Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we are returning to a scene of great and senseless tragedy, as we check in on Togo and Nogi in the wake of their partner Gin\u2019s heroic sacrifice. With both of her allies incapacitated and a squadron of vertices approaching the divine tree, Gin did what she\u2019s always done: take the burden entirely on herself, fighting and dying so that the people she loves could be safe. That same selfless instinct that made her such a caring older sister and fixture around town was here ruthlessly exploited, manipulated so that she might become fuel for beings beyond our comprehension.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s pretty much how it goes in Yuki Yuna is a Hero. The series has consistently emphasized how personal kindness and a sense of communal responsibility are exploited by our overseers, perverted into jingoistic nationalism and an utter denial of the self. True heroism always reveals itself on the personal or local level, in the actions of Yuna\u2019s hero club, or in the concern Gin extends towards her neighbors and loved ones. But when such generosity of spirit is directed towards god or country, it is instantly corrupted, framed instead as emotional weakness ripe for exploitation. Whether it\u2019s a government, religion, or the eldritch conflation of both that is the divine tree, loyalty to such distant icons is where our inherent goodness goes to die \u2013 and today, an extraordinarily decent person was killed just so, in service to a deity that has no conception of morality whatsoever. Let us see how our survivors are faring, as they struggle in service of the centralized, amoral beast at the heart of the modern world.<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 5<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThe Shinju-sama is God itself. That\u2019s why I prayed\u2026 I didn\u2019t want to part with my friends. In a way, that became a reality. In exchange for our friend\u2019s sacrifice, we obtained BLANK\u2019s BLANK.\u201d There is no exploitation so all-consuming as that of religion. When you believe your actions are being commanded by God, there is no disagreement between duty, morality, or responsibility \u2013 they are all one, as your commands are righteousness itself. And when you are promised eternal reward for fulfilling your duty, even death isn\u2019t too high a cost to pay for achieving it<\/span><\/p>\n Then of course, religion encompasses secondary methods of control, like how it affects your relationship with your community. If disobeying your god would mean isolation from everyone you know and love, there\u2019s little chance you\u2019ll rebel even if you have doubts about the sanctity of your cause. Even Togo\u2019s home is a gift contingent on her religious service, a blessing that could easily be taken away if she refuses to keep fighting. The more your religion becomes your world, the less of you exists apart from it, and the more of your identity, community, and livelihood you are forced to excise if you ever hope to break free<\/span><\/p>\n A grey sky hangs over the school as the class mourns Gin\u2019s death. The teacher says she died in service of the Shinju-sama, and that they\u2019ll all be attending her funeral tomorrow. Another way to bind them together, while simultaneously emphasizing that death is a natural, acceptable part of their service. When you bake the intolerable into your base assumptions, it is much easier to throw up your hands and say \u201cwhat can be done\u201d \u2013 they <\/span>have<\/span><\/i> to serve the Shinju-sama, so we must accept these deaths as a part of life. It\u2019s basically the same self-serving logic employed by America\u2019s gun lobby, which assumes we <\/span>have<\/span><\/i> to have guns as a part of everyday life, and that all potential \u201csolutions\u201d must abide by that premise<\/span><\/p>\n And then we get our first post-death OP, always a painful reminder of what we\u2019ve lost<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGoodbye\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The priest overseeing the funeral has a mask completely obscuring his face. All of the Divine Tree\u2019s closest avatars are anonymous, appendages rather than people; it would seem that the Divine Tree\u2019s ideal for a human is no more than a leaf on its branches, possessing no independence of thought, ready to fall with the seasons and know this is the natural order of things<\/span><\/p>\n In spite of this, the priest does call out her \u201chumane personality\u201d as one of her assets. Though to the tree, it\u2019s likely this is only an asset since it makes her easy to manipulate, just like Yuna\u2019s crew<\/span><\/p>\n A cut to her stunned family emphasizes the hollow consolation of these words<\/span><\/p>\n Togo does not look inspired \u2013 she looks betrayed and determined<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know Gin had this duty.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s beyond imagination to us in the city government, it must have been rough.\u201d So the Divine Tree indeed plays favorites, protecting his administrator class from sacrificial duty<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGin-chan did very well.\u201d \u201cGin-chan became a spirit of battle. I envy her.\u201d The paternalistic encouragement of this society\u2019s contented elders does little to comfort Gin\u2019s brother, who is still clearly in shock<\/span><\/p>\n While others talk of the great financial benefits the Minowa family will receive, Gin\u2019s youngest brother reaches for his crib mobile, which remains far out of reach. An easy visual metaphor for what is truly desired, what has been lost and cannot be retrieved<\/span><\/p>\n By the next ceremony, Togo looks outright furious<\/span><\/p>\n This ceremony involves leaving her a flower, a fitting conclusion given this franchise\u2019s general preoccupation with the idea of young women as \u201cblooming flowers,\u201d each with their own unique motif, each blooming only to fade away<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf there is a God, why didn\u2019t it protect her!? She always worked so hard!\u201d Gin\u2019s brother Tetsuo finally snaps, and says what Togo is likely thinking. We create gods to bring sense to a senseless world, and in that role they can offer comfort \u2013 but they are all fantasies, and the moment we let those fantasies impact our own morality, we have become slaves to our delusions. If any god truly existed, like the Shinju-sama, it would likely be a terrible monster, incapable of truly caring about human beings the way we care about each other<\/span><\/p>\n I frankly just try not to think about it too much, as acknowledging this state of affairs isn\u2019t really useful or actionable. Religion has no inherent morality \u2013 it is simply the surrender of your reason to an imagined higher being, and can be directed towards the charity of Christ just as easily as the cruelty of Donald Trump. But what can you do? Most people need to put their faith in something, and will invent their own gods if there are none at hand<\/span><\/p>\n And then they hear the bells, summoning them to a fresh battle. At last, Togo has a target towards which she can freely direct her rage \u2013 she roars in anger, and charges towards their next foe<\/span><\/p>\n Their fighting is reckless; they are no longer fighting to mitigate personal harm, but to inflict maximum damage. Shouting out Gin\u2019s name, they let her memory be their shield<\/span><\/p>\n Flower petals shower down on their victory, an echo of Gin\u2019s funeral bier<\/span><\/p>\n Their teacher comes to pick them up from the bridge. A brief moment of solace in the divine world, and now the rain returns \u2013 the distinct dynamics of their two worlds are doing a neat job of echoing their tumultuous emotions in the wake of Jin\u2019s death, as well as the brief escape from anguish of throwing yourself into your official duties<\/span><\/p>\n She praises both of them for being \u201ctrue heroes.\u201d Words that mean so much less now that they understand their cost \u2013 Togo merely nods grimly, while Nogi begins to cry about Gin being the true hero<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo please don\u2019t forget about Mino-san.\u201d In spite of all this funeral pageantry, it already seems clear to Nogi how Gin will fade in memory, how this is a brief consolation for the grieving, who will soon enough be alone in their painful recollection of their lost friend. We offer solidarity through funerals, but most of us get through life by not burying ourselves in the grief of others, and to most Gin will soon be no more than a half-remembered tribute<\/span><\/p>\n And what a waste! Gin could have made so many lives better, was <\/span>already<\/span><\/i> proving herself one of those rare people who bring courage and charity to everyone. There are few enough bright lights already, without sacrificing the greatest among us to the empty throne of God<\/span><\/p>\n But life goes on, and our struggles continue. The ad break offers a handy reset to emphasize that point, as Togo dreams of three great threats approaching the planet<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe battle will get fiercer. I need to get stronger.\u201d As someone born into the Divine Tree\u2019s formal system, this Togo cannot even imagine rebelling against its order, and instead merely devotes herself all the more fully to completing her duties. A cross-season testament to the power of culture and psychological conditioning; given the \u201cproper\u201d system of indoctrination, even the girl who rebelled completely in her more independent incarnation would here see nothing to rebel against<\/span><\/p>\n Back at school, Nogi attempts to reassert normalcy by acting fine, but all of the other students are walking on eggshells around her. The death of Gin has made this real \u2013 Nogi is not just another classmate anymore, and who knows how long she\u2019ll be here<\/span><\/p>\n They were told not to ask about her duties, but at this point they\u2019re all too afraid not to<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou guys are heroes. We\u2019re all so proud of you.\u201d \u201cWell, it\u2019s not like I wanted to be that.\u201d It\u2019s becoming increasingly difficult to play the convincing, fearless hero the Divine Tree demands<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you care about Minowa-san, please leave us be.\u201d Togo has already accepted that her childhood is now over<\/span><\/p>\n But she can see Nogi is faltering, and thus engineers them a day off to rest and enjoy a summer festival<\/span><\/p>\n Their excursion echoes the lighthearted earlier episodes, and seems all the more important now that they\u2019ve experienced such grief. Faith alone is only sustenance enough for the most fully indoctrinated of believers; the rest of us need something to live for that we can touch and feel<\/span><\/p>\n Nogi praises Togo for her top notch internet skills, a point of connection resonating with the first season<\/span><\/p>\n They get matching cat keychains, with one for Gin as well. Anything they can do to keep her memory alive<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe were able to work hard because it was the three of us.\u201d They stand watching the fireworks, another easy metaphor for their beautiful, fleeting lives<\/span><\/p>\n And then their teacher gets the call that seems to announce the \u201cbloom\u201d system<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n Ahh, goddamn this show. We really dove into the one-sided bargain of religion this episode, the tragedy of being forced to give your life for the ill-defined benefit of some nebulous higher power, and how our fundamental, personal compassion is frankly incompatible with the self-propagation-obsessed machine that is organized faith. Our girls are being forced to find meaning in the most meaningless of deaths, justifying the loss of Gin through the enriching friendship that preceded it, and vowing to themselves to never forget her even as the world already begins to move on. Fireworks rising, exploding, and withering into darkness, all for a cause that has nothing to do with their own lives, for a faith that puts no value on humans whatsoever. There are few greater evils in this world than unworthy faith, and perhaps the cruelest expression of such faith is how it binds so many great, irreplaceable people to such hopeless ends. Togo and Nogi must hold Gin\u2019s memory close; in this world where the Divine Tree is paramount, they and her family are likely the only ones who can.<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0article\u00a0was\u00a0mad<\/a><\/em>e possible by reader support<\/a>. Thank you all for\u00a0all that you do.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/December23105416.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n