Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Dai Mankai no Shou

I am a simple person. I rate the anime based on enjoyment. This anime is 8/10, which is considered as good. I read Nowayu Novel and I loved it. It's unfortunate that this anime summarised the entire Nowayu Novel in 3 episodes and ruined the great story and characters. If you haven't read the light novel, please read it before you watch the anime like an average yuyuyu fan would do. Overall, I still enjoyed the series. They made some good additions to yuusha no shou chapters. I love all the characters in yuyuyu. I cried when I saw some of my favourite characters suffering. The animation, musicand voice actings are top tier. And there is a good balance of slice of life and actual plot. Yuki yuna may not be my top 10 anime, but yuyuyu franchise is definitely one of my fav. P.S. I love Chikage

I liked this part of the Yuuki Yuuna story but it was not without its flaws, which is why I decided to mark this as mixed feelings. The beginning of the story was a bit slow and at times the transitions were so poor that I had trouble keeping track of what was happening and how certain characters related back to other characters. After a while, things felt less confusing so I'm not sure if I just missed something or it was a genuine flaw with the story telling. I liked that the story tied up some things that I had questions about in previousinstallments but I feel like I have other questions. I also liked how the ending wrapped things up but also left us open to more in the future. However, there was something unsatisfying about it and I'm not sure what exactly it was. Perhaps because things had to go a certain way to make everything work or perhaps I'm picking up on things that got set aside during the transition from light novel to anime without realizing it. If you liked the previous series, then this one is worth watching. If you want something that feels more organized, you might lose patience with the first half of the story.

The Yuusha de Aru canon is surprisingly big. There are several different light novel series focusing on different eras and character groups chronologically beginning in the AD era, 300 years before the events of YuYuYu. Additionally because of the limited length of the stories involved, it is quite hard to create a spinoff series based on another team other than the 2 that Togo Mimori / Washio Sumi were a part of. They were able to keep the momentum going just enough to release 3 feature films and later 6 TV episodes for WaSuYu, but it might be a very different story for the othernovel series like Kusunoki Mebuki or Nogi Wakaba. So it's understandable that the production went with the approach of giving us a glimpse into the other series through the eyes of the Hero Club, and retell the second half of the second season with more detail. While some moments from the prequel series are featured, it's rather clear that much of the new content centers around Mebuki and her team of Sentinels. We get to see some important moments in the inner workings of Taisha that led to the decisions made by absent adults in the first 2 seasons, and we get to know Mebuki's friends and her rivalry with Karin that predated the Hero Club. And yet, whether because of time constraints or a desire to hold off, the prequel content featuring Wakaba was distilled down to a series of flashbacks, giving us little time to get to know half the team before they're cut down by the Vertex. We do see the primary conflict of the series between Chikage and Wakaba, but this is enough to spoil all the drama without animating the full 13 episodes. Perhaps it could be argued that the gritty realism might have been a bit much even for a Yuusha series known for extreme emotional drama and graphic non-sexual violence against young girls, but it might be better said that this is an introduction to the broader canon, beckoning the viewer to explore the stories of the other teams in the light novels and manga. The all-new content centers on the Hero Club after season 1, giving us the charm that attracted viewers in previous seasons (with an additional layer of weird due to Sonoko stealing the show), and episode 1 features several songs released on a companion single. The final episode includes an epilogue for the YuYuYu time period, signifying that there probably will be no new content in Yuuna's story on the screen. It's a good ending, depicting how the girls have moved forward years after the final mankai. Visually, it's on par with the first season, however there were a number of moments where the lighting/color grading seemed unnecessarily dark (some of the action cuts in the opening credits, for example). Speaking of opening titles, this animation sequence evolves as more of the canon is introduced, and the "releasing" vines towards the beginning is a really nice touch. The opening and ending songs are easily the strongest in the series. The soundtrack expands on the excellent soundtracks of previous seasons, culminating in a new track for the reprised climax from season 2. I think I prefer the original, but the new music was also quite strong.

Story/characters: Just as a little orientation, despite this being a sequel there are significant number of events that overlaps with previous seasons with some scenes even occurring concurrently. As such it is recommended you make yourself familiar with the Washio and Hero chapters as those seasons are most crucial in understanding what is a confusing series to follow. Although if you can, it is recommended you watch the original season as well. With the conclusive ending we got in the Hero chapter veterans of the franchise are probably asking what can the Mankai chapter could do to extend a story that very clearly ended? Well, this seasonlargely achieved this feat by delving into some side-stories offering viewers a more complete picture of the Yuuka Yuuna world. The Mankai chapter covers two side-stories through two arcs which culminates in what is essentially a rehash of the Hero ending and then caps things off with an epilogue of sorts. Excluding the rehashed ending, the goals of the series sound reasonable enough right? Well, like most ideas, the power lies in the execution and in this case, it was less than stellar. While the season opener starts of in a cheerful typical Yuuki Yuuna fashion it is when we get to the first arc when we begin to question the direction of the series. Now to the shows credit, the series does try something new but the issue here is the way things are presented. A lot of new characters are introduced in quick succession and this makes it tricky to keep abreast of all the events going on. What is more, since this was only an arc and not an entire season, we are not given enough episodes to connect with all the new girls due to time constraints. It is these time constraints that mean many of this cast are left underdeveloped. On the positive side we do learn a bit of background on Karin Miyoshi and gain a greater understanding on why she was initially so uptight and competitive with the Yuuki Yuuna gang. All things considered this arc was a mixed bag and my wish was for more time to be given as by the time I grew attached to the characters; it was off to the next arc! In this second arc we take a deep dive to the past in what is essentially a prequel arc as we go back right to the beginning of the Yuuki Yuuna universe. If you thought the first arc was rushed then things get taken to another level as we are introduced to yet more characters. Again, this arc suffers from similar issues to what occurred previously only this time the problems are much more prominent due to the compressed timeframe used to convey events. Moreover, unlike the first story we gain less from this arc as the only real gain from adding this arc is a little background on why the final big fight had to happen. After those arcs are covered all the narrative from previous series (and characters) converge leading to the big moment. Now this is the moment when newcomers or veterans’ opinions are likely to diverge massively. For veterans of the franchise the final climax will likely go down poorly as it is essentially a recap of the Hero chapter with many scenes even recycled. It was a lazy shortcut and will make those long-lasting fans feel robbed but if you never watched the Hero Chapter or merely forgotten it then this climax will play out better for you. After this we get an epilogue that covers events after the big fight. This was better as we got to see many of the girls after everything was said and done but, if I am going to be honest, it was not enough to fully redeem the various shortcomings of the series. Animation/music If you have seen previous iterations of Yuuki Yuuna then you know what to expect as the standard here is largely the same. The vibrant coloured battle scenes return and like before there is some CGI that, while a little glaring, is not too offensive. Unlike other seasons there are no transformations sequences which could be a disappointment if you love magical girl series for that sort of thing. The Hero units deployed are less flamboyant so don’t expect advances there but on a more positive note we get the sentinel units that add a new flavour to the franchise. I wouldn’t call it the best thing ever but the action scenes played here was decent and different to what we saw before. Animation in the opening and ending sequences are of a higher quality though. In this regard they are almost equal although I did prefer the opening song "Ashita no Hanatachi" which did a good job of getting me in the mood for each episode. The ending song "Chiheisen no Mukou e" delivers a more calming effect to settle any nerves you may have had. Both songs are voiced by the seiyuus of the main Yuuki Yuuna gang with those being Haruka Terui, Suzuko Mimori, Yumi Uchida, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Juri Nagatsuma, and Kana Hanazawa. Summary: The big issue with the Mankai chapter is it attempts too many things in too short a time frame. If the arcs were split into actual separate seasons, the stories told would have been far more enjoyable. As it is the way this season has been constructed means it is a confusing series to follow as not only are there multiple storylines to follow but the number of characters introduced is quite staggering. The fact some of these girls looked very alike only added to this confusion. It is these multiple storylines and new cast that means not enough development is given for either the story or characters to progress adequately. It is this rushing and lack of development and cohesion that left me getting a sense this was just a rushed job, or worse, a money grab. This feeling was only reinforced by an ending that is largely pulled straight from the Hero chapter. It just left me a bit deflated and whilst I did enjoy the final epilogue ending (maybe it is not the final ending?) it was a case of too little too late. All things considered I feel the Mankai chapter may actually be more enjoyable for newcomers who have not been spoiled but then again it just makes the learning curve even steeper. What I can say with more certainty is this season was the weakest in the Yuuki Yuuna franchise. Story 4 – The overriding problem Mankai chapter suffered from was pacing. By sticking two substantial arcs in one season we got a rushed job. If more time was devoted to each arc, then the impact these stories had would have been greater. This is especially the case with the second "prequel arc" when not nearly enough time was given. The biggest sin is left at the end though as the climax of the show is simply lifted straight out of the Hero chapter. If you watched that then any sense of tension would be lost. Character 6 – The girls (even the new ones) are all likeable but due to the sheer number of characters introduced most are covered in the most cursory manner. Another unfortunate effect is just as we got attached to a given cast it was off to the next part of the story. Plus, if you liked the main Yuuki Yuuna cast then the screen-time they get is considerably less than before which could be a bummer also. Still, there are various quality interactions to keep viewers engaged and there are a lot of girls you can root behind. Animation/music 7 – Solid and consistent. If you saw the previous seasons then you know what to expect. CGI is deployed more often than the previous chapter but the notable omission is the transformation sequences. Opening and ending animation sequences are both good with enjoyable beats to boot. Overall 5 – If truth be told this season was not needed. What is more, the Mankai chapter would have fared far better if instead of trying to advance the story narrative or even linking to the Hero chapter it focussed on telling side-stories or prequels as its sole ambition. By going down this route I could see real potential in delivering some really enjoyable stories. Alas this option was not taken and this show suffers from trying to do it all and failing in becoming too ambitious. As such I could not recommend Mankai chapter to Yuuki Yuuna fans although ironically newcomers may get a bigger kick out of this. Be warned for if that is you then the learning curve is all the higher and you will need to understand the underlying stories and characters from scratch. It can be done but requires you to focus even harder. If you a die-hard magical girl lover then maybe this will be worth pursuing but for all other people better to leave this one alone.

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