Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible – 12 (Fin) – Eyes On You

After their big eventful date, Kubo’s finale strikes a quieter, more laid back tone. When Shiraishi is back at school, he notes that the day doesn’t seem any different. And yet after spending the day with Kubo and promising to hang out more, it feels different.

Kubo tries to get Shiraishi into psychological tests to learn more about him—and also to tease him a little—but ends up playing herself. He answers a question in a way that suggests he’ll only date one person. She ends up answering a question in a way that indicates she wants “oodles” of kids! She has to make a tactical retreat to blush.

The next segment is a curtain call for Akina, who is surprised to learn that Kubo has tried coffee. When she pinpoints when it happened, it’s the same time Kubo was fussing over her outfit and also graciously accepted Akina’s help putting her hair in a ponytail.

Akina may be a drunk, but she’s quick on the uptake: Kubo drank coffee for the first time while on her date with someone she liked. Akina has bittersweet feelings about her kid sister growing up to the point there are some things she doesn’t know about her, but she’s also excited and proud of her. Kubo even manages to tease Akina!

Back at school, it’s Shiraishi’s birthday, and perhaps in preparation for an evening feast, his stomach growls so loud during quiet study session that he attracts the attention of the whole school. Kubo snickers, but also offers a Kit-Kat with a message of Happy Birthday.

A second Kit-Kat tells him to look in his desk, where a little axolotl plushie is waiting for him. At first Kubo worries she got a gift too cutesy for a boy, but Shiraishi is clearly happy and promises to take good care of it. When Kubo feeds him a Kit-Kat, it’s Shiraishi’s turn to hide his face so Kubo can’t see how wide he’s smiling.

The finale closes with Kubo telling the tale of how she met Shiraishi from her perspective. She was interested in the guy ever since she saw a class photo where his photo was added in even though he was already in the photo, a gag that’s doubly hilarious thanks to Hanazawa Kana delivering it straigt.

Basically, Kubo immediately became intrigued by this kid no one else noticed. When they ended up in the class, she was surprised how quickly she spotted him, and amazed by how no one else could. She hoped to become his seat neighbor so she could casually strike up a conversation, and lady luck was on her side.

When she does first introduce herself, Shiraishi is so shocked to be noticed, he ends up showing her a side she’d never seen before. From that point on she was hooked, always keeping an eye trained on the inexpressive yet easy-to-read Shiraishi.

Little by little it seems he’s becoming more noticeable to everyone else, thanks to Kubo leading the way. But I’ve no doubt that no one’s attention is more welcome to or sought out by Shiraishi than Kubo’s. And for her part, she’ll be keeping an eye on him for the foreseeable future, eager to learn more about him.

Oshi no Ko – 10 – The Rookie

When Ruby and MEM-cho foist the position of center onto Kana, she rejects the honor, and when they praise her voice, it forces her to bring up that dark past when her disaster of a music career crashed and burned spectacularly. They praise her, but she takes no joy from it, telling them in no uncertain terms that she’ll never accept being the center.

Then she practices singing with them, and it’s clear that she has to be the center if the new B Komachi is going to survive its infancy; Ruby and MEM are that bad. But despite not at all wanting to be the center, Kana grudgingly agrees anyway, talking and acting in a manner contrary to her feelings, just like she’d done with Aqua last week.

With the center matter settled, Miyako presents someone who will help get train them into peak idol condition: It’s the return of Pieyon! I like how Kana had initially expressed excitement it might be Aqua. Pieyon subjects the women to a grueling exercise regimen designed to forge them into idols able to smile and perform at their best even when dead tired.

After a training montage and during a well-deserved breather, Kana tells Pieyon how an idol center isn’t a position for “little ol’ her”. When Pieyon praises her, she gives him a dark look, saying he doesn’t know the first thing about her. Then Pieyon rattles off a string of qualities that clearly demonstrate he knows quite a bit about her.

Kana presumes he’s always been a fan, and they engage in an easy, breezy, and thoroughly enjoyable chat. Kana even smiles and laughs! She considers casting Aqua aside and making room for Pieyon in her heart, despite the fact she’s never seen his face. It’s around this point, and when MEM mentions Pieyon doesn’t look as buff in person, that my suspicions about him being Aqua in disguise found purchase.

The way he spoke to and then described Kana in such accurate detail was the first evidence, but it’s revealed to the audience that Aqua is indeed under the chick mask, and he’s in contact with the real deal (who is at the beach) via skype. The real Pieyon pushes back on Aqua’s notion that Kana would never accept him as her trainer. Aqua says he’s “actually rather feeble” in response.

The night before JIF, Ruby is too excited to sleep, despite Kana paraphrasing a university study on the specific deleterious effects of sleep deprivation on idols. When Kana asks how she can be so pumped up about this, Ruby simply says she’s longed for it. When she was Sarina, and before she discovered Ai, she felt she had no future and no hope, trapped in that hospital room.

But then her life suddenly brightened and became a lot more fun when she became an idol otaku, especially when she met her “first love”, our boy Gorou. The happiness and comfort these memories give Ruby cause her to fall asleep, and Kana in turn gently pats her head. Never would she have pegged Ruby for a former shut-in!

When Kana goes downstairs, she spots Pieyon with his mask off, and when she gets a closer look, discovers it is indeed Aqua. As a result, despite her scolding Ruby, it’s she who is sleep-deprived, and whose head is in a total whirl due to the ramifications of “Pieyon” having been Aqua all along.

It’s no accident she fell for “Pieyon”, because he was the same kind, thoughtful, attentive, supportive, and encouraging person she knows Aqua can be when he’s at his best, which she’s believed he’s been far too rarely of late. But was he kind to her as Pieyon just to get her motivated to perform? Were the sentiments he expressed genuine, or more useful lies from a gifted actor?

There’s no way for Kana to be sure either way, even if she had the courage to ask Aqua about it. And “Pieyon” isn’t around for their big JIF day. What is crystal clear to Kana is that their pre-concert accommodations are complete and utter shit. All of the underground idols and those with little to no fanbases are stuffed into one large conference hall like sardines.

Kana tries to get some rest in, and Miyako asks her if she’s nervous. Kana puts up a front, stating her lengthy experience as a performer and promising to look after Ruby and MEM. Even as she says this, a part of her resents having to be the one on which everything falls.

It’s not exactly resentment; it’s fear. When things were arranged for her to make her big singing debut, it was a horrific bust, and she knew it. When she asked for more work and her agency rejected her for being too old, it sucked. When even her mother left her alone in the city to take care of her aging mother, she felt like she wasn’t needed.

As Kana starts to wonder when exactly she started to make self-deprecating comments about herself that matched some of the stuff that was said about her online, suddenly she is needed in the present: it’s finally hitting Ruby that she’s about to go on stage as an idol for the first time, and she’s kinda panicking.

When she asks if Kana feels the same, Kana tells her the same thing she told Miyako, but Ruby can tell she’s lying. She holds her hand, which is ice cold, and correctly deduces Kana is not just nervous, but scared. Kana finally breaks down and admits that yes, she’s scared: scared of failing and bringing Ruby and MEM down with her.

But Ruby, who is able to calm down from her own anxiety seeing Kana in a similar state, assures Kana that to her, she’s just another cute, hardworking rookie idol. And rookie idols fail all the time. All they need to do is have fun out there, go for it, and give it their all. Ruby’s words are enough to bring a smile even to Kana’s face. She realizes she’s been overthinking things, and follows Ruby to the stage hand-in hand.

Once they’re in their outfits, there’s no turning back, but Kana has no intention of doing so. With Aqua’s help, she’s built up her stamina. With Ruby’s help, she’s washed away her painful memories and fears. Donning the armor of an invincible, indomitable, eternal idol, the center of the resurrected B Komachi, there’s nothing Arima Kana, Rookie Idol, cannot do. And even if there is, that’s okay.

If it’s wrong to be more invested in Kana’s whole deal than Aqua’ slow-burn revenge arc, I don’t want to be right! Han Megumi continues to knock it out of the park with her performance. She’s a prickly, pessimistic, often impossible young woman, but she’s also incredibly tough, talented, and sensitive. I just know she’s going to rock on that stage.

But I don’t want to sell Ruby short either: Igoma Yurie, herself a real-life rookie in the seiyu game, has shown incredible range when her character is given focus. It was super moving hearing her talk about her time as Sarina, and why it’s such a momentous thing to achieve what you’ve always longed for.

As for me, I don’t long for much: just a solid finale, and the prompt announcement of a second season’s air date!