Reviewing the first episode of "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight", I'll do it! Hikari's phone has an incoming call!

Have you seen the shocking first episode of the TV anime "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight"?　It was a story of beautiful girls who aim to become stars at a music academy, but it was also a story of battles with weapons, a bank of transformations, and foreshadowing scattered throughout the story. The first episode was packed with elements. This work will definitely be interesting. ......　I have written this review of the first episode based on my hunch that this work is going to be interesting!　This is the writer's personal opinion, and no spoilers are intended, so please watch the full-length anime first.

Before we get into the main story, the official website for the "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight" says that it is a "two-layered shoujo gekijou (girls' opera) spun with musicals and animation. Originally, Bushiroad Chairman Takaaki Kitani felt that there was a sense of discomfort between the 2.5D musical and the anime with their different voice images, and that was the impetus for the creation of the work. This is a thought that every anime fan has had at least once, and from there the idea was born: "Let's have the same people play the roles in the anime and the musical! and it's amazing that they really realize both the stage and the anime.

The nine cast members have already experienced two musicals in September 2017 and January 2018 (again), and their first solo live performance last month. They have already experienced a solo live performance. So, although they have different levels of experience in postrecording, they are already well versed in playing characters, singing, and teamwork as the unit "Starlight 99 Group".

Isn't that too perfect a way to enter the first episode (and too fast-paced)?

The first episode begins with the main character, Hanako Aishiro, being woken up by her roommate, Mahiru Kurosaki. Mahiru is very patiently waking up the bedraggled Hanakoi, but throughout the entire episode, Mahiru seems to be very patient! I even feel a maternal touch when I see Mahiru gently watching Karen as she assists her in her morning lesson. The girls are students in the 99th class of the "Seisho Music Academy Actor Training Course" who aspire to become stars, so the rule of "when entering the lesson room, say your student number and name and greet them before entering" is a good way to naturally introduce themselves to the viewers.

What I thought was a surprise when I saw her face in the lesson room was the scene where Shinya Tendo appeared. A fairly wide-angle lens shows her as if she were the center of the world, followed by a close-up of her feet as she walks naturally to the bamili (standing position marker) that indicates her position at position zero (center of the stage). The final shot is a close-up of Maya in the foreground, and the other students, including Hanakoi, are placed like peas in a pod at the back of the screen, making it clear who is the "main character" at this point in time. The "main" character at this point in the space is clearly defined by the placement of a pea at the back of the screen, followed by the names of Saijo Claudine, Junna Hoshimi, and others in a tense atmosphere.

Mahiru is happy as long as she is with Hanakoi, and Nana Oba smilingly watches over them in the "everyday" group. The "Bachi Bachi" group consists of Saijo Claudine and Junna Hoshimi, who are conscious of their rivalry with Tendo Shinya, who shows strong ability and presence. Futaba Ishidou and Kako Hanayagi belong to neither group, showing that they have a special relationship, like a laid-back princess and a gallant knight.

The irresistible mob student, "It's Tendo Shinya-sama!" He's the only one who can do position zero!" but it is a good job of conveying this through the natural conversations of the main characters every morning. Because of the director's ability to get through all of this, it does not become too much of an explanation when Hanako narrates the outer framework of the setting, which is difficult to follow in conversation, such as the fact that Seisho Music Academy is a 100-year-old drama school for girls (......).

And from here on, the main couplings are appealed as much as possible in the daily scenes of the school for a while. You see how Mahiru keeps giving Hanako an aura of liking her, and Mahiru looks at Hanako (and Banana) even when she is playing the piano. Even when Kako shamelessly transfers the leeks she doesn't like to Futaba's plate, Futaba just gives her a look that says this guy is ......, duh sweet. Claudine sits in front of Shinya in the cafeteria and shows her rivalry with him. For some reason, she tries to set up a quick-eating contest, but Shinya naturally says "Itadakimasu" and joins her hands together, which is a good sign that the rating is done without the need for a fight. When Claudine immediately imitates her, you can see that she feels as if she has been defeated by her upbringing (in the Japanese sense of the word). I think the distance between the two is about ......, where Maya is not taking the one-sided rivalry from Claudine, but she is not obnoxious either.

The world reverses with the arrival of the "ninth man."

The harmonious, lovey-dovey, friendly, quarrelsome atmosphere is turned upside down with the arrival of a transfer student, Hikari Kagura, a stage girl who has returned from England. This is literally a "reversal of destiny" in which the gears of fate that had been turning in the pure white world begin to turn in the opposite direction in the jet-black world. I would like to take some time to think about the meaning of the image scene of Hanako falling from the tower after that. I would like to keep in mind the following clearly stated facts: "The bright red steel tower, reminiscent of the Tokyo Tower, has a significant meaning in Hanako's mental image;" "The crown hair clip that Hanako treasures and the sparkling hair clip that Hikari wears are mementos that she bought at the tower;" and "Someone who seems to be Hanako and Hikari made some promises to each other. I would like to remember the facts.

And from this point on, another world in which the fate of "Girls' Revue Revue Starlight" has been reversed finally turns on the viewer! The production from this point on is already very detailed and fine. The production from this point onward is detailed and subtle. The casual use of pictures and the sound effects by the sound effects are used to create a furious attack on the viewer.

The following sequence of scenes can be seen: "the giraffe symbol inserted in an eye-catching manner and the ringtone on the smartphone" → "Hanako and the other students having a casual conversation in the classroom" → "Junna turns her back on the daily routine and sees the giraffe symbol and the words "1st day of audition" on the smartphone in her hand. The following sequence of events takes place: "the end of "recess" with the chime SE," "Hikari appears in the classroom as a transfer student, and Hanako enters a white world for just the two of them," and so on. The story is woven into the everyday scene of a new student's arrival.

In the scene where Hanakoi and Mahiru guide Hikari from the school to the dormitory, a woman from the past suddenly appears in the world of Mahiru and her favorite Hanakoi, and even creates a sense of a doomed relationship, which even makes Mahiru feel alienated! Mahiru's radar is now maxed out! Hikari's words and facial expressions, which seem so casual, reveal a variety of emotions, and I have a feeling that we will definitely want to revisit this scene at a later date when those emotions come to the fore.

Here, Hikari is shown to be a person of great talent and ability, and it is noteworthy that among the stage girls who are marveling at her, Kako, who is usually so calm and relaxed, has a stern expression on her face as if she is sizing up a strong enemy. This is symmetrical to Futaba's "Wow, that's amazing" look. Also, Shinya seems to be the only one who felt that behind Hikari's superficially great performance, she could not see her heart.

After that, the talk in the shower scene (and Futaba drying Kako's hair!) ), but personally, I am interested in what happened to Hikari in her room, which was going on at the same time. The clothes scattered all over the room after unpacking the suitcase seem to show Hikari's emotional landscape, which was disordered in a thousand different ways. ......, but personally, I think that her suppressed feelings for Hanako overflowed, and she selflessly took an old photo of Hanako and Hikari that was stored away in the back of the suitcase. I would like to cast a vote for the idea that it may be a trace of the photo (treasure) that Hikari and Hanako took a long time ago, which was stored in the back of the suitcase, as a result of her outpouring of suppressed feelings for Hanako.

And! I finally noticed, in the second round of viewing, the description of the smartphone in Hikari's suitcase. As those of you who work with SLR cameras are well aware, shallow depth of field shots that blur the background (or what is in the foreground) have the effect of highlighting the part of the image that is in focus and clearly visible as the subject. In the scene in Hikari's room, the focus of the lens shifts from Hikari lying on her bed to the suitcase in the foreground. Then, if you pay attention to what the director wanted to show on the suitcase, it is the smartphone. The lamp of the smartphone, which is in soundless mode, is flickering red three times. In the story so far, there was only one scene in which the smartphone was described as a meaningful item, right?　Yes, it is the incoming Kirin Mail (tentative name) marked "Audition Day 1" that was sent to Junna just before Hikari moved in. After watching the duel (audition) scene between Junna and Hikari later, we know that Hikari would have also received the Kirin Mail call. I love this kind of direction that makes sense later.

Hikari runs to the school, and Hanako follows her back and becomes the audience of the revue about the duel = rage between Junna and Hikari that takes place in the theater hidden in the basement of the school. The girls, armed with their own weapons and the pride of being stage girls, express their audition through singing and "fighting" ....... This is what a revue is all about! In the anime, before the battle begins, the girls touch each other's faces and get very close to each other, and Hikari kisses Junna's forehead. It is also important to note that the two are performing a scene from "Starlight," a play that Hanako and her friends have been performing every year.

The mediator for the audition was a real life-size giraffe. A real life-size giraffe. The one in Africa. The giraffe is a real life-size giraffe, the kind you see in Africa. But our protagonist, Hanako Aishiro, is the one who transcends such irrationality (literally). She changes into the formal dress of a stage girl in the transformation bank, and interrupts Hikari and Junna's battle. She changes the theme of the revue to "Passion," and rushes down the shiny flower aisle, defeating Junna in the blink of an eye. If you cut out only the time of the battle, it is 30 seconds ...... but this is only an "audition". If everyone was fascinated by the sight of Hanakoi running down the avenue while singing the revue song "Till the World Turns to Ashes," dancing violently, and slashing open the incoming arrows, and if everyone felt her passion, then it was Hanakoi's victory. Her sword slices off the decorative button on Junna's cape, and the first day of auditions ends in victory for the intruder, Hanakoi.

Hikari's heartrending cry to stop Hanako from throwing herself into the audition, and the words "Bakkaren! were the first time that Hikari unleashed her true heart, and one could only marvel at the skill of Suzuko Mimori, the performer.

And the last part was an anomalous composition, bringing the opening theme "Hoshi no Dialogue" here!　The song packed a lot of elements into its 89 seconds, but the slightly disturbing lingering feeling it left at the end was perfect for the ending of this episode.

Now, this time, I didn't dare to mention much about Hanakoi's transformation bank. I think it is a transformation bank as long as the staff in charge of it is credited as "BANK" in the ending roll, but I will write more about it after I find out what position it has in this work from the second episode onward.

(Kiri Nakazato)