Episode 5
I’m gonna be honest. I LOVED these two episodes. It may be less exciting than the previous terrorist arc, but MAN was it nice to see the guys not be stressed over something and just watch them be their normal, dorky selves. Especially with the amount of drama the main series has, it was honestly a relief considering the main series can be really stressful. So it was definitely a nice relaxing day for both Idolish7 and the viewers. It also allows us to see different sides to these characters when they’re just being themselves, showing us things the main series hasn’t had time to touch upon. Just watching them file into the room just made me go: “Wow, what a boy’s dorm.” Lol.
The i7 boys have a day off and Nagi wants to do something as a group. Unfortunately, both Tamaki and Iori have school and the other guys kinda just want to do their own thing. I honestly felt for Nagi in this moment since I always want to do something with my family or friends but then they all want to do their own thing. So it’s a relatable feeling. His ideas of breaking into the school to watch Iori and Tamaki’s day was pretty hilarious. Especially when it involved dressing Nagi and Mitsuki up as mothers and Riku as a dad. Totally not suspicious at all lol.
I also appreciate that this episode gave us a little more of Mitsuki, especially since he probably had the least amount of focus in the first season. Honestly, it was this episode that endeared Mitsuki to me. I was always kind of interested in him due to sharing the same birthday as him and just the woes of being the oldest sibling. However, this episode definitely gave me such an appreciation for him. Such as Mitsuki WAKING UP EARLY JUST TO COOK THESE BOYS BREAKFAST. And an elaborate one at that. Get you a man who will wake up early just to cook you breakfast before you have to leave for work or whatnot! He even made bento lunches for the high schoolers…. WHAT A MOM. I laughed really hard when Mitsuki ended up going back to sleep once the kids went to school and then yelled at Nagi for waking him up when he started pounding on his door. LET THE POOR BOY SLEEP. Mitsuki deserves all the love and appreciation and I’m sad not as many people like him in and out of universe T^T.
Speaking of moms, Sogo once again shows off his mom tendencies by worrying about Tamaki failing class if he gets too many absences and hurrying him up to get to school. He even asks if Tamaki needs anything washed since he was going to do laundry. Honestly, Mitsuki is probably Idolish7’s 1st mom and Sogo is the 2nd. They both had such mom responses through out this episode, it was great. The group would be in utter chaos if not for these two. But I suppose even those two can cause the chaos as when Sogo and Riku heard Tenn’s single “U Complete Me” playing, they both just bomb rushed the TV like complete fanboys. Well, I guess Sogo and Mitsuki can afford to trade off from time to time. Sogo felt a lot more frantic than normal (in a comedic way) compared to the main series and it was hilarious to watch him switch from frantic mom mode into fanboy at a drop of a hat.
This episode just had a lot of fun little moments between different characters. Almost every interaction had me laughing and giggling at how dumb and adorable they all are. Whether it be Iori being super protective over his rolled omelette, to Yamato being a deadbeat dad, to Mitsuki yelling at the kids who were blocking the TV, to Nagi volunteering Mitsuki to make Tsumugi lunch, to everyone kind of jumping on Sogo for bringing Tsumugi into the conversation over their day off. Though I admit when they all started saying “manager!” I got war flashbacks to the Revolution that was Utapri’s 3rd season but thankfully not ALL of them said her title. Though I did laugh when both Yamato and Mitsuki ganged up on Sogo when he brought up Tsumugi (in a business sense mind you). Which is both hilarious and confusing considering the guy is probably one of the guys who is least interested in Tsumugi like that lol. Not to mention we actually get to see people actually working in the office. My reaction was basically: There’s actually more workers besides Tsumugi and Banri here?! But the whole thing felt just so wholesome and just put a big ol’ grin on my face through the entire episode.
Episode 6
We continue the low-key chaos with the squad having split up into non-typical groups and I love it. Iori with Tamaki, Sogo and Yamato, and then Mitsuki, Nagi and Riku. It’s honestly really refreshing to see the guys interacting with others they normally don’t interact all that much with or we don’t often get to see. It just shows that they can have a good dynamic with others outside of their usual cliques and I wish we could see it more often in the main series. Though after listening to Monster Generation for the 1000th time again, I realized they split up according to this one part of the lyrics, which is hilarious. Go watch the 2D segment of the Monster Generation MV and you’ll see what I mean. I honestly wish they mix and matched the songs more often as well.
Can I just say how much I’ve come to stan Iori and Tamaki’s friendship? Yes, they haven’t really interacted all that much in the main series, but when they do, they always just have pure chaotic energy and it’s really hilarious (especially when we get to season 2~) First evident when they both slammed the door shut on Rootbank like the freaking children they are. In a rabbit chat, Iori even admits that he can’t help but fall into Tamaki’s pace whenever he’s around him. Not to mention, they seem to act very differently with each other as opposed to the others. Being the two youngest in the group, it only makes sense. They are constantly having to deal with age superiority being thrown at them when dealing with the other members, but with each other, they are equals. They just seem to play off of each other really well without them clashing too hard like they do in their actual sub units. Like when Iori corrected Tamaki about them being Usamimi Friends (which is Iori’s favorite franchise) and Tamaki took it in stride rather than teasing him about it.
It was such a short scene, but I adored seeing them try and get that Cocona plush for Nagi from the claw machine. It’s actually nice to see Iori being able to have a sincere talk with Tamaki and not having to put up his usual tsun tsun barriers. In turn, Tamaki seems to drop his typical bratty act and seems a bit more level headed and grounded when around Iori. They almost seemed softer with each other and I loved it. Both of them seemed to understand Nagi very well with Tamaki seeing how Nagi would be the one to keep them together and Iori acknowledging how perceptive he is despite his craziness at times. Both of them recognize how important Nagi is to the group and wanted to do something nice for him as a thanks for all he’s done. I also love how Iori just took over when Tamaki ran out of money. It’s times likes these where I wish Iori and Tamaki were a unit instead. I can only dream. Though I’m sure the unit would be nothing but chaotic, but that just makes it sound so much more interesting.
Speaking of chaotic energy, Yamato is definitely NOT a good influence on Sogo and the two should not have been left alone unsupervised. As drunk Sogo is a DANGEROUS Sogo. These two drunkards are certainly a force to be reckoned with as they kept getting into mischief through out the episode. However, there is definitely something I want to touch on. That being how Sogo has trouble figuring out what he likes to do for fun. When asked about the things he enjoyed, he paused pretty abruptly and even questioned it himself. Poor boy has had it tough living under a roof of being told what he could and couldn’t do. He has trouble thinking for himself and speaking up about what troubles him because he wasn’t allowed to. Music was his only levity, the only thing he chose for himself. And while getting him drunk may not be the best coping method, it was probably nice to just let his hair down and be his silly fanboy self with everyone. Did you see him try and SWIM towards the door?! Bless this precious bean. So in a sense, Yamato most likely did it to try and get him to relax… maybe. That or he wanted a drinking buddy.
By the end of the day, our favorite group decides to celebrate their day off by having a gyoza party, which in all honesty looked really fun. All of them even took part to help prepare it and it was just hilarious seeing them tease each other by trying to grab the other with their food hands. Hence Nagi’s tweet of “DON’T TOUCH MEEEEEEE.” Even the management team and Trigger got invited. It was nice to see Trigger and Idolish7 come together and just have fun with each other with no hard feelings between them. It’s good to keep up a rivalry so that both sides can grow from one another, but it’s also nice to just have them be dumb dorks together in their down times. It’s especially hilarious when Tenn’s brotherly love tendencies kind of slipped out from time to time. I absolutely LOST IT when he pressed the like button on a photo of Riku with lightning fast reflexes. I didn’t even realize he was the one to press it the first time. What a freaking dork lol. Also I just loved how Tenn and Riku shared the exact same expression towards Sogo drenching his gyoza in hot sauce. Both were very in sync there.
I loved these episodes. They were just so cute and charming I couldn’t help but fall in love with the characters even more. Not to mention I noticed they be out here dropping A LOT of foreshadowings for future parts. Which was really well done since if you aren’t aware of them, you’re not going to pay much mind to them. There were all sorts of very cute moments littered through out the episode that had me laughing, just like the previous episode. It makes it feel as if I’m having fun with the characters while getting to know them a little more without them explicitly telling me about them. LIKE A STORY SHOULD. glares daggers at enstars As I’ve said before, I wish we could see the members interact with the others in the group rather than JUST their little sub unit cliques. I’m actually not a fan of most of the sub units within i7 anyways soooo…rip me I guess. It was just nice seeing something different from the norm and it makes me wish they could mix and match the duets a little more. I would PAY for an Izumi bro duet. I NEED IT. I also really loved that Memories Melodies piano rendition going on the background during their gyoza party. And the part where Nagi just affectionately glanced at everyone in the room melted my heart and was a great way to end the episode. He treasures everyone so much… SO PURE.
