Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter Episode 7

Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter Episode 7

Wakaba vs. Chikage

Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter Episode 7 was decent. The most disappointing part of the episode was the fight between Wakaba and Chikage at the start of the episode. If that had been good, I think I could have called the episode good as a whole.

Because it’s been a long time since the last Yuki Yuna season I watched, I don’t really remember what the animation was like prior to The Great Mankai Chapter. But the use of 3D animation for a lot of the fights isn’t something I like.

Does the 3D animation look bad? No. But the fact that I notice it at all is distracting. And, honestly, I think 3D animated movement in anime looks awkward 99% of the time. Unless rotoscoping is being used (which can still look odd), it’s going to look stiff.

Wakaba Nogi from the anime series Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter
Wakaba Nogi

The content of the fight wasn’t terrible, though. If it was better animated, it could have been a cool fight. Still, there are some things I felt were lacking from the fight. Most notably, we never got the name of Chikage’s contracted spirit.

When we first saw Chikage’s spirit in Episode 6, I was looking forward to when its name would be revealed. Now that she’s dead, I don’t see its name being mentioned. And the same goes for Anzu and Tamako, though we never even saw their spirits.

Now, the only one left whose spirit we don’t know, but that might be revealed, is Wakaba. I don’t have high expectations, though. She hasn’t used her spirit yet. And considering what she’s seen happen to her friends who use their spirits, I don’t blame her.

Chikage Kōri is a Hero

As I predicted last week, Chikage’s death was covered up by Taisha. Once she went rogue and attacked another one of the heroes, her fate was sealed. Never mind the fact that she also attacked unarmed civilians previously and was under house arrest for that crime.

Taisha claimed that Chikage was killed while fighting valiantly against the Vertex. Obviously, this was done to save face for the hero program and the Taisha organization at large. But, their actions didn’t match their words when it came to how Chikage was treated in death.

While they claimed that she died as a hero, Chikage wasn’t given a hero’s funeral. There was no grand ceremony to celebrate her life and sacrifice. Instead, her body was discretely sent to her family and her name was left off the hero memorial.

Wakaba crying over Chikage's body from the anime series Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter
Wakaba crying over Chikage’s body

It was said that Taisha didn’t honor Chikage in the end because the Divine Tree had turned its back on her (do trees have backs?). But, I don’t think that’s actually true. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I don’t think the heroes are as “divinely selected” as Taisha makes them out to be.

To me, it didn’t look like the Divine Tree cast Chikage aside. It looked like she simply ran out of life force due to her spirit summoning. When they do that, they literally have a countdown on their chests that shows their remaining power.

But, since this is the first generation of heroes we’re talking about, it’s very possible that they simply didn’t know how all of that works. After all, even if Chikage had used her spirit summoning to fight against the Vertex instead of Wakaba, the outcome would have been the same.

Are we to believe the Divine Tree turns its back on anyone who uses the power they’re given as a hero? It doesn’t make sense.

Two and a Half Heroes

At the end of the episode, what we’re left with are two heroes and a Miko, which I’ll say is basically half a hero. I don’t really understand the role of the Miko, but I think they’re just people who have a closer connection to the Divine Tree.

In this original group, there were the five heroes and then Hinata the Miko who isn’t a hero herself. In the modern hero group, I believe Togo is both a hero and a Miko. And I’m pretty sure it was a Miko who had to plant the Divine Tree seed during the Sentinel’s expedition.

This probably all makes more sense if you actually know anything about Shintoism. I don’t. All I know is that while Hinata is considered a member of the team, she’s not actually a hero and doesn’t go out on missions with the other girls.

Yuna Takashima crying from the anime series Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter
Yuna Takashima crying

My prediction for these remaining two and a half heroes is that they’re going to survive until the end of the flashback arc. Eventually, they’re going to die since this arc takes place about 300 years in the past as far as I understand it.

But, it doesn’t really make sense to me for them to die in battle or anything. This whole flashback comes from Wakaba’s diary, so we know she survives. And since Yuna Takashima is apparently connected to Yuna Yuki, I don’t see her dying either.

As for Hinata, she could still die during this arc. But what would that achieve? Would her death impact the story or other characters any more than the deaths of the other girls have? I don’t think so. I don’t see there being any benefit to killing her off from a writing perspective.

Conclusion

What do you think of Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter Episode 7? Did you like the fight between Wakaba and Chikage? Do you think Wakaba’s spirit will ever be revealed? And do you think the three remaining girls will survive? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤️ down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi~ for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Senpai tiers respectively this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 8 is available now.

Leave a Comment