Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we are returning to a scene of great and senseless tragedy, as we check in on Togo and Nogi in the wake of their partner Gin’s heroic sacrifice. With both of her allies incapacitated and a squadron of vertices approaching the divine tree, Gin did what she’s always done: take the burden entirely on herself, fighting and dying so that the people she loves could be safe. That same selfless instinct that made her such a caring older sister and fixture around town was here ruthlessly exploited, manipulated so that she might become fuel for beings beyond our comprehension.
That’s pretty much how it goes in Yuki Yuna is a Hero. The series has consistently emphasized how personal kindness and a sense of communal responsibility are exploited by our overseers, perverted into jingoistic nationalism and an utter denial of the self. True heroism always reveals itself on the personal or local level, in the actions of Yuna’s hero club, or in the concern Gin extends towards her neighbors and loved ones. But when such generosity of spirit is directed towards god or country, it is instantly corrupted, framed instead as emotional weakness ripe for exploitation. Whether it’s a government, religion, or the eldritch conflation of both that is the divine tree, loyalty to such distant icons is where our inherent goodness goes to die – and today, an extraordinarily decent person was killed just so, in service to a deity that has no conception of morality whatsoever. Let us see how our survivors are faring, as they struggle in service of the centralized, amoral beast at the heart of the modern world.
Episode 5
“The Shinju-sama is God itself. That’s why I prayed… I didn’t want to part with my friends. In a way, that became a reality. In exchange for our friend’s sacrifice, we obtained BLANK’s BLANK.” There is no exploitation so all-consuming as that of religion. When you believe your actions are being commanded by God, there is no disagreement between duty, morality, or responsibility – they are all one, as your commands are righteousness itself. And when you are promised eternal reward for fulfilling your duty, even death isn’t too high a cost to pay for achieving it
Then of course, religion encompasses secondary methods of control, like how it affects your relationship with your community. If disobeying your god would mean isolation from everyone you know and love, there’s little chance you’ll rebel even if you have doubts about the sanctity of your cause. Even Togo’s home is a gift contingent on her religious service, a blessing that could easily be taken away if she refuses to keep fighting. The more your religion becomes your world, the less of you exists apart from it, and the more of your identity, community, and livelihood you are forced to excise if you ever hope to break free
A grey sky hangs over the school as the class mourns Gin’s death. The teacher says she died in service of the Shinju-sama, and that they’ll all be attending her funeral tomorrow. Another way to bind them together, while simultaneously emphasizing that death is a natural, acceptable part of their service. When you bake the intolerable into your base assumptions, it is much easier to throw up your hands and say “what can be done” – they have to serve the Shinju-sama, so we must accept these deaths as a part of life. It’s basically the same self-serving logic employed by America’s gun lobby, which assumes we have to have guns as a part of everyday life, and that all potential “solutions” must abide by that premise
And then we get our first post-death OP, always a painful reminder of what we’ve lost
“Goodbye”
The priest overseeing the funeral has a mask completely obscuring his face. All of the Divine Tree’s closest avatars are anonymous, appendages rather than people; it would seem that the Divine Tree’s ideal for a human is no more than a leaf on its branches, possessing no independence of thought, ready to fall with the seasons and know this is the natural order of things
In spite of this, the priest does call out her “humane personality” as one of her assets. Though to the tree, it’s likely this is only an asset since it makes her easy to manipulate, just like Yuna’s crew
A cut to her stunned family emphasizes the hollow consolation of these words
Togo does not look inspired – she looks betrayed and determined
“I didn’t know Gin had this duty.” “It’s beyond imagination to us in the city government, it must have been rough.” So the Divine Tree indeed plays favorites, protecting his administrator class from sacrificial duty
“Gin-chan did very well.” “Gin-chan became a spirit of battle. I envy her.” The paternalistic encouragement of this society’s contented elders does little to comfort Gin’s brother, who is still clearly in shock
While others talk of the great financial benefits the Minowa family will receive, Gin’s youngest brother reaches for his crib mobile, which remains far out of reach. An easy visual metaphor for what is truly desired, what has been lost and cannot be retrieved
By the next ceremony, Togo looks outright furious
This ceremony involves leaving her a flower, a fitting conclusion given this franchise’s general preoccupation with the idea of young women as “blooming flowers,” each with their own unique motif, each blooming only to fade away
“If there is a God, why didn’t it protect her!? She always worked so hard!” Gin’s brother Tetsuo finally snaps, and says what Togo is likely thinking. We create gods to bring sense to a senseless world, and in that role they can offer comfort – but they are all fantasies, and the moment we let those fantasies impact our own morality, we have become slaves to our delusions. If any god truly existed, like the Shinju-sama, it would likely be a terrible monster, incapable of truly caring about human beings the way we care about each other
I frankly just try not to think about it too much, as acknowledging this state of affairs isn’t really useful or actionable. Religion has no inherent morality – it is simply the surrender of your reason to an imagined higher being, and can be directed towards the charity of Christ just as easily as the cruelty of Donald Trump. But what can you do? Most people need to put their faith in something, and will invent their own gods if there are none at hand
And then they hear the bells, summoning them to a fresh battle. At last, Togo has a target towards which she can freely direct her rage – she roars in anger, and charges towards their next foe
Their fighting is reckless; they are no longer fighting to mitigate personal harm, but to inflict maximum damage. Shouting out Gin’s name, they let her memory be their shield
Flower petals shower down on their victory, an echo of Gin’s funeral bier
Their teacher comes to pick them up from the bridge. A brief moment of solace in the divine world, and now the rain returns – the distinct dynamics of their two worlds are doing a neat job of echoing their tumultuous emotions in the wake of Jin’s death, as well as the brief escape from anguish of throwing yourself into your official duties
She praises both of them for being “true heroes.” Words that mean so much less now that they understand their cost – Togo merely nods grimly, while Nogi begins to cry about Gin being the true hero
“So please don’t forget about Mino-san.” In spite of all this funeral pageantry, it already seems clear to Nogi how Gin will fade in memory, how this is a brief consolation for the grieving, who will soon enough be alone in their painful recollection of their lost friend. We offer solidarity through funerals, but most of us get through life by not burying ourselves in the grief of others, and to most Gin will soon be no more than a half-remembered tribute
And what a waste! Gin could have made so many lives better, was already proving herself one of those rare people who bring courage and charity to everyone. There are few enough bright lights already, without sacrificing the greatest among us to the empty throne of God
But life goes on, and our struggles continue. The ad break offers a handy reset to emphasize that point, as Togo dreams of three great threats approaching the planet
“The battle will get fiercer. I need to get stronger.” As someone born into the Divine Tree’s formal system, this Togo cannot even imagine rebelling against its order, and instead merely devotes herself all the more fully to completing her duties. A cross-season testament to the power of culture and psychological conditioning; given the “proper” system of indoctrination, even the girl who rebelled completely in her more independent incarnation would here see nothing to rebel against
Back at school, Nogi attempts to reassert normalcy by acting fine, but all of the other students are walking on eggshells around her. The death of Gin has made this real – Nogi is not just another classmate anymore, and who knows how long she’ll be here
They were told not to ask about her duties, but at this point they’re all too afraid not to
“You guys are heroes. We’re all so proud of you.” “Well, it’s not like I wanted to be that.” It’s becoming increasingly difficult to play the convincing, fearless hero the Divine Tree demands
“If you care about Minowa-san, please leave us be.” Togo has already accepted that her childhood is now over
But she can see Nogi is faltering, and thus engineers them a day off to rest and enjoy a summer festival
Their excursion echoes the lighthearted earlier episodes, and seems all the more important now that they’ve experienced such grief. Faith alone is only sustenance enough for the most fully indoctrinated of believers; the rest of us need something to live for that we can touch and feel
Nogi praises Togo for her top notch internet skills, a point of connection resonating with the first season
They get matching cat keychains, with one for Gin as well. Anything they can do to keep her memory alive
“We were able to work hard because it was the three of us.” They stand watching the fireworks, another easy metaphor for their beautiful, fleeting lives
And then their teacher gets the call that seems to announce the “bloom” system
And Done
Ahh, goddamn this show. We really dove into the one-sided bargain of religion this episode, the tragedy of being forced to give your life for the ill-defined benefit of some nebulous higher power, and how our fundamental, personal compassion is frankly incompatible with the self-propagation-obsessed machine that is organized faith. Our girls are being forced to find meaning in the most meaningless of deaths, justifying the loss of Gin through the enriching friendship that preceded it, and vowing to themselves to never forget her even as the world already begins to move on. Fireworks rising, exploding, and withering into darkness, all for a cause that has nothing to do with their own lives, for a faith that puts no value on humans whatsoever. There are few greater evils in this world than unworthy faith, and perhaps the cruelest expression of such faith is how it binds so many great, irreplaceable people to such hopeless ends. Togo and Nogi must hold Gin’s memory close; in this world where the Divine Tree is paramount, they and her family are likely the only ones who can.
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