Yuri is My Job! – Episode 10

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! Today we return to Cafe Liebe in a moment of crisis, with the tension between Kanoko and Sumika approaching some kind of breaking point. While Kanoko initially joined the Cafe Liebe staff just to spend more time with Hime, what she has discovered since has proven intolerable. Not only is Hime thriving in this space, she’s even reconnected with her first friend, who seems to share some bond with Hime that Kanoko herself cannot understand. What happened to her Hime, the Hime who secretly despised all others, and who was only willing to share her earnest feelings while nestled against Kanoko’s shoulder? This clearly will not stand!

Kanoko’s perspective is unhealthy, but perfectly understandable. While Hime initially thought she was teaching Kanoko how to get along in society, the lesson Kanoko received was to always rely on her specifically, and to trust in Hime to be her sole confidant in an otherwise hostile world. But in spite of Hime’s cynicism regarding social performances, she’s actually a deeply empathetic person; while Kanoko simply tunes out her surroundings, Hime is always aware of people like Mitsuki or Kanoko, those who need help connecting with others, or a particular space where their personalities can shine. Hime’s personal bonds are a route towards a greater general appreciation for people’s diverse personalities and passions, while Kanoko has made a fortress of her one bond, seeing Hime as the only connection she’ll ever need. That’s obviously unsustainable, meaning the question is really just “how much will Kanoko tear down before she starts to grow up?” Let’s find out!

Episode 10

“Will You Break It All?” A question that I frankly don’t know if we’ll reach before the end of the episode. Given this story’s structure so far, I imagine we’re in for some Sumika backstory before we resolve this conflict

We open on Kanoko reaching the cafe before Hime, the perfect chance for a private confrontation

Kanoko’s obsession is basically its own form of script, a simplified perspective on reality that sands off all the things that make her uncomfortable. There’s no need to change or grow as a person if you’ve invented a framework wherein your preferred actions are already correct; and of course, the longer you marinate within a self-serving framework, the more you believe in it, the less you can act outside of it, and the harder it becomes to grow beyond it

Sumika awaits her on the steps

The layout again uses the stairs as a device to convey emotional separation as we come back in after the OP. Sumika is essentially portrayed as a warrior defending Cafe Liebe, barring passage to this betrayer

“I want you to know, Kanoko-chan, what happened at the salon then.” Crucial that Sumika is actually telling this to Kanoko directly, rather than us simply learning of it through an independent flashback. No one except Hime really possesses any individual humanity in Kanoko’s worldview, they’re all either background debris or enemies – a philosophy she’s actually fostered ever since meeting Hime, by intentionally avoiding involving herself in the lives of others. Hime has become a crutch she uses to avoid other meaningful human interactions, and thereby flatten the perspectives of others into simplified, antagonistic categories. By demanding she listen and come to understand another perspective, Sumika might be able to shatter that self-defeating perspective

We learn that Mai, Sumika, and a girl named Saionji were Cafe Liebe’s original cast. I’d ask who put up the initial money for this place, but that’s clearly outside of the realm of this story’s dramatic/thematic concerns. Different stories require different buy-ins to facilitate the things they actually want to talk about, and for this one that buy-in is “Cafe Liebe exists, no questions asked”

They were soon joined by Goeido, a third year

We briefly cut back to Sumika, a reminder that this story is not for us, but for Kanoko. While it’s nice to know the history of this place, the point of this exercise is for Kanoko to recognize the humanity of others, to see something of herself in Sumika’s experience

“Goeido was approaching Saionji romantically, and I could tell Saionji was attracted to her.” The vignette they use to illustrate this is purposefully chosen: Goeido whispers something that only Saionji can hear, implying a second level of intimacy beyond their public performance as academy students. The experience Cafe Liebe offers is a performance of intimacy for the crowd, so drawing attention to the fact that these “students” have lives and emotions beyond the stage is forbidden

It’s an invasive dynamic that’s spreading across all of media at this point, as our era of perpetual access to creators means their personal lives and personas also have to be catered towards the crowd, necessitating the distinction between a “public private self” and an actual private self. Audiences aren’t satisfied with just the work you create; they want to know you personally, as a parasocial acquaintance. Fandom has drifted from the realm of pure art appreciation into something more all-encompassing and frankly sinister, a demand that artists and performers be their actual friends (or in some cases, more like adopted parents). And this has a deleterious effect on the art created, as not only is there now an implicit threat that your work must satisfy specific fan demands, but you’re also forced to spend much of your time and energy on fan interactions rather than the work itself

Sumika reflects that Goeido was able to manipulate the situation by pushing the envelope just a tiny bit, always mindful of how much she could subvert the cafe rules without being actively called out

In fact, Goeido actually seemed to engage in a lot of what Sumika currently does: noticing social fault lines within her coworkers, and raising them on-stage to create drama charged with real emotion

Saionji was actually Schwestern with Sumika, and Goeido specifically challenged her for allowing herself and Saionji to grow closer

“I stood no chance against Goeido, who approached her with romantic intent.” A facsimile of romance will never stand up against the real thing. It’s funny, you could easily read this as a condemnation of how Cafe Liebe forces its employees to perform intimacy rather than genuinely experience it, but Sumika’s takeaway was “that’s why romance is unacceptable”

“The closer they got, the more it ruined our sisterhood”

“Is love really that important? Does it take precedence over everything else?” I’m still not entirely sure why Sumika herself is so attached to this place. Because the answer here seems to be a pretty obvious, “yes, love is more important than a part-time job at a theme cafe”

Granted, Sumika is still raising an interesting point: that the distance between love as envisioned at Cafe Liebe and love as it is actually experienced is so great that the two are fundamentally incompatible. At a certain point, the feigned intimacy of the girls’ academy becomes a barrier preventing genuine closeness. I can certainly imagine Hime and Mitsuki running into that problem, given how desperately Mitsuki clings to Cafe Liebe’s rules as a model for social interaction

“It’s like they were caught up in their own world.” Meaning they were performing for each other, not for an assumed audience

Eventually Goeido quit, proving she’d only ever been casually fooling around with Saionji. So that’s it – the performance is a contract where both partners understand the nature of the relationship, but real love is far more ambiguous

“I don’t care. I don’t know those people.” A very Kanoko response

“I won’t be the ‘good kid,’” Kanoko mumbles, clearly seeing a reprise of her old doormat routine in what Sumika is currently asking

“We won’t be able to continue as we are, will we?” Nope. Actual relationships generally imply personal change, whereas Cafe Liebe presents a fantasy of stasis, a forever adolescence where love is only hinted at, never realized

But of course, Kanoko doesn’t want a real relationship either – she also wants to live in stasis, forever close to Hime, but never actually voicing her feelings

“So you won’t stop?” “There’s nothing to stop.”

“Keep in mind that when we reveal the winner, we’ll also show who you voted for!” Nothing is kept private at Cafe Liebe, everything is fuel for their invasive performance of intimacy

“Why does this Blume election even exist? There’s no need to change anything.” As far as life philosophies go, it’s a pretty sad and self-defeating one

Kanoko’s now too frazzled to speak to guests, but Sumika of course covers for her, offering a graceful explanation for her silence

“You should try to relax a little. You did everything you could.” Sumika framing her declaration of victory as attempting to comfort Kanoko is delicious. She is so done with this girl

After their shift, Hime finally asks Kanoko what’s going on

“You have to learn to talk to people other than me!” Hime can’t be her crutch any longer

Kanoko actually lashes out at Hime a bit, then immediately apologizes. Her perspective doesn’t even allow for a genuine relationship with Hime herself, since she’s too scared of being abandoned to actually challenge Hime on anything, or share any of her ungenerous thoughts

So is their kitchen staff lady actually Saionji? The hair and eyes seem to match

Yep, it’s Saionji. The two discuss the situation after closing, with Sumika admitting she’s not even sure what she wants anymore

“At least for me, when I fall in love, it’s my choice. I don’t want people telling me what to do.” You can’t really bring Cafe Liebe rules into real-life romance; it’s not about logic or sustainability, it’s about personal feeling

And Done

Thus we conclude our episode alongside the end of the Blume election period, with the winner to be revealed upon the morrow! Plus we also got plenty of context regarding Sumika’s early days at the cafe, though frankly, I could still use some explanation regarding why exactly she cares so much about Cafe Liebe. For Mitsuki, Cafe Liebe is a space where socialization follows clear rules, systems of behavior she can study and excel at. But Sumika doesn’t really have any trouble expressing herself either on or off the stage; this is basically just a hobby for her, which makes it all the more curious why she’s so desperate to keep things from falling apart. Nonetheless, her conversation with Nene seems to have resolved her concerns regarding Nanoko’s objectives, and I am looking forward to seeing how she softens the blow that is clearly awaiting in Nanoko’s near future. Onward to the election results!

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