IDOLiSH7: Second Beat! Episode 3

GOD DAMN IT! IORI, TENN! SIT YOUR ASSES DOWN! YOU FREAKING IDIOTS.

What they did today was unbelievably unfair to Riku. He already has enough on his plate! Just let him focus on recovering! I am glad that boys from Idolish7 and Trigger stood up for Riku because Tenn’s shit was really uncalled for. I get what he is trying to say to Riku, but he is really too much. Iori also messed up because he is doing what he thinks is right, when Riku should have been involved in the discussion in the first place!

Since the concert, while Riku has gotten somewhat better, he is still in no shape or form to be doing too much activities. And since Tsumugi has consulted with a doctor about his condition, she understood the tough decisions that needed to be made, and that is to (temporarily) switch him out of the center position. By doing so, it will help him ride it out since the combination of season changing and their hectics schedule are provoking his condition. However, even though he was chosen to be his replacement, Iori stubbornly refused to make the switch.

Look, I think Iori can be charming, but I have always been frustrated with his bad habit of overstepping his bounds. Please remember, this guy is still in freaking high school, and he needs to back off and properly place his faith in Tsumugi to make the best decisions for the group. After-all, that’s her job, not his, and don’t even get me started on when he straight up lied to the Manager of Zero Arena when he asked about Riku’s condition! Dude, stay in your lane! I was glad that Yamato called him out on that and more (such as telling him to be more considerate of Riku’s feelings), but I honestly wished that Tsumugi had done that instead. At times like this, she needs to assert her position. What he did was unacceptable, and god forbid it from biting them in the ass in the future. Fortunately by the end of the episode, he admitted she was ready and was ready to make the switch.

The most dramatic thing Iori had done today was actually pick a fight with Tenn during rehearsal. He was right to call him out for sticking his nose into their business, however I did find it rather hypocritical of him to criticize Tenn for being a “helicopter parent” to Riku, when that’s exactly what Iori has been doing by trying to micro-manage him. Tenn as expected, did not take that kindly, but we didn’t get to hear his retort to that. Luckily Yamato and Ryu had intervened before things could escalate any further. The two of them looked like they were ready to throw punches at each other.

But I must say, I am surprised that Iori had brazenly made the point that Tenn is needlessly sticking his nose into their affairs because Riku is his brother. While he isn’t wrong– the issue here is that I thought their relationship was meant to be kept a secret (or at least on Tenn’s side of things, I can’t remember where Riku stands in all this, but he probably agrees it’s better off that way). I would be shocked if the word of their relationship doesn’t leave this studio. I suspect there should already be theories out there among the fans about their relationship, after-all they are twins. Nevertheless, I am not sure if the scenario of the public learning the two of them are actually brothers will becomes a source of conflict in the future. For all we know, it could be a way to tied the whole backstory of why Tenn had left his family in the first place, but I am not sure if that’s really where their priorities are at the moment. So I’m not holding my breath for this to become a bigger issue, I will wait and see.

That being said: While Iori was made some serious blunders, Tenn wasn’t any better. In fact, he was much worse. He was absolutely relentless in his series of attacks against Riku. The worst of it was when he litterally pushed Riku aside to fill in for him during rehearsal. By doing so, it was his way of demonstrating how a center should be, and how Riku has been failing to fulfill that role properly. While this all looks terrible from as an observer, what Iori doesn’t understand is that Riku knows why Tenn is angry. He had warned him from the start that if he failed to manage his health properly, he would only drag the team down. And unfortunately, Tenn was right. Sure enough, this became a problem.

And this absolutely sucks because no matter what Riku does, he can’t win. Regardless of what he does, be it taking care of his health or not, in the end, both prevents him from properly carrying out his responsibilities. Right now he is in this perilous position where if he wants to have any hope of continuing his career as an idol, concessions will have to be made to accommodate him. And temporarily switching out center seems to be a small price to pay at the moment, or something that could turn into an opportunity by rotating the center position between him and Iori by seasons. But as I understand it, “centers” are incredibly important in the idol worlds, they are basically the face of the group.

Although Riku suffered a lot this episode, the brief moments of fluff he had really made him grow on me.
I am not really sure how to put it. Riku has always been cute, but I never really felt attached to him as I do to some of the other characters. I felt this episode did a better job of creating that connection I lacked with him, and that his charms finally got through to me. He was absolutely adorable with how flustered he was around Tsumugi. I was laughing so hard when he flipped on the TV, only to flip through programs and commercials with TRIGGER’ members either having a steamy scene, or love-related topics. Poor boy was just mortified. Maybe it has something to do with knowing he has a crush on her that makes him even more endearing than before. Riku’s blush is the absolute best! Also props to Tamaki for unknowingly serving as a wingman for suggesting Tsumugi to serve as Riku’s pillow lap.

I won’t lie, he was starting to sway me towards the ship, and then Gaku comes rolling back in by acknowledging her new hairstyle (which none of the i7 boys had noticed until he had pointed it out– and neither did I haha!). So why not enjoy both? Keke!

With that all said in done, it was rather interesting to see how Iori and Tenn differed in their approach of how to handle Riku’s situation. Iori wasn’t ready to give up on Riku, but by doing so he had inadvertently applied more pressure and stress onto him. As for Tenn, while he was right to call him out on his failure for responsibly managing his health, he didn’t need bite his head off.

Frankly speaking, neither of them had the right approach. Instead, I felt the ones who actually comforted Riku the most today were actually Tamaki and Sogo, both who asked him about what he wanted and how they could make him more comfortable, rather doing whatever they thought was best for him. It was such a sweet moment when Sogo had asked him if he could replicate the things Tenn used to do to comfort him. But it also served an incredibly sad contrast of how their relationship has changed after he had left his family.

Next week, looks like we will be seeing them make the announcement of the switch. It’s going to be interesting to see how the fans respond to it. They were not oblivious to the fact Riku seemed tired during the concert, and expressed concerns how about his health, such as they didn’t want him to overwork himself to the point he would collapse. It’s hard to say whether being transparent about Riku’s health would serve as a merit to help fans understand the decision behind the changes, and how they are actively trying to find ways to keep him on stage. Of course they don’t want to worry fans either, so I am curious to see how they will justify the change if they intend to keep it under wraps.

UPDATE: IDOLISH7: SECOND BEAT will be postponed as of Episode 5 due to COVID-19.

The remainder of the “IDOLiSH7: Second BEAT!” TV anime will been postponed due to production delays brought upon the pandemic. A new airdate will be announced at a later time. The 4th episode will continue to air on April 19th as previously scheduled https://t.co/fQ0CKsHbDN pic.twitter.com/gswTIWVZiP

— A.I.R (Anime Intelligence (and) Research) (@AIR_News01) April 13, 2020