While cleaning around Galaxy, Rokka stumbles upon a blond girl lying unconscious on the stage floor. The girl soon wakes up and promptly leaves the venue, leaving Rokka very confused. Most likely, this is another character that’ll become a bigger deal down the line. Rokka’s attention is then taken elsewhere when she is invited to represent Galaxy in the planning committee for the 15th iteration of the Happy Healthy Go Go Festival, a promotional event for the local shopping district.
Aside from Rokka, the group is comprised of Sāya, Ako, and Hagumi as well as Afterglow members Tsugumi Hazawa (Hisako Kanemoto), Tomoe Udagawa (Yoko Hikasawa), and Moca Aoba (Sachika Misawa). Ako is more or less there since she’s Tomoe’s younger sister and Moca is there because she likes good food, particularly those sold in Yamabuki Bakery. Besides those two, every member represents some sort of business in the shopping district. Not that it really matters but I am realizing more and more what a small world these characters live in. I mean, Sāya is a no brainer because of Yamabuki Bakery but everyone else? How convenient that these other girls all live in the same neighborhood as her. I suppose if it this was established in Girls Band Party, most fans at the time wouldn’t be all that surprised.
During the meeting, Tsugumi mentions that some of the elderly ladies in the community have asked for Afterglow to perform. She and the others then extend the invitation to Poppin’Party, which they gladly accept. Everyone in Hello, Happy World! plan on attending the event but they’ll instead promote the croquettes sold at the meat shop run by Hagumi’s family. Considering that the committee has reps from four of the five bands in the show, this concert could have been a decent excuse to have them all perform back to back. Given what happens later however, I think only having Afterglow and Poppin’Party perform is the right choice.
On the day of the festival, some rain pours down, causing the concert to be put on hold. As everyone waits for the rain to stop, Rokka asks Afterglow out of curiosity regarding how the band came to be. The members of Afterglow explain that they’ve pretty much been together since elementary school. During their second year of middle school however, Ran is placed in a different class from everyone else for the first time. To keep the group together, Tsugumi suggests that they form a band. That way, they all share the same hobby and feel more inclined to spend time with one another. The name, “Afterglow” is in reference to how they would always practice together around sunset. It’s a simple backstory but I find it to be pretty touching. I particularly enjoy learning that Ran is a more sentimental person that she wants to admit. From her one appearance in the season premiere, Ran came across as one of the more serious characters so it’s interesting to learn that she was the first to agree with Tsugumi’s idea and suggest that the band name themselves after their favorite time of day.
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