WIXOSS is a Great Series
As you guys probably know, I did a whole collaboration with two other amazing bloggers, Ayano and Leth (you should totally check ’em out by the way), covering each episode of Lostorage Conflated WIXOSS. You can read up on all those here. As such, I don’t have a ton to say in terms of an overall review of the season so I’ll also be discussing my thoughts on the series as a whole and a quick rundown on the entire franchise. Let’s kick things off with my quick thoughts on this season!
Season 3 Thoughts – Lostorage Conflated WIXOSS
If you have never gotten into the WIXOSS franchise due to its now rather large size and today’s propensity for anime to lack conclusions, than allow me to quell any concerns. While the show may seem initially daunting because of how some can divide up its episodes across four seasons and a film, there are really only 3. There is one 24 episode season and two 12 episode seasons.
As for endings, Conflated will have you covered. While this is not the first time the franchise has had a solid resolution with the option of continuation, if this were all there was for WIXOSS then that would be fine. The story resolves practically every major plot thread from all 3 seasons. Most characters are given resolution for their stories and everybody gets a chance to be in the spotlight for at least a little while, this includes good and bad guys alike.
This final season definitely had some weak points during its run because the show simply could not keep pulling twists for its plot like it could in previous iterations. The justification for this is pretty clear since this was wrapping everything up so it doesn’t lose anything for having a few straightforward episodes that didn’t have a ton of stuff going on in them. Overall, a fantastic end to a series that was a fun watch.
Season 1 Part 1 Thoughts – Selector Infected WIXOSS
Due to the nature of the first season (both halves aired closely together) I don’t consider the two halves separate seasons like I do for Lostorage Incited and Lostorage Conflated so I’m simply going to refer to them as season one parts one and two. Part one of the first season, Selector Infected WIXOSS, gets you introduced to the game and principal cast A (Lostorage introduces another principal cast which we’ll call, “B”).
In this first half you learn that girls across Japan have been selected to participate in a special version of the popular in-universe game of WIXOSS. If you manage to secure enough victories your wish will come true. Obviously this excites the girls and most eagerly participate. The catch though? If you lose three times, you are out of the game and your wish will become corrupted.
A lot of people toted this as a Madoka Magica clone when it came out but be rest assured that this is not the case. WIXOSS explores some similar concepts but ultimately is about human nature and what people are willing to do to achieve their goals. At least, that’s true of season one, season two explores a wildly different concept. It has a dark take, but does its own thing.
Part one of the first season is solid. It does everything you would want it to do while leaving room for the events in the second half. Unfortunately, the show does squander some of its potential by placing emphasis on characters that ultimately matter very little (even though I LOVE the grandma) and Tama takes some getting used to if you aren’t immediately into that character. She gets better though.
Lastly, if you expect the show to explain how the card game actually works (yes, it is a real card game) then I hate to disappoint you but it won’t. That’s a good thing though because the card game is really complicated and confusing. However, WIXOSS is NOT about the card game, this isn’t a card battling anime, rather this is a big character drama. The characters are what matter here, not the game, so be sure to keep that in mind while watching.
Season 1 Part 2 Thoughts – Selector Spread WIXOSS
On the one hand part two really steps up in terms of human suffering. If you love Aki, and let’s be real, who doesn’t? Then you”ll be right at home with several of the episodes here. You also get to the learn the truth about wishes with Yuzuki’s story which is pretty great. That said, the ending is kind of a mess. Things were mostly concluded but if this were all there were for WIXOSS it would be a somewhat disappointing experience.
Fortunately, there is more so this complaint is actually fairly minor. Though in real time fans had to wait 2 whole years to get a continuation of the story so we were really suffering in that aspect. A film did come out in the interim but it was just a recap film with a couple of new scenes that never even saw a US release. From what I’ve heard, it is completely skippable and unnecessary to go out of your way to watch.
Season 2 Thoiughts – Lostorage Incited WIXOSS
I actually did a first impressions article of Incited which I encourage you to check out for my thoughts as it was airing. As I mention in the article, this season focuses on an entirely new cast and the game now centers around memories instead of wishes. The core themes explored here are still on human nature but they have shifted to being about identity as apposed to what season one was exploring.
Incited is my favorite installment in the series. It dramatically improved everything WIXOSS had established so far by expanding on what we already knew. Additionally, new elements were added to the game as well as the show receiving a healthy upgrade in terms of writing, direction, and animation. It was totally worth the wait.
Due to how this new game worked with memories the pacing was tightened up and everything ran a lot more smoothly than it had in the previous season. Having your memories, and by extension, your identity on the line it felt a lot more weighty when characters won or lost. The wishes angle from season one was good but the memory angle here felt like there were far larger stakes on the line. Maybe that sounds a bit silly without seeing it, but I’m positive that if you gave this a watch you’d see what I’m getting it.
Sadly, if you were looking for what happened with cast A this won’t give you anything. This is solely about cast B. If you were watching this back when it aired this may have been kind of disappointing since Incited came out of seemingly nowhere but didn’t really tie up the lose ends of the first season.
Season 2 concludes and I would have been content here. However, WIXOSS had other plans. That brings us full-circle now to season three which came out another two years, and again out of nowhere, after this one.
Quick Thoughts on the Series as a Whole
Everything finally managed to get wrapped up. There were ups and downs along this crazy ride that spanned 4 years but it was ultimately well worth the time. Luckily if you haven’t had the opportunity to watch this yet there has never been a better time since the story is complete. I can’t recommend the WIXOSS series enough and hope you’ll give it a shot!
Be sure to let me know if you’ll be giving this one a look, or if you’ve seen it already, your thoughts on the series as a whole. If you enjoy my work please click the button below and donate a few bucks to me via Ko-fi. Every bit helps and I greatly appreciate the support. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you back here at Jon Spencer Reviews again soon!
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