Now that the game reaches the alpha stage, Aoba has another job to do. She is task to do the key visuals. Obviously, there is going to be a lot of pressure on her.
In the first half, Nene finally finishes her game, “Nene Quest.” With that, it’s time to surprise Aoba. Hotaru also tags along when they meet each other at a café. It’s understandable Nene would become nervous while showing them the game. After all, it would become embarrassing if the game suddenly crashed.
While Nene felt concerned that her friends would criticize her use of simplistic graphics, Aoba offered to help her. Of course, Nene has a small budget and she wants to do it alone. Either way, Aoba and Hotaru managed to beat the game after a few tries. Hopefully her friend’s reaction will inspire Nene to take a career in programming. Either way, the girls seem happy even if they cause a disruption at the café.
Now that Peco made it out the first phase, it’s now time for the alpha stage. Aoba is under pressure that everything depends on how good her key visuals are. Apparently, the producer, Christina wants to start promoting the game after the alpha release. While Kou insists of having Aoba do the key visuals, Christina doesn’t allow it. She wants Kou to do them since Peco is a new IP and they want to play it safe.
It’s understandable why Kou became upset. Since she only helped Aoba with the character designs, she wants Aoba in the spotlight. On the other hand, it’s understandable why Christina wants to play it safe. It will increase the success of the new IP. In her eyes, she thinks that if Aoba does them, it can become risky. Sure, it can help increase sales, but at the same time, it can hurt them.
While Aoba felt disappointed that she can’t to the key visuals, she suggests a competition. While Christina doesn’t want to do it, Hazuki allows it. It’s obvious that Aoba faces an uphill battle since she doesn’t have much experience in illustrating. Even with support from her friends, she is still having difficulty. She eventually remembers what Hazuki said last time, which motivates her to finish her design.
In the end, during the last day, Kou went to check out Aoba’s work. While Kou compliments her work, Aoba eventually saw her work. It’s a different story. She realizes that while Kou didn’t put much work into the art yet, it looked more polished compared to her own. Aoba saw how amazing Kou’s work is. After seeing it, she becomes devastated and started crying. Nevertheless, she keeps pulling through.
While Aoba’s illustration didn’t win, she doesn’t feel bothered by the end result. While I didn’t expect her to get it on the first try, at least she gains experience. Hopefully when another opportunity comes, she will make it.
Think I said it once before but I’m really liking the professional/rivalry dynamics S2 has been emphasizing on Aoba and Kou’s relationship. This episode explored the dynamic again and I’m glad it wasn’t just a one-time thing.
I do agree that it’s nice to see this given that it pushes Aoba to become better at her job. I didn’t expect her to win given that she is doing this for the first time. Eventually she will reach Kou someday.