Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m pleased to announce we’ll be embarking on a brand new adventure, as we check out the first episode of Yuki Yuna is a Hero. To be honest, I don’t know all that much about this series, save its place within the industry’s overall development of genre trends.
Yuki Yuna was one of a number of “dark magical girl” dramas that followed the breakout success of Madoka Magica, typified by shows like Day Break Illusion and Magical Girl Raising Project. Most of these shows landed with little impact, in a heartening rebuke of their producers’ assumption that talent and passion are less important than following genre trends, but Yuki Yuna has flowered into a broad and successful franchise. There’ve been Yuki Yuna light novels, manga, visual novels, and even smartphone games, and I get the feeling that if its American release hadn’t been produced by the hideously overpriced and utterly shelf-averse PonyCan imprint, it might have been a commercial hit here as well.
So yeah, I actually know a fair amount about Yuki Yuna’s commercial circumstances, but almost nothing about its narrative. And as anyone with more than a passing familiarity with the magical girl genre knows, darkness and grief have always stood alongside its aspirational themes, making the optimism its heroes struggle to embody all the more meaningful. Revolutionary Girl Utena, Princess Tutu, Ojamajo Doremi, Pretty Cure – I’ve bawled my eyes out to a variety of magical girl dramas, and hope to find many more with the power to yank at my heart. Let’s see how Yuki Yuna fares!
Episode 1
Looking at the staff listing, we’ve got a pretty workmanly team here. Seiji Kishi is not a particularly talented director (check out his adaptation of Danganronpa for something truly embarrassing), though he did impress me with the delicate Tsuki ga Kirei a few years back, which seemed something of a turning point for him. On the other hand, series composer Makoto Euzu seems comfortable in a wide variety of genres, with credits running from Konosuba to Scum’s Wish. Also, he worked with Kishi on that ill-fated Danganronpa, so the two at least are comfortable collaborators
We open on a stage curtain being pulled back, leading into the narration of “a Hero who was determined to convince the Demon King to stop tormenting the people.” So already we’ve got a self-conscious focus on heroism that seems to follow in the show title’s footsteps, with our heroine presumably aspiring to a specific ideal of heroism from the start. Also “convince” rather than “defeat” the Demon King seems like a meaningful distinction, emphasizing connection over conflict
Ah, it’s actually an in-universe puppet show our heroine and her friend are putting on for children. Immediately emphasizing how heroism lies somewhere between action and performance – no one is a hero in the abstract, they are a hero to someone, and that generally demands “performing” heroism
“Why should I talk if I’ll only be treated as evil!?” A fair point from the Demon King, indicating this show’s eventual antagonists might be a touch more sympathetic than old Kyubey
Nice goofy expressions as our lead actresses start bickering
Some fairly dynamic boards for this other girl rallying the class to the hero’s side. Comedy is definitely Seiji Kishi’s comfort zone, as his work on Humanity Has Declined and Angel Beats emphasizes
In spite of her claimed desire for friendship, Yuna keeps winning with a defiant “hero punch”
We’ve got a gang of four: Yuna, the sisters Fu and Itsuki, and Togo. All currently middle schoolers
And Togo’s actually in a wheelchair, an unexpected and very welcome choice
Ooh, I like these peaceful establishing shots of their seaside city. The realistic forms and muted colors offer a nice tonal reset
Their club is the “Hero Club,” which apparently means they just help out around town
Up next on their to-do list is “find owners for the kittens.” This is a good club
Togo is apparently their tech specialist
Light conversations about their upcoming plans fill out our character dynamics – Fu the responsible leader, Itsuki the wide-eyed little sister, Yuna the over-enthusiastic dreamer
Digging this unique social media app they’ve got, wherein new messages appear beneath each other like new bands in a rainbow
On her way home, Fu receives a strange message regarding some “aptitude test”
Through her conversation with her sister, it seems clear that Fu is already involved in whatever supernatural organization the group will soon be inducted into, and that she regrets the fact that she’ll be dragging her friends into this without much assurance of safety or backup
Itsuki reveals that Fu is her only family
Both Yuki and Togo’s phones go off, warning that “Vertex approaching. Deploy to protect humanity.” Here we go!
Time then stops for everyone but our heroes. Some very nice character animation for Fu running to catch up with the others, with careful attention paid to how her skirt alternately billows and hugs her legs
“We’re it.” So is the force threatening them something that attacks civilizations at random, and earth has unluckily become its newest target? Sorta reminds me of Bokurano, which also dovetails with the first scene’s emphasis on communication with your enemies. Interesting
A wave of prismatic color washes over the land. I like the detail of Yuna rushing to shield Togo with her body at the last moment
They emerge in a world of richly colored and textured landscapes, with something resembling a superflat aesthetic that refuses any shading or illusion of depth. A unique variation on Madoka Magica’s witch worlds, drawing on a very different artistic tradition from that show’s cut paper collages, yet still one that feels undeniably alien relative to Yuki Yuna’s mundane world. I frankly wish more shows would embrace this style of invention – having your fantasy worlds occupy a different aesthetic genre is a fantastic way to visually convey their alien nature, while also simply embracing the wildly diverse possibilities presented once you step away from a conventional anime aesthetic. Flip Flappers also employed this trick to impressive effect
Yeah, this wide establishing shot is beautiful. Aesthetic style aside, the landscape is also quite strange – a series of massive roots winding across each other
The leaf patterns inlaid within the background art here gives me something like a Gankutsuou or Mononoke vibe
Nice quiet acknowledgment of Togo’s unique and reasonable fears here, with Yuna quickly assuring her it’ll be okay
Togo quickly deduces that Fu knows about this place
Apparently their club has been “chosen by the Shinju-sama” to fight enemies within this barrier. Your classic trial-by-fire premiere, after which we’ll presumably learn what some of this actually means
Their enemy is a “Vertex,” which is attempting to reach the Shinju-sama that is “the world’s bounty,” after which the earth would die
Fu’s transformation sequence ends with her wielding a massive claymore. These magical girls aren’t fucking around
Meanwhile, Itsuki’s just giggling and winking all through her transformation. Take this seriously, Itsuki!
Aw, dang. Not just the enemies, but also our heroes switch to CG models for the fight scenes. That’s a shame
Fu shares a touching moment with Yuna that unfortunately gets her obliterated by a laser barrage
Ooh, some genuinely great action cuts and smoke animation as Yuna takes the stage
Yeah, here we go. Yuna’s whole attack sequence is realized through sumptuous traditional animation
And Done
Yeah, get ‘em Yuna! Well, that was a perfectly reasonable premiere on the whole, despite its narrative feeling more or less familiar. Neither our heroes nor their antagonists have much definition so far, but that’s to be expected from a premiere that was mostly concerned with highlighting the contrast between its two worlds. Fu threw out enough proper nouns that I’m a little concerned we’re dealing with fantasy make-conflict rather than emotionally driven struggles, but the counterbalancing focus on the bonds within this group seem to indicate otherwise. The boundary world of the Shinju-sama also made for an excellent visual setpiece, and I was heartened to see Yuna’s last attack realized through some excellent cuts of animation. Nothing’s truly grabbed me yet, but the foundation seems sturdy so far!
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YuYuYu was a multimedia franchise literally from day zero. The franchise’s first light novel, Washio Sumi is a Hero (WaSuYu), started serialization in Dengeki G’s a few months before the anime started airing. And whereas the pre-broadcast promotional materials for YuYuYu (the anime) emphasized slice-of-life and barely indicated that it was a magical girl show at all, every chapter of WaSuYu began with an ominously-redacted “Hero Record entry” hinting that the novel’s sixth-grade heroines were on their way to a grim end. So Dengeki G’s readers watching the anime got to feel like they were in on a secret (though not really, because of the Internet).
You mentioned some of Kishi and Uezu’s other works, but you didn’t mention Takahiro, the series concept creator, scriptwriter of almost half the episodes, and author of WaSuYu, whose dubious achievements include Akame ga Kill and Release the Spyce. It’s safe to say that YuYuYu was by far Takahiro’s most successful venture outside of the world of VNs.
The scenery in YuYuYu is closely based on the real-life Kan’onji, Kagawa. That’s right, it’s not just a post-Madoka anime, it’s also a pilgrimage anime. Kagawa tourist spots like the Great Seto Bridge and its Memorial Park, Marugame Castle, and the Play Park Gold Tower play roles in various other installments of the franchise.
Regarding proper nouns: Shinju-sama (神樹様) means “Divine Tree”. The light novels establish that it’s an actual physical tree somewhere in Shikoku (not just in the “Forestization” dimension). Based on context you’d expect Taisha to be 大社 meaning “(Shinto) Grand Shrine”, but the shot of Fu’s phone shows that it’s actually written with a different kanji: 大赦, meaning “Amnesty”.
Yuna’s limb-by-limb transformation while fighting is probably an homage to the first episode of Kamen Rider Kuuga.
This is a pleasant surprise! I watched Yuki Yuna on weekly streaming when it first came out back in 2014, and I loved it. I was so happy when it turned into a surprise hit that season. Never expected to see it covered here, but I’ll be very interested in your thoughts on it going forward. Also, I went and bought the soundtrack CD for this series back then because I thought the music was excellent. Same people who composed the music for the Nier RPG series, which I also own the soundtrack for.
Season 1 of this show is clearly in direct conversation with Madoka. Further installments do a better job of standing on their own.
I will also warn that the subtitles for the show are frustratingly inconsistent. Later on they’ll always use a literal translation for “Taisha” which makes no sense.
I’ll also note that you should pay attention to the OP and ED, as the visuals change over time.