Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re scrambling for good seats at Cafe Liebe, just in time for Yuri is My Job!’s Blume election results to be revealed. Our last episode offered something of a breakthrough in the Sumika-Kanoko drama, though the two are still far from friends. Kanoko was unwilling to abandon her love of Hime, but made it clear to Sumika that it would never be more than that. Kanoko seems to understand that, like the ornate bonds of Liebe Girls Academy, her form of love can only live as an implication; there is no substance to it beyond the fantasy she has invented, and thus she will content herself to live forever in Hime’s shadow.
It’s not exactly a healthy approach to romance, but it at least ameliorated Sumika’s concerns regarding the fate of the cafe. And beyond that, through her conversation with Nene, Sumika was able to mentally redefine Kanoko from a threat to a victim, a girl whose one-sided romance would only end in tears. As she’s so often done in the past, I imagine that’s something Sumika can work into the Cafe Liebe narrative – in fact, isn’t one of the core roles of the elder Schwestern to comfort their little sister, to embrace them and dry their tears after their innocent dreams are denied? I could easily see us proceeding towards a conclusion where a flourish of genuine honesty from Kanoko ends up integrating into the kayfabe of Cafe Liebe, but first, we must crown our new Blume. Let’s get to it!
Episode 11
We open backstage on the last night of the election, with our crew hard at work tallying the results
“Kanoko isn’t trying to break anything anymore. But still, I want to stop her. There’s nothing for me to stop anymore. So what am I trying to stop?” Kanoko’s feelings might not be a threat to the cafe anymore, but they’re still a threat to Kanoko herself. Her current plan will leave her trapped as a perpetual onlooker to Hime’s broadening social life, stuck in limbo, hoping for a return to an intimacy that was never going to bloom into romance. Kanoko represents the limits of the fantasy offered by Cafe Liebe, hoping for precisely the kind of hushed, implied quasi-romance that its patrons love to see in action. But that fantasy is actually a kind of stasis, and though Sumika values the performance of Cafe Liebe, she doesn’t want its philosophy to limit the real-world happiness of its “students”
Honestly, it took me a while to square Kanoko’s drama with Yuri is My Job!’s larger themes, but her being the end result of actually embracing Cafe Liebe’s view of romance makes a lot of sense
Sumika ultimately wins the election, pushed over Mitsuki’s guest vote lead by the near-unanimous support of the students – including Kanoko herself, given Mitsuki’s student votes undoubtedly came from Hime
Hime seems genuinely at ease with this result, and just more upbeat in general. It’s exhausting to try and ensure every single person likes you, but now she knows she is liked by the one person she was always trying to live up to
Kanoko literally covers her ears, blocking out Hime’s lament of not supporting Mitsuki sooner
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, Kanoko. I have to apologize to you, about the things I said to you the other day. I’m sorry. I want you to forget I ever said that. I was wrong to ask you to give up.” A necessary first step in rebuilding some trust, but it’s certainly not going to be an easy road. Kanoko excels at writing people off – once she’s given a reason to classify someone as an enemy, she’ll tune them out from then on. A defensive strategy that minimizes emotional vulnerability, but also precludes the possibility of actually making new bonds
Hime interjects, challenging Mitsuki for being too formal and unfriendly in her handling of this resolution. As always, Hime is remarkably good at reading the tone of a room, gauging comfort levels and seeing invisible tensions in the air. A big part of why Mitsuki both flummoxes and fascinates her is that Mitsuki operates according to different rules, never altering her affectation for the sake of the room, always speaking her own truth
This prompts Sumika to again ask if she can actually talk to Kanoko today, alone. Sumika is the most confident in her own off-stage identity, lacking either the performative facade of Hime or the clear social unease of Mitsuki and Kanoko. Therefore, “can we speak frankly” is actually her trying to be genuinely friendly, dispensing with these social games and just clearing the air
“About what you said… are you saying you won’t interfere anymore?” Kanoko sure has a one-track mind. Her only interest in the exterior world is gauging to what extent it will hinder her pursuit of Hime
Sumika’s new warm affectation is echoed by the production’s lighting, her body now surrounded by a halo of soft light
“Let’s stay out of each other’s way.” All she really wants from anyone other than Hime
“You’re always being jealous alone. You want to continue being in love with someone but still hide things from them?”
Kanoko takes these words as a provocation or threat, but that’s not what Sumika intends – she’s just frankly describing Kanoko’s current behavior, something that Kanoko herself is unwilling to do, so that she might better help Kanoko
“If continuing to hide your love is too tough, I want to be the one who lends an ear.” Again, though Hime and Kanoko’s initial bond was spurred by their willingness to voice their actual feelings together, Kanoko has now reached a point where she’s constantly deceiving the person she loves most. Everyone needs a confidant, but Kanoko no longer allows Hime to perform that role for her
“Tachibana-san… you’re too forceful. You’re overly familiar, never serious, the typical ‘gyaru.’” Oh shit, we’ve got her. This is basically the first time we’ve seen the real Kanoko since she vented to Hime during her flashback on the roof. It might be through insults, but those insults demonstrate she’s choosing to trust in Sumika
Kanoko actually has a harder road to walk than Hime, because while Hime might be faking her general crowd-pleasing cheer, she is also fundamentally an extremely kind person, the sort of person who makes sure people like Mitsuki and Kanoko have the space to be themselves. In contrast, Kanoko isn’t comfortable with social niceties, but also isn’t actually that nice of a person underneath them – she’s judgmental, rude, and prone to framing others in the worst possible light. It’s easy to say “just be yourself and you’ll eventually find your people,” but if your underlying instincts aren’t particularly generous ones, what are you supposed to do then?
Granted, an actually bad person would just voice those ungenerous thoughts and find others who share them, as millions do today. But Kanoko’s in the awkward spot many of us find ourselves, of wishing to be kinder than our natural instincts would dictate
And so Kanoko at last tells Sumika about Hime, or at least her idealized vision of Hime
“She doesn’t seem like she’s that cold…” Sumika is of course only familiar with our current post-Mitsuki-reconciliation Hime
“I don’t want to be ‘everyone else!’” From Kanoko’s perspective, her refusal to confess is actually a gift to Hime, so Hime can always have her as a confidant
Kanoko immediately panics about revealing Hime’s secret, but Sumika assures her she won’t tell anyone
And the pieces finally fall into place for Sumika as Kanoko reveals that Mitsuki is in love with Hime. Frankly, I’m a little disappointed in Sumika that she didn’t realize Mitsuki wasn’t actually performing! Though I suppose this show’s drama depends on a little forced obliviousness, like Hime not realizing Kanoko’s pretty obvious feelings
With her defenses finally lowered, Kanoko can admit that she understands and has no real problems with Sumika’s principle goals here
As they head home from work, Nene mentions the ongoing drama to Mai, offering a pretty sharp analysis of Sumika in the process – someone who’s always trying to help others, but who rarely considers their own feelings
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Sumika’s position has reversed from the Nene era – the precise stasis that she hoped for back then she now realizes is simply too sad
Even Nanoko’s inner Hime can’t agree with her current plan of action, offering her that same “if you don’t speak out, it’s like it never happened” that she did before. Nanoko might see her feelings as more precious than anything, but if they remain forever unvoiced, they will ultimately disappear without a trace
Sumika’s acceptance speech doubles as an articulation of her genuine hope, her desire to stay together with everyone at the cafe
“I love Hime-chan! I said it loud, for the first time ever…” With Sumika’s support, Kanoko is able to express her feelings aloud, and thereby make them real
“I’m just a big sister you can cry with when you need to, that’s all.” The two become Schwestern of the type that’s actually textually affirmed, with none of the romantic insinuations
And Done
Whew, alright, we’ve navigated the crucible. Things were hairy there for a minute, but as it turns out, Sumika and Kanoko’s desires are actually pretty compatible. Kanoko never intended to reveal her feelings to Hime, meaning she was never a threat to Sumika’s sanctuary – but through voicing those emotions, she’s at least managed to find a confidant with whom she can share the weight of her hopeless love. Equilibrium is maintained, at least for the moment – though with so much unspoken love burbling under the surface, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until our Schwestern find themselves in some calamitous new drama. Well, as long as they can turn it into fuel for the performance, so much the better!
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