World Dai Star Episode 2: First Gig Prep

With the surprise twist in the premiere episode time to find out what else was in store.

We joined our heroines gushing, mostly Kokona, over Yae’s magazine articles describing her as a young diva sensation. She certainly impressed them last time. Kokona got a message confirming she passed the audition. We would later learn it’s despite much objection.

Inside the SIRIUS dorm/onsen we’re formally introduced to the old woman who watched Kokona’s performance from a distance last time. SIRIUS president Yamabuki Shamo, aka a legendary World Dai Star. As she showed (them) around and welcomed her Kokona wondered why she’s picked as she didn’t feel like she passed. The prez said the first step was to find herself, specifically her “stage girl” way to show her being picked wasn’t a fluke.

To (their) surprise (they) had a roommate in Kathrina. Unsurprisingly the German objected. During briefing Noa said “You better learn to get along because there may be times the two of you play the roles of relatives or lovers”. When Kathrina said “perhaps enemies too” Noa countered with “Hopefully you use that hate as inspiration on stage”. Most of Kokona’s time with Kathrina was spent trying to reason with her with little success. Part of her annoyance was because when Noa unveiled their first opportunity for a main role, the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Kokona sounded like she’s a shoe-in to play Princess Kaguya. Actually she’s just excited for the opportunity. Maybe it’s a mix of both. Point being it annoyed Kathrina.

Two other girls shown last episode I didn’t mention were Panda and Chisa Sasuga. They act like cuties but are actually quite observant. Chisa’s the less harsh of the two though it wouldn’t surprise me if her true nature were tougher than Panda’s.

After a Kokona (and Shizuka) daily training montage she remembered to ask where Yae was. She went camping in a bamboo forest. Makes sense as the story was set in a bamboo world.

Fortunately for Konona she got her chance to fangirl over the adorable diva. Twas neat.

Finally it’s audition time. I personally like the 3D usage. We got to see Yae’s Sense. I think it’s the power to hit the audience extra hard with an extra strong emotional performance. Whether it’s only conveyed through song or other moments remains to be seen.

Later as Kokona practiced some more it’s clear she wasn’t strong enough to beat Kathrina. Shizuka asked what she did last time and said she thought “how would Shizuka play this role?” The blue babe was touched. They agreed to try the same strategy again.

Meanwhile when Kathrina alluded to working best alone she meant it. The entire week was spent drowning herself in as much material as possible to understand the role of Princess Kaguya. Panda thought her lack of knowledge on Japanese culture and mannerisms would be a hurdle because they only had a week to prepare. Thanks to Kathrina’s skill it wasn’t a problem though the catch was there being zero passion in her performance. To elaborate, she formed the perfect performance in her mind and relied on that. It was more than enough to get a good score from Judge Panda.

Then  it’s Kokona’s turn. We got another clue about Shizuka when Kokona said “The both of us” but it’s not much to go on. She started off well using the planned strategy with Shizuka but when she noticed Yae watching she went off script and copied her singing. Despite not seeing her shine yet like Yae or Kathrina this most likely means her Sense is mimicry. Readers who remember Kageki Shoujo will recall this tactic eventually not ending well for main girl Sarasa. Based on Panda’s reaction Kokona’s audition may have a similar unfavorable result. We’ll see if she can bounce back as the secondary role.

Good stuff again.

We already know about Shizuka’s situation, not the origin though, but this moment was a cute reminder.