Your father’s not always going to be well, you know.
What They Say:
No one wants to get stuck in a boring profession, so when college student Chitose Karasuma storms into a voice acting training facility, she thinks that her future is poised for awesomeness. However, this bad-mannered beauty is in for more than she bargained for as she gets accepted into the talent agency “Number One Produce.” Together with her coworkers, including a girl with a Kansai accent and a cunning airhead, Chitose charges into the competitive world of professional voice acting.
The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of this review may contain spoilers)
After last week’s episode ended with Kazuha slipping into an alcohol-induced coma, this week’s episode picks off the same exact way! And what makes being drunk for an entire week even better? A sporadic visit from your mother! Once Kazuha returns home (Escorted by Momoka and Chitose), she’s unable to find the key to her apartment. Just when it seems like all hope is lost, good ole’ mama-san shows up and welcomes the three girls inside. After saying a bunch of mom-like things like, “Where are the tea cups you use for guests?” Momoka and Chitose leave and Kazuha is left to fend off her mother all by her inebriated self. It’s immediately evident that the reason Shibasaki has been so off-putting of her mother is simply because said mother is such a…well, mother.
The next day begins just like all of the others — our heroines are promoting Kusure with yet another fan-oriented segment. This time, however, Shibasaki’s mother tags along as well. The only catch is that she wasn’t necessarily invited. Now, the conflict becomes the difficult task of Kazuha hiding her embarrassment while performing in front of her mom. Of course, this doesn’t work, but Shibasaki trudges through anyway because she’s such a professional. That is until her father’s disapproval of the swimsuit shoot is brought up. And who is better to soothe the worries of a concerned father than…Kuzu-P? Oh god, this isn’t going to end well.
And, of course, it doesn’t end well.
In order to remedy this entire scenario, the Kusure staff devises a plan to send Shibasaki back home in order to smooth things over. This seems like a completely normal, logical plan…until Kuzu-P decides that it would be best if he came as well. And with Shibasaki’s home city being the hot spring capital of Japan, you can bet your bottom dollar that Chitose wants to come as well. And thus begins Operation: Meet Shibasaki’s Dad. Unfortunately for us, that’s going to have to wait until next week.
On the opposite side of the playing field, things for Momoka aren’t going all that well either. Anytime anyone even mentions parental relationships, you can basically feel her cringe. The thing is, the relationship she actually has with her mother isn’t necessarily a bad one. I think Momoka’s problem is that she wants more of a relationship. Throughout all of her life, Momoka has viewed her mother as not only a star but a sort of consult for her own seiyuu-related doings when all she really wants is just a mother. It isn’t the whole ‘living in her shadow’ thing after all. She simply wants her mother to treat her like a daughter and not another professional voice actor.
In Summary:
This incredibly mom-oriented episode of Girlish Number successfully furthers character development for both Shibasaki and Momoka. With Shibasaki’s family being remarkably traditional and Momoka’s family being remarkably untraditional, we get to see two completely different sides of the seiyuu-spectrum that ultimately winds up shaping a consistently entertaining and diverse seventh episode. As is the norm for most recent industry-based anime, the characters of Girlish Number are going to be the driving force for the success of the series. Considering how much care is being put into each of the heroines’ backstories (With Yae and Koto still on the backburner), I’m very excited to see more Girlish Number in the future. Thanks to an onslaught of subtle, sarcastic humor and an increasingly lovable roster, this is easily one of my favorite shows this season.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
