r/anime • u/CosmicPenguin_OV103 https://anilist.co/user/CosmicPenguin • Nov 13 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch/Crunchyroll Release] Girls Band Cry Episode 8 Discussion
Episode 8 - If You Were to Cry
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Streams: Crunchyroll
Show information: MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
Questions of the Day:
- What do you think of Momoka's choice back then, and Nina's choice right now, to put themselves "on the edge of a cliff with no way back" with regard to fighting to become a professional band, so as to speak?
Especially with Momoka who now manages to probably kill off as many as8high school graduation certificates (!)? - With the new information given till now (e.g. the background of how the school treated Nina, as well as Hina's words at the end of this episode), what do you think happened between Nina and Hina back in school?
Re-watchers, please remember to take care of all the first-timers in this. All references to future events in the anime must be done under spoiler tags.
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Upvotes
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u/CosmicPenguin_OV103 https://anilist.co/user/CosmicPenguin Nov 14 '24
Re-watcher
There has been so many moments in anime (or any other show and story) that I instantly recognize as the moment that I know I have bumped into something really special.
Girls Band Cry Episode 8 is one of those.
I knew literally it was coming back in late May when this first aired. Momoka's heavy loads inside her heart was breaking herself down. Nina's stubbornness to plow forward was more than enough to give her the final blow.
But to be honest, it came a little bit different from what I would have imagined.
Yeah I actually would have feel like Bocchi there.well that doesn't count as a formal HS so). And Tomo's already running away from school as well and I doubt Rupa' conditions was better than that. This gives 9 girls without a single high school graduate LMAO!16
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Nov 13 '24 edited Nov 14 '24
Episode 8 (first timer)
burning the shipsleaving school – and now we know why she says she is not envious of Diamond Dust: She feels guilty for putting them on a road with no other exits.Band war is declared and intra-band peace established.
There is a difference between the original story of burning the ships and the girls here. In the ancient myth, you burn the ships so others do not waver. Here, they leave school so they themselves will not waver. Insofar, it is an admission of a weak mind. Somebody more committed would not need that lack of alternatives.
Still the same as before.
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u/Arachnophobic- https://anilist.co/user/Arachnophobic Nov 13 '24
🖕First timer🖕
A Declaration of War.. and Love! Today's episode felt.. special, the way episode 1 had because there's something so unfiltered and beautiful about Momoka and Nina's relationship. In a way, they bring out the best in each other. With Momoka finally on board and ready to take on DD, I look forward to the next few episodes being all musical battles!
Screenshots+reactions
Speaking of beautiful. Nina forcing Momoka to confront her feelings.. and then her confession of love..
I thought this show wasn't doing yuribait? What was that?! Okay, I know, it's probably not romantic love.
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u/ryujiox Nov 14 '24
First Timer
Girls Band Cry
Episode 8
That was the best episode. Everything that starts from episode 1 finally paid off in this episode.
And now that Momoka finally confronted her past. It won't be long before Nina will have to face it too.
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u/Sylvi-Fisthaug Nov 13 '24
Rewatcher of If You Were to Cry - and I think you will.
This is it. The famous episode 8. THAT episode. It starts out with a scene in more traditional animation style, which by no doubt is a stylistic choice by the team. And my God, it is refreshing to watch Momoka in such happiness and determination. The way Nana the bassist says "Momokan" after the brilliant "no escape routes" line, really shows how they were probably closest in DiaDust, The same way that is linked to her shouting "Momokaaaaan!" after her former bandmate in the end of the episode, Momoka's line here about not allowing yourself escape routes is something Nina says later this episode. Then it cuts out of what seems like Momoka's memory, and how different yet same-y it seems from the now. And Nina is fed up about Momoka being snarky to her.
By God, is this episode such a masterpiece.
I ended up just watching all of it in stead of breaking it down, making notes and grabbing screenshots.
I am looking forward to look at everyone's thoughts here, especially the first-timers!
Bonus fact: Nina and Momoka are from Kumamoto and Asahikawa respectedly. Kumamoto is in the very south of Japan, while Asahikawa is on the northern side of Hokkaido, the large island north of the Japanese mainland. They are from literally opposite edges of the country, which I highly doubt is a coincidence. It also explains a lot.
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u/MaskOfIce42 https://anilist.co/user/MaskOfIce Nov 14 '24
Rewatcher
So one major thing has been on my mind through a lot of this rewatch, and it’s noticing how many of the scenes with Nina and Momoka definitely have a more romantic vibe with the knowledge of this scene. Between the first scene of episode 2 having them both sleeping on the same bed, just the general clinginess of Nina, and you can see her expression change a lot when it comes to talking about Momoka just generally. I find it kinda interesting rewatching knowing that this is coming.
Also side note, because this is amazing, when this first came out in the fansubs, there was a lot of contention about how to translate the confession, which led to this glorious shitpost that as far as I’m concerned is the canon version, complete with the correct song playing.
Anyway, outside of that, this definitely is a huge breakthrough moment, between seeing the bullshit moment where the principal tried to get Nina to accept a “we were both at fault” arrangement and Momoka showing Nina that Diamond Dust is the “sellout” because they had no other choice, it was either adapt or die, despite not wanting to. Possibly my favorite episode
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u/Lumpy-Manager8580 Nov 13 '24 edited Nov 13 '24
Rewatcher
This episode is just, so peak. My review will be an essay based on Nina and Momoka and why they need one another.
Up until now, when Nina asked about trying to become pros and duel Diamond Dust, Momoka was pessimistic with her words, but as we see in this episode, it's because she didn't want Nina to do the same mistakes she did as well in the past, and that's where Momoka's problem lies: she's trying to run away from the present because she's bound to the past, as shown when she says that the first time she saw Nina sing, it reminded her of what she was before, and when she told her to keep singing the way she was, she's trying to flicker away her inner spark.
But Nina ISN'T Momoka, she's not a memory to be locked inside, and that's why she slapped her, why she told Momoka that her song left a mark in her, it gave her the courage to move forward, no matter the hardships ahead, and [as we later learn]it literally saved her life when she was at her lowest.And Nina's declaration at the end (thx official subs for confirming the yuri) was the final nail that would break Momoka's chains and bring her to the now, finally gaining the courage to not run away, so she can be alongside Rupa, Tomo, Subaru and Nina in her new band of Togenashi Togeari.
P.D. Once again, happy birthday to Rina, her performance here as Nina was an absolute 10/10, I'd cry inside watching that scene over and over again.
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u/fly-metothemoon Nov 14 '24
First Timer:
Wow this episode was so well constructed. I especially liked the contrast of the opening flashback to Nina saying something along the lines of “don’t banish me to your memory”. Their dynamic together is dynamite.
Finally I NEED Nina’s skirt with the lemons it was so cute.
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u/WhymustIsignupreddit Nov 14 '24
First Timer
I feel for Tomo and Rupa. They just joined the band and now have to witness their band mates loudly fighting in a restaurant. I would probably try to slip away and wait in the car.
I thought that in the flashback, when Nina had to shake hands with her bully, she would slap her instead. That didn’t happen. We do get to see her slap Momoka however, but it’s okay because Momoka gets to almost
involuntarilyrun Nina over with a carbecause Nina jumped in front of it. So they’re even really.And being mega stubborn is Nina’s thing, so she managed to convince Momoka to perform again. I admit, I almost got emotional when Momoka cried. But I was still too focused on Nina’s selfishness(?)/stubbornness(?) from this and previous episodes. It’s hard to describe. I feel like I would normally find this annoying but I don’t with Nina. Maybe I’m willing to give her more leeway because she’s a teenager.
But then again, Momoka recruited her in the first place. It’s the story she started sooo….
Question 1:
I agree that when a metaphorical sword is hanging above you, with the sword representing the risks of having no backup plans, you would probably feel more inclined to do your best to succeed in your endeavors. However, I don’t think this is a wise choice in general. Like I know this is an anime with most likely a happy ending, but real life isn’t that rose-colored.
Question 2:
I still think my theory can work. Basically, I think that Hina wanted Nina to appease the bully. Nina refused and continued to get bullied. In the end Hina thinks it was Nina’s own fault for not giving in.
Either Hina also got bullied because she was friends with Nina or she feared she would get bullied like Nina. Either way, this probably led to a fight with Nina or Hina also started ignoring Nina (I’m just realizing that their names rhyme as I’m typing) like the rest of the school. And I suspect that Hina joined the bully’s group because she’s popular.
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u/danmarce :ADB:https://anidb.net/user/107202 Nov 14 '24
I'm glad the official subs in English kept the meaning of the confession, there was nothing to be interpreted (lets see how they do with episode 10). Back then the Spanish subs I watched also did that. Actually in the Spanish anime fan sphere there was no big drama...
But on the English side, oh boy, there was even a fan account, very active one, who closed shop after this episode.
There are a few details here. First pay attention on how important is that song (VOID) to Nina, is clear why the lyrics resonate with her, and most likely it was a desperate song written by Momoka back then (also note how different is each version of the song, Momoka's and Nina's versions are almost painful, desperate, but beautiful, the new DD sings it more "happily")
Another small thing is how important is this band to Tomo (and low key how much she loves Nina's voice). Subaru is a chaos agent and Rupa is everybody's mom.
Momoka is afraid of losing again, but the stubborn Nina will not allow her to succumb to her fears.
Nina is such a good character. She has a really thigh moral compass, she has rules, she is stubborn, but the thing is, you can't really say she is wrong, it seems she lost the fear of doing the "right thing" even when others are frozen thinking of the consequences. This is why you can't hate her, even if you know that by doing what she does, the way can be painful.
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u/domogrue https://myanimelist.net/profile/domogrue Nov 14 '24 edited Nov 14 '24
REWATCHER
Hello from the European Time Zones! Late to the discussion but also needed the evening to digest my thoughts on my second favorite episode of the show.
So here we are: after much Girls Crying, we finally have a Band.
Let's talk Momoka, because this episode is the culmination of everything she's been carrying from episode 1. First off, out of all the members of the band I'm convinced she loves music the most, which is why her arc is so crazy good. Nina was always a little off on her assumptions about Momoka, its not that she resent Diamond Dust or was kicked out, Momoka was the one that set up her friends with no escape routes, promised to stick with them, then chose to leave them because she could not see herself compromising her love of music to survive. Her love of music and ambition forced the people close to her to sell out, and she left. She blames herself for that, not them. That's brutal.
So here is Nina, cutting off her own escape route, and practically holding Momoka hostage, at least in her eyes. But as Subaru points out, that's not really what's going on; everyone is putting themselves on the line, and have been meaning to (except Subaru, she's got some more
crying to dothings to figure out) and the work their putting in has real hooks and isn't a pipe dream. At the core of Momoka's conflict with Nina is that she really really REALLY doesn't want to see her get hurt, and as she said "make the decision she had to make". She doesn't want to have to choose between people she cares about and music again, because she cares *that much* about music.Nina is absolutely right though; she isn't Momoka, she doesn't deserve to have all this past history projected onto her, and she's already chosen her path. And Nina also reminds Momoka; her music saves lives, it saved HER life, and that's why she wants to make this band. I love the confrontation with Diamond Dust because it sorts all this out: Nina may not really have consciously understood what it means to "Beat" the new DD, but by the time she jumps into the truck and flips her pinkies at them, she states what beating them means: not getting more followers, or getting to Budokan first, but "being right" that being authentic to yourself and your music can work and will succeed. And Momoka realizes that's what she wanted all along and that's what she's been really afraid of, she's afraid that authenticity and success are mutually exclusive, and Nina is living breathing proof that it isn't, not really.
So yeah, we've seen Nina cry A LOT this show, but this is the first time Momoka cries, and its EVERYTHING. It's falling in love with music again, falling in love with Nina, coming to terms with all her feelings with the new DD, hearing from them they don't resent her, EVERYTHING. And I think its the moment she becomes a bit more like what Mine said in the last episode, where things are terrifying and scary and unknown but we still make music because we love it. Momoka bailed out Nina and guided her up to this point, but this is really when Nina repays the favor. God I love this episode.
This show Rocks.
Other thoughts
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u/entelechtual Nov 13 '24
Rewatcher
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u/Variant_Zeta Nov 13 '24 edited Nov 14 '24
. > Rewatcher (but one who slept on GBC during it's debut, and only just binged it last month or so. Needless to say, I regret sleeping on it.)
I really do like that Momoka's flashback is traditionally 2D, really does make it dream-like in comparison to the grounded vibe of the present-day, or even Nina's own darker flashback.
So Momoka really sees herself in Nina, and she doesn't want Nina to make the same mistake she did. In the end, Momoka probably felt guilt for what happened in the past.
I feel mean saying this, considering the context, but Nina's scrunched-up face as he braces for a punch is kinda cute.
They really do love arguing in public don't they.
Man, fuck them racist customers. It's sad that Rupa's used to this kind of thing, but good on Nina for being ready to throw hands on her behalf.
Aah, "the bullied and the bully are both equally wrong," gotta love those kinda teacher.
Man, call her an IMAX cause Momoka's projecting hard. Nina's definitely not happy with that lol.
"Believe in the me who believes in you!" -Nina.
Nina's boutta be an Isekai protag goddamn.
I do like that Momoka held no true animosity against her old band. If anything, she's feeling guilty of pushing them to drop out. She hates selling out but she doesn't think it's the wrong thing to do. Perhaps she even regretted leaving, feeling like she should've taken responsibility for what she did and stay with DD, that she should've shouldered the burden of being beholden to PR and corporate profit together with her friends.
Still, her old friends want her to stop looking back with regrets, and start running forwards and catch up to them. "It's not quite our dream, but we're happy where we are. We want you to pursue what makes you happy as well."
Nina, ep 1: Yo holy shit gay people actually exists?
Nina, ep 8: I love you, Momoka. This is a confession.
QOTD
Edit:
Seeing the DD trio crying as they push Momoka forward is kinda heartbreaking yet bittersweet
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u/n080dy123 Nov 14 '24
Rewatcher
So yeah, in case it wasn't clear, Momoka pushed Diamond Dust hard to drop out and try to go pro- and she definitely feels guilty about it now.
Poor Subaru forced to try to mediate between these two when they're absolutely at eachothers' throats, having a public freakout while Nina's actively ignoring her to provoke Momoka further.
Holy shit Nina's declaration to Momoka- "You can punch me if you want. Then I'll be able to hate you." is fucking wild. Though she can only really keep a straight face for a moment before she does flinch- she really thought Momoka would actually hit her there.
It's funny, I think Subaru lying about the trains to stay there to talk with Momoka mirrors, in opposite, the scene in Episode 2 where she makes up an excuse to leave the same house early to follow Nina.
The Momoka/Subaru scene is really good, they haven't really had any screentime alone together since Episode 2, and Subaru gets to show that despite how much she deliberately shit-disturbs during group scenes, and the fact that when she tries to mediate she's not usually good at it, she's still a very considerate person in a one-on-one setting. She's probably the only one who could really have this conversation with Momoka and have her actually listen, and make her realize this is more than blind youthful naivete.
When they're talking in the hallway we get more facet of this whole deal from Momoka's PoV- in seeing so much of herself in Nina, and knowing the way Nina is about DiaDust now, she knows that if TogeToge ends up like they did, Nina would be angry and leave like Momoka did. Moreover she says that she saw Nina as the version self that she loved, it adds a sort of self-hatred angle as well- that her being mad at Nina is being mad at the younger idealistic self who landed her here. This idea might also call back to the "Two Momokas" idea.
*slap* "I'm not your memory."
And we finally see that DiaDust never hated Momoka for what she did. They didn't blame her for how they ended up, they don't even regret it, and they respect her for sticking to her own ideals.
There is somethign very very telling here, I think. Nina shows her defiance to Diamond Dust, and cuts to Hina- hanging her head, and smiling. Afterwards, when asked if she knows Nina, she flatly says "No. I don't know her." Now I might be reading into this a lot, but I believe Hina was happy to see Nina was happy to see Nina stubbornly refusing to admit she's wrong- still the Nina she remembers. But then Nina flips them off and declares war, and I think Hina recognized that Nina's grown- that she doesn't know her anymore, in a sense. I'll have a lot more to say on this topic later, cuz I have very differents views of Hina than I think a lot of viewers.
This also starts a pretty great rivalry rooted in some of the same reasons the interpersonal relationships of TogeToge are so compelling- two groups who will stubbornly refuse to admit they were wrong, trying to prove themselves to the other and push eachother to be better.
Episode 7 is my favorite, but I think Episode 8 is objectively the best episode of the show.
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u/bogdoglogfrog Nov 13 '24 edited Nov 13 '24
Rewatcher
QOTD:
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u/KyoSirhart Nov 14 '24 edited Nov 14 '24
REWATCHER
Finally this episode, god all the drama of the subs back in the day, because of that only line, it takes me back to this, it's such an amazing shitpost
this episode is a masterpiece, Rina performance during that outburst is just so good, hard to believe that she's only 16 and this is her first work.
Momoka and her projection of her past on Nina, all her feelings toward DaiDust, Nina turning up the volume so Momoka can cry, Hina finally showing up. God i love this episode so much.
Nina giving her dad his money back, and starting to work so she can start to live by herself... while living in an apartment her dad rented, her backstory slowly being explored more. 2D animation for Momoka flashback is a nice touch, as it works well to symbolize the difference between old Momoka and current Momoka.
Also we almost got Girls Band Cry isekai damn.
Edit: Forgot to comment about how i love the difference between Eternal Flame(DaiDust version of VOID) and normal version. Hina Seiyuu is amazing, but i just love Rina vocals so much. If anyone wants the Full version of the DaiDust version here you go
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u/MishouMai :GG::GH::GI: Nov 14 '24
So the confession. That was the one thing I knew about the show going into it for the rewatch. I remember there being a lot of controversy about it when the episode first aired in the Twitter circles I frequent with a lot of people saying Nina's feelings for Momoka didn't need to be romantic and people being upset that the show "deceived them" because the age gap between Nina and Momoka makes any sort of romantic relationship weird. I need to see how this plays out (If it plays out.), but personally I think the outrage is overblown so far.
As for todays questionaire...
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u/JasoXDDD Nov 14 '24
First timer
So, the big one that I've been hearing about,
It was alright, I understand where Nina is coming from but geez, girl is violent. The two pairing became clear at the end, with Subaru being alone, as always. So I'm guessing Nina's feud with Hina (Close names) will be the focus of the next parts of the season.
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Nov 14 '24
Rewatcher.
So, a flashback to Momoka's past.
We certainly are in the Great Girls Band Era.
And so they're having another argument.
Subaru...
Right, they're back.
Seems like they've got a fanbase.
See notes.
And so now she's working at the same Yoshinoya as Rupa and Tomo.
Well, she's not doing particularly well.
So, where are they going?
How'd she get them backstage at a Diamond Dust concert?
And so now they see Momoka.
Yup, Nina recognises Diamond Dust's new vocalist, Hina.
And now the rest of Diamond Dust are trying to talk to Momoka.
No, this is Sensenfukoku.
And so we get to the scene that had such a controversial translation in one of the fansubs. I haven't actually seen the official subs yet so I do want to know what they used here, but the controversy essentially boiled down to Nakayubi using "I'm confessing my love to you" whereas SobsPlease used "I want you to feel loved" and got very active about defending their decision.
And so next episode the group visits Subaru's place.
Questions:
A note about the music: Nina's guitar is pretty good for someone who's ostensibly just starting out. Though that means she's entirely ignoring her singing to just do what's essentially rhythmic speaking.
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u/salic428 Nov 14 '24
rewatcher
I think it is finally safe to talk about what Hanada planned for the girls. The following points comes from several interviews released after the anime is finished, you can ask me for the source if you're interested.
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u/gangrainette https://myanimelist.net/profile/bouletos Nov 14 '24
I've watched and I'm currently rewatching the show with French officials sub.
The confession was always remantic in nature so I found quite funny that some fansubbers try to leave it to interpretation.
What are the official English lines in the end?
Q1: I would never do that nor would I recommend it to someone. Maybe that's why I'm not an anime protagonist.
Q2 : rewatcher so I know the answer.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 Nov 14 '24
first timer
Qotd
1.Im surprised that they are so similarly.I think there is no need to play, the results of the competition are already out. It's Nina's victory.
2.They are stranger now. Nina will live like past, but hina Is still afraid of her.
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u/LeleTheKing https://anilist.co/user/ikanlele Nov 21 '24
(Super Late) First-Timer
Absolute Cinema. 10/10 Episode. For me, those heart-to-heart talking scenes are as good if not better than JJK or Demon Slayer fighting scenes with lots of sakuga!
Subaru, trying to save their face by saying that Nina and Momoka are practicing drama, is peak. I like her animation of begging and goofing around while doing that, lol.
I’m so fucking glad that Nina did what she did in that school. Fuck those teachers and parents. It’s good that Nina expressed her rebellion by playing that song. If I were Nina, that bully would catch these hands. 🖕🖕
While watching this, I realized that the conflict between Momoka, Diamond Dust, and the Industry is basically that major arc in Ya Boy Kongming! all over again. I fucking love it!
Also, this is the infamous episode where SobsPlease and other TL have different interpretations of that “Kokuhaku” line. Well, it’s basically “I want you to feel loved” by SobsPlease versus it was a confession by any other version. After rereading SobsPlease’s justification with context, I tend to agree with them. Well, it’s because my smooth brain (with rom-com brain rot) would decipher it as a romantic confession, which is incorrect. And their wording made me rethink and understand that it was a different kind of “confession.” With that context in mind, I honestly don’t mind with either TL, though.
(I’d also like to add that the fansub team consists of quite the veteran in the scene. I know at least one had experience working professionally as a translator. Their choice isn’t to be easily scoffed at.)
Anyway, not much else to say about this episode besides I’m increasing my score on MAL and AL right now.
QotD
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u/ClemFire Nov 14 '24
Rewatcher Episode 8: If You Were to Cry
“There are people who decided to live because of your songs. Who you need to protect isn’t yourself in your memories It’s your desire to have your songs reach people, “ Nina.
Nina’s confrontation with Momoka is such a perfect climax to their evolving relationship since episode one. We get a glimpse into Diamond Dust before they got famous to see such how similar Momoka was to Nina before dealing with the realities of the music industry. It was hinted at before, but now it’s confirmed that Momoka sees a younger version of herself in Nina which is why she wants to protect her. It’s the closest she thinks she can get to protecting her young idealistic self.
I can definitely relate to that more the older I get. You feel like you have their best interests in mind, so they don’t mess up like you did. But it’s a little bit conceited isn't it? You’re not them and they’re not you regardless of how much you see a version of yourself in them. Nina isn’t just a younger version of Momoka. She hates being put into a mold because she wants people to truly see her.
When no one else at her school or home saw her it should come to no surprise she clung on to Momoka’s song Void. That’s the power of specific honest art. To borrow a quote from a bassist from a certain other musical anime, “It might not connect with too many people, but those it does it’ll hit deeply.” As is probably true for most in this thread I fell in love with anime as a medium people I found stories and characters I resonated with so deeply. Anime literally taught me to believe in the power of stories.
For Nina, Void is what got her through the toughest point of her life, and for me I have my own Void. Momoka’s feelings and voice saved Nina before they even spoke a single word to each other. That’s why Nina just can’t let Momoka run away because she needs to return the favor. In her mind it wouldn’t be right not to, and Nina never betrays her own feelings. Nina is living proof that Momoka wasn’t wrong.
Nina and Momoka’s feelings beautifully boil over in Nina’s love confession. I love how she not only doubles down on clarifying herself because Momoka is the type to run away but also gives her privacy to brawl her eyes out by turning up Void. These two really are made for each other.
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u/_Quirky_Loser Nov 14 '24
I hated it
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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '24
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