THE iDOLM@STER – Episode 21

The next important step to attain victory.

The more Kuroi tries to ruin them…

…the more he screws himself over. Imprudent self destruction from the very beginning.

Chihaya had already given herself the access to. She just needs to know how to make use of it.

And so she did because she believes in them to trust her.

And she believes in herself that she’ll prove their efforts to save her were not in vain.

It’s the most fitting musical metaphor to represent her freedom and independence.

Thus her ghosts have been buried once and for all.

Chihaya giving back what Miki gave to her and the others during their first live.

Brofest WHERE~♪

Oh Iori, the way you always boldly look out for others and then shyly recoil at being thanked for it is ♥♥♥.

But manifesting his feelings through the deeds he has done still doesn’t justify his character.

For springing a surprise like this on everyone else… Good Job, President Takagi.

That’s exactly what makes her appealing.

The question that came full circle…

…with their own answers brought about by their experiences.

Realizing her dream through everyone else’s. Knowing 765 Pro’s idols, they will definitely make it come true.

Thoughts
For the first few seconds there, I went into this episode dreading it was Kotori-centric due to some of the stuff disclosed on its corresponding Shuurokugo but thank goodness, it turned out to be more of a follow up + closure to Chihaya’s chapter as well as several other subplots. It’s not that I dislike Kotori though. I’d wholeheartedly welcome an entire episode dedicated to her if they would consider it but plugging it in immediately after the previous one would make everything look too abruptly anti-climactic with regards to Chihaya’s story. Chihaya might have shown a triumphant rebound with her outstanding performance of “Yakusoku” but there was still the lingering question of whether it was enough to cement her comeback and the fans’ belief in her ability again. While the fans appeared more understanding seeing as she performed in 765 Pro’s own regular live, there was the general public who was still skeptical about the notion of her returning as an idol after her recent experiences with the media mud. On a smaller scale, there were the issues regarding Chihaya’s current state of mind and her relationship dynamics with her friends as well. How does she feel about herself now after all she has gone through in the past several episodes? How does she feel about her friends now after what they’ve done for her so far?

All of them were addressed in this storyline. Chihaya’s mentality might have changed in that she’s much more liberated, fulfilled and resolute about herself now but it’s interesting how she still had that awkward hesitation when it came to certain matters involving her on a more personal level. This was evident during the scene where everyone was on a roll in devising contingency plans to compensate for the earlier technical “fault” regarding their music accompaniment. Chihaya merely kept quiet throughout it, most likely thinking she was responsible when things went wrong with her at the center of it. Moreover even though her relationship with her friends had improved from before, it was clear she still wasn’t comfortable casually talking to them especially given how she thought her opinions would sound selfish and she worriedly assumed the others would much prefer a safer alternative in light of the crisis. Taking this into account, it was another leap for Chihaya’s character when she overcame her hesitation and insisted on her proposal to perform regardless of the situation thanks to some well-timed encouragement from Haruka. Like having witnessed her rediscovering her real reason for singing, it was just as much of a relief to see her expressing her gratitude to her friends for their support, and confidently reassuring them she can and will show them she’s able to carry herself on her own now. That move was another step up for Chihaya’s personality as well as her relationship with her peers. And so when it came to showing everyone else she was ready to take on the challenge, what better stage to do it on than the one in a general idol concert where the audiences were a diverse mix; to quote Ritsuko, a crowd in which “not everyone is going to be a fan”. With that in mind, Chihaya flooring the venue with her passionate delivery of “Nemuri Hime” made her performance all that more satisfying to watch. She has indeed changed for the better in the previous episode but with this, she took herself to another level of accomplishment as a performer and also more importantly, as an individual. After all, her very character is one that tells a story of fighting against different kinds of hardships in her life; from her tragic past to the recent detrimental gossips. Nailing this performance was the last goal in her fight she needed to achieve to prove she’s back in full force despite the adversities she faced.

Aside from Chihaya, a couple of other characters were also given a noticeable amount of follow up in their development. First off, Haruka. Similar to the events in Episode 20, she once again played the key role in bridging the communication between Chihaya and their friends. Much like how she helped the others to convey their feelings to Chihaya before, this time she helped Chihaya by giving her the push she needed to convey her feelings to the others. I liked that they revisited the change Haruka underwent in the previous episode with regards to the way she encourages her peers. Like how she directly cut to the group cheer right when the others began worrying about whether Chihaya would show up for their gig, she jumped straight into suggesting everyone to try doing their own make-up and helping each other with it, and it worked without her attempting to pacify their worries like she used to. Secondly, there’s Miki. I found myself particularly fond of her interaction with Chihaya in this episode and thought it was a nice follow up to their relationship that was touched on in Episodes 12 and 13. Back in Episode 12, Chihaya was the only one who held a firm belief in Miki before convincing the others to trust the latter as well and she was also the only one who outwardly treated Miki as a fellow professional. This was expanded well in Episode 13 where Chihaya voiced her sincere admiration towards Miki for her hard effort in their first live. I loved how that aspect about their relationship was emphasized once again in this episode, with Miki expressing her admiration towards Chihaya this time. Among all of the characters, these two are perhaps the only ones with story developments which allow them to foster this kind of similar mutual respect for one another.

Regarding the other follow ups, it’s a good thing Jupiter called it quits. Although I’m a tad disappointed we didn’t get the 765 Pro versus 961 Pro showdown I was hoping for but Touma apologizing to the Producer for the initial misunderstandings more than made up for it. As for Kuroi, I wish he would never show up again if the writers are still considering the plot route of him attempting to sabotage 765 Pro. Even if Takagi and Yoshizawa’s remarks were meant to shed some light on his underlying personality and supposedly even redeem him a little, I find it hard to see him other than the dirty business villain he established himself to be. Unless the Anime takes the extra step to adequately justify his behavior and his reasons for harboring so much bitterness towards Takagi, my opinions of him being the shallow and cliché antagonist he is will never change. However if there’s one thing about his role I was grateful for, it’s the fact that he was indirectly responsible for helping 765 Pro to grow as individuals as well as a group. I hate to admit it but without Kuroi, we wouldn’t have gotten gems like Episode 20. Now if only they had explored his character slightly more in depth… Onto other highlights, we could all agree Kotori appearing on stage to sing “Hana” was a delightful treat although if I have to be honest, I had a nagging feeling it would happen at some point especially after hearing Takita Juri (Kotori’s VA) hinting about it on Shuurokugo. If they were able to push former idol Ritsuko back on stage in Episode 18, then surely Kotori would get her chance to as well. It did make me wish I shouldn’t have dug into too much, then perhaps the event would have been more of a surprise. Still, that doesn’t mean her subdued yet classy performance wasn’t enjoyable.

Last but not least when it came to the noteworthy, “Nemuri Hime”. Be it its mesmerizing lyrics, its haunting composition and arrangement, or Imai Asami’s compelling vocal performance of it, “Nemuri Hime” could be rightly deemed as a well blended and balanced work of musical artistry among iM@S’s collection. It’s one of those songs which hooked me the very first time I listened to it and it still leaves me captivated even until this day. I guess huge part of my adoration for it was also influenced by Imai’s own testimonial of her strong connection with Chihaya on an emotional level as well as her experience of recording the track with the aforementioned thought in her mind. For this episode, I’m pleased the writers went with the idea of having Chihaya sing it a cappella before allowing the song’s epic orchestral composition to flow in during the chorus. When she began delivering the first couple of verses with only her voice as the instrument, it sent chills down my spine and made me focus all of my attention on the aspects of her vocals such as the emotions infused in her voice. While I do take note of these whenever I listen to any song, it’s not easy to fully concentrate on them when you have the music accompanying or overlapping the voice in certain parts so having Chihaya belting “Nemuri Hime” without the music at first made me appreciate the song in ways that I haven’t before. Even though this was done for plot convenience, I’m definitely grateful for the decision at least from the perspective of song evaluation.

All in all, a nice follow up, resolution and recap episode in how it further fleshed out some of the characters based on their previous experiences, provided closure to a couple of storylines and revisited certain themes that have been prominent throughout the show. Seeing as we’re approaching the end of the series, it made sense for the writers to pay more attention to those issues especially with regards to the idols looking back on their journey thus far and reflecting on their roles as idols.

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Seiyuu Tidbits

Just to expand a little on the point above about Imai Asami’s testimonial regarding “Nemuri Hime”…
» “Nemuri Hime” is one of Chihaya’s themes which Imai personally considers to be dear to her, and so dear it is that she was on the verge of tears while sharing her feelings for Chihaya and experiences recording the song when the full version of the track was revealed to the public for the first time during iSTA’s public recording before the album’s (THE IDOLM@STER MASTER ARTIST 2 -FIRST SEASON- 05 Kisaragi Chihaya) release date.
» During the event, Imai talked about her long relationship with Chihaya (around 8 years in this time of broadcast in 2010) and mentioned the lyrics of “Nemuri Hime” are strongly tied to Chihaya’s story in the iM@S 2 game; a generous portion of it was shown in the Anime with regards to her past. Ever since Imai “met” Chihaya, she has encountered many fun as well as painful experiences in her life, and when she recorded her lines for the game and “Nemuri Hime” after, she felt Chihaya’s character overlapped with herself in many ways so much so that it frightened her when she realized just how much they seem alike (although for understandable reasons, she didn’t disclose in detail under what context). She felt that when iM@S fans play Chihaya’s route in the game and listen to “Nemuri Hime”, they will come to understand why this song was created for her character and her story.
» During song recordings, it is not uncommon for the vocalist to record the song in parts and redo them if there is a need to e.g. when the music director wants the vocalist to sing in a certain way or with a specific expression (An example – Hikasa Youko recording “Thrill Vanguard”). For Imai, she challenged herself to record “Nemuri Hime” only once without redoing any part of it and she succeeded in accomplishing it. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to hail her efforts as an incredible feat considering how demanding the song was on her vocals and in contrast to a live performance, the delivery needed to be “perfect” as a track to be included in a CD release.