Having seen the sequel series, I kind of was bracing myself for a pretty lengthy fallout after the culture festival. Fortunately, it only lasts for a couple of minutes. Tae apologizes to her friends the next day and everyone is quick to forgive her and move on. I did expect Arisa to give Tae a hard time. After all, she almost did blow a gasket at the end of Episode 9. That said, it makes more sense for her to accept Tae’s apology after she spends the night before cooling down and acknowledging that she and the others played a part in their concert getting cancelled. Not that I expected Tae to go around being her silly self as per usual but it is weird seeing her so down and remorseful for most of this episode. It definitely sells how serious this situation is for her.
After classes, PoPiPa go around to thank their friends for covering for them during the culture festival concert. The part where they thank Rinko is the funniest, as Rinko wishes she bought PoPiPa more time. As a result, she and Tae go back and forth apologizing with one another. The most interesting moment in this segment is when PoPiPa thank Yukina. Yukina tells them that she won’t cover for them again. It’s a bit harsh but Yukina does have a point. For PoPiPa to truly succeed in the future, they have to overcome adversity on their own. The less they have to rely on someone else when something goes awry, the better.
Given how difficult it’s been for Tae to play for two bands, it seemed very likely that she would choose one band over the other. Sure enough, during RAS’ next meeting, Tae announces to everyone in the band that she plans on leaving them. I’m a little surprised but also relieved that Rei accepts this decision, right from the get go even. I figured since she’s Tae’s childhood friend that Rei be against the idea to some extent. It’s really cool then to learn that she’d rather have Tae be happy then keep her in the band. I particularly like how this ties into a flashback scene that details Rei and Tae’s childhood. Rei and Tae stayed friends after the former moved out of town so Rei knows that this will remain the case if she and Tae have to drift apart from each other again. Meanwhile, I’m not terribly surprised that Chiyu does not accept Tae’s decision. Putting aside how petty Chiyu is for creating RAS, the band is her passion project. The last thing she wants is someone giving it any issues. It also doesn’t help that Tae has apparently become well liked by RAS’ fans. Even though Tae is technically a support guitarist, there is a strong incentive to keep her in the band. To be frank, the best time for Tae to leave RAS would’ve actually been before the band debuted.
Tae does manage to reach a compromise with Chiyu, getting the band leader’s approval to leave on the condition that she performs with RAS one more time. Curious to see Tae play for another band, Kasumi and the others in PoPiPa decide to check out the live show. The group is soon joined by Eve and Maya, who provide some information regarding the members of RAS. In particular, Rei and Masuki have apparently been pretty well-known, having floated around with other bands as support musicians. Along with Chiyu’s apparent influence as a producer, it’s a little easier to see how RAS has already garnered a following in such a short time. Probably the quirkiest tidbit is that according to Eve, Reona dyes her hair in different colors for different events (which frankly doesn’t sound like a very healthy thing to do but whatever). I noticed that Reona’s hair is black and white when performing for RAS as opposed to pink and blue and well, now I know why.
We didn’t really get to hear RAS’ music last episode so this concert marks the first time you actually hear a song of theirs. It’s actually very clever and even a bit mischievous of the show that it held off on showing RAS perform until now. For much of this episode, you’re completely in favor of Tae leaving RAS and recommitting to playing for PoPiPa. But then you get to this scene and you see Tae completely in the zone, shredding her guitar alongside Rei and the others. Suddenly, the problem with Tae playing for RAS is less that it’s keeping her busy and more that she fits in a little too well with them. Combined with the catchy music and some of the animation this season, you really get the impression that it might actually be best for Tae to remain with RAS.
After the show, PoPiPa can’t help but wonder this exact thing. The four are then approached by Chiyu and Reona, with the former demanding that they hand Tae over to RAS. Admittedly, this will all most likely end with Tae sticking with her gut and staying with PoPiPa. Still, I’m interested to see the back and forth Tae will have with her friends over her choice and how exactly PoPiPa will get Chiyu off their backs.
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