Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to check back in on Yuki Yuna and her continuing heroic escapades, with the team having just secured a victory against three simultaneous invaders. Yuki Yuna’s second episode answered some questions and raised others, affirming and expanding on its internal mythology while leaving the mechanisms and larger motivations of this conflict conspicuously vague. This ambiguity stands in contrast to the show’s highly specific sense of place: as one of my readers helpfully explained, Yuki Yuna is specifically grounded in the city of Kan’onji, on Shikoku Island.

Aside from overt reveals, last episode’s emphasis on Fu and Togo reconnecting, as well as the gamified resolutions of its final battles, made it clear that explicating personal bonds and illustrating strategically grounded conflicts are also among the show’s top priorities. I’m a little wary of the show’s emphasis on “national defense” (no Togo, high schoolers are not deserters if fighting monsters seems outside their comfort zone), but we’ll have to see if that’s an ongoing thread or just a few odd turns of phrase. We’ve got Vertices to bash, so let’s get to it!

Continue reading →

Hello folks, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d check back in on the trials of Yuki Yuna and her companions, who most recently found themselves trapped in some kind of time-stopped void arena, squaring off with a faceless monster from god knows what dimension. It was an unexpected turn to be sure, but Yuna was not about to let this chance for heroism go to waste, and seemed to swiftly master the fundamentals of magical girl combat.

All of this was pretty classic magical girl premiere material, with perhaps the only note of distinction being how much time the episode spent on Yuna’s mundane life before revealing its trick. That’s not really a bad thing; given the constraints of twenty minute episodes and the need to conclude with some kind of genuine hook, it’s no surprise that first episodes tend to follow certain structural formulas. It’s only with that hook established that we can truly see what Yuki Yuna is all about – are we going to prioritize personal character journeys, is there some sort of theme or metaphor being illustrated through this world’s approach to magic, or are we just here for Symphogear-style spectacle? With the first battle behind us and explanations clearly in order, let’s find out what truly drives Yuki Yuna is a Hero!

Continue reading →

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!

Continue reading →