BanG Dream! It’s MyGO

Eh? This franchise still alive? Apparently. I wasn’t such a big fan of it so I didn’t really follow up. After the third season, I didn’t follow up on the movie or the male spinoff version of the series. Or that, what’s that violin rock band spinoff again? Mofo fornification or something?! Whatever! And thus when BanG Dream! It’s MyGO (how many freakin’ exclamation marks come after that???!!! I lost count…) hit the airwaves, I was particularly surprised. I figure this is going to be a band version of Love Live, a franchise that will not die in the foreseeable future. Heh. Why am I being so pessimistic about the things that many others love? Anyway, noting a different set of faces on the promotional poster, I figured this could be another spinoff and so it was that curiosity that made me go check it out to see what it’s all about. It’s a new band so got to give them a chance. Though, I’m not putting any high hopes on it.

Episode 1
Well, bad news. Sakiko Togawa finally shows up to her waiting band members of Crychic, only to tell them she is quitting. Soyo Nagasaki tries to find out why but Sakiko isn’t saying. This pisses off Taki Shiina. Without Sakiko, what will happen to the band since Sakiko founded it. Not that she cares. Tomori Takamatsu is too scared to say anything and Mutsumi Wakaba claims she never had fun in the band. I guess that’s it for them. Now we see Anon Chihaya as a new transfer student at Haneoka Girls’ High School. She quickly makes friends with a normal group of people. She learns they are in a band. Oh heck, almost everyone in school is one. They credit to their seniors like Afterglow for this band mania. They invite Anon to join but she’ll think about it. As she continues to ponder about it, she hears this beautiful piano play by Sakiko. She goes to introduce herself as Anon is also looking for some band members. Sakiko doesn’t seem impressed and leaves. True, Anon is looking for members but she doesn’t want to be too invested in a band. But fellow classmate Tomori seems to attract Anon’s attention. She looks weird and forlorn. A mini accident has them strike up a little conversation. Like Tomori is into penguins and as the only member of the astronomy club, she hopes Anon will join so as not to be disbanded. Well, Anon will think about it! That sad Tomori looks… Anon then notices her songbook. She takes a look at it and doesn’t recognize this Spring Sunlight song. Tomori says she is no longer in a band and won’t do it again for fear of the same thing happening. Anon can’t stand this gloominess and takes her to go karaoke. Tomori is in no mood to sing. Anon tries to look up Spring Sunlight but can’t find it. Of course she can’t. It’s a song they wrote. As Tomori still blames herself, Anon tries to give some words of encouragement. Tomori then wonders if she can keep the band going for the rest of their lives and when Anon laughs, Tomori is not amused and runs out. She chases after her to apologize. So happen they pass by Taki’s workplace so Taki defends her friend from this weirdo. Tomori continues to run as Taki learns that Anon tried to invite Tomori to join her band. Taki is not impressed and scolds her. What? Why? Meanwhile Tomori continues to be sad…

Episode 2
Anon is so confused as Taki walks away. Soyo wonders what is happening so Anon brushes it off. Next day in class, a bit of awkwardness between Anon and Tomori. Later as Anon goes to the bulletin to check if there are any bands who would take a guitarist and/or vocalist, none. Then she bumps into Soyo there again they soon become friends. They had to patron the diner Taki works as. You bet Taki and Anon won’t get along. Bad service! As they talk about band recruitment, Rana Kaname is jamming her guitar on stage! Too noisy to hear anything! But her jamming is awesome, right? With another bad service from Taki, Anon can’t understand what her beef is. She only asked Tomori to join her band. That’s all. Of course Tomori rejected her. Soyo easily agrees to Anon’s suggestions of joining her band since she plays the bass. At school, Anon apologizes to Tomori for being pushy and won’t ask her to join again. Next day, Anon and Soyo meet up to discuss further on recruiting other band members. Soyo has an idea who can be the drummer. Looking at you, Taki. She is not impressed and won’t join. Soyo asks if Tomori is in, would she be? Taki doesn’t think so because she’s hurt. Soyo notes everyone is hurt. Soyo then explains to Anon that all of them used to be in the same band called Crychic. She shows her a low res video of them in one of their practice. Tomori was the lead singer and she sounds pretty shy. Later Anon talks to Tomori about the latter being a vocalist. Quite a good singing voice. She believes Tomori want to be in a band.

Episode 3
Fancy an episode about Crychic but totally from Tomori’s POV? Here’s your episode. Some snippets of Tomori’s life and after she graduated from middle school, she continued to be alone. Until Sakiko thought she wanted to kill herself by jumping off the bridge (she was just actually trying to pick a flower). With Sakiko scrapping her knee, Tomori offered her plaster. That’s when the duo started to become friends as Sakiko is impressed with whatever Tomori likes. Taking a liking for some words she wrote about loneliness, Sakiko then incorporated it into her song. She liked it so much that Sakiko wanted to start a band with her. And soon they got the other members of Crychic and everyone was pretty confident about their future as a band. However, I’m surprised that Tomori was shocked to learn she is the band’s vocalist. It’s her lyrics so she should sing. Uhm, did she not know what she was playing when she signed up?! Anyway, being the shy girl, obviously her voice couldn’t come out. So they had several practice sessions and some karaoke ones too to help boost Tomori’s confidence. Then there was one performance they played, it was so good that Tomori couldn’t remember what happened?! They received lots of praises but of course there were some sceptics too. Taki’s answer was to block them?! But then Sakiko saw some comment and it all went downhill from there. The rest as we all know is history, the day when Sakiko announced she is quitting the band. This has Tomori wonder if she lacked something as a person as she doesn’t have something precious like everyone else. Of course, she yearns to have that.

Episode 4
Tomori blames herself for the breakup of Crychic. When Soyo joins in the talk, Tomori runs away. At school, Tomori continues to avoid Anon. When Sakiko asks Anon if she has found any new members and she replies Soyo, Sakiko becomes annoyed. After school, Soyo waits outside the school gates to talk to Sakiko but she is in no mood for that. Soyo wonders if this has anything to do with Crychic but Sakiko denies. Anon then forces Tomori, Soyo and Taki to get together and talk out all their problems. Might as well. First they discuss about why Crychic broke up. Taki thinks it is Sakiko since she stopped coming to practice. Tomori blames herself thinking she couldn’t sing well and that’s why Sakiko stopped coming. Anyway in the end, nobody is to blame and they all have their own circumstances. They misunderstood each other and lost their chance to connect. Not wanting to start hating bands as Soyo suggests they can start all over again. This time they’ll surely talk it out. Tomori invites Anon to join too. Well, weird squabbling between Anon and Taki can begin… In class, everybody crowds around Tomori after they learn she is now in a band. She’s a celebrity or what?! The quartet gather again to talk about band details. They start off with who plays what. Anon trying to paint herself as the important centre and Taki of course has things to stay about it. Uhm, Tomori could stand and sing behind Anon? Then there’s the naming of the band. Yeah, Anon’s suggestions all include a variation of her name. So self-centred. More weird stuffs like Ricky and Ooky (WTF?!) but I’m sure we’re here for the amusing Anon-Taki banter, right? At the end of the discussion, Tomori thanks Anon for it all. First band practice. Anon trying to show off her simple chords? What song to practice? Spring Sunlight seems to be the only song they know although Anon is not very familiar with it since she heard it only once.

Episode 5
Uhm, Rana just walks into the session and starts jamming after looking at the score of Spring Sunlight once. Like as though this is her band or something? Practice for the rest didn’t start as it ended. They ask Rana if she wants to join the band. Yes, she’ll do it. Anon looking pretty worried. But Rana’s guitar skills are exceptional and she would’ve been scouted by other bands. True. But they are all boring women. It seems she views Tomori as interesting. Anon excuses herself and back home, she is really worried if Rana actually joins the band. This means she will be relegated to secondary guitarist! As she practises her guitar, she thinks of taking a shortcut. This means asking Tomori to write a new song since they are a new band. Sorry, she only write lyrics. There goes her shortcut plan. Taki then suggests doing a live concert soon. Anon is even more worried since they haven’t even practised once! Oh wow, Taki went ahead and do the booking already? Soon, Tomori ekes out she doesn’t want to do it because she fears the band will break up again. Despite Soyo assuring it will be different this time, this is not convincing enough for Tomori. Taki and Soyo talk about this issue. They thought their feelings were the same but apparently not. Whatever it is, they don’t want to make Tomori feel alone again. On yet another discussion, Taki is adamant to go ahead with the live performance so everyone can hear Tomori’s song. With Anon pretty against it, this has Taki telling her off that she is so because she can’t play the guitar well and is using this as an excuse to run away. Wow, Anon denies that and RUNS AWAY!!! She stumbles into a few old friends and they thought she was in London studying. Oh damn, did she lie?! With Tomori picking her up, Anon explains her whole life is about running away. Indeed, she went to London to study after middle school but all that enthusiasm died out since she couldn’t blend in and it was so awkward. That is why she returned and became a transfer student at this strange time. Now it is Tomori’s turn to tell her not to run because she once told her to try hard. Now apply it to yourself. Move forward and if it’s a dead end, find another way. Just keep moving forward because by doing so, it isn’t the end. In the end, both of them now agree to do the live performance.

Episode 6
Seriously, Anon still trying to learn the chords?! Tomori shows the lyrics she has written. Taki is impressed and will write a song to match it. Soyo talks to Mutsumi about their band going to perform soon and invites her to watch. Unfortunately she doesn’t want to come. Taki has written the music and lets her bandmates listen. It’s good. Only Anon wants it a bit slower but is shot down because Taki doesn’t want to lose momentum. Before they start practising, Rana drops in and sees the sheet and then starts playing it. Note, there is no part for her written so she improvises on it. Because it’s good, Taki cancels practice to rewrite the song to include her. And when that is ready, Rana doesn’t show up. Again, Taki cancels practice to rewrite the song without her. WTF?! Could she not use the previous one?! And then once that is done, Rana shows up. WTF, girl! Make up your mind! After one practice, Rana is satisfied and leaves. Worse, Taki becomes a dictator and tells Anon to practice even more. Can’t blame Anon, the score changes all the time and she needs time to practice. The rest note she is quite stressed and offer to help. Too bad Taki took it the wrong way and thinks she cannot be depended upon. So much so she screams she isn’t like Sakiko. Because of that, Taki falls into depression and even worries if she’ll actually turn up on performance day. Yeah, now it is Taki’s turn not to show up for practice! OMG, this is so funny I can’t even laugh! Anon and Tomori are worried so they go to her school to look for her. A weird chase scene before they finally catch her. Then Rana stumbles into them as she was playing with a stray cat. Taki is shocked because she never knew Rana went to her school. Here’s another shocker: She’s your senior!

Episode 7
During the equipment testing rehearsal, our girls are even having their own bust up. Rana just like, put down her guitar and left?! Even while waiting at the backstage, more bust up as Taki tries to take charge but everyone is still anxious. So the concert for the night begins. It is our girls’ turn. Tomori and Anon clearly show panic on their faces as Soyo tries to appease the fleeting crowd. Worse, a few false starts! Take it from the top again! Then the real song starts. Tomori being soft as f*ck as we also see Sakiko and Mutsumi as part of the crowd. But soon Tomori finds her groove and starts singing naturally. Once the song ends, she makes a heartfelt speech how she couldn’t sing well before and doesn’t want to feel that awful feeling of breaking up again. Now she feels like she wants to move forward with her songs. It’s not part of the script so she suddenly starts singing Spring Sunlight and everyone else follows suit. At this time, a large crowd gathers and is enthralled by Tomori’s performance as she belts her heart out. But WTF, Sakiko is not happy and runs away in tears?! Seeing this, Soyo is having the biggest heartbreak of her life. The song ends on a good note and the audience are very pleased with their performance. But as our girls relish their huge success at the backstage, shockingly Soyo loses her sh*t and screams her head off why did she sing Spring Sunlight! Oh damn, she looks like a psycho killer!

Episode 8
Soyo snapping at the rest for singing that song without permission. I’m sorry, does it belong to anybody exclusively?! She says Sakiko was crying. However Taki doesn’t care. Soyo has had it and leaves. Because of that, Soyo has not been seeing them since and Taki continues to be indifferent. Don’t even mention about Rana who is just, uhm, I don’t even know what she’s thinking anymore. Tomori talks to Anon about Sakiko being the one who brought her into Crychic. It was a warm place then. But now the irony when she sang the song, it hurt her. Soyo has trying to text Sakiko to explain herself but no replies. Could it be she has been blocked? Google it… Sakiko goes to meet her childhood friend, Uika Misumi. Some flashback on how they met and became friends. But now Sakiko seems seriously in asking her for a favour. Soyo then talks to Mutsumi. She thinks she brought Sakiko to their performance. She tries to get psychological with Mutsumi to blame it is all her fault since she speaks her mind freely. This is to get her to reveal where Sakiko lives. Anon is surprised to receive a message from Rana to meet up. Better hurry down there before she leaves! Wow, it’s like a rare event! So as everyone minus Soyo meet, Tomori wants to apologize although Taki couldn’t care less about what Soyo is doing. This is all so boring for Rana so she just packs up and leave. Oh damn! Wasted! Soyo meets Sakiko at her home as she starts ranting about how it wasn’t her intention to play Spring Sunlight but was forced to go along. She doesn’t expect to be forgiven since the song is precious to Crychic and shouldn’t sing it without her permission. Sakiko is not amused and thinks she is just doing it for herself. Holding onto the song tightly is not worth it so why not just forget about it. Soyo is in shock as she tries to bring back the happy days of Crychic. Sakiko tells her off Crychic is done. Destroyed. Yes, she was the one who started it but that is why she also ended it. Whatever her next scheme, she doesn’t want to be involved. Soyo becomes desperate and will plead to do anything to get Crychic back together again. Unfortunately Sakiko once more isn’t impressed with such irresponsible words. Because at the end of the day, she only thinks about herself. Well, that’s the final blow. Sakiko’s gone. Soyo in despair. Mutsumi… Still having that poker face.

Episode 9
Flashback shows when Soyo was younger, she moved into this place with her single mom. At this new school of hers, she joined and orchestra and played the cello. After one of the concerts, Sakiko approached her and was impressed with her performance. She invited her to join her band. Ah, such great times in Crychic until of course the day they fell apart. Now that Soyo is as uncertain as Rana, this makes Tomori feel that she is cursed in bands and thinks she shouldn’t be in one. She hurts everyone by being in it. Of course Taki disagrees. She then messages Mutsumi for Soyo’s address. Hmm, everybody doesn’t know where each other lives except Mutsumi?! But Mutsumi tells her it is none of her business. Soyo returns to her orchestra group. One day Anon and Tomori see her across the station. They wave but Soyo ignores and pretends not to know them. This makes Tomori so sad! Anon calls Taki about this and looks like it’s time to take matters into her own hands. After asking her sister, Taki waits for an orchestra performance to end before confronting Soyo. She asks about the band. What is she going to do about it? Not my problem. Those promises? All lies. Taki is at boiling point as she tells about Tomori agonizing over everything. Did she betray her? Soyo admits yes. If she is called the worst, the same can be said for Taki. Soyo thinks it is fine since Taki wants Tomori for herself. Desperate, Taki tells Anon and Tomori she has brought a new bassist into the band. She is Umiri Yahata, Taki’s classmate and in about roughly 30 bands! So she’s like a bassist for hire? Taki pushes everything fast to practice but after a few tries and Tomori not singing, Umiri packs up and leaves. No point continuing, right? Anon asks about Soyo as Taki says she is not coming back. Needing more explanation, Taki then blurts out what Soyo said to her especially those lies. Although Soyo didn’t say she quit, she never intended to be part of the new band. That’s why she never needed Anon or Rana. It was an excuse to tie Taki and Tomori together. If that’s the case, Anon realizes she is not needed and leaves. Oh damn, Tomori breaking down further. She’s this close of turning psycho!

Episode 10
So is it over? Well, Tomori still feeling hurt and confused from everything. And now Anon is keeping her distance from her. As she continues to do things alone, she bumps into Uika who lends a listening ear. She hints about singing reaching out to others. Even if she has a hard time saying it in words, her feelings will definitely get through. After Tomori pens her lyrics, she confronts Anon to perform live with her. She won’t. Bye. Tomori then books a live performance slot herself. Uhm, is this a stand up comedy? Because she is alone and starts talking her lyrics. Weird. But luckily here is Rana to give some background accompaniment music. Well, some actually find this interesting! Yeah, not sure if this is some new type of music! With more and more people attending this, Rana even drags Taki in the middle of her work to go play! Later as Tomori and Taki reconcile, Mutsumi pops up to ask what they’ll do about Soyo because she doesn’t know anymore. Tomori then confronts Anon to play with her again but once more she refuses as she believes she is not needed. She runs. She chases. The clincher is that Tomori wants them to be lost together. So that’s how she is convinced to return? Now Anon goes to confront Soyo who is still stubborn and not impressed. Because Anon claims both of them start this band, Soyo assures she will end it. So she’s Sakiko v2 now? So at the next live performance, the moment Tomori spots Soyo in the crowd, she leaps off just to drag her to the stage to play. Such great drama. Here’s your bass. The rest didn’t give her any time so they start playing as she starts singing talking. Soyo is forced to go with the flow and soon everybody starts playing like a band and Tomori singing for real. Yeah, must be so beautiful that everybody minus Rana is f*cking crying! Must be feeling good to be back in business, eh?

Episode 11
So we’re still crying at the backstage? Yeah, everybody so confused so the only thing left is to continue crying. Except for Rana of course. In a way, the band is back together again although Soyo’s face is mostly I’m-not-impressed kinda look. Rana keeps bugging Taki to perform live again. So the girls go try their luck and it seems the available space is in 3 days. Take it or leave it? Because Soyo doesn’t want to sing that same song again, I guess they’ll have to do the impossible and write a new song. Hence Taki arranges for everybody to converge at her home to do so. Anon trying to make herself useful by suggesting a name for the band and do the costumes. I don’t think the rest are even interested… Soyo is still having confused feelings because Tomori went on to assume all 5 of them will be playing in this band for the rest of their lives. What if she refused? Didn’t plan for that. As Anon puts it, all of them have been led around by Tomori who wouldn’t abandon Soyo or give up on the band even if she was alone. So crunch time is here as everyone gathers to meet the deadline as Taki is using her prior knowledge of Midi music programming to get a head start. Anon trying to suggest band names but no one is impressed especially Soyo. Then she also shows skimpy outfit fashion examples. This is to make them stand out. Nobody is impressed either. Since Anon has started to make their uniforms, they also converge to her place to help. Uhm, Anon already sewn their band name onto the outfit?! Anon Tokyo?! Soyo not impressed! Not sure if Tomori is mumbling about the hard band life or if this is part of her lyrics. But this gives Anon the perfect idea for their band name. Because they are still lost girls, that should be their band name. Next morning, Soyo is devastated because her uniform is cut into half?!

Episode 12
After all that practice and Taki is still feeling unconfident with her new song? Well, it’s almost their turn to go on stage so they better be prepared. So the band with the name of Maigo go on stage to start their performance. Tomori dazzling before the crowd. At the end of it, she introduces the members. Uhm, a bit too personal her introduction? She also mentions about their struggles and how they are always lost before continuing the next song. Then she makes it official their band name as MyGO before the band sings their final song. It’s okay to get lost as long as you’re moving forward! Back stage, the rest agree and accept MyGO as their band’s name. Soyo goes to see Mutsumi who saw their performance. She asks how it was. Splendid. However Soyo isn’t impressed and did not want to hear that answer from her. What’s her frickin’ problem?! She returns whatever chocolates to her. Sakiko goes to see a famous online social influencer, Nyamu Yuutenji. It seems she wants her to join her band that includes Mutsumi and Uika. Sakiko wants her as a drummer because not only she is ambidextrous but she can pull in the views for their band. Speaking of which, she is already on the verge of signing with an agency and they’ll have their professional debut soon. So is she on board?

Episode 13
We see Sakiko recruiting Mutsumi for her band. The latter agrees out of pity thinking she is breaking apart. Sakiko reminds her that her weak version is dead so your worries are not of any concern. We see MyGO celebrating and talking. Sorry, it’s boring so I didn’t pay attention. All I can see is that Tomori still seems unsure. One day, Tomori has written some lyrics or something. She goes to show it to Sakiko at school. Well, the b*tch just slams the piano and goes off. WTF is her problem?! Lucky Tomori has Anon to hang out with and blow that blues away. The duo bump into Uika but she can’t chat since she is running late for her show. That is right. Tonight’s concert is Ave Mujica’s debut. We see the members of Sakiko, Mutsumi, Uika, Nyamu and Umiri preparing at the backstage. Wow. They dolled up their face so much and they wear a mask? Is this some masquerade ball? Phantom of the opera? Yeah, it’s so lacy I thought they were wearing panties on their face! WTF DID I JUST SAY???!!! Anyway, the concert begins in an unusual fashion because it is some sort of theatrical play before the girls get down to their instruments and start jamming. Is it Halloween? Their song sounds like it. You bet it is such a great show that they are the top trending band on the internet. You think the girls would like to have an after party celebration but it seems Sakiko is either being overly cautious to not get fame into her head or she’s just a wet blanket b*tch who doesn’t want to celebrate. She takes her leave and heads home early. Yeah. Why do that when she hates home so much and her dad looks like some unemployed drunkard.

BlanD Dream! Lost Girls Of Tokyo
Oh my. So it’s not over? Because there’s a sequel?! Well, more accurately, a sequel on Sakiko’s side since she has formed a new band, right? Ah yes. Time for more band drama but now on Sakiko’s group of (masked) weirdoes. Heh. It’s like MyGO got usurped in the final episode for this. Uh huh. Let’s put aside these boring and drama filled ladies and focus on a seemingly more interesting group of girls. At least from this point of view. Hence the final episode felt like a long promotional teaser for the next season which is of course Ave Mujica. Yeah. That’s the name for the next season. So take a bow, MyGO! Get lost! Literally!

Generally I would say that I am not impressed with this spinoff sequel. I understand that they want to make things interesting by showcasing the struggles of the formation of a band. But it is riddled with such over the top drama that not only was I confused, I was also pretty annoyed. Yes, rather than all the sugar coating sweetness of how amicable bands are formed (“Hey buddy, I’m forming a band, wanna join? Alright! Cool!”), at least it is will not be boring (no, it is not exactly interesting) because we have 13 episodes and how are you going to play out everything of a band anime in all those episodes? This series is your answer. Weird drama and strange characters coming together to form a band. That is pretty much the story and struggles of MyGO. Uh huh. To think that they don’t even have a freaking band name for the entire series until the penultimate episode! Oh, now I understand and know how many exclamation marks that come after the band’s name: 5. Yes, each representing a member. Why exclamation marks, it beats me. I thought question marks would’ve been more fitting but oh well…

The main problem of this series are the main characters that form MyGO itself. I get it that the band needs to have interesting and quirky characters for us to at least take an interest in them. After all, bands in real life have very strange members. But it is not the case for MyGO. At least they started off on the wrong foot and gave me a bad impression. I believe they want to showcase to us that the band is lost and has no direction. Nobody knows where they are going although they have their eyes set on the end goal to be in a band. So it is that journey that confused everybody and the cause of all the weird and exaggerated drama that we have seen. After all the struggling and persistence, it all pays off because they are now somewhat united and call themselves a true band. Yeah. I figure that is the story and how it flows. Some bands are made because of the struggles and hardships rather than lofty and dreamy ambitions.

First up we have Tomori on the vocals. In short, her main issue is her self-confidence. A vocalist who is the main line and life of a band having singing issues? It’s like a pilot who has a fear of flying! So yeah, it comes off as weird but you can’t blame her seeing the breakup of Crychic was really hard on her. It traumatized her. It scarred her. Thus it is understandable why Tomori sank into depression and that aided her in having low self-confidence. MyGO was on the verge of following its footsteps and it threatened to turn Tomori into meltdown mode. Enough for her to snap and go mentally insane. Thank goodness she did not. Good riddance once she finds her confidence, she can now sing like nobody’s business. Hopefully those annoying days are gone.

Then there is Anon. I was under the impression that she would be the main character but I guess I was wrong. The way she projected herself in the initial episodes and wanting to form a band so much and somewhat coercing Tomori into it, I thought it was all annoying. Even more mind blowing is that she isn’t even good with the guitar! Oh, is this what you call deception? Here I thought at least her guitar skills were decent since she wants to be some famous guitar lead or something. And what do you know? She’s not! Making her even annoying is her penchant to just bug and keep talking. Yeah, she’s pretty talkative. It’s a wonder why Taki always ignores her. And yes, she is also very imposing. For instance, trying to name the band and all her suggestions contains her already very strange name. She toned down a bit towards the end but I still find her annoying.

Next is Taki. I find her very pushy. She also tries to act like she’s the toughest girl in the band. Considering her demeanour, she may be the most tomboyish in my opinion. I don’t know who the leader of this band is but from the way I see her calling all the shots, it’s like she is the de facto band leader. Among all the girls in the band, she tries to get things done quickly. And it must be done her way. Or else. Or else what? See, it didn’t go as planned, right? I believe she doesn’t want the tragedy to happen again so that is why she is pushing hard in order not for history to repeat itself. But all I see is that she is trying to rush things and by doing that, being reckless. It doesn’t help she and Anon don’t have good relations and so you can see why the band’s drama amplifies.

Oh Soyo. It’s like she has a split personality. Or rather, did she switch back to her true one? Because at first she was like the big sister of the group. She was very kind and polite. So understanding and nice. She was like the angel, the sanctuary the band needed during their lost moments. Soyo would’ve easily been the most likeable girl in the band. And then that turning point changed everything. Her true colours changed and now it feels like she is reluctant in joining this band and is not impressed by everything. Don’t really understand what she is trying to do for Mutsumi or Sakiko but it didn’t turn out the way she wanted. And now, Soyo spots an obvious bitterness on her face and it breaks my heart to see this once likeable girl turned into someone as annoying as Anon. Geez.

Lastly the wild card or whom the rest refer to as the stray cat, Rana. This girl is a total mystery! In the sense that mankind would solve the mysteries of the universe before unravelling Rana! That’s how freaking enigmatic and erratic this girl is! There are a lot of things we do not know about her because she does things at her own pace and doesn’t give a f*ck what you think or do. As long as she finds it interesting, she does it and then leaves. Like, WHAT?! Responsibility does not exist in her dictionary. Is she even officially part of the band? Yeah, it is best not to 100% rely on her since she may or may not turn up. On one hand, this makes her an interesting character because she is so unpredictable. But that is exactly the same reason why it makes her the most annoying person in the band. Yes, even more than Anon or Mutsumi in her depression. So much so, I have formed lots of dumb conspiracy theories about her. Care to hear one? She could be a fallen angel who is infatuated with Japanese rock music. Because she seems to pop up from thin air here and there. Her poker face and emotionless character is to hide this fact. Although it is greatly hinted she is the granddaughter of the live house’s previous owner. But who cares?! She does as she wishes without a care in the world. Oh how envious I am because I want to be like her! Not giving a sh*t about anything and do as I please that I find interesting! GRRR!!!

It is not really clear why Sakiko did what she did in breaking up Crychic (why do I see it as Crying Chicks?! What a crying shame…). There must be something more than meets the eye but I guess we’ll find out next season. Yes, I am guessing that next season will pit former Crychic members against each other and then we’ll find out the truth and then we’ll have them reconcile. I mean, can’t hate these bands forever, right? Mutsumi is also another mystery. Sometimes her enigmatic presence and her poker face overlaps with Rana’s character. There is something about the relations between them I don’t get but I find it all annoying. I know, I know, it’s all for the drama effect but it all comes off as irritating. You girls were friends, right? So what’s so complicated that you can’t civilly talk it out?

If you keep your eyes peeled, there are previous characters from the original BanG Dream series that make their cameo. But it is minimal so as not to distract us from the main band. But I wonder how long in the future does this series set in. From what I can see, it isn’t too long because our Kasumi is still looking like a teen but she looks like she isn’t in a band anymore but helping her friends help organize the live house. Note I am only assuming all that. Because does she have time to manage and organize performances of other bands who want to play at this live house rather than jamming with her Poppin’ Party girls? So that means the band has disbanded, right?

It goes without saying that music is the main theme of this series but I have to once again admit that I do not find any of the rock music to be appealing to me. I mean, Spring Sunlight sounds pretty generic like any other rock music to me. Yeah. Sorry, but I’m not really a hardcore fan of rock music. Even when MyGO sings the opening and ending theme, Hitoshizuku and Shiori respectively don’t really appeal to me. The former sound like another generic upbeat rock outfit while the latter despite being a slow rock, they still don’t impress me.

For the voice acting, I find Rin Tateishi debuting as Anon to sound very weird. Like as though she has some sort of accent. Something like Ryoko Shintani… But yeah, in a way, she sounds a bit unique. And also strange. Then there is Hina Youmiya as Tomori (Yamada in Boku No Kokoro No Yabai Yatsu) to be a bit unpolished. Perhaps it is to make her character sound unconfident and lost. The rest are rather okay like Mika Kohinata as Soyo (debut role), Koko Hayashi as Taki (Mirai in Kiratto Prichan), Hina Aoki as Rana (Halona Walker in Cardfight! Vanguard: will+Dress), Kanon Takao as Sakiko (Hermit in Edens Zero), Yuzuki Watase as Mutsumi (Miiko Takeshita in D4DJ series), Rico Sasaki as Uika (Poporon in Jashin-chan Dropkick), Mei Okada as Umiri (Marika Mizushima in D4DJ series) and Akane Yonezawa as Nyamu (debut role). My guess is that some are unknowns because you know, when you have band girls in anime, their real life counterparts too must also play the part and be in a band. So if you’re an established seiyuu, you won’t have time for band commitments, right? But some names I thought were already trying to make their mark in the voice acting scene although their resume is still, well, short.

As for the animation and visuals, unfortunately for you traditional 2D purists, this one continues the trend of being entirely in CGI. Yes, Sanzigen once again helms this series as they did since BanG Dream’s second season as well as all its other sequels, spinoffs and movies. The CGI isn’t as bad compared to those employed in other animes. But it is obvious that the movements of the characters are so CGI-like. Like I said, it is not bad but it might come off as weird sometimes if you are not used to watching 100% CGI anime. After all, can’t have bad quality as they’re trying to sell the cuteness of the girls so you get why they have to at least make it all look decent and pleasing to the eyes. I’m also guessing CGI is made so that they can do virtual concerts when necessary. Yes, easier to animate them when needed. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not. A band having a real life 3D counterpart, a CGI version and also a 2D one. Why not exist in all forms?! Heh. Not that I would buy a ticket to go see their performance.

On a trivial note, is Anon’s character design a mix of the titular characters of Super Sonico The Animation and Bocchi The Rock? Both have pink hairs and play the guitar. Suspicious… And doesn’t Tomori look like Nagato from Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu? What about Rana and her uncanny resemblance to Sanya of Strike Witches? Sorry, Sakiko feels like some discount Hatsune Miku wannabe. Yeah, character designs so bland, they look like they copied from other series. Just kidding!

Overall, it is very unfortunate for me that I find this series not interesting because of all the over the top drama that comes off more as annoying. I’m sorry but you BanG Dream fans can love this series for all I care. You hardcore fans can wax lyrical about the cute band girls and their cute rock songs. I’m not really into it. Although I still want to catch the next season just to follow up on the rival band and to see if it will all come down to a b*tch showdown or some intense battle of the bands. The latter obviously. Heh. If I am not convinced by then, then I will truly admit that I have lost the plot for this series. No love lost…

Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai: Next Sky

Well people, it is no joke that you can never find or see the end of the rainbow in real life. This means a certain Love Live franchise is still going strong! Oh yeah. And I am still wondering why the heck I am watching Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai: Next Sky. This OVA special is the supposed sequel to the second season that ended back in 2022. (Reminder, there was a chibi unrelated Nijiyon Animation after that). What can a single episode do, huh? Maybe it won’t impress like me but I guess hardcore Love Live fans will be happy to get or see anything from their favourite idols. And seeing this takes place after Ayumu returned from her London trip. Oh geez, is the group going to further expand?!

London calling in Japan…
We see our Nijigasaki girls waiting to welcome back Ayumu from her trip from London. They thought they got the wrong girl and blasted the party poppers all over the wrong girl. Well, thank goodness she is the exchange student that Ayumu also brought back from London. Yes, Aira will be here for 2 weeks to study all about she needs to be an idol. Is that enough a time? Aira receives a warm welcome by them back at their clubroom as we hear more praises of all the performances they have done. To help her get familiar with the local culture, they bring her around. This includes visiting the maid café. Couldn’t they have shown this a bit longer?! Oh right, they will turn into maid idols. I’m fine with that… So yeah, lots of sightseeing trip and you wonder if Aira is here as a tourist or wanting to learn and become an idol. Soon, Aira contacts her fellow friend, Penelope back at London and she is very glad she came to Japan. Is it me or do the girls speak English like animes that receive some sort of English dub!!! I guess better than Engrish!!! Soon, it is time for Aira to leave but Ayumu has been noticing a bit of her depression lately. Shioriko also senses something wrong and tracks down Aira. Not very hard to find her, I suppose. She claims Aira’s school idol club application has been rejected. Holy cow! Shioriko called Aira’s school back in London to confirm this?! WTF?! Aira laments such culture here doesn’t exist in London. Duh! Other side of the world! So Aira thought of ending everything here. But no need for such sad endings because since she has some time before her flight home, the other Nijigasaki girls are here to give her more morale boosting words. Hell yeah, even doing an idol performance just for her. Are you feelin’ it now?! How convenient for Penelope to call Aira because this idol thingy has been quite iffy in her books. She thinks she can pull it off. Of course Aira is now filled with confidence because with both of them, they can now try to form an idol club. Now everybody can see her off happy. Few days later, our idols see Aira posting a video that she is starting a school idol in London. Nijigasaki girls can’t lose to this, right?

The Sky Is Never The Limit
Well… That was certainly… Boring! Yeah, throw brickbats and criticisms at me if you want but I guess this cements the case that I’m not really an idol fan and is just watching this for closure sakes. Oh God, will the franchise ever die?! Am I doomed to be obliged to watch this till kingdom come?! That’s for me to deal with later on but as far as this special OVA goes, I must say that it only appeals to the fans of the series since it is you usual wholesome idol stuffs and nothing really more. I mean, what else do you expect from here? Oh, thank goodness Aira isn’t going to join an already bloated Nijigasaki idol club, eh? Who knows? Maybe in the future when she is all established as an idol group, then they can take on Nijigasaki in some international contest and become international superstars! Superstars, baby! Oh, why do I feel that I am infringing on the wrong Love Live franchise?

So while all the idol stuffs here are portrayed as nice, glittering and glamorous, the ironic part is that this whole damn cute culture doesn’t exist halfway around the world! OMG! Are you sure?! So it was funny for me to think that Japan is going to go out and conquer the world and be the new world order of colonisers! Idol style and version! Oh yeah. Imagine bringing the idol culture to foreign lands and I can foresee everybody falling in love with all the cute idols prancing on stage. Uh huh. Makes me think all those cultures without idols are just freaking boring! Yeah, I don’t know what they do there for music entertainment in London or the UK but for not a single idol influence to be there, oh my, such a pity. Just you wait and see, England. Japanese idol culture will soon permeate your land and you will be known as the new Japan of the west! OMFG!!! I want to see this delusional fantasy happening!!! And to hear Aira wanting to start a school idol?! Not an idol club, mind you. School idol! Yeah, might as well dream big and go in for the big kill. Small time idol not going to have any effect in big ol’ London.

Anyway, back to the series, not really impressed and my heart not moved at all hearing the few songs here. Yeah. Really totally not into it. But surprised to Nao Touyama as Aira because are they going to establish her as an idol if this London thingy takes off? Well, I shouldn’t be since Akari Kitou is already doing the role of Kanata here. This whole special is only actually 23 minutes long but it was blown up to almost 30 minutes because the last few minutes include board postings of messages from fans as well as a whole list listing the lot of them. A whole freaking list of them! Feel free the squint and strain your eyes to find your name there. Yeah, I must be feeling so out of place as one who isn’t into the idol scene and to be experiencing all this.

Overall, while this is absolutely a yawn fest for me, idol lovers and especially you hardcore fans are still free to love and appreciate this OVA as you wish. After all, I also read that not many are talking about this OVA because a certain chuunibyou from a certain Love Live group is currently having her own spinoff in the very same season. I guess that one is more outrageous but I’ll have to wait and see how delusional that one will get. Oh God. Did I just admit that I am going to watch that one too? Oh well… But it remains to be seen if this Nijigasaki franchise will get another sequel. After Superstar did the unprecedented and will have a third, the final scene of this OVA teases us with this School Idol GPX. Is that some sort of grand prix competition for idols? Oh God. More idol goodness. No wonder we can never find the end of the rainbow.

Nijiyon Animation

THE LOVE LIVE FRANCHISE JUST CANNOT DIE!!! Yeah. We all know a certain Superstar is going to get an unprecedented third season. But what about those who are more of fans of the Nijigasaki idols? Well, don’t despair. They’re not left out too. Somewhat. And hence this short series known as Nijiyon Animation to give something and appease such fans. Can 3 minutes of airtime per episode do any justice? May not be enough but hey, at least it is better than nothing. I mean, what else do you expect to see from here? More of your cute idols being cute, cuter and cutest!

Episode 1
Yuu filming a documentary on the Nijigasaki girls in their clubroom and introducing them. Some are eager while some are not. Soon, it is their turn to interview Yuu but she panics when they ask about her plans. Make everyone happy? This in turn has them asking whom she likes the best among them. Everybody trying to hint they are the one. Obviously she can’t choose!

Episode 2
Lanzhu and Ai trying to do a cuteness contest. The former learning it from the master Kasumi of course. Oh dear. Some of the girls become judges as they give points and comments on their cuteness. I wonder if Emma knows how to count because her score goes into gazillions… When it is Ai’s turn to strut her cuteness, she herself finds it so funny and can’t stop laughing. So who is the cutest? Yuu points out both are cute and their flustering has them earn perfect points.

Episode 3
The girls want to see a horror movie. Mia is obviously scared but lies that she ain’t afraid of no ghosts. Come the real deal, she’s pleading to go easy on her! We also get to see who are the scaredy cats like Emma, Yuu and Shioriko. Soon Mia dreams that she is in a strange world all by herself. Walking through the dark lonely corridors, she thought she saw Ayumu but her hairball splits up and the body goes dead. Then the hairball starts to talk to her! Mia wakes up from this nightmare. However now she is afraid of Ayumu’s hairballs!

Episode 4
Karin tells Shioriko her origins. She was once from the island and living a carefree life. Until she saw those idol magazines and thought that she is pretty enough to be like them! Hey, got to have confidence in yourself! In the end, she just wanted to become a cool big sister in the city and that’s why she left the island. In a way, making her dreams come true. She hopes to make other dreams come true. This gives Shioriko more motivation to support other others chasing their dreams. As an idol and student council president, she has that capacity. Shioriko and Yuu find themselves in a ‘competition’ to support each other.

Episode 5
Mia is impressed with Emma’s singing and so she suggests she could write a song that will turn her into big time and churn out even more success. However Emma declines her since she hasn’t thought that far yet and is just happy singing where she is. Mia notes how Emma’s singing made her realize that it isn’t all about likes and popularities online and that she genuinely loves songs. Emma sings for her again and this time the rest of the Nijigasaki girls want to join in the singing.

Episode 6
Rina invites Yuu, Ai and Shioriko to test play her online game she created. Well, Mia and Setsuna are already so obsessed in beating each other’s score… So, we see her game being a spoof of Fall Guys?! Lots of quirky and funny stuffs happen in this test run. But it was fun, right? With the game being popular, it seems there is a player who is updating her score every day. Who the f*ck is Sasuke?! Oh, it’s Ayumu. Hope this won’t turn them into Fall Idols… Then Fail Idols!!!

Episode 7
The girls are playing old maid. Lanzhu thinks holding the joker is special! Does she even know how to play! So with everybody clearing their hands, all that are left are Lanzhu and Ayumu. Obviously, Ayumu could see Lanzhu’s reaction when she picks a card. Hence Ayumu chooses the winning card. Oh Lanzhu, having the joker left means you lose! Nothing special! But suddenly, heavy drama?! Because she feels this joker card is special yet lonely. Don’t worry, the rest finds another extra joker card. Now it is paired, none are left out. Is everybody a winner?! I don’t think that’s how the game works, but whatever…

Episode 8
Shizuku is walking her dog at the beach when she bumps into Kanata and Haruka. All of them have fun playing each other as they note the sisters are similar to each other and likewise, Shizuku and her dog. After all, her dog is like a sister to her. They feel blessed having great little sisters. Haruka sleeps on Kanata’s lap after a tiring day. When she wakes up, she mistakes the dog as her sister and gets embarrassed upon realizing the mistake.

Episode 9
Kasumi initiates a contest to be the best little sister. Is she desperate to be cute? Anyway, we see everybody strutting their cute stuffs and giving their opinions about little sisters and big sisters too. In the end, it is Rina who is so cute and squealing everyone’s hard, she wins the title. Yes, even Kasumi gets overwhelmed by her cuteness. Kasumi feels sad about her loss but the rest assure her that she has her own cuteness charm. Because now it’s time to find the best mascot character! Oh dear, not the cuteness Kasumi is looking for! I know who to vote for best joker character!!! HAHAHA!!!

Episode 10
Kasumi initiates a plan to catch Setsuna’s reaction when the scenario doesn’t go as planned or suddenly changes without her prior knowledge. So as they come up with really strange ideas, here comes Setsuna herself. Busted? Kasumi manages to cover it up about her being cute and making her heart skip. Heh. Yeah, got that blushing reaction recorded? Then Setsuna holds a solo performance. Suddenly the power goes out. It’ll take time to come back on (don’t worry, it’s not Kasumi’s doing so don’t panic). How? Setsuna sings on her own and still manages to captivate the crowd. Yuu notes Setsuna will always be the one who thrills their hearts forever.

Episode 11
Ayumu continues training hard for her next performance as Yuu and Shioriko watch over her. Yuu noting how proud she is to have a childhood friend like her. Shioriko also noting the same. But because she is Lanzhu, she always needs to keep her eyes on her. There is no telling what sort of trouble she’ll get when she looks away. Yuu continues to watch Ayumu practice till the end of the day. Yuu saying cute stuffs from her hard work that makes Ayumu blush. Then they walk home together.

Episode 12
Setsuna notices Yuu’s improvement in her piano. Of course Yuu has her to thank. It was hard at first but now it is so much fun. More compliments from Yuu. So thankful she met Setsuna, she’s going to make her blush red like a traffic light. The rest soon stream in, attracted by Yuu’s piano play. Then they all sing together to Yuu’s next recital.

Idol Life Is All Sunshine And Rainbows!
I read there were 3 more short specials that come out with the Blu-Ray discs after this. Oh well, since it is hard to find and I am figuring out it is more or less the same cute idol stuffs so I’m not really desperate to scour the internet just for that. Yeah, not really an idol fan although it feels strange that I am still following this genre. Am I a Love Live closet fan? NNNOOOOO!!!!!

Anyway, this short series is within expectations. Feels like some sort of addendum to the main series. While it gives fans something extra to watch, casual viewers may find it just ordinary as all we see are just glittery and cute idol stuffs. Oh you know, cute girls doing cute things, idol version. Yes, this short may not be enough to satiate hardcore fans who want more out of this but like I’ve said, this series is meant to be light and just amuse us for 3 minutes. And if you’re like me who binge watch this in one sitting, well, easy come, easy go. Nothing really worth noting, nothing that is so extraordinary, nothing that breaks the mould. All within expectations.

Because of the short duration of the series, sometimes it feels like blink or miss moments. I’m not saying there are many moments like that or if there are any. What I’m trying to say is that with the skits so short, before you can warm up to the episode, it already ends. Wow. It’s already over? Thankfully whatever skits in that particular episode aren’t heavy and do not bring forward to the next episode. Hence don’t have to confuse our puny brains to keep up with the Nijigasaki idols’ shenanigans. Is it me or do I feel that Yuu has the most screen time despite the irony that she is not technically an idol? The rest have their fair share but I think there are some who make way less appearance or the least impact like Ai, Shizuku and Kanata. At least that’s how I feel. After all, you know how many members there are in Nijigasaki idol club, right? Considering their latest addition members from last season and all fighting for the same limited screen time, you bet they’re trying to cram everything. Can’t please everyone, huh?

Obviously the visuals here are totally different than the TV series itself as the girls and overall animation are shown in a chibi manner. What a better way to ramp up all the cuteness as well as the light-hearted moments with this chibi style. But don’t worry, despite looking different, you can still identify visually your favourite idols. Yeah, the importance of always having different hair colours and hairstyle for your characters! Heh. But I have a feeling that the visuals are mostly CGI as I can see that CGI smoothness in some scenes. Hey, at least they’re properly done. Imagine the brickbats the series will get if they made terrible CGI quality! Toxic fans will never forgive!

Overall, nothing really special for me as I await the next season of Superstar. Funny and cute, that’s about all. That’s right. All within expectations. This is just like some sort of snack before the next big meal comes. Yeah, this might not even fill your stomach and hardcore fans may still feel as hungry as ever. Thank goodness I’m not a hardcore idol fan. I don’t know if earlier Love Live iterations will get another season or am I overthinking that Muse and Aqours have disbanded! But for our Nijigasaki girls, they’re still continuing to chase their dreams, in fact living the perfect dream. Looks like they won’t be seeing the end of the rainbow anytime so soon.

Bocchi The Rock

After all these years, we never got a third season of K-ON! Yeah, feeling pretty old now after realizing it came out back in 2009 and the sequel in 2010! Though, the movie in the following year which I didn’t watch probably ended the whole series. Ah yes, such nostalgia. Many years down the road, we now have something similar to K-ON! Though, I wouldn’t say Bocchi The Rock isn’t another blatant copycat with a talented guitarist joining a small band and slowly making their impact in the local music scene AKA cute girls doing cute things music version. Initially I was having second thoughts about watching this series since these days my tastes in music genre animes have completely dwindled. I mean, after stints with BanG Dream, Show By Rock and even idol series especially the Love Live one, I thought I was pretty much done with this genre. At least, not on my priority list. But after reading lots of comments and reviews how funny this show was and my thoughts of wanting to compare this to K-ON!, might as well give this rock a try and see what they’ve to offer.

Episode 1
Hitori Gotou as introduced has no friends. Not that she likes this kind of lonely lifestyle. It doesn’t help when she has social anxiety. But one day while watching TV, an interview with a rock band member who claims he too was an introvert, just like that, Hitori gets inspiration to borrow dad’s guitar in hopes of changing her social life. 3 years later, she’s still jamming all solo. So what happened to all those grand dreams of playing at her cultural festival or graduation? Nothing. At this rate, she’s going to finish high school without playing in a band! Though, she is quite popular online under the moniker Guitarhero. Online support gives her some cheer but it won’t be long before she has haunting memories of her lonely middle school life. In order to get people to notice her, she brings her guitar to school. And nobody notices her! Lamenting her lonely fate at the park, suddenly Nijika Ijichi runs up to her and needs her to come play in her band. Their guitarist has run away and she needs a guitarist replacement since their show is tonight. Oh Hitori, this is you big break so why are you feeling so nervous and full of doubt? She is brought to the live house where she meets the other band member, Ryou Yamada the bassist. Somehow Hitori feels this place is at home because it is gloomy and dark! Then they start their practice run. At the end, they find Hitori sucks! OMG! WHY?! It seems because she is so nervous, her coordination with her band mates is all over the place. There is no sync. Hitori feels like she wants to die and that’s the end of the show! Just kidding! Traumatized Hitori holes up in a bin and thinks of doing hara-kiri with her guitar?! They try to motivate her but it’s not working. Ironically they think Hitori should find some inspiration in Guitarhero. She’s right under your noses… Eventually Hitori thinks she can’t let go of her dream that easily and will continue to perform. But since she is still scared to face the crowd, Ryou suggests playing underneath this cardboard box! OMG! Really?! Since she doesn’t want to use her real name, Ryou suggests this moniker of Bocchi as in hitoribocchi (alone). Hey, the band’s name is already a bad pun itself, Kessoku Band! A cable tie?! That night they play their gig. Wow, Bocchi actually playing from the cardboard box?! How the heck can she play her guitar???!!! Yeah, feels like the lowest point in her life. Their show bombed big time. Nijika thinks of throwing a welcome party for Bocchi but she claims she is tired from all this social interaction and goes home. Maybe next time she’ll bring out her full Guitarhero power, eh? Uh huh. This band has no ties… Forgive the bad pun…

Episode 2
Kessoku Band meeting. Unsure what to talk about? Nijika has a die to decide what topic. Too bad Bocchi only has bad memories from it all. Yeah, 2 hours to commute to a school whom she has no friends so that they don’t know her past?! She thought Ryou is a loner like her but to her dismay, Ryou actually likes being alone! Then they talk about the workings of this live house especially the quota the band and the studio must meet and split the proceeds and costs. If that quota fails to be achieved, the band comes out with that money from their own pocket. So until you get famous, this is going to a financial struggle. Of course the solution is to do work but that itself scares the sh*t out of Bocchi! NO WORK FOR ME! She is even willing to break her piggy bank her mom saved for her wedding as contribution! WTF Bocchi fears she will be charged for failing to give proper customer service and sentenced to death! Oh Bocchi! Since Bocchi has to give her first work a try, she goes home and tries to get sick by bathing in cold water! Too bad she is still healthy as f*ck next day. Damn, can’t skip work. She makes her way to the live house and meets Seika who is the manager of the place. She finds her a nice lady until she learns she is Nijika’s older sister. Well, she already told her including how they live above this place but I guess Bocchi was too nervous to hear all that. Yeah, her heartbeat was too loud! Nijika shows Bocchi the ropes of this place especially how to serve drinks and where the stuffs are. Bocchi already a pessimist she can’t do this. She has to do it anyway and although could use some more polishing, I say she’s handling it pretty well. Sort of. The girls can breathe easier when the performance of another band begins. Let’s hope Nijika’s motivation of why she is doing all this, to see the happy faces of people and to have a fun experience, maybe Bocchi can grow to like this band and place too. Work for the day is done as Bocchi happily runs home. She made it through the day! What an achievement! Oh, what’s this? Now she gets fever and is sick. Damn… Meanwhile Nijika contemplates in getting a vocalist for the band.

Episode 3
So Bocchi thinks she has grown now that she is in a band, huh? Well, too bad her school life still sucks. Still a loner and eating lunch alone in some dark corner underneath the stairs! Remembering Nijika’s aim to find another band member, she thought Ikuyo Kita would be a fitting one. Too bad she looks so perfect that it is scaring the sh*t out of Bocchi. Even singing an elegy about her own self! Kita heard how good she is and talks to her, making Bocchi even more nervous. Bocchi tries to recruit her although Kita admits she can’t play a guitar and once lied that she could and eventually ran away. Hmm… Sounds familiar? Because Kita sounds so enthusiastic in joining Bocchi in her job after school, Bocchi panics and sends a message to Nijika and Ryou to bring lots of energy drinks and have the EDM blare like hell. Trying to give off that party girl image?! So as Bocchi leads Kita to her workplace, once Kita realizes where this is going, she tries to ditch. Too bad Nijika and Ryou spot her. Ah, that runaway guitarist! Awkward! So as Kita apologizes about her lie, she makes it up by working here as a maid. Well, since she is a social butterfly, you bet she is good in her job. Bocchi getting demotivated and fear of losing her identity, she hides in a bin?! Yeah, there’s an elegy to go with that too. Bocchi and Kita talk about stuffs. Like how Kita admires Ryou a lot and views her as cool in playing her bass. However Kita thinks she doesn’t deserve to join this band since she has lied and ran away once. Bocchi stops her. She too was like that. However she noticed the callouses on her fingers and believes she is trying. The rest invite her to join and although Kita is still hesitant, I bet she will have no more doubts when she realizes she could be part of Ryou’s quota. Although Kita can’t play the guitar, she is willing to learn. However she is stumped she still can’t play a guitar despite having practised one for so long. Turns out she got a bass guitar. Does she not know some bass guitars have 6 strings?! Oh dear. Oh my. Kita wanting to quit so fast despite Bocchi giving her some guitar lessons? Better think twice since Ryou bought her bass and lent her this real guitar. Now she’ll be eating weeds! Don’t give up!

Episode 4
Kita finds it hard to sing and play the guitar at the same time. But if she just sings, it’ll be awkward during solo parts. She thinks of Bocchi singing with her. Damn, look at Bocchi furiously shaking her head to not want that! Kessoku Band then has a meeting to do band-like things. Nijika starts off with selling their merchandise! Maybe this cable ties will make a good profit. Even more with autograph! With Ryou writing songs, Bocchi remembers her task to write the lyrics. So back home, she puts on her thinking cap in trying to find the lyrics needed. Too bad she comes up with nothing. Then the band meets again in town. Sorry Bocchi, this isn’t to punish you for failure to come up with the lyrics. It’s to go around and take promotional photos of their band. So as they go around and finally find a spot they want to take, WTF Bocchi starting to go into seizure?! Well, she always has this emotionless look in her photos. So when she tries to smile… Ah well, you can see what happens. Worse, she thinks if she manages to do so, she’ll be accused to be an attention whore! WTF?! Eventually they get the photo they want. Well, don’t mind Bocchi looking sullen… Later Bocchi meets up with Ryou since she wants to see the lyrics she has written. After taking a look, she asks if this is what Bocchi wants to write. This has Ryou telling her she was also in a band before this. Their lyrics were awkward but at least it was honest. However when they started to bend towards commercialization, that’s when Ryou called it quits. Only until Nijika invited her to join again because she loves her bass playing did Ryou started to do so. Hence Ryou advises Bocchi to write what she wants and do not write generic lyrics based on other concerns. Though, writing a social outcast one for a lively person like Kita to sing is still a big mismatch. Eventually Bocchi works hard to get the lyrics done. Yeah, see those bags under her eyes. You could say the lyrics is really somewhat of a downer! But it’s great and they like it since it is so Bocchi-like. Yeah, look at Bocchi’s creepy smile after that praise. Now that she feels motivated, she hopes to stay like this forever. Uhm, Bocchi pasted that group photo all over her entire room walls and ceiling!

Episode 5
Bocchi is happy she finally gets paid. She thinks her band story will take off from now until she hears the rest talking about the costs and all. That’s right. This means more money needed and yes, the dreaded word: Need to work! Oh no! Bocchi would rather loan her guitar and sell her liver just to avoid work!!! After Ryou lets them listen to the song she wrote, Nijika feels confident they can make it this time. She talks to Seika about wanting to do a live performance. Instantly shot down. Seems she deems them not good enough to play. Remember the last time they flopped? Yeah. That. She only allowed it once so she could have some experience. This makes Nijika mad as she storms out. Oh dear. How? Seika tells Bocchi to relay this message to her. If they want to perform, first they must pass an audition in which she and her assistant, PA-san will be the judge. Kessoku Band continue to put in the effort to practice. Later Nijika talks to Bocchi and never got to know her dream of playing in a band since she dragged her into this. Obviously Bocchi can’t tell her it’s to get people go crazy for her! As for Nijika, it seems her dreams are bigger than just playing at the Budoukan. She can’t tell her right now. Audition night is here as Kessoku Band plays before Seika and PA-san. In the end, Seika trolls the girls. I mean, with that unimpressed look as well as telling them their flaws, her ambiguous misleading words make the girls fear for the worst until of course PA-san ‘translates’ that they passed. Girls so happy especially Bocchi that she throws up like water gushing out from a dam?! Seika notes Bocchi has talent but needs support as she lacks self-confidence. Because Seika notes she will be watching her, this gives the wrong signal to Bocchi of course that she is mad or something. Later PA-san talks to Seika that she actually intended to let them perform as she is always keeping a window open for their schedule. Seika being a tsundere claims she is doing this so that Nijika and her band could grow. PA-san further teases her for having sister complex. As Kessoku Band revs up for their next performance, they set a quota of 5 tickets per member. Oh Bocchi, counting who could come? Dad, mom, sister, dog… Are dogs allowed?! Even so, just 1 more… Just 1 more!!! WHO?! Oh man, it’s really over this time…

Episode 6
Yes, Bocchi is actually agonizing who to sell the tickets. Well, mom can invite some of her friends but when her sister teases she doesn’t have her own friends, Bocchi lies and claims she has tons of them! Okay. Good luck. Now she has dug her own grave and wondering where to get those people. Even piling on the pressure as her band mates have texted her they have sold out their tickets! Oh my! How?! Till this drunk woman, Kikuri Hiroi pleads her help to sober her up. Can a scared Bocchi refuse? After that, Bocchi tries to get away from this crazy woman but too late. She notices he guitar. Ah, Kikuri is a rocker too. After hearing Bocchi’s story, as thanks for helping her, Kikuri will help perform. It’s the best way to attract potential audience. What? Right here? Right now? YES! Street concert! Kikuri is a bassist and she’ll support Bocchi as the main guitarist. Nervous at first, Kikuri tells her to close her eyes. But when Bocchi starts to play, she becomes all natural as she starts jamming and Kikuri observing this is the kind of style she plays. At the end of the performance, a few girls are interested and would like to buy her tickets. Kikuri then buys her final ticket. Quota complete. Oh, Kikuri has no money for her train home so she borrows from Bocchi. Rockers are always poor… Late Bocchi texts an apology to her band mates for failing to show up at today’s concert. She also notes she has sold her quota but it seems they think she is lying and feel bad for pressuring her.

Episode 7
Nijika and Kita are going to Bocchi’s house to design their uniform. Well, you can’t miss her house. This huge banner that welcomes the Kessoku Band members! What a welcoming reception as Bocchi in a weird getup pops the party popper to welcome them! WTF?! That’s not all. Look at her room. Damn, is this disco night or what?! As she goes to get drinks, they stumble into a pile of that same group photo. What the heck there are sealed seals on the walls?! Little sister Futari comes in to explain how Bocchi had this all over the walls until mom told her to take it down because it was hurting her eyes! When Bocchi returns, she sees her friends having lots of fun with Futari and doggie! Futari insists on hang out until Bocchi bribes her to play somewhere else. Then they get down to business in designing their t-shirt. Lame! WTF this dystopian future imagination of Bocchi being persecuted and burnt at the stake for not being a team player! No cooperation, no life! Bocchi’s parents come to check on her friends and are delighted! They’re happy they aren’t imaginary friends this time! This calls for a celebration! They dine together as the parents talk about embarrassing stuffs for Bocchi. Ah well, Bocchi acts like this at home too so it’s no different. They also mention how Bocchi spent days planning the room layout and even tried Twister in case they were going to play it! Yeah, the friends having so much fun with the family that Bocchi feels alienated and can’t join in! Eventually they get back to the t-shirt designing. Bocchi’s idea also sucks. This has the friends wonder they have never seen Bocchi in anything else than a tracksuit. So they force upon her a cute dress. Kawaii! They might feel ecstatic about it but the stress got to Bocchi as she turns into dust and dies! WTF?! So much so it also affects them because they breathe in the dust and become pessimistic and lethargic like Bocchi! HOLY SH*T! The parents think some sort of exorcism is needed! Eventually, the design comes out as a simple plain black t-shirt with their band’s name on it. Yeah, should’ve just gone for this from the start. Bocchi suggests to make teruterubouzu to help ward off bad weather on their concert day. Yeah, let’s make tons of it. On that day, a big typhoon blows in. Teruterubouzu is crying…

Episode 8
The typhoon is really having an impact on the attendance as well. Nobody is coming. Or so it seems. Until Kikuri shows up first and it seems she is Seika’s junior at college. Slowly, others coming strolling in. Especially fans of Bocchi. Bocchi making that ungodly face after being praised, making the rest think they’re talking to the wrong person! Even with this few people, Kessoku Band still has to play. They play their first gig. Bocchi notices everybody is all over the place. This is a far cry from their perfection during practice. Heck, when you see some of the audience staring at their phones and some even leaving, you know something is wrong. All isn’t well by the time they finished their first song. As they are about to start the second to the unimpressed crowd, Bocchi suddenly starts jamming her solo. This attracts the crowd’s intention as soon the rest of the band pick it up from there. Safe to say, this is what they’re waiting for. We don’t get to see the final song but we know it’s a success since everyone is celebrating this at the restaurant. Bocchi getting that tired feeling from all the social anxiety. Worse, she hears a couple of adults drowning their sorrows in the next table and starts to stray in her mind. Yeah, some horrible future awaiting her, eh? We also hear Kita doesn’t like her first name because it sounds a lot like a pun. Kikuri also explains that Seika was once in a famous band but quit suddenly. She claims she is sick of it but why is she running a live house then? This is news to Bocchi as she has never heard it from Nijika. Later she talks to her about this but Nijika can tell she is Guitarhero from that solo. No use hiding it now. This has Nijika telling about her real dreams. You see, mom died when she was young and dad was never at home. Since she didn’t like being alone, she pestered Seika to bring her to her performances when she was in a band. It brightened her day. Nijika is the reason Seika quit her band and started his live house. Hence her dream is to make a band popular enough and make the live house even more famous. Each time Nijika thought the band was through, it was Bocchi who pulled them through. Everyone here has their hopes invested in the band. Good time for Bocchi to adjust her dreams to make Kessoku Band into the best band ever. Since having Bocchi around makes their dreams closer to realization, she hopes Bocchi can show them more. More of Bocchi’s rock. Roll credits!

Episode 9
Bocchi in despair! Yeah, summer vacation is going to end soon! What has she done? Nothing! Except playing her guitar, what else has she got? Nothing! Even her band mates can tell she is acting weird. You know it has gone overboard when she starts making cicada graves in front of the live house! Oh sh*t! Then everyone realizes that because of their own busy schedules, nobody invited her out to do anything. They try to salvage this as Kita invites the band to head to Enoshima. You know, the beach! Not that Bocchi is impressed anyway. Yeah, WTF this tropical love trauma? She almost died… Anyway the band heads there and Bocchi is still half dead. Like as though she doesn’t want to be here. At the beach, they almost got hit by some hot guys and WTF Bocchi explodes?! Yeah, it zapped all her energy. So when she finally warms up, is it the end of her summer? It’s only getting started! Apparently Kita is the only athletic one as the indoor trio tire easily as they climb up the stairs to the shrine. Yeah, taking the escalator is tempting. Need money, though… Yeah, the stairs are free… Ryou trying to sell her bass for the tickets! At the observation deck, Kita tries to make things lively but the rest aren’t interested and unmotivated. Just enjoying the air-cond and not the scenery. Then as they rest, Bocchi’s food gets stolen by a bird! WTF even the birds target her?! Thank goodness she didn’t die. After praying at the shrine, they take a train home. Bocchi admits she had fun today and this gives her motivation for the new school term until the next break. Sorry, she still won’t want to hang out EVERY DAY to make memories with you, Kita. That’s just so tiring. On the morning of the first day of school, Bocchi isn’t feeling so good and wants to stay at home. The family thinks she is lying to just avoid school but in fact her muscles are sore and can’t even move. Then Futari touches her. Hell begins…

Episode 10
You know it is too good to be true as we see the hysterical crowd chanting Bocchi’s name on stage. Wake up, girl! Time to get back to reality because her class is trying to decide what to do for the cultural festival. Yeah, time to make that dream come true of playing at a cultural festival. Suddenly a lapse of memories as Bocchi doesn’t remember how she got in front of the student council office and having a form suggesting to play at the festival. She doesn’t even remember she wrote it! Too much for her to handle, she collapses! Later she tries to ask Seika and PA-san for advice but apparently they’re the wrong people. Seika doesn’t care and PA-san quit high school. Nijika and Ryou heard about this and they like the idea of Kessoku Band playing there since it will help advertise their band. As Bocchi frets about it and even has her usual episode of pessimism (WTF the school disciplines her for gloomy lyrics?!), she decides to throw the form away. Only, Kita picked it up and submitted it! Yeah, Bocchi dead in a coffin. Then Kikuri hears about this and invites them to come over to hear her band play. No need to buy tickets. On the house. Sorry if they have a poor rocker perception on her because yeah, Bocchi still lamenting she hasn’t paid back that train fare! Oh sh*t! Seika forces her to do it (as well as Ryou too for borrowing money from Bocchi during the Enoshima trip). Kikuri brings Kessoku Band to her live house and let’s meet the weirdoes. Don’t be alarmed that the manager of the place is an effeminate guy. The rest of Kikuri’s Sick Hack band consists of the polite Shima Iwashita as well as foreigner who loves anime (but of course) Eliza Shimizu. The band plays psychedelic rock so Bocchi could feel the psychedelic waves hitting her and becomes awed with their music. After that, Kessoku Band then plan on how to go about their festival’s performance. Later Kita apologizes to Bocchi for the submission since it was against her wishes but Bocchi now thanks her because she’s looking forward to it. Kita vows to work hard but too bad Bocchi can’t be teaching her since she has to attend remedial classes! On the day of the festival, Bocchi is missing! Cold feet?

Episode 11
Well, Bocchi’s class is doing a maid café. Looks like she got scared thinking her band mates would see her in this maid dress so she ran off and never came back. Time to go look for her. As Bocchi laments this fate, there is another problem cropping up. She checks back on her online video and sees comments of people thinking Guitarhero is dead! Yeah, haven’t uploaded a video in a long time! But her band mates found her so it’s back to the maid café. But first, they have fun going round the festival. I bet Bocchi would’ve been the scariest thing in the haunted house. Back to work, Bocchi’s dead face is even scaring the toughest of delinquents! At least she keeps the order. She doesn’t even put the moe kyun-kyun in the omelette rice and Kita shows how it is done. Her band mates then decide to help out and dress up as maids. I APPROVE! Yeah, they’re bringing in more customers compared to Bocchi and making it even livelier. Bocchi has a feeling it’s like a preview of tomorrow’s concert. Kessoku Band takes a look at the stage they will be playing before proceeding to do their usual practice. On the day of the performance, as usual, Bocchi having fantasies that the band will be scouted and they’ll be famous! But right before Kessoku Band’s turn, Bocchi gets nervous. You can tell because her heartbeat is louder than the drums! It’s their turn on stage and Bocchi as expected notes how the crowd is more into Kita. However, Bocchi’s family is also here as they cheer on her. Not only her family, but those street fans too and uhm, Kikuri. Yeah, she’s all drunk. Regret inviting her? Time to get their gig started.

Episode 12
Their first song revs everyone up. When they are in the midst of singing their second, Bocchi feels something wrong. A guitar string sounds out of tune. And then the peg breaks! Oh dear. Her solo is coming up. Don’t worry. Kita improvises and covers for her. Even Bocchi improvises and uses a bottle to play! Then before they play their last song, Kita wants Bocchi to say something to the crowd. REALLY?! Bocchi panics and as she thinks of saying something funny, suddenly she decides to do mosh! She dives into the crowd! Nobody catches her! OMG! Splat! This has got to be the funniest and most embarrassing moment! Did I hear Futari apologizing on her behalf? Wow. Bocchi rocks, huh?! Bocchi is fine as she recuperates in the infirmary. Bocchi noting Kita has improved a lot in such a short time. She thinks she can’t be like her in attracting the crowd. Kita believes she still has room for improvement and hopes Bocchi can continue teaching her. Back home, Bocchi grovels before dad to apologize for breaking his guitar! He isn’t mad and thinks it is a good time for her to buy a new one. He has the money. Of course it’s not from shady dealings! You see, Bocchi uses her family account for her Guitarhero. Hence the family knows about it and has been secretly monetizing it from all the views and ads. They hope she can get even better at her guitar. Like how she does in her online lying! Oh my! With so much money, Bocchi calculates she can actually quit her job and do nothing for 2 years! Such motivation has her confront Seika but looks like she chickens out and claims she’ll work hard instead. Her band accompanies her to the guitar shop to buy a new one. Bocchi so nervous that the staffs think she is some head banging metal rocker! A few more shenanigans before Bocchi settles on this one. The girls then plan on what to do on their next concert. Bocchi feels good holding her new guitar. At the same time can’t help feel guilty and apologizes to her old broken one! It’s not like she’s forgotten about you! This isn’t cheating! Then she heads off to her job. Wow, did she stop being lazy?

Between A (Bocchi) Rock And A Hard (Social) Place
Well guys, what else more can I say? Life goes on. The ending may not be anything much but I guess for a series like this, it is very much expected. Oh, you don’t expect the girls to suddenly become famous overnight and then become international stars by next week, RIGHT?! They’ll then churn out hits that would shove Taylor Swift down into memory lane and overtake The Beatles as one of the most legendary bands in the world and history! Oh wow. My delusions are as great as Bocchi! But so sorry folks (or rather sorry to me), it is not that kind of anime in the first place.

While I do admit that this series is quite funny in its own right, one main reason is because many of the jokes rely and plays on Bocchi’s social anxiety. In every episode, it never fails to amuse and make viewers laugh at all the ‘funny moments’ that Bocchi has to go through. Each moment is a torture for her but a riot for us. Yeah, I know I shouldn’t be laughing my ass off at her even though if that is the intention because I’m the same as her when it comes to being socially awkward! Oh my. It’s easy to type all this, laugh and criticize behind the keyboard but when I imagine myself in Bocchi’s shoes, perhaps I’ll be the same as her! I mean, some of those baseless delusions that Bocchi has, I do from time to time have such thoughts! So yeah, sometimes it hits close to home. Ouch. Damn, to think that Bocchi and me could actually be good friends! Only, if social anxiety didn’t get in our way! Oh damn.

Furthermore, the series does not focus heavily too much on the music side. I mean, when you compare this series to the likes of BanG Dream and Show By Rock, the music focus pales in comparison. Instead, we see mostly the daily lives and shenanigans of Kessoku Band and as already point out, the social anxieties of our titular character. After all, these are just ordinary girls who don’t really harbour such big dreams. I’m saying that I belittle their dream but when you compare theirs to those in the aforementioned anime series, the latter have big dreams of making it big in the music world where their band name would resonate across borders and all. That is why in a way this show feels more like K-ON! as it focuses more on the antics and shenanigans of the characters rather than the music.

Speaking of music, well sad to say that none of the rock music here resonate with me. Uh huh. I have to admit although I do like music but I am not a hardcore fan of it. Especially rock music. Therefore many of the rock pieces here sound almost the same to me. Haters can hate but personally, they just sound rather okay to me. I don’t find them bad, just that it’s not something that I would love to listen to again and again. Thus all the rock music that Kessoku Band sings here are just pretty meh in my books. From the opener, Seishun Complex to the various ending themes, Distortion (first ending theme), Karakara (second), Nani Ga Warui (third) and Korogaru Iwa Kimi Ni Asa Ga Furu (fourth and final episode) are just so-so. Even their insert songs they sing have those kind of average vibes to me. Yes people, I even prefer to hum to the tune of Cagayake Girls, Don’t Say Lazy and No Thank You, classic hits from After School Tea Time.

As for the characters, they have their own charm that makes them lovable. I want to draw some comparisons to K-ON! but too bad I have mostly forgotten about that classic series. Hey, it’s almost 15 years ago!!! But anyway, many would find these cute girls likeable as they are somewhat down to earth (term used very loosely) and as ordinary girls, we normal people can mostly relate to them. Unlike those other rock band animes where you have girls chasing the stars which just feels unrealistic and ungodly. Sure, the music scene has their own upper echelons and the elites but for many of us ordinary people, we’re just, uhm, ordinary. Don’t need all that complex musician stuffs. Need to go back to our own daily lives. These girls don’t even harbour that typical dream of playing at the Budoukan. At least, not that we can see them dreaming so at this point. They need to get their band off the ground first. One step at a time. Slowly but surely.

So what else can I said about Bocchi? Like any other normal human being and a teen, she harbours some big dreams but in reality, it is all a different story. Like as though her real life and mind are 2 different worlds. Yeah, probably it is. Here she is struggling hard trying to cope with her social anxiety and each time she experiences panic attacks from overthinking. It’s amazing that she is still alive and didn’t die of a heart attack. I want to say that Bocchi has changed towards the end of the series but it is such a small and minute change that it is as good as she hasn’t changed at all. Yup, the same Bocchi we always know from the start. Imagine where the fun would be if she grew out of her social anxiety, HUH?! Yeah, we are such sadists. So Bocchi, stay as you are because we love to laugh at you! From hiding into a cramp bin when she gets anxious to her grand delusions anytime and anywhere, oh Bocchi, we love you just the way you are! Never change. Of course her real talents come as she plays the guitar that could be on par with many legendary rockers. In this mode, it’s like she is in a trance as she hammers away and pulls off power slides and riffs that awes all those who hear.

As for the rest of the Kessoku Band members, too bad they do not hog too much of the limelight compared to Bocchi. Yeah, what’s this anime’s title again? So we just know the minimum about them like Nijika’s reasons in wanting to form a band, Ryou’s passion in music as well as Kita being the liveliest of the pack and perhaps the poster girl of the band should the group go places and climb the greater heights. Only a brief mention about their past and nothing more. Nijika trying to keep the band together, Ryou and her deadpan quips and puns, Kita making the greatest improvement because now she can sing and play the guitar simultaneously. I won’t say the quartet’s friendship is tightly knitted but they have flaws that make them imperfect. That’s why I’m thinking they named their band so just to make some puns about their group isn’t totally united or something. How did they even come up with this band name? Not sure. Yeah, we’ve grown so fond of it that it’s a pain to even change it at this point. Then you need the big sister who watches over them AKA Seika. She plays the tsundere role and acts like she doesn’t care but she does a lot. She just doesn’t show it in a typical way. I guess with her around and having a live house, it’s like for convenience that Kessoku Band has a home base to operate.

Then there is Kikuri because we all need that crazy drunk character. Thank goodness we don’t know whether she’ll go into some ranting depression about not having a boyfriend! With Sick Hack making a very short cameo, this makes me remember that the other factor that this series doesn’t feel like a music heavy focused one is because of the lack of rivals. Can you name a rival band for Kessoku Band? I don’t think Sick Hack can be considered as one. Not to mention they never even consider it so. So unlike Poppin’ Party has with Roselia and Raise A Suilen, Plasmagica with Criticrista and Tsurezurenaru Ayatsuri Mugenan, the biggest rival Kessoku Band faces is probably themselves. Yeah, can’t even get their own members to be in sync how to have their own music rivals? Plus, we only see them really perform only twice: Their first gig with audiences less than the number of fingers on your hands that almost bombed and at the cultural festival. Not exactly making waves or ground shattering effects if you ask me.

The animation and art style are a mixed. Basically, the characters are simplistic and lacks lot of detail. You can say they look almost cartoonish. It’s only so since this series originated from a yonkoma panel so it’s not surprising to see such visuals similar to other series of the same type like Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh. However, the backgrounds and sceneries are ironically gorgeous. Sometimes if you pay attention away from the band’s shenanigans to notice the backgrounds, I would say they are quite breath-taking and high quality. Sometimes you think they may have taken real photos of that backdrop instead. Maybe. I can’t really tell either. Once you realize both of these, you might feel how jarring the blend of both types of visuals.

Of course the curious and fascinating one goes to Bocchi in terms of the different types of visual art styles she goes through whenever she experiences her panic attacks. Yes, whenever that happens, most of the time you could see her face literally melting! Thanks to her grandeur delusions too, this is where the various art styles come into play. In addition to the various types of 2D visuals, we have from 3D CGI graphics to even live action visuals, these are all short. As for the character designs, in my years of watching so many animes, I want to say I have seen them from somewhere like Bocchi reminds me of a discount Super Sonico and less curvy and thicc. Yeah. And doesn’t Nijika look like a chirpier version of Yami from To Love-Ru while Kita like Itsuki from Go-toubun No Hanayome? The rest I can’t think of it right now but they sure look familiar… On a trivial note, when I first saw Bocchi’s parents, damn I thought they were her siblings! OMFG they look so young! This anime is done by Cloverworks who did Sono Bisque Doll Wa Koi Wo Suru, Yakusoku No Neverland, Spy x Family and Seishun Buta Yarou Wa Bunny Girl Senpai No Yume Wo Minai.

The voice acting is okay. Didn’t recognize anybody in particular and crazy conspiracy theory is that they can’t use established ones in case they have to commit to their characters and suddenly become a rock group in real life. Oh you know, how some idol series have their seiyuus turn into real life idol units too. I’m sure they can do this with unknown ones and perhaps they can establish it from there. Anyway, Yoshino Aoyama as Bocchi (Yoshino from Wake Up Girls) probably takes the cake since she gives Bocchi her character with her zany form of social anxiety. Can’t laugh too much. Could sound like me too! The rest of the casts are Sayumi Suzushiro as Nijika (Kei in Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai), Saku Mizuno as Ryou (Rena in Selection Project), Ikumi Hasegawa as Kita (Desumi in Koi Wa Sekai Seifuku No Ato De), Maaya Uchida as Seika (Rikka in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai), Sayaka Senbongi as Kikuri (Shuna in Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken) and Kotori Koiwai as PA-san (Renge in Non Non Biyori).

Overall, this anime is funny and has its own cute charm. It is no wonder that many are calling it as an underrated gem of the season and some as far as one of the contenders to be the anime of the year. The best cute girls doing cute doings series ever? Enough to dethrone even old veterans like K-ON?! Oh I don’t know. If only nostalgia didn’t get in the way. The irony that Bocchi who is so scared of mixing in with the crowd, stands out the most and entertained us all with her extreme social anxiety disorder. You would think an introvert would be one helluva boring person but when you go through the thoughts of such, it could be an even more interesting place than the most extroverted and charismatic character out there. Remember, still waters run deep. Bocchi’s one most definitely has a crazy riptide undercurrent underneath it! What else more can I say for these girls? Just continue to rock on! In no time, Bocchi and co will bring the house down!

Love Live! Superstar S2

Galaxy! Finally even the fourth franchise of the Love Live franchise has its second season. That’s right, people. Got to keep up with the trend and not lose out. And hence Love Live! Superstar S2 is a must, seeing our main idol heroines still have not won the coveted Holy Grail last season. Well, it’s a pretty typical story and formula. You have to fail first (oh, for realism! Because no lucky mother wins the biggest prize on their first outing) and that his your benchmark to try-cum-work harder so the next time you’ll surpass this and ultimately win it. That’s the basic ingredient, right? Yeah. Now we’re going to be superstars! Superstars in the making!

Episode 1
Liella’s followers have doubled since. This is thanks to Sunny Passion’ interview who credited them as their greatest rival. Later Sumire confronts Keke about the latter going back to Shanghai. She claims Sunny Passion acknowledging them gave her some leeway but above all, she wants her to keep this a secret. We see Kinako Sakurakoji getting lost in Tokyo. Finally she stumbles at the front of Yuigaoka and realizes this is where she is going to attend high school. She accidentally enters to rooftop and Liella start hounding her if she’s interested to join. Desperate, huh? Hope they don’t scare her away. They soon learn she is just lost. Later Kinako talks to Kanon and we learn she is from Hokkaido. Hence the big city life is sure a shocking eye opening experience for her. Kanon loves the ring of being call a senpai. So happy, she brings her to her place. After all, Kinako’s residence is near her place. With the new school term, we see other potential new characters like Natsumi Onitsuka who is always recording for her L-Tube (time is money!), Mei Yoneme who looks like an obsessed fan of Liella and Shiki Wakana a seemingly science nut. With new first year students, there is of course the recruitment drive for clubs. Honestly, Liella having so many fans but none want to join them? I guess they’re happy just being fans. Keke tries to be aggressive in the recruitment but she’s just scaring them away. And somehow she blames Sumire. Kinako ponders about joining them. However she has no confidence if she could keep up with their training. Kanon hears from her sister that at first she doesn’t understand why she was so obsessed with school idols. But after watching their performance, it moved her. Hence the next time Kanon stumbles into Kinako, she tells her they will be rehearsing their next performance at the rooftop. She hopes she can come see. Kinako thinks about it but still has doubts. Especially about being interested in something but don’t think she’s cut out for it. Natsumi’s advice is that if you fail no matter how many times you try, it proves you’re not cut out for it. But if you don’t try, you’ll never know. Not sure about this WTF move because Shiki plants some device on Kinako’s leg and she can’t stop running until she reaches the rooftop. Liella is ready to put up a performance to show her what it’s like being a school idol. I think Kinako is so impressed she might go into a seizure. With that, Liella welcomes her into their fold.

Episode 2
Kinako joins in the training but she’s lagging far behind. Uhm, doesn’t the other Liella members care about their struggling newbie? I thought they were eager to have a new one? Eventually they give her some motivation and let her be the provisional centre. Yeah, that should make her happy. Later Shiki talks to Kinako and asks about the idol club. Well, she wants her to ask Mei to join it. Uhm, can she not do it herself? Kinako is thinking a lot about this. She talks to Kanon about Liella striving to win and doesn’t want to hold them back. On the other hand, Kanon has her own dilemma since she is trying to find ways to make it fun for freshmen to join. Kinako still having cold feet to ask Mei so Shiki gets the ball rolling by telling Mei that Kinako wants to talk to her. So when Kinako sums up her courage to invite her to join the idol club, Mei looks unimpressed. Kinako fears she is going to get harassed but surprisingly knows this is Shiki’s stint. She says never to do this again since she has no interest in school idols (LIAR!). With Liella still having no potential new members (can Keke quit blaming Sumire?), now Kinako feels it is her fault because she lacks presence. Her reason is that some of her classmates saw her practising and since she is so out of breath, they think being an idol is hard. Hence Liella makes some changes to their training regimen. Cutting their training time shorter, their recruitment is now livelier as they’re giving free takoyaki! Uhm, isn’t this bribery like the last time? Later Mei talks to Kinako about school idols. Despite knowing how hard the training is, yet she joined it. She wants her to carry on and not worry about what others say. Next time Kinako meets up with rest of Liella, she tells them her true feelings that she wants to do her best and strive to win along with them. This means she wants to go back to the old training ways and promises to keep working hard no matter how difficult it is. I’m sure those tears were convincing everyone that they were on the verge on the wrong path because remember, the goal of Liella is to win Love Live and not to recruit newbies. Uhm, can they not do both? Kinako continues to struggle in training. Oh well, ganbatte!

Episode 3
Well, it’s already been a year so it’s time for that idol festival again. Short reminder, Sunny Passion won and Liella took home some special newcomer award. So they think that since Sunny Passion isn’t participating this time (because they also won last year’s Love Live!), they might have a shot at winning. Flawed logic but hey, gotta stay positive. Since they are going last, another flawed logic has them think they’re the main stars. Later Kanon talks to Sunny Passion about them mentioning Liella’s name in their interview. They honestly think Liella did quite a good job although they caution it is still not enough to beat them. After all, they are trying hard to do the impossible as no school has ever defended their Love Live title. Doing so will have their name deeply ingrained in Love Live’s history. One day at the park, suddenly this arrogant b*tch girl confronts Kanon and wants her to sing because she claims she is going to win. WTF?! But when Chisato comes into the picture, she is gone. Don’t tell me she’s a ghost! As the festival gets underway, we see that b*tch girl, Wien Margarete doing her awesome solo performance. Yeah, everybody so awestruck that it makes you wonder if her performance has got black magic. Uh huh. Such a dark dramatic theme, I wonder if this is some magic fantasy performance… In the end, we didn’t get to see Liella’s performance but we see them looking so dumbfounded and sullen. Hey, they didn’t win but isn’t it something special that they won the special award again! That’s an achievement! Kinako starts blaming herself but as we all can tell, the rest don’t see it that way. So the festival was won by Wien. And why is Kanon looking so depressed they lost to a middle school girl?! IS THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING?! But another WTF moment, Wien confronting Kanon outside her home to have some b*tch showdown as she mentions that they are nothing special if others actually think they’re going to be the next winner. In that case, she will have no problem winning. Kanon tries to be realistic that lots of people praised them although they haven’t produced any results yet. Wien not impressed. Next day before Kanon can give her demoralizing speech to her comrades that they might not win, other classmates pop in to congratulate them. They’re okay with Liella winning that award because it’s better than nothing. To them, they are their superstars. That enough to get your motivation back? Because now it’s time for Liella to do a thank you concert for everyone. That’s how it should be, right?

Episode 4
Everyone unanimously trying to make Kanon the club president but she has her reservations. Meanwhile Mei continues to spy on them so Shiki continues to advise her to join them if she wants to. Of course Mei says she doesn’t intend to do that. This has Shiki decide to take some drastic actions. One day after school as Mei bursts into the science club just to remind Shiki to mix with others, she isn’t around. But look, across the rooftop, there Shiki is joining Liella in their practice! Mei goes closer to spy on them. Amidst the shock and confusion, she busted herself. So a new member to join like Shiki? Well, Shiki is just trying out and hasn’t decided yet. Mei is not impressed and leaves. So uhm, no new members yet? Shiki then takes Liella outside of where Mei stays. Take a look inside her room. Filled with Liella and other idol memorabilia! Does Mei not draw her curtains? Oh look, here she comes. Hide! You thought she could see their heads peeking out from the corner but she sees nothing! Is she blind! Well, Shiki reveals Mei has eyesight problems. That is why she is always glaring and others misinterpret it as her being mean and are scared of her. More flashback on their past. Shiki was always a loner but Mei one day hanged out with her and they formed a science club together despite Mei having no interest in science. Shiki believes Mei is interested in idols but refuses to start. Hence she is joining to try to push her to join. Later Shiki confronts Mei. Mei worried about her social life but Shiki worried about her delaying her idol dreams. Since Mei claims she is not cut out to be one, Shiki tells her not to come to the science club since she has no interest in it. This awkward situation prompts Chisato to remember she once felt useless and couldn’t do anything but Kanon gave her some words of motivation. Hence Chisato decides to take on a new challenge by becoming the club president. Then Kanon talks to Mei about her hesitating to join because of Shiki. She wants to be with her, right? Kanon notes they both like each other and hints that both of them can join. Mei then catches Shiki doing a few dance moves in the clubroom and now it’s her turn to hit back. Both accusing themselves for not being cuter than the other, the reason they can’t join. But once they get honest with each other, soon Liella welcomes Shiki and Mei as their newest members.

Episode 5
With Mei and Shiki officially in Liella, everyone else is supportive of them. Except for Natsumi. She can’t believe after doing all those jobs, her views aren’t growing. Then she realizes Liella has increased followers in a short time. You thinking what she’s thinking? It’s time to make money! Show me the money! Hence Liella is ecstatic thinking they’ve finally got a 9th member because that is the magical and legendary number for idols. Sorry to rain on your parade but Natsumi is here to become their producer. That’s right. Manage and promote their activities. Liella thinks it is a good idea since they will have more time to spend on training. What’s this about Liella won’t get any money and all will got to Natsumi who is the CEO of her own company to cover expenses? They agree since they’re not into money. Great. So they do all the job and Natsumi gets rich, huh? Natsumi starts recording Liella’s daily life. I can’t believe when everyone hangs out at Keke’s home, I understand it is small but it can’t be THAT small, right?! Because somehow Kanon and Sumire got the raw end of the deal so they all play this weird card game from outside. I mean, look at Keke’s place, isn’t the living room big enough?! Even if she doesn’t think so, why can’t they hang out in the kitchen or the toilet?! The filming is successful but secretly, Natsumi is uploading such videos to her personal channel and claiming she is playing with Liella to get the views. Also, Liella is in the dark that she is profiting from all this personally. With Love Live preliminaries as well as the school festival after that, Liella thinks it is a burden and it is suggested they split the team. Kanon disagrees since it has to be all of them performing together. Don’t have to be perfect. Just do your best. As Natsumi continues to film, finally Sumire confronts her as she has been suspicious. She accuses her of profiting her videos of them. Shiki then calculates the profits she is making. Wow. Enough to make all of them wanting an explanation, huh? I thought they weren’t doing this for the money? Not if it’s such a big amount! Natsumi runs away. Kanon thinks they should just observe for a while and believes there is more to it. Later Natsumi meet up with the first years. She claims she’ll still upload videos since it is her job. But they are worried not about the money. You see, the videos post both their performance and daily lives. People will obviously see their talent difference with their seniors in the video. They are worried about that. Don’t worry because Natsumi has an idea. And a money making one too! Hence the first years seek to have a different summer vacation schedule from the rest and Chisato approves it. Oh Natsumi is already smelling the money!

Episode 6
Natsumi’s plan is to have the newbies form another sister group. However they are against this because the purpose of this separate training is to get closer to their seniors. If they can’t help them, no point being idols. Natsumi still won’t give up because, yeah, MONEY! So they’re all back in Kinako’s hometown and Natsumi is forced to follow them so as to film some training footage. Hope she can keep up with all the running… Back in her room, she is trying to edit a video of the countdown to Liella’s breakup?! Almost got caught by Kinako as she asks Natsumi’s goal. Nothing. Except making more money so that she would have an easy life in the future. With the newbies’ training uploaded, they are popular enough to rake in the views. The Liella seniors are impressed with it although Sumire still has her reservations especially on that money lover. Natsumi wakes up from this horrible dream. She had many lofty dreams when she was young but foiled by failed prerequisites. When Chisato sends new dance moves to the newbies to try, WTF they’re getting cold feet? So they’re slacking and wondering if they can do this. Very rare for Natsumi to lecture them about giving up because otherwise don’t tell her about your dreams. With a sad tone, she says their dream isn’t impossible and could be achieved if they work hard enough. As the training continues, later Kinako thanks her for it but questions if she really doesn’t have a goal. Natsumi insists so. Natsumi gets scared when she sees a bear. Turns out to be Kanon?! WTF she’s doing some delivery her dad forgot? So she thought of dropping by, huh? She overheard her talk with Kinako. So if she doesn’t have any dreams, why not try chasing theirs with them? Natsumi is not so sure since all her dreams have never come true. Gee, I was expecting some no money answer! Haha! Oops. Kanon then lets her try some steps. Wow. Now we’re dancing in some colourful rainbow field! I hope dinner wasn’t drugged… Now she’s got a taste of it, Liella welcomes its 9th member! I’m sure Natsumi isn’t here for the money anymore… After dancing on stage, everyone looks with glee at Natsumi’s shocked and stunned expression. Amazing, no? She realizes she has finally found her dream. And it ain’t where the money is! Oh damn, gotta stop making money jokes on her…

Episode 7
WTF this Guitar Hero and Fruit Ninja game? But look who’s getting hooked? Ren! Keke is happy to announce the details of Love Live. But the rest are already reading it from the website so that just killed her vibe. Anyway, this year’s tournament will be done remotely and there are no specific themes. Yeah, ran out of ideas or they just don’t give a f*ck, huh? Chisato wants Ren to write the song and Kanon the lyrics. Nothing unusual. Except… What’s this Ren is spacing out and her hands are moving on their own like as though she’s holding a video game controller? Well, everyone thinks she is swamped with works since as the only student council member, she is shouldering all the duties herself and did not get help claiming this school doesn’t have enough students. Are you kidding me?! You can’t find like 2 or 3 people to fill in the post?! Anyway, soon Mei catches Ren in the act. Yeah, instead of writing songs on her piano, she is playing her handheld! Ren panics and tries to bribe her but soon brings her home to reveal… OMFG! She’s got all the game consoles! Every type! Damn it looks like an arcade in here! After getting hooked at Keke’s place, her father kept sending her new consoles to please her. So now Ren wants Mei to hold the key to this room because she can’t concentrate on song writing if she keeps playing? I got a better idea. Why not quit being an idol and be a gamer! Of course that won’t do so Mei agrees to do that. Yeah, now she’s free to focus on her writing. Maybe after just 1 more game… With Mei being suspicious, the rest too get suspicious. So they tail her and see her meeting up with Ren. Spying from afar, the serious look on Ren’s expression and those ambiguous action, Shiki thinks they are dating! Oh no! Scandal?! So the rest confront her and of course Shiki being upfront if they are dating. Of course not! So care to tell what’s happening? Gulp. Meanwhile Ren is itching to just play one game when Kanon is here. Busted? Well actually, Kanon is here to inform that she wants to help her and join her student council. Mei heard it all so she advises Ren to just get clean with everyone. And seeing Liella helping out with the student council duties, this is where Ren finally confesses about her gaming addiction. Well, everyone laughs! They’re glad it’s nothing serious. Yeah, gaming addiction is not a mental issue! As ‘punishment’, she brings them all home as they admire all her consoles and also play some games. Finally this game that Ren is having a hard time with, with everyone’s help she is able to clear it. With this nagging thorn done, Kanon is now able to write her beautiful music.

Episode 8
Looks like Ren will now have some help in the student council. Yes, Kinako and Kanon have officially joined it. I thought Natsumi would’ve been better as the treasurer. On second thought, maybe not… Liella now discuss the venue of their stage. Lots of ideas but as Chisato puts it, it has to be a venue that represents them, their school and everyone in town. Everyone crack their heads but it’s not easy. Furthermore with the school’s open campus, it’s a surprise that Liella won’t be putting up a performance since they want to concentrate on the preliminaries. With the student council girls busy, what the rest of Liella going to do? Yeah, help Chisato sell her rainbow takoyaki! Nobody’s buying… Even Natsumi’s fusion of mixing it with smoothie failed to generate the money… When a potential school girl asks for a tour (oh Keke, don’t be quick to ask her to become an idol), Kanon shows her around. Eventually she asks why the school was built in this location. Funny, of all questions she could ask… Yeah, no answer. Hence Kanon tries to look into the school’s history in hopes this might also give answers for their stage. Then Sunny Passion contacts them and gives them a sneak peak of their stage. Wow. Such a lovely stage over the ocean. Everyone on the island helped built it so it’s a shame that this will be their final Love Live. As Kanon continues to talk to many for ideas, some of their schoolmates decide to help out and shoulder the student council duties so Liella is free to concentrate on their performance. So if they go all the way to the finals, they’ll be permanent student council members? Don’t worry, they help because they want to! So as Liella continues to ponder about their stage, they remember last year having done their performance at this street. Suddenly Kanon hits an idea. Oh my, where’s she running to? So their stage will be where all paths converge and become one. A place where they and many meet. What better place than the big road before their school. So this is why their school was also built here, huh? If it’s not in the official history, they must just be speculating it. Anyway, the stage is done as we hear Liella do their stuff. And to avoid any suspense, good news because Liella will be heading to Tokyo!

Episode 9
I’m sure everyone is celebrating Liella’s success. Yeah, their online subscribers are increasing. But all that joy comes to a crashing halt when they realize that Sunny Passion has not made it to the next level! Oh God. As expected, they contact their rivals and it is true that they actually failed to make the grade because after their performance, Margarete put on an even sterling performance that sealed their fate. So I guess the elusive and historic coveted legend continues… As Liella has their own private celebration, obviously the mood isn’t even there. Even if Natsumi and Shiki have this devious plan to sabotage Margarete (hope they aren’t serious!), it still is a damper. Later Chisato talks to her second year members. Reviewing their performance, it seems there was an obvious difference between them and the newbies. Wow. Are you saying the judges were blind, bias or Liella got through based on absolute luck?! Because the way they are saying it, the newbies will drag them down and the difference that will have them advance or be eliminated for the finals. Hence the dilemma of whether to include them or not because like for Keke, she just wants everyone to have fun together and putting pressure on them defeats the idea. Later Sumire confronts Keke and knows she must produce results or else she’s going back to Shanghai. Keke: Mind your own business. She just wants to sing with everyone. That’s all. That night Margarete confronts Kanon and asks if she is still singing in this pathetic place. Kanon denies and so the b*tch will make her regret her words.

Next day before the training starts, Sumire makes her announcement that she doesn’t want the newbies to perform in the next round. As per rules, although you cannot add members that did not perform in the preliminaries, no rules prevent them for existing ones from not competing. As the newbies are now having second thoughts in being a hindrance, Kanon still believes Liella only has meaning with all of them performing. Sumire goes on to add that with Margarete showing her prowess, it all the reason why they must not slack and win this. If they lose, a lot of people will be sad. Yeah, I guess that can be said for all those idols who didn’t make it past the preliminaries! Sumire hits the nail in the coffin as she reveals she wants to get back into show business and hence she must shine here. This makes Kanon very sad. The disagreement ends because a tearful Keke says so. Back home, we hear Sumire purposely playing the villain. The newbies talk to her and after a short performance, they send their blessings for their seniors to perform and win. But this only makes Sumire feel more distraught as she thought everyone was working hard for this. Is she contradicting herself now? Keke is now in the picture and doesn’t want her to suffer alone. Sumire now comes clean on the truth. She wants to be with Keke right till the end of their high school years. She doesn’t want her to go back to Shanghai. That is why she is desperate to get results to prevent that from happening. Both highly emotional girls hug each other, reiterating their love-hate relationship for each other. I guess that solves everything. Yes, everything back to normal as Liella is a whole now as they resume training to assure their absolute victory!

Episode 10
Training camp at Kinako’s home. Apparently when everyone was brainstorming for the right location, they got to know that Kanon visited her place and the gall she didn’t even tell them! Jealous? Yeah, hope you enjoy your stay because the whole place is snowing! Chisato has Shiki come up with new dance choreography with her. Mei and Rei try to write a new song. Hope they don’t get addicted to the video games… Kanon and Kinako doing some weird yoga poses for lyrics inspiration. Not working… And the rest of our jokers are trying to make the backdrop for their stage. Careful not to crash it now! That’s money in there!!! Before the Tokyo competition begins, all participants have a chance to introduce themselves online. After Liella done theirs, it is Margarete’s turn. She didn’t waste time to tell them her intentions. She is going to show why Love Live is such a low quality with her true song. And with that emotionless b*tch face, she’s trying to be the villain? You bet this is going to make some mad for belittling this sacred competition. GRRR!!! With the newbies training hard, Kanon has an idea for tomorrow’s training. That is, do nothing and have fun! Sometimes you just need to rest and relax. So from ice skating to ice fishing and building a snowman, I guess these aren’t money shuts, eh, Natsumi? Maybe some snowball fight… After that, it is back to their usual training and all. Must be working as Kanon has inspiration to write a new song. Before the competition starts, cue for Margarete to be a b*tch as she warns Liella and especially Kanon once more why she is going to show them their place. Must be just me since I don’t find her dramatic song appealing. But damn, everybody else does. So stunned they are, there is a long silence before a long applause! So will this demoralize Liella? Just get out there and do what you’ve been doing! After they are done with their performance, the results are in. Who will move on to the finals? Tune in next time to find out!

Episode 11
What’s this?! Margarete in 2nd place and this means Liella in 1st place, they win and qualify for the finals!!! Yeah, I shouldn’t be so surprised about it. But tell that to Margarete. That priceless looks on her face. Sore loser b*tch won’t accept the results and even tries to do a Kanye on Taylor Swift by hijacking the emcee’s mic to give her piece of her mind. JUST LOSE GRACEFULLY, B*TCH!!! But with Kanon saying how this is what all has decided, if she cannot accept it, then she has no right to be an idol. Well, that shut her up. As Liella celebrates their victory, of course Margarete’s issue still weigh heavily on Kanon’s mind although the internet is not kind enough and is still ripping into her. Hence she looks into Margarete’s profile and after translating her social media page, it seems she wanted to go to a prestigious music school in Vienna like her sister but failed to enter. But she didn’t say why she entered Love Live. So Kanon meets the b*tch herself. Why is Margarete shocked that she knows about this?! Didn’t she post it online?! Margarete still thinks they are on different levels as Kanon relates how they are similar with that fear of singing in public she had. Margarete blames Kanon for defeating her and stole her dream. Huh? You see, when she failed to enter that school, the people told her about Love Live. If she’d won it, she could get into that school. It’s the reason she entered Love Live. Otherwise she wouldn’t have bothered with this worthless competition. Kanon refutes that and even her claims everyone who loves it are worthless. Speaking like a true sore loser. Kanon believes Liella really won and that their voice and feeling were stronger than hers. Too bad Margarete won’t hear any more of it.

Before Liella can begin their training for the finals, the director summons Kanon. It seems the Vienna school contacted her this morning and has invited Kanon to enrol in their school as a transfer student. Holy f*ck! They want an idol?! While Kanon is free to decide, if she wants to seriously pursue a career in singing, this is her best chance. So as the rest of Liella finds out, they get worried if she would be leaving after Love Live. Well, good news. She isn’t. It is thanks to this school that she has gotten her love for singing back and that’s why she wants to continue to stay her. Yup, music to Liella’s ears. Apparently Chisato catches Margarete eavesdropping (can she hear it all from that distance?!) and goes after her. She won’t let go until she spills the beans. Okay, here is the twist. Apparently her family told her if Kanon enrols in Vienna, she might also have that chance because they want her to learn from Kanon’s singing. Holy sh*t! Kanon > Margarete. Don’t tell me those foreigners are idol fanatics! Margarete would rather not resort to this but if this gets her in, she’ll do it. She’s just using Kanon to achieve her dreams, that’s all. Kanon soon sees the principal and tells her the sad news that she is rejecting this invitation. Okay. Just as long as you don’t regret it. After that, Chisato has a word with the director. Before Liella can get any training started, Chisato interrupts and this is what she wants Kanon to do: Go study abroad.

Episode 12
Since it has always been Kanon’s dream to make her song resonate throughout the world, grab this chance because it’s now or never. Wait. Isn’t the one who is deciding is Kanon herself? She’s not regretting her decision, right? So, is Chisato saying that if Kanon sticks with them and everything else subsequently fails, it will be their fault who stole away her dream?! WTF?! With Chisato crying like that, I’m sure that clouds some of Kanon’s judgment. So we see the characters talk about (boring) stuffs about their time as Liella and before. We all know the drill. Whatever decision Kanon makes, as long as she doesn’t regret it, right? Heck, even Margarete is here to give a piece of her thoughts. Basically, if Kanon goes, she can go back too. She doesn’t want to use her but in order to achieve her dream, she will use any means. So, does she want Kanon to go or not? Kanon then gets a call from Chisato to meet at school. Why not video conferencing? And is school open at this hour?! Oh right. Because all Liella members are here and looks like they want to see her one last time before she goes abroad. So, it’s already decided?! Yeah, with everyone thinking so, Kanon says she’s going to study abroad. You’ll be missed. So nobody going to fill a missing member in Liella? Oh heck, think about that after Love Live! You still remember we have that hurdle to face, huh?! So we breeze through Liella in their training and preparation for the finals. Yeah, it’s the biggest spectacle of the idol world so you bet lots are going to be watching. And now we see Liella strut their winning number on stage. Oh sh*t! Did I spoil it for you?! Because yeah, LIELLA WINS LOVE LIVE!!! Nice trophy sitting there in their cabinet. Can’t blame them for celebrating it the umpteenth time. It never gets bored being a winner! Everybody so happy their dream is fulfilled. And now why is Kanon still around? Don’t want to part? So much so the rest had to throw her out. WTF?! Kanon leaves but at the gates, there is Margarete. What’s this?! She is in Yuigaoka’s uniform?! Oh my. What happened? So she’s enrolling here? Okay. What happened about going back to Vienna? What do you mean studying abroad is cancelled?! Didn’t you get that letter? What letter? Oh sorry. Can’t read German! Oh Kanon…

Super Liella Galaxy
Oh well. That is supposed to be the end of the Love Live franchise, right? We’re all going to be high and dry and no more Love Live idols for years to come, right? Wait… What’s this… OH MAH F*CKING GALAXY!!! YOU MEAN THERE IS GOING TO BE A THIRD SEASON FOR THIS SERIES?! THIS IS SO UNPRECEDENTED! No wonder that trolling cliff-hanger at the end. The first Love Live franchise to have a third season! Uh huh. Caught me by surprise too. I thought it would be over seeing Liella has won Love Live and that’s the end of the whole story, am I right?! Apparently I’m not. Because instead of creating a fifth and new Love Live group (is the fan base for Muse and Aqours still big and excited like before?), my guess is to extend this current one because well, even if Liella had won, there are still issues with Margarete to sort out, right? And yes, Liella going to be international superstars, that’s how I would look at it. Got to remember the name of this series.

Is it me or did the final episode felt like they tried to rush everything? Well, personally I felt that the focus turned out to be more on the Kanon’s dilemma drama than the Love Live itself. Uh huh. I can’t believe it gave me the impression that the Love Live finals weren’t as important as Kanon’s decision and dreams to go abroad! That’s why it felt like it was rushed and brushed through like a breeze. Even more so despite being predictable, Liella finally winning it. Uh huh. A wish fulfilled so that Kanon could go overseas with no regrets. After all, don’t want to go to Vienna as a loser now, doesn’t she? Thank goodness that didn’t happen either so either way, Liella got their ass covered. Heh. And Liella doesn’t have to lose Kanon too. We can be together till the end! Win-win! Because of the freaking insignificance of the Love Live finals, it got me to speculate that Liella was the only idol unit to show up. Uh huh. Others dropped out. That’s why we only see Liella performing, right? Heck, we don’t even know who the other finalists are! Not important. What’s important is that Liella winning it. Obviously if there was only 1 team performing, the winner goes to… No wonder this whole Love Live thingy feels so hollow to me now. Geez…

Not being a huge idol fan myself (hey, I’m just watching the Love Live franchise for nostalgia’s sake because notice I don’t watch newer idol genres and series anymore), I guess this season’s story and all were pretty much predictable and in line with what I was expecting. In other words… BORING! Well okay, not the most boring plot ever but being the idol genre this is, I mean, how far can the story stretch, right? The idol group in focus working hard to achieve their dreams, the appearance of a somewhat not-so-likeable rival to help spur them further, and with the support of everyone, the inevitable of winning Love Live is all but theirs. Hardly things could get any more exciting than that unless you’re purely a hardcore idol fan who loves this kind of formula.

Oh right, the other surprising thing this season is the addition of new members. Just like how Nijigasaki idols did it, Liella also added a few new members to help spice things up and to bloat up their numbers. Hence there was a debate where or not Liella was better being a small unit instead of being blown up to the traditional 9 members like Muse and Aqours. The more the merrier? Yeah, there’s this risk of established fans of a certain idol may sway his/her likes to the newer idol. You know how the pie is only so big, right? Get what I’m trying to say? That’s why some I read prefer the original Liella as it was a smaller unit and it worked well for them. But Liella seems to have more impact as an idol group introducing new members than Nijigasaki because the latter works more as a solo unit and hence not as much impact as it did for Liella. But personally to me, it doesn’t really matter since well yeah, I’m not really an idol fan.

So speaking of the characters, the new ones breathe new life and make things more interesting because with more members, I’m sure they can have more characters and more of their quirkiness spread out. In last season, Sumire and Keke were my ‘favourite’ characters because of their weird dynamism of getting on each other’s nerves. Although they are still at it this season, I feel that is somewhat toned down. And hence, my new ‘favourite’ girl is Natsumi because she is funny and only thinks about raking in the money! Oh yeah. Oninatsu! Got to love her each time she says money in English! Too bad she felt less funny once she became an official Liella member. Because not so money minded anymore and she is focusing mostly on her dreams. Money still her goal but it’s not her priority. Shucks. Oh heck, Keke, Sumire and Natsumi should form a comedy unit and be jokers themselves! Yeah, I would very much like to see that! A Chinese, a giant isopod and a dollar bill walk into a bar… HAHAHA!!! Sighs… I’m sure with Liella the winners, Keke’s dilemma of going back to Shanghai is all but forgotten, huh? Free to stay as she likes. Good. Need to see more Keke x Sumire spat…

As for the other newbies, I also have this feeling that they have been toned down a lot ever since they become official in Liella. Maybe they have to share the same spotlight now, huh? But anyway, their outlandish behaviour was perhaps as some sort of introduction. You know, like Mei being a passionate idol lover but has this mean looks and basically a bit crude like a delinquent on the outside. Then there is her best friend Shiki who is the emotionless girl trope of the group and if you need some weird inventions for some sort of plot convenience, she’s the girl to go to. Last and not least, Kinako. Cheerful and all, sometimes I feel she is a bit meek so when Sumire gets a bit aggressive, she’s like a bit cowering or something.

As for the original members of Liella, the surprising one is Ren because who’d think she would become a video game addict! Wow. That feels like she has really deviated from her character. Her being the spiteful b*tch and somewhat villainess we almost hate last season has been long forgotten. History. Hence that episode with Ren being a video game addict, it was probably my favourite one seeing now she has a different side to it. Yeah, perhaps when Liella disbands, she’ll be a gamer or something. Otherwise without this, Ren could be the blandest member in Love Live that has nothing significant going for her. Because we all know the Sumire x Keke dynamism already, Chisato being the group’s leader (shocking because I thought do-it-all Kanon would helm that role) and speaking of Kanon, I have this feeling that she doesn’t force you into things. But she talks to you enough to change your mind! Not sure if that is psychology at play or she is just really so concerned about everything. Maybe that is why she is different and stands out from the rest. And because she thinks so much about things, she’s got this worried look on her face most of the time. Hey, she’s got to make a lot of big decisions. Don’t want to regret it later, right?

And of course this season’s rival and so called antagonist, Margarete. Yeah, we all need one like her, right? Because Sunny Passion is so friendly that you could hardly feel they are like your true rivals. And now that they have lost, they are a forgone conclusion. Yeah, unless you are totally hardcore fans, nobody flocks around losers. So be thankful with all the support their fans have been giving throughout the years and be grateful that they have at least won it once. Hence continuing the pipe dream of defending champions winning the coveted title for a second consecutive year. It goes to show the tight competition with the many idol groups around because damn if the same idol group wins again, it shows that others have not much improved, right?

So with this brooding b*tch around, she shakes things up by calling Love Live a pariah and things so highly of herself. Well, jokes on her since she lost and now the memes are taunting and haunting her over her arrogance. How can such a high class musician lose in a third rate event? Is it me who is out of touch? Why, no! It is all of you who are out of touch! Yeah. That’s how I mostly feel about her character. Yes, it is easy to cast her as so but I guess they want us to look at her that way so that we can channel our support for Liella. The biggest irony that those Vienna people consider Kanon a better singer than her and imposed a condition on Margarete if she really wants to get into this prestigious music school. Probably I am thinking that those people aren’t really idol lovers but as music lovers generally, no one genre is inferior to another even though you do not like it. So perhaps this is to teach her a lesson and open her eyes about the diversity of music and how it brings everyone together. And now with Margarete donning Yuigaoka’s uniform, oh man, is Liella going to do the impossible and add another new member?! Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! Damn, I thought she would be Kanon’s replacement had the overseas stint happened. In the event of Margarete does become part of Liella, I wonder how it will affect the lucky number 9… Yeah, didn’t know I was this superstitious…

Speaking of dreams, I suppose the theme and goal of this entire franchise is to have people live out their dreams. But I have to tell you about the dark side of it all because not everybody is a winner. Because if everyone is a winner, then nobody is actually a winner. You see Liella and Kanon especially, spouting nice words about never giving up and trying hard to achieve one’s dreams. But for every single winner of Love Live, I bet there are hundreds and even thousands of school idols whose dreams are shattered every year. Uh huh. Easy for Liella and past winners of Love Live to say since they got theirs. Also bear in mind that this is a competition opened to school idols only so you have that limited time and number of times to participate. In the end, you don’t see the other losers as who knows how many gave up or start hating this idol thingy. Sorry to sound so grim but that’s the kind of reality I am thinking. Not everything is a bed or roses, you know. For Liella, they’re so lucky (because they are main characters!).

To make this year’s Love Live more suspicious, the preliminaries were done online. Sure, trying to mirror that Corona thingy in real life but I don’t think in the context of this anime, the virus might not even exist! So I feel it is some sort of sleazy excuse for the organizers not to add to the bulging costs because you know, you have to rent halls and all the equipment and other event organizing costs that go with it. Time is money! So what devilish idea for these idols to do their own stage and all, just send your participation via online! Voila! Let those girls do all the work since everyone is having their heads high in the clouds thinking they would be winning it while the organizers are quietly laughing how this saves them a lot of time, money and effort. And since it is online, who knows? The judges don’t even have to sit there the whole time to judge and can even skip the video! Select the ones we want to watch and pass! OMG. Yeah, because we don’t see other idols performing, I am going to highly speculate Liella’s supporters pulled some strings in the shadow to bribe the committee to make Liella pass! Oh damn! I mean, do you even know the judging criteria for this?! This is probably why Sunny Passion lost too.

As for the music, this season has its bunch too but as usual and it is no more surprising to me, I didn’t hear anything interesting that would pique my interest. Yeah, I guess my music tastes are very different, huh? You know I’m going to sound like a broken recorder at this point but I still have to say it. Because Start:Dash! still remains my only favourite song out of the entire franchise. Heh. Hence if I was the judge of this edition’s Love Live, you bet many will cry as I give them mediocre and low marks! So am I making the Love Live competition easy or tough? Thus for this season’s opening and ending theme, We Will and Oikakeru Yume No Saki De respectively, they just feel like normal and generic idol tunes to me. Nothing special. Of course the ending theme has a few variations in the sense that there will be solo versions of the song in addition to the whole Liella singing it.

With new Liella members, this means new casts in the line-up. Of course they don’t ring a bell to me and just like their senior counterparts, they have no other voice acting role outside this franchise. I mean, it is going to be tough on their schedule as they will be dedicating their careers as 3D versions of Liella too. So we have Nozomi Suzuhara as Kinako, Akane Yabushima as Mei, Wakana Ookuma as Shiki and Aya Emori as Natsumi. Not sure if Yuina who is the voice of Margarete will continue to be a solo artist as this is her debut and only voice acting so far. And yes, Mamiko Noto still around as Kanon’s mom and just making very rare appearances. But there is one that surprised me. Kinako’s mom is voiced by… Is that really Ikue Ootani?! OMG! It’s her! Kinako’s mom is Pikachu or Chopper!!! HAHAHA!!! Sighs…

Art and animation also remain consistent as you can see the high quality visuals put into the animation. From the backgrounds to your idol girls looking all cute and pretty. It’s all about the looks, no? The idols on stage are still done in CGI and they are decent to look at. After all, you don’t want those pretty idols to look so hideous and awkward, right? Idols performing on stage is all about the performance so they better look pretty and good up there. And by that, it means not only in their idol uniforms. While it is not exactly CGI masterpiece, I just hope other anime studios who want to employ such CGI would at least have this sort of level and not give us sh*tty quality.

Overall, this season is pretty average to me. Nothing really special or out of the ordinary. Even my ‘favourite’ funny girls eventually fall flat and the same fate too on the newer ‘favourite’ funny girl. Yeah, what was I really expecting? A fully blown out manzai comedy? In that case, came to the wrong series and genre! Here I thought my stint and journey with anything idol related has ended but looks like I will have to stick around and see that comes in the third season. I am guessing Liella will go on to achieve greater heights but hopefully they won’t come crashing down as fast as they did climbing up. Because if that happens, the superstar would have turned into a supernova! Galaxy!

Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai S2

I see the Love Live power and following are still strong. And so as to keep up with the tradition with the previous iterations, hence Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai S2. Yup. Even this one has got a sequel. Japan isn’t going to slow down in the idol business anytime soon since we have so many idol hungry and crazy fans out there that needs to be satiated with all the glitzy and kawaii idol style dance and music. Uh huh. Yeah, sometimes I wonder if I am a closet idol fan since I feel obliged to watch this. What closure was I trying to find with this series, I don’t know. Don’t ask.

Episode 1
Our Nijigasaki school idols just complete their epic application video. Hmm… Everyone in suits… Looks more like some secret service agents than idols… Anyway, they are hyped to play it during open campus. Shioriko Mifune of the student council greets transfer student from Hong Kong, Zhong Lanzhu. She is so eager to meet the idols that the moment she sees Ayumu, she gives her a big hug. Seems she came all the way from HK to be a school idol here. Why this and not other schools with better idols? She saw their video at the festival and was moved. That simple. Of course she is perplexed with Yuu’s case as she did not see her in the videos but yet she is in an idol club. She claims the club gives her dreams. Ayumu adds because others support her, she is able to live her dreams. Time for the big show to play the application video. Yeah, every student is anticipating this. And when the video goes up… WTF this blooper video?! How the f*ck can they mess up after all that intensive editing?! You think it’s cute, eh? Wait till YOUR embarrassing footage turns up! STOP THE VIDEO! So as to save this event, Lanzhu takes the stage and sings to everyone. Yup, her edgy solo video that will wow everyone. Despite everyone enjoying it, this was against school rules to perform right there so Shioriko has her write a formal apology. No buts. Before the idol girls can ask her to join, Lanzhu declines as she thinks this club won’t make her dreams come true as their ideals don’t match. She believes idols don’t need support from each other and all they have to do is give fan dreams. She will go her own way for the festival. Ah, there’s your obligatory rival development. Lanzhu then throws back the question to Yuu of why she is still in this club. She thinks she would be better off leaving it to pursue her dreams. Yuu praises how amazing Lanzhu is but will achieve her dreams in her own ways. Everyone here has the same feelings. May the best solo, uhm, group wins? See you at the festival.

Episode 2
While planning for the festival, Emma tells her pals that her friends from an idol club of another school will be doing a joint performance with them. They meet Jennifer and Rakshata from YG Academy. The duo also mention about watching Lanzhu’s performance yesterday and are confused she isn’t here. They clear the air that Lanzhu isn’t part of their club. Emma goes to try and convince Lanzhu again but once more, she declines because she can’t stand on a small stage with them. Meanwhile Yuu takes a supplementary exam in her music course. Also there is Mia Taylor who is part of Lanzhu’s groupie. Either she doesn’t care or she is so talented that she just comes in for a while, scribbles a few bits, gives back the sheet to the teacher and leaves. Later Yuu stumbles into her and talks to her and finds out that she doesn’t consider herself as Lanzhu’s friend. She writes the songs that Lanzhu’s wants to sing and via Lanzhu, Mia’s song will get noticed. That’s all to them. With Lanzhu having a fan site stating she will be putting up a surprise performance, Kasumi thinks of tailing her. And finding her weakness! Good luck. So with Emma, Rina and Kanata, they follow Lanzhu around be see her having fun shopping. And then suddenly out of the blue, Lanzhu is in her idol dress and puts up a performance on a garden stage. Not sure if she has a clone… After that, Lanzhu knows the quartet watching and invites them to her suite. She lives better than a princess! She asks about her performance. Great, of course. Lanzhu continues that this is what she wants to give to her fans and nothing beats all the fans adoring and giving her their attention. Is she some idol dictator? But Emma questions if that is what she wants. Of course Lanzhu is adamant she will be a solo artist and if she was in a club, she couldn’t be performing freely like this. The Nijigasaki girls beg to differ but Lanzhu is not buying it. After all, they cannot be compared! And if they still insist, feel free to prove her wrong. Later, Emma is still having doubts and thinks Lanzhu isn’t telling the truth. But she is certain Lanzhu came here after watching their performance and that’s why she can’t leave her alone. So the quartet are going to put on some amazing concert to convince her.

Episode 3
The quartet are all over the place so Rina suggests spending time with each other to get to know each other. You mean they aren’t? This means not only during club hours but sleeping over at each other’s place. So we see them brainstorm for ideas such as designing the kind of outfits they want to design. They have a long way to go… With a little polishing they could be better as stand-up comedians than idols… Meanwhile Yuu is having trouble. More like writer’s block so she seeks Mia’s advice. Well, pretty textbook answer of writing songs people want to hear and as long as you apply the stuffs you learn, you’ll be okay. Gee, uhm, thanks? So she talks to her Nijigasaki idol comrades and after giving her a bit of support, you bet that is going to work and she’ll have some confidence in herself. This gives Kasumi’s side some motivation too to get things done. And so that joint concert is here. Is it me or does their outfit suck?! Yeah, like as though they find some leftover quilt and turned it into some oversized wrapper or something. And they call themselves QU4RTZ. Typical idol performance that has all your generic background characters screaming with joy. But is Lanzhu moved? Hard to tell with that resting b*tch face. And of course Yuu has now renewed confidence and so it is her turn to make the grade. Her piano play so good that Mia’s interest is piqued. So can we safely say she made it because of that cute smile to her pals?

Episode 4
With the success of QU4RTZ, Ai wants to do an online performance to reach more audience. She’s also hinting in forming a unit. Any takers? Why is Emma looking at Karin? Karin still asserts she does it better competing with someone. Gee, that’s a weird way of saying I like it solo. You mean like Lanzhu?! Ai stumbles into Karin at the mall. She introduces her to her neighbour, Misato Kawamoto who has been playing a sisterly role for the most part of her life. So as they hang out together, Karin starts noticing something about Misato. She personally talks to her about her fake smile and it’s like something is bugging her. All Misato says is that she wants to support Ai. Karin talks to Ai about this and both are worried that she might be depressed. Ai wants to talk to Misato but Karin thinks it is better to leave her alone for now. However Ai can leave her onee-sama like that and will do all she can to make her happy. Ai goes to talk to Misato and of course the latter won’t say. This has Ai think of herself being at fault. Misato refutes that and despite all the positive talk, Misato puts a forlorn tone when she says she’ll continue to support her. Ai then talks to Karin how she was right. This makes her have doubts about being an idol now. Should she quit? Karin gets psychological and dares her. Maybe she’ll win Misato’s heart along the way. In that case Ai is going to continue being an idol. As for pairing up, Karin still refuses to pair up but Ai doesn’t mean that as accommodating her feelings. She wants them to stand on the same stage and compete with the same song. If she is looking from this perspective, Karin agrees. Now we see the duo as Driver Diva performing their spacey song live that is also streamed across the social media platform. Once the song is over, Ai is happy to see Misato here. Initially she didn’t have the guts to come but finally decided to. Misato looks sincerely happy and had fun watching her perform. Can she be her fan? Of course. Misato also has Ai to thank as she wants to be a person like her. Someone who can be a friendly rival to Ai.

Episode 5
Shizuku talks to Yuu because she plans to form a unit with Ayumu and Setsuna. Weird. Why ask her and not them?! So when Ayumu sees Yuu and Shizuku out together, you bet there is some sort of jealousy inside. She goes to tail them and since Setsuna is also there, the duo become pseudo detectives. Eventually the duo got busted so they made up a story that they’re here to watch some hero show. Then the quartet go enjoy themselves at the park since they’re there. Yuu and Shizuku reveal about their meeting to brainstorm for ideas about the new unit. So are you relieved now, Ayumu? While doing so, they stumble into Lanzhu. Again, HK girl thinks they’re all fooling around especially Yuu who just barely passed her test, she should stop hanging out in the club. It is because the other girls are spoiling her and that her dreams haven’t take off yet and is just overlapping with the ones around her. If she is satisfied this way, then she hasn’t created anything yet. I’m sure this earns their rebuke but Yuu thanks her kindness instead. Because of what she told her, she realizes she has a long way to go and is confident she’ll get there if she works hard and be positive. She hopes for a little more time if she is concerned for her. Lanzhu, concerned for her?! Never! Then we see Ayumu, Setsuna and Shizuku adlib some pseudo Beauty And The Beast play on stage. Not sure what’s going on. Wasn’t paying attention. Yeah, I’m sure it’s all amazing acting considering Yuu’s reaction.

Episode 6
Kasumi still going around to shoot footage for the festival. One day as Setsuna is being herself discussing stuffs with Ayumu and Shizuku, suddenly Shioriko comes in and sees this. She realizes Nana is Setsuna. Attempts to lie fail miserably. Of course Shioriko will not tell anyone since she doesn’t want to get in the way as Nana has contributed a lot to the school. But soon a problem hits. With a flood of applicants coming in and this will cause the venue to be working at over its usual capacity, there is a possibility the festival might be delayed. And waste everyone’s hard work? Of course when her idol friends hear about it and before Setsuna will go on an apology tour, they agree to help brainstorm for ideas. Uh huh. Setsuna trying to shoulder everything herself when she should know that the student council doesn’t only consist of the president. I take it that those tears means she accepts their help. After explaining to her student council members, they head straight into brainstorming for solutions. Didn’t pay attention to this boring part because all I know is that it is going to proceed because everyone agrees to help out as other schools also agree to participate in this. Before the festival begins, a video plays throughout the school. Nana making her speech and heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this possible. Then of course this is part of the plan to reveal herself to the world that she is also an idol named Setsuna. Just take off those nerdy glasses and undo those boring braids and voila! Here’s your new pretty idol! Some delighted and of course some in shock. Wow, did I hear one of the student council members letting loose a blood curling horror scream?! Shocking indeed. Together with Ayumu and Shizuku, the trio under the unit name of Azuna, start their performance. Once they are done, the festival officially opens.

Episode 7
Kaoruko who is Shioriko’s older sister was once an idol. However her group didn’t get past the qualifiers and hence their dream to Love Live ended. Yeah, so sad. Now she is a teaching staff in the academy. She thought Shioriko should also join the idol club but the latter believes she is best in cheering and supporting them. Later Kaoruko tells the Nijigasaki idols about her past. She felt she let Shioriko down. Of course this means those girls are now going to bug Shioriko to join their club. She stops them claiming she will not become that. True, she once idolized her sister and wanted to become like her. But she failed to achieve the results and her dreams shattered. She even quotes Setsuna about stop focusing on things you aren’t good at and instead focus on the ones that you are good at. That’s why to live her life to her fullest potential, she will support them. That way, everyone can be happy. Yeah, why does she look sad in saying that? And you know the girls won’t ‘accept’ this, right? But eventually it is up to Shioriko to decide and they have no say. But they decide to give it 1 more try to ‘convince’ her. They take her to have fun at the festival. This their true feelings? This is to let her know that they support her and thanks to her, this year’s festival is also a success. Cue for Shioriko to break down a little, claiming she was sad to see Kaoruko regretting. But Kaoruko clear the air that she did not regret it although she was disappointed. Just like she became a teacher to support her students, she believes she can support her to the fullest too. So I guess now Shioriko has this twisted reason that the reason she is supporting them from the side-lines is because she doesn’t want to be apart from school idols. Basically saying, she wants to be a school idol, right? And so Shioriko goes on stage and we see her own music video. Not the best and there’s lots of improvements to be made. But hey, everyone’s gonna support her, right? The idols extend their hand to her to sing with them tomorrow on stage. She declines since she has her duties to fulfil. But once this festival is over, can she come join? WHY OF COURSE! Big group hug! See, you’re already part of the gang. And why the f*ck Lanzhu feels sad in seeing this? Like as though the club just added another idiot that goes against her belief!

Episode 8
It’s the last day of the festival and the one doing the opening act is Lanzhu. The final performance which is to be done by the Nijigasaki idol club, seems empty. Turns out Yuu hasn’t completed the song they’re supposed to be performing. Holy cow. Can she actually make it in time?! I mean, you need to compose, arrange and practice… Worse, she’s having writer’s block right now. So as the final day gets underway, some of them go check on Yuu. She’s agonizing herself in different positions. I’m sure inspiration won’t turn up anytime soon… Shioriko thinks a change of pace is needed. So after talking to her pals, looks like she has an idea what she needs to write. There. So easy! The final act is coming up as everyone anticipates the ‘opening ceremony’. Yeah, some mini boat needed to reach the goal for the whole thing to start. Then it gets stuck! Oh shucks! So does this mean the idol performances are cancelled?! No silly. Lanzhu just goes on stage and start. After her turn, everyone else gets prepared. Mia notices Yuu down and talks to her. Oh, after watching Lanzhu so great, now she’s having depression on how to best that? I thought you’re supposed to do what you’re supposed to do?! If you’re easily influenced, you’ll never get things done! As Yuu talks about her friends and wants to be closer to them, it is then she realizes that is the thrill she wants. With Mia’s help, looks like she makes an overhaul of the song! Damn, the final day must last more than 24 hours! Because Yuu manages to play this song to her friends and they all agree to do it. Yeah, talented idols going to make it sound perfect in a short period of time. So the final performance is at hand as the Nijigasaki idols give thanks to everyone but this time gives the starting spotlight to Yuu as she begins playing her song before the idols start prancing to its full tune. Perfect. The best. What a blast. Later as the Nijigasaki idols celebrate, Lanzhu goes to congratulate them and even admits they have proven her wrong. They all did a great job and their feelings and resolve got through her. Hence coming here was worth it. Wow. That easy? So why doesn’t Lanzhu look happy?

Episode 9
Mia gets a message from Lanzhu that she has quit being a school idol and is going home. Mia won’t take this sh*t and still needs her to sing her music. It’s not over yet. Oh, but Lanzhu claims after seeing the idols at the festival, it made her realize she cannot reach that level. Is she saying Mia’s song isn’t up to standard? In that case, she’ll write the ultimate song for her. Then Shioriko stumbles into Lanzhu as they talk. Shioriko thought she made her mad with her previous statement and wants to apologize. Oh damn, it just makes Lanzhu feel awkward and run away! Once Mia is done and lets Lanzhu hear it, good as always but it’s not a song for her. Mia gets mad and forgets about it. So she’s giving up? Rina talks to Mia and learns that music is everything to her and without it, she is useless. She talks about music being important in her family. She loved singing when she was young but when she debuted, she was suddenly overcome with fear upon realizing how big her family name is in the music world. Ever since she has fears of living up to its standards. Of course Rina doesn’t know any of that and doesn’t care. If Mia loves singing, then just singing. Not for her family but for herself. That is enough motivation for Mia to rewrite the song. With the other Nijigasaki girls helping, Mia is on her way to the ultimate piece. However time is ticking since Lanzhu can’t wait and is leaving. Can the girls stall her at the airport. Seems like it. Stubborn Lanzhu is adamant she still won’t accept Mia’s song. Until Mia tells her that she is giving up and how she will reach her dreams. As long as you’re a school idol, everyone will accept you. That supposed to be the clincher as we hear Mia’s ultimate song. So it’s a song for Mia and not Lanzhu? Lanzhu goes on to explain why she can’t make friends and has always been alone until she saw solo idols performing together. The irony, right? Anyway, this is to help rebuild her friendship with Shioriko. And with Yuu thanking her for her words that made her move on, Lanzhu is back in business and Mia now considers her a rival more than a business partner. And the deal is made even sweeter as Lanzhu wonders if the offer is still open. You bet. Nijigasaki welcomes her as a new member.

Episode 10
Lanzhu, Mia and Shioriko are welcomed to the idol club. Shioriko trying to formally hand over her application to Setsuna but she isn’t the club president. Yuu? Nope. It’s Kasumi. Remember? Since Kasumi feels she isn’t treated like one, she is going to organize a special tour and slumber party to deepen their friendship. So we see Kasumi playing the tour guide as she guides her pals around town. All part of her plan to make others see she’s a capable president. So far so good. I hope. Then everyone stays at Shizuku’s place since it’s quite big. Kasumi again trying to show off her captaincy by winning games but she loses them all. Tomorrow will be the day, eh? With Rina creating a game app on their phones, they are to walk around town and tap on images of kittens that appear randomly. Hmmm… Where have I heard this game before?! I wonder if Rina will get sued for plagiarism… Niji High GO… Once again Kasumi fails to get any kittens and she thought she trained hard for it. The only others who didn’t catch any are Lanzhu and Shioriko. She thinks of teaming up with them to catch some but accidentally revealing her plan to get everyone to revere her. She gets embarrassed and gives an excuse to go find herself. The duo are impressed with her since she is honest with herself. Shioriko notices something has been bugging Lanzhu since. So she wants a group photo, eh? In the end, Yuu gets the most. Sorry Kasumi, getting 1 means you’re the wooden spoon. Yuu’s wish is that since she has written songs for all of them, she hopes they can come up with its lyrics. Then everyone praises Kasumi for being the best president since this won’t be possible without her. Yeah, all your worries were unfounded. That night after everyone plays their sparklers, Lanzhu gets her wish as everyone lines up for a group photo.

Episode 11
Kasumi is ecstatic as she heard rumours that their club may become official. Hey, if that is going to be true, it will have to go through Setsuna who is the school council president, first, right? Now that they have got some merits, it is possible they will be officially recognized. This means better rooms and all and even better, partake in official competitions. Like Love Live. Oh damn. How did I forget about this?! But first, the exams are coming up and some like Kasumi and Karin are close to the failing grade. Prodigy Mia is going to be your coach. Then there is the student council election coming up after the tests. Setsuna isn’t going to defend her seat as she has done what she needs to do. She wants to devote the rest of her time in the idol club. The rest are ‘boring’ scenes as they discuss about the club’s future. We’re all going to be in it, right? When Emma and Kanata spot a gloomy Karin, they go bug her. Basically, she is sad thinking that the seniors will soon graduate and be the first to leave the club. Feeling lonely? While they understand what she meant, they also imply that if you spend too much time worrying about the past or future, you won’t enjoy the moment now. That’s right. Enjoy each day to the fullest. Have fun now. Think about the future later. Then Karin has a brilliant idea. She texts the rest and they all come rushing down just to praise how good that idea is? So it’s just their first concert together, huh? I can see why everyone is so excited. It’s also to thank everyone who has supported them so far. It’s going to be the best concert ever. The tests are over and Kasumi barely passes. While everyone and Kasumi herself are happy because she didn’t fail, Mia is shaking her head. After all that coaching and just this average score? Yeah, it means Mia isn’t a good teacher, HAHAHA! Oh, Karin too gets the same average score… Hey, they’re idols. Not rocket scientists!

Episode 12
Preparations for the concert is on track. While everyone is willing to help the club, we see Yuu having some dilemma of hers. Yes, this music composition competition and she is hesitant of entering it. Ayumu then receives a mail from a fan from London who got inspired by her act. The problem is her friend wants to become an idol but there are no such clubs in their country. This leads to a talk on how idols are basically non-existent in some countries. ARE THEY SAYING WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL TO JAPAN FOR IDOLS?! Because of their busy schedule and circumstances, Yuu and Ayumu are not willing to go for it. Kanata sees Haruka practising so hard for the Love Live preliminaries. She tries to do something to cheer her up when Yuu talks to her about her dilemma. Later the same case for Ayumu. Since when did Kanata become some consultation expert? So I’m sure she has something to say but eventually she can’t give them any advice right now. Then some fan girls of Haruka seeks Kanata’s help. They want to support her but don’t know how to reach her. This leads to Kanata talking to her friends about it. Sure, they want to help but how? Until Rina comes up with a great idea that everybody can go along with. So on the day of the Tokyo Love Live preliminaries, you bet Haruka and the other girls are nervous. But then she receives a text from Kanata that links her to a live video streaming site. It seems the Nijigasaki idols and all their other friends have gathered to give one big cheer support. Yeah, everyone gets emotional but this gives them the much needed motivation to do their best. Now without the nervousness. This also leads to Yuu and Ayumu deciding to take their chance. Yuu will enter the competition and Ayumu will go abroad for a while. To celebrate this, Yuu has written solo songs for each of them!

Episode 13
Our girls are further motivated with all the fans showering them with words of encouragement and other stuffs. Then it is time for the big show. Yes, a medley of them singing their solo songs. Since it’ll take forever to showcase its full song (go buy their CDs, dammit!), we hear snippets and a few second of it. Sometimes it makes me wonder if they’re all lip synching because we see them reacting to fans and all while their song continues to play. Hmm… The newbies giving us a surprise and putting an end to the solo monotony as they go on stage to do their group act. Not in the script but it’s worth it. At least to the fans. During the break before the big final, time to see Yuu getting emotional with her own fans’ words of encouragement. Yeah, it’s to remind us she is very well part of the club. The big finale has all the Nijigasaki girls on stage and doing one big group idol song. But before that can happen, Yuu shouting how much she loves them all. Uhm, does she think the crowd will drown out her voice? Because it did not and they now notice her. Awkward. But a chance to let her speak her true feelings and that the club is here for them. Uhm, is this an idol club or some sort of troubleshooting club? Now can we end it with a bang? Splendid. In the aftermath, Shioriko becomes the new student council president. Being so liberal, she approves any new club. Gotta have fun, right? Others to note, Karin would love to try to get into acting, Kasumi sad her antique throne is rejected by the student council and Ayumu surprises her London friends. Wow. So Engrish…

At The End Of The Rainbow…
YAAAAWN!!! Oh, it’s over? Hopefully. Thank goodness. Yeah, you idol fanatics want to rip my head off but be thankful I am even watching this series! Heh. Here I am thinking if the Nijigasaki idol club has become a lot more famous lately, why aren’t there more people joining it? Does this mean that everybody has short attention span or everybody was just feeling it at the spur of the moment? I mean, when you have people from all over the world cheering for that big concert of theirs, surely it must have made some sort of impact and attract the attention of bigwigs, right? You know, say those Love Live organizers thinking of giving some special pass for them to join in the preliminaries… Oh heck, why am I being so paranoid and overthinking? As long as these Nijigasaki idols enjoy what they do, Love Live or whatever big legendary competitions don’t matter. As long as their fans love them for it. That’s the biggest prize they could get and I believe they already won it.

If I have to put it bluntly (like you have not guessed it already), personally I feel that this season is even much more boring than the first. So I guess this is good news that proves I am not an idol fan? Yeah, sure. Great. Not sure what that proves, though. Because I’m still gonna watch the next Love Live franchise, RIGHT?! Anyway, with a wholesome idol theme, what else the story of a sequel can focus on? I mean, they’re not suddenly going to drop a plot twist like an apocalyptic moment suddenly hits Earth and now our idols have to turn into freedom fighters to fight against the tyranny of alien oppressors with their music?! Oh, sorry. Wrong anime. Yeah. I figured that wouldn’t be the case. And so we go down the boring route of our idol girls trying to improve themselves more down the idol path. Sighs. BIG YAAAAAAAWN!!!

So the only interesting (term used very loosely) thing to note is that unlike other Love Live iterations, this one actually had new members joining the club. Not one, not two but three newbies! Wow. Such a great achievement. Of course the Nijigasaki idols aren’t really an official unit so it somewhat make sense that their door is open for others to join. The more the merrier. And holy cow, I sure did actually forget the plot of why these girls did not even enter Love Live in the first place. Unlike the first 2 iterations of Love Live, this one does not have a school shutting down problem. Therefore I quickly had forgotten why they weren’t really qualified to participate in Love Live and here I was thinking at the start that they weren’t interested in partaking in it. Yeah, the Holy Grail of the idol world and as an idol you don’t covet it? Something very wrong. You’re in the wrong club! So yeah, I’m even amazed I forgot about this fact. I blame the boringness. Heh.

Sad to say, the characters did not resonate with me, old or new. Last season we already had our original Nijigasaki members somewhat fleshed out. Or at least have a dedicated episode to focus on them and see if you would become a fan of that girl. Heh. This season doesn’t repeat that because of the subplot of the battle against Lanzhu. More on this later. Even my so called favourite girl, Kasumi, whom I liked because she was a really funny girl, wasn’t all that funny this time. Even if Kasumi tried to be just that in the later episodes towards the end, it was already too late. She’s just pretty meh like the rest. But don’t worry, I still prefer her over the rest because she is still the funniest. Yeah. And of course the rest don’t change much like Rina still hiding behind her sketchbook and Kanata the sleepy girl. Though, others are more forgettable like Shizuku and Emma.

Having tried the unique formula of being solo idols, at the end of last season we saw them forming performing as a group for the final performance. So why they didn’t keep that up is a mystery to me. Are they saying that they prefer being a solo idol? But of course to spice things up, hence they formed mini units of their own. Not that I can see how much better this is. Yeah, don’t get mad. I’m not really an idol fan so I’m just looking at a point of view that indicates this is more for variety entertainment purposes than anything else. After all, as I have pointed out that this season doesn’t have individually focused episodes, in order to give them some screen time to save time as well, hence the creation of mini idol units. So are they better in a group or as solo? I don’t know. You be the judge.

Lanzhu as a new character introduced this season, at first she was portrayed to be the rival for Nijigasaki. You know, with that condescending attitude and her strict views of what it means to be an idol as well as her b*tch resting face, it seems they were trying to troll us that she would be the antagonist of this series. The much needed rivalry needed for this series because what else can they do. Oh my. An idol series having a real antagonist? Of course there is not going to be any real animosity because had the Nijigasaki girls give in to their feelings, they would’ve lost. That is why Yuu was so cool all the way and instead of being confronting, she’s like being appreciative. Yeah, knocks you off your high horse, eh? And then in the end, it’s like suddenly Lanzhu admits defeat and becomes all meek. Uhm, is this the real Lanzhu? Since Nijigasaki idols are the main characters, obviously they’re going to win so as to rub it into our faces that their brand of idol is right. But so as not to vanquish the loser and to show us that Lanzhu wasn’t really the villain, hence the icing on the cake and win-win situation that she joins the club. I don’t know, but it feels like she just downgraded herself after all that superior talk about idols. But what the heck, as long as they’re happy where they are, so be it.

Something about Mia confuses me. So this American girl joined the club as an idol. Well, nothing wrong with that because I thought she was a composer like Yuu. Because as I know, Yuu is not part of the idol group (as I mistakenly thought she was in last season). While she is part of the club, she is not an idol herself. But now that Mia has joined them, I thought she would be like the same as Yuu but apparently it does not look like it. Unless I am wrong again so feel free to correct me. I am saying this because in the ending credits animation, we see the entire line-up of the Nijigasaki idols even after the newbies joined. Yuu is not part of it. But Mia is. I thought the club would benefit in having a second backup songwriter but the way I see it, Yuu is the one doing all the work. Oh right. I just remembered Mia’s history. So can one not be an idol and songwriter at the same time? Are both jobs mutually exclusive? Singer > songwriter? Well, she might have more talent in songwriting but she prefers singing more.

Last but not least, Shioriko. Typical girl who loves idols but got a setback since young just by watching her sister fail. You thought she would be happy just playing the supporting role but this doesn’t sit well with the rest so they had to bug her until she changed her mind. Yeah. That’s how I see it. I mean, she was seemingly happy with playing the background support role. But those pesky idols kept bugging her and asking her if she really wants to be that forever. Ladies, if somebody keeps pressuring me into something, I am more likely to do it either. Like when some annoying salesman trying to make me buy his product, damn I’m just going to buy it to keep him off my back! Yeah, that is how I feel for Shioriko’s case but thankfully everything turned out better for her so no case of regrets.

Unfortunately for this season, none of the songs resonate with me. For the umpteenth time, let me remind you that because of this, the first song from the first Love Live season and reiteration, Start:Dash! is still by far the best song of the franchise in my books. Nothing else has ever come close to it. Not even Mia’s so called ultimate song. Sorry girl, this means your ultimate song wasn’t that ultimate to begin with. Heh. So whether it is this season’s opening theme, Colorful Dreams Colorful Smiles or the ending theme, Yume Ga Bokura No Taiyou Sa, they just feel pretty generic to me. Did not move my heart a bit. Gentle reminder again, me no idol fan!

This season new casts, surprising to hear Youko Hikasa as Kaoruko but then again, I shouldn’t be since she has played a myriad of roles throughout the years. Oh heck, I shouldn’t be surprised as more established seiyuus often take up supporting roles in such genres. The others are Akina Houmoto debuting as Lanzhu, Shuu Uchida as Mia and Moeka Koizumi as Shioriko. Initially I thought a Chinese born national would be voicing Lanzhu (just like how one did for Love Live! Superstar) but apparently Akina Houmoto’s special skill is fluency in Chinese so that’s that. Yeah… And I suppose Shuu Uchida’s special skill is English because her Mia character often inserts Engrish English into her lines. Oh sh*t! I found out that’s true! Yeah, I’m thinking that for a Japanese if you master English, you can consider that as a special skill. Now we all know why we love Japan, no?

I don’t remember much about last season but if there is one thing I find a bit ‘annoying’ this season is that the animation of the girls singing on stage isn’t really much of an animation. Yup, you often see still pictures of them in action. While I get it that they might want to save time, energy and budget, I thought having too much of such still pictures would ruin the hype and moment. You know, being an idol is all about singing and dancing so it defeats the purpose if we can’t see them move around in their cute moves. After all, they still do employ CGI in such scenes and they aren’t as bad as how some animes have done it. So I don’t see what the problem is here. Or is there some director’s cut released later at a higher price that will showcase their full animation? Sneaky, sneaky…

Overall, I don’t blame you if you hate me for calling this season boring. Because really, it was nothing extraordinary or special to me. Thus I am going to say this again that only idol fans and those who are into music would greatly appreciate this idol genre. Even more so if you’re a big fanatic fan of the Love Live series. But it remains to be seen if this one would break the mould and have another season because it is unlike its other Love Live counterparts, it is more of a group consisting of solo idols, got new idols into their fold and with the possibility of becoming an official club, they have a chance and shot at the glorious Holy Grail. This means it is not impossible for this series to get another season considering these girls have not even getting started on Love Live. A new challenge for them all to undertake. After all, what is the name of this series and franchise again? But will that happen anytime soon? Oh well, perhaps somewhere over the rainbow…

Paripi Koumei

I was in a dilemma whether to watch Paripi Koumei at first. You know, having a certain famous tactician from the Three Kingdoms era being brought into our modern times doesn’t seem that interesting. Yeah, reverse isekai? Well, it certainly looked funny but more towards the sense of being weird. I mean, it feels at first a lot like WTF when you have an accomplished ancient Chinese strategist blending into modern times and what’s this, rapping?! Holy sh*t?! Is that true?! Definitely strange. Might have my hair stand on ends. After reading a few comments how they really loved how funny this show was, hence it was only right that I go take a look at myself and ascertain it myself. Yo! Yo! My man! How ‘ya doin’!

Episode 1
Fancy a history on the Three Kingdoms? Well, do your own reading up then! Zhuge Liang AKA Kongming AKA Koumei is now on his deathbed as he laments the wars on his era. He wishes to be reborn in a world with peace. And anime grants his wish! The next time the old and frail Koumei opens his eyes, he is in the midst of Shibuya partying on Halloween! Yeah, he thinks this is hell and all these people are hell’s minions. They take him to a club and he is amazed by the singing of Eiko Tsukimi. Wow. Hell isn’t so bad, huh? Eiko thinks nobody listens to her song but is surprised Koumei praises her. Next morning as she leaves, she sees Koumei sleeping in the streets and brings him home. Seeing himself in a mirror and realizing he is his younger version, he is shocked to learn all the new inventions and technologies. He wants her to teach him how to use a Smartphone. She’s going to regret it as he never stops asking questions! Then they realize he is speaking fluent Japanese. I don’t know. It means anime made you so. Then he stumbles upon the Wikipedia and reads the rest of the history of China. Sad, no? After hearing Eiko’s singing, he gets revitalized and wants her to help him look for a job. So she brings him to the club owner, Kobayashi. At first he is sceptical of this Three Kingdoms’ imposter and asks some questions pertaining his favourite disciple. Eventually he is satisfied with his answer and hires him. Turns out he is a Three Kingdoms fanatic. Koumei is now serving as a bartender. Making cocktails is easier than making tea?! Damn, this guy is good! Kobayashi has Eiko go on stage to sing as he warns Koumei never to betray her. The duo return home after their shift. Koumei learns she has her own problems and tried to commit suicide but Kobayashi saved her. Then she got inspired by an American singer, Maria Diesel singing at the club and strived to become one. However she keeps failing auditions and believes it is time to quit. She has no talent. Koumei wants her to have more confidence in herself because her music brought salvation to him. Hence he vows to become her tactician and make her dream come true no matter what.

Episode 2
Eiko has lots of dreams like performing at the largest music festival. But can she do that with only 208 followers? Kobayashi hands club tickets to Koumei so that he could scout other potential singers active in the area. They head down to a club where Mia Iriomote is performing. At first Koumei is puzzled with the low BPM and other stuffs that doesn’t seem to hype up the audience. Then she revs up everything and the audience goes wild. Now he understands her strategy. However he notes her great dancing and all that captivated the audience except her voice. It does not seem to captivate him. After the show is over, Koumei brings Eiko to go meet Mia in person at the backstage. Since Mia is her fan and learning she is an amateur singer, Mia then arranges for her to appear at an event she’ll be performing at and will send her the details soon. While Mia is ecstatic at this chance, Kobayashi and Koumei soon realize the true intention of this plan. Because Eiko is to perform at the exact same time with Mia but in another room, this is a ploy to draw in more audience to Mia’s performance since Eiko is a nobody. But with Eiko ‘ordering’ Koumei to bring her the crowd, you bet he is going to let her achieve victory. As their scheduled performance begins, Kobayashi recons the place. As expected, Mia’s hall is jam packed while you can count with your fingers and still have leftovers at Eiko’s hall. At first he got disappointed thinking Koumei is luring others here with drinks but before he knows it, the hall is soon packed with people. Koumei explains the strategy of trapping people and fooling their senses into not finding the exit and make them circle and come back here. This strategy was also well used during one of the wars in the Three Kingdoms (Stone Sentinel Maze) but this time utilizing modern materials. Although his strategy works, but the real reason why the people can’t leave is because they are enthralled by Eiko’s voice. In the end, Eiko steals the show and Mia is not very happy her hall became deserted. She blames her manager and forces him to make up by keeping tabs on Eiko’s social media. Eiko is in shock as her followers skyrocketed over a thousand that night. Well my girl, that’s just the beginning. Because Koumei is going to bring you over a million!

Episode 3
Eiko is over the moon with so many followers but Koumei doesn’t want her to rest on her laurels and lose sight of her goals. Hence he has already arranged for her to perform at an art fest live festival at a park. Since he sent videos of Eiko’s recent performance, the organizers were impressed and allowed her participation. Of course this was also done with the help of one of Eiko’s ardent fan boys. As they go recce the place, they realize they put first timer performers like her in secluded spots. Also, her performing spot is next to a popular indie band, Jet Jacket. Before the performance begins, Jet Jacket’s lead singer goes to say hi. However Kobayashi brings bad news as they are now experiencing issues with the sound and equipment. Jet Jacket goes back to start their performance as they think this will be good for them because if they’re successful tonight, they’ll land a major debut label. So while Jet Jacket gets started, Eiko is still left hanging. Apparently the equipment breaking down is all part of Koumei’s strategy. He had them pretend it is so because he wants Jet Jacket to go sing first as he has realized they have a fundamental weakness. Now Koumei will use part of the 36 Stratagems to create something out of nothing. Just as Jet Jacket is about to make an important announcement, Eiko starts singing and her blaring and lively music starts to attract the crowd. You see, only hardcore fans are at the front, closest to the band and those behind are just casual and not sure. When some fans want Jet Jacket to play their famous trademark song, the lead singer refuses and will only do so tomorrow. This has many soon leave for Eiko’s side. Koumei has done research on Jet Jacket and it seems the lead singer is frequent to have sore throats. Even more so their famous song puts a strain on his vocals and needs a few days to rest. Koumei’s concern is Eiko’s humility as her low self-assessment is what is holding her back. Koumei expects Jet Jacket to confront him afterwards and they do so, claiming he played dirty. However Koumei lets them drink some medicine that is soothing on the vocal chords. Then he asks them for their autograph. Hey, can’t stay mad at this nice guy, right? They leave and hope to have a fair battle with Eiko next time. Eiko’s performance is a success and she hopes to have more people hear her sing. Koumei will assure that but this performance has attracted a bigger fish.

Episode 4
Tsuyoshi Kondo is a big shot who organizes major music festivals in and outside Japan. Basically, a very influential person. Impressed at how Eiko drew a record crowd at her debut, he wants her to perform in one of the festivals he is organizing. He gives her 2 choices and basically Summer Sonia is the biggest deal with 300,000 attendees and the largest music festival in Japan. However a condition to appear in this festival is she needs to get 100,000 likes for the right to appear project. Be warned this project is hard as it is known to break up bands and have them go into obscurity. Only 1 group has been successful. While Kobayashi thinks she should take the safer route, Eiko dreams big and since she has her assurance AKA Koumei by her side, she will go for Summer Sonia. Kondo is pleased and will make the arrangements. Hope to see you there. But when Koumei laments this is going to be tough, oh sh*t, you mean we’re screwed?! Although he thinks they don’t have what it takes now, he believes part of the strategy to achieve that is to get a rapper. So while Eiko and Kobayashi rack their brains to get 100,000 likes, Koumei seems to be fraternizing with cosplay fans and girls. You jealous, Eiko? Oh well, better do what she has to. And that is to go practice her music. Koumei then brings her to a couple of clubs. It’s like this guy knows everybody now. Then there’s a club where this famous DJ has returned to Japan. Eiko is furious he goes off the do his own thing so she too goes off to do her own thing. Later when he talks to her, she learns he was gathering lots of info by asking around. He has devised a lot of strategy too but only time will tell which one will be best. He didn’t involve her since it is best she concentrate on her music. Eiko fully puts he trust in him and reveals her dream to perform at the world’s largest EDM festival, Voicell Land in Belgium. Of course she needs to be a top performer to get there and that’s why she is telling this dream of hers to him that she has told no one else. She then lets him hear a new song she wrote. Can this net her 100,000 likes?

Episode 5
Kobayashi tells Eiko that Koumei intends to bring a rapper to perform at his club. So why is Eiko imagining some burly guy smashing things?! Now we see this strange kid known as Kabetaijin being paranoid and fearing anyone who comes speaks to him. Apparently some know the famous rapper he is because he won the freestyle rapping 3 years in a row. However, looks like he is in a fallen state and will not go back to that again. Until the legendary Sekitoba Kung Fu, the previous rap champion confronts him and wants him to rap battle again. Kabetaijin refuses as Sekitoba starts rapping in an attempt to make him come back. It doesn’t work as Kabetaijin runs away. It seems Kabetaijin has a trauma after winning his last championship. He collapsed on stage due to stomach ulcer. The pressure built up each time he won until it reached such levels. He believes if he is out of this business, he won’t have to feel such pain again. So why is he trying so hard to write down some rap notes or something? Then as he goes to do his laundry, he spots Koumei. Oh boy. Not another weirdo. Better not make contact. Too bad he can’t help point out he looks like the real Koumei so Koumei takes note of this and tells some old Zhou state story. Of course Koumei knows who he is and wants him to pair up with a singer for a certain event. He can even tell from his sick face that he has stomach ulcer. Is this guy God?! However Kabetaijin claims he is done rapping and that is when Koumei raps before him! Oh wow! Slick! Since Kabetaijin is still not somewhat convinced, Koumei proposes a rap battle between them. If Koumei wins, Kabetaijin will join him. If Koumei loses, he will grant him a wish. So now he’s a genie? Yeah, sourpuss Kabetaijin still not impressed. He just wishes everyone would leave him alone but the words of Sekitoba and Koumei keep ringing in his head. You know what this means, right? When Koumei tells Eiko about his plan and is very sure a rapper will drop in, there you go, Kabetaijin is here on pretence he is just checking things out and will leave once he is done the soonest. You know he’ll be proven wrong, right?

Episode 6
Eiko is up on stage singing an old song that Kabetaijin knows. This brings him back to those days in high school. It was a fellow classmate, Sasaki who introduced him into the world of freestyle rap. There, Kabetaijin soon found his calling and started happily rapping away. But enough of those nostalgic memories, his stomach is hurting again so he decides to leave. But that is when Kobayashi as the emcee calls him out because it is his turn to rap and face off with Koumei. At first Kabetaijin didn’t want to do it until Koumei says it in his face that this is his first time rapping and will not lose. That was enough for Kabetaijin to take the mic and head on stage to start an epic rap battle. Oh damn, Koumei can rap pretty good either! Words too fast! Brain can’t process! From what I can hear, it’s basically Kabetaijin trying to refute Koumei but at the same time making him realize his true calling. At the end of the round, both draw. Extra time. Koumei goes rapping some ancient Chinese poem and with Kabetaijin’s answer indicating he is back into this game, the crowd loudly cheers for him. Officially Kabetaijin is the winner. He also realizes that his stomach doesn’t hurt anymore but feeling that motivation welling inside. Backstage, Koumei will grant him a wish as promised. However Kabetaijin doesn’t need any because all he wanted was to be back on stage as a rapper and he already got it. Flashback shows how Koumei went around soliciting info about Kabetaijin and in a way helped make a drink that soothed his stomach. Koumei invites Kabetaijin to join them in realizing peace throughout the world via music. Kabetaijin agrees to join them. This is all part of Koumei’s strategy of showing what the enemy wants and how they’ll benefit and in no time they will join you on their own accord.

Episode 7
With Kabetaijin joining Eiko, this has increased her popularity but still far away from getting 100,000 likes. Koumei has come up with a few strategies. One of them being done on a single post instead of multiple posts. He has also identified the top 3 runners in contention for Summer Sonia. In top spot is Ice Born (60k likes) followed by Salesio Teikoku (40k) and Azalea (10k). However he believes Ice Born and Salesio Teikoku has reached their peak. Due to constant publicity, people have become bored with them and they can no longer peak further. They have to watch out for Azalea. Not because their lead singer, Nanami Kuon has a great voice but they are backed by a major agency, Key Time. They have a reputation of doing what it takes to get what they want. Koumei will only have Eiko’s single post to be posted exactly 3 days before the deadline. In the meantime, Kabetaijin is to enter a rap battle with Sekitoba while Eiko is to polish up her new song. Koumei also hands Eiko a few errands. One of them is to get some bamboo shoot puddings. Next, she heads down to a studio to meet some legendary DJ, Steve Kid. It seems Koumei has agreed to become his tactician if Nanami fails. Normally he would charge 10 million fees but seeing Eiko has bought those bamboo shoot puddings, he gladly takes them as payment and has her sing a Maria Diesel song. While he praises her voice and its various range, however she is missing her own voice. He can’t see her in her singing and doesn’t want her to come back until she does so. Better hurry. Deadline is in 2 weeks. Eiko’s last errand is perhaps street performance. That is probably why Koumei got her a street licence, right? She is enthralled by a street performer singing solo. However the police start to question her if she has a permit. No? She is about to be given a ticket when Eiko claims she is her friend and shows the permit. The police lets them off the hook but continue to watch. This girl, Nanami suggests they perform together. They do so and start attracting a large crowd. Feeling they are on a roll, they agree to meet again tomorrow to perform together.

Episode 8
Next time Eiko meets up with Nanami, the latter brings a bass guitar. As expected, they make a killing with the crowd. The more she performs with her, the more confidence Eiko gets. Back at the club, Kabetaijin talks to Eiko. He wants her to sing her new song. While she does so, he starts improvising his rap. While it sounds great, they both realize they still lack something. More Eiko-Nanami bonding. They’re even attracting the crowds at the public bath as they sing. Are your souls soothed? Then they have a meal together as Eiko asks why she is good at singing. Nanami seems reluctant to tell and just says she has experience so Eiko assumes she just needs to sing a lot to get better. Well, not entirely wrong. Kabetaijin on the other hand meets up with Sasaki who is now a YouTuber although he doesn’t have much followers. They catch up on times as Sasaki gives him a great deal of motivation to face Sekitoba. Later Kabetaijin is going to save a kid from being bullied by his classmates. But that kid manages to rap back to stave them off because his brother is a big fan of his. With Eiko’s latest street performance with Nanami, she thinks she has improved a great deal and now it’s time to face that Kid jerk. After they part, Nanami gets a call from her manager, Toshihiko Karasawa.

Episode 9
Karasawa warns Nanami to stop what she is doing and never to see Eiko again. Kid admits Nanami has improved but still has a long way to go. This means she has to figure out what she is singing for. It is obvious Eiko is a bit depressed so Nanami tries to cheer her up. Eiko remembers the last errand from Koumei. Tickets to an observation deck? Meanwhile Kabetaijin continues to hang out with Sasaki and his friends who will support him until his battle with Sekitoba. At the observation deck, Nanami reveals the truth to Eiko that she is that Nanami of Azalea. Eiko cannot believe it because she doesn’t look or act like that member. Time for a flashback. Nanami and her classmates formed a band in high school. Safe to say, they wanted to play music for the rest of their lives. But after graduation and moving here, they found it hard to make a living as a musician. They were still okay then when Karasawa showed up and wanted to be their manager. However he rubbished their brand of music and wanted them to sing his if they wanted to become famous. Of course they rejected his proposal and continued their own way. Soon reality hits because they cannot attract the crowd and have to do more part time jobs just to pay the bills. At breaking point, that was when Nanami bowed her head to Karasawa and wanted him to give them a chance. This means following every instruction of his, including wearing this skimpy brand of outfit. In no time, they’re hitting the sales and fans. When the money started rolling in, Nanami needed a breather and headed out. That’s when she stumbled into Eiko. Singing with her made her realize she doesn’t want to sing Karasawa’s songs. But Azalea is no longer about them and she doesn’t want to betray the fans and staffs who supported them. Eiko also tells her secret about the 100,000 likes project. Knowing Nanami’s background, she feels her own problem pales in comparison. This is when Eiko starts to sing in hopes her voice reaches her. When it does, Eiko comes to realize what it means to sing for. Another call from Karasawa. Looks like Nanami has to head back and face the demon. But warns the next time they meet, they’ll be rivals. Is that a bad thing?

Episode 10
Eiko has a rematch with Kid. Long story short, Eiko surpasses expectations so Kid agrees to rearrange her song. Nanami is back practising with Azalea. However Karasawa is not pleased there is some difference in her and he wants her to forget what she did in the streets and put all her focus and energy in the song. Their success depends on it. Then he drops a sudden announcement on them that in a few days they will do a surprise concert that is sure to guarantee their spot in Summer Sonia. If they fail to qualify for this, their dome tour will be a distant dream. So just follow his instruction like usual, huh? While Azalea thinks this is meaningless because it is just buying likes, Karasawa that how success is measured. Or do they prefer to go back to their band days that doesn’t sell a ticket? Nanami laments she is at a point where she cannot compete on the strength of her music alone. Now we see Kabetaijin’s rap battle with Sekitoba. At first he is nervous and going to get his stomach pains again. But remembering his friends and all, he now has better confidence. He goes on stage for Sekitoba’s revenge match. Long story short, before the crowd can pick who the winner, Sekitoba announces Kabetaijin as the winner. And that’s that. More importantly, Kabetaijin back to having loads of fun rapping on stage. Eiko sings Kid’s rearranged piece. So powerful that it blasts Koumei back to the past! Or at least relive his memories when he pledged his loyalty to Liu Bei. Of course this isn’t the end yet as Eiko still needs to improve a lot. This means renaming her new song’s working title from Roppongi Udon Shop to Dreamer. Yeah. Sounds much better.

Episode 11
Fans are frantically searching Shibuya high and low where Azalea is rumoured to make their surprise performance. There is also a rumour that if they scan on their QR during the show, 100 lucky random people will get a million yen! WOW! Better start looking! Karasawa’s goal to have Azalea perform at Summer Sonia is to make them widely known. He knows they will never betray music even if they come to despise him. So as Karasawa’s crew start moving out to a certain location at Shibuya. It seems Koumei has also set the same place as their showdown. So when a truck pops up, the crowd thinks it is Azalea when it is actually Eiko. Because of the fog and Eiko singing an Azalea’s song, the crowd thinks it is a real deal. So when Karasawa gets news of it, he realizes somebody is trying to impose as them and steal their likes. Of course this is all part of Koumei’s famous strategy to borrow from the enemy as with his famous Battle of Chibi whereby he ‘borrowed’ 100,000 from the enemy. Now those arrows are the likes. However their likes stopped at 70,000 when the crowd starts to realize they aren’t the real Azalea. Now the real one shows up and starts performing. Their likes counter starts skyrocketing and Karasawa is expecting to get more than 100,000. What is 70,000 but a mere chump change to the enemy, right? Nanami spots Eiko watching her and starts to panic inside. She fears her watching her like this because this is not the real her. But Eiko knows that the real Nanami is way better than this. Once the performance is over, Koumei has another set of strategy commence. Kabetaijin starts his rapping to diss Azalea as fake. Eiko’s fan boy then starts to spread rumours this is also the fake Azalea and not to be scammed by their fake QR. This has some withdraw their likes but hardcore fans start to defend their favourite band. They tell Eiko’s side to GTFO but Koumei knows once Eiko starts singing, the tables will completely turn.

Episode 12
Nanami tells the hardcore fans to keep quiet. This allows Eiko to sing Dreamer it will stun the crowd. This even brings Nanami and her bandmates to tears. They realize they don’t want this fake and be the real selves. Karasawa realizes he is too late. He thinks of dropping their new unreleased song now but looks like Azalea isn’t listening to him. Once Eiko finishes belting out, Kid puts in his final vote to reach 100,000 likes! Karasawa realizes Eiko’s announcement today to compete for the 100,000 likes project. Azalea return to their old self as they start banging as a band. Not much of a crowd and those who stay back are their hardcore fans who continue to still love them. This has Karasawa telling them if they really want to make a career in music like this. They remain adamant this is their way to go. This is where Koumei steps in as he tells Karasawa he is ‘returning’ the likes to them. Koumei has uploaded Azalea’s performance online. Now we see many people flocking to try to catch a glimpse of them. Despite breaching over 100,000 likes now, it is meaningless as Eiko was the first and hence she had won. But as pointed out, these likes are very much different and you bet this crowd have pretty much fallen in love with the real Azalea. Back at the club, everyone celebrates Eiko’s success to perform at Summer Sonia. Koumei talks to Karasawa who still isn’t impressed with it all. He can tell from his experience how such pretentious acts will only see them disappear in no time. Koumei knows Karasawa too was in a band but was betrayed by his bandmates (holy sh*t! Is this Japanese’s KISS?!). That’s why he wanted to make Azalea a success no matter what. Koumei points out his girls are the one who believed in him the most but Karasawa remains sceptical that this is all too familiar a scene in music. Now the girls are strong enough to stand on their own without his backing. On the contrary, Azalea still want him to bring them success. Just that they want to do things their way. Karasawa is fine with whatever they go with as long as it doesn’t interfere with his firm stance that to him, music is business. With that, he’s going to make a reborn Azalea stars again. Eiko goes to thank Koumei for his help. But he thanks her instead because it is her who achieved it with her own strength. His wish to live a peaceful life with no wars came true and he is able to appreciate music. To more future success? Definitely. Well Eiko, the crowd is calling you. Encore! World peace via music is on track. If this is volume 1, I wonder how volume 2 will be like…

Yo! Man-ce Of The Freestyle Rhythm
Well… I guess this show is kinda okay. So now that I have seen it myself, I can definitely say it wasn’t as funny as I was hoping it to be. Yeah. Looks like I’ve been tricked by those comments once more. But it was a good trick since this show isn’t that bad and I didn’t regret watching it. All you anime noobs out there really laughed your ass off, eh? For those who really thought the first few episodes were funny. Funny, yes. But on my level and standards of funny, it has to be of the parody kind of level like Gintama or at least super stupid (for example, Pugyuru and that condom battle anime…). Or at least even on the levels of Fantasy Bishoujo Juniku Ojisan To or Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu. Yes people, I was having hopes imagining Koumei in full rapper gear. Baggy loose clothing and gold chains around his neck! Yup, even to a point imagining him using lightsabers! Don’t ask how I even thought of that!!! But thankfully, Koumei managed to keep his integrity and respectful image right till the end and that isn’t so bad a thing. Phew. At least they didn’t reincarnate him as a female! Double phew!

The story isn’t anything elaborated or complex. It is your simple and typical underdog story, music version. That’s right. A singer wannabe who has no luck in getting famous stumbling into the right person who would bring her the ultimate dream. It is just that replace that manager with a tactician from the past. Uh huh. That’s pretty much the biggest difference or twist in the formula of such shows. Otherwise there isn’t much to it in terms of the storyline as we see budding singer Eiko trying to make it big and the second half stretch of this series is like the ultimate test-cum-battle for that next stepping stone in her music career.

So yeah, Eiko hit the jackpot the moment she hired Koumei as her manager. Oops, I mean tactician. But of course you can see that despite Koumei’s brilliant strategies he adopted, it is mostly Eiko’s efforts that ultimately brought her the success. All Koumei did was just to give her a little push. The rest was all up to her. It is very evident and very relatable in today’s world and era too. Because all everybody and each and every one of us needs is just that small chance. No matter how minute it is, you must grab it and as we have seen the greatest lesson and wisest move Eiko did was that. That is what separates the haves and have nots. This is what success is made of. Every huge success came starting from a little small step. Koumei just provided that support and now it is up to Eiko on how bright and far she wants to shine. The sky is the limit? Oh, I’m sure Koumei will bring you further and to the next galaxy! Oh heck, with Eiko getting more and more famous at this rate, I bet she doesn’t need Summer Sonia and could give it the skip and go straight to Voicell! That’s the true dream, right?

From first looks, I would expect Koumei to be the main character throughout the season. Well, although he is still the main character, I started to notice that he would soon be less and less prominent compared to the initial episodes. I believe this is on purpose because as a tactician, he is not supposed to be the main star or be too flashy in the frontlines but working in the shadows to support. Hence in this context I think Koumei not being given too much prominence in the second half is pretty reasonable. Of course he shows up at important moments but ultimately when Eiko starts to get the hang and direction of her life, the series then started to focus more on her and Koumei slowly being relegated to the background. After all, can’t stand out because of his ‘shady’ past. I guess Koumei gets a real pass from being asked his background because he gets the results, huh? Real or not real, hell yeah I want this guy on my side if it brings me the fame and fortune!

So I have to admit that it was interesting to see how Koumei employs his famous strategies for Eiko’s success (although very sparingly on average once per episode). By comparing and utilizing them during those ancient warring days to the current modern times, well, it really shows that human nature does not change very much in general, huh? I’m not really a big Three Kingdoms’ fan but I did read a bit of the classics here and there and of course there are some important chapters and strategies that I am familiar with. Yeah, this helps when Koumei explains the basics about it and this is important because I won’t be looking so lost! Uh huh. Since I know such tactics, I won’t be busting and racking my brains to think hard about it. So that’s why it’s nice and great to see him employ such tactics but improvising and using modern technologies and tools. Hence every start of each episode, we have a narration that tells us about Koumei’s strategies or some Three Kingdoms’ story-cum-tactic that was used in the original setting as well as the previous episode’s getup. Basically a short previous episode recap. Did you take down notes? For the record I didn’t ;p.

I am sure that they want to make Koumei live up to his legendary reputation as a brilliant strategist and tactician and that is why all his plans fall into place like a domino. In fact, sometimes it goes so smoothly that it makes me feel sceptical although I believe this is very much for entertainment purposes. Because of this, I had a conspiracy theory that perhaps Koumei could be some sort of mind reader or can tell the future. Or worse, he had a script in hand of this anime when he got reborn into this modern times! Holy sh*t! I mean, as brilliant as Koumei really is, he is still human and as you know, humans aren’t perfect. But to see all his strategies actually come to fruition right down to the last detail and second, that makes it all really unbelievable. Like as though he knows everything. EVERYTHING! Also, do you actually see Koumei in panicking mode? I mean, really panic. He is always as cool as a cat and it is true that one must keep calm in such times, Koumei doesn’t even break into a sweat. Like as though he knows 1000% that it will definitely come true. So is Koumei some sort of prophet or clairvoyant person? Or is this his second time reborn because the first time he went through and made all those mistakes, he made another wish to redo it again! Now with utmost perfection! Which also partly explains why he is fluent in Japanese because he’s had lot of practice before. Oh sh*t! Better stop my dumb conspiracy theories now before they get out of hand.

The other supporting characters feel barely there. Like Kabetaijin sometimes I feel he is a bit redundant except for the fact they needed a bit of music variety for the series. We have got a strong and potential singing voice in Eiko for the indie music scene so at least to spice things up, they added a hip hop rapper to the fold. I felt that this could be done without but without Kabetaijin, it would’ve been a lot boring if Eiko was just the main star alone. After all, her character’s fleshing out wasn’t that deep to begin with. Sure, we saw her short glimpse of a troubled past and redemption but that’s just about it. The same can be said for Kabetaijin. Nothing too deep and whatever his worries or problems has been resolved. Thanks to Koumei, right? Hence his battle with Sekitoba feels like a side distraction and some sort of fast track redemption to get back on his feet. That’s about it. Even Kobayashi isn’t really that prominent. He looks out for Eiko for the most part but I guess as a fatherly figure, he doesn’t want to impose too much on her. Then there’s that unnamed and secret ardent fan of Eiko who became Koumei’s ‘spy’ and did all the things behind the scenes. Feels more a character created for plot convenience but I suppose we won’t know what is going behind the shadows because that is what supporting characters are supposed to do, no? I wonder what happened to that manipulative Mia. I thought she would pop up somewhere but looks like they’ve totally forgotten about her. I thought she was to keep tabs on Eiko? Has Eiko risen too much and fast for her to keep up? Well then, I guess it is better for this gym freak to hit the gym than to focus on her music.

Karasawa feels like your antagonist of the series but I assure you he just looks and sounds like one and is very far from being what a villain should be. Making it worse on our biasness to label him as a baddie, the narrative makes him look so. I mean, stubborn old guy who doesn’t smile who enforces his strict method on his girls just to that they can become #1. Doesn’t sound like fun, eh? At the end of the day, Azalea is there just to be Eiko’s stepping stone to reach to the next heights. So as not to end on a sour note for Azalea, hence they have been ‘reborn’ to their true form (doing what they truly love, that is). This their loss was some sort of wakeup call and redemption they needed very much. Sometimes you need to lose in order to win. Heh. Made that up. Not sure if that is one of Koumei’s strategies either.

It is perhaps in Azalea’s case where many failed musicians can relate. The dilemma of juggling between reality and dreams. It is all fun and games until it really hits hard on your pockets. What is talent but without fame and money? Hence Karasawa’s strict methods was to avoid Azalea from falling into the same trap. The music industry is just like any other industry with its fair share of cutthroat competition. So the fans who want more of such stuffs are the true baddies? Well, if there is demand, then there should be supply… Karasawa could have had a better back story fleshed out of why he wants to make Azalea to world’s #1 band (for revenge against his traitorous bandmate, I suppose) but we don’t get any of that this season. Just enough so that we don’t completely label him as a villain, that’s all. Hence it was a win-win situation for both Eiko and Azalea and both their managers-cum-tacticians. After all, those who really love music cannot be the bad guys, RIGHT???!!!

Art and animation are quite good. You can see the top notched quality especially in the backgrounds and sceneries where all the colourful lights are light up and all. Seeing this anime was done by P.A. Works, unfortunately no hot cute girl spotted for me. Yeah, Eiko and Nanami were just barely winging it for me as they look like generic anime cute blond girl and generic anime cute black long silky smooth haired girl respectively. As for some of the other character designs, it is obvious that Koumei has been given the anime treatment. Look how gorgeous he is in his 2D anime form. I know, because people like us often see him in those ‘ugly’ sketches that are supposedly his true face. Some characters look pretty familiar like Kabetaijin, I thought he was Waver from the Fate series! In an alternate reality where he wasn’t fighting for the Holy Grail, he was a rapper! HAHAHA! Nanami in her Azalea costume, she looks like Hestia from DanMachi. Kid reminds me of Jouichirou from Shokugeki No Souma. Then there is Kobayashi who somehow reminds me of Larry King… Hmm… There are some CGI employed too but those are used sparingly and does not interfere with the rest of the animation.

Voice acting is pretty okay and nothing spectacular. However for Eiko and Nanami, they have separate voices for their speaking and singing roles. I guess Kaede Honodo and Hibiku Yamamura weren’t good enough to have their voices doubled as singers, eh? Don’t kill me. And hence they got 9Neko and Lezel respectively when their characters start belting out their pieces. Now you know why their singing voices sound so amazing, eh? Is this where they jump start their music career? Only time will tell… The only seiyuus I recognized are Natsuki Hanae as Eiko’s ardent fan, Hochu Ohtsuka as Kondo and Yu Kobayashi as Mia (man, it feels like a long time since I’ve heard from her). The rest are Ryotaro Okiayu as Koumei (Byakuya in Bleach), Jun Fukushima as Kobayashi (Kazuma in Konosuba), Shouya Chiba as Kabetaijin (Kou in Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun), Mitsuaki Madono as Karasawa (Apoo in One Piece), Subaru Kimura as Sekitoba (Issa in 3-gatsu No Lion) and Daichi Endou as Kid (Twice in Boku No Hero Academia).

Is it safe to say that this series is of the musical genre? Well, I guess it’s better than all those other idol shows, right? Anyway, music playing a big part of the series here, unfortunately none really resonate with me. Sure, the songs that Eiko sings are pretty cool and okay but it’s not like I am charmed by her voice and want to go listen to them again. Yeah. The more intriguing one is the opening theme, Chikichiki Banban by Queendom. Oh yeah. This song is addictively weird! Definitely a disco dance song but the weirdest part is seeing the characters doing some sort of slow hand movement dance! It’s so easy to copy (and somewhat addictive) that I bet even your grandpa and grandma can go with the flow! Might not be the next Gangnam Style buy whatever. Take it from the top again! Chance x chance, chikichiki banban… Chance x chance, chikichiki banban… The hip hop ending theme isn’t that bad either. Kibun Joujou by Eiko starring 96Neko has a catchy tune and its lively jazzy fanfare gets you into the groove. Honestly, I prefer these songs than those sung by the characters in the anime.

Overall, this anime is quite okay and it isn’t all that bad. It has a good mix of comedy and likeable characters with easy to follow plot. If you love music, then you would want to check out this anime. But so sorry for Three Kingdoms or historical fanatics, this isn’t the anime for you. It is yet to be seen if this will get another season because if it does, I’ll be there to watch Eiko’s next step to glory and of course I’m curious to see how Koumei pulls it all off without shedding any blood. Heh. Hopefully another season to flesh out better the story and characters too. Yeah, shockingly P.A. works decided to take a break from doing original animes and went for a manga source. Now I wonder if there’ll be a trend (hope not) to take dead historical figures and bring them into our modern era to see how things will work out. Imagine if Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte and even Adolf Hitler gets thrown into today’s party music scene! They’ll instantly turn in their graves! Yeah, I can’t imagine these war generals getting down and rapping 16 bar verses!

Love Live! Superstar

Apparently I was mistaken in my previous blog about this Love Live! Superstar series. I thought it was going to be a clash between all the previous idols in the Love Live franchise but apparently it was not going to be a battle royale from the best of the best. This is actually another new group and franchise of the series. Yes, that’s right. Another new set of idols to grace of screens so that they can trap more fans and milk them dry by brainwashing them to buy their merchandise and attend their concerts. OOPS!!! I mean, the idol industry isn’t slowing down in Japan anytime soon and since this Love Live Franchise has been going on for years, how do you keep it fresh and going? That’s right. New group. New girls. Are we ready for them to reach superstar status?

Episode 1
Kanon Shibuya has always wanted to make others happy with her singing. Only 1 problem: She has stage fright. Whenever it comes to the real deal, she freezes up and even faints! The dream is so far away… So now we see her a bit moody, a bit rebellious and even wearing a headphone as she walks to school so she doesn’t have to hear others. But for a short period of time, she gets lost in her singing fantasy and this attracts a Chinese girl, Keke Tang. So infatuated with her great voice, she chases Kanon down! Kanon escapes from her but looks like destiny screws with her as Keke is in the same class with her! Oh, Keke wants to form an idol group? A weird recruitment drive as Keke keeps chasing Kanon. Keke continues to beg Kanon to join her idol group and of course you can tell from Kanon’s face, she isn’t so confident about that. This commotion catches the attention of Ren Hazuki who warns of doing something so frivolous. Uh oh. Is she one of those b*tches who looks down on idols like as though they are the pariah of the music industry? Kanon protests and argues back about that but has to keep her mouth shut when asked if she herself wants to be an idol. Kanon just tells Keke that she loves to sing but has no talent for that. You bet Keke isn’t convinced and tries to do more coaxing at her place. Kanon eventually revealing the big truth behind it. But she’ll help Keke find some other potential members. Later Kanon talks to her friend, Chisato Arashi about this. She learns that Ren is the daughter of the founder of this school. Yup, beware. There are a bunch of idol haters around… In school, Kanon tries to help recruit. Not going well. Even getting scolded by one of her own classmates, Sumire Heanna. WTF?! Did you need to be a b*tch?! She just asked you if you wanted to join?! And of course they have to stay away from Ren’s radar. At the end of the day, no new recruits. Keke still thinks she wants Kanon to join. Kanon still refuses. Did she forget what she told you? Argument. Accidental dropping of pamphlets. Oh. Drama. Please try. Because Keke will continue to bug you. Still stubborn, huh? But it’s time for plot convenience to weave its magic because suddenly Kanon has a change of heart. What’s this freedom she yearns when she sings? And just like that she turns back to Keke and tells her she loves to sing. Ah yes, the cue for Kanon to belt out her own idol piece. Great, right? Noticing that this has attracted many bystanders who are so enthralled by her singing, I guess this is the little push she needs to make her rethink she can do this idol stuff. Yeah! She can sing without fear now! Believe it, hallelujah!

Episode 2
You bet Kanon is all over the moon for overcoming her phobia. Well, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Because bad news. Keke tried to apply to establish an idol club but Ren rejected it. They confront her and of course that dumb reason that makes idol songs like the bottom of the barrel in the music hierarchy. Yeah, so many idols around and if they don’t keep up, it will tank their school’s reputation. Our music must be superior in all aspects! So, no. B*tch. If they still insist, they can try another school. Oh damn, Keke really thinks of quitting to find another school! Hold your horses. Don’t give up yet. Because Kanon promised to help out, this time she enlists Chisato’s help to find Ren’s weakness. Stooping this low now, huh? Basically, none. Yeah, she’s like a goddess around. Chisato suggests joining another club first before forming their own but Kanon doesn’t want it because it would mean giving in to Ren’s tyranny. So they go round collecting signatures. Is this election season? Yeah, girls afraid to sign it so as not to invoke the goddess’ wrath or something. They are then summoned by the director who then learns of what is going on. She overturns Ren’s thinking to outright reject something like that because they have no right to stop students from general curriculum. But in exchange to allow this idol club, the girls must get first place in the upcoming idol festival. Tall order? Well, Kanon and Keke enlist Chisato’s help to teach them dance moves. Okay. Only, did Keke tell you girls that she sucks in sports? Oh my. See her catch her breath more than she catch live idol performances, HAHAHAHA!!! Okay, bad pun… So we see Keke struggle to keep up. At the same time, she also wrote some lyrics (some in Chinese?). Eh? How to write lyrics to a song that doesn’t even exist yet? Isn’t that like a poem? Anyway, this inspires Kanon to try and write a song. The rough sample she lets Chisato hears sounds good. So don’t give up. Keke still out of breath… Don’t give up! Carry on! Fighto! In the end, Kanon realizes she is done with her song. Keke also makes improvements in her stamina. Happy Kanon goes to run with her. Don’t worry, Kanon still outruns her. Time to test out this piece. Hey, it’s a good day, right?

Episode 3
Uh oh. Kanon’s old problem is back. Yup. She can’t sing in front of people again! Ren’s obvious answer: Just give up. Not a chance, b*tch! So Keke and Chisato help out to try and make her overcome that fear. I don’t know how making takoyaki is supposed to do the job because it didn’t. Then they make her dress up and put lots of cute accessories. So how does uploading cute pictures of Kanon over the internet will help? Yeah, it won’t work. Kanon is worried Keke has tries so hard to help her but they’re back to square one. Since forcing won’t help, Keke suggests she just stand on stage for now and she’ll do the singing herself. So they do other stuffs like coming up with a name for their duet (Kuuka?) and Chisato providing those fan lights. The girls receive news that Sunny Passion will also be participating in this festival. They’re currently the best idol around and Keke is their biggest fan. It’s the reason why she came to Japan and look, she has a huge photo of them on her wall to worship! Well, sorry to rain on their parade. If Sunny Passion wins this, you know what it means for their idol club, right? Oh well, don’t fret. Just continue to work hard. Later Keke asks Chisato if she is interested in idols. She is but her main goal is to become a dancer and she can’t juggle both at the same time. More added drama as Kanon feels guilty for being a stumbling block at this stage. Time for Keke’s hug to tell why Kanon is her dream. And some short back story of her serious family making her studying always. You bet Kanon isn’t going to sulk and give up. So they continue their training until the day of the performance. Kuuka is up on stage as Kanon is feeling all jittery now. Will she fail? WTF moment because Sumire trips on some plugs and the whole place blacks out. WTF?! Where’s the crew?! The galaxy just got blacked out! Kuuka then sees the crowd using the fan lights. Beautiful. This gives Kanon the much needed booster that she can sing because she’s not alone. All in right timing as Sumire plugs the wire back (HOW THE F*CK ARE THERE NO CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS TO DO THIS?! And the galaxy lights came back on…), the music gets back on and we see them perform lovely on stage. In the end, a rousing applause from the crowd and we don’t even need to see Sunny Passion’s performance. I mean, why show second best when you’ve already seen the best, right? Yup. Kuuka won!!!

Episode 4
Now that they’ve won, Ren reluctantly hands over the keys to their very own clubroom. They promise to work hard but Ren insists if that is the case, be something else than school idols. No can do. Ren goes on to further claim they do not have what it takes to even win Love Live. As Sumire heard all this, she is curious on what a school idol is. So when Kanon and co find their clubroom, Kanon is especially spooked, thinking there is a ghost here! No, it’s just Sumire. Keke eagerly tries to get her to sign up and join the club since Sumire is curious to know. Looks interesting. Okay, let’s try out. It seems Sumire knows a few dance moves on her own and that’s because she has been in show business a few times. Then the question arises: Who should be the centre. Sumire hinting herself but everyone else believes Kanon is fit for that role. Not wanting to give up, an election is held. Kanon wins by a landslide while Sumire has zero votes! She is baffled. Galaxy. Why is Kanon the centre when Sumire clearly has better singing and dancing skills? Maybe it’s her aura? Oh damn, see Sumire’s exaggerated heart attack! If that’s the case, she quits! Kanon tries to find out why and hence stumbles upon Sumire watching her old videos of herself on stage. Cute isopod there… Before Kanon knows it, she is kidnapped! Oh my, Sumire dressing as a priestess and trying to exorcise her?! Are you serious?! Once Kanon tells her intentions, Sumire explains that she did lots of auditions when she was young but only got small roles. Learning about idols and seeing how amateurish they are, she thought she could be the star if she joins. She laments no matter how hard she tries, she will never be able to shine. Galaxy sad. When Kanon tells this to Keke, man, this Chinese girl so mad she insulted idols that she acts like a delinquent and wants to punish Sumire for the insult?! But can she? I mean, Sumire looks pretty down. Even if she is good, the spotlight will never shine on her. And so Kanon comes up with this idea as she hands Sumire her card. Kanon acts as a scouting agency to rope her into the group. Kanon throws down the challenge that if she wants to be the centre, prove it and take it from her. She believes competition will be good for the group too. As long as she doesn’t give up, she can achieve her dreams. With that, Sumire is now officially one of them. Galaxy!

Episode 5
Summer heat is too hot that they can’t practice at their usual place. So as they brainstorm back at Kanon’s cool place, suddenly Yuuna and Mao from Sunny Passion are here to visit. They are inviting them as guest performance to their island where they do a summer concert every year. Of course it’s an opportunity they don’t want to miss. After showing a bit of their dance moves, they as how the girls train. Kanon mentions Chisato as their dance coach. They are surprised they don’t have a real training regimen and can still put on an impressive performance. Later they talk to Chisato alone and they point out that although they are great at singing, it will be hard for them to win higher level competitions. So they’re saying that because they depend on Chisato’s dance moves, it’s not their own and they won’t be able to move forward. And if she was really part of the idol group, she’ll be more like a threat? HUH?! Because of that, Chisato then tells the rest that she won’t be joining them on the island as she plans to take part in a dance tournament which is held at the same time. So the trio make their journey to the island. Kanon doing her yoga poses to get inspiration for her lyrics but nothing. They are personally greeted by Sunny Passion themselves once they alight the ship. But the first order is to have fun first, right? Wow. Such a great time. You don’t know what you’re missing, Chisato. As they tuck in for the night, Keke and Sumire end up in some weird thumb sumo in which Sumire ‘cheated’ to let Keke’s guard down to win. Kanon is already asleep. Not interested in their shenanigans? Must be a long day. In the middle of the night, Keke notices Kanon going out the beach herself. So, trying the yoga pose for inspiration again, huh? Still nothing. Kanon laments Chisato should’ve come with them and their group would’ve been better if she was really part of it. A short flashback how they’ve been friends ever since. Because Chisato loved her singing, it made her want to do something she would love herself. And she found her calling in dancing. Thanks to Chisato, Kanon was able to sing and not give up and that’s why she wants to put all those feelings into the lyrics she is writing.

Episode 6
Flashback shows Chisato is always bullied and her only saviour is Kanon. Sunny Passion comes up with a training menu for their guests. Jogging for 10km? Keke doesn’t even have the stamina to last. But how did she replenish them instantly? Why, Sunny Passion doing a mini performance for her! Best recharge ever. Meanwhile Ren visits Chisato while she is practising. Chisato accidentally drops her bag that reveals her withdrawal application from school! Gasp! Pretend to see nothing… Keke tries to cook for Sunny Passion but all her dishes are burnt. Sumire shows it how it’s done. Keke feels frustrated her rival is good at this. Meanwhile Yuuna and Kanon talk about Chisato whose first love is dancing. That night, Kanon calls Chisato to ask her opinion on the lyrics she wrote. Great, of course. As for Chisato’s contest, it seems she doesn’t sound enthusiastic. She wants to tell her plans after the contest but shelves it. With Ren bugging Chisato many times, finally Chisato has to reveal about the application. If she cannot win the contest, she will quit school and train overseas since she won’t be able to help Kanon. As a bully victim, Chisato was always scared of something. But Kanon was always there to help her and taught her lots of things. Hence she wants to be worthy to stand by Kanon one day and help her back. As for how dancing is related to this, she needs to do something that Kanon can’t on her own. Right before the contest, suddenly Kanon returns to see Chisato! She felt something wrong from last night’s call and thought she was anxious. So yeah, she’s here to support her and all. Kanon doesn’t view Chisato as weak and feels they’re both in the same boat. Long story short, Chisato gets her confidence back and wins the dance contest! We didn’t even get to see how but I guess that’s not important. With that win, this means she officially hands in her application and joins the idol club. And then they go back to the island just in time for the quartet to perform! OMFG! THEY CAN ACHIEVE IT ALL IN JUST 1 DAY???!!! The island must be really close by, huh?

Episode 7
Chisato surprises everyone with her new uniform. She has transferred from the music programme to the general curriculum and will be in Kanon’s class. But looks like there is going to be a student council election. Immediately Keke wants Kanon to run. Time for Kanon to run… Away!!! Déjà vu as Keke chases her. This time she’s got Chisato on her side. Everyone ignores Sumire who hints so much of wanting to run for president… Except for Kanon. Her saviour! Yeah, the rest just lose enthusiasm to campaign for Sumire… Ren’s friends are worried that she is running against a candidate from the general curriculum. They have students 3 times more than the music programme. Don’t worry, right? Sumire ups her campaign by giving free takoyaki! Isn’t this bribery? Thanks to that, Ren wins by a landslide and how the f*ck did Sumire end up with negative votes?! Oh, that bribery thingy, huh? Well, should have let Kanon run? Well, Kanon thinks it wouldn’t make any difference since helming that post is a huge responsibility. Kanon goes to talk about Ren. However although she has nothing against school idols, she believes this school is better off without them. Period. As Ren gives her first speech, she breaks her election promise and will do a music programme for the cultural festival. Hence many get upset and try to sign a petition against her. Time for Sumire to shine again, calling for a recall, blah, blah, blah. But the moment Keke mentions Kanon as their candidate, everyone else gets excited! Kanon, you really running?! Oh Sumire… The girls worry at this rate idols will be banned under Ren’s military dystopian anti-idol world. So in order to find out more about her, they tail her back to her house. Make that a big mansion. The maid, Saya lets them in and as they wait, they get spooked by this big dog, Chibi. They get chased around the mansion until they stumble upon a place with an old photo album and a graduation picture of the school. Then they hear Ren trying to pay off Saya for this month since next month she won’t have money to pay her. Saya is willing to work for free but Ren will not have it. How would she face her late mother? Chibi busts the eavesdroppers. Now that they’ve heard everything, Ren admits that she has no money left and is the only one living here. At this rate she cannot keep the school going and she must do everything she can to prevent that.

Episode 8
Ren continues to explain that it was mom’s dream to open another school in the same location but father who was assigned to work overseas, opposed the idea and left the family. Mom died 2 years ago after overworking. With money running out, dad offered her to come stay with him overseas but she declined as she wanted to make mom’s dreams come true. But it is going to be tough since with dwindling enrolment numbers, she cannot accomplish that goal. Ren hopes to keep this secret as she doesn’t want others student to worry or feel bad. While the rest understands her situation, they think the rest don’t. At this rate, Ren will become hated. Speaking of which, the general curriculum girls are confronting her but she tells them to take it to the student council. Uhm, isn’t she part of the student council?! Of course Kanon wants to go talk to the girls. It’s going to be hard since they are very confrontational. Making it tougher is that Kanon can’t spill Ren’s secret. Yeah, better stop before it gets too complicated. Ren then talks to Kanon and co as she heard what happened. She regrets dragging them into her problem. Also, the director summoned her that she needs to clear this up or this year’s festival will be cancelled. With Ren pleading them to do anything but idol activities, they ask why. I guess they earn the right. This school once was in danger of closing down and an idol club was formed to save it. Her mom was part of that idol group. However they weren’t able to save it and the school closed down. I’m confused. Was it this school or mom’s previous school? As for why Ren was so against them doing idol activities, she couldn’t find records of mom’s school idol activities. Did mom regret being an idol or was it a lie? If being an idol was precious, why is there no record or even a photo of it? Kanon then gets permission from the director to search the archives. Nothing. Ren remembers mom’s words, “I hope our feelings connect in the same place”. But she is unable to connect what it means. Kanon then remembers the keys given to their clubroom. She rushes there just to find something. You bet plot convenience says it is that box hidden in the storage.

Ren addresses the assembly and apologizes for the other day. But the other girls show no mercy and bombard her with harsh questions of her discrimination. That is when Kanon comes in with the biggest puzzle solving piece ever. Yup, it’s a diary of Ren’s mom that details all of her school idol activities. Among the important notes include despite not being able to stop the school’s closure, they don’t regret anything. Because of all the times spent together, she promised to create a school that would connect those feelings again. A school that connects everyone via music. Hence this school is to make that dream come true. And those are her best memories. At this point, now mom’s inaudible words become clear. She told a young Ren that being a school idol was the best memories she had. Even more precious than the birth of her daughter?! Okay, stop with the bad jokes. And that seals the deal with Ren breaking down in tears. Later it is revealed that the director who is a close friend of Ren’s mom, knew everything. But was told to keep quiet and watch over Ren. She has to make the decision herself. Ren thought all the time wasting means they have no time to prepare for the festival. Oh look, everyone is working hard and even into the night to make this festival a success. They love the school so much, right? Kanon then wants Ren to join them as idols. Does she have the right after the way she treated them? Don’t worry. You can do it! And with that handshake, the deal is sealed. Yuigaoka’s school idol is now a whole. Ren joins them in practice and since she is a natural leader, Kanon offers her to try as the centre. The rest agree. Even Sumire. I guess she’ll let her take the stage for a small event. She’ll take the centre for the bigger stage! Okay, whatever. We see the quintet going on stage and perform their best. Everybody happy. School saved, right?

Episode 9
Keke is excited because Love Live is here! Yeah, you can see her passion in telling her friends all about it, right down to where it’s held: Jingu Stadium. However, while everyone is happy dreaming about stardom, she throws caution that it is not going to be easy as every year, the number of entries surpass the last. While they divide their roles, something worrying plagues them: They have no group name and that is a must for Love Live! So I guess they’re going to brainstorm and think hard of a group name, huh? Yeah, after all the silly suggestions, they hit a dead end. I guess calling themselves after the school would be too boring, eh? Keke thought of doing what a legendary Love Live group did: Suggestion box! Too bad at the end of the week, not even a single suggestion. Kanon even seeks Sunny Passion’s advice for inspiration. Since idols need to do more than just dancing and singing, what’s this video streaming? Apparently Ren is a technology noob. Yup, time to teach her. The quintet do their first live streaming to introduce themselves as an idol but with Ren and Kanon in some weird argument and the rest doing something stupid to cover it up, not sure if they got the likes because they’re just funny! But it’s tiring. Since Kanon has been tasked to write the song lyrics as well as come up with the name, she has been locked in a room and not leave till she comes up with them! Since she fools around and gets nothing done, they supervise her. This is harder… She tries to escape but only foiled by Chibi. We’re still at the starting point as Kanon’s classmates give their honest opinion about the group. They don’t really have a common goal and they don’t have a distinctive feature that makes them stand out. And while the rest realize that this means their chance of success will be low, it’s time for Kanon to get an inspiration. So while we see the others practice, we get to hear the lyrics of this song and finally the name of the group that we’ve been dying to know: Liella. From the French word ‘relier’ which means to connect because that is what Ren’s mom wanted all of them to be. With that, Liella finally registers for Love Live.

Episode 10
Nerve wrecking moment to see if their name made it into the preliminaries. However with record entries this year, looks like they will have another preliminary to trim the numbers. Sorry, it’s not rock-scissors-paper but a regional preliminary. But of course. And the theme of this region’s preliminary will be… RAP! Wow. That’s a rare combination… So who is the best rapper in Liella? Well, Kanon can’t rap her head around it, Chisato’s breakdance is awesome but it has nothing to do with rap, Ren goes into haiku mode and Keke can do a bit of rapping but it’s all in Chinese… Yeah, we all look down on Sumire until she shows us she can naturally rap! OMG! And Keke thought she has the lowest potential! Eat your words now! Because of this, Sumire is the centre (of the galaxy!) Wait… WHY IS SUMIRE PANICKING?! ISN’T THIS WHAT SHE WANTS?! She is even asking them to reconsider?! Well, after being second fiddle for all her life, it’s natural that she is feeling the jitters and lacks self-confidence. So she’s only talking big about making her big break, huh? Even when reluctant Keke made a princess outfit for her (OMG, they’re really going to rap in that frilly outfit?!), Sumire is still not convinced. Damn, she even tries to run away?! Keke’s lecture didn’t do the trick. Sumire still convinced the stage will never be hers. She skips training but perhaps she changes her mind, only to hear Keke speaking to her family in Chinese on the phone. Damn, what kind of app she has that translates her speeches immediately. And accurately?! Seems Keke will return home if she cannot fulfil her promise. So Sumire confronts the rest. Oh boy, not another round of no self-confidence. From the way she says things, it looks like Sumire is sad and pressured that they must win or Keke will go home. Another round of Sumire x Keke argument. One still has no confidence and the other, as reluctant as she might be, she has seen how much Sumire put in the effort and is forced to recognize her abilities as the centre. At least for this preliminary. Dramatic moment time because the tiara exclusively for Sumire then flies off Keke’s hands. WTF, is it made of paper???!!! Sumire catches it. A sign that she has accepted the job? And so we see Liella as rapping princesses with Sumire as the centre. Sounds more like hip hop but whatever. Yeah, check it out! Awesome, baby!

Episode 11
The results are in… The top 8 will progress to the finals… Sunny Passion of course… As they scroll through the other names, damn, I am really curious with the group named Neo Mutant Girls!!! I want to see who they are!!! And suddenly… THE COMPUTER FREEZES! Cliff-hanger! But how do Liella know they have passed? A message from Sunny Passion congratulating them. The computer unfreezes in time to confirm that. HOORAY! As everyone congratulates Liella, suddenly the director summons them. She sounds mad so Ren thought it was her fault. Yeah, she clicked some shady lesbian website out of curiosity! Thankfully it’s not that. Liella has received a request to sing at a kindergarten. Well, Kanon seems to be, uhm, not thrilled? Later Chisato reveals to the rest that this was the place Kanon first sang and fainted! Hence she is worried that the trauma might come up again and make her unable to sing. Hey, I thought she overcame that?! So to calm their nerves, they recce the place. Yeah, sure brings back lots of memories. And trauma. Maybe. They get up on stage and just do a little mock singing. Back at school, they continue their practice as they receive the news that the Love Live finals’ theme must include a solo vocal. Wow. Everyone already looking at Kanon. So after a lot of deliberation from the gang, it seems they are in cohorts to have Kanon sing all by herself at the kindergarten. Yeah, they lie and give excuses about why they can’t come and leave it all up to her. Will this backfire? Kanon tries to take it in a positive way. Even asking her sister, Aria how she was like when she was young. Noisy girl. But she didn’t hate it. That’s the spirit. On the day of the concert, it might seem like Kanon has cold feet. But she makes a call to Chisato to thank her for everything. Yeah, you bet the other girls are hiding and waiting to watch her from afar. And of course, Kanon meeting a vision of her younger self and calming her down. I take it, trauma is over, right? So when Kanon goes up on stage, she sings flawlessly. So perfect that Chisato rushes onto stage just to hug her. I bet that’s the morale booster Liella needs for Love Live. Think they can win it now, huh? Oh well, they need all the luck they can get.

Episode 12
First, some good news. Ren’s dad decided to leave some funds for the school. This means no more worries for Yuigaoka closing down. Thanks to Liella’s recent performances, enrolment numbers are up to. Oh yeah. Yuigaoka definitely not shutting down. With those worries settled, it’s time for the next preliminaries. Apparently they have to do an online streaming video from where they are and have to prepare the stage themselves. So now they have to start cracking their heads to design a stage that isn’t so mediocre. Oh, now aside being idols, they have to be stage designers too?! Sunny Passion visits Kanon and they renew their rivalry. But Kanon is worried because everyone is talking how they want to win (IS THAT NOT THE CASE?!) but she is unsure about that when it comes to singing. Due to her fear of singing and how she sings to express herself freely, Sunny Passion advise her that singing isn’t just about competition. You can enjoy singing alone too. Kanon might not understand now but once she sings at Love Live, she’ll understand why they have to win. As Kanon comes up with this stars theme for their stage, it seems other students decide to help out and make this galaxy for them so they can concentrate on their practice. Yeah. Good idea. After lots of practice, Liella checks out the stage… It’s empty! Before Kanon can panic and scream betrayal, the students will show them where the real stage is. Oh damn, they’ve got girls with candles in their hands to light the way! Of course the stage is grand and everyone in town has their hand in making it. Got to support your local idols. So we see them prance and dance on stage. Thank goodness it is snowing so we don’t have to add snow effects. In the end, Liella gets second place. Sunny Passion wins and will head to the finals. Wow. So sad. Like it’s the end of the world. Especially Kanon. She feels so frustrated she cannot return the goodness of everyone who helped them. I can’t imagine those who ranked below them then… So now you understand why you need to win? Yup, Kanon making a passionate vow that they’ll win it next time. This is only their beginning. We’ll let everyone hear our song! Songs for everybody!

Jesus Christ, Superstar Who?!
Hey. Wait a minute. They lost?! It can’t end like that for them, right? Can it?! For real?! Are you sure you follow the script correctly?! Oh. Right. And wouldn’t you know it? But of course, another season! Got to milk you hardcore fans high and dry, RIGHT?! OOPS!!! Yup, the magical excuse to see Liella make a comeback and get their revenge and redemption they deserve. So unless they have to wait another whole year for another shot at fame (hey, they’re all first years only, right?), unless some special provisions or lucky draw will have Liella become a wild card entry at the finals. I don’t know. My guts tell me that. Either I’m a great soothsayer or I’m just having some sort of stomach ache right now for feeling that… But anyway, we all know who will be back and even better when the next season rolls around, right? Just don’t count out our future superstars yet.

So I guess when you have a new group, this means following the common storyline of seeing how the group is formed. That is basically what this season is mostly about as it takes a bulk and 2/3 of this season. So as not to follow the same formula like in its previous franchise of using Love Live to say their school, instead they split that into 2 stories. What I mean is that Liella didn’t use Love Live to save their school. Rather, it is when Liella became a whole, this idol thingy helped saved their school from dwindling numbers. Hence killing 2 birds with 1 stone because this means Ren gets to continue her late mom’s dream. And with this achieved, the final arc focuses on them getting into Love Live. It might feel a bit rushed because I believe they want to focus on the characters. So we see them perform and of course it has to be good. It needs to follow the formula of our main characters getting into Love Live, right? Want to bet they’re going to win this thing too? See you next season then!

Of course like in previous Love Live iterations, the main focus is on the characters that make up the group. But unlike previous Love Live seasons, Liella has the least number of members in comparison. Uh huh. You do know that Muse, Aquors and the Nijigasaki counterparts have like 9 members, right? So I bet to keep the character drama and development a bit more realistic, the less number of members means the more screen time the characters will get. Simple logic, right? Of course please be reminded that it is not quantity but the quality of these characters that is most important, right? Yup. Got that.

And they had to throw in that drama that idols are not worthy as other types of music genres, painting it as some sort of pariah. The lowest of the lowest. Maybe. In a way. Because you see how sexualized Korean K-pops are these days, right? Yeah… Anyway… I’m not sure if this town that this series is set in loves idols but from what I’ve seen, Love Live has been a nationwide phenomenon so it would be really weird if this is the only town that doesn’t have that idol craze. Of course with Ren initially not having a good impression about idols (even if she was just probably pretending) was just to serve as an obstacle for the rest to overcome. To see if they have what it takes to do just that and to make Ren eat her words and make everybody else go gaga about something new in school. I mean, the school does not even have an idol club to begin with! Yup, these students are going to be prim and proper musicians in the future. Oh, what’s this new idol craze? I think I’m going to love it! WOWEE! Go idols!!! Yeah. That’s what I thought about the other girls’ reaction in school when they realize how fascinating this idol genre is.

So yeah, how do you pretty much differentiate your main character from other Love Live characters? I mean, it’s going to be obvious if they have the same personality and traits but just swap hairstyles and colour, right? That won’t do, right? We’ll just call them lazy and just do copy and paste while covering it up with some palette swap or something. So that’s why Kanon who is obviously the main character and centre of the group, they give her this phobia of having stage fright. Something that is unthinkable for those who want to become idols and stand on stage to entertain a million of watching eyes. Eventually as plot convenience has it, Kanon overcomes her trauma and is able to become a natural performer. Wow. If it was only this easy to overcome one’s trauma in real life. I’m not trying to make cheap of her ordeals since we get to see her making the effort and with the unwavering support from her friends (yeah, it feels like a conspiracy they are targeting her the way they want to make her the centre whether she wants it or not), that trauma becomes her strength and stepping stone to greater heights. Now that she has that hunger to win after experiencing her first loss of frustration, can Liella reach the stars? No, the galaxy?! I hope Kanon won’t become some sort of slave driver in her quest to get that coveted and maiden win. Yeah, that loss felt like it flipped some switch insider her or something.

The least interesting character to me is Chisato. A great dancer, she is mostly casted as Kanon’s best friend since childhood because, why not? Of course she plays a vital role in supporting Kanon and while we mostly see her like a lackey playing that role, in a way Kanon has always been supporting and a pillar of strength to this silver haired girl from start. Basically they complement each other. But that’s just about it. At least for me. Ren trying to play the villain so as to keep her mother’s dream going, well, too bad opening credits and other spoilers tell us that there will be something to more than meets the eye. And here we thought how can this character who started out to make us think that she would be a b*tch character, do a complete reversal and become part of the group? Ah yes, family history. Idol related too. I’m still wondering how she’ll continue to stay in her mansion without any money. I mean, will the increased enrolment and thus more fees help to cover that?! I doubt it. Why not sell her mansion and rent a smaller place? Oh right. Mom’s legacy. Once she has discarded her strict b*tch character, it feels like she has turned into some noob character. A little retard if you ask me. Because she is not really knowledgeable in this idol showbiz and isn’t technology savvy either. See where this is going for her character?

If you know me, if I had to pick a Love Live character as my favourite, it would be the girl who would make me laugh. Yes, I like funny girls. And so it is a tie between Keke and Sumire because it is hard for me to choose either. Okay, maybe Keke holds the slighter edge because of her passionate and lively ways. Also, look at that funny face when she panics! Makes her feel like some cartoonish character. I feel that there is a lot more dynamism between Keke-Sumire friendship than Kanon-Chisato one. The latter feels more like your typical and standard childhood and friendship tale. But the former feels like mostly played for laughs because they’re the biggest jokers of the group. I mean, I can’t imagine Kanon and Chisato as naturally funny girls and since Ren was an ex-b*tch character, that leaves the dynamism between Keke and Sumire.

There’s this sort of love-hate relationship between the duo and it is funny to try to see them outdo each other or at least enter one of their petty squabbles. Otherwise Liella could’ve been one boring group if not for them. Weak stamina Keke (just add more Sunny Passion fuel to solve the problem!) with her lively passion and sometimes her unfounded wild imaginations while Sumire is some attention whore and ex-isopod star but karma is a b*tch and always gets relegated to galaxy supporting roles. It feels like a joke and a slap in the face when she had her chance. Stage fright? Uhm, isn’t this somewhat overlapping with Kanon’s case? She’ll never be the main character at this galaxy rate. I suppose this is to rubber stamp that Kanon will always be the centre whether she likes it or not. Chisato always supporting her as her friend, Keke always passionately supporting her as her #1 fan, Sumire too chicken to take the spotlight and Ren, uhm, whatever goes with her because I think she’s trying to repent for being a b*tch character by being meek. So I guess that leaves Kanon for the centre role, eh? You go, girl! Uhm, I mean, go Liella!

If there is one thing that feels lacking about this series, it is the presence of other idol competitors. Sure, we have Sunny Passion as rivals. But nothing too much on them and they look like friendly rivals. Their real rivalry is on stage and elsewhere, they’re just cool people who would love to be your friends. Anyway, my theory as I have said before, it feels there lacks any idols in this series and we don’t see other idols in the vicinity is perhaps to solely concentrate on the girls in Liella. Can’t have us distracted with other groups and with Sunny Passion already filling that role, we need to see concrete proof why Liella is going to be a top idol contender despite being newly formed by a group of misfits. And I thought this series once again will not showcase any male characters at all even as random people on the streets because somehow Love Live idols are only set in an all-female world. And then we see a glimpse of Kanon’s dad albeit a dialogueless character with a couple of seconds of screen time.

It goes without saying, music is an important factor for this series. There are a of course a variety of them. Personally, I don’t think any of the songs resonate with me and if I really had to pick one by force, the closest would be the lively and typical idol song of Mirai Yohou Hallelujah. Oddly, this song was sung at the end of the first episode and the entire Liella members sung it despite note being formed yet as part of Kanon’s path to become an idol. Yeah, conspiracy theories of mine saying that song brought all the future members of Liella together! Anyway, this piece is still a far cry from my all-time favourite Start:Dash! Also to note, the rap-like Nonfiction is also creative and nice as it gives the genre songs idol sing a fresh sound. But of course, still can’t beat Start: Dash! The opening theme, Start!! True Dreams is another typical lively idol song and the same can be said for the ending theme, Mirai Wa Kaze No You Ni albeit at a slightly slower pace. But the ending theme has different variations as each of the Liella members sing a solo version of it and even a combination between them before we have the full group version.

Of course, an entire new seiyuu cast for a totally new idol group. In fact, the quintet of Liella are making their voice acting debut in this series. Now, if Keke sounds a bit different, it’s because she is voiced by a Chinese national, Liyuu. But it also feels weird when she starts speaking in Mandarin, it’s like she has a thick accent. Well, not to say my Mandarin is that good either… The other Liella casts are Sayuri Date as Kanon, Nako Misaki as Chisato, Naomi Payton as Sumire and Nagisa Aoyama as Ren while Sunny Passion are also first timers in this business with Chihaya Yoshitake as Yuuna and Yuna Yuuki as Mao.

A recognizable seiyuu making her appearance here is Romi Paku as the school’s director. Though, I find her low voice to be unsuitable for this character that looks like she should have had a higher pitch voice. I mean, after helming character roles like those in Vlad Love, Radiant and Shingeki No Kyojin, this one feels out of place. The other recognizable one is Kana Hanazawa’s cameo as Saya. Pretty standard. But I thought my ears were deceiving me when I thought I heard someone familiar but brushed it off because I couldn’t put my finger to it at first… But HOLY F*CK!!! IT’S MAMIKO NOTO AS KANON’S MOTHER!!! OMFG!!! OH MAH F*CKING GALAXY GAWD!!! IT’S MAMIKO NOTO!!! I HAVEN’T HEARD HER FOR SO LONG!!! THIS IS SUCH A PLEASANT SURPRISE!!! I ALMOST DAMNED MISSED HER!!! AND MISSED HER VOICE SO MUCH!!!! GALAXY!!! BIG BANG UNIVERSE!!!

For the art and animation, Sunrise has been animating this franchise from the start so it’s only right that they continue with this fourth reincarnation of this idol series. As usual, the girls are looking cute and everything is bright and colourful just to let you know that idols can make your day even brighter! Yeah. There are some CGI parts especially when the girls take the stage but just like in previous seasons, they are not really obvious and blend in seamlessly with the 2D animation. They’re going to promote these idols and the last thing you want is half assed and bad CGI quality.

And yes, let me say again that Liella girls look like some previous Love Live idols. I mean, how far can you really differentiate your characters when you already have so many of them? So yeah, Kanon reminds me of Chika, Sumire is what Dia would’ve been if she was blonde, Ren looks a bit familiar to Kanan and Chisato might have borrowed 1 hairball lump from Ayumu and the other from Yoshiko to have double hairball lumps! Seriously. Surprisingly, Keke doesn’t seem to remind me of anybody so she’s the most different and unique looking Love Live girl! Wow. No wonder I love this funny girl. But her hair with pink spots remind me of some ice cream combo… Chocolate + strawberry. Mmmm… No wonder I love this funny girl. On a trivial note, I wonder if Chibi is related to Shiitake. You know, Chika’s pet dog. They look the same… Missed opportunity for a pet mascot but I guess they don’t want that to steal the limelight away from our idols, huh? Oh, now I remember. Doesn’t Kanon’s family have a pet owl? Another missed opportunity for a pet mascot.

Overall, you know the drill. I’m not really a big idol fan so I’m just watching this mainly out of curiosity and old time nostalgia’s sake. Oh damn, if they’re going to create more new groups under this franchise, I will have to be obliged to watch them all! Sighs. At this point, this franchise is targeted for music and idol fans so if you aren’t into this genre, don’t go dipping your hands into it. Otherwise, it is pretty wholesome and standard affair. No violence. No fanservice. No outrageous slapstick comedy (AKA Looney Tunes style or even Gintama-like parodies). Certainly no complicated plot lines. Just about a group of girls who love singing and want to show the world their idoly talent. Until the next season arrives, I’ll be waiting for the day when all these Love Live idols meet and compete in a grand competition to decide which idol rules them all. So all you hardcore fans out there get ready to splash the cash and support your favourite idols till the end! Heh. Only then I’ll call this a Love Live Superstar competition. Make that Superstar Galaxy!

Show By Rock!! Stars

I didn’t think it was this soon. But it did. So finally it’s here. The all-star season that we’ve all been waiting for, for this series. I mean, that is what Show By Rock!! Stars is supposed to mean, right? This is already its fourth season so I guess the series must have been making great strides and accumulated some great (and weird) bands along the way. After all, when your series is of the music genre, it is only inevitable that all the different bands and groups come together and duke it out on the biggest stage ever. Time to get rocking.

Episode 1
Mashumairesh is making their way to Centre Tower to meet someone for the Midi City Worldwide Love Rock Festival. Of course that person is Maple. He had totally forgotten about it had not Angelica reminded him about it. So off Maple and his Plasmagica girls rush to meet them. However on the highway, Maple is tailgating Mashumairesh. Himeko at the wheel is unsure who this hooligan is as she transforms into a speed demon to speed away. Maple takes this as a challenge and so the race is on! However, a giant speaker ghost pops up to attack and chase them. Is this the dark monster that is rumoured to have been responsible for band members going missing in the city recently? In the end, Delmin uses her horn beams to blast it away. However it crashes into Centre Tower and the whole tower comes crashing down! Oops! The place is a mess. No monster sighted. And cops surround to arrest them. They are interrogated but nobody believes their story. Hence they’re thrown into the slammer. Damn, this city has no justice system! Howan being the most affected because it’s like she brought trouble to everyone. Flashback shows Master suggesting they go to Shibu Valley where all the top bands are gathering now to test their talents since their response at Midi City 6969 Festival was good. While the girls have no faith in their skills being that good, Howan thought it would be a good challenge to try. With Master having a friend there to help take care of things, he can make the arrangements. And that’s how they decided to make this trip. But now they’re locked up and all their stuffs confiscated. F*ck, they don’t even get that basic single phone call. Worst, the prosecutor visits them just to tell them to see them in court tomorrow. I swear there is no justice here… Maple and Plasmagica wait but Mashumairesh never turn up. Yeah, it’s all Maple’s fault for forgetting and being late so Chuchu beats him up since he tries to be funny.

Short: A giant (but uglier) Maple lookalike, Puruko is walking around and spots Mashumairesh looking outside a window of a music store. He freaks them out with his delight over girl bands. Then they all let him jump on him like a trampoline. Huh? WTF?!

Episode 2
Mashumairesh is portrayed as a terrorist! Looks like it is going to be Show By Trial. Defending them is the self-proclaimed brilliant lawyer. Not Phoenix Wright definitely. Furry Wright? Nope. Just Rikao. Yes. As he fights against the allegations that the destruction was not linked to these girls, the prosecutor calls in a witness who was greatly affected by it all: Dagger! OMFG. This guy is still around?! Claiming he has been rehabilitated and starting out his night club, his footage show Delmin blasting away her beam that caused the incident. No footage after that since the destruction of power lines means no more surveillance footage recordings. Cyan then stands up from the audience and claims she has an important proof. So the court just accept it, huh? So playing the video… Just Maple humming… And it’s over. Ran out of space. WTF???!!! Oh dear. No evidence. Will Mashumairesh be found guilty? Just when you think Rikao has been quiet all the time and starring at his Smartphone, he finally shows all the evidences. Yes. Even though the power cut caused no footage to be recorded, this doesn’t stop the Smartphones of others from recording this incident. Yeah, the incident is flooded with clips showing the whole picture. WTF Rikao singing to make his case?! Yes! Anyway, the girls are found innocent. Case closed. What about Dagger’s compensation for property damage? Out of the court’s scope. Tough luck. Not sure if I should be happy or sad at the system of law. With Mashumairesh freed, they go meet Maple who introduces them to Plasmagica. Mashumairesh recognizes the mini van tailgating them that caused this whole incident! Plasmagica apologizes on behalf but I guess the girls can’t stay mad for long. It’s time to make some music!

Short: We see Rikao not only doubling as a lawyer but he is also part of a band. In between, he takes on cases. It’s like a short interview on things. So he views trials as concerts, huh? Yes. Believe it. Yes.

Episode 3
Mashumairesh is brought to BRR’s HQ. Since Himeko is a big fan of Criticrista, she can’t help fawning over their memorabilia. Wait till she meets the real deal. She’ll die in real time! Thank goodness they’re away on a tour. After showing their rooms and Plasmagica putting a sterling performance for them, they take them to Angelica’s bar. Since they don’t want to associate with Maple’s bar adultness, the girls get to know each other. Retoree and Himeko are going to be super jealous seeing Cyan and Howan getting too close to each other… Plasmagica take them on a tour of the streets. Chuchu has some suggested places to eat. But seeing that Shingan Crimsonz is eating there, let’s change place. Since Plasmagica needs to do rehearsal for their tonight’s concert, Mashumairesh is free to explore the rest of the city themselves. With Ruhuyu being the eager beaver (despite she’s a wolf) to try stuffs, she almost got lost after running off on her own and this makes Delmin angry. Oh my. So we’re getting today’s episode of strained friendship drama? Looks like it. Both feel awkward and can’t freely talk to each other as usual. When they return, Plasmagica could understand what’s going on. So during their concert, they play a special song that patches up friendship. Yup. Works like a charm. And now they’re both over apologizing to each other. Yeah, forever Lunatic best friends.

Short: Uhm… Plasmagica girls as badass delinquents trying to fight the cutie pie Rosia who wants to rule the world?! Oh, she’s got a giant Maple mecha too. Whatever. Magical girl vs mecha shonen fight on the cards! Imagine how epic would be if this got a spinoff!

Episode 4
Oh, another showdown between Shingan Crimsonz and Dokofin?! I guess the guys need to have their turn. Yeah, lame intro showdown… A few days ago, the principal sent Dokofin to this festival if they want to get their graduation certs. And so they stumble into Shingan Crimsonz and they’re supposed to help out and do this mining part time job to dig for treasures. So the more treasures you excavate, the more they’ll be compensated. So as they try and dig to even outdo the other, a couple of rat thieves still their loot. As they give chase, it’s that giant speaker ghost popping up! They manage to run away and while taking a breather, they discuss about dark monsters and missing band members. The ghost returns so Dokofin shows how it’s done by playing out their music. Their victory is only short-lived as the ghost now possesses the big mother golden statue treasure. Then it turns into some weird mine cart chase. More explosions. This blows Rom down into the lava! OMFG?! He dead?! This has his other Shingan Crimsonz pals angry so they summon their guitars and beat the hell out of the ghost. Via music of course. But everyone can breathe easy because Rom is still alive and this lava is just a secret hotspring. Phew. We won’t hear the last of the ghost because it escapes… In the end, both teams get rewarded by the police for tuning in those rat thieves. Then it’s like they bond and become friends as they go eat together. Now we are bros!

Short: Uhm… Dokofin as Momotarou characters vs Shingan Crimsonz as Saiyuki characters?! Yeah, everyone is so confused but what the heck, beat the hell out of each other! Then Maple as a genie comes by to confuse things further with his Ali Baba reference…

Episode 5
Criticrista will be playing their stuff at Music Terminal with Reijin. Mashumairesh gets to go and watch them because remember, they’re affiliated with BRR. Before the show starts, Ruhuyu manages to convince everyone to go visit Criticrista. Who gave them the right to go into their dressing room? Anyway, because of the luxurious crab, Ruhuyu eats them all without permission. Thankfully with Howan’s imitation crab sticks, they fit them back? So when Criticrista have their lunch, they find it so good! Either they’ve never tasted what a real crab is or the imitation is way better than the real deal. Mashumairesh is hiding in the closet and with such cramp space, they finally bust out. Once Criticrista learns who they are, they welcome them since they’ve got word from BRR about them. Soon at the backstop, Criticrista bumps into Reijin. In short, a b*tch fight is about to start had not a staff pulls Criticrista over to help with some stuff. Phew. This allows Reijin to have a few words with Mashumairesh and they’re glad to see Howan has found her path. The show begins as Rosia does her professional cute stuffs. Also some sarcasm directed towards Rararin. After the commercial, Reijin goes up first to perform followed by Criticrista. It should’ve been an amazing and wonderful performance that Mashumairesh would enjoy. But why the long face?! Seeing how cool both groups were, they realize they are not good enough to stand on the same stage! OMG. You mean that’s their legit reason to be depressed? Okay, let your Plasmagica onee-sama hear about it. What do they suggest? More training! That should blow away the blues.

Short: A few hardcore otaku discussing some hardcore idol stuffs at a kid’s place. Then it turns out that Reijin is performing there. While those otaku nerds are amazed with this ultimate fanservice, the other kids are not so amused. Not into this complicated idol stuffs! Where’s our live sentai action?!

Episode 6
TAM is organizing a workshop to recruit new students. It will be perfect for Mashumairesh. Upon arriving, there are lots of potential students too. However the first thing they need to do is to climb over the mountain while carry a heavy daruma. Part of the workshop? Yeah, the mountain is filled with obstacles too. So be careful. Eventually, Mashumairesh are the only ones who reached. Now they are treated to a wonder time at TAM’s HQ which is like an extravagant amusement park! Gee! Wow! What fun! From rides to games to karaoke to even soaking in the hotspring, this is the life! So when they hit the sack, it only then dawns to Himeko, aren’t they supposed to find the soul of their voice?! Hence Mashumairesh confronts TAM about the need to learn this. Darudayu agrees to teach them but they must do as they’re told and cannot object. So… Playing video games, huh? Ruhuyu has to make it past 169 levels in this rhythm dance game. Despite tired, the machine forces her to continue. Thank goodness she finishes. Then they have to clean the entire place. And they got paid! Makes them feel like part timers. As Howan starts doing her bunny hops between statues, that is when Himeko screams aloud all this nonsense. Oh dear, so loud that the statues start moving? To close their ears! Damn. Howan then talks to her about wanting to see her smile, blah, blah, blah. She apologizes for her impatience. With Mashumairesh’s bonding moment, their voices start to crack the statues. TAM points out that this is proof they have a grasp of the soul of their voice and they have to completely destroy the statue with it. Yeah, now it’s easy. And with that, Mashumairesh pass this workshop. Everyone now deserves a nice hotspring. Looks like Plasmagica is here too. Are they too late for any training? Anyway, they’re here because Plasmagica and Mashumairesh will be doing a concert together. Things are moving fast.

Short: A promotional video of the exceptional amusement park that TAM has to offer. Has the best of everything! You bet you’re going to have a heck of a time here. The place will definitely have roaring business if this commercial is aired. However Darudayu rejects it all. Yeah, probably it’s that clip of her bathing sexily in the hotspring.

Episode 7
The joint concert is still lacking a venue. But in the meantime, why don’t they write a song for it? Yeah. Great idea. But for this episode, we got to return to our guy bands and show them some love. It seems Dokofin has been told by their principal that they will go up against Arcareafact in the battle of the bands. You guessed it, don’t do it and they won’t graduate. So are they going to play or run? The answer is obvious. At the same time, Arcareafact is also told the same thing. However, Orion is not pleased they’re going to play to mere peasants and wants to go up against Trichronika instead. Titan tells him to hold that thought. Because he saw Dokofin playing on the streets the other day and he saw how serious they was. Playing against an unrefined band like them will do them some good. But first, Orion thinks of having some fun. Hence Arcareafact goes to greet them personally and throw them loads of cash! That’s their way of saying hi. See you at the battle of the bands. Later Orion confronts Sojun personally and gives him a suitcase of cash. He knows Arcareafact won’t lose but this is just in case. We see Sojun skipping out on band practice and hanging alone in his home. When Titan’s younger sibling comes knocking on his door because nobody is home and she is hungry. Can’t turn this little loli away, right? Later when Titan returns, Sojun learns that he was once rich but fallen on hard times. This guy knows hardship too. The day of the big battle is here. Arcareafact goes first. Amazing. Sojun returns to play with his bandmates. They also rock on stage and flashback shows he returned to cash because money isn’t what he wants. It is to graduate school with his buddies. After a sterling performance, it’s time for fans to vote. In the end, Arcareafact wins. Dokofin isn’t bummed out because they know they put their souls in it. At the backstage, Yasu is shocked to see Jinbabue again. However his pals can tell that it is the principal in disguise! Oh Yasu… Meanwhile Himeko has finished writing her song and wants the rest to listen. Maple brings in more good news as he has secured the venue.

Short: Titan’s siblings tell us how to make some curry risotto. Basically, mixing up Titan’s food. Too bad Titan prefers his food separated…

Episode 8
Emergency! Delmin needs to go home as she receives a letter that her papa is ill. Oh wait. Isn’t the venue that Maple secured is on Delmin’s home island? Is this what you call killing 2 birds with a stone? Arriving on the island, instantly Delmin is attacked by her papa. Apparently he is well and the letter was a lie to lure her back. Also, the island doesn’t have much music, hence the citizens requested to have some concert here. Papa insists Delmin calls her papamin? She refuses. So is this why the whole fight is about? Delmin runs away. Her bandmates go after her while Plasmagica will take care of the concert preparations. Mashumairesh end up getting chased by a monster boar. Flashback reveals papa trying to drill into a weak Delmin’s mind that their dragon tribe must always be the strongest. Of course she couldn’t. Delmin is about to subdue the boar with her music but papa is the one who finishes it off. This only strains their relationship further. But what’s this? Ruhuyu wants to become his disciple to learn how to shoot beams? Papa will gladly teach her! Of course they talk about Delmin. Ruhuyu paints her as a nice friend but unfortunately papa still doesn’t know what she thinks. Next night, their concert begins. It goes without saying that it is awesome. But halfway through, the place runs out of energy. So they depend on the volcano energy, huh? How? Himeko notes they can use their soul of their voice but Delmin still has doubts. It is then papa tells her to sing because he doesn’t understand how she feels. And just like that, the magic of their soul of their voice lights up everything as both bands go up and give another sterling performance. Next day before they leave, papa tells Delmin to continue to be strong in music since that is her forte. You bet their relationship is fixed when Delmin finally calls him papamin and they both hug. Awww, so touching!

Short: An epic power battle between Delmin and her papa. You might be forgiven if you think this is Dragonball. Yeah, calling the power of the cosmos?! This fight originated because someone ate Delmin’s melon bread and she suspected her papa. True enough it is him as both are blown away. And everything is just an exaggerated story created by Ruhuyu.

Episode 9
Reijin sings the opener for the official opening for the sports festival for girl bands. So the rest of the participating bands are as we expect: Plasmagica, Mashumairesh, Criticrista and BVL. We see them taking part in weird sports. Because Ailane is clumsy most of the time, it is not surprising that BVL is dead last on the rankings. Then the next event is a band performance in which BVL is up. OMG. Is BVL singing a song that is tearing apart the heavens?! Not sure if this is part of the programme because suddenly their dark rock music summons thorny vines and attack other participants! Is this turning into some horror survival game?! Of course with Ailane’s dark power spiralling out of control, Cyan and Howan do a duet to bring the light to her and bring back normalcy. Ailane realizes her defeat and is about to give up but the rest tell her not to because the games is not over yet. So the final event is a relay race. Uhm, doesn’t this give bands with less members the disadvantage? And the winner takes it all with this million points?! Anyway, Mashumairesh takes the early lead until BVL manages to catch up and steal the leading spot. On to the homestretch, Ailane as the anchor is pushing herself until she trips! Oh dear. With everyone seemingly crossing the finish line together, the photo finish reveals Ailane crossed it first! With that, they earn insane amount of points to win everything! Later, BVL confronts Mashumairesh and throws down their challenge to crush them at the upcoming concert. Mashumairesh is happy since they remember their name.

Short: Criticrista going over a script for a commercial they are doing. It is suggested they use staccato and I guess the director is okay with whatever suggestions they come up because they’re just so damn cute. And that means Criticrista being the cutie pies they are successfully do their filming in 1 take. I don’t know if that was staccato but whatever.

Episode 10
Dokofin will also be performing at Worldwide Love Rock Festival. This is because as said by Judas (Jinbabue who is also Trichronika’s manager), Trichronika will not be performing due to scheduling conflicts with their thank you galaxy tour concert. Dokofin doesn’t really care until a group of fan girls go up to them and say how much they’re looking forward to it. While Mashumairesh thinks of writing a new song for it, Plasmagica is invited by Shuuzou to his galaxy tour. Dokofin reluctantly heads to Trichronika’s office to get some advice but they accidentally break a golden statue of Shuuzou. Oh dear. How are they going to compensate? I guess sorry isn’t going to be enough. But the merciful Shuuzou suggests they help out in their concert. Dokofin watch them rehearse and see how they are on a different level. Before their concert begins, Dokofin confronts Trichronika to admit they had the wrong idea of them. They thought they were just flashy idols. So please show us what you’ve got. Okay. But they too must show their passion. How? Dokofin becomes the opening performance for Trichronika. They rock their usual stuff. Trichronika also rocks and from Dokofin’s reaction, it’s like they’re better than them. Oh well, one day they’ll surpass them, right? Shuuzou then announces that their tour will now last for a year as they go around the globe in their airship! Oh sh*t! This means Dokofin and Plasmagica won’t get back in time for the Worldwide Love Rock Festival! They panic as they cooperate to look for a way to get back down. Oh look. How convenient there are 2 escape pods with 4 seats each. Moa as an alien can definitely fly one. What about Dokofin? Just push all the buttons! Well, not the smoothest ride but they use this opportunity to write a new song! And when they crash land, they finished their song! Yeah, it’s going to be awesome. Meanwhile Trichronika is looking for those missing bands. Because they’ve prepared a charter flight back for them. Oh well…

Short: Judas talks to Shuuzou about Dokofin who will be performing in Trichronika’s place. However Shuuzou has a tough time pronouncing their name. Each time Judas tries to teach him how to say it, he comes out saying it differently altogether! Damn, he really butchered their name! Man, this is stressful! Is their name really hard to pronounce or did he not say it clear? In the end, it could be Shuuzou trolling because he said it correctly. Once.

Episode 11
Mashumairesh has finished their greatest song. Only 1 problem: Himeko hasn’t written any lyrics yet! Uhm, can it just be an awesome instrumental? So they brainstorm but nothing comes out of it. And then there’s that interview they have to do that will be put in the programme for the festival. Maple takes the liberty to interview them. He interviews Himeko first and asks normal questions. Until he starts asking her charm points. Yeah, he looks and sounds like a pervert now! You’re frightening her! Thank goodness for Angelica straightening him up in that room. So this interview thingy takes a back seat as Mashumairesh prioritizes their lyrics first. Still hitting a dead end, they ask Plasmagica for some idea. Well, Plasmagica is Plasmagica. How can this fit Mashumairesh? Hence they hit the beach to do some reflection. I guess we need more Ruhuyu-Delmin friendship screen time. Then they take a look at Ruhuyu’s notebook as she recorded all their time here. Basically a very brief flashback of everything that happened this season. So it’s a miracle that they got through all that, huh? I think that’s it. The miracle. Himeko now knows what to write. I guess they even have time to complete the interview and have more practice. The big day is here. Worldwide Love Rock Festival is ready to rock and roll! All the bands we know are gearing up for the biggest performance ever. Except for Mashumairesh. Got up late because nobody set the alarm clock and they’re running like hell towards the site. Déjà vu? Hey, at least Howan didn’t forget her guitar this time. Nobody freaking gave them a ride?! Where’s f*cking Maple when you need him?! Oh, so as not to forget, there’s that ghost we almost forgot about, hovering over the stadium.

Short: Remember those Myumon students? They’re lamenting and wishing they could go see Worldwide Love Rock Festival. Yeah, all the cool and unknown bands will be there. The problem is that it clashes with their exams. Sighs…

Episode 12
Looks like Mashumairesh made it. But now they’re anxious! Oh boy. But don’t worry, a few nice words from Howan to calm their nerves. See? All blown away. Same can be said for Dokofin. Yeah, they want Hachin to do something stupid do make it less tense? Shingan Crimsonz next door tells them to pipe down. Before a gang fight could occur, Rom says to fight it out via music. Mashumairesh goes first but what’s this? Suddenly the ghost zaps them! OMFG! Howan is wheeled into the emergency area and the doctor diagnoses her as just sleeping. Yeah, passed out from the shock. No biggies. Just need to wait for her to wake up. Meanwhile the show carries on. Nobody bothered enough to do something about the ghost? Okay then. Play on. Next in line is Shingan Crimsonz, followed by Arcareafact and then Dokofin. Each time the monster getting more intense? With the guys out of the way, it’s the ladies’ turn now. Starting with BVL and then Reijin. Meanwhile Maple has expected a reporter, Rameka to show up. She claims she knows the ghost. He is Ziipe Parisugawa and performed at some ultimate galactic concert 69 years ago. At the peak of his performance, his soul came out. I take it, he died on stage. His soul then wandered and ended up in Rameka’s amplifier at the studio she was saying. She heard his wish that if he could hear the ultimate sound once more, he’ll go in peace. And there’s your answer to put this ghost to rest. Just play your best music. So for now he is the embodiment of all the negative feelings that failed musicians have. By the time Criticrista has finished their turn, Howan wakes up. You bet all is not lost yet. Plasmagica goes up to calm the ghost. He is thrilled but needs more. I guess this is Mashumairesh’s second chance. Take it away, girls! Eventually they are joined by the other bands, making it this series’ rock version of We Are The World. You bet Ziipe is now satisfied. Let the music heal your soul. Case closed. Easy. When Mashumairesh return home, they are shocked to see a mini Ziipe with Master. He loves their music so much that he wants to hear more! Yeah, it’s so good to be alive because you can’t hear any music when you’re really dead, right?

Battle Of The Furry Bands
So all this feels like nothing burger, huh? The concert was a success, hooray, good for everybody. I mean, it was just f*cking mind boggling that nobody was bothered of Ziipe’s presence. I guess music > ghost. But it still didn’t explain why Ziipe took 69 years to make his move. Oh right, it’s that magical number. So were there any missing musicians in the first place or was that all unfounded rumours to begin with? And of all the concerts, he has to haunt this one? I suppose Trichronika’s space concert isn’t going to be that great, huh? So this turned out to be just one lousy plot just to have everybody sing together. Which also feels like a rip-off because you only hear them sing part of their song. Heck, I think some like BVL and Criticrista, their turn at the stage was cut short! Not fair! And TAM not even featured. Are they not stars?! But who cares at this point, right? Since the Worldwide Love Rock Festival isn’t some sort of competition, everybody is just out there to perform and entertain everyone. Mission accomplished. Now we can all go home happy.

I have only myself to blame for expecting the entire season to be all-stars material. I mean, I should think about it. Can all dozen episodes be just about the different bands performing and battling each other on stage? That would be super boring, don’t you think? Might as well go watch real live concerts or actual performances dedicated to just singing and dancing on stage. Hence I have been misled (more like misinterpreted) that was what Stars would mean. Because this season feels pretty much a lot on Mashumairesh. And a bit on Plasmagica. They’re both the stars of the previous seasons, right? So there. That could be the real meaning of Stars in the title. And not what is blatantly stated in the synopsis of an all-star season featuring bands from previous seasons. Sure it does feature all of the stars. In the end. But like I said, a big part of the season still feels like a continuation of Mashumairesh’s adventures and basically Mashumairesh’s second season.

So basically we see them bump into various bands we know from previous seasons. Looking back in retrospect, I think this season is still as boring as f*ck! Save for the first couple of episodes which took an interesting turn because they went to prison and court! Man, that was totally refreshing. But then the rest of the season feels like boring cliché as we see them deepen their band relationship as they prepare for the biggest festival ever. Yeah, they throw in that ghost thingy too at the start, which also made the start of the season interesting. But then it feel into obscurity along the way, making us forget and wonder what the f*ck it had anything to do with anything. Like as though this was written on the fly. Yeah, why was Ziipe trying to attack other bands in earlier episodes when his goal was to just hear the ultimate sound? And shouldn’t he be attacking bands that are playing or practising. Where the f*ck was Ziipe when the music was playing all over Midi City? WTF, right? Doesn’t make sense. And of course the final episode to put everything together (barely). So are you happy and entertained now, the greatest show on the land?

So as not to bore us with all the cute girl stuffs, hence that is why the male counterparts who are Dokofin also have some episodes focusing the spotlight on them. It feels strange that this series has like 2 different sets of audiences to target. All-female bands are for all those cute girly stuffs while all-male bands are for those edgy hardcore manly stuffs. Personally, many of the all-male bands stand out because they’re like jokers with all the gar and manly passion. Sure, the girls have their passion too but it’s pretty tame compared to the guys who can actually take a beating and then laugh it off. Yeah, if the girls here get abused, you’ll hear from all the women’s right activist or something. I’m still waiting for a mixed band with both male and females in it. Don’t you think that would be better? Bringing out the best of both genders when they perform their music?

The bigger irony that these dudes especially Shingan Crimsonz are often ignored and not known by their other bands under the same umbrella label. Looking at you, Plasmagica. Both are under BRR and the irony is that they don’t even know each other exist. At least from Plasmagica’s point of view. It’s like they don’t even care? It’s like they’re from different worlds and dimensions but existing only in the same plane. Really strange for me to arrive at that line of thought but that is how it feel. The same can be said for Mashumairesh and Dokofin but they’re not under the same label so I can see why. Still, I can’t help feel that I expected to see them to cooperate in something (and I mean something more than that final all-stars music get-together singing) but if I should have seen it coming from past seasons, it is that male and female bands don’t mix. Not even in non-music adventures. WTF, this segregation?!

So much has been said and seen about Mashumairesh and a bit on Plasmagica, what about the other bands? Well, it feels like over the season, they’re just making their cameo. And as I’ve pointed out, their cameo is just to help Mashumairesh discover themselves further. For example, that nonsensical training with TAM. Don’t even mention that sports festival for girl bands only. Because that’s the only way they could include BVL in here. Otherwise, I’ve actually forgotten about them! Hence one reason I was slightly disappointed as I was thinking that each of these other bands would get an episode fully focused on them. Remember, my ‘misinterpretation’ on this all-star season. But look what we’ve got? More Mashumairesh instead. Can they still be fresh after 2 seasons? And how can they call this season all-stars when not even half of all the bands are featured! What do I mean? Take a look at their official website and you can see about 35 bands in total! That’s not even half featured this season! Oh f*ck, is there one demonic Halloween monster band I see there? That should be an interesting one… Oh, we’ve got a Power Rangers one too?! And angels with halo?! Damn, why these bands looking much more interesting than the cutesy ones we have here!

Yeah, I’m having way too much expectations for a series that I’m not really a big fan of. Because I was also thinking that with the surprising cameo of Dagger, I thought this season was going to be as dark when this series started. He could be just trolling with his new leaf turning thingy but I guess his role ended just there. And what happened to that Rikao lawyer dude?! Did we forget about him? Too bad we don’t get to see his band perform. Thus no all-stars treatment this season. Wow. So many potentials at the start but look at how it fizzled out throughout the season? Now you know why I’m disappointed, no?

I suppose this season has not so much content because they can even put in shorts at the end of every episode. The last time this series had such shorts, it was to help promote the second season. I guess no such gimmick for this season. And to make up for that extra runtime at the end, hence the shorts. Otherwise this season’s episodes could very well finish under 20 minutes. Otherwise, the shorts are comical and nonsensical in their own ways. Like as though they had nowhere in the episode proper to put this little funny stuff and hence make it as the episode’s appendix. Oh heck, they can’t put it anywhere in it anyway.

Also, let me nit-pick because by now those who have been watching this series would know that the magical and favourite number of the series is 69. Because when you pronounce that number in Japanese, it sounds like ‘rock’ (roku + kyuu). But if you are a westerner especially Americans, that number carries a whole different connotation. Oh yeah. Therefore it is funny to think about this when the characters or the setting spam this number. It’s all about the rock but you can’t help think where’s the yuri or the sexy stuff?! I’m sure some of the female pairings like Howan-Himeko, Ruhuyu-Delmin and even Cyan-Retoree might give off that yuri vibe. Sorry horny folks, no Sex And The (Midi) City. Just Rock And The (Midi) City! Hahaha!

If you’re a music fan, you will definitely feel at home with all the band music here. But since I’m not, I’m going to call them just passable. Heck, I don’t think I remember any of the songs played this season or from the last. Sorry people, I just don’t find their brand of music to be memorable or to my taste. Even TAM’s unique brand of mixing traditional Japanese music and rock doesn’t seem to be memorable to me. Therefore Doremifa Stars by Plasmagica and Mashumairesh as this season’s opening theme sounds rather okay to me and if not weird. Girls trying to sing rock music but exude all their cuteness into it. Not sure whether it is cute or cringe when I see Cyan and Howan trying to do Chuck Berry’s iconic duck walk dance. Definitely this is Mashumairesh’s season as they sing the ending theme, Hoshizora Light Story. Typical rock music from Mashumairesh.

Overall, my sentiments for this series may still be the same as I find this season to be lacking and boring. It’s all about the cute bands, their friendship and of course the music. Nothing more. It’s all just feel good and fluffy-fluffy cloud nine feelings. Damn, now I really wish a big bad corporation or some evil entity would really come into the picture and shake things up. To give our yuri female bandmates and hardcore gar male dudes a reason to fight for the future of music! A loser ghost couldn’t do the job and trolled us. I won’t discount that this series might get another season and who knows, perhaps a new cute all-female band as new stars? Sure. Okay with that. But Demons Venom better be there too!

Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai

This Love Live franchise still going strong? Oh, I’m not really an idol fan so I wasn’t keeping up. So yeah, apparently it is still going strong so much so we have another spinoff. So which school again needs to be saved from closing down? Uhm… What did you say? You mean there is no school this time that is facing any closure due to lack of enrolment and hence the need to form an idol unit to increase the school’s popularity? So then, what’s the point of Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai then? Oh, I see. It’s just about a group of girls coming together to form an idol club and live out their dreams of becoming an idol. I don’t know, doesn’t that sound pretty boring and generic? At least from how far this franchise has come? Oh gee. Well then. At least no immense pressure to save the school by winning the coveted idol title.

Episode 1
Ayumu Uehara and Yuu Takasaki are hanging out at the mall when they see a lone idol, Setsuna Yuuki performing. You bet they are enthralled by her performance. They are interested to know more about her and the poster says she is from Nijigasaki’s school idol club. Hey, that’s their school too! Next day, Yuu is pretty enthusiastic and wanting to go meet Setsuna and even wanting to join the club. Yeah, she watched a ton of idol videos last night and she’s hooked. Ayumu isn’t so sure but tags along. However it’s hard to find the club and nobody knows where it is. With a school looking like a shopping complex having over hundred clubs, that’s why. Then they stop to ask Rina Tennoji but she’s too shy So Ai Miyashita points out where it is. Why has nobody heard of it? Simple. It was only formed this year. When they finally get to the club, the student council president, Nana Nakagawa (creep, she knows all of her students’ names!) tells them that this club is no more because it has just disbanded. SAY WHAT?! And we see all the idol club members here and there being dejected. Ayumu and Yuu are also sad. They felt something could’ve begun but oh well, time to resume their normal lives. Until Ayumu then reveals that she too watched a ton of idol videos and was taken in by it. She suggests creating their own school idol club. She was hesitant because of the fear of getting too emotional and scared. To prove how much she loves idols, Ayumu starts dancing and singing. Damn, it’s like she’s a pro and has her own music video to boot! You convinced now? Let’s see through this dream together!

Episode 2
Kasumi Nakasu sneaks into Nana’s room to search for the idol club’s sign. She got busted but manages to get what she wants and escapes. However it is wasted effort because that room now belongs to some other club. And she gets an earful from Nana too. Kasumi rues this fate and even more so her drama club pals can’t help out (obviously). Thinking of continuing the club herself and become the president, she hears Ayumu and Yuu wanting to become idols. Hey girls, care to join me? Though, Yuu mentions she doesn’t intend to be one but just support Ayumu. Anyway, Kasumi ropes them in as their goal now is to find a suitable place for their club. Looks like this open park will do. Next, to recruit more members. Kasumi demonstrates how to do a very cute (but embarrassing?) introductory video. She lets Ayumu try but is obviously embarrassed and stiff. Fail. Later they ask why the club got disbanded. Kasumi explains briefly they were doing well after formation but there was a breakdown when they decided to do their debut performance. They couldn’t decide and the club went on hiatus. Especially Kasumi disagreeing about it is not passion that the club needs but cuteness. This has her realize that she may be doing the same thing. So as she bums out and talks to saviour Yuu about this, Ayumu practises her intro alone. Only to be seen by Karin Asaka. Oops. But Karin gives her some good advice and this gives Ayumu some confidence. She then returns to Kasumi to record a truly simple but meaningful intro video. With Yuu adding that it doesn’t matter if everyone has different goals as long they can be the best they can be, I guess Kasumi takes it that she is going to be the cutest anyway. And she’ll create a place like that. Cue for Kasumi to sing her own solo music video. Cute. Meanwhile Karin confronts Nana and returns the directory containing all the Nijigasaki’s student names she ‘borrowed’. She points out she couldn’t find anyone by the name of Setsuna Yuuki. Like as though she does not exist. So how can Nana talk to someone like that and disband the club? Unless Nana is Setsuna herself!

Episode 3
Nana admits that and her ex-clubmates are shocked that she quit and not gone on hiatus as told. But Nana is adamant she has quit being a school idol and Setsuna. If they want to continue, go ahead without her. And so Nana continues her mundane job as student council president. Until she catches Yuu playing the piano unauthorized. Yuu then explains how much she loves idols especially the one named Setsuna. Wow. So passionate. Nana then tells her that the idol club has been disbanded but as long as they have the minimum 5 members, they can come apply again. Nana then explains when Setsuna had to call it quits. At first she started out passionately to strive for Love Live but realized she was only holding back her friends. She realized she was just being selfish. So if this is Nana’s plan to discourage her, well… But we all know Nana is the one suffering inside. So if she was really bent on quitting, why watch her old videos? And for God’s sake, why read those comments… Later Karin reveals to a shocked Kasumi that Nana is Setsuna. Well, if Setsuna wants to quit, just let her do so. The club can continue since they have the numbers, right? Of course everyone wonders if this is okay. Does Setsuna feel that way? Eventually they feel they still need her. So they call for Setsuna AND Nana to meet at the rooftop. Nana is surprised to see Yuu. She claims she wasn’t discouraged. This only triggers Nana as she yells her head off that if she is back in, she’ll just hold everyone back. Wow. So mad. In that case, don’t aim for Love Live! Say what? What Yuu meant was, Love Live is important too. But more important is Setsuna being happy. She is fine if she gets to hear her songs. Oh, it’s okay for her to be selfish too. Don’t regret that. Because with that, Nana decides to come back and to usher the return of Setsuna, here’s her solo music video. Yeah, sing loud enough so that the whole school knows who’s back.

Episode 4
Ai and Rina are so amazed by Setsuna so they decide to join the idol club. The more the merrier. But they don’t know what an idol club does! Don’t worry, not even the idol girls themselves know! Hence they brainstorm for ideas or at least the kind of live performances they want to do. In addition to that, some continue their training like Rina and Kanata Konoe training their bodies to be more flexible if they want to do dancing. Ai gives them some tips since her own body is quite flexible due to her athletic nature and volunteerism in helping other sports clubs. Then there’s a session of Kasumi asking what school idols need. Apparently every answer including ‘I don’t know’ is valid because as long as the fans are happy, any answer is correct answer. I thought she was just trying to get them to brainstorm ideas… Then we see Rina and Ai bonding closer with Setsuna over some favourite anime of theirs. When the girls talk and wonder if they can go out there and perform as solo idols, this has Ai thinking a lot. Will there be something she can do on her own that everyone will enjoy? Unlike sports that have straightforward rules, such rules don’t exist for idols. What kind of path is there for idols? Then a talk with Emma Verde and after her accidental puns and her praising how Ai has brought a lot of smiles to the club than before, Ai realizes she loves it when others have fun. She loves running down uncharted paths with so many unknowns. Yeah, it motivated her so much to sing her own solo music video at the park. She proves her point since everyone is happy with her performance. This motivates the rest that if this is how amazing a solo performance is, imagine what they can do together as a group. Yeah, you do the maths. Next day, Ai is making puns but only Yuu is really laughing hard at them all. Literally, ROFL. LOL…

Episode 5
We get to know a little more about Emma. So she came all the way from Switzerland just to eat Japanese food? That and wanting to be a school idol too. So that doesn’t exist in the Swiss? I suppose singing to her goats whom she considers like her siblings can be thought as idol material. I hope it isn’t yodelling. Emma, Girl of the Alps… Anyway she quickly became friends with Karin and learns she is quite a popular model. With Ayumu’s solo video gaining more views (I guess 2000 over views isn’t that bad), Kasumi hopes the rest can do solo videos to boost their popularity. So as they brainstorm what kind of idols they want to be, the most important thing for an idol is clothes. So Emma has Karin use her connections to get costume and accessories club to do some try-outs. But Emma notices something wrong with Karin. It’s like she’s not happy wanting to be an idol and claims she is busy with her modelling job. This has Emma worried and thinking something is not right. Until she stumbles into Karin’s questionnaire from the modelling agency. Right away she rushes to Karin and ‘forces’ her to hang out with her. Yeah, had a lot of fun, didn’t she? Emma then hands back the questionnaire. Seems Karin wrote she is most interested to become a school idol. Emma is baffled why she acted like she hated idols and bottled up those feelings. This has herself thinking she can’t make everyone feel warm if she can’t even make her best friend feel that way. Of course Karin denies, blaming herself that she did so because she’s supposed to be the cool and mature one. Weird logic, but it’s cue for Emma to blow away that dilemma with her own music video. Alps version. Needless to say, Karin is now motivated to become a school idol. So she has always been a school idol from the start? Always has been… And with that, Karin officially joins the club. Can she be a top model and top school idol at the same time? Of course. Nothing’s impossible if you put your mind to it.

Episode 6
Rina always wanted to make friends but thanks to her shy demeanour, she couldn’t. Of course the first one to talk to her in high school was Ai. As the idol girls play some VR game at the mall, some of their classmates praise them of their cool intros. Especially Rina’s since she used quite a cute avatar. Because of that, Rina announces she wants to do a solo concert here. Later she wonders if she was too hasty in making that decision since she really wanted her friends to see her in action. She also feels that her avatar doesn’t reflect the real her. Oh well, you know the drill. The rest will support her. I take it, that means the show is on. But for now, more training. All is going well right until the day before the concert, suddenly Rina realizes something and becomes depressed. She shuts herself in her room! WTF?! Time for her idol pals to go talk to her and see what’s wrong. Well, well. Rina hiding underneath a box in addition to shutting herself in her room! Ultimate recluse! She can’t beat Metal Gear Solid’s Snake, though. So Rina talks about her insecurities that she has not changed since despite yearning to have friends. She still thinks she doesn’t have any despite trying to change. Because of that, she fears people would misunderstand her if she puts up the wrong expression. At this rate, she feels she can’t keep up. Okay girls. You know the drill. Say all the positive things that lifts her spirits and motivation up. With that, can the timid girl get out of her box? Better, she now knows what to do. So on her solo concert, Rina pops out with a mini monitor over her face that will show all the cute emoji expressions. Yeah, I wonder how she can see but whatever. And so Rina performs and connects with her audience. Next day, her classmates were so awed about yesterday’s performance, so I take it they want to be friends with her now, huh? Rina’s new trend I suppose if she can’t wear her monitor all the time, she draws a sketch of her emoji face to show her expression.

Episode 7
Haruka who is Kanata’s sister wants to visit her idol group. Splendid. Haruka herself is an idol of her own school idol club at Shinonome Academy. So everyone is glad to meet Haruka’s little sister. Maybe except for Kasumi who thinks she is their rival out to spy. She wants to prove that they are the better school idol club but records show that Shinonome is way better than Nijigasaki by a mile. And because Kasumi took too long to introduce herself in her cute way, looks like everyone left her behind to show Haruka around. After all the good hospitality, Haruka soon learns that Kanata still has problems stretching and often falls asleep due to all that tiredness. Yeah, looks like everyone has their share in lending their lap pillow for her nap. Because of that, Haruka drops the bombshell that she is going to quit as an idol so she can concentrate taking care of Kanata who is currently helming the household chores since mom is always busy working. She can’t pursue his dreams knowing her sister is going to kill herself at this rate! My, such drama. Of course with both sisters disagreeing, eventually this leads to some awkward and tense moments. So we see Kanata spacing out, worrying and thinking a lot about this issue. Long story short, with her pals giving her some emotional support, looks like the best way to settle this problem is to do a solo music video for Haruka. Cute. So I guess they compromise that they’ll both support each other because they care each other so much. Big sisterly hug! Yeah, I mean, who says they both can’t be idols and sisters at the same time?

Episode 8
Shizuku Osaka who is also part of the drama club, it seems she was helming a lead role for an upcoming performance but a club member decides to replace her, citing she couldn’t put her heart into the role. So Shizuku’s depression is obvious so Kasumi and Rina decide to hang out with her and cheer her up. But it’s not really working. She’s still gloomy as she reveals her love for old movies, the reason she got into acting. The other reason is to forget herself. Wow. Having deep problems for her age, eh? This also somehow affects Kasumi as she feels at a loss on how to bring back her smiles. But with some motivational words from Rina, now she knows what to do. She goes confront Shizuku to ask directly what the problem is. In short, Shizuku has this issue of expressing herself truly because of her fear of people hating me. And something about being torn between an idol and an actress. This pisses off Kasumi as it’s her turn to give her a piece of her mind. Kasumi views herself as cute but yet there are many who never told her so. Case in point, have you, Shizuku? Now that she mentions it, well, Kasumi is cute. There. She said that just fine. There might be others who don’t like Shizuku but for Kasumi, she loves everything about her. So she better do the second audition to get that role back. And just like magic, Shizuku does all that and gets her lead role back again. Everyone goes to see her play which is about, yup, fear of expressing her true self. And bonus for everyone too, she sings and dance to her own music video at the end of it all. Her performance is a success and what words does she have to say for her fans? Please see her for who she is.

Episode 9
Our girls think it is time to discuss about their concert. But oh look, Haruka is here and who did she bring? Himeno Ayanokouji from the idol club of Touou Academy suggests performing in a concert at a festival with her group. She heard how well they did during the drama festival and wanted to see what kind of concert they can put on. However there is 1 problem: The idol block for the concert can only hold 3 idol songs. So if Touou and Shinonome has 1 song as a group each, this means Nijigasaki can have only 1 song. So what’s the problem? Uhm, Nijigasaki is not a group idol and are solo idols? So only 1 of them can go on stage? So I guess they’re not ready as an idol group, huh? So as the rest think of drawing straws, Karin quickly shoots down that idea because if they resort to that, can they say they grew as idols? She doubts Ayanokouji invited them from the goodness of their heart. Hence they must readily pick a member who can face that challenge head on. Woah. Why the suspicions, lady? Later Karin tries to get to some dance school but keeps getting lost. Setsuna, Yuu and Ayumu are nearby because of a store selling idol goods nearby. Yeah, the dance school is just opposite. It’s embarrassing but Karin might be bad at reading maps and has a bad sense of direction. They have thought about what Karin said and they agree to discuss about picking a member. And in the end, they all voted to pick Karin. I don’t know if it’s karma. Oh, right. It’s her turn. The music festival begins and we probably see the nicest b*tch showdown between Karin and Ayanokouji. But it might be that Karin would have to eat her words because suddenly she feels scared?! When she doesn’t come back, the rest fear she is lost. Didn’t take long to find her. And what do you know? Karin admits she is scared after talking big. Okay, girls. Cue to give your pep talk of motivation. Karin must be feeling weird why they’re so nice to her after being mean. Because we’re friends-cum-rivals, silly! And with that, Karin goes on stage to do her solo performance. In the end, Ai and Kasumi feel jealous and regret that they wanted to be the one up there. Don’t worry. You’ll get your chance. Remember they have their own concert to plan. And for that, Setsuna suggests a training camp.

Episode 10
Oh damn, did Kasumi failed her tests?! That’s not cute! That’s not even funny! But it all doesn’t matter because training camp here we come! Guess where? Right in school itself! Hey, no budget. Can’t complain. Looks like the girls are having fun cooking and eating than getting any training. Hey, it’s only the first day. Then we have that talk between Setsuna and Yuu, the former being grateful to the latter because had not that happened, she wouldn’t have been a school idol right now. Yeah, both of them so close to each other, is Ayumu getting worried? A funny moment, Kasumi, Shizuku and Rina thought they could scare Karin, Kanata and Emma with their scary costumes. Ironically, the latter group put on their makeup so bad that they’re scarier! Oh sh*t! That night when all is sleeping, Kasumi tries to get her revenge but Setsuna smacks her down in her sleep! I think she’s the scariest of them all. Next day, the training begins. Since it is boring just running laps, they start playing tag. Hey, it’s still running, right? Yuu gets caught first so as she sits in ‘prison’, she goes through all the comments and praises from the music festival. She realizes not many people knew what school idols are and yet they cheered on them. Duh, can’t be booing them, right?! Now that the running is all over and they’re sweating from head to toe, I know what’s coming? Pool episode! But don’t worry, all their swimsuits are safe. And then a talk between Ayumu and Yuu about their dreams taking on the next step. With everyone’s motivation at all time high (cue for great fireworks to boot), Yuu hypes them all up about making bigger dreams. We make sing and everyone happy, basically. Sounds like a lot of fun, no? For the icing on the cake, she suggests they themselves do a school idol festival for everyone who loves school idols! Oh yeah! We can do it! Yeah, at the same time why not plan world domination too?

Episode 11
Kasumi and Yuu head to the student council to hand in their application for the festival. WTF, they don’t know what a school idol is???!!! These girls literally have no life! Nana trying to stay neutral as possible… But they can’t approve now as it lacks a lot of details and the likes. So if they get all this done, then it can be considered. Okay girls, you now know what to do. So we see they do what they do like Kasumi coming up with a cute (?!) suggestion box for their performance venue but it came back empty because it’s the summer vacation. Then there’s the cementing of Yuu and Ayumu’s friendship. Pretty standard affair. So once they’ve got it all sorted, they return to the student council. They show the suggestion box that is now full, thanks to the word of mouth spread. Yeah, basically everybody would love to lend their support for the idols in any way they can. Looks like the student council members also looked up on what school idol means. Yeah, they’re interested in it too. One even mentioning Setsuna as her favourite! Damn. In such a short time? Anyway, she thinks Nana is a fan of Setsuna too, seeing she sounds passionate about her. Well, technically… And with that, Nana stamps the big approval for the idol club. Hooray! But since we still have some time, it’s time to ramp up Yuu and Ayumu’s friendship drama. Yeah, Ayumu getting all concerned seeing Setsuna and Yuu too close to each other. Later as Setsuna accompanies Ayumu to buy drinks, the latter asking what they talked about together the other day. Oh, stuffs. And something about Yuu playing the piano. Oh Ayumu, you didn’t mean to look THIS shock? I guess she didn’t know. Hence that’s the excuse for her to become depressed but soon, like all in good convenient timing, Ayumu messages her to meet. So at her place, Ayumu shows he the keyboard she has been practising with. She meant to tell her about it but only when she became good at it. I suppose that took a while. However this has Ayumu snap that she told Setsuna first instead of her. Is Setsuna more important than her?! Yuu remains cool. Because that’s not it. What she wanted to tell her lies further. But before she can tell about her dreams, Ayumu shuts her up. No spoilers, please. Now she doesn’t want to hear it? Because Ayumu has always wanted for them to be together. To be a school idol just for her. So just be mine only. Eh? What?! Am I reading too much on this?

Episode 12
Sorry folks. No hot lesbo sex tonight. Ayumu’s isn’t in the mood and goes home. Next day, they try to head to school and act normal. But we can just feel the awkwardness between them. Setsuna is glad Shinonome and Touou agree to participate in their festival. Kasumi rallies her girls to practice but looks like other students need a favour from them so I guess they prefer to help them out rather than whatever Kasumi’s practice. Only Ayumu is left but she too has a girl calling for her. Oh Kasumi, you’re alone. So sad. Not to be left out, a girl calls for Kasumi. So happy. Yuu needs to properly talk things out with Ayumu but looks like the latter still isn’t ready. Because she takes it that they can’t be together anymore. Like, HOW?! If she won’t listen, how can Yuu explain herself?! Later, Ayumu opens up her problems to Setsuna and is afraid of the things that are changing. What’s this about the only person she likes now isn’t just confined to Yuu? I don’t see what the problem is?! Setsuna stays positive because since they started this, they need to see it through. When Yuu finally gets a hold of Ayumu to meet, she shows her a personal flower garden that she and her fans made. All just for you! With love! With lots of lovely words, you know the drill. Their friendship is back on track. We love all of you! This allows Yuu to tell Ayumu about her dreams of playing music for others. This means she will be taking a music course next year. They won’t see each other as often but their hearts are connected, right? So they credit the other as why they’re able to find their dream. So is this where they part? Because Ayumu sings her own solo music video just for her. Later Yuu shows Ayumu part of the song she composed. Lovely.

Episode 13
Yuu tells her friends about what she’s going to do and as expected, all of them support her and will do what they can to help. The festival is here as we see everyone having a good time. Apparently the idol girls are holding their own separate concerts at separate venues around the school, each with their own distinctive theme. Yeah, how is a big nerdy idol fan going to cover everything?! But time for some much needed drama. Because life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Oh dear. What’s happening? Subsequent concerts are soon starting to be cancelled… Why? Because it starts raining!!! OMFG. It’s just raining normally and not even a downpour. Can’t they go out and just perform? Well, I suppose they aren’t waterproof. And just when the rain stops, it is almost at the festival end. Can they continue? Of course they can! Because don’t believe in God, believe in the power of idol friendship!!! Yeah, everyone is still hanging around so you bet our idol girls still have time to get ready and put up one last performance. And that performance is finally for the first time a group showpiece. Of course, thanking everyone and everybody too, the usual drill. In the aftermath, the girls receive lots of email from other schools who absolutely love their festival. Yeah, they want to collaborate. That’s not it. There are letters from other countries expressing how great it is! Don’t stop there! Are there messages from other dimensions too?! Okay, guess not. So I guess this means they have to have another festival with more fun collaborations. As for Yuu, she starts her new path as she takes a test to enter the music course.

Always Keep Chasing Rainbows!
Wow. Do you like what we see and hear? So if that’s the case, where’s the next season? Oh. I see so far this Nijigasaki franchise isn’t going to get another season at the time of this writing. But it looks like I read somewhere there is going to be another Love Live franchise?! Oh wow. More idol goodness to keep the Love Live name running for a long time. But as far as our Nijigasaki idols are concerned, looks like they’ll be busy planning ahead for their next festival. Make it bigger and better. No time to think about Love Live the competition. I mean, they’ve already created and carved their own name via this method, so why do they need to enter that competition for, right?

Obviously there isn’t anything very special and extraordinary about the plot. Just about a bunch of girls trying to live out their idol dreams. So they start small by trying to become popular and stand out within their own school first. No threat of the school closing down (it’s thriving so well that I think it could be its own nation if it wanted to!) and no pressure to perform at that prestigious idol competition known as Love Live. Gee, it all sounds very boring, doesn’t it? Well, perhaps to a non-fan and casual viewers. But either way if I think about it, even in the event if Nijigasaki did follow that same formula as its predecessors, I believe all the episodes that we have seen here could possibly be played out in a similar fashion. After all, in all the franchises and seasons that I have seen, these girls must work hard to become their basic dream of becoming an idol, no?

Hence in a way, this spinoff is probably a bit refreshing since it doesn’t have the basic setting of the school shutting down. Also, because of that, I believe Nijigasaki doesn’t even have their own name for their own idol unit. Yeah, they just called themselves after their own school. I mean, there’s no other idol units in Nijigasaki, right? So instead of having fancy names Muse or Aqours, they just go by their boring obvious school name. Because these girls aren’t vying for the Love Live competition, they don’t have natural competitors whom they can call rivals to compare themselves or set some standards. Oh wait. Can Shinonome and Touou be considered? Yeah, more boring obvious school named idol units. So not really sure if they really grow, if you know what I mean. Sure, we see them get better because which idol unit doesn’t? But where’s the yardstick to measure their progress? Even more so, the idol unit does solo concerts for the most part rather than as a group. Yeah, I can see why they haven’t really come up with a unique idol group name.

Speaking of which, seeing them as a group in the end feels a bit weird. Because as an idol unit that is supposed to show cohesion, unity and solidarity, everyone in the group would have dressed in the same uniform or at least just slight variations of each other. But for Nijigasaki, all the girls here wear their own trademark outfit. While it certainly looks really different and makes each one of them having that unique individualistic feel, sometimes it feels like they just came from other groups and were put together at the last minute. Get what I’m saying? Thus I can’t help feel that perhaps their group performance might be all over the place. Hey, it’s not like we get to see their entire performance, right? But since all the audiences were having a great time, I suppose it went well without a hitch. Heck, even getting complimentary international complimentary letters! So where are those scouts and agents who are supposed to scout them out and make them the next big idol thingy in the world? No, the universe!

So if the story isn’t anything exciting (hey, this is an idol show and music genre to begin with), this means the onus falls on the characters, right? Right. But like I have said, I’m not really an idol fan so I really find the characters, uhm, boring. Is that too strong a word for you idol and Nijigasaki fans? I suppose that’s why the group has a lot of members so they can at least dedicate an episode to a particular idol, see what her issue is and in the end everything turns out well. You know the drill. At the end of the day, I think there are a couple like Kanata, Shizuku and Emma whom I felt that were just winging it and their episode was just because, well, it’s their turn at the spotlight. They aren’t really memorable in the long run if you ask me. That’s why they try to give some sort of slightly odd personality to them in hopes that you’ll remember them such as Ai loving to make bad puns, Kanata loving to snooze and Emma coming all the way from the Swiss Alps.

At this point, I’m also thinking they recycled and ‘refurbish’ the characters so as to create new ones. What do I mean? For example, I thought Karin is the Kanan of Aqours and the Nozomi of Muse. Then for the shy girl trope, Rina is the Ruby of Aqours and Hanayo of Muse. For the energetic type, Ai is the spiritual successor for Aqours’ You and Muse’s Rin. So do you get what I am trying to say here? I can do a chart list of this and last a few more pages but I don’t want to bore myself with extra work just to prove my point. Lazy! I wonder if there are any lazy character tropes in this franchise. Oh, right. Muse’s Honoka, I suppose. Yeah, just shuffle and mix and match their character with a different look and voila! Got yourself a new character for this spinoff.

If I had to choose a ‘favourite’ one, you should know me by now, it should be the funniest girl. Oh, what’s this you say that I am a sucker for a pretty face and you thought I am always picking the prettiest of the lot? Sorry folks. None of them pretty enough to end up on my year ending Top Bishoujo blog! HAHAHA!!! HIDOI!!! But, HAHAHA!!! So anyway, my ‘favourite’ funny girl goes to Kasumi because, yeah, I find her being the funniest. She’s trying to be cute, huh? Well it works too because she’s being funny. At least it makes my viewing session of this spinoff to be a lot tolerable. I mean, me having to sit here for almost half an hour and see and listen to what ‘issues’ the idols are facing. It’s like watching paint dry… So seeing Kasumi trying to be cute and inadvertently being funny breaks me into a smile. Never fails. Kasumi, never stop being you. The other interesting (using this word very loosely here) character is Rina. Because I find it amusing that this shy poker face girl uses her sketchbook to draw her emotions out via emoticons.

Of course the main characters of this spinoff is Yuu and Ayumu. So much so their friendship can be called the biggest drama for this season (even shadowing Nana/Setsuna’s disbanding incident whatever). Yeah, they probably put this issue on hold in the middle so as to introduce and focus on the other girls first. Looking back in hindsight, it isn’t anything big. Sure, it is a big deal for them but to us viewers like yours truly, it’s not the end of the world Armageddon Apocalypse catastrophe where natural disasters destroy the land and aliens invade, kind of big deal. It’s your typical friendship woes just because they decide to move on to pursue their dreams, things change and probably that was the fear Ayumu didn’t want to materialize. The fear of the unknown and the narrow thinking that because they have to walk different paths, they cannot be together anymore. Of course as we have come to expect and see, all those fears were unfounded and a little bit of positivity helps a lot in bringing her out of the doldrums. Wow. Power of friendship. Never underestimate it. The best and most used ingredient ever in this kind of genre!

Initially, Yuu’s role confused me because I thought she was part of the Nijigasaki idol team. Despite early on she did say she didn’t want to become an idol, I thought she changed her mind seeing she continued to stay with the club. Hence I assume she is a regular member. So it was a bit baffling to me when I searched over the internet that Yuu wasn’t part of the team. Did they miss her out? Did she resign in the end? So yeah, I guess this unit group needs somebody to manage them. Manager role, huh? Certainly Muse and Aqours didn’t have managers. Not that I am aware of any. Those groups too had members who wrote songs so I guess they want to change the line-up a bit here. Otherwise, I would have added a few paragraphs above why this series is slightly refreshing different since they have 10 members instead of 9. So Yuu’s like the permanent non-member?

Music is an important element for this series but unfortunately for me, I don’t find any of the solo songs to be enticing or attractive. At least for the predecessors of this franchise, I still love Muse’s Start:Dash! (still the best one of all) and Aqours’ My Mai Tonight (a very distant second). But for this spinoff, nothing really memorable for me because once their elaborated music video is done, I usually forget how the song sounds. Okay, okay. If I really, really, really, really, really, really, really x 100 had to just pick one, the closest would be Kasumi’s Poppin’ Up because it is cutely lively. Rina’s Tsunagaru Connect is only because the lyrics are amusing but tune wise, not really my cup of tea. So if you like lively generic idol pop music like the opening theme, Nijiiro Passions and the ending theme, Neo Sky Neo Map (both of which are of course sung by the Nijigasaki idol girls), then I’m sure you’ll like their solo character songs.

As for the voice acting, I guess it is pretty okay. A new set of seiyuus lining up so when they become idols in real life they can also milk you dry by turning you into their fans. Just my speculation but I feel it’s like that… Anyway, many of them have very minor roles in a handful of animes they have voiced and are basically unknowns. Like Aguri Oonishi as Ayumu, Hinaki Yano as Yuu, Mayu Sagara as Kasumi, Chiemi Tanaka as Rina, Natsumi Murakami as Ai, Maria Sashide as Emma, Kaori Maeda as Shizuku and Natsumi Hioka as Ayanokouji. You may have a heard a little from the rest who are slightly a little more popular like Tomori Kusunoki as Setsuna, Akira Kitou as Kanata, Miyu Kubota as Karin and Kaede Hondo as Haruka.

Art and animation wise, looks pretty consistent with its predecessors. After all, this spinoff is animated by the veteran studio of Sunrise who also did the previous 2 Love Live series. And like I’ve mentioned before, the characters may look familiar to other girls in Muse of Aqours but just swap their personality with their hairstyle and hair colour. For example, Setsuna looks like Muse’s Umi while Yuu could be the alternate personality of Muse’s Niko. And perhaps Ai is the blonde counterpart for this spinoff as it was for Muse’s Eri and Aqours’ Mari. CGI is also used but mainly during the idol’s solo music video. Although not very jarring, you can see the CGI effects if you look closely enough. But it isn’t overall that bad. After all, when you want your video to look perfect and filled with all that sweet and lovely stuffs that surpass drugs and trippy LSD hallucinations, you got to make your CGI work. If only this quality of smoothness is employed in other animes where they used CGI…

Overall, fans of the idol genre and this franchise would only greatly appreciate this adaptation. Otherwise, casual viewers and non-fans like myself would find it utterly boring and nothing much ado. But I have only myself to blame since I have spent some time watching this genre so at this point I should know what to expect. It’s just your basic and typical idol show. What else to expect? So while it isn’t exactly a total disaster, I just find it to be boring. Or is not exciting the word you prefer to hear? Yeah, so disappointed nobody died or blood splattered all over the walls! Just kidding for those who seriously think I am. I’m not sure if they will have another season like its predecessors and it is hard to call since this Nijigasaki idol unit defers slightly from the rest (you know, no school saving, no Love Live competition, singing as solo singers rather than as a group). But oh well, those who can’t wait to see all the Love Live idol units face off can play the rhythm action game Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars (WTF?! It’s a mobile game???!!!) that came out in 2019. Wow. Nijigasaki took on Love Live heavyweights and champions, huh? Yup, it happened. Somewhere over the rainbow.

BanG Dream S3

Here it is. A year later after the second season aired, BanG Dream S3 came and went. When they announced the second and third season that time, I thought they were going to announce a fourth or even a fifth one. Heh. No such announcement. Got to stop getting ahead of myself. Anyway, this third season continues from where the second left off as we see some unfinished business being settled. Whose music do you like better? I don’t know. I’m here for the pretty girls with instruments. Of course they sure rock. Music sense, that is.

Episode 1
The committee is deciding the venue for the Girls Band Challenge BanG Dream finals. I guess Circle wasn’t good enough. You think you’re good enough for Budoukan? Oh wait. It’s Budoukan! Rokka narrates all the girl bands’ activities during the break. Wow. She really remembered what they all did? Whoever she is wary of Chuchu since she remembers her words of taking them down. Only, if she knew what beat them to a pulp meant. As Poppin’ Party frequent Galaxy, they are delighted to see the BanG Dream tournament. Galaxy will be one of the hosts for the preliminaries but the finals will be at Budoukan. Wow. Really seeing themselves perform there already, huh? I guess that is half the victory won. So as Poppin’ Party discuss about this great news, Kasumi invites Rokka to join their band so that she can come with them. Of course Rokka declines. Had Arisa not stop Kasumi’s persistence, this whole story could have gone a different direction. Meanwhile Chuchu is having auditions for her guitarist. None that are good enough for her ultimate band. As she is watching videos of Roselia’s performance, she spots a new video. It is a solo electric guitar performance of Rokka at the school festival. There’s her main guitarist. Pareo drops by Poppin’ Party’s place to hand them over an invitation. Then she goes to Rokka’s place to do the same. Woah. Pareo like a robot memorizing every detail about Rokka. Is this some sort of intimidation? The invitation turns out to be RAS’ solo performance and it seems Roselia is also invited. And of course, their performance blows everyone away and gives our girls the shivers. Then Chuchu announces that RAS will be performing at BanG Dream. To rub it in, she points out they’re going to beat Roselia and Poppin’ Party at it. First blood. That’s not all. In order for them to do that, Chuchu then focuses the spotlight on Rokka. She wants her to join RAS.

Episode 2
So what will it be? Panicky Rokka turns her down. Chuchu’s dumbfounded face… Priceless. Poppin’ Party discuss how Chuchu knows Rokka but more importantly, they need to make preparations for BanG Dream. Meanwhile Roselia isn’t interested in participating in BanG Dream because they are focused on Future World Fest. It’s not over for Rokka because Chuchu comes to her school to scout her. She can’t even find sanctuary inside her school as Chuchu has got all the documents necessary to enter. So when Rokka is called to the student council office, not only she is scared of seeing Chuchu, but the self-proclaimed best producer wants her to join now. Only saved by the bell because class is starting. No reprieve after school because Chuchu is waiting for her! Although Rokka runs, this time Chuchu has her lapdog Pareo to go after her. Hence begins one hell of a weird chase. Even Afterglow girls are watching in amusement. As Rokka is hiding (within hearing distance), she hears Chuchu rues her luck because she thought she has found the best guitarist. That should give her something to think about. At the vending machine, Chuchu stumbles into Yukina. She still demands an answer about the challenge. Yukina tells her that Roselia isn’t a stage for her to showcase her music, that’s why she rejected her offer. Chuchu remains haughty as she tells her to enjoy being the best while it lasts. Because of that, Yukina changes her mind and will participate in BanG Dream. Her members are surprised since this will put a strain in their packed schedule. When Masking returns home, she hears Rokka doing an awesome solo rocking. Now you know why Chuchu wants her? Then she ‘kidnaps’ Rokka (she’s bringing along the electric guitar too?!) and brings her to Chuchu’s studio. I think Rokka is going to be traumatized by all this. Then they let her play with RAS to show what she’s got. Despite being nervous, once the music starts, she’s a natural. She’s good, right? But at the end of the song, something doesn’t feel right. It seems Chuchu sensed that she censored her own music to comfort others. Sorry. You failed. Rokka looking disappointed…

Episode 3
Masking sends Rokka home. Awkward moment, right? The preliminaries get underway and bands can play as much as they want. Though, fans can only vote once. Only 2 finalists get to perform at the Budoukan. We see Roselia taking a massive lead with votes. Even with RAS doing their rounds, they are still far behind in second place. I think I know what they’re missing… Rei hangs out with Tae and tells her what happened to Rokka. In turn, Tae tells her bandmates and now they understand why Rokka has been depressed so lately. She’s in a dilemma to join a band but at the same time she doesn’t want to crush Poppin’ Party. Hence Tae talks to Rokka and hopes she gets to perform alongside RAS again. Poppin’ Party get cracking on their performances and think of writing a new song. So when they take on to stage, they make an announcement their newly written song is to give a certain friend some hope and motivation for her to chase her dreams. You can tell it is effective because halfway through the song, Rokka felt her heart stir and rushes out. Need to go join a band. Is she running the whole way there? Nah. Masking here to give her a lift. But even as she begs to Chuchu, the brat won’t give her another chance. Okay. Be persistent. Be stubborn. Insist that you want to join RAS! Okay. Last chance. And so Rokka does her solo jamming. Good enough for other band members to join in and play out the whole song. So was it good? Well, at least better than before. Chuchu allows her to join RAS but only as a temporary guitarist. Until then, she must become better than this and worthy of RAS.

Episode 4
Chuchu gives Rokka a new guitar. With this, she can trash it around and use it to her heart’s content as she feels she treats her own guitar preciously like a pet. Then they take Rokka’s measurements to make her an outfit for their upcoming music video. Rokka is so happy with the developments with RAS that she forgot to vote for Poppin’ Party! Sorry, poll is closed. Yeah, even got the courtesy to send an apology! Poppin’ Party is happy since they know she is alright in her new band. We see RAS heading to the studio to do their music video. It’s going to be the best since Chuchu is the director. Once done, they head back to record their new song (also a chance for Rokka to ‘upgrade’ her temporary status) but it seems Chuchu still feels something lacking with Rokka’s playing and suspends their recording. Rokka can’t figure out what is wrong so Masking talks to her and at the same time Rokka learns about her slightly delinquent past until Chuchu scouted her. This gives Rokka hope to ask Chuchu for another chance. This girl has been given a second chance… The music video is finished as we take a sneak preview at the edgy badass MV. Sweet! Excellent! Unstoppable! You said it, girl. With Chuchu giving Rokka a new band nickname, it is proof that she has become a permanent guitarist of RAS. Yay! Now the band is a whole.

Episode 5
Rokka is now pretty famous in school since she is officially part of RAS. RAS’ music video earns them lots of views and comments. This also pulls in votes for them as they are now catching up to Roselia. Poppin’ Party watching this is also enthralled. But they lie in 231st spot… Yeah… Let’s do a music video too! They ask others for advice like Pastel Palettes since they too made one. Now to do their own. Arisa sure love the idea of being the director, huh? I don’t know, their shooting looks pretty lame… So low quality… So creepy… As they go through photos of them over the years, they get this idea to put in all the things they love. That’s quite a lot of things to put in… Oh boy. Don’t tell me their MV is going to be a story of their life! They also ask other bands for permission and advice as they put together everything and now we get to see their final product. Is this just one big elaborated photo album with music?! Or at least this kind of MV is worthy for a children’s morning TV programme?! Of course they think it’s a job well done. They get worried to upload it. So everybody submits it together? Man, 5 palms on a mouse button. Submitted. Anxious if they could get any views and likes? You bet the usual suspects are watching this and love it. Pfft. These girls are so bland in taste! Personally, I thought it is so lacking because as of today’s standards, MVs that need to stand out should have featured tons of porn stars! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! Oops, sorry… But enough of the good fluffy stuffs. Time for some real b*tch fight drama. Chuchu confronts Roselia and dares them to make an inferior copy of their own MV. Yukina dismisses doing it as Roselia doesn’t need such cheap gimmicks. Besides, aren’t they competing based on their live performances? In that case, Chuchu proposes both their bands go head to head in front of everyone to see who is best. Challenge accepted.

Episode 6
Chuchu makes an official announcement of a separate battle between RAS and Roselia. Fans will vote for the band they like after their performance, although the votes won’t have any real bearings on the BanG Dream tournament. The problem now is who to go first as the last band to performance usually leaves a better impression. It is suggested that a popularity survey is posted at the entrance of the venue and the highest score gets to go last. This means nobody will know who will go first until right before the start. With Roselia now having to practice 2 sets of songs depending on the line-up, Sayo is not pleased that Yukina is trying to entertain such nonsense. It is putting a strain on them and by participating in this, they are also neglecting preparations for Future World Fest. Therefore she wants to know if this competition is in Roselia’s best interest. With this petty squabble, Roselia’s practice is off. Hence Sayo goes to Chuchu’s place to directly convince her this whole thing is meaningless because neither is superior nor inferior to the other. Chuchu disagrees. Beating Roselia means proving RAS is better than Roselia and hence proving that silly grudge of hers when Yukina rejected her as their producer, right. So if Sayo has time to complain about this inconvenience, might as well practice more. So Sayo returns to Roselia changed. Not going to lose to those b*tches! Let’s get practising. D-day is here. The hall is packed. The results are in. Who goes first? Roselia. Pareo wants to do a group chant before RAS hits the stage but Chuchu is against this lameness. Spoil sport. But true, they do it so lame… After RAS’ performance, the votes are tallied. The winner please… RAS!!! Oh dear. Chuchu now on an in-your-face-holier-than-thou ranting that RAS is so much better than Roselia. B*tch. And the crowd chanting RAS’ name, why do they sound like a cult?!

Episode 7
Chuchu is celebrating their overwhelming victory but it seems Masking and Rei aren’t too enthusiastic about their win. So we see them later hanging out and talking to a Roselia member separately on their thoughts. We also see Rei’s flashback how she joined RAS when Chuchu scouted her. At first she declined but desperate Chuchu begged her to listen to her sample. Yup, it changed her mind. She never expected this little kid could actually produce some real quality music. Meanwhile Arisa comes up with a plan for Poppin’ Party’s road to Budoukan. Yeah, time to press the panic button. RAS and Roselia are running away at this rate and this means the gap will be widen even further. Though, Poppin’ Party is now in 22nd spot. And who the f*ck is Bergamot residing in third place???!!! Never heard of them!!! You’d thought it be Happy World or Pastel Palettes but nope. WHO THE F*CK IS BERGAMOT???!!! Anyway, if this episode is too boring, time for a little drama as Sayo falls sick from over practising. Don’t worry. It’s not life threatening. Roselia members visit. Cue for Yukina and Sayo to reconcile. The latter regretting not taking better care of herself when an important concert is coming up. The former taking this loss as not a real loss but a learning experience. It only shows there are audiences out there they have yet to reach. So they’re going to consider promotional tactics too? Like they say variety is the spice of life, in order to achieve greater heights, they need to meet all kinds of people. And there are already tons of bands out there who are all very different and unique in their own ways. Soon, Roselia makes a comeback with their next concert and you know they’re really back as Yukina starts off by thanking her fans’ never ending love and support.

Episode 8
The old grannies from the shopping district somehow got their backs thrown. And they’ve booked non-cancellable reservations to the hotspring inn. Ah, yes. Your cliché excuse that somebody needs to fill in for them to not waste this. Hence we have all the usual suspects of band girls on this trip. Everyone. Except and Chuchu and Pareo. I think it is best Chuchu isn’t around, a new kind of war would just erupt and nobody will be relaxed. Speaking of relax, do you not think the grannies would have benefited more from this trip than these young high school girls? Even if they’ve thrown their backs, isn’t the hotspring supposed to heal them?! Oh well. Need more young chicks eye candy. But sorry, no cliché fanservice here. So one of the highlights is we hear why Afterglow isn’t participating in BanG Dream. Their sacred dream is the Budoukan and that is what is holding the band together. So let me get this straight. Assuming they actually manage to win the tournament and play there, you’re saying the band will be disbanded? So by not achieving their dream, they can stay together longer? Can’t they continue to stay even after achieving the dream? What utter BS. Whatever. It’s their band. Then there is also Pastel Palette’s Maya Yamamoto who at first fears Masking for some reason. So when they both eventually come face to face, it is actually Masking respecting her as an awesome drummer. Some good news for Poppin’ Party because their video has reached over 10,000 views! Wow. Only a few millions more to break Gangnam Style’s a billion views.

Episode 9
So Chuchu is sulking because his bandmates went along with the hotspring trip? Hey, she was invited but didn’t want to come. Poppin’ Party is surprised they have a full seating at Galaxy. Hence Arisa comes up with a plan to ride this big wave. They need to perform in other live houses with bigger capacity. Dub and Circle come to mind as they are the home grounds of RAS and Roselia respectively. Because Masking happened to listen to this, she makes arrangements for them to play at Dub. It’ll be interesting for other bands to play at their place. And also, Arisa becomes a ‘teacher’ for Kasumi and Tae because if they fail their tests, they can kiss their Budoukan dream goodbye. Wanna bet they’re going to pass anyway? Don’t give us anymore unnecessary distractions! Poppin’ Party performs at Circle first. A big bulk of votes go to Roselia and only a tiny bit went to Poppin’ Party. But hey, respect those few who actually voted for them! Then at RAS’ place, Poppin’ Party isn’t going to cow to Chuchu’s bratty threats and are in fact looking forward, surprising and confusing Chuchu. You bet she’s going to be grinding her teeth not only to those crazy girls but her bandmates as well who are giving Poppin’ Party their due praise. Of course RAS beat them to a pulp in the votes but still, those few votes count. Poppin’ Party works hard in doing many live performances every day. One performance even celebrating Tae’s birthday that she herself forgot! Great news as their hard work pays off. Poppin’ Party has risen to 6th. But this is where the real drama comes in. Roselia has dethroned RAS from the top! You bet Chuchu is going to call an emergency meeting. Her strategy is to go on the offensive and play at other live houses. Also, everyone must obey what she say. Cancel all your schedule. Your lives are in her hands now! Woah. So now she’s going to play dictator? This doesn’t sit well with the rest especially Masking. So Chuchu tells them off if they can’t commit to RAS, just leave the band! You finish throwing your tantrum? Now you think that was bad enough. Pareo who as usual always assures she will stick by her side. And then this stinging comment: Being stuck with her is completely useless! GASP!!!!!!!!! You done it this time…

Episode 10
Wow. An entire episode of RAS drama. Where to begin? Masking left in a huff and this makes Rokka worried. Talking to Kasumi about their problems, Kasumi hopes they won’t give up. With that meagre motivation, Rokka goes to Masking’s school just to plead her to come back. Note, Masking is from a missionary school and Rokka saying really ambiguous stuffs is giving the nuns and fellow sisters the wrong idea there might be some Satanic lesbian sh*t going around between them!!!!!!! Anyway, turns out Masking didn’t quit the band as Rokka thought. She just stormed out to take some fresh air. Now she feels awkward to face Chuchu and that brat hasn’t even called her. Oh well. Don’t give up! At the same time, Rei talks to Tae. When Rokka, Masking and Rei return to Chuchu’s place, they see her on the verge of death?! Haven’t eaten for days?! How useless is she?! But beef jerky revived her. Anyway, they notice Pareo is missing and Chuchu is not saying why. Attempts to call her failed as she isn’t picking up. Worse, Chuchu doesn’t even know where Pareo specifically lives. Because of their concert tonight, Chuchu will use a backup of Pareo’s recording for their performance. The concert goes well but you can sense something is definitely wrong with RAS members after they hit the backstage. Then we see Chuchu in depression. She receives a video message from mom overseas wishing her happy birthday and other stuffs. Some flashbacks about her ‘traumatic’ past where mom did some Spartan training to make her play music instruments. Because she had no talent, Chuchu thought she should put together an ultimate band. Rei finally talks to Chuchu about the need to go find Pareo together. Because even in the event if they do, it is meaningless as they’re not on the same page. She lets her know her true feelings as a band member. At this rate they’ll be finished. That is when Chuchu reveals the mean thing she said to Pareo. Rei drags Chuchu out to go find Pareo. Masking and Rokka already got a head start. Yeah, the biggest question: How are they going to fit 3 people on her bike?

Episode 11
Rokka’s great idea to stop and ask others. Too bad Masking’s face looks so evil that it’s scaring the sh*t out of poor innocent girls! Eventually they stumble into a few girls who think they know who Pareo is. Looking at her photo, they didn’t think it is her but it could be Reona Nyubara. The duo now find themselves outside her house. Nobody’s in. But isn’t that Pareo coming back? Immediately she runs. Well, that’s her alright. They chase and corner her. Time for some sob story. Pareo always home alone because her parents always away. She often posts her keyboard skills online and soon was scouted by Chuchu to come audition. Playing for her, Pareo could be herself and not pretend to be an honour student. It was Chuchu who gave her that nickname as it meant one who conceals her emotions and desires. Now Pareo thinks she doesn’t exist anymore. Quitting the band? Cue for Masking and Rokka’s turn to convince her why she’s still in. You know the drill. RAS is only RAS when all 5 of them are around. The clincher is Rei and Chuchu seen running in. Chuchu trips. Immediately Pareo goes to help her. The moment Chuchu apologizes, Pareo forgives and becomes her lapdog once more. So easy. On the way back, Chuchu explains that she doesn’t mind being hated as long as she formed the ultimate band. But seeing them hang out with Poppin’ Party made that idea grew further and she was beginning to worry. They realize the need to discuss with each other on non-band stuffs to grow closer and stronger. Everyone goes back in time just to wish Chuchu happy birthday. They play her a great song that Pareo wrote as their gift. Happy birthday and thanks for inviting us to join RAS. Wow. They really organize it all so fast, huh? Next day, they visit Poppin’ Party to apologize. No hard feelings. Then they all stop by the public bathhouse. Only Chuchu dislikes it. And everyone has a wonderful time teasing her of when she can get out. On a serious note, the preliminaries have come to close. The winner is… Roselia! Second place? Poppin’ Party?! Man, they can’t even believe it themselves! Oh, I see joint second with RAS.

Episode 12
You think there is going to be a battle between Poppin’ Party and RAS for second place. Nope! They both qualify to play at the Budoukan! Yeah, management so kind to make arrangements for that extra space. Thank goodness there weren’t like 10 bands who were joint second. We’re all pretty excited for the finals and so Arisa tells her bandmates that she has written a song! Well, just a short line. But they’ll work it out from there. Coincidentally, Sayo has also written a new piece and was working with it since she was sick. As Poppin’ Party is really thinking ahead of the kind of stage they’re playing at (rotating stage?), they decide to see RAS’ help for some ideas. It’s also going to get busy since Asuka is tasked in interviewing the finalists for her blog. And then Kasumi has an idea for a collaborative music for all the finalists at the end of the concert. Oh yeah. I’m sure management can add that timeslot too. They talk to Roselia and they’re fine with it. RAS too. Except Chuchu. She’s not interested. Wet blanket! Not until she heard Roselia agreed to this. Yup. She’s in. We see Yukina talking to Kasumi as she notes about her lively and cheery exterior. Because of that bright smile, she infects others all around her. So is Yukina implying that her own gloomy face is the opposite? The bands then do a rehearsal on this collaboration. Stage too small and too crowded… Everyone agrees to let Kasumi be the main vocalist since this was her idea.

Episode 13
Everybody is at the Budoukan making the final preparations and rehearsal. Then the real performance is here. Poppin’ Party is up first. What’s this? Rimi getting cold feet?! She doesn’t want to go?! Because by doing so everything will end?! NOT RIGHT NOW?! Anyway they had to start playing so all that anxiety blown away once they get into the groove. So we hear Arisa’s written song, Mirai Train. Nice trip. Next up is RAS. So Chuchu not so embarrassed now doing the group chant, huh? Beautiful Birthday is probably the song they wrote for Chuchu. Looking pretty. Finally it’s Roselia. WTF is this candle walking entrance?! Anyway, Avant Garde History is a song written to thank their fans. Lovely. After the performance, everyone waits while the votes are being tallied. Rimi continues her drama… Well, she had fun! So it’s never going to end, right? And now the votes are in. The grand prize winner is… Roselia!!! Oh Chuchu, don’t feel sad. You had fun, right? Caught you being awed at Roselia’s performance! But wait… What’s this? Best performance goes to… RAS! WTF is this?! Uhm, best band goes to… Poppin’ Party! WTFFFFFF?????!!!!! YOU MEAN EVERYBODY IS A WINNER???!!! I’ve got a feeling they rigged this… Yeah, I know everybody did a good job but do they have to dilute the winner thingy?! Anyway, everybody jumps on board and does their big collaborative performance, which is of course the ending theme of this season. Yeah, everybody so happy. Why not? Everybody won big time including the fans. Everybody so sugoi!

Show By Girls Rock: Suilen Rising!
Wow… You’re a winner. She’s a winner. They’re a winner. Everybody’s a winner!!! Because everybody so sugoi! What a way to make everybody happy by giving everyone win a participation trophy! Hooray! Now hardcore fans of either side don’t have to get sore because they lose out the BanG Dream title. A rose called by any other name is still a rose. That was what I felt the best titles were. How the f*ck do they even vote on that?! It was just weird having everyone win something because that takes away the meaning of a competition. You do remember this is a competition, no? An insult to those who didn’t qualify. I bet if there were 100 bands in the finals, there’ll be 100 differently named awards too. I just know… Yeah, yeah. I know the finalists’ performance was the best but it’s like taking the easy way out and the same as can’t decide the winner. In other words, IT’S STILL A DRAW! Oh well. As long everybody is happy, nobody cares. Let’s move on to the next gig, shall we?

This season has been largely about RAS and it is no doubt that the third season is mostly about them. Being the new comers and new kids on the block, you bet we’re going to get all our typical ingredients of a band drama as they come together as a whole. The good and the bad as they ride the winds and storms together as one. We get a good dose of limelight on them that makes them stick together to become a formidable and debatably ultimate rock band. Especially Chuchu so we don’t hate her as much as we did like last season. At least now we know why she is a brat and even though she is still largely a brat, understanding her past and position takes away a lot of that detest. Heh. Even the (so called) best producer of a (so called) best band in the world (at least Japan) is still a teenage girl. Everyone in RAS is still is. They’ve feelings too. I guess the Chuchu-Pareo fallout was the most dramatic as it can get. Though, it was kinda predictable how it will eventually end. Goes to show that at least for when reel life is concerned, you can’t shoulder the burden all by yourself and the power of (girl) friendship will be there to help you bust away those blues. Rock style. You bet.

As for the other bands, they are not so memorable and feel like side characters. Even with Poppin’ Party and Roselia to the fore, it just feels like they are not given as much prominence compared to RAS. At least much better than the host of other girl bands that were introduced back in season two, they’re like so forgettable here. Afterglow, Pastel Palettes and Hello Happy World are almost non-existent and are only so because these cluster of girls go to the same cluster of schools (though, last episode montage sees them happily playing in other venues and events). It’s hard to think that the current greatest band girls in the area are all from within that vicinity. Who knows? Maybe there are others in other prefectures but I guess that would be too much for us to handle. Maybe. See if you can concentrate and focus if a series has 50 bands! Yeah. I thought so. But anyway, what I’m trying to say is that their roles here so reduced that it feels like their introduction from last season a bit redundant. Isn’t that why we need that filler hotspring episode? After all, there were other numerous bands that participated in the preliminaries of BanG Dream, all of whom we’ll never even get to know. Of course BanG Dream isn’t just the only greatest music tournament around. But as far as this series and season is concerned, it is to those concerned few.

With RAS hogging most of the spotlight, Poppin’ Party sometimes feel like a shadow of its own series. They’re still the poster band of this series but this season hardly feels like it. Whatever drama about the formation of Poppin’ Party and its members were already dealt with in the first season. The second season only had Tae’s dilemma of joining Rei in RAS. So what else is there about them for this season? Nothing really memorable. As usual, Kasumi being the airhead and so sunshiny cheerful, it is true that her happy go luck demeanour is actually infectious because you see many others also acting like her. So being a retard isn’t all that bad, huh? Oops. And my favourite Arisa is not as funny as before although at some points she tries to but sometimes it just feels painful rather than funny. These 2 of Poppin’ Party are at least in the loosest definition that got my attention because others like Tae, Saaya and Rimi sure hell didn’t.

Rimi’s naivety seems to be taken over by Rokka who feels like she is a band version of Dr Jekyll and Hyde. The same ditzy girl if she doesn’t hold her guitar but is a monster maestro genius when holding one. So now she got her wish in joining a band, huh? Good for her. Final episode Poppin’ Party with Rimi being anxious when everything is over, it’s really over felt unnecessary and forced. Like as though they need to prolong the finale for a few seconds. I know Rimi is that kind of timid character but I didn’t think she was silly enough to think once they reached their goal, no more playing music for them. You can continue if you all still want to, girl! Music doesn’t end once you play at the Budoukan. You can even be rocking grandmas and there will still be fans screaming your Poppin’ Party tongue twisting group chant at every concert!

And Roselia, at some point they’ve got to settle their business with RAS. Actually, more of Yukina vs Chuchu. Poker face Yukina could have been a lot better if she smiled often but I guess for the brand of music they sing as well as their trademark gothic type, it is really hard to imagine that should would be even come anywhere close to Hello Happy World’s Kokoro. Yes, she do smile on occasions but that itself is even rare. Like as though she has this b*tch resting face. And even when Yukina smiles, why does it always look like an evil smirk? We never think much of it because it is Chuchu who is the one playing the villain and being the real b*tch. Trying to play tough and be a dictator, huh? All for RAS and its music, huh? See how that came crashing down? RAS and its brand of music only exist because of its valuable band members! Don’t you forget that! Also see, you can make great music together than crushing and stepping over your fallen enemies’ head. This kind of rivalry more beneficial to all sides, don’t you think?

So it is pretty evident that all the bands here still have a lot to grow if they really want to reach every corner of the Earth. This BanG Dream preliminaries showed that they have their very own niche fans but not enough if they’re thinking of becoming an international worldwide band and a household name. It’s pretty shady how the preliminaries work out. You go to their concert and if you like it, you vote for them once. So technically the one with the biggest fan base should win? Wow. Lots of fair fans when it comes to music, huh? Must be a real headache to decide if all of them are playing at their best. It’s really a miracle that could only exist in animes with a band like Poppin’ Party starting so low in the rankings to suddenly rise to the top. Oh yeah. Thanks to all their hard work in nonstop performing to convert those fence sitters. I’m sure all those grandmas from the shopping arcade would love to hear their brand of music now rather than, uhm, enka? And also like I said, Poppin’ Party is the poster band of the series so you can’t have a Budoukan finals without them, no?

So if you also noticed, as far as I can see, all the fans and even the staffs of the live houses are all females! Where are the guys?! Yeah, they have to work hard to provide for their girlfriends who can then attend their favourite band concerts. HAHAHA!!! Just kidding. But what I mean to say is that if all the cute girl band thingy is getting too cutie and girly, be glad to know there is a male spinoff version of this. Yes, people. Nothing screams the obvious when it says Argonavis From BanG Dream! Now more girls can look forward to hot looking studs on stage playing their music instruments! Whether you’re lesbians or straight people, we’ve got the band series for you! Sorry, but I think I’ve had my fill with music themed animes. Yeah, not into hot guys… So you’ve guessed it that I’m not really going to watch this one. Like how I never did for the chibi cutie Garupa Pico shorts and the other BanG Dream movies. Oh, there’s another movie for BanG Dream announced too?! Oh damn. Thank goodness I’m not a hardcore fan of this series. On a side note, I took a peek at the other bands in the Argonavis spinoff. Boy, they sound like dark godly clans fighting for supremacy! I mean, get a load of names like Gyroaxia, Fantome Iris, Epsilon Phi and Fujin Rizing! Wow! What kind of territorial clan war are they waging?! Makes our BanG Dream girl bands’ names look like a nice children’s fairytale, huh?

Just like the previous seasons, the music here doesn’t resonate with me. I don’t find any appealing or attracting at all as none of them sticks in my mind after playing it. Hey, if a music is really catchy and to my liking, I would definitely want to hear it again. And again. And again. And again. But unfortunately, none of them did here so it’s an excuse and conspiracy theory why I didn’t even vote for any of them. HAHAHA!!! Anyway, just like all seasons, our poster band Poppin’ Party sings both the opening and ending themes. This season’s opener, Initial tries to sound edgy with it slightly dark theme. But with Kasumi being so sparkly, I don’t think it really fits their style. Rock music, yes. But this slight edginess? Not really. The ending theme is Yume Wo Uchinuku Shunkan Ni. Another heavy rock beat, though it started off as a slow ballad and I thought it sounded like a song you’d sing at your high school’s graduation. And then it becomes rock style so I guess it is also fitting for a grand finale piece.

Overall, you need to be a hardcore rock music fan to appreciate this kind of genre and series. To everyone else, this is just boring. Heh. Sorry, no dragon slaying incidents here or disposing a tyrannical king from his iron grip of power to rescue the oppressed people. Only fun all the way with rock music. Too bad I can’t entirely hate it because it is not that bad and also Kasumi’s contagious sparkling glittery smile is giving my brains ooze some dopamine. If only Arisa’s comical relief could do that… Sighs… Technically this isn’t the end of the series because I read there is a new band formed after this (what Mother F*cking Fornication band, what?! Oh… I see… Morfonica…) but we’ll wait and see if they announce another season(s) for more cute rock girl bands to rock your heart. Until then, I might watch Atomic Armageddon Angst take on Satanic Death Sinners and Necromancer Riot Machine in a heavy metal battle to the death. Damn, if they only actually existed…

Show By Rock!! Mashumairesh

I never thought this would actually get another season considering the original Show By Rock series already ended with things settled after 2 seasons. So how can they be back for another? Well, you create new characters and new bands! And hence this is what Show By Rock!! Mashumairesh is. If you like all-female rock bands but prefer them to also be furries, then this show is made for you. So I guess it’s the same ol’ story, huh? New band trying to reach the pinnacle and their dreams in a city where music is life.

Episode 1
Howan is humming happily as she returns from harvesting vegetables in the field. Then the letter she has been waiting for. She passed the first round auditions! Hooray! Mom and grandma so happy for her. Mom wants to call the entire village, eh? All that’s left is to pack and prepare for tomorrow’s train trip to Midi City. Next morning, Howan wakes up from a noisy commotion outside her house. The entire village is cheering for her and to see her off! Wow. Mom really did call the entire village, huh? But wishing well for her space trip?! Well, she told a friend who told a friend who told a friend who told a friend who told her friend and you know, it distorted into something like she’ll become an oil baron taking a trip to space. What?! Anyway, everybody sees her off and her dad who initially didn’t show any emotions of happiness for her on this, Howan can see him waving a big giant flag of support in the back. Oh, daddy… Arriving in Midi City, the usual thing when a country bumpkin steps her first time in a big crowded city. Overwhelmed and lost. Meanwhile we see Himeko Mashima, Ruhuyu and Delmin finishing a band practice together. Himeko isn’t particular thrilled with the idea of playing in a band as she prefers going solo. She only went along with this gig because Master (who is also her uncle) suggested so. He even suggests they play a street performance, an idea Himeko is also not enthusiastic about. As they leave the studio, they stumble into a paper of that audition. Of course only those with such paper are allowed to participate so they realize somebody has lost this. Ruhuyu tries to scream aloud if anybody lost this but I guess it’s too embarrassing and uncivilized for Himeko. So how? Play a street performance! Hey, Delmin is already ready to go. As you have guessed, it is Howan who lost that paper but there is nothing the police can do. As luck would have it, she sees Himeko’s band doing a street performance. I hope she didn’t stop the performance because she was crying at how good they are. Himeko then invites her to sing with them. Wow. Having fun, girls?

Episode 2
The girls get to know each other and learn Howan is the one who lost the paper. Ruhuyu and Delmin want Howan to play in their band but this is too much for Himeko. While they scour the job requests, Himeko takes her leave. Ruhuyu and Delmin want to introduce Howan to Master but upon reaching the studio, they see his body lying in his own blood! Or hot sauce? Hence Ruhuyu now plays detective as she makes her deductions based on the ‘evidence’ as it all ‘strongly’ points towards Himeko as the culprit. Yeah, why would she kill her own grandpa with her own guitar? And of course, Master ‘revives’. He was just trying out the new hot sauce. So kind of him to redo his ‘death scene’. Howan parts ways with the rest. As she has no place to stay, she camps out at the park. But the police officer points out it is illegal. And it’s starting to rain. Oh, Himeko’s home is nearby so she sees this and takes Howan in. They talk about things but since Himeko is a big fan of Criticrista, she can help get talkative, singing praises for them. Howan finds Himeko as an amazing person. Oh well, when you just come from the countryside, everything in the city is amazing. That night, Himeko can’t sleep. Probably she’s not used to somebody sleeping on her bed while she sleeps on the floor. But with Howan’s tail ‘disturbing’ her face, Himeko finds it calming and could fall asleep. Next morning, Howan returns the favour by cooking a great breakfast for her. So I suppose she’s staying here until she passes her auditions. The girls meet up to discuss some band issues. However it is disrupted when a gang fight breaks out.

Episode 3
A narration about a high school with delinquents and 4 of the strongest ones are fighting for supremacy. No, this is not Beelzebub. Folks, meet Yasu, Hachin, Joe and Sojun. One day their fighting got out of hand as they destroyed the school’s flowerbed. The principal threatened them with expulsion unless they do community service, which is forming a rock band, Dokonjofinger AKA Dokofin. Delinquents afraid of expulsion? Weird. Sure, they have their own reasons but really. Of course they fight more than they perform on stage. So much so, Howan is getting the wrong idea that this is part of the performance! As Dokofin won’t be paid for the damages, they must make it up by doing another gig. When it comes to music, they’re all over the place. But when it comes to beating up others, they’re in sync. Like this unfortunate gangster who thinks he is bigger than them. Think again. As Howan doesn’t want to trample on Himeko’s hospitality, she tries to find a job. So why does Himeko tag along? Can’t leave her alone? Of course there aren’t any really suitable ones for her. Yeah, those simple jobs are extreme… Himeko has been a tsundere ever since Howan came into her life and she’s starting to realize it… The gangster returns to return the favour to Yasu. Could have beaten him up had not the other guys also join in and turn the tables. Thanks for the thanks. Oops. Late for their gig now. They turn the booing crowd into supporting fans with their heavy rock metal. Howan is glad she came and dismisses Himeko’s earlier talk that they would be fighting as always. They’re so much better than before. Yeah, that’s because they get along better now.

Episode 4
Dokofin fighting at Master’s place again. When Hachin is thrown at Delmin’s way, she releases a beam from her horns to shoot him away! Ruhuyu gets excited over this superhero move and unknowingly drops her notebook that Delmin picked up. So back home, she reads this guidebook. Super power? Turns out she wants to be friends with Delmin and achievement unachieved because friendship rate at 30%. Now, how to return this without letting Ruhuyu know? And yeah, Ruhuyu is searching all over for it. Howan calls everyone to meet at Himeko’s room for a nabe party to celebrate her part time job interview that we failed. Yeah, just party anyway. Delmin tries to subtly return the book but the more she acts, the more suspicious she becomes so Ruhuyu thinks she must be hiding something. What secret dragon training is she talking about? Eventually Delmin is busted and upon realizing this book, Ruhuyu gets embarrassed and locks herself in Himeko’s mini storeroom. Won’t come out forever, huh? After all the coaxing, Ruhuyu mentions she has always been normal and wanted to be someone special. She looks up to Delmin because she is that person. But this irks Delmin so she uses her horn beam to blast open the door! It’s not like Ruhuyu knows anything about her, right? Delmin leaves and after the rest has Ruhuyu overcome her embarrassment, they go look for Delmin. Eventually Ruhuyu finds her as Delmin explains her tribe called her a disappointment, that’s why she came to the city. But when told she is special, all she wants to be is normal. Both don’t understand of what it’s like to be normal or special but they sure want to be friends. They return to apologize to Himeko and Howan for the ruckus. Howan suggests everyone tell their secrets because this helps deepen their friendship. Himeko so reluctant. Does she have many secrets? She is forced to play a card game whereby the lowest card holder must reveal a secret. I mean, can she back out after seeing those sad eyes? So everybody has their turn in revealing their ‘secrets’. Don’t worry. Nothing scandalous. Feeling any closer now?

Episode 5
Master gives Howan and co tickets to a real live band. So Dokofin wasn’t one? Whatever. They attend the concert of Reijingsignal AKA Reijin and are amazed with their music. So meet the badass dubstep punk rock queens of Reijin: Rararin, Sumomone and Uiui. At the end of the concert, they pick a lucky guest to feast with. And that lucky person is Howan! Wow. So they’re enjoying champagne in their limo now? They get to know each other as Reijin brings her to their next job like the radio station and interview session before back to their huge penthouse apartment. With their ever busy schedule, they only return here to sleep. Seeing their tired state, Howan cooks them a delicious meal and they see some potential in her. So they tempt her to come with them to their recording studio to see how pros work. Then they convince her to sign a contract to work as their assistant. Oh my. Howan, you really signed them? So she becomes their errand girl. When her pals text her, Sumomone text back on her behalf that she’s okay. Suspicious… Because tomorrow Reijin will be on a national tour, they want her to go home and pack her bags. She does so and leaves a message for her friends. They sense something wrong because she left her handphone in the fridge! Reijin is brainstorming about the vocals part as Rararin suggests Howan to sing. Howan starts imagining so but realizes she prefers to sing with her old pals. She even sings out loud to prove how lovely a voice she has. Before Rararin could ‘secure’ her, Howan’s pals barge in just to tell her to come home. Just like that, Howan goes back with them?! Rararin tempts her that this could be Howan’s big break. A chance of a lifetime. Sure. But she envisioned herself singing with her friends. Himeko, you look so relieved. So I guess the deal with Reijin is off, huh? Rararin lets her go because it is too early to feast on her now. Fatten her up a little first, huh?

Episode 6
Now Himeko is having problems. Each time Howan bugs her about the band, she gives excuses. Not today, my dear. So attempts to cheer her up like cooking lots of food for her or going karaoke together fail. More forlorn look from Himeko. Something really wrong. When the rest suggest a trip, this does it for Himeko. She goes out. They go find her but since she is not at the studio she claimed she said she would be, sh*t has hit the fan. This is really serious. Something is REALLY wrong. They go to find her and thanks to Master’s help, Howan finds her by the sea because that is where she goes whenever she has trouble writing songs. As usual, Howan being her cheerful and bugging self but the more she does so, the more Himeko becomes distant. As for the band thingy, Himeko thinks the trio would make a good band. Just leave her out. Then it’s like she hit a nerve when Himeko praises her amazing guitar skills. She claims Howan is like the same as others. Let me get this straight. Himeko is an introvert who wants to be left alone while others try to keep close to her? She is so because it’s not what she wanted? So she thinks by being cold and sulky, Howan will be like others who will eventually leave her? But we know better, right? Until Howan admits herself as dumb and don’t think about others, she continues to praise Himeko even if she herself keeps denying it. Then the clincher, Howan says she likes her and wants to be with her forever. A few more words of assurance to blow all that scepticism away. And now the magic sinks in. Himeko is broken. Crying and hugging Howan like her saviour. And they calm down by having their little picnic by the sea. This is as much mild yuri we can get for now… When they reunite with others, it is safe to say that Himeko is all for the idea of joining their band. They need to name their band in order to join the festival. Hmm… Let’s see… Mashima… Fresh juice… Aha! Mashima Fresh! Himeko vetoes that so by mixing it up a little, they get this cuter sounding Mashumairesh! Now the girls are ready to rock.

Episode 7
It seems Joe won a grand prize for 4 to Waihaha (Waikiki?). While some aren’t too enthusiastic to go, the principal wants them to go there and write a song. Or they’ll be expelled. Consider this as their training camp. Meanwhile Ruhuyu has got tickets for her pals to head Midicians. They can use this as their training camp to write songs. You bet the girls are having a blast in the sunny beach. But Dokofin… Is Waihaha such a freaking cold blizzard place? Apparently the staff mixed up the tickets so they’re now in Aryaska (Alaska?). Noticing an amateur curling tournament, they plan on winning the grand prize so as to get on a plane to Waihaha. Upon entering the hall, they see Shingan Crimsonz! You bet there’s going to be some tough guy showdowns. Apparently this place is deserted because next door is some figure skating tournament. Yeah, some ice prince is there so all the audience and competitors went over there. We hear Shingan Crimsonz’s reason to be here. Maple wanted them to do a rock show here but he paid all for the plane and forgot to pay for the venue. Hence they need this prize money just for that. So where is Maple? Yeah, he’s captivated by the figure skating show… So how can they play curling if they don’t know the rules? As long as they think their opponents know… So we see them do lots of sabotaging left and right. Hey, no referees, right? Eventually it turns into some battlefield. Time for the final showdown. Because Shingan Crimsonz has better teamwork in this whatever gatai form, Dokofin is all over the place and loses. I guess that’s that. Heck, better go back to the city on their free plane ticket then. Nothing beats the warm bath in the public bathhouse, right?

Episode 8
A request for Mashumairesh to perform? Actually it is a battle of the bands with Reijin! So as they discuss about this, how convenient Reijin is live on the airwaves to announce they have been chosen to perform at Midi City 6969 Festival. As only bands with good records will be selected, Mashumairesh thinks Reijin is doing this to help them. You think so? Now they discuss on the kind of performance they want to put up. But first they need to know more about Reijin and do research on them. Nothing like the good ol’ internet. So they’re once an underground idol group? Wow. So different. After digging in a little more, they think they’re ready. So they go submit their acceptance of this to Reijin. But as pointed out, did they read the finer print because don’t they know what they’re getting into? Yeah, because if Mashumairesh loses, Reijin will take Howan and her original assistant contract will be enforced! Oh sh*t! End of Mashumairesh? So practice hard, girls. Real hard. On the day of the performance, we see Mashumairesh building up their confidence with their own group hand signal thingy. Looks cute and complicating! Then they take on the stage and wow everyone. Now, before you some fans could switch to those cuties, here comes Reijin to perform. They stun the crowd not doing their usual rock style but the more emo style that is of Mashumairesh. Safe to say, Mashumairesh are so stunned and could see defeat right before them. All doom! Oh no! We’re definitely going to lose! And then here comes Reijin. I don’t think they’re here to rub it in their expected victory but Rararin is here to ask them their goal because she couldn’t understand what they were trying to do. Howan says she had fun playing in a band. Apparently that was enough to make Rararin upset. She tells her to just continue playing friendly music with her pals and rips the contract. Woah. Why so mad, girl?!

Episode 9
I guess Dokofin has no results to show after their disastrous trip. The principal then asks if they are interested to enter the festival. Yasu seems to have had it with his bandmates incessant fighting. On his way home, this dancing dude, Jinbabue is interested to scout Yasu as the next big thing. He offers him to join his agency to debut as a musician. Yasu wants to discuss with his bandmates but Jinbabue doesn’t think so. Because he is only interested in him. It seems Yasu will be an idol and if he is interested, he can contact him. Yasu asks his mom if she would be happy if he ended up on TV. Of course. Whose mom wouldn’t? So Yasu takes up Jinbabue’s offer while at the same time juggling with practice with his band. His bandmates can tell something is wrong as he is always late and despite giving excuses, he doesn’t sound convincing. Then one day Yasu just asks them if they want to play at the festival since Shingan Crimsonz will be there too. Because they don’t think so, Yasu just leaves. As he forgot to take his folder, his pals look at it and see his pre-promo idol photos! They realize what Yasu was asking and that he has gotten serious about music. Yasu later comes back to get it so his pals confront him about this. He explains he wants to make people happy with music. They too wanted to play at the festival but their male pride avoided them in saying that upfront. Hence Yasu tells Jinbabue of not wanting to go ahead with this idol thingy. Because what had been done is before signing any contract, he can still get out without any penalty. Just don’t show his face around anymore. But in exchange, he must become popular to surprise him. After Yasu leaves, Jinbabue reveals his true identity. He is actually the principal (why am I not surprised?) and this is all part of his plan to get them together. Dokofin goes all out playing their newly written rock piece to their fans.

Episode 10
Himeko tries to write a song herself but can’t come up with any ideas. Her bandmates try to help but they come off more annoying with their ‘rituals’ than anything. At least Howan has some nice picnic but that too didn’t help. Hence they start thinking what would be the ideal place with all the right conditions for them to do so. Then it hit Howan. So the bandmates forcefully drag Himeko onto a train. So they’re all going back to Howan’s village and meet her family?! Of course, her place has a shed that she used as a temporary studio where they can practice. Training camp part 2. Upon arrival, it’s like the whole village treat Howan and co like heroes. What a rousing welcome. Howan’s father brings them home and the family welcomes them. They hit the practice first before dinner and then a nice dip at the hotspring. And then when it’s almost bedtime, Himeko gives them the greenlight to help her write a song because it’s their song, right? And now they know how hard it is to come up with something. In the middle of the night, Howan and Himeko can’t sleep so they talk outside amidst the starry sky about friendship and the people they’ve met and how it’s going to be more fun from now on. Yeah. Lucky and blessed, right? And you might have guessed, this gives Himeko the inspiration to come up with something. The next day, they return home. Man, what a quick trip. The villagers see them off like heroines. You can tell Himeko worked hard and has wrote something satisfying as she drops asleep once they alight the train. And that smile of hers while she sleeps.

Episode 11
Mashumairesh is pretty satisfied with their newly written song. So they tease Himeko of all the embarrassing togetherness things she said. Taking a look at the timetable for the festival, it looks like Dokofin will be the opener while Mashumairesh will be somewhere in the middle. Reijin is also participating but as guests. That’s a fancy term for famous bands. Howan suggests their song send a message to Reijin. Now we take a detour to see Ruhuyu and Delmin deepen their friendship. Ruhuyu is still carrying on her diary. She fantasizes it will become a best selling book and a movie. In no time she will became famous and her descendants will look up to her. Yeah. Dream on. Delmin is not pleased that their friendship level is still at 69%. You mean it’s not 100%? Well, Ruhuyu points out she still shoots her with her beam and she hopes of using Midi City to turn their friendship back to 100%. But Delmin prefers 100% isn’t the ceiling… Would any number be enough for their friendship meter? Mashumairesh tour the city before the festival begins tomorrow. Everywhere is decorated for it. They really love seeing their band name on the posters now, huh? Yeah. They’re right up there now. When they want to go get some croquettes, unfortunately the place is close. Looks like Dokofin is helping Yasu and his mom to make large bento orders for tomorrow. Tomorrow’s the gig and they are the opener… Mashumairesh return home to rest up for tomorrow. Of course we need more Himeko and Howan yuri friendship thingy. So as usual, Howan being honest with herself, loving the kind of person Himeko is, sending Himeko into embarrassment as always. The festival begins with Dokofin starting off with their passionate opening performance. But where’s Mashumairesh? Oh dear. Don’t tell me they overslept???!!!

Episode 12
Indeed, Mashumairesh overslept! So now they’re all running towards the venue. You mean none of them decided to call a cab or something?! If that wasn’t bad enough, Howan realizes she left her guitar back at the studio! But when she gets there, Master says he just sent it to the deliveryman, thinking it needed repairs. Oh, the truck hasn’t left yet. Phew. But stupid deliveryman didn’t see somebody was inside and closes the door. And he can’t here Howan’s cries because he is blasting away his music. Meanwhile Ruhuyu manages to reach first and registers in time before the deadline. Why is the deadline around the time Reijin’s performance? Anyway, now all that is left is to wait for Howan. Speaking of which, how does she get the deliveryman’s attention? She plays her guitar! How the f*ck can her guitar be louder than anything else when it is not even plugged into any amplifier???!!! And you think the deliveryman would at least send her to the venue. Nope. He just drop her off right there. I can see why. Because Howan also doesn’t know where the place is! WTF?! If not for Ruhuyu’s idea to ask Delmin to shoot her horn blast into the sky, Howan wouldn’t have known where it is. And thankfully a police officer is there to send her. Mashumairesh as a whole again. And they have 10 minutes to spare before they go onstage. Wow. That’s a lot of leeway time. And they made us think they’re like 10 seconds before their part. Anyway, with so much time, Delmin takes this chance to give them matching charms. Also, the rest express how fun it is to be in a band. Especially Himeko. Embarrassing but that’s what being in a band is about, right? So Mashumairesh head out there and rock everybody’s world! You know it’s so good that Rararin even feels nostalgic. So she doesn’t hate them anymore and is interested what kind of path they take? A week after the festival, Delmin explains she made the charms from her grandpa’s flute horn. Thinking of their next live performance, Himeko suggests a street performance. Good idea. Along the way, Howan bumps into Cyan. And then they rock away the night.

BanD Dream!
They say the music can never stop. That is why there is a sequel coming up! Judging by the promotional poster of this sequel, looks like they’re going to have an all-stars line-up. Oh yeah. The series must have a great number of bands that they need to do a sequel that features famous bands of the past and perform with new bands featured in this season. Isn’t that why Shingan Crimsonz was cameoed? So this possibility could happen? Yeah, look at all the band names they spammed us right in the final scene of the last episode. Definitely all-stars material. Can’t say this season takes place in an alternate timeline now. Oh yeah. Lots of famous bands are going to clash and there’s going to be an explosion of music. It will be the ultimate battle of the bands. Uh huh. From the looks of it, definitely it looks like Cyan is 100% coming back. This place is much better than her original world, eh? Hey wait a minute. Is the original Show By Rock somewhat an isekai genre???!!! But with Cyan’s final episode cameo, it makes me wonder if this takes place during the same timeline of the original series. Because as we have seen, Cyan has gone back to her own world at the end. So if this sequel takes place after the original, how did she come back here in the first place? Oh well, as long as we all have a rocking good time, it doesn’t matter.

Anyway, this new season feels a lot boring compared to the original. Why? Mainly there is no big bad evil guy from a shady corporation trying to take over music! If I wanted to watch how a new underdog group rises up to perform big time to play and rub shoulders with other famous bands, I would have gone with BanG Dream. Oh right. Furry version. So for this new season, we only get to see the establishment of Mashumairesh and their seemingly next big gig. Wow. Talk about a quick rise to fame just because they clashed with Reijin once. That’s why we needed a last episode drama of them almost being late for their first ever big gig, huh? Believe me, I never doubted that they couldn’t make it on time. Also to note, Mashumairesh was only somewhat officially formed at halfway mark this season. Meaning, for the early first half of the season, the quartet of Mashumairesh are still bumping around as individuals. Mainly because Himeko is being such a stuck up tsundere trying to psycho and lie to herself that she isn’t a lesbian or at least Howan’s friend. But eventually she fell for that charm and thankfully it was quick enough for Mashumairesh to be formed and take off the ground. Then the balance half of the season sees them preparing for the festival although some episodes are totally focused on Dokofin because I guess we need to have some focus on this wild bunch either. All in all, the story is pretty much generic and if you’re expecting something like the original one or even like AKB0048 in which music saved the world from a certain destruction, you’d be disappointed.

Having basically no interesting plot at all, the series must be made interesting via its characters, right? Well, nope! I don’t feel that even the bandmates of Mashumairesh are the least bit interesting. They are only so because they’re cute girls. Cute furry girls doing cute things, band version. Because it is only a single cour, not much is being done to flesh out the characters unlike the original series which had 2 seasons to do so. Hence it may not be fair to say the lack of character development in our main characters but unfortunately they didn’t even make me feel like I want to care or know about them at all. As mentioned, thanks to the series dedicating its first half in the formation of Mashumairesh and it could have been much earlier had Himeko stayed true to her feelings instead of bottling them up with some weird twisted reason of people close to her will eventually leave her. So don’t make friends because parting will be painful? Yeah, so why eat when you’re going to be hungry again? See that kind of logic? But now she is totally into bands because you can see her cute genuine smile and her heart is totally in it. You go, girl!

So anyway, we know a bit about Howan because she is the main character and the co-poster girl of Mashumairesh, right? Sure, she comes from the outskirts. Has a hidden talent. Country bumpkin in the city. Luckily meets the right people. Quite a frank and honest girl. Happy and all cheers. You’ll definitely get sucked up in her pace. Best evidence: Himeko. Sometimes all that candid cheerfulness makes Howan look like a retard. While it is true that she really just wants to play and perform just for fun, this doesn’t sit well with some especially Reijin. Hence the biggest ‘drama’ set upon this season. Ooohhh. Somebody madly ripped up the contract. That’s so aggressive. We can look at both cases from 2 sides of the coin. Both are correct. Howan has some talent and she doesn’t harbour glamourous dreams of being the best. It’s not about competition. But it is different for Reijin. Because they have been so competitive and they’ve got where they are now because of staying competitive, seeing Howan being so ‘lackadaisical’ and wanting to just have fun feels more like an insult and a slap in the face. To them, music isn’t all fun and games. It’s about showing all you’ve got to be the best and Reijin has the credentials to prove it. They saw potential in Howan but alas, their ways to go about it are different. It’s a good thing that they part ways. Reijin wouldn’t be a place for Howan as she wouldn’t fit in. Too edgy for a country girl like her.

As for the other bandmates in Mashumairesh, well, we already know about Himeko. It looks like they’re trying some mild yuri thingy here after Himeko stops being a stuck up b*tch and she looks cuter with her heart now open. Albeit she still has some of that snobbishness (she’s a rich girl by the way), Himeko will still be Himeko no matter how much she changed. Don’t get that? Me neither. That’s what Howan said. You bet this yuri thingy is what keeps Mashumairesh going. I think. Then there is the other pair of Ruhuyu and Delmin. There is nothing much known about them at this point. Because it is hinted something about Ruhuyu (“Lunatic!”) who might change during the lunar full moon and the clan that Delmin (“Shubi”) was kicked out of. They’re like the case of the grass is greener on the other side. One wants to be special and the other to be normal. But I guess nothing beats being friends, right? And yeah, they’re the other yuri pair if you’re not into Himeko-Howan. Asides that, Ruhuyu seems to be the comic relief character, trying to get that chance to play detective or whip up some stupid jokes while Delmin is the emotionless character who retorts her. Wow. This is indeed a weird bunch brought together.

If I have to point out the more interesting characters this season, it would be the delinquent band of Dokofin. I find them more interesting than Mashumairesh and Reijin. Sure, their manly delinquent brawns over brains may make them sound more like troublemakers for comic relief than real musicians. But at least they’re funny despite lacking their own character development too. And their episodes in focused feel more like dumb comedic fillers. Unlike Howan whom I have pointed out sounds more like a retard and Ruhuyu the comic relief resident tries to be funny and cute but fails. Although all of them have their male pride and differences, they still come together when it matters. So we have Dokofin as the all-male band to rival our all-female cutie band although it is weird that they haven’t really come into contact with each other. They are Mashumairesh’s sideshow and there’s that saying that sometimes it is the sideshow that steals the limelight. What are the chances Dokofin usurping Mashumairesh? Too bad cute girls always win the order of the day.

As music is an important factor here, I didn’t find any of the rock pieces here attractive or catchy enough for me to like. It’s not bad but it lacks something that would make me want to hear them play again. I mean, sure, they can keep repeating and replaying the same song in different concerts (because it’s the only song they have, no?) and it’s not like I want to hear them again later on my own accord in my own free time. Like the opening theme, Hiromenesu by Mashumairesh feels like your typical dramatic anime rock piece. Our titular band also sings the ending theme, Kimi No Rhapsody. Personally, it slightly fares better than the opener since it has this lively and cheery feel to it. Reijin’s brand of music sounds more like electronic rock. Though it doesn’t sound like it but it must be just me that it sounds like a music to summon the devil… Need to get my brains checked…

Voice acting is rather okay. Didn’t recognize the whole new line-up of casts. Okay, maybe except Shigeru Chiba as Master. Yup, this guy still alive and still as crazily energetic in his voicing. Oh, almost forgot Shinichiro Miki making his cameo as Dokofin’s principal too. The new casts for this season are Hikaru Tohno as Howan (Serena in Colorful Pastrale: From Bermuda Triangle), Yuuko Natsuyoshi as Himeko (debut role), Aya Yamane as Ruhuyu, Misaki Watada as Delmin (Grenda in Strike The Blood), Kent Itou as Yasu (Hirotaka in Wotaku Ni Koi Wa Muzukashii), Yuuki Ono as Joe (Isami in Shokugeki No Souma), Shouhei Komatsu as Hachin (August in Kenja No Mago), Yusuke Shirai as Sojun (Io in Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love), Lynn as Rararin (Maya in Sabagebu), Yuu Serizawa as Sumomone (Iroha in 3D Kanojo Real Girl) and Minori Suzuki as Uiui (Momo in Chio-chan No Tsuugakuro).

Artwork and animation feel pretty standard and similar to the original series. Everything so colourful and cute although it still boggles my mind that only those who could play music and in a band take on an anthropomorphic form. Only when they perform on stage, it is their chibi furry form they will transform too. Yeah, also cue for CGI moments but that is bearable. And as for the character designs. I thought those Dokofin guys are plucked out from some other anime. For example, I thought Sojun came from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Joe from Devil May Cry while Yasu and Hachin from some Yugioh series. As for Rararin and her Reijin girls, I thought they got bored with the competition in Dog Days and end up doing music here. And Master, this guy came out from a Sanrio production? Oh right. Sanrio collaborated on this project. No wonder those cute unimportant furry background characters look somewhat familiar. Despite the consistent art style, this season’s production was helmed by Kinema Citrus (Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari, Barakamon, Yuyushiki, Made In Abyss) who took over from Bones.

Overall, I find this season lacking even though it is not entirely a bad thing. I don’t hate this series. It’s just that it feels kinda boring at this point. I guess the antics of cute yuri band girls as well as dumb brash delinquents kept this season from failing. I’m not a big fan of the original series so forgive me (or not) for not giving a lot of brownie points. But hey, at least I watched it and found out myself! Not good enough? Oh well, those bands better try better and sing their way into my heart. Imagine, I’m still hooked on that catchy opening song from a certain anime series last year about working out and exercising! So if you all-stars can’t even do that, nothing will. Perhaps some big bad corporation guy needs to step in and shake things up, huh?

Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV

Oh boy. I really thought they forgot all about it when they announced the fifth season altogether when the fourth was starting. I didn’t think it would run back to back and that they would take a season or two break before resuming. Who’d knew that it would about 2 years for the fifth season to come out! I was somewhat waiting and waiting and then conveniently forgot all about it. And then here it is, Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV. Speaking of which, looking back it seems that this series releases a season about every 2 years so I guess it’s valid. By that time I think it’s safe to say that I’ve forgotten everything and I’m too lazy to go rewatch the previous season. I’ll just roll along and let the girls do the fighting and saving the world! Because I believe in them!

Episode 1
We see some dying guy managing to activate something before he dies. Meanwhile our Symphogear girls have dropped into Antarctica to face this giant Sarcophagus. So this giant robo dung beetle is the ancient relic guardian of something? After the girls set their firepower on it, cue for some tension as the Sarcophagus renders them immobile. WTF interfering with the laws of the universe?! Hence a flashback sees Hibiki finally passing her singing test. Because she sings from the heart?! While out with Miku, they spot an explosion on a cruise ship at sea. Apparently SONG has a lab hidden in there and were analysing some gear left behind by an Autoscorer and probably its defensive mechanisms activated when the researchers delved in a bit too far. But the data they managed to extract pointed them to a lake in Antarctica. And that is where it brings our girls to. As agents have also been investigating the remnants of Pavarian Illuminati, they discovered Adam wanted to use the divine power to achieve the goal of destroying the Sarcophagus in order to become the world’s ultimate ruler. But it looks like a group of girls from Pavarian Illuminati, Vanessa Diodati, Millaarc Cranstoun and Elsa Bete are targeting it for an entirely different reason. They don’t want it destroyed but to use it to rebuild their future. Our Symphogear girls break free and continue attacking the Sarcophagus. Heck, to show how awesome they are, their combo has them locate and destroy its only weakness located in its neck with pinpoint accuracy and timing despite all the obstacles that stand in their way! Damn, they make it look so easy. In the aftermath as the scientists try to salvage it, they discover a mummified corpse inside.

Episode 2
I guess everybody is teasing Chris she is using the gloves they got her for her birthday. You want to be sad for her not using it then? Flashback shows during the retrieval of the corpse, Alca-Noise showed up attacking the US vessel to steal it. Kirika and Shirabe went to deal with it but stumbled into Elsa whom they also fought with. In the end, Elsa is forced to withdraw and not go all out because they cannot risk damaging the corpse. Meanwhile Genjuurou gets lectured by Fudou (Tsubasa’s grandpa) because Japan relinquished their right to examine the corpse to US and he even let the Pavarian remnants off the hook. He is warned not to bring further shame. Meanwhile our girls are already late for Tsubasa and Maria’s concert because of the damn traffic jam. Why not just go on foot? It’s this close, right? So as the duo belt out their hits, suddenly Alca-Noise drop in to slaughter everyone! Oh sh*t! Everybody dies! Damn those fans paid to enjoy a good concert and they all got slaughtered instead. You mean the other Symphogear girls can’t transform right now and go? Stupid traffic jam! Tsubasa’s trauma activates when Millaarc kills a hostage before her eyes. This allows Millaarc to scan and capture whatever data was needed before fleeing. You bet Tsubasa is in despair, thinking important things keep slipping through her fingers. Meanwhile as the scientists scan the corpse, the moment the bracer was scanned, the corpse turns into dust.

Episode 3
Tsubasa so traumatized that she’s in coma. Millaarc and Elsa doing some shady exchange with American agents. F*cking Americans. Because a few biker guys happen to see this, wrong time, wrong place, the Pavarian duo go out to slaughter them. Biker boss praying for angels to come rescue him. God answers his wish in the form of Symphogear girls! Millaarc trying to play psychology with Hibiki because without her Ignite Module, she cannot beat her. But with Chris backing her up, the duo manage to escape by the skin of their teeth although they had to leave behind an important suitcase. Analysing its contents, it contains a very rare blood type known as Rh-xxoyle. It is believed the US is behind this but their suspicions are put to rest when they get news that their lab in Los Alamos is destroyed by Pavarian Illuminati. Further investigation by Yatsuhiro reveals the lab also deals with heretical technology research. And FIS was part of Los Alamos. Also, although several relics with no power were stolen, that bracer known as Shem-ha was one of them. Yatsuhiro will press the US government to help resolve this matter. Tsubasa is back up now and before she can claim she is okay, a stinging message from Fudou that she allowed enemies to attack Japan and that she cannot protect the people. He believes songs cannot protect the world. There goes Tsubasa getting depressed all over again. Kirika is joking that the enemies might be targeting blood banks. What do you know, Millaarc shows up at one! With Shirabe, they attack and defeat her. Don’t let her sew doubts in your thinking because Millaarc claiming she wants to protect her family, cue for Vanessa to drop in. This fight was just a decoy for Elsa to get the blood. Vanessa then blackouts all electricity in the vicinity. This give them time to escape as our heroines are forced to save the patients. Damn hospital has no backup generator?! We see Vanessa talking to Fudou and will give him Shem-ha as he wanted. He believes this is what Japan needs to reclaim its rightful place.

Episode 4
These remnants call themselves Noble Red and they need the blood to filter the impurities from the use of their powers. Fudou sees Noble Red to activate Shem-ha. He uses the American agents as bait by having them killed. One of them panics and puts on the bracer and he explodes! Fudou realizes the divine power won’t let itself be used so easily. Elsa has a proposal. When the Symphogear girls drop down to fight Noble Red, Hibiki learns their goal is to return to being normal girls and be friends with everyone. So why fight then? Can’t we just talk? No can do. People reject and ostracize those who are different. This fight is just a distraction for Shem-ha to be taken away and once so, Noble Red retreats. SONG picks up some device from the ruins and analyses its waveform to be in some strange music format. Because Maria planted a tracking device on Vanessa during that fight, they are able to trace their makeshift hideout. Although Noble Red realizes this too late, they prepare to fight the Symphogear girls. So the moment they land and before they can finish singing their first sentence, BOOM! Landed right on the minefield!!! Is this a joke?! Of course it will take more than that to kill them so Noble Red traps them in some indestructible blocks that turned into some giant pyramid labyrinth. Then they compress their weak powers in a confined space to multiply the explosion exponentially. Since Hibiki is feeling down about losing, cue for vision of Saint-Germain to lecture her whom she lost to. To yourself? Hibiki being Hibiki, that’s enough to pull her out of the doldrums. Why, Saint-Germain lending her powers means golden protective barriers? Wow! Hibiki’s outfit has transformed into even something shinier! Now packing some power punches to counter strike Noble Red. But she won’t deal the final blow because she remembers Vanessa wants to be friends. Can we just shake hands and talk for a start? Suddenly an order from Genjuurou to abort mission now. Looks like the Japanese government has got SONG at gunpoint.

Episode 5
Not sure what is going on because this sneaky official forces SONG to cooperate so as they can investigate whatever. Noble Red rendezvous with Fudou. He tells them to begin the last phase of the plan as everything has been set. However he warns them that because they have failed in some ways, there are people sniffing around his feet. Vanessa’s flashback shows us she was working as a researcher in Pavarian Illuminati. While researching Faust Robe, it exploded and almost killed her. But her body was replaced with cyborg parts and she was further humiliated by being experimented on. Her only solace were Elsa and Millaarc as fellow experiment subjects. When Pavarian Illuminati fell, they escaped. However their bodies require special blood and Fudou offered to supply them that in exchange for their assistance with his plan. Genjuurou manages to contact Yatsuhiro. The latter laments that proper paper has been filed for this despite noting there are shady individuals involved. There are also traces that Fudou might be involved but it is best not to suspect him until they have solid proof. For now, Yatsuhiro is trying to fix failing relations with US and hopes the joint lunar expedition will solve it or he will threaten them with some WMD incident. With the Symphogear girls on standby, I guess now it’s a good time to take a break. Hibiki is out with Miku, Tsubasa and Elfnein. Hibiki and Miku end up in an argument about Tsubasa’ feelings. But they have to put that aside since Alca-Noise are attacking the city. As Hibiki and Tsubasa go into action, Genjuurou and SONG manage to get court order to take back their commandership. Tsubasa becomes riled up seeing Millaarc and launches relentless assaults. Though, they are just illusions but that didn’t stop her from powering up. Damn, is she responsible for the destruction of the city?! The real Millaarc is hunting down Miku and Elfnein and has orders to take in the latter. It seems that sneaky official is in cohorts with her. Miku thinks she can stall them and let Elfnein run away but looks like Millaarc has a different plan for her.

Episode 6
Yeah, there’s a lot of blood on the scene. Whose blood? Let the lab find out… Meanwhile, the Symphogear girls are in despair over the missing duo. Worse, Tsubasa thinks the rest are blaming her for her err in judgment and gets a little edgy. Then Fudou calls Tsubasa. Like as though he hypnotizes her, he tells her this is not her battlefield and to come to him for guidance if she is lost. Lab results are in… The blood belongs to… Neither! Hooray! Elfnein wakes up and realizes she is in Chateau de Tiffauges. Flashback shows Millaarc killed the official as they have no use for him. Yup, that’s his blood. That scene was so horrifying that the duo passed out. Miku is also alive but is unconscious in another room. It seems Elfnein is tasked to activate something. Looks like some huge generator. Vanessa realizes Ogawa has got his hands on some evidence linking Noble Red to Kazanari Institute. She goes to intercept but thanks to Ogawa’s awesome driving that turns his car into some ninja (car cloning???!!!), he manages to get away. But that is also thanks to the help of Maria and Chris arriving to tackle her. Knowing she won’t be enough to beat them, Vanessa decides to use innocent civilians in her fight. Luckily they are able to save them and also defeat Vanessa. Before they could interrogate her about their pals’ whereabouts, some great light activates from Chateau de Tiffauges. You can’t miss that bright light shooting towards the heavens over there.

Episode 7
Millaarc brainwashes Elfnein to go break through some system security. However because of the abundance of energy, it went berserk. So I take it that this godly monster is Shem-ha? The other Symphogear girls drop in to fight it. Ultimately Hibiki takes the biggest blow and knowing without her god slaying powers this would be a battle they can never win, they make a tactical retreat. When Vanessa returns, she hears their explanation about the need to do an emergency purge after drawing out the divine power from Miku and the output was way beyond their expectations. Back at the base, analysis shows that the wave emitted by Shem-ha is the same as the song from Maria’s homeland, Apple. Vanessa is about to kill Elfnein who has outlived her usefulness. Damn this brat had enough reflex to avoid that? The next time Vanessa tries again, this time Elfnein is saved by the appearance of her Autoscorers. Somehow their scrapped bodies were chained to the reactor core and conveniently revive during the output. Elfnein then contacts SONG and tells them about her whereabouts. Don’t worry, Miku is also safe. Also they’re lucky the diving being hasn’t completely materialized yet. However she can’t hold out and is asking for backup. Unfortunately Genjuurou can’t send his Symphogear girls now, especially their trump card Hibiki is out. So hang in there until they can send reinforcements. So I guess it’s cue to see the Autoscorers serve and protect Elfnein from Noble Red till their last breath. Vanessa thinks she can finally kill this brat but think again! Another miracle! The Autoscorers’ sacrifice has made Elfnein able to transform into a badass Symphogear lass. Oh wait, is this Carol?

Episode 8
Noble Red can’t even touch Carol as she owns them. Better escape while they can. She would have gone after them had not Elfnein tell her their priority is to rescue Miku. Carol then contacts SONG and she wants them to destroy that monster while she finds a way to save Miku before she becomes Shem-ha’s vessel. Fudou is not impressed with Noble Red’s failure. He looks reluctant giving them another chance but when Vanessa hopes he remembers his promise to give them human bodies after he obtains divine power, he shuts her off. Meanwhile Hibiki has her own issues to deal with. Traumatic dream of Miku won’t be her friend anymore? Gee, that’s really like the end of the world. The other Symphogear girls try to power up with their combined swan songs but it has no effect on Chateau de Tiffauges and it’s already taking a toll on their body. Worse, Shem-ha is attacking them. Noble Red returns to fight Carol. They thought their pyramid labyrinth could do the trick but all Carol needs to do is just sing and blast her way out. Remember, her song alone has the Phonic gain equivalent to 7 billion swan songs! Oh, Carol might tire out now but this powers up the other Symphogear girls as they fight back. Noble Red are weakened as Vanessa suspects Fudou has put poison in the blood transfusion. Finally the Symphogear girls have the edge when Hibiki is now launched towards Shem-ha. I guess she has gotten over her trauma. Yeah, what’s the point of wielding Symphogear if she can’t even save a friend? So saving the world isn’t as important? Anyway, with the other Symphogear girls relegated to protecting Hibiki from Shem-ha’s attacks, Hibiki finally uses her extended arms to give the deepest direct punch into the monster. Though she punches through, she is shocked to see Miku waiting for her inside. Wow. Miku has her own Symphogear transformation scene? Apparently this isn’t Dark Miku. Shem-ha has materialized.

Episode 9
I suppose Shem-ha didn’t completely materialize into Miku so that’s why she’s fighting it. But it is that exact moment where Fudou activates a seal in Tsubasa to turn her into his lapdog as she kidnaps Miku from the rest. Everyone is in shock with Tsubasa’s betrayal but continue to believe in her. Hibiki is on probation so she hangs out with her dad? He tries to listen to her problems but don’t get your hopes up. Yup, sorry can’t help with that kind of problem. With now Miku in Fudou’s hands, he is trying to override its feedback system so he can be its master. This is not Symphogear but Faust Robe. Yatsuhiro and Genjuurou summon Maria for a new mission. They have evidence that Kazanari Institute is behind this and will be going to arrest the patriarch. Maria refuses because this mission also means slaying Tsubasa. So she’s going to try diplomacy first, huh? Upon arrival, Alca-Noise greet them. Genjuurou faces off with Fudou while Maria fights Tsubasa. Oddly, a slap from Maria is all it takes to break the seal. And also some lecture since when she cares more about herself than others. But this leaves her only in more despair because she views herself as insufficient to protect the weak. Meanwhile Genjuurou lost to Fudou. He could have won had he had the killing intent. So Fudou finishes him off with this extreme piledriver move!!! During this commotion, Noble Red sneak in to override the instructions but were promptly slain by Miku! Fudou now faces off with Tsubasa and views her as bringing shame. Since the seal won’t work, he shoots her with his gun. But wait! Yatsuhiro fast enough to protect her with his body! Last words from father: Don’t protect people because they’re weak. Protect them because they’re worth protecting. True. But how to know if they’re worth it? Oh Tsubasa, you’re so confused. Tsubasa levels up to an even better gear to fight Fudou. Heck, Fudou is willing to let her kill him so she would become the monster to protect Japan. She is actually going to do that but Genjuurou stops her. Can’t waste everything they’ve worked for, eh? Poor Tsubasa. So confused. I hope she doesn’t break further. And then something activates. Looks like big sh*t hits the fan. So much so Hibiki is called for help. Screw probation. Just when Hibiki’s dad was trying to at least say some cool things to help his daughter.

Episode 10
God has awakened. Humanity is screwed. Maria tries to intercept but Shem-ha is defended by Noble Red. Because they are so powered up, a tactical retreat is best for now. Shem-ha doesn’t even think of going after them because now that Yggdrasil has risen, mankind has nowhere left to run! Sure, but you’re giving them time to fight back? We now see Fudou in prison, Yatsuhiro is dead and Tsubasa given back her authority to fight alongside her Symphogear comrades. Some emotional reunion before sh*t hits the fan. Flashback shows Noble Red was killed by Shem-ha. However her powers are not how they used to be so she revived them and make them perfect monsters? Huh? So being perfect is anything other than being human? Since Noble Red can never become human again and so Shem-ha offer them to serve under her instead of wallowing in depression. Huh? Yeah, she’ll erase all rejection and loneliness in this world. With the rise of Yggdrasil, it triggered some reaction on the moon. Hence the next mission is to head there. Thanks to Yatsuhiro’s diplomatic efforts, US is willing to cooperate. However the mission will be helmed by the Americans while the Symphogear girls will be defending the launch. Because true enough, Alca-Noise and Noble Red attack to prevent the launch from happening. Noble Red is so powered up that they overwhelm the Symphogear girls and even destroy the rocket! There goes the billion dollar programme up in smokes. The big bulk of the fight is focused on Shirabe-Kirika vs Elsa. In the end of this vicious battle, our Symphogear pair combine and power up to take her down. Even lecturing her about there is no need to become a monster just to ease her loneliness. Yes, walls in your heart aren’t meant to keep others out but to protect and accept who you are! Noble Red is going to escape. You mean to show off your escape device? Because enough time for desperate Tsubasa to cut in and try to teleport to their base to save Miku. Well, her comrades are also fast enough not to let her go alone. With that, all of them disappear from the face of the Earth. So where could they be? From the look of it, they’re on the moon! Yeah, saved a 3 day trip there.

Episode 11
Maria has this strange dream. In the past, Enki was fighting Shem-ha. He lost but sacrificed his arm to revive. Then they killed each other so Shem-ha sacrificed her own life so she could have a future. Such a convenience that the ruins on the moon has air and same gravity as Earth. Drones attack the separated girls and though they manage to hold their ground, thanks to Maria and Tsubasa finding the control centre room, they manage to deactivate the defence system. Great convenience that this room has a hologram of Enki who tells them everything. In turn they contact back to SONG to relay back this big reveal. So it is some higher alien lifeform that helped humans on Earth to evolve and all? What’s that again about the Yggdrasil system that connects all humans as a cluster of biological computer terminals? Unfortunately, Shem-ha had different plans of her own and revolted by challenging them to battle. Well, I can see who won. Now Shem-ha exists as data fragments that remain in humanity’s genetic info. Hence she is basically immortal as each defeat means she can regenerate from whatever data fragments remain. Thus the rest created a jamming system known as Balal, they sealed her and abandoned Earth. Hence the curse of Balal is the root of all conflict but is also the same source that is protecting humanity. If Shem-ha removes this curse, she will turn all lifeforms into monsters she can control. Therefore the goal is to destroy the lunar ruins. We interrupt this with Millaarc attacking Tsubasa and Maria. She powers up by cloning herself so we can have this very strange pro wrestling tag team fight. Of course Tsubasa and Maria just need to remember the song they first sang together to power up (and regain Tsubasa’s shattered pride) to defeat her. While everything is fine on the moon, back on Earth it is not. Yggdrasil has popped up everywhere! Time to remodel Earth.

Episode 12
Elfnein plans to face Shem-ha as Carol. It’s a suicide move because for Carol to fight on par and defeat her, it is at the expense of her memories. But even so, it wasn’t enough to defeat a God. Hence, Shem-ha’s reward to her is to let her live so she can witness the end of the world. Damn, Earth has become so red that it’s Mars? Meanwhile on the moon, Hibiki and Chris team up to fight stubborn Vanessa. And of course the power of friendship has Vanessa defeated. After some lecture, I guess Noble Red realizes that even if they are perfect monsters, they don’t want to have a heart of a monster. Yup, finally they’re tired of doing all this sh*t. Too late. Because Shem-ha possesses Vanessa to inject some virus into the system and take over it. Hibiki’s hesitation to punch through Vanessa with her god slaying fist only made that possible. Shem-ha considers herself reborn and thanks that event from a year ago (from last season) where everyone combined their hearts which revived her then. The girls realize the irony that it wasn’t because humans couldn’t be connected but must not. The place is crumbling and how to get back to Earth without dying? Easy. Noble Red forms a long pyramid labyrinth as their passage back to Earth. Take this as their final repentance for all they’ve done. Yeah, don’t worry. The Symphogear girls will make sure their will lives on through them. Adios, Noble Red. Upon reaching the exosphere, they manage to contact SONG. It seems everyone in the world is coming together to fight Yggdrasil! Because Yggdrasil is using the computer networks, we see the world hackers coming together to put up the biggest firewall!!! Now it’s the Symphogear girls’ turn to sing for the world. Don’t worry, they won’t vaporize when they re-enter the atmosphere. In fact, they level up into angels just in time for a final showdown with Shem-ha!

Episode 13
Wow! My eyes are bleeding from all the flashy godly pow wow beam blasting effects!!! Wow! My ears are going deaf from the singing, talking and heavy rock music in the background! WOW! My head is going to explode trying to compute everything! All typical and usual until Shem-ha doing a dick move by putting up Miku’s cute innocent face to make Hibiki falter once more. Oh yes. Can’t hurt a cutie girl, can we? Carol uses up all of her powers to protect the Symphogear girls and give Hibiki some hope that her fists aren’t just cursed but give hopes to those whom she doesn’t know too. And then everyone is broken from Shem-ha’s connection. WTF?! Network interruption?! Now the humans of the world send over their hope to Hibiki as Hibiki mercilessly fights back Shem-ha and believes she can still save her friend instead of killing her. And then she overcomes the curse to purge Shem-ha and rescue Miku. Well, drama’s not over yet… Elfnein meets Carol one last time in her subconscious. It seems she used up all her memories and will now disappear. Bye. Will never forget you. Meanwhile, despite Shem-ha gone, Yggdrasil is still active. They have to find the core and shut it all down. Rats, those pesky enemy minions. Do have time for this? Don’t worry, Miku in her Symphogear form joins them! Yeah, Elfnein tweaked her a little so you bet she’s ready to join Hibiki. However Elfnein warns them of Carol’s last words. Even if they destroy the core, another unit will take over. Essential, fighting a losing battle. So Elfnein’s idea is to use Phonic gain and make all of them self-destruct simultaneously. So the girls start singing their swan song at the core. Damn, it feels like roll call when we see the ghosts of dead characters (also from previous seasons) popping up to support this miracle! The girls succeed and they have to race out as Yggdrasil is destroyed. WTF the ghost of Shem-ha still trying to pull them in?! Well, Shem-ha trying to ask them one more time about what the f*ck they’re trying to do. Even if it’s painful and suffering, they’ll still continue to walk their future. Then it’s like finally Shem-ha has given up. Okay. You do what you want. It’s your future. And with that, finally can we see we won this whole sh*t?! Behold! The dawn of the new future starts now! Lastly, Hibiki and Miku finally get to say what they wanted to say to each other for a long time. I’m pretty sure it’s not, “NOT ANOTHER SYMPHOGEAR SEASON”!

We Are All Connected In More Ways Than Just The Internet!
Well, let’s hope that’s the end of it. While no future seasons were announced, there may be still trouble for the world and its future. You know, everybody was okay with suffering and the pain in the future so I’m guessing there will be disgruntled assholes and jerks trying some similar dick move in the future. Hence SONG’s job will never be done. But as far as I can see for the anime format, it is highly not likely because they do some roll call at the end so this might actually be their swan song. But then again, they didn’t put the ‘magic word’ called ‘final season’ in the title so everything is still up in the air. There is always hope for the future (instalments)! Don’t you ever forget that. The Symphogear girls fought for us that!

I think the storyline has become somewhat predictable or at least it follows some kind of pattern. There is some group, normally one that has a bunch of gorgeous babes fighting in front, having their own nefarious goals. Somebody wants to play God or bring an end to the world and humanity. Hence SONG and the Symphogear girls use their ever transforming and evolution gear to fight and thwart the enemy’s plan. Even if the world or humanity is close to being defeated or on the brink of destruction, never give up till the last drop! Because you bet that somehow songs and the power of friendship will be there to always save the day. It’s that easy. Because after all, it’s all just fiction! Oh yeah. Carry on, Symphogear girls. Carry on protecting the world and your friendship the way you have always been doing.

I don’t know what’s up with the strange alphabets when naming the seasons. Symphogear G was the second season, then followed by AXZ for the third, then GX as the fourth and now the current one as XV. Do they stand for something? I don’t know. So when can we have Symphogear XXX? Oh sh*t! I think that itself already exists if you know where to look on the dark side of the internet! *Wink, wink*. Heh. Another way humans are connected to the dark side…

So yeah, honestly I’ve been going through this season as blur and even more so that I can be. Not remembering what has happened in previous seasons and the terms and sci-fi jargons are still all over the place in my head. Yeah, I don’t know watching this series would constitute in wasting my time. But to be honest, the only thing that I could ‘understand’ (other than the cliché plot of some ‘God’ wanting to destroy the world) is the action parts. I guess this is the only part in the entire series that I never consistently get bored of. Despite all the exaggerated and flashy power moves, it is that same reason why I still find them so fascinating and exciting. All those loud over the top punches, projectiles and the likes are so outrageous that it’s just so amusing. This season packs even more punch as we see our characters level up and hence adding more firepower to their arsenal. Sometimes I think having so much power feels like if they’re not careful and slip up, they might destroy the entire city! Oh wait. That happened once when Tsubasa went berserk, right? Good thing it is just one off. Phew. Good thing the gears are overall still in good hands, right?

This season too has ramped up the blood spills and body count. You’d think that nobody in this season will die, especially innocent people, right? Well, time to relive your trauma of the first season by massacring all the innocent concertgoers! Damn, a future generation all wiped out like that. It’s so sad so next time dad forbid you to go to some live concert with your friends, better be safe than sorry. Oh heck, just screw it all and just go have fun with your friends! And also not forgetting, RIP Yatsuhiro… On a side note, Alca-Noise has now being reduced to some low level warm up baddies for the Symphogear girls to fight. They still looks weird but now it gets even weirder because I thought I saw some of them riding a Segway!!! WTF???!!!! WHAT THE FFFFFUUUU???!!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

In previous seasons, the Symphogear girls have their own transformation scene. I don’t remember past seasons’ transformation scene but it seems the ones I do notice here seems to be a little sexier. Is this what happens when you power up that your transformation scene is also freaking awesome sexy? Okay. Whatever. When you have the girls dressed up like that as their battle uniform, what else can I say?

As for the characters, I guess there is nothing much for me to say here except that perhaps we need some kind of catalyst for this series’ drama and hence the tension in Hibiki and Miku’s friendship. But that is a bit overshadowed by Tsubasa’s drama because she is in a dilemma whether her sword could continue to protect the people. It was a bit disheartening to see her lose her way for a while and get disillusioned but as you would have expected, once her friends bring her back to the right path, she’s back to the Tsubasa we all know and even stronger.

For the new characters especially Noble Red as the antagonists, it’s that same ol’ formula from previous seasons that these hot babes are once more tricked into doing stuffs that would bring harm to humanity as a whole. And just like in previous seasons, once they are truly defeated by our heroines, they turn over a new leaf and there are only 2 options for them: Join and become their comrade or die but their will lives on inside the hearts of our heroines. I bet SONG Doesn’t have more space to accommodate more heroines and they don’t want to blow it up and give AKB48 a run for their money so I guess these girls better die. Don’t worry, like I’ve said, they will continue to live on inside our Symphogear girls’ heart so all is not lost. So in future seasons, they might be brought back in some ghost form to power up our heroines should they ever find themselves in a pinch.

I don’t know if this season ramped up the sexiness too because Noble Red feels sexualized. Especially when you have Vanessa being the kind of monster that could shoot missiles from out of her boobs!!! So the members of Noble Red feel like they take some form of sexualisation. Vanessa has all the right curves. Millaarc is thicc. Elsa is flat and child-like. All you men out there with any sort of fetish of your ideal women, we have it all here in Noble Red!

Shem-ha as the true final boss, I guess this is the only way they could make Miku have her own supposed Symphogear outfit. Personally, I think I find Miku in her Shem-ha dark form to be hot and looking better than the rest! But her white Symphogear form seems clumsy… And so the irony that Shem-ha is going to use humans as well as their internet technology to connect and destroy mankind? Yeah, I thought she would just crack open the lands, cause tsunamis, extreme tornados and burn everything down. But I have to remember that this ‘God’ is actually some intelligent alien lifeform from somewhere and considering how humans today are so dependent on technology these days, it’s the best way to get back at them. Is this also live by the sword, die by the sword? Not if all the hackers of the world could come together and at least be a stumbling block to Shem-ha if they can’t destroy her. Uh huh. An irony and big joke if Shem-ha gets taken down by human technology! Now I see why it’s best left to the power of friendship and the songs of these girls to finish her off no matter how cliché and ridiculous it sounds. Yeah. What a sham hahahaha!!! Sorry, bad pun. But really, trying to show us that humans can and will unite to defeat even the mightiest of God with their songs and internet technology. Damn, I must be missing something here…

I’m glad some of the older antagonists of past seasons stay dead or at least didn’t revive in this season. Yeah, you don’t know how annoying it was to have Fine and Ver come back alive just for some plot twist (I don’t count that final cameo roll call scene). Let’s hope they stay that way and with Fudou out of the picture, let’s hope he just stays a senile old man locked up in his cellar. I can understand why he doesn’t believe in songs that would save the world. Seeing the world is in constant threat and that results are needed, the Symphogear girls may not be considered as victorious as they have continually fought off wave after wave of threats. So it’s not entirely a failure but with the world at stake, you’d want something that would just kill off all the threats once and for all so I understand why Fudou is being the bad guy because when you want something done, you just have to do it yourself if you have to become a monster. But leave it to the Symphogear girls to find another way than that because, wait for it, power of friendship! Don’t fight fire with fire in this case.

Previous seasons’ seiyuus return and retain the roles they’ve voiced. New ones joining this season are Mao Ichimichi as Vanessa (Fana in Black Clover), Aimi Terakawa as Millaarc (Kasumi in BanG Dream), Kana Ichinose as Elsa (Kurai in Hitori Bocchi No Marumaru Seikatsu) and Noriko Hidaka as Shem-ha (Kikyou in Inu Yasha). Just like in past seasons, the opening and ending themes are hard rock and also the place to show off Nana Mizuki’s awesome vocals. At least for the opener, Metanoia and the special ending theme of the first episode, Final Commander. The ending theme is sung by Ayahi Takagaki, Lasting Song. Even so, not really my cup of tea. And also not counting the numerous hard rock insert songs. Boy, they could compile and make albums out of these.

Overall, yet another mind boggling Symphogear series for me. I guess I never changed. Still find everything else boring and confusing and this itself prevents me to appreciate and enjoy the series even after 5 seasons. Yet the only thing I like are the outrageous power action bits. It’s not that I don’t want to understand, I just simply can’t! Now can you see why humans are doomed from the beginning? They don’t need some advanced alien being God or Almighty Himself putting an end to humanity because we are on that path of self-destruct. You just have to be patient and wait a few more generations for that instead of instant death. I suppose singing John Lennon’s Imagine won’t cut it and save the world, huh? Maybe some Metallica and Megadeth will do… And if you think cutting off our internet will make us all lose hope in living, think again because we’ll all gang up and turn into angry mobs and witch hunt. Nothing makes people of the world come together and band as one when you take away their internet porn! Yup, the irony of porn connecting us all! So when can we expect the official Symphogear XXX to come out?

BanG Dream S2

I didn’t really expect this series to get a sequel. So when BanG Dream S2 came out as a surprise, what else could even surprise me even more? The announcement of a third season at the same time! Woah. I guess we’re done with idols and now it is the era of girl bands taking over by storm. Just kidding. I made that up. In the last season, the closure of a popular live house didn’t signal the end of the series nor was it the end of the girl bands. Because it opened up a few opportunities for them to further live and pursue their dream. So yeah, I’m here to see how far they can go. And also how cute girls playing instruments can be on stage.

Episode 1
We are reminded that girl bands are the trend now. So overly popular. So that we don’t freak out at why every girl in town is part of a band. Yeah, it’s a new school term with Arisa being part of the student council body. Rinko Shirokane is the new student council president and unlike the previous one who was spunky, she’s a nervous wreck. Poppin’ Party members are all in the same class. Except Tae. Don’t worry. This won’t break up the band, right? After another practice until the wee morning and heading to the convenience store, Rokka Asahi pleads for their help to come perform at Galaxy tonight. Can’t pass up this chance, can they? Rokka is relieved since she needed to find bands to play for the reopening of this place. We see a few bands perform like Afterglow, Hello Happy World and Roselia perform, it is Poppin’ Party’s moment on stage. Once it’s over, Roselia’s Yukina makes an announcement. They will be self-sponsoring a live show of their own. I guess Poppin’ Party got pulled into the hype because they too announce they’ve got a show coming up. I hope they just didn’t devise this impromptu.

Episode 2
Yeah, Poppin’ Party is already making plans for their show. Such big dreams. Until Sayo points out the literally so many things to do and prepare. From ticket sales to rehearsals and checks. Can you rookies manage that? Then Yukina officially invites Poppin’ Party to perform with them and of course they accept. Wow. So exciting. It’s going to get busy. Even shy Rokka wants to come see. Poppin’ Party practice hard and come that day when they head to the backstage, they see Roselia members passed out! It looks like a murder scene. Apparently they got so busy in preparing for their own show that they burnt out. I guess this is what happens when you self-sponsor your own show and to keep cost, you do literally everything yourselves. Poppin’ Party would love to help but Yukina insists they can handle it fine (were they?). It’s their show. Poppin’ Party could learn a thing or two watching them making preparations. It’s time for the show as Poppin’ Party heads out as the appetizer before Roselia nailing it as the main dish. Although Poppin’ Party feel good despite admitting they are nowhere near Roselia’s level, they are confident to throw their own self-sponsored live show. Too bad Yukina had to rain on their parade. They are in fact nowhere near that at all. Yeah, why the shock look?

Episode 3
This brat, Chuchu is some genius producer? She confronts Yukina and wants her band to team up with her to produce the most awesome label. Rejected. Poppin’ Party are now having doubts to do their own show. Meanwhile Rokka wants to form her own band as she can play the guitar but looks like there are no openings. Yeah, looks like every other girl is already in a band. I don’t know if she is tailing-cum-stalking Kasumi for inspiration but gets caught. She brings her to a bathhouse where she works part time. Is this a free pass for Poppin’ Party to hang out so that she could come enjoy their shows? Rokka tells them her story. As a newly transferred student, she came here to see the last performance at Space. That’s how she knew about Poppin’ Party as she saw them perform. Rokka was in a band too in her old hometown but they broke up as the rest wanted to concentrate on their studies. She is confident she can find others to play with here. Seeing Poppin’ Party on stage gave her a lot of motivation to make her dreams come true again. Poppin’ Party then play a song for her. Cue for Rokka’s life story so far. We see her love bands so much and started out with cutting a cardboard shape of a guitar. Then she saved up to buy her own electric guitar. Man, she must have saved up loads of money or electric guitars in her village must be darn cheap. Short snippets of her time in her band till they break up and Rokka’s moments to come to Tokyo. Either the memories or Poppin’ Party’s song made Rokka cry a lot. She hopes to form a band and perform with them. With that, Poppin’ Party decides not to give up on their self-sponsored show. Meanwhile Chuchu is furious that Yukina still rejects her. It’s like she can’t take no for an answer. She even gives a song she wrote for them to try. Again rejected. Roselia will write their own songs to the way to the top. They don’t need a producer. Oh Chuchu, please don’t take it out on the trash if you’re frustrated. At least she cleans up. Still in disbelief, she’s starting to sound like a villain because if she can’t team up with them, she’s going to destroy them. Yeah, she really can’t take no for an answer.

Episode 4
Poppin’ Party is sure coming up with lots of (unrealistic) ideas for their live show. FLYING?! Lovely. But can it be really done? Hello Happy World’s front vocalist, Kokoro Tsurumaki wants to help seeing that Poppin’ Party isn’t smiling with this idea. Hence she rallies her other bandmates for a brainstorming session. Not sure if all those scribbles make sense. Maybe. If you’re as quirky as the rest of them. Like the dramatic queen (chuunibyou?) Kaoru Seta, the happy go lucky cheery Hagumi Kitazawa and positive thinking Kanon Matsubara. Maybe. Only the dog mascot, Michelle or real name Misaki Okusawa is the voice of rational that nobody listens. Poppin’ Party is invited to Kokoro’s luxurious liner. Damn it’s huge. You mean this entire liner just for this exclusive performance? Okay. It starts off with Kaoru ‘kidnapping’ Rimi. Then the rest are made to run and chase them all over the ship. Yeah… Is anybody tired yet? Nope. Show’s just getting started because now Kokoro and Michelle take off in a giant bear air balloon before jumping off! Wait, what?! I wonder if Poppin’ Party can see anything from down there. Anyway, Michelle notices Kokoro has no parachute! Michelle only has hers and despite being afraid of heights, she takes the dive. Well, parachute has no strings. OH SH*T!!! Kasumi, you call that flying?! They’re falling!!! Turns out Michelle’s suit has some Ironman technology so a voice activates and tells her to do some Konami cheat code activation for some special boosters! Now they’re flying! To top it off, more fireworks and a huge writing in the sky, “SMILE”. I’m more flabbergasted… As expected, Poppin’ Party is so amazed at this concert (was it?!) and is now motivated to do what they want. Sure. If they have the money. But I suppose this ‘concert’ was to motivate and bring their smile back because nothing can stop them once they have that smile. Unless, money. I mean, you really want to fly like that in your live show, right? To end it all, more ‘drama’ with Kaoru and Michelle ‘dying’. The latter finally having her nerves give way. Man, what a really out of this world episode.

Episode 5
Pastel Palettes is excited to be debuting at the biggest idol festival, World Idol Festival (WIF – I can see why didn’t call it World Idol Festival Event…). They are only worried not to make that same blunder the last time. Bassist Chisato Shirasagi has a busy schedule since she is also acting in some drama. She rarely practises along with her bandmates and that is partly she is also secretly practising by herself in her studio. Too bad Tae works there and she hopes she will keep this a secret. But I think everyone knows she is practising too hard because they can hear her bass lines getting duller. Uh huh. Her bass strings are wearing out. Wow. People noticing the bass part? Vocalist Aya Maruyama is already having some sort of self-confidence issues (also some strained relationship with Chisato due to a song that they are to sing as a duet). She sure doesn’t need any more issues with the internet all abuzz that this fake girl band is going to be at WIF. You see, the blunder they did was during a performance, they were caught lip synching. If not for Chisato bravely explaining the technical difficulties that made them unable to perform live, it could have ended much worse. Now they are ready and will be playing their instruments for real. With Chisato bribing Tae with expensive bread to keep her secret, keyboardist Eve Wakamiya spots this and thinks something is wrong. Telling to the rest, it gets awkward when Chisato pops in. One of those rare times she decides to practice together. They change to topic to start practising. However it didn’t go well as Aya blunders. Some tension here and there that made Chisato blow her top. Wow. Such drama. But you know, it won’t last long. The duo eventually made up and vow to get better. You can tell the drama is all over when Aya starts crying. Now the band is truly one again. At WIF, Pastel Palettes just got a small stage. Ah well, it’s a start.

Episode 6
The local market district is going to hold a local festival. Hence our girl bands are eager to participate. But the focus of this episode is Afterglow since they will be performing a live concert at that event followed by Poppin’ Party. During the festival, it starts to rain just as Afterglow is about to start jamming. Yeah, the rain sure knows how to put a damper on the show. Yeah, extra effort is needed to keep the rented equipment from getting wet. So while they way for the rain to stop, time for some flashback. It seems Afterglow members have been childhood friends ever since young. Mostly in the same class, grade after grade. Then that one time one of them got placed in a different class, Ran Mitake thought the only way for them to be together more often is to be in a band. So picking a name wasn’t easy. Yup, the trusty English dictionary for reference. After stumbling upon a few weird words, they like the sound of Afterglow. Coincidentally it’s evening when they pick this name and they can only practice after school. And that was how Afterglow came about. With the rain stop, it’s time for the performance to be back on schedule. Thank goodness the rain didn’t last forever or it would have been a no-show. Like as though fate is trying to make them live up to their name because it’s evening when they finally could start jamming. At the end of Poppin’ Party’s show, Kasumi announces their self-sponsored show at Galaxy. Rokka is shocked but it should surprise everyone else too since Poppin’ Party never told anyone. No flashy fireworks to end the festival but the first star in the sky sure made everyone’s day.

Episode 7
Sayo’s twin sister, Hina (who is the guitarist of Pastel Palettes) wants both their schools to jointly hold their school cultural festival together. And since Poppin’ Party is eager to play there too, looks like their schedules are getting busier. Rokka laments she still can’t find a band to play in but her day is light up when Poppin’ Party makes reservation to play at Galaxy. As if that wasn’t enough, yeah, Tae feels that she really needs to convey her music and practices aren’t cutting it. Hence she does solo live street performances. Because the other members of Pastel Palettes are busy with their own commitments, they can’t play at the festival. Hence Hina suggests Aya form their own temporary band for this. So they rope in Kanon and Tsugumi Hazawa (keyboardist of Afterglow). Completing this line-up is their own Roselia’s Lisa. Ran is not amused Hina dragged Tsugumi into this but Hina takes it the wrong way and thinks they want to help out. Yeah, they’ll have a special double festival band! Can’t they just say no? As Tae is playing one of her street solos, she is joined in by Rei Wakana. Rei is Tae’s childhood friend and they used to perform together at the park before she moved away. It was Tae’s first exposure playing music with another person. Rei recently moved back and is now a bassist in a band. Time to remember that promise of forming a band together. Oh right. Tae’s already in a band with her school friends. Rei still wants her to think about this and suggests listening to her music. Give it a try. You’ll not regret it. Meanwhile Chuchu is ecstatic at the blazing performance of drummer girl, Natsumi AKA Masking. She is confident that her all-star band will explode into the scene and knock Roselia off their high horses.

Episode 8
Tae drops the bomb to her Poppin’ Party girls: She wants to play in another band. With Rimi interpreting that as filling in as a support guitarist, everyone is relieved that she isn’t quitting the band. Is she? I mean, it’s not like Tae confirmed that either. So Tae goes to see Chuchu who of course tests her to see if she is worthy to be part of the band. Of course she is. How could she face Rei if she failed? Kasumi tries to imitate Tae’s way to write songs. Not working. But of course. So she goes to see the makeshift band for hints. Well, everyone has their weird habits in writing them. And so Kasumi tries lying flat on the chairs… Well, you won’t know if you don’t try. But I don’t think this will work either. Speaking of which, the makeshift band want to write a song for the festival but none of them are songwriters. So they just decide on the theme of the song. But of course. To cheer others up. What else? Meanwhile Rokka is still having a hard time trying to recruit band members. Lisa talks to her about Roselia’s dream of playing at Future World Fest. As you can tell, it’s the world’s biggest music festival. It started as Yukina’s dream (hence why Roselia was formed) but soon became their dream. On the other hand, Kasumi stumbles into Yukina and hopes she could play with them at the festival. She’ll think about it. Hey, at least it gives some possibilities. I’m guessing the reason why the festival is holding a rehearsal in the hall is so that we can see the makeshift band strutting their stuff. Now we go over to Tae’s side. After a brutal practice, Chuchu announces their band’s name to be Raise A Suilen (RAS). With Tae on guitar, Rei on bass, Masking on drums and Reo Kurachi AKA Pareo on keyboards, she is confident they’ll be the next big thing and her music will put an end to the girl band era (isn’t this technically a girl band too?). Hence more practising until their explosive first solo concert. Guess what? It’s on the day of the festival. Tae, you looking worried.

Episode 9
Tae tells her bandmates about the scheduling conflict. She still wants to do both, though. How? By cloning herself! Damn, Tae. You worse than Kasumi. But don’t worry. Poppin’ Party stays positive. They’ll try to reschedule or something. Meanwhile Chuchu invites Yukina to her band’s debut and brags about it. Too bad she can’t go. She has her festival. Well, back at you Chuchu. You think your concert is more important than the festival? We see the festival having really weird themes. Like a happy haunted café and Kaoru serving her guests that makes all her fans swoon like hell. And yeah, Rokka is jamming with the grandmas from the shopping district?! Grandmas truly rock and roll! With Tae being so busy with her practice with RAS, she can’t make it for her Poppin’ Party practice thereafter. Now on that crucial day, RAS performs a concert so stunning that the crowd just wants an encore. Yeah, I don’t know how many times they go back out and played but you know it is going to eat into Tae’s festival’s time. And when it is about Poppin’ Party’s turn, I guess RAS is over and Tae leaves immediately. Woah. Can she actually make it now?! I don’t see the idea of Kasumi rushing to go get her. Will it make them run faster? Maybe. Friends motivate each other, maybe… So to buy time for the final performance of the festival, poor Aya has to go up that and tell some weird story after her makeshift band is done performing. Luckily we have Rokka to start doing her solo power riffs and devilish jamming! OMFG! Is she human?! Why hasn’t any death black metal bands scouted her???!!! This inspires Roselia to take it from here. By the time Kasumi and Tae arrive… It’s over. The hall’s empty. Everyone’s gathered at the campfire for the closing. Oh Tae, crying now won’t do you any good. You made your choice. Yeah, tell it to her, Arisa! Uhm, I guess she’s not even in the mood either. Poppin’ Party’s party just got popped…

Episode 10
No time for Poppin’ Party to feel gloomy. Time to move on. Poppin’ Party accompanies Tae as she goes around apologizing to everyone. I think the looping apology between Tae and Rinko is going to take a while. Surprisingly Yukina isn’t harsh on them since she knows what happened. Just don’t let it happen again. Many are talking about Rokka’s insane skills and thinking of recruiting her but Rokka herself isn’t in the mood since she is worried about Poppin’ Party getting back on their feet. Tae then talks to Chuchu that she wants to quit RAS. She has no energy to play for both bands and thought she could grow and practice with them. But this pisses off Chuchu a lot. RAS is everything to her and she doesn’t need amateurs using it as a stepping stone. She is selfish if she thinks she can quit when things get rough. Tae tells Poppin’ Party about her decision to quit RAS. But with a condition to play her last gig at their next show. Poppin’ Party wants to come see of course. Masking talks to Rei about Tae. Before she moved, Tae played her a last song. The tears in her eyes made her know she would be back. But she can’t stop her now. Seeing her again is good enough. This ‘sad’ story is enough to make badass girl Masking cry?! Poppin’ Party design their uniform for their show. Because they all want to add something, it turns out… WTF is this hell hole?! Poppin’ Party attend RAS’ show. They are amazed with the crazy fans. After their performance, Tae makes the announcement that she is quitting. Some fans plead her to stay but I guess back to those wild screams when she fist bumps with Rei. Why is Poppin’ Party looking gloomy? They saw how amazing Tae was up there as though she was like a different person. Are they in shock? Then Chuchu confronts them. She wants them to hand over Tae to her.

Episode 11
Chuchu can’t stay since there is an after party. Next time. But that comes soon as Chuchu’s visits their secret studio (Arisa’s basement) to once again ask Tae to quit Poppin’ Party. But wasn’t she to quit RAS? Yes. As a support guitarist. She will now be reborn as the main guitarist! Does Tae get a say? Yes. That’s why she is here to talk to all of them. She tells them straight: They are holding her back. After she left, Poppin’ Party contemplates on Chuchu’s words. In many ways they are true. For Tae to be scouted means they acknowledge her talents. Their music sounds super awesome and to be playing for a band like that is a chance of a lifetime. To drag out the drama, they don’t want to pressure Tae to give an answer now. Meanwhile Rei confronts Chuchu. She didn’t know she was scouting Tae as the main guitarist. You mean Rei didn’t intent on Tae playing together permanently?! So we see the rest of the scenes of Poppin’ Party gloomy. Yeah. Thinking about the future direction of their band. Eventually Tae and Kasumi talk. Oh heck, nothing to blow the blues away by playing some guitar together. Flashbacks, snippets of their time together. Uh huh. Really moved Tae’s soul that she started writing some lyrics in the sand?! Do tears come with it? With that, Tae texts everyone as she has something to tell them. Oh no. Is she going to play an opening act just for her announcement?! Oh wait. This song reflects her feelings. So yeah. Once done, the rest have their tearful say on this but nothing really that conclusive to point out if Tae is staying or leaving. And then more tears. I think they cried so much under the name of friendship that they managed to write a new song. Wow…

Episode 12
All the bands have prepared their set list for Poppin’ Party’s self-sponsored show. Everyone is so neatly done except Poppin’ Party. Are those scribbles? All that is left is Roselia. Because Yukina didn’t reply, they thought it was a roundabout way of turning them down. Like Kasumi is going to give up so they go ask again. Surprisingly Yukina accepts. So they were so busy in preparing their show to perfection that they were practising and didn’t even have the decency to reply? So what if Poppin’ Party didn’t come and the show didn’t have arrangements for Roselia? Oh yeah, I think they can accommodate last minute surprises. Because, they’re Roselia. Kasumi gets this idea for Poppin’ Party to perform twice. She wants to debut their new song in their final appearance. As they leave, oh no, it’s Chuchu. However she is here to support them and root for their show to be a success. Because she knows Tae is going to be a blast. After all, she is the best guitarist for RAS. That is when Tae tells her. Thanks for the opportunities. However I am Poppin’ Party’s lead guitarist. Chuchu suddenly has a mood change. The kind that says get out of my sight NOW. Snippets of everybody making the final preparations for that day. Yeah, Tae making some final adjustments to their new song to make it perfect. Last minute inspiration, huh? All the bands are on site to prepare and thus the cue for us to have a sneak peek at Poppin’ Party’s new song, Returns. Brilliant, of course.

Episode 13
This final episode is like a big promo music video and blow away the fact that Tae was ever scouted in the first place. With all the girl bands streaming into the backstage, Poppin’ Party leaves a camera message for them to record as ‘guestbook’. Rei is outside Galaxy, still wondering if she should go in and hear. She is surprised to see Masking here. Get this. She lives just upstairs because her dad who looks like a fishmonger but runs a fruit stand is actually the owner of Galaxy! Damn! The show kicks off with Poppin’ Party being the first to perform. They shock everyone by playing Returns. Rokka didn’t see this coming. Hope she doesn’t blunder with this sudden change. If the crowd isn’t too stimulated with that slow ballad, time for Hello Happy World to rev things up with their sunshiny performance. Since they too sing a new song, this throws Rokka off too. Now we ramp up the cuteness with Pastel Palettes also doing a new number! You keeping up with this, Rokka? Next is Afterglow with its rock style. And you guessed it, new song! Oh Rokka, you should see the pattern here. No introductions needed for Roselia but they do a familiar number. No unnecessary shocks here for Rokka. Phew. Poppin’ Party comes out to close the performance. She thanks everyone for their first self-sponsored show and especially her band members for being in this band. Funny, why should they look surprise? Did they not expect this? Especially it’s from Kasumi. They hit it with the familiar Dreamers Go piece. Hey. Is that Chuchu dancing to their tune?! And that ends the splendid performance. Do we hear an encore? Yeah. Time for bonus stage with another song! After the show as everyone leaves, Chuchu confronts Poppin’ Party. She hates to admit it that she was moved by every second of their performance. So she admitting they better than her? Too bad being the sore loser she is, she ‘threatens’ she’ll make a bigger comeback that will leave them eating dust. GTFO! Your threats mean nothing!

Go Like A (BanG) Dream!
Oh well. Until the next season arrives, we’ll only know if Chuchu can walk the talk. But I’m glad it somewhat ended on that note because it is like cutting this brat off before she could do more harm. And it ends with our girls giving this confused look that screams, “Huh? WTF this loli?”. But anyway, I still don’t understand how Poppin’ Party managed to get the sufficient funds to sponsor their first self-sponsored show. Maybe they got a huge discount from Galaxy’s owner. Yeah, Japanese people are pretty generous if you know how to push the right buttons. I thought Yukina shot them down that they weren’t prepared. Unless it was just to scare them to see if they were really going to do it. With that kind of sparkling confidence, you think Poppin’ Party can’t do it? Yeah. They did it. Wow. Everything so perfect. Ganbare! Po-pi-pa, pi-po-pa, po-pi-pa-pa-pi-po-pa! Damn their huddle shout sounds like a tongue twister or scatting. Good for some verbal password. I think. Not.

This season feels like it can be separated into 2 parts. The first part seems to be introducing the other main girl bands. Their brand of music and style of entertainment. I think this is so that people like me who didn’t watch that chibi comedy, BanG Dream Garupa Pico (or those who didn’t play the Girls Band Party) will get to know and be familiar with them. It is not a very deep story about them or their band members but they are at least given an episode of prominence just to indicate that they are one of the few main players besides Poppin’ Party. The second part seems to be about Tae’s dilemma to join another band. Personally, with the first half already close to being boring in my books, they needed some sort of drama to ramp up the drama effect that Poppin’ Party might be breaking up or at least move on either by finding a replacement for Tae (Rokka comes to mind) or just carry on without her. But of course, we all know very well that a band’s bond is strong and there is no way that Poppin’ Party is going to break up, right? RIGHT?! After all, we already had Poppin’ Party origins story in the first season.

With so many characters, I couldn’t be bothered to feel if there is one that I really liked. All of them felt boring despite the myriads of personalities and quirky behaviours. You got the serious one, the dreamy one, the ditzy one, the reliable one, some even having this chuunibyou effect, yeah a whole bunch of them. Last season, my favourite character was Arisa because she was funny. This season she was really toned down and I thought that was really disappointing. Not to say that Arisa was totally revamped and changed her character, she still retains what Arisa being Arisa is but to a much lesser degree. Sometimes she still cracks sarcasm but it wasn’t on the same level that appealed to me like she did in the first season. Kasumi isn’t as annoying as she was in the first season but still annoying nevertheless. She is still going at her own pace with her happy go lucky demeanour. Saaya and Rimi feel insignificant that they don’t matter but because they are part of Poppin’ Party, they do. Remember, their origin story was already told in the first season so whatever issues they have then are already ‘solved’. That’s why Tae is now in the spotlight and they don’t have any problems that would have us focus on them. I wonder if Tae who isn’t in the same class with the rest for the new term served as a foretelling for this issue. You know, a band is supposedly strong when you do everything together. Everything!

Although the other girl bands were given their episode of prominence, they still feel pretty insignificant and I still can’t remember their names. Yes, they are around to help each other but when it comes down to really getting to know them, something that would make you want to care for them, I don’t see there is any reason for me to support them. After all, Poppin’ Party is the star of this series so perhaps they don’t want to take away that limelight from them. So generally the other band girls follow their own theme that makes them ‘unique’. Like Hello Happy World with their marching band outfits but their songs are so lively and exuberant, you wonder if they are high on drugs on each performance. Really. Roselia’s trademark is being dark and gothic, Pastel Palettes are like colourful sunshine magical girls the musical version and Afterglow feels like street musicians.

One very underrated character is Rokka. I was under the assumption that she would play a big part in this season but as far as I can see, she is just a minor character. Sometimes I think she is just a red herring considering she just became a worker at Galaxy and somewhat an ardent supporter of Poppin’ Party. Not sure if this is her running joke that she wants to form a band but couldn’t manage to do so and hence her awesome guitar skills lying dormant and going to waste every second a band doesn’t scout her for her talents. Like I said earlier, I thought she was going to be Tae’s replacement but I guess fans would prefer the original Poppin’ Party. Maybe in the next season Rokka would play a more significant role. For now, she is just doing fine with her part time job at Galaxy. Hang in there.

This season’s supposed ‘antagonist’, Chuchu. Probably a character everyone loves to hate because of her very obnoxious sounding manner. Yes, she sounds annoying and tries to sound big and important as she mixes English words in her sentences. Wow. So trendy. You understand? Capisce. Okay. Because she has big ambitions and wants to achieve them quickly, it makes her look very pushy and demanding. Maybe this is the part that all of us misunderstood about her. It is hard not to try and look at her this way since it only enhances her bratty behaviour. You know, a young girl who claims to be a genius producer and then being so in your face, are you going to take all that? She is also arrogant thinking her music is the best in the world. The problem with that thinking is that she doesn’t see the point of view from others. Yes, we understand you believe your works are the best. But not necessarily everyone out there agrees. That is why Yukina and Tae rejected her. That inability to accept that reality mostly had Chuchu fuming and frustrated. And add more English words to the mix. Why? What? How? Unbelievable! F*CK!!! ;p.

RAS might be making waves in this series’ setting and it makes me wonder if the main girl bands here are living in a world of their own. Unfair of me to say this since obviously the focus is on Poppin’ Party and the other bands. They have their own followers and fans but with RAS taking the girl band world by storm and revolutionizing the industry, I just wonder if these girl bands here will they continue to stay the same or change and adapt to the new music scene. Eventually it will be a tough call to make because it all boils down to remembering their original goal when the band was formed. Will they be able to still achieve that dream if they have changed? After all, if nobody listens to their music, being part of a band is somewhat redundant, right? Unless they enjoy playing together themselves but I think that defeats the purpose.

As I researched RAS (read: Lazy Google research), I found out they are a real band although they were created as backup bands as some of the seiyuus in some of the girl bands are unable to play their character’s instrument. So who is the guitarist of RAS if it is not Tae? It’s the one behind Rokka! I never really thought of it until now but perhaps next season they could scout her and make her part of their team. And then Chuchu can brag about this blessing of being rejected because now she’s got a real awesome guitarist. But still, genius producer or not, you’re still an annoying self-centred brat.

And the rest of RAS, I wonder if they are the best of the best as Chuchu claims to have scouted. If you asked me, they are a bunch of ragtags formed together only by chance. After all, if they were this good, how come they weren’t scouted before? I mean, it is the age of girl bands in this anime, right? How the f*ck did Chuchu scout them anyway? For them to accept Chuchu’s invitation, they must be making the biggest gamble in their life to entrust her. Furthermore, RAS is the only band who is not made up of high school girls. This gives the impression they have more practice and exposure. But as I have said, they are a bunch of talented ragtags. Rei has been bumming around here and there doing part time jobs, Masking is a delinquent (probably beating up others, made her good at drumming – just a theory!) and Pareo whose rainbow dye hairstyle makes her head look like some Neapolitan ice cream feels like a lapdog to Chuchu because she does everything to please her. Even if it means being the object to take out her frustrations because you don’t want to attract the authorities’ attention by vandalizing a safety cone, do you? Do you see how weird these band members are? On second thought, that weirdness makes them look interesting than the other girl bands…

Music is supposedly the star of this series but just like last season, they still don’t resonate with me. Not to say that I don’t like their brand of songs but they didn’t sound catchy enough to retain my attention. So we have Poppin’ Party’s brand of happy rock music in Kizuna Music (opening theme) as well as Jumpin (ending theme). But sometimes Poppin’ Party don’t hog this section because we need to show why Roselia is the best among the bands featured here. They do not stray from their dark gothic rock style as they sing Brave Jewel as the opener and Safe And Sound as the ending theme.

One of the very obvious difference when watching this season is the fact that the entire series is now CGI! Woah. Why?! Hence the character looks slightly different but still maintain their recognizable features. Unfortunately the CGI effects make the characters’ movement feel stiff and one kind. Not to say that it is bad, but it really feels weird seeing the characters that we were introduced in the first season as traditional 2D characters to suddenly now become 3D render models. But the CGI might be a little appeasing during performances because this generation has gotten used to performances like Hatsune Miku so it’s no big deal. The big change in visuals might be due to the fact that the anime studio was changed from Xebec and Issen to Sanzigen who did Black Rock Shooter, another music based series back in 2012. I hope they do better the next season.

Overall, I still find this season boring and unimpressive. Chuchu being an annoying pushy brat trying to steal scout Tae was supposed to be some big drama but eventually the band that plays together, sticks together continues to prove true. But I’ll stick around for the third to see if there would be any shocking twists and revelations that would make me change my mind or perhaps a final closure on the series. But I doubt the latter will happen any time so soon since there are quite a number of fans of this series who really like the show, its directions, its music, its growth of its characters, etc. Makes me feel like I’m the only odd one standing against it all… You all gonna hate me for not liking this bunch of cuties? Wait till you see my awesome power chords and riffing! I’ll show you! Oh sh*t, I still flub my lines of Jim Croce’s Time In A Bottle for the umpteenth time…

ClassicaLoid S2

If the first season of classical composers in their shenanigans and antics weren’t enough for you. Behold! ClassicaLoid S2 brings more of that to the table. It’s like a 2 hour symphony wasn’t long enough and there you go hear another symphony that is equally long. I guess some people love hearing dead composers’ music but you won’t see those here playing theirs for hours. The last season had that far-fetched twist using aliens. I wonder if they are going to surprise us with angels and demons now. Oh, guess not…

Episode 1
The usual damning antics of the Otowakan residents that once again pisses off Kanae. Time to put down her feet again. It is interrupted when a young boy named Wataru and his pet pygmy hippo, Dovo are at her doorstep. Wataru claims he is her little brother and there is a letter from her mom to ascertain he is. This is all too much for Kanae to digest so sad Wataru doesn’t want to bother her and return to the institution that he was just released from. Kanae can’t let him be so she takes Wataru in. Oh, he hands her his allowance he saved up as advanced rent payment. Woah! Stacks of money! Welcome my little brother! Kanae introduces him to the rest of the tenants as well as the rooms of Otowakan. I suppose as the landlady, she has to power to kick out Beethoven from his room to give it to Wataru. Oh, Dovo wants his own room too so she kicks out Mozart from his. Got a problem? Well, pay your rent first then talk. The duo now share a small room together and Kanae continues to treat Wataru well that is so obvious that it is irking the rest. And what’s this staring showdown between Dovo and Hasshie? Naturally Beethoven and Mozart continue to b*tch to Wataru about their unfair treatment so Wataru tells them off they only share names of famous composers but have not accomplished anything special in particular. Later as the rest go about their own thing, we see Wataru mocking them and causing a little mischief on them. Liszt is suspicious and knows Wataru is not all that he seems to be. Beethoven’s gyoza machine malfunctions from the mischief. He gets so mad that he unleashes his Musik. But Wataru isn’t surprised. In fact, he have seen this sort of thing before. Because Dovo can also do the same. With that, Dovo does his Musik and becomes a conductor of his hippo train and taking them all on a galaxy railways ride? So the soul of music was born in Africa? Returning to reality, Wataru further explains Dovo used to put up such performances for him. The rest are stumped because they thought only ClassicaLoids can do this. He questions them if they think they are the only ClassicaLoids around. Back in his room, it seems Wataru reveals a little more about himself. Dovo isn’t actually a hippo and Wataru’s real name is Richard Wagner. There is some revolution he is planning.

Episode 2
More b*tching from losers Beethoven and Mozart the continued super treatment of Wataru over them. Do they have to be reminded about their rental payments? Wataru continues to mock Beethoven as unworthy of that composer’s name, making that guy throwing a tantrum like a kid. Beethoven then wants a showdown over the room but Wataru disagrees. He will not end up in some kiddie contest. But when Beethoven calls him a botched gyoza, this seems to hit Wataru’s nerve. He hates being called that and accepts Beethoven’s challenge! With Kanae as the referee, I think I know the outcome. Because the ‘contest’ she has them go through looks like house chores. Like the first one is painting the walls. Whoever finishes first wins. Both sides have help. Wataru flatters his teammates to motivate them to work but Liszt is not amused. She is only playing along so she can expose his true colours. Wataru finishes first and wins. Beethoven is not satisfied and wants another round. This time they clean the pathway. For once, Beethoven uses his flame thrower for good. Use what?! Actually he modified it into a super jet spray and cleans the entire path in no time. It’s his win. For the final contest, they are to buy stuffs for dinner. Easy, right? Only, Beethoven has more items on his list! Unfair? He is an adult so it should be tougher for him. Before he could even begin, Wataru has already finished. Almost resigning to his fate, it seems the other ClassicaLoids have helped out so the odds are now even. It is a race back to Otowakan as they try to shove and outdo each other. In the final stretch, Beethoven pushes Wataru aside and although he might have won, Wataru’s eggs broke. He starts crying. But Beethoven can see through his act that he is crying crocodile tears for Kanae’s sympathy. This angers Beethoven as he unleashes his Musik. It was a piece that Wagner was impressed of. With all the shiny gold coins, Wataru is touched by this Musik. So much so he cries and runs away? At the park, Wataru understands his significance being born as a ClassicaLoid. He will surpass Beethoven in this new world as his revolution. He returns home and looks like the contest is a draw so it is status quo for everyone.

Episode 3
Mozart holds a single’s party. Those involved are Sousuke, Chopin, Dovo and Kanae’s friends, Eiko, Biiko, Shiko and… Uzuki. Man, I thought she was going to be Diiko but then it would have sounded so wrong. Mozart starts off playing the king’s game. Something feels wrong because Mozart ends up always as the king. When Uzuki is made to kiss Wataru whom she mistakes as that hippo, she tries to make it look like an accident and wiggle her way out but accidentally bumps into the real Wataru who is hiding underneath the blankets. Love at first sight for her? Mozart teases Wataru he wanted to attend this. Flashback shows Kanae’s friends minus Uzuki visiting their favourite Mozart. They are introduced to Wataru for the first time. Mozart teased him for not being good with girls since he is blushing and all. Sousuke suggested a single’s party and Mozart threw a challenge if he could manage to let Wataru get a girlfriend, he’ll get his room back. Of course Wataru didn’t want to attend. So why is he here? It’s his room. Uzuki discovers Mozart has been cheating during the king’s game and vows to bring order and reform this party as the new organizer. Her passionate speech of revolution awes Wataru. So being the fair organizer, Uzuki tries to be considerate to Wataru so he is not left out. Mozart feels his plans are in shambles so he goes to gather other ClassicaLoids to ‘revolt’. Yeah, I guess Liszt wants in on this game of love. So this party goes out of control with Tchaikovsky acting like an old drunk man, Sousuke trying to obviously hit on Bada (fail as usual), Beethoven trying to play his guitar over his supped up amplifier (fail as usual), Chopin ditching the party, Dovo and Hasshie enter a food tussle. Uzuki tries to protect Wataru from all the chaos. Kanae returns and hears the commotion. She takes Wataru away and forces the rest to clean up. With everyone deserting and leaving it to Mozart, he can’t let it end this way and unleashes his Musik to bring love to everyone. Wataru can’t leave Uzuki alone so he goes to tell her how impressed he was with her revolution. She gives him hope he too will get his own revolution when he is older. In the aftermath, Mozart teases Wataru for kissing Uzuki. He didn’t do it but it seems everyone else does.

Episode 4
Kanae’s friends love Dovo and take pictures of him. It seems there are rumours circulating if you do so, you will be blessed. Sousuke gets pretty jealous since the hippo is a hit but not as jealous as Chopin. Flashback reveals Dovo sometimes go into Chopin’s room to sleep. However Dovo noticed Chopin always hiding in his closet so he minded his business and left a note apologizing for the intrusion and that he only came here because it is quiet. It was then Chopin realized Dovo was always being noisily surrounded by the other pesky ClassicaLoids. He understands how it feels. With Sousuke uploading and spreading false rumours about Dovo’s good luck, soon more people throng Otowakan. Well, they bring lots of goodies and offerings too. I guess it is better than shooing them away and telling Dovo isn’t a real god. Chopin thinks of saving Dovo by trolling on the internet but it only serves to backfire. Each time Chopin tries to do something of that matter, it only serves to enhance Dovo’s reputation and craze. Yeah, it got to a point he gets interviewed on TV, doing recordings and a festival celebration in his name! Chopin goes as far on a pilgrimage to stop this madness but I guess his god isn’t that strong. We hear Dovo narrate that he has the rationality of a human being but stuck inside a hippo’s body. Therefore at times he cannot help find himself drawn to do hippo things. To calm himself over this, he meditates. Uhm, doesn’t he look like napping? Anyway before he knows it, he is already a god in the middle of this Dovo craze. Yeah, it’s basically like a cult worshipping him. Dovo notices Chopin staring at him. Suddenly Dovo has breathing difficulties. The rest think Dovo has gone wild and start whatever shenanigans. Chopin unleashes his Musik to save Dovo from falling off his seat and turns everyone into dogs for a taste of their own medicine on what it’s like not being able to convey what one wants to say. When Chopin talks to Dovo, the latter is grateful he is concerned about him. But then begins his hippo lecture on Chopin’s bad habits and how he should fix it. Not the kind of talk Chopin was expecting… Soon, the Dovo craze dies down like as though it never happened. Now Chopin has this animosity each time he sees Dovo.

Episode 5
Kanae tells Wagner a story of the legend of the local lake. Yeah, it makes him emotional to realize how lucky he has a sister. Time for some emotional feels. Sibling hug! Only to be ruined by annoying ClassicaLoid jerks. Kanae has had it and kicks them out. But since they are still fooling around, she threatens to leave. Yeah, they don’t even care! And now Sousuke is having this reggae craze. Ya man! Life is beautiful! Kanae has no time for this crap. Apparently this craze is hitting the world. A man known as The Great has been going around unleashing his reggae songs for world peace! All wars and conflicts end instantly! And now he is back in Japan as all citizens affected by his music is now happy and in peace. Ya man! Life is beautiful. Only ClassicaLoids are not affected. If your observation is great, you would know The Great turns out to be Schubert. He returns to Otowakan and too bad Beethoven almost doesn’t remember him. To understand why he was ‘missing’ for many episodes, he narrates after that hippo express, he got depressed and left Otowakan. But a giant kite suddenly swoosh him away all over the world before dropping him in Jamaica. There he found reggae and his calling. His story is taking too long so he is interrupted that they need to return Kanae and Sousuke back to normal. Wagner doesn’t want to as he has never seen his sister this happy. This prompts an argument between them so Schubert decides to unleash his Musik, reggae style. But Beethoven is not amused and unleashes his Musik and giant emperor penguin to fight him. Schubert’s Musik absorbs it and becomes larger. However he is reduced to tears when Wagner admonishes him about his music style and the lack of self-identity. Even more disheartening for him when Beethoven adds to all that. With that, Schubert returns to normal and the happy reggae effect wears off. The craze is over and everyone returns to normal. This means Kanae continue to be pissed with the ClassicaLoids as usual. But the best news is Schubert returning to his old classical identity and has vowed to stay by Beethoven’s side forever since he opened his eyes. Too bad he doesn’t need his help in making gyoza.

Episode 6
The ClassicaLoids decide to play an elaborate prank on Wataru. But a strange lady arrives at Otowakan and misses all the traps in good timing. The ClassicaLoids wonder if their traps didn’t work and test it out but got pranked themselves instead. When Kanae returns, she is surprised to see this lady, Himeka is her mom! She tries to seek answers about her sudden departure long ago and never called so Himeka explains the trip around the world to get some sort of ingredients. Oh, she’s got lots of presents for Kanae too. Forgiven? Not yet. Kanae tries to talk about Wataru, the brother she never knew she had but the topic was promptly evaded. Meanwhile Wataru assimilates as Boy Wonder wannabe and Dovo as a rhino. Flashback shows they lived a poor and abusive life as a bellboy in some hotel. When he saw Himeka staying, he quickly ran back to her. Himeka also tells this story to Kanae but is glad she isn’t lonely. On the contrary, she has had it with this freeloaders. Speaking of the debt, Himeka shows her entire suitcase of cash! No, they’re not illegal. When she is short of funds, she went gambling and betting. Wow. She must be one hell of a lucky woman! With this much money, she decides to treat them all for lunch! Hooray for mom! We return to Wataru and Dovo as they wreak havoc and storm into Arkhe to confront Bach. Wataru offers himself to be a producer and lets him hear his composition. I guess Bach didn’t like him and rejects. This makes Wataru throw a tantrum and believes Bach also considers him a botched. Wataru unleashes his Musik but soon tires out. Security is about to throw him out but Bach changes his mind. Meanwhile Himeka treats everyone to expensive Shanghai crabs! Then she has to ‘ruin’ it by asking Kanae which guy she likes. Nobody is impressed. Not even the guys. Back to more crabs, anyone? Himeka gets a call from some random stranger pleading for help so she deposits all her money into that given account. Oh no. Broke. How to pay the bill. Wash the dishes! Don’t break any or you’ll have to compensate. Too late. But how come Himeka and Liszt are exempted from the work? Bach appoints Wataru as the company’s new executive producer and is given his own luxury office suite. He returns to Otowakan and is delighted to see his mom. Family reunion is interrupted when Mozart plays a prank with Dovo’s fake rhino horn by using it as his penis cover.

Episode 7
Himeka is worried about her daughter if she’ll find a husband. So she teams up with Liszt to see which of the potential guys in Otowakan could be it. While Himeka sees them in a positive light, Liszt knows them better and makes her see their drawbacks. Then it turns to fixing their shortcomings but this ends up causing more trouble for them. Eventually they hear what the plan is about so a nicely timed Kanae returning home is confused when the guys apologize and reject her outright! It is also bad because it shows she got rejected by 5 guys in a row! I guess that says a lot about her popularity with guys. Back to the drawing board for our loving women. Liszt wonders they should start looking elsewhere but Himeka insists it has to be one from Otowakan since Kanae met them all here. So now they convince the guys whoever marries Kanae will become the master of this place. This means free rent or high speed internet or just simply having Musik implanted (that’s for you Sousuke). Now they’re all gunning for her! Using the funds she won from the bet, they quickly renovate the home into some shifting labyrinth, I bet we’ll never get that kind of construction service that completed everything in half a day! Kanae is confused by the layout but it is to see which guy she bumps into as they play out their cheesy proposal. I guess mostly are no good. At this point Kanae thinks her time to be a hit with guys is here. Might as well go all the way because she would prefer her own prince charming. Yeah, don’t want these bunch of losers. The guys aren’t giving up and it got so intense that all of them start unleashing their Musik. Even Liszt wants in on this game of love! But all comes crashing down when Kanae finds out their ulterior motive to marry. You better run! In the aftermath, Kanae wonders why mom wanted her to get married so fast. She believes the sooner she experiences happiness, the better. I guess she is saying from experience with Kyougo. Kanae assures her she will find her own soul mate when the time is right. So please stop using this search like as though it is a game.

Episode 8
Everyone has had it with Mozart. They are planning to stop him from lying and making empty promises. So they tell him if a ClassicaLoid lies, he will turn into a hippo! Look at Dovo! Not buying. That night, Beethoven promises he won’t grind his teeth while he sleeps but he did just that. Next morning, Mozart is shocked to find he has become a hippo! This is actually Dovo in disguise and everyone has a hand in it. Except Schubert. Nobody told him. No wonder his ‘acting’ is so convincing. This convinces Mozart to not lie anymore. And the only way is to turn his lies into truth! This means that a young girl, Mari Mihara whom he told and promised to marry earlier on, he introduces her to the rest of his gang. Not a joke. It seems she too likes him and wants to stay here. Himeka has even talked to her mom to give the approval for her stay! I don’t know how she managed to convince her mom to allow this seeing ironically Himeka is one who abandoned Kanae for many years. Mari tries to be helpful since she will be Mozart’s future wife. Does Kanae love the ring of being called a big sister? Meanwhile Schubert is sad he still cannot understand Beethoven and thinks of becoming a hippo like him. Mari then stumbles into the real Beethoven camping behind Otowakan. He gives her gyoza. Presenting this to Kanae, she lies that is a gyoza fairy! Mari’s mom comes by to take her back since they are moving tomorrow. This is when Schubert thinks this is a good time to lie and says this hippo is Mari! Not buying. Mari throws a tantrum that everyone is a liar. She relates her friends promised to keep in touch when she moved but they never did. Mozart believes his feelings then are still true. Unleashing his Musik, in the past Mozart too asked a girl to marry him. That girl was Marie Antoinette. Mozart and Mari have their own mock wedding. Even if it all feels strange, as long as Mari is happy, everything is okay. Mari returns home as they vow not to forget each other. Then the rest come clean about the lie… Meanwhile Schubert is awaiting the moment he will turn into a hippo. Then Beethoven waltzes right back in and teases him with fake hippo noises… The biggest fool ever…

Episode 9
It seems Beethoven is being hit by an inspiration of anything round. But shortly after that, everything that is round starts to go missing from Otowakan. After everyone accuses everyone, they realize the only culprit left to show himself is Chopin. True enough, they find his room with all the round stuffs. As they try to understand why he did so, Chopin grows more and more uneasy until he unleashes his Musik that rains on everyone inside the mansion. After being scolded to stop, it seems only Beethoven still has a rain cloud over him. Chopin will not answer when Beethoven demands and keeps on playing. And so Beethoven lives the rest of his days like this? But it is going to get worse because now he sees all round things as squares! It gets worse when now everything looks so blocky. Minecraft? Schubert tries to talk to Chopin but it seems this only agitates him as he unleashes an even bigger Musik. Oh great. More rain. Himeka then comes by to give them croissants. Surprisingly Beethoven can see its original shape. Then he realizes the croissant looks like a crescent. A moon. That’s it. The moon! Beethoven unleashes his Musik to overwrite Chopin. It is revealed that one of Chopin’s pieces resembles closely to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Because of that, he is often accused of ripping off this piece (Chopin saw this rife on the internet). Schubert and Beethoven admonish him about being ashamed of that because great pieces sometimes sound alike. Don’t care what others say and the most important thing is how much the piece resonates in the heart of the listener. As long as you put your soul into it, their pieces will transcend space and time for eternity. Things return to normal but Schubert catches Chopin trolling everyone on the internet that he is better than Beethoven. Have some shame!

Episode 10
Aoi Risuto just opened a piano school. He is such a handsome guys that all girls would swoon at the sight of him. However Liszt is against of him doing this. As their name is almost similar, she believes it is misrepresenting her name. Either change your name or get out! And so a piano duel is set to see who the real Liszt is. Well, Liszt lost. What’s this? Being drunk at a roadside stall? She is found by Beethoven and brought home. Everyone is worried why she got so worked up. Flashbacks shows Liszt was a great pianist and everywhere he went, the ladies loved him. It made him cocky. Until he met Carolyne that he truly felt what love is. Unfortunately her father did not approve of it. It was then Liszt realized he had nothing capable of persuading anyone else. All he had was youth and beauty. So now Liszt is doing power training and has ordered a grand piano? Do you need such workout for the piano? Okay. She’s the expert. Her aim is to have a rematch with Risuto and at this time the entire town knows. It is thanks to Arkhe promoting this duel. Wataru is the mastermind as his goal is to humiliate Liszt. However Risuto is so popular with all the girls. How will Liszt get enough supporters? Sousuke and Chopin troll over the internet for the single lonely guys. Yup, they are on Liszt’s side. Come the day of the duel, Risuto goes first and plays Libestraume. Good and as perfect as the real deal. When it is Liszt turn, why is she dressed in her gym clothes? Oh my. She is buffed up! She explains how she drew inspiration from a violinist named Niccolo Paganini and hence the piece she will playing is La Campanella. It is so good that everyone starts crying! Even Risuto. But when the piece gets intense, she smashes and breaks the piano! Don’t worry. There’s a spare. But she breaks that too! No more spares left. With the audience still enthralled with Liszt, Risuto shows his ugly side that it is impossible as she didn’t finish her piece. Liszt then lectures him about earthly desires, she unleashes her Musik to box bells and wake up his heart? In the end, everyone is captivated with Liszt’s performance and Risuto loses all his hair?! Liszt now works at the piano school with Risuto as they also teach the many forms of love. Yup, money is love. This is a safe bet to repay her piano loan. Oh yeah, all you need is love, the most important thing of all.

Episode 11
Wataru has taken over Bach’s producer post for Claskey Klasky. But with the duo gaining popularity as comedians for old people in the rural areas and Mitsuru never answering his calls, this is not the revolution he is seeking for. He thinks he has found a way by dressing up as Bach and talking like him. Too bad they don’t understand and still don’t like him. Wataru changes their schedule to work in a salty ramen shop. They don’t want to do it at first but a pre-recorded clip of the real Bach made them do so. It seems the owner is quite condescending. With only a salty ramen on the menu, he has a strict specific way for his customers to eat his ramen! This is part of Wataru’s plan to make them be cocky and look down on customers so they could aim for the top again. Thinking this is part of the protocol, the duo also become condescending. But the next customers are those ClassicaLoids! Since they are picky, they get kicked out. A couple of festival committee members enter and since they are quite nice people, Claskey Klasky return to their kind ways. So Wataru cancels whatever festival they will have with them and will have them put up a new performance. Wataru unleashes a reborn Claskey Klasky. In military police outfit, they act condescending on stage and are now known as Salty Klasky. It looks like the crowd love it. But with the schedule getting stricter, the duo run away and take refuge at Otowakan. Too bad the place is in crisis because of inadequate gyoza pieces. This has the duo telling everyone off, surprising them. They then realize their bad behaviour and regret it. However everyone gives their gyoza share to them as they feel like eating salty ramen. They impress the owner by eating in the exact protocol order. No talking and giving exact change as well. With the owner talking about this perfect attitude and how everyone can get along and become one with the salty ramen, the duo now realize this is what they’re supposed to aim for. So in their next concert, after their typical idol one, they turn into the condescending Salty Klasky and tell the audience how to watch their performance. Everyone comes together as one, loving it all. Wataru believes he has surpassed Bach and usurps the show with his own appearance. Wataru’s achievement hits front page while Claskey Klasky is reduced to something minor. They run away again to Otowakan but are quickly found. Back to work…

Episode 12
Wataru is trying to have the executives abandon Bach and jump ship to his side. Bach just discovered Wagner and Dvorak as the hidden ClassicaLoids. He summons Mitsuru to explain why she never told him. She never considered them worthy for the Octovas. One being a hippo and the other having a fatal flaw that he cannot perform Musik. Flashback shows Wagner and Dvorak waking up shortly after other ClassicaLoids. They were put in a room and overheard Mitsuru talking about Wagner being botched. It became his taboo word. He wanted to see Kyougo but he had left. So the duo also left and travelled the world, vowing to teach those who called him botched a lesson. His resolve was strengthened during the incident where everybody turned into Bach. Bach summons Wataru and knows his identity. He has Dovo unleash his Musik but is quickly put down. Bach shows who is boss with his Musik. Wataru is so upset he cannot use Musik that well, his will suddenly activates his Musik. It is much more superior than Bach and he is sent packing. It seems Wataru stole Bach’s Musik and without one, he is forced to leave Arkhe. Tchaikovsky and Bada aren’t too pleased and they want to follow him but Bach tells them to stay put and keep a watch on that kid. But soon all Salty Klasky’s activities are put on hiatus and Mitsuru is ordered to become his manager. Tchaikovsky and Bada are salty that they have been used as a stepping stone for his revolution. Even more so when Wataru introduces a new super idol: Himself. He is known as World Amazing Galaxy Never Ending Revolution AKA Wagner. With Wagner hitting the waves, I guess the Otowakan people final take notice. Amidst the confusion seeing Wataru on stage, Claskey Klasky duo waltz into Otowakan, making the others think they have been fired by Bach. More shock when Wataru and Dovo show up in the flesh to reveal the truth. Is Himeka relieved that now it is confirmed the reason why she couldn’t remember giving birth to him? Yeah… It seems Wataru’s plan is to meet Kyougo whom he regards as his true father as well as bringing a revolution that Octavas failed to achieve. He thanks Kanae for the hospitality as he will now be staying at the office. Why is Beethoven so happy? He gets to have his room back.

Episode 13
This series is so random that even with this random year-end special makes no difference. Yeah, Kyougo even points this out. Anyway, this so called Musik contest festival also works as somewhat as a recap because each of the ClassicaLoids get up on stage to perform one of their Musik pieces. While most of the clips are of this season, a few are from the first. Starting off with the talentless Sousuke and his soul zapping death music, even Bach, Wagner and Dovo have their chance to strut their stuffs. In the end, nobody wins because Beethoven claims there is no winning or losing in music. No enemies or allies. Just enjoy yourself and sing along!

Episode 14
As Wagner becomes more arrogant to the point of snubbing Claskey Klasky, Dovo feels bad for them. Since he is unrepentant, Dovo leaves Arkhe and lives at Otowakan. While other ClassicaLoids feel for him (thanks to Pad-kun for translating hippo language) and welcome him, Claskey Klasky remain doubtful if he is a spy. Sousuke comes up with an idea since the duo are no longer idols, they are free to date. Yeah, he nominates himself to date Bada. But she agrees?! As revenge for her idol career cut short, she is going to live a normal life. And so happy Sousuke begins his date with Bada. However we tend to notice Bada is just angry, mad and unsatisfied at everything while Sousuke tries hard to please and not offend her. This is going to be tough. As Dovo feels sad for being treated as a hippo (not to say he is mistreated but being treated as a hippo than a human does have its significance), he decides to take on Pad-kun (who is feeling the blues too after Sousuke ditched him) to go on a soul searching trip. Meanwhile bad luck befalls on Beethoven and Schubert as the former is blown away by the kite and the latter drift away in the seas. Sousuke realizes it is hell when Tchaikovsky and Bada start arguing about the situation they’re in. Dovo thought he saw Kyougo and abandons Pad-kun in the train (left to the devices of naughty kids who play Space Invaders on him?!). Too bad it is the wrong person. Dovo yearns for home so he unleashes his Musik to collect the lost ClassicaLoids back to Otowakan. Dovo as the kind train conductor has stolen Bada’s heart. In the aftermath, Claskey Klasky decides to try again from scratch as an indie. Dovo is more appreciative of the hippo home Kanae made for him.

Episode 15
After seeing a sumo match of TV, Himeka gets this idea to hold their very own sumo tournament. Even with all the food prizes, the guys don’t want to join. Until Himeka says this to bring Wataru down a notch. With the guys getting into training, Kanae is tasked to bring Wataru. At least he still has the decency to come see his family but not too sure about wanting to participate in this sumo fest. The guys force him in and his nervousness is banished until their sumo opponents from the international stable come to see and mock them. It hits Wataru’s nerve when they judge his scrawny size as botched and easy victory. Taboo word. You bet he is going to join and take them down! The first order of the sumo is to eat like hell and they grow really fat. As they continue training, Chopin sprained his muscles so he quit and becomes the referee. As for Dovo, because you cannot touch the grounds of the sumo ring with anything except your feet, he is disqualified. Uhm, isn’t a hippo technically has all 4 feet? On the day of the tournament, the Otowakan side manage to reach the finals to face off with their international opponents. Dovo returns and shows his adamant side that he can do it. By becoming bipedal? Whatever. It works. He replaces Sousuke who lost to him. In the finals, Beethoven and Dovo win their matches while Mozart and Schubert loses. It boils down to Wataru. The final match is drawing out that they need to take a break. Wataru seems to make a breakthrough with his revolution throw but eventually he loses because his face falls to the ground first. While the loss is disappointing, Himeka is happy with the outcome. She noticed he is lonely since becoming an idol and thought if he was with everyone in Otowakan, he would be more lively and boisterous. It worked because they’re like bonded brothers now. Kanae realizes if Himeka sponsored the prizes, she should have just bought them all for her. Sorry, spent it all and now she’s out of money.

Episode 16
Beethoven and Sousuke are at the music hall. The former impressed with the orchestra playing his symphony that his aura causes an explosion?! Though the hall is destroyed, nobody died. But back at Otowakan, Beethoven is acting strange. He is imitating Mozart! He is also retarded like as though he is a baby. The rest don’t give much thought and believe he’ll be back to normal tomorrow. Unfortunately it has gotten worse. Schubert decides to raise him up properly but Mozart is trying to teach him bad things. Schubert realizes this is the closest he could get with his senpai and is in a dilemma if he would return back to normal. While Schubert demonstrates playing the melodian on the rooftop, Beethoven unleashes a beam of his Musik. He hints that he is calling for home in the sky. Schubert deduces from his gestures that by tomorrow’s sunset he will be picked up at the summit. When the rest hears about this, it brings back some memories of that alien encounter last season. Suddenly the police barge in as they believe the person behind the hall’s bombing is here. Thanks to Sousuke putting up a selfie. Mozart distracts the police with his Musik as Schubert gets Beethoven out of here and to the summit. Peddle power can only do so much and with the police cars chasing behind, Beethoven unleashes his Musik to turn the bicycle into a mecha. ET reference flying across the moon? At the summit, an alien spaceship appears. During last season’s alien invasion, one of them fell and got lost. Spotting Beethoven as someone familiar, it possessed him and hence the explosion. Now it is going home. The alien, that is. Schubert misinterprets this is Beethoven as an alien race coming to Earth to give his music and is now going home after believing the world has enough of music. Schubert wants to come along! Beethoven reverts to normal but still believes he is at the hall. Back to normal. Meanwhile Schubert is on the spaceship. Oh no. Experiment time? A few days later, he returns as a hi-tech robot. Despite his super technological displays, everyone believes he is still the old Schubert and might just be into aliens now.

Episode 17
Western spaghetti! Welcome to WesternLoid! Beethoven and Mozart just defeated Sousuke and hang him on a tree. Liszt arrives in town where Schubert awaits her. The lore goes down that Kanae as the owner of Otowakan recently has vacancies in her room after Wataru and Dovo left. Tchaikovsky and Bada wandered into town and she took them in. But Beethoven and Mozart are planning to usurp them and take their rooms. Hence the duo confront the ladies while Schubert is tasked to stave off Liszt but loses. It seems the showdown called ClassicaDON isn’t a gun fight. It is a quiz to guess correctly what piece they are playing. Nobody wants to fight with Bada since she only has 1 bullet (reference to her one hit wonder). Even if she tries to steal Tchaikovsky’s gun, she won’t be able to add to her list. And so heartbroken Bada has to sit out of this. Beethoven and Mozart argue among themselves to fight with Tchaikovsky so she dares them to team up against her. But she might regret it because between them they have 13 bullets compared to only 2 she has. Just in time for Liszt to show up to aid her with her 3 bullets. She is a sheriff who is after Beethoven and Mozart as wanted criminals. Liszt draws with the guys. Tchaikovsky intervenes and they thought they could confidently guess her songs. Although Beethoven gets it right, Mozart gets it wrong. It seems Bada secretly snuck into her fight and played her song. With Mozart’s loss, this only improves Beethoven’s plan as to kick all of them out since he plans to take over Otowakan by himself. However he is usurp by Chopin in a sneak attack. Chopin now will take over Otowakan for himself as he needs a place to be a free shut-in. He transforms Otowakan into a giant stagecoach and rides away. Liszt tries to catch up but with Dovo’s train help, Liszt is able to face off with him. Chopin is confident of the bullets she has left but he got it wrong. Even though she used that bullet against Schubert, she has a secret fourth one. With that, Otowakan is destroyed. Uhm, happy ending? Liszt rides into the sunset. Turns out it is one big fantasy of Liszt and her Musik after she watched a western movie.

Episode 18
Wataru arrives at Otowakan with all the ClassicaLoids welcoming him! Best of all, Kyougo hugging his best ClassicaLoid and son. Good news: This isn’t a dream. Bad news: This is a story he is writing! It sucks… So when he visits, nobody gives a sh*t as they’re all doing their own stuffs. Even Kanae says hi for a while before leaving to buy errands. Hence he goes back to order Mitsuru to do aggressive promotions. Yeah, Wagner’s name is on almost every brand. So will this give him the reverence and love he dreams? Nope. Nobody gives a sh*t. Again. So what’s the next aggressive plan? Have his agents to sneak in his product placements everywhere in Otowakan?! I don’t think that loud blasting of his sound is going to help. Yeah, I wonder how long he can write this happy story. Not satisfied, he calls Mitsuru in the middle of the night to organize a concert now! Kanae wants to go but the ClassicaLoids don’t give a f*ck. However all of them are soon kidnapped and forced to watch his concert. Kanae and Himeka get the best seats while the ClassicaLoids are in a cage. Sousuke remains at home since he was taking a dump while the abduction occurred. Wagner performs and wows the crowd. He hopes dad is watching. Too bad he is hitchhiking in some American desert. Wagner sings his new song and stuns the crowd but his family sense he is not the Wataru they know. It gets ridiculous with knights on Pegasus? Then all out of control when they turn into chibi versions with forks and sausages. It causes havoc attacking the crowd. The ClassicaLoids fight back unleashing their Musik to teach him a lesson. At the end of this chaos, the crowd is super thrilled with the great special effects. They are certainly entertained. The ClassicaLoids ended in a draw as Wagner won’t admit defeat. When Kanae wants him to cut it out, he is sad she has taken their side and casts away his family. Dad is the only one he needs. Back at Otowakan, Sousuke is mad for being left out, the ClassicaLoids are mad for that idiotic concern but Kanae is shocked when she gets a call from Himeka. She has left for a journey to find Kyougo.

Episode 19
Schubert and Mozart are stuck in an elevator playing shiritori. Flashback reveals Kanae wanted Mozart to buy some stuffs at the supermarket but he isn’t around. Schubert thinks he can handle it but she is unsure as he has a habit of vanishing once in a while. Schubert takes up the job but bumps into Mozart along the way. He too wants to tag along and during their struggle, his hair gets stuck and entangled with his shirt’s button. They try to go to stores to buy a scissors but all of them are sold out! Apparently Chopin bought them all to cut envelopes of stuffs he bought online. After so many detours, they head up the elevator to a hardware store. However the faulty elevator stopped working. Schubert tries to push buttons to get help and Mozart wants to try too. The struggle causes his hair to be ripped from his shirt but he spilled his orange juice on the buttons. Why is the juice like a glue? It’s still on the buttons… Schubert is left to reminiscent how much he hates Mozart, especially he has been accused of imitating his works. Once they manage to crawl out of the elevator, Mozart’s prank has them get locked inside a locker room. Yeah, this building is breaking down that nobody is bothered to fix anything. Schubert laments how close Mozart is to Beethoven as they call each other by their nicknames. Women start to come in so they hide inside the locker. Then they got busted. There is nowhere to go if they climb out of the ledges. Schubert plans to use his Musik to turn Mozart into a baby and use himself as soft landing. Trying to sacrifice himself? Mozart has a better idea. He will use his Musik to turn them into birds and fly away! The duo have fun flying in the sky until they reach the supermarket. Too bad it is all sold out. Schubert tries to explain himself to Kanae but Mozart makes it worse by ambiguously putting it in a way that makes Schubert looks like he was fooling around. ‘Mad’ Kanae will have Mozart do the errands next time. Just when Schubert thought Mozart was a pretty decent guy, it is back to square one hating him.

Episode 20
Even hippos can get depressed. Dovo wonders why he is the only one not human when he stumbles upon a bottle of pills in Kyougo’s room that could turn him back into one! Seriously? If he could only open the bottle… Cheeky Mozart thinks it is candy and snatches it away to share with the rest. Before you know it, it is all gone. The ClassicaLoids suddenly have a bad case of stomach before turning into… Chibi versions of themselves?! Why do they remind me of Smurfs… Yeah, the faded label on the bottle actually reads to turn back into small humans. Kanae and Sousuke see them in the streets and as they explain, they are pounced by girls who love their cuteness. A talent manager scouts them to become the town’s mascot. They won’t do it at first but quickly accept it when they know they are getting paid. Hence our ChibiLoids are now rising in popularity with so many merchandises under their name! Dovo is called by Wagner and treated nicely. He wants to know the cause of ChibiLoids’ popularity. He claims it is Dovo’s fault and he should take responsibility to turn them back. Dovo searches Kyougo’s room until he finds a bottle of pills that would turn one back into human. However the ChibiLoids think he wants to eat it himself and tricks him into doing so. At first nothing happens but later Dovo starts to transform… Everyone is shocked to find a weird looking old man around. Dovo is now in human form but a paper cut-out?! Nobody believes he is Dovo and despites his best attempt to imitate a hippo, it looks creepy and they kick him out. Even the people on the streets are mocking his strange appearance. He tries to look for Wagner but since he learns the ChibiLoids still remain, he has security throw him out. Thanks for nothing. The ChibiLoids are in an argument who should get the biggest cut of royalties when they suddenly turn back to normal. It must have worn off. They try to find the pills to turn back or kiss goodbye to their popularity. Kanae is the only one worried of Dovo and goes out to find him. But she sees policemen trying to arrest a strange old man. Dovo tries to plead to Kanae for help but she sees him as creepy and scary instead. Dovo is thrown into prison as he laments if he had turned into his train conductor form, they would have loved him. Next morning, the police station is abuzz. They wonder why a hippo is in a cell. Luckily Kanae is here to take him back. Dovo has never felt grateful being a hippo again. Back at Otowakan, they are going to be in shock as the ClassicaLoids are now paper cut-out versions! Since they bug Kanae and ignore Dovo, poor Dovo realizes being a hippo is still bad.

Episode 21
Kanae wonders why everyone in class is laughing at her. It seems there is a popular web manga going around about Otowakan! Everyone is depicted as stupid idiots and Kanae as the devil lady! Of course she is mad. Oh, she is turning into that character. Yeah, even the disclosure says all buildings and characters are real! She knows the one behind this is Chopin despite going under the penname FreFra since he is the hero of the manga. He is now being praised by the manga club members for their club’s revival. Until Kanae comes in… Sh*t is going to hit the fan. So the reason he did this was to take out his frustrations because everyone is always bothering him. He didn’t expect it to be a hit after uploading it. Chopin becomes a different character in front of his disciples. High and mighty, isn’t he? Yeah, now he has loads of fans. Just when he is getting used to all the fame at school, the other ClassicaLoids aren’t too pleased to see this… It gets worse when Chopin begs them to act in character as his disciples are coming over. They don’t really care despite him explaining about hope and all that crap. Till he agrees to do anything for them… The disciples arrive with Chopin as the respected hero and the rest playing their character. Better retrain the anger. I guess there is so much they can take so they stop with the farce and this turns Chopin into his cowardly self. The disciples are disappointed to realize the truth. Chopin knows he can’t end it like this so he tells them that despite everything is fake, the feelings they had were real. He adds his Musik effect to turn them into their ideal heroes. This revitalizes their hope and the manga club goes on to make their own hit manga. The ClassicaLoids are knocking on Chopin’s door and want him to make good on his promise. But he is not in. A letter left behind says not to look for him. Looks like he is travelling and making a new travel blog series.

Episode 22
Claskey Klasky sings in the streets. Only Sousuke and Dovo are watching. It’s like everyone else is deliberately ignoring them. Tempting to blame a certain kid, eh? Mitsuru is here to deliver a pendrive from Bach. It states his journey all over the world to find Kyougo but luck isn’t on his side. However he bumped into Himeka with the same goal and now they’re in Europe shopping? Keep trying. Also in this pendrive is a song he wrote for them. The ClassicaLoids find it the perfect weapon to fight Wagner although Beethoven remains sceptical he sent it to them instead of using it himself to fight Wagner directly. That is hen Claskey Klasky explains about Wagner’s ability to steal Musik. With this hype, only Kanae is worried because she really wants everyone to get along. Claskey Klasky sings again in the streets and with the other ClassicaLoids playing instruments, they start attracting the crowd. Wagner is on a nationwide tour and plans to go on a worldwide one once he is done. However his last nationwide tour did not have all his tickets sold out and when he learns Claskey Klasky is rising in popularity (despite having a sold out hall of only 350 people compared to his 50,000 stadium) and holding their concert on the same day as his, he plans on taking them on. Aggressive marketing can only get you so much and with still unsold seats, he is going to take drastic action. Claskey Klasky is now performing at the hall. So Wagner ditches his own concert to be at theirs? He then unleashes his Musik and the rest follow suit (while live streaming this to his own concert). But this is part of his ploy to steal their Musik. Having all their wands, he believes he is the best and only ClassicaLoid in the world. Cue evil boy laughter. Back at Otowakan, the ClassicaLoids aren’t upset since they were expecting this and was trying to test Wagner’s ability. They’re unfazed that they can’t do Musik anymore. Kanae is the only remaining worried. Her brother has all their powers and they aren’t even bothered. This is the perfect time to ask dad what to do.

Episode 23
Himeka and Bach are at a horse racing event. Oh, that’s Kyougo before them! He lost the bet. Time to get down to serious business. Sousuke seems to have serious issues that the ClassicaLoids have lost their Musik and are unperturbed. He thinks they are like him without Musik but they brush off even without Musik, they have actual musical talent! In your face! You’re still talentless after coming this far! Thus he thinks it is a good idea to defect to Wagner’s side. Wagner is about to leave for his international world tour but is still sad there is no word from dad. Kanae comes to see him and hopes he would come by the house once but he ignores her and reminds she is no longer his sister. Sad. Kyougo and Himeka try to infiltrate Arkhe as hippy musicians? Bach in a weird mascot outfit? Security stops them and with Mitsuru noticing their return, she unleashes her MitsuruLoids in Bach’s image that she secretly developed to stop security and let them through. Bach confronts Wagner and warns his current Musik will bring ruin to the world. Kiddo doesn’t believe him until Kyougo walks in. Tears of joy that he finally reunites with dad. Bach leaves them to settle this because he believes with Kyougo the father, only a father’s love can settle this! Wagner talks with his parents for all that has happened. Till he mentions he stole his Musik from everyone else, Kyougo tells him to stop that. Wagner is shocked to learn that Kyougo is the one who made him botched unable to wield Musik as he stopped it while he was in his capsule. Before Kyougo could explain further, Wagner becomes enraged. He fires his flurry of Musik at them. Bach comes back to stall the kid to allow the others to escape but can only do so much.

Kyougo calls Kanae and she is finally glad she gets to contact him. She tells him about everyone’s Musik being stolen but Kyougo says that is impossible. However, Wagner’s Musik attacks them and makes it impossible to explain further. Before line is cut off, he wants her to bring all the other ClassicaLoids here. Yeah, Arkhe looks like it transformed into some serious evil ominous tower. Sousuke is bragging to the receptionists about his ‘talent’ and gets caught up in it. Kanae begs to the ClassicaLoids to save her family. Except for Claskey Klasky who are going to save Bach, the rest aren’t interested and view this as Kanae’s family problems. But when she reminds them Wagner is like their little brother because they are all made by the same father, they love this idea of them being family and agree to go. Too bad without their Musik, they have to take a bus there. I wonder if the entire town is evacuated, why is there a dedicated bus driver to even bring them close enough to Arkhe? Sousuke just finally got out of this mess and thinks the rest are here to save him. Too bad they force him back in thinking he knows the way in. He thinks there are 3 paths to reach where Wagner is so they split up and take different routes. Sousuke must be the happiest since he pairs with Claskey Klasky. Schubert not so since he goes with Mozart and Dovo. The rest goes with Kanae. But it seems Kanae’s group is blocked by what is known as an emotional barrier. With Kanae being emotional she just wants her Wataru to return to those fun filled days, she transforms into her musketeer form and breaks through the barrier in style. Wagner is curled up trapped in his own Musik. I guess he is waiting for big sister to come save him.

Episode 24
Wagner unleashes his Musik. But it is filled with depression and this depression is trying to keep them away. Schubert’s group finds Kyougo and Himeka trapped in a cage. Mozart resonates with Wagner’s depressed Musik and is able to wield Musik himself. His power freezes everything and breaks the parents out from their cage. Dovo now pounces Kyougo of why he was turned into a hippo. The truth is, he is a hippo to begin with. He wanted another animal aside Hasshie and chose his other favourite animal. He never intended to turn him into a ClassicaLoid but apparently even letting him hear Dvorak’s music could turn a hippo into one. He promises to turn Dovo into human when they get back. Hippo so happy that he could now use his Musik. Schubert admits Mozart’s Musik is great and this too allows him to wield his Musik. Bach and Mitsuru are free thanks to Mozart’s Musik reaching far and wide. Bach transforms into… A giant golden Buddha???!!! Bach-dha?! Seeing Mitsuru having fun with him has Claskey Klasky jealous and enables them to use their Musik. Soon Chopin and Liszt too. Only Beethoven left. Any time now… Reaching the top, a huge door blocks their path. The ClassicaLoids combine their Musik to break through but soon more doors come shutting down. With them exhausting their power, it is time for Beethoven to shine. After ranting about destroying destiny, his Musik transforms him into… A giant genie punk?! WTF?! So strong he punches through the doors! His Musik also replenishes the other ClassicaLoids as they give their final push to let Kanae through the final door. However she is faced with her evil clone who claims this is what Wagner wants, his music to resound all over the world and forever be remembered. Kyougo explains even before he woke up, there were indications his Musik will go berserk. That’s why he stopped it and sealed it away. He didn’t care if he became a ClassicaLoid. He wanted him as a family member. Kanae defeats her clone and reaches into Wagner’s mind. He is still upset, claiming everything is a lie and no one is his family. Kanae slaps him to shut him up and then gives him a big sisterly hug. All that don’t matter. He is her little brother, that’s all. Yeah, enough for everything to return back to normal. Uh huh. Family love saved Wagner. However they are free falling so Wagner unleashes his Musik with beautiful Valkyrie angels to cushion their fall. Everyone happily heads back to Otowakan. Except for Sousuke. Conveniently forgotten as he slipped off earlier and is now left hanging on the building’s ledge.

Episode 25
Kyougo begins the process to turn Dovo back into human. But before that can happen, the rail company is looking for him. It looks like they want him as their train mascot as the kids love him. Thanks to that, Dovo abandons his desire to become human and is now the official train mascot making kids happy. With Bach back at Arkhe, Claskey Klasky is getting even more popular. While things return to normal at Otowakan, the only one who isn’t happy is Sousuke. He has been thinking he has gone nowhere. Partly, Pad-kun abandoned him to become Dovo’s translator. Yeah, that’s a better deal, right? It makes him think he has no talent at all! Finally he admits it! Yeah, we figured that out last season. Then he sees his old yearbook message that he will become great and is inspired. But before he could tell everyone, looks like Kyougo, Himeka and Wagner are leaving on a trip together. Don’t worry about the debt. Wagner’s idol stint earned enough to cover it all. He has had it being an idol and achieved the acknowledgement of the person he wants. Kanae is also shocked at their departure. She is invited to come along but she has responsibilities of protecting Otowakan. Himeka leaves the door open if she should ever join them and hopes she will venture into the world. After seeing them off, Sousuke begins his music training to his road of greatness. Uhm, why is he doing shady training that might lead to his arrest? Kanae is shocked to see Beethoven throwing away his favourite stuffs. That is because he is leaving for his own journey! Of course Schubert will follow him and then Mozart. What is happening?! Sousuke continues to dream big but struggle. Yeah, live concert on Mars? Not impossible since we have aliens here. Anyway during his training, he comes across Beethoven and Mozart who dispense their advice.

Kanae soon realizes Chopin gone when his room is cleared out. He resumes his blog traveller role. Liszt as the last one left talks to sad Kanae that everyone’s departure is because they are going to the next stage. Also, it could be everyone is leaving so as to help set Kanae free. Do what she wants without anyone pinning her down. Yeah, great timing for Liszt’s taxi to pick her up. By the time Sousuke returns to declare his big dreams, Kanae is preparing to leave. She is going to live with her other family members. She leaves him the spare keys. Yeah, last one left. Sitting around and thinking till it finally hits him this isn’t right. He doesn’t want this. So while screaming at the organ, it somehow unleashes his Musik! OMG! Finally for Sousuke?! But could it be Hasshie because that bird is in a conductor outfit… Anyway his Musik brings back Kanae and the ClassicaLoids back. The reason being he doesn’t want them to leave so fast and he likes it here with everyone being happy and having fun. Things doesn’t have to change! So prefer relaxing waters over next stage advancement? Seems like it. Then a call from Kyougo reminding Kanae he has accumulated debts due to overspending from the trip. Are they eating lavish food? But why put the debts in Otowakan’s name then? I guess this is an excuse so that Kanae could have a change of heart to continue staying here and have everyone work to the bone and pay their rent. Otowakan is open to more vacancies and new tenants!

RevoL LoveR: Family Is All You Need
It is with mixed feelings not to see all ClassicaLoids converge together again as one big happy family. With them leaving one by one, I was sure they were going to troll us like the first season whereby they all left but only to suddenly return. Yeah, they pulled that off somehow. But it doesn’t feel satisfying that they are shoehorned back together again. Just because Sousuke needed some screen time and they had to make him do this final reunion thing. Besides, why only the regular ClassicaLoids of Otowakan? I thought he was so much into Bada so at least bring her back too? But I guess having them all as a whole for a short period of time was better than never at all. Just like in life, there are a few stages and since they have achieved this, time to move on to the next. Yeah, I share Sousuke’s similar sentiments of idling in the comfort zone than venturing out to the risky and unknown for greener pastures! Status quo is best! Why fix it when it is not broken!

Just like last season, many of the episodes feel like standalone fillers. In between, they insert a bit of something of importance for the overall plot but with all the hilarious antics going on, you won’t feel annoyed or the impatient urge to pester future episodes to quickly bring about the so called important plots of the series. It will naturally come by when needed. Since it is not really that convoluted to begin with, when the plot slowly builds up as the season progresses, it is easy to pick up from there on after a few episodes of ‘break’ of watching the ClassicaLoids in their random mischiefs.

So it is quite nice to see some of the ClassicaLoids becoming the star of the few episodes they are the focus of. Though, they are still overall the same crazy ClassicaLoids we have known and love them like Mozart and his skirt chasing-cum-pranks and Chopin being the shut-in. But I notice that Beethoven this time around isn’t as annoying as last season with his gyoza and coffee craze since that was somewhat solved last season. I guess the plot needs to move along instead of harping on this running joke that would definitely be a very irritating one. Good riddance.

Therefore with only a couple of new ClassicaLoids introduced, I don’t know if I should be disappointed that a few whom I suggested at the end of my last blog didn’t appear except for Wagner. If they spam us with more classical composers and add to the burden of Kanae and her Otowakan, the quality of shenanigans would be reduced because too many composers spoil the composition (sorry for the bad pun). This means less screen time and they might need more episodes to showcase more personalized episodes for more ClassicaLoids. So too bad Brahms, Handel, Haydn, Debussy, Vivaldi and Mendelssohn, I guess you guys aren’t that famous to make the cut. Maybe next time, huh? So with only Wagner and Dovo as new ClassicaLoids, I guess they are sufficient for this season. Don’t be too greedy.

Wataru/Wager as the new character doesn’t feel like he is the main character nor he is one who became the main antagonist halfway through. In short (no pun intended), I believe Wagner has daddy issues. All he wants is for Kyougo to acknowledge him. That is basically his main goal. Being acknowledged is music to his ears. I suppose despite being a ClassicaLoid, like other ‘extraordinary’ kids who doesn’t have what other ordinary kids usually have, he is trying his best and do all it takes to gain acceptance. Poor kid got his dreams shattered as part of the series’ twist when Kyougo somewhat rejects all this so he had to become his own antagonist (is this what you call facing the music? Sorry, bad pun) and one who will overcome it with the help of his family. Because like the power of friendship, the power of family is what all ClassicaLoids need. Aww… So touching. After all, Wagner despite being a genius ClassicaLoid in his own right, is still a kid and the youngest among them.

Though I’m glad that the Claskey Klasky duo get more appearance in the latter half after they quit Arkhe and started living in Otowakan, Bach still feels missing for the most part like last season. I was hoping he would be part of Otowakan as a regular because it’s nice to see all ClassicaLoids becoming one big family but he remains the enigmatic and wandering type.

I’m glad that Schubert reverted to his original classical outfit early in the series because I really prefer him looking like this instead of him being a reggae dude. But he is still the comical punching bag of the group thanks to him always sucking up to his Beethoven senpai although I do notice that his running joke of going missing from time to time is much less this season. Though personally, I don’t really like Bach and Beethoven’s Super Saiyan ultimate Musik form. They look more like monsters than anything grand. But I guess having a monstrous strength means looking like one that matches it. It’s only their looks so why am I nit-picking this?

Sousuke remains one of the ‘worst’ characters this season thanks to his constant daydreaming or should I say dreaming big but hardly puts in any effort himself. This guy is an even bigger freeloader than the ClassicaLoids because at least the latters have great talent. Even naturally. So Sousuke is like the guy who is waiting for that big wave and opportunity to ride on to fame. Well, no harm in dreaming but he still continues to do that instead of waking up. No wonder he’ll get nowhere. Keep waiting then… Even Pad-kun left him in some ways. Somehow I feel that his final awakening of his Musik (even if that feels a lot like a fluke), is like out of pity. I mean, no matter how useless he is despite his big dreaming-cum-delusions, you have to admit and give him points for never giving up and staying positive even if they are baseless. So it’s like, okay kid, you’ve earned enough sympathy points to do your own Musik for a few seconds. Good luck trying to do it again.

Himeka is an interesting addition to the cast. She is quite happy-go-lucky and feels like she is born lacking any stress. She takes everything that comes her way, any good news or negative ones with a lot of positivism with her airhead personality. Her fickle lady luck seems to be a running joke because it is as though they’re also trying to tell us this saying easy come, easy go. Yeah, it feels like her sudden immense wealth and instant losses only happen to the convenience of the plot. Kyougo has more screen time this season despite being in person late in this season. But better still, he is here with his family and ClassicaLoids unlike last season he was always away, always only staying for a short while before disappearing, dropping hints only from a phone call. But it makes me wonder if he created ClassicaLoids just so he could have a big extended family (because f*cking Himeka 10 times to have 10 children just seems too cruel and improbable) instead of that scientific reason back in season one but shelved it due to being too much trouble. I wonder if there are any more hidden ClassicaLoids lying in their slumber in his lab…

For Kanae, it was an irony to see her sad about the ClassicaLoids leaving Otowakan. We clearly remember her as one who doesn’t hesitate to kick them out especially a couple of them who don’t pay the rent. And when everyone started leaving, she felt empty. It’s so lonely at Otowakan. Is this really home? So it goes to show that she too has totally come to terms and accept these freeloaders as they are. Otowakan is so much livelier with them around, annoying or not. ClassicaLoids will always be ClassicaLoids and Kanae will always be Kanae. Money > Freedom.

With Dovo now being the resident of Otowakan, it looks like this hippo now takes over Hasshie’s role as the series’ mascot. It feels like Hasshie is slowly getting forgotten as the series passes because why have a menacing looking shoebill when you can have a cute looking pygmy hippopotamus? I mean, doesn’t Dovo look cute wearing a t-shirt? Even though it is mind boggling for a hippo to wear one but not pants. As though this is one of the ways to make us subconsciously accept Dovo as one with his human counterparts. I wonder what happened to his human body seeing Dovo now wants to remain as a hippo. Ah well, any museum out there want to take Dvorak’s body as an exhibit? But something that Kyougo hinted about Hasshie’s secret that is left to our conclusion is that Hasshie could also possibly be a ClassicaLoid. I mean, we saw his conductor outfit in the final episode. It makes me wonder which composer he was taken after assuming he is really one. Yeah, Hasshie could be the biggest mystery of them all. He is the first, last and always at Otowakan like as though he is its guardian overlooking it all. Sounds ridiculous but it may be possible. After all, how much do we know about Hasshie?

Someone one said that classical music is the best and cheapest mind altering drug in the world. This is particularly true especially when the ClassicaLoids unleash their Musik. Because of their majestic fantasy-like effects, you could say they are like one big hallucination and even better than all the marijuana, ice, LSD and meth combined. It’s going to be the best acid trip in the world and it isn’t even illegal. Uh huh. How else can you go on an origin trip to Africa on a nice train or watching a march of penguins through except via Musik? It’s so much more magical than magic and yet mind blowingly mind blowing. But nevertheless, still entertaining to watch with some of them getting new power ups like Liszt’s boxing, Beethoven’s moon bunny and Schubert turning into a giant reggae yaman. But too bad Bada, still the eternal one hit wonder… Don’t hate… But all their Musik featured here have a real history behind them. They are briefly explained by Pad-kun but if you want to know more, doing your own research is better.

Another mind boggling issue I have with the ClassicaLoids is their origins. If Kyougo created them in his lab (simply playing classical music?), how do they then retain original memories of their actual lives? It’s like they underwent a long cryogenic slumber and then awakened in the modern era since they seem to recall their old memories like as though it was yesterday. I suppose Kyougo is such a genius professor that simpletons and dumbasses like myself won’t get it. Or just screw logic because it’s anime. Anything is possible. If a hippo can unleash Musik and the possibility of transferring minds to another body, what else is not possible for this mad scientist?

With the old casts retained this season, new ones joining to the list are Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Wagner, Junichi Suwabe as Dovo and Sayaka Ohara as Himeka. It was hard to identify Junichi Suwabe as Dovo as in his hippo form he was going like “Pugi, pugi!” all the time. I guess it must hard doing that kind of voice for a big majority of the series. Think it is an easy job? Like seiyuus who only do voices as an animal role the entire series, it is not entirely an easy feat. You could go crazy if you do that for the rest of the series. I wonder about Pikachu’s seiyuu’s sanity then… Only when Dovo is in his handsome train conductor form that he sounds familiar like the Junichi Suwabe that I always know.

It is very rare for anime series these days to have just a single opening or ending theme. That is why in a way it is ‘refreshing’ as well as surprising-but-not-so-surprising-still to see this season’s opening theme to remain the same as last season. I suppose nothing beats ClassicaLoid No Theme and it has become the general theme for the series. But of course, this means just like last season, every episode features a different song. Classical compositions being ‘ruined’ and mixed to death with lyrics and other instruments and effects that they basically ‘killed’ the song. Once more, I was in a dilemma to classify this as creative or lazy but similarly like last time, it is definitely a weird experience for me to listen even though I am not familiar with many of the classical pieces in the first place. But for this season if I had to point out one of those songs which attracted my attention, it was that Chopin one about dogs. This samba heavy tune has very cute lyrics relating to dogs and is by far the most memorable one for me.

Overall, this season is still very much enjoyable. It still feels very much at home like the first season with all the random and funny shenanigans but the only difference is throwing that out-of-this-world alien plot for a more closer-to-home family issues thingy. Hey, even genius composers have their own issues and tragedies. Isn’t that why they translate them into their greatest compositions and works? Music can only do so much to entertain, soothe and heal your soul. The rest is all the bonds and ties in between that really makes it count. I don’t think we appreciate enough how much that brings music to our ears.

Pretty Rhythm Dear My Future

I guess this is what procrastination does. But better late than never, right? And so finally I decided to keep my promise the last time and watch the next season of Pretty Rhythm, Pretty Rhythm Dear My Future. At this point it feels like ages and there is a risk that I have forgotten a lot about the first season. But thankfully new characters and somewhat new plots so I don’t have to remember that much, right? But still, it builds on the old one. Oh well, time to tuck in and watch 51 episodes of the second season and remind myself why I felt like a little girl while watching this series. Hey, sometimes you have got to get your inner feminism out once in a while. Okay, that wasn’t particularly a good reason.

MARs on top – Haven’t you heard? It has been 3 years and now the group has become the best Prism Stars in the world! This means Pretty Top is the best Prism Star producing school and Asechi is raking in all the cash. Too bad all the money in the world still cannot land her a man…

Mia Ageha – Perky and energetic girl who self-proclaims to beat Aira and become the number one Prism Queen. Very confronting if you ask me. The type that shoots first and do the thinking later. This means she doesn’t know anything despite sounding like she does so that we can have the cliché moment for the rest to explain to us viewers what they are. 100 points for her confidence in everything even if they all seem baseless and impossible.

Prizmmy – Uhm, are those budding idols wannabe in 3D are now reanimated into 2D for this season? Not sure if they are taken after their real life personality but I don’t think so. Anyway, along with Mia, the rest include Reina Miyama (always butting heads with Mia), Karin Shijimi (galactic happy girl of the group with 8 ‘clone’ younger brothers) and Ayami Ooruri (shy girl who loves taking notes).

Pretty Rhythm Studio – The real life segment of Prizmmy at the end of each episode. Hosted by the quirky McKensaku while being watched by young future budding future Prism Stars, Prism Friends, we see Prizmmy compete in various small time competitions which is of course a way to promote the series’ merchandises.

Pair Charms – Last season we had Pair Cheer Mascots for MARs. This season Prizmmy has Pair Charms. Supposedly cute little doggie (or was it squirrels) mascots that allow them to transform into accessories to help Prizmmy in their Prism Shows. Good think they don’t talk or they’ll be as annoying and making jokes like Pair Cheer Mascots. By the way, they still are around. So is Pengin sensei and Yamada desu.

Prism Ace – Jun in disguise like as though he is some discount version of Tuxedo Mask. Comes and goes as mysterious as the wind. Supposedly to give the girls some motivation and thoughts (he speaks in his usual riddle fashion anyway) and Mia is the only one not to realize he is really Jun underneath all that getup because she is so having a crush on this handsome masked dude.

Prism Act – Apparently doing Prism Jumps aren’t enough in today’s Prism Shows. Prism Act is some sort of revolutionary show. I don’t know. I don’t see the difference. Prism Stars continue to dance solo or in groups and do perfect Prism Jumps. Yeah, they make it look so easy now.

Don Bonby – The flashy and eccentric afro emcee for every Prism Show.

Dear Crown – A new fashion store opened next to Prism Stone store owned by Shou. Korean owner and designer, Yun-su. Nice and cool guy who respects and treats Aira well that you can smell some love rivalry coming up between Shou and Yun-su. Yeah, it makes Shou look like a jealous dick each time he gets confrontational but Yun-su is just cool! And we already have the first shots fired when Yun-su gives Aira a crown gift after her Prism Show on stage (why does he make it look like he is proposing to her on his knees?) and jealous Shou just rushed down to give his own gift. A showdown between 2 hot guys and a very jealous Mia despite not related to it all.

Twinkling Future Star – Mia’s first successful Prism Jump developed out of her jealousy to top Aira. Now she’ll rake in the cash for Asechi…

Fan Call – Apparently now fans can vote with their handphones for a certain Prism Star and rate on several aspects like dancing, singing and fashion. It is going to be tough for Prizmmy since they are relatively new and a nobody. For the sake of the plot, Prizmmy managed to get enough Fan Calls to make their Prism Show debut.

Korean invasion – Apparently there will be Korean transfer students coming to Pretty Top in an exchange programme. Oddly, they come in one by one instead of at one go. As if, to focus an extra episode on them. Yeah, I thought it would never end the way Asechi keeps introducing a new Korean student. Thankfully there are only 5 of them. They are Hye In (Mia’s best friend and practice maniac), Shi Yoon (usually spaces out and is it me or does her normal horizontally striped clothes motives make her look like a prisoner? But she has the prettiest smile when she is at her maddest!), Jae Eun (airhead girl who often ‘tastes’ the sun among other things? Like reptiles bathing in sun? WTF? *Gobble, gobble*), Chae Kyoung (celebrity girl from a rich family and Yun-su is her older brother) and So Min (strict perfectionist girl who hates wasting time but sometimes a big cry-baby). Why do they all speak so fluent Japanese? Their manager is Michelle who looks like Asechi’s clone…

Who’s the leader – Apparently Prizmmy as a new unit needs to pick a leader. Yeah, everyone ones to be the leader. As usual, they’ll do a Prism Show and the one with the most Fan Calls will be the leader. In the end, each girl top their respective sections in the Fan Calls so no clear winner. Though the rest decided on Mia since overall she had the most Fan Calls, she rejects that notion because of Aira’s ‘advice’ that being a leader doesn’t suit her. After all, it’s not like Prizmmy needs a leader as all of them are unique in their own ways. Until they realize Aira’s ‘advice’ was just her being indecisive so now everybody wants to be the leader again? Make up your minds!

Battle over Aira – The guys are at it again. During a press conference, Aira hinted she would like to try Yun-su’s clothes but Shou will not accept that and hence a competition. Too bad we see Shou stressed up and being a dick, refusing help from others while Yun-su is just scoring points with his cool zen whatever. This is a ploy to help Shou get back on his feet since he hasn’t been progressing lately. Ironically it took Mia to snap at him for him to open his eyes. He leaves it late for his inspiration to spark because at the last minute before Aira is forced to go with Yun-su’s design, here comes Shou with his. She picks his because over this logic Yun-su’s design makes her feel like a goddess which she isn’t. She wants an outfit so she could help make the audience feel happy and Shou’s design matches her current self. Expect more future showdowns.

Mad Mia quits – Gasp! For real?! Mia wants to quit Prizmmy and Pretty Top and blames Aira too?! Sneaky Asechi will not let her go and tarnish her company’s reputation. So she must do a Prism Show battle with Aira. If Mia wins, she gets to leave. Strange logic but it makes sense that if you are better than the best, you can go. During the Prism Show, Mia slips but manages to pick herself up and finish it. Too bad Aira wins by a mile. Fortunately Asechi gives Mia the chance to quit but now she won’t because after all that training and friendship thingy, she understands how much fun it is to work with everyone here. Then everyone realizes this argument started because Aira accidentally ate Mia’s melon bread. Good news, all that is in the past now. Bad news, Asechi just repeated that mistake. Is the option to quit still open?

Training camp – The first held for Prizmmy, MARs and the Korean quintet at a hotspring inn. This whole camp thingy serves to make the Koreans realize they aren’t as good as a unit despite individually they are better. Unlike Prizmmy who are opposites. They suck individually but come together as a group. Makes me think what did the Koreans do all the while since they arrived at Pretty Top? Uh huh. Just watching Prizmmy and MARs in Prism Shows only, eh? I don’t think this is how exchange programmes are supposed to work. Okay, they might have been training behind the scenes.

Stand Up Girls – No, not related to Wake Up Girls. Another contest that is not related to Prism Queen Cup. The winner receives some Symphonia Boots Stone. Guess what? Nobody has won them. And past winners only won the replica. Oh, did I mention that nobody knows who or why this Symphonia series was created? Just f*ck.

Back and forth – Prizmmy is selected to participate in Stand Up Girls. What I don’t understand is that Mia somehow didn’t like something among themselves, drags the rest back to Pretty Top just to see the Koreans practising hard, some self-realization criticising to realize whatever the heck it was and then go all the way back to the competition arena in time for their turn. WTF?!

Miraculous Idol Wake Up – Prizmmy’s first successful Prism Act together at Stand Up Girls that has them winning the competition and receiving the Prism Stone of the REAL Symphonia Boots! So unbelievably wow.

Inspiration hug – Yun-su is stuck on his design. So to get inspiration he hugs Aira in a crowded café just because she smells nice?! Thank goodness that sure did the trick. Thank goodness Shou isn’t around because my hunch says it could have gotten uglier…

Vivvy – A Pair Charm in the form of a black cat. Always butting heads with Pengin. So the quintet only get 1 stinking mascot for all to share? This one talks and she is going to be the Koreans’ mascot because…

Puretty – The group name the Korean girls will debut under. Pure + Pretty + Purity = Puretty? Is that pronounced Pure-tty or Pu-ree-tty? Guess what? In their first Prism Show to celebrate Prizmmy’s victory, they manage to perform their Prism Act at first go! All that practice behind the scenes must have paid off.

Love at first sight – By now we all should notice that Reina has a crush on Itsuki whom everybody seems to be unaware at this point he is Aira’s little brother.

Working love out – Apparently Itsuki finds Mia’s lost handphone and in turn leads him to practice Prism Jumps with them and even becomes a surprise guest in their Prism Show! And you thought he wanted to become a doctor but looks like he has got talent in this area. I see Reina is handling her prince charming very well despite this is the first time she has ever gotten this close to him for such a long period of time. Obvious fawning is so obvious that why isn’t anybody annoyed?

Side jobs – Apparently a few fillers to make our young idols gain some experience. Like doing a live broadcast in Mion’s magical girl show, working at a zoo for a day and at the same help revive its financial situation, and a performance at an island resort (to play up some So Min childhood trauma for being adrift at sea apparently).

Symphonia Series Festival – A mid-summer festival where top girl groups compete in various stages and the one accumulating the most number of fans will receive a rare stone of the Symphonia series.

Wacky races – The first stage of the Symphonia series has Prizmmy and Puretty battle it out in some giant mecha race battle that is also a weird obstacle course. Although both teams cross the finish line first and get the honours of both performing their Prism Show, the fans voted for Puretty because of their ‘amazing’ last spurt idol power during the race that made them caught up with Prizmmy. Crap.

Easter egg hunt – On a luxury liner, teams must find Prism Stones but only those who find special ones are allowed to perform Prism Shows in the end. You thinking what I’m thinking who gets to perform? Although Puretty aces by finding lots of Prism Stones, Prizmmy seems to fall into traps and that just makes them a hilarious watch and hence increasing their Fan Calls. In the end, both of them perform but Prizmmy wins this round. It turns out the perfume Shou made for Prizmmy enhanced their performance while Yun-su was preoccupied with Aira and didn’t make a proper outfit for Puretty. Oh my.

What’s eating Hye In? – Apparently, low self-confidence when she tries to compare herself to everyone. Of course, a little pep blunt talk from Mia and confidence booster from her teammates, this allows her to do a solo Prism Act that wows everyone. Yeah…

Symphonia Top of Wings – I’m sure you’ve already guessed who will win the Symphonia summer series. Yup. Prizmmy. So as not for Puretty to be left out, Hye In wins the MVP and gets the Symphonia Dress of Awakening! How many parts do they cut the entire legendary Symphonia outfit into?! Because now they are going to aim for the Symphonia Skirt. I wonder if there is a Symphonia Pantsu… Whoops!

Yong Hwa – One of the best Prism Stars and Yun-su’s childhood friend. Has this ability to see who loves who. Girls love him (save for our heroines) and because of him loving everybody, Prizmmy calls him Mr Trashy.

How do you mend a broken heart – Reina falls into depression after seeing Itsuki ‘date’ Aira. Even more so ‘confirming’ it from his own mouth but that’s what you get for being vague with your words. With Yong Hwa’s idea to shout out the name of the one you love, it enhances Prizmmy and more so Reina’s Prism Act. And of course, they learn Aira and Itsuki are siblings. Big relief. Fooled big time.

Yong Hwa x Itsuki – I don’t know how Yong Hwa sees some potential in Itsuki and wants him to become his Prism Star partner. Looks so gay… Because constant hugging harassment… Ugh, so gay… Well, if there is money to be made…

Silver screen debut? – Chae Kyoung’s mom was a famous actress but retired young. Now Chae Kyoung has been selected for her movie debut but she has fears of standing on stage. Wait a minute. Isn’t Prism Show not considered a stage? Anyway she is forced to choose between becoming an actress (hence fulfilling her mom’s wish) or become a Prism Star. No prizes for guessing which she chose because otherwise Puretty would have to be disbanded permanently. No hard feelings but Yamada became her silver screen replacement?! The director sure has bad taste…

Prism Quest – For some reason, Prizmmy and Puretty enter the Prism Stone Maker and end up in some RPG world. An excuse to give the Pair Charms for some lame screen time to save the girls from prison before using their Prism powers to defeat the evil king and earn the Symphonia Skirt. The real original one. Woah! You mean it was in there all along?! Who the f*ck put it in there?!

Grateful Symphonia – Kei returns just to warn Asechi about this. Apparently Grateful Symphonia is the greatest Prism Act that all Prism Stars aspire to achieve (gee, why doesn’t everyone know about this then?) but a world of Prism Act that nobody has seen (oh, I see… Then how would they know?) and must never step into (no wonder nobody’s been there).

Foreboding of a coming storm – Grateful Symphonia was also made by the greatest designer to ever live and promotes the shows from the shadows. Should we be shocked that it is Asechi’s father, Kintarou? So much so he rigged Prism Shows and crushed her rivals to let Asechi win during her heydays. Kei left him to protect her and now Asechi must stand up to him if she is to protect her girls and guide the Prism Show back to its proper path or risk contaminating it with greed.

Black & White – Kintarou made a pair of black and white Symphonia Dresses and he had a Korean actress, Myeong Ja (Yun-su’s mom) to represent them. However she wasn’t good enough and that’s when Kei entered the picture and wowed him. He came up with the idea of Prism Shows and casted both women in the dresses to make money. To a point he wanted Myeong Ja to quit as an actress and be a Prism Star. She didn’t want that and left. Kei was swayed by his sweet words and took up the role. Until Asechi was born his true nature began to unravel more. He wanted to turn her into a Prism Star at a tender young age when Kei was against it. Everything else is history and ever since he would do anything to make Grateful Symphonia a success, using many and discarding those who outlive their usefulness. But all ended in failure. It has grown to a point where he now hates Prism Shows. Oh, the irony.

Road To Symphonia – Oh great. What we just need. Another Symphonia series competition. This time groups of three would enter as a team and the prizes are Symphonia Hairband of Elegance and Symphonia Necklace of Resplendence.

Money talks – Asechi is torn to enter her Prism Stars as the competition would clash with Crystal High Heels Cup. Until she realizes there is money to win and more publicity. And hence she will be reshuffling Prizmmy and Puretty into new units while making it Prism Stone versus Dear Crown.

Shuffle – The new units are: Team A (Ayami, Reina and Jae Eun), Team B (Karin, Hye In and Shi Yoon) and Team C (Mia, So Min and Chae Kyoung). Also, Shou and Yun-su will be competing among themselves to design their outfits.

Can’t teach an old dog new tricks – Team A stumble into an old man trying to do a Prism Jump and failed. Because his wife in her younger days looks like Reina (and him looking like Itsuki), you bet Reina is going to help them. A love story that transcends barriers and social status, he hopes the girls can teach him how to do a Prism Act to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary. Even better, they’ll do it for him. It is a new and excellent Prism Show, turning the old couple back to their younger heydays to perform their own Prism Act. Team A is now renamed as Sprouts.

Wedding bells – Haven’t you heard? Rhythm and Hibiki got married. That was 18 months ago! WTF?! Married in secret, I suppose. They plan to tell the world when Rhythm reaches 18 years old. Only her MARs pals know about this. And of course, Team B who accidentally eavesdropped.

Opposition – Asechi was initially opposed to the announcement since there is nothing in it for her (it’s all about the money for her) but with the blessing and support of MARs and Callings (as well as Rhythm’s parents hidden marriage thingy if you remember last season), what else is there to oppose? Also, Kanon has been in Rhythm and Hibiki’s way for so long that Team B tries to help Kanon get a boyfriend? Of all people, they choose Yong Hwa? Not matching of course. But Kanon has known this as Hibiki told her. She was just in denial and did her best to interrupt them but it looks like the day has come where she must face reality.

Angry mob – Apparently the crowd didn’t like it when Rhythm and Hibiki announce this. How do you calm such a mad crowd? Team B putting up their Prism Act of course! Oh yeah, all of them choose Yun-su’s design. I guess there is another angry jealous guy now. Now everybody accepts the marriage and Kanon calling Rhythm her sister. Happy ending indeed. Team B is now renamed as P&P (stemming from Prizmmy & Puretty).

Creative block – Team C can’t come up with lyrics to their song so they have the designers design them first and they’ll based their lyrics on it. The designers too are stuck so Shou watches Team C practice while Yun-su talks to Aira. And there is Aira’s flashback on how she is on the verge of quitting as a Prism Star after almost losing her touch to entertain audience. But with Shou on her side, she gets her touch back.

Love block – And now the biggest stumbling block goes to Aira and Shou’s romance because as pointed out by Rhythm, Shou will never tie the knot or go anywhere if he fears getting hurt. And it’s Aira’s fault never telling him her feelings? Man, love is so complicated.

Chopped liver – Looks like Team C is side-lined when Yun-su designs a costume for Aira instead and then confesses he loves her. Shou so mad. Oh my. The rivalry is going up a notch this time because both guys won’t let Aira go.

Love & Mix – Apparently the gay Prism Star team consisting of Yong Hwa and Itsuki. So Itsuki finally decided to become a Prism Star, huh?

The season of love is Halloween? – Love & Mix uses Halloween to debut and also puts forth the theme Trick or Love. Being dressed up helps to easy confess to the one you love? Well, if it was easy for Reina since dense Itsuki keeps trying to help her. Good luck trying to keep her cock-a-doodle-doo sanity intact. Eventually nobody confesses to anybody because the importance of the theme is about falling in love, not being in love. Huh? No wonder Mia going berserk to the other girls because she didn’t get to confess to Prism Ace-sama…

The Apprentice – Of all teams, Yumemi had to pick Team C to be her master. Initially they reject her but she sucks up to them real good so I guess they take her under her wing. Despite her dream to be the centre of attraction and a Prism Star, something feels odd about her dream. She sucks in all Prism Show areas. To cut things short, her dream is a different type of star: She wants to be an astronomer and discover a new star. With this, Mia announces her challenge to Aira to make their dreams come true.

Biggest upset – Cosmos (Team C’s new name based on the initials of their name) has more Fan Calls to Aira and wins! Well, my theory is that Aira keeps singing the same song and dance but Cosmos as a new team has new song and dance moves so I’m sure this is why they captured the hearts of the audience. But don’t you think it will be weird if Yumemi names a new star after Cosmos? A Cosmos in the cosmos… Confusing…

Ninja warrior – Apparently Mia beat Aira was because she had more Fan Calls from non-permanent fans. Hence Asechi plans to train them even more by having them do warrior training? Sending the shuffle teams to different villages to perform Prism Acts.

Gates of hell – Bonby somewhat hypnotized Hye In to seek the Grateful Symphonia’s stage. So during P&P’s Prism Act, Hye In got mesmerized to go into some creepy door that definitely spells disaster. Thanks to the power of friendship (and wind), she returns to reality.

Love omelette – Sprouts not only help a closing down restaurant get back up but also help its chef and employee get back together. Best part, their Prism Act has them propose and marry each other! Man, all I gotta love are those free omelettes they served…

Dancing with the Prism Stars – Cosmos want to do a Prism Show at an elementary school where Mia’s homeroom teacher still teaches. Because dancing is incorporated into PE and she can’t dance, Cosmos take the liberty to teach her how to dance. Of course their methods fail. In the end, you can’t force a dance and all you need is just to remember flashbacks of never give up. Yup, for the teacher and students, you don’t need to be good at dancing. Just dance how you feel! Heh. It’s not like they’re going to become world class Prism Stars anyway.

Torn between 2 designers, feeling like a fool – It has gotten to a point where Aira just can’t concentrate and is clumsy in her practice. While Yun-su is honest, Shou remains as he is, giving lame excuses he is happy Aira wears his designs. We know that’s crap, right? More woes for already torn Aira when she is forced to choose one of their designs before the big competition.

Heartbreak goodbye – So Min always had a crush on Yun-su. Was she wise to know she cannot best Aira hence the need to tell her feelings and get over it? Only, she had to do it via Prism Act and let everybody know. But they don’t care. Similarly, none of all that flashy extravagant for Mia because Prism Ace just says goodbye in the most boring fashion. True heartbreak…

Losing its shine – MARs and Serenon are supposed to enter the Crystal High Heels Cup but Aira (brainwashed by Bonby as usual) declares during the press conference that MARs will be participating in Road To Symphonia. This makes Serenon also want to participate in that. Yeah, everyone else has also entered this Symphonia contest.

Dress to kill – So which dress did Aira pick? Apparently MARs shock everyone by wearing the latest Symphonia series’ dresses. So mysterious. So evil. Wah! It’s shooting evil red beams!

Butterfly effect – Butterflies in your eyes? Aira dares enter the butterfly door and opens a whole new world with lots of butterflies. Yeah, it was the best butterfly show ever.

Landslide victory – Needless to say, MARs wins Road To Symphonia with a huge margin of Fan Calls.

The end of days – If you think that was the happy ending, think again. Immediately Aira announces she will not participate in anymore future Prism tournaments. Bonby reveals his true identity: Kintarou! Why am I not surprised? Those who suspect are too late to do anything. With Aira no longer participating, this means there is no more need to have tournaments because there are no competitors who will be worth their calibre against them.

Welcome to the dark side – That’s not all. Aira along with Mion and Rhythm announce their resignation from Pretty Top to join Kintarou’s Symphonia Corporation. Wow. Signing air contracts in front of everybody? Yeah, Asechi loses her income (hope all that money she made is enough) and the guys loses Aira. That’s what happens when you wait too long. Aira ditches you dudes.

Sky High Symphonia – Another Symphonia selection organized by Kintarou. He is so kind to give Pretty Top a chance to get MARs back if they get more Fan Calls. Otherwise, Pretty Top teams will have to join Symphonia Corporation if they lose. A tempting challenge to take on but it is obviously a trap. So how? Serenon vows to rescue Aira claiming their eternal rivalry with MARs gives them the right.

Break down that door – Violence never gets you anywhere. If you compare Serenon’s Prism Act, it does look a bit violent. Kicking football hattrick and unicorn piercing… Yeah… That is why they couldn’t break down that door and save Aira trapped behind it. Aira even lectures them about it. Well, looks like Serenon are now Kintarou’s pawns.

Failed Mix – It is Love & Mix’s turn to save Aira but apparently not even brotherly or family love could make her change her mind. Damn. Now Love & Mix is under Symphonia Corporation? Hey, at least Itsuki and Aira are ‘together’ in the same bad company.

Mother knows best – Everyone except Prizmmy head to Korea to find out more from Myeong Ja about Kintarou. Apparently she has never hated that guy and Yun-su was under the wrong impression she did. Therefore the mysterious Symphonia Dresses he designed couldn’t be filled with anger and hate. She knows him well enough as a guy who lived by his dreams. Even when they broke up and she was heartbroken, she would have been consumed by hatred had she continued wallowing in sadness. Prove that she was still able to love, she met and married Yun-su and Chae Kyoung’s father.

Love will save the day – As a hint that the designs reflects the designer’s heart, Yun-su realizes his designs have been filled with hatred and anger to get back at Kintarou. Though this might reach Aira, this will not save her. You need the power of love! This is why you designers are in a slump. For the sake of the same girl, for once Yun-su and Shou cast aside their animosity and agree to work together to bring out the shine in Prizmmy and Puretty as well as save Aira.

Pretty Symphonia Remake – Yun-su and Shou combine all they’ve got to make their Symphonia Dresses for Prizmmy. Despite each of their dresses are based on their strong character traits, they look the same to me only differentiated by the colour code. Personally I think this is also one of the worst designs…

Reach for the stars – Prizmmy manages to pull off their Prism Act of Road To Symphonia. They manage to see Aira but she isn’t leaving as she is enthralled by its light that reaches the end of the universe. Yup, that’s where she wants to be. Not sure what scary vortex scared Prizmmy away and return to reality. The results are very close but MARs ultimately won (Kintarou isn’t happy because there is a rival Symphonia Dress to match his originals and MARs didn’t evolve to the next stage as he anticipated). Oh no. Prizmmy now under Symphonia Corporation? All up to you now, Puretty…

Earth-chan – Yun-su and Shou come put all their love, heart and soul ain giving Puretty a Pretty Remake. It’s got all the elements that makes up Mother Earth like the land, sea, star, sun and sky. Uhm, don’t they all look the same except for the different colour code?

Reach for the end of the universe – Puretty is able to reach Aira. But with them combining their spirit, love and friendship, they take Aira to the end of the universe. So amazing that it brings Aira back to her senses. I guess this means with their superior designs, it is Kintarou’s loss. And now everybody goes back to Pretty Top. Yeah, the loosest contract ever.

It’s all about the money – Kintarou being the sore loser, reveals how the Prism Shows were all about the money. He shows proof of all the buyouts that made Asechi a Prism Queen. WTF?! You think anybody cares?! Wait. Everybody now hates Prism Stars?! WTF?! Even if Kintarou revealed his nefarious plans to destroy Prism Shows because Grateful Symphonia is no longer possible?!

Karma is a b*tch – Right after that, Kintarou gets a heart attack but it’s like a slap on the wrist because he still survives. It’s like as though karma was telling him to shut up instead and not rush his evil plans.

Indefinite hiatus – With negative receptions rising for Prism Stars and anything related, Asechi has put all activities on hold in order to protect the girls.

Can it! – Prizmmy thought of doing a guerrilla Prism Show to win back the audiences’ heart but unfortunately they start throwing cans. Although Mia is injured, nothing hurts her more than not doing any Prism Acts.

Love Live, Muse – Prizmmy and Puretty combine and do their Prism Act after their heartfelt speech of their love for Prism Shows. Thankfully the people are gullible so they’re back to loving them and giving them all their Fan Calls. Yeah, that was easy.

Redemption – Asechi announces that her teams will participate in Grateful Symphonia to show the limitless potential of Prism Shows. To take responsibility for all that fiasco, she will resign after this. Hence she also announces the Symphonia Selection Final. Our Prism Stars will face off in an elimination match in which the winner will be appointed the centre. Despite looking like a team format, only one person from that match will advance to the final.

MARs vs Prizmmy – Aira pulls off that super amazing Aurora Rising to stun everyone. Until Mia’s dress transforms into the Symphonia Dress of Passion as she does the nebula exploding Prism Act of Passionate Symphonia. It goes without saying that Mia obtains the most Fan Calls.

Unmotivated – Apparently Hye In is worried as she is the only one whose Symphonia Dress did not evolve. Also, Serena and Kanon have lost their motivation since MARs lost. So they decide to support Kaname to become the centre.

Serenon vs Puretty – Nothing really new if you ask me for Serenon. But some drama kicked up before Puretty’s turn. Seeing how awesome Serenon was, Hye In wants to quit for good! Her pals decide to support her to become the centre so she changes her mind to perform. Well what do you know? During her Prism Act, her Symphonia Dress of Starry Sky kicks in as she does the glittering nebula Prism Act of Starry Sky Symphonia. It goes without saying that Hey In gets the most Fan Calls. Yeah, those wearing those legendary Symphonia Dress seem to be the winners…

Rivals or friends? – I know Mia and Hye In will face off with each other in the finals but must they choose between both? Can’t they just to the cliché and pick both? Because of that, both stay away from each other and their friends and do some reflection of their past with each other before getting over it and doing their best. Drama for nothing.

Mia vs Hey In – Their Prism Act is so awesome that it takes them back to their past as they dig up their time capsule meant for each other in real time and in front of everyone to see! I mean, really?! Such a great performance that the audiences are silent! They can’t decide who to pick as the winner! So leaving it up to God?

Not really related – Guess what? In another twist, it is revealed Jun and Asechi are not siblings! Kei narrates after Asechi left and she was heartbroken, she met baby Jun and her parents at the park. Subsequently they were killed in an accident and Kei felt the need to take care of Jun as the only survivor as some sort of assurance and proof she still loved her daughter. So Jun is like her substitute child?

Back to Buenos Aires – The stage for Grateful Symphonia because apparently that’s where the goddess of Prism Shows resides.

Goodbye seems to be the hardest word – When Michelle tells Puretty that they’ll be going back to Korea to make their debut after Grateful Symphonia, Mia doesn’t like this one bit. She becomes selfish and stubborn because she doesn’t want to part with Hye In. So what does she do? She runs away! Her logic is that everyone will be together if the show isn’t over. WTF?! Eventually she is found and brought out of her hiding after Hye In says some really touching words. It brought Mia to tears and shocks everyone because she apologizes. Never expected that from her, eh? So contagious that everyone too starts crying and hugging.

Awakening of Symphonia – It seems the road to the finals are divided into several stages. So it begins with Mia and Hye In as the main characters going through a journey as they meet other characters who show them the way. This is one big messed up fantasy if you ask me. Uh huh. The longest Prism Show ever. It also seems this entire show is displayed throughout the world. Just look up to the sky and watch the free show.

Live drama – Heck, we even take a detour to settle the love triangle between Aira, Shou and Yun-su. We see the guys in their princely outfit in a sword fight. It’s like they’re saying all the things they have wanted to say to each other all the time. Long story short, Shou wins because he is able to say all the right things. Even more so when Aira confesses she loves him and together they are able to love the world again. A big cheesy crap if you ask me but at least this puts to rest the love triangle. Phew. Now can we move on?

Emotional Mia – Not sure how Kintarou managed to interrupt and try to stop the duo. Mia’s Prizmmy friends rope in to help them push through but at their own expense. This turns Mia into an emotional wreck. No more selfish Mia? Friends over being number one? I guess we need some emotional drama to ramp it up as we approach the final.

Turn to the dark side of reality – Thanks to that, Mia is not interested to become the centre because she realizes becoming number one is not worth at the expense of her friends. Yeah, took you almost an entire year to figure that out, eh? Perhaps with this negative emotion, it allows Kintarou to disrupt and show them reality. Uhm, their despaired and fallen Prism Stars crucified on trees? Wow. This is getting dark for a show of this genre.

Rebuttal – Mia isn’t going to have all that negative sh*t from Kintarou so she tells him off about his boring life and tells everyone about the bright beautiful future they will have. Mia has forgone her selfish ways and throws Hye In into the door to become the centre.

Always lonely at the top – Hye In is in some weird abstract dimension. Even though this is supposed to signify she has become the centre, she feels lonely. She wouldn’t have gotten her if not for her friends.

The power is yours – With Mia’s selflessness, everyone is so touched by it that they start spamming her with Fan Calls to power her up. This even powers up the fallen Prism Stars as they send Mia to Hye In.

Double centre – With both of them wearing tiaras, I guess even the goddess can’t decide and made them both as centres.

Flower power – With their new powers, the Prism Stars turn the entire world into one big flower field. Oh, don’t forget the butterflies! I wonder if this is vandalism. Who cares? Everybody in the whole wide world is so filled with hope to even bother the desecration of national monuments now covered in flowers.

Repentance – So powerful that Kintarou who has been complaining about he doesn’t need a future or bragging about his creations suddenly comes to see the light. With that, he comes to his senses and since everyone isn’t a dick, they forgive him. Even bad guys can be reduced to tears.

Glimpse of the future – The power has us view the characters’ possible future. Let’s say they are all bright and happy. I want to note that Itsuki becomes a successful doctor and this means he didn’t continue being a gay pair to Yong Hwa. And with that, the longest Prism Show comes to an end. Phew. Good riddance.

Happily married ever after – Finally a wedding ceremony for Rhythm and Hibiki.

Marry me – Guess what? Jun proposes to Asechi! Now I see why…

Leaving – Wow. So many people leaving. Yun-su is leaving for Paris and Yong Hwa will follow him. So this this mean the end of their gay Love & Mix relationship? Well, Itsuki hints if he becomes a sports doctor, he can follow him around. Gay hug! Shou and Aira leave for New York. As promised, Asechi quits her post and doesn’t care about money anymore. She leaves Pretty Top in Mion’s care. Of course we have Puretty leaving back to Korea.

Last goodbye – Big goodbye means big tears and big hugs, right? You tend to believe it because Mia is crying. Heck, even Pengin and Vivvy reconcile.

A place we’ll always meet – No, it isn’t the internet that will connect Prizmmy and Puretty. As long as they do Prism Jumps and Prism Acts together, they’ll meet each other in that fantasy dimension!

Always be number one – I think that’s a wrap, folks.

Tales Of Symphonia
And so the world continues to revel and be happy with our Prism Stars performing at their best. Bravo. Now not only Japan but Korea too will have their very own Prism Stars. Yeah, it looks like the only places in the world producing Prism Stars. Not America. Not China. Not Europe. I believe that Prizmmy and Puretty are so good at their game that they should do Prism Shows in each other’s country. Why is it only in Japan that they could do Prism Shows? Isn’t it an international event that everybody just literally looked up to the stars when they watched the Grateful Symphonia? That way they could always visit each other and never felt that they have said goodbye to each other. Or better, shouldn’t they just all combine into 1 big group and give AKB48 a run for their money? Oh right. AKB48 can’t do Prism Jumps…

Fortunately or unfortunately, this season doesn’t actually make me feel like a little girl. Maybe I have been numbed throughout the years watching a number of controversial themed anime series so watching this doesn’t affect me. Furthermore, this season might have come out back in 2012, which isn’t a long time but in anime years, that feels like so if you’re watching at this point in time. So yeah, while this series is definitely aimed at teenage girls (just watch enough of the end segment Pretty Rhythm Studio and you’ll know what I mean), it isn’t just exclusive confined to that age group and demographic. I mean, if yours truly can even watch it, it has got to be one of the ‘safest’ animes to watch out there, right? Hey, don’t be surprised to know there are a lot of guys out there who like that rebooted version of My Little Pony.

As I have said this series is mainly aimed for teenage and young girls, looking at the overall storyline and plot at this age makes it feel cheesy and generic. After all, what else could you do when you have a bunch of Prism Stars jumping around on stage? It follows some sort of pattern that feels really similar to the first issue. Some issues here and there and there is nothing that could fix it by having a Prism Show at the end. And then for the climax, we have the generic one dimensional ‘bad guy’ trying to ruin it all but with the help of friendship and Prism power, a happy ending is much guaranteed. I wonder if these kind of stories would resonate with younger audiences these days.

I figure that the production of this season came during a time that the K-pop wave was enchanting the world with its sexy dance choreographs, artificial Korean beauty and manufactured K-pop music. That’s why we have quite a number of Korean characters in this series. Otherwise, why no other nationalities? So it turns out that Puretty in the anime also has a real life version. Yup, those are real Koreans because you can tell that their Japanese are not as fluent as their anime counterparts. But ganbatte. They’re definitely getting there.

It seems Pretty Top is the only company that produces the best Prism Stars out there. Because all the while, we see only their girls performing in competitions. Yes, there are other Prism Stars (and weirdly named too) but they are all quickly side-lined and you’ll never hear from them again. It’s like Pretty Top has a monopoly over the Prism Shows and they could just host and organize any performance they want because Asechi knows that her girls will win and definitely bring in the dough. So is nobody getting bored that Pretty Top’s girls are owning the scene? Why the heck would they? They are so enthralled with the same thing and having fun, so why bother with something new?

This brings me to talk about the Prism Shows and the likes. They are bloody repetitive. Uh huh. Just like in the first season. It is very so at the beginning since the songs are pretty limited. Hence in every episode that is guaranteed to have a Prism Show, we see the girls dancing to the same tune and even to the same dance moves. Sometimes they just change positions or outfits but overall they are the same. Heck, even the audiences who cheer and give their Fan Calls are recycled scenes! It makes me wonder if these people have no life and will only attend Prism Shows. As the series progresses and more songs are introduced (especially during the shuffled units), we get a little bit variety but overall, they’re still performing the same thing over and over again. Have a new song? Spam it to the max until we get a new one!

Also, the same Prism Shows, Prism Acts and Prism Jumps sometimes feel like one big drug fuelled fantasy. Uh huh. Because the appeal of all this in the end is for the girls doing something so out of this world. I mean, swimming with the dolphins? Riding on a lion? And flying through the universe?! Man, it is getting ridiculous by the moment. Exaggeration is an understatement. I still don’t see what’s so special about it even if all of this are just special effects. But since they’re magically showing it from their hearts, it must be real, right? So if you think last season’s Prism Jumps were pretty exaggerated, you’re in for more this season. Still, personally the Prism shows are like one big form of ecstasy hiding behind the name of entertainment. No wonder people aren’t getting bored. But will they eventually die of overdose? Heck no. I believe the audiences have this herd mentality. They are also unable to think for themselves. When Rhythm and Hibiki announced their engagement, they became mad. For no reason. And when Pretty Top’s units were being transferred to Symphonia Corporation, nobody bats an eyelid. Sure, they voted for the better Prism Show but do they not realize what they have done? And when everything is alright, they also share the laughter. Whatever.

Okay, I’m not going to delve too deep into the characters because as I can see, they’re made for this genre so there has to be that friendship kind of thingy. Mia being the loudest, always in her own pace, the troublemaker and the one who proclaims she will always be number eventually realizes that she is nothing without her friends. With Prizmmy and Puretty being the stars of this season, it feels like too many of them. Although each of them have a few dedicated episodes, it is nothing that deep. Because at the end of the day, their friendship and Prism Star status will always save the day.

I wonder what happened to Callings? I don’t remember them retiring from the scene but with Shou being the solo guy, it makes me wonder what happened to Hibiki and Wataru. While we know that Hibiki is married to Rhythm, what about Wataru? I thought he was into Mion? Yeah, I guess becoming her deputy at Pretty Top is the only thing we’ll remember him by. But even so, these 2 guys were sorely missing during the Grateful Symphonia arc. At least when Aira turned to the dark side, these 2 were nowhere to be seen. I mean, Hibiki’s wife just went over to the other side, does he not have anything to say or do? It’s like they’ve forgotten about them because even if they somehow appear more often, what role could they possibly helm? Because this season we want to have that cheesy love triangle distraction between Aira, Shou and Yun-su so better not let the other guys get in the way or it might look unfair and disadvantageous even though that sounds ridiculous.

I also noticed that Pengin, Yamada and Pair Cheer Mascots looked like they are going to appear decently enough but during the arc of Aira’s defection, they too are missing. So what happened to them too? I thought all of Pretty Top was going to rally and help her but Pengin being one of the most important top wigs (pun intended) of Pretty Top, shouldn’t he be there? Of course their characters are more for comic relief and during such ‘tense’ moments, their funny appearances might just ruined the mood and confuse people. I also feel the Pair Charms are just useless and are there for the cute and kawaii effect. They just help to transform Prizmmy into their outfits and that is about it. I still feel that it’s unfair for Puretty to get one but I guess having a talking one offsets the quantity. Besides, I feel Vivvy’s existence is for Pengin to have a comedic rival in which the bird will lose most of the time. Mammals > birds.

A few more characters to comment. I don’t even understand why they need to have that revelation that Jun is not Asechi’s real sister. Like, how does this even affect the entire story? I guess we need something shocking from this guy who continues to speak in dramatic enigmatic lines. Oh right. So that we could put an end to Asechi’s eternal curse of ever landing a man. I see what they did there. Damn plot convenience. Now that they are no longer siblings I guess they can legally f*ck each other. Oops, I mean date and marry each other. I can’t believe nobody could see Bonby’s real identity as Kintarou. I had a hunch when Kintarou’s name was first mentioned. When you see that fake afro emcee having that typical scheming face, you know something is wrong. But I keep wondering if in the early episodes, shady characters that closely resemble and sound like him are Bonby in disguise. After all, he supposedly set up things that led to Grateful Symphony. I believe Asechi was too blinded by money to even tell he was her father and Jun wasn’t even that smart to guess. I mean, nobody checked his fake resume and the likes? Kei and Myeong Ja also feel inadequate like as though they are there just to fill in and connect some of the plot. Otherwise you see them hang around and it is pretty odd especially for Kei, you hear her spouting some negative lines just to prop up some drama.

Kintarou is just a one dimensional villain who decides to take out his own issues because of his failed dream. In short, if he can’t have it, nobody will. That’s why you hear him spout all those crappy lines about having no future. Sure, you don’t want to have a future that’s fine by yourself. But must you impose it on others and ruin the fun? Unfortunately for him, he didn’t die a hero and lived long enough to become a villain ;p. Not sure about his sanity at the end because the last montage shows him living a simple farm life although he still retains bits of his madness. I keep wondering why Yong Hwa’s character is necessary and the only reason is to have some gay scenes with Itsuki because Callings are like no more and it is more of a jealous rivalry between Shou and Yun-su. Otherwise, Yong Hwa is pretty much a useless character and is to give a little Prism Show variety with Love & Mix. Come to think of it, that name even sounds so gay… And now that they’ve somewhat disbanded, will it be Yun-su x Yong Hwa! And in Paris, the city love!

I also need to mention a bit on the real Prizmmy. If last season they were training to become a proper idol unit, this season we mostly see them doing mini contests of their own in which they accumulate points throughout and the winner gets to record her own solo song. I’ll spoil it, it’s Karin. After all, I feel that among all her peers, she is the most natural and cheerful. So hats off to her. Is it me or is Mia the weakest? Like in, almost everything. Such a big contrast from the anime Mia. Of course she won some mini contests like the rest too. Other than having mini contests, we also see them visit places as well as hanging out with Puretty. They too sometimes report their activities back in Korea so it’s a little nice change in pace. Oh right, don’t forget the blatant advertising to sell their Pretty Rhythm merchandises and products. So check out their website, ne!

As in its previous seasons, part of charm are the songs. Some of the songs are quite nice too. Like Cheki Love by Puretty (also serving as the second ending theme). Even though this song is overflowing with girlishness and cuteness, I can’t find myself to dislike it. Heck, I am even addicted to singing its very cute lines! Simple and cute! Oh sh*t. Can’t get that song out of my head! Yeah, it really exudes all the typical elements for a K-pop. While Shuwa Shuwa Baby also by Puretty (fourth ending theme) also has the same sentiments, it is not as catchy as Cheki Love. But still, it is quite a nice and catchy piece in its own right.

The best one from Prizmmy is Dear My Future ~Mirai No Jibun E~ (first opening theme) which is aptly the theme of the series if you ask me. The rest from Prizmmy are rather okay. Like Brand New World (second opening) has a mix of hip hop and rap, the same with Body Rock (third ending) but has auto-tune as well as Panpina (fourth opening) but with special effects, My Transform (second ending) has an edgy techno pop beat. Life Is A Miracle ~Ikiterutte Subarashii~ (third opening) is the only one of the themes not sung by the real Prizmmy but the anime Prizmmy. Sounds generic idol pop if you ask me. Personally, the worst song is Thank You (also worst named) by P&P. I don’t know, each time I hear this, my hair stands on ends. Cheer! Yeah~ X2 by Cosmos doesn’t resonate with me as I have this feeling it is a song better sung on/by Love Live. Out of all the shuffled units, I suppose Mirage Jet by Sprouts sounds better because of its jazzy theme.

As you might have noticed, the anime version of Prizmmy is voiced by people. Professional seiyuus in fact. This is better because the real ones you can hear their voices aren’t really trained even during the Pretty Rhythm Studio segment you can hear the obvious difference. Sure, they are good at singing but when it comes to normal conversation you can tell they’re not trained for voice acting. Handling their Prizmmy counterparts are Rumi Okubo as Mia (Astolfo in Fate/Apocrypha), Natsumi Takamori as Reina (Mei in Another) and Minami Tsuda as Karin (Yui in YuruYuri). Shockingly I never realized that Ayane Sakura was behind Ayami. She sounds too shy for me to recognize. Or maybe I wasn’t really paying attention. Better start taking notes to note how she actually sounds in this shy mode. Memo, memo…

Even the Puretty side has professional seiyuus because otherwise you could hear their Korean accent in it. I wasn’t sharp enough so I didn’t realize the one who voiced Kaname, Serena and Kanon also voiced Hye In, Jae Eun and Chae Kyoung respectively. As for So Min, she is voiced by Marie Miyake (Ringo in Mawaru Penguindrum). Shi Yoon is voiced by an actual Japan born Korean, Kim Hyang Ri. If there was something familiar about the ridiculous screaming and liveliness in Bonby’s voice, it is because it is Shigeru Chiba and I still remember him voicing such characters like One Piece’s Buggy, Sasuke in Ranma 1/2 and Yotsuya of Maison Ikkoku. Yong Hwa is voiced by Minami Takayama (titular character in Detective Conan series) and Noriko Hidaka playing Myeong Ja (Kikyo in Inu Yasha).

Oh well, looks like this is it for me. My journey for the Pretty Rhythm series ends here. Phew? Big relief? Because this series is still going on strong in Japan with ongoing spin-offs even until this day. Are they going to have idols using instruments in the next season as seen in the preview? I won’t be there to find out. So forget about the third and fourth seasons (Pretty Rhythm Rainbow Live and Pretty Rhythm All Star Selection respectively), because there’s that PriPara spin-offs that are entirely a whole series of its own. This is like the idol version of Pretty Cure (another old series I once watched at the beginning but then stopped watching eventually). I bet it is going to be more of the same. Introduce a new budding character with great dreams. There are her new friends and other characters into the mix as well. Old returning characters make their cameo and they all can happily dance, sing and jump on stage to give us that ultimate entertainment. I guess I’ll just stick to ecchi high school romances. They’re a safer bet and my form of entertainment. Damn I have no future…

Love Live! Sunshine!! S2

Seeing that the ultimate goal of saving their school wasn’t accomplished yet, that is why we need to have another season of Love Live! Sunshine!! S2. Another reason for us to keep up with one of our favourite anime idol groups and for hardcore fans to get hyped and salivate over their favourite girls prancing and dancing on stage. Can Aqours do it this time? They better. Or else we would need to have another season…

Episode 1
It is the new school term and Chika is already running late. Meanwhile Mari addresses her fellow students that Aqours failed to make it to the nationals but thanks to everyone’s effort, they manage to keep the school open. However there is more good news as there is another Love Live competition announced. But their goal now is to find a way to increase the enrolment numbers of Uranohoshi before finding their own way to shine. As they go about their daily lives, Kanan notices Mari acting stranger than her usual strange. It is revealed that Mari’s father has decided to cancel the open house that is supposed to be the draw to attract more students to enrol at Uranohoshi. This means Uranohoshi will not be taking applicants for the next year. Mari tried persuading him but he will not budge. Guess what? Chika wants to go talk to him personally now?! He is in America… Naturally with nothing more they can do, they can only imagine in gloom doom fashion had they won Love Live then. So we see Chika doing her usual bumming-cum-pondering until she gets her baseless confidence back to create a miracle. Guess what? The other Aqours members too have the same idea. They’re not giving up yet. They’re going to shine together.

Episode 2
Mari once more tries to convince her father. Even though his stance remained unchanged, unless they can bring in 100 new students, he might budge. So far they only have 10. Well, doesn’t look far, right? Only 90 more to go… Discussing about the new Love Live preliminaries, a rule is that a new song must be sung. So they’re racking their brains to come up with 2 new songs. One for Love Live and the other for the open house. Instead of putting pressure on a single person to write the songs, it is suggested they split into groups. The second years will be writing one and the seniors and juniors will be writing the other. The latter group heads for Mari’s luxurious seaside mansion and end up having fun instead of doing any work. Too tempting… Dia puts her foot down and has the venue change to hers. No fun… We see that both the juniors and seniors have very different tastes in music. So much so Chika is called to intervene because they are at odds over the kind of song they want to write! Seeing that trust is important, it is suggested they do bonding stuffs. Again we see their different tastes. The seniors are more of the outdoor type while the juniors prefer indoor activities. I guess the only true way for all Japanese people of different walks of life to bond is the bath. It certainly feels good but they hardly make any progress. As they leave, it starts raining so they take nearby shelter in a temple. Cue for jump scares… No progress still but then the roof starts leaking as they place pots, plates and pans to catch the leak. This is when it hit them. The different drops come together as one big harmony. That’s the motivation they need to come together. Coincidence or not, both sides finish their song.

Episode 3
More trouble for Aqours. Mari gets a call that the open house will be delayed a week due to the rain as the storm wreak havoc damaging the roads. Chika, it is not okay because this clashes with your Love Live preliminaries! Although held at different times, they discuss the possible travel methods after finishing one. Helicopter? Mari doesn’t want to ask her father for help since they have to do this by themselves. Luxurious liner? Whoever has this kind of cruise ship? The bus is the only possible solution but with a condition: They must go first in the preliminaries as the next bus is in 3 hours. And so all of them have to decide who should take the draw for the preliminaries. Yoshiko wants to do it but others view she has more bad luck than any other. Eventually she ‘defeats’ Dia in a rock-scissors-paper game. Behold her amazing luck! Aqours will perform as number… 24! That’s right in the middle! Hence the girls are now divided to just perform in either one. Of course nobody wants that as they want both. Can a miracle happen? Apparently Chika hits upon a great idea. Tangerines? After Aqours perform in their stylish kimono clad outfit at the preliminaries, all of them start making a dash across the mountain! OMG! Are they going to run all the way?! Not exactly. It seems in the mountains, Chika’s classmate runs a tangerine farm. They can ride some rail machine that is used to pick tangerines. I don’t know if Aqours riding it feels like overcrowding. What the heck? A turtle is faster than this machine! Then Kanan breaks a handle. It now becomes a roller coaster ride. Then they make the rest of their way by foot and manage to awe everyone at the open house. Wow. They really have so much energy after all that running. They can even perform like normal with all the energetic moves and smile. Truly idols. Truly a miracle. Truly crap…?

Episode 4
Everyone except Chika is nervous about the preliminaries’ result. That’s because they did so wonderfully that there’s nothing to worry about. Good for her. And the results are in. They pass! But of course. But here comes the real problem now. They lack the funds that would take them all the way to Tokyo. Just a stinking 5 Yen left. Of course the best next course is to work part time (sorry, Mari is not lending her fortune) but Dia scoffs off that old fashion way and suggests a flea market. It seems she has an ulterior motive. Noticing everyone is closer to Kanan and Mari, Dia too is ‘jealous’ she wants to get closer to them. At the flea market, Chika gives in to cute puppy dog eyes of little girls to sell dirt cheap while Dia makes it a hard bargain and will not sell below the listed price. Yeah, they didn’t sell much anyway. With Chika noticing something is wrong with Dia, she talks to Kanan about it. So Kanan and Mari go bug what’s bugging her. Eventually she reveals it and they couldn’t stop laughing. So at this day job at the zoo, Dia tries to be nice to everyone but they think she is mad and is suspicious of her goody behaviour. Is this really Dia? To avoid more confusion, Kanan and Mari tell the rest the deal. Somehow kindergarten girls are being let loose running all over the place. The girls can’t control them. Some even weep. Even Ruby?! And then Dia takes control of the situation and in her nicest behaviour rounds up all the girls to behave. Wow. At the end of the day, Dia feels dejected she couldn’t achieve what she wanted to but Chika tells her how everyone loves Dia for being strict with them when they slack because it makes them secure. They hope she will always stay that way. Don’t come complaining when she starts scolding the next round…

Episode 5
Riko still has fears of dogs. Especially Chika’s pet, Shiitake. One day, after Yoshiko’s mom visits Yoshiko’s mom, she left her handphone behind. She wants Riko to go return it to her but along the way Riko stumbles into Yoshiko feeding a stray dog. Yoshiko has it chase Riko around! Riko knew this was coming but Yoshiko wants her to temporarily keep this dog as her place doesn’t allow apartments. It seems the other girls will have their reasons too. So her logic is to keep it safe in one’s place who has phobia of dogs? Riko is forced to accept seeing Yoshiko has the dog chase her again. It gets a little awkward for Riko trying to feed it in her room but gets used to it. Then when Yoshiko comes by to claim it, Riko now wants it to stay?! She won’t give it back?! They end up arguing about it including the different name they have given it. It is like fate intervenes because Riko’s mom shows a poster of a missing dog. The dog is rightfully returned and the duo are depressed ever since. Heck, they are in perfect sync depressed. Yoshiko doesn’t accept this outcome and comes up with a conspiracy theory that the owner is fake! She is going to get the dog back! Riko tags along as she feels responsible for it somehow. Outside the owner’s doorstep, the moment the owner pops up, they run and hide. You mean they are going to wait there as long as it takes until the dog appears? We hear Yoshiko and her views as a fallen angel, destiny and unseen power. She might act like chuunibyou but she is also pretty perceptive of reality. She knows all those aren’t real but also accepts them. When the dog finally appears, it looks like it doesn’t remember them as it goes back in the house. I guess that ended it. I guess that’s destiny for them. Riko looks like she has overcome her dog phobia and is able to touch Shiitake. Talk about unseen power and dreams that are more than just coincidences. I don’t know. At least she learnt something from Yoshiko.

Episode 6
Time is running out. They don’t have many applicants and only a month left till the deadline. With the looming preliminaries of Love Live, there are websites trying to predict who would make it. Yeah, Aqours name is surely there. This time the polls will decide who advance to the finals. While it may do away with the anxiety of waiting for results, however this means the number of supporters you have determine your fate. How many students are enrolled at Uranohoshi again? Huge disadvantage. Because of that, Mari and Dia are bugging Kanan to resort using their last chance which is some dance choreography she came up. Kanan still has her doubts since Mari injured herself the last time. She throws away her notebook into the see but Mari jumps in to save it. See her resolve? Because Chika also feels the need to shine more than other groups, Kanan’s choreography comes to mind. Another round of bugging. If they don’t use it now, when will they? Kanan is not amused but decides to put her trust in her. But if it ever becomes risky, she will stop her even if it means dropping out of Love Live. So we see Chika trying her best to practice those moves but comes up short. Of course the usual flashback and motivation why she pushed so hard like everyone else. Even her pals come to support her. Don’t cry now. Keep trying. Close, but still not close enough so Kanan had to give her a final warning if she cannot pull it off by next morning, she’ll forget about doing it. Yeah, she’s going to take the whole night then… With more support from her friends, they remind her the most important person she is doing this for. She named everyone except herself. Yup. That’s it. Because of Chika, they are where they are now. And what are the chances Chika could pull off that move? Because now we see them performing perfectly at the preliminaries.

Episode 7
The results are out. Only the top 3 make it to the finals. And who are they? Drum roll please… Let’s say Aqours not only made it but they won the most votes!!! Thank goodness this isn’t some trolling dream. It is no surprise their view count on the internet keeps rising. But the real test is here. Do they have enough enrolment? Nope. Deadline is looming. Mari calls papa and he only gives her a mere few hours of extension. That’s like 5am in the morning, right? But right after that, the enrolment slowly rises. And then stops. This is like heart attack for them. Chika is so desperate to force invite others and even do a concert now! At this dead of the night? All you can do is believe in yourself. Yeah, believe. I guess shouting to the computer screen won’t change things either. Or screaming to the rising sun. But can a miracle happen? Because 98 enrolments and a minute left to the deadline. Come on… Come on! Suddenly applications are closed. Damn it! So close! On a side note, I want to know who the f*ck enrols during the dead hours?! Unless they’re foreigners, why would any Japanese kid be looking at the site and enrolling at this point?! Unless they are having haunted dreams to enrol or else… Damn drama… Anyway, everyone is frustrated. Especially Chika. Oh, if hard work could only guarantee victory. In the wake of this ‘defeat’, an announcement is made that the school will be absorbed to Numazu. So while everyone is putting up a brave front and try to practice because they still got the finals to win, Chika had to ruin it for everyone and cry. Okay. Nobody is in the mood either. They need some time to think if they really want to participate in the finals for the seniors, it isn’t that important. Eventually everyone believes they still want to participate. Damn you Chika for ruining things again because she doesn’t care about Love Live or their own way to shine. Without the school, there is no way to shine. I guess she complained so loud that the entire school could hear and hence give their answer to support them. They want Aqours to win the finals and cement Uranohoshi’s name as part of Love Live’s history. That is one way to save it and live forever. Not bad idea, right? New motivation, new hype. Let’s get to it.

Episode 8
Aqours is invited to Hakodate in Hokkaido as a special guests to watch the region’s Love Live preliminaries. A few antics of staying warm from the cold and keeping their balance on the wet icy ground… Before the performance begins, they go visit Saint Snow at the backstage. They renew their rivalry with the sisters, Seira and Ria to meet at the finals. Funny, it felt like a jinx because Saint Snow didn’t make the cut! It seems they made a single mistake during their act. Tough luck. Understandably Saint Snow isn’t in any mood but it is affecting Aqours too? Especially Ruby? Yeah, they heard Saint Snow were fighting and made a mistake in their last tournament too. Is this the end of them? Aqours go sightseeing and then stumble into the shop where Saint Snow works and lives. Not sure why Ruby was snooping around but she caught Ria crying in her room. Oh no. Death threats if you tell it to others. Ria then announces Saint Snow is through. She is done with anything that is idol. Later Aqours ponder about Saint Snow’s fate but Ruby seems to be the hardest hit. Because you know, big sister thingy. She almost reveals about Ria’s crying and instead ran away crying herself. WTF. Dia talks to her and it seems Ruby is worried they won’t get to sing together anymore once Dia graduates. She doesn’t want to be alone. Dia tries to be realistic. The school is closing down anyway but don’t think too much about it because focusing on the finals is what is most important. Dia was very happy when Ruby told her she wanted to become a school idol as she thought and decided it on her own. Later Ruby personally goes talk to Ria. Sounds more like reinforcement of their love for their respective big sisters. Ria too is worried about showing to Seira she is independent but screwed it up and now it has become their last song. Ruby tells her not to make it so then as she takes her to sing under the beautiful lighted up Christmas tree.

Episode 9
Ruby wants to do a performance with Ria for Seira and Dia but she needs Hanamaru and Yoshiko’s help. The quartet try to brainstorm things but since more time is needed, they get ‘permission’ to stay back while the other Aqours members take their flight home. Kanan and Mari make Dia paranoid that those young ones are definitely hiding something from them. Like as they they’re going to split from Aqours and form a new unit. Herald Saint Aqours Snow! Oh my, Dia panicked and almost caused the air stewardess to think if it’s some terrorist attack or something. The trio are in Ria’s room. They notice a snowflake crystal on her shelf. Ria explains the story how it was the symbol that made them form Saint Snow. Once they are done writing their song and lyrics, not sure what audition they had to go through so they could approve their event. Nervous, but I’m sure all that love and tears are worth it. They even make their announcement via radio broadcast. Probably the slipping up is what made it memorable. Ria seems to be hiding from a couple of classmates whom she never had the courage to talk to. Apparently she thinks they are upset for losing out on Love Live preliminaries. Yeah, with those faces I can see why… But it turns out they aren’t and are supportive of her and Seira. Wow. Sudden strike of friendship. More tears flowing… Aqours are soon called back to Hakodate. Is this just an elaborate setup so the younger sisters could give their older sisters an invitation to their event? Of course big sisters won’t miss it for the world. Time for a sisterly hug. And more tears… Looks like Aqours have also prepared a surprise and hint their new outfits are prepared. So we get to see the collaborated performance of Aqours and Saint Snow. If it was a surprise, why are they so well coordinated? Okay, maybe they had some little time to practice. In the aftermath, Ria makes up with Seira. Ria won’t keep Saint Snow going and will start a new group and find a different snowflake (why does this sound so politically incorrect?). She’ll make a school idol group that everyone can love.

Episode 10
Flashback shows a young Mari, Kanan and Dia went up to some stargazing site to make a wish on the star. Too bad God wasn’t on their side as it is cloudy and it is starting to rain. Mari was on the verge of giving up till Kanan marked the star chart for reference so that they could have their wish to stay together always. It is New Year’s Day. Saint Snow is here to help Aqours in their training. I guess this is the only way they could keep their relevance. Mari gets a call to be the director at Numazu as it would help ease the transition process. She declines since she is going to an Italian university recommended by her dad. Hence the reminder, she has 3 months left with them. Oh why do you need to trigger those worries and sadness for Chika? A little soul searching as Chika has to come to terms with reality. Mari thought Kanan and Dia would be mad at her for not telling about her plans. They aren’t because they too have their own plans and didn’t tell anyone. Now they’re even. More childhood flashbacks of them being together. One that includes Mari threatening to disown her parents if she didn’t get to hang out with the duo. They must love their daughter so much. The star chart brings back memories. Yup, even it gets cloudy and rains. They start ‘blaming’ each other but eventually Mari blames God! He is trying to not make their wish come true?! If that’s the case, she will disown Him! WTF?! That night, the trio have an idea. They gather the rest of the Aqours. Mari in the driver’s seat? Don’t worry. She’s got a valid licence. Her driving’s fine. I hope. Where to in this night trip? To see the stars. I know this series has some exaggerations but this one is totally ridiculous because we see the van flying into the night sky into the stars!!! OMFG!!!! I figure they must be high on drugs to see this illusion. At the site, looks like it’s raining. Again. Their wish is to one day be together again. So they’re going to stay here till it clears up? Haha! Or else they’ll disown God! Haha! Hahaha!!! You think the sky is going to listen to you? Haha! Haha~… Oh my… God must now be an Aqours fan because he clears it up for them???!!! Freaking miracle???!!! Is God scared of being disowned by a few cute girls? Oh yeah. So scared that he showered a few shooting stars for them to make several wishes. Now wanna bet He is going to make them win Love Live?

Episode 11
Uranohoshi prepares for its closing festival. The highlights include Mari trying to cook some premium nabe and some of Aqours see a couple of strange walrus mascots running by. Tracking them down, they suddenly disappear! Oh my. Ghosts? Still want to continue investigating in this dark storeroom? Why don’t they turn on the lights? Anyway they see the bed sheet moving and the culprit revealed underneath it is Shiitake? When the walrus duo pop up for real, it scares the sh*t out of the dog as it now rampages throughout the school. Why must it break down the arch that took lots of time and effort to put up? Anyway, Dia gives them an earful despite Chika giving explanation that Mito was walking Shiitake but the leash got loose. It is discovered that Kanan and You are behind the mascots and they are supposed to put on some show for kids for the festival. However if You has been fixing the arch, who is the one behind this mascot? NOTHING! OMFG! Real ghost???!!! The festival proceeds well. Highlights include Dia putting up a Love Live quiz and Yoshiko and Hanamaru ‘forcing’ Chika to come take a fortune because no customers. The biggest surprise for everybody is a bunch of girls release an arch made completely out of balloons to thank everyone for everything. Then they release it all to the sky. What a waste. Wouldn’t this be air pollution? What will the next prefecture say when they see balloons flying over? Oh, who cares? This is their last festival and since everyone is happy, let’s turn a blind eye. The festival ends with the students having a bonfire dance. Then Mari makes her final statement as Uranohoshi’s director. Happiness. Thank you. Emotional apology. You know the drill. But with everyone chanting Aqours’ name, everyone turns into a giant choir team and sings together. Wow. Did they sing until the wood becomes charcoal?

Episode 12
I wonder why Chika still holds that previous results sheet that has Aqours in dead last place with zero voters? Anyway, Aqours are off to the shrine to pray for their victory. They are glad to see many of their friends too have written their wish for them to win. But why the sad face when they see that there are also many other fans vouching for other idol groups to win? It’s not like they’re the only group in town, right? But this must be the only shrine in town because the board is filled with only idol victory wishes. Saint Snow is also there to personally give their blessing. Seira asks Chika if she wants to win Love Live. I thought that was a silly question even if Chika asked her previously this same question. As they stay in their inn, they are obviously nervous and pressured to win Love Live to etch Uranohoshi’s name in history. You eases the tension by having a pillow fight! We see Chika going about asking some of Aqours about why they want to win. Again, I thought it’s a silly question but I guess we need to ramp up some emotions from the viewers as they give their personal honest answers. Mostly, it’s got to do with love and pride of being part of Aqours. Of course everybody wants to win! Which team ever goes to the finals and wants to lose?! Silly! So throw away that old results sheet and chart your own path. Anyway, the next day, the big finals is on the cards. One last hurrah from Aqours to hype things up that they have come this far and all that is left is victory. From zero to one, from one to the future. Go, Aqours! We see them in their heavenly performance on stage.

Episode 13
From the banner at the start… Aqours won Love Live! Hooray! End of story. Oh wait. There’s still more? Oh right. Proper closure needed. So we see the students ‘vandalizing’ Uranohoshi walls with paints of positive messages because apparently this is their last day so it gives them the right. Then a final assembly and Mari’s last speech to officially close the school. Then everyone goes around reminiscing their times. Tears flow. Last moments together. More tears. Finally the closing of the gate in which Aqours have the honours to do so for more tears effect. Oh Chika, why make promises that you can’t keep. Because why tell everyone not to cry when everybody is already so into that? In the aftermath, spring is around the corner. The most shocking revelation is Riko is no longer afraid of dogs and has adopted one! And Shiitake has pups now. Shiitake is female?! Chika bums around at the beach. So apparently she gets to keep the banner and puts it out on the beach as it is the best place for everyone to see? Why not on some tall building? Whatever. Then with some encouragement from her family it isn’t like her to give up, Chika throws a paper airplane in which at the gust of her yell, it really flies ridiculously far as Chika chases after it. Oh, like fate playing a prank because it leads her back to Uranohoshi. Hmm… The gate is open… Chika walks around and reminisces all the things she and her pals have done in that particular corner of the school. So nostalgic that damn she’s crying now. What did I tell you about not making such promises? At the hall, she is shocked to see all the students waiting for her and on stage, other Aqours members extending their hand for Chika to join them singing as a group. One more for the road? Man, did they really plan all this and waited for Chika to show up? And Chika not knowing a thing? Okay, I understand if it’s Chika. And they expected all this to turn out exactly as planned? Okay, not surprising if it is for Chika. Thanks for the performances. Bye.

From Sunshine To Shining Star
Oh well… You know it is not over yet because… There is a sequel! Technically, a movie. Apparently goodbye seems to be the hardest word. I mean, would this be the end of the Love Live franchise? Or will they come up with another school that needs to be saved so we can have another bunch of new girls who are ‘forced’ to form an idol group to save their school by winning Love Live? Yeah. This formula is getting old. Unless you are super hardcore fans of idol themed series and one who is so into the Love Live series, then I guess the producers have got you locked in there, milking and squeezing all the money and every penny (or yen in this case) out of you. But I suppose you people won’t mind because you love your idols more than money, right?

I figure only fans of the series and Aqours can only appreciate this sequel. Casual viewers like me would have found nothing exciting or new to the table. Though, it does have its funny moments. In the sense that it felt weird that it seemed funny. But other than that it is basically a bunch of girls becoming idols in hopes of winning and achieving their goal. But if you think the Love Live series is going to be ultimately the same, this Sunshine series is slightly different in the sense of the plot that Aqours were unable to save Uranohoshi. Unlike in the original Love Live series, Muse managed to save Otonokizaka by the end of the first season. If Aqours managed to do that even by the end of the second season, I guess it would not be any different and might as well go back and watch the original Love Live series.

Therefore it gives a much needed drama for this season for Aqours to be even more relevant and work harder to achieve that goal to save their school. Thus for this series, that is why we have Uranohoshi’s final closure as the main ‘story’ while the Love Live tournament feels relegated as secondary. It works to make the feels via separation than winning something. It hits you harder on the emotions there. Hey, this show is about Aqours, not Love Live. I really felt this scene of saving their school was ridiculous because of how unrealistically the numbers were trickling in as the deadline closes. As if it was to enhance the nail biting drama that they could do it, they could do it, and they could do it. At this point you would expect the final second saving grace moment. You know, when a hero diffuses a ticking time bomb, he usually does so with a second left on the clock. Yeah… Alas it was a heart attack and heartbreak for those really expecting for good news. They might have lost this battle but they have won others, right? So it’s not so bad after all. Hey, you can’t win everything and earn a flawless victory. Life is not that rosy despite looking at how easy and fun becoming a school idol is when it isn’t so straightforward. I know they put in a lot of effort in the background that is not shown but still, they make it look like so much fun. Maybe it is for them. After all, it’s not like they want to dominate and conquer the world, right? Or do they? The other ridiculous part was ‘flying to the moon’. I know, exaggeration but really, that was too much.

Fans would be familiar with the members in Aqours especially if you have a favourite girl. This season does focus on some of them but not all of them. I feel the second years like Chika and You are mainly on the side lines while the juniors and the seniors have more limelight and screen time. There is not much changes to the characters either since Yoshiko (or is it Yohane?) is still acting like a chuunibyou, Hanamaru speaking in her weird accent and Ruby still being the shy and most timid of them all. I guess the biggest ‘change’ is Riko overcoming her dog phobia. No more Shiitake chase running joke? Okay then. Good for her. I still maintain Chika as the most annoying of them all because of her tendency to drag others into her own pace. Despite all that sunshine and super optimism, it becomes annoying when you see her spout all those flowery hopes and dreams and making it look so good. Then she tries to act tough by keeping up her positivism and cheery side when we all know that deep down inside she’s breaking up. Shouldn’t she be true to her feelings like always? Whatever. In the end, Aqours is Aqours and they certainly have found their own shine after all the moments they have been through. Their breakup is understandable as they will be going separately to different places. But can they reunite in the later years? Maybe that is all a different story altogether and it won’t be the same as now when they’re still in high school.

As part of the surprise and twist, Saint Snow who is supposed to be Aqours biggest rival crashed out early. I guess this only gives an excuse to have more friendship drama because the sisterly duo definitely have more screen time and focus. Heck, even more excuse to show their sisterly love! I suppose that is the other theme of this series other than friendship. In a perfect world, big sisters love their little sisters and likewise little sisters love their big sisters. What a big happy world. Is it me or does this worlds have only females? Yeah, coincidently those with siblings only have sisters. Where are all the guys?! They become fat ugly useless otakus possibly showing up at concerts and performances when they have to support their favourite idol group. But then again, I have a feeling all the fans in the stands are females too. No wonder you don’t hear any creepy stalker stories from this series. Too traumatic for its sunshine theme.

Artwork and animation remain consistent as the first season, bright and colourful. Cute looking girls and the use of CGI when the girls are dancing on stage. Doesn’t look too bad but it would be if you think too much about it because CGI dances seem to make them look a bit robotic. Because the setting of this place is the seaside, there are some nice backgrounds to look at. As usual, an idol themed series is all about the songs but I didn’t find any that I really like, not even the various insert songs. Well, there’s one. The closest that came to attracting my attention was My Mai Tonight. A typical group idol opening theme, Mirai No Bokura Wa Shitteru Yo with all the cute stuffs that you would expect from Aqours. The same can be said for the ending theme, Yuuki Wa Doko Ni? Kimi No Mune Ni. Of course this has multiple versions. You have the individual solo or duo versions and the big group Aqours version.

During the same season, another idol series aired with its second season: Wake Up, Girls! I am not sure if they are supposed to be going head to head with each other and pitting fans of both sides against each other. But I don’t see anything of that sort serious rivalry since there is no reason to hate or sabotage other groups as long as you love your own. Right? Either way, both have their own styles and their own fans so no big deal or cutthroat competition to see who is better. On a side note, I am neither their fans but yet I still watched both series and all their previous seasons. Am I a closet idol fan?

Overall, like I have said, only fans of Aqours and the idol genre would definitely connect and grow with the characters over 2 seasons (4 if you include the original Love Live that has no real connection with this one). You learn, laugh and cry at all their endeavours and attempts as they inch towards their dream and shine and feel the heart-warming friendship that brought them this far. But like everything else, it must all come to an end so what better way to go out in a bang and do the things you love and want to do before you can never have that chance again. Thank you Aqours for leaving a lasting impression in our hearts (at least till this season ends). Oh wait, there’s that movie sequel so looks like they’re going to be sticking around for a while. From zero to one, from one to the future, and from the future to infinity and beyond! Aqours can really reach for the stars now.

Wake Up, Girls! Shin Shou

Not too sure how I would have lost since I didn’t watch the few movies that released before the second season, Wake Up, Girls! Shin Shou. Heck, I didn’t even see that chibi zoo spin-off series thingy either. Hopefully not much since the title says it is a new chapter, right? Even so, I guess I wouldn’t care since I’m not really a fan of them. Whoops. So what am I doing here watching the sequel anyway? Oh, just sticking around to give them a chance and see if these idols can steal my heart. Just kidding. Didn’t even know the second season was coming out so I got surprised a bit and decided to take a look.

Episode 1
Ayumi Hayashi, Itsuka Atsugi and Otome Morishima uploaded a fan video of a WUG dance. As narrated, WUG won the Idol Festival in 2015 but I-1 snatched it back the following year. This year, with the bad economy looming, idols aren’t spared from the effects. In fact, I-1’s Sendai theatre will soon be closed down. However as Tange puts it, they can’t afford to worry about other idol groups as they are still literally unknowns in the idol industry. Therefore she wants them to go out to do promotion stuffs as their target is releasing an album in 6 months. A next big gig arrives. WUG will be performing on a national programme, Song Stage along with I-1. Before WUG’s turn is up, Airi realizes she forgot her scrunchy. She has to rush back to the dressing room to get it. This causes a bit of a hold up. This scrunchy was made by Yoshino as recycled item from their old idol outfits so it is like their group’s good luck charm. No major delays as WUG goes up on stage to perform. At the end of the programme, WUG apologizes to I-1 for the hold up (their appearance was after WUG). However Moka Suzuki (I-1’s new petite centre) didn’t find it amusing and scoffs off at them they’re not fit to be professionals. While Airi feels a bit down, it was a good thing she had it because without it, she believed she would have messed up. But since everything turned out alright, no need to be so depressed about it. Meanwhile a group of hardcore idol fans converge to discuss the horror of several bands disbanding. They know I-1’s popularity is declining and as fans of WUG, they still aren’t as successful. They vow to do everything they can to help WUG. Matsuda gets a rude awakening from Tange because she has decided to do a national tour and has already got them Sendai stadium.

Episode 2
In addition, Tange wants WUG to live together in a dorm. It saves time for them to be late so often. After all, many of them have already graduated from high school or living by themselves. Better group cohesion, I guess. After WUG move into their new dorm, they meet the nice landlady who hands them the keys to the place. She ‘warns’ them about a ‘freeloader’. Just a fat cat named Zunda. Careful not to get on its bad side. With Tange planning on more solo TV projects for WUG, she wants to promote Minami as a sea squirt lover. Say what? Why does that sound so hentai? Don’t worry. It’s not. Together with Kaya, they appear on a local food show along with other guests like that tweedle dee and tweedle dum pair. Although the girls might be cute but the fatty duo are far more interesting and entertaining to watch. When they are teased they will grow fat with all the food they’re eating, this enrages Kaya so she shows it to them by devouring all that is in front of her! She’ll show them an idol can lose weight as fast! It was impromptu and probably she regretted it but since everyone loved it, everything’s alright. When Ayumi talks to her friends about this show, it seems most of them aren’t that interested. Because the new craze now is V-dols. Virtual idols from an app. With Kaya and Minami taking on more food eating programmes, Kaya is starting to feel a little sick. I’m guessing she has put on weight because she doesn’t want to eat with her other members and she gets mad when Minami continues to snack like there’s no tomorrow. Yeah, this girl probably didn’t even put on a single gram after all that eating. Kaya tries hard to control herself (though, she often sneaks out late at night to eat) and not let others know but eventually they find out and to Minami’s relief, it wasn’t the fact Kaya hated her. So the girls convince her not to skip meals and eat properly since their regular dance practice can burn more calories. So Kaya screws it all and WUG as a whole starts enjoying their snacking. Meanwhile the producer is asking Hayasaka about his composition of I-1’s new song. Don’t feel like writing it.

Episode 3
Miyu and Nanami are assigned to appear on a talk show. They must be feeling weird and lost with the eccentric host ‘talking nonsense’ and is trying to get them to do the same. Though, their I-1 counterpart does it better and more natural. Meanwhile Yoshino heads for a photo shoot. The photographer isn’t too thrilled that she isn’t posing very idol-like (maybe it’s the weird way she smiled?) but the next idols really motivated him and Yoshino is like all forgotten. Airi is doing a local mini segment on TV and again the producers are telling her to be more idol-like. Miyu and Nanami’s appearance is aired on show. However their part is totally cut out like as though they were never there! WUG then discuss among themselves about this obstacle they’re facing since Tange isn’t very clear when she told them about the important working in solo. I bet she wanted them to figure it out themselves. Miyu has this idea to do her own web series once a week after watching Kaya. This is to help her so she can do better on the talk show again. We see other WUG improvising and doing their best like Minami now sings after she tastes her food and Yoshino being naturally clumsy for a swimsuit photo suit. It makes her more interesting and the picture livelier. Above all, she’s having fun. Airi is turning heads because she is wearing a shark headgear for her TV segment. All this makes them stand out a little. Tange wants Nanami to do a musical. She isn’t interested at first as she is done with this kind of thing. She wants to stick being an idol but since there is no law saying idols can be on musicals, I guess she has to. It’s not bad once she tries out the audition. The most shocking job comes to Mayu as she will be co-starring alongside Shiho.

Episode 4
As the drama shoot begins, the duo also answer questions from the press conference. Both maintain their professionalism on questions pertaining to their ex-centre roles in I-1 as well as their current onscreen roles that pretty much differs from their own personality. Mayu’s schedule is now packed as she puts in the effort. During a shoot, Mayu seems to have trouble in focusing her lines. So while they take a break, the drama’s writer comes to talk to them. Mayu gets some clarification on certain aspects of the script before the shoot resumes. Ayumi and co look through an audition for extras for the drama. They get hyped up to apply but first Ayumi needs to convince her mom. You know how kids will say anything (like doing everything) just for this once in a lifetime chance. But a ‘scandal’ breaks out. Moka sprained her ankle after falling through the stage during a performance. Hence Shiraki announces Shiho will be temporarily returning to I-1 to replace her. Hence the drama schedule will be heavily revised. Ayumi and co are on set being filmed as extras. They try hard to not be nervous although they are just background characters in the film. Ayumi got too nervous that she dropped her lip balm but Mayu coolly picks it up and returns it to her. Meanwhile Shiraki and the executives are in one of those high powered meetings. Things aren’t looking good especially sales of I-1 continue to fall (in addition to Moka’s fall – Sorry, bad pun). They will need to relook and overhaul everything. Ayumi is so motivated that she announces she wants to become an idol.

Episode 5
Moka’s feet has recovered so she is able to perform again but Shiho will still continue to perform with the main I-1 group. Ayumi and co are looking through the ads to see if there are any idol recruitment drives. None. When Shiraki walks in while the girls are practising, you know something big is going to happen. In a bid to take I-1 to a new direction, he announces a couple of girls from other units to be transferred to the main unit. Because that unit they are in will either be absorbed into others or shut down. Oh, they have to keep working because their new song is released next week. Don’t rest! Don’t complain! Don’t think! Man, this is starting to sound like a cult. When Shiho learns of this, she couldn’t focus on her acting and makes some obvious mistakes. But after talking with Mayu, she steps up her game and before you know it, it’s a wrap for this drama shoot. At the party, the producer answers Mayu’s question that she asked prior that he purposely casted Mayu and Shiho together to attract attention. But he also did so because he saw potential in them and they surprised him in many ways. Tange now wants WUG to hold a fan club meet. How? That’s for Matsuda to go figure out. Discussing with the girls, they come up with touring Sendai with the fans in a bus. It’s going to be like a school trip. Ayumi and co applied for this and now they are training hard in their walking. Looks like they’re catching their breath a lot more than they’re going to catch WUG. Haha… A couple of producers approach Green Leaves to request WUG to do a song which is going to be part of a full album of a V-dol that will be officially debuting as one of its agency’s entertainers. A Japanese major debut is planned as well. They also heard Hayasaka will be part of it. Speaking of him, he doesn’t seem interested in composing a new song for I-1 because he is occupied with a certain ‘girl’. Shiraki receives report of the sales of I-1’s new song. Didn’t hit the million mark again.

Episode 6
Due to a scheduling delay, Minami might not make it in time to join the rest on the bus tour. Something about a chef needing inspiration and hence a 2 hour meditation? Worst case scenario they might have to perform without her. So the first stop of the tour has the fans needing to find WUG dressed in their animal outfits and once they do, they get a stamp. After lunch, Minami still hasn’t arrived so they bring forward the dance lessons with fans first. With time running out, WUG then performs without Minami. Noticing Minami fans would be disappointed, Nanami has this idea of changing into her animal outfit during the performance. It works because you can’t see one’s face clearly in that gear and it’s not like the fans are very close to the stage. Too bad the secret is out when Nanami trips, revealing her face. She tries to recover, the fans find it funny and some may even convert to be a Nanami fan! Thankfully, Minami has just arrived. Thanks to the super express cab Tange had her ride in. The fare is going to be pretty expensive… Guess who is going to have to pay? WUG performs as a whole and to the delight of their fans, they announce their upcoming album on sale as well as a national tour. In the evening, Airi got separated and lost to her way to the bath. She stumbles into the staffs’ room and like any normal fan who discover their idols’ outfit… And then she hears someone coming… Mayu trips upon entering the room. But she never questions why the outfit was placed in such an odd fashion compared to the rest? Yeah, Airi is wearing-cum-hiding in it. Because Mayu spilled her tomato juice, it looked like she just murdered the animal. Just when Mayu realizes someone is inside, she thinks it is Yoshino and takes her to the bath to wash it off. She’s not even curious why this ‘Yoshino’ was doing here in the first place? With all the steam in the bath, Airi manages to slip out and sneak out. Only after that the real Yoshino pops up and Mayu asks her about it. Not that Yoshino knows what she is talking about anyway. Next day when the fans get their stamp from WUG, Mayu remembers Airi as an extra from the drama shoot. Airi is so touched that she declares aloud she wants to become an idol too. Best of luck. Being too happy-happy is detrimental to our health so now it’s time for something ‘depressing’. Shiraki has summoned his entire squad of idols and he will have them ‘reborn’. Is he going to turn them into mindless killing robots? Haha! Oh no…

Episode 7
A special edition that some call it episode 6.5 because this live action episode and features the casts doing behind the scenes stuffs such as interviews and playing some weird variety game. Not sure if this is lazy (because it’s like they can’t meet this week’s deadline or the overall story this season is too short) or creative (because nobody expected it, at least not me) but it breaks the usual pattern of 2D animation all the way as such specials are only reserved for BDs. Although I didn’t watch the entire episode and just snippets of it, overall it feels like a very big promotion for Ayumi and friends’ characters as they eat up a lot of the screen time… Hmm…

Episode 8
The bus tour is a success and preparations for WUG’s big concert is on schedule. However Matsuda points out a big problem: The seats are not filling up. Tange’s usual answer is to have him to fix it. It’s his job. Who picked the Sendai stadium in the first place? I-1 announces a Christmas performance at Tokyo Dome. We see Shiraki announcing to his ‘army’ about the forming a brand new selection unit in which will have its own centre. Moka is not happy as this means she will be replaced. Was it because of her injury? Partly. Shiraki claims that even though it isn’t her fault, a true centre must have luck. He also switches captaincy between the units. One of them is a shy girl so this makes her even more fearful. More bad news as Hayasaka tells Shiraki straight he isn’t writing I-1’s new song because he doesn’t feel like it. Ayumi and friends enter Green Leaves to request to become idols. However Tange shoos them away as they aren’t recruiting. Sad but Tange believes people who claim to be the biggest fans of something are just naïve. Good thing or not, they won’t give up. Matsuda has just received 4000 printed flyers of WUG’s concert. How to distribute them? Ayumi and co take the liberty to do so but it’s a cold world out there as nobody gives a sh*t about them. Tange is mad at Matsuda for allowing them to do so but he says they whisk the flyers away before he had a chance to do anything. Tange asks them to smile. Creepy… She tells them the importance of an idol’s smile during tough times. Since they cannot do it, they’re not cut out for it. Sorry. Sad ending again. Ayumi practises smiling until she gets her mom’s ‘approval’. This lifts her spirits as they continue distributing flyers. This time with more positive results. At the end of the day, their cheeks are sore with too much smiling? A little boy trips and is on the verge of crying. Ayumi tries to help him but trips. Everyone laughs at her since her face is messed up. Gee, everyone is such a sadist… Hearing positive comments from the boy’s mother, they get motivated to continue distributing with even bigger smiles. Then they go back to Tange and beg again. I guess with all that pestering, she has to give them an audition chance. After having them introduce themselves and show their dancing talent, Mayu’s comments on how she saw them work hard has Tange make them idol trainees. Is it alright to make middle school girls idols? Of course. When there is money to be made! And so WUG now have juniors training under them.

Episode 9
Tange has spent so much on this and it better work. Otherwise she’ll run away! Oh, Tange. You really make the ‘best’ jokes. Soon she hounds Matsuda to get working because they still need a song from Hayasaka. Sure, but what can you do if he isn’t picking up? And it’s Matsuda’s fault?! Meanwhile the juniors’ first task is to clean the office… It builds up stamina. Free labour put to good use. Or maybe she is just abusing her authority and understaffed. Mayu gets a call from I-1’s Megumi. She is crying about being made the new leader and the several changes in I-1 that is scaring the sh*t out of her. There are also rumours the Hakata theatre will also be closed. And when complained, they were told it isn’t their job to think on this. All Mayu can say is that Shiraki will not do something that doesn’t benefit I-1. WUG will be doing a short commercial for departmental store, Nyaon. This will help boost their image and sales for the concert. Miyu then overhears Tange and Matsuda talking about the stagnant ticket sales as well as their concert day clashing with I-1’s tour. Talking to the rest, Yoshino decides to ask them directly but gets scolded by Tange to continue practising if she has time thinking about this. Then Tange scolds Matsuda for making them worry. They should be thinking about performing at the concert and not worry about ticket sales. That’s their job! She’s got a point. WUG does their best to stay positive on the matter. A group of executives just finish watching a commercial about a virtual idol that will be released soon on all media platforms. They hope Hayasaka could write songs for them in the future. Although he agrees, he doesn’t look that all interested. Oh look, it is Matsuda calling and bugging again. I guess it is like saying perseverance pays off because soon out of the blue, Matsuda gets a mysterious email from Hayasaka. He has written a new song for WUG! Only 1 condition: They must write the lyrics. Hayasaka wakes up from some past nightmare about his band breaking up since he didn’t agree with the lyrics and quitted. WUG gets help from some veteran duo who also meet their juniors for the first time. Then a breaking article pops up. Hayasaka is spotted on a trip to America and he might be staying there to work.

Episode 10
WUG is trying to write the lyrics. Not as easy, huh? Not sure what Nanami’s current job is but she has to supervise lots of children. Lots of naughty children. Did she just give up? It hit a nerve when Minami thought it is great to work with children. Because a star of some former would be appearing next week as a guest in Nanami’s show, Minami would like to ask more about her. Nanami thinks she is bragging and this causes a rift between them. With all of them having different work, they have barely any time to practice together and set a date when they are all free to do so. Moka is not happy that Shiraki has dropped her from the new I-1 line-up. Crying won’t get you anywhere… You think Miyu is joking when she asks Tange to hire a housekeeper. It’s not that she’s lazy, most of the house chores are done by Airi who is the least busy. At this rate, she worries she might collapse. Okay. Cue for the trainees to step up and provide more free labour. Mayu notices Shiho depressed lately. She talks to her as she reveals Shiraki wants her to quit her unit, Next Storm. She feels sad about it because she worked so hard to get there. Ironically she now understands how Mayu felt when she quit I-1. Accompanying Shiho means Mayu is late for WUG’s group practice. As promise to Shiho, she can’t tell the reason. Mayu then misplaces her scrunchy at a busy time. The trainees notice this and offer to look for it. But a rift has formed between Yoshino and Mayu. The former accusing the latter of being more dedicated to I-1 than WUG (she continues to be late). She also notices she hasn’t been wearing her scrunchy lately. Luckily the trainees find it (damn Zunda keeping all those junks in his whatever nest). Mayu sheds some tears, Airi suggests writing a shared journal among them. Nanami and Minami are back on good terms and this gives Yoshino a good idea what WUG is about. Individually they are weak and lacking but when united, they become stronger by influencing each other.

Episode 11
The virtual idol named Vdol makes its debut in America. There will be a concert using the world’s first virtual concert system via app that is designed by an American company. Look at the white dude all smiles. And the Vdol’s song is written by none other than Hayasaka. WUG reads this on the news but they have other matters to deal with. Because Hayasaka rejects their lyrics and wants them to come up with something new. Time is short as they have less than a week before their album goes on sale and then kicking off their nationwide tour. Hayasaka and the Americans celebrate their 4th placing debut but why is Hayasaka not happy? He then gets a mysterious call from a strange anonymous person. More woes for WUG because the stage they are supposed to be appearing on is cancelled. Apparently Vdol’s sponsors are sponsoring that stage. Tange believes it will all work out. But does she have to abuse Matsuda? Yoshino then gets an idea they should hold a guerrilla concert at several places like parks and rooftops. Matsuda is against it since they are now somebody but Tange approves of it. The only condition is that they have to do it a limited budget. And guess who has to help them out? Matsuda at your service… In small groups, WUG holds their guerrilla concert much to the surprise and delight of fans. Nothing beats real idols, eh? WUG still has problems trying to come up with the lyrics. Then Miyu sees an ad of Namahagez’s concert nearby. She goes to say hi and they remember the good times they battled during the competition. They have not disbanded despite their agency has closed down. They are now freelancers and work part time to get funds to hold small concerts. Miyu gets this idea to help advertise their concerts. The idea of helping one another has WUG realize what they should write as their lyrics. They finally finish it and what is Hayasaka’s verdict? They pass. They can have the song. Hooray! Think it’s all smooth sailing from now? Think again. Because Vdol buys out the Sendai stadium and converts it into Vdol stadium that is scheduled for a performance on Christmas Eve. Uhm, that’s the day of WUG’s concert, right?

Episode 12
WUG kicks off their nationwide tour. Though, they are still left without a final venue. Shiho confronts Shiraki about the closure of her Hakata side. She is told she has a chance to become the centre again but she is somewhat unhappy. She agrees but hopes to go back to Hakata one last time. She meets her fellow members and tells them the bad news that they are breaking. They don’t want this but what other choice do they have? With no one refunding their tickets for Sendai, WUG is happy to note that their fans still believe in them and will work hard till they get the final venue. Mayu gets a call from Megumi. She tells of Shiho might quit I-1 to keep Next Storm together. Mayu wants to go talk to them and Yoshino agrees on a condition that she also comes. So the girls meet and they ask if this is what Shiho really wants. She should talk to him again if she is really prepared to quit. So Mayu goes to bug Tange to arrange a meeting and with WUG ‘pressuring’ her, she gives in and calls Shiraki. And so that guy could only spare 15 minutes of his time just to talk to Mayu alone. They have very differing views on what it means to be an idol. Shiraki insists I-1 doesn’t need friendship. Hard work and strong mentality are all it takes. If Shiho wants to leave, then leave. You can’t reach the top if you rely on others or swayed by your feelings. Shiraki ends the meeting but little do they know, a paparazzi has taken a photo of them. Soon it hits the magazines about this ‘scandalous’ meeting. Rumours fly that Mayu will quit WUG and return to I-1. Oh well, I’m sure true comrades and friends will believe in them. With Shiho released from her contract, she manages to save Next Storm as Shiraki’s ‘parting gift’ to her. Also, Moka becomes Shiho’s replacement as the candidate for the new centre. Not happy? A chance is still a chance. Shiho calls Hayasaka about her departure from I-1 and also to tell something is happening to WUG. Then Hayasaka calls Shiraki to come up with some ‘mischief’. WUG has some good news. They finally find a venue: The old Sendai airport. The huge land is barren and empty. Looks like more costs to erect a stage. So WUG helps out by picking up trash? This is going to take some time. WUG manages to successfully have many idols perform simultaneously on Christmas Eve. Then they bug and Tange so their apprentices can debut. At first she disagrees but after another round of ‘pressuring’, she gives in. That easy, huh? But the only condition is they will only be WUG’s opening act. Hence she has to bring out a song Twinkle wrote for them. WUG tries to come up with a name for the trainees’ new unit. Noticing how they’re always running around, it is decided to be Run Girls, Run (RGR). I guess it beats having just an alphabet and number.

Episode 13
Tonight is the night where many of the idols will perform simultaneously. A lot of people in Japan must really have no other plans but to attend concerts nationwide, eh? We see I-1 going about with their performance first. RGR is nervous before their debut so WUG helps calm them down by giving them scrunchy. Feeling part of the team now? Naturally they are still nervous and slip up on stage. In their bid to recover, they look so funny that the fans love them. Ah, you can’t go wrong as long as you’re cute girls, right? They manage to recover and do their number. And now it’s time for the main event with WUG performing a montage of their songs for the next 8 minutes of this episode. Then the other idols elsewhere like Next Storm and Namahagez get only a second of clip because we’re not going to show everyone, right? Hayasaka calls Shiraki and it seems he was the one who helped WUG find a concert venue. Even more surprising, it was Shiho who called him to help out with this. Hayasaka then asks him a question the difference between human and virtual idols. To him they are all the same. So I guess to prove what Hayasaka is going to say or why human idols have their own charm, something happens during the concert. WUG’s microphones suddenly get cut off while the Vdol just suddenly vanishes! Yeah, blame the cold snow for messing with the equipment. So the fans for the Vdol will have to wait while the technicians get it to fix back but for WUG, they continue performing and they improvise by getting closer to their fans and performing in their stand. Hayasaka thought letting the perfect idol debut with his songs would be the best way to maximise his music potential but learnt that was wrong. At the end of I-1’s concert, Moka is chosen as the next centre. Apparently she doesn’t look happy. A surprise guest appears on screen then. Rather, guests. Because all the other idol concerts pop up. This is also part of Hayasaka’s doing. Shiraki then answers back by making his announcement. There will be a new idol festival. In the aftermath, Hayasaka returns to Japan (because it’s more fun there). Shocking news as Moka steps down as I-1’s centre because the real battle for it will be postponed until the new idol festival. I-1 has also rescinded their seeding and will participate in the preliminaries alongside other idols. WUG is ecstatic of this news but leaves rookies RGR in a lurch because now they are rivals! No more nice girls?

Virtual Wake Up Call
It would sure be interesting to note about this next new idol festival since the Vdol would also be performing! Well, even if this may seem like one sided because machine is virtually perfect but it all boils down to the number of fans you have. In a way, you can be ordinary idols, famous well known idols, obscure idols, idols from another nation, idols from outer space or spiritual idols for all we care. As long as you can capture the heart of your fans, you’re a true top idol. Well, that’s the only thing interesting for me to watch and see if there should be another sequel. Otherwise, this sequel didn’t really offer much especially for casual viewers seeing the biggest struggle for WUG was trying to maintain their relevance and getting their final concert filled. Yeah, the lyrics writing thingy didn’t really seem that all bad. Personal and individual struggles are not on some epic scale that would shake up anything or cause any concern. Remember that ‘scandalous’ meeting between Mayu and Shiraki? Now that she has put up a great performance I guess all is forgotten and forgiven. If only the real world was this good…

I don’t see this season’s plot as exciting despite the virtual idol being the biggest threat to the dwindling idol industry. For a casual viewer like me, despite WUG being the main stars of the series, I just don’t feel that they are going anywhere. Sure, they are struggling to stay relevant in a time when everything is so online that even idols are now in digital form. They might have made a name for themselves but I am figuring they are not as big as say, AKB48. Because I get this feeling that they are just popular locally at Sendai instead of nationwide. Then there is the struggle to keep the group’s cohesiveness together. Although considered a small group by today’s standards, having 7 members in a group is still a feat to manage as each individual is unique. That problem is partly solved as they are living together in a shared dorm now. But other than that, with a few small arguments here and there that doesn’t matter, ultimately they reconcile in no time and there is no big internal strife that would put the group in danger or risk any of them quitting or falling out. Thank goodness. Thus, nothing pretty much exciting if you want to look in terms of the plot and character development because the past season (and perhaps the movies) have done all that. It’s just more WUG happiness to appease fans.

Aside WUG, it looks like I-1 is going through a major change and shift as well. We don’t see much of it because this isn’t their show so it is understandable. So the problem with super huge groups like I-1 as you can see is the cohesiveness of the overall team. Though not shown, I believe not every single member is close to every other single member. So many members like as though Shiraki who only remembers all the members via a given number (he doesn’t even address them by their name unless specifically forced to), is raising a mini army to take over Japan via singing and dancing through our hearts. This guy really makes his I-1 training camp look more like a boot camp. I suppose when you have so many members, you can’t have everyone voicing their opinions because that would split the group and hence who better to play the ‘dictator’ than the man himself. Sometimes Shiraki’s ways might be too harsh, cold and soulless but if you think deeper into it, there might be some truth in it especially about idols not needing friendship. It is still a cutthroat industry so this one is really 50/50 depending on your ethics and morality. So now I-1 is going through a rough patch and their past glories won’t save them unless they innovate. Good times don’t last forever. But so do bad times.

Which brings us to this new Vdol phenomenon which is sweeping the world at a feverish state. Like a new toilet, it is the talk of town. A different experience that excites everyone. But just like trends of anything and everything, eventually this too would become boring and either slow down or phase out. So our idol girls of the flesh and blood kind will really need to work harder and innovate if they wish to stay relevant in the industry. After all, there are pros and cons of both traditional idols and virtual idols. For the former, you can at least get a physical handshake at special events! You can’t touch your virtual idol’s hands, can you? Not even with the latest high-tech VR equipment. Yeah, those are just so artificial…

With Shiho now on her own and running her own freelance little unit, let’s hope that she would be much happier this way. Looks like history is repeating itself when Mayu first quit I-1 and formed WUG, eh? Will Next Storm cause another blistering storm or just fizzle out? I thought Moka would also quit I-1 in view of all this but I suppose she’s just stepping down as the centre. Sometimes I think it is like a slap in the face, she got what she coveted the most but since she didn’t get it the honourable way she wanted, she doesn’t want it. Uhm what? A win is still a win, it’s not like she cheated or anything. Did she? If not for Shiraki’s greater vision to make I-1 the centre of all idols, her actions could have been shot down and fired for all we know. So count your blessings that at least in this anime, idols get to compete with each other fair and square. And we fans still love you all! True fans or true suckers?

I believe this season tries to introduce a group of young WUG fans that turned into their apprentices. Unfortunately they don’t really make an impact. In the first half of this season, you see them bum around from time to time, admiring and dreaming the great idol life. And then once they join as trainees, they fall further into the side. Maybe that is why in order for them to have more screen time and for us to be more ‘acquainted’ with them, unlike last season whereby the next episode preview is done by WUG’s seiyuus, this time we have the seiyuus of the trio narrating and talking whatever. But I guess perseverance pays off because they finally have their own little unit now. Oh, I almost forget about Zunda. I am guessing this cat is supposed to be the series’ mascot but its appearance is so sparing, it can be done without anyway. I mean, it’s a cat and does what it wants. Screw your deadline, just feed me and give me a place to sleep. I show my face once in a while to remind who your lord is and for all you slaves to fawn over. Right. We need to ramp up more moe cuteness. Cute girls + cute fat cat = Epic cuteness!

Ironically, the more interesting characters are the adults. Like Tange who still is the very sly slave driver with connections. She gets lots of this crazy ideas on a whim for WUG to do like as though she came up with them during one of her drunken sessions. Really. Thank goodness it all pays off somewhat. She talks with stern confidence whether she agrees or not. That’s why she makes a good top level manager. She gets things done. Only problem is that she loves taking out and ‘abusing’ Matsuda and piling up all the work on him. But hey, he too somehow manages to get things done so I guess it isn’t that bad. Too bad Matsuda feels like a wuss pussy like last time for being pushed around a lot by Tange but I suppose somebody has to do the job and it isn’t the girls in the agency. Yeah, who is the only guy in the agency? Despite taking out on Matsuda, she gets easily pressured when WUG demands something. Of course it’s for the better of the group and plot convenience and Tange will be viewed as a b*tch if she doesn’t give in to their demands. After all, don’t want to be blamed if they failed, right? On a side note, there is a bunch of WUG fans who are always plotting their next support for WUG at a diner. They usually get too loud and causing a nuisance around them. Are there better places to meet up?

Last but not least, Hayasaka. This talented guy is still as eccentric and whimsical as ever. Because of his tremendous song writing talents, he gets to do what he wants because apparently nobody in this age writes song anymore except him. So they have to pander and beg him but it all depends on his mood. Feel like it, okay, write it. Don’t feel like it, delete everything, drop it, quit, whatever. Clips on his past insights should be interesting and perhaps would enlighten us on how he came to be this enigmatic and erratic character he is today. So he already had his hands in writing songs for his own group, a famous idol group, a lesser known and upcoming idol group and now the virtual idol. What is next? What is the perfection he seeks that will satisfy his heart and soul? Only Hayasaka will have the answer to that. And looks like he has to return to Japan to find it. Where else in the world has produced more interesting idols than Japan? Oh, right. There is South Korea but that’s on a totally different league.

Not too sure if this season was supposedly the battle of the idols because in that very same season we had the sequel to Love Live! Sunshine aired. So will it be WUG or Aqours? Because I am fan of neither groups and considering I have watched both series including its first season, I can’t tell if there is supposed to be any competition between them. Although in the similar idol industry, the settings are just too different if you want to make them go head to head with each other. It’s like they don’t need to compete with each other in the first place and are sufficiently standing on their own feet without the need of trying to outdo one another. After all, both idol groups have their set of dedicated fan base and unless you want to really delve into the dark and dirty idol world, let’s just assume that everybody is just happy with their own favourite idols without the need to resort to low level mudslinging and name calling.

The opening and ending themes feel like spiritual successors of last season. 7 Senses as the opener is your typical lively idol piece while Shizuku No Kanmuri as the ending theme again feels out of place because of its slow ballad style. Though it isn’t bad and not to say that idol groups don’t sing slow ballads, but I still can’t help feel that it just sounds weird as an ending song. There are a few insert songs too but since I’m still not into them, I guess they didn’t sound that attractive to me.

Overall, looks like idol fans and true blue WUG fans would only appreciate this sequel that would otherwise be just boring and average to other casual viewers. In an age where technology is so rampant and one by one jobs that were once manned by humans are slowly being computerised, nothing is left safe at the hands of so called modernisation and development. Hence the only interesting thought this season provided me is how even idols are in danger of being replaced digitally, which isn’t so far-fetched a reality. Let’s just hope in the event if real traditional idols really die out, they won’t resort to shady stuffs in a desperate bid to stay relevant like releasing sex tapes and making adult videos. You think porn is safe from automation? There are sex dolls now! What a time to wake up and be alive.

Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ

Wow. There’s still more? So much more because not only Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ is the series’ fourth season, they also announced the fifth season at the same time! What a way to really douse speculations if there would be more seasons. But I’ll cross the bridge once I get there. For now, this fourth season… Ah shucks. I can’t remember much of the storyline anymore. I was mainly confused in past editions so I now I’m going to be even more. I know I mustn’t give up like Hibiki. Maybe at the end of it all there will be hope for me to understand everything. Or not.

Episode 1
Hibiki still slacks in doing her homework. But is this considered saved by the bell because she is being whisked away for a mission? She heads over to a South American nation to join Tsubasa and Chris to take out a dictator’s military arsenal. No matter what you’re shooting at the girls, you’ll never best their singing and firepower. Not even this giant ship he is piloting in the sky. Nothing like a load of extreme firepower to take it down and not incur a single casualty! Although this mission is a success, another one awaits them. After noticing the UN quickly treating to wounded locals of a nearby village, they join up with Maria, Kirika and Shirabe to destroy the weapon’s factory of the dictator, Val Verde. Hibiki remembers being told about the Pavarian Illuminati. Apparently all the events that have happened since the first season, this group is the one who has been pulling the strings behind the shadows. From FIS to Frontier, they have a hand in all of them. Now they have at least some evidence to prove their existence and that is why they are in Latin America as signs of Alca-Noise have popped up. But this place doesn’t hold too many fond memories for Chris. It looks like her parents died here and Sonya prevented her from following suit. Time for more action with the Symphogear ladies engaging the military as well as the Alca-Noise they can produce. Of course things go berserk as the Alca-Noise also starts killing some of the soldiers. Hey, at least they aren’t discriminating. Hibiki befriends a local boy, Stefan who helps guide them around. He tells them the military has been forcing the locals to work in the factory. Eventually the factory is taken down and Val Verde and his top aides are about to flee. But 3 cuties from Pavarian Illuminati pop up and will put him to good use. I don’t know what happened to them but I believe they’re dead and their life force contributed to whatever Saint-Germain is planning. Along with Cagliostro and Prelati, they head to the basement to recover some doll. The guys from SONG are spying on them when the damn laptop of Sakuya Fujitaka had to beep (finished scanning some data? Could he have put it on silent mode?). Run! Saint-Germain decides to experiment and unleashes some giant dragon spirit, Yohualtepoztli. Lots of men died while trying to protect the data extracted. Before it is Fujitaka and Aoi Tomosato’s turn, here comes Maria’s team! Just in time.

Episode 2
It seems Yohualtepoztli can regenerate no matter how much damage it takes. Saint-Germain views this experiment as a success because it is a step closer to attaining divine power. With that, she stops this experiment and return to base. So they’re letting them go? Saint-Germain says their priority is to retrieve the doll, Tiki. Meanwhile Stefan leads Hibiki’s team to where his villagers are being held hostage by the factor’s director. As they fight the Alca-Noise, Stefan is in danger of being killed by one. But Chris had to do what she had to do. She shot off Stefan’s leg before the infection could spread. Because of that Sonya is blaming her? Hey, he still got his life. Naturally it strained their relationship and this isn’t the kind of reunion they were hoping for after all these years. Flashback 400 years ago when the Pavarian Illuminati was founded on alchemy by gathering pieces of technology left behind by Phine, this led them to clash with Phine herself who sought to monopolize such technology. Adam Weishaupt who was the founder wanted to attain divine power and give it form. But Tiki was lost and their plans put on hold and the organization banished into the shadows. Now that Phine is no more, their revival is imminent. All they have to do is bring back Tiki. Cagliostro and Prelati decide to take lure out the Symphogear girls by attacking the airport. Maria and co respond to the call to fight the duo, dispose of the Alca-Noise and give the airplane the necessary lift off. However they ran out of power and can no longer fight effectively. Think of summoning Yohualtepoztli to finish them? Think again because here comes Hibiki punching right through it! You defy logic by punching through everything! So much about that immortality thingy.

Episode 3
Saint-Germain pops up to bring her comrades away. Back at the base, Saint-Germain revives Tiki who is supposed to be an Autoscorer created to precisely record the movements of the planets on a star map. Tiki is such an energetic bubbly girl? She is more concerned about Adam who she cannot function without. Conveniently speaking, he comes a calling. Too bad business comes first. Saint-Germain wants to investigate how Hibiki tore through the mechanisms of Yohualtepoztli but Adam tells her all that is unimportant. Just destroy the Symphogear girls. Say no more because Cagliostro and Prelati have already launched a pre-emptive strike on Maria and Tsubasa’s plane. Not only they survive, the all-important data is intact too. Returning to SONG’s base, Genjurou explains more about Tiki. During the war, Germany wanted to seek an alternate energy for fossil fuel and Japan as their ally helped in the research and hence some of the Relics like Gungnir ended up in Japan. Everyone can tell Chris has been down ever since Stefan’s incident although she brushes it off. Before they could do anything to cheer her up, it’s those damn Alca-Noise again. Saint-Germain tests another prototype and sends the Symphogear girls to another alternate space. Are they fighting on some alien planet? Actually it is a subspace pocket of Alca-Noise and all their attacks have no effect. The girls have no choice but to up the ante by using Dainsleif but I figure at this point they are a pro at using it. More extreme action to see how they break through everything and return to normal space. Saint-Germain is satisfied of the data they got from this experiment despite the failure. However Tiki has other ideas. She thinks this is the best spot to pick a fight with God.

Episode 4
There is a flashback of Saint-Germain who was being treated as a child slave and led a tragic life. Genjurou explains to the Symphogear girls about this base, Matsushiro where the military HQ was relocated after WW2. It also houses the secret Kazanari Institute. Currently the data is being deciphered but it will take time. The girls wonder why trouble the locals for evacuating them for this mission as ordered by the top boss, Kamakura. Genjurou replies the harsh reality that their mission is to protect the country and not the people. Can there be a country without its people? Maria’s team go down on the ground to find others who have not evacuated. Yup, an old lady plucking tomatoes. Look who decided to show up? Cagliostro is disappointed to see Maria’s side but nevertheless unleashes her Alca-Noise to deal with them. Luckily Chris was nearby to handle her to allow them to escape with granny. When Hibiki and Tsubasa arrive, Cagliostro has orders to retreat. Granny gives Maria a tomato as reward. And something about people’s life and tomatoes’ are similar during hardship? The decryption isn’t going well so Genjurou gets a direct call from Kamakura about his recent failures as he allowed him to use the facilities to make UN be indebted to them. More Alca-Noise are detected. Hibiki’s team take them on with their Dainsleif. Looks like the Pavarian Illuminati trio decide to show up too. This time they have something similar to Dainsleif, Faust Robes. It repels and nullifies their Dainsleif. It’s overpowered too that our Symphogear girls are left defeated. Saint-Germain explains the creation of Faust Robes by uniting the philosopher’s stone with the human body for the ultimate alchemy. It’s all thanks to the data they got from Chateau de Tiffauges. Their goal is to free mankind from oppression. Before they could finish them, here comes Adam. He uses his alchemy to trigger nuclear fusion and turns his fireball into some destructive power worth 10 megatons! Better escape if you know what’s good for you. There’s a giant simmering crater in the aftermath. But the most eyebrow raising thing is that, does he have to do all that naked?!

Episode 5
Don’t worry, all our favourite characters are still alive. As they regroup, Genjurou admits it was their total lost. The base is destroyed as well as all its secret documents. They discuss the fearsome alchemy the enemy possesses that it was able to force out their Dainsleif. Kirika and Shirabe despite injured, continue to train but their injury gets the better of them. They believe doing so can increase their sync rates and they won’t need Linker anymore. Until Elfnein mentions she is close to decipher the last piece of the puzzle from Ver’s recipe. Long story short, she needs to find some part of the brain that is connected to the Symphogear to minimize the stress. There is this VR system Ver left behind. In short, Elfnein can use it to peek into one’s mind but the risk is high since both their minds can merge and can turn into vegetable state. With no time to lose, Maria offers to be the test subject. As the rest waits, they see on the news that Stefan is in Japan to receive to undergo surgery for a prosthetic leg so he could continue his dream to play football. Meanwhile Genjurou is being called by Kamakura for his failure. There is no use chewing him out. He has a job to do. Do it. Elfnein enters Maria’s mind and relives her life. Whatever pain Maria feels, Elfnein could also feel. Too bad most of the memories are painful ones during her time at the facility under Nastassja. Then we have this episode’s obligatory Alca-Noise action so we have Maria who is self-conscious fighting waves of it and emerges victorious. After all, she can dream all she wants in her mind, right? But then they enter the subconscious area and this is where things get unstable and putting their physical bodies in danger. But look who decides to pop up now? The Pavarian Illuminati trio once again unleash a Hydra-like Alca-Noise. While the other Symphogear girls head into action, look who pops up in Maria’s subconscious? Ver! Even dead bad guys like him continue to haunt her in her mind. Yeah, the nightmare is about to begin.

Episode 6
Don’t really get this part but from what I understand, this vision of Ver is trying to lead Maria to the part of her brain connected to Symphogear since he was very intimate with the research. Meanwhile the other Symphogear girls are fighting the Hydra. But when they cut its heads off, it revives and splits into independent creatures. It could be a ploy to split them up and fight them separately but they’ll take the challenge. Maria and Elfnein are in the subconscious part whereby Maria still reels from her fears and insecurities. Then they get absorbed as Maria discovers she is now back in time during her harsh training at the facility. Despite remembering Nastassja being harsh, she remembers closely that each time she did so, she would always have a sad look on her face. She always hid her pain when seeing them suffer. She remembers she also protected all the other children who have gone on to have a brighter future. Nastassja’s harshness was their strength. With that, Elfnein knows that brain part that connects to the Symphogear and wakes up. Time to get to work. The Symphogear girls are being tested on their endurance as the Hydra keeps replicating. To Hibiki’s fear, one of them is heading towards her school. She is about to hit the panic button when Kirika and Shirabe drop in to help take out the Alca-Noise. This time they show no strains on their body and is able to perform at tip top condition. And that Hydra heading towards the school? Easily taken out by Maria. So it seems the all important ingredient in the brain to connect to the Symphogear is… Love! You mean it was this simple and cliché?! With the Symphogear girls emerging victorious and cornering the Pavarian Illuminati trio, time to spit out their intentions. Despite claiming wanting to save mankind, they don’t intend to work together. Because they have the power of God to tear down the curse of Balal. This is sounding to get more ridiculous…

Episode 7
There’s a brief explanation of that but I’m totally lost. Basically, it justifies their reason to sacrifice others. But screw all that, it’s the fights we’re here to see. Kirika and Shirabe thought they could use Dainsleif but their power up is only short-lived. Cagliostro deflects Chris bullets and they almost hit Saint-Germain. Because of that she decides to call for a retreat. Adam isn’t so pleased the trio failed to take care of the Symphogear girls. But with Tiki drawing the horoscope clearer, it’s time to prepare the altar. The trio don’t like how cocky Adam is but Cagliostro and Prelati note their loyalty isn’t to him or the organization but to Saint-Germain. She was the one who gave them perfect bodies and goals when they were originally fakes. So as Saint-Germain prepare the altar, the duo will rid of the Symphogear girls. Elfnein works hard without any break that she might be breaking herself at this rate. It would be sad if she hasn’t found anything after putting in such effort and for plot convenience, here it is. She notices a waste of lump matter that was transmuted from Hibiki when she merged with Gungnir. Since it has the opposite effect of the philosopher’s stone, she proposes using this fool’s stone (that’s what they’re calling it) to be upgraded into the Symphogear. But since it is stored at the underwater Neptune Palace, good luck finding a needle in a haystack. During this time, Cagliostro and Prelati show up to destroy the Symphogear for good. Kirika, Shirabe and Chris are the only ones who can go into action since the rest are underwater looking for the fool’s stone. They can’t let the enemy know about this or they’ll try to stop them. So how can Kirika and Shirabe fight without their Dainsleif? Unison. All they have to do is work together and be in sync. And you see how it work wonders as they kick Prelati’s ass. Because of that, another retreat. Saint-Germain reports the altar is ready but it lacks enough life energy to power its central plinth. Adam suggests sacrificing one of the duo as their perfect body will provide all the life energy needed. Not so keen on sacrificing now, eh? Well, she’s got to choose. Her cause or her comrades.

Episode 8
For the sake of progression, the fool’s stone is found. Elfnein works hard to make a new Ignite module for them. Then Genjurou trains them and despite their firepower and numbers, they cannot beat him! And this is just warm up! WTF?! They should just send this guy to do their battles! Saint-Germain begins the ritual as Adam reminds her it is time to choose. With those pesky Symphogear girls still on the loose, Cagliostro offers to destroy them for good since Prelati is injured and out of action. Before Stefan and Sonya return to their country, they see Chris and Tsubasa. There is still some animosity between Chris and Sonya. As usual, Alca-Noise drop in to attack. Cagliostro is running wild with her powers. When other Symphogear girls arrive, Cagliostro sends Hibiki, Tsubasa, Kirika and Shirabe into separate subspace pocket. Chris and Maria are left to fight her. Chris discovers Stefan and Sonya still haven’t evacuate the building. Wheelchair got stuck. WTF?! Before Cagliostro could kill Chris, Stefan stands up and his football kick saves the day! WTF?! He can perfectly get up and walk so why was he even ‘stuck’?! Anyway Stefan argues how petty the ladies are still bitter about the past unlike him who is so the future. Yeah… It motivates Chris to fight back. This time they use the fool’s stone to negate Cagliostro’s attacks. Their unison and bond are also high enough that their combo forms a twin-seater jet to destroy Cagliostro once and for all! With Cagliostro now dead, Adam sarcastically points out to Saint-Germain this saves her the trouble of choosing. They will sacrifice Prelati who is not in tip top condition. You mad, girl? Oh right. Adam has no humanity, blah, blah, blah. We know. He knows. Big deal.

Episode 9
Tsubasa and Shirabe try out their unison but it’s not working well. It seems only Shirabe is the one who doesn’t register any sort of phonic gain increment with all the unison combo. Naturally, depression sets in. A message from Yatsuhiro comes in regarding the Divine Gate, a power that the Pavarian Illuminati is looking for. For a change of pace, Genjurou sends the Symphogear girls to a shrine to investigate. The priest shows a map that shows the markings of the 7 Hikawa shrines that is like a mirrored version of the Orion constellation. Traditionally known as the Drummer’s Gate to Heaven, it is a gate where gods were known to descend. And possibly what the Pavarian Illuminati is looking for. Since Shirabe is still ‘lost’, the priest talks to her about walls. Walls aren’t just for rejection. Meanwhile Tiki wants Adam to turn her into a real human girl after he gets the divine power so he can be his real wife. They are confronted by Prelati who wants to know his true goal. He reminds them that they should have known their lives are part of his plan for his divine power. However this is the first time Prelati hears this and attacks them. But she soon leaves to go warn Saint-Germain as it is Adam’s to sacrifice all of them all along. Adam won’t go after her and let the Symphogear girls do the job. Shirabe and Tsubasa with the highest mobility go into action first. Prelati desperately tries to shake them off and is not open to listening. Time to use that unison thing. Shirabe still not confident. And yeah, the theme is kindness so something about ii that allows them to power up and combine into some weird drag car? Anyway Prelati gets killed. Tiki calls Saint-Germain to taunt her that Prelati has become road kill and because of that, they cannot use her as a sacrifice. Adam orders her return before the Symphogear girls disrupts the ritual.

Episode 10
Genjurou and co discuss the use of the leylines for a greater ritual and thus started to evacuate the people. Although there are methods to counter it, Adam destroyed all that was stored in Kazanari Institute. That’s what happens when you keep all your eggs in 1 basket. Saint-Germain starts the ritual by sacrificing her life to open the Divine Gate via Earth’s leylines. But Genjurou’s side has done some preparations. The priests of the shrines simultaneously cut the seals to sever the power lines. This disrupts the ritual and cause Tiki to be lifeless. Cue for Saint-Germain to fight Hibiki and Kirika (the rest cannot go into action as their modules are being repaired by Elfnein). Not sure what combo the duo pull off but it doesn’t look like some weird vehicle. Saint-Germain is defeated but even if her will to overthrow oppression is great, she lacks energy. This is where Hibiki comes in and uses the power of persuasion for her to use it in a better way. Just when you thought Saint-Germain is going to cave in, here comes Adam to restart the ritual. Even better, he uses the leylines from the stars in the sky!!! After all, there is that Orion’s Belt in the constellations, right? Saint-Germain tries to ascertain if he is going to use this godly power to overthrow oppression. Nope. Yup, you’ve been duped. He uses Tiki to fire a super blast. Everything could have been vaporized had not Kirika use her swan song to protect it. Although she suppresses its recoil by overdosing on the Linker, it will still be harmful to her body. With Kirika out of action, looks like Saint-Germain is going to defeat the oppressor. Make that 2 of them because Hibiki joins forces with her.

Episode 11
Saint-Germain tells Hibiki to destroy Tiki as she is acting as a vessel and focal point for the power transfer and hence preventing the divine power’s manifestation. Adam gets in their way and as they both fight, Saint-Germain realizes something. Adam could have easily destroyed them with his nuclear power thingy but yet he didn’t. He is waiting for the power from the heavens so this is their chance to take him down. When he is slightly wounded, they are shocked to realize Adam is a puppet. That mere word makes Adam mad. In turn it makes Tiki mad as she transforms into some alien monster. This is supposedly the divine weapon? Too bad it regenerates whenever Saint-Germain damages it. Adam reveals he was created by them as the group’s representative. However he was even perfect as a prototype and tossed away. Because of that, Adam cannot accept the perfect losing to the imperfect. So to answer Saint-Germain’s question if he has humanity left in him, heck he isn’t human to begin with! Tiki unleashes a powerful blast. Though it missed the girls, it seems it hit some American military satellite. Shortly, Genjurou is contacted by Kamakura about this farce. This has already become an internationally known incident and outsiders will deploy their ‘peacekeeping forces’ under UN’s name to invade Japan. Kamakura feels he has to intervene in the battle eventually. An unknown source contacts Genjurou and reveals they have decrypted all of Val Verde documents. One of them included some spear believed to be the one that kill gods. However it doesn’t possess such attributes but contains the same powers as Gungnir. In short, Gungnir is the weapon that could destroy the divine power and it is cue for Hibiki get back up and finish the job. Saint-Germain connects the dots that Adam’s weapon was not intended to destroy the Symphogear but to destroy information that would thwart his plans. Tiki cannot regenerate after being punched by Hibiki. Before she destroys the monster completely, Adam has Tiki eject from it. Though still partially destroyed, he still needs something to harbour the divine power. A puppet. Yeah, his left arm that he just ripped out. Unfortunately all that power didn’t go to him but being absorbed into Hibiki who turns into an eerie cocoon.

Episode 12
It has been 48 hours since Hibiki is in that state. Adam will not give up on that power still so I guess he has gone back to the drawing board. Genjurou is in a pinch since the Americans via UN are threatening to engage armed intervention and Yatsuhiro is trying his best to delay it so his side must produce the results in a very limited time. Thanks to information from Saint-Germain, Elfnein has gotten lots of clues to create an Anti-Linker. Because Yohualtepoztli and the divine weapon need a vessel to manifest stably its immense power, this is also how the Symphogear works. They can assume that same power is engulfing Hibiki. Time is certainly running out as Kamakura has already mobilize the unlimited national defence to prevent this disaster. Of course you know, the girls protest this is called a disaster. This is their friend. Old impatient fart won’t stand for it. The army tanks fire but it only serves to break a giant angry monster out. Yeah, see how powerful her blasts are. The Symphogear girls go into action but their normal methods couldn’t stop her. Once the Anti-Linker pods hit the monster and the effects are taking place, this is where Miku comes in. She screams Hibiki’s name? Apparently using her voice as some electromagnetic signal to get through Hibiki inside. You know, how to voice of your friend tends to wake you up. At least for Hibiki. With that, she breaks out from the monster and into safe hands. Also, with this result, the UN agrees to step down. Happy ending, right? But no. The damn US president (I want to say he looks like Donald Trump but he doesn’t) while on his vacation doesn’t want to take any risk and initiates a missile targeted at Japan! F*ck you America! With the missile homing in, there is not enough time. Even if they manage to cut it, the shockwave will still contaminate the area. This is where Saint-Germain gets to play the tragic hero. She starts singing but is surprised when Cagliostro and Prelati sing by her side. Their ghost? Nope. The real deal. Apparently Cagliostro faked her death to hide from Adam and then saved Prelati before she died. They have been preparing a special transmutation since. Saint-Germain fires this bullet to contain its explosion but it is still not enough. So they use their lives to diffuse it once and for all. All over, right? Nope. Adam returns and he has absorbed all the divine power into his hand. Literally, the power is in his hand. He won’t let them interrupt again but love maniac Tiki grabs on to him. This is what happens if you don’t give your doll enough hugs. This allows Hibiki to smash the divine weapon.

Episode 13
Despite the victory, Hibiki is still sad she couldn’t save Saint-Germain. Save that for later. They’ve still got Adam to deal with. Some Alca-Noise to deal with so as not to ‘forget’ them. When Adam’s body cannot maintain his perfect form anymore, he reverts to his true monstrous form. The people who designed him must be messed up… Guess what? His true form is faster and more powerful! WTF?! So the price of perfection is less speed and power? That isn’t perfect! Eventually all the girls risk their lives by joining their powers to sing their swan song. Leave it to Elfnein and SONG to try and divert the strain to Dainsleif. More beating up until Hibiki’s gear gave out too soon. Luckily the other girls send some of their power before her doom. Hibiki evolves as she now can do all their special moves! Finally, she has the support of Saint-Germain and co as she transcends into a shiny gold armour to give Adam a heap of punches! So explosive that Adam explodes like a nuclear bomb?! More good news as the Pavarian Illuminati members worldwide are arrested. But with the organization gone, the remnants will be the hard ones to track. Yatsuhiro talks to Kamakura about the world condemning America for trying to use such measure. But Kamakura throws him a thought. They have seen a power that rivals God. What if Japan has that power. They wouldn’t need to worry about being attacked and invaded anymore. Tempting… On the lighter side, everyone celebrates Hibiki’s 17th birthday. Just in time. Man, it was one heck of a build up to her birthday. But I suppose the best birthday gift is their victory. As usual, Hibiki is still having worries over her fist-only solution. As usual, Miku is up to remind her no matter what, she will always hold her hand. There. Friendship level increased. Elfnein tells Genjurou her theory why Hibiki was able to serve as a vessel for the divine power. Hibiki was hit with Shenshou Jing and that purified her curse, hence cleansing of her sin. However Genjurou remembers there is another person who was hit by that: Miku.

Star Doors: The Illuminati Strikes Back! Even so, It’s All In The Punching
What else can I say about this season? Everything is left hanging because we already know from the start there will be another season. Things are not done yet. Things have to be done. Basically what I understand this season is that the big final boss of everything has finally shown up and with all the Illuminati conspiracy and memes going around, I suppose they’re going to make use of them here as the main antagonist. After all, Phine is already gone so who else left is there to pull the strings? Blame it all on the Illuminati! Illuminati confirmed! Who’d knew that this sci-fi action series would eventually tread down this path of using the Illuminati as their antagonist. Maybe we will get more of such memes in the future…

This season I am still lost with all the technical terms and jargons like Linkers because I think I could barely remember them. What the heck is that Balal curse again? Therefore when they start getting technical using such terminologies, my brain automatically gets shut off. Yeah. Uhm. Whatever they said. As for the recurring characters especially our Symphogear girls, there isn’t much drama to be played out on them since with have seen them being fleshed out in previous seasons especially last season about Hibiki and her dad. So this time round we have Chris and her connections with some South American acquaintance but that itself isn’t much. Then there is also Kirika and Shirabe and snippets of their past but that too isn’t enough. Tsubasa and Maria are like treading in the background like Hibiki. When Hibiki temporarily turned into a monster, I guess it feels like déjà vu because in the previous seasons I think I remember she too turned into some berserk monster form. Although Miku is sorely missing in action (because in a previous season she did turn into a fighting machine), looks like her eternal role is to always cheer Hibiki up whenever she feels down. Yeah, the cheapest tonic to cure her depression: Friendship! But in the final scenes it is hinted she is more than a bunch of smiles so by the next season she could play an even more significant role.

The new characters for this season are the antagonists. Adam feels like a two dimensional villain because as usual, a powerful head of an organization who wants to wield absolute power. And before you can claim that he is so cliché that he has no humanity in him because of how cruel he is, they think they can pull a quick one over us because of the revelation he isn’t human to begin with! Oh, the irony. A puppet trying to destroy humanity. Turns out he looks more like a demon than your typical puppet. Am I paranoid to think this is what would happen if AI gets more intelligent than mankind in the future? I fear so… The biggest irony that a puppet is the one thinking he has the right to decide on the fate of humanity when we humans don’t even give a sh*t about each other.

As for Saint-Germain, Cagliostro and Prelati, I already predicted that they would be misguided and then somewhat become allies with the Symphogear girls in the end although it is just for a short while. Though Saint-Germain will not consider them fighting alongside each other as an ally, but if you’re fighting the same enemy together, that is good enough for me to consider that temporary team up as allies. Too bad they didn’t live in the end and hence breaking the combo of when the next season comes by, the Symphogear girls would have a new face joining their ranks (maybe they could as ghosts). Because that is what Elfnein is literally. She is now like the mad scientist of the group, only with a lot of anxiety and guilt because of the need to make better Symphogear technology for the girls to fight better, blah, blah, blah. One of the biggest ironies is how Saint-Germain was so confident and did not bat an eyelid in taking lives of others for her misguided cause only to start sweating when Adam the jerk decided to use hers and her aides. It’s like saying she can do unto others but others cannot do unto her. Like having 2 different set of rules applied. In the end, I guess all that matters is that she is satisfied to finally put her life for good use. Hey, you can’t make great progress if you don’t put your own life on the line, can you?

I suppose if there is something that I need to ‘praise’ and something that I have ‘enjoyed’ this season is the ridiculous action. Yes, this season like the previous maintains its over the top exaggerated action. It has all the flashy and explosive effects that would make your jaw drop in disbelief. You could almost feel the power packed in all those explosions. Bang for your buck? It is nonsensical but it’s fun. I wouldn’t go as far as to put the action on the same level as Hollywood’s Mad Max: Fury Road. But I’ll say it is more along the lines of that kind of mindless action. After all, when you are fighting hordes of colourful and ‘cute’ Alca-Noise, you need to destroy them in bulk as it would definitely be inefficient to destroy them one by one. This season also introduces combo team ups from the Symphogear girls as they form some sort of weird getup to destroy the enemy. Nice gimmick. So I guess we can look forward to the other strange versions they will turn into via different combinations in the future.

But nothing beats Hibiki’s punching. It’s like saying there is nothing that cannot be defeated with a good punch. Her Gungnir is like the answer to almost everything. Ironically she wants to win battles without sacrifices but always ends up using her fists. I guess that shows her persuasion skills aren’t as good as her punches. Oh well. You know what they say about action speaks louder than words. Also, it would be just plain boring and unrealistic to see Hibiki just winning over the enemy with words. That’s not why we watch this series, right? And now that she has the ability to do special attacks of her comrades… How further more will she evolve? Sometimes it feels funny that the Pavarian Illuminati girls decide to go destroy the Symphogear girls, only to always get defeated, it feels like some sort of joke because it’s like rinse and repeat every time. They feel confident in taking them down and when they clash, they lose. Retreat. Rest for a while to get back that confidence. Have a go again. I suppose this is only how we’ll get our Symphogear action.

I also want to mention the character designs of the antagonists. When Adam first made his appearance, instantly I thought what the heck is Sinbad from Magi doing here?! Has that king of Sindria finally gone rogue?! Plus, with his white suit, at certain angles he reminds me of Michael Jackson! Aaow! Heehee! Smooth Criminal! Okay, his white suit doesn’t resemble like Michael Jackson’s iconic one in Smooth Criminal but I just can’t help remember that King of Pop when looking at him. His true form she got me thinking of what is deemed as perfect. At least in the visual and physical department. Because if Adam deems his own looks as perfect, is this what humans who created him model after? Then why the heck was his true form hideous? Don’t really get it. Then there is the battle suit of Prelati. She is the oddest of the lot as it makes her look like some mini monster. Worse, it could be one of those animal pyjamas that kids go to sleep with. Serious. Then there is those Alca-Noise do come in all colours, shapes and sizes. However I tend to notice a few that really looks ridiculous. I believe I saw a few as bananas… WTF?!

I don’t know if a few political punching bags were made because the first adventure of this series that has them head to South America, one of the dictators reminded me of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro! Maybe it was just me but then again, many dictators are stereotyped as fat bad moustachioed guys. And then there is the one of the US president. Doesn’t look like Donald Trump as I have said earlier but why do I get this feeling that it is supposed to be referring to him? And why does the pre-emptive missile strike feels like the one about North Korea?! Hopefully it is just me and crazy reality. Then there is that instant back down of the UN once SONG managed to diffuse the situation. It’s a good thing they are trying to tell us negotiations are the way instead of WMDs as proof that humans can get along. But from this reality which I came from… It sounded like BS crap. Honestly.

New casts joining this series’ line-up are Miki Shinichiro as Adam (Urahara in Bleach), Minako Kotobuki as Saint-Germain (Asuka in Hibike! Euphonium), Rina Hidaka as Prelati (Last Order in To Aru Majutsu No Index), Hina Kino as Tiki (Sylvia in Masou Gakuen HxH), Natsumi Fujiwara as Sonya (Chihiro in Shonen Maid) and Asuna Tomari as Stefan. The surprising one is Shouta Aoi as Cagliostro. Very rare that a man voices a female’s role. He certainly has a very feminine voice that would fool many into thinking that he is a woman. After all, many of his anime roles are effeminate guys like Ai in Uta No Prince-sama series, Licht in Oushitsu Koushi Haine and Renren in Hatsukoi Monster. The only other female role he voiced is Michael in Shingeki No Bahamut: Genesis. Like in previous seasons, Nana Mizuki takes on the opener, Testament while Ayahi Takagaki does the ending theme, Futurism. The techno rock style of these music isn’t my cup of tea and so are the many songs they sing during battle.

Overall, I believe only true Symphogear fans would enjoy and appreciate what is going on up till this point. If not for the mindless power action, I would have been even bored to death with all the confusing terms and plot (although it is as simple as girls in revealing sci-fi suits fighting the baddies who want to destroy or rule the world). So I am deducing that the next season would be the big finale that would end the series because after working so hard to come this far, all the battles they have fought, the lives they have saved and the friendships created, it would be a major insult to suddenly have a new hidden antagonist popping up and who is the actual big bad boss behind everything so far. Please don’t turn it into such cliché because we really want to see off the girls gracefully in their most beautiful swan song when the time comes. A song that would become an evergreen classic.

BanG Dream

I see we still won’t get our third season of K-ON! And in the mean time waiting for the next season of Love Live! Sunshine, here, have BanG Dream as your snack. Heh. When I first heard that name, I thought it was going to be some sort of ecchi fanservice laden anime. Yeah, it sounds so lewd. So this isn’t about some horny guy whose life goal is to bang every woman in the world? No? Okay. I suppose it has been some time we have an anime revolving around an all-girl band so what better way than to put on a few fresh faces and a new anime about a group of girls to pursue their dreams of reaching for the stars. Well, that glitter in the music sense, that is.

Episode 1
Kasumi Toyama is so excited on her first day at high school that she has to ‘harass’ her sister, Asuka up. The eager beaver quickly makes friends with Saaya Yamabuki who is also in the same class. So enthusiastic that Kasumi rants about her dreams like hearing the beat of the stars during her introduction in class. Either you laugh or start thinking she must be one heck of a weirdo. She tries out several clubs and despite looking like she’s having fun trying them out, none seems to have that oomph. Is she so bored that she has to bug Saaya who helps out her family’s bakery? On her way back, she spots several illuminating star stickers on the walls and poles like as though it is guiding her to somewhere. It leads her to a storeroom and she is caught red handed by Arisa Ichigaya who thinks she is a thief. Because Kasumi is so persistent, Arisa allows her to touch the electric guitar casing. She likes it so much that now she wants to go see a live house. Arisa tells her to do it herself. Too bad Kasumi took the guitar along! So no choice, Arisa has to help her find a live house. Just why? They find one, Space and that’s not the end of the embarrassment. Kasumi states her intention to play the guitar but this isn’t a practice studio. Then they have to pay a ticket admission to enter. At this point Arisa must be damn annoyed and Kasumi continues with her sparkly enthusiasm. The all-girl band, Glitter Green makes their entrance and starts jamming, wowing Kasumi. Now, you want to know what bugs me throughout this episode? The way Kasumi is holding the electric guitar the entire time! Do you know how freaking heavy an electric guitar is???!!! And for her to carry it on her chest like as though she is carrying a book makes no freaking sense!!! Aren’t her arms sore?! Must be so amazed by everything that she can’t feel a thing in reality.

Episode 2
As expected, Kasumi now wants to start a band. The problem is, she is hanging out in Arisa’s home and eating breakfast with her grandma! WTF???!!! Is this worse than stalking?! Yes Kasumi, you don’t have to tell the whole world you’re starting a band. Then she meets Rimi Ushigome whose sister, Yuri plays the guitar in Glitter Green. Although Rimi plays the bass, she isn’t in any band right now. Oh you guess it. Please join my band! Arisa thinks she can annoy Kasumi as she puts up that electric guitar for auction. Can you pay 300,000 Yen for it? And with sad Kasumi continue to bug her, Arisa had to tell her off about her getting close to her so she could get the guitar for free. Because Kasumi continues to stalk her, Arisa gives in. Can’t blame her. She is at her place every single day. She just wants the guitar, right? Sighs. She lets her touch and see for a few seconds. When Arisa learns how she followed the stars here, she remembers planting them when she was younger. Isn’t that public property vandalism? Arisa once played the piano but quit. Wait for it… Please join my band! Didn’t you hear her she quit piano some time ago? When Kasumi takes the guitar case, the handle breaks! Dramatic drama as she becomes so apologetic for damaging it. Well, conveniently they are able to find a music repair shop to restore the guitar. Though, the case is a goner. And I still can’t believe Kasumi carries the heavy instrument all the back like that. Arisa is ‘kind’ enough to withdraw it from the auction and sell to her at 540 Yen (the withdrawal charge). What if still no money? She’ll sell it to someone else. Arisa’s grandma gives her granddaughter the keys to their home’s own jamming studio. Kasumi has her first feel playing a plugged in electric guitar. Amazing, no? And you could say Arisa could have been a tsundere all the while as she joins her band and to use this room on condition that they eat lunch together. No wonder she’s so permissive with Kasumi.

Episode 3
Rimi tells Kasumi the bad news: She can’t join her band! But stupid Kasumi keeps stalking her for a reason! Kasumi keeps optimistic by applying to play for the school’s cultural festival. We know Rimi is a shy girl so she can’t say what she wants easily. It gets scarier for her when western tourists ask her for directions in English. Kasumi thinks she can help out. Though she can speak in English, she’s ‘promoting’ herself as a guitarist! WTF?! Finally Rimi got the guts to tell why she can’t join her band. In short, stage fright. She goes blank when people look at her. The girls are supposed to go check out another concert at Space. You know how freaking eager Kasumi is when she picks up Arisa way too early just to be there and check things out. As the concert gets on the way, Rimi gets news from her sister that her band may not make it in time because of a storm. Space has strict rules of not making the audience wait so the other bands agree to help buy some time. But as time passes, Glitter Green never showed up. I guess that’s it. The gig is over. The audience must be confused since they never turn up. Kasumi won’t let it end this way so she goes out on stage and sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! OMG! If that’s not embarrassing enough, she drags Arisa out to play the castanets as accompaniment! Not enough? Sing again! OMFG! But guess what? I think everybody here is crazy because they think it is funny (sure is) and love it but a lot of people would start thinking how weird this is. So crazy that Rimi has found the guts to go onstage and do play her bass accompaniment of the song! At the end, Glitter Green is here. They’ll take it from here. But you know what? They play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! OMFG!!!!! When will the madness end?! This time with full music accompaniment and they let the trio carry on playing. It’s hard to imagine that this is the song that propelled them for greater things. Now that Rimi has got a taste of this excitement, she really wants to join the band. Wow. This is really one mad episode.

Episode 4
Man. Kasumi is real proud of her pathetic amateur guitar skills. Let’s painfully watch her slowly play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! At least she’s still got the enthusiasm. Heck, even fellow classmate who is also a guitarist, Tae Hanazono thinks she is weird. And since everybody starts calling her weird, you mean Kasumi just realized she is just weird?! Don’t you even cry about it! Tae is kind and patient enough to give Kasumi some guitar lessons. From tuning and even learning some chords. Oh God. More Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I’m sure she is going to turn it into a masterpiece. Kasumi learns Tae once started out in piano but then she saw how cool her mom was jamming. Yeah, mom was a guitar instructor. More annoying crap from Kasumi as she tries to boast and show off her new chords to Asuka. Chord by chord! Guess what song? Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! Yeah, it only uses major chords so it’s easy for newbies. At this rate, Kasumi can now decently play her favourite song. But all the practice comes with a price. As Kasumi hangs out with Tae more often recently, she realizes too late about Arisa. It is no wonder Arisa locks her out of her house! She forgot their promise to eat lunch together and is always rushing off for guitar practice. Heck, what about their band practice that she never turned up? Too late to regret now, Kasumi. To show Arisa isn’t a baddie, she lets her back in but must pay her back generously. I also think she might want to show off her new electronic keyboard she bought. Cool, no? But it is back to her usual breakdown because now that Tae is eating with them, there are 2 Kasumis now???!!! I don’t even… Kasumi is all excited for cultural festival. She even has big dreams after that to go for some audition. However it is time to get realistic. Tae puts her foot down and shoots her down that is impossible.

Episode 5
Tae explains that only bands whom Space’s owner approves get to play on stage. Tae has dreamt on going on that stage but is nowhere close to that despite watching various bands played here. Kasumi promises she will practise till she gets better. How long is that going to take? She’d better. Because Tae wants to feel that kind of excitement again. It never hurts from trying so when Kasumi requests from Space’s owner to play at space, she kicks them out. Owner is not joking and is passionate about it. She was once a band member and went on tours. She created Space to destroy the scary and dangerous image of live houses. So only those who has the same passion for music as her she will allow them to go on stage. After watching another performance, Rimi tells Kasumi and Arisa she made a new song with Yuri together. They hear her humming of My Love Is A Chocolate Cornet. Corny? Kasumi hopes they can try it out. But she can’t read notes. Tabs? Even Rimi has to painfully teach her? Oh, time to seek Tae’s help. See how cool she plays? Maybe they should replace Kasumi with her. So we’d rather have an expert like Tae teach an absolute rookie like Kasumi in hopes she can get better fast before the play? Whatever. Once ready, the quartet hold a mini concert before Arisa’s grandma, Yuri, Saaya and Asuka. It sounds fine and okay. I know it feels unbelievable that Kasumi can be so perfect now. At the end of the performance, they feel excited playing together. So Tae is officially part of the band now? As long as she is happy.

Episode 6
A year ago, Saaya was a member of a band as a drummer. Kasumi has been made the organizing committee for the school’s cultural festival. Quite chirpy as always, isn’t she? First order is to make Saaya her assistant! Wait. I thought they should vote? Well, everyone agrees too so whatever. They want to do a café for the festival and since Rimi suggests a bread café like Saaya’s bakery, why not? Yeah, so easy to just go ask for free breads, right? Kasumi is going to get busier because she too wants her own mini band to play at the festival. She hears Tae play a draft song she just wrote this morning and wants to play that. Is it me or does that song sound so much like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? Oh well, that’s their inspiration song, I guess. Kasumi and her friends converge at Saaya’s bakery to test the aprons they will be using. Saaya’s little bratty kid brother must be very shy with so many girls over since he can’t bully his little sister. Only Kasumi stays over to brainstorm for ideas. Arisa claims she isn’t an easy woman (whatever that means) while Rimi and Tae strangely go out for sukiyaki together (is there some sort of lesbianism brewing between them?). As usual, Kasumi puts up her sparkly optimism and Saaya just smiles. Next day as they put up posters, it seems Kasumi has decided that the band’s name is Poppin’ Party. Poopin’ Panty what? Just kidding. However she has also put Saaya’s name in the band. Did she say she wanted to join? Coincidentally, Saaya bumps into her old friend and ex-bandmate, Natsu. She sees Saaya’s name and is glad she is in a band. However Saaya’s fake smile is so obvious. It screams that she didn’t want to be in this sh*t. She denies so and says her friend wrote it by mistake.

Episode 7
Flashback shows Saaya and her ex-band were excited to play their first gig. However Saaya got a call from mom. Actually her little brother called and is frantic something happened to mom. The gig was cancelled as she rushed home. Although mom is okay, she still get panic attacks from that traumatic incident. I guess Kasumi realizes too late they don’t have a drummer. Time to go around looking for one. Apparently she tries Hinako Nijukki who is the drummer of Glitter Green. But she thinks there is someone better to fit them: Saaya. But talking to Natsu and other bandmates don’t seem to reveal clearly why Saaya stopped playing. Like in true Kasumi’s fashion, she goes to bug Saaya herself. She knows why she is here so they talk privately. But still, nope. Not going to play in your band. To cut short that burst of emotions from Saaya why she can’t play, she is worried mom might fall sick from overworking again. Kasumi even offers to help with her shop and school work but that’s not enough. Saaya blames herself that everyone prioritizes her first. Because of that, she believes she messed up everything and made everyone anxious. That won’t be fun, right? Don’t waste your efforts on her, says she. Saaya’s crying. Kasumi’s also crying too. Oh, now Kasumi is trying to impose on her not to decide for herself? Let’s decide together. WTF. This ‘quarrel’ is interrupted when Saaya’s little sister caught the crying bug thinking they’re fighting. Time to pretend to make up. So it’s over? Not yet. Since Saaya insists she won’t join, Kasumi says she’ll be waiting. Don’t hold your breath…

Episode 8
Arisa gets a rude awakening since Tae is kissing and hugging her! What kind of dream is she having? She is still probably in dream land or just rolling Arisa as she continues her unsolicited rape. Saaya has her own rude awakening. Mom is starting to have those again… Although mom is rushed to the hospital and her condition stable, Saaya is going to stay by her side and skip the cultural festival. This means Kasumi and the rest have to do their best and make it a success. We see them doing their shifts before going around and checking out other stuffs like the haunted house and Asuka’s maid café. Is Tae their unofficial photographer? Saaya receives 2 messages from Kasumi. The first one was a call to ask about her mom and others. But the rest tried to hijack her call so that’s where the second message came. It’s about leaving their newly written song in an envelope for her to read (if she wants to). The lyrics resonates with her because it made her cry. Cue for mom to tell Saaya to go and have fun. At first she is stubborn but there is only a limit to how long she can be persistent because the plot says she has to become a band member. And with that, off she goes, running her way to school while listening to the music. Want to bet she can memorize it all at one go? Poppin’ Party is next and they manage to play their Cornet song without a drummer. When Saaya reaches school, she bumps into Natsu. Before Saaya could apologize, Natsu says they had fun. It’s her turn now. Saaya makes her ‘grand entrance’, much to the delight of her bandmates. She tests the drum kit and shows off her awesome drumming that she hasn’t lost a single touch with. Then we hear their song, Star Beat. Kasumi introduces the band members at the end of it. While everyone is having fun, we end with a cliff-hanger as Space’s owner decides to close the live house down.

Episode 9
Saaya goes to check out drum sets. They seem pricey but hey, her parents can help pay the balance. So she settles for this electronic piece. So as they get eager to practice, Tae receives word that everyone in Space is out from a cold. What are the chances of that? Since Space can’t cancel the much anticipated Glitter Green and Roselia’s performance, thus they go volunteer to help especially Kasumi who is just bugging to help. Okay. Hey, you don’t get such free labour in the form of cute girls these days. Luckily owner is around to supervise or else the temptation to fool around is too great. Glitter Green arrives for rehearsal. Poppin’ Party wonders why their school’s student council president is here. The moment she takes off her glasses, they recognize her as Glitter Green’s keyboardist! OMG! Superman-Clark Kent effect here! Superman’s identity will definitely be safe in this anime! After that, Roselia makes their entrance for rehearsal. The event goes well. As they are cleaning up, Kasumi sees a band member of Roselia crying and everyone else trying to console her. Not sure if she screwed up or felt it wasn’t up to par but the owner hints it isn’t the end of the world. Poppin’ Party tries standing on stage for the experience. Soon, they get their own audition to see if they are fit to play there. Well, less than perfect. So when owner asks who thinks they did well, only Kasumi raises her hand with optimism. The rest just looked embarrassed. Anyway, owner can’t let them play here and they have to do better than that. Don’t worry. Kasumi will practice as long as it takes. You don’t say because Tae saw Space’s schedule and notices the latter half empty. Then she breaks the news to them that she is closing down Space.

Episode 10
Tae looks like she is going crazy and Kasumi is ‘missing’. But when Kasumi returns, she is as lively as ever as she has designed outfits for their outfit. Next time they go see owner for another chance at the audition, she tells them they’re not there yet. Natsu’s band, Chispa is here to audition. Cheese pack what? Despite being all over the place, owner asks if they think they made it. Natsu confidently answers they believe they did everything they could. Owner passes them. While Poppin’ Party is happy for them, it makes them think what they are lacking. Yuri says that there is no one correct music. The answer is different for everyone. So all of them especially Kasumi thinks really hard. Kasumi thinks she really got it so she goes bug owner that night just to tell her how much she loves Space and will definitely play here. Really? Owner shuts her up with this: She is the worst of the lot! Heck, even Arisa is giving her piece of mind if she is tired of it all. I mean, when does it end? After a flawless performance? After playing at Space? She is always looking like having fun but Arisa is thinking having fun isn’t what it’s all about. So is she hinting she isn’t having fun in Poppin’ Party? So everyone works hard by continuing to practise. Yeah, Kasumi goes the extra mile by practising so hard that a couple of picks broke! So the next time Poppin’ Party shows up for audition, owner lets them in. Everyone looks ready. But Kasumi looks she has doubts. At this time? And as they start off, suddenly Kasumi cannot sing! No, she hasn’t lost her voice since she can still talk. Somehow she just cannot sing.

Episode 11
Gloomy. Depressing. Hey, at least it’s quiet since she can only talk softly. Oh sh*t! She visits the doctor and nothing wrong was found. She is told to rest so I guess no band practice. Yeah, not even playing her guitar. Besides, they have one more chance for the audition. So no hurry. Wait. You better hurry before Space shuts down. Being a ‘mute’ has its perks. She doesn’t have to answer when the teacher calls her. Otherwise she is acting weird. Like walking home in the rain and kissing Asuka?! Yikes! Better get her voice back fast! As she talks to Yuri, if it is not nervousness causing this, it could be stress. Kasumi? Stressed?! What’s Asuka’s opinion about this? She thinks she might be in a slump. Next morning, Kasumi wakes up and realizes she has her voice back! Oh no. The craziness is back. Right away they head for practice. But wait… She still can’t sing! I guess practice is over. For added drama effect, Kasumi runs away to cry in the park. Her bandmates catch up. I guess Arisa has enough of it. She starts off harshly about this farce. Kasumi is the one who is least making any improvements so why is she suddenly so concerned now? After Kasumi reveals what owner said, Arisa continues her criticism. It sure is true since Kasumi drags everyone in without asking their opinions first. It caused everyone lots of trouble. Of course we now have to say good things she did like how she amazingly brought together a band and she did learn how to play the guitar quickly. Since she is still adamant she wants to play at Space with them, they all start taking turns to sing a line of a song. When it is Kasumi’s turn, she ekes out whatever she can. Sounding soft and out of breath. At least it’s an achievement considering her circumstances.

Episode 12
Kasumi gets this idea of designing their t-shirts for practice. But first they have to study for the tests. After that they continue practising. They have a sleepover at Tae’s place. So no pillow fight and turning in early? No wonder nobody can sleep (except for Tae) so they watch the sky anyway. Too cloudy anyway. So D-Day is here for Poppin’ Party. This is their last shot at the audition. And after a group rally, they start strutting their stuff. Kasumi can sing albeit I feel it is not 100% perfect. Once the song ends, Arisa starts crying! She realizes she made a few mistakes despite practising so hard. Infectious enough to affect Rimi as she cries about the same thing. Before more could be infected, owner asks that question but aimed at Kasumi. Her reply? We pulled through. After lecturing how people do music because they love it, she finds their performance satisfying and passes them. Okay. Time for a big group hug and let all those tears flow. Yeah, everybody watching outside can also cry too.

Episode 13
Kasumi is being her usual chirpy ‘harasser’. She even joins in with whatever yuri thing Tae is teasing Saaya with. As this would be Space’s last performance, we have Glitter Green, Chispa and Poppin’ Party gracing it. The place is packed with people even during the day rehearsal. Even Poppin’ Party’s families are here. So there’s lots of preparation and nervousness before the main event begins. Glitter Green goes first followed by Chispa. And so Poppin’ Party who is making their first live performance is ironically Space’s last performance. At first Kasumi introduces the band and how it all started. I guess they can be good stand-up comedians in a way since everyone is ‘criticizing’ how Kasumi dragged them all into forming this band although it was for the greater good. And with Kasumi giving that silly reaction, no wonder the crowd is laughing. And so here is their song: Dreaming Sunflower. Enjoy. Goodbye and thank you very much.

OVA
Time for some low quality fanservice. I guess it is boring to see girls studying. So what are they going to do for fun? Go to the beach! Oddly, the guitarists brought their guitars along. With all the excitement and hype, amidst the chaos Arisa somehow ended up getting dragged into Kasumi’s pace and holds her guitar while in the sea?! Be careful not to get it wet. And Tae just leaves her guitar unguarded on the beach before dipping in. Wow. So fun. So carefree. Eventually they find a kind beach house owner to help safe keep their belongings. Who would ever reject cute girls? Meanwhile the girls of Roselia are practising in a rented summer house nearby. Yukina Minato is having trouble writing the perfect song. So what Lisa Imai suggest? Go to the beach! So Poppin’ Party and Roselia bump into each other. Can we have fun together? Sayo Hikawa insists they are here on a training camp. Eventually everyone has to loosen up by playing beach volleyball. This is what is all about, right? Too bad the dramatic drama and screw ups overshadow the low quality fanservice. I’m not sure if it’s true but once Sayo changes her casual clothes into her swimsuit, her team plays better! Proof that beach volleyball is all about showing skin if you want to level up? Anyway, we don’t know who wins because nobody kept count (so as to avoid clash between Poppin’ Party and Roselia fans). Kasumi has this idea for them join forces and form a 10 woman band called Roselia Party. The beach house owner has Poppin’ Party do a sound check. They go on stage and strut their stuff. Because there are no drums, Saaya sings the vocals along with Kasumi. There is a recorded drum play but it’s so perfect that it makes me wonder do they really need a drummer. As expected, Poppin’ Party is so good that the audience loves them and this gives Roselia motivation to practice and Yukina has found the inspiration for her perfect song. You mean it wasn’t the beach volleyball that fired them up? Just kidding.

Crash! Boom! Bang! Keep Dreaming…
ZzzZZzzzZzzz… Oh… I see the season is over. Oh boy. I guess I’m not really cut out for this kind of shows anymore. So the only thing I was hoping that would salvage the entire season was why Space’s owner decided to close it down. She has been doing it for almost her entire life and I don’t see why she decides to shut it down now. It’s not like she hates music or got bored with it. Definitely not. Maybe her reasons are personal and if she doesn’t want to tell us, fine. Thus I can only speculate that Space’s closure is because she needed to push all those young girl bands to a better place. I mean, can’t be playing in this cramped space forever, can you? Because we see how ‘depressed’ Yuri was at first when the place was closing down. So with Space’s closure, hopefully all band hopefuls who dream of performing big or small would find a better space to play their music. If they love music, they can go anywhere. Also, Space’s closure is to push Poppin’ Party and make it look as though they have made it through the final hurdle in time. Mission accomplished in time! Hooray! Now they don’t look like losers. Other than that… Yawn… Even the beasts that were awakened to destroy humanity and the planet would immediately go back to its slumber. Oops… Am I too harsh?

Unfortunately I’m so bored that I couldn’t really feel connected and how deep the interaction and bonding of the Poppin’ Party members. In anime genres like this one, a small group of characters is supposed to drive the story and their character development but it is a sad thing that I don’t really feel that emotional feel it. Yeah, maybe I’m such a dead person… I know everything this season feels just like the beginning of everything, the discovery of stuffs and the motivation that is needed to pull through. I know that they are going to pull through somehow with all the drama and ‘obstacles’ in their way, I’m sure they will overcome it. From gathering the band members (it took more than half the season) to Kasumi losing her voice and finally passing the audition. All as expected. Yeah, I sound like an expert in watching this genre but I can assure you I’m not.

So I am going to blame primarily Kasumi for the ‘boring’ character development. Just like in K-ON! and both Love Live series, the leader must always be an airhead (such leaders are even expanded to other animes like One Piece). However as compared to the rest, Kasumi passes off as more annoying than anything. She really gets on your nerves. For one thing, she goes at her own pace and doesn’t listen to everyone and drags them all into her own pace whether they like it or not. She could be one of the world’s greatest stalkers thanks to her persistence. It might look like she is giving you a choice but you realize that there isn’t any options because the only way to stop her from bugging you is to conform to whatever she wants. And because she says and does everything with that sparkly silly smile in her face, it makes it all hard to turn her away. Case in point: Arisa. Poor girl. Thankfully everything turned out fine and thus Kasumi is a ‘heroine’. Had it turned out badly like for example if everything flopped real hard, no doubt she will bear the full brunt of the blame. Dream over. Break up. Depression. Lethargy. Regrets. Suicide. Woah! Too dark a theme for a series that is all sunshiny, cheerful and bright.

I know it is good to be optimistic and passionate but the way Kasumi is portrayed doing so feels a bit unrealistic. In the real world, she would have been shot down as being ‘meiwaku’ (annoying and troublesome) and ‘shitsukoi na’ (persistent). I want to punch her at times but seeing how cute she is, I realize it’s even wrong to punch anybody. If Kasumi wasn’t in this band thingy, she would be hell of a good saleswoman. To show that she is human, somebody grumpy had to point out her flaws and it really hit her. Imagine someone telling you off you’re the worst when you are still on your high horse. Not so fun anymore, eh? I guess once in a while you have to be brought down to earth. Another unrealistic thing about Kasumi is how fast she becomes a guitar master in a short space of time. Do you know how long it took me to get to that level?! Maybe Tae was a good instructor but the fact we see Kasumi making so little progress at first and then suddenly becoming a pro when it matters, it just makes it all feel unrealistic. Did she sell her soul to the devil or something?

If there had to be a favourite character of mine in this series, I would definitely go for Arisa. In short, she is a funny girl. Like in any other group, there needs to be one who retorts and this is exactly what Arisa’s role is for. Because the rest are like ‘zombies’ and pandering to Kasumi so we need Arisa as a voice of reasoning and objection sometimes. She is the other one besides Kasumi to have this lively personality. But unlike Kasumi whom I consider as annoying, at least Arisa is funny. One reason is that she is a tsundere and it clearly shows at times when she doesn’t really want to do it but does it eventually or tries to give excuse to justify it isn’t so but it is in reality. So Arisa, never change. Of course, to also at least to show she is also human, she also cries and makes mistakes especially in their final audition.

For the rest of the other band members, I feel that they are boring and don’t really stand out. Heck, I think they all feel the same. They all have their issues to deal with at first but once they overcome that, they start to feel the same. Like Rimi who was once a shy girl. Now no longer obviously shy, she’s such a good and happy girl. Tae is also an airhead and at her own pace like Kasumi but at least she is not as annoying. Being Kasumi’s guitar teacher at first, once Kasumi ‘graduates’, Tae is just a good and happy girl. Saaya as the last member to join thanks to her worrywart issues also becomes nothing but a good and happy girl once she has less anxiety. I don’t know when it happened but there seems to be some sort of close friendship struck between Rimi and Tae ever since the band is completed. Did I miss something there? Or maybe Tae is just a little yuri by nature…

As for the other supporting characters, I can’t say the same for them. I feel they hardly make an impact at all. Glitter Green has got their own track record so I don’t see the need for them to even intervene with Poppin’ Party. Though, Yuri sometimes gives advice. Owner might look like a grumpy old woman but I am sure she just wants the best from out of those bands who play at her Space. If they’re not going to take this seriously, they’re not going to take music seriously anyway and thus do not have the right to play. She has seen lots of bands come and go and hence perhaps why she isn’t amused by Kasumi’s overhyping reactions. She’s lived long enough to see it all. I thought there might be some sort of issue with Asuka since she has this gloomy and troubled looks at the start. As the series progresses, she shows less of it as she opens up to her sister. Maybe it is because of Kasumi as an annoying sister that she doesn’t like? If so, then aha! Told you Kasumi was damn annoying!

Art and drawing are okay. One reason why I kept thinking how this series reminds me of Love Live is because of how cute the girls are. Perhaps it was the factor that made me watch this series… Not only Poppin’ Party but those other band girls too have this very cute looks. They have this very cute idol looks but the only difference of them instead of prancing around on stage, they hold and play instruments. Thus if destiny did not make them pick up the guitar, keyboard or drums, they will don flashy idol outfits and start dancing on stage with cute (and sexy) choreography dance moves. I noticed that there is some CGI used in here albeit only limited to when the band plays on stage. However the CGI is not that bad and is almost fits seamlessly into the overall animation. You might not notice the difference but if you looks closely you can tell when the animation is a bit different than the usual.

Since this is a series on music, I can’t say that I really like them. I’m not saying that the songs suck but they don’t really resonate with me. There are a few decent ones but it didn’t make me go crazy over it. The opening theme, Tokimeki Experience somehow sounds so much like an idol song that could be sung by the idol group in Love Live. Just add some electric guitar to make it sound like they’re a rock band. Oh wait. They are. The same can be said for the ending theme, Kirakira Da Toka Yume Da Toka ~Sing Girls~. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star although is spammed in the first half, thankfully that is done away once they have their own music.

For the voice acting, I guess it feels okay. Having a good singing voice is necessary for this kind of series and Poppin’ Party does a decent job in that. At least better than mine. The main casts are Aimi Terasaka as Kasumi (Sherry in Plastic Memories), Ayasa Itou as Arisa (Alice in Milky Holmes series), Rimi Nishimoto as Rimi (debut role), Sae Ootsuka as Tae (debut role), Ayaka Ohashi as Saaya (Yayaka in Flip Flappers), Suzuko Mimori as Yuri (Sanae in Teekyuu), Yuka Ozaki as Asuka (Serval in Kemono Friends) and Mami Koyama as Space’s owner (Balalaika in Black Lagoon).

Overall, this isn’t a bad anime but it is just boring and sometimes unrealistic to me (even if it is just anime). I read there are many positive comments on this show but like music itself, everyone has different tastes and opinions about it. Annoying main character puts me off at the start but I still persevered like the band because I was hoping that things would change for the better. Okay, I’ll give them that since they’re making small steps at a time. At least this is realistic because you can’t have them suddenly playing at the Budoukan and selling record breaking sales all over the world. Well, no harm in dreaming about that. But still, you have to wake up and make it happen or it will still be a dream. Meanwhile I am dreaming how BanG Dream would be an awesome name for a porn title…

Fukumenkei Noise

What? So soon? In the previous season we had a rock band romance in the name of Fuuka. Once that ended, now we have another rock band romance, Fukumenkei Noise. But unlike the former, it isn’t about finding new love. It is more of finding that lost love. You know, young kids who are supposed to be playing with toys and dolls, these ones start liking each other. Puppy love, I guess. And then one of them had to suddenly move far away without a word of goodbye and their only hope ever to find each other again is through music. Imagine singing the same piece of song every day for the next 6 years just for this promise. Yeah, I think fate got fed up of hearing that atrocious singing and decided to just let them reunite. Oh, did I mention how things can tremendously change in 6 years?

Episode 1
It is the start of a new school term. Students gather in the hall for a performance from the light music club. When they start playing, Nino Arisugawa starts singing along. When the band’s guitarist, Kanade “Yuzu” Yuzuriha spots her, he stops everything and runs away. Just like that? Concert ruined. Nino starts chasing him down, glad that her voice reached him. She is glad to have finally found him because every day for the past 6 years she has been singing that same melody that he wrote before disappearing in hopes of reuniting again. And she sure is excited to see him once more that she starts singing and then cries. But the feeling isn’t mutual for him. He doesn’t want Alice (the nickname he calls her) to talk to him again as his bandmates pull him away to apologize to the crowd. They wonder if that was the song he wrote but he doesn’t want to have anything to do with it. The band has got bigger problems to deal with like the club being shut down and their upcoming concert. Funny how fate is because Yuzu and Nino end up in the same class sitting next to each other! She thought he is a year older. Maybe he got held back a year. Later she hears him playing the piano and sings along. However he doesn’t stop and continues playing. It’s like he is trying to finish the song he wrote 6 years ago. Due to this, the band’s lead vocalist, Miou Suguri gets jealous and went ‘missing’. The band’s leader and bassist, Yoshito “Haruyoshi” Haruno has no choice but to make Nino as the replacement. Momo Sasaki feels weird seeing Yuzu trying to complete his composition. Like as though he is taking lightly the light music club. Is that a pun? But Yuzu wants him to just come see their concert. Nino is able to memorize the lyrics after just hearing them once. Is it because it belongs to Yuzu? Currently the chorus club is on stage performing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This startles Nino because she hates this song. Why do I have this feeling of blaming BanG Dream for this? Flashback reveals she was friends with Momo who was also her neighbour. One day he suddenly moved away without saying anything. She was so sad. Because of that, Nino starts singing like as though she is on drugs. The band tries hard to keep up with her. All the while she is singing, she kept thinking how her voice is forever Momo’s. Suddenly she stops singing. Did she forget the lyrics? She thought she heard Momo’s voice.

Episode 2
Nino used to spend a lot of time with Momo. They look like a happy couple. And they love singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star so much! Till the class bully tells he how annoying her voice is. Despite Momo standing up for her, she still feels bad about it. Till Momo had to tell her to use that song as a guide to find each other if ever a day comes when they part. That day came soon enough and soon she became devastated and stopped singing. The bully even teased how glad he is Momo moved away since he won’t hear her annoying voice anymore. Soon Nino had a nervous breakdown. Really, she goes crazy screaming Momo’s name like as though life has become unbearable, hard to breathe without him (thus wearing that face mask?). She wanted to scream it all out at the beach and accidentally runs over Yuzu’s composition. Shouldn’t he be writing on paper instead on sand? She starts singing it and finds it easier to breathe again. Yuzu is impressed by her voice and has found the voice he wants. He tells her he is writing a song and if she is interested, she can always come here every Wednesday to help. She takes up this offer believing singing will help her find Momo. Yuzu later explains he wrote this song himself to sing it but can’t. Because if he does, he will melt away? Is he trolling her?

One day, Nino’s mom gave to her a letter from Momo she had been holding. She must have wanted to save her the trauma. Because true enough another mental breakdown when she reads it. Momo wrote how they’ll never see each other again. As she cries her heart out, Yuzu had no choice but to hug her and sing. It calmed her down. She wanted to quit singing but he told her not to give up. If she feels like screaming, just sing his song. And if she ends up going far away, he’ll go find her. Nino is now subjected to taunting over her new ‘boyfriend’. But she shuts them up when she starts singing. They’re enthralled by her voice? A week later, Yuzu left his final score before ‘disappearing’. 6 years later of singing every day, Momo didn’t show up and she thinks she was just imagining things. She feels lost that her voice hasn’t reached him. Haruyoshi confronts Miou who wants out. She is done pretending to be Alice as the real one is here. He keeps telling her to give up on Yuzu and be his girlfriend instead. She laughs at this joke and now feels better. Was it supposed to be funny? Yuzu talks to depressed Nino who is on the verge of giving up. He says he will write more songs for her to sing so she can sing without worrying about anything. Despite telling her to be positive that she will eventually see Momo, in his heart he hopes that will never come true.

Episode 3
Momo tells his Tsukika Kuze he saw Nino but doesn’t plan to speak to her or see her (he is in some special class in another building, thus they can’t see each other anyway). The reason being if he does, he won’t be able to write music anymore. Miou tells her bandmates she is quitting as she blames Yuzu for writing less and less songs. But the moment he met Alice, he started writing perfectly again. If he thinks he wants her to keep this up while knowing she is not good enough, then sorry. In bad timing, Nino comes in. Miou tells her straight she sucks at singing. Nino bugs her for more details. Miou says she isn’t bad but isn’t good either. She is lacking. Nino wants to know what it is because she wants her voice to reach more than just Momo but the world. After Nino tells her story, Miou teaches her a little of the basics. Nino realizes she sucks in holding down a note. She becomes Miou’s disciple to learn more. At least she got her confidence back to a point she can call Yuzu’s name in some strange melodious voice. It’s pretty embarrassing to him, though. Back home, Nino sees a new song on TV. She is surprised to see the name of Momo Kiryuu as the composer. Kiryuu is Momo’s mom’s maiden name. She heads down to the recording company wanting to see him. Of course no receptionist is going to allow her in like that. Noticing a poster for a vocalist audition produced by him, she decides to enter to see him. Meanwhile Yuzu and his bandmates listen to what their producer, Michiru “Yana” Yanai has to say. He is impressed by Nino’s voice (ironically Miou recommended her) and wants her to be the lead vocalist. However Yuzu opposes and storms out. The rest are confused because they thought he put this band together for her in the first place. As Momo sends in her audition tape and prays to get in, Momo is overflowing writing songs.

Nino tells Yuzu about this Momo Kiryuu guy. She isn’t sure if he is the Momo she knows and has entered the audition to find out. Yuzu is heart-broken upon hearing she would sing Momo’s song if accepted. Then they overhear Haruyoshi talking to Ayumi “Kuro” Kurose (band’s drummer) Nino at fault for Yuzu losing his ability to sing. Had he not sing for her then, he might have recovered. Nino is in shock and overflowing with guilt. She hopes it is a lie but Yuzu demonstrates. As he tries to sing, not a single voice comes out. He didn’t want her to sing back then just to see that face. He wanted her to sing forever. All she could do is sing for him as Yuzu narrates he was hospitalized for a throat disease 6 years ago. He used to like singing and writing songs and knew he wouldn’t be able to sing after being hospitalized. So he often snuck out on Wednesdays to vent his frustrations by writing on the beach. Till he heard her sing. The day he went ‘missing’ was when he was to transfer to another hospital. He snuck out one last time to write it for her. He wants her to keep singing but it seems Nino won’t now. Despite the turn of events, Yuzu is glad one of his dreams came true after the truth came to light: She sang only for him. Meanwhile Momo is not pleased Tsukika passed Nino for the audition. Did she know it was her? She did but rather because of something else. Despite the bad quality of the recording, she had a voice that was far more memorable than anyone else. Was it because it suck? Just kidding.

Episode 4
A year ago when the current popular band, In No Hurry was formed, they are actually Yuzu and his bandmates dressed up. And Yuzu was cross-dressing as its lead vocalist, Alice! Miou was the one doing the real singing as Yuzu was lip synching. No wonder they wore all those face masks to cover up. Nino continues to be depressed that she isn’t singing. So much so it bothers Miou. She too has took the auditions since being Alice was never her goal from the start. She bugs Yuzu about Nino. It will be for nothing if the band breaks up now, the reason Miou left it to keep it afloat. Of course he won’t let it happen. He just finished writing his new song and lets Nino hear it. Instantly she starts singing to its tune. As she gets her confidence back, he asks if she is free on 29th May. At the same time Nino gets a call from the audition saying she has been picked for the final screen which falls on, wait for it, 29th May. When she asks if she could see Momo Kiryuu, she is being told the message left by him in his words, he will not be attending because “your singing voice isn’t good enough to be a guide”. She realizes this is the real Momo. Back to gloomy again. She doesn’t want to go to the audition anymore so Yuzu blows his chance of stealing her from Momo by giving her encouraging words like Momo will still listen if she goes. Still not confident and scared? Time for reverse psychology. He accuses her of being a coward when it comes to Momo. Don’t expect things to stay the same after 6 years. It opened her eyes but they still end up arguing. Nino realizes more about this change when she learns Momo’s house will now be turned into a parking lot. Man, it really took 6 years? Momo may have flipped what he said 6 years ago but that means he still remembers that promise. If her voice isn’t good enough as a guide now, it just has to become one good enough to do so and make him look her way. Yuzu lets everyone hear his new song. They’re blown away. They’re supposed to release it on 29th May. Nino heads to the place as Yuzu requested. She didn’t expect this to be a recording studio. At this point she starts noticing Yuzu’s songs have this familiar vibe to In No Hurry. Then she hears their trademark song from behind a room. Upon opening the door, she sees In No Hurry in the flesh playing before being shocked by Yuzu taking off his wig. He tells her to use In No Hurry as a platform to let her voice reach Momo who is already a pro. This band is the best place for her to be and wants her to become In No Hurry’s vocalist. She is going to perform as Alice and live with them on 29th May.

Episode 5
3 years ago, Tsukika found Momo singing in the streets. He needs money to clear his parents’ debts (the reason they moved away). Although he is tone deaf, he wrote good songs. She had him work for her music label company and wants him to write a song for an idol group, Baby by tomorrow. They already had 2 singles that bombed and if the next one fails, they will disband. As long as Momo can make money, he’ll write any song. Also he requests any press publicity. Tsukika could tell he was writing the songs for somebody but Momo is sure he won’t see her again. Nino seems to be atrocious during practice. Then they try out their costumes. With all the heavy padding and clothes, no wonder you can’t tell the original identity. Later Nino tells Miou about Momo, the guy she loves. Since Miou qualified for the final screening, perhaps she could check out if this Momo is real? Like stomach birthmark and butt burn? Seriously? Momo continues to write songs. Again Tsukika can tell he has written them all for Nino. He laments he was supposed to write only for her but used them all for work. He fears he can’t remember how to write songs for her anymore. It couldn’t be more insulting when mom calls asking for money. Not only ungrateful, she mocks him being tone deaf despite having such a talent. The last straw is when she mentions Nino’s name. He won’t have her say that name.

Apparently Nino also attends the audition since her performance would be later in the day. When it is her turn, she starts singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! The judges are puzzled. She doesn’t see Momo among the judges and slips a little message into the song by changing a bit of the lyrics. But that is when Momo who was well disguised as one of the judges got mad. He stands up and walks away. Nino is shocked to finally see the real Momo. But can calling him gain his attention? He tells her he has failed. Her songs can’t make him money. This makes her mad as she rants about their old promises, blah, blah, blah. Not listening. When she goes off, Yuzu is here to pick her up and he instantly knows she has met Momo when she suddenly hugs him and cries her heart out. But the show must go on, sad or not as he takes her to the studio. Can she pull it off? Well, her bandmates can tell she is going berserk singing like that mad woman high on drugs again but the fans might thing it is all part of the gig. Yeah, they love it! Luckily the band manages to keep up with her. Momo is shocked to see this dark side of Nino on TV. What kind of monster is this? Yuzu narrates his regret stopping her from going berserk that day. He didn’t want to see her smile like that.

Episode 6
In No Hurry is now the talk of the town. Nino can’t remember what she sang on stage but with the recent sudden developments, she is overcome with emotions. She then gets a call from Tsukika to meet. It seems she wants to give him Momo’s guitar. He was so badly shaken that he accidentally dropped his mug and scarred it. So he doesn’t want it anymore? She assures her only Momo figured out her identity as Alice. Doesn’t that make Tsukika too? She wants her to accept it as proof that her voice moved him. Nino then goes to tell Yuzu all about it. She feels so happy about it. The next time she sees Momo, she wants to show him even more of how she feels. Yuzu might not like it but he offers to teach playing the guitar. What’s this about Momo not liking what Tsukika did? Better than throwing the guitar away, right? With Nino as an amateur, she is starting to get the attention of her classmates. Looking pretty there. She is no longer the weirdo with headphones and face mask, eh? Later Nino goes to thank Tsukika for it. She gives her business card in case she wants anything or if there is message she wants to tell Momo. After all, they live together. Momo can’t help feel this pain in her heart. I suppose Yuzu is her best confidante as she tells him about it. She wonders if a boy and girl can live together without being romantic. That is what you call friends, right? Yuzu then says he doesn’t see her as a friend. This shocks her because she thinks he sees her as something lower! He quickly covers up it means they are roommates.

Miou tells Yuzu that she has passed the final screening. He congratulates her and also tells her his band is getting busy with the release of an upcoming album. This doesn’t sit well with her. She wanted to be alone at the beach but look who came to bug her? So as Miou and Nino talk, Nino wonders if she has feelings for Yuzu. Miou is tired of everything that has happened. She throws away her earrings Yuzu gave as birthday present into the sea. Why, Nino actually went to look for them! Miou tries to stop her and tells her she is the weird one. Especially singing the same song for 6 years. Nino knows that. Despite all the mockery and disdain, she has gotten used to it. At times she thought how pointless it was and pondered quitting. But you can only quit after you’ve gone as far as you can. Nino manages to find an earring and hands it to Miou. Miou remembers she promised Yuzu she’ll treasure it when he gave it to her. When Nino says the need of going to hospital to check up her chest pains, Miou points out it is jealousy. The look on Nino’s face is priceless. First time being jealous. One day in class as Nino waits for her daily morning guitar lessons from Yuzu who is currently running late, she falls asleep since she has a bit of a cold. Momo is passing by and stops by to take a look at her sleeping face.

Episode 7
Yuzu is absent from class. Nino feels something is off as there is no news from him. So she goes everywhere in school looking for him! Everyone must be thinking who this crazy b*tch is. In fact Yuzu is at the beach furiously writing songs. Mom discovered he had been secretly writing songs and became mad. She tore up his scores and scolded him about his promise never to get involved in music again. It is getting late and he has nowhere to go. Luckily Momo is passing by and invites him to his place. He can tell Yuzu ran away from home so he explains about his family matters especially mom abnormally afraid of letting him get involved in music so much so she checks his handphone and computer. Thus school and outside is the only place he can do music. Momo shows him his music making equipment. Yuzu is impressed and learns he writes songs for a girl but recently someone took her away and it made him angry. You don’t know how everything is right under their noses… Momo demonstrates a song he just wrote today. First thing Yuzu says? Doesn’t sound like it could make money! He lets Yuzu play his guitar. Just as Momo answers Tsukika’s call, Yuzu checks his handphone to see many missed calls from Nino! It’s like she’s stalking him! He then leaves the place to go meet up with her. It’s not a funny matter that Nino was worried sick about him. She asked his bandmates but they brush her off as nothing serious. But it is traumatic for Nino because she thought he had disappeared again like 6 years ago. When she wants to look at his face close up, he covers her eyes. He doesn’t want her to look at him like that.

Next day, Haruyoshi relays a shocking news to his friends. It seems that Kiryuu guy has created a new band called Silent Black Kitty. They are definitely In No Hurry’s direct rival because their debut album comes out the same day as theirs and they play the same alternative rock music like them. Despite all members wearing masks, Nino can instantly tell the bassist is Momo himself. If the vocalist sounds familiar, it is because Miou admitted it is her. Yana then calls to confirm In No Hurry has been invited to play at a prestigious concert, Rock Horizon. However Silent Black Kitty will be there too. This means a direct face off. All Nino could think is that Momo will be there. Later Nino and Miou talk and the former hopes she would not fall for Momo. It makes her laugh like mad. Good to know she is human, right? Oh Nino, your punch line of being born a human since day one is pretty hilarious too. Nino thinks that Miou’s voice made Momo look his way. That’s why she is going to practice and get better to make him look her way. Yuzu finds Momo up alone on the school’s rooftop. In addition to thanking him for the other day, he wants dating advice? He just tells him to confess it all now instead of bottling up and then wait till it all explode and something weird happens. Yuzu continues to teach Nino and she admires and respect him for that. He wants the next practice to be on the rooftop because he has something important to tell her. She waits and practise. She realizes she has gotten better in playing the guitar. No mistakes were made. As she sings confidently, all comes to a crashing halt when she shockingly sees Momo across. He too staring at her in shock. And when Yuzu comes into the scene and realizes this guy is the Momo whom Nino has always been talking about, that shock on his face too. Everybody in shock. Wow. Their first meeting with such expression.

Episode 8
Nino tells Momo to stay put as she rushes over. He must be a real turtle because when he takes his first flight of steps down, Nino reached him. She is hounding him with questions so he tells her to shut up and never speak to him again. Now that Momo and Yuzu know each other a little better, I guess their friendship is done. Since then, Nino acts a little panicky and even stalks Momo outside his classroom? Tsukika notices Momo is in a slump. As warned, it’s because he already met Nino. She finds that strange because he wanted to write songs for her. Maybe he should just tell her his feelings. So the next time they accidentally bump into each other, he cancels that gag order and wants to talk. First he apologizes for his treatment during the audition and also for suddenly disappearing. Then he confesses 6 years ago he liked her. This is Nino’s chance to tell him everything but words cannot come out. So she sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! He also follows suit. Then she tells him she also liked him. It was her first lie to him. They walk back to the station holding hands. With Nino all cheery in school the next day, Yuzu seeks ‘refuge’ in the infirmary. Since Haruyoshi comes to bug him, he tells about his broken heart. He thought one day Nino would fall for him but apparently she still likes her old flame. Haruyoshi thinks he is quite the man for managing to put that into words. One day if he grows taller to be a man, maybe his love will be realized. Nah, just joking. Yuzu vows to be Nino’s friend even if he is broken hearted, he won’t run away. He will protect her smile. During the recording session, Nino starts off well singing. But then she starts thinking too much about Momo till she cannot take it anymore and drops everything and runs away. Yuzu catches her to find out what’s wrong. She feels stupid for thinking Momo would still like her after 6 years. She tolerated his ‘abuses’ thinking he felt the same that he was at the same pace as her. She lied to him that he used to like him when she still loves him even now. Yuzu tells her to sing but Nino continues to break down screaming and crying. Only way to stop this madness? Yuzu kisses her.

Episode 9
It only gets worse. Yuzu refutes that was a western greeting and it makes her cry. Kuro comes to see if everything is okay. Nino tells Yuzu not to talk to her for a while. Indeed it feels weird that the duo in the same space aren’t talking and ignoring each other. When she finally lifts that ban, she tells him she wants to quit In No Hurry. She never noticed about his feelings and only took advantage of it. Thus if she is going to keep hurting him, it is better she quits. Yuzu laughs and counters with a sarcastic tone that she thinks he likes her. He brings her to Shibuya to let her see their recently recorded music video being played in public. He tells her she will always keep singing no matter what because her voice captivates others. Her voice is what’s precious to them. That is why back then he was afraid she would ruin her voice by screaming and did what he had to. They are friends. Nino finally smiles. When Nino sees Momo talking with Tsukika, she really believes she is the person he likes now. Momo is surprised Yuzu calls him to meet. It is to return the CDs he lent. Momo can further deduce who is who in In No Hurry as well as the reason why this band was formed (like he just read from the script?). He thought Yuzu would never see him again for he was the one who stole Nino’s voice. That is the only light he has and made him trudge through life. Once he took care of everything and if she is still singing, he planned to find her and sing together again. Yuzu doesn’t accept this. He still believes Nino’s voice belongs to him. He’ll turn the tables and they’ll settle this at Rock Horizon.

The only thing Nino can do now is to sing-cum-scream-cum-shout her way while jamming her guitar. Haruyoshi is watching her performance and her ‘passion’ reminds him of that zeal when he first saw a live rock performance. He praises her singing although Nino thinks her voice wasn’t good enough. Since it is the first time she was thinking of others while singing, it is probably why her voice reached him. He thinks she can use the guitar as a weapon. She is motivated to use this to regain the person who dumped her. Haruyoshi realizes that Nino is the true founder of In No Hurry. When Yuzu’s mom cut him off from music, he could breathe again after he sang for him. It’s because she is there that In No Hurry was born. On this week’s singles chart, In No Hurry comes in second and taking first place is Baby. Nino is not worried. After all, they were going to wait until they release their first album to take first spot. Nino is happy and thankful everyone gave her a place to sing. For that she will sing for them, more than anyone, stronger than anyone.

Episode 10
During In No Hurry’s interview, Nino answered the question about her favourite food: Chicken and onion skewers. So funny that it became viral! As Nino’s profile current stands as the band’s vocalist, Haruyoshi suggests making her the vocalist and guitarist. Everyone agrees but when Yana hears her play, he stops her. There isn’t anything bad but it feels like it is missing something. This won’t be good enough for Rock Horizon. Thus Haruyoshi suggests a training camp. The next time Nino and Momo bump into each other, she learns he is applying to transfer to another school. But when he asks if she intends to keep singing in that crappy band, she chides him not to insult In No Hurry. It is a place where she belongs. Their songs let her breathe. He challenges her to quit the band if she loses at Rock Horizon but she won’t participate in that. Then struggle as much as she wants. Have your screwed up concert. While practice during the training goes fine, Nino is a funny girl talking in a stiff voice and what’s with the bunch of cucumbers? She even asks a funny question for Yuzu: Does he have someone he likes (in her quest to know her bandmates better). Oops. Not funny. He hints there is from a long time ago and when he kissed her it wasn’t his first. He asks about her obsession with Momo. Perhaps it was his voice calling her name. So when he disappeared, she felt like she lost a part of herself. Momo’s words continue to bug her till she realizes what he meant about being screwed up. He didn’t mean the band but her going berserk and screwing it up for everyone. So during practice, Yuzu can tell something is wrong with her and stops her. What’s with her trying to get better? She worries about going berserk and troubling everyone so she’s trying to get better. He dismisses that kind of boring performance and should attack more with her emotion. Sing in your own words. Don’t blame her for what is to happen then… Because she changes the entire lyrics singing about Momo the boring idiot! Feel better? Later Nino still feels down thinking about Momo. He doesn’t like her anymore but yet she allows his words to control her. She tries to hide her crying but Yuzu tells her to just cry. Singing her own words made her feel like truly singing. She wants Yuzu to let her try writing lyrics for his new song.

Episode 11
In No Hurry’s album is now on sale. Yuzu tells his bandmates about Nino writing the lyrics. Of course he is QC because he knows and doesn’t want her to write about Momo. Nino realizes how tough and embarrassing it is trying to write lyrics. Momo has the bad luck to see his mom on the streets again. Same bad luck for Yuzu because mom has found out on his PC about the songs he has been writing. She believes he is still forcing that Alice girl to be part of it and wants him to set her free. She is adamant music kills people! But when Yuzu disagrees that music didn’t kill dad, she slaps him. That’s it. He runs away from home and stays at the studio. In No Hurry practises and when Nino starts singing the lyrics for the new song, Yuzu is shocked because the lyrics are totally about him. Yana approves of this. Later Yuzu asks why she wrote the song about him. She tried about others but realizes he is the closest to her and how similar their struggles are. She asks about his crush and he wants her to guess. No idea. At Rock Horizon, the Woodstock of the country, the stage is set for the ultimate battle of the bands. There are a few venues that could play a few bands simultaneously. Both sides of In No Hurry and Silent Black Kitty there are haters who are already posting hateful comments. At a crucial moment, Momo gets a threatening call from mom to move back with them or she’ll do something to Nino. He is forced to rush to Nino and hug her. Whispering into her ear, he doesn’t want it to be like 6 years ago. He says goodbye for real to her. Nino is close to breaking down. She wants to go to him to tell him about the lie and that she still loves him. At this crucial time when her band is up next? When her bandmates call to her, she remembers all that they have done for her. She decides to go on stage. Nino disregards the playlist and starts off with the new song. Yuzu feels conflicted since she is singing his song for Momo! She is going to sing not only to make Momo stay but make sure all the audiences can never leave! Flashback from Momo’s side shows how he really wanted to see Nino’s cute smile. So he came up with all the lame puns and I guess for a kid, it is funny. Because of that, Momo thinks he is a genius…

Episode 12
After the first song ends, Nino starts playing a familiar song. Yuzu can tell she is also going out of control and she’s dragging them in. The crowd now is totally ecstatic and new ones are driving into the small space to catch a glimpse of them. Yuzu then sees his mom in the sea of crowd. He becomes stunned that he drops his pick. Fortunately Nino is able to cover for his part! When Nino and Yuzu finally look at each other, he regains his composure and makes peace with his past. He knows music doesn’t kill people. Nino is going all out and screaming and singing. Yuzu feels like it is as though it is her last. He needs her voice to keep singing the song he writes. So he stops her distraction to take back control. He tells her to crush this as they sing their last song. In the aftermath, Nino is depressed and have not sung since. She laments her voice didn’t reach Momo. By that way, that guy has transferred out of school. She ponders of giving up on him as she hangs out at her usual spot on the beach. Yuzu talks to her. He says he will continue writing music. What will she do? So she runs to Tsukika’s office? It seems Momo is also gone from here. She sees a video of Silent Black Kitty in action at Rock Horizon. For one moment, Momo looked distracted. Tsukika tells her she was told he thought he heard Nino’s voice. Flashback after In No Hurry finished their last song, I’m not sure how Yuzu knew about Silent Black Kitty’s performance ended earlier than expected, so he tells her to go right now. Nino dashed off the stage while Yuzu can only blame his stupid self for allowing this. When she arrives at Momo’s camp, as told by Tsukika he is already gone. I don’t know where Nino is running to as she searches for him. She fears the repeat of the past. She runs out of steam and just sleeps on the grass? Apparently I don’t even know how Momo knew she was here and came back just to give her a kiss while she is a sleep? Yuzu saw that and chides him. Momo calls off the competition and tells him he is disappearing for real. Yuzu warns he will take Alice for real this time. The guys can only cry. Even more heartbreak for Yuzu when he hears Nino talking in her sleep she loves Momo. With renewed determination, Nino realizes she still can’t give up on Momo. She runs back to Yuzu to tell him she won’t run away anymore. Yuzu narrates they’re hiding their feelings. Their wish is only one. He hopes it will reach her.

The Voice
So basically they’re going to relive the next 6 years like that again? Or forever? Because if that is the case, it will be a never ending chase between Nino, Momo and Yuzu. Forever. Thank goodness this series ended! I don’t think I would have the stamina to keep up and follow whatever rock music they have to play, songs they have to write and voice they have sing in order just to reach the ones they love. Can this be said a tragic ending because nobody’s love got realized? Everything gets reset back to square one and the chase is still on? Heck, even that coyote caught that road runner once. And now they’re saying they’re going to keep continuing what they’re doing? No thanks. I’m outta here. If this unresolved ending was meant to stir some emotions because nobody ended up with anybody, well it didn’t work on me. I’m so glad the series had ended…

So basically we have an entire season of drama just because our main characters cannot be truly honest with their feelings upfront. Yuzu trying to be considerate to Nino so he basically hides it all. Momo trying to make money as an excuse to delay his reunion with Nino. And Nino is just too obsessed about Momo but he won’t give her a chance. And that single chance she had she blew it. Is it that hard? I guess so. I can’t say since I haven’t fall in love like that before :’(. So they’re all beating around the bush hoping that the other would realize something through music. I understand that perhaps music is their only way to communicate and convey their love but as you can see how this romance thingy dragged out and ended up so. Of course it’s for the TV plot and without it, everything would have been resolved in one episode. And you won’t have fated meetings and encounters that brought about stuffs that led to the characters to where they are.

For those who love characterization and development, I suppose this series is pretty decent albeit the main focus is on Nino, Yuzu and Momo. For Nino, sometimes she comes off as eccentric but at other times can sound and act like a retard and hence in a way makes her look annoying. With Momo constantly on her mind and singing the same song for the past 6 years, it really eats into her social skills. But in a way it makes her unique because what I like about her is her sometimes witty sarcastic deadpan humour. Because of her very honest upfront character (though the same can’t be said about her heart), the statements she says in that deadpan voice can sometimes be funny. Like how when she took over the role of Alice, she has to be padded extra in the chest area. Thus she quips how Yuzu had this sort of big breast fetish because you know, milk. Milk makes you grow taller. There are handful of such ‘quotes’ around worthy to be turned into memes. But I’m too lazy for that… I’m not sure if Nino is a genius because for her without a guitar background and then to learn and master it so quickly in time, doesn’t it feel unrealistic? I guess anything can happen when she goes berserk. Yeah, better than drugs. Please do stay away from that (because most rock stars do them).

Nino seems to have it ‘easy’ compared to Yuzu and Momo because these guys have their own family problems to deal with as an obstacle to their music. We have not seen the bigger picture so to label Yuzu’s mom as crazy might be premature. You can’t blame her for hating music because it is hinted Yuzu’s dad died in a way related to it and Yuzu almost met the same fate with his surgery 6 years ago. So Yuzu is a little hesitant in being honest upfront because of the rejection. It’s just amazing how he managed to fool everybody with his In No Hurry band for some time. Their music must be so captivating that no internet trolls bother to dox them. So awesome that nobody could tell the difference when Nino took over Miou as the band’s vocalist. Do they sound the same when singing? Sometimes I feel Yuzu is the most emotional insecure among the trio since he keeps his emotions, it feels like it will explode like a bomb later. Sometimes you can see his outburst especially when comments are made about his stature. Is this his running joke? So did his mom finally accept music? I think she was trying to find closure too. Otherwise, why would she attend Rock Horizon and then cry (assuming it was the good kind) when she hears her son awesomely jamming away.

Meanwhile I believe Momo is trying to be a good son and clear his parents’ debts so ironically he uses all the songs he ever wrote for Nino to make money but won’t let her come back into his life. Seeing how his parents are leeching off him, I can understand why he is trying to give her the cold shoulder and not get her involved in his personal life as much as possible. I figure to show that he has a funny side, the reason why his bad puns are his running joke. Nobody laughs at them except Nino. Or maybe it is the way Momo says it that she is laughing? I also don’t understand why Momo has to pander to his parents. I assume he is a filial son but the way he handles it from my point of view feels like he is holding it all back and this ticking time bomb might explode any time soon. Can he just disown them? I believe there are things that we do not know about so it’s not quite right to jump into conclusions to paint his parents as the bad guys although I am very sure they are.

Other supporting characters are just sufficient, doing their part to support the main characters and the direction of the plot. Like Haruyoshi and Kuro’s unwavering support for the band as well as Nino and Yuzu. Tsukika also supports and eases Momo’s life a little. It might look odd that Miou has gone over to a rival band but still maintains friendship with her old bandmates and especially Nino. I suppose that band and music thing are just business. Throw away that mask and they are just ordinary high school girl friends.

I want to talk about Saori Hayami playing as Nino. No, it is not about her being unsuitable in playing the character but rather how Nino sounds weird and sometimes annoying. Like I said, I’m not saying Saori Hayami was a bad choice being casted as Nino. I’ve heard her played countless of different roles in so many animes so there is that sense of familiarity and ‘trademark’ to her ‘unique’ voice. I know, I once called her a clone of Mamiko Noto but that’s not the point. Anyway, the thing I want to point out is when Nino sings. In short, horrible. Yes, Saori Hayami does not possess that kind of high pitch cutie voice that would make guys go squealing over how cute she sounds. As though it was on purpose she sings horribly and out or tune or screaming. Perhaps it is to showcase that kind of anxiety and insecurity in Nino’s character and it clearly shows. But the way she sounds singing those singings sounded bad enough that I myself who is so talentless in singing, think I can sing and sound better than her!

Just hear the way she sings those songs. It’s like they’re out of tune or don’t fit in quite nicely. And the characters say she is good? Is this how rock band music is supposed to sound? Surely Saori Hayami sounds better than this even if her voice is not meant to sing. True enough, when she sings In No Hurry’s newest song, she sounds so much better! This is what I believe is the greatest high point that she can reach with her voice. That sounds more like it. Finally, something pleasant to my ears. I don’t have to cringe each time I hear her sing. Thus it goes to show that all the previous singing it sounded like she was trying too hard to sound out of tune and horrible. Well, she certainly did and in a way showcases the flexibility of her voice. The anonymous voice? More like the annoying voice! Well, if you think it is easy sounding like that, it’s not. So hats off to Saori Hayami for doing a great job in voicing Nino in this state.

Daisuke Ono as Haruyoshi is playing one of those carefree character roles compared to others that require that serious tone in his voice like Satou of Working!!, Dezel in Tales Of Zestiria The X, Kurou in K and Kyouma in Dimension W. Same case for Jun Fukuyama as Kuro as he sounds as goofy as Ansatsu Kyoushitsu’s Koro and Sousei No Onmyouji’s Kinako. Inversely, Satomi Arai was in serious mode compared to her other comical voices like Otome in Shimoneta and Shirai in To Aru Kagaku No Railgun. The other casts are Daiki Yamashita as Yuzu (Midoriya in Boku No Hero Academia), Kouki Uchiyama as Momo (Raku in Nisekoi), Ayahi Takagaki as Miou (Chris in Senki Zesshou Symphogear series) and Daisuke Namikawa as Yana (Waver in Fate/Zero).

I’m still not a fan of such rock band music so hearing all of the featured music here doesn’t really appeal or resonate with me. All of the songs featured are of course from In No Hurry with Highschool as the opening theme and Allegro as the ending theme. Hearing them again, I guess Saori Hayami does sound better here than singing as an insert song inside the anime. Insert songs like Canary, Spiral and Noise all sound somewhat the same to me. And because of that, seeing them perform on stage singing or jamming their guitars or hitting the drums feel like as though they are in some sort of demonic trance or high on drugs. More so in the case for Nino when she goes berserk. Well, you can’t have them prancing around in cute seductive moves like those idols, can you? The only song that isn’t rock based is that kiddie nursery rhyme, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! I still blame BanG Dream for this but at least they didn’t turn it into a rock rendition here.

There is something about the art style that catches my attention. Well, actually the character designs have eyes that are so big! Obviously bigger than your typical big eyes anime characters. Like as though they are meant for the shoujo market. Oh wait. The manga that this series was adapted from is indeed published in a shoujo manga magazine. Therefore the characters have this super weird-cum-cute looks without resorting to a typical chibi form. Just think of all those sparkly magical shows aimed for younger girls. Just without the magic here. Also, the characters seem to be a bit lanky, making shorty Yuzu only short by comparison to others. Other than that, the colouring and hues look bright and vivid. Animated by Brain Base who did Tonari No Kaibutsu-kun, Yahari Ore No Seishun Love Comedy Wa Machigatteiru, D-Frag!, Watashi Ga Motete Dosunda, Natsume Yuujinchou, Durarara and Kyoukai No Rinne among others.

Overall, if Fuuka is too cheesy for you, maybe this one will do. However some annoying moments especially in characters like Nino and the constant melodrama could only sit well with fans who are really into this sort of genre while putting off others. The love triangle not really solved in the end and it could mean prolonging the ‘suffering’ and drama. Plus, a casual music listener like me won’t be very impressed with the same ‘flat’ kind of music the band has been churning out and playing here. Like as though they are fit for people who are tone deaf. Thank goodness I didn’t lose my taste in music after hearing this. Heck, I even get tired of hearing the same song after a while (assuming I listen to it even once every day) even if that song is one of my favourites. I’m not saying I won’t be looking forward to any more future animes of this genre. I would still give it a chance but I hope that if they want to come up with another rock band romance story, take some time to write out proper stories and characters. I can wait. I’m in no hurry to watch it. Sorry, bad pun…

ClassicaLoid

Tired of animes trying to tell a story using popular characters in history? Reimagining and redesigning them to fit a new story narrative? Well, looks like here we go again. But this time it isn’t going to be popular individuals from Japanese history. I know, we’re sick of that Nobunaga reincarnations. Thank goodness none of that here. So somebody got this bright idea to use classical composers from the Baroque era instead. Yup. People, how would you like to see your favourite composers like Beethoven and Mozart being brought to life in modern era? ClassicaLoid has that answer. Sort of. Wouldn’t it be fun to see musicians of the olden days go about in today’s modern times? Well, if you know who they are. But these composers aren’t really just those boring western blokes from the past. You see, they have some sort of magical power when they use their music to make life more interesting. Or more chaotic is how I see it. So old western composers with magic and music? You’ve done it again anime.

Episode 1
Kanae Otowa has more than just freeloaders of musician wannabe Sousuke Kagura, the playful Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and gyoza maniac Ludwig Van Beethoven staying in her late grandma’s mansion, Otowakan. She has received a notice of eviction as the place will be torn down. Heck, Beethoven is so deep in trying to make the perfect gyoza, it goes awry as usual. More nostalgic memories of grandma flow through her mind so she has had enough of those idiots fooling around and kicks them out. There is this mechanical organ which grandma loved that used to play all kinds of music when the dial is turned. It has stopped working a long time ago. As grandma loved to hold a ball, she promised Kanae she would hold one for her when she grew up. Of course we know that wasn’t meant to be. Next morning, the teardown team is here. Looks like everybody got lazy and didn’t finish packing their stuffs. And Beethoven is still making his gyoza… Kanae suddenly has a change of mind. This place has so much memories. She tries to stop the demolition team as they hold her back. At the same time, the wrecking ball has started its run. Kanae’s tear and yet another failure from Beethoven somehow resonate together. Beethoven powers up and unleashes his Musik! He starts conducting music throughout the compound. His Pastorale symphony resonates throughout Otowakan as his magical notes start making everyone dance! People from the drawing come to live dancing like a ball. Kanae is happy to dance with grandma who viewed this as a happy place with lots of smiles. Then it gets weirder. The wrecking ball machine and organ transform into giant mechas and slug it out. It ends on a high note with the demolition team happy but confused so they leave. In the end, Kanae decides not to move out and continue staying. Too bad this means the guys too continue to freeload and she’s not happy about it.

Episode 2
Kanae’s friends visit Otowakan. But when she sees the freeloaders in their usual antics, time for an earful to remind them about the misconception of her living with other guys. However Mozart thinks Kanae’s blushing means she has fallen in love with him. He tries to play his charming card but gets ignored. Meanwhile Sousuke is trying to get inspiration from yesterday’s magical incident but nothing inspirational comes up yet. He thought of learning from Beethoven but that guy is still obsessed in making gyoza. What a waste. And still no good! This stresses out Kanae as the guys learn her birthday is tomorrow. Sousuke suggests organizing a party in pretence of trying to evoke Musik. So what do they do? Make more gyoza! Trying to recreate yesterday’s events, huh? This means Sousuke becomes the wrecking ball to be slammed into Otowakan! That didn’t work since Kanae is going to blow her top. For some reason, Sousuke then has Mozart undergo various training. To increase his charm? When everything fails, Mozart tells off Sousuke what is most important: Kanae’s birthday over Musik. So they burn the midnight oil for the preparations and come next day, the freeloaders as well as Kanae’s friends throw her a surprise party. Kanae is pretty happy till Mozart presents to her his birthday cake that resembles tits. Kanae is flat… She beats him up and that is when Mozart feels the inspiration and turns on his Musik. Everyone experiences a wonderful fantasy ride. It was the best birthday gift. Because Kanae’s friends are now Mozart’s fans, he had the cheek to say she might not have a chance with him anymore with him being so popular. Time to kick everyone out again?

Episode 3
Kanae is really up to here with the freeloaders. She really wants them to get out so she can rent the place and earn some income. You don’t say because here comes this beautiful chick, Franz Liszt (Liszt is a woman?!) looking for a place to stay. However there is a delivery for a room that Kanae thought is unoccupied. It is addressed to Frederic Chopin. It seems Chopin has been holing up inside this room. He is a hikikomori?! Thus Liszt wants Kanae’s help to draw him out. Worse, Beethoven thinks he is some gyoza fairy (because he has been feeding this guy his yucky food) and Mozart thinks he is some sound ghost (because of the bouncy noise made upstairs). Liszt’s mission isn’t only to bring Chopin back to the agency but Beethoven and Mozart as well who are missing ClassicaLoids. Strangely this entire incident is now moderated by Sousuke who has been regularly conversing with Chopin in an online forum. They manage to open the closet he is hiding in but his face is still covered with a box. Kanae is quick to want them to sign a tenancy agreement for already making a mess of this place. Chopin is about to do it thinking he can stay here forever. This is when he unleashes his Musik. During this towering fantasy, Liszt remembers the warmth and love as she too releases her Musik. Her symphony is making everybody fall in love with each other with huge doe-like eyes! Big group hug! We love you! When it ends, Chopin returns to his shy self and runs away. Kanae is surprised that Liszt has signed the agreement as she will be staying here. Kanae is moved to tears. See how money can move people? But Liszt wants to adopt a pet. A pet? Apparently Chopin has put himself up for adoption outside Otowakan as a pet. Looks like Kanae needs to adjust her rent.

Episode 4
Franz Schubert is lost. And I mean not just the place. Lost as in he views this era is weird. Seems he looks up to Beethoven and is looking for him. Because of that, he thinks a piece he wrote must have displeased the demon king. The people here are all under his underling or trapped under his control. Unknown to him, wherever he goes, he always leaves behind people crying like babies. Schubert seems to hate Mozart because his superiors blame him for copying his songs. There is a festival going on in the city and you bet Beethoven and co are going to attend it since it has a gyoza stamp collecting event. Mozart wants some reward while Beethoven of course seeks to find his secret taste. Schubert is also here. He eats without paying and is forced to pay back via labour. So when he uses music tempo to make gyoza, this attracts a long line. Naturally for Beethoven too. Too bad he got distracted thinking somewhere else had a legendary gyoza and left the line. So close yet so far… Schubert is shocked to see Mozart but that guy doesn’t recognize him. After Schubert is done, he continues his search. His weird observations and behaviour has the people calling the police so they’re on his tail too. At the crowded field of kites, again Schubert and Beethoven miss each other by a hair. Schubert stumbles into Sousuke. They become friends. Sousuke lets him hear his music and it sounds like total crap! So bad that he cried but Sousuke thinks it is damn good! Schubert tries to run when he bumps into Mozart again. But he chases this time. The commotion has the police catch them. Panic, Schubert thinks the demon lord has send his underlings to get him. Desperate, he calls out for Beethoven’s name. What do you know? There he is. But he is mad the last gyoza stall on his list has sold out. Seeing Beethoven makes him happy as he unleashes his Musik. Everybody starts acting like a baby. When finished, he wanted to head over to Beethoven but the kites’ strings entangle and keep him away. Although nobody has any recollection of what happened, soon on the news Africans are crying like babies and they don’t know why a Japanese kite crash landed there.

Episode 5
Beethoven fails in making his perfect gyoza again. This makes Kanae wonder why he still bothers with it. Sousuke thinks how Kanae’s dad is similar to him. But Kanae only remembers him holing up in his room and racking up debts for mom. Not very nice memories. Kanae soon gets a call from a guy who knows her father. He will send a guy named King to get it back. Kanae is already fretting over money problems and here Beethoven is presenting yet another gyoza creation. Much horrible this time. As he is vexing over it, Liszt notices the black filling in his gyoza. It shocks him to hear maybe those stuffs are to be black to begin with. King is outside Otowakan when he sees Sousuke and Mozart heading out (to buy black ingredients). He tails them has a mouse steal one of it. Mozart chases after it and is cornered by King. He captures Mozart to bring him back but the cat scares him off. Mozart takes his turn to torment him. All the black ingredients still do not come close to the perfect gyoza. So Kanae asks why he is so preoccupied with it. It seems her dad was the one who made it. It turned pain into pleasure. Shocking Chopin has made his own gyoza. This certainly tastes like it! Thanks internet! Though the black stuff is bean paste, however it still lacks something. Something spicy. Kanae remembers the snack she gave to Sousuke this morning and has him go look for it. When Mozart returns, King is also here. Kanae apologizes she has no money but he is here to get the ClassicaLoids. As they don’t want to come with him, King summons Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for help. Wait. Tchaikovsky is a young girl?! Tchaikovsky uses her Musik to summon rat henchmen to assist King. Beethoven tastes Sousuke’s snack. He realizes this is the missing puzzle. So awed that he unleashes his Musik. Emperor penguins thumping the rat pack! Tchaikovsky realizes she has lost and notes she cannot underestimate their abilities. Beethoven has finally completed his perfect gyoza. It is his light during his darkness. Kanae’s dad was just happy to see his happy face. Kanae also remembered something like this. He made that gyoza to the other kids who thought it tasted funny. But he asked Kanae if she enjoyed it and she said yes. Kanae finds out that these freeloaders (except Sousuke) are ClassicaLoids. She hears her father’s voice, Kyougo from the recorder claiming he is the one who made them.

Episode 6
Kyougo explains he is being captured by an evil organization to make superhumans for world domination. Though he did create ClassicaLoids, they are not robots but human. He just put them together. Huh? ClassicaLoids have this Musik talent which is supposed to help clear his debts. So that’s why… Because of that, Beethoven thinks of turning the place into a gyoza specialty restaurant. Yeah, he is really going to remodel the place so Kanae blows her top and kicks everyone out. Next morning she really wants to tell them off for good but they are not around. Flashback reveals Kyougo talked to Beethoven and Mozart to head to his daughter’s place to be friends with her. Shortly after that, Kyougo disappeared. Meanwhile Kyougo’s assistant, Akira Mitsuru presents to the executives Johann Sebastian Bach in the flesh. Though they are not too thrilled at first, after listening to his brilliance, they acknowledge him. Kanae faces more problems because the demolition team is back to demolish the house (orders from Mitsuru). Kanae tries to resist but they barge in and start wrecking the place. Before they can use the wrecking ball, Beethoven heard Kanae’s scream. He unleashes his Musik. Déjà vu because organ mecha versus wrecking ball mecha again? At this point Schubert has somehow made his way back. He is happy to see Beethoven in his magic so he too releases his Musik. One by one the other ClassicaLoids also start playing their Musik. It’s one big messy fantasy. They realize they cannot control their own bodies anymore. That is when Bach plays his Musik to neutralize everything back to normal. The demolition crew runs away thinking this place is haunted. Kanae cries her heart out when she sees the ClassicaLoids return. Miss them? Although she allows them to stay but they have to follow her strict rules. Also this means Beethoven and Mozart need to cough up their due rental payments. Otherwise they’ll get no respect from her. They think it is some sort of special relationship and return to their typical behaviour. Looks like earning her respect is going to take a while.

Episode 7
Schubert will now live at Otowakan. Too bad he can’t pay the rent so he changes the subject to go find Beethoven. On the news, in the nearby mountains it is believed a UMA nicknamed Hamagon has been spotted. Sousuke believes this is Mozart and bugs Kanae to find him. She doesn’t care about this till she realizes if he gets captured, she will get all the unwanted attention and protest for being associated with this ‘creature’. So she bugs Beethoven to go find Mozart but he is deeply in focus and meditation in his room to even budge. When Mozart AKA Hamagon attacks Schubert to steal his snack and run rampage around town before disappearing back to the mountains, the people now develop a craze to hunt it down. But inside the mountain they are laced with traps. Kanae and Sousuke find Mozart and because he keeps screaming “Maman!”, Sousuke thinks he is calling for his mother and calls out the same in a retarded way. Mozart just tells them to get out. When a lightning strikes nearby, Mozart becomes concerned and runs back. A fawn he has been taking care of has died. Flashback reveals he was walking through the forest and saw the fawn next to its dead mother. Feeling sad, Mozart plays its substitute mom and Bambi got close to him. Now this sad scene also reminded Mozart of his own mother. So sad that he activates his Musik but his sad requiem has some death skeleton throwing blue flames from the sky! Sousuke gets burnt alive but it seems it doesn’t hurt. Although no pain, those who get hit are overcome with grief and regret. Before Mozart goes out of control, Beethoven punches him. Even though he is hit, why is he not affected? He has no regrets! In the aftermath, Bambi comes back alive. Perhaps it fainted due to the shock. Mozart thought he could have an emotional reunion but the fawn dissed him and left. Rebellious phase? Soon on the news, a new UMA has been spotted. Hamassie is spotted riding a dolphin. “Maman!”. Oh… Kanae pretends not to give a damn. She’ll need all the happiness she can get.

Episode 8
Liszt treats Kanae out to a girl’s day out. At this place, there is an idol group, Claskey Klasky performing. They are made up of Tchaikovsky and Tekla Badarzewska AKA Bada. It seems that Liszt planned their day out for the duo to join them after their concert. Sousuke as a fan of Claskey Klasky is also here but seeing the quartet together makes him go to spy on them by hiding in awkward places. Liszt can tell the girls aren’t having fun although they will not say it. So during the karaoke session (is it me or does Claskey Klasky sound off singing this Russian folk song?), that is when they sing out all their frustrations that they hate their job. Kanae could relate and also joins in. And soon all the girls start singing about the frustrations they face in life. They really let it all out. Then they are having a nice dinner till Tchaikovsky realizes he is being treated like a girl just because he looks like one instead of an old bearded man. They start arguing until a call from Bach rings in. Liszt tells Tchaikovsky to say her true feelings. Bach is still incomprehensible. But it made the duo cry and apologize. This makes Sousuke mad so he comes out of his hiding to give his piece of mind how his creepy behaviour is freaking them out. Have you seen Sousuke this mad? However he realizes too late this guy is Bach and instead of some lowly manager. Because he is a big fan of Bach. Oops. Lost for words now, is he? These feelings of honesty has Liszt totally loving it as she unleashes her Musik that has everyone continue to convey their true and deepest feelings. All they want to say, they say it loud and clear. It ends after Tchaikovsky confesses to Bach. To go out with her. A bit of regret of saying too much once it ends but Tchaikovsky and Bada are glad to have meet today, though they don’t know the next time if they will be friends or foes. Sousuke gets his much wanted handshake from Claskey Klasky. Liszt packs some food for the guys back home. She realizes a girl’s day out isn’t about whether you’re a boy or girl. You do and say whatever you want as long as you’re comfortable with it.

Episode 9
Beethoven has locked himself inside his room for 2 weeks. Schubert thought he could lure him out with gyoza but a guitar was thrown in his face. Seems he is trying to create the perfect guitar. After watching someone play guitar on TV, he just wants to do so. Because something inside him is stirring and he intends to find what that is. Heck, he doesn’t even know what gyoza is anymore! Sousuke is happy thinking he will finally get to learn his Musik and lends his guitar. Too bad Beethoven can’t even play it. Sousuke offers to teach but Beethoven still doesn’t find it right. Still, he continues to borrow Sousuke’s guitar. In his bid to find the perfect sound, he modifies the guitar into a flamethrower! Is it me or do I think Beethoven is a pyromaniac? Naturally it causes the circuits to trip. This reminds of his trauma of being in the darkness and not being able to hear anything. Before Beethoven can go crazier, Kanae stops him dead in his crazy antics as she puts a ban on playing instruments in Otowakan. Sousuke sees a guitar competition in which first prize is a high premium guitar. Beethoven is interested to enter. Unknown to them, it is organized by Bach’s company. Even remodifying Sousuke’s guitar, Beethoven still can’t find his pace. He finds it odd listening to street music. Despite not sounding great, he is somewhat attracted. During the competition, it is Beethoven’s turn. But immediately Bach cuts the power. Beethoven’s trauma comes back but he overcomes it and plays his Musik, turning everyone into Renaissance period clothing as he jams with his electric guitar! He wins in the end but decides to give the guitar away to the street musician for showing him the light. Well, Sousuke got back his overly weird guitar. The best advice from Beethoven to him: It isn’t instruments or technique that you need for music. It’s talent. At this time Schubert has returned from Cuba with the best wood for him to make his guitar. Sorry. Performance is over. So sad…

Episode 10
Chopin narrates the weird people in Otowakan. In short, he hates people. Even those trolls online. He stumbles upon a virtual simulator, Arkhedol to create his own companion avatar in which he names Jolly. Due to his shady activities with Jolly, Liszt thinks he is in a forbidden love with an evil spirit! As much as Chopin loves Jolly, he realizes this can’t go on because she only responds with the input he puts in. He uses his Musik and turns Jolly into a much beautiful ‘3D’ avatar with her own AI! Since she likes his music, she wants to help spread it. Because of that, Jolly fast becomes the new top idol, dethroning Claskey Klasky. Mitsuru gets an idea to research on this because if she can make a virtual ClassicaLoid, there is no reason to bring the rest back. Besides, she can surpass Kyougo then. Jolly then starts acting like a b*tch and diva when Chopin couldn’t write anymore songs. All he wants is to be with her but I guess that isn’t enough for a top idol. When the rest decides to barge in and exorcise the spirit, Jolly has left Chopin and they learn everything. Chopin isn’t willing to give up on her even if it means living with her in the virtual world forever. He uses his Musik but it seems he messed up and transported the rest instead. Also in this virtual world is Sousuke’s pad, Pad-kun in his handsome butler form. He brings Jolly here and Chopin pleads to start over. She claims she doesn’t belong to anyone and starts singing. This allows Mitsuru to seize her and absorb her data. Pad-kun says she is being infected with a virus and will die. But even if they remove it, she will lose her current personality. Chopin is in a dilemma on what to do as he doesn’t want to lose her. Jolly confesses all she wants is to make other people understand his music. At least she wants to end by his hands. Chopin makes his resolve and uses his Musik to purge the virus. Goodbye Jolly. Mitsuru reports to Bach about Jolly vanishing in the middle of the analysis. She wants to find more samples but Bach pulls the plug on this test. Evidently Chopin can’t give up on Jolly and creates a version 2 of her. She is more hideous and simpler… My 5 year old can draw better…

Episode 11
Kanae has to leave the house for a while to visit one of her sick uncles. So she wants the freeloaders to take care of the place and do chores while she is gone. Guess what? They’re trying to give excuses to weasel their way out of doing anything! Even when they don’t agree with the chore list, they seem to be stalling by using methods on who does what. From rock-scissors-paper to lottery to even dice throws, there is just somebody accusing somebody of cheating, eh? Eventually Kanae puts her foot down with a final list. It is actually revealed Kanae is going on a vacation with her friends. Since one of them are visiting her relatives, technically she isn’t lying, right? She is worried about leaving the house but seeing how Beethoven can’t even properly follow instructions to do laundry (Musik isn’t a solution), Chopin slowly inching to feed Hasshie their shoebill pet and Liszt walking around to find a suitable pose to be Otowakan’s symbol, yeah she’s going to be worried a lot. Schubert thought Mozart is fooling around will earn Kanae’s wrath. Too bad he finished faster and got praises. To add insult to injury, Kanae tells Schubert to learn from Mozart. Then when cleaning the roof, Mozart’s shenanigans has Schubert ruining Beethoven’s laundry work of art. Oops? Schubert is ‘dead’ when Beethoven wonders if he is trying to imitate Mozart. It gets worse when Mozart decides to paint the roof pink to hide the dirt. They have to clean it up before Kanae sees this. So they have Beethoven stall her right before she goes out shopping. Seeing his serious eyes, she thinks he is serious about confessing and rejects him! He plays along and everything could have been fine had she not seen the pink dripping paint. Beethoven fakes his vomit for being rejected. But when the rest soon falls off from the roof and feign their vomit, Kanae wants them to clean up when she gets back or else… Get to it! When she returns, the roof is clean. But inside is like a hell hole! Everyone fails in their cleaning! And so Kanae has decided! She brings everyone along to holiday with her friends. At least Otowakan is safe and she has her peace of mind.

Episode 12
Schubert is trying to get a job but the interviewer isn’t so convinced about his shady background. Meanwhile Sousuke brings Beethoven and Mozart for another audition by Arkhe Corp, the company who organized the previous competition. Because their talent caught the eyes of some bigshots, they are given another chance to see if they can make their debut. Tchaikovsky and Bada spot them and report to Mitsuru but it seems she invited them as part of Bach’s plan to bring all ClassicaLoids to a complete state. Meanwhile a strange man visits Otowakan. Kanae entertains him since he intended to see Kyougo but is of course not around. He talks about the real music he hopes to create one day, the passion and freedom music is supposed to be and other mumbo-jumbo that Kanae can’t seem to understand. Kanae is embarrassed by her tenant’s messy state and tries to clean up so he thinks perhaps this environment is comfortable for them. As he leaves, a helicopter picks him up and he thinks it must be an emergency. By now you should have guessed this guy is Bach. Beethoven isn’t enthusiastic in his guitar audition. When the judges call him an imitator and the policies needed to follow to succeed, he blows his top and is going to show them true music. He unleashes his Musik. Attack of the penguins! At the same time Mozart is taken in to be an idol since he is thinking of getting the girls. But he didn’t like the dance lessons and cannot swear. He wants to quit but the guys won’t let him. Not after they have paid for his lessons. This has Mozart remember his traumatic past about being in debt and forced to do his employer’s bidding. He can’t take it anymore and unleashes his Musik. Attack of the death skulls! Soon the entire studio is taken hostage. Sousuke can still find time to get Bada’s email? Bach drops in to quell the menace. When Beethoven and Mozart face off with him, Back shows his superiority. He rubbishes their passion and freedom as selfishness and irresponsibility. They are no different than animals. So awesome Back is that his Musik brings them to their knees. He believes they are not ready for the Eight Sounds he seeks to create. The duo are released and allowed to return home, though they will be sulking for quite a while over their defeat.

Episode 13
Schubert is happily taking a bath, relishing how down Mozart is after that Bach incident. So much so he hums his Musik and turns into a fish! While he is trying to make sense of what is going on and turn back, here comes Mozart. Mmm… Tasty… Luckily Schubert is swift enough to avoid becoming his next meal. Mozart seeks Kanae’s help to catch it and at first she didn’t believe it till Schubert somehow pops out from the washing machine. With Chopin, they Google on what kind of delicious dish they can cook with it. Schubert decides to run away. Luckily it was raining heavily last night so when he jumps out the window, there are puddles everywhere enough for him to get to the garden fountain. Now he has to avoid being picked by Hasshie. When Sousuke comes by, Schubert uses his intelligence by using broken sticks to spell, “I want freedom”. Sousuke understands and lets him free at the ocean. Nearby, Beethoven is fishing and is upset everybody else has a great haul. Maybe he needs to change his gyoza bait… But wait! Schubert takes the bait! I’m sure he is in a bliss to be captured by him. So happy that he unleashes his Musik. Now Beethoven is also a fish! So back in their garden fountain, this time Liszt finds them. Time to Google more tasty fish dish. Don’t they find strange that fish are popping up in Otowakan? Whatever. It seems Schubert has this mentality of being eaten but Beethoven will fight it. Using his Musik, they now operate a giant robot crab! Since the humans are only going to allow the fish to go into their stomach, an ‘epic’ battle ensues. Schubert is in so much awe of Beethoven’s coolness that he release s another Musik. Before you know it, everybody is turned into some kind of fish. Except for Sousuke. He’s a snail. Don’t ask. Only after a week they finally manage to revert back to normal. In the aftermath, Schubert happily takes his bath, relishing seeing Mozart down because his fish got away. He hums his Musik and then again…

Episode 14
There are stories circulating that Claskey Klasky is disbanding! It’ the end of the world for Sousuke! More shockingly, Tchaikovsky is personally at Otowakan to tell everybody that! Seems she is upset about their upcoming new single. Bach decided to cut out Tchaikovsky’s parts till she had none. When she learns Kanae met Bach and talked like normal, she starts abusing her! Kanae is now burdened with another freeloader. She thinks of getting Bach’s help since he left his name card. However Bada is the one who meets her and it seems she wants her to be Claskey Klasky’s replacement. When Kanae messages back to Sousuke about this, it seems everyone is supportive of her to become an idol! Tchaikovsky is too sick to even rebut. At first Kanae is hesitant but the thought of being rich has her agreeing. She might regret it since here comes those hellish lessons. There are clips of Kanae practising but her trying face is so hideous! The Otowakan freeloaders are coming up with more plans to make Kanae famous! Nobody cares about you anymore, Tchaikovsky. On the day of the concert, Kanae is still nervous. Bada advises her to pretend everyone is focusing on Bada. However the entire crowd is supporting Kanae! They are Kanae fans! Kanae feels scared and wants to return being a normal girl. Bada is shocked that they are different. She then decides to go solo and show the world what she’s got. Naturally everyone is disappointed that only Bada is up there. Tchaikovsky comes out of her hiding to tell Bada about their special music they make together. However Bada will not accept her back as she unleashes her Musik. Everyone starts to feel how awesome she is. Bada argues with her former partner about her abandoning Bach and his music. Just when you thought they are going to reconcile, Bada accuses her of using her cleansing foam. That’s it. Their partnership-cum-friendship is over. Bada’s Musik makes everyone worship her like the sun. Tchaikovsky is left to rue the sh*t she is in.

Episode 15
Because Sousuke promised his classmates he is going to perform at the school’s cultural festival, now he is begging for the ClassicaLoids to be in his band. Yeah, they ignore him while continue to play their board game. I guess it took him screaming all day till they got annoyed. They’re not interested until Mozart learns he could be popular… Oh no. The taboo word… And so here they are, causing their own ‘mayhem’ at school and Kanae must be busy to pick them out and lecture them to go home. But wait. The teachers somehow love their presence because it seems they are helping to improve the mood. What? And so that is how they stay. As they become popular, Sousuke announces them as his bandmates and with his classmates excited, he gets motivated to write his song. Well, that motivation sure didn’t last long… Soon, he has the ClassicaLoids listen to his song. IT SUCKS!!! ALMOST DESTROYED THE SCHOOL!!! Sousuke thinks it is damn good since they have no heart to tell him how bad he is. Till Mozart says it right in his face how bad it is. Like as though he is trying to copy off somebody. Sousuke is obviously devastated. Pity to see him like this. When his classmates are eager to see his pre-performance, the ClassicaLoids help cover him with their simple performance. This only makes them more popular as Sousuke becomes jealous. But after Pad-kun has a pep talk with him, he isn’t going to lose out yet. He fires them from his team as he is going to get all the chicks himself. So on the day of the festival, ragged Sousuke goes up onstage to tell of his breakup. Then he plays his song. Starts off decent at first. Till he starts singing. It’s about his useless and plain self. Yup. That killed it. Everybody starts ‘dying’!!! OMFG! Even the ClassicaLoids are affected thinking this is his Musik! Even Pad-kun is ‘dead’! Ultimately, Sousuke also ‘dies’! So bad that ambulances are called in to take in those badly affected! But the irony is that Sousuke is now popular with his classmates. Wait. They love his song? Don’t tell me they’re brainwashed. Oh, it’s a funny song. I see… Come on everybody. Let’s laugh our hearts out. See Sousuke, all you need to do is just do your best and the rest will follow. I think.

Episode 16
Kanae is putting her foot down. She wants Beethoven and Mozart to pay up their due rent. My, that’s lots of zeroes. How will they weasel their way out? While she is ranting about upgrading the bathroom with this merleopon statue, they ran away. But wait. They are actually serious in finding a job. Not to pay the rent. But to get a merleopon! Need to make lots of money with lots of zeroes in it. They try Arkhe first but they get insulted thinking they need to take lessons. Geniuses like them taking lessons? Then at a convenience store, they fool around, get scolded by a girl fiercer than Kanae before finally quitting because the pay isn’t daily and it’s not worth much. After various jobs, they nearly lost their objective why they need to work in the first place. Meanwhile Chopin is doing a walking trip and uploading it. He looks like a different person with his sunshiny personality. A bit of badmouthing Otowakan… Maybe recluses do need to come out for sunshine and fresh air once in a while. Schubert is experiencing withdrawal symptoms without his senpai around. Sousuke tells Kanae he met Beethoven and Mozart during one of their jobs. She didn’t realize they took her merleopon joke seriously. Liszt finds it amazing and will carve one herself! Actually it looks quite good. But she doesn’t like it and restarts again from scratch! Chopin’s wandering leads him to some tea plantation. He is shocked to meet Beethoven and Mozart working there. They’ve been there for so long that they almost forgot themselves! So much so they decide to stay here forever in this paradise. Otowakan is hell, right? So when Chopin returns and reports to Kanae, she doesn’t really care. It’s not like she is asking them to live here, right? What about Chopin? Is he going to pay the rent? Back to his normal self. Playing the dumb recluse again… Schubert rushes out to find his senpai. Does he know where to look first? Beethoven and Mozart hear the elders speak of this year’s poor harvest so they use their Musik for a miracle. But soon they are given their final pay and sent home since harvesting season is over. So back at Otowakan, they are their usual dumb selves again. The past they threw away? Nothing wrong to pick it back up, right? Liszt has finally finished her merleopon. Is there some sexual connotations to it since it is all in mosaic?! Yeah, it shoots water from the top… Is this a sexual subtext too when they want to move it to the toilet but Kanae says it is too big to fit???!!! Meanwhile Schubert is lost and crying for his senpai…

Episode 17
Sousuke heard Kanae is dying! Actually she is down with a flu. It is the ClassicaLoids who are ‘dying’ because nobody is around to do chores! To make her better, Sousuke and Mozart heard fried mikan has healthy properties so they pluck some from the backyard. Well, it tastes good! Did they just make Kanae a guinea pig to taste it first? But soon Beethoven and Schubert start falling ill. Chopin believes this is a curse from Hasshie because they ate his precious mikan that he was trying to grow. Well, can’t say he is talking crap that he communicated with a bird but their heads are slowly turning into mikan! Then Liszt also falls ill. This is starting to be a horror episode when their mikan head falls off and replaced by flower heads?! Zombie flower heads?! So the trio terrorize the rest and poor Sousuke became their ‘sacrifice’. Chopin is irked that Mozart is not interested in taking responsibility as he is mostly fooling around. When he does have an idea, Chopin becomes bait to lure them in so Mozart can blast them with a flamethrower! Does he really want to fry them?! Well, it exploded. Suddenly their zombie ways remind Mozart of a Turkish march. That is when he unleashes his Musik to that tune. Are they trying to dance something like Thriller too? But nothing is solved. Mozart just wanna have fun. Next morning, the trio return to normal. They have no recollection of what happened last night although they feel refreshed. It is revealed the fried mikan skin enabled some detoxification and metabolic change for ClassicaLoids. Mozart and Chopin didn’t get affected since the former ate it before being fried and the latter peeled away the skin. Kanae is well but her temperature might rise again when she sees the mess in the hall. If you think all is well, then think again. Everyone is shock to see Mozart’s head resembling a pineapple! Hasshie’s curse runs deep…

Episode 18
Mitsuru reports the near completion of Octovano for Bach’s Eight Sounds. She remembers she was hired by Arkhe because of her brains. Her first day on the job was weird as she saw Kyougo in some experiment. To boil the perfect ramen. However she is amazed and shocked by Kyougo’s theory that could turn the science world upside down. It was creating humans called ClassicaLoids for music. He didn’t bother to submit it because it’s too much trouble. Thus Mitsuru claims she will be the one who will bring Bach’s plans to fruition with her MitsuruLoid. Too bad her dumb agents brought back Sousuke because he sounded like a he was a music genius (yeah, he was talking he was like one). She isn’t happy with this ‘noise maker’ but still decides to test him out. She has him play his crap in which infuses some life to her MitsuruLoid which takes after Sousuke. She sends it back to Otowakan in which the dumb people can’t tell this is the fake Sousuke. They are surprised when he easily does what he is told. Bu when he screws up once, they scold him and that is when he goes berserk. He causes a rampage throughout town screaming to be praised. Meanwhile Kyougo suddenly pops back in the room Sousuke is waiting. He leaves with him but it seems Kyougo has returned to take something: His hidden money in his lab. Yeah, ran out of those cash for tonight’s dinner. When Mitsuru bumps into him, she is not happy this traitor who abandoned Bach returned. Flashback shows Bach was first awakened and his Musik controlled people. Kyougo asked if he would control him for his Eight Sounds and he will do anything to achieve it. However Bach wants Kyougo to help as a supporter, not a pawn. Kyougo needed some time to think but he used it to free Beethoven and Mozart and fled. Mitsuru receives word the MitsuruLoid is rampaging in town. Meanwhile Bach is out incognito (without his wig, that is) listening to different sounds and music. As he accidentally sat on wet paint, his clothes got shredded when he got up. So he ‘stole’ some monster mascot, got ‘harassed’ by kids and then Mozart (the zipper is stuck). So when MitsuruLoid is running rampage, Beethoven and Mozart unleash their Musik which is more composed and coordinated this time. When Bach finally breaks out, his Musik calms everything down. The real Sousuke pops up and those dumb ClassicaLoids can’t tell it’s the real him. Kanae is shocked Sousuke didn’t stop Kyougo when they parted ways. Mitsuru retrieves her MitsuruLoid to improve on it further.

Episode 19
Claskey Klasky back? They’re live on a TV interview. When a fan mail asks if they are really back together, Tchaikovsky snaps and rants he didn’t trust them in the first place. Then she goes on saying they’re still not on talking terms! That must’ve ended badly. Because of that, they are dropped off at Otowakan and naturally Bach tells them they’re fired! So sad Tchaikovsky is that her Musik has everyone gather in the hall. Then a large demon bird known as Rothbart (Hasshie?) claims if they become a couple, they will fall into a certain doom. Since Kanae’s friends really like Mozart, several coloured shoebills snag them away! So they must either stay here forever or fall prey to those talons. Tchaikovsky doesn’t know how to undo her Musik. Somehow Kanae tries to serve curry lunch in a cosplay outfit. This tempted the ClassicaLoid guys although they’re in for the curry. Liszt won’t lose out and when it seems she and Sousuke are hitting off, the shoebills of death came! Chopin thinks he can go get his stuffs. Tchaikovsky sends Bada to retrieve him. She finds herself in cliché high school romcom situations. She is resisting trying to fall for him. Suddenly Schubert as a delinquent comes into the picture. In a twist, the guys become gays and meet their doom! While Bada is relieved, Tchaikovsky doesn’t seemed pleased… Those who got picked are actually alive outside Otowakan. Pad-kun narrates about the tragic story of Swan Lake and since there is a happy ending version, they think the song isn’t about death but rebirth. Sousuke goes back in hopes to save Bada. At this point the Claskey Klasky duo are fighting and blaming each other. Any shoebills trying to get close get owned! Even Sousuke. But when he tells about this rebirth thingy, it makes Bada realize maybe Tchaikovsky just wanted to reboot Claskey Klasky. They reconcile and now as an unstoppable dynamic duo, beat up Rothbart and fly away in their swan boat. Don’t ask. Sorry Sousuke. You’re not meant to be with Bada. Kanae thought she is doomed but here is Beethoven to her rescue. They try to resist each other but realize too late Otowakan is back to normal and everyone is watching. Looks like Tchaikovsky has left and so the effect of her Musik too. The duo can’t be so embarrassed. In the aftermath, Claskey Klasky are back with a bang as they hold a concert. However Bada is being bossy over Tchaikovsky so she blows her top and calls it quits! In front of the stage! But nobody is shocked. They are laughing at the popular comedians!!! People, I think they’re fighting for real. And Bach is the one most in shock seeing he didn’t really expect this to turn out like this.

Episode 20
Everyone has had it with Mozart’s stupid pranks. Because Mozart is the only one enjoying it and laughing so hard that he farts! I suppose Schubert’s plan of putting him in a cage and get mauled by a real tiger won’t hold up. Can they afford that? Kanae bans Mozart from doing pranks forever and threatens no dinner if he ever does it again. At first he might look all zen restraining himself. But then he starts going crazy like as though he is experiencing withdrawal symptoms. A terrible dilemma to prank Schubert ends up with Mozart giving in to his devil side, pushing him into the bathtub. This is when Mozart sinks into depression. Everyone gets worried (no love lost for Schubert as the victim?). Mozart has gone out for so long that everyone is really getting worried especially Kanae who wonders if he will ever come back. I thought she wanted the ClassicaLoids out so bad? Oh well… But Schubert thinks he is resorting to some crime. So everyone tails him in hopes of finding out what he does and Schubert to catch him in the act. Everything seems normal until bad luck befalls on them. Did Mozart planned this ahead? Pad-kun explains about Mozart Panic. When Mozart withdraws from pranking, his aura is so great that it causes bad luck around him. So good luck trying to stay close to him. Eventually Kanae is the only one left following him. At the end of the day she confronts and talks to him. She wants to know what is wrong but he feels refreshed and goes off to see his 17 year old lover. Everyone is shocked but supports his notion. Turns out that lover of his is a famous piece he composed when he was 17 years old.

Episode 21
Schubert just realizes this: He doesn’t have his own room at Otowakan! Yeah, nobody realizes this too. Not even Kanae! Worse, they’re laughing about it! Because Schubert does most of the chores, he proposes room size based on contribution. Not so keen are they? (Apparently chores rank lower than rent payments and Musik). How about a Musik battle then? There is a storeroom they can clear up for an extra room. While the ClassicaLoids use their Musik to clean, no actual cleaning is done. So Schubert decides to show off but he couldn’t unleash his Musik. This makes the rest mock he can’t use it when he wants to. Sad Schubert leaves for a journey. To his dismay, the crowd doesn’t even know he is physically there! He thought Arkhe would accept him but apparently he is also invisible in their eyes. It might seem he is going to kill himself but a kite takes him away to some American slums. He accidentally bumps into a gangster and gets beaten up. Well, at least someone took notice of him. As he laments he will die without being noticed, Kyougo picks him up. Of course Schubert instantly asks him why he even created him if he is going to be ignored. Is he even unneeded by his created? Kyougo didn’t answer directly but says a man should do what he wants. Then Kyougo leaves him with the bill. Oh no. Pay up or those Yankee gangsters will beat your ass! But saved by the kite again. A freak storm hits Otowakan as everyone tries to repair the roof. Schubert returns and they quickly want him to help. However this only angers him as nobody cared he was gone in the first place. So mad that he unleashes his Musik. However! He is rapping! OMG! Schubert rapping like a badass!!! Parappa parody!!! He is rapping about his complaints on everyone. In the end, a clear blue sky. In the aftermath, the ClassicaLoids are forced to do more work since Schubert isn’t around. In fact, he is taking his freedom so seriously, he doesn’t want to be tied down, goes anywhere he wants and sleeps anywhere he wants. This means he doesn’t need a room. And Kanae just prepared one for him. Out with the attitude! They throw him out. Too late to say sorry and revert back to ol’ Schubert now.

Episode 22
Beethoven is imposing on us that coffee is the best drink! No doubts about that! So he has found the best process on how to make coffee and that the ideal beans to make them is 60. So he really counts his beans thoroughly. Till drunk Liszt interrupts him followed by busybody Mozart and Schubert (still a rapper?). Restarting the count. Even when he barricades away, the rest arguing about the ideal number has him lost count. So he locks himself up in his room to restart his count. Again. He becomes protective the moment he hears any suspicious sound. So when he gets his ideal count, he needs to make it past those idiots to the kitchen where he can blend his coffee. He finally does and enjoys his cuppa. Till Mozart points out he drops a bean. Then he goes ballistic! But isn’t it good coffee? Apparently no! He just doesn’t want to drink good coffee but coffee with 60 beans. Huh? So as he ponders about people easily giving in to compromise, he realizes that he needs an ideal location to drink. His search has him decide the best place is on a panda ride at a playground. Because he hogs it, the other kids start complaining. He won’t budge. Despite Kanae coming down to reprimand him, he still isn’t moving. The kids decide to play dodgeball over the ride. It seems all of Otowakan are against Beethoven. Including Schubert. Beethoven loses but he wants to play again. Always the same. He loses. He demands another match. It is obvious he is utterly defeated but still won’t give up. Even the kids give up and go home. Perseverance wins! So the next morning, he decides to unleash his Musik for yesterday’s fine victory. Opera version of Fur Elise? In the end, looks like he got hooked on dodgeball. Now he imposes on us it is the best game ever. He wants those kids to play him but they won’t. WTF?! He chases after them?! Has he gone nuts?! I hope this isn’t the effects of coffee.

Episode 23
The Octovas is complete and Bach wants all the ClassicaLoids gathered to power it up in 2 hours. Hence men in black try to capture them but they fail miserably because they unleashed their Musik. But Mitsuru assures not to worry. For she has the MitsuruLoids 2.0. ClassicaLoids are unpredictable unlike MitsuruLoids 2.0 who are obedient. From the data she has collected, their Musik is as good as the originals. Tchaikovsky and Bada are shocked to see their robo selves. Once again, they are fired. Where to go? Otowakan of course. They explain what happened and guess what the ClassicaLoids think? Since they are not needed, they can do whatever they want! The first phase of Octovas is initiated. Suddenly the world loses its sound! Nobody can talk! Not a single sound at all! Except for the ClassicaLoids. They can still talk like normal but it took them a while to think this is some irregularity. They think a world of silence is what Bach wants. But then phase two starts. Although sound returns, everyone who is weak of mind starts wearing Bach’s weak and speak like him! However this is not Bach had wanted. It seems Mitsuru took this initiative on her own. She doesn’t see the need of other ClassicaLoids and only views Bach’s music in creating Eight Sounds. This means 8 Bachs? Mitsuru fawns over the thought of turning Bach into a legendary god with her MitsuruLoids 2.0. Kyougo looks like he has some plan to stop it but is cut short when the electricity is cut off. Didn’t pay his bills, did he? Bach zombies invade Otowakan. You can use you Musik, beat them and slap them to their senses but as long as they are weak minded, they’ll still become Bach. They think the 7 ClassicaLoids here can defeat this horde. Till they realize they are missing one and can’t put their finger on who. Hey, isn’t that Schubert in the crowd? He has become a Bach!

Episode 24
Mad Beethoven punches Schubert to senses and tells him off to come to their side! Yes senpai. As everyone uses their Musik to fight off the hordes, Kanae gets a call from Kyougo. He tells her to go stop the amplifier on Arkhe’s facility atop a nearby mountain. She would love to give him her piece of mind but too bad his tablet’s battery ran out. She needs help so the ClassicaLoids all volunteer to go. They’re sick of grinding zombies. Who is going to guard Otowakan? Sousuke?! Since she only needs 2, they face off in rock-scissors-paper. Lucky Beethoven and Mozart get to go with Kanae. Mitsuru is about to become a Bach herself when she detects intruders. She orders her MitsuruLoids to intercept as she goes to fix the damaged Octovas. However Bach has freed himself and reprimands her. She doesn’t understand why he doesn’t see himself as the greatest composer. He tells her that music cannot be one colour. It is a mix with other sounds. That is why he waited for the other ClassicaLoids to wake up. Beethoven and Mozart face off with their clones. They can use Musik and match whatever they put up. But Beethoven defeats his clone by giving him drink coffee. It short-circuited. Mozart and his clone dance but it trips and breaks. The other clones pop out. The duo don’t feel like fighting it so they argue over rock-scissors-paper. They don’t have to do anything since Bach’s Musik took them out. They go to face off with Bach as he explains about the current state of music. It is disrespected and treated poorly. “Musicians” are created instead of music. Don’t they want to change the world? Bach’s goal is to create a world in which everything is rooted in music. Everyone speaks the universal language of music and can understand each other. Even aliens?! Beethoven and Mozart disagree. They tell him their experience of gyoza and flirting with girls. It made them forget about music. Kanae too has something to say. Her old records that grandma introduced to her bring back memories. It made her smile and remember her. As music doesn’t exist everywhere, it is special. Thus all kinds of music comes with special memories. That reminded Bach of something and causes him to waver and allowed Beethoven-Mozart penguin-dragon combo to defeat him. Music notes rain down from the sky and everyone is freed from the zombie control. And you thought everyone is joking about in this feel good ending when suddenly aliens hover across the sky! I kid you not! I guess Bach was serious when he said that.

Episode 25
The aliens are abducting people from all over the world! Looks like Kyougo is one of them. He contacts Kanae to tell that there is a huge microphone inside the ship. Could it be they want a karaoke? Bach’s suspicions were right. He felt someone somewhere in the universe was listening to his music and thought they would one day come to Earth to listen to it. Thus the Octovas as a device to communicate with aliens. Don’t worry. A few quick repairs and it is back up to normal. Now dropped in Kanae’s yard. Thus Bach wants the ClassicaLoids to play their music to them, the reason they are created. Tchaikovsky and Bada are upset they never told them this. Would they have believed him? They point out it is he who doesn’t trust others. Apparently the ClassicaLoids aren’t interested in saving the Earth. But Sousuke is! He purposely gets abducted thinking his song will save the world! OMG! World destruction in 3, 2, 1… The aliens hate it and kicks him out! Once Kanae gets assurance from Bach that humans and aliens can be friends via Octovas, she has the ClassicaLoids assemble to help save the world. They decide to do her request since she asked. Maybe that tear helped too. The ClassicaLoids begin their Musik and aliens all over the world rejoice. But then Octovas malfunctions from it all and the aliens are mad they want an encore. Better give it to them as they’re starting to shoot down buildings with their rainbow lasers!

Sousuke’s solution is simple. Just give it to them. Imagine these aliens as fans from a faraway country attending a concert. They came all the way to see them and can’t go home like that. Since it is his idea, Mozart transforms him into a cool ClassicaLoid outfit with Pad-kun as his cool music jet. What? Sousuke given a chance to save the world? He isn’t doing it alone, though. Beethoven transforms Kanae into Sousuke’s equal as she rides a badass Hasshie (amplifier bird?). After all, it is human’s job, not ClassicaLoids to deliver their music to them. Then they guide the duo straight up into the alien ship. Oddly, I don’t see them do anything because it’s like the ClassicaLoids are the ones doing their Musik over again while explaining about the love and friendship of humans. Anyway this satisfies the aliens. They want an autograph and Sousuke signs his big name there. After dropping them down, the aliens leave Earth, leaving behind golden droplets of happiness. A few weeks later, Kanae continues to take care of Otowakan. Kyougo still contacts her although he continues to travel freely around the world. He theorizes that the aliens knew about their music when they stumbled onto Voyager that was launched attached with humanity’s culture decades ago. Bach resumes his producing work while Claskey Klasky is back on stage with Mitsuru as their manager. The other ClassicaLoids left on a journey so Otowakan is a bit lonely now. Sousuke is trying his hands at street music but is too chicken for his first performance. He can perform confidently only at Otowakan. Then all the ClassicaLoids return from their journey with their messy souvenirs. Since they start to make a mess out of the place again, Kanae threatens to kick them all out. So you want company or not?

Classical Music Rock Save The Earth
So… Where are the rest of the classical composers? We only got 8 so far for this season? Where is Brahms? Where is Handel? Where is Haydn? Where is Debussy? Where is Vivaldi? Where is Mendelssohn? Where is Wagner? Wow… It sounds like I seem like a classical music enthusiast and expert. Just kidding. I’m not. I just happen to know their names but if you play to me one of their pieces I can’t even tell them apart or from who. But that is not the end of it all yet. Because there is going to be a second season! Hooray! Can I say that is music to my ears? Oh, Bach hasn’t got his wish this season? Don’t worry. *In Arnold’s voice*. “I’ll be Bach!”. Maybe those aliens dude who love our classical music so much would recommend and bring back more alien pals in the future. Who’d knew Earth was such a great intergalactic hit? Now you can’t laugh and look down on people who love classical music. Because it is a sign of peace and friendship! Aliens don’t come to our planet to hear pop culture songs! No Beyoncé. No Taylor Swift. No Katy Perry. No Kanye West. Not even The Beatles! They’re here for our Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Chopin and the likes! Viva classical music?!

One of the most things that made me feel conflicted is the portrayal of the ClassicaLoids themselves. Despite being told that they are not the real composers themselves and are just taken after them, I still can’t help feel ‘disappointed’ that such would be like ‘deceiving’ us. Because the ClassicaLoids themselves are a very interesting and quirky bunch and it is because of that I find the series quite fun and interesting to watch. It feels like they are just their famous counterparts in name but everything else differs. I thought their quirky behaviour is somewhat a homage to their real life in history so I did a bit of (lazy) search on Google but couldn’t find anything that tells me that Liszt is a cross-dresser or Chopin is a shut-in or Schubert a big fan boy of Beethoven. Of course I can definitely tell it is all BS that Beethoven is obsessed with gyoza. That should have given me an early hint. Heck, not to say I know well about them either. But a few like Bada being a one hit wonder is somewhat true despite being the joking point of her in the series. Still, to have them as weirdoes sometimes feel like they’re committing sacrilege to the real ones. But then again, this is anime where even Nobunaga has not been spared from sex change.

Therefore it was really weird to see the ClassicaLoids with their own unique behaviour. But like I have said, that is what makes them and the series fun. They have so much free time to do nothing and goof around. Even free loading at Kanae’s place like as though they own the mansion. But think about it. What should ClassicaLoids do anyway besides whatever fate Bach proclaims of them? Imagine if they are portrayed as those strict crazy old men in white wigs in this anime. That would be super boring, wouldn’t it? That wouldn’t be anime, wouldn’t it? Hence it is somewhat ‘okay’ to see Beethoven turned into a gyoza maniac (somewhat toned down after he discovered his ideal taste because it would’ve been annoying to hell if they continued to spam this running joke) and on occasion a pyromaniac, Mozart a carefree dude who loves to prank others and flirt with chicks, Liszt obsessed with love and Chopin turning into a typical otaku. While Schubert feels like a character created to be everyone’s punching bag (to be ignored, that is – even ‘lower’ than Chopin since this shut-in has his own sniggering sarcasm), it is refreshing to see him change his style to a free rapper. Again it is with mixed feelings to see Schubert turn into something different. I thought it was for a single episode but it seems it became permanent ever since he found his true calling. I still prefer the old Schubert looks when he looks more elegant.

If I had to pick a favourite ClassicaLoid, it would be Tchaikovsky. This petite blond girl is quite spunky and when she gets loud mouth and starts complaining, she is really funny. Yeah, if Tchaikovsky wasn’t a bald Russian dude in real life, she could have been my idol… Bada feels pretty ordinary and normal till you start teasing her about her one hit wonder… That somewhat becomes somewhat of her running joke. I mean, what else can you say about her besides Sousuke trying to hit on her but fails as bad as his music? Bach on the other hand at first looks intimidating and sometimes feels like a ‘retard’ because of his tendencies to only speak in one line musical terms in which could be anybody’s guess what the heck it means. Could this be what he meant that he want to speak in the universal language of music? Noble intentions but I think he got the wrong idea of what music should be. It’s like imposing his ideals upon everyone else.

In view of these characters, it is no doubt that a very big majority of the plot and stories these season feel like standalone fillers. It seems like they are doing silly random things that have no part whatsoever in the bigger plot of what the actual series is supposed to be about. At points they show you flashbacks to hint about them but they serve more as teasers and reminders only rather than something to drive the plot. And thanks to the quirky ClassicaLoids, I don’t mind watching them doing mindless and pointless stuffs because it feels so much fun. There is also the mystery of Kyougo but that is always quickly brushed aside to continue the random hilarity of the episode. So when sh*t gets real in the final few episodes of the season, I mean it really gets out of this world with Bach’s putting forth his plan (sometimes I thought Mitsuru’s plan feels like Resident Evil version Bach) and even culminating with aliens! Did you even see that coming?! So they trolled us with random episodes to let our guard down so that when it comes to the final battle we will not anticipate this plot twist. Clever or just weird? But it is thanks to this format that we get to love and learn more about the ClassicaLoids so it isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Speaking of the non-ClassicaLoid characters, the biggest mystery is Kyougo himself. At times we are made to think who this guy is and what this guy’s goal is. I know all scientists are crazy but this one feels more like laidback and carefree. Like as though he knows things will turn out alright somehow. Or maybe he just doesn’t know. Kanae doesn’t really stand out as much as the ClassicaLoids but even if she does it is because she isn’t one. It feels as though her character exists the ClassicaLoids need a place to stay and a place to call home after a day filled with randomness. I can sympathize with her being the landlord whom nobody (except for Liszt) wants to pay their rent but she can’t kick them out because she has grown attached to their antics. If she really wanted money, she would have seriously kicked them all out a long time ago. It’s the warmth and company that makes Otowakan lively again. But seriously, thanks to Liszt she can still breathe easy on some expenses. Yeah, money still important to a certain extent.

And Sousuke is supposedly the other joker (and gopher) of the series because of his big dream of becoming a musician himself but he seems to want to leech off the ClassicaLoids rather than putting in his own effort. But even when he does that, she how that turned out… He should have picked another career. I kept wondering if Hasshie is supposed to hold some secret since this shoebill is always standing and looking intimidating (a couple of curse and grudge episodes, for all we know Hasshie could be some sort of demon!) but I guess he is this series’ mascot. I guess better than having the standard cute cat, dog, rabbit or hamster. Or maybe not. Lastly, I feel that Mitsuru is just a big fan girl of Bach rather than wanting to usurp Kyougo. At least that is what she seems to have become. This kind of fandom of liking one person and others are trash is dangerous. For example, you’re a fan of Justin Bieber and everyone else is no good and nowhere near. Not even Michael Jackson or Tupac. See what I mean?

The drawing and art has everything bright and colourful. Again, some of the character designs of the ClassicaLoids made me feel mixed. While some like Beethoven and Schubert do resemble closely to their actual counterparts and thus very recognizable at first go, others like Mozart and those transgendered are looking very different. Because say for Mozart, they design him to be a guy wearing his casual pyjamas and cape with a big hat that looks like he came from the Mushroom Kingdom. Yeah, he really looks like an anime character. I mean, everyone looks like an anime character but like for Mozart’s case he doesn’t have a shred of hint to the original. And of course, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Bada certainly do not look like their originals. Schubert has the most different transformation and redesign when he became a rapper boy. Personally I still prefer his original version. But then again I have to remember what I said about ClassicaLoids not being those originals and if we show them as boring old men, this series would lose its charm.

Another unique part of the animation is that some of the scenes used cell shading. Either you like it or loathe it. There are also some flashy effects especially when the ClassicaLoids unleash their Musik. It is fun to see they have a variety of them as they are somewhat metaphors of their pieces like Beethoven with his penguins and mechas, Mozart and his death skeletons, Liszt with her plants and cupid arrows, Chopin with his, erm, tall growing things and electronic devices, Schubert getting his new Parappa style in addition to his carps and Tchaikovsky with her rats and bird snatching love drama thingy. Whatever. Bada is so boring with her only sunshine worshipping Musik…

I really love Mamiko Noto playing as Liszt. She really kills it here as her character because she really sounds like having so much fun in her role. It really rekindles my love for her and made me forget that the recent shows I watched with her usually has her character being killed off or strange women to fit that husky and raspy trademark voice. Yeah, thanks to the power of love! I need more love for her! Ahem. Other recognizable seiyuus include Tomokazu Sugita as Beethoven, Yuuki Kaji as Mozart, Akira Ishida as Pad-kun and Mikako Komatsu as Kanae. The other casts are Nobunaga Shimazaki as Sousuke (Mugi in Kuzu No Honkai), Kousuke Toriumi as Chopin (Kiba in Naruto), Tomoaki Maeno as Schubert (Junichi in Amagami SS), Aya Endo as Tchaikovsky (Miyuki in Lucky Star), Mao as Bada (Kazumi in Gokukoku no Brynhildr) and Taiten Kusunoki as Bach (Rock Bison in Tiger & Bunny). Strangely, I cannot find who is behind Mitsuru’s voice. Thanks to my inept to read Japanese even at this point, I can’t look it up myself from the credits. Oddly nowhere over the internet has listed her character whatsoever.

Because classical music is the theme of the series, it is only right that such similar feel of the classical music be used. Such as the opening theme, ClassicaLoid No Theme which is entirely an instrumental piece. But it is mixed with modern style rock. I don’t think this is blasphemy or even if it is to purists, this series isn’t the first to do it as over my life I have heard countless renditions and versions of classical music. No one is going to sue over copyright, right? But what makes me feel weird are the ending songs or the Musik that the ClassicaLoids play. They take a famous piece of that composer and added in some Japanese lyrics. Yes, they’re singing a classical song! As I have said that there are so many reincarnations of classical pieces, this one really feels weird. Not really used to hearing classical songs with words even if I don’t hear them frequently. So for example hearing Mozart’s Turkish March with lyrics in it just doesn’t feel right with me. It feels like the song has been mashed and pounded to bits with this ‘rebirth’. This means there are different ending themes for every episode depending on what mashed up classical piece they played during the episode. Not sure if it is lazy or creative. But it’s definitely weird. Of course the weirdest of the lot is Sousuke’s song. Thankfully I didn’t die. Oh wait. I nearly laughed my ass to death! You want to kill a nation? Play this ‘hit’ song! Yeah, it really hits you…

Overall, this series isn’t meant to change one’s music taste or to have you appreciate classical music. If you do convert, then it’s a plus point. We should hear all sorts of music genres to broaden our music views anyway. Despite the standalone fillers and the lack of a plot and a big part of the season, each episode is funny and entertaining in its own right and it makes you fall in love with the bizarre characters. Just a warning that you might be get the wrong impression the real characters act like this and you may be disappointed if you find out they aren’t. So what is music? To each their own as long as you enjoy them. But I noticed that lately the music innovation has been stifling recently. Have we reached the pinnacle of music creativity? If those classical composers are alive today, they might turn in their grave if they see today’s state of music. They would be decomposing then. Haha! Just joking… Come to think of it, do you not realize that those times and now are the only times throughout mankind’s history where “#” is used ever so often? Mind blown!

Idol Jihen

OMG! How did Donald Trump win the recent American elections?! How can this happen?! The world is coming to an end!!! It is time to return to our safe space and propagate and assure ourselves that there is still hope. Because in a time of darkness, there will be a light that will rise and shine above it all to bring us hope. To fight the evil and corrupted politicians and greedy congressmen and power hungry assemblymen. That is why we have idols running as legislators! I’m not kidding. At least this is according to Idol Jihen. If AKB0048 is to sci-fi and Love Live is too irrelevant and only for high school, this series might be the timely appropriate. I guess people are just fed up of typical corrupted policymakers that they decide to give idols the chance to run for office. What do idols know about politics and governance? Who cares? As long as we get to enjoy their concerts. Hey. My drain is clogged since last week and it stinks. Somebody care to come clean it up? I can’t. I have to attend that idol’s concert…

Episode 1
A shady bribery is going on between these old guys… Then the politician chokes and dies on his snack. Now with the Niigata seat vacant, Sachie Kondou and her assistant Kamishiro are looking around for local girls to represent the Heroine Party. Then she sees Natsuki Hoshina revving up the farmers by singing in their paddy fields. Feeling she is the right candidate, she asks Natsuki to join the idol election audition at Tokyo. So the audition is to run up a hill so high that goes past the clouds? Isn’t that more of a mountain? And what is this about idols needing to reach the top? For real? Apparently only Natsuki passed as she is the only one who managed to complete the run. Kamishiro is sceptical if she is the right candidate because right now Japan has no president and they can do without jokers. Don’t worry. Everything will somehow work out… That’s what they all say. Natsuki being the rookie and noob, stutters in her speech and when confronted with rival Rougai Party who is more accustomed with their typical political speech, how does Natsuki overcome this? She blurts out for the men to make her a woman! Wait. What?! Can idols say that? Well, all those old men are definitely interested in her now… Then Shizuka Onimaru (a twice elected idol dietwoman) arrives as requested by Sachie to help out. She is supposed to sing a duet with Natsuki in a live concert. However Shizuka doesn’t believe Natsuki is up to her par yet and will train her. Despite Natsuki bloopers a lot and doesn’t give up, Shizuka decides she is not up to mark. She doesn’t have what it takes to be on stage with her. Natsuki feels down but nothing but a little farming to help bring her motivation back. Shizuka also remembers Sachie removing her from the team. Despite having exceptional talent, her aura hurts others. Natsuki only appears on stage. Some of the crowd is displeased since Natsuki is nervous and Shizuka isn’t around. Well, she’s at the backstage. If she is having whatever doubts, leave it to Sachie to change her mind on that. So the crowd returns once Shizuka appears. Before they could start singing, Rougai Party starts their deafening speech on their usual propaganda. Natsuki then starts singing to drown out the interference. Such beautiful flowery aura. Safe to say we know who the people will vote next. Yeah, even this Rougai Party candidate. Now that Natsuki is elected in, she is still nervous but will do her best. Despite Rougai Party still have the clear majority in the house, a few shady old politicians won’t let these idol dietwomen gain momentum.

Episode 2
The Heroine Party is at a local dumpsite that is legal by law. They see Chinatsu Ryuusekidou of Sunlight Party and a few other idol dietwoman trying to stop the dumping and save the environment. But the local politician tells them off this is his land is graciously offering for garbage to be dumped. Don’t tell me you want to be selfish and dump it in other districts, do you? No choice, they let them through. When Shizuka confronts Chinatsu, immediately the latter slaps her! Whatever history they had, Chinatsu still won’t forgive her. Later that night, Natsuki returns to the dumpsite to find Chinatsu trying to clean up. She learns Chinatsu was raised in this area and often played here a lot. Natsuki offers to help but Chinatsu will not accept any help especially from Heroine Party. When Natsuki tells Sachie about this, she believes Shizuka did something to prevent hurting others but because she never explained it well and left, the others viewed it as betrayal. Natsuki isn’t one to let this drag on so she again pleads to Chinatsu for help. Instantly shot down. With Shizuka and other idol dietwomen wanting to give this a chance, Chinatsu relents but with a condition: A bungee jump challenge at different heights! What is this about idols need to be brave and face the crowd? Anyway if Natsuki falters, Shizuka must apologize to Mizuki Fudou, the chairwoman of Sunlight Party. But it seems Natsuki has no qualms about jumping and does so without hesitation unlike Chinatsu who is barely hiding her fear. On the final and highest jump, Chinatsu faints! Natsuki is a little scared but manages to summon her courage since they will lose their chance to help the villagers. Then the bungee rope snaps… I know there is a river below but how can she survive at that height?! Anyway, while diving, Natsuki has an idea on what to do with the dump. The next day, lots of people have gathered and turning the dump into pieces of art! A free voucher for an idol handshake for every garbage you refurbish! The politician doesn’t like this and sends his boys to beat them up?! How could they? How do you stop rampaging mobsters? You hold an idol concert to turn them into fan boys! OMFG! And so the dumpsite is saved but Natsuki is sad that the newspaper only reported on Sunlight Party. No Heroine Party was mentioned. Welcome to politics. Meanwhile the Rougai Party guys heard one of their guys have resigned but aren’t going to press the panic button yet. Losing a member or two won’t hurt they party. Unless the masses demand change, their regime is safe…

Episode 3
Heroine Party is at Nekonoshima, an island filled with cats cohabitating with humans. They are here for a request to find missing cats and if you think that is tough, all the cats on the island are missing! The only cat on the island is Boss, the sacred leader of all. Oddly, the local assemblywoman hates cats but she looks like one. Also on this island to help out are the Starlight Party members, Sakurako Iizuka (chairwoman), Isuzu Narukami and Shirayuki Arai. They go around looking for clues. Starlight Party visit and pray at all the shrines (a million yen donation?) and find alphabets on stones. Heroine Party on the other hand are doing finding a needle in a haystack as well as asking residents. One of them relates one night he saw all the cats being lured to some ship by some smoke. Someone was feeding them. When he accidentally made a sound, the cat monster reared its ugly head. Doesn’t she look like the assemblywoman? Natsuki tries to tease boss with cattails until he can’t stand it anymore and starts chasing her. It leads them to a spot where they find the assemblywoman’s glasses with catnip smell. Definitely it’s her. With everyone taking a break at the udon store, the old lady tells them about the island’s legend. When cats disappear, 4 maidens shall come from beyond the sea and dance upon the stone stages of cats. Want to guess who are those maidens? And so our idol dietwomen each stand on those stones and start singing. Such beautiful beam of light that it turns the assemblywoman into a cat lover! Get this. A wave of cats is seen swimming from across the ocean back to the island! I thought cats hate water? Just in time for some grand cat festival too. People pour catnip everywhere on the street and let a huge tidal wave of cat rampage through. Yeah, who wouldn’t love the feeling of being drowned by cats.

Episode 4
A bratty politician tries to tick off the idol dietwomen about their fancy idol dress in the diet hall. But they got the last laugh when they say something on the lines to each his/her own. Because of that, he and his secretary try to concoct a plan to embarrass them especially with the upcoming swimsuit competition. Last year’s defending champion, the Bishoujo Party (wait, what?) gives their opening speech and Natsuki can’t help go with the flow and let out her own excitement. It may be embarrassing but at least she is bursting with honesty energy. Isn’t it no surprise all the spectators are men? As the water competitions kick off, it is obviously rigged and some of the girls suspect Rougai Party is behind this as many get eliminated too early and there is one whereby you get naughty octopi all over you if you fall into the water (sorry, no tentacle rape). So our evil politicians think they have got the last laugh but our dietwomen is the one having them because they turn around this mishap and turn those octopi into takoyaki! They’re selling well! Natsuki makes friends with the chairwoman of Bishoujo Party, Ume “Momo” Momoi. She loves the sea and her dream is to check out all the beaches in the world. The game continues as the girls are suspicious they need to put on certain swimsuits. Their worst fear comes true because in the next game where they have to take out their opponents via water gun, their swimsuits disintegrate when soaked. Before more wardrobe malfunction could happen, Momo leads the pack to stay calm and give the right timing for them to counterattack and win the game. If you think that wasn’t cheesy enough, in the last game where they must climb a tower to grab a microphone at the top to sing and win it, the scaffolding is obviously tampered as it starts collapsing. How can they survive that? Because Bishoujo Party starts singing and that is what keeps them afloat! WTF???!!! At the same time turning their evil counterparts into their biggest fans! In the end, Bishoujo Party wins the overall and they take a group photo together. Hey. Did the Rougai Party big boss just Liked their post?

Episode 5
Shizuka is on her day off as she meets her father. He tells her to stop this idol business and return to him. She is smart enough to know this won’t last forever. Of course she isn’t going to listen to him. Meanwhile Natsuki becomes a police chief for a day. Yeah, the chief inspector just became her biggest fan. So you think it is easy being a police chief? Apparently yeah. As long as you’re as cute as her. Then the biggest incident to happen: A hostage situation at a day care. It seems members of the Wakaba Party are taken hostage by… Children of the day care?! It is learnt that this day care will be closing down soon and the kids who have nowhere to go are against this. Yeah, drastic times call for drastic measures. Natsuki thinks she can talk to them but instead got captured. Way to go. But to her shock she learns the Wakaba Party members (are they lolis?!) are in cohorts with the kids. They heard their story that they have both parents who work. This is where they hangout until their parents get home so if this place goes, will they be considered homeless then? The local politician is here and he makes things worse by blaming the mothers of those kids. He believes a woman’s place is at home taking care of children. Easily triggered people shouldn’t be watching this episode. So how to solve this problem? When the day care is torn down, a business centre will be built. This means more income and revenue and thus mothers don’t have to work anymore and can better look after their children. Great plan. When this hostage drama gets dragged out, the politician decides to storm in. Seriously? They’re just kids. Anybody who take hostages are as good as terrorists! Well, I can see the equality there. Luckily Shizuka relays this to Natsuki so everyone starts preparing traps like Home Alone style. I mean, it makes the police force look so silly when they storm in only to slip on marbles, thrown used diapers, fall into pitfalls and blasted with pepper balloons. When the politician gets worked up over this farce, little does he know he stirred a mini beehive. He gets stung. Mothers of those kid quickly administer aid and help remove the beehive. Shortly Shizuka lectures him about those mothers being professionals in various areas and since they are invaluable to society, is it alright to keep them confined at home? You know everything is okay and over when the kids return to their moms, Wakaba Party starts singing and the politician turning over a new leaf apologizing to the mothers and tearing up the business centre proposal. Oh yeah, he quit his Rougai Party too. Starting to get worried you’re losing more men, eh?

Episode 6
Mika Kozuru of New Subculture Party loves astronomy but she is too shy to articulate her proposal to use the diet building’s observatory to launch bottle rockets and stimulate the people’s interest in space so this pesky old politician shoots it down with ease. Later Mika explains her scientific proposal perfectly to Heroine Party and hope they could team up for this event. However here comes that pesky old dude to warn them why the observatory is off limits because of hauntings and ghost sightings. He shouldn’t have said only God or a saint can help because here comes Ringo Yami from SOS Party as she is a self-proclaimed Ghostbuster. It’s time to bust some ghosts. Of course the old guy won’t let them have their way since if their proposal gets approved, budget allocations for them will be cut. So our Ghostbusters enter the observatory and what do you know? There’s a real ghost! Everybody is freaking out now and no exorcism method can work. What a time to regret your unfulfilled election promises? Oh great. Now the ghosts have multiplied! Meanwhile Mika who got lost from the group stumbles into 3 great statesmen. Want to bet they’re the real ghosts or rather the bronze statues come to life? They praise how the idol dietwomen are keeping Rougai Party at bay and advise her not to let them push her around. This helps Mika articulate her vision clearly. Team Ghostbusters realize they have been had after they destroy a hologram projector. They know that pesky old dude was behind this since he dropped his fan. Though he escapes, he bumps into Mika. This time she tells him she isn’t going to give up her proposal with full confidence. You can’t beat that smile. Speechless, eh? After hearing Natsuki say how the observatory lighted up like a planetarium after they stopped the projector, Mika makes a little revision in her proposal since she wants to appeal to a broader audience. Her stargazing event is approved and is popular among the people. Meanwhile Shizuka’s father still will not approve of her idol work. Nothing. Shizuka remains defiant.

Episode 7
The locals at Niigata are protesting the proposed site to build a stadium. Naturally Natsuki is going to help them. She learns the construction company behind this is Onimaru Construction. Sounds familiar? So being an idol dietwoman gives her the right to waltz in to see the president? Luckily he is passing by so he lets her in to see what she has to say. She hopes it would be re-evaluated but he instantly shoots her down that it is government sponsored and cannot be changed. Also, don’t take politics as fun and games! Kamishiro must be having a real headache to learn what Natsuki did but that didn’t stop her. After learning Shizuka is the president’s daughter, she bugs her to go talk to her father only to be shot down. Since Shizuka is not one to say, Sachie explains Shizuka as the only daughter and people had expectations she would follow her father’s footsteps. When she didn’t, everyone was surprised and naturally it caused tensions in their relationship. The president is seeing Rougai Party’s boss and assures what his daughter does has no bearing on what he does. Natsuki continues to bug Shizuka. Since she is stubborn, Natsuki notes she is so like her dad. This makes her snap back. She isn’t stubborn. She makes her own decisions! Can’t argue with that. As Natsuki can’t think of an idea, Sanpei a local boy from her hometown sends in drawings of kids about their feelings of the stadium. They decide to show this to the president but he apparently didn’t give a damn as usual. Not even one look. What a pity those drawings got wet in the rain… Are they going to give up? Instead, they are boosted when Shizuka joins in. They’re going to fight back via public forum and do a live concert. So they dance their way into the audiences’ hearts (because I believe everyone here is against the stadium). Shizuka’s dad did turn up as he observes the crowd. Though it seemed it has failed to convince him, their fan club petitions are starting to gain momentum. Then this shocking thing just came in over the news. The president decides to re-evaluate the project and scale it down to how the people would want and appreciate it! Yeah, their feelings finally reached him. So when Rougai Party boss confronts him about letting his emotions get the better of him, he is reminded his daughter’s actions has no bearing on what he does. All he wants is to make a stadium where people can gather and smile. Take that. Looks like somebody is going to move his hand to crush those idol dietwomen.

Episode 8
With the idols doing more concerts and their congress job better, those Rougai Party guys are starting to get worried with all the recent strings of resignation from their side. They are asking their boss who is also Japan’s Prime Minister Touichirou Sakuraba why he has not taken any action. Don’t worry. He already has. Because the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Natsuki and Shizuka are to be interviewed on TV. Shizuka cautions her to watch what she says because the media who is completely leaning on Rougai Party’s side can twist what she says. As the show starts, the host asks them about what they are doing this for. Natsuki being her honest self goes on happily talking about people’s smiles. Gotcha. The host then in turn plays clips of their past achievements but with a twist. The illegal dumpsite might have been solved but the garbage has to go somewhere and it’s nowhere but the streets. The cats on Nekonoshima have become pests ravaging crops while the day care still lacks funding and in danger of being closed. Natsuki cannot refute any of it. Even though Sachie knows this is heavily edited to one side and Rougai Party had pre-taped all this. Natsuki has no time being depressed because Sanpei calls to voice his concern that the stadium is now cancelled! Shizuka confronts her dad on it and it seems because the company changed the blueprints, the government decided to really re-evaluate this project. Of course he is not going out without a fight and warns Shizuka her value as a true dietwoman is now being tested. With idol dietwomen popularity plunging, a gossip magazine releases an article and photo of Shizuka having an affair with an older man. It is obviously her father but because they worded their statement as speculation, trying to report or fight it will prove nothing. Rougai Party is really coming for them. Natsuki is being lectured by Shizuka about her duty as elected representative since she somewhat fears going to diet building now. But Heroine Party isn’t just facing problems. Other idol dietwoman parties too. Chinatsu is mad the media is accusing Mizuki of plastic surgery. Sakurako is suspected of misusing government funds when it is her own money to buy clothes. Bishoujo Party is ridiculed that they are too dumb to read kanji. Wakaba Party still wets their bed? Who is telling New Subculture Party to go back to space? Who is telling SOS Party to return to the shadows? At times like these, they decide to band together to fight against Rougai Party. So they fight in a way they know best: Holding concerts to address the string of idol bashing. Before they can start, a helicopter lands in the middle of the stage. Who are these 4 beautiful babes? Hey. Aren’t they sent by Rougai Party? Are they like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?!

Episode 9
Saki Shiraga, Kazumi Mukai, Maybelle Takasaki and Megu Izumisawa are part of the legendary idol group, Cherry 7 who help Kagura Mikazuki the only female idol dietwoman in history and paved the way for idols to become part of the diet. When they decide to join them, they are attacked! WTF?! Holding a sword, machine gun and magic explosion wand?! Is Cherry 7 mercenaries now?! Apparently they are not here to support these idols and feel they have lost their way as idol dietwoman. Cherry 7 was hired by Rougai Party to test their worthiness. Surprisingly, Sakuraba comes on stage to show several accusations and scandals for each of the party. Then he belittles them how they are nowhere near Mikazuki and not only they do not solve problems as dietwomen but fail as idols too. He has come up with a proposal to ban idols to be dietwoman. The crowd is silent. Sakuraba takes this as their shocking approval. So before they can block that bill, they must defeat Cherry 7 first. Shizuka calls Mizuki and the other parties in hopes they could unite and band together. However Chinatsu tells her off she is the one to say as she was the least cooperative. Plus, all of them are busy trying to clear their scandals. With all the arguing, Mizuki steps in who tells them they will lose to Cherry 7 unless they give it their all. Chinatsu disagrees with this unity thingy. Because competition makes them push forward, she suggests holding a competition to see which of them is better to take on Cherry 7. Agreed. Mizuki will be the judge. Up till now you must have noticed Natsuki being depressed as hell. So leave it to Shizuka to give her speech about trust and believe and blow Natsuki out of the doldrums. There. Done. As they sing and dance, they realize there is this strange mix of strong power they produced together. Yup. Looks like they need to unite and form a cross-partisan unit against Cherry 7.

Episode 10
The cross-partisan unit is called Smile Kiss and they receive equal coverage with Cherry 7. However Natsuki is back to gloomsville as she continues to slack in her practice. Then with all the nonstop protest calls to their office, her motivation takes a dive. One day she just cannot dance anymore and her voice cannot sing. So Shizuka chides her and lets her go home. It gets even worse when she picks up a complaint call from a construction guy asking his money back for the failed stadium project. As she talks to Sachie about her problem, she is advised to go see those people. Thus Natsuki returns to Niigata and didn’t show up for practice so Shizuka has Chinatsu replace her part. This has Chinatsu commenting that is all Natsuki is worth to her. She abandoned her with ease just like she did with them. At Niigata, Natsuki apologizes to all the workers there. She reflects about being unable to help Shizuka and despite forming a duet with her, she was always trying her best to catch up to her. Sanpei then has her watch TV. The decisive concert is live right now. Natsuki is brought to tears seeing her teammates wearing the same ribbon colour as hers (original each of them had a unique colour assigned). As predicted, Cherry 7 is currently leading a big gap in the polls. Suspiciously when Natsuki starts cheering for her team, the lead starts to cut… In the end, the one who got the most votes is… Smile Kiss!!! They did it! Hooray! Not so fast. Because Sakuraba has immediately hold a press conference. Despite the idols’ amazing performance, don’t be fooled by this illusion. Their performance is just that. A fleeting pleasure of self-gratification. It doesn’t solve problems or enrich people’s lives. Then this is the damning statement that would make or break his bill: Those idol dietwomen were so caught up practising for their performance, they didn’t even do a single job as politicians for the past few week! Oh no…

Episode 11
The vote on the bill is out. And the result is… Rougai Party is celebrating and giving their victory speech. Thanks to that, our idol dietwomen are all doom and gloom especially with Shizuka blaming herself and taking responsibility for it all. Hey, for an idol this is literally the end of the world. Natsuki too is in gloomsville. She can’t even do farm work properly and cries even while eating. Yeah, food must taste this good. Because she continues to cry about not being able to make anyone smile, grandma had to tell her about the rising star story of Mikazuki. A dark age where she rose up and shone through the darkness. People soon started following her and the nation slowly came back out into the light. Asked why she became an idol dietwoman, simple, she wanted to make others smile. As advised, Natsuki goes around town to see what has changed. Remember that guy from the first episode who ran against Natsuki in the by-election? He is sweeping the streets in hopes of getting to know his people better! He has left Rougai Party and became an independent. He thanks Natsuki for changing him. This really makes her day as Natsuki runs all over the place (places of past episodes where there were ‘issues’) to find that all of those ex-Rougai Party people have changed for the better. Like that dumpster is now a museum with all recycled items. That cat island is now booming with cats and the day care gets to continue operating. All because of Natsuki. Oh my. Natsuki is so happy she is swirling around in a flower field?! Hope it doesn’t get to her head. Meanwhile it is about time Shizuka also has come to her senses. She realizes her selfishness when she left Sunlight Party and was only imposing her feelings upon others. It is not she has changed but rather been changed. Thanks to a certain twintail too. Of course the inevitable Natsuki and Shizuka making up again. This time Shizuka views her as her real partner. Their next move is to put up another concert albeit just the duo. But isn’t this against the act? I’m not sure about there are those who voted against it so they want to sing for them but hey, isn’t it still illegal? Are they breaking the law? Oh what the heck. Idols always have their way. So as they gear up for the concert, on that very day we already have a crisis. Not a single soul turned up! OMG! Is it because it is raining? Or is that just symbolic?

Episode 12
Apparently somebody hacked into their website to say the concert is cancelled. I think I know who… Even so, the duo will continue to perform because they are idols. Their song resonates throughout the city so much so curious people slowly start streaming in to hear them. Even the other idol dietwomen see this over the internet and make their way. However Sakuraba anticipated this and puts his next plan in motion. A gridlock in the city and shut down of all transports! Don’t worry. The idols get by with the help of ex-Rougai Party members as they make their way via other methods. By foot, sewer or parachute. The craziest one being Momo as she surfs her entire way there! I know the road is wet and slippery but this?! As the crowd builds up and wanting an encore, Natsuki and Shizuka team up with the other idol dietwomen to put on another sterling performance. Their ideology and party may be different but their feelings are the same. Even Cherry 7 is down here to support them. Sakuraba goes down to the field himself to take command. However the riot police will not listen to his order. It seems the police chief who has been promoted to the central office is the one taking charge. With ex-Rougai Party members reminding him about the infringement of free speech, Sakuraba sees the intense crowd that keeps flowing in and Smile Kiss continue to perform, he then gives out a maniacal laughter. He accepts the challenge of the idol dietwomen. In the aftermath, Sakuraba makes a press conference that he is dissolving the diet for a general election. We see a montage of everyone working hard in their campaign. It is no surprise that all the idol dietwomen get re-elected. Yeah, between a cute idol and an old bald dude. Who would you pick? Don’t tell me you’re going to pick based on character, ability, aptitude, etc! It seems Sakuraba is also re-elected. Although he is still against idols becoming dietwomen and will stick with his stance, he challenges them to follow their own convictions if they insist. They can’t let him win because that will mean the end of their dream.

Make Japan Great Again!
Are we done yet? Okay. The fun is over. Time to return to reality. Don’t be fooled by this anime to think that entering politics is damn easy. Yeah, they certainly do make it look like a whole lot of fun here. Because as you can see the idol dietwomen continue to keep their hair all proper and clean after everything. I don’t know if Rougai Party manages to still retain its stranglehold and majority but it might be so because if every single idol dietwomen were elected and assuming there were no new ones, this would mean status quo, right? Definitely need more idol dietwomen and such parties to enter the diet if we are to cleanse Japan of typical old corrupted politicians and make Japan great again!

It is already a no brainer that we have cute idols holding double jobs working as politicians. But it is even dumber to see how idols can actually instantly change bad politicians into good ones! OMFG! This is so unrealistic! You can evidently see how these idols here do it as some of the episodes feature the baddie politician of the week and our heroines get to save the day by ‘purifying’ them via concert, so to speak. Because if this formula truly works and if the idols were serious in trying to weed out corrupted governing practices, don’t you think they would have just hold a nationwide concert that is broadcasted live to all forms of media? Guaranteed to have the biggest, most stubborn and most vile politicians turn into your biggest fan! No doubt about it! So why bother doing small local concerts and change only 1 immoral politician at a time when you can do it all in one big go! So tell me, are these idols serious in changing Japan for the better or do they really know what it takes to run a country? But to show that Sakuraba isn’t as bad as he looks, he is seen attending a concert in the final moments and even tapping his feet to their beat. Oh ho. He may not look like it on the outside but is he converted on the inside? We’ll never know. He is after all the big final boss that our idol dietwomen needs to defeat.

I know some people aren’t really into idols but in this anime what I usually notice that many have this herd mentality. That bill to ban idol dietwomen kills it. Unless Sakuraba is an excellent eloquent smooth talker, the people here feel like they follow their feelings over what they heard. It is like they have no faith in the idols at all. One minute ago they were singing praises about them and the next minute they turn on them because of this WTF scandal that they don’t even care to dig deeper to understand why they didn’t do their governing job. It is scary in real life that idols are walking on thin ice to satisfy ‘hardcore fans’ who would without hesitation turncoat and desert their favourite idol once a scandal arises. But as far for the people in this anime is concerned, it is like they are hoping idols can magically solve their problems that could have taken a little longer to resolve. Oh right. Maybe that’s why they voted idols in. Something different than your conservative politicians. Or maybe the idols’ singing is the one brainwashing people to vote for them? Told you about this silly aspect. In that case do you not think an idol is very similar to a politician? Swaying people with sweet words on stage while looking good. It only takes a scandal to tarnish their name and bring them down. Oh, the similarities…

It is pretty much disappointing that with so many idols from different parties, it is sad that many of them don’t get decent screen time. The most is that they have an episode for them but that is if Natsuki and Shizuka get involved. Even more so, you don’t really get to understand what those parties are fighting for. Heck, what does Heroine Party stand for anyway? Making it worse, the 7 idol dietwoman parties seem to be a representation of some sort of stereotype like the Wakaba Party seem to have only little lolis (are they saying politics is child’s play?) and the Bishoujo Party have members that look more like tanned surfer girls than pretty kawaii ladies. Because I only see Ringo as the only member in SOS Party, I am starting to make generalizations of the party is some sort of gothic fashion party. I don’t know much about the legendary Cherry 7 but looking at them feels like as though their theme is armed and dangerous. It certainly looks so. Plus, with them draping in black, it looks as though they’ve returned from a funeral. Really.

Even the development and friendship drama between Natsuki and Shizuka fails. It just feels generic. Young inexperienced new girl comes into party to pair up with a veteran who defected from another party. They go around helping people to bring about smiles and they make it seem so easy and effortless as I wonder is it because of their idol status makes their job a lot easier an uncomplicated. Then we have a little bit of family drama and tension between Shizuka and her father only to be conveniently and predictably resolved. All because he attended a live concert of Shizuka? Sure, he claims he operates differently from his daughter. But think about this. Has he not heard her daughter sing from other formats even assuming if this is the first time he attends it live? So why now? Both father and daughter have been so stubborn to the point they could be strangers. Thus is it her music? Plot convenience? Reminder that idols’ songs are always the best? Well, can’t have Shizuka’s father as the baddie seeing the real antagonists have been set as Rougai Party. Then there’s the past between Shizuka and Sunlight Party which had potential but never explored further and thus it feels wasted and redundant to somewhat tie a loose connection between them. It wouldn’t make any difference had she not been linked to it in the first place.

And Natsuki is so inexperienced and at time useless that whenever things doesn’t go the right way, she starts going into depression and bums around doing nothing. WTF. I know she is in shock but clearly when she decided to run for candidacy, did she not know the risks? Maybe she doesn’t. Welcome to the world of politics where everything isn’t rosy and sunshine. Except maybe when you’re an idol whose singing can change everything including giving off those special flowery effects while you are at it. Despite being cheery and at her own pace in nature, ironically it takes her a while and even advice or guidance from others to reach out to her before she gets her gears going like normal again. Oh right. Nobody is perfect. But aren’t idols supposed to be perfect?

Art and drawing are pretty standard with your pretty idols looking more like bishoujos (except for the loli ones). Not too sure if the outfit they were is their uniform because if it is, it makes them look like cosplay. Because of the idols looking pretty and cute, corrupted politicians especially from Rougai Party have this typical trademark of what is stereotyped as bad guy looks. I see Mr Sakuraba, you have very thick gorilla eyebrows and deep voice that is only reserved for evil leaders… So cliché. Hence for those politicians who turned over a new leaf, they look pretty normal and decent after that. Is this some sort of discrimination? CGI is also used but very sparingly only when the idols start prancing on stage as a big group. However it is not that noticeable because such concerts itself do not last very long. The series is a joint production between MAPPA and Studio VOLN whose other collaboration is the alternate updated version of Ushio & Tora.

At the end of each episode, there is an end card illustrated by several people. Some illustrated twice for different episodes. Somehow they look all the same to me… What is worse than some end cards which serve as idol fanservice? That idol keeps reminding us that the DVDs are going to be out and be sure to buy them. Are they trying to condition and brainwash us to buy this disappointing show? I know I won’t be bought out. Even if you pay me to buy it I won’t. Wait. Did I just make a no brainer statement?

The voice acting just feels normal and decent and nothing to shout about. Mostly are relatively new seiyuus that I still can’t recognize or veteran ones but I still can’t recognize such as Sarara Yashima as Natsuki (Sayo in Bishoujo Yuugi Unit Crane Game Girls), Mai Fuchigami as Shizuka (Nagisa in Ansatsu Kyoushitsu), Reina Ueda as Sachie (Mira in Dimension W), Sarah Emi Bridcutt as Chinatsu (Chika in HaruChika), Lynn as Mizuki (titular character in Fuuka), Yuuki Fujiwara as Kamishiro (Liang in Nanbaka) and Kouji Ishii as Sakuraba (Garterbelt in Panty And Stocking With Garterbelt). Old veteran seiyuus I recognized helmed roles as the legendary Cherry 7 like Yukari Tamura as Saki and Kana Ueda as Maybelle. I’m going to skip the rest of the list because there are a whole lot of seiyuus lending their voices here and most of them only had a fraction of their dialogue or none at all. I mean, am I serious and hardworking enough to list down all the idols representing all 47 prefectures of Japan?! Are you crazy?! But what is interesting to note is that all of the seiyuus do actually represent and were born in the prefecture of the idol dietwoman that they play.

If you really like idol brand of music, this series has a few of them. I’m not into it so that is probably why I don’t really find the idol-like opening theme, Utae! Ai No Kouyaku by Smile Kiss to my liking. But the ending theme, Respect by the duet of Natsuki and Shizuka feels a bit weird. Pop idol music relying heavily on the synthesizers and effects plus a bit of Arabic feel. In almost every episode there would be an insert song featuring that idol dietwoman party in focus but none really to my liking.

We should have a reality TV show whereby politician wannabes have to go through tests and challenges viewed by millions on TV to see what it takes to become one. It would have been interesting to see how candidates get eliminated by a different voting procedure. I know Donald Trump becoming president doesn’t mean anybody else can become president especially those from the entertainment industry. Oh wait. There’s Ronald Reagan… Then there is Kanye West for 2020…And what’s this? Katy Perry also? The Rock too? Really, America? If it really turns out that celebrity singers are going to run for the Oval Office, then we can call this new reality TV show Ameican Idol. What do you mean that name is already taken?!

Overall, this is quite a disappointing series trying to cash in on the idol craze that is still riding high on its wave in Japan and some parts of the world. Because if you really want good idol material to watch on TV, Love Live and even AKB0048 do it better. So it only goes to show that idols are best and can be in the form of high school girls trying to stop their school from closing down or space revolutionaries fighting against the banning of music. Anything suits them as long as it is not politics. Now we know they don’t mix. Because it would be really bad and sad if idols were to use their star power to side a certain party for the elections like we have seen in the recent American elections. Thus there is a reason why specific jobs exists and even in the same category. Not everything is one glove fits all size and nobody can wear all hats. Some things don’t go together as we learn here, idols and politics. Truly this is not the case of grooming a horse to be a fine horse. It is rather a cat can never become a horse! If they are going to make another season, you bet I am going to cast my big “NO!” vote even if it is just a referendum. Come on, people. Let’s not support sh*tty animes again. No more disappointing animes. Say no to substandard animes. LET’S MAKE ANIME GREAT AGAIN!!!

P/S: A politician and an idol walk into a bar… They become scandal fodder for tomorrow’s tabloid headlines!

Fuuka

At first I was trying to figure out how Fuuka was related to a very old anime, Suzuka. It had been more than a decade ever since that latter series ended so how could they possibly continue it from there? Furthermore, wasn’t Suzuka about the track and athletic? It is a far and jarring difference with this one whose theme is music. Then I found out that this series is about the children of Suzuka. So it’s something like a sequel spinoff? I’m guessing the music theme is used as a different distraction otherwise why would we watch another romance drama about life in the fast lane when we could go back to the original series and rewatch it again.

Episode 1
Yuu Haruna is walking in the streets. The newly released hit single from Koyuki Hinashi playing on the screen got his attention. Because of that, Fuuka Akitsuki who is in a hurry collides into him. It’s a bad day for him because from his angle, he saw her panties. Worse, with his handphone in hand, it looked like he took a picture. Upset Fuuka snatches his handphone and throws it on the ground without even checking if he really took them! WTF?! Then she slaps him! WTF???!!! Is this a bad day or what? He notices she dropped a CD. More women woes for Yuu because his sisters are blaming him for being late and could be starving them to death! They also know what happened to him because apparently Yuu loves putting everything on Twitter and they love to follow him. He won’t hear the end of the teasing today. Yuu tells us he was living in the countryside with his younger sister, Chitose. His dad was posted overseas and mom followed him. Since Maya and Hibiki already are living in Tokyo, might as well be a good idea for the siblings to live together. Next day as Yuu finishes up his paperwork to transfer to his new school, he hangs around on the rooftop taking pictures of the scenery when he spots Fuuka. Oh no. The wind just blew up her skirt. She spots him. Oh sh*t. Thinking he took her pictures again, she wants to hand his handphone. He won’t and as they struggle, his handphone fell down. That’s the second handphone… He goes to look for it and surprisingly Fuuka also helps since she wants to make sure he didn’t take those photos. It would have been easier had she just call his number but the thing is she doesn’t have a handphone. Plus, she prefers to be hearing music instead to be on Twitter. Oh, she loves hearing CDs instead of downloading. This reminds Yuu to hand back her CD. Just like the overused cliché, Yuu ends up in the same class with Fuuka and they don’t like each other. For now.

Later, Yuu sees Kazuya Nachi trying to bring Fuuka somewhere against her will. He sums up his courage (although he still sounds pathetic) to tell him off. Nachi reveals he was just recruiting her for the track club since her father is a famous runner. However Fuuka doesn’t like running and will not join the club. Yuu runs away in embarrassment. Fuuka didn’t come to laugh at him but to return his handphone as repayment for returning his CD. When Yuu is contemplating of going to a love movie, Fuuka’s face brightens up. Koyuki is her favourite singer and her song is featured in the movie. He has 2 tickets, so… They wait to meet up and didn’t see each other because one is on Twitter and the other listening to music. So when they decide to look for the other, they actually miss each other! When Fuuka thinks she saw Yuu dashed by, she gets this idea to stand on higher ground and yell his name and her whereabouts! Embarrassed Yuu heard her while she thinks her voice was great. Queuing up at the movie, there are lots of couples so in order not to stand out, they awkwardly hold hands. At the end of the movie, Fuuka wants to give a matching handphone charm as part of the movie bonus. He should get the hint what this means. Especially when she tells him it was a fun date. Hint, hint. WTF.

Episode 2
Fuuka gets a call from her parents. Though they learn she rejected another invitation to join the track club (despite she is quite athletic herself), they are happy for her as long as she does what she wants to do. In school, Yuu sees Fuuka crying. He jumps to conclusion there must be some sort of love triangle with her and the class’ handsome guy, Makoto Mikasa since he is popular with other girls. Oddly, the trio are called by the teacher to clean the swimming pool since they don’t belong in any clubs. Yuu sees her getting along with Makoto fine. Then he asks her and she assures they are just friends. Because of this big ‘revelation’: Makoto is gay! What a waste of such handsome face! So why was Fuuka crying then? She was hearing a song of Koyuki and it had very powerful but sad lyrics. Apparently Yuu and Koyuki know each other and communicate regularly via Twitter. He tells how his friend cried hearing her song and this makes her happy. Yuu is surprised when Fuuka takes him out this weekend to Koyuki’s concert. She was supposed to go with her aunt but she cancelled. What to do with the extra ticket? Koyuki is motivated when she sees Yuu in the front row and starts singing. Fuuka enjoyed the concert a lot. She demonstrates her singing voice and Yuu finds it impressive. Later Yuu calls Koyuki how amazing her concert was. It brought her to tears. Fuuka brings Yuu to a shrine where her parents once made a wish. So she is here to have Yuu pray for her wish to come true and double that chance? Fuuka has finally decided what she wants to do. She wants to go into music. I suppose Yuu didn’t see this coming because Fuuka tells the teacher she decides to start a new light music club and they will be the band members. Who? Fuuka, Makoto and Yuu.

Episode 3
Fuuka thinks they need to save up money to buy instruments so their teacher, Tomomi suggests working part time at a beach house. Joining a band would be the least of Yuu’s worries. He is shy and doesn’t know how to play an instrument. So how can he be a waiter at Nobuaki Yahagi’s beach house? He messes up orders and his voice isn’t too loud and thus can’t be heard. He gets an earful from Yahagi during the break. This breaks his spirits and he thinks of quitting but with Fuuka giving words of encouragement, Yuu comes back kicking ass. Okay, maybe not so drastic change but at least he has confidence now and not screwing up. For the afternoon, they take time off at the beach. Yuu and Fuuka swim out to sea as he hears why she wanted to form a band. Well, it was Yuu who encouraged her but he thought she would have gone solo. When they realize they have swam too far out, Fuuka panics and her leg cramped up. Yuu dives to save her but passes out. I’m not sure who saved who because the next time Yuu wakes up, he is being kissed by Fuuka! CPR. She cries in his arms as she was so worried he would drown while saving her. Now Yuu becomes conscious of her each time she sees her lips. He can’t get that scene out of his mind. Making it worse is Fuuka who doesn’t seemed bothered at all. But later when they’re alone, she confides in him in hopes he won’t tell others about that ‘kiss’ because she too is embarrassed and is her first time. So Yuu is happy that he isn’t the only one? Later Yuu meets up with Koyuki at the pier since she is here for some shoot. They see each other for the first time in ages and thank the technology of handphone that kept them together. Oddly, they play sparklers in the heavy rain. But it is not as odd hearing Yuu telling Koyuki she has grown prettier. Do shy guys say honest things like that? It’s like fate wants to screw with them so the strong wind blows them close together. Koyuki right into his arms. Then Fuuka sees this scandalous scene. Oh…

Episode 4
Fuuka runs away. Yuu wanted to go after her but with Koyuki clinging on to him and those eyes that definitely signal to guys to never leave a girl alone. It is obvious that Fuuka and Yuu can’t see eye to eye. Yuu tries to explain that he is friends with Koyuki. To avoid strangers stalking her, that is why they communicate via alias in another Twitter account. He doesn’t think Fuuka knows much about Twitter since she doesn’t have a handphone but she feels insulted that he thinks of her as a stranger who would tell on them. Their fight just got worse. Apparently Nachi has nothing better to do and went all the way here with Tomomi and Hisashi to bug Fuuka to join the track club. WTF. She insists she won’t and wants to become an awesome old band like her favourite Hedgehogs. This makes Tomomi blush. And then the kids realize too late that Tomomi was part of Hedgehogs. She was the keyboardist, Hisashi the guitarist and Yahagi the drummer. Yeah, ironically they never even noticed despite being their greatest fans. Grown too old? Also revealed that the vocalist Tama went missing and Nico the bassist went in search for her, the reason why the band was in a hiatus for a long time. Nachi still won’t hear any of this and thus an ‘audition’ is held to see if she has talent. She needs to sing one of their songs as they play as backup. Yuu is given a crash course on how to play the bass. Before it begins, Makoto talks to Fuuka and Yuu and have them reconcile. Yeah, it’ll be awkward if this affects their performance. So when the gig gets going, Hedgehogs still got their groove and Fuuka’s amazing vocals blow everyone away. She’s like an angel?! In the end, she got their approval although Nachi won’t still accept her. Makoto notes that he was tapping along with the rhythm. He makes excuse his brother used to play the drums and was just going along with that. This makes Fuuka recruit Nachi as the drummer. She decides on Makoto to be the keyboardist, Yuu the bassist (did you realize he was just standing there all the time starring at Fuuka’s awesomeness?) while she herself will take on the guitar. The band is now complete. How did it turn out like that… It ends with a forced cliché because Yuu and Fuuka are sitting together. The mood is getting good when he accidentally slips and lands his hand on her boobs. Slap! When Yuu goes home, he is surprised to see Koyuki there.

Episode 5
Apparently they just discover Koyuki lives nearby. So they reminisce about the past and it dawned to Yuu that he was trying to hit on her! Koyuki feels glad this wasn’t a one-sided crush after all. So I guess Nachi has had it with the track club and decides to go with the band, huh? With 3 cute guys in the band, fujoshis all over can’t stop fantasizing about them. Especially Makoto ‘targeting’ Yuu. Hisashi is kind enough to teach them the basics, lend them some instruments till they are good enough to get their own and even rent out a studio for them to practice. Even personally teaching Yuu some bass basics. But it seems Hisashi has a little problem of his own. Looks like his younger sister, Sara Iwami is at it again. She is a good guitarist but lacks communication. Thus band members can’t stand her and quit. It’s already the third band this time. Fuuka instantly wants her to join. Yuu tries to object but trips on a cable and dives head first into her boobs! She uses the guitar to slap him! Respect the guitar! Sara agrees to join. Don’t tell me she resonated with Fuuka in beating up Yuu?! WTF. Apparently Sara is also from their school so it’s convenience to hang out together. For some reason, the rest decides to leave Yuu and Sara alone together. This causes some serious awkwardness as Yuu might be going paranoid trying to figure out what she is thinking. When he realizes that Sara is one of his ardent Twitter followers and vice versa, Sara suddenly becomes cheerful and talkative, fawning all over him! OMG! Change in character! Now she can’t stop talking! Is this scarier?! I guess it’s better for her to be nice to him than otherwise. Yuu practises hard and this shocks Chitose who never knew he would be in a band. What does he take her brother for? When the studio is fully rented, Nachi decides to bring the gang to his garage where his brother used to practice with his band. Yeah, he didn’t say a thing because he didn’t want them to think he was really into this band thingy. So they hit it off and they find they have improved a lot despite several mistakes. Everybody was cooler, they had fun and Fuuka is really looking forward to master a couple more songs so they can hold their first performance at the school’s cultural festival.

Episode 6
You can tell Koyuki’s mind is bothered when her seeing is obviously off key. It’s just hard to hear. Flashback reveals Koyuki and Yuu know each other since young and she loves hanging out with him more than going home. You’ll understand when you realize her parents are always fighting. What’s a kid got to do but cover her ears in bed every night. Then it gets worse one day. Her parents got a divorce. What stresses her out most was not her parents living apart but rather she will no longer be able to be with Yuu. So the last time she saw Yuu, she couldn’t stop crying and say a proper goodbye. She left town with her mom. So now she is ‘stalking’ outside Yuu’s house? He invites him in and she gives him a ticket to her next concert as an apology. She thought he hated her for it but it seems he too thought she hated him. Now she blows her top for making her stressed out? So who is hating who now? Anyway he tells her his band will be performing soon and hopes she can come to see. Then he did this mistake of waxing lyrical of how damn good Fuuka is. Not what another woman wants to hear, right? They renew their old promise to perform together on the same stage someday. The day gets worse for Koyuki as she leaves. A truck splashes puddle over her. But it is a blessing in disguise since Fuuka is nearby and takes her to clean up in a public bath house that she lives upstairs. Bath scene bonding with Fuuka proclaiming her as her number one fan. She is also looking for advice and inspiration to write original songs. This has Koyuki mentioning she writes her songs based on her feelings for a certain boy she likes in mind for a long time. A one-sided love. You know who you are. Fuuka isn’t sure about relationships and isn’t in one. She gives Koyuki her assurance that she will root for her love to be realized. Oh. I can see where this is going to end up. Later, somebody has snapped a picture of Koyuki and Yuu making a pinky promise. Yeah… Let’s put it online…

Episode 7
Yuu is rudely awakened next morning when his sisters show the scandal that is going about on Twitter. That picture has now over 100,000 retweets! Yuu is now ‘famous’ in class as everyone tries to ‘interrogate’ him about his relationship with Koyuki. Fuuka is starting to put the picture together of what Koyuki said. It’s obvious she is giving Yuu the cold shoulder. But it’s not the scandal that is making her mad. It’s because Yuu never told her! WTF?! Good thing she decides to put this behind since their band’s first performance is tomorrow. Koyuki is to do a live show. Everyone has this understanding not to bring up that topic. Too bad Koyuki isn’t going by that script and admits that boy in the picture is her childhood friend and dismisses they are dating or anything. Just when you thought everybody has accepted that and just about to get along with their lives, Koyuki then mentions he is the boy whom she has a one-sided crush on and the basis for all her songs. This obviously makes Yuu worried. Can he perform well tomorrow? His band mates give him some encouragement. I guess nobody cares if Nachi is made the band leader and the problem that comes with it, huh? Yuu gets his much needed support from his sisters who will come to support him even if everyone else is against him. Really? I hope they are. Because during the festival, rumours are abound that Koyuki will attend the concert. Guess what? She’s already here! Is her disguise that good that nobody recognized her? Koyuki is shocked that the hall is filled to the brim. Even more shocking are the nasty comments she hears from other boys who intend to target Yuu and teach him a lesson. Yeah, looks like they’re calling out to him now. A riot can break out any time… You sisters gonna take them all on? Think not. Too late for Koyuki to regret about her confession, eh? Oh, what can you do now? The band is at the backstage. Yuu isn’t getting cold feet. He apologizes for what has happened but is also thankful for what he has now. Cut the chatter and let’s shut those guys up with their performance.

Episode 8
When the band finally comes out, the insults start flowing. One even threw a bottle at Yuu, not only cutting his forehead but destroyed his bass! When Hibiki tries to stop them from further self-destruct, they target her because she is Yuu’s family. Despicable! Koyuki is forced to reveal herself in hopes of calming everyone down but the surround her like she is gold. Yeah, those pigs. The lights off and on again. After Yuu is patched up and given a replacement bass, they start singing. Instantly everyone is blown away by Fuuka’s voice. It’s like they’re in a trance. They realize how good all the band members too. After the song, Fuuka invites Koyuki up to stage to sing a ballad of Hedgehogs. Their unison further blows everyone away. At the end of it, Koyuki apologizes for the things she has said but to leave Yuu and his family alone as they have nothing to do with this. Everybody assures they will always support her. Wow. It’s like their devilish side just disappeared. WTF. In the aftermath as the band celebrate their great first performance, they realize they need to come up with the band’s name. They decide to name it after Fuuka. Fallen Moon. Fuuka didn’t like it because it sounds egoistical like as though she forced everyone to join this band. Didn’t she? Fallen Moon it is. Now they worry for Koyuki because after the concert, her manager quickly took her away. She is then advised not to pull off this stunt again and to not contact Yuu for a while so as not to put herself in danger. Therefore she doesn’t pick up when Yuu calls. It makes her miss calls list look like there’s a stalker. More bad news because slowly one by one her events are getting cancelled. During the rehearsal for the Christmas concert, they thought she had too much on her mind and can’t sing. But then, she really can’t sing! Her voice won’t come out! The doctor diagnosed stress and thus her manager doesn’t want her to push it. This means all her events are now cancelled. It comes to a shock when Yuu finds out on the news that Koyuki is on hiatus. He calls her and she picks up this time. She assures everything is fine. That’s all. Of course it’s not. He needs to go to her side now. But how is Yuu going to find her? I don’t know but he did! She tells him about her voice problem and then apologizes for liking him. What’s a guy got to do when a girl starts crying but to hug her. I hope nobody sees this and uploads this online. We’ve had enough sh*t for one episode.

Episode 9
Yuu almost got the shock of his life thinking he is going to get mugged. Turns out to be Koyuki behind a ski mask. Apparently they’re going out on a date?! Is this official? Is this approved? Anyway, Koyuki brings him to Kawagoe where she often has her shoots. The date isn’t anything that special. She has her apologies and thanks for all that has happened. That’s all. Her hope is that she could keep singing forever. Once done, Yuu had to rush back for band practice. They understand and forgive him because a date is more important, right? Let’s hope it won’t be frequent enough that it will cause the band to break up. Later they discuss their next course of action and Fuuka wants to write an original song herself. The rest are sceptical since she doesn’t play any instruments. I guess humming is a start. She actually manages to hum out one and the rest of course turn it into actual music. One night, Fuuka gets a call from Hisashi to meet a music producer, Akira Mogami. Based on the concert at the festival he saw, he wants Fuuka to go pro. Fuuka thought it is the band but no, he only wants her alone. I’m sure she isn’t swayed by him waxing lyrical her angelic voice. That is why she did not hesitate to decline because she wants to be with her band mates. She can call him anytime if she changes her mind but she is very certain that won’t happen. When she returns home, she sees Yuu with Koyuki outside his house. They look very close. This makes her heart feel pain and confused. And she doesn’t like it. So this is going to be the biggest drama of the series?

Episode 10
Fuuka returns to her band. Her face clearly tells something is wrong. Call it luck or not, since Yuu arrives, she is spared the explanation since it is time to rock. When Yuu tries to find out, she screams at him to leave her alone! Later back home he calls her again but nothing much was said. Subsequently Koyuki calls him so he takes the chance to ask how she writes lyrics (thinking this might be stressing out Fuuka). As Koyuki has written her songs based on the person she loves and Fuuka said she never loved anybody, she believes her advice wasn’t a good one. After lots of thinking, Fuuka realizes she is in love with Yuu. Yeah, we figured out that a long time ago. She finally finishes her lyrics and needless to say it is amazing. So we see them depart from their place to their next gig. Some get encouragement like Hisashi for Sara and Yuu’s sisters for him (albeit some teasing). Some are threatened like Makoto whose father warns him to drop his useless hobby or else he will be disowned. No f*cks were given because he decides music is the most important thing in his life. More important than his cute little sister. Hisashi is shocked when Yahagi brings Tama and Nico in. They’re back. After 6 years. And they have something important to announce. A typical cliché bad omen happens to Fuuka. She crosses the road, her strap breaks, realizing it is gone, she goes back to grab it, Japanese truck drivers are the worst because they don’t know how to slam the brakes and… SLAM! Luckily he missed. Phew. Fuuka is in one piece but the strap wasn’t so lucky. However this gives Fuuka renewed motivation as she meets up with the rest and start their performance. Everyone is there including the whole Hedgehogs band. Predictably they note their awesome performance. Fuuka finally sings her original songs and is it no surprise her lyrics sound like unrequited love? The gig was a success but at the backstage Fuuka decides to drop a shocking bombshell. She reveals she has been scouted. She is thinking of taking up that offer and going solo. Wait a minute. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???!!! WTF?????!!!!!! Sudden change in mind?! And she assured us she won’t leave her band. WTF?! Let me guess. Her love for Yuu has something to do with this decision, right? Ah well, who cares about The Fallen Moon now. Because look at this. Sara’s streak of not being able to stay in a band continues. Makoto has been disowned so where is he to go? Nachi is the maddest because he gave up his track dreams. Yuu… Nah, he’s got Koyuki to fall back on. So yeah. The Fallen Moon has fallen. Everyone’s screwed.

Episode 11
So all Yuu can say was if it is her decision, there’s nothing they can do about it. There. So everybody is gloomy trying to go on with their lives. Fallen Moon members minus Fuuka meet for one last time as Nachi suggests breaking up. He is the leader after all. Of course he explains he is going back to track as he was using music as some sort of escapism as he has always underachieved. I guess this band is done. Meanwhile Fuuka takes up Akira’s contract and he too can tell why the sudden change of heart. Then it’s bull’s eye because he suspects it has something to do with first love. That shut you up, Fuuka? All you can say is you made the right choice? Well I hope you did. We see the rest carrying on with their lives. Like Sara she has been put into another band and they really like her and want her to join. Nachi is training rigorously in his track. Makoto is packing up and deciding to go back to daddy’s side and give up his dream because daddy promised him a bright future. So yeah, I guess he has to be hypocritical to his sister about fighting dad for his dream. Now he’s just giving up. Yuu talks to Koyuki what happened. To her, she is fine with that (obviously). Reminding him about their promise, she doesn’t care what else happens as long as she can be with him. And suddenly she pushes him down onto his bed and unbuttons her shirt!!! WTF???!!! HOW DID THIS ESCALATE SO QUICKLY???!!! UNFORTUNATELY! He can’t! What?! Are you gay?! Koyuki is a smart girl. She understood. She knew about his feelings, Fuuka’s feelings. She just wished he’d be honest with himself. In tears, she says her goodbye. WTF???!!! HOW COULD YOU?! DAMN YOU, YUU!!! I get it. Koyuki is too good for the likes of you. F*ck Y(o)uu (pun intended)! Subsequently Yuu works hard to write his new song. So much so his sisters can’t even bother him. Though, they love the new determined look in his eyes. Then he goes around to ‘bug’ his other members to hear his music. And if they feel something, meet up at their usual restaurant at a certain time. He even tries to ring Fuuka’s home but she pretends she isn’t home. The guilt… So you think Yuu is going to be stood up by everyone? No way. That’s because everyone heard his new passionate song and turn up! Oh. So they decide to do another inconvenience by coming back to the band. Since Fuuka is the only one who didn’t show up, they decide to practice and prepare when she does. Yuu goes as far as to visit Fuuka’s parent’s home but mom answering the door says she would be back late when she is actually sitting depressed in her room. Is it me or does Suzuka look so freaking young like Fuuka’s sister?!

Episode 12
The Fallen Moon continues to practice without Fuuka. Sara mentions the owner of the place where they did their first live gig wants them to play again. Can they do it without Fuuka? Yuu promises to bring her back no matter what. Fuuka accidentally stumbles upon Koyuki. The girls talk with Koyuki telling her she broke up with Yuu. She also heard her song and finds the feelings in it resonating with her although Fuuka denies. Koyuki hopes she would just be honest with her feelings. Otherwise it would just put her in a spot. Oh, you don’t know… Yuu continues to visit Fuuka’s house every day but is told she isn’t around. Geez, if mom didn’t know what Fuuka wanted, she would have called the police for stalking. And then mom went ahead and watched the video of their first live gig. She talks to Fuuka and hopes she would smile like that again. So the band is waiting at the place, worried Fuuka may not actually turn up. Leave it to super Yuu to promise to bring her. But she’s not at home. So how to find her? Ah, that familiar wind that blew up her skirt gave him an idea. WTF?! She’s at the school rooftop and she is surprised to see him. He tells her to come back because the band can’t do without her. She can’t come back thinking everyone is mad at her. Yuu is finding it hard to say the right words so he screws all that and says, “I love you!”. A domino effect causing Fuuka to also screw all that and reply that she loves him too. No time to hug, run down to the place now! Just right before it starts, eh? Immediately Fuuka apologizes for her selfishness but you know how everybody is going to forgive her. So they rock the place with their 2 original songs. Yeah, even Hedgehogs gave their approval. The subsequent montage shows Yuu and Fuuka dating. Koyuki now doing some mascot gig. The Fallen Moon continues to practice together. Fuuka apologizes to Akira as he turns his offer down. But wait. He has good news. He has a proposal to have The Fallen Moon debut! Hedgehogs reunite and start playing again. Yuu makes a wish at the shrine to always be with Fuuka forever. At first she is embarrassed but her feelings are also the same.

What The Fuuka?!
Good riddance. Thank goodness it lasted for only a dozen episodes because the more the series progresses, the more WTF starts filling up my mind. I just couldn’t take it anymore. The characters and the story. The music is rather okay and although not my cup of tea but generally the characters and the plot are the ones that making me go WTF. As each passing episode, the more WTF I am starting to sigh. So good riddance. Thank goodness it is over.

There are quite a few moments in the series that makes you want to go “What the f*ck?!”. The first one as early as Fuuka quickly becoming friends with Yuu. This guy unfortunately started off as somebody who is definitely bad in her books. Wrong place, wrong time. We know that they will eventually make up but we didn’t think it was this fast! And this is already by the end of the first episode! It was bad enough Fuuka greatly assumed Yuu was a pervert taking upskirt pictures of her in public. How do you fix that all up? Return her CD, talk about the same music passion and go out for a movie together. Voila! Perversion totally forgotten! Oh yeah. They’re really rushing it here, aren’t they?

The next major WTF moment is when Fuuka forms her own band. I don’t know if in real life bands are formed this freaking fast because the most mind boggling one is when Nachi who has been constantly bugging Fuuka to join the track club suddenly finds himself as the one abandoning his dream to join Fuuka’s ‘unstable’ band. Doesn’t that scream WTF to you? If that wasn’t enough, how about Yuu who seems to be a prodigy and genius when it comes to handling the bass. This guy has no music experience before, let alone play a music instrument. The moment he picks it up and a few lessons from a few experts and now he is a talented bass player! Okay, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he has some hidden talent that was just awakened. But seriously, this guy is now playing like a pro and can even subsequently write songs. Wow. They make it sound so easy.

Another WTF moment and personal gripe of mine is when Fallen Moon played their first gig during the school’s festival. What I never liked about this idol business is how some fans are just so obsessed with a particular idol that the poor idol has to be strictly fit into their angelic image. Or else they start becoming a mob and justify it using violence. It just made me mad seeing these so called hardcore fans of Koyuki trying to hurt Yuu just because he is someone close to Koyuki. But the WTF moment isn’t really this part. It is the part where Fuuka blows away everyone with her incredible voice. It just feels so unrealistic. Only in TV shows where you can blow away and change one’s mind for the better with your awesome voice. And you know what? These mobsters were Koyuki fans! Now after hearing Fuuka’s voice, they somewhat become rationale and calm the f*ck down. WTF is this. Not so 100% Koyuki fan now, are they? Don’t give me this crap that they want to give Fuuka a chance too because I can imagine if wind gets out this Yuu dude is in a love triangle between these 2 babes, all hell will break loose, I tell you! Oh, I can already imagine it…

The final and biggest WTF moment as well as the biggest slap in the face comes when Fuuka decides to go solo. How big a WTF and knee jerk reaction could this get? At first I predicted she would go solo. But the way she told Akira with that absolute smile and confidence she believed in her band and would never ever, and I mean really never ever leave them for anything, made me believe in her. She was truly genuine staying with her band at least for a while. And then comes this freaking shocker. She wants to go solo! WTFFFFFFFFF????????!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, I could hear those cliché (nuclear) bomb explosions going off in the background right now. You lied to us, Fuuka! You lied to your bandmates! All because of this little thing called love. So to cover up this WTF moment that some fans could see coming from miles away, they make Akira voice out this truth. It is so f*cking obvious. There is your cheesy romance drama factor.

Speaking of which, yeah the romance drama is pretty cheesy and predictable. It feels like to force some melodrama just for the sake of it. Because otherwise, what the heck are you watching this series for? I know I’ve seen quite a few of such scenes in anime where it is obvious the protagonists in such first time meeting will eventually fall in love amidst the WTF situations. The only thing ‘good’ coming out from all this romance is that in the end, our main guy has the balls to choose and end up with a girl instead of leaving it status quo and hence an unresolved harem. And yes, it didn’t really surprise me that this famous idol is childhood friends with Yuu and has a crush on him. It was so painfully obvious. And it had to drag on because the vocalist of a certain band wasn’t being honest with her feelings until it is too late and caused some problems.

Which leads me to another WTF moment albeit a bit lesser. Because when Fuuka (temporarily) left the band, it seems inevitable they would break up. We see how the lives of other bandmates ‘ruined’ just because of one vocalist leaving. I have already stated how Nachi went back to track, Sara joined another group and Makoto being the worst affected is now somewhat an embarrassment because he goes back to his safe space provided by daddy. Oh yeah. It’s like Fuuka who is the one running the show. Can’t find another replacement, you say? Sometimes I believe too that there is that only person that makes a band whole so I’ll give them that. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. That is how I feel when Yuu gathers the band back again to practice. This is the WTF moment I’m talking about because again they have to abandon what they are already starting into and going back into the band again! I can only imagine Makoto’s father being displeased again. What inconsistency. At first he was going against his wishes. Then he comes back. Now he breaks off again. Make up your mind! Same with Nachi who was already making some decent progress in his track club and Sara the same in her new band. Oh yeah. Why not leave all that just for some nostalgia. I mean, it’s not too late to turn back, right?

This might be a trivial WTF but Fuuka being able to perform Yuu’s song at first go even more so her first performance after she reunited with her band is really mind blowing. Sure she might have heard the song before but without practice how could she sound this perfect? Yeah, Fuuka’s a genius, right?

The characters feel weak and even more so when the melodrama focuses on the romance insecurities between Yuu, Fuuka and Koyuki. I mean, really? For Fuuka, the guy she first met whom she suspected of taking pictures of her pantsu, she now slowly falls in love with him? In today’s world, he’d be slapped with lawsuits and jail time. If the trio are already bad enough, the other bandmates fare much worse. Nachi is like the one who has the most angst because somebody needs to be. Sara is the quiet girl whom could have remained in the background for the rest of the series and we won’t even care. Makoto is wasted because of his good looks at least he could have send yaoi shiver down our spine. His past and family situation are put together so quickly like glue that you would think something just thought of it a few minutes before they produced the series and slapped it all together. And when a family that consists of a boy and many sisters, why must the sisters be the one teasing their brother about this and that? Is it so much fun? Maybe. Girl power. Yeah, am I seeing a pattern of such family households? Like that guy in Working!!, so to speak. Hedgehogs are primarily redundant. Even if they don’t reunite it doesn’t really matter. It is just to show how a bunch of kids sang a few songs and gave them the burning passion to come back. WTF.

There is a bit of fanservice in this anime. Most likely to hide the bad story and character development so as to distract pervy fan boys from shelling out total criticism. What do you expect when you start off in your first scene and pantsu showing one? A guy like Yuu have the rest of his siblings as sisters, why must one of them be the one who likes to walk naked around the house? And they really pushed it when Koyuki became desperate for Yuu’s attention when she starts stripping herself only to be rejected. I think we’re all shaking our head and our mouths agape as wide as the Milky Way.

Voice acting isn’t anything much to shout about. Me recognizing the obvious ones like Saori Hayami as Koyuki, Daisuke Ono as Yahagi and Mikako Komatsu as Sara. Oh wait. Is that Youko Hikasa as Tomomi? Lynn (Nozomi in Keijo) is pretty okay as the titular character Fuuka as she has a fitting voice that makes her suitable to sing rock band type of music. Though, I find when she sings, she sounds a bit like a different person. The rest of the other cast are Yuusuke Kobayashi as Yuu (Subaru in Re: Zero Kara Hajimaru Isekai Seikatsu), Souma Saitou as Makoto (Kain in Kyoukai No Rinne), Kazuyuki Okitsu as Nachi (Nagare in K), Daisuke Hirakawa as Hisashi (Makoto in School Days), Kaede Hondo as Chitose (Kazane in Keijo), Mikako Takahashi as Mayu (Ayumu in Hayate No Gotoku) and Saori Oonishi as Hibiki (Miyuki in Shomin Sample).

If you like such rock band music, you’ll find the opening theme, Climber’s High (which is also the series’ highlight song) by Manami Numakura as well as the ending theme, Watashi No Sekai by Megumi Nakajima to be to your liking. It didn’t really resonate with me so I’m not particularly crazy to go hear it again. I prefer very much the special ending song for episode 6 by Koyuki, Yukihanabi. It is a slow and lovely ballad featuring only Saori Hayami’s voice and piano for accompaniment. There are a few other insert songs too but not really to my liking since it is rock based. But if you are hoping that this series would have dozens of amazing rock soundtrack, don’t get your hopes high up. Because they keep featuring Climber’s High so the other songs aren’t quite prominent. Sure, there is the original soundtrack for the series out in stores containing over 30 tracks but most of them are just BGMs which again didn’t really resonate with me.

Art and animation style is pretty standard. Standard and conventional Japanese anime style character designs, bishoujo and bishonen look for our characters to perhaps distract you from the generic plot line and WTF moments. Hey, as long as you look good, it can’t be all that bad, right? Or would it? This sequel is animated by Diomedea who did Shiryaku! Ika Musume, Mayoiga, Akuma No Riddle, Handa-kun, Nogizaka Haruka No Himitsu and Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei No Kyokan compared to Studio Comet who did Suzuka in the last decade. The only thing that bugs me is Fuuka’s mom who still looks so f*cking young like as though she has not aged ever since he Suzuka anime ended. Really. Not even a hint that she has grown the slightest bit old. WTF. It’s like the time skip forgot to age her.

Overall, this series need not have associated itself with the original Suzuka series despite it has nothing to do with it except being the child of that series. Unfortunately it was adapted from the manga from the same author who created Suzuka so it isn’t a sh*tty original anime adaptation. Poor cheesy romance drama, weak characters as well as too many WTF moments (noticed how many WTFs I have been using in this blog and could have been more if I did not restrain myself) made this anime forgettable but at the same time remembered for all the wrong reasons. It also gives the wrong impression that for an enthusiast in music despite being a rookie, writing songs is easy (and a hit in this case) but it is falling in love which is hard and pain in the ass. Makes me want to run away from this insanity. Now I know why Tama and Nico went missing for a few years. They should have never returned…

Hibike! Euphonium S2

Okay. The much anticipated second season is here, Hibike! Euphonium S2. Because K-ON! still didn’t get a third season. Haha! But seriously. After all, it would be a waste not to since our girls have ended the first season by qualifying for the Nationals. Hence, more excuse for more Gayphonium drama and the likes. Just kidding. But really, seriously. My last blog I ‘complained’ that a single cour was too short to flesh out everything and now that I have gotten my wish, I better make better conclusive reviews about the overall series.

Episode 1
I didn’t know this show can also get an hour long first episode. We start off with our Kitauji band taking a group photo after their historic achievement to the next round as Kyoto’s representative. As part of their effort to polish up their skills, Taki has rented a nearby facility for a training camp. Team Monaka gives a morale booster with their congratulatory play. Why is Haruka crying? Tears of joy? Some Kumiko x Reina moments as they walk home but nothing lesbian of yet. Although Kumiko’s mom congratulates her, there is no word from Mamiko at all. Maybe she doesn’t care anymore. When Kumiko and Reina head to the clubroom to practice, oboist Mizore Yoroizuka is already there practising. So they go practice at the rooftop. Yuuko and Kaori pass by. This prompts Reina to remember Yuuko and Mizore are close and often talked a lot with each other. While Kumiko is cleaning her euph, Nozomi Kasaki asks if Asuka is around. However Natsuki warns her not to pull this stunt again or else she’ll get in trouble. Taki introduces a friend who will help him instruct them during the training camp, the flamboyant Masahiro Hashimoto. He is already starting off as a funny guy as he is teasing Taki as being popular with girls. Because Kumiko is thinking too much about Nozomi’s case, she couldn’t concentrate and Asuka bugs her to tell what’s on her mind. Luckily Natsuki is here and wants to talk with her. She brings Nozomi who expresses she wants to join the club again. There is a flashback of the Minami Middle School getting second place in the competition. I guess it was so devastating that everybody cried. Yeah, it’s no laughing matter. Mizore, Natsuki and Nozomi were from there. Asuka tells Nozomi to get Haruka’s approval. She is the club president. However Nozomi remains stubborn and wants her approval. Asuka gets serious to tell them and leave. It is getting a bit awkward so practice ends, Asuka tells the first years to leave while the others discuss about it. Of course they eavesdrop as they wonder why Asuka isn’t giving a clear answer as Nozomi isn’t trying to join in the competition. Then they hear Asuka’s honest opinion. She doesn’t agree with Nozomi rejoining. End of story.

Kumiko hear part of the rest of the story from Haruka. Remember that incident last year where many members quit? Most of them were from Minami. Kumiko and her pals discuss about this and how perhaps the scars are still there. Next day Kumiko and Reina go to practice again but Mizore is there first again. This time Yuuko is with her. Because Kumiko’s flustering is so obvious, Yuuko whispers to Mizore about the club drama: Nozomi is trying to rejoin the club. After practice, Kumiko finds Mizore being sick. It seems she is sick of hearing the sound of a flutist nearby. The one playing it is Nozomi. Kumiko and Reina dress up in their yukata for the Agata Festival. Kumiko is not pleased her mom tied it so tight because this means she cannot eat a lot! At the festival they bump into Shuuichi. Reina teases him to come along with them. He gets embarrassed and goes away. Reina notices Kumiko didn’t even react to this. Totally friend zone? They discuss about Nozomi rejoining and Reina believes Asuka is making the right choice because personally she too doesn’t want a member who quit to come back. Quitting is like running away. Say if she rejoins and trashes around, that would affect everyone preparing for the competition. Kumiko wonders if they win the Nationals, can they be special? They don’t do that, they can’t become special. Kumiko x Reina moments of holding hands while watching the fireworks.

Episode 2
First fanservice episode? Because it is the pool episode with our favourite girls in swimsuits! Somehow most of them have this idea to be there on the same day. Kumiko spots Nozomi and they talk about the recent events. Kumiko asks about the special approval needed from Asuka. When Nozomi and her friends argued with the third years and quit en masse, Asuka was trying to persuade her to stay. Now she regrets it and hopes to rejoin and do something that would help the band. Nozomi didn’t talk to Mizore about it. Considering she is the only oboist, it would be devastating to the band if she quits. As for her reasons for rejoining, she likes concert bands and wanted to practice hard to compete against the best bands. She tried to do something but was ignored so she gave up and quit. Now this year they are in the competition but Asuka told her she wouldn’t add anything even if she rejoined. With Nozomi tearing up, Kumiko feels bad and promises her she will ask Asuka. You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep because now Kumiko is kicking herself how the heck she is going to do that. Before the training camp begins, Taki introduces the beautiful Satomi Niiyama to help instruct them. Instantly everybody is thinking if they’re dating. You can tell from Reina’s eyes that she’s dead. Earth to Reina… Kumiko hears Natsuki’s side of the story about her involvement in last year’s incident. She is trying to ease that guilt by helping Nozomi back in the club but as you can see it’s not working. Kumiko must be really having a lot to think from putting together the pieces of everybody’s opinions. Of course she has to go talk to Mizore herself. She says she hates competitions and wishes they don’t exist. So why is she still in the band? Flashback reveals a promise made by Nozomi to get first place when they’re in high school. Kumiko finally sums up her courage to talk to Asuka.

Episode 3
Sorry Asuka, Kumiko isn’t going to talk to you for relationship advice. But Kumiko makes an appointment to talk to her seriously after dinner. Not getting cold feet now, is she? During practice, Hashimoto points out at Mizore’s boring oboe play. It’s like she is a robot. Since she says she wants to play like the crescent moon, then she should aim to play like that. Huh? How does a crescent moon sound anyway? Kumiko is already thinking about the approaching talk time with Asuka and now she has to hear Reina thinking about asking Taki directly about his relationship with Niiyama. Okay, you go girl. So the talk time is here. Asuka warns her about changing her mind now because after she hears this, it will haunt her. Already one foot in the grave so might as well… The truth is, Mizore hates Nozomi and can’t stand see her face. She has some sort of trauma. Nozomi doesn’t know about this. Therefore Asuka can’t really tell Nozomi this in her face, right? As Mizore is the only oboist, if she quits, the competition will be the least of their worries. The question now is if Kumiko is going to tell all this to Nozomi. Can’t, right? It’s already haunting her, right? Asuka suggests to tell her she didn’t say anything and pretend not to hear any of this. During the fireworks, Hashimoto talks to Kumiko and can tell Reina has a crush on Taki. He discloses more than he should when he mentions Taki’s wife passed away 5 years ago. Oops. Now Kumiko is getting more curious. When his wife died, Taki became distant from music so when he joined Kitauji, he couldn’t be happier. Now Kumiko can’t tell Reina about Taki’s past. Man, she’s already accumulating secrets. Kumiko can’t sleep that night and sees Yuuko facing off with Kaori. When that ended, Yuuko knew she was spying all along and they talk. Yuuko too considered quitting during the incident but Kaori talked her out of it. Then they talk about the need for competitions and everything is judged and ranked on. Yuuko sometimes think it shouldn’t necessary because you are not judged based on putting in effort but as being inferior. She didn’t like how they played casually last year with many third years being lazy and the first years working hard and aiming high. Because if they’re going to play in the Nationals, shouldn’t they be playing their best? And if they’re playing, shouldn’t they be aiming for gold? Kumiko returns to bed realizing she has stayed up too long. But Reina is still awake and they talk about competitions, bad players being sour grapes and in the end the only thing to do is to get good till Reina falls asleep.

Episode 4
The order of the bands playing is released. Kitauji will be the 16th out of 23 bands. A big relief? But why are they afraid of this good school Myoujou Technical just before them? All they need to do is play like they always had, right? Niiyama talks to Mizore about her stiff playing style despite her incredible talent. Kumiko can’t concentrate as she still can’t bring herself to talk to Nozomi. Speaking of the devil, here she is. She will stop coming here until after the competition. But she would like to see Mizore first. It took a while before Kumiko realizes the apocalypse it would bring. She rushes to stop her but luckily Nozomi bumped into Haruka and she changed her mind. But the inevitable soon happened. Nozomi sees Mizore practising alone and goes to say hi. Instantly Mizore becomes sick and runs away! Yuuko is upset at all this. So she has Kumiko go find Mizore because knowing her, she will have problems meeting people she isn’t used to. Kumiko finds her cowering behind a desk and asks if she hates Nozomi. On the contrary, she views her as a special friend and is just afraid to meet her. Mizore was always alone and Nozomi somewhat became her first friend and joined the club together. She was happy. However she discovered she was only one of her many friends. So? Actually Nozomi quit the club without even her knowing! She didn’t even bother to tell her. Therefore she is still playing to oboe as it is the only thing connected to Nozomi. Time for Yuuko to take over. What is Yuuko to her then? Somebody who pitied her? Well, that’s an insult. After lecturing her about their recent win and such, Yuuko just wants her to smile. Now for Nozomi to take over. She explains why she never told her about quitting. She was working so hard that she couldn’t bring her grumpy self to quit together. It just doesn’t feel right. Nozomi wants to hear her beautiful oboe again as the duo reconcile. Now that the drama is over, Asuka reveals to Kumiko she wanted to keep this after the competition. She knows Mizore is fixated on Nozomi as she was afraid of being alone. Yuuko was just the insurance. Kumiko finds it hard to tell what is going on in Asuka’s mind but takes heart that Reina is still Reina. Because if she’s going to play, it’s definitely for herself.

Episode 5
Everyone is nervous since tomorrow is the big day. Taki can only do so much to calm their nerves because the rest is up to them. Making them even more nervous is Myoujou who is doing so much better. Reina decides to play for Kumiko. But she cheekily shoots back shouldn’t she be playing for Taki? She doesn’t it to turn into some stuffy overheated ballad. Then when it is Kitauji’s turn to hit the stage, we hear the full length of their piece (it lasted almost 7 minutes!). The results are announced and Kitauji is one of the few schools that won the gold. However there is a final hurdle to overcome because only 3 schools will represent the Kansai region in the Nationals. Osaka and Myoujou have already snagged 2 of the spots. Wow. Kitauji has never been so religious praying so hard. And then their name is mentioned. Now let all those tears of joy flow. Mizore answers Kumiko’s question that she now loves competition.

Episode 6
Cultural festival at Kitauji. Kumiko’s maid café isn’t attracting any customers. So what the hell is this weird pose? Thankfully Reina becomes their first customer. Later they go around together. Mizore’s class is also doing another maid café. There’s a café with cats. Toy cats. Asuka’s class is doing some weird fortune telling thingy. They see Taki being swarmed with girls. Hashimoto talks to Kumiko and knows she hasn’t tell Reina about Taki’s case. Kumiko enters the haunted house alone and who is there? Shuuichi. They aren’t thrilled to see each other till the lights go out. Kumiko can’t separate from him since she isn’t good with darkness. Till they get spooked the daylights out from Reina playing the ghost. Yeah, her class is doing a haunted house. So this gives Reina a chance to tease her though Kumiko says it is just coincidence they were there. But there seems to be trouble in Kumiko’s home. Mamiko returns and tells her parents she wants to quit college. She doesn’t want to go anymore. Of course Kumiko has something to say because it was big sister who told her not to waste time on club activities and to go study and now she herself is going to quit? None of your business, apparently. Mamiko then goes out shopping. In this storm? Kumiko also decides to go walking to take her mind off things. In this storm? She sees Taki at a florist. They talk over things and when she sees his ring on his finger, she panics. She wants to leave but the wind blows away her umbrella. Taki sends her home as he tells her he knows Hashimoto told her about his late wife. Because he apologized to him for letting it slip. He confirms the person in the photo is his wife. She and Hashimoto were students of Kitauji and also in this club. His father was the conductor. Although they made it to the Nationals, they never won gold. When she became sick, she wanted to become a teacher to lead her alma mater to gold. Kumiko understands that is all Taki can say to her because he doesn’t want to burden his students with his personal issues. Next day as Kumiko head to school with motivation to do better, she learns that the flowers Taki bought symbolizes remembrance.

Episode 7
Kumiko hears a commotion from the teacher’s room. It seems Asuka’s mom is arguing with Taki to accept her daughter’s resignation from the club because of the exams and all. However he will not entertain any of it unless Asuka wills it. Mom argues she raises her daughter all by herself and thus she gets to decide her future. Taki will not give in and instead tells her to support her own daughter. When mom tells Asuka to tell Taki she is quitting, Asuka won’t. Mom undergoes nervous breakdown and slaps her! She thinks she is trying to get back at her. But then she realizes her own fault and starts apologizing. Asuka takes her leave from today’s club’s activities. The news spread fast and this shakes up everyone in the club. Haruka heard that Asuka’s mom went directly to the vice principal to accept the resignation and talks to Asuka about it. She doesn’t want this to turn into a ruckus and wants the club to focus on their performance. After that, Asuka never showed up for practice. Obviously the band becomes obviously sloppy and Taki tells them when asked that nothing has happened. He tells them off if they intend to play like this whenever they hear such rumours. This is when Haruka gives her speech to the rest. It isn’t that Asuka is special and reliable. They make her seem so. She is like everyone else with weaknesses but just that she doesn’t show it. Yuuko scoffs her for talking like that because she already knows well that everyone is 100% with her. The band is to do an open performance to hone some experience. They are overwhelmed by the presence of other better teams. Then Asuka pops up and everyone is happy. They get their motivation back and Haruka especially hopes she can back her up as she has accepted Taki’s suggestion to play the solo of the baritone saxophone. Needless to say, they kick ass with Haruka being such a badass with her saxophone play.

Episode 8
Real drama begins at Kumiko’s home. Mamiko is adamant she wants to quit college although she has a year left till graduation. Of all times, why does she want to become a beautician? Mamiko blames her parents she was trying to put up with them but now she can’t take it with them. Father says she should have said so before getting herself into college had she felt so strongly about it. He admits they might have put pressure on her but it is she who decided. If she is still bent on quitting, she will leave this house and find her own way to fund her tuition herself. End of discussion. Kumiko couldn’t say anything. She felt odd when Mamiko said she didn’t want to give up the trombone in the first place. Asuka did turn up to practice but Kumiko still felt uneasy so she had to ask her if she was really quitting. She won’t tell and instead invites her to her house. But after that, Asuka never showed up. And the band continues to sound gloomy during practice. More drama because Kumiko catches a cold and is told to go home to rest before she spreads it. Along the way, she bumps into Aoi who is also getting by in her exams. They talk about Asuka and Aoi thinks she is acting so because she feels one has to be an idiot to have issues with people. Kumiko doesn’t believe that one bit. Aoi is relieved because this means Asuka is human too. As Kumiko sleeps in bed, she remembers when she first joined her first band. She wanted to play the trombone like Mamiko but the teacher seeing that there are too many kids taking up the instrument, suggested her the euph. When she wakes up, Reina is by her side. She’s visiting. She brought a euph CD for her to hear. Shortly, Mamiko barges in to shut it because she hates to hear it. That is when Kumiko blows her top telling her off it is too late to say she wants to continue now. Dad and mom are paying for her tuition so she can go to school so don’t just easily say she is putting up with it. Mamiko tells her to shut up as he doesn’t understand how she feels. Reina, how do you feel witnessing Kumiko’s family drama for the first time? Mamiko makes her way out and meets Shuuichi who is just coming in to visit. He invites her to come hear them play once because they were really good at the preliminaries that they could hardly believe it themselves. But he hopes she would come to hear Kumiko play because she once said she would become good like her. Mamiko returns to ask Kumiko for the CD of her performance. Next day, Kumiko is better and returns to practice. Taki makes an announcement that if Asuka doesn’t return by the end of the week, he will have Natsuki replace her for the Nationals.

Episode 9
Natsuki talks to Kumiko about replacing Asuka and she is quite worried about it. This makes Kumiko feel equally depressed. With Asuka still not turning up for practice, Natsuki talks to Kumiko again about their next ‘operation’ to bring Asuka back. She knows Kumiko will have a study session with Asuka next week. So bring this snack to appease her mom? If this really worked… But seriously if you think about it, why did Asuka ask Kumiko of all people? Reina and Kumiko hand back the room key to Taki and see him sleeping at his desk. Reina is happy and almost losing her balance just doing this bid. While Taki advises Kumiko to guide Natsuki, Reina notices a picture of Taki and his late wife. So the study session is here. It took a while before Asuka shows her a beginner euph book written by Masakazu Shindo. He was once her dad. Let the shock sink in. We know Kumiko has lots of questions begging to be answered so Asuka starts. Her parents divorced when she was young so she hardly remembers him. Also, mom wanted to keep her away from him at all costs. She thinks her mom’s crazy character was the reason he left her. You saw what happened at the teacher’s room, right? Asuka doesn’t hate her, though. Kumiko thinks she is lying but Asuka accepts her fate being born to her and that she solely raised her. She continues that out of the blue, she received a euph present from him and started getting interested in it. Mom didn’t like it but closed an eye until lately. There was a promise that she would quit the club if her grades slipped. Asuka shows her the Nationals’ website that has Shindo’s name as one of the judges. This was why mom wanted her to quit so badly. Everything that Asuka has said and acted was based on this hope that she wanted to go to the Nationals to let her father hear her sound. Kumiko blurts out she loves the way Asuka plays her euph and wants to listen to it forever. Asuka obliges her and plays her euph. Kumiko notices her smile was different than any smile she had seen her give before.

Episode 10
Kumiko can’t get Asuka’s euph play out of her mind. So her friends want to know if Asuka will come back or not. Kumiko isn’t really sure either… One morning Kumiko finds Mamiko trying to cook miso soup but burns the pot! The sisters talk. The view the other as having better privilege and treated better. Mamiko has decided to stop whining and pretending. All her regrets and failures, she’ll own it all up and live her own life. She has decided to quit college so she is going to move out and live by herself. She’ll be a little sad, though. A little. She heard Kumiko’s play and is impressed. She’ll come hear her play at the Nationals. On her way to school, Kumiko thinks back of all the great times with her sister till she couldn’t hold in her tears anymore. Then she overhears Kaori and Haruka pleading to Asuka again to come back. The latter still being stubborn since Taki has already chose Natsuki to replace her. But Kumiko can tell she is lying because she knows she wants to play so much at the Nationals. So when she goes to seriously talk to Asuka, and no it is not about her confessing her love, Asuka still says no. She thinks this is retribution since she didn’t want Nozomi back and thus she shouldn’t be treated any different. Kumiko is very certain that at least she herself wants Asuka to play at the Nationals. However Asuka fires back that Kumiko has always only been watching like in Nozomi’s case and did nothing. Afraid of hurting others and being hurt. So do you think anyone would tell somebody like that what they really think? Asuka feels it is best for her to fade away. After the Nationals, the seniors will just retire anyway. This is when Kumiko snaps back. In her outburst, she doesn’t care about all that. All she wants is to play with Asuka in the Nationals. To hear her euph. Kumiko might be a child but what makes Asuka an adult? She is just a high schooler like the rest. Everyone is waiting for her. Wow. Have you ever seen Kumiko with an unsightly sobbing face? Asuka is also brought to tears but she won’t let her see it. Because the teacher calls her, an excuse for Asuka to end the conversation. When the next band practice is about to start, many get a shocking surprise that Asuka has returned! Because she was placed in the top 30 of the nationwide mock exams, she used it as leverage against her mom to rejoin the band. Natsuki couldn’t be happier. Kumiko couldn’t be even happier. But Reina not looking happy seeing how close they are?

Episode 11
Kumiko must have realized Reina has been avoiding her. So Midori’s brilliant plan to have them walk home together flop greatly. Maybe next time. So the next time Kumiko meets up with Reina on a night date, she wonders about Reina being distant. She didn’t say or do anything. Yup, that is precisely why. After giving out a long scream, Reina asks why Kumiko didn’t tell her about Taki’s late wife. Despite knowing it is to prevent her from being hurt, she would still want her to tell her. Man, this is confusing. This made Reina realize how weak she is. That is why she wants to talk about this right now and then forget about it since the Nationals is so close. Flashback shows Reina’s friends never really understood her. So when she talked to Taki about this and he gave some advice, the rest is history. Also, they share the same passion in music so that greatly helps. Reina can’t concentrate in practice and it is obvious. So late one night when they go return the clubroom key, Reina asks Taki directly about his wife. He describes her as energetic, laughs a lot and loves to move about. As for why he became the band’s advisory teacher, he isn’t sure but if he moped around for too long, his father would continue to scold him. Reina can tell he loved his wife very much. He became an advisor for her sake and wants to win the gold for her sake. He married her after all. After that, Reina never brought this up again. It’s like she tossed away her weak self and is now a much stronger girl than before. On another day, Reina brings Kumiko to pay their respects at Taki’s late wife’s grave. Reina got the info from Niiyama. Reina says to the deceased beloved that she wants to win gold. She wants to grant Taki’s wish.

Episode 12
The night before the competition, Kumiko couldn’t sleep and likewise Shuuichi. They’re both worried but it is rather after the competition ends. Shuuichi then gives Kumiko her birthday present. He didn’t get a chance to give it to her earlier so the wrapping is very much warped. It’s a flower hairpin. He asks if she is worried about Mamiko because they were once close and she seems depressed ever since she left. Kumiko just thanks him. On the day of the competition, Aoi and Mamiko arrive to watch. Haruka and Asuka give their motivation speech before they hit the stage. Too bad we won’t get to hear it this time so we skip to Kitauji bumming around till the results come out. Before the results are announced, the conductors are individually given awards. Kitauji forgot about this and didn’t plan for it. Because other schools are cheering their conductors when their name is mentioned. So it is an awkward silence when Taki’s name is called. But Reina suddenly gets up and confesses she loves him! She feels embarrassed soon after but Kumiko assures her nobody views it as a confession as they give the thumbs up for her good cover. And now for the results… Kitauji wins… Bronze! No wonder it’s so hard for them to smile during the group photo. Later Taki comes to thank Reina for her support. This makes her really confess that she loves him, surprising many. But he replies this makes him glad to be a teacher. Rejected? Well, hold in there. Afterwards Taki speaks to Asuka and Kumiko. He bumped into Shindo earlier on and he had a message for the euph section. He is glad they kept it all this time and sounded beautiful. Asuka couldn’t be happier. Haruka makes her retirement speech for the seniors. But since she starts sobbing, Asuka had to finish it and hopes next year they can take the gold. Kumiko spots her sister passing by and immediately takes off to catch her. She confesses she loves the euph and concert bands because of her. She loves her big sister. The feeling is mutual too.

Episode 13
With the seniors retiring, Yuuko is nominated as the president while Natsuki becomes the vice president. Yuuko didn’t see this coming and is surprised by this. Still can’t get along? Not sure why Kumiko is worried thinking about Shuuichi would tell the whole world he gave her the hairpin. They are spotted by Asuka who starts teasing Kumiko and all. As Kumiko continue to practice, the others notice she is starting to sound more and more like Asuka. A graduation party is held for the seniors. They play their final piece (don’t really remember seeing some of those faces…) and of course the juniors also play their parting piece for them, which is that song they played during the preliminaries. An excuse to show last season clips. At the end of it, as expected Haruka cries. After the graduation ceremony, lots of goodbyes, lots of hugs, lots of tears. But Kumiko is desperately trying to find Asuka. When she does, she lets her know her true feelings. At first she hated her because she can never read what is on her mind. She wouldn’t show her true feelings and seemingly looked down on others. But now Kumiko feels lonely. She wants to hear her euph again. She wants to play like her. She loves her! I know I should be surprised but somehow I saw this coming a little while ago. Asuka gives Kumiko her manuscript as she doesn’t need it anymore. Kumiko refuses to say goodbye. Okay. Then don’t. See you then. Kumiko opens the manuscript to learn the name of the song that Asuka first played for her: Hibike! Euphonium.

Specials

More short hilarious goodness from the cast. I also dubbed this as the “What the heck is this…” specials because at the end of every special, somebody will always have to say that punch line… An indication of the weirdness level of the specials. What the heck…

Special 1
Natsuki trying to teach Riko how to kiss?! Of course Riko can’t do it and pushes her away. I thought it was an acting scene since Yuuko sounded like a director but actually this is for real. Those ‘experts’ thought they can lighten up the mood so Riko can prepare herself to kiss Gotou. Riko tries to use the opportunity of them not getting along to escape but she can’t slip away from their grasp. It seems they are only in perfect sync on the topic of making Riko kiss. They won’t let Riko go home as they start looking for Gotou. Then they see him trying to kiss a girl and punch him in the gut! Double punch combo! Actually he was only trying to take some dirt from her hair and that girl is his sister. Oops…

Special 2
Our main quartet are at the pool and in their swimsuits. It seems Midori can’t take her eyes off Reina’s boobs. Whatever excuses she makes it seems they always go back to being boobs related. Whether falsely blaming Kumiko as boob obsessed or the reason she wants to become friends with Reina is for her boobs, wow, you never hear this side of Midori before. So once they are done with the boobs talk and decide to go swimming, Asuka passes by. The perfect mother of all boobs! Midori instantly starts following her. In the end it has always got to be about boobs.

Special 3
MAID OUTFIT!!!!! Midori even loves them! However the outfit is too baggy for her although she remains positive that she will grow into a nice body like Reina. Kumiko isn’t so sure but Midori maintains her positivism. Can’t give up now, can you? Reina then comes in because she heard Kumiko was going to dress up as a maid, she had to come over. See! Even Reina loves maids! Midori begs Reina to wear it. With those puppy dog eyes, Reina relents. Yeah, her one and only wish in Midori’s life comes true. If you don’t use that wish now, when will you use it? She’s got a point? OMG! REINA IS SO STUNNING IN A MAID OUTFIT!!!!!! Ultimate compliments from Midori. About her boobs mostly. Midori then gives us permission to stare at her small boobs. Kumiko is lost for words…

Special 4
Natsuki and Yuuko are dressed in weird animal mascots during the cultural festival and are blaming each other for some dumb challenge against each other that started this crap. Looks like they’re trying to outdo and annoy the hell out of each other. The ultimate came when they take their fortune readings from Asuka to see who has the better fortune. I can see that this won’t end well… Because the duo continue to argue they will have the better fate and ignore Asuka, she got mad and gave them ‘divine punishment’. Hence that mascot suit and now doing sit-up challenges to see whose fault was it to begin with. I can see that this is going to be a lose-lose situation…

Special 5
Since permission is given to design their own costumes for the concert, Midori gets really passionate not to lose out. And so you see her come up with elaborated, exaggerated and just plain weird costumes just to stand out. Realizing that the costume would be better on a person who stands out, who else stands out more than them but Taki? So what is this Flying Taki thingy? Suddenly a great idea hits her. During concert day, she has Hazuki wear that tuba mascot suit. Hard to climb up the stairs. Tumbled down. Dead…

Special 6
Asuka, Kaori and Haruka are designing posters for the concert. Haruka shows hers but Asuka is not impressed and shoots it down, claiming it to be so plain. Haruka’s heart is so broken. It shatters even further when Asuka nit-picks about the details and her choices. It’s so demoralizing that Haruka wants to quit as president but Asuka isn’t moved. Kaori shows hers. Explosive? Asuka is as harsh but Kaori takes it lightly as a compliment, which isn’t. Time for Asuka to show if she can live up to expectations. Hmm… Looks decent. Authoritarian Asuka decides to go with hers. Haruka tries to protest how bland it is (trying to get back at her?) because it looks like the poster from last year. In fact it is! Asuka blames them for not drawing decent posters last year and the year before and hence the same poster that Asuka had drawn was always used. Is this why she is so mad? Then she just drops everything and lets them do whatever they want. So the final poster turns out to be a mix of Kaori and Haruka’s. Plainly explosive. Is this even a poster for a concert?

Special 7
During the training camp, Reina can’t sleep since she isn’t used to the pillow. So leave it to the rest to tell her ways on how to sleep. Hazuki just suddenly fall to sleep. Just like that. Midori tells her to count her favourite things. It looks more like her unfulfilled dreams with Taki. I don’t think she can sleep with all that excitement. Oh look, Midori is already fast asleep. Lastly, Kumiko remembers her grandma used to read her a picture storybook. So Reina narrates a twisted version of Momotarou (replace the folklore’s characters with them) but in the end it is Kumiko who fell asleep. Was it that boring? Must be the way she narrated… Let’s hope Reina can catch some sleep now.

The Sound Of Youth
Well… I wonder if calling this ending bittersweet would be appropriate. Sure, I did feel good at the end but it wasn’t that happy-happy feel good kind of feeling. Kitauji did their best, they didn’t win but won a respectable place, the seniors retire and the juniors now take over with some seats to fill in (read: recruitment). All in all, the second season does nicely to give the series a fitting ‘end’ but if I want to express my sentiments overall for this series, well uhm, just like last season, it isn’t that bad but I don’t find it superbly great either. Of course it is above average and mediocre and ironically despite the ‘hibike’ in its title, it didn’t really resonate inside my heart. Could it be that I am fresh from seeing too much crap animes? (Damn you butt spamming Keijo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Exclamation marks on purpose). Hey, at least it is satisfying.

So to talk about the character development, I wasn’t really hoping a much more detailed development for all the band members. Really. That would be freaking impossible if we are going to give each and every one of them their own issues and focused episode. Therefore in the end, I believe there are many band members whom I don’t even know or remember. So as far as this season is concerned, I suppose it is sufficient enough to bring out some drama with a new character like Mizore as well as recurring characters like Asuka. And yes, there is Kumiko’s big sister issue back home and the closure for the case of Taki’s mysterious wife. And somehow Kumiko is ‘involved’ in all of them.

Because of that, I feel that some of the main characters back in the first season didn’t really make an impact in the second season. Namely Hazuki and Midori. Heck, I just realized I didn’t even mention them in this blog of mine! Yeah, Midori was a little bit late. This shows how far and few their appearance, if not their relevance to this season. It is like they could have been done without and being relegated to those other unknown band members whom we will never care. Even Reina doesn’t seem to have much of an impact and thus lessening the Gayphonium expectations with Kumiko. More on this later. Even when she found out the truth about Taki’s wife, it just feels something more on the lines of ‘Oh, I see it’s like that. Okay. Time to get over it”. The end. That’s just it. I know it wouldn’t be right to see her forever mope about her one-sided love but that just brief resolve of this long standing issue of her unrequited love makes it less impactful and more of a side distraction.

Then there are other characters like Aoi who really didn’t come back and it’s like they had to show her a couple of times just to remind us she is still around although there is really no relevance and bearing whatsoever. Yeah, you may even forget who this Aoi girl is. The one who quitted the band last season to focus on her exams. Yeah. Like that mattered anymore. Then you got others like Haruka, Yuuko, Natsuki and Kaori who were supporting characters from last season to continue playing as such role this season. With the exception of Haruka, the rest had their drama last season so like Hazuki and Midori, they feel no longer ‘important’ this season as far as the plot is concerned. Oh, do you remember that Rikka school from last season in which Kumiko’s friend was part of? No? Don’t worry. Not important either. Despite some of these characters especially those in the band just making minor impacts, they might have contributed to everything in overall in small bits. As for those in focus, I think they did a reasonable job in fleshing out and resolving their case so it isn’t all that bad.

Now let’s move on to the all-important romance element. I had this faint hope that they would surprise us with Kumiko x Shuuichi but the few moments they had together were just trolling us. There is a reason why many nicknamed this series as Gayphonium because straight love isn’t exciting enough. Despite from last season we were given the impression that it could be Kumiko x Reina, however their time together feels lacking. Sure, there are some close moments together but it isn’t like they spam it to remind us that they are going to be the couple of the series. And when I started notice that there really isn’t much Kumiko x Reina and that they are starting to drift away, I started noticing halfway through the season that Kumiko is gliding more towards Asuka. It was getting a bit obvious with Kumiko starting to be more concerned with Asuka and the interaction between them or at least Kumiko’s reaction. So when the final episode confession came, I was both surprised and not because although I predicted this, I was also hoping it wasn’t true. Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I’m used to Kumiko x Reina?

So they trolled us with Kumiko x Reina and gave us the ultimate plot twist that Kumiko loves Asuka eventually? After all, like in my last blog I did say that Asuka is the best character in the series because of her energetic and playful behaviour. Is there is not a reason to like her? And just like the rest, she too has her own issues but chose to put on a cheery mask so as not to worry others. But I guess it didn’t fool Kumiko or either that too much teasing caused that girl to start ignoring Reina (who is more concerned with Taki anyway at this time) and start liking her. I mean, Kumiko and Asuka are in the same brass section as compared to Reina who is just like another world away. So this is your yuri romance of the season. Maybe this is where the true Gayphonium lies? Just kidding.

I also remember in my last blog I frequently compared this series with K-ON! Well, thank goodness I didn’t here or else I would be repeating myself. Especially the character designs. But K-ON! now feels like ages ago so at this point I can’t really remember most of the things. The art and animation also maintained their consistency so no complaints from me. Last season the mid-intermission showed members of each section. This season, they just show band members playing their instruments. Hardly anything exciting.

Last season’s True sang the lively opening theme. They also do the same this season as Soundscape has also the same exuberance and energy. It is the same case for the ending theme. Kitauji Quartet does Vivace this season but this time it feels less like a K-ON! rip-off. It is mainly like a jazzy Broadway piece and it isn’t too bad either.

Overall, this series isn’t really about concert band music but touches more about the youth aspects like friendship, struggle (respect to the band members for their pure commitment to come and practice all the time) and love as narrated from Kumiko’s point of view in an honest way that makes this reasonably enjoyable and different from other musically themed series. At this point in time. I am pretty sure that big concert bands aren’t going to be as popular as big pop idol groups (looking at you AKB48) but whether you are playing the lead role or a minor supporting role, being the centre or at the very edge, every role is important. The goal isn’t to win the gold or be the best but rather the effort put in the performance and the enjoyment it brings to others. Like as though the performance of a concert band mirroring life itself. Kitauji may not have won gold this season but this series certainly has won gold in the hearts of many viewers. Not fake gold, mind you. Well, I give them a silver at best :-).