EPISODE 4
I love the music video so much. I love Expose burn out!!! so much. Right now I’m listening to RAS’ new single and I’m loving both of their songs. And I patiently wait for them to be added into the game because I know who I’m going to be gunning in the gacha. Masking has proven that she’s best girl of the band. But man there’s so much good from this episode.
This was a very fun episode and I loved every second of it. Even though Rokka is a temporary guitarist, she still needs to work hard since she’s technically part of the band and start practice early. She’s greeted by Pareo and is immediately fitted for her costume, which was actually the same outfit that Tae wore but made with some adjustments. The coolest and most exciting part of the episode however was the making of the music video. Since Chu2 has amazing connections because of her parents both being part of the music industry, she booked an amazing studio to help them make their music video for their new song, Expose burn out!!! It was pretty interesting seeing them do this part as there were lots of cool special effects and props, such as the gun finger thing. Which turned out to be funny because of Rokka freaking out and not really knowing what to do. And…you can’t really blame her. But they all did a pretty fantastic job and they had really cool costumes as well. This was also a pretty good episode for us to see the ladies bond. The little moment during their lunch was nice. We learned Pareo was the first one to join RAS, and that Layer and Masking joined around the same time. And they knew each other because they saw each other once in awhile during their music wandering days. Of course of them all, Pareo has the closest relationship with Chu2 and I wonder where and how they met because their relationship is pretty special. That’s probably the bond I’m most intrigued with. Layer had a cute moment with the octopus sausages, and it’s small but it’s nice to see them bond and be a little lighthearted and silly considering how serious the band is, mostly because of Chu2. We’re finally getting a chance to get to know the girls more and so far I’m loving it. And it doesn’t stop there.
The band only have a couple days to get the song down, and Rokka seems to get it down but has trouble playing her part together with the band. This was her opportunity to really prove herself to Chu2 and become a permanent member of Raise a Suilen, but she kind of screwed up. It would have been nice if Layer had a part in this since I feel like she’s lacking a little bit, but I am glad that Masking stepped up. She and Rokka always had a funny little bond since they saw each other a lot at Galaxy, so she takes her out to eat and cheer her up. We get to learn a bit about Masking and her background back when she wasn’t with RAS, such as her old nickname being Mad Dog and how she had the reputation of being a little wild. This caused trouble for every band that she would join, and none of them would really last long. But this was the time when Chu2 scouted her. Masking gets lost in her music, just like Rokka does, but she shares enough of a bond with the others that they listen to her and match up with her, and she admires Chu2’s passionate love for music, which I can’t deny either. Even though I’m not really a fan of Chu2, I do admit that she’s incredibly dedicated and intelligent, and very hardworking. It shows how much she cares about RAS from how obsessive she is with everything. Too bad she’s a brat. Masking ends it with reassuring Rokka that she’s super talented, that Chu2 wouldn’t have given her the time of day if she thought that she would drag the band down. This was enough to light a fire within Rokka and have her return to the studio to try recording again. And by the end of the episode, Rokka is officially made a member of the band and is nicknamed LOCK.
As intimidating as Masking looks, she’s an incredibly kind and sweet person. She may be wild but she loves music, and she cares about people. Like I said, I loved this moment. Their friendship is so cute, but again I wish Layer was there too to give her support. I think she and Rokka can also have a nice friendship too. I think Rokka still has some reservations with Chu2’s attitude and the whole “beat Popipa to a pulp” thing. Well, Layer is close friends with Tae. How does she feel about this? She could probably give Rokka some peace of mind about all this.
And of course, probably my favorite part of the episode, we get treated to the Expose burn out!!! MV and it’s amazing. When it comes to performances set on stage, the animation is a little limiting. But when it comes to music videos, Bang Dream delivers pretty well and the animation looks great. And that’s the case here. The cool things we saw from their filming were amazing in the video, and all the effects and colors and camera angles were lit. It was all around fantastic. Also, while I’m not a fan of Chu2, her bratty and cocky attitude is awesome in their songs and music video.
EPISODE 5
This episode, we completely take a break from RAS and go back to focusing on Poppin’Party and seeing way more cameos of the other characters. In short, this episode was incredibly adorable and really funny. If I had to be honest, I always found Poppin Party to be more on the boring side. I don’t dislike them by any means, they’re very sweet and they have great chemistry. They had some pretty good drama last season, but it’s usually their stories that are on the boring side. But I was very entertained, and this episode and their MV I think perfectly encapsulates who Popipa are.
RAS’ music video, unsurprisingly, is very popular. Popipa is so impressed and absolutely love it, and with that they check the rankings of the Bandori. Roselia has taken first place now with over 5,000 votes with RAS only shortly behind. But compared to them, Popipa is horrible behind in 231st place. Which…wow, that’s a whole lot of bands in this competition. Popipa have only been able to perform twice, and they’re not getting the votes that they’re wanting. Being inspired by RAS’ MV, Popipa decide that they should make their own. But…they’re going to need some help.
That means asking Rokka for a little help, and lots of cameos from the other bands! I thought it was really cool that Aya and Chisato explained the backstory to their MV of Luminous Once More. There were lots of cool callbacks to the game this episode, this just being one of them. Arisa called them over to ask about it and they explained how they filmed certain things and where the location was, while also sharing cute stories like Maya camouflaging into the green screen and Aya sleeping. And of course since they took a lot of inspiration from Expose burn out, Popipa tried including stuff into their MV like the finger guns and the boxes. And for some reason I found the whole cardboard box part so hilarious, I was really cracking up. That whole scene was hilarious though, along with the quick little snippet of Poppin Shuffle with the little bit of footage they had. The cardboard boxes, I swear…
They were having trouble and going over the little preview and once one of them said “smile” Kokoro ran into the room from out of nowhere. After having a little concert with them, the girls go to the park and fool around while Arisa and Rimi check out pictures from her phone from over the years. And this sparks an idea in Arisa and they get to working.
Poppin Party has always been a simple band. They’re just a group of girls that love to have fun, love each other, love their friends. They love to make music that make other people happy, especially the ones around them. Popipa has never been flashy like RAS or too rigid like Roselia, they just like to have fun. And the idea they went for their music video was to just include the stuff that they love. And that includes all sorts of things like chocolate cornets, their friends, their siblings, Tae’s rabbits, Arisa’s bonsai trees, etc. While also including cute pictures of themselves and videos of past lives, along with asking their friends to pitch in. Which included pics of them and them going “Poppin!” to match with the song, which was both super adorable and hilarious at times (like Yukina). It was simple, it was very amateurish but it was very Poppin Party and it was great. Hopefully this can help them in the Bandori competition. Rimi and Arisa worked their asses off so I hope it pays off for them.
The episode ends with Chu2 being the brat she is and boasting about her cool MV, which Yukina brushed off. But of course Chu2 picks a fight and she challenges Roselia to perform in the same venue at the same time as them, so they can prove who is better. Like, damn girl. Why are you so obsessed with them? :/ But Yukina says yes, so the challenge is on!
That sounds VERY exciting, but unfortunately it looks like we’re going to have to take a break for awhile. The proper TV screening of the anime is going to start this week from episode one. We’ve been getting the episodes from the BDs that come along with the singles that have been releasing, but the issue is that the next single won’t come out until the start of March. And it looks like HIDIVE has been following these releases. Sooo…either we’re going to have to wait until the start of March for the next episodes, or maybe HIDIVE will release episode 6 earlier than that because the TV airing of episode 6 will air before the release of the next single. And if not HIDIVE then maybe someone else? This whole release schedule of this season is so fucky and strange, and it’s kind of annoying. I hate having such a huge gap until the next episode, especially when this season has been very solid so far.
Oh well. I don’t know if I’ll see you guys either February 27th, or March 3rd. Either way, the wait is too long for the showdown between RAS and Roselia. Darn it. >_<
