Idolish7 Episode 7 Review: Ray of light

Hello fellow ‘Seven Girls’ (and boys!) We are now at the milestone of Episode 7 of Idolish7! We are now getting into the more soap opera drama parts of the story, so sit back, relax, and let’s see what’s going on with our boys!

“Give us the power to cause miracles”

Japanese Title: ひとすじの光

Story

After Sogo and Tamaki’s popularity skyrockets thanks to their efforts during the outdoor concert, the president of Yaotome productions comes to them with an offer. He wants to debut the duo if they are willing to switch over to his agency. If they do, then Tamaki’s wish to be on TV can be fulfilled. Sosuke Yaotome is a very cunning man, and his facial expressions absolutely scream it! Sweet, naive Tamaki jumps at the opportunity, but Sogo is having none of it. He does not want to betray Takanashi Pro, and more importantly, his fellow group members. Cue argument. We have finally learned why Tamaki has been so desperate to have his face shown on the television. He is searching for his younger sister Aya, from whom he was separated when she left the orphanage. He believes that if he shows his face on TV, then she may be able to find him. I’m sure some new Tamaki fans were made the night this episode aired. After Tamaki talks to the other members and angers them, the youngest member of i7 explains his situation and the other boys understand him instantly. In order to help, the boys and Tsumugi talk to the Takahashi president about debuting and he’s like ‘okay sure lol’. What???? Well, it seems that Otoharu himself was about to ask Sogo and Tamaki to debut as a duo. This is to protect the group from Yaotome. You know Otoharu is serious when he opens his (beautiful) eyes.

Then suddenly, Banri comes running in- WITHOUT EVEN KNOCKING! He announces that i7 have been asked to appear on Music Festa, a huge musical TV programme. This angers Yaotome, of course (there is an obvious rift between Takanashi and Yaotome). The spectacled president blows up at the songwriter of TRIGGERs new song, and the latter leaves the room with an evil look on his face. What could that mean…?

Otoharu then gives a new song to the group, and Mitsuki gives a hard-hitting speech during practice. We see that precious Mitsuki has taken his lower level of popularity to heart, and is trying his best to catch up. Cue old man Yamato to cheer him up. Don’t give up on your dreams, Mitsu!

We then see Iori declaring his desire to make Riku a success, and Nagi looks on at the Zero Arena as he mentions the name Haruki….

Highlights

Re:vale appeared in this episode!! The duo, who are the final two main characters of the game, appear on the TV commercial just before TRIGGER. I hope we at least get speaking cameos from them in this season of the anime.
The fact that Sosuke actually said something like ‘Bring me a song better than IDOLiSH7!’ shows just how riled up he is.
The scene in Riku’s room. This very short and sweet scene was my favorite scene in the episode. And I’m here to over-analyse it for you! It begins with Riku staring at a performance of his brother, perhaps scared and afraid that he can never catch up to him. His face is then lit up by ~~an angel~~, the door opening. It’s Iori. His words have a softness to them, very different to the harshness we have started to expect from the dark-haired member. Instantly he comes in and turns off the TV. This little action speaks so much. It says ‘You don’t need this’, ‘You are not Tenn, you are Riku’, ‘You are you, and you are talented.’ He then literally puts this into words, telling Riku to stop chasing his brother’s shadow and goes on to say something a little unexpected- “I’ll make you a superstar”. This doesn’t sound like something a fellow idol group member would say, right? Riku is also a little confused, and this is where you really need to pay attention. Riku tilts his head ever so slightly to the side in a quizzical manner. Just like a puppy! It’s absolutely adorable if you notice it. And do you know who DEFINITELY noticed it? That’s right. Iori. It’s only a split second, but Iori’s eyes widen and he coughs to compose himself. Remember how he has called Riku cute on occasion? Our little tsundere is a sucker for adorable things. I really cannot say who is cuter. It’s also worth pointing out that although the two of them are more-or-less the same height (Iori is only 1cm taller), the camera angle purposely looked down upon Riku- surely to add to the cute factor. Anyway, Iori then declares that he will use his wonderful brain to propel Riku to stardom.
My ‘analysis’ of the scene probably took longer to read than to watch the scene itself, but I still think you should go back and check it for yourself!
As Nagi is looking out at the Zero Arena in the final scene of the episode, he sings a short song. You may recognize the melody as the song which the group were performing at practice. I don’t want to spoil you, but hearing Nagi sing this little solo part in that way was a real treat.
In this episode, we got to hear a piano arrangement of the new opening song and I like it! It’s pretty much guaranteed that I’ll be getting the OST so I look forward to listening to it on repeat.

Trivia

Debut: You may be wondering what the big deal is with getting to ‘debut’. In the Japanese idol industry, what debuting means is actually to release a CD. Many idols can perform for many years without technically debuting.
The 3 women in the living room: After the TV commercial for the Music Festa, we saw a short scene between a woman and her two daughters in their living room. These three are actually based on recurring characters in the game, although they just appear as silhouettes and have no voices. Their role in the game is more for exposition, and through them, we get an idea as to how IDOLiSH7 and other groups are being received by fans. Keeping these scenes was a nice touch.

Even if a small beat of my wings can raise me from nothing…

I’m quite impressed at the pace the anime is going right now, with a lot happening in one episode without it feeling too rushed. We got to see scenes of almost every main character interacting with each other, from Sogo/Tamaki to Mitsuki/Yamato to Riku/Iori. I was also pleasantly surprised that this week ended with a serious Nagi. The characters constantly go on about how beautiful he is, but it was only in this scene that I really thought ‘wow….’. There were also plenty of little bits of foreshadowing sprinkled about, so fans both old and new can have fun finding it all. I know I did!