SpiritusNox

I keep thinking about how elegantly constructed episode 10 of MyGO!!!!! was, both in terms of story structure and character. It was some of the best character writing I've seen in years, maybe ever, and it's a truly incredible piece of work.

Spoilers, obviously, follow.

When Tomori got up on stage for the first time since episode 7, all alone, I truly believe she'd given up on the band. Her lyrics were about reaching out to her former bandmates and friends, but I don't think she believed that would reunite them. She simply needed to get her feelings out of her chest.

But the mercurial Rāna wanders in and the dominos begin to fall. Rāna can join Tomori simply because she wants to—she wasn't a part of the drama and has no trauma to overcome. Which is likewise why Rāna's able to drag Taki back to Tomori—whether this is because Rāna recognizes that Tomori needs Taki, or that Taki needs Tomori, or just because she wants to "do the band" is unclear^{1 2}.

Taki's the easy one. She wants to be with Tomori, she always wants to be with Tomori, but she wasn't able to keep the band together by sheer stubborn force of will, and so she doesn't feel like she has the right. And if Tomori had asked her to come back, Taki would probably have refused, out of guilt and fear. But because it is what she so desperately wants and needs, all it takes is a gentle headbutt from the stray cat—an impartial third party, if you will—to get her back on that stage with Tomori.

And now Tomori is seeing that maybe, just maybe, things aren't as bleak or impossible as they had seemed. She realizes there's a chance. Having Taki there gives Tomori the courage to reach out once more to Anon, who, though wounded, cares for Tomori and the band (and Taki), and because of the previous connection she'd made with Tomori ("let's be lost together"), in the end, even though she initially runs, it doesn't take much convincing to get Anon back.

Then there's Soyo. Soyo was always going to be the toughest nut to crack, both from an in-world character standpoint and purely a writing standpoint. Yes, she's hurt, and yes, she's lashing out, but she was also telling the truth when she said that she'd just been using Anon and didn't care what happened to her or Rāna.

However—and this is crucial—Anon is the only one who could have brought Soyo back. Soyo would have dismissed Tomori outright, and Rāna and Taki would never make the attempt in the first place. But Anon, who's the most insightful and emotionally intelligent member of the group, can cut through the bullshit and drill right down into Soyo's issues—whether Anon consciously realizes what she's doing or not.

Because Soyo's never been acknowledged for who she is. Her loneliness and pain—and the resulting resentment and anger—are all things she's kept bottled up. Because she felt like she had to. To be a good daughter, a good student, a good friend. But here comes Anon, someone she was legitimately horrible to, and all it takes is Anon recognizing Soyo for who she is.

"You're super different from what you show. You tell a lot of lies. And there's a part of you that's sort of malicious, right?" Anon, whether she realizes what she's doing or not, is recognizing Soyo for who she truly is. Yes, Soyo does care about Tomori and the others, but Soyo is also kind of a piece of shit! A fact Soyo kept hidden away, out of a sense of responsibility (to her mom) or guilt (over resenting this burden) or whatever else. But to have Anon not just acknowledge that part of Soyo, but to accept it—to say essentially that that's just a part of being a human being—makes Soyo realize that maybe there's at least one place, with one group of people, where she doesn't need to have the mask up.

And Anon was the only person in the group who could have done that. Which is why not only the scene in Soyo's (appallingly massive) apartment is so important, but also the fact that in the end it's Anon who physically pulls Soyo up onto stage with the others. Just like Rāna was the only one who could have brought Taki, and Tomori was the only one who could have brought Anon, Anon—who arguably was the one most injured by Soyo—was the only one who could bring Soyo.

And it all had to happen in that order. Even if Anon had somehow come back first, Taki would have never listened to her, and without Anon there to bridge the gap between Soyo and her former CRYCHIC bandmates, the gulf there would have remained in place forever.

And, y'know. Rāna does what Rāna wants.

It's a remarkable piece of writing that shows us (again) that Yuniko Ayana has a deep and nuanced understanding of the characters she's created, what makes them tick, and how they relate to each other. The character relationship map she posts on Twitter after every episode is cute, but that belies just how much thought and consideration has actually gone into crafting these characters and this story.

There's still three episodes left, and Ayana and director Kakimoto³ could still pilot this thing straight into the side of Mt. Fuji. But assuming that doesn't happen—and this team has earned enough of my trust by now for me to assume that it won't—BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!! may well wind up being the best show I've seen in years.

1. Is Rāna truly just an agent of chaos, or is she actually deeply intuitive and kind? I think it's a deliberate choice that we didn't see the expression on her face after she turned towards the stage to listen to Tomori's recitation. It's also possible, of course, that she's borderline sociopathic and only does what she does for her own entertainment (she's fond of "interesting girls," after all), but we'll assume for the moment that that's a little too dark even for this new, heavier installment of this particular franchise.

2. Holy shit, we can do footnotes? Hahahaha yesssssss I'm going to be so obnoxious.

3. I haven't even talked about the direction, in this episode or any of the previous ones, but holy shit. Will need to write about that at some point, too.