Selector Spread WIXOSS Episode 12 (Final Impressions)

After two seasons, the world of WIXOSS has finally come to an end. From beginning to end, it hasn’t been short of amazing. There was laughing, screaming, crying, and more. WIXOSS was always an underrated show. People usually don’t like card-game anime, and honestly I don’t either. But I gave a chance on this series this past Spring and I’m glad I did.

We got the happy ending that we wanted. I’m glad that everyone is happy in the end, even Mayu. Mayu had always been a lonely girl. Hitoe, Kazuki, and Yuzuki sneak into the abandoned building and find Mayu’s room, just like we had seen before. The bed in the middle, drawings with black crayon scribbles, no windows except for the one on the ceiling. That was the only way Mayu could see the outside. On the walls she had framed pictures of clouds, just to liven it up. But she was a sheltered girl, and unfortunately for reasons we still don’t know.

In a flashback, we see little Mayu in her bed breathing heavily and sweating, so she must have been a very sickly girl. That could be one reason why she never left her room. But the really painful thing was just how abused emotionally and neglected she was. She was never called by her name, she was never held with care, she was never shown an ounce of love from anyone. “Why is that thing here?” “How is that doing?” “Give that a bath.” That that that. Never her name. Judging by the voice being a man’s, I’m guessing it was probably Mayu’s father. He didn’t care about her one bit, and always spoke about her as if she were an object or an animal, not as a human. It was extremely sad. It makes sense for her to have possessed so much hatred for the people in the outside world. Eventually, she died, probably in that very same room. But before she did, she made a wish and Tama was released into the outside world.

We still don’t get the answer for how WIXOSS even came to be. This is a supernatural thing, the game, the Selectors, the battlefield world, her white room, everything. This was Mayu’s last wish, but it wasn’t made clear how it all exactly happened. And I’m a little disappointed with that.

Poor Tama had been trying to climb out of the pit she was trapped in, but she was able to get out and told Ruko that she and Yuki should become one. They use Grow again, and Yuki/Tama turn into one, becoming Mayu now. These two originally came from Mayu, so it would make sense for them to have that name. They continue their battle. As mentioned before, Mayu’s name had never been spoken to her. So hearing Ruko call LRIG Mayu with such a sweet and caring voice, it really hurt her. It angered her. She didn’t understand. She didn’t understand why she would call the LRIG by that name. Why Ruko cared about her that much. Because no one cared about her that way.

Mayu didn’t think she was in the wrong, because she had given everone a selection, something she didn’t have the chance to have. Except LRIG Mayu says that’s not true. The longing for light she had, which was Tama, she had her released into the world of many colors.

In the end, Ruko had won their battle. She just had to guess what color card Mayu held in her hand for her to win. It was the colorless card. If only she and Ruko could have met differently, they really could have been friends. Ruko is the type of girl to change people. Losing the battle, Ulith is suddenly grabbed by something through the window. And honestly this part was one of the scariest things I’ve seen in this show. Ulith is just getting choked and eaten by this thing. We see her struggling until she can’t anymore, and then we just see her lifeless body. Like…damn.

Before disappearing, Ruko embraces Mayu, giving her one last bit of happiness before peacefully passing on into the afterlife. Ruko and LRIG Mayu grant Ruko’s wish of turning all the LRIGs into humans. In the end, we see the past LRIGs like Hanayo, Midoriko, and the others in human form. Yuzuki is back in her body, and the girls are having fun again, and still playing WIXOSS. Everyone is living their lives now, and everyone is in peace. Ruko heads to the ice cream place she had imagined where she and Tama would share that ice cream. She imagines Tama there, but really Ruko hasn’t come across her yet. So she waits.

Plot: There were some things still left unclear even in the end, and I don’t think we’re going to be getting a third season because this really felt like an ending. Are Tama and Yuki in the same body (the girl we see at the end)? They didn’t go into too much detail about Mayu and her home. They never explained Ruko and her mother’s relationship. I’m…pretty sure Ulith is dead. Good riddance. I thought Season 1 had a fantastic set up for the story to continue in this season, and I like where the direction went. But there were some bumps along the way, but nothing too major. Sometimes it would feel slow due to some characters interfering, but the storytelling was still brilliant.

Characters: Last season, it was really Ruko who was the main character and got the most attention. In this season, Ruko wasn’t the main main character anymore, and more characters had time to shine, such as Hitoe, Yuzuki, Yuki, and others. Some characters fell short, though. The biggest offender I think was Futase. She was only in one episode and only explained some things regarding Mayu, such as the Girl of Dark and Light. So really she was just used as a plot device. Another character would be Chiyori. Look, I think she was adorable and sweet, but she was never part of the main group and not connected to the actual plot. Her last moments with Eldora were sad, but that whole episode had been about her and it didn’t bring anything new. If they had scrapped that episode and used it instead for more plot, maybe there wouldn’t be some loose ends. But, I still liked Chiyori regardless. Characters from the past season were able to grow.

My feelings toward Mayu is pity. She made a game with cruel rules, but I understand what she was feeling. She was lonely, hurt, in pain, and she always had that crappy life until death. She just wanted to be loved, and I’m glad Ruko was able to make her just a little happy in the end. I wouldn’t say Mayu was a villain, just misunderstood. I still liked her though.

Animation and Sound: Nothing in this show regarding this is spectacular. WIXOSS has a real problem when it comes to scenes in the dark, like when Hitoe and Kazuki were in the abandoned mansion, or anytime during the night. I can barely see the characters’ faces. The animation style is cute, and I absolutely love the character designs of the LRIGs. My favorite probably being Eldora or Hanayo or the final LRIG Mayu. There are tracks in the show that fit the mood, it does its job. I always love the openings and endings of this show, though I kinda like the opening of the first season more.

If you check my MAL, you can see that I gave the first season a 9/10. I probably would have given this season the same, but there were some faults with the lack of information, plot bumps, and likable yet pointless characters. But even so, I’ll happily give this show an 8/10, which is still a great score. Even if there were faults, I still really enjoyed this season and I’m really sad to see this series end. I would highly recommend this series to everyone.