Kageki Shoujo!! – Episode 9

This time the spotlight is on the twins as the Kouka school begins to prep for the Grand Sport’s Festival and boy there are a lot of frustrations that boiled over in this episode. However, I really appreciate how they approached the twins’ dynamics, in that they do feel jealousy towards each other and that even though they have their own ambitions they still ultimately want to perform with each other as mirrors.

Sibling drama usually isn’t my favorite, but I appreciate that it didn’t seem as forced as it could have been. There was already a little bit of that set up a couple episodes ago when the first-year girls performed a scene in groups, where Chika didn’t have the confidence to take the Juliet. Juliet is a role that “only one” person can play – it’s not one that’s meant for twins. Even just as an assignment it was probably better not to get her hopes up and instead give the role to someone else. However, who knew that would backfire in the way that it did? Having the Superior who played the Juliet you fell in love with help teach you the routine for the festival… ah and your sister had the chance to talk to her about being Juliet? Any harbored jealousy is just festering and getting worse and worse as the days go by.

I really appreciate how much a single episode of Kageki Shoujo!! can fit into it. Of course, with the limitation there’s always a part of me that wants just a little bit more; just a few more minutes with the characters and their thoughts. But they do such a good job of making me feel satisfied by what I was given. We were able to hear more about the twins past especially what happened with Chiaki when Chika was admitted and she was not. How they both fell in love with the Juliet role, but also how desperately they both wanted to perform with each other on stage as mirrors. And I loved how everything came bubbling up to the surface! When the Superior called out to Chika and she turned away, I loved how much of an impact that had. I agree that she technically didn’t do anything wrong, but it really seemed like the first time she had made a decision to deliberately harm her sister’s reputation (but thank goodness for Sarasa jumping in there because that would have been quite troublesome to clean up if things got worse from there).

Despite the sibling drama, I’m actually really surprised by the conclusion they were able to make. I really thought that they were going the route of having to decide to be their own person and separate away from their identities of being mirrors of each other. Especially with the “fork in the road” visual it really seemed that they were finally going to have their paths going in different directions. But then they took it a step further in saying their paths will align again. It was just really sweet. Also, I’m really loving that each girl gets her chance in the spotlight with the ending theme whether it’s a duet or a solo. Gah, I hope that if there isn’t going to be another season (and I really hope that we get a second season) that they show us where all the girls end up! I wish them all the best!

And while all of this drama is going on, I almost forgot that they were getting ready for a sport festival. In addition to the marching band routine and dance, Sarasa might get her chance in the spotlight once more as she might get to participate on the field with the other actresses! Hoo hoo hoo I’m curious to know what she’ll learn from this experience (or if there will be some contention between her and other students due to the opportunity). Welp, good luck to everyone next week! I’m looking forward to seeing how this all plays out!