#yuki yuna is a hero: the great mankai chapter

[444lpblue]

Stardust Telepath #3 - Explosive Mechanic

Screenplay: RinRin Storyboard/Episode Direction: Shinichirou Ueda Animation Direction: Megumi Nagayama, Ryoutarou Takamura, Yuuta Masaki, Ken Mukaigawara Key Animation: Hiroyuki Shimizu, Megumi Nagayama, Maya Yoshida, Tatsuya Urano, Yuuta Masaki, Hiroshi Tanabe, Yousuke Sotoyama, Haruka Sakai, Manabu Kushibuchi, Takanori Suzuki, Satoshi Horisawa, Michitaka Yamamoto, Takahiro Ninagawa, Lilin Zhao, Haruki Ebisu, Yoshiko Nakamura, Kanoko Sakurai, Ryoutarou Takamura, Tetsuya Sunaga, Ken Mukaigawara, Junichi Hashimoto, Yuuichirou Kamura (Eyecatch: 街早智子)

I've wanted to talk about this show since I watched the first episode, but I couldn't find the time. Now we're at episode 3, and guess what? It's pretty great still. Kaori has been at the helm of the whole series at Studio Gokumi, showcasing the studio's in-house staff in a very strong way. Kaori's approach to adapting this series is fantastic; the show is very colorful, especially in its character designs. There are so many fun reactions and expressions that I just can't help but love. It's been a lot of fun so far, and Kaori's expressive and colorful direction is a great match for the series' character designer, Takahiro Sakai. You might have already seen his designs in Yuki Yuna is a Hero, or perhaps you've watched the recent Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon (I know I didn't). The designs are very flexible and simple, which works great with the more expressive moments. I mean, it's just so cute, and when combined with the color design, they really stand out to me as a big selling point of this anime.

The story itself is somewhat comparable to the recent Bocchi the Rock, if I had to mention something to compare, if you're a fan of shows dealing with social anxiety and featuring fun visuals, I would definitely recommend giving this a try.

Since the title does say this is a write-up on episode 3, I should probably start talking about episode 3. This is actually the first episode so far that Kaori didn't have a hand in from a boarding perspective, but the expressiveness and reactions were still present in this episode. While the usage of them and the colors weren't as bold as Kaori's usual style, I believe Shinichirou Ueda did a really good job, especially for the more serious or emotional moments of the episode.

Kaori relies on a lot of contrast or bright and simple elements over detailed backgrounds to make things pop. Every time they're a bit quirky or making a funny face, you'll notice it. Ueda's approach is a bit more cohesive, and I couldn't really find a word for it until I talked to my friend this morning, who mentioned that he noticed it, and he's absolutely right. Ueda takes a more environmental approach compared to Kaori, incorporating more variety in distance and layout size. For instance, he uses long empty halls to emphasize the distance Umika must cross to connect with Raimon. When Umika runs during the night, it's subtly matched by the soft stars in the sky. In contrast, Kaori might have been a bit more heavy-handed in how brightly the stars shine or how much they pop out. I think Ueda's approach is different in that he likes to make the entire scene a bit more unified in its look rather than having one element stand out more than the others. I like both Kaori and Ueda's styles very much, and I don't have a strong preference between the two. I just wanted to mention the differences I see in their approaches.

Returning to the production as a whole for a moment, I completely forgot to mention that, aside from the aesthetic direction and character designs, the show animates quite well. It's a very pleasing-looking show, at least to me. The production is very solid, and I think credit should be given to the talented in-house animators at Gokumi and the animation producer, Kenta Washikazi. He has only held this role for two shows prior to this one (Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter and Seton Academy), both of which also had solid production, so it's clear he knows what he's doing. He has brought on people like Kouta Sera, who appears to be fairly heavily involved in this show as a key animator so far, and he's extremely talented. For instance, he did the cut of Umiko floating up in the opening. It's a perfect mix of in-house staff and the talent Washikazi decided to bring on.

[theothin]

personally my rankings (sorted only by numerical tiers, not within those tiers) are:

10/10:

Hugtto Precure

Gushing over Magical Girls

Star Twinkle Precure

Dokidoki Precure

Magical Girl Site

9/10:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's

The Demon Girl Next Door Season 2

Fresh Precure

Futari wa Precure: Splash Star

Magical Girl Ore

Symphogear XV

8/10:

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Sailor Moon S

The Demon Girl Next Door

Maho Girls Precure

Magical Girl Raising Project

Smile Precure

Day Break Illusion

Symphogear G

Symphogear GX

Symphogear AXZ

ViVid Strike

7/10:

Heartcatch Precure

Sailor Moon Stars

Sailor Moon Crystal Season 3

Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Washio Sumi Chapter

Soaring Sky Precure

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid

Tropical-Rouge Precure

Kirakira Precure A La Mode

Symphogear

6/10:

Cardcaptor Sakura

Princess Tutu

Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon Crystal

Yuki Yuna is a Hero

Flip Flappers

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS

Mai-HiMe

Suite Precure

Yes! Precure 5

Yes! Precure 5 GoGo!

Happiness Charge Precure

Tokyo Mew Mew New (both seasons)

5/10:

Sailor Moon SuperS

Futari wa Precure

Futari wa Precure: Max Heart

Magia Record (all seasons)

Healin' Good Precure

Magical Witch Punie-chan

Granbelm

Otona Precure '23

Magical Destroyers

4/10:

Go Princess Precure

Sailor Moon R

Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Hero Chapter

Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter

Blue Reflection Ray

3/10:

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka

I will say that my ratings are somewhat unconventional in general

Pmmm is a pretty middling magical girl series all things considered but the meguca 4chan threads are some of the most important magical girl works of the 2010s

[orionbreisgau]

Togou Mimori and Yuki Yuna

Togou was always by Yuna's side waiting for her to come out of coma and was crying in tear. Even Yuna was crying after seeing Togou's tear and they were having a tears of happiness and joy.

Chikage Kori and Yuna Takashima

Chikage was crying that she tried to kill Wakaba and could not stay longer to see Yuna Takashima recovered. After her death, Wakaba visited Yuna and told her of Chikage's passing where she shed a tear. Even after visiting Chikage's house, Yuna alone cried unable to forget Chikage or her Gun-chan. Yuna experienced a tears of sadness and grief over Chikage's sudden death.

[but-thats-its-own-story]

Really happy that after all they went through Togo and Yuna got to end up as motorcycle lesbians surveying the post-apocalyptic world together.

Happy for Itsuki getting to follow her dreams as a singer too.

This may be the end, but I'd watch the heck out of the Yuki Yuna is a Hero: Hero Club Post-Apocalyptic Survey Corps Chapter if it ever existed.

[doublesama]

The final episode of Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter sets up a world I'm far more interested in exploring than ever before in the series.

[curestardust]

Dust Watched: Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Dai Mankai no Shou

Genres: (Dark) Magical Girls// 12 episodes // S01 (x) | S02 (x) | S03 (x)

If you’re not a YuYuYu historian, this is gonna be an extremely confusing ride.

✧  story  ✧

Alright, so, here’s the thing. While I was a Casual Enjoyer of the previous seasons, I never actually delved further into the franchise and I don’t remember much of the details of the original anime either so “Dai Mankai no Shou“ was one of the most confusing anime I’ve ever watched up until episode 3 or 4 where I spent like half an hour looking into the franchise so I can actually understand what’s happening. The timeline and the characters the story focuses is on is constantly shifting. 

We start out with the main gang of YuYuYu doing SoL stuff and then we go back in time completely to the selection of a new Hero which ends up being Karin (as we know) and for a few episodes we only focus on the Sentinels; a group of failed Hero candidates who do the scouting missions and mind-numbingly boring stuff like that. This part was actually so boring, I almost had a heart attack fearing that this is going to be the focus of the entire season but it wasn’t.

After a few episodes with the Sentinels, we go back to the YuYuYu squad where Sonocchi reveals that her family has passed down a recording/diary from the first Heroes and we yet again jump back in time to see their story. Back then, Heroes were public figures and we see how this affects them. This is the most fitting part for the “Dark MG” genre with a lot of blood and drama.

Then we yet again jump back to the “present” where the YuYuYu squad and the Sentinels are sent out on their “final mission” for the Divine Tree.

There are random moments from previous seasons put in here or there for a few seconds, I’m guessing to show where we’re in the overall timeline. 

I’m going to be honest, reading the LNs is probably going to be a better experience than this. While the story can be somewhat understood from the anime, it always felt like there were parts missing. 

✧  characters  ✧

I’m going to skip the YuYuYu squad cause I’ve talked about them in my previous reviews (and they don’t do much until the finale). To me, the Sentinel squad was a complete mixed bag. Their missions were very boring, they don’t have Hero Powers so there’re no flashy fight scenes but the main girls seemed like a funny bunch. Unfortunately, YuYuYu doesn’t have a good track record with interesting SoL BUT the Sentinel squad’s personalities and struggles could’ve easily been its own season.

The first Hero’s is really just about 2 of the characters. Even though Yuuna’s... original reincarnation (???) is featured here, she isn’t the leader and mostly stays out of things due to an injury until the end of the arc. The main focus of this is Koori Chikage’s reaction to the public’s treatment of the Heroes and the conflict between her and Nogi Wakaba, the leader. Their story was generally very dark but YuYuYu has done 6 episode seasons before and I think this could’ve worked for that perfectly. 

✧  art  ✧

Now this is very odd because the art seems to actually improve with each episode instead of regress like normally. I don’t have too many complaints except for the Sentinel arc in the beginning; they not only use ugly as hell CGI models but because everyone wears the same outfit and the colours are muted, the only way you can tell apart the characters is based on their voices. Visually, this part was just a headache to watch.

✧  sound ✧

Good. I don’t have anything else to say really. No complaints here.

✧  overview ✧

I think for anyone who wants to get into the YuYuYu universe, read the LNs (first) instead. This whole season was just very... chaotic and confusing to watch even though there are some great stories buried in it.

My Rating: 5/10

[bangsgirlsphotos]

Yamabushi Shizuku from Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter!

One of the failed hero candidates, she is recruited as a Sentinel to survey the area beyond the Divine Tree’s Barrier instead.  She wields a rifle during the survey, which has a sort of bladed whip connected to it that she can use to rip up enemies.  While usually speaking very little, she talks loudly in an accent when she gets mad.

(screenshots from episode 2 @12:54, 13:17, 15:08, 17:00, 18:55; episode 3 @13:42; episode 4 @13:38; episode 9 @20:32; and episode 10 @00:42 anidb)

Bonus Epilogue Yamabushi

(episode 12 @21:44)

[littlemisspinky]

As I was rewatching some Yuki Yuna is a Hero clips, I noticed something-- Nogi Wakaba and Yuki Yuna both give self-introductions. Yuna's is at the very beginning of her battle with the vertexes when she first becomes a Hero, and Wakaba's is at the very end when she's making her final stand. It struck me as such a painfully human thing to do; even in the face of these near-divine entities, beings who have no way of understanding and who don't particularly need to understand, because their only objective is to advance and destroy, these girls scream. It's a declaration, that even in front of gods and the beings made to destroy them: "I am here, and I matter." Yuna's feels a bit more like a declaration of war, like "I am Yuki Yuna, and I will be your opponent. Remember me, because I will cut you down to protect the place and people I love," whereas Wakaba's is almost like an epitaph, a "me and my friends fought here, and our story deserves to be remembered." With the inclusion of Chikage's breakdown in The Great Mankai Chapter and presumably in Wakaba's journal, and with Wakaba literally defending Chikage's corpse, it gives the impression that Wakaba doesn't want only their heroic deeds to be remembered, but also the hardships and strain they faced, and how they weren't always heroic through it all. Yuki Yuna is similar-- when she calls out to the Vertexes, she's establishing herself, a culmination of what matters to her at that moment. She's Yuki Yuna, a member of the Sanshuu Middle School Hero Club, as well as a hero. Wakaba and Yuna and all of the other heroes weren't perfect martyrs or avenging angels, they were girls. Girls who were called to fight far too young. Girls who did karaoke together, went to the beach together, and argued, laughed, and cried. And they live as long as their stories are told.

[animegadaisukiidesu]

[myanimethought]

"Yuki Yuna Is a Hero: Great Mankai Chapter" - New Visual!

[mixmangosmangoverse]

So who else cried at episode 4

[gamersofdiversity]

Yuki Yuna Is a Hero: Great Mankai ChapterThird season of "Yuki Yuna Is a Hero"The magical girls of the Sanshu Middle School Hero Club have one goal: to make people smile whenever they can and to always help those in need. Through teamwork and the help of their magical powers, Yuna, Mimori, Fuu, Itsuki, Karin and Sonoko have vanquished deadly Vertexes, recovered a missing friend and balanced their lives as magical girls and regular middle school students. Now a new adventure begins, one that will test their skills and their bond as friends alike.[Source: Sentai Filmworks]

[tetrix-anime]

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Dai Mankai no Shou (Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter) - Mankai Matsuri 4 Event Illustration

[orionbreisgau]

The magical girls used their Soul Gems to defeat the witches. When they overused their Soul Gems, their Soul Gems turned into Grief Seeds causing them to either become the witches or end up dead.

The Mankai Heroes are those magical girls in Yuki Yuna is a Hero where they performed a Mankai sacrificing their body parts for the Divine Tree (Shinju-sama). If they overused their Mankai powers, they end up dead after fighting the vertexes.

Both these series are based on the magical girls fighting for their causes either against the witches or the vertexes using either the Soul Gems or performing the Mankai or the Sange (Yuusha System). In Magia Record or Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, the magical girls lose their lives or become witches after their Soul Gems turned into Grief Seeds. But in Yuki Yuna is a Hero, the heroes performed the Mankai or activate Sange fighting the vertexes but when they overused their powers, they end up dead unable to move their bodies.

[karin-miyoshi]

SENTAI ACQUIRES “YUKI YUNA IS A HERO: THE GREAT MANKAI CHAPTER”

August 20, 2021 - Sentai Filmworks has just announced that they will be streaming Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Dai-Mankai no Shou, the third season in the yuyuyu franchise!

In addition, they will also be releasing seasons 1, 2, and the mini chibi series yuyuyu Churutto. Previously, PonyCanyon USA only released season one of the series in the west. 

For reference, season 1 was subbed  and streamed on Crunchyroll, but did not gain much attention due to a busy season and little-no advertising. Season 2 was subbed and was an exclusive on Amazon Prime only, (though it is filled with so many errors that most fans opt for the fansubs instead.) Churutto was not officially subbed or released in the west, but is fansubbed.

While the quality of these releases remains to be seen, I’m glad it’ll help the series get more exposure and perhaps quality translations that most can be satisfied with.

[doublesama]

Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter Episode 11 was a good episode. But it's not enough to salvage the series at this point.