Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I announce with great trepidation that we are returning to Yuki Yuna is a Hero’s Washio Sumi Chapter, after three straight episodes that have been a delightful mix of group bonding and tactically grounded Vertex takedowns. If this were any other show, I’d at this point expect this is the tone we should assume going forward, and simply enjoy the charming vignettes shared by Togo, Gin, and Nogi. But this is goddamn Yuki Yuna, and what’s more, we know precisely the fate awaiting these girls down the line.

As such, Washio Sumi has instead been an exercise in ruthless dramatic irony, inviting us to learn and care about these heroes with full knowledge their journey will end in disaster. This unique perspective has played naturally into the sense of doomed cyclical inevitability represented by the Divine Tree system; it’s as if we’re watching Madoka Magica play out from Homura’s shoulder, certain this path will end in disaster, hoping against reason that catastrophe might be avoided. The original Yuki Yuna played like a senseless tragedy; this plays like a premeditated crime, a long con perpetrated against the most passionate and self-sacrificing among us. If Yuki Yuna is hoping to raise our hackles against the systemic abuse of the young facilitated by jingoism and organized religion, it is certainly succeeding. Good luck out there, girls!

Episode 4

“According to the materials from the BLANK calendar times, which was BLANK of years ago… when you wanted to be friends forever, apparently people used to say ‘BFF.’” Some interesting implications in our opening Togo letter. First, we’re apparently gesturing towards the separation between our own era and the era the Divine Tree exists in, implying the world Togo inhabits exists many years in the future, and furthermore that knowledge of the past world is so scattered and distant it’s referred to as basically a different age entirely. “BLANK of years ago” seems to imply “hundreds” of years ago, at least, as that’s generally the shortest time length you use for that sort of expression. Thus the pocket world of Yuki Yuna exists some hundreds of years in the future, yet technology has stagnated – humanity is essentially living in the Matrix, a fabrication of a past era used to farm humans to be fed to the tree

Additionally, this general reflection on the term “BFF” serves as a cruel reminder of impermanence – Togo is clinging to a term that implies constancy, that she will be close to her current friends for all time, when we well know that whatever isn’t stolen from her through the violence of the Divine Tree will be erased once her memories are taken

God, what a bleak reality Yuki Yuna has envisioned! The more we learn about it, the more horrible it becomes

“Even now, I feel like they’re close by.” The last line offers a grim question of when precisely she’s writing from

We drop in at the gate leading to school, an establishing shot that emphasizes just how protected and isolated these girls are. From the walls and front gate, the main building itself is barely visible in the distance

The girls’ light bickering as they clean up the classroom demonstrates how close they’ve become, how accustomed they are to each other’s mannerisms

“We have the class trip coming up. I hope the fourth Vertex doesn’t appear at the same time.” Their biggest worries at the moment are that a Vertex might create a slight disruption in their vacation plans

“You guys are right. It’ll be okay if it’s the three of us.” Just drive that knife in further, why don’t you

Togo has of course compiled an encyclopedia of data for their class trip. How are you supposed to have any fun without rigorous fun-having research?

“If only there was a guy like me.” I believe this is the second time Gin has expressed her desire to become Togo’s husband? This doesn’t have to be that complicated, Gin

“You guys would be great together.” Nogi is all for it, at least

A cut to Gin prepping at home serves as a reminder of the motherly role she plays for her brothers. And then there’s another goddamn knife twist, as she reflects on how she’s looking forward to seeing her youngest brother start to crawl. Like Yuki, she is an incredibly noble, “heroic” member of the community just being herself, helping people with their day-to-day struggles. This is the essence of genuine communal activism and common decency, but the Divine Tree tricks its supplicants into believing these acts are insufficient, and that true heroism only comes through sacrificing yourself to some distant higher cause

“As a hero, we have to play at the athletic course.” Our trio are currently acting as unintentional ambassadors for the hero system, making their roles seem cool and glamorous, and through their shared adventures with their classmates making them also seem not particularly threatening. I imagine once the Divine Tree starts demanding its sacrifices, they will be removed from the general class group so as not to dissuade their peers from committing to the tree

Nogi summons all her courage to defeat the formidable tire swing challenge

One of their classmates even asks for Gin’s autograph. They’ve got a graceful propaganda system running here, with departing soldiers inspiring the envy and further commitment of their peers

“Gin, I know you’re having fun, but you’re probably being too frivolous.” Togo rightly tells Gin that her fame and success have gone to her head. One mistake, and all of this ends – she can afford to fall off a rope ladder, but she can’t afford to make such an error in an actual battle

This episode is absolutely brimming with implications of constancy, playing off that “BFF” reflection from the opening. Our next involves the girls promising Nogi they’ll teach her to cook next weekend, making plans without worrying how long they might actually have

They don’t draw attention to it, but I also like how their “class trip” is actually just another form of physical training for them and the rest of the potential heroes. I appreciate the surfeit of background details that wouldn’t seem weird to the girls, but stick out as clear aspects of their conditioning from our perspective

The girls reflect on how well they’ve come to know each other, including how Nogi is predictable in her very unpredictability

“You’re easy to read, but there’s a lot to write about you.” A fine description of Gin. The greatest among us aren’t necessarily complicated, suffering isn’t necessarily noble, and sincere dedication to uplifting the people around you is the best any of us can aspire to

The ride home is bathed in late afternoon light, tones that naturally imply a sense of things ending. And then, as we all knew would happen, the bells start to ring

God, that bridge is such a menacing omen. An excellent embellishment on this overall system – I’m glad they don’t feel beholden to the specific mechanics of the first season, and like Symphogear are happily refining the mechanics of their world as they come up with more ideas

The fading sunlight almost lends a sepia hue to the world, another aesthetic marker of nostalgia and things past

Ooh, nice variation on the moment of truth here, as an incidental cut of Nogi raising her arms reveals the birds stopping abruptly in the sky. There’s some strong uncanny territory worth exploring in this “reality is suddenly paused” conceit

Their laments regarding this coming right after the class trip are superimposed over their transformation sequences, emphasizing how they’ve started to no longer take these fights seriously

Nogi points out that Gin’s actually reached the point of baiting Togo’s scoldings. An expression of their closeness

This time there are two Vertices approaching

As usual, Nogi is quick and decisive in establishing a battle plan

Unfortunately, there’s actually a third Vertex hiding behind them. Its ranged attack leaves the girls in position for a devastating counter, and both Nogi and Togo are sent flying

“It’s crunch time, even if it is scary.” With both Nogi and Togo unable to move, Gin chooses to fight all three Vertices herself. Her incredibly compassionate spirit, grossly misused for the sake of the Divine Tree’s nourishment

The more I watch of this series, the more I agree with Togo’s season two diagnosis. If the only way we can survive is by catering to the Divine Tree, just let it all burn

The red petals fluttering off Gin look like a torrent of blood as she sets to work

Bloodied and beaten, Gin thinks of her friends and family, and rises again. The grotesque cruelty of modern society – our genuine, noble feelings of obligation towards those we love are abstracted into labor for a mechanism that would grind us into paste if it meant more efficient accumulation of power and capital. Capitalism and nationalism both see nothing in what is genuinely great about humanity but a weakness to be exploited; those who reign over such systems achieve their heights only by embodying callousness and self-interest. We have created a profoundly sick world

In the aftermath, Nogi and Togo follow a blood trail that’s far too easy to track

“You have to give the souvenirs to your little brother.” Jesus christ

Gin died standing, still on her feet, still holding the line

And Done

Ahhhhhhh god, why are you assholes putting me through this!? THAT WAS AWFUL. THAT WAS SO HORRIBLE. Half a season of building up their beautiful friendship, of exploring how Gin embodied all the highest virtues of heroism as a communal value, all so she could die horribly in alleged defense of her friends, but really in defense of a system that only values our capacity for suffering. I knew it was coming the whole time, but that really did nothing to diminish the pain of watching Gin shoulder all of the weight herself, dying proudly, embodying every good thing our society can’t value or measure. Gin was so crucial to everyone around her, so valued in spite of her self-effacing nature, and yet her brilliant spirit was callously extinguished for the sake of combat, ignited just so her overseers could watch her burn. Gin’s death is a condemnation of everything this shitty world has taught us to respect, every false value trumpeted by those who’ve been given everything but a human soul. My only solace is the existence of art like this, art that sees the ugliness of power and urges us to either hold our loved ones close or burn our callous empires down.

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