Lapis Re:LiGHTs – Ep. 7

My goodness, Lapis Re:LiGHTs is remembering its plot. Pinch me, I must be dreaming. I did end up enjoying the randomness of the past four episodes but there is no denying that show got very unfocused as a result. Seeing the story tighten up and getting back on track is reassuring and hopefully, it’ll stay that way for the remainder of the series. Though it if doesn’t, I’m sure the show will still manage to be fun in some way.

Apparently, Tiara and friends has been doing well enough in class to stay enrolled in school. Unfortunately, their efforts are nullified when the director, who we now know as Chloe (Yoshino Najou), deducts 70 points for Lavie stealing the map for the Summons last episode (oh Lavie). As hilarious as it is, I’m very baffled at the severity of the punishment. You’d think they’d at least get some points back for being Good Samaritans and helping out at the Summons but they only get 10 points for that. This school really is pettier than Hogwarts when it comes to grading.

So finally, thanks to this new setback, Tiara’s group considers to embrace the J-Pop. Go figure, Rosetta does the math and informs everyone that a good performance will net them all the points they need to stay enrolled. How convenient! This of course garners some varied initial reactions. Tiara is of course the most enthusiastic, pitching the idea herself. Also unsurprising is Lynette being the most anxious about it though she does try writing lyrics, hinting that she does want to contribute, and eventually decides she’ll perform with everyone else. If Maryberry can do it, so can Lynette (and this show keeps skimming over Mary’s character development!).

Now that we’ve finally reached this point, I now see what Lapis Re:LiGHTs has been going for these past couple of episodes. It had Tiara meet all the other characters and see them perform, gradually and organically making her consider performing in an Orchestra herself. Really, her grades now hinging on the Orchestras is just a means to give her complete motivation to embrace the idea. Now, did we need four episodes to get to this point? Well…I still had fun at least.

Eventually, Yue catches wind of this plan and gives Tiara the cold shoulder once more. She also confirms her awareness of Tiara being Eliza’s younger sister. Yue’s group mates Millefueille (Saeko Oku) and Fiona (Haruka Itou), both of whom are much more polite than their leader, helps explain what Yue’s deal is. Apparently, Yue’s country was heavily attacked by magical beasts and it was Eliza’s group Ray that saved the day with the power of J-Pop (I swear I’m not making this up). Before returning home, Eliza personally tutored Yue, hence the latter’s ambition and admiration for Tiara’s sister.

Knowing all this, I now see why Yue acts so cold towards Tiara. She’s seeing the less serious younger sister of her hero/teacher in the lowest student rank. That’s bound to push some buttons. Another factor might be envy. Maybe Yue is jealous that Tiara is Eliza’s biological sister, especially when Eliza left her country to take care of Tiara again. At the same time, it’s clear that Tiara and Yue aren’t really that dissimilar. They’re both closely tied to one of the strongest witches in the world and that tie inspires them to become the best they can be. Tiara recognizes that and it’s through that connection that she’s able to get through to Yue and get her to open up a little.

I’m about to go on a whim but I wonder if Eliza is actually Tiara’s rival and not Yue. No doubt, there’ll be some competitiveness between Tiara and Yue but Eliza seems more suited as a rival. She’s a legend whose shadow Tiara wants to step out of and while she does love her sister, she’s also been very disapproving of Tiara’s dream of becoming a witch. Honestly, I have to wonder the exact lengths Eliza goes here. Like, Tiara knowing little about magic and the like and having a friend explain it to her, clumsy as it is, could actually be explained as Eliza refraining to tell her anything. Also, considering that director Chloe is a member of Ray, it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s revealed that Eliza asked Chleo to get Tiara expelled. That would explain the insane deductions of points.

Honestly, there’s a lot of potential to Eliza being the real obstacle. Have Tiara’s group compete against Ray, maybe for Tiara to continue studying in the academy. You definitely want your elite idol group to perform in your idol anime anyway. Maybe Yue comes to a realization that perhaps she was the favored “sister” all along as Eliza taught her magic while sheltering Tiara from it. I’m not terribly confident in this hunch but it would be impressive if the show actually goes there.

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