IDOLiSH7: Third BEAT! Episode 19

Shadow’s Impression

You know stuff is about to go down when the opening doesn’t even play and the credits immediately come in. This definitely felt like one of the more lower key episodes that helped to just kind of take a step back and take a breath. Especially since we all know that stuff is gonna get emotional next week with how they set up for it. There are certainly a lot of things to unpack with all the moving parts going on.

Idolish7 is celebrating their one year anniversary and honestly, congrats guys, you fully deserve it. The group has come so far and being able to perform on stage like this is something that should be celebrated. But I understand that it would feel a bit conflicting at the moment with what is going on with Trigger. The mood is heavy, but they have to put on a good performance for the fans and the last thing they should do is worry them. While Yamato still doesn’t have the best relationship with his dad, it’s still touching that he still sent him flowers, even adding his name to them this time. Even Trigger sent them flowers to congratulate them on their anniversary and wouldn’t want them to bring down their performance just because they’re feeling bad for them. Despite the flowers not having a name card, it’s pretty obvious it was from them due to flowers being their colors lol.

It was such a small line, but I love Yamato’s “Instead of living in moderation, let’s give it everything we’ve got!” It just emphasizes his character growth from just coasting through life to doing everything in his power to make things a success. And I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, but Yamato is honestly in my opinion the best written character in this series. So seeing him showing off his growth just warms my heart. Especially when it comes to his friendship with Mitsuki. Saying those sorts of things just to make him happy cry lol. After what went down between them in the first half, it’s nice to see them be more open with each other and relay how the other has inspired them in one form or another. Though I did laugh when Yamato highlighted a big situation with every other guy in the group, he just states how Mitsuki cried in the bathroom. Out of all the things you could have highlighted, THAT was the thing you decided to bring up??? XDDD I just ended up laughing because that was like one of the most irrelevant things compared to all the others that were brought up lol.

It honestly felt weird to have i7 have a fully animated performance now, especially since we didn’t get one from Trigger when it meant more to the story. Though I have to admit while the CG animation is still extremely stiff compared to the 2D animation Troyca has done for the series, the models at least looked a little better compared to previous episodes. But not gonna lie, whenever they perform Monster Generation, I get kinda emotional. Not only is it my favorite song from them, but it was the first song we’ve ever seen them perform together as a group. It’s a very nostalgic song that makes me happy whenever I hear it.

Though, when Riku’s voice started overpowering the other voices in the song, it made me feel a little uncomfortable. Since it started feeling like the song was just him and the others just faded into the background. And it made me even more uncomfortable when the audience just chanted his name and no one else’s. A couple episodes ago, Kujo called Riku a monster and my mind immediately related it to the title of their first song, freaking MONSTER GENERATION. Why is this happening? Does Riku have some sort of power??? It’s all very strange and ominous and I don’t like it. If all the attention falls solely on Riku, it’s not fair to the other members. It’ll just end up feeling like a solo with Riku and the others as his back up vocals and dancers. Which definitely isn’t fair to them because each of them brings something to the group. Though it seems like Iori and I are on the same wavelength because he also feels like something is off from all of this. Especially since Kujo put the title “monster” into his head already. Hopefully they offer us a decent explanation as to what is going on because what the heck is even happening with him???

Every time Kujo has these emotional outbursts and breakdowns, I honestly get very scared and worried for Tenn. From what we’ve seen of Tenn, it’s obvious he has no plans to go solo and wants to continue being part of Trigger. So when he argues against Kujo about becoming a solo artist, Kujo, as expected, flips out. It just shows more and more that this guy needs HELP and is definitely not emotionally stable. When he senses a hint of betrayal, just like he experienced from Zero, he immediately goes ballistic. Thankfully Tenn was able to calm him down, but it really is starting to come down to the wire of each parties wants and needs. Kujo is keen on producing only Tenn one of these days while Tenn wants to experience the life an idol with Trigger. Tenn was able to prolong being firm in staying with Trigger, but it’s only a matter of time when he will need to put his foot down or if he will even be able to since Kujo provided him with so much. It makes me worried about what Kujo would do if Tenn completely goes against his wishes.

While everything that has happened to Trigger is really terrible, I also think it’s a good humbling and learning experience for them. They never got to experience working from the bottom to the top like Idolish7 and Re:vale. Trigger had started with everything at their disposal, but now they really have to take a lot of things into account. They’ve definitely worked hard to get where they were, but they definitely had a very different experience starting as idols compared to the others. I feel like working from the ground up will ultimately teach them to be much more grateful for everything they were initially given and appreciate the people who had helped them. I remember Tenn asking Anesagi what Idolish7 had that Trigger didn’t back in the Summer Live Vibrato episode and I think it was experiencing the bottom so they were unafraid to take risks. Something that Trigger haven’t been able to experience.

Also I think it’s so funny how Ryu initially brought up the three of them living together after hearing that i7 all live in a dorm together in part 1 and Gaku and Tenn immediately refused. But now look at them lol.

However, unlike Idolish7 and Re:vale, no matter how small the venue they book, they will have to deal with being too popular and causing more reason to be disliked or doing lives in places no one would go to and thus gaining little traction. No matter what they do there’s always a downside. The fact that they were driven out of the idol world definitely puts them at a severe disadvantage. Especially with how ZOOL is currently overshadowing everything that they do. Man, the symbolism of that ZOOL truck covering them hit hard. The best thing to do is to just book concert halls, but money is a problem so that’s also a no-go. It feels like a balance act as they could draw quite a crowd but also be criticized for putting on too big of a performance. It’s definitely a big hurdle for them to overcome, but I’m sure they’ll come out as even better idols than before.

Things were looking pretty disheartening for them all day and I think that one fan that came up to them definitely helped lift their spirits. Especially since it showed that there are still people out there who are supporting them and hoping for them to get back on their feet. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think we’ve actually seen Trigger interact with a fan so close and personal before. Whenever we see Trigger, we always see them extending thanks to their fans from the stage or television screen. So this could be a first for them seeing first hand just how much they are supported and loved by their fans. And while Anesagi was hesitant about the idea at first, decided they should start street performances, just like how Idolish7 started out.

Also was that Anesagi in that black and white shot??? It makes me wonder if Anesagi actually tried being an idol at one point but eventually decided to become a manager instead.

While Trigger was trying to figure out what to do next, a lot of things behind the scene has started making moves. At least Momo told Mitsuki the plan to outwardly seem like they’re on bad terms to make sure Ryo doesn’t mess with him. I appreciate that Momo is trying so hard to protect Mitsuki so he won’t’t end up like Ryu and told him his plan instead of just acting out on his own. Though I died when Mitsuki immediately chose option two before Momo even told him what it was XD. Which I mean… FAIR. They even went as far as to make fake Rabbit Chat convos because it seems like Momo KNOWS that Ryo would be checking in on his messages. Which that in itself is beyond creepy. But also, Momo, I know it’s your birthday, but you REALLY need to change your password.

While it seems like Ryo is onto what Momo is plotting, it could also be a way to draw his attention away from what Yuki is doing. Especially since Ryo has always seemed to be more interested in Momo than Yuki. So it makes sense that Momo would use that to his advantage. And while that’s happening, it allows Yuki to move around freely, gathering more people inside and out. I definitely respect the amount of confidence he has that even if Re:vale is brought down, it will eventually rise back up. It’s understandable how he has so much faith since he’s witnessed first hand how the old Re:vale had fallen but was reborn anew with him and Momo from the ground up. Though I can’t help to think that it is slightly naive since if Tsukumo ends up defacing Re:vale, it’ll be ten times harder to get back on their feet. But I gotta commend the determination and confidence.

There are so many different moving parts going on right now and it’ll definitely be interesting to see how this all plays out. Hopefully for the better because Ryo really needs to go down after everything that he did. Definitely a more calm episode that is building up to something big. Especially in regards to the modern day Chiba Salon and Trigger’s journey from the bottom up. Though it also makes me worried to what is going on with Riku because I honestly can’t even guess what that is all about. So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see~