Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we\u2019re returning to the tormented saga of Ave Mujica, as Sakiko\u2019s bandmates continue to enable her high-concept exorcism of personal demons. Though really, it doesn\u2019t seem like she\u2019s making emotional progress through any of this; rather, Ave Mujica is merely a vehicle for her to wallow in despair, framing her whole identity as a product of her trauma. By pinning her hopes on this melodramatic act of alleged liberation, she is only demonstrating how she is still defined and bound by her abandoned hopes. She is like Soyo cringing at that first-season performance of Haru Hikage, still too wrapped up in the pain of its associations to enjoy it as a fond memory.<\/span><\/p>\n Moreover, while MyGO\u2019s post-CRYCHIC players had the good fortune of encountering Anon Chihaya, a sympathetic figure bearing baggage of her own, Sakiko\u2019s associates seem far less inclined to guide her through this fraught period. Uika\u2019s the only one who seems like a genuinely good influence, while Umiri is indifferent, Nyamu actively hostile, and Mutsumi clearly caught up in her own parental anxieties, clinging to her one friend even as that friend actively provokes her trauma. Is this the night that the doll Mortis cuts her strings, and can she even walk without those strings to guide her? Let\u2019s get to it!<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 3<\/b><\/p>\n Our new episode title is \u201cQuid Faciam?\u201d, simply \u201cwhat should I do?\u201d A title that points to the crossroads facing all of Ave Mujica\u2019s members; their unity of purpose barely survived their first performance, and now all of them (well, except maybe Umiri) are grappling with the distance between what they wanted from this band and what it has actually become<\/span><\/p>\n Uika wanted to reconnect with her oldest friend, and has since learned Sakiko is actually clinging to this band as a desperate coping mechanism. Mutsumi wanted to stay at Sakiko\u2019s side, and is now being punished for that desire through the direct provocation of her anxieties regarding her famous parents. Nyamu wanted fame and diversion, and sees the band as potentially having run its course on both counts. And Sakiko, of course, wanted something Ave Mujica was never going to provide \u2013 validation, vindication, and maybe even a road forward. But you can\u2019t build a future out of past regrets, and it seems unlikely Ave Mujica will ever make her genuinely happy<\/span><\/p>\n We open on Mutsumi still collapsed vacantly in her chair as the audience grows increasingly nervous<\/span><\/p>\n Sakiko picks up the beat swiftly, attempting to incorporate Mutsumi\u2019s collapse into their theater drama. They\u2019re venting their feelings like MyGO, but in front of an audience of thousands, with no common trust to protect them like that possessed by the MyGO girls. When MyGO performed near the end of their season, they were playing for <\/span>each other<\/span><\/i>, their performance and feelings directed across the stage, their backs frequently turned to the audience. In contrast, Ave Mujica is like a bucket of crabs, all dragging each other down in the expression of their feelings<\/span><\/p>\n Lots of loaded imagery in this OP \u2013 the dual nature of the characters is the most prominent motif, conveyed both through visual doppelgangers and through the consistent presence of mirrors, wherein the characters\u2019 alternate identities are revealed. There\u2019s also a thread of Uika chasing after Sakiko, which already seems relevant. Uika might be the only one who can save Sakiko from herself<\/span><\/p>\n Aw, those assholes. We jump straight from the OP to after the show, with Mutsumi\u2019s bandmates praising her for her apparent impromptu performance<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBluffing her way out \u2013 Mutsumi isn\u2019t capable of that.\u201d Sakiko does seem to understand her friend to some degree, which makes it all the worse how she\u2019s exploiting her. She knows Mutsumi would never say no to her, and also knows Mutsumi is incapable of performing the hollow niceties inherent in self-promotion \u2013 did she really believe the masks alone would protect her friend? Another unfortunate contrast \u2013 Saki\u2019s profound, sincere protectiveness of Tomori versus Sakiko\u2019s thoughtless exploitation of Mutsumi<\/span><\/p>\n Mutsumi once again retreats to the basement, where she is visited by a plush doll of herself. I like the contrast between this doll and Sakiko\u2019s avatar \u2013 Sakiko\u2019s mother\u2019s doll is porcelain, its form sharp and perfect, a distant avatar of fragile beauty, while Mutsumi\u2019s doll is soft, indistinct in its features, both huggable and unlikely to be broken. As far as mirror-selves go, both their dolls seem to embody what they hope to be<\/span><\/p>\n The doll leads her to a toy TV set, where she is interviewed and asked if she\u2019ll become a famous actress like her mother. From a young age, the entire world has been staring accusingly at her, asking if she\u2019ll measure up to the mother who is everyone else\u2019s idol, but distant to Mutsumi herself<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll those praises belong to Minami-chan and Ta-kun. Not a single one belongs to Mutsumi-chan.\u201d Once again, louder than MyGO\u2019s drama, but still engaging and effective. As before, her terms of address for her parents demonstrate she\u2019s no closer to them than their \u201cadoring\u201d fans. Her whole life story emphasizes how fame and intimacy are distinct, perhaps incompatible goals, even as Sakiko attempts to paper over her own lost intimacy with the glory of fame<\/span><\/p>\n We run through her journey with the guitar. \u201cMutsumi finally found something that belongs only to her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But when she found others to play with, her own \u201cvoice\u201d was drowned out. She actually does want to be noticed and praised, but fears it as well<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not what I meant. I can\u2019t feel the joy of being in a band. I can\u2019t make my guitar sing.\u201d Playing with others only made her feel more isolated, only reminded her of how she can\u2019t connect with others. But when she admits to that feeling, it feels like she\u2019s blaming Sakiko. So as usual, she tries to avoid saying anything at all, knowing her words only hurt the people around her<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the one who ruined CRYCHIC.\u201d Aw, girl, no<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBringing her into this world, pushing her into this situation \u2013 that was me.\u201d Glad to hear Sakiko taking some responsibility for how she\u2019s misused her friend<\/span><\/p>\n Sakiko reflecting \u201cI\u2019ve known her since the beginning\u201d prompts a look of regret from Uika, who apparently feels jealous of the closeness Sakiko feels towards others. And thus she offers donuts, the symbol of unity presented by her other band partner<\/span><\/p>\n But Sakiko \u201cstill has things to do.\u201d Donut friendship denied!<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPerforming requires being both delicate and bold.\u201d Meanwhile, Nyamu stews at an acting workshop, frustrated that the do-nothing Mutsumi has somehow eclipsed her presence within the band. I\u2019m frankly really excited to get more from Nyamu \u2013 she\u2019s so far been a pure trolling irritant, so it\u2019s nice seeing her genuinely get frustrated, which implies she genuinely cares<\/span><\/p>\n Nyamu bumps into her neighbor, another apparent performer who she refers to as \u201cLAYER-senpai\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf I recall, you\u2019re majoring in acting, correct?\u201d So Nyamu does indeed have ambitions beyond being a streamer, and is already studying at some kind of performance school. She does seem generally older than the rest of our group<\/span><\/p>\n And she\u2019s always selling, immediately trying to parlay this praise into some kind of cross-promotion. She actually understands the industry they\u2019re in, and is doing her best to genuinely conquer it \u2013 no wonder Mutsumi\u2019s accidental fame annoys her<\/span><\/p>\n Nice use of smears for the sticks as she practices on her drum kit. It seems her schedule is managed down to the minute, all through her own dedication<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, at first I thought she was making use of her parents\u2019 fame. After all, that\u2019s a kind of talent too \u2013 you should make use of everything you have.\u201d Nyamu offers a perspective we haven\u2019t seen so far: the genuine career performer, who isn\u2019t caught up in any sort of self-involved passion for self-expression, but is nonetheless entirely dedicated to achieving their dream. Such a person doesn\u2019t begrudge the connections of others \u2013 they just work harder, knowing they themselves would work any similar angles in a similar way<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMuuko is a true genius.\u201d She might be taking the wrong lesson from this whole affair, though<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s add each other as friends.\u201d Nyamu\u2019s language of affection doesn\u2019t really compute for someone like Mutsumi<\/span><\/p>\n And so she moves to her default mode of engagement: provocation, by suggesting both of them leave Ave Mujica<\/span><\/p>\n But Mutsumi can\u2019t. While she doesn\u2019t profess any actual interest or attachment to Ave Mujica, she knows Sakiko will break if she leaves<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s a chance, I\u2019ll grab it. If there isn\u2019t, I\u2019ll carve my way out.\u201d Yeah, Nyamu is really selling herself this episode. I appreciate a character who is so unabashedly ambitious<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAre you satisfied with just staying as you are, Muuko? Isn\u2019t Sakiko just obviously holding you back?\u201d Such a character can often say what others can\u2019t, bound as they are by the feared reception of their words. But Nyamu is not ashamed of her ambition, and she\u2019s similarly not afraid of pointing out uncomfortable truths to others. The fact that she\u2019s actually talking shop with Mutsumi so directly is a sign of respect<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNyamu, why do you keep saying such awful things?\u201d Of course, Mutsumi\u2019s in no position to see these words as anything but an attack, an attempt to undermine her dearest values<\/span><\/p>\n Nyamu again proves her proud audacity as Sakiko arrives, saying she\u2019s happy that Sakiko heard every word. She was fine with the melodrama of Ave Mujica as a performance gimmick, but she\u2019s more than tired of her bandmates actually <\/span>living<\/span><\/i> that way. She\u2019s a professional on the rise, forced to slum it with self-important children who nonetheless possess the keys to the kingdom. She\u2019s seeming more like the \u201cDark Anon\u201d of this season by the moment \u2013 someone who\u2019s similarly unimpressed with their emotional drama, but also does not give a shit about them<\/span><\/p>\n Mutsumi\u2019s stuffed animal buddies agree that Sakiko is unfair to her<\/span><\/p>\n Their next event is a primetime live show, courtesy of Mutsumi\u2019s mother<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey want Mortis to repeat the event from the first day of the tour.\u201d So now even her expressions of sincere despair and panic are being appropriated as part of the show. While Nyamu seeks an audience through artifice, Mutsumi gains one accidentally through sincerity, neither of them acquiring what they desire<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s like they\u2019re saying Ave Mujica\u2019s music isn\u2019t needed.\u201d The first time Mutsumi\u2019s \u201cvoice\u201d actually stands out on stage, it is because she has eclipsed and made irrelevant her fellow bandmates. A cruel fulfillment of her wish for her song to be heard<\/span><\/p>\n Sakiko attempts to defend Mutsumi, while Nyamu just wants her to embrace her new role. Mutsumi might be racing out ahead of Nyamu in terms of exposure, but all publicity is good publicity, and Nyamu will make use of whatever tools are available to her<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDoes a band that takes their performances lightly even have a reason to exist?\u201d \u201cHuh? Of course they do. Responding to what\u2019s requested is what entertainment is all about.\u201d Sakiko and Nyamu conveniently illustrate the gulf between their perspectives<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo you even understand what the audience wants?\u201d Nyamu\u2019s last words nonetheless hit hard, resonating with both Sakiko\u2019s disregard for the audience and for her bandmates. Is constructing a performance for herself any more noble than what Nyamu is doing, particularly if Mutsumi is the one paying the cost?<\/span><\/p>\n Debate over Mutsumi\u2019s performance gets the whole band arguing after their latest show, and once again, she sees herself as engineering the dissolution of Sakiko\u2019s sacred place<\/span><\/p>\n Excellent use of sound design here, as the arguments of Mutsumi\u2019s bandmates blend with those from CRYCHIC\u2019s breakup, all while the train platform announcer warns of a \u201clast chance for boarding.\u201d If she doesn\u2019t change things now, she\u2019ll incur the same result<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHow long are you going to keep following me?\u201d Sakiko finally asks her<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhenever I speak up, I ruin everything.\u201d She has good reason not to voice her feelings<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou used to talk more. You used to smile more. Now you leave everything to me! Why!? Why aren\u2019t you at my side!?\u201d Mutsumi has learned not to speak in order to avoid causing problems, but Sakiko needs a genuine friend, not just a silent follower<\/span><\/p>\n Sakiko seems to realize she\u2019s asking too much of Mutsumi, but of course cannot admit to that, and so simply flees<\/span><\/p>\n Thus Mutsumi truly does feel it\u2019s all her fault. The pre-show imagery offers a calculated reprise of MyGO\u2019s opening \u2013 as the umbrellas representing shelter float away from her, she is consumed by the doll, which she now acknowledges as the Mortis identity. I\u2019m sure this will all end very healthily<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n Oh goddamnit Sakiko, can\u2019t you see what you\u2019re doing!? Your theatrical wallowing in despair has pushed Mutsumi entirely over the edge, and now she\u2019s likely stuck in permanent Mortis Mode, having banished her own personality for failing to please you. Though frankly, Mutsumi\u2019s methods of conceptualizing her sense of isolation and lack of identity seem a little beyond Sakiko\u2019s ability to resolve \u2013 like Sakiko herself, Mutsumi clearly needs someone who\u2019s not attached to her musical aspirations, someone whose concern for her isn\u2019t based in what they can get from her, to actually help her resolve this self-loathing. Of course, that swings us back to the parents who\u2019ve only ever treated her as a fun interview accessory, and well\u2026 yeah, it\u2019s a total mess. But hey, at least Nyamu is thriving! Please keep thriving, Nyamu. You are my only hope.<\/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\/02\/January31100916.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n