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The Idol M@ster Cinderella Girls
Episode 7

by Rebecca Silverman,

Have you ever wished that you could just sit down with a character and have a nice heart-to-heart chat in order to help them out? That's how I feel about the producer this episode; I just want to sit the poor guy down and give him a little lesson about dealing with teenage girls. His spectacular, although unintentional, failure to understand where Mio and Rin were coming from last week has resulted in both of them threatening to leave the company entirely. In Mio's case this is an out-and-out sulk fest, where she pitches a temper tantrum and goes home to wallow in her perceived misery. To say that she's acting immaturely is to state the obvious; what's remarkable about it is that she's a teen girl in anime acting like an actual real life teen girl. Her emotions are getting the better of her and the veneer of maturity has fallen away to reveal that she's really just a kid in an adult business world. Is it annoying? Yes, yes it is. But the fact that it's a believable action on the part of a fifteen year old makes it work.

Rin's issue is a little different. For her, the real failing is with the producer himself. While Mio rolls around in her own ego problems, Rin is upset with the producer in what feels like a show of solidarity for her bandmate. The producer's well-meaning but still hurtful words have caused Rin to stand up for her friend and to let the adult know that he has failed them. When he continues to be unable to grasp the issue (as she sees it), she punishes him as best she can: by walking out too. She doesn't really want to, as we can see a various points throughout the episode with the most obvious being when she's singing New Generations' song to herself, but in her mind, it's the only way to make the grown-up see the error of his ways. Not that this is entirely an “us vs them” situation, but both having been a teenage girl myself and working with them on a regular basis, it feels very true to a real reaction.

This is really the point where Uzuki stands out. Mio may have been dreaming of being an idol, but we know that Uzuki has been actually working towards it since episode one, and this has given her a much more solid understanding of the business. She's still giddily optimistic (part of her charm, really), but she's more concerned with her own personal performance and how she can improve than any expected accolades from the audience, or even than Mio's tantrum. The producer said he'd take care of it, so she trusts him to and goes back to fixing her own issues, which in this case is simply getting over the flu. She's been around long enough to know that the guy in charge knows what he's doing; her job is to do her part, not his.

In all honesty, I'd probably watch a show about this specific producer. He really wants the best for this project and is committed to helping the Cinderella Girls to shine. He's honestly trying to understand what he did wrong with Mio and Rin, and the (weirdly animated) scenes of him running around in the rain to fix his mistakes are just as emotional as any of the girls preparing to perform. His earnestness makes him an interesting character, and while he's not entirely up to carrying this whole episode – which, generally speaking, is a bit dull and irritating in places – he still manages to be a better character than you might have expected. Plus the poor guy gets the cops called on him because of his naturally sketchy appearance. That really can't make his job any easier.

The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls is still trying a bit too hard with the Cinderella imagery (although the “fleeing the ball” scenes were nice) and this isn't it's best episode, but it really is an interesting show. With Mio and Rin acting their age and the producer having to step up his game, to say nothing of Mika-chan quietly fretting over her role in the matter, it still manages to hold your interest even when there's no stage in sight. The mess may be resolved a little too quickly, but it looks like these Cinderellas won't have to give up on the ball anytime soon.

Rating: B

The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls is currently streaming on Daisuki.

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.


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