Score: A

This is going to be one of those shows where I’m just praising it all the time. At least it feels that way after yet another great episode. The conclusion to the “Sweet Today” drama was strong, but it also led nicely into giving some focus back to Ruby and her situation. While there’s so much fun that can simply be had with Aqua’s murder plan and acting career, Ruby is also a main character here. So, it’s nice to get things rolling for her. Because right now she is just at the starting line. It’s still taking time to put together a group. And that’s just the beginning. Once the group comes together then they must start walking the difficult path of trying to make their mark as idols. It won’t be easy. And while I don’t want to see Ruby suffer, it’s something that will be inherent to reaching her sparkling dreams.

The man plays “crazy stalker” extremely well!

Aqua is just fun to watch when he’s in his element. He’s got better acting skills than he believes, but his biggest strength is the ability to use what’s available to him. This guy put a lot of effort into understanding the role, the environment, and the personalities of the actors around him. He took a situation with a lead that can’t act and still dragged out a performance that fans can be proud of. I feel a little bad that he had to blatantly insult that guy to get a good performance out of him, but it was somewhat necessary. Plus, the guy did get the chance to punch Aqua on stage so I think no hard feelings should be held after this.

The best thing was that Aqua gave Kana the room she needed to shine. There was only so much she could do with just her and a bunch of people that can’t act. Having one more person that could act and drag out good performances gave her some room to breathe. She was able to absolutely nail those final scenes because of it. Kana both got to show off her acting chops with that whole “there is light” scene and just be purely herself with the whole “girl in love” look she was giving off. Because…yeah, there’s no question about her blossoming feelings for Aqua even now.

Glad she wasn’t left with only regret

There was no saving the show overall. It would have been fun if the show suddenly turned into a huge hit because everyone just skipped the other episodes and simply turned in for the finale! But at the very least there was a very valuable gain from that final episode. The passion of the fans and the feelings of the manga’s creator have value. I think those that truly love the source material will be grateful that the best moment of a story they loved was done justice. It will leave some feelings of “why couldn’t it all have been like this” but I think overall the hardcore fans will be left giddy.

And it was nice that the creator that was left looking dead after her first visit to the set could be so happy by the end. Good for her and good for Kana. I’m sure it would have killed her to be part of breaking the heart of someone that created a manga that she personally loved.

Yeah, cute enough to be an idol!

It really says something about how swept up I’ve gotten with Kana that I was so hyped with the way this episode ended. Watching the opening I did think this might be a direction things would go. I wasn’t 100% sure though since the idol trio Ruby was shown with were mostly seen from behind. But that’s extremely fun XD. While Kana could easily stay around the story with her going to the same school as Aqua/Ruby and working in the same acting path as Aqua, it wouldn’t be possible for them to be on the same projects all the time. That would be stretching believability a bit too much. But if Ruby joins Strawberry Productions and does idol work with Ruby…now she really can have a major presence.

I didn’t think about it, but it just reverses the direction of things with Ai. If Ai could go from an idol into someone who also did quite a bit of acting, why can’t Kana go from an actor into someone who does some idol work? Getting some presence that way might help give an injection to her acting career too. Kana is just rapidly become one of my favourites in the whole cast. So, any excuse for her to spend more time around the story is one I’ll take without questioning it! Plus, the dynamic between her and Ruby could be amusing since they haven’t quite gotten along so far. The only question is how good a singer Kana is.

I think Kana will be ok with the job offer!

The next step is of course getting Kana to go along with it. But I think that’s something that can be managed. Just have part of the pitch be mentioning that Aqua called her cute XD. There’s a lot that should appeal to Kana here. She must avoid scandals, and this gives her a way to spend time with Aqua without having to constantly walk with him into a karaoke place. Repeat visits are going to be noticed eventually. But if she’s in an idol group with Ruby and is a co-worker of Aqua then there’s good excuses for her to be around him. And since she’s already checking out his relationship status…I think Kana would jump on this opportunity.

Beyond that the following step is finding a third member. At this point I’d presume the third member will be that bouncing girl with horns in the OP. She gets enough focus that I can’t see her as a background character in this story. And she fits the visible profile of the idol trio Ruby is going to be part of. I’ll try not to spoil myself though on her name and personality until she shows up.

Ruby is plenty cute herself!

While Kana has stolen the stage, I do want to say that I like Ruby. She’s got a good bit of goofy and cute energy that makes me want to see her succeed. She’s got the perspective of a fangirl who is giddy about all these beautiful people around her, but she’s got her own dreams too. Nice that she found a friend that wasn’t shaken up by her being a bit…unusual. I’d have to say it’s a bit questionable to google a person’s information while talking with them. But thankfully that wasn’t a friendship ender right there.

Ruby is good at messing with people. She got under Kana’s skin last week and was under Aqua’s skin this time with the friendship talk. The genuine pity she felt just made him lose it even harder. But he’s good at things that she’s not. Her awe of someone like Frill left her distant, but Aqua had no problem walking right over to talk with her. He’s got way more on his mind anyways than being in awe of one relatively famous person.

The show doesn’t mind leaning into the comedy too

This was another good episode. There are still episodes to go obviously, but I can’t see anything topping this for anime of the season for me. It’s just continued to nail it with the voice acting, the characters, visuals, and story. I’m sure there are elements to critique if I try hard enough to find some. But it’s nice to have a show that’s just fun to talk about. Some seasons I end up with shows that require some serious willpower to find something to say. But this show is just easy to dive right into. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season plays out.