IDOLiSH7 Episode 5

Once again, I have to hand it to writers for the way they have been pacing the series thus far. I love the fact they followed up last week’s episode by pretty much getting the last of Riku’s secrets out of the way. It was clear he had a health problem since day one, and today we finally learned what is it.

Riku suffers from a Respiratory Disorder, making it extremely dangerous for him to do physically demanding tasks such as singing and dancing for a long period of time. Though he managed to make it through the two and half hours outdoor concert in the rain (including encore), as soon as he was inside, he collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital. Being perspective as always, it was clear Iori already had his suspicions in regards to Riku’s health and took it upon himself to verify it earlier on during dance practice. When he realized what Riku’s condition was, he wanted to tell the group immediately but Riku begged him to keep it a secret.

While I understand why Riku wanted to keep it a secret, it’s just as Iori said: It is dangerous for them to keep it from the others. It’s a time bomb that could kill their group because not only is Riku their center, but their main vocalist. Without him, they won’t be able to make it.
Eventually the secret did end up coming out because he fainted after their concert. So really the idea of wanting to keep it under wraps was not only a selfish one, but a stupid one as well. Honestly, I don’t know about you, but the entire time they were performing in the rain, I was just waiting for him to collapse. Imagine the uproar that would have caused, especially during live broadcast!

Then there was the matter of which Tenn shared with Tsumugi and Yamato that Riku has a critical flaw that prevents him from surviving the show business world. That flaw is of course his Respiratory Disorder. It has yet to be revealed whether or not Tenn also has problems with his respiratory system to some degree, but I understand where he is coming from when he says Riku shouldn’t step into this world with such naive resolve, and he is just going to bother people who are taking this seriously.

He isn’t just worried about Riku’s well-being (he looked rather distraught hearing him perform), but also recognizes how his illness can drag/slow his group down. As terrible as it is, the harsh reality is that Riku can’t do what the others can without risking his health. So while Tsumugi is determined to accommodate their lessons and concert plans for him the best she can, the main issue is whether or not doing so will cause repercussions. There is certainly ways for them to overcome this obstacle and make it work, (even I can come up with a couple ideas off the top of my head,) but it will certainly be an uphill battle that will require the whole team to be behind him.

It was good to see Tsumugi and Yamato (who looked damn fineeee~) go to TRIGGER’s agency to apologize for performing in front of their concert hall. Better yet I was pleased to see Tenn to be cool about the whole thing, and even prepared the 21 King Puddings he owes to Tamaki for the ride. Although he has declined Tsumugi’s offer of receiving tickets to IDOLISH7’s concert, I am sure he will eventually come around when he sees Riku absolutely does have the resolve to see this through. After-all, he did declare, he will keep dancing, even if it kills him. No stopping him when he is willing to die in order to pursue his passion.

Since their rain concert was a huge success, Iori suggests to Tsumugi they train performing at the outdoor arena again. It is an ambitious idea, but the group is ready to tackle the challenge again. Fortunately for them, they are better prepared and were rewarded with their tickets for the 3000 seats arena sold out in less than a minute. Not only that, but their concert will be broadcasted as well. Although everyone was psyched about the situation, Yamato is skeptical, asked if it was a mistake- can’t blame the guy though. However, it did cross my mind of how evil it would be if TRIGGER’S CEO bought up the tickets with bots to have them perform at an empty venue… Considering their reputation squashing rising groups, I wouldn’t put it past their CEO, especially after getting on their bad side so soon.

The last point I really wanted to address is a pressing issue I am having with Iori’s character.
As much as I love the guy to death, I mean- what is there not to like about him, the biggest issue I am having with him is that he is too perfect, and it is quickly becoming too much. We already have him taking the reigns from Tsumugi when it comes to managing the group, and now he is so damn perspective he can diagnose Riku’s health condition. Look I am not an expert on this sort of stuff, but seeing Iori just press his head against Riku’s back to verify his suspicions, felt over the top. At this point, Iori is simply a genius at everything. Besides not knowing when to not step over the line, what can he not do? Remember, he is still a freaking high school student!!!!