Reviews for selector spread WIXOSS
Back to AnimeOk, its my first time writing a review so... Please take care of me? Unto the review. Since I haven't watched Madoka Magica(have only read reviews)which everyone says the Selector series more of less copied I'm not going to go too in-depth into my opinions about the story/plot. Story: 7/10 Plot was interesting and captivating but hard to understand at times. Hence I believe to fully enjoy this anime, one has to not worry too much about how some of the finer details are blurred over, remember if the anime doesn't give a good explanation just leave the reasoning behind it to magic. This anime basicallyuses the same story structure as its prequel and follows the lives of the three main characters, however it delves deeper into the history of WIXOSS such as how selector battles came about, etc. However it still maintains the dark psychological theme that was present in the prequel. Overall a 7 because it was interesting and enjoyable but not really that unique.
Art/Visuals/Animation: 8/10
Animation was done smoothly with great art and visuals that match whatever scenario the anime is in, nothing too much else to say about that. However I rate this 8 as probably around the 8.8-8.9 mark.
Sound: 9/10
Great opening and ending that suits the anime, the sounds used in battle are also quite fitting, except the dub step could have been toned down a bit at times. Opening and ending carry most of the marks.
Character: 9/10
All characters are linked together with the plot and each have connections with each other. No characters are simply introduced, expanded on and discarded for ever. Of course there are side characters that are meant to be defeated and forgotten but each of the main characters are all linked to each. In addition the personalities of each character are all realistic and different from each other. For example Hitoe acts exactly like how a shy, lonely girl would act at the start of this series and her character expansion is realistic due to her obtaining friends and self-confidence.
Other: Slight incest themes might make viewers uncomfortable so I don't recommend watching this anime if you are not fine with incestuous feelings.
Enjoyment: 10/10
I legitimately enjoyed watching this anime even though it might not have the most original story, best artwork and visuals, etc.
Overall: 8/10
I rate this anime the same as its prequel, its a solid anime that nice to watch for enjoyment, don't expect anything too original though.
That concludes my first review, I hope I've done ok.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in the case of WIXOSS that may very well be the case. As I mentioned in my review of the first half of the series, WIXOSS takes a lot of cues from a certain magical girl anime called Madoka Magica, from the dirty secrets behind their world's setup to the hopes and aspirations of their main characters. While transmuting someone else's story to fit a new context is certainly appropriate, WIXOSS still ended up leaning a bit too hard on the fence and ended up flat out copying certain ideas and motifs from Madokarather than repurposing them. So, now that they've used up all of the Madoka storyline that they could, how has WIXOSS been faring since then?
Much like the first season, Selector Spread WIXOSS really shines during its darker moments, and they don't even wait til the end of the second episode to really start laying in on thick. From the psychotically nasty to the horrifyingly sensual, WIXOSS certainly hasn't lost its darker edge that subverted its cutesy-moe look and gave it the edge that it had back in the Spring season earlier this year. As for departing from its Madoka base, the story shapes up pretty well during its first two thirds as the tension builds around what actually caused WIXOSS to be created in the first place. Unfortunately, I found the ultimate revelation to be a little bit underwhelming, though this may be more due to it feeling a bit rushed and poorly explained. In the end, I suppose I was sort of able to believe what happened, but it still felt very fuzzy on a lot of the details. I will say that the final episode was very solid, though certainly nothing we haven't seen before.
Strangely enough, the character development for this season actually seemed to flip-flop a bit. While Yuzuki and Hitoe were the big stars of last season, Spread now focuses on Iona, Akira, and a new fangirl character named Chiyori. While I wouldn't say that Chiyori's character was poorly developed, I will say that she was exceedingly annoying in many parts, though this may just be because she is a WIXOSS fangirl, and fangirls are annoying by nature. Iona and Akira, however, actually present a rather interesting contrast in development, with Iona apparently being influenced by Ruko's kindness and purity, while Akira is driven to madness over her obsession with Ulith, who now inhabits Iona's body. However, I do have to admit that our lead antagonist, Mayu, turned out to be fairly weak as far as antagonists go, and while the final revelation with her character was fairly solid, she felt very basic and unplanned when compared to other antagonists within similar genres.
Much like last season, the animation was done by J.C. Staff, and their hyper-moe style blended with unique color palettes certainly brings this anime to live once again. I was a little bit disappointed that there wasn't as much of the horrifying imagery that we had in the first season though. I should also give props to the final episode for some particularly interesting and well-animated environment breakdowns.
As of yet, there has still not been a dub announcement for this series, though if FUNimation were to announce it, I would imagine that it would be very well-acted and well-scripted.
The music is still composed by Maiko Iuchi, and her eerie ambiance style is still very present during the tenser moments. However, I've started to dislike some of the more dubstep-influenced moments of the soundtrack, as they don't seem to fit well with the creepy nature of this series. The opening theme "world's end, girl's rondo" by Kanon Wakeshima gives us an upbeat and eclectic blend of string, piano, and drum set to play us in, while the ending theme "Undo: Ashita e no Kioku" by Cyua gives us a heart thumping outro with parallel octave harmonies in its chorus to send a bit of a chill down your spine.
Overall, Selector Spread WIXOSS is just as solid as the first season of WIXOSS, but doesn't do much to move beyond that.
The thing with the entire Wixoss series is that it really isn't the most amazing thing ever. While I do find it EXTREMELY underrated, I really can understand why people feel the way they do about this series. For starters, people like to compare this series to Madoka Magica. Usually, claiming that it is like a carbon copy of it, and that it stole most ideas from it. In every piece of honesty, and thinking of 100% completely objective facts, Wixoss is barely anything like Madoka Magica. I mean sure, they are both "deconstruction" anime. However, I don't really think of Madoka as a true deconstruction ofthe mahou shoujo sub-genre, only a deconstruction of SOME of the tropes within the sub-genre. The other tropes that make the mahou shoujo (magical girl) genre are still present 100%, which is exactly why it's not a full-on deconstruction.
Wixoss, however, is a full, 100% deconstruction of the card game sub-genre. It takes EVERY single trope present within a "generic" card game anime, and completely rebuilds it from scratch. Thus, the tropes remain intact but are just used in completely and utterly different ways. There is absolutely NO trope that exists within the card game sub-genre that isn't deconstructed in some way or another. Thus, it is a complete deconstruction, unlike Madoka Magica.
Yes, that is one plus to the series that puts it above Madoka. But that doesn't mean that it's the only one. And there are also tons more differences between Wixoss and Madoka that I'll explain throughout this review. However, the entire review will NOT be a comparison between Madoka and Wixoss, so if you're expecting that, prepare to be disappointed.
Before starting, let me begin by saying that this is going to be a review of ONLY the second season. That means that I expect that you've seen the first season and are wondering if you should watch the second, or have seen the second and want to compare my opinions to yours. Either way, by reading this review, I assume you've seen the first season because there's a high chance that there might be major spoilers of it throughout this review. Either that, or you just don't mind being spoiled. Which ever works for you.
There won't be any specific review of the first season present within this review, but I will make quite a few references to it as the review continues on.
Now, let's begin the review.
Starting out with the story:
The first season of the Wixoss series was one that was really easy to follow in almost every aspect. It played off as a simple series that deconstructed elements of the card game sub-genre, much like Madoka Magica. The second season here is far different.
One of the most significant differences is how the entire series sacrificed world-building, which they did despite MANY chances to create very intricate, well-defined world-building. Wanna know why they did this? For the sole purpose of character development.
That was one of my initial problems with the first season. The characters were definitely well-defined, but characterization is only a miniscule part of a successful series. And hell, even in situations like Tokyo Ghoul where the characters define the entire series, there's still a major lack of true flavor/spice when a series is structured on something like that. That pretty much all changed during the second season here, as basically every primary character received a copious amount of much-needed development.
However, this section of the review is reserved for the story of the series, so enough talking about the characters. We'll get to that later.
The story of Selector Spread Wixoss specifically is a bit convoluted at times, but if you're willing to put some brain power into figuring out what's going on, you'll be able to tell that everything within the series makes great sense, might I even say perfect sense.
No bragging is intended here, but when it comes to me and anime, I'm almost 100% of the time able to follow exactly what's happening without requiring a rewatch or even a rewind of the series. I've always been that way as well, being able to follow series' that a lot of anime connoisseurs consider "some of the hardest anime to follow." Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain are some examples that come to mind, but there really are a lot more.
And yes, I am saying exactly what you think I am: Selector Spread Wixoss was harder to follow at times than both NGE and SEL. Sounds kind of crazy to people who haven't seen the second season, or maybe even the first if you're reading this without caring about being spoiled, doesn't it? It's definitely true, though.
The convolution present within Selector Spread Wixoss is almost 100% within the story. As I said, everything can be pieced together, but it's quite hard to do so without rewatching. For me, it even got to the point where I had to take out a piece of paper and write out every plot point and how it fits in to the whole structure of the plot, which actually did take some time to accomplish. So, for those reasons exactly, I can see why people would want to drop this second season here, even if they finished or even ENJOYED the first season.
One of the best things to do in a situation like this is give it your full attention, and possibly even rewatch it upon first completion. And also, the second season is set to come out on DVD/Blu-ray sometime in July I believe, and given that it's licensed by Funimation, there will definitely be a dub alongside that. That will, likely, make the series far easier to follow.
Let me just tell you this: if you are able to understand the story eventually, under any circumstances, you will end up enjoying Selector Spread, as well as the entire Wixoss franchise, in some way/shape/form.
The second season here picks up exactly where the first left off. For the sake of trying not to spoil the first season TOO much, as I'm sure at least one person who hasn't seen the first season will end up reading this review, I won't explain exactly what has happened within the first season.
Aoi Akira is still out for bloodlust, despite what's happened to her. The specific development behind Yuzuki and her character remains in-tact, and is even capitalized upon more as the story continues along within the second season here.
As I said earlier, one of the major differences was sacrificing world-building for further character development, which was a sacrifice that worked HUGELY to its advantage given that Wixoss focuses on its characters more than anything.
The way that they do this is introducing a new extension to the universe that this series takes place in, but without explaining it too much. It's played off as some sort of "void," and that's even how its referred to by some of the other characters. The fact that it wasn't explained exactly how it works, with only some slight hints being given (which is one of the major situations behind why you'll need to think hard to completely understand what's going on), is what I mean by the series sacrificing world-building. And as I said, it was completely okay because the series was able to focus more time on developing the characters which, in the end, gave them TONS more flavor than the first season did. And also, as I said above, as long as you're able to piece together all of the information you're given, everything will make sense even without it being explained very thoroughly.
Another thing that makes this second season so great, even better than the first, is how the psychological aspect of it is kicked up about 300% from the first season. Within the first season, only aspects of what was going on within the Wixoss game were explained. Here in the second, there's a true psychological battle that becomes obvious around episode 3-4, depending on how quick you were able to catch on.
The entire point behind the deconstruction aspects of this series was to bring a psychological battle of wits within a sub-genre that's always been so solid on its tropes, which have always proved to be quite childish in the long run. Wixoss, especially the second season, does an INCREDIBLE job at doing just that. While the first season could be seen as something that casual anime fans could enjoy, but the second season here is very far from that. And despite the fact that the first season still isn't something for kids, unlike most anime that fall under the card game sub-genre, the second season is on a COMPLETELY different level.
As I mentioned earlier in the review, the first season is similar to the structure of Madoka Magica in that it only deconstructs ASPECTS of the card game sub-genre. The second season deconstructs every other aspect, leading to an absolute and almighty deconstruction that doesn't fail to be so in any way, shape, or form.
I truly believe that I've explained every point behind the story of the second season of Wixoss, so I don't really think there's much more to say here. Hopefully it was enough, because in the end, there's really not a whole lot to say.
Onto the characters:
The characters are definitely what drive this season to being as good as it is, and it really is good.
As I pointed out a couple times during the story part of my review, the second season of Wixoss sacrifices world-build in place of character development, and it does so to its advantage.
The characters present within the first season of Wixoss seemed almost like self-inserts for a while, with only Ruuko and Yuzuki receiving any character traits that set them aside from other characters. However, as we were introduced to Iona and Akira, things began to change, which affected both the story and the characters of the entire series.
The characters that receive the most development within the second season are easily Ruuko, Tama, and Akira. However, Iona also receives much development as well, but for completely different reasons that I'd rather not explain due to spoiling the entire first season. Yuzuki eventually receives the exact same treatment as Iona, which causes her to receive some much-needed development as well, though as I said, in a completely different way.
Until later on, within the final 1/4 of this season, we're not really introduced to any new characters. The trend within this season that dominated the entire structure behind this character-focused series was development. The development went far, and I mean FAR, beyond around 99% of the anime that I've ever seen in my entire life (though not the very best; that'd probably go to NHK or HxH). Every single character is given some sort of a personality, and the entire season by the very end completely and utterly lacks ANY type of character that could be seen as a "self-insert." I mean hell, even Hitoe becomes a well-defined character, and I'm sure anyone who's seen the first season is aware of how she was the dictionary definition of a self-insert.
Tama, despite her becoming a character that it seems people among the internet seem to hardly give a crap about after this second season, did become far more developed than she did in the first season. Within the first season, she was extremely naive, and only ever wanted to battle. She finally learned the entire truth behind the Wixoss game and how the entire system functions, and became a completely different character after that. Even to the point where she sacrificed herself to save Ruuko from having to give up her entire life.
And I suppose that this is the best time to point out that Tama was, without a doubt, my very favorite character within this entire series... within both the first and second seasons.
Ruuko received an extreme amount of character development as well, but it was mostly driven by the plot, which I've mentioned a few times that I won't go into detail with that.
The details I can go into is that Ruuko learns a lot about the world of Wixoss, which causes her to understand more of what goes on and exactly what she should and shouldn't do. It was actually quite a good way to develop her if I may say so for myself, because for the longest time, she also felt like a self-insert protagonist. Given that kind of status, I really can't imagine her being developed in any other way besides the plot basically doing it for her.
Onto Akira. The changes she faced within the first season play a HUGE role into the character she becomes within the second season, but not in a way you'd expect. Instead of being completely against Iona, like she was within the first season, she ends up siding with her because of specific reasons (that would spoil both the first and second seasons). Iona, which I can just go ahead and describe here because she doesn't receive a whole lot of development overall during the second season, is used in a completely different way. It's the same for Yuzuki, just in a way that allowed Iona to seduce Akira a lot easier. Yuzuki's situation was a lot different, as the other "Yuzuki" (no spoilers) didn't really ever do anything to change the plot a whole lot, she was just kind of there to fulfill a certain wish of a certain character.
Unlike Iona, however, Yuzuki received a hell of a lot of development, which again I won't explain 'cus spoilers.
It really is hard to explain the full effects behind the character development present within the second season of Wixoss, simply because a lot of it would spoil the entire series, both first season and second. I just heavily recommend you go and watch it. Even if you haven't seen ANY of the Wixoss series, and have had the entire first season spoiled for you because of this review, I still give everyone reading this my 100% full-fledged recommendation to go and watch the series because the character development present within the second season really is like no other. It's among some of the best I've ever seen before, only really being outmatched by series' that I consider to be within my top 5 of all time.
And yes, as I've mentioned before, this is a character-driven series, so the character aspect is without a doubt better than any other aspect present within Selector Spread Wixoss.
With the important stuff out of the way, let's get onto the presentation aspect of the series: animation and sound:
The art itself really wasn't anything special, but it did its job. This isn't a series that requires very good art, so it being crisp and clean is definitely enough. And it certainly was just that.
The animation, however, was quite a bit better. It wasn't amazing, nor anything close to it. But, there were some major spikes in quality, as some of the fight scenes looked absolutely gorgeous. I've sent a video of the opening to probably 10 people before, just because of the animation scene after "We...Cry...Opennnn" is sung within it. Absolutely beautiful, and for that scene only, I watched the opening every single time. There were even times that I wanted to replay it right after it ended, just because of that small piece of eye candy. And also because the song itself was quite good as well.
The sound is something special. Selector Spread Wixoss is one of the few anime that features a soundtrack that's actually memorable beyond a few small beats/rhythms. I've listened to the entire soundtrack on its own accord probably about 3, maybe 4, times so far. And I love it so much. Like seriously. I'd probably say it's my 2nd favorite anime soundtrack of all time, behind only the incredible Mashiro Iro Symphony one... which was just simply epic.
The voice acting. The FREAKING VOICE ACTING. Like holy CRAP, don't even get me started on how freaking amazing the voice acting was. Most Japanese dubs are good just because they feel the most natural to the medium that they're presented in, and aren't thought about a whole lot simply because they all sound quite good. But this isn't the case within the Wixoss series, and it's the same deal with the first season. Just the sheer quality behind every character's voice actor/actress is nothing less than pure perfection. And my lord, I just have to give a few words of praise for Chinatsu Akasaki for her STELLAR performance as Akira Aoi. Seriously, that was literally the greatest performance that I've ever heard in ANY Japanese dub in anime. I'm not even joking, it was that good.
In short, the soundtrack and voice acting within the second season of Wixoss were nothing short from absolutely incredible, and there's nothing I'd change about them, even if I were given the chance to. Simply amazing, and I applaud everyone who was a part of the voice casting/soundtrack composition.
Final words:
The second season of Wixoss, Selector Spread Wixoss, is without a doubt better than the first season. I've seen many people praise the first season more simply because it was easier to follow/it made more sense, but really, as I've said before, the series is just composed and structure tons better when you are able to make sense of it. And believe me, anybody can, it just takes a bit of brain power is all.
I love the Wixoss series as a whole. But does that mean I think it's the best thing ever? Not necessarily, but I will say that the second season comes somewhat close to being just that. I absolutely love the Wixoss series as a whole, but the second season is just on a whole other level, despite the first being great as well.
Plot: Selector Spread Wixoss follows 90% of Infected Wixoss plot. So the battles by the dreams of Ruuko, Hitoe,Yuzuki, Iona continues and that is awesome. But now, the plot have more focuses on the "cosmological world of wissox" trying to make you now the whys and the logical behind the cards battle and the girls on the cards. But don't think that the dramas of the girl will be set aside, no only the world wissox will be revealed but the world inside every girl too. The logical sequence of the theme of Infect Wixoss will not be broken, and that is very importante to appreciatethe anime, rarely, storm of information will rain (without lose the complexity) on you and that makes the anime easy to understand but doesn't destroy the mystery.
I just can't give 10 for the plot, because the similarity with Madoka Magica is very outstanding.
Characters:
Ruuko: Like every main, she have to suffer (more hihih). Ruko does not changed a lot from the Infected season. But i can not deny that she still pass want she have to pass. The spirit of war inside her, she want to battle, she knows that battle is bad, she have to save her friends for the Wixoss "cicle", she want to live with Tama. Everything happens on her mind. The growth (as a character) is very expected, this accumulation will be directed to where? Savior, friend, warrior, everyone wants to know who is the real Ruko.
Yuzuki: Frustration, this word summarizes Yuzuki. Deceived, another word. Energy, another word. Truly, my favorite character. She dream is just terrible (and against everything that I belive), but i consider a pure dream. Unlike Infected season, Yuzuki shows more coolness, more rationality, she follows want Kazuki told to her: "don't be so straight". And that is important, shows an evolution on how she deals with her situation. She still is the "fire" of the trinity, but she assumes the prudent part of the group (due to their painful experiences). She is just essential.
Hitoe: I have to admit, for me, she was useful only to show the effect of three defeats, but i have to consider the she was importante to bring the difficulties of start a relation when you are a teen. And more than this, she grows as character (and this is importante for a teen serie), Hitoe now shows that evolved, she does not fall apart on tears like on Infected series and now she is truly part of the trinity (Ruko, Yuzuki, and now Hitoe). For me, she still be the "weakness" of the group, but she has her "job" on the moral lessons of the anime.
Akira: The bitch, only this. She is terrible, an unstable and manipulable girl. Envy, work pressure, crazy love, obsession, everything placed on a teen with cards with power to destroy dreams. I don't know if Akira evolved (as a character), for me the change of jealous and angry bitch for a lacking and submissive girl isn't a evolution. But Akira is importante to show the pressure on childhood, she is importante for the context, but i still hate her.
Iona: This girl is the power himself, why i say this ? Simple, she is OP. The cold character (that Yuzuki can't be) with the power that Ruuko always denies. She is the key of this season, and will be the trigger for shows who is the true Ruuko, the true Tama, the true Mayu, the true Ullith. I can't see much development on Iona, she will be the op key that will show more of the feeling (and powers) of the other characters. I see this potential on Iona.
Art and Sound:
Good traces, traits that pass the feelings of the characters and that makes the art of Spread very light and intelligent. With respect to the sound, the opening and ending are according with the theme. The sounds during the anime are very unique, sometimes I feel like a dubstep dj that made the ost. I love this atmosphere. The voices are very good (I love Chiyori and Eldora voices, they fit perfectly).
Overall:
If you don't have problems with Madoka Magica you will enjoy Wixoss, but don't expect one anime better than Madoka Magica. If you didn't saw Madoka, Wissox will be one good anime for you to undestand the world of teen girls and a little about magical card games.
In depth review #5 - Selector Spread WIXOSS When comparing this season to the first one, I felt that Selector Spread WIXOSS fixed all of the problems I had with the storytelling. It actually made a compelling story on its own without using themes or plot devices that were blatantly ripped off from Madoka Magica in the first session. The story also wasn't as predictable. Despite this however, the creators didn't do as good of a job at developing the main characters this time around. I’ll go in depth with my reasons down below. Story: 8 (Very Good) Selector Spread WIXOSS is the continuation of Selector InfectedWIXOSS. It starts off around a week after the events that transpired during the first season's ending and continues with the overarching conflict of the series. During this iteration, the main character Ruuko focuses more on trying to find a way to save her LRIG Tama, coping with her battle addiction, and dealing with her new companion Iona. Compared to the first season, I think the story was slightly better. The major problems the series had where fixed when they focused more on the premise of the game WIXOSS, and focusing more on Iona and Maya's predicament. There was a lot of good things going on at once in the second season that I enjoyed instead of only recycling Madoka Magica themes in the first one. As for backstory, many of the random unimportant characters in the first session are extremely relevant now and play a huge role in the story. One example being Ulith.
Animation: 8 (Very Good)
The animation during both seasons of this anime where relatively to same. The only exception would be the setting of Maya's world that I thought had a unique style to it. I made a review of the first season so I might just repeat what I said in that one which was that the animation was at its peak during the battle scenes. The atmosphere, the battleground, the LRIGs, and the magic used during battle sequences were amazing. The atmospheres in particular is what gave this anime so much life. During the battle scenes, the background, and the overall mood of the setting changed according to the characters personalities, and deck color. As for the general setting in the real world, it was unimpressive and lackluster.
Sound: 8 (Very Good)
The OST that was used in this session had a couple of standalone tracks but for the most part was exactly the same as the first. They used several catchy Tech based songs with orchestrated rhythms in it as well as DnB and Dubstep. The music that played during the transition and in the opening/ending themes were changed to correspond to this session. Compared to the first opening theme, I liked the opening of this session more than the first one. In regards to the casual scenes, this session faced the same problem it did in the first. There were barely any song playing in the background. There were a couple of typical sound queues throughout the show but that's about it.
Characters: 7 (Good)
The three main characters that we've followed in the first session are still here but they aren't the main focus of the plot anymore. The story swifts most of the time for character development towards Tama, Iona, and Akira. Even though these characters develop nicely, and are essential for the plot to progress, I feel as if the main characters Hitoe, and Yukuzi where left out. Their significance in this session wasn't nearly as impactful as it was in the first 12 episodes which was a letdown. The main character Ruuko however develops nicely throughout the entire series. There are also additional supporting characters that join the mix this time around. Ulith, Chiyori, and Mayu where all introduced in the first session but they all got little to no screen time. Now they are important components to the story, and almost quadruple in the amount they are on screen compared to before.
Enjoyment: 8 (Very Good)
If you ask me if this series is worth continuing then I would say it is. This session treated the Madoka Magica identity crisis syndrome it suffered from in the first session and improved on lot of subtle things throughout. I liked it slightly more than the first season just since we actually got to see how this card game actually works. It was kind of weird to me that a card game anime didn't even explain the rules of the game properly but after watching so many battles, I got the hang of it. I enjoyed this anime because it was unique a unique spin on the card game genre and was just different from what I usually watch.
Score is Rounded: 7.8/10 (Good) - Worth the Watch
My wish was... what was my wish again? What are we doing here anyway? Selector Spread WIXOSS is the second season of the card game anime franchise WIXOSS, and a sequel to Selector Infected WIXOSS. It is a deconstruction of the card game genre, with focus shifted not on the game but on the psychological plot of the show instead, making it one of the more unique stories around in the anime these days. Does it deserve the praise for being deep and different? This review MAY include SPOILERS from the first season. Plot: Ruko Kominato, a Selector - girl who has the ability to own a living LRIGthat grant wishes - parts her way with Tama, her previous LRIG, after losing the final battle. Fulfilling the wish, her opponent, Iona, becomes Ruko's LRIG in Tama's place. While living her normal life, she is again dragged into the Selectors' world, and vows to get Tama back and fulfill her old wish - returning every LRIG to her former selves.
The concept of WIXOSS was very well done in the first season and was the strongest point of the show. It was a clever and interesting idea of having girls battle each other in a card game to either fulfill your wish by winning, or destroy it by losing. The psychological effect it had on players reflected to the dark atmosphere, and the mystery behind this system kept the audience thrilled.
However, Spread does not do that. Although Infected had its mistakes in storytelling and plot holes, it was pretty consistent. Spread keeps the same mistakes the first season had and made tons more. The end result, to summarize, was a chaotic pile of mess. The plot in this show had no direction. It was supposed to further explore the nature of the WIXOSS system, but it soon went off the rail with multiple sidetracks. Simply put, this anime tried to rely on worldbuilding, be like a fairy tale, and have deep and thought-provoking psychological moments about people's will to sacrifice or gamble for something they seek, but in the end nothing from these things work out.
The game itself becomes even more confusing, and as in the first season, the rules are not explained at all. Granted, the show is not about the game but what's behind it, but you often find yourself scratching your head, not knowing what the hell is going on. This is the polar opposite of other card shows like Yu-Gi-Oh!! or Cardfight Vanguard where the sole reason of the anime is to promote sales for real life cards, and thus having focus of the show on the gameplay. While those anime are criticized for having a bullshit plot, this anime should be bashed for having bullshit gameplay in the same way. It would have been somewhat fine if rules were fully explained atleast once in the show, because the game itself, while not having much focus on, is a vital point of the show.
The problem with the main plot is that it didn't know how does it want to solve this out. Everything seems messy. There are so much things going on that you don't have an idea which are important and which are not, and the story's flow just kept changing randomly. From Akira's internal struggles to Ulith's plan, to Tama's retrieval, to Mayu's "defeat", the show had no consistency and either forgot its side stories (the incest) or tried to square up everything in the end. There's much more plot device characters in this season, mainly because the anime tried way too much at once (imagine Tokyo Ghoul) and just wrote the characters' stories off as fast as they were introduced.
Characters:
The characters of Spread are also much weaker than their Infected counterparts. The main reason is because you get the same amount of episodes (12), and have twice as many characters and twice as many conflicts. While Infected centered on 4 characters, with only 2 of them having a personal goal that the audience could follow, the second season doubles the count and gives almost every character a conflict that needs to be solved.
Starting with the biggest disappointment, it's Yuzuki. She was hands down the best character of Infected and one of the best of the entire year of anime (and I'm not even kidding), and basically made the show alone in the character department. Her incest story with her brother was beautifully told (one of the few instances where incest is done right), and she herself was a vital point of the progression of the story. In Spread, she is put in a useless position, being a LRIG. Since Hitoe seldom fights anyone in the show, we practically don't even see her do anything at all. It's not her fault, of course, but the show simply just coldly murdered its best character.
Aoi Akira, the maniacal Aki-lucky model girl, is one of the main reasons why the show turned out to be so pretentious at points. As a character, she is fine and her loss of sanity is detailed well but boy, she does not fit the show at all. Even with all of this attention thrown at shaping her character, she does nothing to the plot. All she did was just mess up the atmosphere so much it was almost impossible to take this all seriously. Same thing with Chiyori, a girl we saw just once in Infected and who gets a considerably increased amount of screen time. She is the polar opposite of Akira in terms of character, coming out as a childish and funny middle-schooler. Chiyori was a rather interesting look from an another side of the spectrum, bringing in some light in a relatively dark atmosphere, but she also does nothing to the main plot and nothing would have changed if she wasn't there.
Hitoe doesn't change at all from the first season, being a companion and best friend of Ruko. Her character is actually an improve from Infected as she is not a plot device anymore made solely for the purpose of showing the audience what happens when Selectors lose, but on the other side she is still pretty underwhelming and she does not have much influence on the plot.
Iona and Ruko's relationship is the most explored one in the show, but there is one problem with it: nakama power makes everyone friendly and forget their differences fast. The contrast was supposed to be the main point of their relationship, Iona being the antagonist of the first season and Ruko being the nice girl, but that contrast is lost quickly. Iona's motives and her character change are contradicting each other and she comes off as a badly written character, with script writers clearly going for the easy way and just having a different character change for the sake of cooperation to move the plot forward.
Finally, we have the two antagonists of the show, Ulith and Mayu. I can immediately say that the show shouldn't have had two villains. Ulith was the better one, because it was more believable and her story didn't come off pretentious like Mayu's. As I said, one of the main reasons why the plot of the show crumbled is because it wanted to chew way too much than it could swallow, and having two villains at the same time was too much. Although Ulith is the better one, Mayu's story is unskippable and if sacrifices were to be made, the show should have had scrapped the protagonists' struggles with Ulith. Instead we have Ulith story which is forgotten in the end and doesn't have much relevance overall, and Mayu's story (the main plot) which is plagued with plot holes and generally weak.
Writing:
Speaking of weak, we have the writing. Being the weakest point of the first season, you bet it's not a strong one in the second as well. That is true, however it's not as bad as the plot's nosedive. You still have girls crying and whining over the same god damn things, level 5's out of nowhere, stabbing people with a knife on the side of the chest (really, what the hell was that supposed to mean? And the victim is okay at the start of the next episode!). What's worse though is that the show added in such pretentious dialogue (or, rather, monologue) that it was a pain to listen through all of that. Suddenly, the anime turns into a fairy tale that is narrated by one of the characters in the most pretentious way imaginable, with dialogue such as someone "entering me", "I can feel her inside me" and so on. Trying to enjoy the show at this point is something excruciating.
The saddest part is that every single element of the show had massive potential. It was only the lack of focus that led WIXOSS to ultimately fail at almost everything it tried to present. It feels like so much has happened, but nothing of value. The anime is labeled as "psychological", but it has nothing that you could consider "thought-provoking". It's not enough to put some girls being tortured in a dark setting and call it "a psychological anime", you have to have more power in it. However, there are no tasteless fanservice or forced comedy, so the anime has that for it as it doesn't have any distracting elements that don't serve the story telling.
Animation & Sound:
Animation makes up for some of the show's shortcomings though. Choreographically the battles look amazing, the effects look splendid and the art style fits both action and slow paces. My only problem with it was how noses were drawn, it felt like there's no nose but a hole in it's place instead.
However, the sound department was weaker. There's one track that keeps on playing whenever there's a "sad" inner monologue going on, which gets boring pretty fast. The rest of the soundtrack is unmemorable. The battle music is way too dubstep-ish and doesn't fit. The voice acting is okay for the most part, but the fact that there's so much crying and squeaking in this show takes some points away. Chinatsu Akasaki did a wonderful job at voicing Aoi Akira though.
The OP of the show - "World's End, Girls Rondo", while decent, is not as good as Infected's opening (atleast it didn't have ep 12 sound editions to it as the first season's opening did). The ED meanwhile is beautiful and is one of the highlights of the show, and one of the best of the season.
Summary:
Selector Spread WIXOSS needed more episodes. The concept was there, the conflicts were there, the characters were there. There was just too much stuff to solve in 12 episodes. For a psychological anime, it's not deep or thought provoking. For a magical girl show, it is way too chaotic with its' presentation. For a card game show, there's no rules given. The abundance of plot holes and plot conveniences make it really hard to follow the plot.
It is sad that Spread was a disappontment compared to the first season, since I liked the show, and the fact that to an extent Infected succeeded with such a formula was one of the biggest surprises of the year. Unfortunately, Spread just didn't know how to get to the end. Do I recommend this anime? It is a unique show, and it is a deconstruction of a genre, thus having a much bigger value than most of your generic seasonal anime. However, it is not fun at all. If you like something out of the ordinary and uncommon, give this a go, otherwise, don't bother with this and go with Sailor Moon for your magical shoujo anime.
Final Verdict - 4.3/10 (changed as of 01.13 - previously 4.7)
Ok, so that's a warp for the sequel, so , no more run around, time to make my review. Story: Fair 6. So far the sequel has ended in a good note, it wasn't rushed, there were developments in the plot, but the development was something that I just couldn't fathom, I meant a card game that is haunted by a death girl? Sheeez, that was just too elaborated and it does violated every rules in a typical ghost story. Ok so it wasn't exactly like Yu Gie Oh or Cardfight!! Vanguard in fact it was a combination of drama, supernatural and some bits of theabove mentioned. So, in contrast as to what the series was suppose to be just like the parent anime it has more to do with the ghost of the card game than the card game itself, but then again it was such uniqueness that has made me to have just a little love for this anime in general.
Art: Mediocre 5.
Well since this is a sequel, then there is no point of explaining my ratings for this anime, since I have nothing much to say, but, I really do like the Mayu illustration- and I'm talking about the infusion of Yuki and Tama in the last episode, where we saw a more cuter Ruko's LIRG.
Sound: Mediocre 5.
There is no point for me to say, since it was the same seiyuus who did the character's voices of the previous season.
Character: Fair 6.
Who could forget Ruko who is seemingly an overdramatic protagonist who doesn't know the advantages she has, she really annoys me, thought I do admire her selfless determination to seek Tama and put the whole Wixoss thing to an end...also, I kinda like the development that has occurred with her character as she accepts Iona.......or it is Kuro....Yuki....Mayu whoever her LIRG is as she battle her way to her goal. She is still annoying.
Hitoe, on the other hand is more annoying as this 4 eye pussy girl who can't seem to give Akira a good bitch slap for tying her up, I tell you, the moment when I saw her get tied up by that bitch I feel like wanting to go there and give both her and Akira a good bitch slap, then again it was nice that for Chiyori's sake she was able to beat her so that chunni selector wouldn't end up as an eternal girl, nice move on her part.
Iona Urasoe, Kuro, Yuki whoever she is, here is a tongue twister for that character;
There was a GIRL who met a LIRG, the GIRL is tried of being a GIRL so she wants to be a LIRG, she fought with alotta GIRLs with their LIRG's and the GIRL finally a LIRG, so the LIRG becomes a GIRL while the GIRL becomes a LIRG... as time pass the LIRG who became a GIRL and the GIRL who became a LIRG continued to fight with other GIRL's and their LIRG's often they will will switch from a GIRL to a LIRG one after another until the LIRG who became a GIRL fought with another GIRL with a LIRG , where the LIRG who become a GIRL loss over the GIRL with a LIRG where the LIRG who becomes a GIRL becomes the other GIRL's LIRG and the other GIRL's LIRG who becomes the LIRG of a LIRG who is now a GIRL. Now the LIRG who is now a GIRL has challenge his underling who is a GIRL with a LIRG, so the LIRG who is now a GIRL won over the GIRL with a LIRG, but the LIRG of the LIRG who is now a GIRL refuses to be a GIRL of the LIRG who is now a GIRL and the LIRG who is now a GIRL becomes a the GIRL again....ok, so it might be trolling, but hey! That's how complicated that character is where I'm simply just pointing it out, so report it to the mods.
Now in this sequel we can't ignore the other character's like Chiyori, Elenor and Mayu who somehow has brought some impact to the series, but for the antagonist Mayu to be able to haunt and lay a cruse on the game was pretty much too incredible like how can a dead girl solely ignored was able to create such alternate world where the choices are neither good? Also, as we get to know the girl behind the supernatural world of WIXOSS, well, her charter really does sparked a certain disgust for being this ghost who lived a bad life, but still her character shows how she created the world but not how she lived and as to what cause her to be in that lonely state, is it because she has bad parents or was it something else? If only studio J.C Staff has taken the time to give us audience about her back story then we would have pitied her rather than hate her. Now on to Chiyori, she was pretty much the character that I would really like to do what Sanzo does to Goku in Sayuki which hitter her on the head with a hard paper fan, and her LIRG Eldora, I really don't get if she was once a GIRL who became a LIRG or just a LIRG who was never a girl, but seeing her jump out from a card was really strange, about Tama, well for once I've hated her for leaving Ruko, then again it was right that Ruko never became an Eternal Girl, I do like the way how she develops into Mayu upon uniting with Yuki who represent the two sides of the WIXOSS realm creator. well anyways, I gave this part its score since part of me like them and part of me is annoyed by them.
Enjoyment: Good 7.
I gave it such score since the sequel did provide such development and getting to see how it ended was something else, since it did provide a happy ending.
Overall: Good 7.
It was a good sequel, to such extend, but I still annoyed with Ruko, btw feel free to watch it.
Has the Wixoss sequel failed? Did season two lived to our expectations? Well it was so thoughtful to chuck the potential in a cesspit. Yet it is not 50% bad! The narrative hook Wixoss had were the themes. It made viewers think, questioning: Is incest OK? What is the value of friendship over self gain? No longer mentally challenge us; as season two discarded the important hook that hooked us from the start. 0/10 of the story does not resemble any theme, and becomes devising plot devices that devises a bigger mystery: like who the hell caused this supernatural nonsense? The original had used similar tactics tokeep audiences thrilled, but its potential turned to Milley Cyrus rather than Chopin.
It is not to say the thriller was “bad” there was good foreshadowing with the grand scheme, (not spoiling it) and there was a itch twist on the incest. However, the racial split between the two seasons is that the original way of hooking highly emphasised character psychology which relates to us as human beings, while the sequel was “Look at this EPIC story and not be awed by how reasonably ridiculous the twist sounded!” Which disappoints all us previous season watchers for wrecking the aspect that made Wixoss better than 9/10 of anime made this year. The reveal is not epic, since viewers had little to invest in comparison.
The rest of the cast retained that same mediocrity quality but pointless, driven-less and insert useless characters here. Who in the name of J.C Staff thought that Loli was a good idea? Making her “Dramatic” made me emotionless! The red-head chick sobbed for a bit, and spouted some exposition that does not go anywhere and we never see her ever again.
In conclusion: Sequels have a 70% chance of being bad, 20% of being a “Slightly” inferior product and you can guess the rest. This sequel, lands in the 20% lineage.
Consequently, I can see a hell pit if the series were to keep moving forward...
SCORES:
Story: 6/10
Characters: 5/10
Animation: 7/10
Sound: 7/10
FINALE” 6/10 - “GOOOD”
By and large this is more of the same from the previous season as it is a direct continuation. If you liked the first season you'll like this and if you didn't you won't. I thought this, while similar, was probably a bit worse as it had even less battling than the previous season and it devolved into a drama/character driven narrative and it gets super preachy at the end, all of which fell flat for me. While I could still point to a plethora of overall problems- multiple episodes with no battles at all in a 12 episode card battle show, extreme plot and logicholes, forced "moral of the story"/"the power of friendship and love" message- the overall biggest failing of this anime is, after 24 episodes and 2 seasons, I still wouldn't have the slightest clue how to play this game if I had cards and wanted to try. I'm literally a former professional MtG player and I'm very, very into TCGs/CCGs and have been for well over two decades and this is literally the first and only card battle show I have ever watched where I feel like if I had cards in front of me I wouldn't know how to play. Rules and mechanics aren't explained, battles have pauses and skips and jump all over the place, there are no scenes of players altering their decks or going over the pros/cons of making any kind of strategic change, etc. The card battling, which absolutely should be the focal point of the show, often feels like it takes a back seat to the "narrative", which is quite weak and unoriginal.
Really the only reason I can get there on a 6 is because of my love and bias toward card games. This show just isn't very good. I do want to give praise to the animation and the soundtrack, which were both well above average and very appropriate, but there just isn't enough actual substance or quality around them to give them the recognition or place in my memory that they probably deserve.
I'd say to only bother with this if you watched, and quite enjoyed, season 1. If you haven't watched season 1 at all, or you did watch it and you were underwhelmed, pass on this and take my word for it that you're not missing anything.
OBJECTIVE RATING- 5.5-6
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING- 6
You know what would be really surprising? What if I watched SSW after watching the series before it, which I discovered to be mostly garbage? SSW is the sequel to SIW. As noted in my spoiler-free review of SIW, only 2/3 of the title was explained, so I assumed this time around that "spread" would either refer to a fancy buffet or jelly. If you haven't seen SIW, you can still watch SSW. In fact, you might enjoy it way more than people who HAVE seen SIW. Now for a spoiler-filled review of SIW which will gradually segue into a spoiler-free SSW review. SIW's story is absolutely, terribly, horriblyawful. It seems like the writer(s?) had no idea what they were doing and just made up crap from week to week in an effort to surprise the audience.
"Hey," they said. "We have a card game where if special people called Selectors win CCG duels an unspecified amount of times and the plot demands it, their wish will come true." Okay that sounds pretty standard...collect x items (wins) to get wish y.
You know what would be really surprising? What if Yuzuki had a wish that was something taboo? Yeah, that'll shock everyone!
You know what would be really surprising? What if losing three times made you not only lose the ability to be a Selector, but you also lost all memories of anything related to being a Selector, and you had the opposite of your wish come true FOREVER?
So, this happened to Hitoe and she freaked out. Stuff was either disappearing from her diary or she couldn't see it and she was basically shell-shocked. Not only that but she felt physical pain when touched by anyone who could potentially be a friend. It was pretty dark.
Then, Akira lost three times and...
You know what would be really surprising? What if we showed you how screwed up Akira's life got? So, the characters met.
You know what would be really surprising? What if Akira still remembered about being a Selector? Uh...didn't you just establish that they..? Shhh!
You know what would be really surprising? What if getting your wish means that you switch places with your LRIG and they inhabit your body but have your memories and everything? Then Yuzuki expressed disappointment that it wasn't really her getting her wish. However, LRIGs really want to get back into the real world and are required not to say anything about the switcheroo if they ever want to get out. However, getting out of the card world and into someone else's life ALSO isn't really getting your wish to get out of the cards. So what is the point?
Just like when Hitoe was punished, there's clearly an element of magic going on because Yuzuki's LRIG achieves Yuzuki's wish practically overnight.
You know what would be really surprising? What if there were certain wishes that can't come true? Ruko decided she wanted to save everyone but then we're told a couple of times that that wish can't possibly come true yet she still wants to go for it. Hang on for a moment. Akira's wish was to ruin Iona's life. Since she failed, the opposite of her wish came true but...what if she'd won? How would Piruluk have been able to ruin Iona's life? ~_~;
By the way, I thought I should mention that one thing they never made any attempt to explain was WIXOSS. You'd think they'd spend a couple of minutes somewhere in twenty four episodes to explain say, the basic mechanics, but pretty much all you learn is that there are coloured cards, there's a board, there are turns & card power levels, and pretty much everyone starts their games growing their LRIGs. This lack of explanation defuses many shocking game-related scenes because we're not sure what's possible or not. I mean, did you notice how Ruko starts off knowing nothing, then an episode later is one of the best players in the world? Would it not have made sense to have things explained to her and thus the audience by proxy?
You know what would be really surprising? What if Yuzuki became Hitoe's LRIG? Wait, I thought you said that losing three times meant you'd lose the ability to be a Selector? Shhh! If Hitoe can try for a wish again and she wishes for the same thing as last time, can she cancel out the previous negative wish which was for forever?
You know what would be really surprising? What if Hitoe met Ruko and didn't remember anything about her and was cold and hostile?
You know what would be really surprising? What if Hitoe actually remembered Ruko and Yuzuki? Wait, didn't you establish that she could never make friends ever again?
The whole thing with Akira and Hitoe reappearing seems like the creators didn't want to get rid of the characters. However, they clearly stated that losing is a permanent thing. They SHOULD have gotten rid of them. Doing so would've made the whole series stronger. They already said Akira killed another Selector!
I assume the writer(s) knew they had created a steaming turd because the author is credited as "LRIG." No one wanted to take responsibility for the story. Can you blame them?
SSW has a stronger story in that it doesn't contradict itself every episode..just some of them. If you watched SIW, you'd be more likely to question how it was that certain characters suddenly knew things.
Now, you could argue that the contradictions in SIW are not the result of the story being slapped together by squirrels but instead give the show an air of mystery as the girls are confronted by continuous lies but you'd be wrong. The story starts where they know nothing except that win lots = wish comes true. So, being told there are permanent consequences for failure...which turn out to not be permanent...and then you can do things but then you can't but then you can...that's exactly what makes it a mess.
It'd be like if you and Bill were playing a new game he'd just made and Bill told you that throwing the ball into a box would get you three points, then changed his mind to make it two points, then eventually added that you want a low score instead of a high score. How fun of a game would that be to play? Likewise in SIW, introducing surprises and immediately revealing them to be lies has no meaning since there's no real foundation of "truth" established! No mystery is created other than "Who on earth green-lit this project?"
Personally, I felt the strongest parts of SIW were when Selectors interacted with non-Selectors. Ruko's grandmother was almost certainly the best part of the show. At the end, her comment on Ruko's growth as a character was probably the most poignant moment of the series and it had weight because it was grounded in realistic interpersonal relationships, not magical fantasy arbitrary plot twist land.
While SSW has a stronger story, that's only in comparison to SIW. The story is still terrible. It will patiently explain things to you at length...which don't make any sense. When it gets away from SIW, it's halfway decent. However, it doesn't stay away from SIW, which makes the show only 1/4 decent. Pacing is abysmal and you get info-dumped a couple of times which really kills the flow.
So, besides the story (or lack of thereof), the art is not as fancy and the animation is more inconsistent. They love their flashbacks, I tell you. There was also a scene which demonstrated why most characters' hairstyles cover their ears. o_o
Overall, if you've seen SIW, I can't recommend it. Of course, SIW didn't end on a very satisfactory note but this continuation contradicts itself all the time and doesn't flinch. If you haven't seen SIW, then uh, er...mmm. Lucky you?
MUST READ : The quote below may act as a spoiler for Selector Spread WIXOSS, so if you are reading this review without the intention of getting spoiled. Please overlook the quote and start at the third paragraph. “Selector battles… What was that game all about? It was a game that was born from the hatred and sorrow of a single, lonely girl. A game of broken rules that only brought sorrow, no matter the selection. But… We found something within that game. We made our own selection outside the rules. If we hadn’t played the game, we’d never have found them. Or learned what’sreally dear to us. And I finally made my selection. So… I will continue… My search… For a new selection that I’ve yet to see… Believing that… Is… My selection.”
Psychological was always a genre I adored and enjoyed seeing ever since the day I was introduced to it. To me, the psychological genre refers to how a show controls one’s mental and emotional state vigorously yet unconsciously. I may be a maniac, I may have a peculiar fetish, but these for sure contributes to my liking towards the psychological genre. It feels amazing when I get goosebumps although I’m frustrated. It’s thrilling to find myself crying to scenes that aren’t even emotional. It’s amusing to see myself get mad and excited over things. Psychological is truly a genre I am besotted with.
Throughout the years I’ve spent on anime. Gathering as many anime as possible, watching them and moving onto the next one. Selector Infected WIXOSS had the most mixious of everything I’ve ever seen. Way more than all of the psychological anime which I have watched. At first glance I thought that Selector was merely a normal card anime. But I was wrong. This was more than a card anime. Way, way more than just that.
Selector is the trashiest, most annoying, and frustrating show. The characters are so retarded I’d punch them all in a heartbeat. Some of the voices are so high-pitched my WCH-500 wireless headphone nearly crashed along with my pair of eardrums. It’s so annoying, so absurd, a true catastrophe. But that’s the reason why I love this show so much. The overwhelming stupidity which couldn’t possibly fit inside The New Century Global Center which is known to have the floor area of 18.9 million square ft. makes the anime such an absurd piece of art.
You know those paintings? The ones where there’s literally nothing on it but a variety of colors mashed onto the painting surface. Yet is still recognized by people and is set at a high price. Yeah well Selector is something like that. Something like a painting that looks so rushed a child could possibly do the same but still get the people’s applause. Yeah, something like that.
Selector is no ordinary card anime. In fact, the concept of cards within this anime is so simple it's nearly irrelevant. Selector is more focused towards the dementia rollercoaster of characters rather than overcomplicated, unnecessary mass dialogue actions like Yugioh. This anime fucks your brain up in every way. Whenever it sees an opening within you, it strikes. It pours all of its toxicity into you until you feel like you’re drowning internally. It’s like having a very annoying little brother who never stops being annoying.
Selector is fucking crazy. I love it so much. If there’s an anime that’d awaken my maniac side. This is the anime. I felt so many things from it. Many, many things. It’s amazing. I think I might go crazy if I don’t go to bed soon.
Selector Infected WIXOSS is an incredibly dangerous anime that no ordinary watchers must come to know about. It is highly recommended to those who think that they do have the guts to enter a toxic factory and come out healthy. Or either the people who want to be broken. Oh, you know what I mean.. :)
P.S. This review is not a troll. It is genuinely written with my true feelings towards the show. Please do not take the excess of negative comments in the wrong perspective.
The second season of WIXOSS fixed everything that went wrong in the first and made the anime that much better, although there are characters who will make you wanna rip your hair out it was a great second season. STORY battle to have a wish come true. Is that the main plot to the story? or maybe it is finding Tama and making her a human girl to hang with Ru. I find the main point of the story is to find the purpose of the selector battles and saving Tama of course. I even loved the ending although I wish they added one smallthing to make the ending even better, but overall I was happy and satisfied with the way it ended.
ART
well I don't usually care about art work as long as it fits the story and I guess this was no exception...it fitted the story perfect and made this fantasy card game seem a little more realistic.
SOUND
I loved the sound and when they played it, it made the emotions sink a little deeper, although I could careless about the music as long as it's not crap. I found the music here made the anime a whole lot better.
CHARACTERS
although the back stories could have been better, I liked the characters. especially the main character Ru and tama. Now back to the back stories, I wish that I could know why Ru was called scary or why Hitoe couldn't make friends...the only character we really found a little about was Yuzuki and her issues/wish.
ENJOYMENT
well I usually love the anime I finish watching. So basically all of them but it usually has to do with how it ended and I guess I loved the ending. I don't want to spoil anything but it all added up with a few questions which made me enjoy it a little less but still a great ending.
OVERALL
same with the enjoyment I overall found it a great anime to sit down and watch, it had a little bit of every genre even incest for you incest lovers :)....I am just kidding but give it a try I bet you will love this anime.
Hi, I must say this anime gave me mixed feeling. In the beginning of season 2 i could not wait before i ended watching this anime cause it was a bit boring, no battles, dull interactions between the characters, yuzuki trapped in the card while it was the strongest girl, personality wise. But then seeying the last few episodes made the anime the most satisfying one i ever saw. The ending is the best one of all anime's i saw. Throughout the show i also fell in love with a few characters like, cheori, iona/yuki/urith and ofcourse yuzuki who was my favorite in season 1, thosefew just overclassed rouko in some odd way, but rouko turned out to make her wish come true and i respect that of all wishes mentioned.
This second season is mostly better than the first in some areas, but still the same in others. One of the things that I felt had improved was the character development. No longer restrained by the mystery surrounding the card game in the first season, characters such as Ruko, Tama, and Ulith are developed quite nicely. While other characters are pushed aside to make room for that development, it didn't bother me too much. The other thing that developed pretty well is the storyline. There were times that got even darker than it already was and that kept me going to the next episode to find outwhat happens next. There is also a philosophical theme about choices that develops to make the story richer.
Other than these things, everything else is about the same as the first. The art is still garish yet sometimes gorgeous. The sound is still soft electronica that provides ambiance to battles. The battles are still thrilling.
Overall, I think I enjoyed this season even more than the first. If you enjoyed Selector Infected, then do watch Selector Spread.
Selector Spread WIXOSS. This second season was definitely not like Selector Infected WIXOSS. This second season was definitely similar to the first one but, this one was more deeper, more about the "Lrigs". More then anything, it's more logical it seems like then the first season, it shows the true depth, of the whole entire game, and more details, of the consequences of playing the game wixoss, the if you like knowing how things come full circle, and want to see how things play out, then watch this second season, and you'll have your answer. The Beautiful and ugly world of a card game.
I'm new to anime and have only watched a handful of shows. I love psychological horror and survival games, when I saw this show in a recommended list for suvival games I was surprised. I gave it a try and I was decently impressed with the first season but the second season is really just trash. My only real problem with the first season was two things, I hated that they tried to convince us to be emotionally invested in incest. I'm never gonna support it or root for it so it was just a major drag having to watch how heavily it affected thestory. I also didn't understand how in the final two episodes when it had been made clear to the main character fighting could really get people harmed (a sick girl lost and died!) and yet she didn't try to work around or just run up to the roof. Nope you fought people to "save" everyone but not once were the consequences of this brought up. Really? out of that whole tournament not a single girl lost her third battle? However I may have been annoyed by this it didn't change my overall enjoyment as I found the universe they were making interesting (I did hear that this show apparently is a major rip off of a different anime, maybe once I watch that I will actually hate this show but right now its a small fraction above fine).
I have talked a lot about the first season but the real thing that ruins this show is its second season. The whole plot just disappears and makes no sense. The girls do mention that someone is clearly manipulating everything because too many weird things have happened but I don't care anymore. I dropped this show as I was just so bored. Why all of a sudden despite it being a huge deal that no one is supposed to know the secret of the LRIGS did suddenly everyone fucking know the secret! Not only did they know but none of them cared! The mysteries the show kept setting up just started falling flat real quick because nothing felt like it was making sense. The girls knew their original plan wouldn't save everyone but they were gonna try again anyway? We as watchers also know that the weird white room lady with the curly blonde hair refused to leave because the real world is scary. That makes it pretty clear she was a traumatized girl who either made the game or was maybe the first winner to get trapped. However if the girls don't know this information and it doesn't look like there is ever gonna be a way for them to find out since Tama got kidnapped by creepy lesbian, WHAT IS THE POINT? The characters in the first season seemed mildly intelligent and determined but the second season it just felt like they were dumb and guessing. It honestly would have been more interesting to just have them give up.
Top-line summary: Selector spread WIXOSS is a weird chimera of a card game and magical girl series that serves as a deconstruction and commentary on the implications of both. If you're familiar with shows like Yu-Gi-Oh and Madoka Magika, Selector spread WIXOSS is a fascinating and thought-provoking watch. Don't bother watching the first season (Infected) though. Story/Characters/Enjoyment: 9.5 Now, you're probably looking at this review and thinking: a 9.5? This guy must be crazy. That 9.5 rating comes with one major caveat: I am rating Selector spread WIXOSS as a *stand-alone* series. Why? Well, due to my own foolishness, I mixed up which season to watch first,so I went into Selector spread WIXOSS having never watched the first season (Infected). From what I could tell, the first season was entirely unnecessary (drawing out revelations and character development that could happen in a single episode), and watching just the second season (spread) makes for a much more compelling experience. My real-time response was, "holy crap they're not wasting any time. The flashback and indentifiable character tropes make everyone really clear and that really enables them to tell a compelling (though not hugely original) story without a lot of bull$#! time wasted introducing generic characters." Sadly, season 1 was all generic character introductions, and you don't really get to the real plot until season 2.
The second season by itself has an excellent story, pace, and consistent themes that stand out compared to other series in its genres. A friend recommended this to me as "the bastard child of Yu-Gi-Oh and Madoka" and it lives up to that assessment. This series fascinated me though for how much of a different direction it went in compared to those series.
While Yu-Gi-Oh spent most of its time effectively as a commercial for trading cards and was written in long, drawn-out fights to showcase them, WIXOSS barely explains the rules of the card game, and frankly, it's not necessary. Sanderson's Law states that magic systems only need to be as well-defined in fiction as their importance to the plot (e.g. Gandalf's powers are really nebulous, but it doesn't matter because he doesn't solve everything with magic. Contrast with Harry Potter which has strict magic rules because everything is done with magic). The plot in WIXOSS has nothing to do with the card game and everything to do with communication, friendship, betrayal, and catharsis. You can tell by looking once at the characters their relative ability at the card game; the game itself is irrelevant because what actually matters in the plot is the relationship between them. Watching WIXOSS flipped the traditional card-game anime script in a way I found oddly compelling.
Likewise, WIXOSS handled a number of plot elements better than Madoka, especially the critical examination at the themes of constant self-sacrifice that (somewhat questionably) permeate magical girl series as well as shoujo series in general. It examines both the power and cost of making wishes into reality in a much grittier and compelling form than Madoka. Mari Okada (O Maidens in Your Savage Season) has consistently impressed by examining the character depth and realistic consequences of classic character tropes, and does not shy away from the strife, confusion, and anguish in the process.
Art: 8. It was good, and I enjoyed a lot of the set piece designs, though some of the characters felt a little flat.
Sound: 8. The voice acting was generally good to very good and the BGM set the mood well, but nothing stunningly noteworthy.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this series (ignoring the pointless first season), and would recommend it especially to more experienced anime-watchers looking for more self-aware and critical series.
This anime exceeded my expectations in terms of story line. When we talk about card-related anime, we would think of some typical cliché shounen anime that cares more on promoting and selling cards. Wixoss took a different approach where instead of focusing on the actual card battles, they focused on the story's flow, making it one a card-based anime with one of the best story line. My only main issue here is on the main character, Ruuko which basically stays the same from season 1-2 with very less development and spent more than half of the series hesitating and just can't seem to get agrip. There was more potential that the character could achieve throughout the story but it seems the writer preferred her dull non developing and annoyingly weak spirited mc.
Binge-watch all this in one night after Selector Infected WIXOSS! As a psychologist in training, I am an absolute sucker for psychological animes. Here's my cup of tea. ※ Strength ※ - Similarity. We all know of the infamous season 2 downfall, how the 2nd season might potentially go off plot or turn into a shenanigan of a show. Knowing that the plotline and concept stays consistent is a note to be mentioned. - Feels. As stated in my previous review on 1st season. The characters in this anime will definitely make you feel something. And when an anime makes you feel emotion -- whether positive or negative.To me, that is a success. When you are emotional about it, it means it left an impact and to me, it's a positive one.
- Individuality. Each character is unique and acts according to their own rules. They are their own person and aren't flat personality. In fact, you can distinguish each character based on certain personality traits and overtime, those grow into something better as they become a better version of themselves.
- Cute girls. Dark stuff. I love these because it reminds me of Madoka and how you don't judge a book by its cover. There is more than just cute looking characters as its a facade of how they actually function like real everyday living human beings.
※ Weakness ※
- Concept. This season definitely focused more on the concept of WIXOSS as the anime episode was explaining how it is, how it happened and the past of everything. But I found this to be inconsistent with its predecessor, especially they do a bad job at explaining it. This leads onto the next weakness.
- Confusing. If I had understood how the entirety of WIXOSS world function, that would have given me at least some sort of empathy to feel. Unfortunately, I can't empathize with something I don't understand. I thought they would go more into the act of playing with WIXOSS, but it still fails to do that.
- Questionable. The plotline became more and more predictable as time goes on. Unlike the previous anime, I somehow knew that this is going to get resolved as everything seems to shine upon the MC. Not to mention, some character's decision-making and beliefs are definitely odd and illogical. But then again, humans are illogical creatures at default.
► OVERALL◀
Masterpiece? Not really.
Recommendable to fellow weebs? Possibly, if they liked Madoka
Satisfied? Definitely with that spectacular ending.
In the end, it was somewhat of an enjoyable journey watching the character grow together. That is the psychological part I love the most. If I had understood more concept of WIXOSS and the anime gone into more detail, it would have been comparable to Madoka.
HUGE PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD Hanayo waifu! She STOLE the season with that hospital scene near the very end. She was overly gentle, selfless, emotional, and intense! When you thought that she's a cold, calm lady but she just shows that side of her and leaves you shooketh! I was already on the verge of tears right in the beginning of the scene when she was feeling guilty and sacrificing her feelings!! Season 2 was even more intense, especially in the later half again. I binged everything viciously! Mayu is just so wek, I can't believe she spent her whole life seeking revenge like that and do yousee the glow up from Iona to Yuki? Way more bad! And the way that Yuki says, "Ruu" is refined and elegant. When you thought Tama is just some card, but she ain't! Tama played a huge role with Ruu in saving all the ladies. Nobody can beat Ruu!
Overall I preferred the whole of season 1 better than season 2, but the later half of season 2 picked up and was super fast-paced and intense, so I loved the later half of season 2. This season is even more wicked, dark, and intense than season 1. LOVE Selector WIXOSS series, one of my favorite anime of all time!