Surprisingly, it only takes a second to get disheartened.
What They Say:
No one wants to get stuck in a boring profession, so when college student Chitose Karasuma storms into a voice acting training facility, she thinks that her future is poised for awesomeness. However, this bad-mannered beauty is in for more than she bargained for as she gets accepted into the talent agency “Number One Produce.” Together with her coworkers, including a girl with a Kansai accent and a cunning airhead, Chitose charges into the competitive world of professional voice acting.
The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of this review may contain spoilers)
Chitose is upset...Gojo is upset...Basically everybody in Girlish Number is upset right now. With last week's episode throwing out various signals of what's going to happen to our pink-haired protagonist's career, Chitose really needs to step up her game this week if she's going to stay in this thing. After all, she has an entire studio staff waiting on her. But instead of lightening up and working harder, she begins to sulk, dragging the entire character roster down with her.
After a less-than-ideal day in the studio, all of the girls begin to worry about Chitose. These worries get even more intense when she does something she's never even imagined before -- turn down going out to dinner. As Chitose begins to fade away, however, the spotlight on Nanami starts shining brighter than normal. In fact, Nanami has made such a good impression on Number One Produce that Kuzu, himself, decides it might be time to change up the Kusure marketing strategy to one more geared toward this up and coming star. The thing with Nanami, though, is that she doesn't really understand any of this. In fact, she doesn't even notice that she's becoming popular. So when the other girls begin to mention that Chitose might be thinking about quitting, Nanami freaks out and goes on an extensive rant about how much she loves Chitose. And even though Chitose wasn't around to hear this, the rant itself goes on to reveal the first 'bright side' we've seen in a while.
It's apparent that no one wants Chitose to quit -- particularly Gojo. In fact, the first scene of this episode even shows him staring at an old photograph from the 10th anniversary of Number One Produce -- the year he wound up quitting. It is also revealed that Koto actually worked alongside Gojo back in the day and that the two have some sort of relationship tracing back years prior. So when Koto approaches Gojo about how he needs to do something before it's too late, we're brought back to the times when Gojo felt like he just wasn't cut out for acting. Taking her (And Yae's) words to heart, he finally approaches Chitose about her situation.
Before he can even speak, however, Chitose bursts into tears. She goes on and on about how she just wants people to like her and how she gets hurt when no one pays attention and it really emphasizes and expands the needy side of her we've grown to love (Or hate) the past few months. Yes, she's cocky, but it seems like she only thinks and acts this way because it normally works out for her. So when she's finally feeling broken for the first time in the series, that ego of hers vanishes and we're left with a surprisingly human, normal girl begging for attention. Gojo, being brother of the year, then explains to Chitose why she needs to stick her chin up and not wind up like he did. Feeling reinvigorated, Chitose sets her sights on tomorrow for a final chance to redeem herself.
In Summary:
With just one episode remaining, Girlish Number still stands tall as one of the most surprising shows of the season. With not a single episode coming off as 'useless' or 'boring' in my book, I'd be shocked if the finale shifted in that direction. I firmly believe that the last episode of Girlish Number will wrap things up neatly thanks to the show's overall exceptional pacing thus far. This week's installment was nothing more than a well-executed set-up for what's to come. We're all cheering for you, Chitose! You can do it!
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
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