Considering that Yuri is My Job! has a Central Theme about truths, lies and people putting up facades of various sorts, it's natural to question various characters' motives.
Hime Shiraki(Shirasagi)
- Does Hime genuinely see Mitsuki and Kanoko as her friends, or does she merely want them to love her like everyone else does? On the one hand, she does admit that if someone dislikes her, then her attempts to get everyone to love her façade will be ruined, but on the other hand, she has actually confided in both Mitsuki and Kanoko, even admitting that she puts on a façade, despite knowing of the risk that her secret could be leaked. Kanoko also is aware that Hime treats her differently from the rest of her "friends," which could be proof that Kanoko is one of the only real friends Hime has, or Hime manipulating Kanoko to love her.
- There's also Hime's interactions with other people. Does she really not care for most people besides Mitsuki and Kanoko, or does she believe that since most people care only for outward appearances and bonds with others are easily broken, she can't trust them enough to consider them real friends?
- Why didn't Hime tell Mitsuki about quitting the recital? Was this simply due to not considering how Mitsuki would take it (since she points out that she'd assumed Mitsuki would accept her decision)? Or did Hime not want Mitsuki to find out that she was starting to acquire a reputation as a bully, and/or blame herself for Hime's departure?
- Considering that Hime tends to act like ditzy cute girl, but tends to struggle at the things she seriously applies herself to, how smart is she in reality? Is she actually smarter than she looks, and clever enough to put on a façade to use to her own advantage? Is she talented at socializing but not much else, as Kanoko believes? Or is she actually not even socially adept, only understanding how to win over superficial admirers, as opposed to developing true friendships?
Mitsuki Yano(Ayanokouji)
- Did elementary school-aged Mitsuki need lessons in tact and making herself seem likable to others, or did she act the way she did in part because she correctly realized that her classmates weren't worth befriending? The fact that she's slightly more polite to Sumika, Mai and Kanoko can be seen as proof that she's changed for the better or likes them more than her old classmates.
- Was Mitsuki's exposing Hime as a liar in front of their classmates a spiteful act of revenge for Hime's supposed betrayal? Or did Mitsuki want to warn the other girls that Hime didn't really think of them as her friends? Would Mitsuki have gone this far if she hadn't overheard the conversation between Hime and her other friends almost immediately after hearing that Hime had quit the recital?
- When Mitsuki shows affection for Hime, where does Mitsuki's character end and where does her real self begin? Even Hime isn't completely sure. This is only complicated by the fact that Mitsuki hopes to become her "Mitsuki Ayanokouji" alter ego, and while she is annoyed at Hime's slip-ups on the job, she realizes that their friendship falling apart wasn't Hime's fault, meaning that much of her cold behavior toward Hime in Volume 2 could be due to Hime not remembering Mitsuki.
- As harsh as Mitsuki is towards Hime when the latter makes mistakes, she actually does want Hime to stick around and get better at her job. She even convinces Mai to pretend that her arm's still broken, believing that the only reason Hime stays in spite of her poor performance is because she feels responsible for Mai's injury. Is this a good faith effort at trying to help Hime improve and making up for the past(keep in mind that while Mitsuki now knows that Hime quit the recital for her sake, she doesn't know that it wasn't because Hime couldn't keep up with Mitsuki)? Or is it a selfish and manipulative way of keeping Hime around, simply because Mitsuki doesn't want to part ways with Hime again?
Kanoko Mamiya(Amamiya)
- After learning that Mitsuki is Hime's former friend, and the one who maliciously exposed Hime as a liar, Kanoko tells Hime that she no longer needs to put up her façade in an effort to get Mitsuki to like her, and her remark leaves Hime at a loss for words. A moment after that, Kanoko quickly adds that Mitsuki is "just one person," and that everyone else loves Hime. Was Kanoko trying to get Hime to be herself, write off Mitsuki as a lost cause, or both?
- Is Kanoko's apparent unhappiness with Mitsuki getting close to Hime merely due to jealousy, or is Kanoko partly worried that Mitsuki will once again end up hurting Hime like she did in the past, whether maliciously or unintentionally? The fact that Kanoko still votes for Sumika for Lady Blume even knowing that Sumika won't abolish the schwester system, simply because "it's better than [Mitsuki] becoming the Blume," and adding that "It's weird to see Hime-chan supporting that girl," seems to indicate that Kanoko doesn't like Mitsuki very much, and the only question is how much this is due to Mitsuki's friendship with Hime. Kanoko losing her temper and hitting Mitsuki for claiming to be "special" to Hime like Kanoko is can be interpreted as due to romantic jealousy that Mitsuki would claim Kanoko's unique position as Hime's only special person or anger over Mitsuki's inability to understand Hime.
- What's Kanoko's main reason for not confessing to Hime? Is it because she values her status as Hime's only "real" friend or that she's scared of being rejected? Is her disapproval of Mitsuki confessing to Hime because Kanoko always knew how badly Hime would react to a confession, or because she's possessive of Hime? She's fine with Hime marrying a rich husband because she knows that it would be a loveless marriage, but is still uncomfortable with Mitsuki's closeness with Hime, since she knows Mitsuki is the only other genuine friend Hime has.
- Despite the fact that Kanoko is intensely jealous of Mitsuki's closeness to Hime, when Hime plans on resigning from the salon, Kanoko helps convince Mitsuki to stop her, even though Hime leaving the salon would most likely result in her never seeing Mitsuki again. Was this because she didn't believe Hime would ever return Mitsuki's feelings and simply wanted to maximize the time she could spend with Hime? Or did she believe that Hime would regret leaving Liebe?
Sumika Chibana(Tachibana)
- Sumika is determined not to let others bring romance to the salon, especially Unrequited Love that leads to jealousy. Is her concern for the salon as a whole commendable, or is she needlessly meddlesome in her coworkers' private affairs? Similarly, when it comes to the incident that inspired this, namely Saionji having her heart broken, does it justify Sumika's attitude, or did Sumika happen to take it too personally because Saionji used to be Sumika's schwester (for the latter, even Saionji herself insists that she should be allowed to make her own decisions and that getting one's heart broken is only natural in love)?
- Speaking of Sumika and Saionji, how does Sumika feel about her? Are they merely friends, or is Sumika actually in love with Saionji (a love she is perhaps trying to get over)? The latter possibility would explain a great deal about her interactions with Kanoko.
- Is Sumika's attempt to discourage Kanoko from being fixated on Hime due to a desire to spare her friend an unhealthy relationship? Is it because she wants Kanoko for herself? Or is it because she sees a little of herself in Kanoko? Or perhaps all of the above?
- Sumika claims that she wasn't in love with Saionji, and claims she isn't in love with Kanoko until she has a Green-Eyed Epiphany. While part of the problem is that she's convinced that romantic love is inherently selfish, it's also possible that she's in denial about her sexuality. The fact that Saionji believes that Sumika's feelings for Kanoko are different from her feelings for Saionji only complicates matters.
Other Characters
- Did Hime and Mitsuki's classmates spread rumors about Mitsuki bullying Hime out of malice, or did they genuinely think that Hime was participating in the recital against her will (partly because of Hime lying about not being good at the piano, and partly because of seeing Mitsuki insist that Hime come to practice with her)? Did they know that the teachers would ask Hime if Mitsuki was bullying her, and would they have cared if Mitsuki had actually gotten in trouble?
- In Chapter 49, Yoko claims that Nene saw her as a Replacement Goldfish for Sumika and used her to make the latter jealous. Is she actually right? Is she only saying this to emotionally break Nene? Or is she unable to understand that Nene has accepted that her love for Sumika will never be reciprocated and simply wants closure?
