#idolish7 thoughts

[laeteria]

IDOLiSH7 Anniversary 2022 Cards: remembering their value

I'm writing this quickly, because I don't want to drop it too late. That also means I will probably miss lots of things since I'm writing this after seeing them for maybe two times, lmao. I haven't even looked at the MV enough of times, so there might be some things in there as well, but this is mainly about the cards.

I'm not sure if it's needed, but just to be safe, spoiler alert…?

— IORI

We are starting strong with our Iori, who does a lot of things behind the scenes as everyone knows by now. That's why it's interesting how all these things on his cards are preserved so well… Kind of like making it shine brightly and keeping it like that without losing its appeal. That's exactly what he wants to achieve with IDOLiSH7. At the same time, you preserve things so you can remember it like that. Imagine being locked into the past like that and not moving forward… Don't become Kujo, Iori… Even Haruka says you sound like Kujo sometimes, so please don't lose yourself in preserving the thing that might only be enjoyed in the moment.

— YAMATO

I'm not too sure, but these might be the flowers that his dad had sent him early in the series. I'm not too sure which episode it is exactly, so I can't check it… I think it shows his growth of his character and the growth of his relationship with his family. He did hate the flowers at first after all, but it seems he's comfortable around it now.

You can also see these flower arrangements in the back, also known as ikebana. A lot of thought are put into these arrangements, because you want everything to be in balance, but you also want to give the different component their own spotlight. Like I said before, there's a lot of thoughts involved. We are talking about art after all. Sometimes we forget to appreciate the mundane things in life and we tend to ignore it, but even then, we can start to like it and accept it the way it is. Just like Yamato had to accept how he was the son of Chiba Shizuo.

— MITSUKI

Mitsuki has all these taxidermy animals around him, but the goat seems to be the most prominent in the card itself (when we talk about the animals, since Mitsuki is obviously the center of the card, lol). I read that goats represent good luck, but it also made me think of the term scapegoat. Despite IDOLiSH7 thriving, Mitsuki had a hard time accepting himself in the group and it didn't help when he heard fans talking about him in a negative way, that he wasn't needed in the group. Fortunately, he did to learn to love himself and accept himself as the person he is and that he's determined to take this path.

Another thing standing out in this card are the keys next to him. You use keys to lock or unlock something. This can represent a lot like Mitsuki's insecurity he didn't want to talk about, but opening up afterwards, or it simply means to keep something a secret. It can also mean that he hasn't unlocked his potential yet and that he has the key to unlock his potential. So basically, it's up for a lot of interpretations.

— TAMAKI

Not gonna lie, but the statue reminded me of the Pietà. If you compare Michelangelo's statue (taking his as example since his one is the most well-known if I remember correctly… correct me if I'm wrong though), you will notice that the child in the card is not that big. After all, Michelangelo's Pietà depicted the virgin (Mary (mother)) to carry a full grown man (Jesus (son)) in her lap. This one seems to be right in proportion and I think it's interesting how Tamaki puts his hand on the shoulder of the statue. Maybe it represents how Tamaki has grown up and that he can support himself more than he could do before. He's able to keep his emotions better in check after all. He's able to protect too now.

We also can't forget that Tamaki has found a place to call his home and that he is no longer this pitiful child who had no family left.

— SOGO

I had to search a bit, because I had no clue what the instrument was that Sogo is holding and it definitely is important, but I discovered that it's a nyckelharpa (probably). It's a folk instrument mostly known in Sweden. Today was the day I discovered an instrument like this exists. We learn something new every day. Anyway, this instrument is not played by a lot of people nowadays. No wonder I haven't heard of it before. The instrument existed in a lot of places, but it only is played by a few places now… Kinda like Sogo's uncle who made music despite the family not supporting him. They didn't acknowledge his dream of pursuing music and only found it pathetic that he died with nothing. However, Sogo didn't think like that. He thinks his uncle lived a happy life and it was his uncle who taught Sogo about this wide music world.

So, his uncle may not have been acknowledged by the rest of the family, but he certainly lives on in Sogo's memories. Just like how the nyckelharpa is lost by the majority, but still lives on in its own small(er) number. Even if people don't remember, there will always be someone who does.

— NAGI

Nagi is surrounded by record players and music boxers, but the thing that will definitely catch your eyes is the tiny piano close to Nagi. The piano definitely is a reference to Haruki. It was him who taught Nagi not only about music, but also a lot of other things in life. I don't think a lot of people use record players nowadays, so I think it shows how Nagi still thinks of the past. I also associate music boxes with nostalgia, so that may support my interpretation of this card as well. It will forever be part of Nagi. Even if he doesn't think of his memories (of Haruki) all the time, he will definitely be reminded of it.

The fact that everything is in a good state may indicate how Nagi treasures the memories. Of course, it can also be an artistic choice (who will add something broken to an anniversary card after all), but I believe it still would have been in a good state if it wasn't for a special occasion like this one.

— RIKU

So… my interpretation of Riku is kind of similar to Iori. Both of them have to do along the lines of preserving something. If you think about it, every member has something along the lines of remembering/preserving somethings (and/or their growth), but it happens that Iori and Riku are very alike in a way. I mean, we all know how involved these two are with each other.

I know this is not a very strong point, but in Iori's card, all preserved things seem to have had a lot of human involvement. Like these ores and gems that seem to be made prettier and the butterflies and roses are preserved to keep their beauty when they were still alive. Even if that's not the case, you have to admit that Iori's card seem to be far more "polished" than Riku's card. Better said, the dinosaur bones behind Riku don't have something you will be attracted to immediately. Fossils are made by nature without the interference of humans. Does this mean that Riku will grow out to something big, even without the help of others? As how the story currently goes, it isn't that weird to think so. Riku will shine and catch the attention of many, even without the help others since he's one brilliant being.

And that's everything for today again. I got tired, so it may not make a lot of sense, but I hope it made you think at least in a way or another. Thank you for reading and thank you for sticking around if you're a frequent visitor of this blog of mine ₍₍ ◝(●˙꒳˙●)◜ ₎₎

[laeteria]

IDOLiSH7: Third Beat! Part 2: Episode 1

I've watched the first episode of the new season of IDOLiSH7 finally! I've decided to write down my thoughts on every episode when I've watched, so it won't be too much in depth since I'm writing this after watching it only one time. I will try to connect things as the anime progresses though!

Okay, I basically know what will happen, but the first episode was so intense…!? I already knew that part 2 will show the nasty side of the connections in the idol industry, but wow… I applaud TROYCA once again for another masterpiece of an episode.

I wanted to say that not a lot has happened this episode and that it was all introductory, but in reality, a lot has happened this episode alone. Continuing with the TRIGGER drama from part 1, we see the result of the scandal in a more noticeable way. The fans are unsure, but so are TRIGGER and Yaotome Production. Like they often said in the episode, they need to hold their head up high, otherwise they will be taken more advantage of.

Even though Yaotome papa knows he's walking straight into Tsukumo's trap by visiting Hanamaki Sumire at the hotel, he still puts another person's life above his own reputation. You will see that he isn't actually a bad person and that he actually cares a lot. I mean… Gaku sure resembles his dad. Maybe also that part with the popularity of the ladies, right? 🥴

Jokes aside, Yaotome puts his people above everything else, even if it's damaging to his own reputation of a label. You will see more of this later in story, but I won't go too much into it right now.

After that scene, we jump to a scene with Kujo and Tenn, which I think is really neat (and iconic tbh). While Yaotome says nothing is worth risking a person's life, Kujo is someone to actually play with the life of people and Tenn confronts him about it. These two scenes are the opposite of each other and that's what makes the scenes more powerful.

Tenn who's acquainted with Kujo and Yaotome, works with two different views. I already explained last season that Tenn has to make a choice at one point and this scene brings that kind of to the front again. He has to choose something. He can't choose both, since they are basically the opposite of each other. Anyway, this scene was good.

Also, kudos to this scene because I nearly teared up and for what… The voice acting, the soundtrack, the whole composition of this part… I had to watch it again, but maybe I'm saying that as a Momorin oshi. Momo will have his time to shine (quite literally hehe) this season as well, so let's look forward to that together, shall we? ;)

ABOUT THE ENDING SONG…

The ending song is an absolute BANGER btw. Not too fond of the opening, since I'm not a fan of Ayase's music (the MV is cute tho, but I won't ever analyse the MV because of the song itself). I already said that I expected ZOOL to take the ending song, since TRIGGER had the ending song in part 1 and since TRIGGER is getting pushed out of the picture, we are getting ZOOL.

It's very interesting to see how all members rather seem very disconnected from the idol world, except Minami who had been working in the industry since he was small, so I guess you can say he knows how to catch the attention of people.

Compared to PLACES, this ending shows how ZOOL is not a group yet. PLACES showed how tight TRIGGER actually is and how they look out for each other, but ZOOL? They don't look at each other nor do they actually look straight at the camera until the last part of the ending. Even if they look at the camera, most of the time they are covered by these chains or bars, so you can say that they are behind bars/chained up. They are not free just yet. Everything is directed and their own feelings have not been taken under consideration.

Especially this sequence above shows how they don't care and that they are still looking for the group/person they want to be. Haruka is noticeable in the dark compared to the rest of the members and I think it's because Haruka is not ready to face his issues… He's a frail boy after all.

OKAY, TIME TO WRAP IT UP. I will see you guys hopefully next week again.

[laeteria]

Scenes Aninana S2

Originally written on 13 December 2021.

I skipped through IDOLiSH7: Second Beat to talk about some scenes in the anime, so you don't have to do it yourself.

Kind of obvious, but there are spoilers under the cut!!

EP3: Iori's decision

The main topic of this episode is changing IDOLiSH7's center. Riku has some health problems that keeps him from doing his best, but that means that they need to work around it.

Tsumugi suggests to Iori to change center, but Iori stubbornly says he doesn't want to change center, because Nanase Riku is the center of IDOLiSH7.

Some things happen and at the end of the episode, Iori goes to Tsumugi to say that he wants to change centers.

Iori is standing in the dark, while Tsumugi is standing in the light. I take it as Tsumugi being the rational option here, while Iori being the "bad" option in this case.

I also want to say that you can see the exit sign above the door (the green light), and I think that's supposed to symbolizes the fact that Iori won't be running away from this problem anymore. This can be supported by the fact that he steps towards the light.

EP4: the talk between Yuki and Yamato

We have known about Yamato wanting to take revenge since S1, but more context than that was never before this scene. Yuki obviously knows what Yamato is planning and he tries to talk him out of it.

At one point their reflection will be shown in the cutlery. Yuki's reflection in the spoon, while Yamato's in the knife.

It's a well done scene, because a spoon is used to support. Yuki never really straight out tells Yamato to stop what he's doing, but he makes him think about the path he's taking. A knife is also a great support, but you have to handle it with care. Yamato is a very talented individual, but one wrong move and he can hurt you…

EP5: confrontation between the twins

I want to talk about this particular shot of Riku and Tenn. Tenn is visiting I7's dorm, but for some reason he's seated, while Riku is on the ground and it's Riku's room???

That actually makes a lot of sense, because Tenn is TRIGGER's center, but also Riku's brother. Riku simply looks up to Tenn a lot and that's probably the simple reason.

But… why does Tenn look more comfortable than Riku? It's as if Tenn is in his own room and I thought about the following: what if Tenn is already comfortable with his position, while Riku still needs support?

The scarf that Riku is wearing is actually Tenn's scarf, but that can also symbolizes Tenn wanting to protect Riku. The actual scene is pretty depressing and you will think that Tenn is a bad brother, but he really is doing it all out of good will.

He doesn't want to see Riku being hurt. To protect him, he had to show the harsh side of this idol path as well, so Riku could be sure of his own decision.

EP6: Mitsuki's wavering resolve

This scene is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in this season. When Mitsuki thinks everything is going well and when he's rewarding himself, he sadly overhears people talking bad about him.

We immediately go to this black and white shot, because at that moment, the only thing that went through his mind were these hurtful words. As if it couldn't get worse, the shopkeeper asks him if he's Mitsuki from IDOLiSH7.

If you have watched the episode, you know that Mitsuki said to Nagi that he thinks he can say proudly that he's Mitsuki from IDOLiSH7… but he couldn't.

Mitsuki ran and ran. In this scene, he runs past these discount boards, that symbolizes how Mitsuki sees himself. He believes that he's not good enough compared to the rest. He's "cheaper" than the rest, so he's only an extra. It also zooms in on these trashcans, but I think it's obvious what's meant with that.

Mitsuki stops before some stairs. He falls on his knees and cries. Why isn't he good enough? What does his character add to the group? He thinks about all these things, but the only thing he has to do is to keep going.

He doesn't walk up the stairs. Stairs are easy to walk on, but there was an invisible barrier blocking Mitsuki from doing so. It's a simple task and yet he couldn't do it…

You really have to watch this scene, because it really makes your heart hurt so much.

EP6: Momo's worry

I wrote about this before, but long story short, the box and the cake represent Re:vale.

"Consume withing 5 days" is a reference to the 5 years that Momo spends with Yuki.

"Individual packages will have seperate dates" refers to Momo and Yuki, because Momo is not a member of the original Re:vale and thus he has a different "expiration date".

EP7: Mitsuki's breakdown

Nagi notices Mitsuki being down, so he wants to talk with Mitsuki. Mitsuki pretends to be okay, while he obviously isn't, but in the end he tells Nagi about his problems.

Notice that Mitsuki is standing in the shadow, while Nagi is standing in the light. Rather than pulling Mitsuki to the light, Nagi goes to Mitsuki.

Nagi accepts Mitsuki as the person he is, even if Mitsuki isn't the happy Mitsuki he knows. Nagi wants to carry Mitsuki's pain with him.

Also, this scene contains orange and yellow, aka Mitsuki's and Nagi's image colours. They really thought everything out.

EP10: Re:vale's past

Yuki was devastated after his old partner left him. When Yuki read his letter, see how the there's a lot of light coming from the window, but Yuki himself is still pretty dark compared to the rest. At that moment, the light of his world had left him.

He's leaving his light behind and this has to represent his passion for music. He is unable to keep doing the thing he loves, because the light is not the same.

When Momo starts bothering Yuki, you will see the light behind Yuki, but before Yuki another light appeared (Momo).

When Yuki finally accepts Momo's request, the whole colour scheme will turn light and it leaves a very hopeful feeling. The dark and depressing setting has been changed by simply changing the light.

This scene is very sweet as well and also probably one of my favourite scenes in the anime.

[laeteria]

Yamato talk with Momo and Yuki (S3EP5)

Originally written on 29 August 2021.

I was watching this scene and I just had to write about it. The visual representation is done greatly in the anime after all.

SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

I want to talk about the scene where Yamato is standing in the elevator. If you have watched IDOLiSH7 you know about the difficult situation that our boys are facing.

At this point in the story, Yamato has lost his resolve to take revenge. He wants to take revenge, because that's the reason why he became an idol, but his inner self doesn't want to, because it would cause trouble for the other members. He grew to like IDOLiSH7. Something he did not expect.

He is facing the mirror, because he talks to himself. Yamato himself represents his real self, while the reflection is supposed to be the fake Yamato (the one who wants revenge).

It's also worthy to write about the fact that he's afraid to look at himself. This whole story long, it's no secret that Yamato hides behind his glasses. If his real self is supposed to be behind his glasses, that means he's afraid to look at his current self or he's afraid to face his real ambitions that is shining through.

He knows he is doing the wrong thing, but he also knows that it isn't something that can be resolved easily.

We also get a shot of the button panel of the elevator and it's not random. The highest floor is 4, but he goes to B2, the lowest floor. It represents Yamato's life kinda, because he is at the lowest point of his life in this scene.

When the elevator opens, Momo appears. Momo tries to talk to him, but Yamato ends up saying hurtful things to Momo. Momo tells him that he doesn't mind and he says that Yamato isn't his normal self.

I think it's great that Momo is the one to appear. He does knows how it feels to lose your goal and he also saw someone else in their lowest point of life and he helped them.

When Yamato steps out of the elevator, he sits down on the ground, another way to show that he's at the lowest point in life.

Take note of the exit right next to him. Just a few steps away, but Yamato can't take the last few steps. He's afraid to tell the others the truth, but he's so close to telling them at the same time.

Yamato thinks that he's alone this whole time, but that's when Momo gets lower to the ground as well. A gesture of "I'm being there for you", "I want to listen to you", "you are not alone".

The next words that Momo says is something that Momo couldn't realize himself earlier in the story. He knows that Yamato is afraid to face his problems, but Momo knows its even more painful when you keep everything to yourself.

This is not something big and super straightforward, but I still think this scene means so much to Yamato's character.

He finally laughed and as you can see, Momo was surprised to see him laugh. It's not a confident one, but a genuine one.

If you think about the fact that Yamato is someone who's really good at hiding his emotions, this scene will definitely hit on another level.

It's also the first time that he let himself look so vulnerable in front of someone else. It was a total new sight, but one that will make us understand Yamato more.

Next scene is one with Yuki. Yamato finally let out his worries in front of Yuki, something he wouldn't have done some time ago.

Actually, Yamato doesn't want to rely on people, especially not someone as Yuki, who's pretty close to his father.

Anyway, Yamato talks about him joining IDOLiSH7 for revenge, but the longer he spent his time with them, the less he wanted to continue with his revenge.

The yellow roses in the scene are also not random. Yellow roses are supposed to showcase happy feelings, but also friendship. Something you can relate to IDOLiSH7, right?

Yellow roses once meant jealousy and greed and what is Yamato feeling in this scene? Jealousy. Yamato is the bud that hasn't bloomed yet. He (the bud) thinks he doesn't deserve the happiness, even though the others around him (the blooming roses) consider him as someone pleasant to be around with.

Yamato doesn't recognize his own worth, but once he will, his rose will also start to bloom like no other. It takes time for him to bloom, but he will get there.

[laeteria]

ZOOL getting the ending song for the 2nd cour was totally expected, because TRIGGER is getting pushed out of the picture like I already explained before in one of my previous posts. Though, ZOOL's ending seems to be a bit interesting as well when it comes to visuals 👀

I'm extremely busy when it comes to university stuff, so I'm not sure when I will be able to write about the episodes and stuff, but I will try to manage 🙇‍♂️