At long last, Revue Starlight shines the spotlight over to Banana-chan. I was extremely curious about this episode, if only because Nana is weirdly not too prevalent in the first six. She’s been working behind the scenes for “Starlight” and save for some brief appearances, she’s been notably absent form the Revues. Everyone else has been at the foreground except her. I can see someone take her completely for granted but I figured that if Revue Starlight is holding off on her, then it must have something in store with this character and it must be something big. Last episode’s post-credit scene and preview certainly gives that much of an impression. Suffice to say, this episode does not disappoint in that regard. In fact, it throws me on a bit of a loop…pun not intended.
Episode 7 is pretty much an entire flashback detailing Nana’s past. We begin with another look at the 99th class’s first performance of “Starlight”. This scene is a little more extensive than past glimpses at the play as we actually get to see various characters act out as characters in the play. Something that you’ll immediately notice is that all the supporting roles in the play matches the personality of the actress playing them. For example, Karen plays a goddess who warns Flora and Clara are reaching for the stars, explaining that she was arrogant and thought that she could grasp them herself. This lines up with her present self thinking she could go toe to toe with Maya and become the Top Star in Episode 3. I’ll go over all the parallels another time but at this point, it’s becoming increasingly clear that “Starlight” isn’t just an in-universe play the main characters perform. It’s also a framing device for the show’s story. Of course, being that Nana is the featured character this episode, her character in the play stands out a bit more than the others. Nana portrays a goddess who laments the “cycle of despair” that lies ahead for Flora and Clara. That totally isn’t foreshadowing anything at all!
After the play, everyone celebrates with an afterparty. We learn in this scene that Nana has lent a helping hand to just about everyone, for all sorts of things involving the production of “Starlight” such as acting practice, creating the costumes and sets, and providing people with free food. Karen then proceeds to coin the “Banana” nickname for Nana, partly because of Nana’s association with bananas but also because she thinks Nana is “‘sweet, kind, and nourishing'” like a banana. Knowing Karen, it’s incredibly fitting that she’s the one who comes up with the nickname. Touched by everyone’s gratitude, Nana inner monologues that she hopes to be best friends with everyone forever.
We then fast forward to the start of the second year. After a class, Maya accuses Nana of holding back so that she can everyone’s “Banana”. It’s honestly a bit crazy to think that there could be someone stronger than Maya. She’s been established as the top of the class and the strongest Stage Girl for half the show now. And yet, I can buy the idea that Nana is stronger because the show has clearly been saving her character for later. I find it interesting that Maya disapproves of Nana’s restraint. Maya can often come across as condescending but this is the first time in the show where she’s legitimately mad or frustrated at someone. I suppose it is a matter of pride. If Nana is stronger, then Maya isn’t technically the best student and that probably bothers Maya a lot. Maya loves being at the top but I can see her not wanting that honor if she doesn’t earn it fair and square. There’s also the fact that Maya gives everything 110%. Understandably, she can’t forgive Nana if the latter doesn’t do the same.
In Episode 5, Nana seemed awfully adamant about doing “Starlight” the same way as the first go-around. This comes into play again in this episode as Nana worries about how the second performance will go. Two of her classmates drop out of Seisho so already, the crew will be different going forward. As seen throughout the show, all of the major characters gunning for Flora or Clara and no one has any intention of reprising whatever role they played the previous year. No matter what, it looks like the second “Starlight” will be different from the first and that worries Nana. In her eyes, the first “Starlight” was already perfect and it can’t be topped.
Some time later, Nana is invited to the underground theatre and she learns about the Revues from the giraffe. Realizing the power of the Top Star, Nana participates in the Revues and defeats all of the competition, including Maya (thereby confirming that Nana is indeed the stronger than her). What then happens is wild, even by Revue Starlight‘s standards. After becoming the Top Star, Nana wishes to relive the first “Starlight” all over again. This causes her to go back in time, to the start of her first year. But not only does Nana get to redo the first “Starlight” however, she also gets to participate in the Revues again. As a result, she acts out the play and makes her wish again and again, effectively trapping herself and everyone else in a loop.
As far as I can tell, Nana is a fan-favorite character in Revue Starlight. I don’t know if I personally consider Nana to be my favorite character but I can see someone make the argument for her and I myself do really like her. Once you get to this point in the show, Nana becomes a very riveting character. She’s easily the biggest threat in the plot right now, as she’s stronger than Maya and the time loop could go on for eternity. I also see her as the antithesis to the rest of the main cast. Everyone else wants to do better and they want to be the Top Star to change their future. Meanwhile, Nana seems content with the past, so much so that she becomes the the Top Star to literally deny herself and her friends of their future. But while Nana certainly is an antagonist, I’m hard pressed to classify her as a villain. There isn’t a trace of malice in what she’s doing. She genuinely loves her friends and everything they’ve accomplished together so far. She just wants to relive those accomplishments over and over again. There are definitely some rose tinted glasses being worn here but Nana isn’t wrong for worrying about the second “Starlight”. It could be better than first one but it could also be worse and Nana doesn’t want to know what fate has in store for her and the others, hence the time loop. Nana’s actions are disturbing but there oddly is something sympathetic about them.
I admit that it’s kind of a missed opportunity to not explicitly show the revue between Nana and Maya (be it the first go-around or any of the “rematches”). Given Maho Tomita’s commanding singing voice as Maya and what we later hear from Moeka Koizumi as Nana, an insert song involving these two characters would’ve been awesome. That said, not showing the whole fight gives the impression that Maya didn’t give Nana a lot of trouble and that greatly sells the idea that Nana is no slouch in the Revues and the fact that Maya loses.
There’s something amusing about Nana’s victory here. Maya accuses Nana of holding herself back for everyone else’s sake and while that seems to be true, we see in the Revue that Nana stops holding back because of her friends. In her head, she’s doing everyone a favor by going back in time and preventing them all from finding out how the second “Starlight” will go. As twisted as it is, Nana does, in a way, continue to look out for everyone. Maya more or less suggests that Nana needs to stop being everyone’s “banana” so that she shows off her true abilities but in the end, Maya sees how strong Nana is because the latter leans further into the whole “banana” persona.
Revue Starlight has never been shy about employing symbolism and this episode is no exception. You may have noticed throughout the show that Nana often likes to take pictures or record videos of stuff happening in school. Since the spotlight is on Nana, that habit shows up a couple of times this episode. I originally dismissed this aspect of Nana as a mere quirk but with the new context provided by this episode, it can take up a new meaning. There’s a funny irony to this habit. Like, Nana makes all of these mementos but she loses them once she resets the timeline. Plus, there’s almost no point to them since Nana can literally go back in time. At the same time however, this goes to show how sentimental Nana is about the past and how much she yearns for go back to it.
There’s also a really interesting use of light in this episode. Upon entering the underground theater, Nana is greeted by a series of blinding lights. These lights appear again when Nana defeats Maya in the revues. This is most likely in reference to the concept of “shine” and when a Stage Girl shines brightest as the Top Star. No only do the blinding brightness of the lights presents “shine” as something powerful and omnipotent, it also alludes to Nana’s power level as a Stage Girl and her inevitable victories.
Curiously, when Nana wins, she remarks that the lights are too blinding. In this context, I see the lights as an allusion to the first “Starlight”. Like I said before, it’s rose tinted glasses she’s wearing here. She’s convinced that the performance was a glorious one and even if the do-over surpasses it, it wouldn’t replicate what she’s feeling. She wants to reclaim that feeling and so she enacts her wish. Oddly enough, despite going back in time, Nana still thinks the light blinds her, perhaps meaning that she’s still trying to replicate what she once felt and she’ll keep repeating the loop until she does. In a way, the first “Starlight” is Nana’s “star”, akin to the ones Flora and Clara yearn for in the plays. It’s what Nana is reaching out for and what continues to elude her grasp.
Come to think about it, those lights are also shaped like Hikari’s hair clips. That has to be intentional given what happens at the end of the episode.
When Nana is crowned Top Star for who knows how many times, Hikari appears in front of her before the timeline resets again. This eventually leads Nana to the current timeline where Hikari transfers to Seisho, which has apparently never happened before (hence Nana’s interest in Hikari earlier in the show). To be honest, there isn’t really an explanation as to why the timeline has changed. As far as I can tell, Hikari isn’t aware of Nana’s shenanigans and her surprise appearance before the reset is more of a stylistic choice to convey that Nana’s time looping days are numbered. My only guess is that it that the change is the giraffe’s doing. The show doesn’t explicitly explain how the time loop affects him but he does acknowledge the loop in one line. The giraffe also explains to Nana that he holds the revues to see a stage no one can foresee. Seeing as Nana has won numerous times, I can see him bringing Hikari along to make the revues more unpredictable.
At long last, the show finally returns to the present. Nana isn’t sure as to why the timeline changed but she’s undeterred by it, adamant that her “repeat performance” a.k.a. the first “Starlight” will happen again. Nana then says she wants Hikari on her “stage”, which I see interpret as her wanting to fight the latter in the revues. I really like how ominous the scene looks. There’s a reddish tint to the scene and Nana actually looks “directly” at the camera, as if she’s about to break the fourth wall. Needless to say, the scene does a great job selling how dangerous Nana is. Nana and Hikari may seem like an odd rivalry as first but trust me, it’ll make a lot of sense when you get to what I consider to be the best episode in the show.
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