Upon entering the studio, Rāna makes her skills apparent to the others. She notices Taki’s sheet music for Tomori’s song, “Haruhikage”, and with just one look, she can already play it on her guitar. There’s something really funny about Rāna’s first meeting with the other main characters. This darn girl has mostly been off doing her own thing so of course she’d “formally” meet everyone by waltzing into the studio and playing her guitar before actually introducing herself. And the best part about all this? This is her only scene in Episode 5. Just when you think the show is finally shedding light on this character, it has her disappear from the plot again. If it wasn’t so funny, I’d be very annoyed. You do at least learn something about Rāna before she dips out. Rāna reveals that she has been invited to many other bands but she apparently finds them all boring. As for what draws her to the band we’re following, it appears that she’s grown curious of Tomori. Funny how Tomori continues to be at the center of things.
Realizing how much better Rāna is at the guitar than her, Anon can’t help but feel she might get overshadowed. Panicked, Anon leaves practice before even playing her guitar and she puts off practicing on her own due to stress. Anon’s situation is complicated further when RiNG’s staff discusses over who should fill a vacant slot at an upcoming show headlined by Poppin’Party and Afterglow, two bands featured in the original Bandori (with Poppin’Party more or less being the main band). Off topic but I am a little surprised that Poppin’Party is still active in-universe. Like maybe it’s because I don’t know how the original series ended but I figured since Saya has a job, she and her friends went their desperate ways. Anyway, RiNG decides to invite Taki and her friends(?) to take the vacant spot. Taki and Soyo want to perform at the concert as it’d be a big opportunity for their band. Anon however opposes the idea, arguing that there isn’t enough time. Given Anon being a no show at practice and her lackluster guitar skills, it’s easy to see why she’d take the opposite side.
Tomori agrees to the concert at first but then she remembered she’s a socially anxious character so she confides to Anon of having second thoughts. In all seriousness, the band technically agreed to stick together for at least one concert so Tomori is afraid that after the upcoming live show, the band will suffer the same fate as CRYCHIC and fall apart. Anon advocates for Tomori to Taki and Soyo and there’s no denying that this is mighty convenient for her. That’s the thing with Anon’s relationship with Tomori so far. I don’t doubt that she genuinely does care for Tomori but she has been using her friend to her advantage, however intentional that may be.
The following night, Taki explains to Soyo that she still wants to perform live, recalling the positive effect performing Tomori’s song had on her. I try not to get too obsessed with shippings in a CGDCT anime but Taki’s feelings towards Tomori do come across as romantic to me. The fact that Tomori is the only one Taki sings her praises and is willing to open up to certainly implies that much. What really raised my eyebrow is when Taki says she thinks “Haruhikage” is about her. It’s fine if she relates with the song but that’s a bit of a stretch and the only way I can see Taki interpreting it as such is if she has feelings for Tomori. Also, I like that when Soyo encourages Taki to tell Tomori how she’s feeling, the scene alternates between shining a light on and casting a shadow on her. I’m sure Soyo means well here but I can’t shrug off that something is off about her.
The next day, the band again discusses about the concert. Things get very heated, with Taki calling Anon out on her ego and lack of commitment, causing a panicked Anon to run away and Tomori to run after her. Taki’s immediate regret afterwards is really interesting. Like, she’s not wrong about Anon. The latter girl is running away from the problem and she is using Tomori’s fear as an excuse. But what Taki fails to take into account is that while she doesn’t like Anon, Tomori does and by antagonizing Anon so much, she ends up hurting Tomori in the process.
As Anon runs away, she bumps into some of her classmates from middle school. Curiously, her old pals are confused by her wearing Haneoka’s uniform, as Anon told them that she’d be studying abroad in London during high school. Anon later explains to Tomori that she was accepted into an English academy but dropped out shortly after due to a severe case of culture shock. I have some nitpicks with the execution. Like, I have a hard time believing that people poked fun at Anon’s accent when these extras are very obviously voiced by actors where English is not their main language. I can buy them mispronouncing her name as “Ann” more but at the same time, there’s very obviously an “O” in her name! Nitpicks aside, this perfectly explains Anon’s personality. Her studying abroad begins her nasty habit of trying to chase clout and running away when things begin to backfire on her. As egregious as some of Anon’s choices have been, I now at least understand why she made them.
Tomori takes Anon to an aquarium (a very odd yet very cool one I might add), presumably as a way to cheer her up (or to just show her some penguins, which I guess is therapeutic in its own way). After hearing Anon’s backstory, Tomori assures her friend that running away is only natural and the two resolve to find their way together. What I dig about this scene is that it feels like the first time where Anon and Tomori actually come across as friends. The two have some surprising common ground with each other. Most of their past interactions had the caveat of Anon using Tomori for her own gain but that asterisk doesn’t apply now because Anon is so vulnerable at the moment. There’s a couple of neat little details in the scene as well. Surprisingly, the penguins actually do factor into the scene, with the shot of them swimming in the water together conveying how liberated the girls feel now that they realize they don’t have to move forward alone. Earlier in the episode, Anon asks Tomori to come up with a new song, as a way to hold off on band practice. Tomori then reveals at the aquarium that she’s been brainstorming a song and funnily enough, what really gets her thinking is when Anon confides to her.
With renewed resolve, Tomori and Anon return to Taki and Soyo and agree to perform at the live show. Pretty bold of the two to hold hands when they come back. I get that it’s to show that they’ve grown closer to each other but now I have to wonder how close. Like, are they’re going to announce they’re getting married next? On a more serious note, I’m dying to see what that moment means to Taki. Technically, Taki gets what she wants, Tomori now wants to go onstage, but what did the job wasn’t her telling Tomori how she feels but rather Anon doing the same thing. With how zealous Taki is about Tomori, it ought to be a huge blow to her that Anon seems to be Tomori’s best friend right now.
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