Selector Infected WIXOSS

Things are not always what they seem. This is especially true for Ruuko Kominato, when she receives a deck of cards for the popular card game WIXOSS, only to find a girl trapped inside her LRIG, or avatar card. Upon meeting others in the same situation, Ruuko discovers that she has now become a "Selector," a player in a special version of WIXOSS where girls can battle each other for a chance to have their deepest desires come true. However, there is a catch. In contrast to the glory that awaits them after their victories, there is a cruel fate: if they lose three times, their lives will be destroyed.

In an ominous game filled with lies and deceit, Ruuko and her newfound friends must uncover the secrets behind WIXOSS and realize what is truly most important to them before it is too late.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tama Main

Kuno, Misaki Japanese

Kominato, Ruuko Main

Kakuma, Ai Japanese

Aoi, Akira Main

Akasaki, Chinatsu Japanese

Urazoe, Iona Main

Seto, Asami Japanese

Kurebayashi, Yuzuki Main

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Uemura, Hitoe Main

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Piruluk Supporting

Oonishi, Saori Japanese

Ulith Supporting

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Eldora Supporting

Arai, Satomi Japanese

Kurebayashi, Kazuki Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuusuke Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Kawase, Kouhei Producer

Matsukura, Yuuji Producer

Fukuda, Jun Producer

Reviews

Jun 20, 2014

Zelot

Recommended

Wishes.
If you were in a competition in where you won, your wish would be granted, would you compete? Knowing that there are other people who may have a more important or dire wish? Is your wish more important than others? Is it less important?
Do you even have a wish?

Before going into this review, you will need to know what a Selector is. In this series, there is a popular card game called WIXOSS. Among the players, there are Selectors, people who are able to communicate with their LRIG, or the avatar of their deck. The point of this partner ... ship is for the LRIG to help the Selector become an Eternal Girl and have their dream, their desire or their wish fulfilled.

Story: 8
Wishes and desire and the dark undertone that comes with those two are used quite a lot in story telling. This story is fairly predictable when it comes to the concept of despair and wishes. Though, if you haven't expirenced much with this common story device, you will be in for a treat, as most people who see the dark side and consequences of wishes tend to enjoy the story.

Out story follows Ruuko, a standard character when it comes to these types of wish stories. She is a character is couldn't be separated from the crowd prior to being a Selector. By becoming a Selector and playing WIXOSS, she makes friends, she makes foes and she learns more about herself.

On a side note, do you need to know the rules of WIXOSS before watching?
NOPE. Not at all. The anime's main focus when it comes to card battles are the emotion of the Selectors and the ending result, who wins or who loses. The only concept you need to understand is that a deck is made to power up their LRIG.

Also keep in mind that this story isn't to surprising to those who have gone through stories related to the dark undertone of wishes. It's very predictable and isn't too unique compared to other stories with a similar premise. If you have not gone through a story that involved wishes and darkness, you will be in for a treat as WIXOSS is a great introduction to these types of stories.

Art: 8
Art outside of battles is quite bland, with a lot of use of pale colors and grey. All the backgrounds, all the foregrounds, use this type of bland coloring. Is this bad? Not entirely, as it gives a feel of emptiness, which does help deliver the dark undertone this anime has. Was it required? I feel like this coloring was a bit over done.

Art inside of battles were beautiful colors that faded into a never-ending darkness. I could be a literature teacher about this and pull meaning out of nothingness, but I rather not. I still enjoyed the art of the battles.

Animation was great during battles, standard outside of them. Hand to hand combat and the magical attacks that happened during battle all looked beautiful.

Character designs were pretty standard, though the designs for LRIGs were amazing. Loved how they would look when they would power up.

Sound: 9
What an amazing OP, killy killy JOKER is one of my more favorite OPs of this season and one of my favorites of all time. With an amazing chorus, it is hard not to get your head in the rhythm of the song, which is very similar to our main character, Ruuko. She does the same thing during battles, and gets caught up in the hype of them. The ED, realize -Yume no Matsu Basho-, is another beautiful piece that compliments the OP really well.

OST?
Well.. again, outside of the battles, the soundtrack wasn't all too impressive. It may have added to the feeling of emptiness, but again, it wasn't all that needed. Songs used during the battles were all great! Songs included DnB and dubstep, that all helped give the battles intensity without the songs being too absurd.

Character: 9
As I have said before, Ruuko is a very clean slate character, you will see her character develop as she meets other Selectors, as she wins battles, as she begins thinking of the questions I asked you at the beginning of this review. She is quite the enjoyable character to watch.

A great point in this anime is the relationship between our Selectors: Yuzuki, Akira, Hitoe and Iona. Some are friends, some are foes, all have a wish they want granted. These include some intense moments when we have our more important side characters battling each other knowing that their wishes are on the line.

The only problem with this are the super side characters.... the nameless ones. They are all terrible people with a terrible attitude and personality. These are mainly nameless classmates whose only goal in the series is to cause tension and drama. Sure it was enjoyable to see our main characters go through it, but the way they did it felt super forced.

Enjoyment: 10
Keep in mind, I was coming into this series expecting it to be about cute girls and card games. Boy was I surprised! I was looking forward to some dark anime series during the spring season, Gokukoku no Brynhildr, Black Bullet and Akuma no Riddle. WIXOSS blew all those series out of the water and another surprise series did the same thing this season. I never expected this series to get dark.

I love love love how they handle card battles. The no information needed to watch this show is amazing and I feel they handled that expertly!

Suspense and intensity.
The amount of suspense, the suspense in decision making, the suspense is revealing information, the suspense of wanting to know more, all of these add intensity to the series that keeps the viewer interested and wanting more.

Overall: 9
With a great ending that is an excellent follow up to a season two, the plot twists, the cute girls. This was a surprise series that was an amazing to watch show.

Some food for thought... what is girl backwards?

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jul 7, 2014

Stark700

Mixed Feelings

A card game about granting wishes. That’s what Selector Infected WIXOSS is anyways. And judging by the cover, there isn’t anything that seems too peculiar. That is until when the game actually begins. It’s not a normal card game especially when there’s a strange little girl who wants to battle and grant wishes for its owner. So now, it’s a game about fighting to grant wishes through battles. This however turns into a nightmare for the girls learns what’s at stake – an abominable and endless mind struggle against all odds.

Short for the term (Wish-Cross), the game itself consists of card games and battles. It ... might seem strange to see girls getting taking interest in a game that would be in a guy’s territory but nonetheless, the major of the shows’ cast are female characters. One particular character named Ruuko sticks out as an anti-social yet friendly girl living together with her grandma in a seemingly normal family. It’s fate that one day tied her to enter the world of WIXOSS, after discovering a magical girl that she nicknamed “Tama”. And if you get tired of hearing the word ‘battle’ now, then brace yourself for what the show has to offer soon. Or rather already, the beginning unveils its darker image such as Ruuko’s malevolent dreams. In that dream, it’s clear to know what the show is trying to do – to pull out a dark show with a game with kids. But looking it from a different angle, the show also has a purpose. The games aren’t just played for bragging rights but for granting wishes. It’s from these wishes where the show emerges and mutates itself into a twisted journey, one that shatters the boundaries of the card game image. But is it worth it? In some ways, but also not mind shattering as it sounds.

It’s obvious to see what director Takuya Sato is trying to do here. Similar to how Steins;Gate was directed, the show moves slow with the first few episodes introducing the premise and main characters. In fact, we find out the main characters are known as “Selectors”, who battles to fulfill their wish. What we don’t know is what the true purpose of these wishes are and what’s at stake until later. To say the least, a journey into this show requires patience. Even for a one cour-split (the second half to debut later), it requires explanation. And by that, the show pulls out its classy mechanics by showing rather than telling. Here’s where a technical problem comes in. While the game matches looks flashy and aberrant, they lack interest values when it comes to gameplay. Hardly anything is actually explained by the card battles itself. Whether it’s the battle moves, strategies, or rules, the series focuses much more on its psychological psyche. In other words, the show’s aim is to let the audience know more about the characters rather than the game itself. When you see a battle, more times or not, it’s more likely you will be paying more attention to the characters rather than the game itself. Although that works out somewhat, the mechanics and focus on the game is lost with incoherent explanations, ones that can be easily forgotten simply because it lacks interest.

At least the interest should come to the main characters right? Well, not exactly if we take a closer look. The fighters known as the LRIG(girl spelt backwards) are mostly mindless and serves little purpose than doing battle for their Selectors. Of course, none of them receive any character development or emphasis besides their highlight reels during gameplay. But for the characters, they aren’t far better when it comes to characterization. We already have the shy girl with Ruuko and really, there’s nothing distinctive about her. On the other hand though, there’s Ruuko’s friend Yuzuki who has the social personality, looks, and empowerment to make friends easily. But what you don’t know is her secret, or rather her wish that can be viewed as ‘forbidden’. And because the show has its psychological shenanigans, the story actually focuses on her progress with some rather disturbing results. It doesn’t stop there though as we also meet the two-faced girl, Akira Aoi with a sadistic ambition. In the same line of work is also Iona, a girl with a lust for battle but unlike Akira, she is usually calm and confident in her skills. On the other hand, there’s Hitoe Uemura, a girl who just wants to make friends. Together, they make up the main composition of the series’ cast, or rather Selectors. But what’s to like about them? Almost nothing. There’s almost nothing relatable we can find about them besides perhaps Ruuko. It’s almost also impossible to like any of the characters as they are not role models. Whether these are Ruuko’s anti-social behavior, Yuzuki’s repugnant wish, or Akira’s sadism, none of them really can be called role models. As the show progresses, we also witness their progress, not character wise but by the effects that the game has on them. And trust me, it’s not pretty.

Another niche about the show involves the collectible game itself. Besides the LRIG, none of the other cards are memorable or has any purpose. They are easily forgettable and when used during gameplay is hardly understandable. Ironically enough, the show attracts more female players than guys despite the dark nature. But most importantly is the concept of the game and its consequences. For behind the scenes, the consequences are disastrous for the losers. The show desperately tries to appeal to these consequences in order to draw out the reality of it. As gimmicky as it can be, the show does appeal to its darker image when certain Selectors’ minds are broken psychologically from the inside out. It can be easily relatable to shows like Madoka when girls are offered choices to play out their decisions. Otherwise, the show deals with other basis of human nature and themes including jealousy, identity, regret, social alienation, and forbidden laws of attraction. Needless to say, the show is a deconstruction of magical card game. The game itself serves as a deciding factor to settle out issues because character drama seems to be the cookie cutter.

J.C. Staff plays the role of crafting this show’s artistic image. There’s an oddball here when it pertains to cute girls playing the roles of Selectors in such a dark and twisted game. The LRIG has some interesting card designs with magical girl themes. Unfortunately, the game mechanics, even when crafted visually wise is underwhelming. The battle themselves are also mediocre and can even feel exasperating because most of the time, the characters doesn’t even seem to enjoy playing the game. Action speaks louder than words is usually what people would say. But here in this show, it’s what the character expressions that vividly paints their lack of interest and even fear what would happen should they lose. Also, who can forget about those insanely portrayed face expressions that Akira brings to the show that goes completely against what she really is, a fashion model?

Soundtrack is perhaps one of the stronger factors for this show. In order for it to work, it needed to engineer the phases between emotional, climatic, and thought provoking scenarios. Surprisingly, it does work most of the time. The eerie-like soundtrack conveys the darker side of the show effectively when utilized. And to further accompany this is the character voices that clearly reflects their despair and hopelessness in certain episodes. In particular, Hitoe’s voice is very credible when it comes to her shy nature and despair. The OP & ED songs also has influence when it comes to show that the show is not a happy game about kids playing cards to kill time.

Dark and edgy, I suppose there are more words to describe what this show really is. But for a show based off a card game, it hardly even touches on its mechanics. Throughout the series, it’s not surprising when you find yourself how exactly the game is played besides the most general rules. Take this more as a type of dark drama that is supposed to be character driven with Madoka-esque vibes. Of course, there’s no Kyuubey but rather LRIG, those cute girls with a taste for battle. I wouldn’t say the show is an abomination to card game ethnics. There’s memorable moments, some battles that can be almost fun to watch, and an appealing soundtrack. Rather, it’s a deconstruction for what is has offered – a labyrinth of character drama and journey on the line of mind games.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Aug 9, 2022

RyanSpring

Not Recommended

I'll refrain from outright using the term "rip-off", but this is very, very heavily "inspired by" Madoka Magica and it does more than "borrow from" it. There's a little bit of Yu-Gi-Oh and a little bit of Fate sprinkled in there as well, but by and large this is an inferior Madoka.

It's well animated and has solid voice acting, since it's the same five voice actors we always hear in English dubs, but beyond the presentation the actual substance is lacking.

The plot does not hold water AT ALL. It wouldn't stand up to a gentle breeze, nevermind actual scrutiny. There's more holes here than Swiss ... cheese. Asking basic, common sense questions about potential workarounds to all the rules and problems presented by the plot yields no answers because the anime simply doesn't provide any. It wants you to simply suspend your disbelief and go with it and that is, indeed, the only way to enjoy this.

Compounding the plethora of plot holes is an extreme lack of clarity. Having finished the entire first season, and being a former professional MtG player and not even a little bit TCG illiterate, I have at best a vague idea as to how this game actually works. Rules are not explained or established. I know that I have an avatar that attacks your avatar and it can grow. That's more or less the extent of what I know. Even when a battle concludes, it's never quite clear WHY the battle concluded. Does your opponent have life points that they're now out of? Does your avatar have a stamina bar that has depleted? Did the opponent simply run out of cards?

The pacing was reasonable and there are battles in most episodes, which is really the only thing that keeps this show in the category of mediocre as opposed to simply being trash, but make no mistake that this is mindless entertainment. Do not try to THINK about what is going on, because it does not make logical sense whatsoever.

Overall, while I guess I liked this more than I disliked it, there's nothing special here whatsoever. I'll probably watch the second season anyway simply because I really love TCGs and I wish there were more anime like this, but this is far from the most original, most logical or most clear example of what this genre can be.

OBJECTIVE RATING- 6-6.5
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING- 6.5

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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