THE iDOLM@STER – Episode 22

Taking all of their new challenges head on.

It was a mutual promise made between Miki and the Producer.

Either Takane is talking in her usual cryptic vocabulary or she really doesn’t know the place is called the Sky Tree.

But it isn’t wrong in wishing to keep things the way they were.

It’d be odd if they didn’t plug in her birthday on this day. Congratulations, Yukiho! :3

Tsunderes who “lie” about being actually sweet inside are really the best tsunderes.

In times when it’s easy to unknowingly allow yourself to get dragged along with the rest of the world, it’s good to have someone who keeps them grounded.

Repaying what he pledged to her and the rest of the idols earlier on.

Although a certain someone will need to take a backseat for now.

A well deserved acknowledgement from the one person she greatly respects.

All of their dreams did come true. It’s now about adjusting to the compromise.

But… Compromise or not, what’s important is that their feelings will never change.

It would be nice if things could always stay like this…

Thoughts
A blithe Christmas affair with chock full of good tidings for 765 Pro. If anything, this was another follow up episode which served more as a measure of growth for the characters and when it comes to growth, my, how they’ve matured when we look back over their experiences so far. What started off as a small office comprising a group of relatively unknown idols has now blossomed into an agency boasting some of the most popular names in the industry, with one of them bagging an award and another even attracting international recognition. It’s really inspiring to see how far each of the idols have come in their careers now regardless of the difficulties they had to endure during their early beginnings. From struggling to gain public acknowledgment to putting up with malicious business smearing, they overcame nearly all of the worst the showbiz world had thrown at them and they earned their place of being deservedly admired in the public eye. However, just as inspiring was that all of them are still very much their old self in valuing their times together despite their current popularity and extremely busy schedules. Once again, we have Haruka and by extension the Producer to thank for it.

I suppose it’s obvious the storyline was mostly built around Haruka since a lot of the happenings and conversations here stemmed from what she brought up in the previous episodes. Furthermore when we take her personality into account, it’s clear why they revisited those subjects and have them centered on her as the “leader” responsible for the main event in this episode. Playing the role of the glue that keeps 765 Pro together, Haruka has always cherished the bonds between every member of their group so it’s not surprising she was the first person to suggest the idea of a get together and was also the one who was most affected by the inconvenience of it as well as the possibility that not everybody was going to make it. To expand on Ritsuko’s comment about her, she probably made herself look like a naïve, idealistic dreamer more than anything else by suggesting something as seemingly carefree as a Christmas gathering during a busy time of the year but honestly though, to quote Chihaya’s words, 765 Pro is really lucky to have someone among them who treasures the time they have together. For them who are involved in the entertainment industry, it’s easy to get swept up in the pace that the celebrity world runs in and forget the more humble aspects of their lives before work and fame took over. It may be an idol’s job to spend more time with their fans and adjust to the changes as a way of moving their careers forward but it’s refreshing to see that they still have that “selfish” side to them in wanting some things to stay the way they are, especially if those things keep them down-to-earth and appreciative of the experiences that made them the individuals they are today. Well done to the Producer in picking up on this and working his hardest to make sure everyone could make it to the Christmas party. Alongside the girls, he definitely showed he has matured a lot in his line of work. He’s far more tactful and organized now but most importantly, he has formed an incredible emotional bond with each of his idols and has come to understand how to care for each of their needs, whether on a professional or a personal level.

As for the other characters, good on Miki for winning the award. For a prodigy like her, it’s only right that she makes full use of her talents and be rewarded for it. Her receiving acknowledgement and praise from Ritsuko was another fitting closure to the Ryuuguu Komachi chapter of her story. If anything, it provided a more clear-cut conclusion than the previous one of her indirectly telling Ritsuko in Episode 18 that she wanted to work hard and shine on her own instead of depending on the group’s successes. Although the Anime deviated from the original story in the game of her beating Ryuuguu Komachi and earning respect from Ritsuko, a more general achievement of winning the award for Shining Idol New Artist of the year gave her character a sense of accomplishment in a bigger context. Miki has certainly proven she has what it takes to become a top idol and this award was just the beginning of it. The only downer about her success? It did make me feel sorry for Haruka seeing as her gift for the Producer was eclipsed by it, if only during this event.

Overall, a warm and fuzzy episode which was a much needed break from all the drama before. Speaking of drama though, it seems this is merely the calm before the storm…

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Shiroi Koibito Roleplay @ THE IDOLM@STER 6th ANNIVERSARY SMILE SUMMER FESTIV@L! 2011 Tour in Sapporo

Thought I do something a little different in this corner again by sharing one of my favorite highlights of the Sapporo leg of the iM@S 6th Anniversary Live Tour I went to back in July this year. Um…to be honest, my memories of that evening have become really fuzzy by now even with the little notes I took but I’ll try to salvage whatever I can remember and regurgitate them here.

The highlight is one of the MC segments involving Imai Asami (Chihaya) and Hara Yumi (Takane), the two appointed leaders for the Sapporo live. Both of them were discussing what comes to mind when they think of Hokkaido and as expected, Hara just had to talk about FOOD. Ramen obviously, and she was gushing about crab as well which Hokkaido is famous for. Hara then asked Imai about her image of Hokkaido and Imai replied “Shiroi Koibito” literally translated to “White Lover(s)”, which is a type of confectionary consisting of white chocolate sandwiched between two biscuits and it’s one of the most iconic food souvenirs to ever originate from Hokkaido.

Fanart by sii

The following transcript is based on my dodgy notes rather than the words in the fanart.

Hara: What is Asami-san’s image of Hokkaido?
Imai: When it comes to Hokkaido, it’s about…White Lovers?
Hara: Ah! Let’s play pretend White Lovers!
Imai: EH!? Wait wait! Are you thinking the same thing as what I have in mind? If you are, then… I’ll act the role of the girl!
Hara: Then I’ll be the customer buying White Lovers.
Imai: CUSTOMER??? E-Ehh… In that case, I’ll be the shop attendant?
…
Roleplay begins
Hara: “Excuse me, I’d like one White Lover please!”
Imai: “Miss Customer… That would be me…your White Lover~♥” (*´∀`*)
Hara: . . . . . . . .Hokkaido sure is huge, isn’t it. (･∀･)
Imai: Eh?

Operation “Flirt with Hara Yumi” – FAIL.

Typical Imai hitting on Hara as usual and typical Hara deftly shooting down Imai’s advances as usual. I just love the SM banter between these two XD. Anyway, Imai might have missed out on flirting with Hara in their Sapporo live but at least she got her “revenge” in the Osaka leg of their tour where she was successful in manipulating the situation and persuading Hara to let her kiss the latter on the cheek…TWICE. And of course the sight was delicious. (ﾟ ∀ﾟ )

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