I’m Standing on a Million Lives – Episode 3

We’re right on track for the next mission and we’ve managed to recruit a brand new character into the game! Unfortunately, we also have to deal with the classic misunderstanding trope, which I’m quite frankly not the biggest fan of. I know that it’s a way to get other characters to talk to each other and to remind us that Yotsuya is still the loser type character. But still! There has to be a better way!! But I’ll let it slide since it seems to drop off near the end of the episode in favor of giving us more backstory for Shindou.

So let’s start off by talking about our new character, Yuka. I’ll be honest that I’m iffy about her right now, but she does seem like the type of character that could grow on me overtime. We meet her as she’s being bullied in the bathroom for talking badly about one of her classmates and like any protagonist stumbling into that whole situation, Yotsuya steps in and puts a stop to whatever is going on. And on that note, just how strong is Yotsuya? If he can just snap some phones and crush them into tiny pieces to be flushed down the toilet? Or are they really weak phones? Either way, I definitely thought it was going to be some type of misunderstanding that the other girls weren’t bullying Yuka and were just doing something as friends. As to what friends would be doing that would lead to that situation? I have no clue what that would be. But the reactions of all the characters, at least to me, seemed to be pointing towards a misunderstanding. Either way we find out she’s an otaku, some time passes and we’ve gained a new party member. Woo!

I actually feel a little bit bad for Yuka when she gets to use magic for the first time. Because I agree with her in that it would be super cool to be a magical girl! So, to have that opportunity right in front of you, only to me able to make your weapon hotter would be really sad. Don’t worry Yuka! Hopefully you’ll get to live out your magical girl dreams soon! Still, I do like that they have to level up in the game over time. Rather than just being powerful from the get-go. It actually gives our characters additional motives aside from just completing the quests. Obviously, some characters are more interested in actually levelling up, but hey, that’s why it’s called the grind.

The other highlight of the episode was getting a little bit of background on Shindou, who up till now has been our typical popular main girl. I’m interested to see how the backstory from this episode ultimately impacts her growth both in the past and for the future. But in general, what we got in this episode, is that her parents or at least her father aren’t the greatest humans on the planet, and that she was prone to fighting other kids her age. But she becomes friends with a kind-hearted soul who eventually dies, and the whole situation around seems to be a source of trauma for Shindou. So, in that regard, I’m interested to see how they are going to talk about it and if it will influence future actions.

I’m kind of hoping the next episode will focus on character development as they work on their quest, but it’s really hard to predict what they are going to give us. And since it’s the third episode, I think I’m going to keep following the series for just a little bit longer. I wouldn’t say it’s been a standout series so far, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it bad either. It kind of sits in the middle, and I’m pretty interested to see if it will bring anything later on to shake things up.