When we first encountered Miiko, she had defaced Yoru’s mural with her posters and was singing a cover of one of Kano’s songs, a double-steal that didn’t exactly endear her to us. But to be honest, we only met “Miiko”, unaware that far from “forever seventeen”, Baba Shizue (Uesaka Sumire!) is a thirty-one-year-old underground idol in desperate need of a new viral song and working part-time at a yakitori joint. Since she served as a stepping stone for JELEE, she reaches out to them via DM to commission a song.
Miiko has been faking it for fourteen years, but hasn’t made it, i.e. “hatched.” But she already has achieved something far more precious than a successful career as an idol: her adorable daughter Ariel. She’s her mother’s top fan, and is extremely proud of her. Her mom helped her open up in school and make friends, and also supports her life. Miiko’s not just her idol, but her hero!
Watching such a lovey-dovey mother-daughter duo makes Kano jealous, since her relationship with her mom frankly always sucked ever since they became business partners, and especially since she was fired. Fortunately Yoru brings up Kano’s stolen kiss to snap her out of her funk. I like how the kiss is addressed casually instead of too much of a big deal, while also making clear it wasn’t as “spur the moment” as Kano claims.
Mei and Ariel bond over their staunch fandom of Kano and Miiko, respectively. Mei assures Ariel that stanning Miiko can’t possibly be wrong. Mei’s passionate heartfelt pep talk inspires Ariel to not only go out in public in the idol costume her mom made her, but even stands up to some asshole boys who are too cowardly to accept Miiko’s invite to her live show. The look of pride in Miiko’s eyes (smudging her eye shadow) is priceless.
Miiko is able to witness her daughter being a frilly badass thanks to JELEE filling in for her when she goes to Ariel’s rescue (which turned out not to be needed). However, it means JELEE (posing as a “copy band”) gets to have their first in-person performance. Kano knocks it out of the park with her pro idol charisma, while Yoru makes her triangle playing count.
Miiko takes over from there, and bares all to her fans, dropping the “forever seventeen” Miiko charade and even telling them her true age and her status as a divorced single mom. But with her own unique and seasoned charisma, she manages to convince those fans that she’s cuter than ever as Baba Shizue. Her video goes viral, while JELEE’s aquarium nears 1 million views, they’re drawing closer to their goal of 100,000 followers.
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