2017 was a big year for the expansion of the Yuki Yuna enterprise. Along with the three YY movie series, Studio Gokumi presented this prequel (The Washio Sumi Chapter) and the sequel to the 2014 series, The Hero Chapter. Each series lasts for six episodes, and in the half dozen of Washio Sumi, we have solutions to two mysteries in the original series. Who is Sonoko Nogi, the bandage swathed, bed-ridden hero of years prior to the adventure of the five heroines of Yuki Yuna is a Hero? And, as to the missing memory of Mimori Togo ... I think we might have found it.
Beyond these revelations, the Washio Sumi Chapter follows the same formula, only backwards. For YYisaH: beat the Vertex ... do girly things ... final showdown. For WSC: do girly things ... meet the Vertex. Yes, I said 'meet,' not beat. There are reasons for their failure.
First meet the girls, sixth graders Washio, Sonoko, and Gin. Right, they are in the last year of elementary education, and three girls are selected servant-warriors of the Shinju-sama. Right, they are three in number, so you can see they are under-sized and under-manned staffed. Washio is the typical traditional Japanese girl, devoted to the culture of the nation. Gin is the tomboy athletic type whose competitive nature gets on Washio's nerves. Sonoko is a mild-mannered lass who chaffs at the thought that the Taishi wishes to have her as team leader.
The plot limps since we have the three girls introduced as classmates. They need to become friends before they can weld into an effective team of warriors. Trust is hard to get when there are definite personality clashes. Each seem to compare stuff as swimming speed, running speed, breast size, et. al. Not so much Sonoko who has the worst time getting comfortable in battle, much less be team leader. But for Washio and Gin, each learns to accept the plus and minuses each individual contributes to the overall results of the team. And school life helps. Discovering that Gin is a devoted sister. Going on field trips. School and local festivals. That's the girl stuff.
But then the Vertex come in those other-worldly intrusions from the land of Forestsize. And they hit hard. The nicks and cuts of battle get bloodier. The bullets and projectiles from the Vertex shred flesh, and taking on a trio of these ultra-demons are moments when Vertex attacks rip through and perforate young girls with ease. The death of Gin is a traumatic moment when the usual respect for the chosen heroes of the Shinju-sama is jeopardized. The class wishes to have these girls back ... as normal classmates.
The premise that the 'hero system' is merely another form of sacrifice of innocent girls is presented here, as the death of Gin allows the Taishi to up-grade the girls' attack style ... the Mankai. Better results against the Vertex, but at a cost of physical health. In the last battle, Sonoko realizes that their first experience with Mankai has crippled Washio. So, she ties her hair ribbon to Washio's wrist and charges into battle, enduring one Mankai after another until ... the opening scenes of Yuki Yuna is a Hero places us back into the storyline of the 2014 series.
The animation technique soars with the scenes of battle as the elaborately designed Vertex deals out deathly attacks against frail girl bodies. The bloodshed is more pronounced in this set of six episodes, as if the coming of Mankai is seen as a benefit. It sets up neatly the mind-set that will drive Yuki Yuna is a Hero as these five high school girls discover the unfairness of the system and strives to improve not so much the weaponry as the philosophy of the hero. as the five girls regain their physical losses from the Mankai ... as the tightly swathed bandages fall away from ... that girl.
Bring on The Hero Chapter. With any new system, you hope for those essential improvements to get the new team of six the victory … without the loss.
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