#this got super long and it's mostly me talking about how much I love Touma

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Ao no Flag v1

Since I just imported this, and the next chapter should be translated in a day or two, I figured I may as well write up my thoughts on the first volume. I was gonna reread it to refresh my memory, but I didn’t get around to it, so I might be forgetting some things.

This isn’t really, like, a professional review, or anything, just my ramble-y thoughts.

TL;DR: This is both adorable and kinda heart-breaking and I love it. This hits basically all the right notes for me. It’s also a shounen rom-com/drama that has actual major LGBT characters so that’s pretty great! Seriously you guys read this manga. It’s already really great.

More under the cut.

Before I say anything else, let me just say that Taichi, Kuze, and Touma are my new fictional children and I adore them with all my heart. I’m basically a complete sucker for main character trios like this. Which is part of why I also enjoy stuff like Pandora Hearts and The Promised Neverland so much. We haven’t seen a lot of Masumi yet but once we do, I’ll probably love her too.

Also for the record I call her Masumi because ‘Itachi’ is way too confusing in a manga that has a protagonist called Taichi, lol.

Anyway, this manga is just great. I have a huge soft spot for this genre as a whole, but even then this one just speaks to me deeply. I haven’t even read anything else by this guy but I already like his style. This hits a really nice balance between drama and comedy and romance that not a lot of things hit.

Normally I tend to not care for the main m/f ships in these sorts of manga, but oh man I already love Taichi and Kuze’s entire dynamic. They’re such sweet, pure children and I just want them to be happy. They both feel like, well, actual teenagers who are still trying to figure out how feelings and relationships work. It’s really endearing. I especially love how determined and earnest Kuze is about her crush on Touma. But I also love how Taichi is just a bit of a mess who doesn’t really know how to reach out to people properly. They’re great. Also, I love the fact that they’re both super short. I was not at all prepared for the part where Taichi sees her from afar and is like ‘wow she’s really tiny’ and then he walks up to her and he’s like ‘jesus christ we’re basically the same height’. That was hilarious.

But of course, I can’t help but feel weirdly guilty about liking them together because that just gets us into the whole Touma thing. Oh boy. Touma, my sweet wonderful gay child, I feel so bad for you and all the drama I see in your future. I’m basically bracing myself right from the start for him to go through all sorts of angst in the future. It’s gonna be rough. Obviously I also ship him and Taichi together, but that’s probably not gonna work out, which kinda breaks my heart a bit.

Seriously though I just love Touma so much, he’s amazing. And I can’t stress enough how meaningful it is to have a major character like him in this sort of manga. It’s not like it’s never happened before [I think Love and Lies has a similar set-up??? Not sure. And then there’s other cases like Makoto from Fuuka and whatnot]. But it’s still important! It always warms my heart to see stuff like this happening more and more. I especially appreciate how Touma as a character, and his crush on Taichi, is already being set up as a surprising pivotal part of the whole story. It’s at least this major time-bomb being set up that’s gonna affect so many things. But I mean, it plays a huge part in his entire dynamic with Taichi, and I can only imagine how it’ll shake that up once Taichi finds out. It’s already setting up a whole lot of dramatic irony with how Taichi’s hung up on how Touma comes across as being ‘perfect’ and completely disconnected from him as a person, which is obviously not quite the case. There’s also a whole lot of dramatic irony going on as well with the fact that Kuze’s whole ‘I have a chance with Touma so I’m gonna pursue him’ attitude is just set up to fail now. And her whole plan to date him is already a pretty big part of the story, so once the other shoe drops then things are gonna change up massively. Especially since Taichi at this point is mostly bonding with her in terms of basically being her wingman. And, of course, it looks like Masumi knows about Touma being gay [and vice versa, I suppose], so if they’re gonna start their own little friendship then that’ll be a part of it.

I dunno how to put it, it’s just interesting to me that Touma’s sexuality isn’t just a joke, or a really minor thing off to the side, but a genuinely important part of the story that’s gonna shake things up massively once the other shoe drops. I like it.

I also appreciate that he’s designed as being conventionally masculine, and in a way that’s not done in a joke-y, exaggerated way for comedy. I feel like a lot of characters like Touma in shonen manga get depicted as one extreme or another, so it’s really cool to see how “normal” [for lack of a better word, I guess] he’s portrayed thus far. It’s just nice to see a gay teenage boy being written as an actual human being and not a stereotype. Obviously there’s a bit of contrast going on with how his outer persona doesn’t really match what he’s going through internally, but it’s more of a dramatic thing than a comedic thing, if that makes sense. In general the aspect of him being seemingly perfect and super popular and put-together but secretly having his own insecurities and struggles is really compelling.

Which is why I really liked that one scene with the tomato plant, which was also probably the scene that convinced me that he was indeed gay, and that the author was going to handle it well. I just love the delicacy of the writing in that scene, especially in hindsight. It’s a wonderful depiction of the kind of moment where you see someone’s mask drop a little and you get a glimpse at who they are inside, but you don’t know enough about them to know what’s going on. It was also a nice scene to help establish why Kuze’s so into him.

I’m also excited to see more of his brother and his brother’s wife [though I guess we technically haven’t seen his brother in person yet at all, I think]. They seem cool. There’s not much to say about them yet, but I do find it a bit amusing how it kinda feels like his brother’s wife was designed to fit Touma’s made-up ‘type’. It makes her feel like a bit of a red herring to make people think he was telling the truth, even though that got almost immediately shot down. But at the same time I don’t remember the story ever, like, going out of it’s way to be all wink wink nudge nudge about it, which I appreciate. It really works as a twist on the reader’s assumptions. I saw a fair few people elsewhere assume that Touma had a crush on her, so I have a feeling that was the author’s intention.

Basically Touma is just my child and I want to hold and protect him. I hope he gets his own happy ending by the time this wraps up, one way or another. He deserves it. I could live with him just being happily single by the end, even if that’d obviously be the depressing option. Even if it’d be bittersweet in it’s own way, it’d be nice to hypothetically see him decide to move on, and end up with an entirely different guy. I feel like manga aimed at teenagers in general tend to act like your first crush is, like, the only person you’re ever gonna have feelings for in your entire life and if it doesn’t work out then WELP SUCKS TO BE YOU, so it’d be neat to see this sorta manga make it clear that even if you have unrequited feelings for someone it’s not the end of the world, and you can move on and find someone else to love in the future. We’ll see.

Mostly I just really hope that this doesn’t end with Touma and Masumi hooking up as some sorta weird consolation prize. In general it’d feel too neat and easy if the main four can get paired up into convenient pairs like that, and I feel like Touma’s whole deal would just be more . . . compelling, I suppose, if he’s exclusively gay, and not bi. I mean, him being exclusively gay would also really drive a wedge in Kuze’s whole plan of action, like I said above, and that definitely seems like what’s being set up. So yeah.

I don’t really have a whole lot to say about Masumi since she hasn’t had a lot of screen-time, but we’ll obviously see more of her now so that’s nice. Obviously I also really appreciate the fact that she seems to be a lesbian, even if her feelings also probably won’t work out in the end. It kinda surprised me how, uh, vicious she got with Taichi, but I like that she apologized afterward in her own awkward way. That’s nice. I hope she gets to become part of the main gang.

I really REALLY love the entire scene between them on the roof-top at the end of the volume. That was great. I actually got vaguely spoiled about it in advance but I didn’t know the full context of it so the scene still surprised me when I read it. I wasn’t expecting them but to all but spell out that both of them are gay by the end of the first volume. They even had to do the dramatic ‘scene goes silent right when important thing is said’ trope right when Masumi probably literally spelled out that Touma’s gay. I really wasn’t expecting how goddamn dramatic it was. Like wow. You could basically feel the tension going on between them. I wasn’t expecting to see Touma be absolutely terrified by the idea that Masumi might have outed him without his consent. That kinda tore at my heart. I feel you so much, Touma, I really do. Thankfully she didn’t, so that’s nice. I’m glad she’s agreeing to keep it a secret for him.

I also love and adore how she pretty much laid out exactly what I’d been thinking, and immediately spelled out the fact that he was lying about his ‘type’, and that the only truthful part was the black hair bit. I’m so glad that got called out by the end of this volume instead of being dragged out unnecessarily. It was pretty dang obvious, at least. Although it does make me wonder exactly how Masumi ‘figured it out’. She doesn’t seem to be close to him as a person, and his crush is mostly obvious to us as the reader. So I wonder if maybe she’s been observing him for a while, and has been piecing it together.

It’s pretty interesting to look back over the entire volume now that it’s over. I mean, it was fairly obvious from early on that Touma is gay, but still, it’s REALLY obvious now. There’s a lot of parts that pretty overtly lay it out. The part in chapter four, I think, where we get the flashback to him and Taichi as kids, and we see the actual moment where Touma lied about his type, it’s SUPER obvious what’s going on. What with him basing his preferred type directly off of Taichi’s height [with an extra amount added], the dramatic close-up of him staring at Taichi when he talks about liking black hair, him immediately turning away afterward and rattling off some other traits to throw him off the trail, etc etc. And other than that you have stuff like the tomato plant scene and so on. There’s also the fact that the cover of volume one is of the main trio standing in a triangle with Kuze looking at Touma, and Touma looking at Taichi, and the insert page thing at the start of the volume is of them making a triangle with their fingers. It’s not exactly subtle, lol.

Anyway, I guess I should talk about predictions and stuff for what’ll happen next, now that we’re right about to get into v2. I guess I don’t have a lot to say other than what I said about how once Taichi and Kuze figure out what’s going on, it’s gonna REALLY shake up their relationship with Touma. Which will be interesting to see. But I feel like it’ll take a while to happen. Other than that . . . well, obviously I want to see more of Masumi, and I hope that Touma’s brother and his brother’s wife end up being recurring side characters. That’d be neat. I’m also wondering if the baseball element might get more important later. It looks like the author’s mostly done sports manga in the past, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes more of a big thing to the story.

Oh yeah, and everyone should read the bonus pages that recently got translated, that came with the first volume. They contain a really short preview for v2, which is already hinting at a whole lot of angst and drama. There’s not really a lot to it as a preview, but one kinda surprising thing about it is that it looks like Taichi is notably taller. Like, a few inches taller. I kinda wasn’t expecting that, but I guess it makes sense. You can also kinda see it on v2′s cover, a bit. We also got a glimpse at what seems to be a new character in the last panel of it. Not sure what her deal is but she looks upset about . . . something, lol.

Also the bonus pages contain a short bonus chapter about how Taichi and Touma first met and I swear to god it’s the cutest thing in the world. I probably should have expected that they first met and bonded over their battle pencils. But seriously, holy shit, little schoolboy Touma blushing and talking excitedly about how Taichi is the coolest person he’s ever met is just! so! ADORABLE! AAAH! I wonder what bonus things the other volumes will contain.

I’m glad that the scanlators have access to the digital raws for the rest of the series now, so we don’t have to wait until each volume comes out for them to translate it. I’m really excited to see chapter six come out in a day or two. It’ll suck when we catch up and have to deal with the two-week release schedule this has in Japan. Oh well.

[I dunno where to fit this, but as a side note, I LOVE how the volume covers for this series look, thus far. Now that we’ve seen the first two. They’re all so beautiful and delicate and sorta watercolour-y. It’s not a style you see often in manga volume covers. But I love it. Honestly like 10% of my reason for importing this series is because I love how the volumes look. I’m kinda superficial like that, lol. The aesthetic this series has in general is really nice]

And yeah as I said at the start of this, I just ordered the first volume of this today from CDJapan. I made a post a while ago about how I was going to import every volume of this if it followed through with the LGBT representation, so I’m sticking to my word on that. This is gonna be the first Japanese volume of manga I’ll own, so that’ll be neat! I’m not really interested in importing a lot of stuff in general, so for the most part I’m sticking to importing different types of manga with good LGBT rep in them, since I’m passionate about this sorta thing. I just want to financially support these types of manga in whatever way I can. Which is also why I’ve started importing Shimanami Tasogare, which is basically one of the best LGBT manga out there. Also manga is just way easier and cheaper to buy/import than something like, say, anime. Sure I’d love to import the Japanese blu-rays of Yuri on Ice but holy shit I do not have the money for that. Even getting the English release of that is gonna be tight. But yeah it really doesn’t cost me a lot to import manga like this so I figured I may as well. It’s gonna take ages for it to get here, but that’s fine.

[kamenriderlogik27]

FINALLY BACK IN SABER!!!

PrFor the past... two months?.... I’ve been taking a break from watching Saber. Mostly due to personal reasons but also because I hate it when a very dumb and small misunderstanding (especially when the cause is from a new outsider character that totally has evil intentions. looking at you Sabela +-+) ruins such good friendships and bonds. Anyway, I decided to get back into it ‘cause I was SUPER curious at what was going on AND and kinda had a feeling that the misunderstanding situation was about to end soon. and omgosh I’m so glad I took a break! If I had gone through with watching each ep every week, I would have gone crazy with stress! There’s so much going on!!! yet I’m also glad that Toei FINALLY calmed us down with the pacing! I’m gonna try to talk about everything regarding episode 16 up to 25 so please bare with me. I think I might end up talking about the Zi-o VS Decade and Zenkaiger stuff too after this post~

1. When I say that I hate it when a stupid misunderstanding causes friends to turn on each other, I mean it. I absolutely hate it when a story goes down this path. especially after an episode that basically sealed a strong bond between all the characters. But... honestly, after watching it in Saber.... it has a sort of beauty to it, if that makes any sense. Kind of like Mono No Aware. I honestly feel like this situation really fit well with the plot and we got to see our swordsmen struggle with their own logic and feelings. Especially Rintaro. Poor baby didn’t know what to do, and yet still believed in Touma. Omgosh that rooftop scene with him and Mei! <3 That was probably one of the best scenes this series ever produced! I also loved how we got to see Touma personally struggle about the whole situation instead of just being mad at his friends for attacking him and not trusting him. Which is what I originally thought would happen tbh which is why I was scared to watch this batch of episodes. I’m so glad I was wrong!!! 

2. Yuri! I honestly believe that Yuri is such a great addition to the cast! He’s logical, curious, and yet has a good open mind about things. Instead of going with what he USED to know, he’s willing to listen and learn from Touma. Which I really like! Plus, the comic relief he adds is so awesome! Every episode so far I’m also looking forward to what Yuri will do just out of his own curiosity or blunt attitude. 

3. speaking of attitude, I feel like Touma is showing more personality now than compared to the first few episodes. Which is a huge relief! He was starting off as a kind of boring main rider and seemed flat. He’s still got ways to go, but I think his personality is getting better. Plus, I’m really interested in his past. If Luna is really the one that got him into reading, then is he really from Wonderworld like we’re told? Just who is he really? Is his last name really Kamiyama? What happened to him after he lost his memories? Did he get adopted? There has to be a reason why Rekka and the wonder ridebooks keep chosing him. ugh! I’m so curious!!!!! 

4. I can’t remember her name right now, so I’ll just call her Sabela. But omgosh I don’t know whether to hate her or pity her. I feel like she can work as an awesome villain, but just like other posts I’ve seen, it’d be such a shame if she ended up like Yaiba Yua. And, I honestly don’t want her to randomly become a hero like Amatsu Gai. Toei please just keep her as an awesome villain! 

5. Rintaro and Mei! omgosh Toei BETTER get them a kiss scene or something because they’re TOTALLY falling in love and I wanna see a proper kiss scene!! If Takamichi Cristalia can kiss a pink ranger, the the secondary rider can kiss the main rider girl!! No joke though, sometimes I can’t help but feel like Touma has feelings for Mei..... which I know probably is just me overthinking, but that’d be a really interesting addition to the plot. Has there ever been a love triangle between the main rider, secondary rider and main rider girl before? hmm.... 

6. Primitive Dragon!!!!!!! holy crap!!!!!!! I don’t know if I’ve ever said this before, but I FRICKIN’ LOVE BERSERK FORMS!!!!!!! I don’t know why, but the idea of the main character obtaining a power that choses him and yet he has no way of controlling said power, just interests the heck out of me! I feel like Touma REALLY needed one too! Like I said before, his character has been really flat from the start, so when he obtained this strange, ancient power that he can’t control at all, so much more is added to his character! Fear of the unknown, fear of being the one that hurts his friends, an intent to find out what’s behind the power, curiosity of why it chose him. Just so much can be added! I haven’t been this excited since Metal Cluster hopper was introduced! XD 

7. The master of logos... or master logos? is it? he kind of gives off final boss vibes. But he could also be the sort of ‘misunderstood guy that’s just trying to do good things in a very... seemingly evil way’. if that makes any sense. I’m really looking forward to his involvement with everything. Especially if he’s like, Touma’s long-lost-brother or uncle. Low-key hoping that he’s related to Touma. (like I said, I REALLY wanna know more about Touma’s past)

8. Ren like always is being a brat. But I did like how he’s actually giving what Ogami said to him some thought. Ever since watching his episode of the swordsmen biographies, I honestly thought that Ren might just end up going off with Dissast and betraying everyone. But now, especially with Kento’s return, I feel like Ren might learn and mature a bit. Heck, he might even start looking up to Touma for all we know. (that’s just a theory) 

9. Storious so far is my favorite of the three Megido. I don’t know if it’s because he’s played by Robin or what, but I’m always looking forward to his scenes. The Megido also make me curious about their backstories. Just why are they looking for more power? why do they want to rewrite the world? I’m so excited to learn more about them!    

10. And finally!!! Kento’s back!!!!!! I know that he must be under some kind of influence via Kurayami ( or not considering what he’s had to go through) and probably isn’t all THAT back. but still! he’s back! Now Toei, put him back in the opening and ending credits! I had already theorized that he’d be the new Caliber, but now that I see it, I just want him to be Espada again. Poor baby. Though, considering that Sabela is the one that took Kurayami, does this mean that he’s under her influence and working for her? hmmm.... This is gonna get interesting~ 

[jemiroka]

Idolish7 - Mr. Affection and Bang! Bang! Bang!

I really can’t keep my thoughts to myself on these! I needed to scream somewhere :D

Okay, can we talk about the build up to Black or White??? As in Banri’s gorilla advertising campaigns! I was literally screaming when the previews came out for the MVs. I had been wondering when we were going to be getting ANY of the full MVs since we got the previews for Crescent Rise and Re:raise a while ago. I’m still wondering that actually... 

I remember when they announced that Zool was getting ufotable that I was super mad since there had been very little Zool redemption by the time they made the announcement. I can say now that I really like Zool. I personally liked the way the writers exposed the character’s histories little by little and slowly fleshed them out as actual personalities. As I said i’m on twitter last week, I put up ALOT of resistance for Haruka when he was first introduced. I only have so much tolerance for brats. But now i’ve adopted him as my endearing brat son with mostly good intentions and a nice voice. 

I can go on tangents for forever about Zool honestly so lemme get back to the video. UMMM EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL! The choreography for the most part was well animated and I was pretty much as mesmerized as everyone when they had those laying down shots and the flips! The more I watch them do the flips, here are my thoughts for each boy:

Haruka - pro, learned to dance since he was little so he already knew how to break.  Torao - always wanted to be a hero/sentai so closet trained to do stunts like this. Touma - doesn’t know how and still doesn’t know how to tumble properly. I mean watch him! He looks so clumsy compared to the rest. I can imagine Haru trying to walk him through it and just ends up holding his legs up and coordinating with the camera guy to get it so it looks convincing in the shot.  Minami - learned on the spot, first time doing it so it looks more like a cartwheel but still looks really good. I mean, he IS a prodigy so I wouldn’t be surprised about this. 

My one gripe about this video was that stupid light tunnel... I don’t know what it is but their dancing looks so disjointed with each other. Like they barely practiced. There isn’t even a window for Tora and ends up being blocked by Minami a good amount of the time. Touma and Haruka at one point look like they don’t remember the moves... I don’t understand...

Moving onto Mr. Affection. I actually wasn’t very impressed with the released stills for their video so I had very very low expectations. And if it was the typical Idolish7 vibe for their song I don’t think this would have appealed to me. The more recent i7 songs haven’t been as memorable to me as their earlier works. I barely remembered Hatsukoi Rhythm after I played it so I was thinking this was gonna happen to. 

WOW! I wasn’t expecting that. I was completely blown away as soon as the music started! Thankfully I wouldn’t have to listen to anybody gripe about B or W being biased/unfair this time around (I may do a post on that later cuz it really bugs me). I really didn’t know who to vote for, so i’m real glad I didn’t need to vote. 

Mr. Affection had so much symbolism it makes me want to cry! This is the kind of content I LIVE for! With everyone’s symbolized character development during their solos, the members disappearing on the ice in order of their major plot points in the timeline, Kinako randomly appearing on the mountain in the first scene with Riku. There are so many easter eggs in this video and I love it! 

Riku’s jump. RIKU’S JUMP! That is probably my favorite shot of the whole video! I love that orange even made production notes and depicted how Riku would be rigged up for the jump. And then the studio saying that they recorded in a warm studio with a green screen after everyone voiced concern for Riku in the cold! The attention to detail that all of the i7 staff includes to really bring this project to life is my favorite. 

I do have one gripe about this video. When they’re dancing on that ice... are they all free-styling? Like there are moments where none of them are doing the same move and then moments where only some of them are doing the same choreo. For me, this was more easily forgiven compared to Bang! Bang! Bang! mainly cuz of easter eggs/symbolism that overtakes the whole video. 

LOL so this was supposed to be my thoughts of the end of pt4 and theories for pt5 but I ended up rambling so long about the MVs that this post would have been too long.... I guess i’ll just make a few more posts later. 

[seigyokus]

10.4 - A Looming Threat

Idolish Seven - Part 3, Chapter 10.4 For more Part 3 translations, click here!

Translation below the cut!

Nanase Riku: ......All of this must be really hard on Ten-nii. He loves TRIGGER so much, and really treasures them after all. Nanase Riku: He was acting like everything was normal, but I bet it's taking a toll on him more than anyone else.... Izumi Mitsuki: Some people know what's going on. There's a couple of people commenting on how something's off about this whole ordeal online. Izumi Mitsuki: But why... Why are all these TV stations dragging TRIGGER when they're the ones who've seen them up close and in person? Rokuya Nagi: What an awful turn of events. Those who are truly interested in TRIGGER have been proactively reading up on them on their own. Rokuya Nagi: However, those who only know TRIGGER in passing will absorb whatever is given to them by the news. They'll end up with a biased understanding of TRIGGER. Izumi Iori: Companies cast for their shows based off of the public's perception of a group. Izumi Iori: At this rate, if TRIGGER's brand continues to be perceived negatively, it will also affect their state of being in this industry. Izumi Iori: Has President Yaotome taken that into consideration?

Yaotome Sousuke: ...Dammit! Every single goddamn one! They used to beg for TRIGGER to be on their shows! Yaotome Sousuke: ...Mister Shimooka's music show is right around the corner, and I know he sees TRIGGER in a positive light. If we can turn the tides with this.... Yaotome Sousuke: I'm counting on you, Gaku.... TRIGGER....

Mister Shimooka: And now for our next guest, TRIGGER! Kujou Ten: Thank you for having us. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: We look forward to performing here today. Mister Shimooka: So, I heard you guys are unveiling your new single next week at the Tokyo International Festival of Music and Arts in Zero Arena. That's amazing! Yaotome Gaku: Thank you. A wide variety of musical genres will be presented at the festival, so we'd really like to focus our energies and get even better for this event. Mister Shimooka: What a manly answer! That's Yaotome-kun, for ya! I bet you're a real hit with the ladies. Must've gotten it from your father, huh? Yaotome Gaku: I-- ....... Nanase Riku: A nervous energy pulsed through the studio. Nanase Riku: Both Ten-nii and Tsunashi-san were frozen in place. Nanase Riku: Mister Shimooka-san had been so kind and welcoming to us all, but his insinuating words brought the scandal to the forefront. Nanase Riku: After all, Mister Shimooka-san was part of Tsukumo Productions.

Yaotome Sousuke: ....... This is outrageous.... Yaotome Sousuke: Everyone has cut Yaotome Productions and TRIGGER off, and now he has too.... Does this mean they've all sided with Tsukumo? Yaotome Sousuke: Cowards! The times have changed! Why can't they understand that!? The age of Tsukumo and Hoshikage was over long ago! Yaotome Sousuke: ....... It was supposed to be over....

Yaotome Gaku: I, uh.... Izumi Mitsuki: I dunno about Yaotome, but I take after my grandma! Izumi Mitsuki: We look so similar, that whenever I look at old photos I'm like, "Woah! That's me!" I hate to say this myself, but she was gorgeous!

Man: Damn, it was just getting good.... That dude is trying way too hard to stand out. Woman: Hmm? Man: That Izumi Mitsuki guy from IDOLiSH7 butted in right when Mister Shimooka was asking Yaotome a good question. Woman: Oh, yeah. Izumi Mitsuki just loves to talk.

TRIGGER Fan: Oh.... He deflected the question for him.... TRIGGER Fan: It's okay now, Gaku-san.... Thank you so much, Mitsuki-kun....

Mister Shimooka: ...Ahaha! Really, now! I know you're an adult, but you're so cute, Mitsuki-kun! What do ya think, Yaotome-kun? Yaotome Gaku: He's super cute. But he's kind of dad inside, y'know? Izumi Mitsuki: Hey, what do you mean by that! I've bet you've got some dad in ya too! Kujou Ten: I definitely see it. Yaotome Gaku: Haha, shut up! Mister Shimooka: Hahaha! Both of you are grown men, so I guess that's to be expected! I'm already an old man, so that explains why we get along! Nanase Riku: The atmosphere of the studio changed after Mitsuki interrupted the conversation. Nanase Riku: Mister Shimooka-san boomed with laughter, more so than usual. Perhaps in relief, perhaps in apology. Nanase Riku: The whole time, Yaotome-san's fist was clenched tightly where it rested upon his leg. Mister Shimooka: Get ready, TRIGGER! Kujou Ten: Yes, sir. Nanase Riku: Everyone's eyes followed their backs as the three of them made their way to the stage. Nanase Riku: Even under the cold gaze of the audience, Ten-nii, Yaotome-san, and Tsunashi-san turned to face them. Nanase Riku: The stage lights were so bright, I couldn't see what their expressions were. Nanase Riku: But the voices that rang through the venue belonged to TRIGGER-- as proud and powerful as we remembered. Nanase Riku: They were trying to pierce through and reach the future.

Mister Shimooka: And that was TRIGGER's "Last Dimension!" Now, up next we have.... Momo: Shimooka-chan.... Yuki: ...Shimooka-san has a family and many trainees under his care. TRIGGER understands that too.... Momo: Back when it was Yamato, they were up against Hoshikage.... That, and it was hard for anyone to bash them since they'd be going against a world-famous actor. Momo: But this time, it's Tsukumo Productions versus Yaotome Productions, which is below Tsukumo in power. Momo: On top of that, there was that whole ordeal where Yaotome Productions "stole" a famous singer from Tsukumo, despite owing a lot to them. Momo: Putting aside what's true or not, it's easy to fall victim to Ryou's psychological ploys. You can't help but think, "There's nothing else I can do." Yuki: I know there's people out there who are strongly against his ways. There has to be. Momo: They're definitely there. I'm in contact with all of them, and-- Re:vale's TV Show Producer: Great work today, guys.... Momo: Thank you! ...What's wrong? Re:vale's TV Show Producer: I might be jumping the gun a bit, but…. I just wanted to make my rounds and say goodbye to everyone. They’re transferring me to Kyushu, so I won’t be on the show's production staff anymore. Re:vale's TV Show Producer: I really loved working on this show, and I wish I could've stayed on for just a bit longer.... Once things calm down, you should call me over for baseball again sometime, Momo-chan. Momo: ....... Yuki: I'll talk to them about it. It's not right without you on the team. Re:vale's TV Show Producer: Those words are more than enough for me. Please do your best and give everyone a great time from here on out as well. Momo: Why is this happening.... I told you to trash talk me to those people, didn’t I…? Re:vale's TV Show Producer: Ahaha, there's no way I could do that. I could never talk badly about you, Momo-chan. Re:vale's TV Show Producer: TRIGGER hasn't done anything wrong either. No other talents in this industry take their jobs as seriously as those three. They passionately, earnestly, and truly love their fans and their work. Re:vale's TV Show Producer: They did their best to make things as easy as possible for the staff the one time they guested on our show. It was a really, really great episode. Remember that? Momo: ....... *sniff* .... Re:vale's TV Show Producer: I want to make good shows. And I won't lie, even if it’ll further my cause. I…. I couldn't lie. I knew what would happen, so don't cry. Momo: ...I'll bring you back to Tokyo. I swear. Until then, I'll keep on standing here-- even if I have to eat dirt. I promise.... Yuki: If you ever run into trouble, don't hesitate to reach out to us. Re:vale will always have your back. Re:vale's TV Show Producer: Yeah.... Thank you. I'm really proud I was able to work with you two, Re:vale. ...Fight on, Momo-chan, Yuki-kun. door closes Yuki: Momo.... Are you okay? Momo: Yuki.... Yuki: Yeah.... Momo: ....... I'm this close to snapping. Yuki: You took the words right out of my mouth.

Tsukumo Ryou: Soon, it shall be complete. Midou Torao: What are you talking about? Tsukumo Ryou: Oh, fear not-- I’m referring to TRIGGER, not ŹOOĻ. Tsukumo Ryou: TRIGGER pulled out of SoundShip at the last minute. The first time is fine-- unexpected circumstances happen all the time. However, once happens a second time, they'll be seen as incompetent and impertinent. Tsukumo Ryou: There’s a shining chance for TRIGGER to repair their image-- neither Re:vale nor IDOLiSH7 will be appearing at the Tokyo International Festival of Music and Arts, a high-brow and formal affair. (1) Tsukumo Ryou: TRIGGER lose their place at that event-- I’ll make sure of it. Natsume Minami: And how will you accomplish this? I'm certain they are also aware that this is a chance for them to recover from their current predicament. Tsukumo Ryou: You see, before I became the president of an entertainment agency, I used to dabble in trading alongside some rather dangerous fellows. I can use those connections.... Tsukumo Ryou: ...To abduct TRIGGER. Inumaru Touma: ...Hey. I ain't getting involved in anything criminal. Tsukumo Ryou: Ahaha! Oh, we won't be involved at all. TRIGGER are very famous stars-- it'll be the work of a couple stalkers, so to speak. Isumi Haruka: Hmph. Isumi Haruka: ...I don't care. If that's what it'll take to see that brat and his father in tears, then go ahead. Isumi Haruka: I want him to reject everything he's ever worked for and despair.

To be continued....

TL notes/comments:

Thank you @kuriiii and Bicky (@denego_ on twitter) for betaing!!!!! There’s a lot you don’t catch even after 2-5 rereads, some of which u do muttering under ur breath at 1AM so honestly bless their souls!!! 

(1) Ryou uses 硬派 to describe the tokyo m&a festival; I've mostly seen this word used in terms of like political parties, where you have hard-liners (frm the definition of the word), or very ppl very staunch in their belief of ___. In terms of music shows, I'd extrapolate this to mean an event that's very formal and rooted in tradition/rules, which would be kind of like the Grammy's wrt an american equivalent, since awards aren't thrown around willy nilly and it's a Big Deal to get invited there, etcetc. Like there's a whole formal process involved. That kind of 'hardcore'!

IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK!! Thank you again for all of your patience and putting up with months of radio silence on my end. I put up a poll on twitter, and the plan is to prioritize Part 4, but crank out as much of Part 3 in the downtime between parts! WISH ME LUCK FJSJDF

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!