It's the last few days before the grand premiere for the Tokyo Blade stage play. This episode checks in on the different members of the cast before the first proper curtain raise.
This episode was a series of character development conversations, with not much forward plot momentum. My memory on the order of the conversations is a bit fuzzy, but I'll note the highlights here:
Aqua and Akane start off still in Director Gotanda's house. They have a conversation about why exactly they're in the industry, and Aqua admits that he's only in it to murder someone in a "haha just kidding, unless you're into it" kind of tone. To his surprise, Akane says that she would help him do it in return for him helping her outshine Kana in this play.
They both approach Director Gotanda who promises to coach them, the two of them continue these acting cram sessions until the premiere of the play.
Ruby goes to visit Aqua during rehearsal with school friend Minami, but finds that rehearsals are already over and Aqua has left. Ruby is confused as Aqua has been coming home at midnight during rehearsal days, and Minami speculates that he and Akane are just having intimate alone time together. Ruby has a surprisingly strong response to this, saying that she would be disappointed in her brother if he were to be that reckless with a young woman in the industry as she thinks of what their mother had to go through.
One of the members of the play, Sakuya Kamoshida, sees the girls outside of the rehearsal stage and proceeds to aggressively hit on Minami. Melt fabricates a lie to give the girls a chance to leave and Sakuya tears into him, calling Melt the worst actor in the play and saying that he shouldn't be there at all.
We visit the cast one last time at rehearsal, where we get more of the details between Akane and Kana's feud. Kana reveals that she found an old interview with Akane where she says that she started acting because she was a fan of Kana's as a child and got into the industry to be like her. Kana wants to beat Akane to prove that she isn't a washed-up child actor, and Akane's motivation is mostly her competitive drive compounded by how intentionally aggressive Kana is being about their little rivalry.
We rejoin everyone at the grand premiere of the stage play. The cast of Love Now has shown up to support Aqua and Akane, and Miyako, Ruby, and Director Gotanda are sitting in the friends and family area of the audience.
Akane and Kana have one last confrontation backstage in their stage costumes, both repeating that they don't plan to lose to the other. Aqua is having another panic attack in the dressing room, but steels his resolve to craft an excellent performance for the play so that he can support Akane as she tried to beat Kana.
posted by C^3 (3 comments total)
How are Kana's fits always so good? Plus she has 2-3 different outfits per episode, each of them pretty significantly different from the other.
My bias has always been towards Kana, but Akane did score some points with me with her "Say less, I'm in" response to Aqua's statement of murderous intent.
posted by C^3 at 10:02 PM on July 31