IDOLiSH7: Third BEAT! Episode 23

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Shadow’s Impression

I typically don’t get too emotional when watching i7, but oh my gosh this episode nearly made me tear up several times. This is the last thing I read while reading translations of the game and while I knew what was going to happen, it’s so much more different watching it and actually seeing what transpires. And boy did they really pull out all the stops with the voice acting in this one. Especially Sogo’s VA who did a fantastic job just conveying all the pain and sadness Sogo had. My thoughts are kind of all over the place because of how emotional this episode was so bear with me.

We start off where we left off with Sogo’s dad asking how much money he wanted, which is incredibly messed up. Doesn’t even bother to greet him, just getting down to business. It’s honestly really sad how Sogo immediately backs down when his dad raises his voice at him and gave up trying to talk things out before he said what he wanted to. And I totally understand how hard and terrifying it is to try and talk things out with your parents, especially when you know that they slam the gates down if the conversation goes in a direction they don’t like. It’s honestly no surprise why Sogo has such a hard time speaking up and constantly bottles up what he feels inside. He simply was not allowed to express anything.

Not to mention the way Sogo’s dad regards idols as “nightlife workers” just feels terribly disrespectful. Especially without knowing just how hard all of these idols have worked to get where they are and aren’t simply “selling themselves.” However, despite his harsh and cold words, it almost sounds like as if he blames the entertainment industry for his brother’s death and also the thing that “lead his own son astray.” There does seem still seems to care for Sogo to an extent as he did ask if the money he gives him will make sure his son “doesn’t die in the street,” though he does so in a very cold and condescending manner.

However, that hardly excuses the extreme actions he takes. Not only did he try and strongarm Sogo back into rejoining the family (which would undoubtedly make him miserable), but he has the gall to try and frame Tamaki for using violence when he literally didn’t do anything. Even going as far as to call the police on him. That was so DIRTY, especially when he even has his butler lie about what actually happened. I knew this would happen, but I was still BAFFLED at the fact he was willing to go this far.

This is definitely the penultimate episode of how far Sogo and Tamaki’s relationship has come. The amount of trust Tamaki puts in Sogo is so telling. Especially when he pretends to be oblivious about the whole situation until he leaves and just starts yelling at his dad. Despite how he normally acts, Tamaki is surprisingly very perceptive, especially in very emotional and tense situations. He knows Sogo is panicking and knows to be calm and reassuring as to not cause him any further stress. Season 1 Tamaki would never. Which also says a lot for Tamaki’s growth as well. He would undoubtedly swing first and ask questions later, escalating the already tedious situation. But because he’s been working on himself, he’s learned to be more patient and understanding. And once Sogo was out of the room, he started justifiably yelling at Sogo’s dad for how terrible he is.

But man… Sogo absolutely ripped my heart out several times through out the episode. Hearing everything Sogo has bottled up for so long tumble out was so heartbreaking. Especially with how desperate he sounded to get his dad to understand and accept him only to be met with cold indifference. But what nearly brought me to tears was when Sogo talked about how he wanted to learn to like himself. That HIT me. I had to fight to keep myself from tearing up because goodness, that is something that I feel so many people battle with. And then seeing the responses to Sogo’s struggles hit me even more because it just validated my feelings. And then I proceeded to almost tear up again when Sogo played Trigger’s song. I’m glad that the people working with him didn’t just try to censor it or cover it up like so many others, but allowed Sogo to talk his heart out and play a song from a group he looked up to. This notion definitely touched Trigger as yet another person who is their fan stuck up for them during their time of need.

And honestly, sometimes there are times it’s best to say what you want to say not directly to the person like in a letter. In Sogo’s case, he used his radio show to convey what he wanted to express since I’m sure it would be difficult if not impossible to say all of that directly to his dad. He gets too panicked and desperate when facing his father directly. This way, he was able to say his feelings calmly and actually took a bit more time to think about what he wanted to say, forcing his dad to listen without interruption. And boy did his words make an impact. I’m sure this is the first time that Sogo has allowed himself to be so vulnerable with so many people. It’s definitely a giant step in the right direction as he was so used to bottling things up and never thinking to address them. The Idolish7 members were the first to crack through his demeanor and now he is willingly sharing his circumstances with everyone listening. What he did must have taken so much courage. I’m so proud of him. T^T It was also very sweet how so many fans came out to support him at the radio station after opening up about his struggles, letting him know that there are so many people who are rooting for him and care about him.

There are so many things that explains Sogo’s behavior and I’m so glad that Tamaki was able to speak up for him. Just as he said in season 2, Tamaki got angry on Sogo’s behalf and was able to say what Sogo failed to. He told Sogo’s dad that he hurt Sogo, he’s the reason why he hated himself, he’s the reason why he’s so withdrawn that he has to apologize for liking something. All of these things needed to be said and sometimes they need to be said by someone from the outside for the people inside to get the message. When Sogo talks to his dad face to face, he loses all power in the conversation, but Tamaki is able to gain the upper hand in the conversation by not taking any of Sogo’s dad’s excuses.

I can’t help but worry about the very specific examples that Tamaki uses when he describes how Sogo’s dad is hurting his own son as if he were speaking from experience. Which just paints a whole different light on what his childhood must have been like. We already knew Tamaki had a rough life, but never did they touch upon this sort of violence he might have experienced. It also explains why he reacts so violently as his first reaction and how he lashed out at his dad when he saw him. It’s honestly so heartbreaking putting that into perspective and just how much Tamaki has grown despite that. You can really tell how much self control he was imposing on himself not to throw fist and I’m proud of him for that. SEASON 1 TAMAKI COULD NEVER.

I honestly never thought about it until Tamaki pointed out that this was the first time that Sogo has cried. It was true. Sogo HASN’T cried on screen before. I own a bunch of the fanbooks and I noticed that Sogo didn’t have any crying expressions for his sprite unlike the rest of them. He constantly looks sad, but we’ve never once seem him cry until now. So seeing him break down crying just… UGH MY HEART. SO MANY FEELS. And even in the car, I and Tamaki noticed that he FINALLY just said “thank you” without prefacing it with “sorry.” Even earlier in the episode, he still apologized before saying thank you despite him not being at any fault. It’ll be a difficult habit to fully overcome, but he’s definitely heading in the right direction.

I’m not sure how I feel about how things wrapped up with Sogo’s dad since we didn’t get to fully see the result. However, I suppose we can assume that he did relent to some extent since he allowed Tamaki to leave without getting him arrested and didn’t follow through with his plans on forcing Sogo to come back to the family after giving him the loan. However, what I do like is the fact that it wasn’t just Sogo who was able to get through to him. If not for Tamaki, the whole thing would not have even worked. It took both of their words to finally get through to Sogo’s dad. This was the point where I finally started to see Sogo and Tamaki’s relationship as good and it just goes to show just how well it was developed. Especially since their relationship was just downright abysmal at the start. But now they have become true friends who got each others’ backs. It was a long time coming and I’m glad they’ve finally reached this point. Also it’s been A LONG time since they did an anime only song that wasn’t the opening or ending. The last time they did it was back in season 1 with Dancing Beat and Rain. And man is this song beautiful and it just encapsulates how far they’ve come as characters and their relationship.

Not gonna lie, I was still a little annoyed over the fact that Ryu acts as if just talking it out with his dad was the answer. Granted, he wasn’t wrong, but he still wasn’t totally right either. Especially since it took BOTH Sogo and Tamaki to help ease matters just a smidge. But even then, Sogo hasn’t fully made amends with him and who knows if he ever will.  But I digress. At least Sogo was able to get the money to help Trigger get a larger concert hall to sustain their fans without offending anyone. Giving them the break they needed and promise to earn back the money Sogo courageously got for them. There’s definitely a lot that needs to be done, but I think everyone is in a better spot now.

This episode was an emotional rollercoaster, but a good one. Especially in regards to Sogo and Tamaki. Both of them have come such a long way and I quite like their dynamic now after disliking it for so long. They certainly earned it after seasons of working things out. While it was a struggle, things are starting to look up for everyone, especially Trigger now that they have the means to put on a show without bothering anyone now. Hopefully this wave of positivity continues, but this is idolish7, the path is never smooth. It’s always riddled with bumps and potholes lol.