SO MANY FREAKING INCREDIBLE OUTFITS TODAY!

I really liked the episode, tons of fun. We got a fantastic Mirai, Zura, learned again that Riko has great taste, got a nice healthy dose of nostalgia, three great reaction faces, and unfortunately it looks like Rice gets left out again...

Ok, three things I want to talk about today apologies if it gets long. Let’s start with the completely intriguing third years plot. The conversation between Mari and Dia alluded even more to a sense of failure and how that effects your personal well being. Things got tense and the BGM over that scene was incredibly well done. That whole argument had me on the edge of my seat dying to dig deeper. And then we got this line from Dia to Ruby. Lot of meaning in those words from Dia that make a ton of sense by the end of the ep. Speculation Spoilers What’s interesting about this is that I can’t decide how much Ruby actually knows about Dia’s Idol past. I think she at least knows, but she doesn’t seem to have a sense of what happened even though she’s her sister, which means they completely hid it from those around them (makes sense considering all the secret meetings). It’s especially interesting, because that sort of gives me an idea of how the next episode will play out, and how emotional this could get (we all know how bad secrets are), and I LIKE IT.

Next, the competitors arrive onto the scene. Saint Snow is a great group name, and their singing at the temple sounded absolutely gorgeous too. Honestly, I really like the antagonistic nature they seem to have. I liked A-RISE and their portrayal a lot (still had my issues too), but I like seeing these girls be more competitive from the outset. I like the attitude they have, and I think having a true rival with that kind of tude will really fit with what our little group of girls needs. It’ll serve to push them in a good direction.

Finally, Chika’s little speech about living up to expectations to Riko made a really good point if we’re talking broad differences between the two Idol groups. It’s not that muse didn’t have to live up to expectations, but more that they created those expectations. With what Muse created, people are more aware than ever what School Idols can do. That puts a lot of pressure on new groups to succeed. That’s a tough place to be in, and adds a good dynamic. We saw flashes of this in earlier episodes, but it was a nice thing to touch on point blank here.

Anyways, so many good Zura’s today!! I was in heaven. You may notice I might have left an outfit out, that’s cause it needed a place of honor in your first ZURAMARU GIF OF THE DAY

Also, one extra thing, I have a question I’ve been wondering for awhile that doesn’t really affect how I view the anime, just curious cause I have no idea. Is there actually an idol ranking system like the one in the show in real life? If so, does a simple PV really change the rankings that drastically? I know that it’s a narrative element so I really don’t mind the lack of realism at all here, I’m just curious if Idol groups actually fluctuate like this or if this was just put in for the anime? Haha.