All of my reviews contain spoilers for the reviewed material. This is your only warning. She said I feel like Ive come untethered in a room without walls. Im drifting on a dark and empty sea of nothing. It doesnt feel bad it feels like nothin at all. 880https://magicplanetanimedesign.files.wordpress.com/2021/09/c72a6je.jpg?w=984 Lets not mince words as far as gaining its own fanbase or leaving a cultural impact of basically any kind Blue Reflection Ray never had a chance at least not over here in the West. Not only was it easy to write off by anyone so inclined due to its floaty animation sprawling story Shoujoinspired art style and links to an alreadyobscure parent series the larger Blue Reflection franchise it was also sandwiched between two other magical girl anime tackling some similar subject matter in a more succinct and accessible way Wonder Egg Priority and the second season of Magia Record respectively. Nonetheless its 24 weeks later and I find myself still with a real soft spot for BRR in spite of everything. Maybe its because more than almost any other magical girl series Ive ever seen the enemy as personified in Blue Reflection Ray is not something simple. Instead its real antagonist is sheer emotional burnout the very death of feeling itself. Late in the series when main villain Shino infiltrates The Common humanitys collective unconsciousness she drives the whole world into apathetic mechanical lockstep. Going through the motions made very literal. How do you tackle that? Comparatively little popular art in general even tries. And of that that has its hard to argue Blue Reflection Ray is the bestequipped for it. But by god there is glory in the fight and fight Blue Reflection Ray did. Over the course of a nowadayssomewhatrare twocour run this scrappy little show with a small initial audience and an eversmaller one as it went on fought like hell. And now that its over was it all worth it? 880https://i.ur.com/Mq88uEh.jpg Lets put it this way. Despite its ramshackle production Blue Reflection Ray also has some real strengths. It takes genuine courage to even try to portray some of this stuff. And while one might not incorrectly accuse the show of being rather melodramatic the fact remains that as a frank look at how bleak life can become when its defined by such evils as child abuse and suicidal ideation theres a real power to it. It feels written from a place of empathy not voyeurism. Sincerity is a virtue and its one Blue Reflection Ray has in spades. As far as its literal story? Fairly simple stuff at least in concept. A group of magical girls the Reflectors of the title must stop a villainous group from robbing the innocent girls of the world of their feelings. The only obvious kink in the rope here is that the villains are another group of red Reflectors rather than monsters or something of the like. But Blue Reflection Rays length lets the story unfurl and twist in odd unusual ways. And the enemy Reflectors have their own complex backstories which are doled out to us at a slow enough pace that in certain parts of the series it can make one question if our girls are really in the right to begin with. The most prominent example being protagonist Hioris own sister Mio whose enigmatic decision to join Shino defines the first third or so of the series. 880https://i.ur.com/Cj9hHtE.jpg All these attempts at nuance do have a downside. Which is that while the characters stories are resonant and even powerful when properly played out say as in the case of turncoat Nina anything that fails to be sufficiently resolved stands out as jarring. The most glaring example being the curious onedimensionality of the aimlessly sadistic Uta one of the red Reflectors. Some of this is understandable by virtue of the fact that Blue Reflection Ray is meant to link two games in its parent franchise and some things are deliberately left to be resolved in the future but Utas case is particularly strange. While shes still a fun enough character she sticks out like a sore thumb against the backdrop of the rest of the cast who are otherwise fairly welldeveloped. 880https://i.ur.com/wWLYw7g.jpg There is also the matter of that aforementioned production. Blue Reflection Ray has the misfortune of being a minor work by a studio long past its prime J.C. Staff and as such even the bestlooking episodes are mostly competent rather than genuine eyepoppers and some are outright bad. There is still some great direction here and other aspects of the visual design such as the peculiar look of the altered zones known as Leap Ranges will certainly appeal to some. I once described them as Madoka Magicas Witch Labyrinths by way of 90s computer art and I stand by that comparison. But on the whole BRR is not a series one should watch under the impression that its a feast for the eyes. Similarly while there are a decent amount of fights and some number of those contain most of the shows best cuts they tend to be over pretty fast. 880https://i.ur.com/CXMVEvG.jpg On the other hand all these restraints mean that on the rare occasion BRR does do something aesthetically in line with the traditions of the magical transforming heroine subgenreyour Pretty Cures Sailor Moons and suchits legitimately wonderful. In episode 23 the girls transform back to back for the one and only time in the whole series complete with a transformation chant and a monster to fight afterward. And it is absolutely magical. Blue Reflection Ray is certainly aware that its part of a storied artistic lineage. If it only needs to invoke said lineage once then that is enough. 880https://i.ur.com/ksg3xhD.jpg So where does that leave us all things considered? Well I choose to look at it this way Blue Reflection Ray understands a certain truism of the human experience very well. We hurt ourselves in isolation but find solace in the company of others its a concept as old as time. No man is an island. Its also the same general idea that powers much of the magical girl genre regardless of tone. Its so obvious that it should be by all rights a clich. Yet in BRRs finale with its deep blue sky weepy reunions and heavy saccharine piano it feels like nothing less than the truth all over again. The answer the series returns to over and over again is that love for each other is what can truly save us. Friendship familial love and romantic love all equally important bulwarks against the darkness. 880https://i.ur.com/WwweIgw.jpg There is a minor running joke in some circles one with more than a single grain of truth that magical girl anime fandom can feel like a religion. If thats so let Blue Reflection Ray be a sermon and let all who have ears hear the song. The same old same old has never felt so important. 880https://i.ur.com/zsVPXAQ.png Im pretty happy lying here with you it feels good to feel somethin. Notes Disclaimers Usage of Anilists review feature does not constitute endorsement for Anilist as a platform the Anilist community or any individual member thereof or any of Anilists policies or rules. All views expressed are solely my own opinions and conclusions and should not be taken to reflect the opinions of any other persons groups or organizations. All text is owned by me. Do not duplicate without permission. All images are owned by their original copyright holders.