27 April 2014: Ayako Doctrine, don't fail me now (selector infected WIXOSS)
LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!
selector infected WIXOSS is the very model of the Ayako Doctrine at work. There was basically no chance I would even consider watching this show were it not for her presence in the cast. As a reminder, the Ayako Doctrine does not claim that any anime featuring Kawasumi Ayako will be good. Rather, it only purports that any show she is in will be better than it would have been without her presence.
Go on, Hanayo. Curse the bitch out.
Indeed, selector infected WIXOSS is better with Ayako in the cast. Unfortunately, she only plays a supporting character. Unless you're a real fan of Hanayo's outfit, there's not much her character seems to otherwise brings to the show to affect it one way or the other.
Did she escape from a hospital? That would explain the brain damage.
Through four episodes, selector infected WIXOSS is more perplexing than anything. On its face, it's yet another show about card battles. However, it does seem thematically different from the typical card battle shounen mess. Not that my understanding of card battle anime is all that robust (okay, I watched one episode of Battle Spirits Brave, also for Ayako), but I was under the impression they tended to be more campy and whimsical and targeted towards children.
There's something vaguely crablike about Hanayo's outfit.
selector infected WIXOSS makes me suspect it's trying to do for card battle anime what Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica did for magical girl anime, only with much more aerodynamic characters. (Hanayo strikes me as the kind of card a kid's mother would immediately confiscate.)
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I like Kayano Ai, but Hitoe sucks.
Okada Mari's heavyhanded approach to storytelling is quite evident here. I'm neither a fan nor a determined detractor of Okada's influence, but I do find her idea of drama exasperating frequently. In the case of selector infected WIXOSS, I'm almost incredulous that a pivotal subplot involves yet another girl who is secretly in love with her brother. I say "almost" because this crap is frickin' everywhere and shows no sign of waning. Nevertheless, I'm still in disbelief because selector infected WIXOSS attacks it with no hint of irony or self-awareness, as if the powers that be sincerely believe this is an important theme that will speak to their viewers and genuinely improve the quality of their fancy card battle anime, and not, in fact, be the most ridiculous factor in a show that's already so ridiculous it features sentient playing cards that can grant wishes without invoking the heat death of the universe.
I like Akira best because she appears to be a terrible person.
Still, it features Ayako bitching people out, so I'll keep watching. At least until Okada writes a mental breakdown for Yuzuki that results in Hanayo getting recycled into a tetrapak milk carton or some bullshit like that. Fuck, I should just re-watch Crest of the Stars instead.
