#lostorage

The thing is, as the first series continued, the Anime quickly revealed its weak points: Promising plot points went into the most boring and predictable directions, interesting character arcs weren’t given the time they needed to flourish and, most damningly, the plot got so tied up in its own complexities, by the end of the second series it felt like pretty much nothing had been resolved, half of the stories started were left untold and the answers we were given only raised more questions. The ending to the second series, “selector spread WIXOSS” was (in my humble opinion) such a confusing mess, it gave even the entirety of Mekakucity Actors a run for its money. I’m not saying I didn’t understand what happened, I’m just saying it felt like none of this stuff was set up appropriately to feel like any sort of well-deserved pay-off, and the pay-off I *did* want to see, just... didn’t... become... existent...?

But regardless, I remained a fan. Because if WIXOSS’ talent at building atmosphere is a drug, I probably really need a serious intervention and a couple of months of “WIXOSS Anonymous” counselling. 

The third series, “Lostorage incited WIXOSS” started off to a “meh” start, with Character Designs that I didn’t feel had the same charm as those of the first two series and a whole new cast of characters I didn’t feel any sort of connection to. However, the series rather quickly won me over with a few things that “selector” didn’t provide me with for a criminally long time: An actual, progressing plot with a clear structure and goal point, a focused way of laying out Character Drama, that actually allowed me to get invested in the individual characters’ arcs and, finally, an ending that didn’t feel like it came out of friggin’ nowhere! It felt like the franchise was finally taking a few steps into the right direction... But still, I didn’t hold my breath. There were still so many dangling plot threads, tons of unanswered questions that felt more worth exploring than anything presented on screen and a yawning sense of emptiness inside me after the last episode’s credits rolled. It was better, yes, but still far from great. 

So I didn’t have any expectations for what was to come next. Like, none. All of “infected”, “spread” and “incited”’s dangling plot points, I just expected the franchise to leave them hanging all about like the annoying loose threads they are and not elaborate on them whatsoever, just moving on like nothing happened, no explanations, nothing. I expected this franchise to start a new story entirely the following series, with new characters, new rules and little to no relevant references to the previous shows, like what “incited” did. 

And now, “Lostorage conflated WIXOSS” is happening.

The main character of which is Kiyoi Mizushima. A character who’s been doing stuff in the background of the franchise since its inception, and who had her own storyline going on in the Manga, but whose presence never really amounted to much in the Anime. And now she’s... the main character. 

...What??

My astonishment just continued over the course of the first two episodes. Not only are they bringing back old characters left and right, not introducing too many newcomers at all, they’re actually going back and addressing the gaping plot holes left open by spread and incited! I couldn’t believe my eyes! Kiyoi Mizushima, a character who’s been there since the very beginning, is going around, trying to tie up all those lose ends that have been annoying the living daylight out of me for as long as the franchise has existed, and she’s doing it with such conviction! What is going on!! It almost seems... almost feels... like the Anime franchise was building up to this all along?? WHAT? 

We’re only on Episode 2, so it’s hard to tell, but so far, Lostorage conflated WIXOSS is off to the strongest starts of any of the WIXOSS series. It wastes no time, giving important information not only in exposition, but in visuals and music, making excellent use of the atmosphere-building the series is so great at and getting me back into the mood for WIXOSS right away. The characters have so much passion behind their actions, even while they’re just discussing plans, it feels like a lot more’s already happened than really did. The Opening Sequence is spot-on as always, with an amazing song and great visuals. The characters from “infected” and “spread” have visibly aged, giving a sense of actual passage of time to what is happening, which somehow actually adds to the urgency of it all. 

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t recommend Lostorage conflated WIXOSS to a newcomer to the franchise. Not all all. The series starts out like a sequel should, cutting all the introductions and getting straight back into the plot, so there’s no way you’ll not be utterly lost unless you’ve seen at least either “infected/spread” or “incited”. You need the first three series to get into this one. On the other hand, I wouldn’t seriously recommend the first three series to most people, thanks to the aforementioned issues they have. But at the same time, I feel like I’ll really, REALLY want to recommend “conflated”... UNGH! This show is putting me into a such a paradox situation!