selector infected WIXOSS
Episode 6: This Pure Heart
Well it was bound to happen eventually. Hell, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. With all her talk of victory and the joy of crushing people’s wishes, Akira finally managed to push Ruko too far. With last episode‘s promise of battle, it’s time to see if anyone can manage to push past Akira’s mind games and best the crazed model in battle.
When you get right down to it, Ruko is actually the perfect Selector to bring Akira down. Due to her having only recently entered the fray, Ruko is not considered a true threat to those who have been at it for a while now. Of course underestimating your opponent is never a wise thing to do and Akira’s resulting surprise from Ruko’s natural talent serve to throw her off her game a little. Plus it probably didn’t help that her own LRIG pointed out the Ruko was gifted. Breaking into her usual response of revenge, Akira decides to shatter Ruko’s resolve by destroying her cards, as she has done with every opponent in the past. However, unlike in the past, Akira makes a mistake and fails to guess Ruko’s cards correctly. Boy is that satisfying. Having seen Akira gloat about her WIXOSS talent since her introduction, it was an auspicious moment to see an opponent she couldn’t predict. This also revealed that, despite apparently following textbook moves, Ruko has added her own flair to her moves.
With her attempts to crush her in battle failing one after another, Akira decides to use her ace in the hole: wish reading. But from the moment the battle began we knew this would happen and we knew how it would end. As has been made so obvious throughout the series, Ruko has no wish, ergo Piruluk has nothing to read. Though this fact once again causes Ruko to think about her desires, the revelation that her opponent has no wish hits Akira hard. Having already emerged victorious in a number of battles, Akira is no closer to her dream, so the fact that someone with no end goal would stand in her way enrages her. Thus Akira joins the growing cast of characters who despise Ruko’s love of battle and fear the fact that they cannot fathom what she is thinking. If Ruko’s memories are true, her mother even left because she was afraid of her daughter. Which is depressing beyond all belief. It also makes you wonder about our cute little protagonist. Though she comes off as sweet and innocent, the enjoyment she finds in battle is entirely contradictory to this. To the point that it even frightens her. It’s a pretty dark concept.
In an effort to kick her while she’s down, the episode continues to follow Akira after her absolute defeat at the hands of Ruko. It is during a run in with Iona that we receive yet another indication of Akira’s villainy, as well as an explanation of a flashback from the last episode. Remember when we saw Iona battling that unidentified sick girl? That was only her second loss, which means that there was still hope…enter Akira. Promising to lose in order to help the poor girl, Akira goes back on her word and claimed victory for herself. So…Akira killed someone. As if we already didn’t like her. I mean sure, I understand that we’re supposed to feel some empathy for the girl, but she’s just so…evil. She’s so caught up in making her dream of destroying Iona come true, that she’s willing to ruin her own life in the process. Which is a good thin I suppose because that’s exactly what she’s doing. Though now that she’s most likely lost her third and final battle, who knows what’ll happen to her now. What is the tainted form of wishing suffering upon someone? Bad…I’m guessing it’ll be bad.
Not to be left out of the loop, the episode also spends some time focusing on Ruko’s long suffering friends. As Hitoe struggles with a pain she cannot truly comprehend, we see that she does possess some latent memories of her friends. However her loss continues to play catchup and erases any clues that could reawaken her stolen thoughts. As horrible as this is for Hitoe however, we also see the impact that this sudden personality change has on Hitoe’s mother. Having seen her child laughing just the day before, Hitoe’s mother is understandably worried when her daughter returns home depressed and unwilling to talk. The scenes with Hitoe’s mother also reveal that, despite having no knowledge of the Selector world, she remembers Ruko and Yuzuki. Which means that only Hitoe’s mind was affected. So not only does the poor girl lose her friends, those around her slowly begin to worry as Hitoe constantly screams in pain when she comes close to remnants of her past. Though, in a moment that flies under the radar somewhat, Hitoe is still able to hold her mother without any ill effects. So that’s something…I guess. It’s still tragic though.
As with literally every Selector in this anime, Yuzuki is not exactly living the good life at the moment. Remaining distant from her beloved brother, she is surrounded by some “friendly” girls from school who wish to impart some helpful knowledge on the girl: stay away from Kazuki. You see, apparently every girl at this school is a horrible person. Perhaps you recall the chase sequence from episode 4? Each girl straight up declares that they couldn’t care less what happens to Yuzuki, they just don’t want her to interfere with Kazuki’s life. Like they have the right to say that. They claim that because she “stalks” her brother, there are a number of rumours going around regarding their relationship. Seriously? I mean, we know how she truly feels about her brother, but what kind of rumours go around this school? Does nobody understand the concept of siblings? Is it really that weird for them to spend time with each other? Man those girls are aggravating. All that considered, I have to give Yuzuki credit for just walking away as they spoke. A lesser person would’ve fought back…I would’ve fought back. Though she did take out her frustration on that new Selector…
Anyway, with her world crumbling around her, Ruko isn’t in the best shape at the moment. She has one friend who is lost forever, one who is trapped in a cycle of anger and depression, two enemies who have denounced her as horrid and blasphemous and a conscience that leads her to take all of these events to heart. Let’s face it, being a Selector sucks…
Check out more selector infected WIXOSS Impressions HERE.
