The idol industry is just so wild to me. The fact that they consider someone in their twenties to be old is just… I don’t even know. Especially compared to the west where they think 20s are like the prime of someone’s age. Not someone who is too old to do certain careers. That’s when someone is typically expected to START their careers. I always did find it weird how in idolish7 a character would constantly refer to another character as old when they’re only 22. So the fact that MEM-cho is considered too old to be an idol at 25 is probably baffling for those in the west, including myself.
Though not gonna lie, the fact she was on a dating reality tv show with a bunch of teenagers… that’s a bit sussy if you look at it through that lens. Granted, she did turn down Kengo’s confession and even said she was only looking to promote her Youtube channel. So it seems like she was more or less aware of what was appropriate and what was not in that scenario. They also did a good job in foreshadowing her age in the previous episode where she was a fan of B-Komachi. Which makes a lot of sense since when you think about it, she would have been 10 when Aqua and Ruby were born. So if she had been around their age, she probably wouldn’t have been aware of B-Komachi unless her parents were fans. Which was a possibility, but a bit unlikely.
Despite the age discrepancy, they probably hit the jackpot with MEM-cho as a new member due to her being already a pretty big online influence. Not to mention I think her personality is a nice addition to the group. Not only that, but I think I really started respecting MEM-cho as a character after seeing her backstory about how hard she worked to send her siblings to college despite it costing her own career. She’s self-sacrificing, but not to a destructive amount. She was able to find a career she could work with and enjoy. So while she wasn’t able to become an idol like she wanted at the time, she was still able to essentially roll with the punches. And despite not being at the typical idol age, she was given a new chance to follow the career she had thought was just a dream. Which I’m really happy for her. Especially since I noticed that an ongoing theme in this series is giving characters “another chance” in one form or another. In MEM-cho’s case, it is to become an idol. To which both Ruby and Kana are happy to have her part of the team.
We do get a bit more information out of Kaburagi and possible leads to finding out who is the father to Ai’s kids. And while he claims that Ai must have fallen in love with this mystery guy, I don’t believe that was the case. Especially since Ai was desperate to find what genuine love felt like and didn’t discover it until she had her kids. I feel like her fling with that one guy was more out trying out different things to find love rather than genuinely falling in love with someone. At least that’s my speculation considering how Ai was from what we knew of her. Maybe she did have an interest, but who knows. Hopefully we’ll find out more the more this series goes on. Though for sure, Aqua is most likely going to investigate the same theater company that Akane is a part of, Lala Lai. It might also be there where he starts getting more into acting.
While Kaburagi seems kind of shady at times, I do think he’s looks at things more as business opportunities. Which is why he seems to be investing in both Aqua and the new B-Komachi as he sees the potential in all of these parties. And considering how successful he is, his eye might be attuned to those who have promise. Which inevitably gives B-Komachi their first in as a newly formed idol group with the Japan Idol Festival. And while the new B-Komachi might not be ready yet, it would be unwise to waste this opportunity.
I feel like I’m getting second hand anxiety from all this since while they have formed a group, they hardly practiced and haven’t even decided on center yet. There are still a lot of things this group needs to establish and I’m like: THERE ISN’T ENOUGH TIME. Though I do see it as a way to help move them along faster. Back on the topic of center, of course Ruby and MEM-cho are up in arms over who should be center as both personally want the roles themselves. Though I freaking died at how freaking low their singing scores were… y’all really need to work on that if you’re going to be idols…
I honestly wasn’t expecting this episode to mostly be a Kana episode but I swear… with each passing episode, I feel like I fall more and more in love with Kana. Also is it just me or does Kana feel like more of a main character than Ruby at this point? Anyways, I absolutely adore Kana as a character. The fact that I called I was most likely going to like her strictly with how she was portrayed in episode two is wild to me. I had an inkling that I was going to like her. BUT NOT TO THIS EXTENT. This episode just brought out the maternal instincts in me and I just want to protect her and reassure her that everything will be alright. Especially since she’s just been incredibly down on herself after watching Aqua get together with Akane.
It’s honestly really sad how Kana is putting distance between her and Aqua, but I can hardly blame her. She’s interested in Aqua and while she is hurt by the fact he got her hopes up a little only to be let down, I think she also doesn’t want to encroach on someone else’s boyfriend and she’s just trying to cope with that fact. Not to mention, she’s also just a teenager dealing with romantic feelings for the first time (probably) and due to her low self-esteem, she doesn’t know how to address them. And really, I can also understand Aqua being sad that Kana doesn’t want to associate with him or be on close terms anymore, but he brought this upon himself because of his plans. There are consequences to him acting on his plans for revenge, whether or not he is aware of them.
But UGHHHH… KANA YOU’RE BREAKING MY HEART. While I don’t like the idea of her being so down specifically because of Aqua, I feel like it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Kana has been dealt with nothing but disappointment for the majority of her career and despite having grown a little close to Aqua, only for him to “end up” with another girl must have just added to her disappointment. And because of that, all of Kana’s insecurities are just bubbling to the surface. While she may act aloof, the way she constantly brings herself down is heartbreaking. She is so much more capable than she’s giving herself credit for but it feels like life is constantly giving her a losing hand. And while she’s done the absolute best she can to remain afloat, everything she’s taken part of feels like a sinking ship. It’s almost like she’s afraid to care about anything at this point because she just doesn’t have the heart to face any more disappointments so she resorts to self-deprecation to try and play it off. And for someone who is only still in her teens, this can be crushing. Which goes along with what she said during the Akane situation about how certain words can make it feel like your world is ending. I really feel for her because it’s obvious that she has gone through so much rejection and disappointment where she’s come to accept the fact that maybe she just isn’t good enough for anyone. And that just breaks my heart.
It also doesn’t help that she’s also comparing herself to others, seeing their positive traits while only seeing her negative ones. It’s like what Tohru from Fruits Basket says, people tend to only see the plum on other people’s backs but not their own. Even Kaburagi stated that he sensed a lot of potential from her. She needs some form of positive validation and I hope she’s able to find it. Her attitude and actions back in the day have definitely hindered her and she’s still suffering the consequences to this day. But considering the ongoing theme of this series, I’m sure she’ll get her chance to shine again.
I don’t think I’ve heard Kana’s VA sing before, but when I heard her sing while watching the MV of a song she put out, I almost teared up. I’m so glad they gave us this beautiful MV dedicated to Kana because oh my gosh it was just straight up gorgeous and I absolutely loved her singing voice. She’s definitely being way too hard on herself because of her broken self-esteem. But the way she just be flexing that freaking 97 score at karaoke like the queen that she is. GURL. I didn’t expect Kana to be the center since I think we all thought that honor would have gone to Ruby. But it honestly makes sense for her to be center design-wise since the other two members are blond and she’s basically the one to even out the group with her more down to earth attitude compared to the other two’s naive optimism. I’m rooting for her so hard, it’s not even funny. I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve been this invested in a character. But man, Kana’s writing so far has just been so good and the things she goes through is just so relatable. Especially since I think almost everyone goes through a phase where they wonder if they’re good enough for anything. I too have felt that way (possibly still am), which is probably why I sympathize so much for Kana’s position and I can’t help but want to root for her to get her second chance.
