Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou

When the Yuuki Yuuna franchise first appeared, it was criticised for its similarities to Madoka Magica, despite itself not being the first magical girl show to turn dark. It was seen as more an attempt to capitalise on Madoka’s success than an original story, which in retrospect I think is really unfortunate. I myself wasn’t particularly blown away by the original series because, whilst it looked and sounded great and had some incredibly cute characters, it definitely felt like I’d seen it all before in some form or another.

I never really expected this show to get a sequel and it would have never been ... my first choice, but I’m really happy it did. Whilst this is a fairly short chapter, being only 6 episodes in length, it quickly engrossed me in its rich story world, likeable characters and emotional themes.

There isn’t so much focus on the vertex battles in this chapter, although what we do get is very tasty. The challenges faced by our characters are much more internal than in the main series, particularly for Yuuki Yuuna herself, who quickly becomes the focus as a result of certain actions she took very early on. I believe this is where the chapter really shines as it puts our heroine into a difficult position that can’t be overcome simply through the power of friendship, believing in yourself or really any trope of the sort. It carries with it an emotional weight that I never got from the main series and really felt very genuine.

Everyone has needed help and support at some point in their lives, whether physically, emotionally or financially, but nothing in this world is really free. Some burdens can be too much to ask of anyone, even when you have friends or loved ones who would do almost anything for your sake. So you go on, pretending things are fine, finding some way to cope while you fight that battle and carry that weight like a hero, or so you think. But you can’t hide it forever - you knew you couldn’t, and people soon start wondering what’s up and why you won’t tell them. Maybe they think you don’t trust them, which increases your frustration and depression and only makes it harder. You know that the truth will only cause more pain, but what can you do?

I was surprised to see this topic brought up in a show like Yuuki Yuuna, but it made me respect the franchise as a whole much more and I think has made me realise how much it has matured and developed its own identity separate from Madoka or any other magical girl anime. As it turns out, being a hero involves a lot more than transforming and using magic spells to fry the big bad. Sometimes it's about selflessness and having the willingness to sacrifice everything in the name of helping others. That’s not particularly original in itself, except that it challenges that status quo by asking: is that even right? Is a system like sacrifices young, promising heros in the name of preserving life and freedom for everyone else really worth sustaining?

Aside from whatever you might take away from the story, the visuals in this series are as vibrant as ever and look absolutely stunning, especially during the climax. The soundtrack also features some of the most beautiful and emotional music I’ve heard in an anime. I’m still not sure I completely understood the ending, but it was such a sight to behold that I’m not sure it even matters. The final episode was a surreal, audiovisual experience of the like I haven’t seen since Madoka: Rebellion.

This review does not contain spoilers but it will cover all the stories that is Washio Sumi arc, Yuuki Yuna Hero arc and sequel.

Many have compared it to Madoka, but I think this is more a Bokurano and Neon Genesis Evangelion combination(was lucky to decide to see the original Evangelion prior to YuYu). Basically we have chosen girls to become magical girls instead of persons piloting the mechas. The enemies are the Vertex (lets call them The Vertex, could be Vertices also, not a native English speaker). The Vertex are similar to the Angels in Evangelion.

The characters and interactions are complex up to ... a point, however not as complex as Evangelion's characters. in YuYu everything revolves around friendship , dreams for the future, family, but mostly friendship. I guess in our real world we would be lucky to have at least a friend like Washio, Yuna, Fu...
The friendship depicted is strong they almost never argue or have qualms with eachother, that's a bit off and takes from the complexity of the characters. The best explored theme is the Hero theme and this is done nicely and this show in total has made me review what means to be a Hero. Take Superman for example, he is a hero, but why because he fights bad guys, always winning and protecting everyone. Yuna and the others are different, sacrifice, friendship is required to be a Hero and a motive of course like your life, family, etc. Of course here comes the best part - Shinju-sama, the God, the system, the ones that manage the system.

The system is never quite fully explained. What exactly is Shinju-sama, what are The Vertex, what is the world they live in, not fully explained yet the brilliance is there. It's a system, and the author decides to break the 4th wall with the system, it's you the viewer who decides if it's evil or not. By the end of the show you will have not an answer from the author but your own opinion. The Shinju-sama system is brilliant however, and you can see it at work in real life in corrupt states or developed nations alike. Of course if your political system provides all, you will fight for it ti protect what you have, if your system is corrupt but manipulates so yo see it as the provider of wealth (communism for example) you will be forced/manipulated to fight against it. If by any chance you rebel, the system will change enough so that you feel a change but you still are oppressed though you have no idea. Shinju-sama is the single best character of the series! The Vertex, not quite fully explained, but again you can choose what they are and what they represent.
The ending of the series is great and fitting, but requires previous knowledge of the YuYu novels and you need to watch it at least 2 times, once preferably after reading what you've seen as it's hard to understand...but so is Madoka and Evangelion.
What could have been done better is the interaction between our Heros and the system, takes a long time for them to figure what the relationship with it is. But of course, it's a society based on God, can you challenge and question God? Well, a certain character does in a monologue, and he's 5 years old, our heroes should do too!

Apart from this, Shinju-sama is inspired from Shinto beliefs, there are Shinto shrines everywhere in the show. There is something regarding the maiden sacrifice that bugs me though, I have not found any evidence of this happening in Japan apart from "building pillars" - human sacrifices to make certain buildings last. I've seen this very concept in Shikabane Hime, so I'm still investigating the roots of this idea.

The art is great, especially during the fight scenes, CGI and animation is blended nicely. The rest of the show in the normal world slice of life, animation is ok, some details are very nice to look at also. There are certain fan service moments, but not all the transformation scenes include such scenes for example, some episodes skip the transformation scenes altogether.

Sound is my biggest complain for this series, YuYu S1 suffers from it a lot, S2 and Washio have corrected this however. Most annoying are the seyuus, they seem to not have experience with the battle scenes, their cries really overpower the beautiful music in the background, something that does not happen with Kana Hanazawa's character. Also crying in this show is very abundant to the point it gets annoying in the loud pitch that they use.

All in all, it's a great show to watch, it's not for younger audiences because of the general theme , some blood, some drama, but it's a good show to reset your views on what means to be a Hero, what's worth fighting for (total opposite to the Nihilism present in Madoka or depression present in Evengelion).

As long as your world provides everything, you might just fight for it although the leaders have no good intentions for you. YuYu manages to raise a moral dilemma without even being labeled as psychological. Definitely an anime that is underrated, but is a must watch if you generally like Evangelion type stories and some themes that make you think about stuff that surrounds us.

Three years ago, I watched S1 on a whim. I loved it. It and Your Lie in April were the two 2014 shows I gave 9/10. In the end I narrowly chose YuYuYu S1 as my 2014 anime of the year, despite the controversial final episode. I was okay with S1's ending because YuYuYu wanted to forge a hopeful path rather than one of desolation.

The prequel, Washio Sumi, aired earlier in Japanese theatres. Though it never approached S1's greatness, it still mixed the slice-of-life and magical girl elements well. Though it was a straightforward show with a telegraphed ending, I gave it a solid 6/10. ... The first "half" of YuYuYu S2 is the Washio Sumi movie, but repackaged into episodes. The real S2 is this, the Hero arc.

The reason why Washio Sumi went to theatres and not YuYuYu S2, unlike what Madoka Magica did with Rebellion, is simple. YuYuYu S2 is inferior and is completely void of the magic that made S1 so good.

S1 explored each of the characters and still had time for plenty of magical girl action. There were episodes that focused on each club member, allowing the viewer to care for them. So what happened in S2? It decided to not be a magical girl show. In the first five episodes, there is only about 1 minute total of magical girl action. The "new" girl, Sonoko, added absolutely nothing to S2 and was only there just to sell more drama CDs based on the star power of Kana Hanazawa. Itsuki and Fuu became background characters. Karin had one moment alone with Yuuna but that was it.

By episode 5, there is a complete reversal which makes the previous episodes irrelevant, as the show throws away the main plot point. In the final episode, we're given a deus ex machina ending that makes you wonder why this hadn't already happened. How come none of the other girls up to this point had the courage to do this? What makes Yuuna so special? I felt absolutely no emotion as Yuuna delivered her final hero punch.

Some people said that you get more out of S2 by taking in the surrounding media in the franchise, such as the light novel, visual novel, and manga. However, I believe that an anime should be able to stand on its own. While YuYuYu S2 wasn't the worst 2017 anime I've seen, it is by far the most disappointing. I don't know of any other show that completely threw its second season like this. What a damn shame, because I had it pegged as an anime of the year contender. I can only imagine what this could've been had it been 12 episodes like S1.

Disclaimer : I have never watched Madoka Magica and I don’t give a shit about the drama between that series and this one. This review will be exclusively focused on my opinions solely in regards to Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru with no uneven or biased judgements or any mentions which compare the two series. In addition, this review will also consist of all the prequels and sequels of Yuuki Yuuna altogether excluding Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha Shozoku. Now then, it is time for my review to commence.

Story : 10/10

Taking friendship to another level by using excess Slice of Life that creates ... a feeling of contentment and at the same time utilizes dark plots in order to maintain the "hype". As a Slice of Life lover who also enjoys maximum edginess, this show really hits the spots and granted me exactly what I wanted. Vibing and slowly becoming depressed at the same time up until the point where I had to shed tears of sadness and joy at the same time. Something that an ordinary show can't do if it doesn't pique my interest to the utmost.

Art : 8/10

Yucks. The fuck is this? Garbage? Well let's get this straight. Everything related to "art" from this show is dum dum. It makes everything feel less hyped. The CGs aren't even good...

But as I progressed. The movies made the animation and quality better as well as the final sequel. So I don't really mind it that much now.

Sound : 10/10

Don't even have to talk about this. They're all good.

Character : 10/10

Character developments through friendship and... Self-torture I guess? I don't really know why I like this so much. Probably because it holds so much meaning. It relates to teens a lot and that really brings me back to the good ol' days when I had issues similar to the ones represented within this anime. Ahh~ if only I could travel back in time.

Enjoyment : 10/10

Very fun experience.

Overall : 10/10

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru ( 10/10 )
Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Washio Sumi no Shou ( 9/10 )
Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Washio Sumi no Shou Movie 1 - Tomodachi ( 8/10 )
Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Washio Sumi no Shou Movie 2 - Tamashii ( 10/10 )
Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Washio Sumi no Shou Movie 3 - Yakusoku ( 10/10 )
Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou ( 10/10 )

It's over, eh... Mmm.. It was indeed very fun. Probably something I'd remember for a while.

Thank you for the experience, Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha. I appreciate the things you've done to keep me happy. ;)

Recommended to Slice of Life lovers, people who can accept CGDCT and a little bit of darkness.

So Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou's finale ends with this.

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou now stands toe to toe with Madoka Magica with this installment by bringing in it's own take on the dark magical girl genre....and it did it in it's own great way.

This final installment gives us what is essentially giving us 6 episodes dedicated to Yuna's struggles as she tries to save Togo and the aftermath of her continued struggles. Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou's 6 episodes gives nothing but Yuna's character development and her strong beliefs of justice and ... in being a hero goes into trial here.

LA will be completely honest here but Shinjyu-sama is an asshole of a God considering what his religion makes their followers do and most obviously the Hero Club gets dealt with this the most.

Even at the start of the 6 episode runtime, something is a bit different and wrong at the same time which leads itself to the ultimatum that Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou leads itself into and it is gloriously done. Sure due to the slim 6 episode runtime, Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou may have rushed it a bit however considering the prequel Washio Sumi no Shou actually helped in giving us a bit more backstory is actually a compliment to this finale instead and gives us cameos from Washio Sumi no Shou that are somewhat important to the plot, especially how Shinjyu-sama revolves around all this.

LA did mention how Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou now stands toe to toe with Madoka Magica and by that, LA means that even the prequel and the original series did give the Yuuki Yuna franchise it's own identity, LA thinks that this finale cemented as it's own thing as well as defy what Madoka Magica gave us for it's finale. Much like Madoka Magica's finale, it was grandeur in it's finale and how it was dealt with, to what both Madoka Magica and Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou is a defiance of God. LA will go into spoilers for both series so be warned right now, but as Madoka Magica used Madoka to sacrifice herself in order to save everyone and rewrite history and the universe, Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou showed Yuuki Yuna that sacrifice in order to be a hero isn't exactly the right way either and Yuuki Yuna faced God in order to do so. Both lead to happy endings, however where Madoka Magica left Homura lonely and by herself but the world and magical girls saved but facing different threats as a result (let's not get into Rebellion, that's an entire different can of worms), Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou gave us a happy ending to which even the characters are happy with magical girls gone forever as a result of the defiance of Shinjyu-sama. Sure the happy ending is cliched for this kind of dark magical girl series, but man, LA will agree that the Hero Club went through soooo much depression and angst that LA says, let them have this happy ending.

Once again, the animation done by Studio Gokumi is brilliantly done with special props going to the final battle and the awe amazing visuals and battles shown throughout, LA was amazed by this, so overall Gokumi did amazing in the animation department.

The voice acting, well there are TWO voice actors LA would need to mention here although the majority of the voice cast is still amazing, those being Haruka Terui as Yuki Yuna and Juri Nagatasuma as Karin Miyoshi, both of them doing brilliant battle cries and triumphant dialogues as well as more dramatic accenting when it calls for it, but again the majority of the cast as well as returning Suzuko Mimori and Kana Hanazawa from the prequel are welcoming additions to the cast.

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou is not the end in terms of content for the Yuuki Yuna franchise (in terms of the light novels) but if this is where Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru can finish itself off completely then LA will be satisfied by it especially with it's ending and if we can see the Hero Club again, then LA will still be satisfied for more. Now since LA made the comparison to Madoka Magica, does it hold itself up or even surpass it, LA says neither, Yuuki Yuna is it's own thing, it's a franchise that can hold itself up to Madoka Magica and maybe even be compared to Madoka Magica in the future, but LA doesn't think Yuuki Yuna "needs" to surpass it and if people think it does, then that's great, if some people will debate about it still then that's great too. Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou by all means is a great "finale" and another great installment to the Yuuki Yuna franchise and it goes out with a smile.

DISCLAIMER: A kinda spoilery review that kind of touches on the entire anime series, but of course focuses on YuYuYu season 2. Also yes, I call this anime series weird names, it’s fun.

Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual, and so am I.

I keep telling myself that I hate shows that are predictable, and resort to using friendship powers as a way out and having characters repeating the same cheesy lines over and over again. Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual has plenty of that, yet for some reason, this series manages to find a way deep inside my heart. However, this season of YuYuYu showed ... me that actually, I’m not a hypocrite: Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual somehow uses these normally unsavory tropes… well.

How is that possible? When viewing Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual season 1 by itself, it feels like nothing more than a poorly conceived, mediocre shounen series under the guise of mahou shoujo. There was plenty to be mad at: use of lewd fanservice in the transformation scenes instead of embracing the cute side of it, very poor and yelly action scenes that had characters chant their moves (HERO PUNCH!!), and one of those endings that had you like HUH? What a half assed way to go! It wasn’t really until the prequel series, Washio Sumi is a Fuckin Elitist, came out when I, and many others, started to grasp the good qualities that this series had, as well as explanations as to why Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual seemed so… casual. The truth was… we didn’t know shit. YuYuYu didn’t tell us shit. The YuYuYu franchise has an extremely ominous and mysterious lore behind it, so mysterious and unknown to the general audience that hardcore YuYuYu fans would view the events of the anime completely differently from the rest of us. Upon getting to know the lore and context behind the events of the YuYuYu season 1, we now know that the apparently overly hopeful and cheesy events of YuYuYu were actually hiding copious amounts of despair and tragedy within them, despair that we didn’t even suspect was there in the first place.

Washio Sumi is a Fuckin Elitist highlighted this despair perfectly, and Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual season 2 built off of it tremendously well. All of this was a result of something that I always thought YuYuYu pulled off well ever since episode 1 of season 1: character interactions!

No, YuYuYu characters aren’t really interesting. They are quite simple actually. However, they are all 100% believable: Yes, even the legendary hero who destroyed her own bodily functions 20 times in order to save the world is believable (and she’s also a riot to watch, KAGAWA LIFE!) Despite the impossible situations that these girls somehow manage to get through, they all act like normal girls their age. They like to make goofy jokes, they have understandable misunderstandings and are a bit selfish without knowing about it, they are just normal people, hero or otherwise. And while it seems a bit cheesy to say so, the fact that they are able to go through such hardships IS DUE TO THEIR FRIENDSHIP. Believe it or not, having good friends DOES help in getting through hardships, even in real life! However, it is through the flaws in their relationship where these characters shine: episode 5 is the true example of that. Even though these girls definitely care about each other, they still end up destroying each other’s feelings, just like real friends do. And it all seems… real somehow.

Yuuki Yuuna, the titular filthy casual of the series, is probably the most normal main character ever made. Loud, energetic, and obnoxious as fuck, her tendency to spout friendship speeches and chant her moves out loud makes her the epitome of annoying shounen protagonist. YuYuYu season 2 changes this however, adding layers of selfishness and misguided self righteousness into the mix, making her a genuinely flawed and internally conflicted character. She isn’t perfect by any means, as her usual skill of reading the mood and acting accordingly fails multiple times and she unintentionally hurts her friend’s feelings over and over again. Of course, there was nothing she can do about it, and that’s because unlike other shounen protagonists, Yuuki Yuuna can’t do everything. Here is where YuYuYu utilizes the "chanting the same line over and over again" trope pretty well. Season 1 had Yuuki Yuuna chanting the hero tenants as a way of powering up, in typical shounen fashion. In this season, Yuuki Yuuna chanting the hero tenants was actually enforcing her self righteous ideals as a hero, which is what caused her to hurt her friends in the first place: it is through her mentality that benefited her in the first season that ended up causing a lot of the conflict in the second season. I thought that twist behind Yuuki Yuuna's ideals was pretty well done on YuYuYu's part.

Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual always suffered a bit in the art department, something that wasn’t improved on much in this season. The character designs are fine, some of the background art is pretty neat or creative, but it’s the incredibly obvious switch to CG during action scenes that just make my blood boil. Of course, YuYuYu was never really about the action, it was always about the slice of life moments and the drama, but since almost all of the drama climaxes and resolutions involve action in some sort of way, the distracting CG plays a role in devaluing what YuYuYu was already infamous for being bad at.

However, most of that is made up for the, in my opinion, absolutely beautiful soundtrack. The melancholic, yet somehow epic soundtrack with soothing vocals. Does the name “NieR” sound familiar? This type of OST suits YuYuYu so well, as it perfectly matches the general vibe of the show: extremely melancholic and sad, on a scale of epic and godlike proportions. It is the soundtrack above anything else that hypes the viewer up for the ultimate climaxes in the story.

And what a climax it was: Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual season 2’s 5th episode set up the girls in quite literally the most impossible of impossible situations to get out of. It was set up in a way where the only two options were to save the world or save a friend. In typical YuYuYu fashion, both were saved in the end through the power of friendship, HOWEVER, it’s always the thought that counts. While the rest of the hero club were trying to save Yuuna, the fate of the world was simply in the back of their minds, which clearly showed that these girls prioritize their friend over the world no matter what. They even state to us directly that a world reliant on human sacrifice wasn’t worth saving. This decision to save their friend at the cost of the world, even if the world is saved anyways, shows us a lot about this group of friends, and thus I wasn’t as disappointed at the ending of this season as I was with season 1. And of course, in typical YuYuYu fashion again, we still don’t know the whole picture yet, and thus another sequel is likely going to happen. The opening of YuYuYu season 2 even shows us a little snippet of the characters of NoWaYu, aka Nogi Wakaba is an Anime Reviewer, which is a story about the first ever heroes. This will probably get an anime adaptation, which will expose another secret of the world of YuYuYu, which will then get expanded on further in another season of YuYuYu.

In short, despite the expected seemingly cop out ending of this season, the way Washio Sumi is a Fuckin Elitist paved way for this season of Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual, as well as how there is another prequel that has the potential to flesh out the lore of this world even more to be used in another sequel, combined with how the ending of this season had the main characters make an important decision that defines them as characters, I am extremely excited to see where this series can go in the future. But wherever it goes, expect a happy ending! After all, Yuuki Yuuna is a Filthy Casual.

The Heroes Chapter is the second half of the second season of YuYuYu; the first half is a re-edit of the Washio Sumi arc film trilogy for television, which is nice of them since fans of the show who didn't go to the theater or buy the discs can see the prequel.

The Heroes Chapter is actually 2 arcs, one involving Mimori, the other involving Yuuna. The Mimori arc began the way it did probably as a way to throw off rabid fan speculation more than anything else, as a lot of media (games in particular) had already shown the aftermath of YuYuYu's first season. Both ... arcs are somewhat similar to one another, which is good because they bookend one another, but the second arc seems on the surface to be a more emotional repeat of the first.

Well, that's not entirely fair. The conflicts are different-- the first arc's conflict was largely internal, the second arc's conflict involved the entire Heroes Club. Both Heroes at the center of each arc were compelled to silence in different ways, both a violation of conscience.

The "gods must be appeased" part of the show felt like a reverse deus ex machina (and a similar deus ex machina happened during the climax). There was a similar "gods vs men" dynamic in Gigantic Formula (only that one involved giant robots), so it's not like this theme is anything new. Personally I felt that it might've been more interesting if the Vertex was a human creation gone horribly wrong, but I'm not in charge of the writing.

The buildup to the climax is a fantastic staple of Japanese anime, and one wonders just how many Heroes over how many years were thrown at the Vertex? (Ah, so that was what the promotional material meant...)

I also feel that instead of a series of stills at the end of the series, an additional episode could've been written expanding on them, but again, I'm not in control of the planning.

I watched the first season of Yuki Yuna is a Hero and loved it so I was thrilled to hear a season 2 was coming out.

I loved season two of Yuki Yuna as it deceives you on the direction the series would take which I was initially disappointed at during my watch of episode one but was quickly hooked afterwards.

As for art its beautiful as usual alongside a spectacular OST which really gets me in the mood with its magical and holy theme. The OST is one of the features that helps Yuki Yuna stand out from the rest of the magical girl on dark ... trend that we've seen a lot of.

The characters are lovable as always and seeing their new struggles was thrilling to watch and always kept me waiting for the next episode.

If you loved season 1 you wont be disappointed with season 2 as it delivers what I loved about Yuki Yuna and more.

If you saw the prequels, then this is continuing the story you already know and love. It starts out a few months after Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru finishes, with all the same energy of the Hero Club as before, and trust me Studio Gokumi wastes no time getting us into the next exciting chapter of the story.

This time around the story is a little bit darker for reasons I do not what to mention because spoilers! Sufficed to say given the 2 prequels we know a lot more about the world, and this season is doing a great job of building on that, ... while still keeping everything we know relevant.

The danger this time seems like its going to be on a different level from the prequels. While the Vertex are still very much alive and kicking, I'm happy to report that they do not seem to be the main focus of this season. So, I'm very excited to see what Studio Gokumi has in store for us!

This season we've got the much needed sequels for Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru. One of them was a prequel which presented us with the story of the girls serving as protectors before the Hero Club, and one of them was a sequel. I think its more fitting for me to talk about both of them in this review, though the main focus will be on Yuusha no Shou.

SHORT REVIEW:
- strength of the series is in it's characters (and maybe the music)
- watch it if you liked the first adaptation of Yuuki Yuuna
- watch from the beginning if you're here for some friendship between ... cute girls
- watch from the beginning if you want something like Madoka (or WIXOSS)
- if none of these are true, dont watch it.

LONG REVIEW:
What made the 2014 series good, still prevails:
- We have a highly likeable cast of characters. Though many of them are one-dimensional (Itsuki and most likely Yuuna) it was very enjoyable to see them get through all the hardships and struggles.
- The characters development are not that notable given this anime is basically about friendship. But I really liked how for example Karin went from being solitary and tsundere to someone who is very caring and emotional towards her friends. Or the way Wasshi made friends in the prequel was nice too.
- There is the soundtrack, which is very Kajiura-esque, although less edgy (or rather less extravagant), which especially at the emotional acts is very angelic, and beautiful. The music during the fight scenes is not nearly as epic as I wanted it to be, but overall i'm satisfied with it (as I am with the voice acting).

Sadly, the major flaws of the original series are still here as well.
- The story is extremely deficient in logic and explanations. Most of the time it progresses by adding something new to the plot, something for the girls to overcome, however rarely does the new mechanic get a proper explanation about how it fits into the world in which the story takes place in. Which allows some bullshit endings to happen, like it did in the 2014 series, and like it does here as well.

[from now on: SPOILERS AHEAD]
- The prequel more or less gives us a solid story with some background for a few characters, also this time the Taisha is constantly in touch with the girls via Aki-sensei, which was more realistic, than Fu sending SMS in the original series. We also saw how they've trained to defeat the vertexes, which gave us a much more realistic approach.
- In Yuusha no Shou however, most of the plot points were only there just to get the whole thing going, and to build tension for a very unsatisfying ending (more on that later). The whole disappearance and rescue of Togo Mimori was solved awfully fast, and through unexplained mechanics (what was that black hole, how did Yuuna move Togo's physical body with her soul etc.). And the rest of the story was no better either. The Taisha announced at the last moment that Shinju-sama is in fact dying, which is supposed to be an important plot point yet we've given no time to fully understand that.
- And I think the part where Togo tried to rescue Yuuna and all the previous girl's spirits come to help was not just cliché but very artificial. By artifical I mean this Deus-ex-machina like random story-solving element where everybody can get to the good ending.
- They kept adding in more and more new stuff so that the story can go on, but never did it feet like it fits in the world that the story already built up.

- But i could overlook all of this if it wasn't for the ending, which made me question whether it was worth watching this whole series or not. And the bigger problem is not how we get to the ending, rather what the the ending is.
It is nothing.
- Everybody goes on with their lives, and they lived happily ever after. We get little to no information about the characters future, nor what happens with the world (which - as it turns out - works completely fine without a deity). It was so rushed I didn't believe it. Which left me very bitter, considering how much focus was on the characters ambitions and their friendship.
[END OF SPOILERS]

- Overall the biggest problem is how this season explained very little about the universe this story was set in, and gave us more complications and a very unsatisfying ending. Which i wouldn't mind that much, because what made YuYuYu good in the first place was how it forced all these different characters switch between their casual and serious style. The bonds between the girls were genuine and heart-warming throughout the two seasons (actually in this aspect it was slightly better than the Madoka series). I wanted to see more of the slice-of-life nature the previous season had, and how Yuuna and her friends continued with their lives after the conclusion (especially Karin-chan).
- I wish there was a continuation of Yuuki Yuuna, but i dont think we're likely to get a new adaptation (or even an offically translated light novel) in the future so i feel very bittersweet right now.

STORY (4/10): It was going in an interesting way, but left most things unexplained

CHARACTERS (9/10): Friendship rules! (+Karin and Fu-senpai)

ART (7/10): Nothing to complain about.

SOUND (8/10): Almost like Kajiura's. Almost.

ENJOYMENT (8/10): I would have enjoyed a bit more of that slice-of-life stuff

OVERALL (7/10): Hope this will have a continuation in the future.

(thanks for reading my first review, and I hope that my english was understandable enough)

This is intended to people that watched the first season, and if you didn't yet then you shouldn't be here, as this season is chronologically next to the first one, and you won't understand this universe if you start with this one season first.

First of all, if you already watched season 1 and you liked it, at least for a 7 out of 10, then you will enjoy this second season. Watch it, it's not a waste of your time.

But I want to be fair, so I will organize this review in two sections: what is better done than the previous season, and what is ... done worse.

The following paragraphs may contain spoilers or clues that may ruin the show for some, so please, do not continue if you are "spoiler vulnerable".

--- Done wrong ---

- The worst is the peace -

This one hurts me the most of all, all other are forgivable details. The first season has a nice peace. Story unrolls considerably fast. In comparison with most animes you don't have to wait to much for something interesting to happen. This second chapter is still tolerable, there are worse animes, but it's sad that sharing the same title it doesn't share the same quality.

They included that action scenes right in the beginning because they need to maintain the public watching somehow. Shameful. And please, before answering to this, I beg you to try to be objective. We are more tolerable with second parts because we already love the characters, I cannot explain in another way why some full of fillers anime like One Peace, Naruto, and others super lengthly shounen are at the top.

In my opinion, you have to wait too much for something interesting to happen for a only 6 episode show.

- Less Yuri -

And is not that the original has any yuri/shoujo ai in it. But for the ones that like to fantasize with this it's annoying that in the second season you find it harder to do.

--- Done right ---

- Even more girls -

For a "404 men not found" show, that you will only get from Japan (Americans would feel too gay doing this), more is always better. I personally liked the fact that a character that was so charming, but so done for, in the original is now all healthy and sharing screen time with the other girls. She is a blonde, wow.

- The bogus hero system was fixed -

Second seasons are to do things differently. It is boring when they are too afraid of try new concepts.

Now, the value on this is not only that they had the courage to change things. It actually has sense. If the girls proved that the hero system can works in a different way, of-course this has to have some kind of impact. So, the new hero system is not based any more on sacrifices... well, at least not in the same way.

- They stay on topic -

And for a 6 episodes show would be weird not to. The first season started with a ton of generic fights. I took it like a generic anime made of unrelated episodes, like most "for kids" shows. I stayed because of the cute characters and the fights special effects. But it didn't lasted, with things getting truly interesting when Togo discovered her imposed invulnerability. Then, and it's noticeably the similarity with Madoka, things changed from funny to very serious in just an scene, and it stayed serious till the end. I may like the original so much because of that sole moment.

But this installment hasn't generic fights. It stays on topic from the beginning. Suffering of the girls still escalates with each episode. Slower, of-course.

--- Conclusion ---

If you watched the first, you will watch this one. It doesn't really matter what reviews you read. It is a common feeling, when we finish one of these shows, that we didn't get enough of the characters. So continuations are rarely unwelcome. I tried to be objective and not centered only on the good.

I can't give this more than 8. I wanted to give it at least one less than I gave to the previous installment, but in the end I decided to give it an 8. Note that I gave this one only a 6 in story.

Watch Mahou Shoujo anime, it'll be fun my friends say. Watch Yuuki Yuuna they say. Alright, I'll watch, I said. So after finishing S1 and S2, I finally made my way to S3, scarred by the first 2 animes. And this time, I got scarred more than the first 2 combined.

*SPOILERS AHEAD READ AT YOUR OWN RISK*

Story: MESSED UP X9000!!!!! First Togo gotta go sacrifice herself cos she messed up. Fine. But the whole freaking concept behind her punishment is messed up. You imprison her... in a black hole and not only that, destroy any evidence of her existence. HENG AH Yuuna remembered that ... Togo existed otherwise ggwp. Second, Yuuna went to save Togo, I like, cos it shows the depth of their friendship. Yuuna going to the extent that she doesn't mind putting herself in danger to save Togo and she did save Togo, but almost died AND GOT THE CURSE OF GOD NANI?!?! That is the 2nd thing I want to comment on. Curse of god.... for saving your friend?!?! NANI?!?! BOI THAT god MUST BE REALLY SHIT THEN!!! AND THEN NOT ONLY PUTTING A CURSE ON HER, HE WANTS TO MARRY HER TO PREVENT HIMSELF FROM DYING?!?! MESSED UP X9000!!!!! And she couldn't even tell her friends that she had the curse, otherwise the curse will spread. Fortunately, at the end, Togo saved her. And Yuuna transformed into an OP hero and totally destroyed every vertex and even god himself and restore the world to it's original form. HOORAY!!! On a serious note, another messed up story like the prequels. But.... well executed. In fact, too well executed that IT MESSES WITH OUR MINDS REEEEEEE
Rating: 8.8/10

Animation: I find the animation of YuNoShou better than the first 2 Yuuna series. Prob cos of the sakuras at the end. Beautiful animation.
Rating: 8.9/10

Music/Sound: Great opening and ending. And the osts.... so sad...
Rating: 8.8/10

Characters: I won't spend much time on the characters, cos they're basically the same. Just wanna say, YUUNA IS ADDED TO MY HAREM FITE ME!!!!
Rating: 8.8/10

In conclusion, OH YES FINALLY TORTURE IS OVER REEEEEEE!!!! I have mixed feelings having completed the entire franchise. On one hand, Yuuki Yuuna is good I mean the story, animation, music and characters are good. But..... MESSED UP X9000!!!! My mind was so messed up while watching the series, I can never view Mahou Shoho animes in the same way again..... I think it's time to watch some SoL animes for therapy.

Final rating: 8.8/10

WARNING: Rant incoming. This will be a mild spoiler review, and may possibly contain strong language. You have been warned.

Oh god, where do I even begin?

I have finally found another anime that I hate more than KimiUso. I didn’t even know that was possible.

So, HERO CHAPTER. The single, most aggravating anime I’ve ever had the misfortune of encountering. It felt like one giant fanfiction trying to patch up plot holes like they were some sort of ripped quilt, except the person doing it didn’t have a cue on what they were doing.

So, with how pissed I am at this anime right now, I guess I’ll ... get started.

STORY. PACING. WORLDBUILDING.

It all sucked.

There, I said it.

The story was all over the place. With random memory loss, tree marriage, bad luck, nonsensical attributes, and stupid Nationalism thrown into the mess, then it wasn’t all that surprising. It felt like random things were happening on screen just because the plot demanded them to, without anything making any sort of sense.

The pacing was horrendous. We jumped from plot point to plot point in a matter of seconds, considering we only had six episodes we had to watch. The ending was so terrible that it was comedic.

The worldbuilding . . . I can’t. I can’t even describe how painful it was to try to think about. Sun apocalypse, tree wives . . . What? How the hell does any of this work, exactly?

Well, who knows, because you likely won’t be able to make sense of it.

CHARACTERS

The characters are just as boring as they were originally.

Sonoko is a possible-schizophrenic. Togo is a propaganda-filled nationalist. Yuna is your typical protagonist that just gets tortured for the whole thing. Fu is dull. Itsuki’s whole life revolved around Fu. Aki’s motivations are reacted to rather dumbly.

Karin is still awesome. Seriously, she was one of the only good things about this atrocity.

ANIMATION AND SOUND

The animation is pretty much the same as I talked about in my other reviews. Except there’s way too much going on for my liking, and the action scenes are just really weird.

Nothing memorable soundtrack or Voice Acting wise.

ENJOYMENT

I LOATHED Hero Chapter. The poorly written fanfic of your nightmares just had to greet us with so much nonsense that I will NEVER watch anything having to do with this show again, except for scenes with Karin ONLY.

I’m never watching this shit again, that’s for certain. Good riddance, YuYuYu.

Don’t watch this. Just don’t. Spare yourself.

(Sorry if I came off as more mean-spirited in this review. I just couldn’t stand this one. If you liked it, then I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way, shape or form. I still don’t recommend this show, though.)

Story/chapter

Out of all the series to air, The Hero Chapter is perhaps the darkest chapter in the Yuuki Yuuna franchise as whilst it still retains it slice-of-life moments, particularly at the start, this season has the most drama out of anything we have seen before as the amount of happy comedic moments is cut down considerably.

This may not seem like the case as the opening episode, in typical Yuuki Yuuna fashion, starts on a happy go luckily note. As before, we are introduced to our familiar group of girls doing their usual thing to put us at ease. What is more, there is a certain ... addition to this gang that is bound to raise the mood particularly if you had watched the previous chapters.

These heartfelt moments do not last however when a twist is added early on. As the episode progresses it becomes increasingly apparent that something is amiss. It is this curveball, and the sense of mystery that slowly unwinds, that gets the girls (and viewers) asking various questions especially when the impact of this twist widens in scope.

This deep sense of mystery is not something we have seen in Yuuki Yuuna before so for it to happen now is a nice surprise and it is this mystery that makes one eager to see subsequent episodes. Things do not let up in the proceeding episodes either as the drama and stakes are raised by a considerable degree. There is action of the desperate kind, and unlike before we do not know how this will pan out due to the nature of the fights being fundamentally from before. It is this difference that allows The Hero Chapter to generate more suspense and drama from these action sequences than before.

These dramatic moments of action naturally spill into the girl’s daily life’s as they earnestly try and resolve the issue that is slowly spiralling out of control in front of their eyes with no solution in sight. This sense of hopeless and angst is especially prominent for one of our key characters due to the actions she took previously. This key point maybe missed or at least not fully appreciated by newcomers but for people who watched previous seasons, it will be an easy point to understand. This is one instance when it really pays to watch the previous seasons.

With all this mystery and The Hero Chapter being only six episodes, one may become concerned this series will have a rushed or incomplete ending. I can gladly say this isn’t the case as we get an ending that not only answers our most pertinent questions but it also provides a greater insight into the Taisha’s true nature. This was nice considering their motives have been very ambiguous throughout Yuuki Yuuna. These factors alone mean the ending is more satisfying than the original series although it is up for debate whether it tops the climax of the Washio Sumi Chapter. It does end on a high I can say that much.

In terms of characters this chapter has relatively little character development/growth as the focus has clearly been on the story. This shouldn’t prove to be such a hinderance however as much time was spent on their development in the previous seasons. What I will say in that regard is that most of the characters are more open with their emotions and are generally more straightforward with their feelings particularly for Karin. I actually kinda found that bit sweet considering how uptight and haunty she was previously.

Animation/music:

The Hero Chapter continues to maintain a solid standard and for veterans you know what to expect here. If there is one notable point I can say about this chapter it is the amount of CGI used is considerably less than before and what little we do see is less noticeable than before. Due to the more series taking on a more serious tone the number of chi/moe faces is less than what we are used to.

The opening and ending animation sequence are also decent and the sound tracks were fairly well done. On a personal level it was better than the original Yuuki Yuuna season although it is a tossup whether it is better than the beats of the Washio Sumi Chapter. The opening song is "Hanakotoba" by Sanshuu Chuugaku Yuusha-bu while this season has three ending songs. These are: I "Yuusha-tachi no Lullaby" by Sanshuu Chuugaku Yuusha-bu for episodes 2-5, "Ukabeta Omoi" by MONACA in episode six while the first episode using the opening song for its ending.

Summary

Another great season that adds a new flavour to the overall Yuuki Yuuna story and franchise. Unlike the previous seasons, The Hero Chapter manages to deliver a good dose of drama and mystery that keeps viewers interested throughout the show. Moreover, the series manage to resolves all the major plot points in a convincing manner and unlike season one, the ending delivers a greater sense of balance. If you like an anime to offer a good story then The Hero Chapter certainly achieves that; it is a story that keeps you engaged throughout and unlike any other season there are no pacing issues attached to this chapter.

On the other hand, if you are one who leans towards the slice-of-life, comedy series then you many need to look elsewhere as this season shifts away from this. Another note is that we do not get much in the way of character development or deepening relationships. This is the one area The Hero Chapter suffers from when compared to before. On the whole though a good argument can be made that this is the strongest Yuuki Yuuna season yet. People who like drama, a little sense of mystery and just a good story will like this and with it being only six episodes long it is an easy series to finish. Newcomers and veterans alike can enjoy this although for newcomers they may not fully appreciate the most ground breaking moments.

Story 8 – The standout points for the Hero Chapter is the way it builds and maintains its sense of mystery throughout the shows running. You never quite know what to expect (in a good way) and it is this feeling of the unknown that just adds and builds on the feeling of suspense. What is more the ending resolve matters in a way that is way more satisfying than what we saw in the original season. Another unique feature of this chapter is that it had no pacing issues as it was drama or action all the way.

Characters 7 – All the girls we know and love are the same as before and the relationships they have are stronger than ever making them immediately likeable. The addition to the cast will prove popular for fans of the series. Unfortunately, character/relationship building is more limited in scope as this is not the focus of the chapter. There are still wholesome moments to be had though so we are not completely robbed in this area.

Animation/music 7.5 – If you have seen the other Yuuki Yuuna seasons then you know what to expect; good solid animation but nothing completely ground breaking. The biggest difference this season has is that there is noticeably less CGI utilised. Music plus opening and ending themes are of a similar standard to the Washio Sumi chapter.

Overall 7.5 – The Hero Chapter offers the most compelling storyline out of all the Yuuki Yuuna seasons. Unlike before, there are no pacing issues which was often a pain point for the series. We also get a good solid ending that manages to answer all the biggest questions to ensure this season ends on a high.

The story-driven nature of this series does come at the expense character development, slice-of-life and comedy action so if that is your thing then you are not likely to enjoy this chapter to a similar degree as previous seasons. I would recommend this show if you are a fan of magical girl series, drama and action.

Yuna Yuki is a Hero: The Hero Chapter is the sequel to the very successful first season and I'll assume you've see it for the purposes of this review.

Story & Characters: Yuna Yuki is a Hero: The Hero Chapter starts us off with our main cast relaxing and enjoying school life until they realize something feels really off. Not only is Mimori missing, but her proof of being isn't even present. This includes old photos, signatures and the characters memories of her. It's their job to find their friend and figure out why her entire existence was erased to begin with. ... This series of events leads up to a much grander plot, but whether it's worth the payoff or not will likely split audiences.

Something that stuck out to me in this series was their slight change in philosophy in who the Taisha is. While they were mostly absent in the first season - mostly communicated though e-mails - they are brought more to the forefront in this series. We get a better idea of who they are and what they want with both our main cast and the general population. You don't always agree with their methods, but fleshing them out is something I welcomed this time around. I'm really glad they went about it like this because I felt the season prior needed a bit of that.

While our main cast remains the same from the first season, there are two characters that this season puts more of a focus on as opposed to the first season. The first is Sonoko. We briefly saw her in the first season, having been completely worn down by using her Mankai so much before the events of that first season. However, just like the rest of our cast, her body is now fully functional and she joins our main cast, and is a welcome addition. Her personality flourishes with a pretty carefree attitude and her abilities are pretty neat to boot. The other character, who we see undergo some change, is Yuna. Putting it lightly, she goes through hell and back multiple times throughout this season and the limits of her beliefs, as strong as they are, are put to the test. She's very involved in the plot, but while we have a sense of what she's going through, her friends cannot. There's more of a desperate need to act as a unit and be there for their leader present here, and it goes to show why I respect Yuna so much.

The ending is going to be a point of contention because all of it kind of unravels in a quick manner. I felt like, while the writing was strong through most of the series, there were bits left out. While the final episode (and the lead up to it) want to get to the epic conclusion as quickly as possible, doing it at the cost of the story seemed like an odd choice, especially considering the strong story writing of the first season. I loved the way they ended it off, but it sort of felt like it stumbled to get there. (Story: 6/10, Characters: 9/10)

Art: The art here is roughly the same as the first season - which is a good thing! Character and transformation designs are top notch and Sonoko's bag of tricks are really fun as well. While they clearly go for a certain style with every character's Mankai, you can appreciate the detail and goes into their functionality. It does look like they beefed up the CGI on them a little bit, but maybe that's just me being in awe of them. (8/10)

Sound: The OST is roughly the same as the first season with nice tracks when it really matters. One odd choice with the sound is that this season was not, and I don't expect it to be, dubbed. It's now four years old, but the decision to dub the first season and not this is certainly a curious one. This is very unfortunate considering the big names that they brought on (ex: Xanthe Huynh, Erika Harlacher and Erica Mendez). My guess is that the dubbing company didn't deem it worth the investment for a six episode season, but I somewhat wonder if they'll considering dubbing both this and the, already finished, third season. Regardless, the VA work is decently solid, even if it's a bit offputting to hear it now. (7/10)

Overall Enjoyment: While some of the writing felt a little lacking, Yuna Yuki is a Hero: The Hero Chapter is still a solid watch for fans of both the genre and the previous season. It still excels in every other department and I'm curious where they'll take the story after this conclusion. (7/10)

Yuuki Yuuna Is A Hero: The Hero Chapter continues the great writing that the prequal series and the end of season 1 had. It fixes most of the issues that season 1 had and I am shocked by that considering that this is half the length of season 1.

Most importantly, I think the characters all react appropriately to the situations they find themselves in (which I felt like most of season 1 was missing). The character writing also feels a lot tighter this time around so I actually get more of a feel of what sort of people the original 5 girls are. They also ... keep the characterization of Nogi Sonoko in line with how she was presented in the prequal series. I also really like how they progress Yuuki Yuuna's character here, with her not being able to solely rely on her friends in the same way she was in the first season. I still feel as though Inubouzaki Itsuki is the weakest written of the main characters, but I think they do a better job of characterizing her as more than just "cute little sister" in this season.

Overall, Yuuki Yuuna Is A Hero: The Hero Chapter is another damn good part of the Yuuki Yuuna Is A Hero series. It takes all the good elements from season 1 and the prequal series and continues to improve upon them which ends up resulting in a damn fine show.