Rock is a Lady's Modesty

Episode 10

Rock and roll may have saved the girls last week, but I'm glad Rock is a Lady's Modesty doesn't go super hokey and crown their band the winner. Quite frankly, they didn't earn it. They only got their act together in the final piece, and like the venue owner says, their insistence on an instrumental performance didn't jive with the audience's expectations. While they won over a few hearts, they didn't convince the masses. More importantly, whether or not they won is irrelevant. Their “victory” last week was realizing they needed to play for themselves and each other, not for other people. If the girls had won the battle on top of that, it would have diluted the rebellious potency of their mutual revelation. That wouldn't be very punk at all.

Rock Lady does cheat slightly by dissolving the stakes of the competition almost immediately. Bitter Ganace, in an act of (mostly) mutual maturity, renege on their acquisition of Tamaki after realizing she's already where she belongs. That's a little cornier than it has to be, and it's not like there was ever any real question of who would be playing bass with Lilisa, Otoha, and Tina. There were smarter ways to milk the melodrama besides Tamaki wagering herself, and furthermore, taking a different tack may have streamlined this arc's meanderings. Given this episode's revelations, Otoha could have convinced Tamaki to play for her with a single yank on her choker.

Nitpicks aside, all's well that ends well—and by that I mean it's good to see Lilisa and Otoha hurl profanities at each other again. Maybe I should be getting tired of what is, at this point, an old bit, but I think this bit's barbs are as sharp as ever. Last week's performance was stressful, and it necessitated this week's release. I still don't know whether to count these swearing sessions as aftercare or an extension of their ribald rendezvous, but either way, it's the glue that keeps them together. This week's session also confirms that Lilisa and Otoha are in control of their ions. While they're not afraid to let it all out in front of other people, they're very careful about whom they address and what they say to them. Note, for instance, that they don't drag Tina into the fray. First, she doesn't deserve it, having played to the best of her ability, and second, she'd probably disintegrate on the spot. They aren't, however, afraid to dish derision out to Tamaki.

I understand why Tamaki has been a divisive character, so I just want to say that I was totally right about her, and you doubters owe both of us an apology. But seriously, I didn't need a scrying pool to pick up on her bratty bottom energy. This is the benefit of close reading and thematic analysis. Rock Lady's whole deal is about the contrast between who we are and how we present ourselves. If Tamaki went out of her way to project prickliness, then within the context of this narrative, her insides could only be soft. And consistent with our other leading ladies, her true self and desires are a product of social pressures. In Tamaki's case, her upper class privilege closed her off from reciprocal relationships with other people. Inane hierarchies always hurt people on both sides of the divide.

I also believe this episode should satisfy the strongest Tamaki haters because her confession is very pathetic and very funny. She bares the basest of her perversions to Otoha, and it's the one act we've seen that has managed to fluster our otherwise unflappable drummer. With Lilisa's provocations, the expletives roll off Otoha's tongue. Tamaki just dumbfounds her. To be clear, there's a legitimate sadness in this tableau as well, because it confirms Tamaki to be the band's most repressed member. Even Tina learns to relax around the whole ensemble. Tamaki, meanwhile, only musters up a moment of honesty in Otoha's company, and she tries walking it back the very next day. To me, that's what makes (and has made) Tamaki a compelling character—that balance of assholishness with vulnerability. Otoha may not be wholly on board, but she'll surely chew Tamaki out to her heart's content anyway.

The second half of the episode is lighter fare. There are some funny bits, like Lilisa savagely biting her tongue to stay awake in class, which the anime depicts with a cartoonish zeal. For the most part, though, it's a brief return to “normalcy” before the band reaffirm their commitment to each other and to their music. While that's not quite as interesting as the first half, it's still important. I like that Tina's flock of irers pick up on the pep in her step. If we continue to interpret her narrative as a queer one, then it's the equivalent of someone not being fully out, but finally committed to their identity. That's a big step that comes with a mental buff. Tamaki, meanwhile, is more remorseful about her flirtations with personal integrity (which, ironically, involve verbal degradation), but she too is in a better place psychologically. Merely having that aside with Lilisa cements their now-inextricable friendship. They're partners in crime. They're bosom bandmates. I just hope they come up with a better name for themselves than Blanc de Noir+α.

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Rock is a Lady's Modesty is currently streaming on HIDIVE on Thursdays.

Steve is on This Week in Anime.