And so the second parter curse continues with the continuation of Trickstar and Eve’s dual performance. But before that, it looks like I got the wrong idea on how the Summer Live was a completely different event from the amusement park concert. Whoops… guess it just goes to show that there is way too much information being thrown around for me to keep track of everything. But yeah, I was a bit disappointed with how this episode turned out. I just wasn’t feeling how it all played out, not to mention how it was resolved at the end (if you can even call it that) felt really strange.
But wow… that was such a low blow from Eve. It was definitely foreshadowed that they were up to something. And of course, it was none other than Eichi that asked them to basically crush Trickstar. Though honestly, from how they built it up, I expected something worse. Like past Eichi levels of low. And while yes, it was a terrible hit to Trickstar since they were basically played by believing that Eve was trying to help them become better idols. But by the end of it, it didn’t seem that bad? Everyone still seemed to be on friendly terms despite some rather underhanded methods. But I guess nothing was technically tampered with and Trickstar just missed an opportunity to really put themselves out there and handled it the best that they could after the fact. And at least they were able to get Hiyori to acknowledge them. So there’s that I guess.
I do appreciate that while Hiyori went along with Eichi’s plan, he doesn’t seem like a malicious person and will give acknowledgement where acknowledgement is due. Not to mention that he actually didn’t even like the idea in the first place and even called it an “unpleasant role.” Sure he’s super narcissistic, but he’s more down to earth than I expected. In the end, I still liked him.
Though the same cannot be said about his partner. I’m disappointed… I’m disappointed in Sazanami. Though it really shouldn’t be that big of a surprise since some pretty bright red flags were raised when Yuuki commented on how he’s glad that they’ll get along well. You jinxed it! Maybe it was the blue hair, but I was just really hoping he’d be a good boy. Too much hope there. After his little blow up with Sagami-sensei, he’s pretty much dead to me. I still like his design, but that’s about all. He has the sad, tragic backstory of his father never loving him and was raised to seek revenge for him. Shouto Todoroki, is that you??? Not to mention he just kind of revealed himself to be super petty after deciding to go after his students to make himself feel better.
And despite this technically being a loss for Trickstar, I didn’t really find it all that sad or discouraging. I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t find Trickstar compelling. Sure they’re close and are friends… but that’s basically all I get from them. I guess the anime didn’t do a very good job of establishing what exactly their unit’s strengths are or what their aim was beyond the revolution. Because they almost feel pointless once the revolution was over. Not to mention, out of all the other units, they seem to lack a theme of some sort and just come across as super generic without anything special going for them. Just looking at their outfits, their lack of unity and theme is mildly off putting. Eichi seems to be putting a lot of investment in them and I just can’t help but think: Why? He obviously sees something special in them that I can’t. Though I guess it’s because the group is what the previous fine could have been if they had built the unit with the power of love and friendship rather than mere business partners.
I’m glad that the amusement park live went well for 2wink and Ra*bits. However, I wish we got to see more on how they planned and organized everything with Anzu. Not to mention we didn’t even really get to see their performance. Just stills of each character saying something. I know they wanted to put more spotlight on the Trickstar and Eve live… but it feels like such a wasted subplot. It’s like, why make a big deal about something if nothing much comes from it? They deserved so much better than this.
The anime even had the gall to point out how Anzu should have never left Trickstar’s side to help with the other two units. I honestly got a pretty annoyed at that statement. Everyone deserves a chance to get Anzu’s help, not just Trickstar. It just shows they can’t really stand on their own. And yes, I’m aware as a producer, Anzu helps out A LOT with the preparations for the performances. And yes, I know that Trickstar was basically representing their school in that live. But on the other hand, if they can’t succeed without Anzu, then what’s the use? It takes more than just ONE person to determine if a group can succeed or not. She’s not their mother!
Anyways, it looks like we’ll be starting the long anticipated knights arc with the absent leader finally making his official introduction. And boy does he make an impression. He’s so strange… how is he not one of the essentrics? However, I can already sense some drama that could come out of this with that what I assume to be a first year and Leo. Since it seems like he looked up to him before meeting him. I’m sure that Leo calling him an alien is probably going to put a huge damper on his view of him. Also, I’m curious as to why Leo has been absent for so long. When knights was introduced, I had thought Izumi was the leader. Guess my questions will be answered soon… maybe… hopefully.
Also, can we talk about this random dude that just shows up at a takoyaki stand? He is somehow a one person unit (judging from the ending) and just randomly shows up and states that he and Anzu met in kindergarten. Dude, there’s no way ANYONE would remember someone in kindergarten. Children that age have the attention span and memory of a goldfish. Anyways, looks like there’s gonna be some drama with this guy as well since he’s been in hiding and the student council seems to be wary of him.
I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this episode. Especially since this series has a tendency to not follow through their build up to meet a satisfying end. It was to be expected, but I’m still disappointed. However, I am interested to see what will become of knights and just how with the addition of their long lost leader will put them back in good graces. Especially since they did not make a very good impression on me in their first appearances. But it looks like we’ll be diving into more drama with these two new characters and possibly the other two members that make up Adam of Eden.
