Selector Infected WIXOSS - Episode 5

Having been warned off battling with a half-hearted attitude, it seems that Ruko has cooled on her thoughts of battling as a Selector, but her love of WIXOSS shows no signs of diminishing as she agrees with Yuzuki and Hitoe to attend a WIXOSS party where they can meet all sorts of amazing people.  Anyone would think they're trying to sell an actual card game off the back of this series, eh?

Anyhow, after picking some colourful scrunchies to represent each of them, all three girls are excited to be attending this party, but when the time comes to meet up in town Hitoe is nowhere to be found by the time her friends arrive slightly late.  With Tama noticing a WIXOSS battlefield having opened up nearby, the pair soon put two and two together and go to search for their friend - what they find is distressing however, as Hitoe doesn't remember either of them at all, and any attempts they make to touch her end with Hitoe crying out in pain.

At last, the dark truth of life as a Selector is revealed - although winning may grant you any wish you desire as an Eternal Girl, losing three matches has the exact opposite effect, in that it'll not only prevent your wish from being realised but will also actively poison it.  Thus, Hitoe can never make friends again, and all of her memories as a Selector have been wiped.  As you might imagine, this leaves both Ruko and Yuzuki upset and angry at the subterfuge of their LRIGs, but they're powerless to do anything regardless.  Clearly, battling as a Selector is a dangerous business with this knowledge in hand, but that isn't enough to stop Ruko from being goaded into a battle with Akira.

It's taken five episodes (and it should probably have happened sooner), but at last we have a handle on the darker side of Selector Infected WIXOSS that it's been hinting at in a heavy-handed fashion since the very start.  Hopefully this will allow the rubber to really hit the road as far as the show's narrative is concerned as it's been holding back for quite a while now, and there's clearly a lot more to be done with Ruko in particular that could make things interesting moving forward.  Its "twist" may be a broadly predictable one, but that doesn't mean that it can't provide some powerful content if it's played right from here.