Lostorage incited WIXOSS

Episode 12

And so this season of WIXOSS ends, not with a bang, but with an indifferent shrug. Predictably, this finale was both overdrawn and undercooked, which makes sense considering that the actual plot wrapped up last week. Chinatsu and Suzuko made amends, and all was right with the world. Unfortunately, Satomi had to show up and draw everything out into a big final battle, so this season finale ends up exacerbating WIXOSS's worst qualities.

One of those qualities is Satomi him(her?)self. Sad to say, Satori has become an absolutely terrible villain, nothing but a collection of overwrought screaming and tryhard sexual innuendo, with nothing even resembling thoughtful or interesting characterization. Throughout the battle, Satomi rambles on and on about their history as an LRIG, but it's maddening that we don't learn anything new whatsoever. We simply recap the fact that Satomi was an LRIG who took over her Selector's body and then decided to use that position to ruin the lives of other selectors. Was Satomi involved with this iteration of the game at all, and if not, who's behind it? What is the point of this game to begin with? None of these issues are addressed at all, sidelined in favor of an extended battle sequence between Satomi and Suzuki, which is another issue altogether.

WIXOSS has always had a problem with action. It works okay in small doses, but whenever it gets too entrenched in a battle scene, the foundations of its visual direction fall apart at the seams. The biggest issue is that since the show has never bothered explaining the mechanics of the game, most every decision the players make don't follow a logic chain the audience can follow. This can be ignored in favor of spectacle for shorter scenes, but the longer a fight is drawn out, the more questions the viewer starts asking about what exactly is happening on screen, and WIXOSS has no answers. The introduction of coin betting helped this season, since that was a simple concept with easily understood uses and consequences—until this episode threw all those rules out the window. Suddenly abilities aren't working or get supercharged or even suddenly combine between Suzuko and Chinatsu to form Super Abilities. It's basically nonsense, and this episode was filled with far too much of it. Combine that with Satomi's obnoxious theatrics, and the whole first two-thirds of this finale was essentially a wash.

Thankfully, once Satomi was dispatched, the episode was able to deliver a decent sendoff by focusing back on the one thing it had going for it: Suzuko and Chinatsu's relationship. Seeing them finally spend some time together as friends was great, even if it was in montage, and watching Chinatsu quietly let go of her memories was just a little heartbreaking. The irony of finally getting what she wanted after she didn't want it anymore was clear, but it was still sweet to see Chinatsu restart and reaffirm their friendship in earnest.

This doesn't seem to be the absolute end for Lostorage, however. Not only do we get some fun little billboard cameos from Selectors past, it seems that Satomi (or Carnival hiding out in Satomi's skin) is alive and well, with Kiyoi hot on his trail. Not only that, but we get another reference to the Lostorage conflated WIXOSS title that the series' Twitter account teased out not too long ago. It seems like there will be a second season, just as Selector Spread Wixoss followed up Selector Infected.

Overall, this season was just okay; I liked it more than Selector Infected personally, though it had its own set of writing and directing problems as well. Even though this show was quite the bumpy ride, I would be willing to check out a follow up season, if only to see if it can actually offer some satisfying answers or a decent antagonist. At the very least, we might check in on our heroines and see if they can make it through another year with their friendship intact. I'd like to think that they will. In the meantime, they've been through enough to have earned a break.

Rating: C

Lostorage incited WIXOSS is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.