while their dynamic is mostly defined by contrast, ena and mafuyu do have some things in common, the most apparent of these being that they're the two niigo members with Bad Parents. going a bit deeper, they both have parents who, in a way, destroyed their dreams.
beyond the morning is really interesting in how it explores both the similarities and the differences in their upbringings. ena is, as usual, struggling to understand mafuyu, currently wondering why she doesn't stand up for herself. but when len suggests that she's afraid of her mother rejecting her, ena immediately remembers what her father said to her that time. and she drops this gut punch of a line that i did not see coming:
for her to say this in the event where mafuyu is staying over because her chest felt cold at the thought of going home. ena usually acts so tough, it's easy to forget how deeply she was hurt back then, and now, it helps her understand mafuyu's feelings just a little bit.
but aside from this moment, most of the event serves to contrast the two families. even down to the background designs, the shinonome household is all warm oranges against the asahinas' cold grays. the siblings act outwardly hostile but clearly care about each other deep down, which is the inverse of how mafumom acts. even when ena's mom says something similar to mafuyu's about how her daughter's choices sometimes worry her, the vibe is so different that even mafuyu can tell there's nothing insidious going on.
one of the most interesting parts of the event is when ena asks:
it's the age old nature vs. nurture debate, and the story never really points toward a correct answer. however... pushing your ideals onto your child "for their sake"... shinei didn't NOT do that. obviously in a very different context than mafumom, but he did go off of his own beliefs about what it takes to be an artist to dictate ena's future (or lack thereof) because he decided he knew what was best for her.
honestly the biggest difference is that shinei is incompetent compared to mafumom. he could never pull off years of slow, subtle manipulation the way she did. perhaps as a result, ena never got to the point of forgetting about what she liked and wanted. the space that art fills in her life is the one thing ena has always had that mafuyu lost.
except, in beyond the morning, mafuyu is finally at a point where she does know what she wants to an extent. she wants to stay with niigo and make music, and also maybe become a nurse. so ena acts as a model for what the next step looks like. once you know what matters to you, how do you fight for that, even when people are trying to tell you no? that's exactly what mafuyu needs to do now, and it happens to be ena's specialty.
