Mayuko starts losing control of her mind, which threatens Yuri’s safety as they try to reunite with her brother.
Episode 6 – “If I Become a Perfect God…”
Hmm.
High Rise Invasion took a step back to explore the consequences of Mayuko’s decision to put on a mask to gain powers. One issue I had with the characters just taking the crazy chef’s explanation that his mask was defective was that that guy was crazy! What if the mask was fine but the mind was defective? This episode put that question to rest as the story stayed consistent with the rules about how masks work.
The main defect in Mayuko’s mask was that it took over the wearer’s mind slowly while giving her its enhanced abilities instantly. If Chef Mask had worn the mask longer, then Mayuko would never have gambled on wearing it in the fourth episode. High Rise Invasion capitalized well on the mask rule about making Angels kill themselves if their masks break. We saw organic emotional suspense and drama about Mayuko’s impending doom, which led to more suspense and drama as Yuri struck out on her own to save her girlfriend. I like how High Rise Invasion sets up its cliffhangers so efficiently while making sure High Rise Hell remains a coherent world. High Rise Hell has crazy rules, but it sticks to those crazy rules!
Heh.
The High Rise Invasion Netflix splash screen says something bad happens in a library. Uh oh. Mayuko sees a masked version of herself. Which has a mole in the same place… She’s still under the sway of that defective mask. Yuri says Mayuko fell asleep standing up. Mayuko took Tanabe’s nice spear. Mayuko’s “dream” of her masked self is a cause for concern, but not yet. Yuri has a plan to meet up with her brother where he’s supposed to meet the God-Candidate Rikuya. Ha. Yuri is still an airhead. Dr. Jerk-face will keep his promise to treat Old Man Tanabe. Oh? Angels take off their masks to wipe their noses. Yuri can’t deny the cuteness! Mayuko feels the yuri jealousy. If they don’t keep the mask off too long, the Command won’t order them to kill themselves. Mayuko worries about her dream now.
Yuri and Mayuko went to investigate a scream and found a school library. High Rise Invasion stays consistent with its rules about masks, but not so much about what’s at the top of skyscrapers. Such a mishmash of locations in these buildings, when it should only be administration offices, penthouse apartments, and sky deck lounges. This is where the Big Bad attacks. Salaryman in a trench coat, holding a bloody bat and bloodied corpse. Mayuko isn’t fighting smart anymore. Ouch! Salaryman Mask hit a Mayuko homerun.
Yuri missed Salaryman Mask. Why? Oh. Just so High Rise Invasion could show Sniper Mask do his ricochet shot on him, which let Yuri know he’s still alive. Mayuko is okay since she partially blocked the bat. That was a big blood spray for not hitting her head directly. She and Yuri escaped without talking to Sniper Mask, so they still haven’t met Kuon. That first meeting better be awesome! Kuon doesn’t like Sniper Mask keeping secrets from her, but she can’t do anything about that. They’re not on the same wavelength.
Flashback time for Sniper Mask in High Rise Invasion. No smoking in a library, yet there’s an ashtray. Sniper Mask tells Kuon about his oldest memory, which is how he met Rika, who recognized him, and when Rika’s wallet picture of Yuri came into his possession. Rika tried to take off his mask, which made Sniper Mask run away from him. That’s confirmation of what we see in the end credits about how they grew up as friends. Kuon is an empathetic God-Candidate.
Sniper Mask suddenly remembered that a hot Policewoman Mask gave him the mask and sniper rifle. She appeared next to that obvious villain in the closing seconds of last episode. I hope we get better pictures of this scene when Sniper Mask remembers it better. High Rise Invasion hides his face like they do for Goblin Slayer, since, well, you know, same voice actor. The Policewoman Mask and Speedo Mask asked him about the Railgun System! Kuon got the app first. There’s Policewoman Mask in the present. She still wants that railgun app for her God-Candidate.
Back to the present for Mayuko and Yuri too. Mayuko now knows the mask is slowly taking over her mind. Yuri has such positive energy. She feels like she’s been friends with Mayuko forever already. Death flag for High Rise Invasion. Mayuko’s down. Go away, Soccer Mask. You’re ruining a nice yuri moment for Yuri! Mayuko says what they both should have been afraid of, “If a mask breaks, you know what the next order will be.” We saw what Maid Mask needed to do in the first episode. Suicide is wrong, Mayuko!
Too late! We know Mayuko Mask is different because she let her hair down. Ooh. It’s not over for Mayuko yet. Interesting. The Command Voice speaks through Mayuko aloud instead of the generic lady voice speaking to her inside her head like we’ve seen before in High Rise Invasion. Mayuko Mask goes into Hibernation state. Eek! Dealer Mask just showed up! Yuri has not yet seen an Angry Mask. Angry Masks “patrol” High Rise Hell. Dealer Mask explains that Hibernation is what happens when an Angel doesn’t respond to Commands. The body will die in its sleep about two hours later. Only a God-Candidate can fix an Angel. The Commands call Angry Masks “Guardian Angels.” Dealer Mask knows where a Mouthless Mask is, so Yuri can become a God-Candidate to save Mayuko! Kiss goodbye! Mayuko blushes in her sleep! So much yuri for Yuri!
Kuon and Yuri keep missing each other, but she finally caught up to Mayuko. Easy to do when she’s asleep in a bed. God-Candidates have full access to the Commands. Kuon can fix Mayuko, but the risk to her appears low. Mayuko Mask is the “danger” to Kuon in this mind space. Lame. What does it mean? Why isn’t that thing choking the other Mayuko? Whatever, High Rise Invasion. Let’s see Kuon chalk up another win. Does this mean the Mayuko Mask is on the same wavelength as Kuon? Or did Kuon force the Mask Program onto her wavelength? I’ll file that question away for later. Squee! Kuon ended up in Sniper Mask’s arms!
Now Yuri is on a meaningless task with many dangers. Oh, High Rise Invasion. Did Yuri need to ditch her backpack to climb up a ladder? Seems convenient to raise the risk of danger and suspense. Yeah, of course. There’s a Mask climbing after her and she doesn’t have any weapons. Cliffhanger! Hiker Mask has a needle, and he looks like he knows how to use it.
The complete season of High Rise Invasion streams on Netflix.
