Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru (Yuki Yuna is a Hero)

Oh dear. That's like Sayaka off the deep end.

I wonder if there was some in universe retcon because I don't remember the Taisha being known or having PR in general during the TV run. Besides worshiping Shinju. So like an Inquisition where the public knows it exists but not how it works and also not to question it?

edited 29th Nov '16 9:17:21 PM by vicarious

Taisha seems to be a lot more active in public affairs in NoWaYu, although I think it's mentioned in WaSuYu that some towns have more Taisha influence than others.

Also in this time the kanji used for "Taisha" read "Great Shrine," while the ones used in the anime 300 years later read "Amnesty." The Taisha here are still a young organization (albeit one that has suddenly found itself with basically total control of what's left of Japan) and we know that in the anime the Heroes' identities weren't revealed, and we're seeing why now. The Taisha are very open about theirs and the Heroes' existence in the NoWaYu era, while in the YuYuYu era they're very secretive.

Also Sayaka went tumbling down of her own accord, Chikage's case is something more akin to More than Mind Control.

edited 29th Nov '16 9:29:42 PM by Uninstall

Okay, it's just that as time passed the Taisha decides to do information control due to those events.

Poor Chikage. Anime is gonna be rough.

Here is the fully translated chapter

I can't take much more of this

Just finished my second watch and loved it even more. I got a better understanding of each character's arc this time around. I also noticed that in the last ED, all the girls sing together for the first time. IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL I'M SO GLAD I WATCHED THIS.

I think the Taisha is known in Yu Yu Yu - we get explanations like 'oh the Taisha said you could skip classes' and 'all this food/resort was arranged by the Taisha', so they're well-known-about (and I think the primary form of government?) but the inner workings are mysterious to everyone on the outside. It's sort of, everyone knows they're there and respects them and thinks they're important, but very few people outside the actual organization know how it works, who's in it, the inner machinations... If I remember correctly, they might actually run the government? Or at the very least they probably have significant pull in the government.

edited 3rd Dec '16 6:51:08 PM by KarrinBlue

I think that there was a line in WaSuYu that mentioned that the Taisha's word was higher than the Prime Minister's, so I think there is an actual "government" but it's mostly the Taisha who run things. It's sort of like State Shinto back in Imperial Japan.

For something completely different, welcome to the Homupool. Here we take bets on which Magical girl turns evil or dies in a magical girl anime.

Right now the top contenders are Togo and Sonoko. Togo for basically resembling Homura Akemi in any way, shape, or form. Basically the Raimundo effect at work. And Sonoko, because it's all going according to plan.

Togo's already gone down a dark path and Yuna's already punched her out of it, I don't think that the writers will go down that path again. Sonoko has also pretty firmly established that she's 100% behind Togo no matter what.

I think that the real person to suspect is Yuna herself. We don't know what that dizziness is, we don't know the whole deal between her and Takashima, and we actually know very little about her individually. I very much doubt that she's even close to evil, but I don't believe that she's entirely human. My best guess is that she is or is becoming an arahitogami, or a god in human form, and/or she may be some sort of "heroic spirit" summoned by the Shinju in times of need.

There's also the fact that Takashima is not from Shikoku but from somewhere else "out in the boonies," and is from somewhere that is apparently called the "hometown of legends." Then again, the 4koma depicts Yuna Yuki and Yuna Takashima as two separate (but basically identical) people, but how much canonicity you want to ascribe to a gag comic is up to you.

edited 19th Dec '16 6:00:56 PM by Uninstall

Apparently the next chapter of NoWaYu is titled "Extermination"

Guys I'm really fucking scared right now

Well...that doesn't seem encouraging at all. It might mean that it's the Vertex that get wiped out but I know better than to think that.

Chapter summary, one day late since I was out with family yesterday:

• The Taisha is apparently developing a two-fold plan against the Vertex. The first is to have the Shinju strengthen the barrier to the point where no Vertex could possible break in; I'm assuming that the people of Shikoku would not be able to leave, otherwise the Shinju probably would've done that before. The other plan is a secret, and I'm guessing that it's nothing good.

• Takashima invites Hinata and Wakaba on a walk with her and have a talk. She reveals that because she doesn't like disturbing the mood or getting into fights, she never really says much about herself, but now that the other girls are gone she regrets not telling them much about her life. She confesses that she's actually afraid of fighting, but fears losing her family and friends more, and uses this fear as her motivation to fight. Because of this, she's always loved the concept of a "hero", or a brave person. She had apparently found her holy weapon at a shrine that she played at a lot, and her hometown is in Nara Province.

• A few days later, the Vertex attack again. This time there are six completed Vertex, a far cry from the single one that had slaughtered Tamako and Anzu. Takashima once again channels the forbidden fairy Shuten-douji, while Wakaba channels the forbidden power of the tengu lord Otengu, gaining black wings and probably looking super-chuuni. Wakaba goes after three of the Vertex while Takashima chases one that had swum under the sand toward the Shinju, probably Pisces. When it refuses to resurface Takashima tries to drag it out, but she's blown back by two other Vertex. Takashima nearly loses her mind due to the corrupting effect of the fairy, but she pulls herself back through the thoughts of her family and friends and everyone she loves.

• Takashima's tekko are named Ama-no-Sakate, after the curse of an earthly prince against the heavenly gods who destroyed him. Takashima fights and fights even as her body breaks apart and her bones are shattered, and after an awesome fight, emerges victorious. She collapses at the foot of the Shinju, and seeing that no more Stardust or Vertex are approaching, she figures that Wakaba must have won her own battle, and closes her eyes for what she knows is the final time. Gradually her body begins to be absorbed by the Shinju.

Merry Christmas

edited 26th Dec '16 10:50:37 PM by Uninstall

Here is the chapter, featuring some of Takashima's backstory and her awesome fight.

Interesting. One of Sonoko's fairies was a tengu, so Wakaba having that one is neat.

edited 28th Dec '16 9:36:13 PM by KarrinBlue

Wanting some help on something in the show proper.

So Fu doesn't tell the others about what they're getting into. She ends up feeling guilty about this but Yuna and eventually the other girls as well reassure her that "it's not your fault." In episode one, Yuna says something like, "You were doing it to protect us."

I can't make any sense of this. It always seemed to me that it was in fact wrong of Fu to get them involved in something that they didn't know they were signing up for. I don't understand what Yuna or anyone else is thinking when they defend Fu here.

And even pushing all of this aside, why did Fu keep it a secret?

edited 4th Jan '17 5:52:15 PM by ArbitraryValues

Well, Fu also didn't know what they were getting into besides 'be magical heroes to protect the city!'

though it has been a while since I watched the show in full...

How I view it was that it was pretty wrong for Fu to deceive the girls, but they knew that the Hero Club itself wasn't a lie; Fu clearly cared deeply for them all and enjoyed being the leader of the Hero Club. She's their friend, and Yuna and the others know that Fu wasn't being malicious or anything.

It's also likely that Fu didn't really have much of a choice in getting them to join, since the Taisha are so powerful, and was basically forced to bring her sister into the club when she was shown to have high aptitude. The Vertexes' existence was a state secret in the anime, and so even explaining things to them probably wouldn't have been too productive. It's also likely that Fu thought that maybe the Vertex would never actually attack, and they could just be the Hero Club and live their everyday lives.

Also, I'm not sure if you've finished the anime so I'll spoiler it but Fu also didn't have the slightest clue about the Sange and it's made very clear that if she had known, she would have NEVER allowed any of the other girls, ESPECIALLY Itsuki, into the Hero Club. It's the entire point of Episode 9, after all.

Lots of good points here. Though I should clarify what's confusing me. Imagine two scenarios:

Scenario 1. Someone I know does something without telling me. By all appearances, this thing is perfectly safe. A bad consequence happens for reasons that no one could have possibly foreseen. He then feels guilty. I'd say, "Hey, man, don't worry. What happened was so ridiculous and impossible to foresee that blaming you would be absurd. There wasn't any reason you could have known that this could have been problematic. Don't worry!"

Scenario 2. Someone I know does something without telling me. Even without seeing into the future, this action clearly has potential for problems. Sure enough, a bad thing happens. In this case, I'd forgive the dude and be chill but I wouldn't act as if he didn't do anything wrong. He kind of did do something wrong in that he should have realized that this could have been trouble.

What weirded me out about Fu's hiding information from the others is that I felt that this was clearly a scenario 2. The girls, however, talk to Fu as if this were a scenario 1, as if Fu deserved no blame. Togo, for example, says something in episode 2 like, "I guess I'm just mad at Fu because I'm actually mad at myself because I couldn't help in the fighting and I'm taking it out on her," as if being angry wasn't a perfectly understandable response on its own.

"Fu also didn't have the slightest clue about the Sange and it's made very clear that if she had known, she would have NEVER allowed any of the other girls, ESPECIALLY Itsuki, into the Hero Club."

Right, I was just curious about how the girls were treating the matter early on, even granting that none of them knew about the Sange and stuff. It was as if the show was saying that Fu wasn't even a little wrong. I guess I would have liked one of the girls to support Fu, but still acknowledge that perhaps what she did was still wrong-ish. Instead, for example, Yuna in episode 1 or 2 pretty unambiguously reassures Fu with no qualifications.

edited 5th Jan '17 9:49:50 PM by ArbitraryValues

Yuna's also the type of person to instantly forgive anyone and not hold grudges. I think that she was more concerned with trying to help Fu not feel too guilty. As far as stock anime phrases go, I think the one that most applies here is "it couldn't be helped." And if anything, Fu never really forgives herself for creating the Hero Club, as showcased in Episode 9.

"Yuna's also the type of person to instantly forgive anyone and not hold grudges."

That's a good point, moving on and offering support is exactly what someone like Yuna would do.

"And if anything, Fu never really forgives herself for creating the Hero Club, as showcased in Episode 9."

I think it could be argued that near the end Fu does show some growth regarding blame and whatnot. When Yuna is in a coma, Togo blames herself for Yuna's situation. Fu says something like, "It's no one's fault," which I interpreted as Fu, after the drama in episode 9, growing to not focus on blame for things that are in the past. Or at least I like interpreting it this way because it gives her an arc about not being a "everything is my fault" leader.

edited 6th Jan '17 3:12:32 PM by ArbitraryValues

Here's a PV of the Washio Sumi adaptation., watch it before it gets taken down.

I can already tell that watching Gin's awesome fight is going to hurt just as much all over again.

Indeed, reading it was one thing, but seeing it animated... What a treat...it will be...

Apparently Gin's voice actress will be doing the ending theme for the second movie

fuck you Gokumi

So the chapter of NoWaYu that is coming out this month will apparently be the final one. I don't know too much information about the beginning of the chapter but I do know some details of the ending:

• The Taisha, being massively overwhelmed, decide to enter into peace talks with the heavenly gods who sent the Vertex. Since the heavenly gods are so distant, and since Miko are the only ones who can hear the gods' voices, several Miko must be sent into the sea of fire as a sacrifice so that their voices can reach them. The heavenly gods agree to a truce as long as the humans would stop using the power of gods, as it was a blasphemy to them. They also believed that the Shinju would die in a few hundred years anyway.

• Wakaba rebuilds the Taisha, changing the characters in its name to mean "Amnesty" to signal seeking amnesty from the gods. However, her real purpose is to conduct underground research on the gods and the Hero system, so that one day humanity could fight on their level. Although a hundred years later all mention of the heavenly god was stricken from the records and the explanation of the end of the world being changed to a virus, certain sects of the Taisha continued their research.

• Yuna Takashima, who gave her life but was absorbed into the Shinju-sama, is believed to have become a part of it and to be still protecting Shikoku to this day. Baby girls who display certain special characteristics at birth are given the name Yuna.

• Also both Wakaba and Hinata survive the end of the story and the last picture is of them holding hands in a pose similar to Sonoko and Wasshi in WaSuYu, so science babies confirmed?????

Here is the final chapter: http://pastebin.com/MVW48Ynt

There are some interesting links with Shinto mythology here, as is wont with this series:

• The conditions of the peace treaty are the Taisha deliberately acting out the legend of the abdication of Okuninushi, who declared that he would abdicate his rulership of the land to the heavenly gods only if he granted amnesty from his past offenses to the heavens and given a shelter; in return, he was not allowed to leave that shelter.

• One of the conditions of an infant girl being named "Yuna" is performing an ama-no-sakate, or "reverse clap", a gesture used in certain magic rituals. It's also the gesture that Kotshironushi, one of Okuninushi's sons, used to hide himself away from the world; it's worth noting that Kotshironushi is the principal deity of the Asuka Shrine in Nara, and Takashima, who is from Nara, mentioned visiting a shrine often. Ama-no-Sakate is also the name of Takashima's divine weapon.

• Takashima appears to have become an arahitogami, or a human that became a deity.