After a big curve ball was thrown, I guess I was completely wrong about Mio this time.
Compared to last time, I am glad that Mio didn’t throw a temper tantrum and decided to pull the good old quitting stunt once again. It seems that she wanted to challenge herself by going solo. This can explain why she auditioned for a part for a stage play. I have to admit that she is pretty good at it judging from the rehearsals. With that, this eventually becomes the basis that enables Mio and Rin to resolve their differences.
Meanwhile, it is clear that everyone feels nervous about the state of affairs with New Generations and Love Laika possibly being disbanded. However, it’s not necessarily the case since everyone has faith that Anya and Rin won’t simply abandon their friends. To me, it’s the matter of fearing the unknown or rather, change. Recall one of the episodes from the last season. Minami mentions about “going on an adventure” as her reason of becoming an idol. Now, Ranko finally shares her experiences of being a substitute for Minami’s role in the big live by saying that she experienced something new rather than simply taking on someone else’s role.
If you can tell from Ranko’s experience, this episode is more about releasing one’s fears towards change. Sure, change is something that is not easy to accept or get used to, but eventually, one might enjoy doing something that he or she has never done before. Of course, they don’t necessarily have to be together to make this happen. Everyone will be there cheering them on behind the scenes.
While this is something we haven’t seen in any idol show thus far, now we know why Mio decided to become a solo artist for now and try to take up theater. She wanted challenge herself by trying new things. After she has Uzuki and Rin help her during the practice session, it’s clear that Mio now fully understands and decides to support Rin’s decision fully. In short, I have more respect for her now than before.
In the end, is the problem solved now that everyone in the project is trying new things in order to become better and prove Mishiro wrong? I do want to say yes, but not really. To me, I have a feeling that Uzuki never told her true feelings to Rin and she simply forced herself in order to accept it. From the ending, it’s clear that she still feels uneasy. Either way, it’s apparent that Uzuki’s suffering will play a big part in the last few episodes before the big finale with everyone reuniting.
To make matters worse, nobody in Project Krone seems excited or motivated about their live performance from the credits. I have a feeling that Mishiro might be on the wrong side since hardly any of the girls are smiling, indicating that something might go terribly wrong during their debut. Regardless who wins next time (I’m already betting that Mishiro will lose the bet providing that the wicked stepmother is defeated in the actual story), the girls’ performances are what count in the end and I wish them the best.
Update: Starting this week, I won’t be doing any more Anime Weekly since no one seems to read them at all and/or leave any comments judging from my statistics. Since I would rather use my time for something else rather than writing these posts, I will be sharing my final thoughts for Working 3 and Prisma Illya 2wei Herz for the final review. I might share some impressions for these shows on Twitter, but we’ll see.
Nice different perspective. I’m kinda just ranting about how it’s pointless after what they have build together as a team. I bet the outcome in the end is going to be just as what you said. I hope they get back together in the end, if not it’s going to be a disappointment imo. Effing Mishiro ruining what has was already a good unit in general.
We’ll see in the live performance and I will have a feeling that it won’t go well for her since after all, Mishiro has tight control of her production that there is no room for creativity while on the Producer’s side, well not the case given that he has more creative freedom that might become a big success…
What matters is the success of the Cinderella Project in the next episode and if Mishiro loses her bet, her units will end up getting absorbed into Cinderella Project for the final episode. Hopefully Uzuki’s problems will get resolved so it won’t become an issue.
Still, I want to see Mishiro demoted or sacked from the company, especially if she loses the bet even though she wins either way.