Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am feverishly impatient to get back to Dear Brother, and continue Nanako’s descent into the vicious rivalries and cunning subterfuge of Seiran Academy. After spending the first several episodes being tormented by the dreadful Misaki, it was actually Shinobu who struck the deepest blow against our beleaguered heroine. Playing up Tomoko’s preexisting anxieties about Nanako’s new status, Shinobu managed to forge a rift between Nanako and her one true friend, leaving the Sorority’s newest member adrift in a sea of adolescent animosity.

All this has made for delightfully melodramatic entertainment, particularly when you couple in Osamu Dezaki’s energetic direction. His use of heavy shadows and silhouettes, clever partitioning of the screen, gracefully audience-guiding boards, and postcard memory punchlines collectively provide Nanako’s story the theatrical framing it deserves, making Seiran feel as grand and imposing for us as it must surely feel for Nanako. Add in incidental delights like Shinobu calling people “potato heads” and “daughter of a rat dog” at every turn, and you end up with a show that demands tears, rage, and laughter in equal measure, all of which I’m happy to provide. Let’s get to it!

Episode 5

We open on shots of stuffed animals lying rejected in a corner, before learning that this is Tomoko’s house, and that she’s currently screening Nanako’s calls. A tidy visual signifier of the two of them “putting away childish things.” Tomoko likely sees herself as much like those stuffed animals: a toy that Nanako enjoyed playing with for a while, but which she has now grown beyond. Even before Shinobu’s interference, she was already deeply insecure about Nanako leaving her behind

We flash back to Shinobu’s conversation with her. You can really hear the implied “get away, normie” behind Shinobu’s “keep in mind, she’s not an ordinary student anymore”

We can see Nanako’s distress in her defensive posture as we flip to her side, her arms tucked awkwardly inwards as she realizes Tomoko is avoiding her

Nanako’s mother carefully prods her about “Henmi,” asking what her relationship is with Dear Brother. It still seems extremely likely that Henmi is the biological son of Nanako’s current father, who allegedly abandoned his first wife and child. Nanako’s relationship with Henmi is the one element of her childhood that hasn’t in some way been sullied by her arrival at Seiran, but given these revelations, that’s not likely to last

“Did you thank him?” “Yes, but I didn’t tell dad about it.” Her mother flinches at this, briefly wondering how much Nanako actually knows, before her fears are addressed by Nanako’s continuing “I wouldn’t want him to worry.” Nanako’s parents should be the confidants she can turn to at times of upheaval like this, but they’re hiding secrets and walking on eggshells as well

And Nanako in turn is hiding what she’s learned about her family’s history. A low-angle composition staring up at the two of them emphasizes the distance that has developed between them, using the glaring ceiling light as an impassable barrier, while also casting both of them in harsher light to illustrate how they’ve somewhat become strangers to each other. Their expressions are almost unreadable in the glare

And yep, the only person she can actually confide in now is Dear Brother. What a mess

“Thorns of Doubt and Suspicion.” Man, that is a tantalizing episode title

Effectively alienating shots as Nanako stands at the train platform, presumably still hoping Tomoko might show up and fix all of this. She is first seen through the windows of a passing train, with faceless silhouettes all staring out at her, then shot from above in another composition that blots out her face with white light, with an out-of-focus clock in the foreground precipitating her realization that she is both abandoned and late

The image of the tower once again serves as our transition to school, but this time it’s seen through a classroom window, facilitating an immediate transition to the class in session. Clever choice

Canted angles and deep shadows set a tone of disarray and alienation as Nanako chases Tomoko

Tomoko has replaced Nanako with a new friend. They’re both in the baking club, further driving in the knife that this girl has claimed the space once reserved for Nanako

Nanako and Shinobu run into Saint-Juste, who is popping pills and moping as usual

Kaoru shows up, and slaps the pills out of her hand. Kaoru addresses Saint-Juste as “Rei,” asking “you’re still taking these? When will it sink in?”

Saint-Juste is all confidence while rebuffing Kaoru, but once again freezes and becomes totally obsequious when Miya-sama shows up. So it seems like Miya-sama and her sorority have entrapped and led on Saint-Juste, leading Kaoru to hate both Miya-sama and her organization

The sorority members do indeed seem like a bit cult-like as they file past the school’s legends

“Are you going to wear that bracelet forever?” Presumably given to her by Miya-sama, an alleged token of love that’s actually more of a slave collar

Miya-sama seems to actively delight in her control over Saint-Juste, and even drops a pad of nails on her hand intentionally. Yet Saint-Juste seems perfectly willing to accept this torture, so long as it’s Miya-sama who bandages her, using what is presumably a handkerchief Miya-sama once gave her. Even so, Miya-sama is unwilling to touch her

Nanako actually breaks up the encounter, leading Saint-Juste to a chair. A flash of a disgruntled expression from Miya-sama assures us that she will not forget this, and that she has noted Nanako as a potential threat to her power. In a world where most of the students seem too dazzled by their elders and preoccupied with convention to express themselves in anything but the sorority’s established modes, Nanako is consistently pushing against boundaries and making enemies simply by jumping into action and expressing her own moral beliefs through her behavior. Individuality is clearly a threat to Miya-sama

So it seems Miya-sama invited Saint-Juste here purely to engage in this performance of subjugation. I guess we’re learning how she keeps the sorority in line

And by doing this right before the new arrivals officially sign in as members, she is making all of them complicit in her behavior. They’re too scared to stand up to her now, and having watched this and signed in anyway, they’ll be unable to say they were simply innocent witnesses in the future

Their pledge to the sorority is all about upholding the grandeur of this organization, nothing about developing themselves

Miya-sama’s crimes are at the front of Nanako’s mind as she makes her pledge, and it seems Miya-sama can sense her doubt as well

Elsewhere, Nanako’s mom confronts Henmi directly

“Don’t defy Miya-sama! You can’t go against her will!” Shinobu cheerfully informs Nanako that they are all Miya-sama’s servants now, and cannot do anything that might displease her. This sequence is conveyed largely through still postcard memories, which here seem to emphasize how Nanako is only half-listening to these words, catching fragments as she reflects on the day

Apparently, Miya-sama’s father is on the school’s Board of Directors. So she really is just queen of the school

From my current adult perspective, it’s hard to imagine these teenagers developing such fierce hierarchies and rivalries in such brief stretches of time, but I do indeed remember how seriously the pecking order was treated back in high school

Henmi and Nanako’s mother confirm his true identity, while also revealing that Nanako’s family sent Henmi money every month, meaning she likely took that job as a cocktail waitress in order to support her husband’s abandoned son. And with the benefit of time to grant him perspective, Henmi realizes that holding a grudge over his alleged injustice is simply pointless. Henmi is far beyond the intensity and finality of emotion driving Seiran’s students

Some cruel dramatic irony as Nanako’s mother asks Henmi not to reveal the truth of his identity, so as not to cause Nanako unnecessary pain

We flash back to Henmi first realizing he’d lost his father, the rain echoing his feelings and serving as a visual connection between past and present

Meanwhile, Saint-Juste is lying in darkness, deliberately crunching pills while ignoring her ringing phone. Huge mood

Saint-Juste imagines that this is Miya-sama calling, and that her refusal to answer is an act of rebellion, or “getting even” for how she was treated. Of course, Saint-Juste is fundamentally deluded in believing that Miya-sama thinks of her at all; in truth, it is Kaoru trying to connect

Ooh, love this shot of Nanako awaking from a nightmare, with all in black except the rain through the window. This storm has served as a lovely motif to unite all these disparate tales of woe

And Done

My god, what a winding nest of tragedies we’ve found ourselves entangled in! Tomoko’s abandonment of Nanako proved merely the first of her trials, as she was then immediately introduced to the true face of Miya-sama and the sorority. Her small acts of rebellion already seem likely to invoke Miya-sama’s fury, but I’m actually happy that she discovered her classmate’s true nature so soon, meaning we won’t waste any time waiting for Nanako to catch up with our own impressions. At this point, any preconceptions Nanako once held about the glamor of Seiran and the sorority have surely been shattered: this is a vicious world, and she will need to choose her confidants carefully if she wishes to survive. Prepare for battle, Nanako!

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