Yuri reunites with Mayuko after becoming a God-Candidate. Rika meets the God-Candidate whose forces kidnapped him.
Episode 8 – “I’ve Cast Off My Humanity, But That’s Fine”
Hmm.
I have been waiting for eight episodes for the ultimate yuri triangle in High Rise Hell. High Rise Invasion delivered! Now, we don’t have explicit yuri between Yuri, Mayuko, and Kuon, but we do have the teasing fanservice kind. One thing that makes implicit yuri a fun aspect in an adventure thriller show like High Rise Invasion is that it becomes a store of character-driven material for comic relief. We’re not looking at a serious sci-fi thriller where a serious plot explores serious philosophical themes of identity, humanity, morality, and the intersection of those elements with technology. High Rise Invasion is not meant to be the next coming of Psycho Pass or Ghost in the Shell. It’s a monster movie where girls accidentally show off their underwear as the monster chases them. Let’s temper our expectations.
The certain character types within the implied yuri genre make their interactions rich with comedic potential. Check out the comedy series Yuruyuri for laughs and education. Yuri, whose name even plays on the joke, is the oblivious one who doesn’t notice how much her behavior affects the yuri attractions of other girls. Adding her brother complex on top of this obliviousness both explain it and frustrates the hopes of others. High Rise Invasion fleshed out this part of Yuri well. Mayuko is the most obvious one in her yuri intentions for Yuri but making her a jealous tsundere adds more dimensions for setting up jokes. She didn’t have many chances to apply her jealous streak to anyone until now, so it was so fun to see her react to Kuon meeting Yuri. This brings us to the third side of the yuri triangle. Kuon’s sheltered-upbringing demeanor made her reactions great for dealing with the potentially handsome Sniper Mask but seeing her responses to the forbidden lily fruit between Mayuko and Yuri was much better. I’m looking forward to more scenes of the super yuri trio in High Rise Invasion.
Heh.
The Netflix splash screen shows us the view from a high-tech scope. That’s our signature battle scene for the High Rise Invasion episode. Yuri learned those strange masks took her brother Rika with them. There goes Mayuko’s phone. Yuri is mad now. God-Candidate powers, activate! Yuri can only think of seeing her brother. She forgot Mayuko already. That’s not good!
Ho? Mayuko and Kuon heard Yuri’s frantic wail? Yuri yells loudly. Sound travels well in High Rise Invasion. Mayuko leaps into action, showing her striped panties to Kuon. Sniper Mask politely covered his eyes! Mayuko yells loudly too! This is the power of yuri making Yuri prioritize her brother under Mayuko. She did become a God-Candidate to save her, even though it became moot. Her beloved Mayuko! So much yuri going on. There’s more yelling. Won’t other masks come to bother them?
Right on cue for High Rise Invasion – there’s Grenade Launcher Mask. That’s the electronic scope in the Netflix splash screen. Sniper Mask made that grenade go boom. Ooh. Grenade Launcher Mask has a partner. Ugh. It’s a strong mask with an annoying voice. Strange. Sniper Mask became a target to that Delinquent Mask’s God-Candidate. How does that work? Delinquent Mask belongs to the Policewoman Mask group. They’re so obsessed with the Railgun App. Uh, there’s a pair of familiar-looking boots right above Mayuko!
Man, Yuri’s accuracy with a handgun is scary. It must be better now with her new abilities as a God-Candidate. Nice. Mayuko recognized Yuri from her panties! That counts for consistency in High Rise Invasion. Whoa. Yuri picked up the dual-wielding skill. Ha! She’s Super Yuri! Delinquent Mask says strange things. His God-Candidate gave orders to kill “the noisy ones.” Eep. Sniper Mask can’t shoot down five grenades. But Super Yuri can! Sniper Mask can tap a melon head though. Down goes Grenade Launcher Mask. Ah. Hahahaha! Yuri is far behind the times. She thinks Sniper Mask rose from the dead like Jason to keep hunting her and Mayuko. Down, girl!
Confirmation from High Rise Invasion that Delinquent Mask works with Policewoman Mask. He wants her to step on him too. Just admit it. Eh, she calls him “Dagger Mask.” No, I’m sticking with Delinquent Mask. Fun. He talks so politely with “that gentleman.” Oh, he died. But he did give アノカタ (あの方, anokata – “that gentleman”) the information that Sniper Mask is on the loose.
Oh, right. Mayuko is behind the times too. She hasn’t seen the last two episodes of High Rise Invasion with Dealer Mask the Guardian Angel and the Mouthless Mask. But before all those explanations, Yuri needs to hug the dickens out of Mayuko! Hug it out! Whoa, whoa! Where is Yuri putting her knee. Scissoring while standing up? Not in public, Yuri! Here we go, here we go! Kuon meets Yuri. The super yuri triumvirate is complete! Ooh! Sparks flew! Pew, pew! They’ll make Mayuko jealous.
Sniper Mask is too cool for school. He claims he doesn’t want to meet Yuri yet because the Commands might make him try to kill her. Aw. Princess Kuon doesn’t want to leave the side of her dark knight.
Oho! Yuri’s small concept of personal space makes Kuon nervous and Mayuko jealous. I love this part of High Rise Invasion so much. These two God-Candidates want peace. Kuon just made a love confession! She wants to save the person precious to her *cough* Sniper Mask *cough*. Hey, same with Yuri! But is that Rika or Mayuko? Whoa, whoa there, missies. That’s entirely too much handholding for Mayuko. Haha! Kuon gets it, but Yuri doesn’t. Mayuko, fight on! Stop, Yuri! Mayu-mayu’s heart isn’t ready for more intimate terms of endearment!
Oh, that was great stuff. Unfortunately, High Rise Invasion needs to show us what’s happening with Rika. This feels like a gangster movie. Rika will get an offer he can’t refuse. “That gentleman” is Mamoru Aikawa. Rika keeps sizing him up to hurt him or kill him, but he has no experience with what God-Candidates can do. Thankfully, he’s cautious and defaults to gathering information first. Not a good first impression. Aikawa laughs heartily at Rika’s given name.
High Rise Invasion gives us the sitting around talking part of the story. It was doing so well up until now. Aikawa’s idea is to gain peace through subjugating the weak. Noted. Aikawa gave the audience the go-ahead in treating him as an irredeemable evil monster. Rika comes to the same conclusion. I hope Rika comes through the story without ever putting on a mask, just for thematic purity.
The weapons that pair with the cosplay masks are so random. Aikawa lists the rules of High Rise Invasion from his perspective:
- Avoid death from killer Masks.
- Don’t give in to despair and suicide.
- Don’t try to escape but win by playing the game.
That last rule seems sketchy or lacking. Rika thinks that Yuri and Mayuko might be the right opponent for this arrogant jerk.
Aw. Kuon almost asked Yuri about Sniper Mask being Rika’s childhood friend. Interrupted by that helicopter! Ah. Through Aikawa we’ll learn what is the point of the helicopter. Aha! No one has ever ridden on the helicopter! That Guardian Angel Soldier Mask told Aikawa “not yet.” Adios amigo! Rika learned important things about High Rise Hell.
The complete season of High Rise Invasion streams on Netflix.
