The beginning of what would be a downfall…
It doesn’t help that the mood is accentuated by that single message plastered on the wall.
Everyone does share the same sentiments…
…just probably not the same mindset and effort when it comes to time management.
At least one of them has considered going the extra mile…
…enough to set aside a crucial turning point for herself no less.
That’s what Haruka keeps saying.
But honestly though, she’s pushing herself too hard.
The point where she has already begun to lose sight of what she truly seeks in having everyone doing their best together.
And it shows here.
“Focus on what is happening now, in this moment.”
The end of the one regular event which gave them a chance to be together… But that’s how reality goes, right? …Right?
Again, “focus on what is happening now, in this moment.”
That penultimate nudge in driving her near the edge.
Really, she’s pushing herself way too hard. When there are things that need to be said, she needs to just say it but unfortunately Haruka isn’t the type of person to do that when the matter concerns herself.
Then comes the incident that breaks her…
Thoughts
After everything that has happened here, I guess…it’s easy to point fingers at people. It’s easy to criticize what they should have or shouldn’t have done. It’s easy to come to dislike a couple of the characters for the words they said, the actions they did or even the emotions they felt. Some of these probably contributed to the overall dismal atmosphere and mishap at the end. Some of these probably didn’t. However if we are to take a diplomatic approach on it, we can say that nobody was at fault for the things which led to that unfortunate accident involving the Producer. So once again we’re treated to another Haruka centric story although unlike Episode 11, this one did a much better job of showing a wider spectrum of her character as well as providing her an opportunity to grow later by giving her a hurdle she needs to overcome. A hurdle which she appeared to have brought onto herself rather than by some external source such as Kuroi. There are no visible enemies to fight against this time, adding to the complexity of the situation. Furthermore the one aspect which has been the source of strength for 765 Pro, the very bond among the members itself is seemingly absent from the frame which made it all the more depressing to watch when one of them has to fight a battle. A battle she was losing with herself.
What the events in the previous episode and this episode made obvious more than anything else was that Haruka is someone who greatly prioritizes the relationships between everyone in 765 Pro, even far more than her own ambitions. It’s undeniably a very admirable strength of her character but at the same time it’s a potent weakness, even more so seeing as she’s an individual working in showbiz; a ruthless and competitive industry which hardly allows time for leisure, socializing and bonding. So potent the weakness is that it progressively blinded Haruka from looking at the entire picture in a rational manner. It showed when she texted everyone in the train about her being “totally, totally sure things will turn out better that way” if anyone working with each other could gather and rehearse together. It showed when she suggested practice for their New Year live when she should have been focusing on the live she was doing with Yukiho and Makoto that time. It showed when she was thinking about the New Year live again when she should have been focusing on her musical audition during that moment. Perhaps the most glaring display of it was during the conversation she had with Miki where the latter frankly voiced her thoughts about it being wrong for Haruka to say they should work together. It’s not surprising if flame wars broke out over that, with some viewers bashing Miki for her attitude towards Haruka. She might have sounded self-centered then due to how she phrased her words but really though… I wonder whether that was her way of staying true to what she decided for herself earlier about drawing out everything she has to shine on her own, and not doing so would be betraying what she promised to herself and to the Producer. I wonder whether that was her way of meeting the expectations other people have placed upon her as a professional. And… I wonder whether that was her way of indirectly telling Haruka to pull out all the stops too to challenge her on equal footing as a worthy rival because she believed Haruka was capable of that. For plot’s sake, Miki didn’t elaborate on her opinions and it left Haruka at the mercy of her own interpretation of the former’s words.
Now taking everything into account, should Haruka have known better for feeling, thinking and acting the way she did? Maybe… Maybe, if we fit her mindset into the general context of being an idol that is. It was probably naïve of her to allow personal emotions to dominate her as a professional working in the showbiz world. It was probably selfish of her to strongly hope for things which are impractical to achieve given their circumstances. However… I find it nearly impossible to fault her for wanting everyone to be together if only to rehearse for their New Year live. Their New Year live, no doubt an event which required everyone’s participation, fully justified Haruka’s earnest wish for them to rehearse together. Even though her judgment and intention were eventually clouded by her feelings, she was unquestionably right in passively pressing everyone to gather together for the event. After all, they’re in it as 765 Pro. As a GROUP. Seriously, if there’s any party at fault, it would be the folks who are poorly managing the idols’ schedules. At least Haruka and Chihaya were sensible enough to know their concert is heading towards potential failure at the rate they’re going. Who in their right minds would think setting aside proper preparations for such an important event, dumping the girls with a bucket load of work and having them rehearse on their own with whatever spare time they have would guarantee a successful concert? Solo numbers aside, what about the group performances? What about the idols who need to work in teams as backup vocals and dancers? Don’t those routines require the members to cooperate and coordinate themselves to a certain degree?
Ah well, we know this was all deliberately set up for character development anyway so I can’t really gripe too much about how the plot was written. In any case, I’m looking forward to seeing how all of this will be resolved in the next episode. I haven’t watched it yet although I have a rough idea about how they plan on settling things. Still, I’m hoping the Anime will surprise us with nice twist to it like what they did for Chihaya’s story.
Gogogo, I finished it today! Really a great ending. Want to know what you’ll think about it! :P
This episode was rather depressing. The ending and the ED song didn’t help either.
While i understand Haruka’s wish to be with her friends, it’s not easy when you become a popular idol.
Anyway, here’s something to cheer you up. Rie Tanaka, the VA you wish voiced Mugino, is the voice of the Big Bad in the Railgun PSP game!
Liked this episode. I really never liked using Kuroi as the strawman villain all the time, so having something more internal and visceral to the characters as a conflict source is extremely welcome. As you say, it’s ultimately a battle Haruka is fighting with herself.
Personally I prefer not to analyse this episode in terms of right and wrong. I think we’re, happily, actually well beyond the point of clear-cut right and wrong in the show at this point. I think it really boils down much more to who the characters are, and how the expression of their individual personalities are playing out against the backbone plot. I think the point probably isn’t whether or not Haruka is right to wish that everyone could work harder and sacrifice more for the joint live but more that Haruka couldn’t help but do so. It’s interesting because Haruka has always maintained a group mentality and has always dealt with things by thinking in terms of the group – being positive and encouraging and believing for the group’s sake that things will be okay whatever the adversity. When this doesn’t really work out she ends up stranded without knowing what to do – in a way I think she’s become psychologically reliant on being the support for the group, and she’s thrown herself so dedicatedly into it that even at this point she couldn’t stop thinking about the group and the live when what she really needs to do is to find and understand herself.
In hindsight now though I find myself wondering if the situation with the live really was as serious as Haruka’s perspective made it out to be. In all likelihood Haruka was subconsciously far more concerned about the group not getting together than about the live being ruined. Perhaps even if they practiced separately and made the best of it they still could have put up a decent show, but I think it is made fairly clear in the long run that the goodness of the live isn’t quite the point – it’s about the unity of them all as a single unit moving forward, and the person most psychologically invested in precisely this was Haruka.
All this just makes the Miki-Haruka dynamic all the more awesome. Miki I think is something of the opposite of Haruka – someone who is so clear and focused on what she wants and needs to achieve that she sometimes ends up – unwittingly – less connected to the rest of the cast than the others. I’m probably treading into the next episode as well here, but I think it’s no surprise that Haruka’s conversations with Miki ultimately end up being the biggest clues to the answer – what Haruka has never thought to do and thus does not know how to do is what Miki has been best at all along.
I’m really quite amazed that all the way from this anime’s simple beginnings they have managed to construct a base of personalities strong and distinct enough that we are able to see interesting interactions like these now. Awesome stuff.