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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
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[series:4797#628] | ||||||
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(Four episodes watched): I was quickly encouraged by the complex and interesting dialogue in episode one, a sure sign of a story which has had some serious effort put into it. Nevertheless, I couldn't say that I had been truly inspired or thrilled by the premise of this show once it was laid out. Perhaps it's because I don't see how Mahiru's talents as an artist will make much of a difference to Kano's singing career (will she illustrate her CDs?)? Maybe Mahiru will become a singer herself--that would make a good deal more sense. It looks like two other girls will be recruited to join their group or whatever it turns out to be. Maybe the problem is that the characters haven't been fleshed out enough; Mahiru is burnt out but I didn't feel any deep desire or need on her part to turn her life around. Kano refuses to be 'run-of-the-mill' but what makes her so irrepressible is unclear. How much blame does she deserve for that scandal that ruined her original career? I think she would be much more interesting if she really is at least partly at fault than if she isn't. I didn't exactly get how the facts and sayings about jellyfish applied to Mahiru. Is she a figurative jellyfish herself? I guess I will probably watch episode two to learn just what these two girls have in mind, but it will need to clarify things and be more interesting than episode one was. As I went into episode two I had gotten the impression that this show was being givern one last chance to please me but it would probably fail. But I enjoyed it more than I had expected. Episode two is mainly about how the third member of the group, the black-haired Mei, joins Kano and Mahiru. She's a fairly fanatical fan of Kano in her days before she fell from grace, and really, really wants her to revive the persona she used back then, but Kano refuses. What's more, Mei has a talent for composing music, which is just what is needed right now. I was a bit confused because of my difficulty keeping track of names and the fact that flashbacks have Kano with her hair black, which made her hard to distinguish from Mei--I thought at one point that the fourth member had arrived already, but apparently not. But this show has more depth than I had expected and I think I'll keep watching for now. In episode three we learn the story behind the fourth member of this group, pink haired Kiui Watase. Kiui is a childhood friend of Mahiru and last she heard Kiui was a popular and well-known influencer with a large following on the internet. But it turns out that actually things haven't gone nearly as well for Kiui since she started high school as she had claimed. She basically needs some sincere and genuine friends rather than the countless internet people who she has never actually met in person. In episode four the girls get together to brainstorm a plan for Kano's next release. She seems to feel that she must complete a new CD before her former group, the Sunrise-or-somethings, release theirs. We also learn of a surprising link that continues between the two: Kano's mother is the expert producer of her former group! This show continues to intrigue me and I'm glad I didn't abandon it early on. I had thought that surely all four girls would become idols, but it looks like Kano will remain the only singer while the others serve as her support crew, at least for now. Last updated Friday, May 17 2024. Created Thursday, April 11 2024. | ||||||||
