Tamal Kundu
Based on a Japanese manga series written by Tsuina Miura and illustrated by Takahiro Oba, ‘High-Rise Invasion’ is a death-game original net animation (ONA) from Netflix. The story is set in an “abnormal space” that looks like a sprawling metropolis with high-rises connected by suspension bridges. One day, the protagonist, a young girl named Yuri Honjō, finds herself in this strange environment and discovers that she has to either flee from or kill a group of violent masked figures if she wants to survive. Here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘High-Rise Invasion.’ SPOILERS AHEAD.
High-Rise Invasion Recap
One moment Yuri is in her classroom, and the next, she finds herself on the roof of a skyscraper in the “abnormal space.” She soon finds out that her brother Rika has also been transported there, and her main objective subsequently becomes to reunite with him. Early in the series, she meets Mayuko Nise, a prodigious knife-wielder and seemingly dispassionate former angel and smiling mask. They become close friends and allies, helping each other survive in this chaotic world. Initially clueless and terrified, Yuri emerges as an exemplary player of the game. In time, she and Mayuko set up other valuable alliances with other players and reformed masked figures like Sniper Mask.
In the finale, Yuri, Mayuko, and their allies prepare for an impending assault from the masks controlled by Mamoru Aikawa, a powerful Closer to God who had at one point 30 masks under his control. Mamoru sends Great Angel, a mask whose terrifying powers Mamoru had to seal to gain control over his mind. Great Angel wreaks havoc among the ranks of Yuri’s allies and even kills Kazuma Aohara, a Closer to God. Meanwhile, Sniper Mask comforts Kuon Shinzaki, another Closer to God, before she uses the Railgun System.
High-Rise Invasion Ending: Do Yuri and Reki Reunite?
No, Yuri and Reki don’t reunite by the time season 1 of ‘High-Rise Invasion’ concludes. While both of them declare that finding each other is their biggest priority at the beginning of the series, protecting their respective allies continues to end up taking precedence. Right about the time Yuri becomes a Closer to God, Swimmer Mask abducts Reki on Mamoru’s behalf. When Yuri is informed of this, she embraces the darker aspects of herself and goes to find the people responsible for her brother’s abduction. Fortunately for her, Mayuko is there to pull her back from the edges of the abyss.
Their prospective reunion continues to be a major plot device throughout the season. In the finale, Kuon and Mayuko’s collaborative effort significantly weakens Great Angel. After defeating Swimmer Mask, Yuri arrives and seals Great Angel’s powers and takes him under her control with her newly unlocked manipulation ability. She makes the entire process look effortless, while when Mamoru did it, he was dangerously close to failure. This implies that Yuri has enormous potential as a Closer to God and is perhaps the most viable candidate to win the game.
After learning the truth about Reki and Yuri’s relationship from Student Mask, Mamoru threatens Yuri and finally manages to break through the wall of cold detachment that Reki has built around himself in captivity. For each sibling, the other remains the biggest source of weakness. And their enemies are learning to exploit that.
What Is the History Between Reki and Sniper Mask?
While the anime implies that Reki and Sniper Mask are childhood friends, this is likely a smokescreen. If that were the case, Yuri would have recognized Sniper Mask when he took off his mask. But evidently, Reki and Sniper Mask have known each other for a long time. A younger version of Reki exists in the utopic dreamworld within Sniper Mask’s subconsciousness, indicating that they have cared for each other since they were children. As the season ends, Reki and Sniper Mask’s shared past remains largely unexplored and will likely be revisited next season.
Who and What Are the Masks?
The mask-wearing figures of ‘High-Rise Invasion’ have gotten their brains hacked through the masks, which are essentially sophisticated devices to control the wearers’ behavior. Season 1 introduces four main types of masks and the people who wear them: the smiling masks or the angels, the angry masks or the guardian angels, emotionless masks, and faceless masks.
The most common type of mask is the angels. Their main job in the game is to make their victims feel despair, so they will ultimately commit suicide. If that fails, then the murder command is initiated. And if a mask is unable to fulfill that as well, a suicide command is issued for the wearer himself. There is another command called, Hibernation, in which a rebel or malfunctioning mask is forced to undergo a slow and painful death.
The guardian angels’ main duty is to stop the creation of God or the destruction of the existing realm, both of which are apparently the ultimate objective of this game. The emotionless masks are the non-combatant wearers whose main job is to supply others with provisions and information.
As for the faceless masks, the wearers become Closer to God and gain several abilities, including manipulating angels with whom their wavelengths match. Unlike the other three masks, which remain on the wearer after the link is formed, the faceless masks shatter when the connection is successfully made. Of all the masks, the angels have the least amount of independent brain activities. But they can gain some agency after linking with a Closer to God.
Who Is Behind This Deadly Game?
This is one of the main questions that remain unanswered at the end of the season. The primary antagonist of season 1 is Mamoru, who both Yuri and Reki regard as the biggest threat to themselves and their allies. Mamoru knows that the true objective in the game is to turn into God and is actively working towards achieving it. But he is most likely not the real antagonist of the story. An intricate and inherently cruel game like this is bound to have a diabolical creator and equally disturbed administrators, whose attention Yuri probably has drawn with her actions.
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