Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today it\u2019s looking to be another day, another dissociative episode as we return to BanG Dream! Ave Mujica, with Mutsumi clearly on the verge of some kind of psychotic break. Having been exploited and abandoned by her parents, her former bandmates, and now apparently Sakiko herself, Mutsumi has decided there is only one person she can rely on: her alter ego Mortis, the implacable guitarist of Ave Mujica. Mutsumi is not strong enough to carry the weight of her own pain and Sakiko\u2019s as well, but Mortis is free from such responsibilities, a grim realization of the facile \u201cliberation\u201d Sakiko seeks through this group.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s been quite a journey for the girl who was initially defined as \u201cquiet, likes cucumbers,\u201d but I suppose that\u2019s of a piece with Ave Mujica\u2019s general dramatic maximalism. What\u2019s becoming increasingly apparent is that Mutsumi\u2019s complaint of \u201cmy sound was drowned out within a band\u201d applies to more than just her; frankly, it seems like not one member of Ave Mujica is seeking the same thing as any other, save for the amusing compatibility of the equally professionally-minded Nyamu and Umiri. So if the only members getting what they want are the ones who are here for a paycheck, and the players who actually share Sakiko\u2019s desire for a community are only suffering more, who exactly is benefitting from this group? For Sakiko, breaking up the band might not just be a tragic inevitability \u2013 it might be the only way anyone who cares about her can escape her toxic orbit.<\/span><\/p>\n But for now, the show must go on. Take it away, Mortis!<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 4<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cActa est fabula\u201d is our latest title, meaning \u201cthe play is over,\u201d here likely referring to a performance more generally. Ave Mujica has already spiraled beyond Sakiko\u2019s intentions or control, so this feels more like an ironic title \u2013 or perhaps an indication of how one particular conception of what Ave Mujica represents has been put to bed. If Sakiko was attempting to create a community through Ave Mujica, or use it as a vector to convey genuine emotions, she\u2019s already failed in that \u2013 if anything, Nyamu seems to be the one who best understands what she\u2019s actually created, a high-concept musical fad<\/span><\/p>\n We cut in on an interview starring an entirely new Mutsumi, now confident and self-effacing in front of the camera, offering that precise degree of charming frankness that plays as \u201cearnest\u201d to a TV audience. The original Mutsumi is gone<\/span><\/p>\n Soyo is shocked by Mutsumi\u2019s transformation. I like how this season is emphasizing how MyGO hasn\u2019t really \u201csaved\u201d Soyo \u2013 she\u2019s a complicated person still carrying a great degree of baggage, and thus particularly vulnerable to the calamitous turns of Ave Mujica\u2019s fortune<\/span><\/p>\n She\u2019s equally fake and equally successful at school now, chatting lightly with classmates, diverting credit for the interview to the hosts so as not to seem arrogant or prompt resentment. The performance of intimacy that is the sole mode her parents operate in has finally been embraced, a defensive response to the pain of attempting to be accepted for who she truly is<\/span><\/p>\n Soyo is equally unhappy with this development. \u201cShe has become them. The world begins to twist and distort.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Mutsumi is now also \u201ccomfortable\u201d lightly bickering with her bandmates. Everyone except Sakiko seems fine with this; she was being difficult before, and she isn\u2019t now, and isn\u2019t that better for everyone? Shades of Tomori at the beginning of MyGO: accepted as a sort of class mascot, but never respected or understood<\/span><\/p>\n Sakiko can\u2019t understand how the band shifted from near-breakup to this apparent harmony. The disconnect reflects both their variable attachments to the band, as well as their intentions for it \u2013 Umiri and Nyamu just want productive harmony, Uika wants to stay with Sakiko, and Mutsumi has at this point entirely divorced herself from her own feelings. No one cares about the band the way Sakiko does, as an actual vector for emotional revelation, and thus their feelings about the band can easily shift as well. With a more convivial atmosphere, everyone but Sakiko is content<\/span><\/p>\n Sakiko complains that Mutsumi\u2019s attitude in the previous interview doesn\u2019t fit her vision of the band, and Mutsumi switches her affectation on a dime, now channeling Sakiko\u2019s earnest band-first devotion instead of her mother\u2019s self-effacing humor. She can be whoever her audience needs her to be<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI like the Mujica we have now,\u201d says Uika. She would very much like it for Sakiko to quit with all the self-destructive melodramatic stuff, but she can\u2019t directly challenge Sakiko, so instead she just emphasizes this more peaceful dynamic as her preference<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll let the editor know.\u201d Mutsumi now mirroring her mother in other ways as well, establishing precisely the cross-promotional \u201cfriendship\u201d with Nyamu that our shameless climber always wanted<\/span><\/p>\n Uika notices Sakiko\u2019s frustration, but says nothing. Like with the donuts, she can only offer the most roundabout gestures of solidarity<\/span><\/p>\n Funnily enough, this version of Mutsumi actually <\/span>can<\/span><\/i> talk frankly about how Sakiko is overworking herself. She\u2019s incorporated Sakiko\u2019s directives from last episode into this new persona<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNow the closest person to Sakiko-chan is Uika-chan.\u201d Uika unsurprisingly takes this as a compliment, but it\u2019s a backhanded one \u2013 Mutsumi is simultaneously declaring she is no longer close to Sakiko. There is now perpetually a performance dividing them<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat we just discussed, keep it a secret from Sakiko, okay?\u201d The camera deliberately avoids Mutsumi\u2019s eyes, as if Mutsumi herself is directing our attention away from her true feelings<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMutsumi\u2026 what\u2019s wrong with you?\u201d The only two people who recognize something wrong with Mutsumi are Sakiko and Soyo, a nightmare blunt rotation if I\u2019ve ever seen one<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking to Taki, Umiri describes the band as \u201clike a sparkler that\u2019s about to go out.\u201d So she actually does recognize the tension in the band, she just doesn\u2019t particularly care. She\u2019ll play her part until these emotional wrecks inevitably collapse around her, leaving only Nyamu in genuine surprise<\/span><\/p>\n Nyamu and Mutsumi pressure Sakiko into a photo showing a \u201cgentler side\u201d of Ave Mujica. A natural articulation of the fundamental divide between Nyamu and Sakiko: Nyamu has nothing to express beyond whatever will make her famous, and thus sees these compromises as natural, whereas Sakiko has no interest in <\/span>fame<\/span><\/i> beyond its ability to spread her <\/span>message<\/span><\/i>, and thus sees these compromises as a fundamental betrayal that renders her efforts meaningless<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, the further issue with Sakiko is that her allegedly \u201cauthentic emotional expression\u201d is just another front, another way to avoid the hard work of talking to the people she cares about and moving forward in her life. Those that claim to respect Sakiko\u2019s vision only do so because they care about Sakiko herself \u2013 no one beyond her sees Ave Mujica as anything more than just another goth group<\/span><\/p>\n On that note, Sakiko is shocked to hear Uika also loves this photo. Uika doesn\u2019t care about Sakiko\u2019s vision, she just cares about Sakiko<\/span><\/p>\n Oh man. At their next interview, Mutsumi stumbles over \u201cNyamu-chan\u201d before correcting herself with \u201cAmoris.\u201d So even new-Mutsumi can\u2019t keep their affectation straight<\/span><\/p>\n Mutsumi\u2019s actually become such an effective media face that she\u2019s ticking off Nyamu, who\u2019s attempting basically the same archetype<\/span><\/p>\n Oh my god, Nyamu\u2019s going to eat her feelings. God I love her<\/span><\/p>\n She even does the Misato beer swig, which seems appropriate for a similar quasi-elder who\u2019s unwilling forced to play parent to mentally unwell children<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is what I get after trying so hard. I guess talent really is everything.\u201d Simultaneously gracious and self-absorbed, ceding to the \u201cbetter player\u201d while failing to recognize that better player is in the midst of an emotional breakdown. Never change, Nyamu<\/span><\/p>\n She actually has a frank, loving relationship with her mother and sister. She genuinely possesses everything Mutsumi longs for; she may be a mercenary social climber, but she has a strong core of people she loves and who love her, a solid rock of identity<\/span><\/p>\n At their next concert, \u201cMortis\u201d claims she\u2019s never played guitar before. The one thing Mutsumi held as true to her own identity is foreign to Mortis<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was doing fine without the guitar, right?\u201d Her revisions as Mortis also move the group further and further from Sakiko\u2019s vision<\/span><\/p>\n Sakiko has finally had enough, and confronts her outside. \u201cYou used to care so much about the guitar. I can\u2019t understand you anymore!\u201d The guitar was her only vehicle for expressing her feelings, but now she has realized that no one wants to hear her feelings, they only want Mortis<\/span><\/p>\n And again, the camera avoids her eyes as she brightly smiles and says \u201cThis is all for Ave Mujica.\u201d A clear signifier of key Mortis-mind statements<\/span><\/p>\n Yep, this was her answer to Sakiko\u2019s request; she\u2019s taken the load of holding the band together off Sakiko\u2019s shoulders, all in pursuit of a permanent group. Uika would approve<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMutsumi\u2026 wouldn\u2019t call me that. Are you\u2026 really Mutsumi?\u201d Tragically, this might be the first time in this series that Sakiko has actively considered Mutsumi\u2019s feelings. Too little, too late<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMutsumi-chan is already dead.\u201d You killed her, Sakiko<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more like she\u2019s asleep, as if dead.\u201d Love this use of the panning camera for Mutsumi\u2019s transformations \u2013 the pan across the back of Sakiko\u2019s head serves to hide the transition from carefree Mortis to her frank, emotionless affectation<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut Sakiko-chan, thinking only of herself, scolded Mutsumi harshly.\u201d A shame this has to come from Mortis, but I\u2019m glad someone\u2019s finally telling Sakiko how badly she\u2019s hurting people<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I hate Sakiko-chan.\u201d Mortis is able to embrace the feelings of resentment that Mutsumi repressed; Mutsumi couldn\u2019t handle her simultaneous adoration and hatred of Sakiko, so she divided it up. Now Mutsumi-chan can sleep peacefully while still loving Sakiko and Ave Mujica, and Mortis can do the daily work of making Sakiko\u2019s stupid dream a reality<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf Sakiko-chan keeps being like this, Mutsumi might never come back.\u201d You asked for this, Sakiko! You chose your band over your friend, you can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too at this point<\/span><\/p>\n And of course, Uika comes running with the umbrella, always ready to shelter Sakiko from the consequences of her actions<\/span><\/p>\n Sakiko\u2019s reveal of Mutsumi\u2019s split personality cues us into a horror movie sequence, as the girls jump at shadows while the storm crackles outside, all under murky hotel room lights. I didn\u2019t expect Mutsumi to be framed as a potential serial killer by episode four, but I guess we\u2019re somehow here now, and just gonna have to deal with it<\/span><\/p>\n Mortis also gets distinct \u201ccharacter acting,\u201d moving more like a doll on strings than Mutsumi, with lots of rapid, jerky movements<\/span><\/p>\n Nyamu just straight-up asks if she has a split personality. She has swiftly become my favorite, and is proving herself more of a proper Anon surrogate by the episode<\/span><\/p>\n And then Nyamu lets loose on Sakiko, asking her to remember all the hundreds of people working behind the scenes for their performance, all so that performance in turn can satisfy thousands of fans \u2013 including her own family, who she so proudly asked to look forward to this concert. Nyamu is certainly self-absorbed in her own ways, and doesn\u2019t really seem to believe in art as a concept, but she holds the promise between entertainer and audience as sacred. She is a born professional and pride of her family, while Sakiko only performs for herself<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have the time to play house with a rich girl!\u201d Love it. Nyamu\u2019s position is too fraught for her to do anything but take this seriously \u2013 she fully understands the opportunity they\u2019ve been given, and refuses to let it be frittered away due to the whims of a girl who\u2019s never taken anything seriously, because she\u2019s never been at risk of losing anything<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, that doesn\u2019t exactly describe Sakiko\u2019s position, but Nyamu\u2019s read on it given her perspective seems totally understandable<\/span><\/p>\n Mortis is flailing at this point, airing whatever dirty laundry she thinks might keep the group together, tone-matching whichever personality can voice them<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n Thus we end our fourth goddamn episode on a reprise of CRYCHIC\u2019s dissolution, with nothing resolved and Mutsumi in far worse mental health than she started. Though frankly, I could see how this period might actually be productive for her \u2013 she\u2019s essentially going through the \u201cidentity-trying\u201d stage of personal development, wherein you put on a variety of hats and see what feels authentic to your underlying feelings. Probably not the best thing to do as a public act of self-rejection while a member of a hit gothic rock band, but hey, that still might be healthier than what Sakiko\u2019s doing. Regardless, Nyamu ruled this episode and continues to rule more generally, even if she\u2019s misconstruing Mutsumi\u2019s outbursts as performative genius rather than genuine emotional disarray. Through her guileless embracing of the artifice of celebrity, she might actually be proving herself the <\/span>most<\/span><\/i> genuine member of Ave Mujica. A scary thought, that.<\/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\/February03094134.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n