Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today it’s looking to be another day, another dissociative episode as we return to BanG Dream! Ave Mujica, with Mutsumi clearly on the verge of some kind of psychotic break. Having been exploited and abandoned by her parents, her former bandmates, and now apparently Sakiko herself, Mutsumi has decided there is only one person she can rely on: her alter ego Mortis, the implacable guitarist of Ave Mujica. Mutsumi is not strong enough to carry the weight of her own pain and Sakiko’s as well, but Mortis is free from such responsibilities, a grim realization of the facile “liberation” Sakiko seeks through this group.
It’s been quite a journey for the girl who was initially defined as “quiet, likes cucumbers,” but I suppose that’s of a piece with Ave Mujica’s general dramatic maximalism. What’s becoming increasingly apparent is that Mutsumi’s complaint of “my sound was drowned out within a band” applies to more than just her; frankly, it seems like not one member of Ave Mujica is seeking the same thing as any other, save for the amusing compatibility of the equally professionally-minded Nyamu and Umiri. So if the only members getting what they want are the ones who are here for a paycheck, and the players who actually share Sakiko’s desire for a community are only suffering more, who exactly is benefitting from this group? For Sakiko, breaking up the band might not just be a tragic inevitability – it might be the only way anyone who cares about her can escape her toxic orbit.
But for now, the show must go on. Take it away, Mortis!
Episode 4
“Acta est fabula” is our latest title, meaning “the play is over,” here likely referring to a performance more generally. Ave Mujica has already spiraled beyond Sakiko’s intentions or control, so this feels more like an ironic title – or perhaps an indication of how one particular conception of what Ave Mujica represents has been put to bed. If Sakiko was attempting to create a community through Ave Mujica, or use it as a vector to convey genuine emotions, she’s already failed in that – if anything, Nyamu seems to be the one who best understands what she’s actually created, a high-concept musical fad
We cut in on an interview starring an entirely new Mutsumi, now confident and self-effacing in front of the camera, offering that precise degree of charming frankness that plays as “earnest” to a TV audience. The original Mutsumi is gone
Soyo is shocked by Mutsumi’s transformation. I like how this season is emphasizing how MyGO hasn’t really “saved” Soyo – she’s a complicated person still carrying a great degree of baggage, and thus particularly vulnerable to the calamitous turns of Ave Mujica’s fortune
She’s equally fake and equally successful at school now, chatting lightly with classmates, diverting credit for the interview to the hosts so as not to seem arrogant or prompt resentment. The performance of intimacy that is the sole mode her parents operate in has finally been embraced, a defensive response to the pain of attempting to be accepted for who she truly is
Soyo is equally unhappy with this development. “She has become them. The world begins to twist and distort.”
Mutsumi is now also “comfortable” lightly bickering with her bandmates. Everyone except Sakiko seems fine with this; she was being difficult before, and she isn’t now, and isn’t that better for everyone? Shades of Tomori at the beginning of MyGO: accepted as a sort of class mascot, but never respected or understood
Sakiko can’t understand how the band shifted from near-breakup to this apparent harmony. The disconnect reflects both their variable attachments to the band, as well as their intentions for it – Umiri and Nyamu just want productive harmony, Uika wants to stay with Sakiko, and Mutsumi has at this point entirely divorced herself from her own feelings. No one cares about the band the way Sakiko does, as an actual vector for emotional revelation, and thus their feelings about the band can easily shift as well. With a more convivial atmosphere, everyone but Sakiko is content
Sakiko complains that Mutsumi’s attitude in the previous interview doesn’t fit her vision of the band, and Mutsumi switches her affectation on a dime, now channeling Sakiko’s earnest band-first devotion instead of her mother’s self-effacing humor. She can be whoever her audience needs her to be
“I like the Mujica we have now,” says Uika. She would very much like it for Sakiko to quit with all the self-destructive melodramatic stuff, but she can’t directly challenge Sakiko, so instead she just emphasizes this more peaceful dynamic as her preference
“I’ll let the editor know.” Mutsumi now mirroring her mother in other ways as well, establishing precisely the cross-promotional “friendship” with Nyamu that our shameless climber always wanted
Uika notices Sakiko’s frustration, but says nothing. Like with the donuts, she can only offer the most roundabout gestures of solidarity
Funnily enough, this version of Mutsumi actually can talk frankly about how Sakiko is overworking herself. She’s incorporated Sakiko’s directives from last episode into this new persona
“Now the closest person to Sakiko-chan is Uika-chan.” Uika unsurprisingly takes this as a compliment, but it’s a backhanded one – Mutsumi is simultaneously declaring she is no longer close to Sakiko. There is now perpetually a performance dividing them
“What we just discussed, keep it a secret from Sakiko, okay?” The camera deliberately avoids Mutsumi’s eyes, as if Mutsumi herself is directing our attention away from her true feelings
“Mutsumi… what’s wrong with you?” The only two people who recognize something wrong with Mutsumi are Sakiko and Soyo, a nightmare blunt rotation if I’ve ever seen one
Speaking to Taki, Umiri describes the band as “like a sparkler that’s about to go out.” So she actually does recognize the tension in the band, she just doesn’t particularly care. She’ll play her part until these emotional wrecks inevitably collapse around her, leaving only Nyamu in genuine surprise
Nyamu and Mutsumi pressure Sakiko into a photo showing a “gentler side” of Ave Mujica. A natural articulation of the fundamental divide between Nyamu and Sakiko: Nyamu has nothing to express beyond whatever will make her famous, and thus sees these compromises as natural, whereas Sakiko has no interest in fame beyond its ability to spread her message, and thus sees these compromises as a fundamental betrayal that renders her efforts meaningless
Of course, the further issue with Sakiko is that her allegedly “authentic emotional expression” is just another front, another way to avoid the hard work of talking to the people she cares about and moving forward in her life. Those that claim to respect Sakiko’s vision only do so because they care about Sakiko herself – no one beyond her sees Ave Mujica as anything more than just another goth group
On that note, Sakiko is shocked to hear Uika also loves this photo. Uika doesn’t care about Sakiko’s vision, she just cares about Sakiko
Oh man. At their next interview, Mutsumi stumbles over “Nyamu-chan” before correcting herself with “Amoris.” So even new-Mutsumi can’t keep their affectation straight
Mutsumi’s actually become such an effective media face that she’s ticking off Nyamu, who’s attempting basically the same archetype
Oh my god, Nyamu’s going to eat her feelings. God I love her
She even does the Misato beer swig, which seems appropriate for a similar quasi-elder who’s unwilling forced to play parent to mentally unwell children
“This is what I get after trying so hard. I guess talent really is everything.” Simultaneously gracious and self-absorbed, ceding to the “better player” while failing to recognize that better player is in the midst of an emotional breakdown. Never change, Nyamu
She actually has a frank, loving relationship with her mother and sister. She genuinely possesses everything Mutsumi longs for; she may be a mercenary social climber, but she has a strong core of people she loves and who love her, a solid rock of identity
At their next concert, “Mortis” claims she’s never played guitar before. The one thing Mutsumi held as true to her own identity is foreign to Mortis
“I was doing fine without the guitar, right?” Her revisions as Mortis also move the group further and further from Sakiko’s vision
Sakiko has finally had enough, and confronts her outside. “You used to care so much about the guitar. I can’t understand you anymore!” The guitar was her only vehicle for expressing her feelings, but now she has realized that no one wants to hear her feelings, they only want Mortis
And again, the camera avoids her eyes as she brightly smiles and says “This is all for Ave Mujica.” A clear signifier of key Mortis-mind statements
Yep, this was her answer to Sakiko’s request; she’s taken the load of holding the band together off Sakiko’s shoulders, all in pursuit of a permanent group. Uika would approve
“Mutsumi… wouldn’t call me that. Are you… really Mutsumi?” Tragically, this might be the first time in this series that Sakiko has actively considered Mutsumi’s feelings. Too little, too late
“Mutsumi-chan is already dead.” You killed her, Sakiko
“It’s more like she’s asleep, as if dead.” Love this use of the panning camera for Mutsumi’s transformations – the pan across the back of Sakiko’s head serves to hide the transition from carefree Mortis to her frank, emotionless affectation
“But Sakiko-chan, thinking only of herself, scolded Mutsumi harshly.” A shame this has to come from Mortis, but I’m glad someone’s finally telling Sakiko how badly she’s hurting people
“That’s why I hate Sakiko-chan.” Mortis is able to embrace the feelings of resentment that Mutsumi repressed; Mutsumi couldn’t handle her simultaneous adoration and hatred of Sakiko, so she divided it up. Now Mutsumi-chan can sleep peacefully while still loving Sakiko and Ave Mujica, and Mortis can do the daily work of making Sakiko’s stupid dream a reality
“If Sakiko-chan keeps being like this, Mutsumi might never come back.” You asked for this, Sakiko! You chose your band over your friend, you can’t have your cake and eat it too at this point
And of course, Uika comes running with the umbrella, always ready to shelter Sakiko from the consequences of her actions
Sakiko’s reveal of Mutsumi’s split personality cues us into a horror movie sequence, as the girls jump at shadows while the storm crackles outside, all under murky hotel room lights. I didn’t expect Mutsumi to be framed as a potential serial killer by episode four, but I guess we’re somehow here now, and just gonna have to deal with it
Mortis also gets distinct “character acting,” moving more like a doll on strings than Mutsumi, with lots of rapid, jerky movements
Nyamu just straight-up asks if she has a split personality. She has swiftly become my favorite, and is proving herself more of a proper Anon surrogate by the episode
And then Nyamu lets loose on Sakiko, asking her to remember all the hundreds of people working behind the scenes for their performance, all so that performance in turn can satisfy thousands of fans – including her own family, who she so proudly asked to look forward to this concert. Nyamu is certainly self-absorbed in her own ways, and doesn’t really seem to believe in art as a concept, but she holds the promise between entertainer and audience as sacred. She is a born professional and pride of her family, while Sakiko only performs for herself
“I don’t have the time to play house with a rich girl!” Love it. Nyamu’s position is too fraught for her to do anything but take this seriously – she fully understands the opportunity they’ve been given, and refuses to let it be frittered away due to the whims of a girl who’s never taken anything seriously, because she’s never been at risk of losing anything
Of course, that doesn’t exactly describe Sakiko’s position, but Nyamu’s read on it given her perspective seems totally understandable
Mortis is flailing at this point, airing whatever dirty laundry she thinks might keep the group together, tone-matching whichever personality can voice them
And Done
Thus we end our fourth goddamn episode on a reprise of CRYCHIC’s dissolution, with nothing resolved and Mutsumi in far worse mental health than she started. Though frankly, I could see how this period might actually be productive for her – she’s essentially going through the “identity-trying” stage of personal development, wherein you put on a variety of hats and see what feels authentic to your underlying feelings. Probably not the best thing to do as a public act of self-rejection while a member of a hit gothic rock band, but hey, that still might be healthier than what Sakiko’s doing. Regardless, Nyamu ruled this episode and continues to rule more generally, even if she’s misconstruing Mutsumi’s outbursts as performative genius rather than genuine emotional disarray. Through her guileless embracing of the artifice of celebrity, she might actually be proving herself the most genuine member of Ave Mujica. A scary thought, that.
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