Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to Cafe Liebe, where it seems Hime and Mitsuki might well be on the verge of an emotional breakthrough. Though Mitsuki is still frankly terrible at expressing herself outside of the formalized confines of Cafe Liebe’s performance, Hime’s declaration that she would “never betray Yano” clearly got through to her, affirming the doubts she was already possessing regarding how their first friendship ended. And in spite of not understanding Mitsuki’s admittedly vague statements, Hime can see the change in her as well, and is beginning to embrace her own genuine emotions.
Of course, genuine emotions are difficult to express at Cafe Liebe, where every idle passion is formalized into a rigid dance, and every statement of longing must meet the approval of a judgmental audience. In its systems of hierarchy and rejection of anything betraying convention, Liebe has turned the once-freeing context of yuri drama into its own form of social confinement, with the online comments of attendees now serving the role that Hime’s classmates performed in grade school.
Transgressive art breaks boundaries and allows unlimited personal expression, but transgressive art turned into an industry (or worse, a fandom) becomes an institution with strict expectations and inarguable internal rules. Mitsuki briefly found solace in the reliability of these rules, but she’s now discovering the feelings she bears towards Hime do not necessarily fit within the interpretation of love demanded by Cafe Liebe. Can Hime save both her relationship with Mitsuki and their performance as Schwestern? Let’s find out!
Episode 6
“So There’s No Need For Lies Anymore?” An episode title that points towards a necessary revelation for Hime: you don’t need to lie about your identity in order to make everyone love you, so long as you have important people by your side who actually understand you. Our personalities are not so simple or compatible that one person could be beloved by all – and even if that were possible, it certainly wouldn’t be a person like Hime, who’s too sharp-edged and too disinterested in frivolous socialization to be everything to everyone. We all cause friction as we navigate this world, and the trick is not to act in such that no one will ever dislike you, but to stay true to your identity, act as kindly as you can in a general sense, and eventually find the people who value the things that make you distinct. An ounce of honest companionship is worthy an ocean of insincere praise
It’s interesting how the “big sister-little sister” dynamic of the schwestern system contrasts against the actual personalities of Hime and Mitsuki. Hime is actually far more socially savvy than Mitsuki, has more to “teach” her big sister, while Mitsuki’s superiority is limited to the precise confines of Cafe Liebe. And even there, it’s just the salon floor, as her coworkers are only so willing to tolerate her all-or-nothing philosophy
Their Schwestern saga continues to directly mirror their grade school relationship. Just like back then, Hime didn’t consider the social cost of declaring her desire to be close with Mitsuki, and now the audience is declaring that Mitsuki must be forcing her. Hime’s bubbly affectation means she rarely faces the social consequences of her choices, but that ultimately means those consequences fall directly on Mitsuki, who lacks her ability to play to the crowd. In order to do right this time, she can’t simply abandon Mitsuki like before – she must proudly declare her allegiance, and accept having her true feelings known to the audience
“Some people can’t help but poke around behind the scenes when they see a happy story.” Those people will always exist, so making everyone happy is impossible. You can’t abandon your own happiness for the sake of pleasing everyone
Mitsuki basically lacks any talent for social niceties, and like many such people, she has turned that into a point of pride, a reflection of her dedication and authenticity. As such, outside of the conversational rules defining the salon, she can mostly just glower, instruct, and blow up
Sumika and Mai aren’t particularly worried about Hime’s ability to handle this, but Mitsuki is always the problem. I love how Mitsuki simultaneously embodies how these genre expectations can be both a comfort to the socially awkward and a cage for those trying to embrace sincere expression
Hime reflects back to her promise to “practice together” on piano as she watches Mitsuki work. This time, it will be different
The two put on an excellent opening performance as Schwestern
Hime’s got a lot of contempt inside her, but she’s fortunately now directing it at the crowd, rather than her partner
“I sometimes don’t understand, because you’re like that. I don’t understand why you want to be my sister…” As expected, Mitsuki actually has an easier time expressing her true feelings within the confines of the salon. General socializing feels confusing and full of landmines, but within Cafe Liebe’s language, she can actually let Hime know how she feels, actually question why Hime cares about a gloomy girl like her
Of course, Hime’s only thinking about the audience, and thus she quickly shifts back to upbeat, superficial canned phrases. What Cafe Liebe means to Mitsuki is very different from what it means to the cafe patrons
The patrons are also sensing some tension in their performance
“Why do they always have to make Yano the bad guy?” Hime’s performance is effective, but isolating; she can’t carry Mitsuki with her while maintaining her bubbly, superficial facade
“If she likes you the way she always has, that’ll make you happy, right?” Sumika’s got this whole situation figured out by now, and can’t help teasing Mitsuki a bit
“Yano-chan, you get so upset when someone points out the truth to you.” Yep. She’s very uncomfortable being sincere, and always puts up her defenses immediately. Her overreactions in defense of her private feelings have inspired much of the conflict so far, both in grade school and now
One of the patrons tells Mitsuki to “ignore the rumors,” which only clues her in to the larger context of this day’s performance
Kanoko wants to keep Hime to herself, and thus challenges Hime on her defense of Mitsuki
Describing Mitsuki’s nature, it’s clear how much Hime respects her for staying true to herself, no matter the social cost. Mitsuki embodies a bravery and sincerity that Hime could never equal
And Mitsuki hears all that, but still doesn’t really get Hime. “What part of you should I trust? I don’t understand…”
It’s much easier for Mitsuki to disregard the fickle emotions of others, and find solace in staying true to her own rigid values. But she actually cares about Hime, in spite of Hime embodying so much of what she finds confusing, frustrating, and alienating about socializing
For all her regular intuition, Hime still thinks Mitsuki hates her. And so she decides to do what’s “best” for Mitsuki, by once again breaking away from her
“I’m lying because I love you. Please understand that this time!” Goddamn, Hime! At last, speaking so directly that even Mitsuki can’t misunderstand you. She is not naturally brave, but cares enough about Mitsuki to be brave for her sake
“Why would you decide anything based on what people think about me!?” Just like before, Hime is basing her actions on how she herself would react to the scorn and suspicion of others. But Mitsuki is not like her – Mitsuki is fully accustomed to being hated or misunderstood, and will happily accept that so long as she can be with the people she truly cares about
“I love you.” And Mitsuki says it too! My god these two
“I should have chosen the thing I wanted to do. I didn’t need to lie.” When there’s something you truly want, something that speaks to your soul, you are only hurting yourself by feigning indifference for the crowd. We only get one shot at this life, so we might as well be earnest in seeking what we love
The crowd loves it! As long as they get dramatic declarations and tearful confessions, they’ll accept some off-script innovations
“Rumors are just rumors. The two of them being on good terms is the best part of this.” In this era of constant social surveillance, ‘fuck the haters’ is an important life lesson
Hime and Mitsuki get right back to their missed-signals bickering after their shift. It’s funny, Hime is extremely good at reading most people, yet she can’t pick up the signals of the most obvious person in the world
With balance restored, their next shift takes place entirely in the fantasy of Liebe Girls’ Academy, with Hime and Mitsuki even posing before the window in the precise composition used for the example Schwesterns
But in the distance, Kanoko seethes!
In the post-credits sequence, Mai raises the specter of the mysterious “Blume election” for the second time. Can’t just have no drama from now on, I suppose
She also at last floats the idea of Sumika becoming Schwestern with Kanoko
Sumika then discovers Kanoko’s phone, alongside her impressive Hime photo collection. “Wow” indeed
And Done
Ah, glorious victory! After half a season of painful anxiety and miscommunication between two characters who clearly adore each other, it was profoundly satisfying to see them clear the air, confessing their true feelings while simultaneously resolving the critiques of their performed feelings. It’s easy to see why each of them finds the other so fascinating – Hime combines the social graces Mitsuki lacks with a genuine respect for Mitsuki’s own passions, while Mitsuki embodies a confidence of selfhood that Hime sees as incredibly brave. The two complement and complete each other in the manner of many of the best romances, collectively navigating the confounding labyrinth that both media and public-facing social convention have made of our personal relationships. I’m looking forward to many more Hime-prompted blushes from Mitsuki!
This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.