The Best Girl Injustice

This post is gonna be

biased but whatever, I’m just a little frustrated at the outcome of Total Eclipse so feel like venting this somewhere. One important thing to note is that I only watched the anime adaptation so it’s basically a dead given that compared to the source material it’s gonna misses out on something or even a lot. However, I think for a 24 episode show it should be enough to outline the basic ideas and concepts of the novel.

In any case, let’s just get on the main point. Total Eclipse took place on a different side of the Muv-luv Alternative universe, hence a (almost?) completely new cast.

While I won’t say the new additions to the ML-verse is on par with the OG one, it still did a fair enough job to keep me entertained and engaged, especially the main characters.

That said what I can’t seem to understand is how Kouki Yoshimune just enjoys

his heroines so much, regardless of whichever work of his.

I gotta admit though, at first I absolutely had no interest in any of the main cast, as they had either a boring introduction or just simply annoying attitude so I was actually a bit let down at the beginning phase of this spinoff.

However, as the story went on they slowly started to change with a lot of spot-on interactions to make the ride more comfortable. The idea is quite simple, humanity is at the verge of extinction but these guys still have time to argue philosophy and flirting out.

Joking aside, the tone in Total Eclipse is definitely less serious compared to the OG MLA. While it could be the anime’s fault for constantly showering the audience with pointless fanservice, I still find some potentials there and then with the way the characters were centered on.

I get that it was meant to focus on a different aspect of the ML-verse and just need to commit wholeheartedly in that regard to make it better.

That being said, no matter how big the flaw, I just can’t stop fanboying thinking about Takamura Yui during the course of the anime, even with a rewatch it wasn’t even enough. She’s too awesome, too pure, and, of course, that must also mean suffering (just coz).

Born from a samurai family with kind of a strict upbringing (which is quite normal from the Japanese’s standard anyway, let alone in an apocalyptic setting), Yui possesses all those typical traits that define a role model for her peers such as being hot, friendly, calm, intelligent, and elegant.

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t bear her fang when the time has come. In direst situation, Yui will turn into a natural-born killing machine with a fiery and badass aura, enough to suffocate any inferior beings around her.

So normally this is the part where we get some ass-kicking and everything going smoothly, but nah. First gotta list out her pretty epic and tragic past:

• Joined Royal Guard academy with other members of distinguished families within the Jap, at roughly the age of 16.

• Had a rival turned friend in the process, their bond coulda last much longer beautifully.

• All of them except Yui got killed in their first actual combat, said rival-turned-friend got eaten alive with a failed mercy kill.

• Got rescued by Kyoko-sama who’s a pretty close relative (basically an Onee-san) and became even closer to each other.

• Helplessly witnessed Kyoko-sama getting killed in a desperate last stand.

• Took on the XFJ project but got constantly harassed by blind nationalist dumbfuck, at roughly the age of 20.

• Went through various hardships during the process of developing the perfect TSF for the mass.

• Almost got killed (indirectly) during Kamchatka by USSR’s scheme.
• Again almost got killed during the uprising in Yukon base, thrice.

• Again have to deal with the XFJ’s opposers even though it was a success in the Yukon incident, all on her own.

• During all those important events of her life, amidst the chaos that drew humanity to the border of extinction, she slowly got to learn about love, the one that’s probably in its purest form (given how she has been portrayed since a young age as well as her reaction scattered throughout the journey), only to get denied by plot half-incest bs.

Really???? What more do they want her to take?

While I have yet to find the chance to get on the Visual Novel but from what I’ve seen from the spoilers, things even got quite worse there like how she almost got assassinated or some shit, like cmonbruh, do you enjoy building up such elegant and delicate “Japanese doll” only to smash it to piece in the end lmao.

.

Basically, the idea behind Yui is simple and while it’s been used before in the OG Muv-luv, it still managed to bring forth a bit of its own quirk to create some substance for the ride.

A dutiful soldier of humanity with a strong motivation to achieve her goal, place the good of the many above her own, does not need anything in return, so kinda like “she does it because she wants to, not because she has to”.

One of the best things about Yui is definitely her transformation from one who dwells on the past to an even tougher and more resolved person to make better decisions in harsh times, especially that moment near the end of the anime.

That being said it’s kinda unfair the way she been treated throughout the entire story. Apart from her goal (which is for the sake of others anyway), she did not have a single thing back for her own, so it kinda feels lonely for her. Oh well if anything it does fit her image as a silent samurai whos fighting with a compelling idealism. Fight on Yui!!!