This episode seems to make it seem like the three main girls of this anime are Haruka, Miki and Chihaya. That's a little annoying; I don't particularly like any of them that much. Where is Takane?!
This episode was an all-idol one again (although, undoubtedly, the trio I just mentioned got most of the screen time), featuring a TV show that apparently the girls do every week. This may have been their first one (which would explain why Producer was so frowny-face and stressed out the entire time). I really like the concept; it's a pretty good way to get publicity and the viewers do seem like they liked it.
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| I wonder why the children liked pulling Iori's hair so much. |
The show, It's Live! Sunday (what kind of name is that?), was pretty much a variety show, where the girls got to be a part of different segments. I was pretty pleased to see that Ryuuguu Komachi was neither in the spotlight nor placed together; Iori, Azusa and Yayoi were at a nursery to predict the weather. It was cute to see how the three of them got along with children in very different ways. The scenes shifted quickly, making me feel that their entire trip out to the nursery was a little hollow, but variety shows are usually like that.
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| Sadly, it looks like a boy cross-dressing. |
Yukiho and Makoto were at a clothing store, with Yukiho's stated intention being that she wanted to make Makoto cooler. After giving Makoto free reign, however, the result was quite disastrous - sadly. I thought Makoto was really into girly things; I assumed she had learned a lot from magazines and whatnot, even if she couldn't put it into practice. Anyway, Yukiho turned out to be a girly-girl (although I knew that already) and dressed up Makoto properly...as a man. The girls in the audience went crazy over the transformation, further destroying Makoto's dreams of one day being a girl.
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| Wow, ordering from a vending machine. |
From Takane's scene, it's further solidified that she's a rich kid. (I know a little about her through my research into the games, but not so much.) Her segment was exploring ramen, for which Ami and Mami tagged along. (Their twin comedy routine wasn't particularly that funny; I'm typically not into that type of humour.) Takane continues to further pique my curiosity, and I do wish they would focus on her already. I wonder what kind of idol she's most suited as, since I've yet to see her sing or dance or act. I can't believe I'm so interested when I know so little.
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| I would watch the movie just for this. |
The extended promo clip for a movie confused me a little; I had no idea if it was a joke or if the idols actually had gotten a movie. If it's the latter, then
wow, they've really moved up. The mecha theme reminded me of the other anime,
Idolmast Xenoglassia, which used most of the same characters and was set in some kind of
Gundam world (I didn't watch it and have no plans to). Haruka as the evil villain and Takane as a scantily-clad boss made me want to know more; I would really like clarification if this is for real or not.
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| It's just funnier that Miki doesn't even care. |
If there was any kind of story or growth going on, it happened with the three anchors. Miki seemed to be quite natural and in her element, while Chihaya was at the other end of the spectrum. When Producer told her she needed to relax more, she worried about it. However, she didn't particularly show changes, other than bursting into fits of laughter at various points after Haruka bashed her nose in accidentally while trying to open a box. I wonder if there will be another Chihaya-focused episode; the one that she had earlier didn't really "finish" her story. However, if she's a main character (more so than the other girls, I mean), then her story can just be recurring, no?
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| I wonder if Producer is dealing with this seriously or setting it aside again. |
This episode also added to my dislike of Miki. Her come-ons to Producer were stronger than ever, with the rest of the girls (or, at least, Haruka) noticing that she was being quite outgoing. I don't know what to make of this; I can pretend that it's a joke, but it's hard to tell. Either way, Miki tried to tone it down while she was on-camera, but slipped up once and called Producer (who was off-camera, of course) "Honey". However, no one seemed to mind, so it's okay - for now. I mean, if she becomes more popular, this could undoubtedly become a scandal. I just don't see her allure, as it stands.
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| I wonder where she was and if it was a realistic challenge. |
The next episode seems like it might involve this aspect, so I'm dedicating an entire paragraph to it. Hibiki's challenge for the week was to get to the studio by the time the episode was over, from an unknown location (most likely unknown to her as well). They checked in with her from time-to-time, and the last time they looked at her, she had no voice feed from the studio and was running through the rain. The show ended with the anchors promising to keep Hibiki's progress updated on the website, and the ED showed her smiling as the rain stopping and the sun came out. It might be too much to ask that the next episode has to do with her (I'm basing this off of the shot of Producer looking around in the wilderness for someone), but I'm hoping. I find her character still interesting right now.
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| This came straight out of millions of shoujo manga. |
While it's not like the show is getting worse, I don't feel like it's getting better either. I just can't find something here that's gripping me. Perhaps I would if I actually liked more of these girls.
~Aaro
