#Yu was very friendly with Nagisa

[abyranss]

I rewatched all of Nagisa's Wish because I was misremembering some things, and the transformation she goes through over the course of that short story is very interesting to me.

Nagisa at the beginning: "This is fine. I'm happy with my life. I'm loved. What would I even wish for? It would be a waste to use magic powers to wish for something ordinary. You want me to be a magical girl? I've read tragedies before, I know how this goes. Do it yourself, Animal."

Nagisa at the end: "I was going to wish for a cure, you know? I bet you wish you loved me more now. Look, I used infinite power for a regular old cheesecake. I traded your life for this. I'll be free now. Free from loving you. Free from needing to care about anyone else. Die. Die knowing I could have saved you. Die knowing it's your fault I didn't!"

Only she doesn't get to say what she wanted in the end, because her mother died of causes unrelated to her illness, so Nagisa's whole plan to waste her wish on a cake to force her mother to beg with her dying breath, and maybe even tell her "I love you," as disingenuine as it would have been, wasn't able to happen. She would have died anyway, cured or not.

Though she did beg, Nagisa just seemed dead inside while she watched her mother bleed out. Nothing went the way she wanted it to and, even if it had, maybe she would have felt just as ruined even then. Perhaps what she thought she wanted in that moment wasn't really accurate. She said she was finished caring about other people, but Charlotte's thoughts immediately after contradict that.

Nagisa started off unwilling to think about her situation, then she started picking up steam when Yu seeded the idea of "Freedom" and then she put her all into this revenge plan only to burn out in the end when nothing came of it.

Her initial idea for a wish was very similar to Sayaka's, ulterior motives included. Though Nagisa intended on actually telling the recipient it was her who did it.

I want my mom to be grateful to me. I want her to know that I was the one who cured her sickness. I'm sure my mom will be sorry that she didn't love me.

But she reaches a breaking point after another conversation with her mother and changes her mind.

Because Mom ignores me! Because Mom pushes her problems on me! Because Mom hates me! I'll force her into my debt. I'll do anything, if it makes her regret the way she treated me! I won't let a witch kill my mom! Mom can't die, because I'm going to save her! Mom will die only because I didn't save her with my wish!

Are you tired of being nice? Don't you want to go apeshit?

[recentanimenews]

Hanebado! – 09 – Turnabout is Fair Play

Ayano and Nagisa’s preparations for their finals match are interrupted by the inauspiciously conspicuous return of Connie Christensen, who wants a rematch with Ayano. Ayano, who as we know is not the same Ayano Connie embarrassed the last time they crossed, stays cordial, but her first words to Connie—that her panties are showing—demonstrate how unseriously Ayano is taking her.

Ayano’s attention turns to her broken Wei-Wei mascot on her bag, and Shiwahime invites her to a kind of Wei-Wei theme park with Connie (Erena also tags along). The Wei-Wei-ness is like catnip to Ayano, who switches off Badminton Mode and has a lot of fun for once, to the relief of Erena. Meanwhile, Shiwahime inadvertently sabotages Connie’s olive branch to Ayano in the form of a Wei-Wei keychain.

It turns out Connie didn’t return for a rematch at all; she came to express her desire to be a family with Ayano and her mother Uchika. When Connie finally gets the words out, Ayano completely brushes them off, and affably leads Connie to a badminton court, where her first devastating shot sends a clear message that it won’t be a friendly match.

We see more of the perennially lonely Connie’s past when Uchika takes her under her wing and essentially adopts her, while all the while Connie’s knowledge of the existence of a “big sister” who is Uchika’s biological daughter looms over her as a kind of challenge to clear. She wants the acknowledgement of both Uchika—who never once told Connie she was better than Ayano—and Ayano herself.

She doesn’t get it, and I’d argue she doesn’t really deserve it after how she entered Ayano’s life. Sure, Connie thought Ayano was playing mind games with her when they first met, but it doesn’t change the fact that Ayano sought a friendship in good faith, unaware of Connie’s identity.

That being said, Ayano lays the contempt on a little thick, as she essentially transforms into a Badminton Youkai, all crazy eyes and twisted smirks, in utterly rejecting Connie on the grounds she’s resolved to abandon her mom the way she abandoned her.

While Ayano refuses to forgive and forget or turn the other cheek, a dejected Connie returns home with Shiwahime to find the rest of her team has done all three, giving her emotional support when she’s never felt lower. Sorry, Hanebado, but this whole “actually Connie is the victim now, let’s all feel bad for her” isn’t quite working for me.

Who has two thumbs and doesn’t care about Yu’s attempts to get one of the male players to notice her? [holds up two thumbs] This guy. Also, I’m not confident Nagisa practicing until her knees give out is the best strategy for having a good match against Ayano. If Ayano doesn’t clean her clock I’ll be very surprised.

What could turn the tables slightly in Nagisa’s favor is the fact that Ayano returns home to find her mother, big stupid hair bow and all, waiting there to greet her like nothing’s happened. However unpleasant a character Connie may be, she’s no match for the awfulness that is Hanesaki Uchika, Ten-Time Worst Mother of the Year.

By: sesameacrylic

[recentanimenews]

Hanebado! – 04 – A New Challenger Approaches

After her playground epiphany, Ayano joins the badminton club, and before she knows it she’s on a bus with the rest of the club to a summer practice facility. While on the ride, the classically alone Ayano has her hair tended to by Yu, resulting in a photo and a warm feeling of belonging; of finally not being alone, but part of something bigger: a team.

But wouldn’t you know it, the facility is already occupied by another badminton team, and not just any team, but the “FreGirls” of Frederica, one of the country’s top teams. One of their players wanted very much to play Ayano’s school. Ayano heads out to a konbini to buy water, but ends up lost thanks to Nagisa’s kiddy, nigh worthless map.

While lost, she meets a foreigner who’s also lost: a blonde from Denmark who offers her a lolly when they make progress with the map.

Things are going swimmingly until the foreigner learns the identity of the cute little girl she’s walked with. The moment she hears the name “Hanesaki” she freezes and drops her change, then accuses Ayano of playing mind games with her by “pretending to be friendly.”

The next they meet, the tall blonde, Connie C, is one half of Ayano and Riko’s doubles opponents, and promises to show her how “meaningless” Ayano’s “team” is. She warns her partner not to interfere and let her play alone. Clearly, what she really wants is a one-on-one match against Ayano.

When her partner does interfere, Connie quits in a huff, letting the other girl struggle alone in a two-on-one match until she basically taps out. Connie doesn’t believe in teams, after all; she’s a team of one, and gets what she wants. As for why her captain and coach do nothing to stop her selfish behavior, who knows?

Connie takes over, effortlessly turning a 10-3 deficit into an 11-10 lead with mammoth vertical leaps and a smash that even the guys doubt they could return. Neither Ayano or Izumi can do anything. It’s Serigaya Kaoruko all over again.

Only…it’s actually worse than Kaoruko. “Connie C” Is Connie Christensen, a Danish prodigy who has already won the world championship in her age group. In every physical measure pertinent to badminton, she’s Ayano’s superior, and wants to make it clear she’s superior in every other aspect of the game as well. Tachibana knows her, and doubts Ayano will be able to hang.

Connie is also the blonde girl in the magazine article in which Ayano learned her mother had basically replaced her as daughter, which makes this even more fucked up. Connie even ties back her hair the same way as Ayano’s mother, adding insult to injury.

Apparently not satisfied with everything she’s already taken from Ayano, Connie now seems to want to crush Ayano’s spirit, such that even being in a fun high school team won’t give her joy or relief. That said, she relied on an awful lot of coincidences to end up in the match. Among them:

She knew Ayano had joined the badminton club, even when Ayano herself wasn’t sure until very recently;

Her school’s team ended up at the same facility as Ayano’s club;

Ayano ended up going out for water, and ended up meeting Connie first;

They ended up playing against each other.

Coincidences aside, one has to wonder what Connie’s true motive is, and why she is so intent on psychologically crippling a stranger. I mean, isn’t the fact that Ayano’s mom abandoned Ayano for Connie enough proof for Connie that’s she’s better? Did she really travel all the way to Japan just to beat someone who had already ‘lost” to her? Apparently! And that makes Connie a garbage person…until further notice.

By: sesameacrylic