From the last time, Yae entered the room while Noa talked to a woman about their next production. What exactly does she want?
Dugong, the mascot of Sirus, finally appears while Kathrina is sweeping the floor. He disapproved of her cleaning since she missed a spot. Then, Yae comes in, and Dugong comes to her so she can pet her. Of course, Kokona likes how endearing Yae is.
Kathrina wanted to disprove this as she attempted to have him give her a touch on her hand. Instead, it bit her left hand. I guess her demanding personality makes her incompatible with Dugong. What Panda says about Kathrina kissing her chances of becoming a Dai Star away is hilarious.
With that, we discover that the Sirius Trope has no Dai Star as Noa has retired. The founder, Shamo, imposed an age limit of 23. She believes it’s not good to be stuck in the same place. This can explain why there is no Dai Star besides Yae being a strong competitor. It’s funny how Kokona panics that she only has seven years left. However, Shizuka ensures she can do it within that period.
With that, Noa announced the roles and said they are doing a production of one of the stories from Arabian Nights. You guessed it, it’s “Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp.” Then, of course, we have Kokona and Shizuka praying for a role they can stand out.
When Noa assigned the roles, it was very unexpected. We have Kokona taking the part of Aladdin and Yae being the Genie. Of course, Katrina and Panda especially became disappointed by the roles they got. The most surprising is Sassu getting the role of Princess Leila. Either way, it’s evident that everyone is leaving their comfort zone, but for a good reason, as we find out soon. Panda gets upset that Kokona gets the leading role, but she is inexperienced. Thankfully, Shizuka comforts Kokona as this happens.
Now that Kokona got a leading role, there are high expectations for her not to screw up. Noa gives Kokona a training regimen. Noa wants her to focus on the fundamentals. As you know, Kokona can’t just mimic her way to a good performance. As expected, it’s basically training from hell. Shizuka also participated since she is Kokona’s ideal form, after all.
Thankfully Kokona has Shizuka to help her with the training and figuring out the role from the notes Panda gave to Kokona. I guess she finally calmed down after that surprising role announcement, and help her by providing the scripts. Still, even with the notes, it’s hard for Kokona to figure out who Aladdin is since he lacks a core. But, Kokona figures it out eventually.
Of course, to help prepare Kokona for the role, Yae moves into Kokona’s room while Kathrina gets kicked out for the time being. I find it funny how Kokona takes down the posters since it’s embarrassing for her number one Oshi to see. Also, I find it funny after Yae moves in that, she defaults to the genie role even if Kokona treats her as Yae.
In the end, Kokona shares her concern as she hasn’t figured out her role yet. Thankfully, Yae ensures her there is enough time, and the answer lies in Kokona. Yae mentions that Aladdin trusts Genie because he is devoted to helping him survive the city. So, if Kokona trusts Yae, maybe it can work out.
We discover why Yae decided to go outside her comfort zone when Kokona asks about it. It’s because she is aiming to become a Dai Star. She can’t do it if she keeps getting pigeonholed to innocent and pure maidens. No matter what role she plays, Yae believes she can shine. Still, I wonder why Kokona since she is inexperienced. I guess it’s something Panada probably thought of. Is it a ploy to figure out Kokona’s “sense” or something suspicious? Panda mentions that Kokona is being used as a foil. We’ll find out next time when they actually perform.
Don’t really care about Dugong myself.
Kathrina and Shizuka fighting over Kokona is fantastic. More please.
Both Yae and Panda were sus this episode, especially Yae.
Best of luck to Kokona. Hope she somehow pulls off a great performance.
But otters are cute.
Anyways, it’s obvious that Kokona has a love triangle with Kathrina, Shizuka and Yae, but it’s obvious who will win out in the end.
But yes, Yae putting Kokona in the leading role despite being inexperienced is probably a trap, or maybe a test of Kokona’s and Shizuka’s senses. Hopefully she will pull it off, for the sake of her dream.