I probably don’t need to say this, but from Kana’s point of view, she hasn’t given up a rivalry with Akane, but she’s playing a supporting role to let Akane’s performance as a lead character shine.

Now whether this kind of performance actually works in the context of the Tokyo Blade story and this theater adaptation, we don’t really know…

But every good drama needs a great villain or rival, and if Kana’s not providing that kind of performance then that’s a problem for the play.

On the other hand, Kana might pull a Kizame and pour it on in Act 3, but wouldn’t it be better if their characters had a believable rivalry that was started earlier on?

But I’m guessing that the main villain/rival is supposed to be the Blade character (red hair, red outfit guy), not Kana/Tsurugi, so she doesn’t want to outshine both Blade and Princess Saya.

Yet, on another (third) hand, a good hero has to overcome significant obstacles and if Tsurugi isn’t proving much of a challenge for Saya, then what was the point of the character?