With how dramatic MyGO can get and how toxic its characters are, it kind of is plausible for the band to stay fractured. But obviously, that’d make for lousy storytelling and, more importantly to the producers, lousy marketing so of course we have an episode where the girls get back together.
I very much approve of Tomori being the one to get the ball rolling again. Even though she’s the most depressed over the breakup, she is the most invested in the band. Having her gradually convince everyone to come back is a satisfying resolution to the traumatic effect CRYCHIC’s breakup had on her. As for how she goes about the revival, Tomori initially writes her feelings down in the form of poems in one of her notebooks. Tomori then has a chance encounter with Uika, who encourages her to make her feelings known to the people she cares about. I still don’t get what MyGO‘s goal is with Uika but it is nice to see her interact with one of the main characters. There’s something cheeky about having one of Sakiko’s closest friends inadvertently help in reversing a repeat of what happened to Sakiko’s band.
Following Uika’s suggestion, Tomori decides to book some solo performances at RiNG and recite her poetry in spoken word, hoping that they’ll reach out to everyone. She does try to get Anon to join her but Anon still feels unwanted and is therefore reluctant to come back (though curiously, it’s implied that she’s still practicing the guitar). Not having Tomori sing for much of the episode felt like an odd choice at first but the more I think about it, the more it adds up. Tomori lacks the ability to compose instrumentals and it must already be a lot for her to go onstage by herself. Having her settle on spoken word also conveys just how far Tomori is willing to go until she gets her band back. Fortunately for her, Rāna steps in and provides Tomori with some guitar music whenever their schedule aligns, causing Tomori to become a surprise favorite among RiNG’s customers. I guess Tomori’s efforts are interesting enough to Rāna. This far into the show, I still don’t get what the deal is with this girl. But hey, at least she’s doing something for once. Come to think of it, this whole breakup arc started because Rāna felt like playing “Haruhikage” so good for her for “redeeming” herself. Now, if only she could have screentime for once.
Taki is the second person to come back to the band. Given her affinity towards Tomori and how much the latter’s writing resonates with her, it’s not too surprising that she’d be won over so quickly. One issue I have with this episode is that it kind of brushes past just how awful Taki is the everyone besides Tomori. Like, it’s neat that Taki apologizes to Tomori for her stunt last episode but she might want to owe up to some other stuff, like how she treated Anon. I can only hope that in the last three episodes, she’s at least nicer to the whole group.
As for the other two, Tomori and Taki get a tidbit from Mutsumi that Soyo feels lost after her failure to revive CRYCHIC, giving her them some idea as to how they could get Soyo to come back. It’s a small contribution but I’m happy to see Mutsumi try to make up for playing a part in causing Soyo’s episode. Obviously, Soyo would be the hardest person to get back so the episode instead has Tomori convince Anon instead. I really like that Anon finally confesses that she did start the band to chase clout. That was about the last thing Anon kept secret from Tomori and that may have contributed to her feeling like she doesn’t belong in the group. What’s satisfying and heartwarming then is that Tomori ultimately doesn’t care that Anon started the band for her own gain. The fact remains that it had a positive effect for Tomori and Tomori can forgive Anon anyway as they were both trying to find themselves until the band was formed.
Anon more or less volunteers to talk to Soyo. I was a little surprised at first but as the scene progresses, it actually is more fitting that Anon would do the heavy lifting here instead of Tomori. It’s important that we actually see Anon confront and forgive Soyo for her manipulation. And after watching Anon admit her selfishness, it’s fitting to then see her use that to relate with Soyo. I must say, Anon does a great job tricking Soyo into attending Tomori’s next recital, pointing out that the two of them more or less started the band so they may as well see it to the end. It both appeals to Soyo’s desire to bury the band and give her some kind of gal to latch on to for the time being. And of course, once Soyo shows up, Tomori will drag her onto the stage. Talk about giving Soyo her own medicine. I didn’t think Anon had it in her.
With everyone back onstage, Tomori’s final spoken word performance gradually turns into an impromptu music concert. I find it hilarious that everyone is getting teary eyed as they finally confront what’s troubling them, except for Rāna who’s just having a blast. Admittedly, she’s not exactly in the know so her behavior here is fair. I would however argue that this goes to show just how disconnected this character is from everything else in the plot. Other than that, I really love this scene. With how rare music has been in MyGO, it’s nice to hear a new song again (and Hina Yōmiya has seriously killed it with the vocals). Is it a bit of stretch that these girls are good enough to improvise a whole song together? Perhaps but the spontaneous collaboration does work symbolically. After many episodes where the girls argue and pick on each other, it finally feels like all five of them are on the same page.
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