Rock is a Lady’s Modesty – Episode 13 - Ai Animes 🤖

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking in with Lilisa and the gang for one final episode of Rock is a Lady’s Modesty, as our quartet face off against the repulsive tourists of Bacchus. With their total focus on external validation and blatant disregard for the sanctity of rock, they have stirred Lilisa into a defensive fury, giving her the perfect outlet for her frustrations regarding her increasingly tenuous surface life. This is not what rock is all about!

But what is rock all about? Over the past twelve episodes, this production has offered a variety of answers to that question, none of them fully encompassing the mixture of social rebellion and personal validation our leads seek on the stage. For Otoha, rock is a haven of self-satisfaction in a life spent pleasing others; for Lilisa, music connects her to her absent father, and lets her express the unsociable feelings she keeps locked behind a polite smile. Rock can mean whatever any isolated teen needs it to mean, and while this story has occasionally gestured towards the medium’s inherent political associations, it has mostly proven a celebration of these particular characters, fondly articulating the increasing mutual trust of our leads. That’s fine by me; in a world as oppressive as Lilisa’s, even just holding onto your soul is a form of protest, a blow struck against the insincere smiles and cutthroat calculations of high society. So let’s raise our middle fingers high one last time, as our girls bury these jokers once and for all!

Episode 13

We return to the band room with the group in the midst of another key decision: deciding on their band name. As Lilisa notes, their band name should be something “simple and easy to remember” – even for a group as defiantly self-motivated as this, choosing a name that sticks in your audience’s minds is essential. And that’s a tricky balance; you likely want a name that’s punchy yet memorable, easy to recall and hard to mistake, and which either represents your sound or at least feels appropriate for your genre

Even band name styles come and go with time. The ‘00s new wave revival was defined by bands with names that were quick and aggressive, evoking a cocaine-fueled Manhattan party: “The Strokes,” “The Hives,” “Hot Hot Heat,” “Bloc Party.” In contrast, the indie rock wave seemed to build off Modest Mouse as a blueprint, embracing animal names that implied an anxious disconnection from the human world – “Frightened Rabbit,” “Wolf Parade,” “The Antlers,” etcetera. And of course, the third wave emo bands unsurprisingly wore their wounded hearts on their sleeves, with names like “The Used,” “My Chemical Romance,” “Dashboard Confessional,” and so on

Lilisa suggests “Iron Claw,” and I am all for it

“Is this the ‘80s?” As Shiraya notes, it is easy for any unconsidered band name to offer a misleading impression of your band’s sound. A group named “Iron Claw” naturally sounds like a hair metal throwback outfit, fitting into the style of Whitesnake and Guns ‘n Roses

Alice says she has a name that apparently embodies their appeal as young ladies sticking to their ideals, which carries us back to that tense moment before the performance, with the crowd silent, primed for their first song. At that moment, you feel both all-powerful and totally helpless; the world turns at your command, but every performance is its own organism, and you can only pray that you have a good one in you. Three seconds like that pause at the top of the rollercoaster, like the whole world is catching its breath

The group immediately challenges the crowd with an impressive wall of sound, this time with all four of them working in sync. It is certainly an uphill battle to make an unmotivated crowd listen to your music, particularly if you’re not going for the most crowd-pleasing pop confectionaries possible. Great art, the kind of art that sticks in your brain and etches scars in your heart, is rarely “easy.” Part of the reason it ends up meaning so much is because it evokes friction, it challenges you, it makes you reconsider your feelings. All of that is what gives powerful art its punch, but it also means powerful art will rarely be the most effortlessly crowd-pleasing; frankly, the two goals are practically opposing poles

It is understandable and sympathetic that many people do not want their leisure activities to be laborious, for their art to require focus and consideration after a long day of work. But art that changes us is essential, and embracing that challenge is nothing less than the project of cultivating your mind and soul

“Plus they’ve picked a powerful song with a rhythm that’s inherently catchy.” Our group can still reach out to the crowd kindly even while staying true to themselves. And yeah, that disco hi-hat beat always gets an audience moving

Another useful trick: get the crowd involved, reward them for engagement. Noticing one girl in the front has been dazzled by her guitar, Lilisa actually steps up to her, sharing a conspiratorial grin. Music as community

I appreciate that Tina’s keyboard solo is actually much easier than Lilisa’s guitar solo, though still more than enough to please the crowd

“The strength of an instrumental band is that everyone playing on stage is the star!” And Lilisa’s group intentionally emphasizes this, trading solos to give the audience a sort of “musical narrative” to follow. A much more communal approach than their earlier ethos – it’s no longer “fuck the audience, I play for me,” they’re actively trying to teach the audience to love their sound

So far, the experience isn’t doing it for Otoha, as she expected. She’s got a funny personality for a drummer; they’re generally dedicated to supporting the band by maintaining the rhythm, but she has no interest in supporting anyone

“Nothing matters to me except for pleasure.” I wonder if this will eventually cause some discord within the band; Lilisa believes rock is important, but Otoha seems closer to Yayoi’s “it’s just for fun” perspective

She resolves to leave the band for good after this performance, until Lilisa’s raging guitar shatters her isolated image. Her revival is of course framed as a glass plane breaking and letting her through – she is moving beyond reflections now, connecting her two sides

Nice use of increasingly quicker cuts to evoke both the increasing tempo of the song and the unification of Lilisa and Otoha’s perspectives. Also smart use of color design, with the stage finally bathed in Otoha’s purple hues for the first time as she takes command

Wonderfully energetic cuts as Otoha takes the lead, and also some dynamite sound design, really making the snap of those snare hits feel like rattling gunfire. This show is excellent at demonstrating the dynamics you can create with just a kit drum

And as always, their drumstick-smear CG technology is quite appreciated

“I had no idea how my playing sounded to anyone else up until now.” Ooh, this is great stuff for Otoha. It seems like they’re framing her original “I only play for me” attitude as something like a defense mechanism – if she denied any need for external approval, she could never be disappointed while playing the drums. That makes perfect sense, given it was an outlet developed in response to society’s demand that she perform as a perfect lady or keep quiet. But now, she’s finding an audience that actually loves this form of her, that fully appreciates and physically responds to her drumming, that tells her it’s okay to be like this. She wasn’t actually dedicated to her selfish approach, she just embraced it as a survival strategy – but now, she’s seeing the glory of music shared, music celebrated as a source of connection and communal passion

Ahaha, and then they just start rocking off into the stars. Really embracing all of the unique possibilities afforded by untethered CG photography. I also like how they’re each blooming in fireworks shaped like their various flowers’ petals, no longer constrained to that lonely vase in an empty room

The song ends to thunderous applause. As with their last performance, the choice of how to frame this moment is crucial – this time the camera’s well out in the crowd, held low enough to emphasize all the raised hands. They are not isolated, they have found their people

Apparently their name is “Rock Lady.” Yes, I suppose that covers it

Bacchus takes the stage, only to see Rock Lady has converted their entire audience into shredding-happy hard rockers. Incredible

“This is what happens when rich snobs meet the real world. They just think everything will go their damn way…” Lilisa explicitly tethers this battle to her frustrations regarding Yayoi – she can’t beat Yayoi in a field designed to flatter the rich, but she can beat Yayoi’s stand-ins here, where the only metric of worth is how hard you actually rock

“Rock flows through our veins, so playing it is the only time we feel alive!” Lilisa at last proudly embraces her passion – if rock is her soul’s voice, she will fight for it with everything she has

With Bacchus thoroughly dismantled, the club manager informs Rock Lady that their fans await them

After the show, Tina reflects on Lilisa: “she used her own strength to protect what was important to her. Lilisa really knows how to dig her heels in, unlike everyone else at the academy.” Refusing to surrender this portion of her heart is her rebellion

Otoha is still Otoha, even after embracing the appeal of a loving crowd. She greedily demands to know when they’ll have their next concert

Their final conversation, regarding their very identity as a band, is of course overlaid with the show’s signature identity-questioning imagery. We see them framed through the glass of a nearby shop, its stained-glass windows conveniently pairing them with a rose and lily

Otoha confesses she’s in a whole new world now, having had her philosophy of music shaken to its foundation. Now that she’s embracing the love of the crowd, what other base assumptions should be reconsidered? Should they actually pursue a vocalist?

Otoha’s visage is split and copied across the petals of the glass rose, echoing her current uncertainty regarding which version of herself feels most authentic, most worth pursuing

This time it’s Lilisa who brings her home, reminding her that she most fundamentally needs to play what feels good

“Our instrumental rock has the power to change all who listen to it!” A crucial line in the sand – they’re willing to try and win audiences, but they will not compromise on what inspires them, and instead seek to bring others towards their own passion. Lilisa will not be like Yayoi; it is instrumental rock she loves, and thus instrumental rock that she’ll play

And Done

Thus the story of Rock Lady continues into the bright, unknown future! Well, unless we get a second season, of course. Regardless, Rock is a Lady’s Modesty proved an altogether endearing production, diving into sounds and subcultures that band anime rarely frequent, and gesturing towards a philosophy of music as cultural liberation that I’d love to see celebrated more often. The show’s ambitions were ultimately pretty modest in terms of its themes and characters, but the production team attacked the material with intelligence and enthusiasm, crafting a sturdy language of visual storytelling and ensuring every performance sequence was as energetic as possible. I’ll likely never relate to Lilisa’s acrimonious, competitive spirit, but I am delighted she has found her people; music means something different to everyone, and if waving that middle finger keeps her spirit alive, then wave it proudly, sister!

This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.

from Wrong Every Time https://ift.tt/VPO31Je
via Ai Animes 🤖