(Combining two posts about Stella Women’s Academy High School Division, Class C³ published on Deremoe in 2013)
Stella Women’s Academy High School Division, Class C³ (God knows how long that name was), shortened to C³-bu (much better) is a slice-of-life (?) airsoft gun-toting show that was aired in 2013, and even though it’s cringe-y throughout the duration of the series, it gives a thought or two on self-realization. I am so hooked on the series so much that I got compelled to write two posts about it. Here’s what I wrote.
The Upcoming Evolution of Yura Yamato
(Originally published July 31, 2013)
In the past four episodes of C³-bu, we’ve seen its protagonist Yura Yamato’s physical and emotional changes — including what was once her beautiful hair.
As I’ve watched Yura “grow” — from her beginnings as “Lil’ Yura”, “Yurapyon”, “Yurarin”; to her upcoming self-realization — I can relate to this, stating my beginning as a casual social platform user, to a blogger, to a podcaster to what I am now.
Moving back to Yura, there are different things that will eventually be the steeping stones of her self-realization:
- The visions she see throughout the battles she participate in;
- The strict tutelage under Sonora; and
- The airsoft gun she’s been given as a gift.
One thing that will be unique to the series is the vision Yura has been immersing herself into that started probably due to her watching Sonora’s collection of Rambo movies. I can easily see into it that she’s been daydreaming a lot, thus making these visions in which the audience also gets engulfed to.
Another thing that got stuck in my mind is what Sonora said to Yura after she surrendered to the first final battle that she had: “If you can’t fight alone, you can’t fight in a team either. Laugh to the end. Why be afraid of losing? Never again do what you did today.”
I can interpret the said qute as derogatory, but remembering that Yura said that she could change in the C³ club — that she could change what she perceives in her environment and how she treats it — she had to think about it well.
Once that she cut her hair, all of the sequences (sans the ending) has her hair cut short — and my Olympus had fallen badly once I saw that. I know that in Japan, if a person cuts her hair, it means she want to change, but they could’ve made her new hairstyle better, but I guess they had to follow the source material.
…and finally, the airsoft gun she’s holding now — a Škorpion model by the name of Choujirou. This is not the first occurrence of a weapon with a spirit on it: We’ve had Shaman King (and soon enough, Nobunagun) for these occurences, and the former’s no different from the latter.
That Choujirou can be Sonora’s great great great great great great great grandfather for some reason, given that he gave her the same impact of psychological spanking as Sonora’s.
For these points discussed, who knows, she might evolve to the ranks of Miho from Girls und Panzer in my list of well-loved military Anime girl characters.
Is Yura Yamato Evolving Too Fast?
(Originally published at Deremoe on September 6, 2013.)
Hobbies. Extra-curricular activities. The moment that you get the hang out of what you love to do during these instances, you just want to go one step higher. It’s a sense of achievement, I might say. But then, it’s all fun and games until everything gets obliterated to levels of serious business.
To follow-up on what I’ve observed on the first episodes of Stella Women’s Academy, High School Division Class C³-bu, here I am again with my subjective review of its protagonist, Yura Yamato, and presume some scenarios as well before the next set of episodes air.
For reference, I looked back to what I wrote about Yura’s “upcoming evolution”, and I was pretty much impressed when Yura took the lead at the 24-hour Combat Competition, taking charge of the strategies the club has practiced and done, but then I’m a bit disappointed at how she treats her fellows, as if they’re really part of a platoon. Looking into Yura’s standpoint, this is probably inevitable because of three things:
- She still need to find who tried to ambush them (if Sonora was killed there, it could be classified as Frustrated Murder and everything will turn into a detective story but thankfully it didn’t happen)
- She wants to take duke it out against Meisei Girls Academy’s Rin.
- Sonora wasn’t there.
This result to Yura being emotionally stressed; thinking that Rin was the mastermind to all of the mess. Of course, she just doesn’t look evil, she plays her heel side as well, so it’s easy to pinpoint her.
The moment when Yura duked it out with Rin was pretty much interesting — it’s more of an action scene to me — thus proving what Rin said: that Yura is good. But is she good enough, may I ask?
The following episode, Yura called a dispute — that the prize must be with Meisei’s — and thus, this start a dispute with Yura and her clubmates, to the point that Yura decides to leave the club for greener pastures… or was it?
Yura wants to be on a higher path, therefore she has thought of Airsoft as serious business. As young as she is, her mind easily switches from one motive to another, and I can relate to that.
The question is, can she take Meisei (under Rin’s lead), which I presume has very strict measures? Can her emotions take the fact that she’s in for a roller-coaster?
More importantly, is she trying to evolve fast than enjoy her current standing with her colleagues? There must be some motivation behind this, considering that she knows why Rin acts like a heel through Sonora.
That’s what I’m going to find out later on as I watch.
As far as I can remember, it had a fitting ending in which I am satisfied, but if I were forced to pick between this and Sabage-bu!, I’d pick the latter. The drama here felt intensive to me, and that’s something that I don’t want as a guy who likes cute girls doing cute things. To each his own, I guess.