Judging by the events of this episode and the preview for Episode 5, I’m assuming this stretch of episodes will have Poppin’Party meeting the other bands in the show to get some input and inspiration for their live show. On paper, it’s a pretty good idea to have these groups involved in the ongoing plot. Admittedly, if this episode is anything to go by, I’m not sure how productive this will all be but at least it’s a lot of fun so far.
Episode 4 begins with another one of PoPiPa’s lunchtime hangouts, where we learn that they still have no idea idea how to get the ball rolling with their live show. Once again, Kasumi pitches the only idea she has come up with so far: having the band fly up in the sky (presumably with the same drawing no less). The gang is soon joined by Kokoro Tsurumaki (Miku Itou), the leader and vocalist of HaroHapi. Dismayed to see her friends feeling down, Kokoro decides that she’ll somehow make Kasumi’s crazy idea a reality and prove to them that they can do just about anything for their show. Naturally, Kokoro recruits the rest of her band: guitarist Kaoru Seta (Azusa Tadokoro), bassist Hagumi Kitazawa (Yuri Yoshida), drummer Kanon Matsubara (Moe Toyota), and DJ/mascot Misaki Okusawa (Tomoyo Kurosawa). HaroHapi settle on hosting their own live event for PoPiPa. If you can believe it, they somehow get it all set up within a few hours. This is more or less justified by Kokoro being incredibly rich and having access to a myriad of assets. As ridiculous as it may sound, the optics pale in comparison to the actual show itself.
The concert takes place on a cruise ship owned by Kokoro’s family. Kaoru poses as a gentlemen thief type of character and “kidnaps” Rimi, spurring the rest of PoPiPa to go after them and explore the ship. Along the way, PoPiPa sees some performances by HaroHapi and shows with special effects provided by Kokoro’s employees. The event culminates with HaroHapi performing up on a hot air balloon. Kokoro and a very confused and reluctant Misaki jump off the stage. After a brief struggle, Misaki manages to activate her costume’s jet pack, the existence of which she learns at the same time as the viewer does, and she flies just in the time to save Kokoro and take her back to the ship. I swear I’m not making that last part up and believe me, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds (not just by itself but also by the fact that it’s canon with Season 1 and retrospectively, the sequel series).
You definitely can question if this concert is all that helpful for PoPiPa. Like, Kokoro does prove Kasumi’s idea can be pulled off but I would like to point that she accomplishes this feat because she has that much money to burn. That’s a perk no one in PoPiPa enjoys and it kind of does muddle Kokoro’s message that anything is possible. Also, I get that going big is HaroHapi’s MO but when you think about it, the whole tour around the ship with all the special effects and having Kaoru make Rimi’s heart flutter are actually unnecessary. Really, all HaroHapi has to do is just jump off and show off the jetpack. That said, this concert is still a lot of fun to watch. It gets so over the top and unpredictable that it’s hard not to enjoy it to some degree. I also think that it’s one of the more unique moments in the anime so far, in part due to the grand scope of the location and the upbeat tone of HaroHapi’s music. One thing is for sure, I’m not forgetting this part of the show any time soon.
I’m liking HaroHapi well enough. I was a bit skeptical of Kokoro as this show already has its fair share of airheaded anime girls but she grew on me as the episode went on. She’s so whacky that at times, she somehow makes Kasumi and Tae look normal by comparison, and I found that to be very entertaining. My favorite member of HaroHapi however might be Misaki, the band’s DJ who also operates as their mascot character, Michelle. Misaki is the straight man of the and and she plays that role splendidly. Her putting up with her bandmates’ shenanigans is already funny but it’s made even better by her wearing a silly bear costume at the same time. Kaoru already made a good impression during the season premiere and her theatrics are fun to watch in this episode as well. One very funny gag in this episode is Kaoru being afraid of heights, which is ironic given HaroHapi’s goals this episode, and her getting into character to temporarily overcome it. Unfortunately, there’s not much to say about Hagumi and Kanon. Those two get the short end of the stick this episode. Maybe I’ll get to learn more about them down the line but that might not be anytime soon as the show is already moving on to the next band.
Xenodude Scribbles 