Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re touching down at Oushin Academy during a moment of crisis, as Lilisa’s fledgling rock band faces its first major clash of personalities. Lilisa invited Tina into the band somewhat by accident, initially unimpressed by her piano skills, but ultimately inspired by her unflagging dedication to the cause, a passion that reminded her of her own efforts to impress her father. However, Shiro has no patience for imperfect performers, and has at last demanded Lilisa fire Tina from the group outright.
This disagreement speaks to a more fundamental issue the group hasn’t resolved: articulating what specifically they want out of this band. Lilisa set their initial goal as appearing at a specific festival venue, but that alone doesn’t dictate what sort of dynamic they’re seeking to cultivate as a group. Is this just a place where adversarial individual musicians spar and rage at each other, as Otoha seems to desire? Lilisa might have initially accepted that, but Tina’s continued presence would likely require a softer touch, and that in turn would challenge the show’s unconsidered assumption that “social niceties are false, aggressive confrontation is authentic.” I’m frankly ready for the text to move beyond that adolescent “fuck normies” ethos, but I’ve at this point learned to temper my expectations regarding this production’s insights into the philosophy of music. And hey, violent clashes of big personalities are basically their own reward, so let’s settle in for the fireworks as we return to Rock is a Lady’s Modesty!
Episode 8
We open with a pair of nested flashbacks, first to the last moment of the previous episode, and then directly through Tina’s eye into her memory of the preceding performance. As always in this show, eyes are the window to inner truth, in this case inviting us to see that performance just as Tina experienced it
And her first experience is, unsurprisingly, “they make such violent music!” Both in terms of the sound they create and their approach to collaboration, Lilisa’s group is defined by violence – the performance is a perpetual competition, and the output is a cry of rage that demands to be heard
I suppose it’s unfair of me to expect much more than “fuck you, society” from this group at this point. Considering how heavily they are burdened with restricting expectations every other hour of the day, it must be a great relief to just grab your guitar and wail out a cathartic “fuuuuuuck you”
Tina sees them baring their true selves through their performance, and can’t help but desire the same
Excellent trick of pacing as “I’m sure that someday I can be like them” cuts directly to “I’ve heard enough” from Shiro, emphasizing how Tina must feel, like her rebellion is over before it even began
“There’s no way we’ll win against them with such a shitty keyboardist.” It certainly feels like they’re putting the cart before the horse relative to a group like Keisoku Band or MyGO. Those groups are primarily about finding a community, with the actual performance part being secondary to discovering a place where you are valued for your true self. Here, personal harmony is practically discouraged, and technical excellence is everything. Again, I can understand it as a reaction to the enforced, superficial harmony of their upbringing, but I feel like they’re throwing out the “a trusting community is essential for a happy sense of self” baby with the “social niceties suffocate honest self-expression” bathwater
“You don’t listen to rock and can barely play the keyboard.” Of course, Shiro’s expectations of professionalism are also pretty reasonable, she’s just phrasing everything in the bluntest way possible. Still unsure if that’s an intentional choice on the author’s part – if they’re actively conscious of “I’m going to be savagely honest about everything” being an outsized, ultimately unsustainable reaction to forced civility that the cast will eventually grow beyond, or if that itself is our end point
Tina’s heartfelt defense is met with “go take your spiritual journey someplace else” from Shiro. Girl, why do you get to decide what sort of band this is? You seem like a fundamentally miserable person to be around, so maybe you’re the one who should leave
Shiro explains she’s seen amateur bands fail to make it big because they refused to jettison their dead weight. I can understand that, but I feel like her expectations regarding success in music are out of whack. Practically nobody “makes it” in terms of building a sustainable career as a rock musician, those who do make it are generally more just lucky or well-connected than uniquely skilled, and as a result, like with any artistic pursuit, finding joy in the process is ultimately far more important than creating a “perfect” end result. To say nothing of how low the ceiling of success is for an instrumental hard rock group in the first place; even the most popular bands in such a niche genre mostly all have day jobs. You don’t get record deals and Grammys simply for rocking harder than anyone else
That reality is even reflected in how the ultimate goals of many of these band anime groups is to “play at some large venue.” You can’t make it sustainable; capitalism doesn’t value musicians enough for that, so the best you can hope for is to briefly tag the brass ring
Tina agrees to leave, but Lilisa grabs her hand, asking her if she’s really okay with this. Tina feels like a test of Lilisa’s own conviction – can she maintain the underlying kindness her father embodied even in the context of this cutthroat group?
Excellent – in Tina’s sad reflections on abandoning her ambitions, Lilisa sees her own despair at her mother telling her to abandon the guitar. Music should be a sanctuary, not an exclusive castle
“I was looking forward to the day, Lilisa… when I could reveal my true self to the world like you do.” Oh c’mon Lilisa, you can’t abandon this girl
Lilisa sets another ultimatum, saying she’ll make Tina into a keyboardist who can impress Shiro in a mere five days. I’d frankly prefer her just call out Shiro as a toxic person who’s not worth engaging with, but I suppose this works too
“Stop wasting time on a lost cause!” “In no way is spending time on my bandmates a waste!” I suppose I am thankful that Shiro’s presence is forcing Lilisa to take the opposing stance, and actually embrace music as a force of collaborative liberation. Shiro basically embodies all of the selfish attitudes Lilisa was previously adjacent to, and seeing them articulated by another is making Lilisa realize she doesn’t want to be that kind of person
“She’s fighting to live life in her own way! That’s the kind of person I want to rock out with!” Nothing about ability, just a pure union of philosophy. Just the sort of “what is this band about” moral declaration I was hoping for
Otoha suggests simplifying the keyboard part, saying it “feels better to go all-out on a song you can play, rather than one that’s too difficult.” Solid advice; a simpler keyboard part frankly won’t affect the song negatively, and it’s basically impossible to express yourself on a song you’re struggling to play at all. Fluency with the part must precede expressive variation
“I will change with rock!” The hope that brings so many to the culture; that us awkward outsiders or social pretenders might be transformed by the power of music, that on-stage we can become the heroes we’ve dreamed of being, and maybe save or transform a few other souls in the bargain
Otoha chats lightly with Shiro as the two share a ride home. Otoha actually feels comfortable conversing in her young lady persona; it feels more genuine to her than Lilisa, likely because she was born into it. It may not embody all of her, but it is still an authentic vehicle for self-expression
Ohh, interesting. Otoha says that Tina “resembles you once upon a time,” leading to a shot where Shiro is captured in the car window’s reflection. At last an indicator of layers beneath Shiro’s poise, heralded as always through the use of mirrored images. So it seems she once possessed a more open-minded appreciation of musical expression, but has hardened over time
Shiro ultimately rejects Tina’s new performance, but Otoha’s words of support for Tina shake her faith. An illustration of how fragile Shiro’s allegedly iron will is, that her opinion is so easily swayed by Otoha’s – something Lilisa is quick to notice as well
“No one’s gonna protect her like she’s used to. She’s doomed to suffer that harsh reality, so isn’t it better to tell her to quit now while there’s still time?” Shiro offers her own version of sympathy after accepting Tina into the group
Both Tina and Otoha arrive at the venue in trench coats, immediately filling me with fear
Lilisa is quite proud of her not-Rolling Stones shirt
And apparently Tina’s lack of a binder will be her disguise
Oof, more regrettable gags about Tina’s boobs. Again, a show about celebrating sincere self-expression can’t also be persistently leering at and punishing its cast for not concealing themselves. The line between authenticity and cruelty isn’t actually that thin
Pressure mounts as Lilisa realizes much of the crowd is here to see Shiro’s solo, a role that is now assigned to her
And Done
Oh my god, what is this terrible rock group? I’d hoped the contrast of Tina and Shiro would create some productive friction, and it sort of did that, but it simultaneously brought to the forefront just how antagonistic our group dynamic truly is. Rock is clearly not a route to solidarity and community here; rock is a battlefield, your fellow rock groups are your enemies, and even your own bandmates are contentious rivals that you’d presumably kill if you could. I’ve got serious reservations about this story’s conception of what rock music represents, but the saving grace here is clearly the connection between Lilisa and Tina, which in this episode saw Tina pulling Lilisa back from the brink of purely mercenary musicianship, and remembering the spirit of compassion and human connection she found in playing with her father. Feel free to ditch Shiro, though!
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