Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to the tormented drama of Blue Reflection Ray, in the wake of a grand confrontation that seemed to leave everyone worse off than before. Shino’s plans to align the realm of contiguous emotions known as the Common with our own world were ultimately thwarted, but Mio ended up paying the price, once again assuming the burden of suffering such that her loved ones might be spared. Both parties fled the church in disarray, with the fabric of reality rent but not entirely broken.
Fortunately, at least one of our poor reflectors appears to have improved their circumstances. Niina was always the most sympathetic of the red reflectors; having suffered a lifetime of exploitation and rejection, it was completely understandable why she’d cling to Mio for salvation, and agree to whatever scheme Mio’s allies had planned. When it became clear Mio herself was being exploited by Shino, the resulting guilt almost led her to embrace the emotional absolution of her allies – but through Shiori’s vindication of her emotions, she found the strength to take pride in her love, and ended up accompanying the blue reflectors in their retreat. The girl has seriously earned a break, and I’m hoping the cooldown of that confrontation will give her a chance to enjoy the lighter side of adolescence. Regardless, the threat of world convergence continues to hang overhead as we return to Blue Reflection Ray!
Episode 13
We begin with a melancholy piano line as we stare up at the clouded sky. A pointed choice, seemingly emphasizing how they’ve maintained the stability of their world, but not really arrived at a solution
“Why can’t you touch feelings? Why don’t you realize something is gone until it’s too late?” A welcome contextualization of that “touch feelings” concept – basically framing it in terms of possession, of our desperation to cling to happy yet fleeting moments. Every joy carries within it the sorrow of its conclusion
It seems this might actually be a Shino memory
Aw shit, new OP! This one’s actually pretty action-packed, and swiftly confirms that Niina will be joining the blue reflector squad
And again, the image of the clear blue sky is used to emphasize a happier world; not the forced synchronicity of the Common, but merely a place where we can seek to truly understand each other
Cicadas and saturated sunlight set the tone as our leads prepare for their summer vacation
I like the outfits our leads are wearing as their RA runs down the rules. Hiori’s in baggy, sorta androgynous clothes that fit her tomboyish nature, while Ruka’s in a short-sleeved summer dress that maintains her cool blue tones. I appreciate when characters’ outfits changes and reflect their personalities, and these outfits simultaneously demonstrate the leads’ preferred colors, style of presentation, and accommodations of the summer heat
On the negative side, the show still has some unfortunate difficulties keeping its characters on-model
Quite nice to see some moments of Hiori and Ruka just comfortably hanging out, though. Big emotional declarations are nice and all, but to really convey the substance of personal growth, you need moments where the characters can just be their evolving selves together
As expected, though Shino’s plan didn’t fully succeed, the partial fusion of their two realms has resulted in far more distortions and cases of people losing their feelings. The crack is widening
Back at the dorm, the mysterious Yuri Saiko once again makes contact with Miyako
Very funny to contrast these two against the lovey-dovey main pair. Miyako and Yuri are all business, impartially breaking down everything they know about Shino’s origins and powers. I’m happy for Miyako to have found a friend who actually matches her wavelength
Apparently the red reflectors are powered by a different energy source than the blue reflectors, though their powers manifest in the same way
Yuri is also acting independently in this matter
Love Hiori and Ruka peering into the room like delighted parents, overjoyed to see their daughter chatting with her crush
Unfortunately, Momo is still comatose after having her fragment shattered. Solid little growth beat for Miyako here, demonstrating new confidence in expressing her feelings as she steps into Momo’s hospital room and greets Hiori
Miyako continues to be a genuinely accomplished investigator; by cross-referencing all of the incidents they’ve been tackling, she’s able to essentially define a void of activity within the town where Mio and the others are presumably located
Out in the hall, we briefly see one of the two new characters from the OP, who are both presumably more experienced reflectors. It feels much like the introduction of Sailor Uranus and Neptune into the latter Sailor Moon seasons; with the conflict scaling up in the wake of that near-calamity, it’s no surprise we’d be attracting more experienced soldiers
Those vibes are only further emphasized by her greeting towards Ruka. The tall, older, confident woman with a somewhat androgynous presentation – this is basically Haruka Tenoh introducing herself as the “prince” character, complete with the gently condescending “you look just like a newborn fawn”
“Don’t be mad, little fawn.” Yeah, this is pretty much exactly the first meeting of Haruka and Usagi
Her name is Ryoka, and she seems to be here to meet a girl named Amiru
They make a pretty classic visual and temperamental pair – the bright, chipper short one with feminine double braids, the taller protector with a husky voice and wolf cut to match. A pairing that naturally evokes images of a princess and her knight
Meanwhile, Niina appears to have assumed a sort of Batman-style role, patrolling the streets alone in order to protect the fragments of the populace
“Stop trying to be such a showoff on your own.” Alone with Momo, Miyako can express her truest unvarnished feelings, her sense of hurt at being left behind
“I’m not going to worry about the past anymore. If I stop here, I’ll just end up with more regrets.” Hiori’s pledge serves as a direct challenge to the red reflectors; banishing your feelings is not “escaping” them, it’s just committing yourself to stasis, a choice which will inevitably herald future regrets
“Just so you know, this is going to be a lot of trouble.” Another exchange that demonstrates the evolving bond of Hiori and Ruka. Ruka has certainly become more comfortable playfully pushing back against Hiori’s ideas
Oh my god Uta. We cut to her acting along to her “Niina playlist,” an audio collection of times Niina has yelled at her. Girl, you are so much
“It’s so lame that you ran away just because you messed up a little, Senpai.” Once again, Uta entirely fails to parse Niina’s feelings. She possesses none of that desire to reach out and understand the feelings of another; everything is just interpreted according to her own set of desires
She’s not alone in that, of course. A lack of emotional curiosity is one of the defining features of any reactionary movement – that refusal to consider “why would they feel that way” in favor of “their deviation from my emotional reality means they are evil”
The sky once again sets the episode’s evolving tone; after the warm sunset colors of Hiori and Ruka’s conversation, Shino’s plotting conjures ominous storm clouds
Love Miyako very awkwardly expressing her concern for Hiori to Ruka, constantly wavering between admiration and annoyance at Hiori’s profoundly empathetic nature
Then a wave of distortion prompts Hiori and Ruka to separate in order to save two fragments, allowing Mio to catch Hiori alone
Now Uta is explicitly recording misery footage to entertain herself with later. Losing Niina has driven her fully insane
Mio’s transformation has apparently earned her all sorts of sweet new void powers, but fortunately Niina arrives to support Hiori’s battle
Oh c’mon Uta, you can’t even recognize her!? Sure she’s got her hoodie up, but I thought you were obsessed with this girl
And Done
Alright, we’re doing it! Well, at least we’re on the way to doing it, now that Niina has been fully revealed. This episode clearly had a lot on its plate, having to serve as both recap and reset after the theatrics of the first half finale. And I’d say it did a fine job of accomplishing both those goals, while also offering both new threads to follow and affirmations of the characters’ growth so far. It was lovely seeing Hiori and Ruka establish a greater degree of trust and comfort through their banter here, and while Momo’s incapacitation did leave Miyako a bit isolated, we’re honing in on enough new characters that I’m sure she’ll soon have plenty to gripe about. Just a sturdy, efficient episode on the whole, offering plenty of the incidental, character-rich dialogue that is this production’s abiding strength.
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