Sayotomo

Sayotomo is the femslash ship between Sayo Hikawa and Tomoe Udagawa from the BanG Dream! fandom.

Canon
Sayo and Tomoe are friends as well as older sisters. Sayo plays the guitar for Roselia - the band Tomoe's younger sister Ako plays the drums for - and Tomoe is Afterglow's drummer. Although Tomoe has a cool appearance, she is quite hotblooded, while Sayo is very cool, though if she is pressured or convinced enough, she can also get pulled into others' crazy antics or fall for their weird explanations. Tomoe is also one of the few people Sayo refers to with their first name (Tomoe-san).

Although Ako had mentioned and talked about Sayo to Tomoe multiple times before, mostly during Roselia's events, the two didn't properly interact until Chapter 3 of the "Umbrella For The Autumn Rain" event. Sayo, while lamenting her solo rehearsal not going as well as she desired, runs into Tomoe at Livehouse CiRCLE's Café. Tomoe thanks Sayo for always taking care of Ako before internally freaking out, wondering what she should say to keep the conversation but Sayo beats her to it by asking if Ako told Tomoe about her [Sayo's] situation, and how there's no way she would have approached her otherwise. Tomoe nervously laughs, but also says how she couldn't just stay quiet after listening to Ako. Sayo thanks her for the concern and then starts wondering out loud why Ako would aspire to become as cool as Tomoe for an eternity. Sayo then asks if Tomoe has never felt it as a burden, and Tomoe proceeds to tell her how despite everything, she wants to consider Ako's feelings, not let her down, and it's all because she's her one and only little sister. Sayo compliments Tomoe for being mature, saying how she can't deal with Hina's expectations the same way, and Tomoe in turn tells Sayo she's rooting for her. It is then thanks to Tomoe's words that Sayo is determined to face Hina.

Beatin' in the Rain
In Chapter 2, while in the middle of taiko drumming practice with Kokoro, Misaki and Kokoro, Sayo spots Tomoe and calls out to her before asking what they're doing. When Tomoe mentions they are practicing for the festival, Sayo wishes them good luck. After Kasumi and Tomoe suggest Sayo should join their performance, Sayo declines and says she would just ruin the event they're working so hard for. When Tomoe asks what she meant by that, Sayo tells that whenever she attends an event, she brings the rain together with her, and how it has happened ever since she was young. In Chapter 4, after strolling around the festival, Sayo and the others head to the shrine for the taiko performance. Tomoe is surprised to see that Sayo wanted to come watch their performance in the end. Sayo insists her being around might make the weather take a turn for the worse, but Tomoe assures everything will be fine. Right after, it starts raining and Sayo sighs, saying she knew it was going to happen, but as she tries to leave, Tomoe tries reassuring her that it's nothing but a coincidence. As their group keeps drumming and chanting, the sky starts clearing up a bit and Tomoe tells a bewildered Sayo that they'll do their best to make the rain go away. In Chapter 5, while watching Tomoe, Kokoro and Kasumi drumming, Sayo comments how amazing it all seems and how they're refusing to give up despite their current circumstances. She then cheers them on, moves even closer and later on even starts dancing. In the Ending Chapter, Sayo thanks them all for helping her realize that she has many precious memories of rainy days as well, and Tomoe embarrassedly tells her to knock it off when Sayo says she's in their debt.

Fanon
Sayotomo is a rarepair with more support in the Western fandom. The ship sailed thanks to their interaction in the Umbrella For The Autumn Rain event and especially because it showcased the mutual respect they have for each other and how they might be more similar than what it seems on the surface. In fandom works, their gimmick and personalities usually remain the same, with Tomoe managing to make Sayo flustered, although sometimes it is depicted the other way around as well.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

ART

Trivia

 * Sayo and Tomoe were part of the "J-Rock Band" that was created during the 1st band shuffle election.
 * They are the tallest members of their respective bands and have a 7 cm height difference (Sayo is 161 cm tall, and Tomoe is 168 cm.)
 * In a limited-time Lounge conversation between the two, titled "Why Are You Asking Me...?", Tomoe shouts out "Autumn sweet potato fries! For a limited time only!" and then asks Sayo what she thought of her delivery.