Whisper Me a Love Song

Episode 7

There's something about Shiho—something off-putting. Aki's erstwhile bandmate seems to continuously go out of her way to be unpleasant, even when she's manifesting a veneer of kindness. That was apparent last week when she made her debut (or at least, her true entrance) on the screen: her entire being was devoted to putting SSGirls down as hard as she possibly could with a cold little smile on her face. The same thing seems to be happening this week, only multiplied by ten as we come to realize that Aki finding her crying in a music room because she had a falling out with her band was a symptom rather than a result. As far as we know, Shiho is on her third band at school—and that indicates that she's the problem, not them.

As of right now, we can only guess why that is. Her disparaging comments about “casuals” and “amateurs” definitely indicate a sense of superiority over her classmates, which in turn could hint that she's had more classical music training than any of them. There is a certain class of artists who believe that without rigorous, board-certified training, one cannot possibly be a real painter/singer/guitarist/dancer/etc., and Shiho appears to be one of their numbers. She's elitist, and she resents people who don't live up to her standards. This mindset ignores things like the financial resources required to access that kind of education, but Shiho gives every appearance of being at least a little bit spoiled; her modifications of her school uniform seem to be aimed at making it look more like a Class S version of the regular outfit, with frills and lace peeking out wherever she can add them. The way that she also seems to trust that another band will always be waiting when she makes it impossible for herself to stay in her current one also could be read as the comfortable assumption of her superiority.

But the other thing about her, and maybe the most important at the moment, is her meanness. The episode ends with her doing her best to be cruel to Aki—bringing up her feelings for Yori and the fact that she knows that Aki can't do anything about them. Her song lyrics as well are vicious, calling out the bands she views as less than as she sings about how what's fine for “normal” people is too mundane for her. Shiho has to stand out from the crowd as the best of the best and no one appears to believe in her superiority more than Shiho herself. Momoka may be the only person who can deal with her—given what we know about her easygoing personality. Although, how long she'd last if Shiho turned her venom on her and Hajime is anyone's guess.

Maybe all of this is why Shiho is so shocked when Himari asks if she doesn't like her. Himari says it with all the guile of a golden retriever and Shiho is visibly taken aback. She doesn't know what to do with that sort of directness and she's forced into a stumbling admission that she doesn't dislike the younger girl. This hints at a very different Shiho, one who has made it her mission to give before she can receive—and there's probably an interesting past story about how she became so abrasive. But I can also see her using Himari against SSGirls in some way, befriending her to make them feel insecure or as a way to drive a wedge between Yori and Aki. If the first six episodes were a romance, it feels like we've entered the drama phase of the series. Thank goodness we've still got moments of Himari/Yori sweetness because I have complete faith in Shiho's ability to sow sourness wherever she goes.

Rating:

Whisper Me a Love Song is currently streaming on HIDIVE.