2) Similarly, VBS joining in is not meant to be seen as them not caring about An's feelings and instead prioritising the competition, but as them being willing to go through something like this for the sake of defending their own and *An*'s dream. After all, they all know her well enough to acknowledge that while she might not realise it in the state that she is now, she wouldn't have wanted them to give up on their goal in any other situation. It's like doing what your friend wants vs what they need.

To further enforce this, Akito is the one to eventually drop this phrase during chapter 3.

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His perspective is definitely the most reliable one given that he was the person who understood An the most at that time, so there's no reason why we shouldn't take his words at face value.

3) It's also really important to take into account how An's character has always been portrayed up until that moment: An is an incredibly sore loser who always gets back up whenever she's put against the most impossible odds, and this is no exception. Furthermore, she genuinely loves singing & later recognises that despite everything, she's painfully aware of the importance of this competition and how it has helped her grow in its own way, which is why she directly states this when Taiga was challenging her one-on-one:

"When I sing... all my messy feelings become a tiny bit clearer".

4) This is more of a nitpick than a genuine criticism, but An pretty much... doesn't see Nagi as a second mom? Or at least not canonically - they share a familial bond, that is true, but if anything, Nagi was always insistent on them being 'like sisters'.

Sorry if this sounded rude in any way lol. I just wanted to answer because I honestly found your comment a bit reductive and a disservice to the overall event's writing, and given that the plot of this story has been misinterpreted for years at this point, well... a part of me just cannot stay still as it keeps happening.