@various people – last week wasn’t really drama so much as willfully ignoring work. not that any of our delays have ever been drama-related.
i have so many things i want to say about this week’s ep, but i fear ruining things almost as much as i fear incredibly long train of thought posts.
i will ATTEMPT to sum up my thoughts with this:
21:35 – “onee-chan!”
maybe i’ll try again in a couple days.
I wish they would’ve expanded a bit more on the topic. A single episode for her miraculously recovering her voice/will to sing sounds really -extremely- rushed to me. But, that’s just my opinion. Guess I’ll have to get the games, heh.
“Thank you for episode”
CHIHAYA!!!! LOLI CHIHAYA!!!!!!
Sorry, I was a bit distracted. Quick release this time unlike last week, I’m guessing Daiz’s skyrim fervor wore off after a week of hardcore addicting?
>Daiz’s skyrim fervor
It was Kusion’s skyrim fervor in combination with his turn to typeset the episode that delayed the release last week. I’ve finished my typesetting jobs before the script translation finishes for multiple episodes in a row now and I’m the one who’s had the most amount of stuff to typeset with this series.
I’m guessing that all the guys in UTW was soooo moved with chihaya that they released this very early.
still torrenting this. and I’m looking forward to some emo past.
Guess most of those who have been bitching about Chihaya’s ongoing “emo” subplot these past few weeks should now be pacified with her most beautiful and cheerful smile. 🙂
The pacing is perfect guys, it’s been foreshadowed since the 1st episode if you can notice it at all.
Honestly though it is very impressive how they could do on one episode, shows when you love what you’re making, it’s hard to turn in into shit.
I loved this episode, had me in tears. T^T
[spoiler]Most of all I loved how the girls came out to sing with Chihaya, and when she finally joined in, it was just too overwhelming. Simply amazing.[/spoiler]
@Tsukino: Actually, this episode managed to squeeze in the most Haruka/Producer scenes thus far. I even dare to say this episode was as much Haruka’s as it was Chihaya’s.
hmhmhm, i enjoyed it. the kuroi director plan has been started to cracked. man, i really want to say this right in front of his face :
[spoiler]you done well in playing the bad guys parts to make our idol getting stronger, peon. now do us a favor and dissapear already since you already done your purpose trash[/spoiler]
next time, i want to see him in jail
[spoiler show=”okay, here we go!”]
chihaya essay time!
i was SLIGHTLY disappointed this all ended in 1 ep. between haruka’s doubts about her ability to lead the other girls (her story flag) and chihaya’s flashbacks about the time she spent with her brother, this could easily have turned into a much darker, deeper story than a one-shot “i release you from your pain!” ending. i guess not everyone likes dark psychological plot lines though ^^; should be glad they didn’t end chihaya’s story with aoi tori (AGAIN) like in ep 4. that song seriously needs to be retired.
a lot of people said they ‘started to tear up’ or ‘got a little sad’ after this ep. you people are crazy. over the 10 or so hours and several full reviewings as we worked on this show, i was crying so hard my throat hurt (and still hurts a little as i write this, actually.) i still can’t watch it without tightening up in the throat/stomach.
i kept rewatching the last 4 or 5 minutes long after we released. over and over, the breath caught in my throat every time the music stopped… and then chihaya sings. i cheered with producer, (‘YES!!!’ /echo, /echo, /echo) and when i saw the flush on chihaya’s cheeks as she lets everything go and just enjoys singing, i can’t help but think that her soul has been saved. in a religious, spiritual, or whatever sense you can think of. really, an angel pulled out of hell.
as someone with a relatively weak family ties, one of the other points that hit me was the relationship between chihaya and yuu. they are absolutely GLUED to one another. especially during the ED sequence, when the two of them are running amok in the office and in town, holding hands the whole time. i have no doubt that if yuu were alive at this point in the show’s timeline, he’d be the biggest sis-con we’ve ever seen. chihaya’s facial experession while she sang to cheer yuu up after his water balloon went splat was adorable, too. three cheers for dancing chibi loli chihaya.
finally, i really appreciated the use of the setting in this episode. the second time we see chihaya growing mold in her apartment, i actually thought my video had frozen. but you can hear the faucet drip now and again. the setting feels totally devoid of entropy. her cell phone sits out where she can see it, a classic sign that she’s waiting for someone to show her they need her. but nothing moves. when haruka comes to talk to chihaya’s door, did you notice it’s always sunset? looking out towards the door from inside chihaya’s apartment, there’s a ray of sun beaming into the darkness. it’s really touching. even the transition from using the intercom to just talking through the door (chihaya probably doesn’t have the energy to lift the receiver) was so pathetic… while i normally think no more of haruka than any other generic ukkari-ko heroine, i really connected with her when she and chihaya are waiting to go onstage at the end. she’s just so happy her (best?) friend is back, she can’t even form words when chihaya thanks her.
i don’t know what they plan to do for haruka’s story, but i hope they have some sort of ace in the hole. gonna be hard to top the wave that ended with this ep.
thank you, everyone, for loving chihaya T-T
[/spoiler]
i forgot, in my essay-ness, to pop out the alternate (spoiler) release pic.
still can’t believe they only used this frame for a single second. http://i.imgur.com/822uN.jpg
@TruePsyche You mention a lot about the episode, but what about the actual game’s plot? is it developed to the point where we get to see much more of every idol, or is it just about trying to make them famous no matter what?
@TruePsyche You mention a lot about the episode, but what about the actual game’s plot? is it developed to the point where we get to see much more of every idol, or is it just about trying to make them famous no matter what? also, 403 on your pic sir.
Workaround for the pic: when you get the 403 error, go into the address bar, delete the ending characters, retype, and resubmit it. It should process successfully.
Great write-up summarizing your thoughts, TruePsyche.
The other thing which I’m surprised to no one has mentioned so far – really try to put yourself in to Chihaya’s position and imagine what she’s feeling as she hears her friends ‘save’ her. The lyrics really speak to her (as they should, since they were designed for her after all).
Said it earlier but I will say it again – I really, really, really wish all the episodes could have been made to this kind of standard. Oh well.
Haruka/Miki/Chihaya ending?
@trolololol/aidolon – actually, when i get the 403, if i just go up and select the url again and hit enter, it works. no deleting or retyping. although, if you know the 403 is coming, copy/paste instead of clicking the link or retyping works just as well. retyping randomized sequences of letters/numbers isn’t very high on my priority list, though.
@leo@uhw – [spoiler show=”pop for game essay”]P-san’s job is to make 765’s idols #1 in the business. he starts out with no real personal feelings towards them beyond “let’s be friends so i can guide you to the top.” in the cases i followed from iM@S1 and in every route in iM@S2, along the way the leader of your unit will have some sort of personal crisis. P-san guides them through their crisis, proving his DNA desirable, and activating rabu-rabu flags. approached by a cute loli in heat, P-san will be flustered, but either promise to devote his future producing career to making his idol successful, or in some cases (miki’s/hibiki’s) will be dragged around by the idol’s aggressiveness.
there are actually very few ‘story’ scenes in the games. most of the direct interaction you get with your idols comes from the various ‘work’ mini-games, where you advise your idol on how to make the event/recording etc a success. there are 4-5 story events per idol for each run-through, each related to their one crisis.
examples below are untranslated. sorry. i’ve included a brief summary instead.
work event: chihaya shows an unexpected side- http://bit.ly/uzzHvX
asked by the director during a tv show recording session, chihaya is forced to come up with some way to get viewers to laugh. panicked, chihaya asks P-san for advice. P-san suggests she go with purposely lame/overdone puns. VERY unexpectedly, it turns out P-san’s examples hit her funny bone. cute <3
work event: chihaya with dere flags up- http://bit.ly/s6OEDb
at a meet&greet event for a voice job they've just finished, chihaya seeks out P-san and reveals that she doesn't feel comfortable talking to so many people in such an extravagant setting. P-san suggests she go and introduce herself, but chihaya states that she'd rather stay alone with P-san (1:40). P-san, in work mode, chooses to go make his rounds and, seeing the shadow fall over chihaya's face, invites her to go with him. chihaya is delighted.
story event: chihaya loses her voice (pre-apex; 40th week)- http://bit.ly/rrbTME
upon learning that P-san will leave her unit to study producing in Hollywood for a year should they win the Idol Academy Grand Prix (iM@S2's version of Top Idol,) chihaya has a flashback to when she lost her little brother. her voice, speaking voice included, vanishes. though her voice returns once she calms down, her doctor informs P-san that singing all of this time has put a tremendous strain on her throat. should she continue to sing, the damage would become irreparable, forcing her to quit singing forever. chihaya is now stuck between terrible choices: win the IA Grand Prix and lose contact with P-san, possibly forever (there's no guarantee he can be her producer when he returns,) and sing until her voice breaks, or lose her reason for living by not singing and allowing her throat to heal.
story event: chihaya loses her voice (climax; 53rd week)- http://bit.ly/vqnOBJ
chihaya continues to sing, eventually breaking out in a terrible fever. her doctor informs P-san that her voice has passed the point of no return. learning the truth, chihaya decides to sing until she drops, as long as they can win the IA Grand Prix. she tells P-san (10:50) that, broken as she is, her one hope is to use her dying voice to propel him to Hollywood and greater fame and glory. she asks him to take her dream with him when he goes.
so as you can see, the way they used her story is quite different. her background is 100% the same. the same goes for all the other idols. oh, miki's story in the game is pretty similar, though.
[/spoiler]
@aidolon – there really isn't much drama in iM@S' story besides chihaya ^^; haruka is worried she can't lead the other idols. miki doesn't have any goal in being an idol. yukiho isn't confident in herself. hibiki is lonely so far away from okinawa. nothing with the punch of "my brother got hit by a car and i lost my voice."
i'll probably keep remembering things i didn't put up in my first essay, but here's one: i wish they'd shown chibilolichihaya releasing chihaya's hand when she goes back to stand with yuu. kind of a 'you don't need my help anymore. go! fly!' kind of gesture.
@TruePsyche THERE WAS NO NEED TO SPOIL THE WHOLE CHIHAYA ROUTE!
Hah, no, I’m joking. I probably won’t be able to get this game anyways. And even if I did, I know 0% Japanese, so the insight on the plot is highly appreciated. For what it’s worth, I considered this game really bad out of ignorance, doesn’t sound all that bad after all.
Don’t worry, America as a whole is ignorantly bias. Well, people in general are ignorantly bias but especially America; I don’t know why so many of us are surprise that many countries hate us.
I loved this episode, and I did tear up on the end. Interesting summary you have there, TruePsyche. A part of me just feels bad that I can’t really put much more emotion on what I’m watching.
I gotta say that I wasn’t that fired up about this show at the beginning, cuz I’m more into shows with heavy plots and twists, but ever since the last 7 episodes or so I’ve been really interested in it for some reason and this episode made me emotional at the end, there are very few series that make me feel like that, as I’m a little cold for these things from my POV 🙁
Anyways, thanks for your work guys, I really appreciate it!
Thanks for such a fast sub. You’re the only group that subs this show quickly and I love you guys for it!
Thanks
“Before suffering”
Thanks guys for such fast work for this episode. Glad last weeks drama didn’t carry over to this week.
Quick as a flash this time, Thanks!
IROHA FUCKING HERE?!
That release pic..!
Awesome
@various people – last week wasn’t really drama so much as willfully ignoring work. not that any of our delays have ever been drama-related.
i have so many things i want to say about this week’s ep, but i fear ruining things almost as much as i fear incredibly long train of thought posts.
i will ATTEMPT to sum up my thoughts with this:
21:35 – “onee-chan!”
maybe i’ll try again in a couple days.
This ep made me a little sad ;_; Great release like always 😀
I wish they would’ve expanded a bit more on the topic. A single episode for her miraculously recovering her voice/will to sing sounds really -extremely- rushed to me. But, that’s just my opinion. Guess I’ll have to get the games, heh.
“Thank you for episode”
what a tearful episode that was. gah. thank you for the release!
CHIHAYA MAJI TENSHI
Thanks!
CHIHAYA!!!! LOLI CHIHAYA!!!!!!
Sorry, I was a bit distracted. Quick release this time unlike last week, I’m guessing Daiz’s skyrim fervor wore off after a week of hardcore addicting?
>Daiz’s skyrim fervor
It was Kusion’s skyrim fervor in combination with his turn to typeset the episode that delayed the release last week. I’ve finished my typesetting jobs before the script translation finishes for multiple episodes in a row now and I’m the one who’s had the most amount of stuff to typeset with this series.
best episode……EVER =_=
>Daiz
>Boasting about speed
>Still has a huge backlog of delayed episodes to get through.
Oh okay.
best episode so far, the remaining episode can never beat this episode i think, SUPERB
Best episode of the series, bar none. Thanks for the fast sub this time around!
I’m guessing that all the guys in UTW was soooo moved with chihaya that they released this very early.
still torrenting this. and I’m looking forward to some emo past.
For some reason I’m gonna love this episode, Chihaya is one of my favorite characters
Godly episode.
Guess most of those who have been bitching about Chihaya’s ongoing “emo” subplot these past few weeks should now be pacified with her most beautiful and cheerful smile. 🙂
I’m not satisfied. everything was rushed. I just know it.
Fantastic episode. Wish all the episodes could be made to this standard.
Yo, I cried. WHAT’S REAL GOOD?
Rushed? Maybe. Awesome? YES! Pretty good ep for my homegirl Haruka, too.
TruePsyche, your iM@S release blog posts are excellent. Really enjoyed this episode — think I teared up a little.
Chihaya T^T this episode was godlike.
Best Episode!
thank you so much for subbing this episode so fast, best one so far :’)
I was totally not expecting the powerful ending to the episode. It caught me by surprise.
yeah this is THE BEST episode! and that ending…wow i got tears on me, thank you sooo much for this release! :’)
The pacing is perfect guys, it’s been foreshadowed since the 1st episode if you can notice it at all.
Honestly though it is very impressive how they could do on one episode, shows when you love what you’re making, it’s hard to turn in into shit.
>266.6 MB FILE
>said it wasn’t going to 10bit
suspicion, sorry.
Ahhh such a good episode with perfect ending.
The way this is turning into a show about Chihaya is starting to annoy me. -_-
Dang… such a great episode I just about cried with Chihaya.
I loved this episode, had me in tears. T^T
[spoiler]Most of all I loved how the girls came out to sing with Chihaya, and when she finally joined in, it was just too overwhelming. Simply amazing.[/spoiler]
goddamn! i got a goosebumps when i heard Chihaya sing….. T_T
@E.J.
1000% Agreed with everything.
@Tsukino: Actually, this episode managed to squeeze in the most Haruka/Producer scenes thus far. I even dare to say this episode was as much Haruka’s as it was Chihaya’s.
hmhmhm, i enjoyed it. the kuroi director plan has been started to cracked. man, i really want to say this right in front of his face :
[spoiler]you done well in playing the bad guys parts to make our idol getting stronger, peon. now do us a favor and dissapear already since you already done your purpose trash[/spoiler]
next time, i want to see him in jail
[spoiler show=”okay, here we go!”]
chihaya essay time!
i was SLIGHTLY disappointed this all ended in 1 ep. between haruka’s doubts about her ability to lead the other girls (her story flag) and chihaya’s flashbacks about the time she spent with her brother, this could easily have turned into a much darker, deeper story than a one-shot “i release you from your pain!” ending. i guess not everyone likes dark psychological plot lines though ^^; should be glad they didn’t end chihaya’s story with aoi tori (AGAIN) like in ep 4. that song seriously needs to be retired.
a lot of people said they ‘started to tear up’ or ‘got a little sad’ after this ep. you people are crazy. over the 10 or so hours and several full reviewings as we worked on this show, i was crying so hard my throat hurt (and still hurts a little as i write this, actually.) i still can’t watch it without tightening up in the throat/stomach.
i kept rewatching the last 4 or 5 minutes long after we released. over and over, the breath caught in my throat every time the music stopped… and then chihaya sings. i cheered with producer, (‘YES!!!’ /echo, /echo, /echo) and when i saw the flush on chihaya’s cheeks as she lets everything go and just enjoys singing, i can’t help but think that her soul has been saved. in a religious, spiritual, or whatever sense you can think of. really, an angel pulled out of hell.
as someone with a relatively weak family ties, one of the other points that hit me was the relationship between chihaya and yuu. they are absolutely GLUED to one another. especially during the ED sequence, when the two of them are running amok in the office and in town, holding hands the whole time. i have no doubt that if yuu were alive at this point in the show’s timeline, he’d be the biggest sis-con we’ve ever seen. chihaya’s facial experession while she sang to cheer yuu up after his water balloon went splat was adorable, too. three cheers for dancing chibi loli chihaya.
finally, i really appreciated the use of the setting in this episode. the second time we see chihaya growing mold in her apartment, i actually thought my video had frozen. but you can hear the faucet drip now and again. the setting feels totally devoid of entropy. her cell phone sits out where she can see it, a classic sign that she’s waiting for someone to show her they need her. but nothing moves. when haruka comes to talk to chihaya’s door, did you notice it’s always sunset? looking out towards the door from inside chihaya’s apartment, there’s a ray of sun beaming into the darkness. it’s really touching. even the transition from using the intercom to just talking through the door (chihaya probably doesn’t have the energy to lift the receiver) was so pathetic… while i normally think no more of haruka than any other generic ukkari-ko heroine, i really connected with her when she and chihaya are waiting to go onstage at the end. she’s just so happy her (best?) friend is back, she can’t even form words when chihaya thanks her.
i don’t know what they plan to do for haruka’s story, but i hope they have some sort of ace in the hole. gonna be hard to top the wave that ended with this ep.
thank you, everyone, for loving chihaya T-T
[/spoiler]
i forgot, in my essay-ness, to pop out the alternate (spoiler) release pic.
still can’t believe they only used this frame for a single second.
http://i.imgur.com/822uN.jpg
@TruePsyche
NOOOOO Image forbidden ;_; now I’m curious
@TruePsyche You mention a lot about the episode, but what about the actual game’s plot? is it developed to the point where we get to see much more of every idol, or is it just about trying to make them famous no matter what?
@TruePsyche You mention a lot about the episode, but what about the actual game’s plot? is it developed to the point where we get to see much more of every idol, or is it just about trying to make them famous no matter what? also, 403 on your pic sir.
protip: don’t press submit twice.
Workaround for the pic: when you get the 403 error, go into the address bar, delete the ending characters, retype, and resubmit it. It should process successfully.
Great write-up summarizing your thoughts, TruePsyche.
The other thing which I’m surprised to no one has mentioned so far – really try to put yourself in to Chihaya’s position and imagine what she’s feeling as she hears her friends ‘save’ her. The lyrics really speak to her (as they should, since they were designed for her after all).
Said it earlier but I will say it again – I really, really, really wish all the episodes could have been made to this kind of standard. Oh well.
Haruka/Miki/Chihaya ending?
@trolololol/aidolon – actually, when i get the 403, if i just go up and select the url again and hit enter, it works. no deleting or retyping. although, if you know the 403 is coming, copy/paste instead of clicking the link or retyping works just as well. retyping randomized sequences of letters/numbers isn’t very high on my priority list, though.
@leo@uhw – [spoiler show=”pop for game essay”]P-san’s job is to make 765’s idols #1 in the business. he starts out with no real personal feelings towards them beyond “let’s be friends so i can guide you to the top.” in the cases i followed from iM@S1 and in every route in iM@S2, along the way the leader of your unit will have some sort of personal crisis. P-san guides them through their crisis, proving his DNA desirable, and activating rabu-rabu flags. approached by a cute loli in heat, P-san will be flustered, but either promise to devote his future producing career to making his idol successful, or in some cases (miki’s/hibiki’s) will be dragged around by the idol’s aggressiveness.
there are actually very few ‘story’ scenes in the games. most of the direct interaction you get with your idols comes from the various ‘work’ mini-games, where you advise your idol on how to make the event/recording etc a success. there are 4-5 story events per idol for each run-through, each related to their one crisis.
examples below are untranslated. sorry. i’ve included a brief summary instead.
work event: chihaya shows an unexpected side- http://bit.ly/uzzHvX
asked by the director during a tv show recording session, chihaya is forced to come up with some way to get viewers to laugh. panicked, chihaya asks P-san for advice. P-san suggests she go with purposely lame/overdone puns. VERY unexpectedly, it turns out P-san’s examples hit her funny bone. cute <3
work event: chihaya with dere flags up- http://bit.ly/s6OEDb
at a meet&greet event for a voice job they've just finished, chihaya seeks out P-san and reveals that she doesn't feel comfortable talking to so many people in such an extravagant setting. P-san suggests she go and introduce herself, but chihaya states that she'd rather stay alone with P-san (1:40). P-san, in work mode, chooses to go make his rounds and, seeing the shadow fall over chihaya's face, invites her to go with him. chihaya is delighted.
story event: chihaya loses her voice (pre-apex; 40th week)- http://bit.ly/rrbTME
upon learning that P-san will leave her unit to study producing in Hollywood for a year should they win the Idol Academy Grand Prix (iM@S2's version of Top Idol,) chihaya has a flashback to when she lost her little brother. her voice, speaking voice included, vanishes. though her voice returns once she calms down, her doctor informs P-san that singing all of this time has put a tremendous strain on her throat. should she continue to sing, the damage would become irreparable, forcing her to quit singing forever. chihaya is now stuck between terrible choices: win the IA Grand Prix and lose contact with P-san, possibly forever (there's no guarantee he can be her producer when he returns,) and sing until her voice breaks, or lose her reason for living by not singing and allowing her throat to heal.
story event: chihaya loses her voice (climax; 53rd week)- http://bit.ly/vqnOBJ
chihaya continues to sing, eventually breaking out in a terrible fever. her doctor informs P-san that her voice has passed the point of no return. learning the truth, chihaya decides to sing until she drops, as long as they can win the IA Grand Prix. she tells P-san (10:50) that, broken as she is, her one hope is to use her dying voice to propel him to Hollywood and greater fame and glory. she asks him to take her dream with him when he goes.
so as you can see, the way they used her story is quite different. her background is 100% the same. the same goes for all the other idols. oh, miki's story in the game is pretty similar, though.
[/spoiler]
@aidolon – there really isn't much drama in iM@S' story besides chihaya ^^; haruka is worried she can't lead the other idols. miki doesn't have any goal in being an idol. yukiho isn't confident in herself. hibiki is lonely so far away from okinawa. nothing with the punch of "my brother got hit by a car and i lost my voice."
i'll probably keep remembering things i didn't put up in my first essay, but here's one: i wish they'd shown chibilolichihaya releasing chihaya's hand when she goes back to stand with yuu. kind of a 'you don't need my help anymore. go! fly!' kind of gesture.
@TruePsyche THERE WAS NO NEED TO SPOIL THE WHOLE CHIHAYA ROUTE!
Hah, no, I’m joking. I probably won’t be able to get this game anyways. And even if I did, I know 0% Japanese, so the insight on the plot is highly appreciated. For what it’s worth, I considered this game really bad out of ignorance, doesn’t sound all that bad after all.
i puked rainbow ~
Don’t worry, America as a whole is ignorantly bias. Well, people in general are ignorantly bias but especially America; I don’t know why so many of us are surprise that many countries hate us.
I loved this episode, and I did tear up on the end. Interesting summary you have there, TruePsyche. A part of me just feels bad that I can’t really put much more emotion on what I’m watching.
@Aa, maybe they don’t know why we hate America because they’re ignorant.
Is this an original song for the anime? Because I can’t find any information about it anywhere.
if you’re referring to 約束/Yakusoku/Promise, then yes, it’s an anime original.
I gotta say that I wasn’t that fired up about this show at the beginning, cuz I’m more into shows with heavy plots and twists, but ever since the last 7 episodes or so I’ve been really interested in it for some reason and this episode made me emotional at the end, there are very few series that make me feel like that, as I’m a little cold for these things from my POV 🙁
Anyways, thanks for your work guys, I really appreciate it!
Thanks for subs, this was a really good episode