Sayo and Lisa: An analysis of their relationship so far

I would like to warn everyone that this is going to be very long, sorry about that. I'll also have to add the rest of it in a couple of comments since this was well over the character limit, which I'll pin so that it's easier to read one after another. This is also formatted for PC on old reddit so if it looks a little odd on other platforms/apps then sorry again.

Edit: I have created a Google Doc with the analysis in its entirety here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fVDgJEibCjEha1gvLDKljjeWh0AmgifW1QRIrXUFC_I/edit?usp=sharing for anyone that doesn't like the reddit formatting. Hopefully it's ok there too.

Introduction

Hello everyone, and welcome to another write-up of sorts. For those that don’t know me, I’m a big fan of the Hikawa Twins (particularly Sayo) and love to write overly long pieces about them, with an especial interest in their incredible story and personal development. Following on from my last major post looking at how Sayo is a good character to learn from, this time I’ll be looking more into her character and development itself via her relationship with Lisa. This is something I’ve been planning since the pre-historic times before lockdown and I apologise for it being delayed so heavily. Lisa has been an instrumental character in Sayo’s growth, and while Sayo’s interactions have become very diverse over time, it is largely her familial and band interactions that are responsible for the main core of this growth, with other interactions serving to diversify and expand her horizons, and broaden her overall perspective. In terms of importance, Lisa ranks near the top (if not the very top) when considering her impact on Sayo’s development over time. Likewise, as we’ll see, the contrast between their characters has meant that Sayo has also been a very positive force for Lisa too (though admittedly not as common). I have been incredibly impressed by their collective story and am very grateful to Lisa for all that she has done for Sayo over the years. Of course, it goes without saying that a lot of the things I’m going to talk about involve a degree of my personal interpretation, and they aren’t necessarily the only way of seeing things. Some of it will require some extrapolation or assumption, and some projections of what I believe is best for Sayo and how these interactions and behaviours may be working behind the scenes of what we see (such as what you might reasonably expect she thinks, or what actions might be prompted by certain dialogue or events). But at the least I hope that they seem feasible and realistic within the story, and maybe even enjoyable to read. I’ll follow a somewhat chronological flow as one of the most striking things is the development of their relationship over time. Inevitably there will be a bit of story detail for putting things in context so please bear with me in that respect. I won't, however, be looking too much at area or lounge content since this ended up being very long as it is. So, without further ado, let’s start from the beginning.

Early Differences and Breaking the Ice

I think it’s useful to jog our memories about what Sayo and Lisa were like in the early parts of the story. This is where it all started, and from the get-go there were clear and interesting dynamics occurring between the two, which deepened quickly over time as they became closer. From Sayo’s introduction on her initial 1* card, and indeed much of Roselia’s first band story, we see the classic cold Sayo. Stern, stoic, with a laser-focus on improving her guitar and no time for activities and distractions that she considers frivolous. Every part of her life seemed about efficiency and utility, trying to reach her goal, instead of thinking about her well-being or enjoying the moment. Indeed even in the special story of that initial 1* the idea of playing for fun and interest seems foreign to her. But without a doubt, she was skilled and impressive in her own right. In stark contrast to her, we have Lisa. A relatively laid-back, approachable, and motherly girl into gyaru fashion, who even from the first lines of her introduction begins to show how supportive and caring she is, by reassuring Rinko. And at first, you wouldn’t be blamed for not thinking the two of them would hit things off. Even in Lisa’s introduction she mentions that Sayo is serious and a little scary, while Sayo in her own intro is clearly on edge and not interested in making friends.

So, on one side we have Sayo, who’s outwardly quite cold, while internally dealing with a lot of issues. On the other, we have Lisa, who’s outwardly quite warm, and lovely, who wants her friends and those around her to be happy. Both girls have their strengths and weaknesses. The question is, how did these two seemingly opposing personalities blossom into an amazing relationship? Personally, I think Lisa’s link to Yukina is one of the core attributes that helped her initially. Besides being a highly compassionate person in her own right, Lisa also has a lot of experience in dealing with serious and focussed girls thanks to her childhood friendship with Yukina – this puts her in a fantastic position to engage with Sayo, who herself isn’t quite as steely as Yukina, and so Lisa is able to slowly draw Sayo out of her shell more easily.

And if we start thinking about their first band story, Bloom Of The Blue Rose, we can see this is almost beautifully foreshadowed in one of the very first lines, where a student praises Lisa for being able to get on with Yukina, even going so far as to call it a gift. In fact, throughout this first chapter we see her patience and ability to compromise with a strong and serious personality. In this way, we can already see a subtle set up being made for Lisa connecting to Sayo on a different level to mostly anyone else in the series, by virtue of her experience and skill in adapting to more difficult individuals on top of her innate kindness and compassion. And this is only amplified by the following chapter where we see how early Sayo and Yukina are very alike. They have high expectations, high standards, and they tend to run roughshod over those that don’t meet the level they expect, with very little patience for those that aren’t going to give 110% to achieve their goal. Their similarity is something Yukina mentions herself. Almost fittingly, we also see our first hint about Sayo’s issues with Hina, which is something that Lisa helps greatly with later on.

Though, it should be said that much of the remaining first band story shows clashes in terms of thinking between Sayo and Lisa. We have to remember this is very early Sayo, who is very much in a bad spot emotionally when it comes to her sister and music, so she can be fairly abrasive even if it’s just a symptom of the pain and stress she is feeling. Despite this, however, there are instances where Lisa does step up to… not challenge, per se, but to temper Sayo’s strict or harsh moments. Times such as during chapter 8 when Sayo gets a little too rough with Ako about sisters and being cool. While it’s not a particularly special moment in the greater scheme of things, these small challenges to Sayo’s seriousness probably contribute over time to helping mellow her out. Lisa is very good at diffusing situations and bringing people around, which is a great boon for helping and tending to girls like Sayo that are in pain or have a lot of anger and frustration. Getting angry wouldn’t help. And when you think about it, it probably makes sense to start with these small challenges. Sayo and Lisa don’t know each other well yet, it wouldn’t make sense for her to pry. Lisa is yet to even realise fully that Sayo’s attitude is just a symptom of a painful underlying cause. Yet still she acts to moderate that behaviour, which is really nice to see. With Sayo being sensitive at this time, she needs those moments where people reign her in or show her that it’s ok to think a different way, to normalise that kind of idea and way of thinking for her. A good example of this is when they also go to the restaurant after their first show in the next chapter, which requires a bit of Lisa forcing the decision.

Once we hit chapter 10, we finally get to see Lisa start to get her foot in the door when it comes to Sayo, and this is largely because she meets Hina and realises the two of them are twins. Thus, through Hina, Lisa becomes connected to Sayo and starts to find out things that Sayo would ordinarily keep quiet. Among these of course is the crucial schism between the twins and that they aren’t currently on good terms, which piques her interest. This is expanded on further in the next chapter when we see Sayo get truly upset for the first time. Lisa is quick on her feet to put two and two together, and you can tell there’s an aspect of worry for Sayo coming through already. Which is understandable, given that it’s clear how distressed Sayo finds the topic of sisters. It’s made very clear through Yukina how much Lisa cares for her friends, and even though she has only just met Sayo she’s starting to feel that concern already (which is something that crops up yet again in the very next chapter where Lisa is worrying if something happened between them – a pattern is emerging here). Unsurprisingly however it still isn’t quite enough during the breakdown in chapter 15, though valiantly still does try her best to moderate Sayo and the others. The kind of tenacity and persistence is a great strength for Lisa, she does not give up on her friends and those she cares about, and over time it becomes clear that Sayo is definitely no exception to this. This is shown time and again throughout the early parts of their story, such as in the ‘A Song Unfinished’ event where she tries to promote the idea that it’s good to be happy about their progress and pushes back against Sayo’s claim that they aren’t here to have a good time.

What’s also interesting is that following on from this it occurs to Lisa that she can’t just ‘be there’ for her friends, she has to take more direct action to help them out. This is another excellent example of Lisa learning from her experience through Yukina and becoming prepared to engage better with Sayo later on. The layers of foreshadowing and preparation here are quite impressive between Sayo and Lisa. In a sense, you get the feeling that neither of them is quite ‘complete’ yet. Remember we mentioned that the pair of them are quite different to each other, almost like opposing personalities. And yet they say opposites attract and we get the sense that the two girls balance each other out, providing that which the other lacks. And over time we’ll see that this lacking is gradually remedied as Sayo and Lisa each rub off on one another and help each other to grow and round themselves out. But for now, the groundwork has been laid for the two of them to come together and start showing some real chemistry. And this is really exemplified towards the end of the band story, when Lisa herself remarks on how Sayo has softened up a little as she lets Lisa use her hairspray just before their performance, and again when Sayo helps to calm Lisa’s nerves with some more serious advice.

We also get to see a bit of this again but from Sayo’s point of view in her initial 2* card episode where she’s with Lisa and Yukina discussing their stage outfits. On multiple occasions she finds herself thinking similar thoughts to Lisa, but is unable to vocalise them, and she seems to feel this connection but is too shy or restrained to reach out to Lisa just yet and have the kind of casual conversation with her as Lisa does with Yukina, which is something Sayo is a little envious of. And really this shows us that, despite Sayo and Lisa being very different people, they both have quite a few similarities and this does bode well for the future where Lisa can resonate in Sayo’s heart and reach out to the Sayo that’s locked away inside her cold and desperate exterior. It also reinforces that, even from the very beginning, Sayo is a lovely girl and that her harsh behaviour from before is a symptom of a greater problem.

Lisa's Impact on the Hikawa Relationship

Moving on in their story, I want to address possibly one of the more iconic steps that Lisa takes towards Sayo, the point at which she really began to start bonding with Sayo. I am, of course, referring to the Wish Upon a Tanzaku event. Most often heralded as an important node in Sayo and Hina’s overall story arc, it seems that the part Lisa plays (and how it really sets things in motion for later on) tends to get somewhat overlooked. And really the event starts by reinforcing just how empathic Lisa is for those around her. She’s quickly able to understand Hina’s issue with asking Sayo, showing that she already understands Sayo a little bit, and on also vows to try and help Hina by bringing it up with Sayo. And while Sayo gets just a little defensive over Lisa’s ‘interrogation’, Lisa is still able to play her crucial role by getting the idea of hanging out with Hina into Sayo’s head, and slowly but surely helping to normalise it for her. Even though Lisa considered herself to have gone too far, I think it was just the right kind of push to start a little bit of contemplation in Sayo’s head. We also see that it’s make an impact, however slight, on Sayo’s attitude by the time she gets home and speaks with Hina. While she ultimately rejects the offer of going to the festival together, she is uncertain at first and seems to be looking for a way to decline which is no doubt just a symptom of her pre-existing issue. That she was uncertain at first, however, shows that Lisa made a mark on her, as Sayo previously would have likely rejected Hina outright instead of listening to what Hina had to say.

Lisa also believes this as well, something that she mentions in her event card story. But what really makes the whole thing click together is the conversation between Sayo and Lisa in Sayo’s own 4* card episode. Practicing together, they bring up the topic of the festival and Sayo reassures Lisa that her help wasn’t being too nosy, and deeply thanks Lisa not once, but twice. And it’s not just the words, but the way she says them. It’s in a very rare gentle tone for Sayo, one that to me demonstrates she’s feeling these emotions and really means what she says. Her friend was there for her, and helped to nudge her into doing something that deep down she had wanted to do all along. Something that she had been holding herself back from, and that she blamed herself for. Lisa was able to set Sayo up to be more receptive to Hina and she’s very grateful that Lisa did so. Even Lisa is surprised by how red Sayo is and the level of gratitude she seems to be displaying. It’s this kind of opening up, showing a more vulnerable and soft side of herself to Lisa, that really makes me love their interactions. Lisa is someone that Sayo trusts, somebody she feels she can open up to even in these early days of their story. And there are very few people (if any, really) that Sayo acts similarly with, especially at this stage. It speaks volumes to how naturally they click together. And I think this is really shown by the final moments of this card story, where we see Sayo ask for Lisa’s help in the future with regards to Hina if she needs it. Sayo, the girl who has always held herself back from others, who even describes herself as a lone wolf. She chooses to open herself up to and place her faith in her newfound friend. It’s such a change of pace from normal, and again one that isn’t repeated, and so to me it really does emphasise the connection that the two of them are feeling and developing between one another. Sayo is still full of doubts, but she feels she can place her faith in Lisa if something goes wrong again. It’s a sign of trust and a deeper relationship than before, and ends with Sayo thanking Lisa yet again with a look of relief on her face.

Lisa also takes this a step further in the the famous ‘Umbrella for the Autumn Rain’ event. With Sayo recapping some of her previous thoughts, she realises now that Lisa is an important member of the band that plays an important role, despite Sayo’s own worries earlier that Lisa lacked skill. Even now Sayo claims they could not be without her, and so we see Sayo embracing the idea that not everything is about hard practice and no enjoyment. Lisa is again normalising these kinds of ideas for Sayo by showing that they have a role in their own right, and are important. It’s a slow and continual erosion of Sayo’s desperate seriousness.

This event however, is by no means a light and happy one. Quickly Sayo begins to have troubles, fears and unhappiness over her lifeless sound, and Lisa is quick to notice a problem when Yukina calls out yet another mistake. It’s incredibly warming to know that somebody like Lisa is nearby. Even though Sayo chooses to power on, there is at least on person who is already on alert about her. And at another practice days later it’s Lisa that calls for a break for poor Sayo when she starts to get flustered and is apologising over and over. Lisa knows something isn’t right. And while she doesn’t play too much of a role from here onwards in the event story, other than to root for Sayo, her little card special episode does have her looking for a guitar strap for Hina to give to Sayo. It’s nice that Sayo can have Lisa on standby if needed, and that Lisa will always be looking out for her, even in cases like this where Sayo instead chooses a different path instead of asking Lisa for help again.

Sayo and Lisa bring out the best in each other

And so some of you might be thinking: “Well, Lisa helped Sayo with a pretty big issue just there didn’t she? That’s a good start.” – and you would be right, but it’s not over just yet because Lisa and Sayo have so much more to offer as they grow closer. In particular, Lisa’s influence on Sayo goes well beyond just her issues surrounding Hina. And I know that in terms of viewpoint this is heavily looking at Sayo, but the reality is that Sayo has a lot more troubles and things to resolve than Lisa typically does, so we tend to see Sayo growing and changing more as a result. So, Lisa is a character that plays a strong role in caretaking and emotional support for her friends. It’s something we see time and again, the way she naturally tends to those around her. And this means that she’s capable of interfacing with Sayo in more than just her issues with Hina. In fact, we see Lisa is able to take part in a wide range of Sayo’s development and growth.

We can see this start happening even earlier than with Hina, to be honest, in the ‘Don’t Leave me Lisa!’ event, where Lisa’s absence proves to be an important lesson to Sayo in what how certain actions can be important to the band beyond just hard work. Sayo also gets to do a little bit of caring herself when she’s making sure Lisa isn’t tired from her work shift and offers her snacks (though this is partially to deflect attention from her staring at Lisa in the first place). This act of kindness even surprises Lisa and makes Sayo a little bashful. It also brings up the subtle idea of how much Sayo appreciates Lisa’s contribution to the band, and I think at this point she does begin to see how important Lisa’s kind of behaviour can be. Indeed, a lot of Sayo’s early events tend to be eye-opening moments for her, where she learns and realises new things. And of course, Sayo does confirm this outright in the ending where she voices her understanding of just how much Lisa does for Roselia, even going so far as to say that Lisa is what makes Roselia comfortable. I’ll mention it now, this is an excellent piece of foreshadowing and hinting for what’s to come in a moment. But Lisa very clearly appreciates these remarks and is still a little surprised at them. Finishing this event, I’ll also mention Sayo’s relevant 2* card episode. While it’s not overflowing with development, it’s a really cute interaction between herself and Lisa, with Lisa even managing to get Sayo to say ‘Aaaaah’ while she feeds her some ice-cream. It’ll make your heart melt. It also shows Sayo opening up a little more and being soft and gentle with Lisa, which contrasts slightly with her usual demeanour during band practice. Lisa can really bring out the best in people by taking them away from their troubles.

A really good example of this actually comes from the ‘Cooking Class Craziness’ event. It should be noted that Sayo’s interest in taking part in the class came entirely from Lisa. Sayo witnessed Lisa’s contribution to the band and saw how the cookies she baked could be used to create a nice environment, by giving things to people for them to enjoy, to bond over. And I think this is what largely inspired Sayo to do the same, since Sayo is a good girl that cares for her friends. She wants to try and do the same thing, by creating a nice environment for her friends, even if she doesn’t admit to it outright – which is the excellent foreshadowing I just mentioned. Just earlier we saw Sayo witnessing Lisa’s contribution, understanding how important it was, and already she is taking the opportunity to learn from Lisa and better herself, to try and express her desires in a way that she has seen work for Lisa. The two of them share these similarities for helping their friends, now Sayo wants to take the next step in her journey, and it’s all thanks to Lisa.

Later on, we also see that she makes ones specifically for certain people so she also wants to make them happy especially. But possibly my favourite aspect of the event is Sayo’s 3* card episode, where she’s on her way home from practice after having baked some cookies for the other band members. It’s a lovely little conversation between the two, and I think it demonstrates a really good part of Lisa’s character. Lisa seems to have this knack for pushing and pulling on someone in just the right way. She doesn’t push so hard that Sayo is annoyed or feels negativity towards her, but she remains light-hearted and persistent enough to make an impact on Sayo in a positive way. Even through this little conversation alone you can see a little bit of teasing, trying to ease out Sayo’s true feelings without upsetting her. And as I’ve mentioned again and again, I think it’s really important that Sayo has these moments where she’s able to open up or be a little more emotional about things and crucially receive a positive outcome from doing so, in order to normalise it for herself, to make her aware that it’s ok to be like that. But the best part comes slightly later in their talk. Sayo is under the mistaken belief that her bandmates only complimented her cookies to be polite, and while this is a heart-breaking insight into how little self-esteem she has, it’s very quickly made up for by Lisa coming to the rescue. She is very quick to reassure Sayo that this wasn’t the case, that they truly enjoyed it, and even walks Sayo through in a way that would appeal to her. Her friends were smiling while they ate those cookies, right? So they had to be enjoying them. And Sayo sees this, she understands when Lisa begins to show her the way. And she goes on to not only compliment Sayo once again herself, but also reiterates that Sayo can and should have the confidence in herself for her cooking, as if it were her guitar. And you can tell from Sayo’s tone that she’s deeply grateful, and appreciative, of Lisa’s words. It sounds like a weight has been lifted from her.

And it’s for these reasons that I love this conversation. We see, right on our screens, Lisa doing her best to try and bring back some of Sayo’s confidence and warm her up. And if I could, I’d be endlessly thanking Lisa for this because I think it’s a vital experience for Sayo and she’s clearly much happier in herself for hearing Lisa say these things. And you know what? The rest of the conversation has even more great things. Lisa is continually making sure Sayo knows how happy she is that Sayo will continue to cook, hoping for great things, keeping it light-hearted with some requests, and saying once again how she knows Sayo can do it. And it’s this kind of continuous positivity that I love about Lisa, because Sayo hasn’t had much of a reason for these kinds of emotions in her troubled past, and it’s wonderful that someone can be there to make her feel them. To this day, I’m still waiting for an event or a story of some kind where we get to see the pair of them cook together (though it has happened off-screen).

The beginning of the NFO event is another nice example (if only a small one) of Sayo and Lisa starting to understand each other better, and also brings back similar elements to before. Lisa continues to moderate for Sayo and Yukina, putting Ako’s words into feelings that the two of them can understand. A really good example of this is how neither Sayo or Yukina can understand Ako’s distraction during rehearsals, but Lisa steps in to rephrase it, appealing to both of them with the idea that sometimes you just can’t get some distractions out of your mind. Considering that both Sayo and Yukina have had such distractions during rehearsals before, I’m sure it hit close to home. In any case, as they move on to the game itself, you can see Lisa and Sayo are much closer now when Lisa remarks how Sayo-like it would be to play a tank, which Sayo claims gives her peace of mind since she can defend (her friends being the implied recipients of this defense).

This understanding continues to in the ‘Blossoming in Largo’ event, and at this point that we start to see Sayo want to use some of the things she has been learning from Lisa (and others) to help someone else instead. Notably in Sayo’ 4* card episode, she seems to want to help Rinko be more proactive, and upon noticing Lisa she realises that Lisa is exactly the person she needs to speak with. And this again really emphasises the depth of their relationship now. Lisa is somebody that Sayo deeply trusts and knows she can rely on, and Lisa is more than happy to help. And I think it’s really sweet that Lisa immediately asks if everything is ok with Hina. Sayo’s struggles are important to Lisa, she knows what has happened and wanted to make sure they were still doing ok. This little scene is made even better by Sayo’s blush. She appreciates the kindness too. And it speaks volumes once again that Lisa is the person Sayo goes to with concerns like this. She recognises Lisa’s strength in these areas – she was a recipient of Lisa’s assistance in the past, and now when she needs some help dealing with a situation that requires a gentle and caring touch, she goes to Lisa, whom she knows she can rely on. And Lisa, being brilliant, picks up on what Sayo is looking for. Of course, Sayo is quick to praise Lisa for her past efforts and once again thanks Lisa for her help with everything that she and Hina were dealing with (and is grateful for everything in general). And this time it’s Lisa’s turn to be a little embarrassed.

But again, you can tell the two of them share a strong bond now. Sayo going out of her way to reiterate just how much of a difference Lisa makes really cinches it. She’s not the kind of girl to admit these things out loud easily, yet she is comfortable with Lisa. And that comfort paid off as Lisa figures out how best to help Rinko. What I really like though, is how Lisa points out how much Sayo has changed. And while Sayo is uncertain of that at first, she realises that Lisa is speaking the truth, and I love that because bringing this up to Sayo’s face like that helps Sayo to acknowledge it, and also shows Sayo that somebody else recognises that growth – which I think is really important for people that are uncertain of themselves and are trying to improve. It feels good to be praised by somebody that you look up to or acknowledge, and this is likely how Sayo feels when being praised by Lisa. And Lisa adds on to this by commending all the effort Sayo has been putting in too. And it clearly means a lot to Sayo yet again, because she mentions her relief at Lisa being the one to say it. Sayo values Lisa’s opinions highly. We also see Lisa being moved near to blushing yet again with Sayo reiterating how grateful she is to Lisa and stating it was only natural to trust her that much. In any case, the overarching point I want to make here is that Sayo and Lisa are developing a very strong connection over time. It’s clear that Lisa’s help with Hina has deeply impacted Sayo, and this opened the door for them to interact more and now Sayo can continue to grow even further beyond the initial remit of her inferiority complex.

Moving on I think I want to talk about one of the more interesting parts of their story together. We’ve seen that Lisa so far has had a big impact on Sayo in multiple areas of her life, from her sister to other personal issues and development, and while Sayo hasn’t done too much to return the favour other than keeping Lisa from getting too excited, she did have far greater issues to start with so it’s not too surprising that it was somewhat one-sided. But what’s really great is that this growth is actually used later down the line, and we’ll be looking at this in the ‘Neo Aspect’ event, or Roselia’s second band story. Sayo is a great example of her early development proving useful in the future – her growth is permanent, and she makes good use of the things she learns.

Though that’s not to say they don’t have some cute moments too. Right off the bat in the first chapter we already see that Sayo and Lisa have made plans to bake cookies together. Sayo of course wanted to keep it a secret, but I think that the two of them are presumably having little moments together outside of band practice really reflects well on their relationship. Sayo used to be a girl that mainly cared about guitar and studying alone, and now with Lisa’s help she’s spending more time with people she likes, and even baking things for the people she likes. It’s lovely that Lisa managed to help Sayo get to this point, and it’s even more wholesome that Sayo wants to spend her free time with someone that close to her. Though I will admit, that it was slightly sad that Lisa ended up making them by herself as a sort of emergency measure after Roselia didn’t do so well in the SMS event. Sayo seemed a little put out too. And yet, despite this seeming dip in connection, we see that this stumble for Roselia proves to be an important step for Sayo and Lisa moving forward together.

After Roselia begin having their falling out, and Lisa is somewhat upset by Yukina’s behaviour and departure, we see Sayo making sure Lisa is ok (a little bit of a role reversal this time). And in fact, it’s Sayo who plays a vital role to help Lisa. Sayo is like Yukina, and she understands how Yukina thinks and why. And yet at the same time, her experiences with Lisa have helped her to see and accept the other side of herself that is more emotional and empathic. Sayo is, for all intents a purposes like a bridge between the serious side of Roselia and the fun side of Roselia, much like how Lisa is. The difference is that Sayo came from the serious side, whereas Lisa came from the fun side. And it’s now that she can use this dual experience to help Lisa begin to see Yukina’s side of things. And you can see that Sayo plays the situation perfectly while helping Lisa to understand. She makes it clear that Yukina’s views likely stem from the band friendliness seeping into their music and diminishing some of the urgent intensity that has defined Roselia’s music and brought them success so far, and yet at the same time she also agrees that reverting to their old state is not the correct answer, so again she is acknowledging both sides and bridging that divide.

This theme continues into chapter 7 where Lisa is plagued by doubts and sadness over her perceived failure to help the band, seeing herself as having made things worse. And again it’s Sayo’s turn to help Lisa, to ease those doubts and return her pride as the bassist of Roselia. And it’s a lovely juxtaposition of their usual roles when we see Sayo doing her utmost to explain to Lisa in a way that she understands, how she is recognised as their bassist even despite her perceived lack of skill. She lets Lisa know that she is important to them and does make a difference. And you can hear how overwhelmed with emotion Lisa is, as she quickly rallies to Sayo’s words. In this case, it is Sayo that brings Lisa back from the edge, restores her focus and helps her on her feet again. And with her incredible analytical mind, she’s able to get them both back on track in dealing with the current problem of how to restore their sound without reverting to the cold Roselia of old. And importantly we start to see Sayo reigning Lisa in, stopping her from going straight back to talk to Yukina. She recognises a change is needed, and steps in to stop Lisa from regressing and maintaining the status quo. In this way, she begins to help Lisa to change for the better.

And Sayo says something that I found incredibly pertinent to this situation. Lisa has been the emotional support for pretty much the entire band so far, and yet it is Sayo who says that she need not do it alone any longer, and that in doing so the others have become spoiled. And I think this is incredibly thought-provoking. Having one person act as the emotional outlet for all the others is incredibly hard on them, and it isn’t healthy for anyone either. We can see very clearly that it ended up becoming a huge part of Lisa’s identity within Roselia, and that the fracture in the band caused quite a severe recoil when it occurred to Lisa that this huge part of her identity seemed no longer useful and possibly even detrimental to the band itself. Sayo manages to realise all of this and points this out gently. This is Sayo at her most gentle possibly that we’ve seen so far, and it feels fitting that it’s with Lisa – a girl that has been incredibly tender with Sayo. Sayo reassures Lisa that her efforts were not wasted despite Lisa’s doubts, and reiterates that she must reconsider how to be effective in that role. Even Lisa seems impressed and surprised by Sayo’s behaviour, and Sayo can only reply with an absolutely beautiful line. Lisa was an integral part of why Sayo has changed, why she can act the way she does now. And she lets Lisa know this very clearly and uses this as a perfect example of why Lisa’s previous actions were in no way a mistake. It’s a lovely scene, and in my opinion one of the best in the story. What better way to restore Lisa’s confidence, to give her some support of her own, than by utilising a character that Lisa has helped greatly in overcoming some significant issues of their own? Sayo was the perfect choice for this scene, and it was executed beautifully. And Lisa can only thank Sayo for all her words, stating she likely would have fallen apart were it not for her. It really is an amazing reversal of their positions, where we again see Sayo use her fantastic growth and development to come to the aid of someone close to her.

From here we start seeing even more good things from the two of them, as they team up to brainstorm how to save their band. And we also see a lovely scene where Lisa draws parallels between their current situation and their falling out during the first band story – the crucial difference this time is that she has someone she can turn to, someone she can open up to and rely on herself. That person is Sayo. And she recognises that she tried to shoulder the whole burden before, whereas now she can share that load with Sayo, who also understands Yukina and the others too. As a minor aside, we get to see another cute blush out of Sayo when Lisa gets emotional about how they can be like this because they’ve opened up to one another. And you can once again see the impact that Lisa has had on Sayo when she confronts Yukina, opens up about her struggles and hopes for the band, which is something she likely never would have done had Lisa not been there to help her open up in the first place.

As the story continues, and Sayo and Lisa continue to practice, Lisa is impressed by Sayo’s philosophy and once again remarks how Sayo has changed. And I think that there’s a parallel to be found between now and earlier conversations between Sayo and Lisa. By vocalising her philosophy to Lisa, even if it’s a personal thing, Sayo is giving Lisa food for thought, and promoting certain ways of thinking. And would you believe it, this strikes a bombshell thought in Lisa about how they can save the band. It is through Sayo talking about her own personal beliefs that Lisa begins to realise that everyone’s mind set has been individualistic, and not for the collective band. She realises that they were all playing with their own goals, with the band goal of Future World Fes as almost a side-effect, or a target to help them reach their personal goals. And Sayo understands instantly as Lisa begins explaining, she understands that she was playing for her sister, to find her sound. It’s a nice display of how quickly the two of them can find the same page together. And together they figure out that they’ll need Ako and Rinko to bring everything back. Speaking of Rinko, it’s also interesting that later on in the story she notes that both Sayo and Lisa bring a kind of reassuring strength to the band, but that Sayo differs in that her strength and confidence in her words can really make Rinko believe in what she’s saying. Together Sayo and Lisa provide a more comprehensive support to the band, projecting both care and confidence to make the others feel at ease.

And then something very interesting happens in chapter 13. Sayo finds Yukina doing solo practice, and she takes the opportunity to impart something important to Yukina. She gives Yukina a gentle push, prompting Yukina to reflect on who she is. She is no longer the Yukina that followed in her father’s footsteps, so who is she? Sayo has become Sayo Hikawa of Roselia, not the Sayo Hikawa that desperately tried to keep up with her sister. And do you know why this is interesting? Because it’s the point at which Yukina’s advice comes full circle. Yukina was the one who told Lisa that helping somebody is pointless if you do everything for them, that it’s far better to nudge them, to let them grow for themselves while watching over them. And Lisa passed this knowledge onto Sayo back during the ‘Blossoming in Largo’ event. Now, finally, Sayo uses this knowledge once again to aid Yukina. It’s a wonderful piece of storytelling, that both Lisa and Yukina herself play a role in. And if it were not for Lisa’s connection to Sayo, were it not for the fact that Sayo felt comfortable enough to ask Lisa for help like that, we may never have seen Sayo give this crucial advice to Yukina. And it is crucial, because it’s what ultimately spurs Yukina into considering who she is and what the band means to her. It’s a key piece in the puzzle for helping Roselia recover.

And Sayo acts once again to promote this when Yukina finally returns to face her bandmates, she knows that Yukina needs to do it for herself. And most importantly, Sayo acts to restrain Lisa from getting too involved as Yukina muddles through, knowing that Lisa desperately wants to help despite it not being what was needed right now. It’s a curious but important example of how Sayo can act to moderate Lisa when needed, much like how Lisa once did the same to Sayo.