Oh...wow. I thought the days of shit hitting the fan due to drama involving Chihaya were behind us.
But then this happens.
As I mentioned in another episode's thread, I expected Miki's flirting with the Producer to become the subject of some scandal, and that would be the drama in the last few episodes. Other than that, I expected smooth sailing to their finale concert.
Needless to say, like everyone else, I was not expecting this.
Well, I was expecting the bulk of the episode. I knew that this last story arc would focus on Haruka. The difficulty she had in getting everyone together for a cheery Christmas episode last time was a sign that her "let's be together" attitude would run into trouble.
The show has tended to be optimistic, and I don't see how the writers would get away with a sad ending at this point (and not have fans raging at them like crazy), but in a way it's being more realistic than I would have expected. As Haruka herself pointed out last episode, the success of the individual idols themselves has made group activities more difficult. And this sort of individualism actually makes sense for the motley crew of characters that the 765 Pro idols are, each of them being very distinctive on their own.
In a way, this less-than-happy take on things has been foreshadowed by the theme song for a while now--it's called "Change" for a reason. :P
Ovindel said: I also like that she feels more human than some other idols in this show.
She very often seemed more cheery than a person normally would be, but then again, that's her personality--and this episode really hits her hard as her ability to inject happiness into any situation just gets less and less traction, as the team is just slowly drifting apart. It makes sense that the 765 Pro idols would be crazily busy during the Christmas/New Year's season but it really does hit Haruka where it hurts.
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Anyone else notice that, based on the credits, this seems to be the Producer's episode?
Well, it's also Haruka's episode, but I didn't expect an episode for the Producer.
And not surprisingly, the ending theme...is instrumental. Like how the Producer doesn't have a voice in the games.
Rozziu said: Poor Haruka, POOR PRODUCER!
Haruka is nothing compared to the Producer!
Yeah. Well, it's also a totally different kind of hurting. I do hope Producer recovers, though.
Too hard ending for that (apparently) light series.
That's another instance of this series's surprising and unexpected "realism". Sure, it's kinda overdramatized, but the fact that not everything is cheery, despite first (and second, and third, etc.) impressions really does make you stop and think about the characters, what they're feeling, what life is like for them, and such.
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As for Miki, between hating on her and being her apologists, let's take a step back and notice that she's kinda the exact opposite of Haruka in personality. Haruka is very selfless, tries very hard to rekindle team spirit, and cares a lot about making people happy, while Miki just forges ahead with her ambition, doesn't really give a lick about others unless it's convenient and makes her feel good, and is generally rather selfish and inconsiderate. Pitting the two of them against each other was a very wise choice on the writers' part, for the purpose of drama. I agree that Miki isn't evil; she's just rather inconsiderate and selfish. (FYI, I don't like Miki either; she's been my least-favorite of the main cast.)
Props to those of you who have observed that this industry, in real life, probably rewards such dog-eat-dog competitiveness, and Haruka is in some ways too nice for it. Maybe she'll become a producer herself in the future?
HikariNatsumi said: Haruka is my official #1 idol now. I feel so bad for her since she's always so positive and tries not to make her problems known to everyone else. She probably thinks it is her fault and is now traumatized by what happened.
For now, it seems like Haruka herself needs a good dose of the song "Yakusoku" ("Promise")--with a large heaping of friendship. Seeing the emotional weight of being unable to reunite her friends bearing down on her makes me sad, seeing her straining to put on a front of "everything's fine" almost makes me wanna cry, and seeing her with tears streaming down her face at the end is just heartrending.
Hopefully, the Producer's injury (hopefully not death!) will bring everyone back together and give them a chance to re-unite.
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Re calls for a second season:
I'm not sure how well this will work. First, you no longer have the narrative of "upstart new production company makes it big as its idols rise to stardom". Second, the cast will be much more scattered--as these past two episodes have implied, you'll have far fewer whole-group events that let the characters interact.
It's still possible to make a series on the professional lives of the 765 Pro idols, but the tone would be notably different.
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My favorite character is still Chihaya, but Haruka is my second-favorite.
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Doelass said: the music when Haruka was walking alone in the bridge is really addictive.. :P
Oh yes. And seeing Haruka becoming more and more depressed through that sequence of scenes was pretty heartbreaking. |