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[series:3796#628] | ||||||
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(Eight episodes--plus final episode--watched): Something was missing from episode one of this show. I couldn't help feeling that a show with a premise like this--a girl (most extreme idol fans are male) becomes a fanatical fan of a little known idol--ought to be either funnier or more dramatic than this one was. It remained unclear which direction--comedy (probably) or drama it would go. Perhaps what was lacking was an explanation of why Eripiyo has latched onto Maina so fervently. Love at first sight (is Eripiyo possibly a lesbian?)? Whatever the case may be, she seemed kind of pathetic at this point--is that intentional? We don't get to know Maina all that well either--like, why doesn't she have more fans? Eripiyo and her aren't exactly the best of friends at this point, and I hoped some sort of interesting relationship between them would develop. I couldn't give up on an original premise like this one after just one disappointing episode, but I hoped episode two would clarify things somewhat, and I prayed that this show wasn't relying on comedy alone, because it doesn't have all that much. After three episodes I also wished the plot would move forward a little faster. The idea is that somehow Eripiyo will help Maina break out of her position as a minor performer in a minor group, and become a major star, isn't it? But I saw little sign of that happening, or even of Maina mentioning that she wants to achieve something greater. Indeed, since Cham Jam is about the only idol group that is mentioned here, it seems like a pretty big deal even though it is actually just a local group. We haven't gotten much comparison of it to the truly stellar groups, the ones that perform routinely (I assume) at the Boudokan and are famous nationwide. After four episodes I was still wishing we would get some sort of explanation of why Eripiyo is so transfixed by Maina; Eripiyo is about the only female fan of this group, so there must be something unusual about her devotion, right? She spends her meager wages buying duplicate copies of Cham Jam CDs and other useless stuff, which is sort of odd and amusing, but also sort of pathetic (and later she muses about donating an organ to raise money for the same purpose). I wish I understood her better. Would there ever be much of a longterm plot to this show or would it will just be about her bizarre devotion to Maina and the group? A friendship of sorts slowly builds between Maina and Eripiyo; Maina appreciates at least having one odd fan, and doesn't want to lose her, whereas originally she was turned off by Eripiyo. Still, it wasn't exactly clear why this had happened and the show must be almost halfway finished at this point. I wish Maina would ask Eripiyo why she supports her so fanatically. When an episode was spent on a Cham Jam member other than Maina, the thought occurred to me that maybe I should quit watching this series altogether. It isn't terribly funny, but it seems like the makers were confident it would get plenty of laughs, because they didn't bother to put together much of a plot about the evolving relationship between Eripiyo and Maina. It got to the point where I felt I was beating my head against a stone wall whenever I wished for the plot to move significantly forward. Maybe the problem is that I don't sense any fundamental conflict which must be overcome. Little things happen, but there don't seem to be any big trends, like Maina's career moving forward or the two of them becoming fast friends. As a result, it seems kind of boring. I was reluctant to give up on this show, because of the unusual premise, but watching it felt like a lot of work for little reward. I quit after episode eight, but watched the final episode just to see if any sort of breakthrough would occur at the climax. If there was a breakthrough, it was a very small scale one. The story seems largely unresolved; at best an arc has ended. This was a show which apparently couldn't decide if it wanted to be humorous or dramatic, and in the end wasn't much of either. The premise is curious and the characters are solid and likable, but somehow this show just couldn't do much with them. It was not terrible, but ended up feeling like a wasted opportunity. Last updated Wednesday, April 01 2020. Created Friday, January 17 2020. | ||||||||
