Yuki Yuna is a Hero Season 2

Episode 8

This episode, which officially begins the sequel half of this second season, breaks into entirely new story territory for the first time. Unlike with the first half, we don't know what the ultimate destination will be, but in other senses, this episode is also just more of the same. Yuki Yuna has always had downtime episodes where the girls just carried on with their daily activities, and at first it looks like that's what this episode will be too. The only apparent change is that Sonoko Nogi is now in the mix, as the Taisha (Amazon's subtitles call them “Amnesty”) have allowed Sonoko to go back to school now that her full faculties have returned. And where else would she go to school but with the Hero Club she's watched from afar? As expected based on the flashback episodes, her personality is a natural fit for the group, with her somewhat ditzy nature offset by a brilliance in mathematics (and possibly other fields too). She immediately starts playing off the others like she's an old friend and smoothly fits into the humorous rhythm of the Hero Club.

As the episode progresses though, a gnawing inconsistency arises. Where's Mimori/Washio? (I will hereafter refer to her as Mimori now that we're past the point where her name changed.) Her absence isn't glaringly obvious at first, but she's definitely not present, and the girls don't seem to be acting like she's missing. The signs start to accumulate that something is wrong; the group naturally cuts a dessert for five instead of four, Sonoko brings a third serving of food when she goes to visit Gin's grave, and Yuki has a vague sense of something missing when she sees someone in a wheelchair. Eventually both Sonoko and Yuki realize that something is missing, and that something is Mimori. Something has made them all forget that she was an active part of their group even when Sonoko first joined, along with her amusing reprisal of the National Defense Mask role. (Just as amusingly, Yuki doesn't figure out that it's Mimori until she reveals herself, even though everyone else can easily tell.)

The final shot of the episode is the real attention-getter. That final shot of the girl suspended in flames in an otherworldly place doesn't seem to be Mimori; the hair's not right, and what little we can see of her accoutrement doesn't match Mimori's Hero form. If it is her with a different appearance, then this may address one of the glaring issues from the first season: Mimori was never punished for her actions. However, taking her away so long after the offense wouldn't make sense either. Assuming that the details of this girl's appearance aren't intentionally misleading, who is that and what might she have to do with Mimori's absence?

It's one hell of a mystery to start off this story arc, and seeing the girls get to the bottom of it provides a clear plot direction going forward, something I was worried about since there didn't seem to be a new hook going in. (Mind you, I wouldn't have had much problem with the girls just goofing around in slice-of-life mode, but that would deprive viewers of the powerhouse action the first season was known for.) With the technical merits remaining solid and the character dynamics balancing out just fine, this sequel half shows a lot of promise.

Rating: B+

Yuki Yuna is A Hero Season 2 is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.