There might eventually come a day where Sakiko and Tomori do collaborate again but as one might expect, that possibility isn’t happening any time soon. This is Sakiko after all. She already discarded CRYCHIC and she seems to be in a sunk cost fallacy where she’s too committed to her decisions to change her mind on them, no matter how bad they are. So naturally, she rejects Tomori’s offer to play in a band. There’s an interesting moment that happens right as Tomori leave, where we learn that Sakiko has actually kept most if not all of the notes Tomori has written and left in her locker. That really accentuates the complicated feelings Sakiko has towards Tomori. Even though Sakiko thinks she’s burned that bridge into a pile of ashes, it seems that she still values Tomori as a friend.
As for Soyo, she ends up staying at Mutsumi’s place for three whole days, even skipping school and band practice, to provide Mortis company and gain some idea of what’s been going on with her friend and Ave Mujica. It’s a bit ridiculous but considering the big fallout Soyo and Mutsumi had last season, it’s a little heartwarming that Soyo chooses to stay by Mortis’ side for that long. I particularly love the part where Mortis grabs a shoe, mistaking it for a telephone, and proceeds to call a nonexistent doctor. Soyo leans into this by picking up the other shoe and pretend to be the doctor. To her credit, she offers a genuinely good suggestion to Mortis, encouraging her to venture out instead of staying cooped up in her room. If you had told me that Soyo could be this caring before I finished MyGO, I wouldn’t have believed you and yet, here we are. She’s really come a long way.
Soyo takes Mortis to RiNG and meet up with her friends in MyGO. Oddly enough, Rāna immediately deduces Mutsumi’s two personalities. I don’t know, maybe since Rāna does nothing but vibe, she could just sense it. Whatever the case may be, Mortis immediately takes a liking towards Rāna and the two soon hit it off. It’s a charming development though perhaps my appreciation actually stems from Rāna actually getting to do something in who knows how long.
The next day, Taki asks Umiri for more information regarding Mutsumi/Mortis and Ave Mujica. As Umiri explains why the band broke up, Taki begins to take issue with the former’s blunt tone and asks her if she was actually part of the band. That Taki of all people is calling Umiri out as problematic is amazing. I really like how this scene puts Umiri’s demeanor on its head. Like, she has been the least troublesome member of Ave Mujica and that was pretty entertaining but now that I think about it, she probably was that chilled simply because she didn’t care all that much about her bandmates. It’s certainly plausible, considering that Umiri often bounces from one band to another. I can also see how this would bother Taki. For all her issues last season, Taki was at the very least committed to MyGO so it would naturally bother her that a friend of hers cares so little about playing in a band.
Back at RiNG, Rāna plays her guitar (shocker, I know) and her music seemingly reawakens Mutsumi. I imagine that after playing the guitar solely for Ave Mujica and not necessarily for herself, hearing such passionate guitar playing from Rāna would do the trick. Mutsumi waking up ought to be cause for celebration but things begin to get complicated. Mortis only plans on letting Mutsumi take the wheel whenever Ave Mujica needs her guitar skills but Mutsumi wants full control again after seeing how badly Mortis has screwed up. The two personalities begin to argue with each other, unaware that they’re slowly moving out of RiNG, where everyone passing by naturally begins to film them. This scene has some of my favorite direction in this season so far. I just love it when the camera cuts back and forth on the same person to better convey their different personalities arguing with one another. Also neat is how, in Mutsumi’s mind, she’s now represented by a doll version of herself, when that used to be the form Mortis took, perfectly matching up with the switcheroo they did earlier in the season. Given how voice acting is usually recorded for anime, I’m curious if Yuzuki Watase actually had to switch back and forth between Mutsumi and Mortis for this season. If so, color me impressed.
The crowd’s recordings of the inner battle soon go viral and people begin to mistake it as a publicity stunt promoting a comeback from Ave Mujica. Sakiko learns about all of this from some classmates and is horrified to see Ave Mujica and Mortis coming back to haunt her. Curiously however, when Tomori and Anon try to assure Sakiko that none of this is her fault, Sakiko chooses to deny knowing about not just Mutsumi but also Ave Mujica and Crychic. It really only makes sense if you bear in mind how Sakiko has behaved in her past, how she tends to quit on something and try bury them six feet under. This is just her doubling down on her defense mechanism.
While consoling Mortis at her home, Soyo asks her for Sakiko’s address. I don’t blame Mutsumi for vehemently objecting to this. I mean, Soyo talking to Sakiko? With there those two are right now, that can’t possibly end well. Funnily enough, Mortis is unaware that Sakiko has moved back to the Togawa manor so she ends up leading Sakiko to Kiyotsugu’s decrepit apartment. Visiting that place is nevertheless productive however as it leads Soyo down the rabbit hole of Sakiko’s family troubles. Later at RiNG, Soyo shows the others an article about the fraud case and the gang soon realizes that this is the catalyst to Sakiko quitting CRYCHIC. The discussion gets a bit more heated when Anon brings up Sakiko’s recent denial, angering Soyo. I understand Anon being more sympathetic towards Sakiko. Having tried to run away from her own failings, she’d relate with what Sakiko is trying to do. Conversely, I get why Soyo is upset. CRYCHIC means a lot to her and she knows all too well about how bad it is to toy with people and disregard them later.
Watch Ave Mujica – The Die is Cast – on Crunchyroll
Xenodude Scribbles 