Black*Rock Shooter + Yu-Gi-Oh + Puella Magi Madoka Magica. That’s all I’m gonna say.

A popular teen card game called WIXOSS carries a dark secret. LRIG cards (girl backwards – honestly took me a while) are rumored cards that contain the live consciousness of girls, and those females who obtain an LRIG are known as Selectors. When drawn into battle, Selectors face off against each other in another land, aggressively trying to win enough victories to have their wishes invoked by their LRIG. When Ruko Kominato gets infected by “Tama,” a cute yet battle-driven LRIG, she is tossed into the dark and twisted lies of the Selectors’ game. She’s good at first, but what happens when you lose . . .

Do not be dismayed by the fact that the show is based on a card game. I feel that that was the turnoff that makes this show less well-liked or popular. The rules to the game occur in a simple pattern that needs no explanation, so you can sit back and relax, that is to say, on the edge of your seat >.< Instead of trying to grasp the workings of the game, just watch the show – the game is just a way to convey the dark plot (not gonna spoil), making the kids think it’s just a harmless teen card battle. That aside, the plot of selector infected WIXOSS is somewhat to understand, gripping, and tragic. Heads up on Hitoe, though, as she makes the whole thing confusing by the end.

Pick a color of the basic rainbow and that’s how many characters there are. Literally, each character has that one attribute that makes them so generic. Sure, they all have their quirks that make me feel bad for them, and it sure sucks to be them, but I feel it was done better in other anime (see top). Ruko, however, acts as a white sheet of paper, being drawn on by the other characters until it’s hard to make out who she is. At the beginning, she has one mindset, but by the end, boy, she rounded out very nicely! The only other character I thoroughly enjoyed was Akira. I LOVE CRAZY characters! They are unpredictably creepy and enforce amazing plot twists. Akira was no exception to my standards.

The animation, done by J.C.Staff (A Certain Scientific Railgun and many others) was, well, bland. I know the atmosphere that they were going for was dreary like a rainy day, but did it need to be like that all the time? The only interesting scenes were when battles went down. I love the darkness that swells around the girls in the mysterious world.

Sound-wise was also kinda dim. The OST had no stunning tracks whatsoever, but the mood was never lost. The opening, “killy killy JOKER” by Kanon Wakeshima is amazing though! I play the cello, so I definitely know quality tone when I hear it, and man, I heard it. Give it a listen; it is the essence of the show. Also noteworthy is the ending, “REALIZE – Yume no Matsu Basho” by Cyua. Really amazing OP and ED this time around.

So with so-so animation, soundtrack, and characters, is the anime worth watching? Actually, yes. Pacing is well thought out, so getting bored doesn’t happen often. If you want to see what happens when dreams turn corrupt or want a thought-provoking battle of emotions and desires, then this is the show. It’s sorrowful, tragic, and sweet. The thing is, this core idea is not new. Watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica and you’ll see the many similarities the shows have (PMMM is much better). Finally, the ending is like really really  awesome for a first season. A real game changer. I had a decent good time watching it. “Tama, GROWWW!!”

I hope this review sparked any interest in watching selector infected WIXOSS. You can watch the full series over at FUNimation.com. If you enjoyed this review, give it a like! I’d appreciate it :3 Until next time, this has been

– Takuto, your host