What will become of IDOLiSH7?
What They Say:
“Please, Music.”
IDOLiSH7 is set to perform during the live broadcast of Music Festa! But tensions rise when Riku’s inhaler is broken and Iori becomes concerned he will have an attack. Will they still be able to give it their all during the performance?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
This episode goes from very happy and high to a sad, depressing low in almost seconds flat. The boys are all super excited to finally be able to have their chance to popularize themselves as a group so they can debut together. As is their agreement with president Takanashi. After heading off to greet the other groups, knowing TRIGGER is there, they convince Riku to hang out in the green room in fear he would have an asthma attack if he meets up with his brother Tenn. I found this to be a bit of an exaggerated fear but with their impending performance, it makes sense. It turns into an awkward scene where Tenn just happens to be walking down the hall just after Riku left. It was kind of funny but also predictable.
When Riku makes it back to the green room, however, we find that that songwriter working for Yaotome is looking through their stuff to steal their demo cd. They don’t have one yet so the guy is out of luck and when Riku shows up the guy panics and ended up stepping on and breaking Riku’s inhaler. It leaves him on the verge of an attack and Iori notices, the others, in turn, notice his concern and this causes their performance to be less than perfect.
This was super disappointing. I was so hoping they would do very well, but what’s a story without conflict. Tenn was quite the mean boy when he and his group were watching the performance. Gaku, on the other hand, was rooting for them. Gaku has come a long way for me from being a possible dastardly villain-type character, he has grown to root for the underdog instead of looking down on them like Tenn does. He even shoos his father away from Tsumugi after she runs into Yaotome. He’s a sweet boy and I like him a lot better than I did before.
The most adorable part of this episode was when Nagi was trying to cheer everyone up. Iori blamed himself for their bad performance as did everyone else for reacting to his concern. Nagi jumps up and offers to dance and sing for them because he “is an idol. Making people smile” is his job. He convinces Tsumugi to join him up there to dance with him. They both convince the boys to sing for them; to sing for the manager and all the work she’s done. It was a really sweet scene and it helped them grow a bit as characters to get past this setback.
What confused me the most about this episode was the ending after the credits song when Takanashi informs Tamaki and Sogo that they are to debut together as originally planned. This will break up the group and the other boys won’t be able to idols in the way that they want to be. I was at a loss for words because how will they get out of this one? Will the group really separate and give up? The best possibility that I can think of is that there is a time skip and either do or do not get back together, or Tamaki and Sogo refuse. I don’t know but I really hope that nothing happens to the group and the relationship they’ve established.
In Summary:
The end terrified me and I am confused and hope that the group can get through this. Well, of course, they will. The conflict does indeed make it more interesting. I’m itching for more next week. So many questions…
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
