I don’t make it a secret that I have a soft spot for Yachiyo. That’s partly because she’s the only major character who had any brain cells in Season 1 but I really do like her as a character. I’ve said Yachiyo is similar to Homura though after revisiting the original Madoka, I realized that Mami is also an apt character to compare her to. Yachiyo is an experienced veteran like both of those characters. She acts stone cold like Homura but she’s secretly vulnerable much like Mami is. I’ll admit that she doesn’t necessarily add anything new to the table but I think it still works pretty darn well. So an episode centered around Yachiyo? I’ll take it.
As established in the last episode, Yachiyo is trying to find the Magius’ headquarters, presumably to tear it down. With no good leads to go off, Yachiyo bides her time hunting down Uwasas to indirectly throw a wrench at the organization’s operations. We also see how Yachiyo is dealing with Iroha’s “death”. She alternates between accepting that Iroha is dead to believe that she’s still alive. Her house is in disarray. She resumes her daily life and she hates that she can act as if nothing happened. Suffice to say, Yachiyo is still grieving over Iroha.
We briefly see what the other characters have been up to. It’s now confirmed that Rena (Kaori Ishihara) has joined the Magius with Kaede (Ayaka Ohashi) and Momoko (Mikako Komatsu). I like that Rena still doubts that the Magius can save magical girls and she only joined because she’s outnumbered and Kaede has gone cuckoo. She really is one of the few smart characters in the show. Momoko seems to be a skeptic as well but I can understand her joining the Magius to keep a closer eye on Rena and Kaede. We then see Felicia (Ayane Sakura) and Sana (Yui Ogura), who aren’t brainwashed like I had assumed. Both were apparently willing to join, though Sana is less confident on the matter than Felicia is. Neither girl seems aware of what happened to Iroha and Yachiyo. I doubt either of them would stay in the Magius if they learn the truth, especially in regards to Iroha. The lack of Tsuruno is very worrisome. That has me thinking that the show has something planned for her.
Eventually, Yachiyo confronts Mitama (Yui Horie) for information. Mitama admits to imparting knowledge on Doppels to the Magius though she insists that she’s a neutral party, lacking membership to the Magius and being willing to conduct business with Yachiyo. To appease Yachiyo, Mitama shares her insight on Doppels. Basically, Doppels are created by siphoning tainted energy out of a Soul Gem. It does prevent a magical girl from becoming a witch though Mitama notes that it’s addictive and it comes with some serious side effects. I haven’t given Mitama much thought before. That’s mainly because, like Kuroe, Mitama kind of disappears from Season 1’s storyline. I don’t know if she’ll be more relevant going forward but there’s potential with her being a shady businesswoman who’ll help anyone if it makes for good business. It’s silly but there’s plenty of that already in this show.
Meanwhile, we see Kuroe investigate an Uwasa on behalf of the elite member from last episode’s post-credit scene, who is confirmed to be Nemu (Sumire Morohoshi). Apparently, Nemu can create an Uwasas at the cost of her own life force. During her investigation, Kuroe comes across the small Kyubey, who seems to know where the Uwasa is, and she runs into Yachiyo, who is raring to interrogate another member of the Magius. I kind of feel bad for Kuroe and I say this as someone who forgot about her. The poor girl can’t catch a break.
Mifuyu (Mai Nakahara) soon steps in to rescue Kuroe and talk Yachiyo out of opposing the Magius, though her presence only makes Yachiyo angrier, leading the two to fight each other. Even as someone who’s indifferent to Iroha, I think Mifuyu has some serious gall to compare herself to her. Like, Mifuyu argues that she and Iroha are both weak which is maybe true but as Yachiyo points out, there is a huge difference between the two characters. Even during her hardships, Iroha still looked out for her friends. Mifuyu on the other hand has prioritized her own survival and she’s burned bridges in the process. It feels less like a legitimate comparison and more Mifuyu trying to make herself look better in Yachiyo’s eyes and I can’t blame Yachiyo for getting pissed at that.
The ensuing fight between Yachiyo and Mifuyu is pretty entertaining. It’s hard to deny that Magia Record excels in the visual department. The end of the fight is a little interesting. Yachiyo beats Mifuyu with her Doppel but while using her power-up, her anger towards the latter becomes murderous. It looks like Mitama is right about the Doppels’ side effects. I get that Yachiyo doesn’t give into her temptation but what is stupid is Mifuyu having enough time to escape. Does Yachiyo forget that she needs a Magius member for information? I suppose the actual reason is to allow for a rematch but I don’t know how interesting that would be. I only find Mifuyu interesting in relation to Yachiyo and it’s clear from this fight that she has no chance at beating Yachiyo, even with her Doppel.
Kuroe tries to escape with Mifuyu but the small Kyubey scurries away, leading Kuroe as well as Yachiyo to Nemu’s Uwasa. And big surprise, they find Iroha! This was totally not the worst kept secret in this entire show. I’m frankly unsure about having Iroha back. There are times where I like her but generally, I feel indifferent about her, especially since her quest to find Ui keeps getting sidetracked. I suppose I want to see what Iroha’s return means for Yachiyo but that’s more because of Yachiyo and not Iroha. That said, surprise me. Curiously, Iroha has her Doppel activated when Yachiyo and Kuroe find her. I wonder if that’s intentional since it’s now confirmed that Doppels have some adverse side effects. Iroha has already used her Doppel a couple times. It’s probably not a good idea for her to use it again.
Watch Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Season 2 -The Eve of Awakening- on Crunchyroll and Funimation
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