Rating: A-
Much of the story territory covered by this episode was also dealt with in the last regular episode of the live-action TV version, but I infinitely prefer this version of how Kana’s potential scandal is handled. That’s because this version both provides a lot more context and portrays Kana in a way much more in line with her established character.
To be fair, the scandal hasn’t entirely played out yet; by the end of the episode, Kana’s only been approached by a reporter and made aware that she was photographed leaving Shima’s office and Strawberry Productions has also become aware of the situation, so we’re only seeing initial reactions and not the actual release of anything accusatory; so far, the potential accusations are only in Kana’s head. And her immediate reaction is the kind of one which would be expected from an 18-year-old, even a notably industry-savvy one. The most interesting part of this is that Kana’s quickest thought is about how this would negatively affect B Komachi, not herself, but this isn’t a surprise or at all inconsistent; we’ve always seen her in the headspace of worrying about how her own perceived failures affect others.
Conspicuously, Miyako doesn’t panic; she just laments that this is going to be trouble. This could be her greater experience or because of the point made during Ruby’s earlier ruminations in the dressing room: that scandals in the entertainment industry aren’t necessarily the complete career-killers they once were. This is bolstered by a few real-life cases in recent years of individuals in the anime and manga realms who have managed to continue despite scandals that have even extended to legal issues. Ironically, the same social media flood which has made these scandals so much more difficult to hide is also making it easier for entertainers to survive them, as individual scandals don’t stick out so much anymore with so many of them now out there.
That’s not even factoring into Kana’s thought processes at this point – and the fact that it isn’t makes Kana’s scream late in the episode all the more triumphant. Kana has felt like the deck was stacked against her ever since the waning years of her time as a child star, and that’s made her more resilient than most give her credit for. She hardly immune to feeling inadequate, depressed, or even despair, but her sass isn’t artifice. And frankly, I think she hates the fact that she used memories of Aqua to bail herself out in the incident in Shima’s office and is ashamed that she’s starting to do that again. Her rant after her scream is a powerful declaration of self, and easily my favorite scene of the series so far this season.
While that’s the main feature of the episode, there are other ominous moments at its end. Akane is starting to get closer to a possibly-dangerous truth, and someone mysterious in an alley is tracking someone – maybe her? And is that Hikaru Kamiki? We’ll have to find out more about that and how Strawberry Productions handles the impending scandal next episode.
USA Anime 