Konatsu decides that being a fangirl is more important than singing, until the group she fawns over tells her to follow her own dream.
What They Say:
“Getting Angry and Dancing”
Konatsu has given the group, Condor Queens, her group’s stage for the World Music Festival. Her devotion to the group has caused a rift between her and Sawa.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
And so, it turns out that the two old men who butted in on Konatsu’s little singing audition for the beach house were professional musicians, two-thirds of Condor Queens, a folk band (we have seen their third member as well, though he has not yet been identified as such). It happens that Konatsu is a huge fan of the band, who were a favorite of her grandfather’s. So, Konatsu, naturally, gives up on trying to enter the shopping district’s World Music Festival, asking the beach house owner to have Condor Queens be his act instead. Sawa does not seem too thrilled with these events, and no one should blame her. Konatsu seems to be rather mercurial in her temperament, and one can wonder how much dedication she really has to singing.
It’s a small world. The third member, of course, was the strange foreigner who chased after Wakana for much of last episode. He’s still at it now, but Wien intercedes, tackling the “stalker,” who finally explains what it’s all about: he knew Wakana’s mother Mahiru. It appears all three members of Condor Queens knew her. In fact, she even wrote a song with them once upon a time. The “reunion” turns sad, of course, when they all reflect upon a fact which many of us assumed some time ago: Wakana’s mother is no longer among the living.
Problems come the next day when Konatsu shows how little she cares about her own group, at least when something more interesting to her is around. She asks Sawa if it’s okay for her to skip singing practice for that day, since she wants to go and see Condor Queens practice on the stage for the music festival. This basically makes Sawa go ballistic, and she chews out Konatsu. Leave it to the musicians, of course, to make Konatsu think about what is most important, and to remind her of where she should be. As the other members (minus Wakana, who seems to be gaining some interest in taking part, but is not there yet) gather for rehearsal at school, Konatsu rushes to find a stage to sing on for the festival (remember, she gave up the beach house to Condor Queens, and they’re not giving it back). With a little help from Shiho, Konatsu rushes to the last open sponsor, a flower shop. The owner notes that he had just picked someone, however, though it turns out that it was Wakana who recommended them, and we know what that already means.
The day of the festival comes, the beach is crowded; the small stage for Konatsu and friends, not so much. When the five (Wakana is with them at the beach) come to visit Condor Queens backstage, the three musicians pass along some thoughts from the late Mrs. Sakai to Wakana, including a letter they received shortly after Wakana’s birth. Music, so they tell us, is not something you give up on, it’s a constant companion in life. So begins the hard sell to get Wakana back into music.
Again, the show moves along at what could often times be a blistering pace. In another show, getting a stage at a local festival, practicing for the event, and then performing could form the basic plot for an entire season of episodes. Instead, we pass by all of that to focus more on Wakana’s story this time, as we learn a little more about her mother and her life in music. It’s not that the show felt too rushed this time. It’s just that the show hasn’t really done a good job of defining what it is going to be about. I am interested in Wakana’s story and her background, but it feels like it is too sudden an injection of drama and potential pathos into a story that so far has been filled with the blundering adventures of Konatsu. I almost wish this show would be one thing or the other. Trying to do both at the same time feels unbalanced. We will have to see if this is just a temporary imbalance, or a sign of things to come.
In Summary:
The stalker chasing Wakana everywhere turns out to be a musician, a member of the group Condor Queens, who once long ago knew Wakana’s mother. While we still get a fair amount of time devoted to Konatsu’s Bumbling Adventures in Music, the show’s focus seems to have moved in the direction of drama, a sad drama revolving around Wakana’s abandonment of music, which is probably directly tied to the death of her mother, whose life was closely intertwined with music. While the story is interesting, the tonal change feels slightly jarring.
Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
