Lostorage Incited WIXOSS

Having moved away due to family circumstances, Suzuko Homura returns to her hometown, nostalgic about the cheerful childhood she shared with Chinatsu Morikawa. Forever sealed with a promise of friendship, those days remain a bright memory to Suzuko, yet she has lost contact with Chinatsu during their time apart.

Ready to start anew, Suzuko endeavors to put the past behind her and make new friends at school, but she struggles to do so. Meanwhile, Chinatsu is working multiple shifts to support her family as she continues her studies, and the mounting pressure to meet high expectations soon becomes overwhelming. Amid their respective situations, both girls begin playing the popular card game WIXOSS and discover that they have been chosen as Selectors—players whose memories are now represented by gold coins and must battle other Selectors to earn five of them.

Guided by their LRIG avatar cards, which are created from the user's memories, the two learn that inconsistently partaking in duels or losing all their coins will result in a grim outcome. Resolved to protect what they hold dear, Suzuko and Chinatsu prepare for the battles ahead and fight for the chance to reclaim themselves.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Homura, Suzuko Main

Hashimoto, Chinami Japanese

Morikawa, Chinatsu Main

Iguchi, Yuka Japanese

Mikage, Hanna Main

Kubo, Yurika Japanese

Piruluk Supporting

Oonishi, Saori Japanese

Lil Supporting

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Nanashi Supporting

Izawa, Shiori Japanese

Satomi, Kou Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Shirai, Shouhei Supporting

Sugawara, Shinsuke Japanese

Carnival Supporting

Asumi, Kana Japanese

Hajimari no LRIG Supporting

Hino, Mari Japanese

Kawase, Kouhei Producer

Fukuda, Jun Producer

Miyagi, Souji Assistant Producer

Sakurabi, Katsushi Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Aug 27, 2022

jRad522

Recommended

I was not particularly impressed by the first two seasons of this show, which were named similarly inexplicably, but I did think they were at least passably entertaining. They seemed melodramatic and heavy handed, and somehow at the same time the story felt like the stakes were very low. All in all, it felt like a pretty cool idea hampered by some pretty blah execution. When I saw that there was a new season (series?) coming out, and that the name was somehow even crazier, I was like "oh this is going to be awful and I can't wait to watch it!"
I started this show ... expecting to laugh at watching it fall painfully down the stairs, but I will be damned if I am not actually really enjoying it.

Story: Anime had a baby with one of the darker Blocks of Magic the Gathering. Young people, originally just girls but now in the 3rd season suddenly boys too, have to play MTG in the Twilight Zone, but if they lose too many times shit goes downhill. It's more or less an attempt to make a serious anime out of the genre that contains shows like Yugioh, Beyblade, and Cardfight Vanguard. The first season felt like an amateurish attempt at that; this one feels like the concept has been refined into something much more ominous and engaging. There appear to be approximately 0 rules to the card game as well, but in a way that feels much quicker and not so bogged down in the mechanics as compared to Yugioh. Watching people play a children's trading card game gets boring fast. This is more like watching people slowly fall apart emotionally while playing a children's trading card game, which at least allows for some stakes and character development.

Art: It all looks pretty good. Only pretty good though. The human characters are kind of bland and monochromatic, although in all honesty it kind of adds to the already noticeably bleak and melancholy atmosphere. The characters who are actually children's trading cards look significantly cooler, and the aesthetic of the card fights is both unique and attractive.

Sound: Atmospheric and perfectly appropriate, although not particularly memorable. The opening song is also pretty bad (skip-worthy).

Characters: In the first two seasons I though that they were silly; in this season I think they are actually mostly pretty good. There are still some characters who feel very artificial, and unfortunately the main character, Suzu, is among them. Some of the other main and supporting characters, particularly grumpy AF Chinatsu and certified weirdo Hanna, are fun and interesting, and seem to have believable motivations and real human reactions to difficult situations. Watching them struggle is both gripping and sympathetic.

Enjoyment: Way more than I expected. If this had been lame, I was perfectly prepared to drop it after a couple episodes and never think of the series again. Instead I ended up writing an overly elaborate review for it and would recommend it to anyone who likes broody psychological stories and also wouldn't be bored to death by the idea of watching some kids play Magic.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Dec 23, 2016

FireEmblemIke24

Mixed Feelings

Disclaimer: This is the 3rd instalment of the WIXOSS and would advise watching Selector Infected and Spread beforehand. Spoilers for prequels in this.

For a quick summary, skip to bottom paragraph.

The chains that bind us the most closely are the ones we have broken.

The ‘lost storage’ part of the title is some great wordplay as it can be substituted for lost memories which is what defines this anime. The protagonist in question Homura Suzuko has returned to her hometown only to find out she must participate in a WIXOSS game that involves LRIGS. Morikawa Chinatsu, a childhood friend who has experienced hard times with her ... family’s financial position makes a declaration to Suzuko. Chinatsu without a moment’s hesitation firmly tells her to disappear as if she were unsightly. Chinatsu is adamant that she will regain happiness by severing all her ties with Suzuko, who is left stunned and speechless from their meeting.

The WIXOSS game in this instalment has changed its rules, with the most noticeable one being that males are now participants this time round whereas in the prequels it was restricted to just females. The consequences for the game have changed dramatically, with winning and losing being dependant on the number of coins a LRIG user has. The LRIG user loses their personality and effectively dies when their coin’s total reaches to zero. The user’s LRIG takes possession of the former host’s body and continues life as planned. This is much like the LRIG switching bodies with their users once they became an eternal girl.

Memories are the strongest themes associated with this version of WIXOSS. The notion that one would retain fond memories and try to block out unpleasant ones is the norm. The idea of altering undesirable memories is something that many would approve for due to its benefits involved. However, even when a LRIG user has obtained the 5 coins required to change a single memory, it never goes as planned as one has to reexperience that memory, which may prove to be repulsive for some as was the case for Mikage Hanna. Just like the other instalments it’s still a lose-lose situation with nothing but hardship and despair awaiting our participants.

The bond that Suzuko and Chitose share goes back many years to the time they were still in elementary school. Personal circumstances dictated that they would not be reunited until sometime later but that didn’t stop Suzuko from keeping her in the back of her mind. The matching key-chain is a solid representation of their relationship, even though Chitose trampled on it declaring it was all over between them. Suzuko still was optimistic that their friendship could be restored and was genuinely concerned about her wellbeing.

The girls have had their fair share of problems with Suzuko arguably having it the worst. The simple matter is she lost her mother during the separation stage and returned only because of her father’s work commitments. Meanwhile, Chitose’s family business went under with her family having to relocate most of the time due to the job insecurity involved. This doesn’t give the right for Chitose to act all obnoxious because of the fact she has suffered all this time. There was never a reason for Chitose to hate her knowing deep down she honestly liked her and saw her as the ideal friend.

The antagonist this time is a man named Satomi who is known as the broker between the LRIG users. The shady man can set up matches for his clients who are desperate to earn some coins. The strange thing is that nobody suspected him of being a LRIG user this whole time. The fact is that LRIG users can identify each other within a certain radius but can’t detect him is baffling. I thought that all LRIG users had to carry their LRIG cards around but he never did which was surprising. It is known later that he challenges others to a battle when they are at a risk of being erased all together.

To him, the act of ending one’s life is deemed to be irrelevant as he derives pleasure from the opposition’s anguish. The level of corruptness found in him was pitch black meaning he was a lost cause from the very beginning. The ability for him to nonchalantly carry out murders from a personality sense is made redundant when we find out it’s a former LRIG now in possession of the body. He wasn’t evil for the sake of being evil and I just found him to be a poorly written antagonist along with the plot conveniences.

There is extra symbolism that needs mentioning. The LRIG template seen in the very beginning of the opening is an important discussion point. The white girl is the LRIG before users insert their personal memories into them. The template LRIG before then is a pure entity, meaning it has neither positive or negative memories. I would use the analogy of a new-born infant who enters the world as being sinless with nothing to be judged on. The LRIGs reflect the mental state of the user with Suzuko’s LRIG resembling Chinatsu and vice versa. The themes to be honest are a lot more engaging than the other aspects of the show such as the card battles which are secondary in nature.

Now on to the technical aspects on the show, with the art style being quite different from its predecessor. The prequels had a design being dubbed dark moe which was true for those who sat through it. The art style is less moe than before but has much better character designs along with the fact you can’t have moe guys. There was a need to conform to a more traditional look even though the setting stayed relatively the same. The background art with some of it being CGI looks vastly improved in comparison to the prequels. The actual animation seems to have taken a decline in quality with it looking less fluid than before and more of an emphasis placed on still frames and such. There are also occasions of sloppily drawn characters which is just a minor gripe of mine.

The sound by Maiko Iuchi (A Certain Magical Index, Heavy Object) was relatively tame compared to the other series she has produced music for. There was extensive electronic music used in this one which would be found mainly in the card battles. The tempo adjusts to the intensity of the scene which is determined by the situation involved. The voice actors did a decent job which was expected of them but Hashimoto Chinami who played Suzuko kind of irritated me with the prolonged “Chi-chan” cries making her sound like a child asking for forgiveness.

TLDR: All in all, this was a relatively decent addition to the WIXOSS series but I find to be poorer in terms of script quality but in terms of thematic depth, it’s right up there with the characters holding it back. The production side to it felt adequate but feels like only the bare minimum being met in standards. The show is watchable but definitely has it faults here which is reflected in my score.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 23, 2016

LeaderTGW

Not Recommended

Perhaps the most disappointing entry in the Wixoss franchise.

Lostorage incited WIXOSS biggest turn off is that the story and plot takes itself way too seriously, and is overly dramatic. It’s so bad to the point where the show feels like a giant depressing mess. There aren't many enlightening moments featured within the story, which makes a majority of the show a chore to watch. In addition to this the dialogue and characters do not feel fleshed out enough. Characters that are featured feel so one dimensional.

They have the childhood friends who have become disconnected. There is the insane main antagonist who cannot be ... harmed until the end because of plot armor. Then lastly, we have the character, whom has morals, and a goal, yet falls flat during their big opportunity. The biggest problem I had with them was that they lack any interesting qualities to their personalities.
Of course the story goes back and tries to explain the past traumatic events to certain characters; which do in fact make the story and individual character a little more intriguing however, not to the point of complete satisfaction.

Sometimes during the show I would think to myself, “Damn these guys need some Prozac.” However, I don’t even think that medication would help these crybabies and drama queens. The so called “drama” in the story is so cliché and repetitive that I found myself losing interest in the entire series.
I would've liked to see the show branch out more and at least try and get out of the constant drama.

I felt like the story needed that one fan service beach episode to enlighten the mood. This simply was not the case. One of the worst reoccurring themes in the story is the card battles. The overbearing drama coupled with the characters fear and lack of attitude that isn’t anger or depression took away the pleasure of watching the card game.

This is how I interpreted the card battles,
Suzuko: “wah wah, I can’t lose this battle; I only have one coin left, boo hoo.”
Chinatsu: (Unnecessary angry grunts and screaming) “I hate you; you need to disappear, derpa herp.”
Kou: “Hee hee hee” (sucks crazy juice through a straw in the background) these dumb bitches are fighting for my amusement.”
Hanna: ________ Attackuu, Coin betto, please recharge batteries... well she isn’t a robot but you get the picture.
Rinse and repeat…

Finally, during the girls' overly dramatic climatic battle; I couldn’t feel bad nor make any connections to the characters because they've been depressing and angry throughout the entire story. Flashbacks, intense moments of screaming & crying... yeah, they've been doing that through the span of the story. So why the hell would it make a difference now? Because it's the last episode? Of course.

Overall the storytelling was terrible. It lacks refreshment and creativity. I felt like it focused too much on drama than the quality of anything else. I mean for Pete sake there was a damn suicide… lighten the story up just a little.

Moving onto the art. The art and animation that Wixoss provides is pretty impressive, although I felt like there could've been improvements to background settings, most specially details in objects. There could’ve been more of an effort made to make background details livelier. The special effects were good.

They’re noticeable and stand out in battle, which makes the action look great! Character designs were not that impressive. I’m mostly criticizing the outfit designs for the Lrig’s for lack of creativity.

The soundtrack was pretty good. Maiko Iuchi & Yasumasa Koyama did a great job with sound effects and creating music that fit the tone of many of the battles. The voice actors do a good job of making their characters sound like whiny annoying high school students, and one crazy adult... well, sadistic man-child.

Overall there are many changes I would’ve liked to have seen during the show. Number one would be more action without the dialogue. I felt like every time a character had an opportunity to speak they would just ruin the simplicity of a card game battle by making everything so serious. Lastly I would’ve loved to have seen at least one beach episode to enlighten the overall mood of the show.

Ultimately, I was so unimpressed with this entry in the Wixoss franchise that I gave it a well-deserved final score of 4/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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