After the culmination of their journey to pro and making their first move in the war it was time for them to take their first step as a contracted band.
After a cool and cute photoshoot Toge Toge officially signed with the Golden Archer talent agency.
While at a music store Nina’s surprised their first paycheck would be 200000 yen. Just because Nina didn’t take the time to read the contract, as Momoka explained “the catch” Subaru joked that Nina would have to become a porn star as part of the agreement. Actually it was the typical company gets some of the revenue from your earnings deal, meaning the girls don’t actually get all the 200K. When asked if she got the gist of the explanation Nina’s fixated on a particular guitar that she could afford after the paycheck. Her response was also half-hearted because she’s understandably annoyed that despite their legendary performance DD2’s still got more attention. Wasn’t hard to see why. Regardless of whether their songs were half-assed or legit good they had a powerful agency backing them up, meaning lots of followers and media coverage. Remember this for later.
Momoka tried to act mature telling Nina not to egosurf and just focus on kicking ass. Nina’s delighted both to hear her sweetie taking the fight seriously and when Subaru exposed Momoka’s just as annoyed as Nina deep down.
Understandably after going pro RupaTomo would quit their jobs at the diner but they wanted to end things amicably with the establishment. Happy times for the side-couple celebrating their first step toward greatness.
With things going well so far for Toge Toge and Nina already having written a song about their group’s journey it made sense for Momoka to be the one to compose her own song about the group. It would be Toge Toge’s pro debut song. The problem was that during practice and composing with professionals Momoka kept saying something felt off about it even though the others thought it was pretty good.
As Momoka struggled Nina was confident in her sweetie’s power along with the team’s hence why she wasn’t as worried. Also this moment briefly set Yuridom ablaze. Can’t blame them.
So far, so good. Up to this point I didn’t see why the preview for this episode was somber. That was until Nina’s asked to call Miss Miura over to share her thoughts on the song so far.
She got a call about DD2’s next concert. It was on Valentine’s Day…the same day of Toge Toge’s pro debut song. DD2 would perform on the first day followed by Toge Toge. In short it felt like DD2 wanted to bully Toge Toge into submission using their stronger resources and larger following. Despite having a feeling it was a scheme her archenemy Hina would concoct Nina still wanted to perform against all odds. Unfortunately Momoka, Subaru and Tomo’s three votes in opposition of doing the show that day beat Nina and Rupa’s. Their explanations made sense. The music industry was/is a cutthroat business after all.
Despite the group announcing their decision to drop out of the VDay show Nina would later convince everyone, especially Momoka, to go for it anyway because backing out of the show would be no different than forfeiting the challenge to a duel. Our heroines were backed into a corner no matter what so might as well enter the battlefield guns blazing.
Nina got the gang to join her in praying at a shrine on New Year’s for luck. Not all of them were religious but they were like “Eh. What do we have to lose?” Nina, knowing her beloved quite well by now, also got Momoka to tell the truth about her “something not quite feeling right about the song” comments up till now. She was afraid of the possibility that another song she poured her heart into flopped again. Nina reminded her they were all in this together. She wanted to see the dream together through thick and thin.
Nina passionately hugged Momoka because while everyone prayed for as many views or followers as possible after the premiere of their song she prayed for them to kick DD2’s asses. I eagerly look forward to fanart of closeups of this moment.
The gang looked like they were ready to rock. They agreed on the beat and rhythm of their new song. However, when Nina looked up the views on their new song it did less than 10000, 1000 or even 500 views. Not sure if she looked up the view count too early or there really was that little interest in their new song.
G-View next time.
The Yuri Empire 
It made me really happy to see them riding the high and excitement of being newly signed to a label. After all their grievances and how they’ve struggled, they deserved to have that moment and some peace of mind. Seeing them do all the things as a proper contracted band, taking pictures, getting a new studio to record in and get proper support made their journey over these episodes worth it. Good for them.
That said, there’s also a lot of pressure that comes with this new status as well. They got some nice momentum from their performance and recognition. However, they now have to deliver and prove they’re not just talk. They have to show their worth through their songs. So naturally Momoka would struggle with the new song, obviously wanting it to meet expectations. However, she was overthinking things as Nina called out, and hiding her true feelings. She was scared, that’s understandable.
So how unfortunate it was for them to basically get their challenge of war right in the middle of this conflict, as though they didn’t already have enough pressure. It’s fair that they initially felt they weren’t ready. I mean, it could literally make or break them. Having just started out as an official band, of course they’d have reservations over taking such such risks. DD knows that, which is why they were so bold. But that also means they consider them a threat, and want to take them down before they can actually grow powerful enough to overtake them. It’s a very calculated tactic.
However, despite the risks, Nina was definitely right about this situation. They needed to try, because if they don’t, they’ll still lose in another way. It’s better to fight push for the glory, rather than playing it safe. Momoka clearly still felt fear after having her dreams dashed before with DD. No one wants to make themselves venerable again in that way, but I’m glad Nina got to the root of it and was able to convince her. They need to do this. Do or die and they say. They must be strong.
I’ve honestly been thinking it for several episodes, but after this one, I honestly feel convinced that Nina and Momoka have quietly started dating. Or, if they haven’t put a label on it yet, I believe there is some level of mutual understanding that they want to be closer than before, and that some subtle moments of intimacy are ok. Just the overall way that they appear closer than before, that they have discussions properly rather than fight. Momoka has been constantly staring or gazing softly at Nina for a few episodes now, for seemingly no reason at all. They have way more skinship than before, such as hugs, playful nudges or as we saw this episode, just a general comfort of leaning on each other. That moment in particular had me cheesing lol.
However, what I’m really locked in on from this episode, is that Momoka’s new song is about the ‘band’, but her inspiration to write the lyrics came from looking at Nina. Something about the others’ expressions when Momoka gave them the lyrics and they read it makes me feel they know who it’s really for. It also wasn’t lost on me that the DD challenge happens to be on Valentine’s Day! Like, tell me why specifically they felt the need to have it then, and made sure to have them explicitly mention it’d take place on V Day? That seems like such a random day that has no meaningful significance over any other day, unless…
So, my theory is that the new song is actually a ‘confession’ or such to Nina from Momoka. Even if they may or may not be secretly dating, it remains that Momoka hasn’t openly responded to her feelings yet from Nina’s confession in episode 8. I think that this song will be her reply, and will ultimately tell Nina that her feelings are mutual. I truly believe that’s the reason for so many of these particular small details. Will we get an official confession/confirmation in the final? That’s to be seen, and as always we should taper our expectations. However, I believe they’re cooking something good for us. I think somehow they will make it clear that Momoka reciprocates Nina’s feelings and that they are undeniable a couple or will be. If they surprise us with a kiss or something (crazy low expectations of course), they’ll definitely become an even bigger hit of the season than they are already.
May they fill the gap left in our hearts. Looking forward to the finale.
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Their reward for a job well done was deserved. It’s great seeing them enjoy their new perks.
They not only have to deal with living up to the hype but cutthroat business practices from their nemeses. It’s tough. Hopefully our girls pull through.
An excellent theory as expected from the resident GBC analyst. May your hypothesis prove true and shine brightly in the finale. We need a strong MomoNina moment to wrap up the season or show!
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I see Nina more as a dreamer. Momoka’s a realist since she’s an adult. She knows how the world thinks. Nina is so enchanted by Momoka that she doesn’t believe anyone can be better than her. It’s nice to believe in someone but I think Nina should be reminded that there may be disappointments in life.
Okay, so Momoka’s song REALLY helped her find her footing in this miserable world. Now she gets to create the music SHE believes is the ONLY music people should be listening to. Momoka should teach Nina about the facts of life. I understand she’s still got trauma from back when her song didn’t live up to expectation.
Here’s Nina who’s so INTO her that she believes only HER songs are worthy in this world and nothing else matters. Momoka should be able to draw strength from her and her band mates who believe in her. She should sing to her heart’s content and sojourn on.
She’s still living in the past, unable to move on. She should sing the way she wants it to be and not be pressured by outside factors. I understand that in order to be successful, she must adapt to the times. She has people that believe in her music. She’s got to use that belief in her to make HER music. Not everyone will appreciate it but if there are people like Nina who appreciates it, I’m sure there will be others as well.
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hoping for a happy yuri ending
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