Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d check back in on Blue Reflection Ray, and see how our heroes are faring in the wake of their successful rescue operation. Saving Miyako from the red reflectors ultimately required a brave step forward from Ruka, as she pushed past her anxieties to stand up for a person who was hurting, and thereby become the kind of person who can actually reach out to others. That in turn echoed the very reason she was fighting for Miyako: for no matter how painful our feelings, if we choose to learn from them rather than tuck them away, there is always hope we will do better next time.
It’s a fine dividing line between our blue and red reflectors, tethering that familiar conceit of “powerful emotions conjure powerful magic” to the further question of how precisely we choose to process those emotions. I’ll be interested in seeing how this metaphor develops, but in more immediate terms, I am also eager for the snarky, self-important Miyako to spend more time aggravating our initial pair. The irritants in these groups often turn out to be my favorite characters, and Miyako has so far proven to be an extremely charming brand of irritating. Let’s get to it!
Episode 4
We open with Momo explaining the implication of last episode’s conclusion directly to Hiori, revealing that her sister was also a reflector. Good, I’m glad they’re not holding this back to provoke canned drama later on; dramatic irony can be useful, but it’s more often than not used simply to maintain arbitrary conflict between would-be allies
Momo stops short of revealing that her sister has turned villainous, stating instead that “she’ll figure something out.” But Hiori is sharper than her bubbly affectation would indicate, and she immediately asks if this means they’ll eventually have to fight
I quite like characters like Hiori, characters who’ve seen the ugliness of life first-hand, yet still choose to face the world with a positive, uplifting attitude. It is not a sign of greater maturity or intelligence to act beaten down by the injustice of the world; we all respond to trauma differently, and maintaining your cheer is just another kind of strength and defiance
Momo awakes from a dream, which I’m hoping means she’s just recalling this conversation, not that it didn’t happen. Regardless, Hiori has news of a brand new reflector candidate!
Miyako nervously explains that she wants to become friends with the others, then yells at them because they’re not paying enough attention to her brave admission. Excellent character
“From now on, I’m not going to live for my mother’s acknowledgment.” A key step for Miyako. Deriving your sense of self-worth from external sources is a risky gambit at the best of times, though of course, simply saying you’re no longer going to judge yourself that way is a lot easier than actually putting that declaration into practice. As so much of anime is happy to demonstrate, we cannot help but yearn for the validation of a parent’s love; they are our initial source of instruction, comfort, and validation, and discarding those tethers demands believing strongly in our own judgment and values, which is of course that much harder to do when your parents are making you doubt your identity
“I’m going to live for me. I was able to decide that because of them.” It’s thus unsurprising that Miyako is now hitching her wagon to Ruka and Hiori, the ones who fostered this new attitude. Supporting them is the easiest first step in finding new reasons to value herself
Miyako doesn’t take half-measures! She accompanies this reveal with a declaration that she’ll now be moving in with them, at least until her dorm room application goes through
The first personal item she sets down is a bejeweled mirror, a core symbol of her identity
“Reflectors are able to unleash something even more powerful when their feelings resonate with each other.” A natural embellishment of the fundamental “embracing your emotions as a vehicle for magical power” conceit – by sharing your truth and finding common ground, you become even more powerful
This beat of Hiori stumbling through boxes kinda accidentally reveals this show’s production limitations, as they can’t actually animate the fall, so we instead get the entire apartment shaking in an exterior shot
Ruka asks Momo to teach them to fight, but Momo says she’ll need some time to answer. Understandable that she wouldn’t want to draw more innocent people into this active combat, particularly given what happened with Hiori’s sister
Interesting. We then cut to the red reflectors’ grand bedroom, where it seems one of the girls is afflicted by a sort of crystallization running up her arm
This girl worries that Hiori’s sister’s “feelings are wavering” due to her contact with Momo. If Mio is fighting to save this girl’s life, that certainly complicates our whole reflector paradigm
Love Miyako lecturing the other two about improving their synchronicity even as she clings to Ruka’s bag
“They’re the rising stars of the tennis club, and they have a lot of fans.” High schoolers construct such brief, rapid mythologies of their classmates. As an adult, it’s hard to recall just how slowly time passes in high school, how many internal social dynamics and personal legacies are constructed just to be dismantled in another few years
“Hey, do you two even know the other’s favorite food?” This whole resonance system is a pretty convenient excuse for more bonding experiences
Their meals match their personalities: Ruka has a small, traditional meal of fish and rice, whereas Hiori loads up her plate with a mountain of fried chicken
“First we need to make up for your ridiculous lack of communication!” Of course the non-reflector Miyako has immediately taken control of their training regimen
“I’m not telling you my weight!” The Symphogear classic
Hiori notices Ruka’s dog-eared copy of “How to Connect With Others.” You gotta keep that in a drawer or something, Ruka
Ruka’s greatest shame: she is a self-help enthusiast
Meanwhile, Momo broods atop her scooter atop a distant hilltop. Brooding is far more effective when you do it from a high altitude
It appears all is not well within the alleged star tennis couple. Their synchronicity doesn’t actually seem to be the result of them sharing the same perspective – rather, it’s that Yuma always concedes to whatever Ema thinks, and thus avoids creating even productive friction between them. It’s an easy way to avoid conflict, but it won’t actually result in mutual understanding
“I know that you’re a better player than me, and that you have to compensate for me for us to survive as a pair.” Rather than leading both of them forward through setting an example with her strength, she’s actually hobbling herself to match her partner, which ultimately doesn’t help either of them
Back at our main pair, Ruka is despairing at the fact that they have so little in common, but Hiori is actually happy to have made a friend with so many strengths that are new to her. A clear echo of the tennis pair’s issue, learning to appreciate what sets them apart
A sleepy-eyed Momo consults with Miyako, who reveals how hard our pair have been trying to understand each other
Momo reflects on how they’re actually doing better than she did, back when she pushed everyone away from her as a high schooler. Rather than try to understand others, she simply erected a wall between herself and her loved ones
“I said the same thing, so there’s no reason I’d be hated…” We see that Yuma has unsurprisingly developed her current obsequious persona due to past rejection by her classmates. If she just agrees with others, she believes no one will have a reason to hurt her
And that’s precisely when the red reflectors attack!
Some nice cuts of animation as our reflectors square off. As usual, the drawing count isn’t particularly high, but the individual poses are dynamic and expressive
Momo dispenses with her sword and just starts punching energy beams, while encouraging the girls to embrace their differences as their strength. I suppose it’s pretty easy to believe in her words when she’s punching fireballs aside barehanded
And with her heart cleared, Yuma gains the confidence to write up a training regimen for herself and Ema. Rather than just slowing her pace to accommodate her partner, she’s taking proactive steps to help Ema rise to her standard
Oh my god. Our final reveal is that Momo is joining their class, as she actually never finished high school
And Done
Thus our quartet of heroes is formally established! I’m frankly more than a little worried about Momo, but that was otherwise quite a productive getting-to-know-you episode, as Hiori and Ruka furnished their initial mutual concern with lots of active engagement in the minutiae of each other’s lives. As expected, Miyako has proven a delightful addition to the core dynamic, and I expect her unwarranted confidence to only grow once she actually awakens as a reflector in her own right. Plus, Momo’s far less likely to get arrested now that she actually attends school with the girls she keeps loitering around. A great victory for the whole team!
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