think her mother's statements need more elaboration since a good guess as to what's wrong with Ruuko(if there's anything wrong) can't be made from just those lines. I wish they'd stop recycling that same scene and the same words said by her mom! Ruuko's mom may be the one with problems and projected that onto Ruuko, thus causing Ruuko's attitude and behavior in the present. I just want to tell Ruuko there's nothing wrong with enjoying battle, go ahead and win all the battles! If her wish is to keep enjoying battles with selectors, then I surmise that everyone that lost selector privileges will regain them, thus reversing the effects of losing 3 battles and effectively saving Hitoe. It'd be nice if things worked out like that but Ruuko will probably try and look for a way to beat the system and overlook that kind of wish. Honestly I don't know why the story puts so much emphasis on having a wish or dream. It isn't unusual for a 14-year old not to know exactly what they want. I see it as she could pick anything at all but chooses not to because she is prudent(a bit too much for her age) and that's attributed to Ruuko reacting to her mother. Everyone's just exaggerating her predicament and it's making her feel like an abomination that needs fixing.

I don't know what to say about Yuzuki. I can't tell if she's regained her resolve or not and I suspect even more turmoil from the bullies are in store.

The first thing I thought when Hitoe's mom saw the notebook unchanged was Hitoe in a psychiatric ward. Definitely don't think that's where she's going unless more things like words "disappearing" happen and she does indeed seem suicidal. It'd be tragic if she dies just as Ruuko figures out a way to reverse the effects of her curse.

Getting the feeling Chiyori will have some tragedy in her life in contrast with her....flamboyant personality.

[cleo]

Originally Posted by Key Board

but still, it goes back to my initial question
do they really need card games to solve their problems?

Originally Posted by Solace

The fact that all of the girls so far have demonstrated some pretty broken character traits suggests that their selection in the game is by design, not by accident. There is clearly more to the Selector/Eternal Girl game than a horrible wish granting system. I'm betting that we'll be seeing a future episode where the bottom falls out and we see how horrible the game really is.

I think that's the point: all the selectors' wishes are their deepest desires and they could accomplish it on their own. They just have to face their issues head on and gain the confidence to tackle them. They don't need supernatural powers to make it come true. So becoming an Eternal girl equals not needing the game.
Only once have we seen someone evolve: when Ruuko won against Hitoe. What happened was that she really enjoyed the battle, and she was in sync with her Lrig. She wanted to beat Akira to make her apologise to Hitoe, which was pointless and meaningless. Instead of challenging Akira because she wanted to fight, she used Hitoe as an excuse, so no level-up this time. There must be a reason that Lrig is girl in reverse. I think the conditions for evolving is for the girls to become like their Lrigs. Eldora being the spitting image of Chiyori makes that pretty obvious imo.
Hitoe was on her way, but was still lacking in confidence and courage (else she would have said no to that last challenger).
Ruuko has to learn that simply enjoying the battle doesn't make her scary.
Yuzuki is far too emotional and too concerned about what other people think. She must learn to be more reasonable and honest like Hanayo.
Akira and Iona are interesting, as it's almost as if they switched Lrigs. Akira has to overcome her inferiority complex and show more compassion, while Iona probably has to come off her high horse and be more outspoken. (She was really setting herself up for final boss with that "I smash them to bits" ).
I'm not sure about Chiyori, but what I got from Eldora is that she needs to learn to think before she acts, and not be so pushy.

So it looks like the game was made to help the girls face their issues. The game enabled Hitoe to open up and make friends. It's the 3 loss wish-reversal that fucks things up.

[Galacticichi]

I think it's too early to say what Iona needs to overcome as we don't even know what her wish is. I still don't know what to think about Iona and Akira but hopefully the next episode will clear things up.

Originally Posted by cleo1

I think that's the point: all the selectors' wishes are their deepest desires and they could accomplish it on their own. They just have to face their issues head on and gain the confidence to tackle them. They don't need supernatural powers to make it come true. So becoming an Eternal girl equals not needing the game.

A counter to this may be the girl Akira put in the hospital. Now, we don't know if her condition was terminal or not but if it was, then her wish(assuming it was a cure) would not have been possible without the supernatural powers of the game. It was definitely health related as the backlash from losing 3 times put her in the hospital.

[Benigmatica]

@Galacticichi

If Chiyori has one, then Iona should have one too. I think these two Selectors need to show what wish are they're aiming for. It would be blasphemy if they didn't.

[Guido]

Ep. 03

I could say the first half of the episode involving Ruko's fight with Hitoe was not only lighthearted and a change in tone from fights involving Akira to brighter in note. After all, Ruko offered her friendship to Hitoe, and the latter promised the former to give her a response eventually so it worked for the better for both girls. However, with each episode that comes Tama's pronounced quirks and penchant for battle makes me more wary on the LRIG herself. Besides, I do not know about the rules if it's normal or not for the battle field not dissappearing right after the match concludes, because the LRIG is in the process of evolving.

Lastly, I get to see Akira's real, nasty face in private, and I assume she may or not despises WIXOSS and plays it with such high stakes in order to humilliate Iona someday by getting her wish granted first.
Since I have yet to see the next couple of episodes, I can only tell so much on Akira. If her tactics are taunting her opponents by mocking their inner wishes using her LRIG's ability to peep inside their hearts, then Akira must or not have a serious inferiority complex thingy in her.

[EroKing]

[Guido]

Originally Posted by cleo1

I think that's the point: all the selectors' wishes are their deepest desires and they could accomplish it on their own. They just have to face their issues head on and gain the confidence to tackle them. They don't need supernatural powers to make it come true. So becoming an Eternal girl equals not needing the game.
Only once have we seen someone evolve: when Ruuko won against Hitoe. What happened was that she really enjoyed the battle, and she was in sync with her Lrig.
Hitoe was on her way, but was still lacking in confidence and courage (else she would have said no to that last challenger).
Ruuko has to learn that simply enjoying the battle doesn't make her scary.
Yuzuki is far too emotional and too concerned about what other people think. She must learn to be more reasonable and honest like Hanayo.
Akira and Iona are interesting, as it's almost as if they switched Lrigs. Akira has to overcome her inferiority complex and show more compassion, while Iona probably has to come off her high horse and be more outspoken. (She was really setting herself up for final boss with that "I smash them to bits" ).


So it looks like the game was made to help the girls face their issues. The game enabled Hitoe to open up and make friends.

Glad to read someone made a point on this, since I want also sharing my thoughts regarding the Selector-LRIG relationship.

I grasped it after watching the second episode and fully understood it after watching the third one.
From what I perceive the LRIGs are manifestations of the Selector's inner desires whether the former represent the ideal form the latter wish to become, or the real form of the Selector's heart.
Hitoe. In Hitoe's case she lacks assertiveness and initiative to open up with other people, because she's scared at being rejected or that the potential friendship to fail. Hitoe may perceive she has low self-esteem, yet I do not feel she lacks self-worth. Midoriko is the opposite of what Hitoe wishes to become. First I saw Midoriko I thought at first glance she's a bit imposing of a LRIG. With imposing I do not mean in the context of fearsome or denoting an air of mightness rather that Midoriko herself shows herself very assertive, secure, and courageous.

Yuzuki. Yuzuki is sort of a tomboy, but she's straightforward in her actions, however, when she lets her emotions getting to her bad side, then she loses all cool turning brash and impusive even for the sake of showing loyalty and compassion to her friends. As you pointed out previously, Yuzuki needs to learn being more honest with her inner feelings and not feeling shame for holding such feelings.
Hanayo, on the other hand, is patient and remains stoic even when clashing against all sorts of hurdles and adversities during the matches. Moreover, Hanayo shows herself with self-respect and maturity, which grants her a certain aura of feminine elegance. Through Hanayo Yuzuki would want to achieve or may be realize that she can become more feminine as a girl to be noticed by Kazuki.

Akira. She's gotten quite a serious inferiority complex, which clearly explains why she enjoys mocking other Selectors she faces when learning of her foes' wishes. But I think this complex of hers derives from the fact that Akira feels neither regard nor real compassion for other people that interact with her. The people she's seen with hang out with her due to her status as an idol, and Akira uses her status to buy their companionship, since a friendship with a real connection cannot be bought.
Akira's callousness manifests in Piriluk at being cold, distant, and if not also hollow, since Akira herself cannot feel or make real connections with other people, if she continues to be weighed down by her inferiority complex.

Ruko. What I can understand from Ruko is that she's afraid of enjoying WIXOSS to the fullest, because she's awared that by winning matches she cuts short her foes chances of getting their wishes granted. This was succintly demonstrated in her match against Hitoe where she almost wanted to lose on purpose for Hitoe's sake.
Consequently, Tama is the foil to Ruko, because over and over it is shown that she clearly enjoys the matches and truly wants to win with all that she's got. However, the way Tama fights with such (let's forget enthusiasm) a lust turns her scarier with each episode.

[Biohazardous]

Originally Posted by Dawnstorm

The obvious path to choose as a writer would be to have her rivive as an LRIG with some sort of promise attached. They have to have their own stake in this, don't they?

That seems like that may happen. Based on how some of them act and try to give as little info as possible it seems like LRIG are past Selectors who have killed themselves after they lost their wish/dream. Come back as a LRIG with basically a second chance. Not sure what the conditions of the second chance would be if its jus another chance at life or life with the original dream/wish. That makes me a little more interested.

[Gohan78]

All this talk about Ruuko not having a wish made me think about Fate/Zero's Kotomine Kirei of all people. The priest also didn't have a wish and constantly wondered why the Grail chose him.

LRIGs in this case would be the equivalent of Servants. Maybe there is something in store for them as well if their master becomes the Eternal Girl. I wonder why is why Midoriko and Hanayo waited so much to tell the truth to their masters.

[cleo]

Originally Posted by Gohan78

All this talk about Ruuko not having a wish made me think about Fate/Zero's Kotomine Kirei of all people. The priest also didn't have a wish and constantly wondered why the Grail chose him.

LRIGs in this case would be the equivalent of Servants. Maybe there is something in store for them as well if their master becomes the Eternal Girl. I wonder why is why Midoriko and Hanayo waited so much to tell the truth to their masters.

It's an unfair game, as they don't get the conditions before entering (altough Chiyori seems to be somewhat prepared). It also looks like the girls are unable to tear up their lrigs. So, already being in the game, when would be a good time to tell them?
I think that if Midoriko had told Hitoe right from the start, she would've been too terrified to fight at all, and would have never opened up and made friends with Ruuko & Yuzuki. She wouldn't have gotten her wish tainted, but she would also remain far away from achieving her wish.
I think Midoriko should have told her after the 2nd loss, but Hitoe was happy after her fight with Ruuko, she had made a firend. Maybe Midoriko didn't want to ruin that happiness by sending her into despair.
Hanayo not telling Yuzuki is easier to understand. Yuzuki tends to draw worst-case scenarios. Look at what the knowledge does to her.
The girls are in the game to fight for their wish, their Lrigs also want them to win. So - though unfair - I think they decided that withholding the truth gave their girls a better shot at winning.

As for Ruuko not having a wish, it looks more like battles are the fulfillment of her wish.

[Dr. Casey]

Spoiler for episode 7:

The battoru between Ruuko and Iona was great. Yeah, the rules of the game are still very vaguely defined, but I don't really mind that much. This episode's match wins on style rather than mechanics; their fight felt something like an AMV with the dialogue muted and the music itself fully taking center stage. Oh, and Tama's frustrated growl/squeal/whatever the hell that was at around the 14:30 mark was adorable. I think that's the whiniest sound I've ever heard anything make in my life.

The ending certainly gives us something to talk about these next seven days. I don't have a clue what's going on, but I'm intrigued. I wonder why Akira's memory hasn't been wiped despite the fact that she's lost three battles. I can't remember if the LRIGs have directly stated that losing three battles always results in having your memory wiped, or if Hitoe was just a special case and Ruuko and Yuzuki just assumed that the same thing happens to everyone... if the former, maybe Akira went through some kind of ritual to prevent herself from losing her memories? She has a giant scar on her face, so maybe Piruluk offered the retaining of her memories in exchange for something.

[Haruyasha]

Can't help but to giggle every time Iona says "lets do it, I want to do it with you."

It also doesn't help that Iona's card is a sadist freak.

edit: I just noticed something ...

Spoiler for Episode 7:

Uris and Tama look strikingly similar, down to the earring jewelry they wear. Both also use similar weapons, and both have a similar obsession with battling... Could that possibly mean they're one and the same person? If not, they are probably related somehow.

[orion]

Originally Posted by Dr. Casey

Spoiler for episode 7:

The battoru between Ruuko and Iona was great. Yeah, the rules of the game are still very vaguely defined, but I don't really mind that much. This episode's match wins on style rather than mechanics; their fight felt something like an AMV with the dialogue muted and the music itself fully taking center stage. Oh, and Tama's frustrated growl/squeal/whatever the hell that was at around the 14:30 mark was adorable. I think that's the whiniest sound I've ever heard anything make in my life.

The ending certainly gives us something to talk about these next seven days. I don't have a clue what's going on, but I'm intrigued. I wonder why Akira's memory hasn't been wiped despite the fact that she's lost three battles. I can't remember if the LRIGs have directly stated that losing three battles always results in having your memory wiped, or if Hitoe was just a special case and Ruuko and Yuzuki just assumed that the same thing happens to everyone... if the former, maybe Akira went through some kind of ritual to prevent herself from losing her memories? She has a giant scar on her face, so maybe Piruluk offered the retaining of her memories in exchange for something.

Maybe since her wish was for Iona's life to be ruined, it got reversed and her life got ruined. One way to do that would be having a facial scar and living with the memories that you lost at a game that would have given you everything and those girls that you hated are still having fun in the game.

[Triple_R]

Well, I just watched Episode 7.

I certainly can get why people are joking about it, but I honestly think that there might be an intentional love/sex allegory here, which could tie into any themes or messages arising from the anime.

From 11:24 to 12:43, you could take all the dialogue and replace "Battle" with "Have Sex" or "Have Sex With" or "Sexy Time", and it works perfectly. See the spoiler space below...

Spoiler for Sexual Healing!:

Iona: You felt it, too. Once you feel that excitement, there's no way you can quit.

Uris: You can't hold your urge to have sex... You want to have sex... You want to have sex, right?

(Ruuko with a shy, nervous, conflicted, slightly blushing face)

Iona: I want to have sex with you. How about you, Ruuko?

Ruuko: Yes.

Tama: Ruuko!

(Uris looks like the cat that just ate the canary)

Ruuko: I want to have sex... I want to... I really do... But...!

Iona (pure bliss): Open...

(Sexy Time begins)

Uris: What's the matter? You said you want to have sex.

Ruuko: I-I did say that, but... that's not what I wanted to say!

Uris: What were you trying to say, then? Just give up, and have some fun. Now, let's start this.

Tama: Sexy Time!

Then there's how these wishes are all a bit strange. They're all very personal, and aren't the classic glamorous things like "Wealth, fame, power, immortality, etc...". So far, they all have to do with one or more of friendship, family, and jealousy. These three things all tend to be tightly tied into love/romance (friendship can lead to romance, romance can lead to a larger family, new romances will indirectly affect your friends and family, jealousy rears its ugly head in many a romance).

Iona is now treating Ruuko almost like a soulmate.


Other than the above, I don't know where Okada is going with all this, but it certainly is interesting.

Fun episode. The main Episode 7 battle did look, well, sexy.