Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Washio Sumi no Shou

Three girls have been chosen by the great Shinju-sama to be heroes and fight against the destructive beings known as Vertexes—enemies that threaten the harmony and safety of the world.

Unsure of when they would be called to duty, Sumi Washio, Sonoko Nogi, and Gin Minowa spent their time idly. However, with the sudden appearance of a Vertex, they realize they have no idea how to fight together as magical girls when they are nearly bested. They manage to defeat their enemy by sheer determination, but in the aftermath of the battle, the three decide to fix their teamwork issues and improve their combat capabilities.

But as more enemies appear—and requiring even more power to defeat their nemeses—the girls may find themselves irreversibly changed by the use of their magic. What price will they have to pay to ensure victory, and is it one worth paying if humanity will be saved?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tougou, Mimori Main

Mimori, Suzuko Japanese

Nogi, Sonoko Main

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Minowa, Gin Main

Hanamori, Yumiri Japanese

Yuuki, Yuuna Supporting

Terui, Haruka Japanese

Aki Supporting

Satou, Rina Japanese

Maeda, Toshihiro Producer

Kinoshita, Tetsuya Producer

Saitou, Yasuo Producer

Kamiji, Tomoyo Producer

Reviews

Nov 10, 2017

Manpig

Recommended

Oh, WaSuYu has a TV Version now, I guess it’s as good of a time to rewatch it…again.

Now before I begin this review, I need to make a disclaimer. This show is meant to be a prequel series to Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero, or Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de aru. If you have not seen YuYuYu, do not watch this show. This show was made to be watched as a prequel, and needs context from the original YuYuYu to be understood entirely, as well as to know aspects of the story for more of an effect. Due to this, I will assume you’ve ... seen YuYuYu already if you’re looking at this review outside the synopsis, and will bring up terms from the show, as well as casually spoil elements of YuYuYu because of the show’s nature. So go watch YuYuYu before you both read this review, or watch WaSuYu. Now with that out of the way, lets begin the actual review.

Friendship is a very beautiful thing, it can last ages and creates powerful bonds between people. With the help of others, one can take on larger problems, work together, grow together, and accustom oneself with one another. With friends, you can create memories, some happy, some sad, but definitely some that will be unforgettable. Washio Sumi’s Chapter is a story about that kind of beautiful friendship, in the form of a story about a trio of powerful heroes that fought not long before the heroes we are already accustomed to.

Story: 8

This story takes place a mere two years before the events of YuYuYu, if it isn’t obvious already, this is the story of Tougou as a yuusha before she lost her memories, back when she was taken in by the Washio family, where she was given the name Washio Sumi. In this prequel, Washio is part of a smaller team of yuushas than the ones we are familiar with in both age and numbers, and it’s up to her, Gin, and Sonoko to fight against the Vertexes that invade from the Great Seto Bridge. Fighting Vertexes works differently in WaSuYu, for one, the yuushas don’t have help from the fairies, so the yuushas will get injured and aren’t as powerful. Second is that Jukai in general works a bit different, instead of being an open field, the battles all take place on the bridge, and it’s like a tower defense where the 3 girls have to prevent the vertex from reaching the end of the bridge and to the Shinju.

As for the actual story, it begins first with introduction and training as well as a few fights. Unlike YuYuYu however, the fights are not too plentiful, and in fact, about half of the show is pure slice of life, which actually serves a purpose in this show. Now, this story resolves a few of the questions that were left unanswered in YuYuYu, like why there were fairies in the first place, and why the Taisha chose to use them in the first place.

Now if you remember the events in YuYuYu should realise that this story does not end happily, Sonoko goes Mankai twenty times and loses most of her body functions, Wasshi loses her legs a large part of her memory, including the time she spent with Sonoko and Gin, eventually turning into the more self-doubting Tougou, as for Gin, you’ll see what happens to her in time. Now remember what I said about the slice of life elements? Well the show uses those parts along side the likeable characters to get you attached to the trio, so that even though you know it ends sadly, when the tragedies hit, they still hurt to watch even though you’ve anticipated them.

Art: 8

The art is pretty damn good, but also in some areas could be better. The art itself is very graceful looking, with thin lines and a pretty feel. The art itself looks very good for the most part, I especially love the eyes of the characters, as they look really pretty and are also expressive. It’s definitely above average level in my opinion but at the same time doesn’t really reach for the top. Just like YuYuYu however, I think the jukai looks excellent as usual with it’s bright and colorful surface, a place where the coloured vertexes actually kind of match.

Animation is usually satisfactory, however in some areas, the animation cuts budget and resorts to 3D animation. Now I’m not one to say 3D animation equals bad animation, but in some of those scenes that do use 3D animation, it looks unnatural and kind of jarring. This is not for all the 3D animation in the show however, as the vertexes and bridge animation look fine, mostly it’s the character’s movements that look strange in 3D. Still, you can look past it, and overall, the art is really good.

Sound: 9

This is one aspect of the show that I found really well done. Most of the tracks are reused from the WaSuYu movies, to be expected, so it’s nothing new in that regard. Just like YuYuYu, is one of Keiichi Okabe’s few works in anime soundtracks, and I think he did very well with the sound design. Most of tracks aren’t as recognisable as those in YuYuYu in my opinion, but those that are shine very, very well. Emi Evans returns again for the vocals in the soundtracks, and my fucking god she does an amazing job. As expected from the vocalist for the OST of the NieR: series, her clean angelic voice does an excellent job at setting the atmosphere for some of these scenes. My favorite track by far has got to be A Girl’s Wish, a track used at the finale of the show, and one that almost makes me shed a tear as I remember the heartwretching events so clearly. The ED’s are reused from the original movies, and depending on the episode, the ED’s and visuals change for both emotional purposes and to fit the state of the show.

As for new tracks, we have the OP Egao no Kimi e, roughly translated into ‘To the Smiling You’. The OP is actually sung by our main character Wasshi herself, just like the movie OP and the first and third ED. I personally love it when characters sing their theme songs, and Wasshi is a damn good singer. The song itself is also one I really love, and prefer it over Sakiwafuhana, the OP for the movies. While some people might prefer the slower and more grander song of Sakiwafuhana, I find Egao no Kimi e to be much more suited to my taste, with upbeat positive vocals, a rising beat, and an overall happy atmosphere. I also love the OP because the lyrics actually makes puns of the main character’s names.

Characters: 9

The characters of WaSuYu are awesomely done, at least in my opinion. The show only really focus on the main 3 girls, the only supporting character that gets any real screen time or really any real purpose is the teacher. Asides from that, we only focus on the 3 main characters, but this is what they lack in variety they make up for in development. The characters of WaSuYu are extremely likeable with very recognisable and charming personalities, yet none of them are perfect. Washio is very bad at socialising, but takes her work very seriously. Upon first meeting them, you realise Sonoko is very carefree and commonly sleeping, and Gin seems to be too relaxed and commonly late for class. But the characters are properly developed in the show, and we’re seen more about how they work as the show progresses.

Unlike with YuYuYu, our three main yuushas are not close friends with each other at the beginning in the show, and instead were just 3 classmates that they loosely knew. In this prequel, we’re shown the yuushas having to familiarise with each other, grow together, improve their teamwork, and become stronger as a TEAM. All while learning more about each other and strengthening their bonds with one another, which is one of my favorite aspects of the show. Their development and growth together is easily witnessable, and due to the viewer being able to really see these characters get to know each other, train together, and deepen their friendship with one another feels very, very genuine. You really get the feeling that these three girls have a strong and dependable friendship, as opposed to YuYuYu where you’re mostly told they’re good friends instead of really being shown it. This all increases the impact when the tragedies strike, and it's painful to watch these three loveable friends and their strong friendship go through the stuff that hits them in the show.

Enjoyment: 10

You could probably expect this, but I absolutely love this show. From beginning to end it was a joy for me to watch, and I loved all the emotions it brought me. It definitely hit me harder than YuYuYu ever did, all because of the characters WaSuYu gave us. They were more likeable due to the extra bit of focus on their characteristics we got in the SOL segments, and thus it was easy to get attached. They were loveable characters that had a friendship that stemmed from barely anything, that blossomed into a genuine feeling, strong, and supportable bond that would last ages.

This show brought me on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster on the final few eps, and while it’s not as intense as a show like Clannad or AnoHana, it also did more than the average show as well. Plus watching the characters interact and familiarise themselves with one another was just a lot of fun, especially with Sonoko’s quirky personality, Gin's strength and kindness, and Wasshi's sense of responsibility. Even despite the initial differing traits between them, these 3 close friends go together like yin and yang.

Overall: 9

Overall, this show is a great one, and an absolute blast to watch. Animation isn’t the most revolutionary for certain scenes, and the story can feel fast or rushed for some, but overall, I think that this show easily makes up for it’s flaws with what it offers. It not only acts as a solid prequel to YuYuYu explaining a few things about the yuusha system and the world, but also shows the audience a story about a beautiful friendship of three loveable characters. The way these characters begin and grow their friendship feels extremely genuine, and the feelings that they have in the show are captured very well as you care more for these characters. You laugh when they laugh, you cry when they cry, you have a fun ride and also get emotional at the inevitable fate the cruel world had given them, but still in a way, it’s a happy ending overall.

If you should take one thing away from this review, it’s that WaSuYu is where I believe this franchise really shines. People always, always argue that YuYuYu is a Madoka Magica clone, and honestly I can absolutely see where they’re coming from. But when it comes to WaSuYu, this is where my stance changes. This part is where the franchise deviates from Madoka Magica, and asides from being a magical girl show, shares little similarities. WaSuYu shines as it’s own piece, and in my opinion, is a lot more enjoyable to watch. This show alone made me go from liking YuYuYu to loving it, it changed my view of the franchise, and if you’re going to ask if it’s worth watching YuYuYu for WaSuYu alone, personally I’d say yes. This show is definitely worth watching the entirety of YuYuYu alone for this story of three friends, and will always be one of my favorite anime to date. Overall it gains a high recommendation from me, and a good watch for any magical girl fan.

PS. The official Amazon Strike subs are absolutely god awful, do not support them. Instead I direct you support MajiYuusha and their fansubs.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Nov 11, 2017

AlaskanWeeb

Mixed Feelings

If you liked Yuuki Yuuna, you'll probably like this. A little history to Mimori's character, why she had more faeries than the other girls, why she seemed to have more going on than the others in the first season.

That said, it doesn't exactly do anything new. It's just an earlier iteration of the cycle that was established to exist in this world: girls are gifted powers to fight Vertexes, girls get pushed to their limits and realize that there are sacrifices to be made. Almost all of the actual explanation for why Mimori is how she is is in season 1 is done in ... the final episode, with the rest being largely emotional buildup to a somewhat rushed conclusion. Otherwise, the visual aesthetic is largely the same, the sound is like a fan tried to copy the soundtrack to Madoka Magica sans vocals, and as a viewer I am still forced to watch a middle school girl's D cup breasts jiggled in battle or be groped by her friends in jealousy.

Speaking of friends, they're pretty one note. At first I legitimately though that Gin and Karen were the same characters. Same hair, same face, same red theme in her battle outfit, same personality, similar choice in weapon. Sonoko is meanwhile... just kinda there. She's a good friend, and... that's it.

Somehow, despite being only six episodes, it still felt like it was too long for what it wanted to do, yet also too cluttered in that it tried to do so much in the final episode. Maybe this is a problem in the source material, maybe it was a directing issue. Either way, it makes for fairly middle of the road storytelling. Aside from the emphasis on Mimori's boobs, I never felt insulted by the show, but I also never was particularly gripped by a fight scene, or surprised at a plot point, or intrigued by the world or premise. In the end, the show continues the narrative of a world whose only reason to exist is to keep existing, and I can't help but feel that that is the reason for this arc to exist as well.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Dec 26, 2017

Dark_Pride

Not Recommended

Rating: 4/10

Do note that I binged through the first season of this show last Fall 2014. Note that there will be spoilers for the show.

Maybe, it could be that I already know the conclusion of the first part of the sequel that I am not really that emotionally invested in the characters. And hey, the way the show is presented in the beginning there is no attempt to hide the fact that this part of the sequel will not end on a good note. Maybe my sensibilities changed through the years that I might have been tolerant of some of the anime tropes back then. ... But, oh boy, the writing in this anime really went down a few notches, especially the character development department.

Okay, the world building is nice. However, it didn't provide any additional insight to the world aside from the things that are already known in season 1. Yes, we saw Tougo's past as Washio Sumi, her life as elementary schooler. We also got to know Sonoko's life before we see her in Episode 8 of Season 1. We also got to know how the Hero System worked before they were given the spirits.

However, one of the biggest offender of the show is Episode 3, which is the "breather episode". Going into the show, the viewer already knows the "twist" of the show and the fact that one of the characters in the show will die along the way isn't really a surprise. That makes that breather episode crucial for the audience to be emotionally invested with the characters given that the suffering is bound to happen.

Unfortunately, the writers managed to make that episode so cringey that finishing the episode is a slog that I have to pause the episode then watch something crappier like a random PragerU video to even motivate me to finish the episode. Case in point, there is a part in the episode where Sonoko's dreams were shown in the anime. They even named the segment "Sonoko's Dreams". One of the dreams is Sonoko imagining Washio as an idol. Then they performed as an idol, rendered in CG. At this point, my brain literally screamed; "WHAT THE F***, STUDIO GOKUMI! WHY ARE YOU PUSHING THIS IDOL CANCER IN THIS SHOW?". Why even include those crap segments? Why did the writers shoehorn ambiguous yuri dialogue at the end of that episode? My god, that episode really dragged on whilst the last episode really crammed everything (introduction of the new system, showing how Sonoko and Tougo came to be at their situation now, how Sonoko realize the drawback of the "mankai" system and how she saw the actual reality of the world). Literally, everything happened during the last episode that somehow any emotional impact it has was not felt.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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