Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we\u2019re returning to the tortured drama of Ave Mujica, as Sakiko continues to either exorcise or embrace her demons through the novel vector of gothic rock music. Our last episode served as something of a companion piece to MyGO\u2019s first episode, demonstrating the calamitous personal events leading up to CRYCHIC\u2019s dissolution from Sakiko\u2019s perspective, and revealing that it was as much a lifeline for her as for Tomori. Just as Tomori found in CRYCHIC a genuine, non-judgmental (well, Soyo aside) community, Sakiko found a slice of normalcy, as well as a lingering connection to her absent mother.<\/span><\/p>\n In the wake of that breakup and Tomori\u2019s subsequent reemergence, I suppose we can forgive Sakiko for getting a little melodramatic. Truthfully, it does seem like Ave Mujica is going to be tonally and narratively distinct from its predecessor; while MyGO reveled in subtlety and visual inference, Ave Mujica is all about oversized dramatic gestures and enormous feelings, seeming more like the Dear Brother to MyGO\u2019s Hyouka. The tone matches the band: theatrical rather than confessional, anthemic to the point of emotional generality rather than specific to the point of intimate individuality. Given all that, I see two potential paths ahead: that this is simply the Kakimoto\/Ayana team reveling in a different subgenre, and letting Sakiko\u2019s flair for the dramatic color the entirety of her narrative, or that this is as much of a perspective-oriented trick as MyGO\u2019s third episode, and that Sakiko\u2019s unreliable narration will eventually be complimented or challenged. Regardless, it\u2019s still very fun watching these nightmares in action, so let\u2019s charge onward to the trials of Ave Mujica: Unmasked!<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 2<\/b><\/p>\n Our episode title is \u201cexitus acta probat,\u201d meaning \u2018the outcome justifies the deed.\u2019 A line that could easily apply to Nyamu\u2019s impromptu unmasking of the group, which will presumably raise the profile of Ave Mujica to a tremendous extent. Though frankly, if they\u2019re already playing at Budokan, it\u2019s unclear how much bigger they need to go; I generally see Budokan framed as the <\/span>end<\/span><\/i> goal of a music group, not the first step towards a larger stage. That\u2019s one of several ways in which Ave Mujica seems more divorced from reality than MyGO, with the depiction of Sakiko\u2019s father also feeling somewhat broadly defined and dramatically heightened<\/span><\/p>\n We open on audience members excitedly gossiping about the mask reveals, just as Nyamu expected. Mutsumi is the first subject of inquiry, being immediately defined as \u201cWakaba\u2019s daughter.\u201d She was the one who had the most violent response to being unmasked, and it\u2019s no surprise \u2013 given how shyly she behaved in the interview, and how tightly she clings to Sakiko, it\u2019s clear that she\u2019s in this band in <\/span>spite<\/span><\/i> of the exposure, and needed the masks as a barrier as much as Sakiko did. As I said regarding the last episode, Mutsumi seems like a close parallel of Tomori, demonstrating how things might have turned out if Tomori wasn\u2019t able to make a clean break and find her own happiness<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs expected, the children of celebrities are different.\u201d Without the masks to provide them a sense of anonymity and quasi-universality, the girls of Ave Mujica are immediately set apart, defined by their celebrity. This seems like the opposite of what Sakiko was seeking, but nonetheless an ironically appropriate result; Sakiko sought validation for her feelings, an audience to align with her perspective, but the end result has only emphasized how distinct and isolated she is<\/span><\/p>\n Soyo just totally blows off Anon as she brightly gabs about Sakiko\u2019s reveal. A swift demonstration of how crucial Anon was to MyGO\u2019s appeal \u2013 while Soyo or Taki could easily fall into Sakiko-style melodramatic self-absorption, Anon was always there to pop their inflated egos and get them talking like human beings again<\/span><\/p>\n Taki calls her upon learning the details, and tells her not to tell Tomori<\/span><\/p>\n Nyamu then claims the episode title for herself, crowing about how well the reveal went<\/span><\/p>\n Umiri has to leave, as one of her thirty other bands has a live performance coming up. She\u2019s basically the opposite of Sakiko or Tomori \u2013 she\u2019s so broadly invested that no single band can hurt her<\/span><\/p>\n Uika proves the most observant of the group, noting both the extent of Sakiko\u2019s fury and Mutsumi\u2019s seeming despair at being unmasked. She\u2019s similar to Anon in her confidence in a bright facade, but it remains to be seen whether she\u2019ll similarly succeed as the group\u2019s no-nonsense mediator<\/span><\/p>\n The OP is KillKiss Juda again, and basically plays like an Ave Mujica music video that they\u2019d commission themselves. I quite like that \u2013 both bands are fronted by music videos that seem within their means and styles, with MyGO reusing their concert outfits and simply hiring a crew to film them playing on pavement, while Ave Mujica has this ornate, effects-heavy video production<\/span><\/p>\n The visual motifs are consistent: a carousel emphasizing their performative nature and circular quest, then reflections of their \u201chollow\u201d nature like shadows and dolls<\/span><\/p>\n In keeping with her pre-OP framing, Uika is positioned as the protagonist seeking Sakiko<\/span><\/p>\n Actually laughed out loud at our transition to Tomori gazing in wonder at a particularly impressive rock she found. Same vein of humor as her hushed \u201csugoi\u201d at Anon demonstrating basic power chords<\/span><\/p>\n The show walks a refreshing line with her, neither mocking nor valorizing her peculiarities. She\u2019s just Tomori, and it seems more respectful to acknowledge she can make some funny choices than to treat her with infantilizing deference<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDid you find any pretty stones?\u201d Anon has come to fully appreciate her at this point<\/span><\/p>\n All the gossip in school makes it basically impossible for Tomori to avoid learning about Sakiko. Funny how this production jumps between Ave Mujica self-seriousness and MyGO bluntness; \u201chiding the truth from Tomori\u201d could be a dramatically heightened source of personal strain for Ave Mujica, but in MyGO, the truth is accidentally revealed within thirty seconds<\/span><\/p>\n As expected, Tomori\u2019s actually far more comfortable with this than either Soyo or Taki. Tomori misses Sakiko, but she\u2019s no longer desperate to restore CRYCHIC; she just wanted a place where she belonged, and she has found one in MyGO. If Sakiko is happier in this new band, I\u2019d assume Tomori would be happy for her<\/span><\/p>\n Taki hunts down \u201cTimoris,\u201d who wasn\u2019t even aware Taki knew Sakiko. Umiri is clearly the Raana of Ave Mujica, though with her own spin on the form<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Mutsumi is busy disassociating while staring at the cucumbers, until Soyo pops up and demands to know why she\u2019s in a band. Nice use of the cicadas in the background here, rising in volume to echo Mutsumi\u2019s mental disorientation<\/span><\/p>\n Taki notes that \u201cMutsumi hates it when people recognize her\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSakiko\u2026 back when she was in CRYCHIC, she was so warm, so bright. She even said my lyrics were cries from the heart, that they were our songs. But this song\u2026\u201d As expected, Tomori doesn\u2019t feel betrayed in any way by Sakiko\u2019s actions \u2013 instead, she\u2019s simply worried that Sakiko\u2019s current music reveals she <\/span>isn\u2019t<\/span><\/i> actually happy, and is making a cry for help rather than a celebration of what she\u2019s gained<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a cry from a Saki-chan I don\u2019t know.\u201d Sakiko has divorced herself from the earnest joy she found in CRYCHIC, and now presents a new self that is ostensibly free of such weakness. Of course, it\u2019s all a painfully fragile front; Sakiko is clearly hurting, and barely able to maintain her Oblivionis affectation<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhy is Nyamu not a hot topic at all?\u201d And of course, Nyamu has her own struggles<\/span><\/p>\n Mutsumi\u2019s quietly shaking at their next band meeting. She accepted this band for Sakiko\u2019s sake, but everything since has been a nightmare<\/span><\/p>\n Nyamu pokes gleefully at Sakiko\u2019s facade, noting she\u2019s failing to uphold her \u201crich girl\u201d image. This is the battleground you\u2019ve chosen, Sakiko \u2013 the land of fakes and tricksters, where people like Nyamu shine. Is this really the future you wanted?<\/span><\/p>\n It seems Umiri is also handling their scheduling and general band manager duties. I suppose you gain certain skills as a member of thirty bands<\/span><\/p>\n The group are invited to Mutsumi\u2019s home, another invasion, another conflation of two worlds she wished to never interact<\/span><\/p>\n Mutsumi refers to her own mother as \u201cMinami-chan,\u201d maintaining a stage distance from her family. And of course, Nyamu swiftly latches on to this affectation as well, emphasizing how Mutsumi\u2019s relationship with her mother is about as meaningful as Nyamu\u2019s relationship with anyone<\/span><\/p>\n We cut from Mutsumi\u2019s crestfallen look at this new \u201cfriendship\u201d to Minami wailing for a daughter that doesn\u2019t exist, as they screen one of her own favorite performances<\/span><\/p>\n At their live interview, the interviewer immediately begins talking to Mutsumi about her mother, prodding the open wound. Sakiko can only defend her by saying \u201cthat\u2019s Mortis you\u2019re talking to\u201d \u2013 her only strength is in reasserting the artifice, and she\u2019s not actually able to direct the conversation<\/span><\/p>\n The only words that slip out from Mutsumi are \u201cit won\u2019t last long,\u201d prompting an immediate tabloid scandal. Mutsumi is the one who\u2019s actually been forced to live as a doll, paraded around by her parents and Sakiko alike, but never valued for her own sake. She knows that any community won\u2019t last; it\u2019s the only thing that\u2019s remained true in her life, and thus it\u2019s the only statement she can make that hasn\u2019t been scripted by another<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just\u2026 when I talk\u2026\u201d Mutsumi tries to defend herself, but even when Nyamu is<\/span> directly challenging her, she\u2019s not actually interested in hearing a response<\/span><\/p>\n Even Sakiko is no longer defending her, instead simply telling her she must remain professional when she speaks. The one thing that compelled her to join this band, her utter devotion to Sakiko, has now been roughly misused as well. No wonder she said she never had fun with CRYCHIC \u2013 every moment under the spotlight is torture for her, something she only endures because Sakiko is her only friend<\/span><\/p>\n Thus Mutsumi spends the rest of the day silently agonizing over her fate, despairing in having embraced what she always dreaded becoming<\/span><\/p>\n Uncomfortable in her great canopied bed, Mutsumi tiptoes to the basement and clutches her guitar in a corner. Another easy metaphor for her perspective \u2013 she doesn\u2019t want to be an ornament in her parents\u2019 lives, and the guitar is her escape, the one thing that is genuinely hers. Given Sakiko\u2019s relationship with her grandfather, you think she\u2019d be more sympathetic \u2013 but of course, Sakiko is self-absorbed and Mutsumi is uncommunicative, so this is where they end up<\/span><\/p>\n Instead, the only one carrying the collective burden of the group\u2019s anxieties is Uika, who is comforted by her partner in sumimi<\/span><\/p>\n Uika discovers Sakiko has been sleeping in their rented conference room. Rather than acknowledge this, Sakiko immediately slips into Band Leader Mode, talking about their upcoming trials. She can only ever sweep her feelings under the rug, only move forward through a performance of strength<\/span><\/p>\n Uika knows how proud Sakiko is, and is thus as gentle as possible in offering to share her own home<\/span><\/p>\n She brings her two possessions: her mother\u2019s doll and her keyboard<\/span><\/p>\n Ever the perceptive one, Uika immediately pieces together Sakiko\u2019s tragic past and current identity as \u201cOblivionis.\u201d Even if no one else understands Sakiko, Uika is determined to stay beside her<\/span><\/p>\n The next morning, Mutsumi is an absolute wreck. Unsurprisingly, Uika is the first to notice she\u2019s late for prep<\/span><\/p>\n Sakiko angrily declares \u201cfailure is not an option\u201d while Mutsumi struggles just to breathe. Well, I\u2019d imagine Mutsumi having a psychotic break on-stage would actually improve their image \u2013 the only question is, would Uika allow Sakiko and the others to do that to Mutsumi<\/span><\/p>\n She blinks, and suddenly they\u2019re all on stage. You know, I don\u2019t think starting a theatrical gothic drama experience was really the cure for what ails her, but I\u2019m open to being proven wrong<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOnce broken, you\u2019ll have to live with this face forever.\u201d Sakiko\u2019s script emphasizes the limited nature of her perspective, how she sees a terrible finality in all their current woes<\/span><\/p>\n Mutsumi collapses back into her chair, a doll with strings cut. What will happen next!?<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n Ahaha, this show is so much fun. Our team are clearly reveling in melodrama to a much greater extent than with MyGO, but that doesn\u2019t mean the production has lost its acuity of direction or precision of characterization. Instead, it just means we get to savor such expertly crafted sorrow as Mutsumi\u2019s total disassociation, as she finds that the one person who offered her an escape from her parents\u2019 shadow was also trying to use her, no more interested in Mutsumi\u2019s personhood than her indifferent mother. This band is an absolute psychological disaster, and Sakiko\u2019s actually the worst of them \u2013 Nyamu is simply callous in the way unrepentant social climbers tend to be, while Sakiko is turning her own baggage into an anchor weighing everyone who trusts or believes in her down. Ave Mujica is turning out to be a gleefully sordid page-turner constructed by artists who\u2019ve proven capable of a delicate touch, yet can\u2019t help but indulge in the operatic excess of Sakiko and Mutsumi\u2019s utter dissolution. Onward to the next atrocity!<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0article\u00a0was\u00a0mad<\/a><\/em>e possible by reader support<\/a>. Thank you all for\u00a0all that you do.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/January27095320.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n