Love Live! Nijigasaki Episode 5: Fuzzy Swiss and Cool Model

There is a reason why I mentioned both Emma and Karin instead of only Emma as the episode preview hinted last time.

We began the episode on the day Emma and Karin first met. Emma saw Karin alone during lunch and asked to sit next to her. Karin quickly became amused by her. Emma said the main reason she came from Switzerland to Japan was to become a school idol who could make people feel warm and fuzzy inside like they did for her when she was young.

Back in the present Emma told her about the solo idols plan everyone agreed on and asked if she wanted to join but she reminded her she wasn’t good with crowds.

Lovely.

Emma and the family goats. Speaking of the family they were worried about Emma. Must not get to talk to each other very often. That’s when Setsuna and Kasumi showed up with the idea of filming more PVs for each club member like Ayumu’s and Kasumi’s. That would show Emma’s family she’s doing well.

Could this mean all the performances after Setsuna’s first one were edited by Rina? Probably not. For now we know she edited Setsuna’s second.

Pretty sure this was Funi’s doing but it fit the situation so it’s all good. If Kasumi did say something like this then it makes sense since she’s trendy and stuff. Plus Ayumu’s reaction to Yu here was delightful.

Ayumu will always be Yu’s #1 harem girl. Speaking of this cute moment the gang commented on Yu always paying attention to them and how they appreciated her support. Yu living the dream.

Back to Emma the gang asked her what kind of PV she wanted to make. She said one that would make viewers feel warm and fuzzy inside. she asked everyone ideas on what would get viewers to feel that way but everyone had their own separate opinion, furthering the individualism theme the show currently has. yu brought up Emma’s image and Shizuku suggested wearing costumes. Fortunately Emma knew who to call to make that happen.

There’s a certain costume Emma tried on that pierced my boy Sir Nickolas‘ heart but let’s focus on the obviously superior bear suit along with Yu’s reaction.

Emma is so cute!#LoveLive pic.twitter.com/nxEWI2g83r

— Anime Corps (@AnimeCorps) October 31, 2020

Here are all the costumes she tried on. Very nice.

There was a nice outfit Karin wanted Emma to try on but first Emma asked her to join the gang in a group photo in her bear suit. Karin hesitated and used a call from her agent to slip away.

Later Karin was at her dorm room filling a questionnaire for work. Throughout the episode we noticed brief instances of Karin paying close attention to idol stuff but holding herself back. Here she eyed an idol magazine but hesitated. Suddenly Emma came to visit and noticed the magazine. Understandably excited she asked her again but Karin shut her down really hard this time.

Poor Emma felt confused by her sudden harshness. She wondered if the Karin who was nice to her all this time was her real self. She wasn’t pumped during filming of her PV. Later Yu and Ayumu noticed the idol magazine in her satchel and Emma noticed Karin’s questionnaire she hid slip out. The second and third answers caught her eye and she rushed over to Karin’s room.

Emma waited for the right moment to make her move. Before that she had Karin join her on a surprise date. After the date montage it was time. The date was to fulfill Question 3: Hang out with friends. The most important question however, was #2. “What was she most interested in? Answer: School Idols”. Busted.

Karin explained she really wanted to become a school idol after helping the club on several occasions. She liked how fun and goofy everyone was but determined to achieve their shared goal. However, Karin already created her cool and mature persona which was what got her the modeling gig and respect among her peers. She was worried that people would think less of her if she became fun and wacky herself.

Emma to the rescue.

Another nice performance.

After the ED Karin surprised everyone by joining the club doing previous school idols proud saying “I’ll succeed at both modeling and being a school idol”. As everyone celebrated Rina was deep in thought.

Instead of an Emma episode it was more an Emma X Karin episode with Emma healing her heart by healing Karin’s. Remember, her goal is to fill everyone’s hearts with warm and fuzzy feelings and if she couldn’t do that for Karin, her most important person, then how could she for others?

Great stuff as usual. Next time is my most anticipated episode. I’d been waiting a long time for this one.