Wow, I completely forgot about the alpacas. It really has been a long time since I last watched this show. Those are definitely a random animal to have on school grounds but I can’t deny that they’re a unique choice for an animal mascot. I don’t remember the alpacas being particularly relevant to the plot but the girls do pay them a visit throughout the show.
Anyway, this episode sees the recruitment of all three of the main cast’s first years – Hanayo, Rin, and Maki. Following the concert, Honoka puts up a recruitment flyer near a bulletin board in the school. Hanayo picks one up and she can’t decide on whether or not she should join μ’s. She’s always wanted to be an idol but because of her timidness, she feels that goal is out of her reach. Hanayo asks Rin if she’d join the “club” with her though Rin has her own reservation; she feels she lacks the femininity to pull off an idol persona. In a later scene, Hanayo finds Maki’s school ID and she visits the latter’s house to return it. Hanayo tells Maki that she’s talented enough to be a school idol though Maki explains she’ll have to quit music in a few years to become a doctor and inherit her family’s hospital.
In between all of this, we see Eli try to convince the school director, Kotori’s mother, to prevent μ’s from becoming an official club. When the director refuses, Eli requests for the student council operate interpedently from the board to help keep Otonokizaka open, which I find surprising considering how powerful student councils usually are in anime. To Eli’s surprise, the director shows her and Nozomi a recording of μ’s concert that’s been uploaded online, the video gaining a good amount of views. It’s starting to look like μ’s has a shot at making it big. That there is a recording however begs the question of who uploaded it (and for the record, I don’t remember if I got far enough to find out).
After returning Maki’s school ID, Hanayo stumbles upon the sweets shop run by Honoka’s family and hangs out with Honoka, Umi, and Kotori. The three second years then invite Hanayo to their “club”. I really like that each of them acknowledge a flaw of theirs. Up until now, Hanayo seems to respect and admire the three for doing something she feels is impossible for her. Learning that they’re actually more or less in the same boat as her helps her feel more comfortable with the idea of being a school idol, not to mention it breaks the ice between her and the second years. I do find it amusing when Kotori says μ’s would fail as professional idols. I guess it makes sense given how early we are in the story but knowing the general standards of this franchise’s music, I still beg to differ on this sentiment.
On paper, having three characters join μ’s all at once is a big risk. It runs the danger of feeling rushed rather than earned. That said, I think this episode does a solid job juggling between the three characters. It basically puts Hanayo’s recruitment at the foreground and it tackles Rin’s and Maki’s along the way. Being Hanayo’s best friend, Rin knows how much she wants to be a school idol. Maki is more an acquittance but she notices Hanayo’s potential in singing and feels compelled to support her. Both Rin and Maki have their own reservations about becoming school idols so they instead pour their efforts in giving Hanayo a much needed push in the meantime. It’s very funny how Rin and Maki argue over their different reasons for helping Hanayo when really, they share the same goal.
I do think this episode doesn’t do enough to address Rin’s and Maki’s insecurity. Like, Rin’s self-consciousness over her femininity and Maki’s future isn’t mentioned again when the two decide to join μ’s with Hanayo. I have to wonder then if the show will address this again. That said, I still like easily these two join. Both girls spent the whole episode contemplating over joining μ’s so it’s satisfying that all it takes for them to decide is the second years extending their invitation to them.
At the end of the episode, we see the first years begin their first day of training. Here, Hanayo unveils a new look where she trades her glasses for contacts. I kind of got used to seeing Hanayo with glasses but her new look is actually the character design the franchise uses in general. It’s a minor but neat visual change to convey Hanayo’s newfound confidence and her coming out of her shell. Elsewhere, we see Nico looking μ’s up on the internet and leaving a “friendly” comment about them. I’ll save any comments on Nico for the next episode but suffice to say, she’s one of School Idol Project‘s more colorful characters.
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