Reviewing the second episode of "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight", I'll do it! Dreaming Glasses, Broken Glasses

The second episode of "Revue Starlight" opened with Junna trying to forget the memory of her previous defeat by overtraining and Hikari's declaration that she will live with her as a pushover childhood friend.

In the morning scene, Mahiru is sleeping with a strange stuffed animal and Banana is holding a banana pillow, while Hikari is also casually holding a white stuffed bear with great care.

In the second episode, the opening is finally played in its original position, but the bright red curtain rises and the "eight" appear from the golden lights, but Hikari is not there. In the opening scene, Hikari was solo and looked like she was smiling! I suddenly wondered what kind of role she played in last year's play "Starlight" and how she came to be in it. I was wondering what kind of role she played in last year's play, "Starlight".

In the scene at school after Hikari's declaration of living together with her childhood friend, the composition is the same as usual, with Hanako chasing after a clumsy Hikari and a tearful Mahiru in the background. When she draws a line between Hikari and Hanako on this side to hide the story of the underground theater, Mahiru's breathless "What? I really liked her breathtaking performance when she drew a line between Hikari and Hanako walking together and little Mahiru walking slowly in the background. The camera work and the perspective to show the relationship between the two is one of the characteristic effects of "Starlight". Mahiru hugged Hanako from behind at the end and tried to hold Hanako back by force.

In the commuting scene, Futaba and Kako's bike commute to school stood out, but the roommate duo of Junna and Banana also casually commute to school together. If this trend continues, will Tendo Shinya and Claudine be rooming together as well?　If so, it would be quite tense, but Shinya and Claudine also appeared relaxed in the dormitory, drinking tea together and talking about the remarkable stage. I think this kind of casual glimpse into their daily lives is a unique quality of the anime version that is not found in the stage version.

In the lesson scene, we see Claudine and Junna on either side trying to keep up with the exceptional Maya, and we see that Hanako is not quite there yet technically. Looking at the lesson in detail, it is interesting to note that Mahiru is as stable as Maya and the others in the lesson on maintaining posture while sitting and keeping both outstretched legs in the air, but in the singing lesson on pitch, her mouth is trembling just like Hanako's. It is interesting to see how the strengths and weaknesses are portrayed.

Now, it is worth noting here the emergence of a new combination of Hikari Kagura and Nana Oba. It was Banana, not Hanako, who found Hikari as she headed for the elevator hall leading to the underground theater at night to contact Kirin (as a result of Hikari hiding from Hanako). Furthermore, later in the lesson scene, Banana and Hikari become a pair. Since this is a work that emphasizes and values the duo so much, there must be some meaning to this pairing.

In the pair dance lesson, Junna blackmails her classmates who are feeling like spectators. This blackmail may have resonated with Hanako, who has not yet become a party to the aspiration to become a star. Junna's shout makes the students around her at the pairing ceremony step away in a different direction from Junna, which is a good way to make Junna seem a bit out of place.

Junna is somewhat weak and tries to pair up with Banana, while Hanako tries to pair up with Hikari, but Banana is the first to pair up with Hikari, leaving Junna and Hanako in the limelight. What is Mahiru doing if she doesn't go to Hanako right away?　It's your chance!　So I looked for her and found Mahiru sitting between Futaba and Kako. As a gruff Mahiru of Hana Koi, she might want to watch Hana Koi dance. The way she ran up to Hanako with a towel after she finished dancing is like a manager.

Now, Junna collapses after the dance lesson due to the over-lesson and the emotional upheaval. She was so tense until the very last minute that she didn't seem to have enough time to relax. In the infirmary where Junna was brought in, there is a notice casually posted announcing auditions for the play "Starlight" to be performed at the next 100th Seisho Festival. Among the main cast, the names "Claire" and "Flora" are in red, so perhaps Tendo Shinya and Claudine played these roles last year. Looking at the flyer, which was also in Junna's room, I see the words "Goddess of Rage," "Goddess of Escape," "Goddess of Hubris," "Goddess of Curse," "Goddess of Jealousy," and "Goddess of Despair" for the other cast members. The cast is for eight people.

At dusk, Hanako finally catches Hikari on the playground. The screen shows ghost flares (light reflected off the lens and onto the screen) of the sun before sunset, emphasizing that this is the viewpoint through the "camera. In the exchange in the dusk, it is revealed that Hanako was startled by Junna's words and changed her way of thinking. Perhaps it is because Junna's words reached Hanakoi because even on the side of the have-nots, she never gives up and continues to reach for the stars.

And when Junna in the infirmary says, "No matter how hard I try, the distance I can't catch up, but that doesn't mean I can't give up," she overlaps the image of Claudine, who continues her voluntary training alone and earnestly, so that Claudine and other geniuses, whose backs she wants to catch up with, are also always making their best efforts ...... also expresses (Junna's) sense of despair. Still, it's a dream you can't give up on.

Hikari, who had stubbornly opposed to Hanako's participation in the audition, seems to be moved when she realizes that Hanako's goal is not to become a top star, but rather to be on stage with her. At the moment when Hanakoi, moved by Junna's craving and passion, exclaims with determination, "I want to be a Starlight with Hikari," she receives a giraffe mail announcing the second day's audition. It is noteworthy that Hikari also receives an e-mail at the same time.

From this point on, the dynamic development of the film, skipping all the descriptions of "running to the school building" and "going down to the basement in the elevator," and entering the transformation bank, gives the work an unusual sense of tempo. The transformation bank depicts the entire process of creating the costume from the very beginning, from the casting out of the parts to the sewing process. As I write this, I realize that this is not so much a transformation bank as a costume creation bank. The bank scene itself is a device to transport the viewer to the other world of the stage and audition, but the countless processes and labor that go into the costumes we take for granted may indicate that there is a behind-the-scenes presence.

The costume creation scene, which gives the viewer an industrial and masculine image that is the opposite of the beautiful girl's glittering transformation, reminds me of the direction of Kunihiko Ikuhara, aka "Ikuni," the director of "Rinrupingu Drum" and "Yurikuma Arashi. It is no wonder that the director of this film, Tomohiro Furukawa, is a direct disciple and right-hand man of Ikuhara, who was the assistant director of "Urikuma Arashi" and has participated in many of Ikuhara's works. The atmosphere of the bank scene is very Ikuni-esque, but I feel that this industrial taste is original to director Furukawa. The final scene of the film, when the director is wrapped in red velvet and "makes up! is a perfect homage to "Sailor Moon R," Ikuhara's first work as series director.

The main revue scene in episode 2 is Hanako Aishiro vs Junna Hoshimi. The theme is "craving. This time, Junna's words of "I'll grab my star! Junna's words of "I'll grab it, my star! The motif of the revue scene is based on Junna's mental image, with many "glasses" and "mannequins with no personality". It seems that "becoming a sta" is the dream of the unconfident Junna, who once had only the attributes of "being able to study" and "being an honor student," that she might be able to become something original. There were glasses in the audience seats on the stage, but Junna used to be a person who gazed at the stage as an audience member.

One thing I would like to add is that Junna destroyed the lenses on the stage that symbolized her former self, but at the same time, she also used "mannequins" and "lenses (mirrors made of lenses)" as weapons to fight on the stage. In the stage version of "Revue Starlight," there was a scene in which Junna deflects her knowledge of history and the stage, and what she learned when she was an honor student with her studies as her strong point must be in her blood now.

The revue song for the second episode was "The Star Knows. The interlude is quite long and grandiose, but the length of the song, which fits perfectly with the dialogue between Junna, Hanakoi, and Kirin, shows the care that was taken in its creation. The revue song was playing in the background of the battle, but when Hanakoi sang alone at the end, the volume was increased to make it sound a cappella, and mouth movements were added to the picture to make it look as if Hanakoi was singing on the spot, giving the impression that the winner of the audition was Hanakoi. I was impressed by the way they made it look like "Hanakoi is singing on the spot".

It was nice that Junna and Hanako recognized each other through the audition and became friends a little. As if to reflect such a refreshing atmosphere, I was impressed by the sparkling light shining down on them through the glasses on the set. And inserted before and after the battle between Junna and Hanakoi was the battle scene between Tendo Shinya and Saijo Claudine. Shinya was truly a champion when he won and said, "Dreams are not something to be seen, but something to be shown.

The last scene was pulled off by Hikari and Mahiru, but we will be watching very closely to see what kind of expressions the two will show in future revues as they continue to accumulate various thoughts and feelings.

(Text by Kiri Nakazato)