Hello and a warm welcome to all of you who have made it 4 episodes into Idolish7! In this episode, we finally get a proper introduction to TRIGGER! (Who I will just keep on writing in caps because why not) We also finally got to see the ending for the first time. Oh wow. Oh wow oh wow. I wasn’t quite expecting that. In this review, I will also introduce the TRIGGER trio, just as I introduced the IDOLiSH7 boys and their motifs in the following article:
IDOLiSH7 Review 0: An Introduction to Idolish7 and Its Motifs
Japanese Title: プロの覚悟
If we can’t make every moment the best moment possible, there’s no point in us standing on stage
All idol-related activities have been put on hold for the members of IDOLiSH7 until the upcoming TRIGGER live concert, which they are due to go and see. We get to see a fight between Sogo and Tamaki. This will be a common sight for a while in this series, and Tamaki and Sogo’s character development will be deeply connected to each other. On the day of the concert, Yamato, Nagi, and Tamaki end up encountering a fainting boy on the street. It only turns out to be Tenn Kujo, the center of the group they are due to see! The boys are worried about his condition, but Tenn gives this cheesy inspirational speech about how he shouldn’t be letting down the fans. Although I love the fact that he treats his fans with respect…he would probably be letting them all down if he, you know, died. (I’m looking at you, Riku.) Meanwhile, Riku is trying to make sense of his feelings regarding TRIGGER. We finally learn that Tenn is actually Riku’s older twin brother! When they were younger, Tenn was taken in by a man named Kujo in order to stop their parents’ shop from being taken away (there are other reasons too, of course). The clue to their relationship was in their mirror opposite hairstyles, surely. Thanks to a Tamaki piggyback ride, Tenn makes it to the concert and performs perfectly, despite his condition. After the performance, Gaku quite rightly tells him off and warns him to take better care of his health. The IDOLiSH7 boys are so pumped up after the concert that they start an impromptu dance session outside the venue. This cute little act, however, will land the boys in a lot of trouble…
I think this is a good part for me to introduce the members of TRIGGER and their motifs! In contrast to the cute boys-next-door image of IDOLiSH7, the members of TRIGGER bring us a more adult kind of sexiness. Each of the members has cat-like pupils, and this is referenced in their song Leopard Eyes, which we can hopefully hear in the anime at some point. They finally get a performance in this episode, with the song ‘Secret Night’, which was also their first song to become playable in the game!
VA: Wataru Hatano
Age: 22
Profile: The son of the president of Yaotome productions and the leader of TRIGGER. Gaku is the cool, aloof sexpot with a scary face but a heart of gold. He thinks it’s very important to take care of family and despises those who don’t. However, he has a strained relationship with his father.
Image color: Gray
Image number: Eight (his name, 八乙女楽, contains the kanji for ‘eight’: 八)
Musical motif: Treble Clef
Idol appeal point: ‘The idol most women want to be embraced by’
Moe charm point: His hidden sweetness. He develops an open yet unrequited crush on a certain someone and the soba he mentioned in the first episode has a very important meaning. Look forward to finding out what that is! You’ll get to see more adorkable moments as the above points come to light.
VA: Soma Saito
Age: 18
Profile: Riku’s older twin brother and the center of TRIGGER. He has a very distant relationship with his brother after leaving the family to become an idol. Tenn is an absolute perfectionist and won’t settle for just OK.
Image color: Pink
Image number: Nine (his name, 九条天, contains the kanji for ‘nine’: 九)
Musical motif: Alto clef
Idol appeal point: Perhaps has the potential to become the next Zero.
Moe charm point: His beauty. His perfection. His intelligence. His sense of responsibility… Tenn is an angel with a poisonous tongue.
Trivia time!! You may remember that I mentioned in an earlier review that Riku’s name means ‘Earth’. Tenn’s name means ‘Heaven’. So the brothers are ‘Heaven and Earth’.
VA: Takuya Sato
Age: 23
Profile: The shy but kind-hearted eldest member of TRIGGER who is sold as the sexy and wild one of the group. Ryunosuke is from Okinawa (an archipelago prefecture in the most southern part of Japan) and often uses Okinawa dialect when he is drunk. It can be so strong that the people from the mainland have no idea what he is saying.
Image color: Navy
Image number: Ten (his name, 十龍之介, contains the kanji for ‘ten’: 十)
Musical motif: Bass clef
Idol appeal point: His sex appeal, Ryu is commonly called the ‘ero ero beast’
Moe charm: The gap between his cool sexy image and his sweet, shy personality. Ryu is probably one of the most genuinely nice guys in the series, and if I had to pick one of the guys from the franchise to go on a date with, it would definitely be gentle giant Ryu. (Although he’s not very good at talking to women)
Despite the fact we haven’t yet met Yaotome Papa, I will give you a quick introduction to the pink-haired manager of TRIGGER
VA: Yoshihisa Kawahara
Age: ???
Profile: The beautiful and androgynous manager of TRIGGER over at Yaotome productions, Kaoru seems a little out-of-sync with the group at first, but he really does care for them. His later obsession with a certain member of IDOLiSH7 is both creepy and super adorable.
Trivia time!! I am unsure how easy it is to tell for those of you that do not speak Japanese, but Kaoru speaks in onee-kotoba, which is basically a kind of feminine gay talk. (It is not exactly the same as simply talking in feminine language, but that’s a simple way to explain it). His beautiful androgynous looks and use of language define him as an onee. This literally means older sister, but is slang used for (usually) gay men who speak like middle-aged women and tend to have an effeminate manner. This is also referenced in Kaoru’s name, as the ‘ane’ in Anezaki is the kanji for ‘older sister’ and can also be pronounced (o)nee.
I am so, so happy with the ending theme to this anime. Although the singing tone is a little off, I have been waiting for a real rock song from my TRIGGER boys! I adore the jewel-themed outfits and will be eagerly awaiting the impending merchandise. Although we had a little less comic relief in this episode compared to last week, I’m so glad I can finally talk about Tenn-nii! I guess we can expect some drama next week, but I’m keeping my eyes peeled for what I’m really here for- moe moe and more moe! (and a little more TsumTsum, too).
The first season of the new year is just one month away from its finale. It was a great start with many amazing titles that made these past months worth the extra hours we put in front of our sets. Now, it is time for the cold wind to give way to the pink hues of the sakura tree and for the Winter 2018 season to give the anime baton to Spring 2018.
