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This episode The Secret of the Silent Witch The focus is on two trivial events in Monica’s new school life. First, she learned how to dance. These scenes once again show us how Monica’s trauma affects her in her daily life. This is not to say that her body is inconsistent, but that there is so much in her mind, but that she has worked so hard on people’s thoughts and judgments that it has a negative impact on her ability to operate. Only when she is no longer fixed on her deep worries, whether it is because of someone who performs well or cuts with mathematical aesthetics, her subconscious is free to act.
The second focus is her first tea party. But the tea party is as concrete as you expect to do, rather than having a concrete structure for what you expect to do, it is to be done in other ways, with only the taboos you have to avoid. In other words, Monica only knows what she shouldn’t do, and uses too much freedom to make her unable to comfort her.
With the addition of Claudia, the double ladies of the Trial Tea Party can be read in a way that a nobleman or Nouveau Riche cannot. It seems far from intention when she escapes with a cold and even bullying Monica and her friend. She tried to show other girls that the tea party was not only drinking with your friends, but also a social event full of subtext. For example, starting with strong or uncommon teas makes the people who everyone pursues hide the attention, thus attracting the spotlight for themselves. Meanwhile, using expensive tea looks like you’re just throwing money to show superiority over others at a party. In other words, the key to a successful tea party is not only choosing tea, but also making sure you send the right message to your guests, especially if there are newcomers.
However, this tea party situation allows Monica to claim herself in a way she has never had. She could see the lessons Claudia tried to teach, but also learned that, ultimately, there was a tea party to make attendees happy. Although she is happy to follow the self-evident rules, she also instinctively understands when they can be safely broken. Yes, drinking coffee at a tea party is definitely a faux pas, but doing so doesn’t insult the newbie (Claudia) and really stands out in heart when she shares something she really loves with friends.
However, there is another layer in the tea party: the mystery of Monica tea. This episode is somewhat narrative about us here. The visual direction makes the idea in our minds that the culprit is either Claudia (by ramming Monica from Claudia’s sly smile to find the missing leaves) or bullying girls who previously (although by accident) drag Monica up the stairs (by reminding us of her presence in the previous scene).
However, this is all clever misleading. After Casey gave Monica a piece of tea marked on paper, Monica wasn’t signed like Casey. Instead, she folds it into a perfect square. It makes perfect sense for us to know Monica’s true nature. But there is no reason for the bully and Claudia to associate the folded paper with Monica. In other words, there is only one place to see Monica put tea and how she marks it to know that her tea is hers. This only leaves us with a possible culprit.
But “Whodunit” is only half the mystery. We still have the “Whydunit” (motivation) reveal. Why did Casey Bully Monica throw away her tea? Does she have any resentment towards Monica? Did she just hope to prevail in their friendship through the awkward Monica and “save” her friendship? We don’t have enough information to draw conclusions, but there is still a lot of speculation as we wait for the next episode.
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The Secret of the Silent Witch Currently flowing
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Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One of the companies mentioned in this article is part of the Kadokawa Group.
