Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter Episode 3

Planting the Divine Sapling

The very beginning of Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter Episode 3 already disproved my theory from my Episode 2 review. As it turns out, Mebuki and the other Sentinels didn’t get trapped beyond the boundary while on their mission and need to be rescued.

They successfully made it back from their recon mission and were able to plant a Divine Tree sapling out in space, or whatever beyond the boundary is called. That’s great for both the Sentinels and the rest of humanity.

After all, the reason they need to plant a Divine Tree out there is so that the world can be restored — or so new portions of the world can be developed. I don’t remember what the catalyst for this was, but currently, only a portion of Japan exists.

The rest of the world outside of this portion of Japan is simply gone. The recurring shot of the bridge that’s been bent in an upward curve represents this. That’s the cutoff point for the known world, and everything beyond that has been erased by the Vertex.

Why this portion of Japan survived was because of the Divine Tree’s protection. And it was the Divine Tree that the Vertex were attempting to destroy in the previous seasons of Yuki Yuna is a Hero.

However, as we learn at the end of this week’s episode, the Divine Tree’s life is coming to an end. So even though the mission to plant a sapling beyond the boundary was successful, the Sentinels now need to go retrieve it and bring it back to prolong the Divine Tree’s life, and protection.

The Hero Club

One of the Sentinels, Suzume Kagajou, decided to check out the Hero Club to find out what made them so special. She doesn’t go to the same school as them, but the Hero Club at her own school was shut down despite being popular, which caused her to take interest.

It was during her sleuthing that she discovered the Hero Club is effectively a Taisha recruitment vehicle for Heroes. So, it’s kind of implied that the Hero Club at Suzume’s school was disbanded because the Taisha selected the girls of Yuna’s Hero Club to be the next Heroes.

(Un)fortunately for Suzume, she was caught tailing Karin and Fuu while they were out searching for a lost cat as part of their club activities. She was then taken back to their club room where she met the other Hero Club members, including Yuna, Itsuki, Togo, and Sonoko.

I liked how when Suzume was describing the activities performed by the members of the Hero Club to her Sentinel squadmates, they didn’t believe these were real club activities. I believe it was Mebuki who said they must be doing community service as a front to make their club seem legitimate.

Once again, this seems to illustrate the difference between the girls selected to be Heroes and those who have been relegated to the role of Sentinels. The Heroes are actual heroes. They don’t have that role for personal gain, such as status. They genuinely want to help people in their community.

Another part of the episode that showed this difference was when the Sentinels were out on a mission. They started talking about how their job was more important than that of the Heroes. That’s not something the actual Heroes would ever do. Do you really think Yuna and Togo ever talk about how important they are?

Taisha Stepping Stones

When it was eventually revealed that the Sentinels would have to go out and retrieve the Divine Tree sapling they worked so hard to plant, they also learned that Aya Kokudo, the Miko assigned to their squad, was to be sacrificed.

The Taisha didn’t exactly give a good explanation for why Aya was going to be sacrificed. They simply said it was necessary — implying that it has something to do with saving the Divine Tree — and that Aya herself had agreed to go through with it.

But, naturally, Aya’s friends weren’t so accepting of this sacrifice that was clearly forced onto Aya by the Taisha. For Mebuki, specifically, this was proof that the Taisha simply view the Sentinels as disposable tools. And this is exactly what her father had warned her to be careful of.

After the previous episode, I assumed that the Sentinels were just going to be side characters and that this could be the final season of Yuki Yuna is a Hero. Now, I’m not so sure. The sentinels now have their own storyline that doesn’t feel like it requires the Hero Club to get involved.

Obviously, the Hero Club members are going to be around. We saw that Togo was approached by the Taisha in connection to what the Sentinels are doing. And we know Karin has a history with Mebuki. But I don’t think the Hero Club is going to help rescue Aya from being sacrificed.

This seems like something the Sentinels are going to have to overcome on their own. And it could be that through this mission, they become qualified to be Heroes themselves, forming a second Hero squad.

Of course, at some point, the stories of the Heroes and Sentinels are going to have to come together. I’m looking forward to how that happens because I no longer think they’ll end up as mere foils of each other.

Conclusion

What do you think of Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter Episode 3? Is it too soon for me to change my mind about whether or not the Heroes are going to rescue the Sentinels? And are the Taisha going to attempt to sacrifice Togo in Aya’s place since she’s also a Miko? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 4 is available now.