@digiroko - Tumblr Blog

Update 1/25/21

I barely post on here now, but I just wanted yall to know that while I seldom go to this website, I still come back time to time to reblog some art or when I’m really bored.

I’ve been more active on twitter @Digiroko

If you want to interact or be mutuals, by all means!

This blog will mostly be reserved for rants or unnecessary long “analysis” posts w/ some random reblogs.

#update

#love live! sunshine!!#aqours

starrymarii

Annual kill la kill rewatch 🕺

#klk #kill la kill #nui harime

kouiya

Drawn Feb 6, 2023

another bday present for one of my fav ppl, one of her fav chars from precure!

#nozomi yumehara #yumehara nozomi #cure dream #precure #yes precure 5 gogo #I LOVE YOU

021120

#5 ラン！ランウェイ！

#soleil #aikatsu

jtangc

#imas #シャニマス #shinymas #osaki amana

jtangc

#imas #シャニマス #shinymas #asakura toru

sayakube

爱 by 疯唯

(Source)

#pmmm #sayaka miki #kyouko sakura

maridrws

luv them

#love live! superstar!!#tang keke #heanna sumire

pinglol05

#digimon #digimon adventure 02 #ken ichijouji #daisuke motomiya

vitaminpop

let’s get rolling, season 3 !!

#furuba #fruits basket

vitaminpop

campus defense force !! ★

remake of this !

#furuba #fruits basket

Embrace the Courage You’ve Been Given.

Spoilers for Idoly Pride Episode 9

Winter 2021 has given me 3 original anime to watch: Wonder Egg Priority, WIXOSS Diva(A)Live, and Idoly Pride. If you haven’t been kept out of the loop, you would know that WEP is definitely the star out of these 3 in terms of public opinion. Heck, even I think WEP is definitely the most unique out of these shows. I actually dropped WIXOSS because it was just so... bad. I barely drop anime too! I can’t believe they made something worse than Lostorage! And then there’s Idoly Pride, which is the show this post focuses on. I’ve known about the multimedia project that is Idoly Pride since December 2019. It was scheduled to have an anime Spring 2020, but then COVID-19 happened and thus was delayed to Winter 2021. I’ll be honest, I only got interested because Sphere and TrySail were going to be in this project. A lot of idol anime generally have the same structure: Cute girls sing and dancing with the generic plot that is wanting to be the Top Idol. Idoly Pride is basically this, but a little more realistic than others. Here is the series synopsis:

To become an idol, I shed blood, sweat, and tears. Even so, I push on. I want to shine. I want to earn it. I want to become number one. I want to smile. I want to make my dreams come true. I want to look back at a sea of people. I want to be noticed. I want to find it. I want to overcome obstacles. I have only pride inside my chest. No one is in the spotlight from the beginning. Everyone is weak. Only those who do not break will reach the highest peak to become an idol. This is the story of idols who face big dreams and harsh reality.

The beginning episodes mostly focused on establishing the setting, our 10 new idols of Hoshimi Productions, and most of all Nagase Mana. Nagase Mana. The Top Idol. The idol everyone admires, wants to reach. Always smiling on stage with her unworldly voice.

The world of Idoly Pride has a ranking system called the Venus Program to which an AI system used data and skills from performances to determine who the most talented newcomer idol are. The NEXT VENUS Grand Prix is a competition to determine the best of new idols. If one were to win, they will able to raise their rank significantly in the Venus Program, making it the best opportunity for newbie idols. Nagase Mana made it to the finals but was unable to compete due to a fatal accident. Nagase Mana is now a ghost who appears only to the manager of HoshimiPro, Makino Kouhei and one of the idols, Hayasaka Mei. The death of Nagase Mana was significant to our primary main protagonists, Kawasaki Sakura and Mana’s little sister, Nagase Kotono. Sakura had heart surgery, to which most would speculate that Mana was her donor due to many pointing out that Sakura has Mana’s voice when she sings. It was confirmed in Episode 9 that her donor was indeed, Nagase Mana. Kotono was on bad terms with Mana because she never came back home after becoming an idol. She even fought with her before Mana’s performance at the NEXT VENUS Grand Prix. Mana prepared a song to sing for that day, which was her feelings toward Kotono. She only sang it to Kotono, the night before her death. What makes it even more sad is that the finals were on Kotono’s birthday... Kotono’s birthday would definitely make quite a guilt trip for her...

Even Kotono, who was busy thinking about her confrontation with her sister, felt so many emotions with that song.

Kotono accepted that she could never be like her sister, but Sakura can. Thus:

Sakura was deemed to be Nagase Mana’s successor due to her voice. She sings exactly like her, which causes some internal conflict. Sakura doesn’t like being called the next Nagase Mana, not only because of it downplaying her identity, but because she felt that it would hurt Kotono, who first became an idol to be like her sister. But Kotono knows that she can’t do this and entrusts Mana’s song to Sakura. Sakura confronts Mana’s ghost and says that because it was Mana’s heart that she was able to become an idol. That she had been making decisions due to her beating heart, without her own will. Therefore, would like to entrusted to Mana’s unsung song. However, Mana does not want her to sing it.

An Idol’s Pride. Nagase Mana had pride as an idol even in death. She knows that nobody can sing her song. Mana not wanting Sakura to sing her song because it’s simply not her song. Mana is not saying this out of spite, but because she wants Sakura to sing the song only she can sing. That’s how Mana was able to become the Top Idol. Simply because she sang her own song. Sakura had been relying on Mana’s heart to make her own decisions, which made Sakura basically nonexistent until she decides that Sunny Peace’s next performance will be the last time she will sing with Mana’s voice.

Sakura will now sing with her own voice. She will be able to instill pride in her own songs.

“song for you (Sunny Peace ver.)” by Sunny Peace

song for you is a very beautiful song. If Mana didn’t die, no doubt she would evoke so many emotions to her fans. At least she was able to sing this song to the one who she wrote it for in the first place, Kotono.

The courage you have given me, I will embrace it dearly and wish for it for the coming days

I'll be that light that dazzles more than anything,

With PRIDE in my heart, I will sing out

I feel like these lines are what resonate with Sakura the most. Mana gave Sakura courage and now Sakura will sing with her own voice with pride. It’s a really simple theme. You can only do what you can do. Idoly Pride isn’t different from most shows, but I really liked how gripping episode 9 was. You can’t use something that isn’t yours. However, you must take pride in what is yours. Episode 9 captures the essence of an, “Idol’s Pride.” This episode goes to my hall of fame of favorite idol anime episodes (which Aikatsu Stars Episode 86 reins at the top).

#idoly pride #analysis