Yuri meets Mayuko, who kills remorselessly. Yuri connects emotionally with Mayuko through her helpful actions.
Episode 2 – “I’ve Found a New Goal”
Hmm.
Mayuko Nise makes a great contrasting character for Yuri Honjou in High Rise Invasion. She’s short, wears her blonde hair up, sports flat justice, and wears thigh-high socks. Yuri is tall, wears her long black hair down, busts outs of her top, and favors knee socks. High Rise Invasion covers the bases for beautiful character types.
Mayuko’s character also illustrates nicely how differently people react to the rules of High Rise Hell. Last episode, we saw clearly how the Masks aren’t the only dangerous people the survivors need to watch out for. Mayuko took the offensive approach to Masks and regular people alike. Yuri only saw the end of Mayuko’s encounters with people struggling to reach the helicopter in High Rise Invasion, so she drew the wrong conclusions about Mayuko’s character. Mayuko doesn’t kill indiscriminately, as we saw when she decided to team up with Yuri, but Mayuko will finish a fight with extreme prejudice. Like Yuri eventually said about Mayuko, “You’re a killer, but you don’t seem like a bad person.” Yuri knows how to charm the ladies.
Heh.
Whoo! Yuri has great aim with a handgun. She’s also full of herself, but she’s not wrong. Wow. No gun? No problem! Take a lethal knife wound instead, lying liar who lies. Like I believe that guy had a family. Yuri can’t shoot a normal person yet. Let’s hope never, but High Rise Invasion won’t let her avoid that ethical dilemma for long. How long has this schoolgirl been in High Rise Hell? She wants on that helicopter trap, desperately. Aw. Yuri doesn’t want to kill anyone except Masks. And even that’s difficult after she talked with that Maid Mask. Flat Justice Blondie is a nice girl too. Deathmatch postponed. The new girl picked up on Yuri not wanting to leave High Rise Hell right away. It’s true. Yuri wants to find her brother first before they escape together. Priorities.
Yuri pays attention to the rules in High Rise Invasion, but she doesn’t want to follow the ones she doesn’t like. High Rise Hell wants to pit humans against humans, but Yuri wants to help people. Nice girl. Eep. There’s Sniper Mask. The Mask rule is to force people into killing themselves or each other. No negotiations, no teaming up! Cheek to cheek lifesaving! Yuri relationship with Yuri starts now! Did High Rise Invasion ever establish how Yuri has a talent for tactics, puzzle solving, and making girls fall in love with her? We’re missing character development and foreshadowing. Nice blush there, blondie. I suspect Yuri Honjou had a huge fan club at her high school. Mayuko Nise just went full doki-doki for Yuri. Thumbs up. I approve.
Sniper Mask likes to create openings. It didn’t work this time, but that’s rolling the dice. Mayuko had a rough childhood. Looks like bullying and orphanage life. Eh? Mayuko gives us her origin story before Yuri does? Unfair! Well, I suspect that’s because of all the spoilers we see in the end credits with her big brother and Sniper Mask. Fine. Build your suspense, High Rise Invasion, on your own schedule.
Haha! Take a grenade in the snout, Sniper Mask! Broken window, Mayuko’s victim is gone, and Sniper Mask’s hat remains. Yuri relates the hat to her brother! Har. Mayuko is High Rise Invasion’s tsundere. What a compliment – “You’re a killer, but you don’t seem like a bad person, Mayuko.” Mayuko doki-doki! Onii-chan used to wear a trilby? Young hipster in training.
I don’t know where this helicopter goes, but I know for sure it doesn’t take you back to the real world. You can’t fool me, High Rise Invasion. Yuri treats her circumstances as real and serious. Her parents need to know where she and her brother are. She’s not leaving without her brother. Acting like an adult in a survival game anime? Is that allowed?
Oops. The helicopter leaves without a passenger. Did someone else beat Mayuko up the stairs? Ack. Sniper Mask is still alive, except his mask has a crack and he has no hat to hide his messy hair. Yuri wants to rebel against High Rise Hell, and it looks like Sniper Mask became another rebel. Yare yare. The voice actor (Yuuichirou Umehara) also played Goblin Slayer in Goblin Slayer, so that tells you what High Rise Invasion will do with this guy.
Yuri just might be a genius with that handgun. Hitting a helicopter at that distance is almost impossible. And who shoots back? Another Mask! The helicopter raises many questions for High Rise Invasion. I suspect it’s a Mask recruitment tool. Yuri sees it as High Rise Hell’s weak point. It draws people and Masks to a singular point, but the world needs to operate that helicopter despite the risks. Here’s that irreverent attitude again. Yuri proclaims lofty goals just as the wind picks up to give the audience a view of her glorious backside. I’ll take it. Mayuko doki-doki again. Hee. Mayuko sees Yuri’s aim to “take the sky itself” as an “invasion” against High Rise Hell. There’s your anime title.
O ho. The Masks have their own dorms in High Rise Invasion. Goblin Slayer, er, Sniper Mask isn’t shy about shower scenes. Who prints out these signs and tapes them to walls? It’s cheap like a human resources department. Sniper Mask’s room has the label “preparation room” (準備室) which isn’t individualistic, but he found a replacement trilby in there.
Sniper Mask regained his personality like the unfortunate Maid Mask in the first episode and the other Masks need to kill him now. Good plot development here for High Rise Invasion. Sniper Mask remembered he needed to do something in High Rise Hell. It looks like a similar scene between him and Yuri’s big brother at the helicopter played out like between Mayuko and Yuri.
Flashback to Yuri daydreaming, noticing the huge skyscraper in High Rise Hell, and suddenly finding herself in that world. How? Why? Let’s keep watching High Rise Invasion, then. Yuri wakes up to provisions and Mayuko missing. Yeesh. Those stylish boots came from the lady Mayuko killed. Yuri thinks Mayuko left her, but she was wearing her jacket. Is she in the bathroom perhaps? Oh crap. More Masks are coming. They don’t have curfews. Hahaha! That glittering moment between Yuri and Visual Kei Mask had different connotations for the opposite parties.
Oh, man. Mayuko was only in the restroom. She’s coming back to catastrophe. Visual Kei Mask has Mask friends. Yuri can sabotage those rickety rope bridges too. What the… Edward Scissorhands Visual Kei Mask cut the fingers off another Mask. Another rule in High Rise Invasion — the Masks kill the weak Masks when they can. Masks are victims in High Rise Hell too. Yuri’s gun jammed. Now what? Hilarious! Mayuko apologizes in advance for shooting Yuri too with her poor handgun skills. Oho. Mayuko has turquoise striped underwear! Classic shimapan! Well, that worked out. Mayuko passed the gun to Yuri to finish Visual Kei Scissorhands off.
Yuri knows to be careful of the mask. Visual Kei Mask has priorities. Namely, Yuri’s upskirt. High Rise Invasion honors thicc thighs. Har. Mayuko left a nice mark on his face. Visual Kei Mask ate his tongue to keep this world’s secrets. The Commands of High Rise Hell are absolute.
The complete season of High Rise Invasion streams on Netflix.
