This is an unusual and bold episode, even by Ave Mujica‘s standards. Much of this episode has Uika on an imaginary stage, performing a soliloquy to explain her past to the viewer. It reminds me a bit of MyGO‘s third episode, which also utilized a unique format to present Tomori’s backstory. There’s no diegetic reason behind the soliloquy. The show simply expects you to roll with it. While perhaps a tad pretentious, I appreciate the show going for a more creative route than the usual flashback episode and it does help accentuate certain aspects of Uika’s past. Watching Uika perform for almost an entire episode is potentially a test of patience but personally, I found the runtime flew by just fine. I primarily attribute that to Uika’s voice actor, Rico Sasaki, who really gets to show off some acting chops throughout this episode.
The play begins with Uika singing “Greensleeves”, an English folk song that dates back to the late 16th century. Uika previously performed this song in the finale of MyGO!!!!!. This is based on a quick web search but from my understanding, one interpretation of “Greensleeves” is that it’s about a prostitute or a promiscuous woman. In hindsight, Uika singing this song is actually pretty relevant to her character.
As it turns out, Uika’s real first name is Hatsune and, more importantly, she is an illegitimate daughter of Sadaharu and a caretaker working at the Togawa family’s villa (and yes, this means Uika/Hatsune is technically Sakiko’s aunt). Since Sadaharu married into the Togawa family, any acknowledgment of Hatsune would essentially result in his downfall. Not wanting to cause trouble for Sadaharu, Hatsune’s mother decides to raise her with a different man on Shōdoshima, where the Togawa family’s villa is located. Through her mother and foster father, Hatsune gained a half-sister named Uika. On stage, Hatsune performs the dual role of both herself and her sister, which I think is a clever use of her being the only actress in the play. It perfectly accentuates her inevitably becoming known as Uika and not Hatsune.
At some point, Sakiko spends a summer trip at her family’s villa. Uika meets and plays with Sakiko a bunch of times but Hatsune is forbidden by her mother to see her. One day, Uika falls ill and Hatsune takes the opportunity to sneak in and meet Sakiko. When Sakiko mistakes her for Uika, Hatsune decides to impersonate her sister so that she and Sakiko are immediately friends. This results in the obsessive attachment towards Sakiko, that we know of in the present-day plot of the show. Sometime after Sakiko returns to Tokyo, Hatsune’s foster father dies in a fishing accident. A rift then forms when Uika accuses Hatsune of hating their father and manipulating Sakiko. Feeling unwelcomed, Hatsune runs away to Tokyo.
In the hopes of meeting Sakiko again, Hatsune decides to assume Uika’s identity again and pursue her sister’s dream of becoming an idol, resulting in her becoming a member of sumimi. As Hatsune finds success as an idol, she meets Kiyotsugu and she gets to ask if she could meet Sakiko. Kiyotsugu figures out Hatsune’s true identity and attempts to convince Sadaharu to acknowledge his daughter but Sadaharu refuses. Shortly after that, Kiyotsugu’s fraud scandal happens (though now, I wonder if Sadaharu may have orchestrated that) and Hatsune begins to blame herself as the reason behind all of the misfortune Sakiko has had to deal with since then.
I’ll be honest: this backstory is maybe a bit too much. It’s arguably the heaviest one that either MyGO!!!!! or Ave Mujica has delivered, what with all the family drama. That said, I concede that if nothing else, it makes Hatsune/Uika a much more interesting character. Like, I didn’t really think much of Uika during MyGO!!!!! and most of Ave Mujica. Now, I’m fascinated by how unhealthy her relationship with Sakiko is. She takes her sister’s name because it’s the real Uika whom Sakiko actually has a history with, not her. She works as an idol because the real Uika dreamed of becoming one and Sakiko encouraged the real one to pursue it. In hindsight, Uika joining Ave Mujica was less a kind gesture and more an excuse to be with Sakiko. The obsession even dictates more minor aspects of Uika’s characters such as her interest in stargazing, which we now know stems from Uika naming off all the stars at the top of her head when she hung out with Sakiko for the first time. Almost everything Uika does is because of Sakiko. Take Sakiko out of the equation and what are you left with? Without her “childhood friend” defining her, Uika is an incredibly empty character. It’s pitiful but it’s also captivating.
Back in the present, Sadaharu tells Sakiko that he’s planning on having her move to Switzerland and he instructs her not to contact Uika again. I’m not entirely sure why Sadaharu is only now forcing Sakiko to cut ties with Uika. I mean, Sakiko and Uika were very obviously working together in Ave Mujica, their identities were exposed shortly after the band started, and the girls were even living together for some time. Sadaharu must’ve been aware of all that so what was he doing this whole time? Did he just look the other way? I have a hard time believing that with how much he doesn’t want anyone finding out about Uika.
Anyway, Uika catches on that she can’t keep Sakiko in her life anymore so she packs her bags and moves back to Shōdoshima. I’m curious if she’s living with her family again. Probably not because her mother and half-sister must have a lot of questions. The next day, Sakiko gets a call from Umiri, who is understandably confused as to why she and Uika haven’t shown up for band practice. This is also how Sakiko learns that Uika has left Tokyo. I’m assuming the next episode is spent getting Uika back somehow before one last concert for the finale. Funny how MyGO!!!!! got to spend the penultimate stretch of their show making new music and costumes while Ave Mujica is stuck dealing with more drama. Then again, I guess Ave Mujica wouldn’t have it any other way.
Watch Ave Mujica – The Die is Cast – on Crunchyroll
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