The first part of a two-parter plot arc that concludes in Episode 7.
It's been some time after the Gatalympics took place, and with the...interesting success that was Tae's mud-swing win, alongside her rooster call being recognized by everyone who saw her in the Drive-In Tori ad, Franchouchou is steadily getting some popularity points. In fact, they just launched a website! Albeit it looks very outdated for it's time...
At the office where Sagazine's staff works at, we see the chief editor Okoba and his assistant Inuhashi trying to research as much info on Franchouchou as they can. Unfortunately for them, they only have Franchouchou's website as the only piece of research for the time being (which is just a single page showcasing the girl's Drive-In Tori ad).
We then fade to our girls, who are currently busy with their rehearsals. They're practicing for an all new song to be performed later down the line, with Ai and Junko being the lead singers for this one. As the group takes five, Ai gives the rest of Franchouchou some of her tips and tricks on how to perform the dance moves. Suddenly, as Sakura watches Ai dancing, the amnesiac zombie herself begins to see another vision of her past. This time, it's a vision of Ai when she was alive. Sakura has yet to gain her past memories, but she still wonders if she knew Ai before her untimely death...or rather, their untimely deaths.
Later that evening, we see Kotaro taking a bath. While he wears his shades. This, of course, gives Franchouchou their best opportunity to use his computer for research, so they can check up on what's been happening in the idol business recently.
As the girls use their computer, Tae is helping Kotaro find some shampoo for his hair. She gives him laundry detergent, and later, soy sauce.
As Ai searches around the net, the group notices that a lot of idol groups who tend to be popular, all manage to break-up somehow in the end. Sakura assumes that because of this, Iron Frill should be a thing of the past...right?
That being said, Ai searches up some idol events that are happening nearby, and they come across an event known as "Saga Rock Festival". Being the largest outdoor rock event in Kyushu, this means Franchouchou has to secure their spot on the event so they can get their next big chance to shine. While Junko is very cautious on this, Ai isn't. This is due to how Ai grew up with the knowledge that if an idol group can't get noticed within a year, they're done for. This worries Junko a little.
As the girls check out the special guests for the festival...a group that goes by the name of Iron Frill has showed up as a very special guest performance. This sudden revelation gets on Ai's nerves. How could her old group be still around? And the bigger question is, does Iron Frill even have it's original members anymore? But those questions...are for later.
The next morning, Kotaro begins his daily report, kabuki theatre style. As he pulls off his best kabuki performance, Saki tells him to shut it and get to the point of today's meeting. He does so, and gives Franchouchou some special news: they now have fans!
Thanks to the combination of the Drive-In Tori ad and their participation of the Gatalympics, people have been intrigued enough to become part of Franchouchou's ever growing fandom. Kotaro is very pleased with the result, and even pulls off a quick recital of the Drive-In Tori dance...incorrectly. Sakura tries to help correct him, but she is given the usual punishment of being screamed at. Kotaro even manages to assault her nose, too!
After the daily dosage of zombie harassment, Kotaro gives the girls their next objective, and it's a long-term goal: start performing in mini-concerts as a way to booster their fandom rankings, and even help out with selling merch (i.e. low quality t-shirts) and taking pictures with fans. With that on the girl's minds, Junko isn't used to this method of fan interaction, and is quite worried. Ai declares it's integral to idols, however, regardless if Junko likes it or not. Yugiri doesn't seem to mind about the newfangled ways of fan interaction, however.
And with that, Franchouchou are able to pull off their first mini-concert with flying colors. However, during the end of their first mini-concert, a fan calls for Cocco-kun (which is how some people view Tae as), which obviously pisses off Saki (who prefers calling the bird mascot as Cocco-san). Naturally, Tae responds to the fan by doing her famous rooster call, and everyone begins to cheer for her. As a result, Tae cock-a-doodle-doos with the audience.
Shortly afterwards, we see Franchouchou selling merch and selfies with their fans. While everyone is having fun, Junko is legitimately terrified at being put to the task of interacting with fans face-first. Meanwhile, Ai gets a photo with a fan, but a sudden flash from the camera gives Ai some serious deja vu...
When its Junko's turn to take pictures with her fans (and surprisingly, she has the most fans out of Franchouchou as a whole), she begins to back out immediately. This causes Ai to demand at Junko to do her job as an idol...and Junko objects loudly by stating that its not her job to interact with fans, and it shouldn't be like that. With everyone falling quiet, Kotaro prematurely ends the mini-contest aftermath and forces Franchouchou back to the mansion.
And because of Ai and Junko's blunder, Kotaro gives the entire group his usual case of angrish and yelling out "dumbass zombies" as per usual. He angrily leaves them in the basement to think over what they've done, and this gives Ai and Junko the perfect time to argue about what they think idols should be from their own perspective, and most importantly- era.
With Ai sticking true to her ideals of fan interaction and is 100% against Junko's old-fashioned ways, this upsets the Showa-period idol immensely, and causes her to leave. Ai then follows suit.
We then see Ai self-reflecting on her own, stating that she's "not ready to become a part of history". Saki, Yugiri and Lily then confront Ai, with them trying to get Ai to make amends with Junko. This is because a true idol group should rely on one another...but Ai comes from an industry where friendship does not matter for an idol group. This upsets Saki and makes Lily sob, while Ai just ditches the three anyway. With Yugiri bluntly telling the group leader (Saki) that "things will get better", Saki yells in disgruntle.
Elsewhere, we see a self-reflecting Junko at a nearby beach. Her sunhat flies off into the beach waters, but luckily, here comes Sakura to save the hat! Unluckily, she falls into the water, and the hat flows back onto land, rendering Junko's hat rescue moot.
Sakura and Junko then have a one-to-one conversation about why the latter zombie will never be accustomed to the modern day idol business. Junko admits that the whole point of idols in her olden days is to never show weaknesses and imperfections, and being able to interact outside of TV shows and music is downright forbidden. As Junko tells Sakura all of that, she also tells Sakura about how her life came to an abrupt end: She died in a fatal plane crash on her way to a Saga concert. Sheesh.
With all of that revealed to Sakura, Junko tells her that if the olden-ways of idol customs is in the way of everyone else, Junko will force herself to not be a part of Franchouchou ever again.
Ai is wandering back to the mansion, when all of a sudden, a thunderstorm begins to rain down upon her. Saki comes to her aide, and sees that Ai is cowering in complete and utter fear from the thunder. The two hide in a playground nearby, and Saki wonders how a zombie like Ai can be so scared of a thunderstorm...and Ai tells Saki the truth: it's all because Ai was killed by a lightning bolt striking down on her during the middle of an Iron Frill concert.
And that's just not all. Ai is not only given her fear of thunder from her traumatic death, but her recent computer researching led her to seeing multiple interviews and articles about how her old friends in Iron Frill are still coping with Ai's untimely death. Because of this, Ai is going through a severe case of denial when it comes to her being an idol- which may have well contributed to her sticking to the modern day idol customs a little too much.
Sakura and Saki then have a late-night talk together while the rest of the group sleeps, and now that they both know more about Junko and Ai's past lives, they have to figure out a way to settle them down...once and for all.
Come morning, and Kotaro has given Franchouchou some even more exciting news: They're able to partake in the Saga Rock Festival! Which would've been good news, but this is all but good news. Now with Junko not participating with the group, and the fact that they'll be performing outdoors (which triggers Ai's PTSD), Franchouchou is now going to figure out how the hell they'll be able to get the two veteran idols to make amends...
Tropes
- Ascended Meme: In-Universe. Tae’s rooster call from the Drive-In Tori commercial has endeared her to many fans. She performs the call upon request at a concert.
- Cliffhanger: Franchouchou is set to perform at Saga Rock, a massive festival that will grant them exposure to an even bigger audience. They realize it’s all outdoors which follows up with a shot of a very nervous Ai.
- Culture Clash: Ai and Junko have vastly different expectations on how an idol should operate due to the different standards and norms of their respective eras.
- Foreshadowing:
- Ai is briefly triggered by a camera flash. She doesn’t get why she reacts like that at first, but then it’s revealed she’s having a flashback to her death by lightning.
- Fish out of Temporal Water:
- Deconstructed for drama. Junko being decades behind on idol culture puts her in a tough situation. She’s expected to prioritize a level of fan-idol interaction that goes against The Perfectionist values she was taught in the 80s. She begins to doubt whether or not she really belongs In Franchouchou because of this. She also has no idea how digital technology works. And Sakura has a hard time explaining due to the two having vastly different terminology.Junko: "Oh, like a polaroid! Right? I see, we're taking glamour shots with polaroids."
- On the other hand, Yugiri deals with this trope quite remarkably well, given that she's fine with whatever the modern day society throws at her.
- Deconstructed for drama. Junko being decades behind on idol culture puts her in a tough situation. She’s expected to prioritize a level of fan-idol interaction that goes against The Perfectionist values she was taught in the 80s. She begins to doubt whether or not she really belongs In Franchouchou because of this. She also has no idea how digital technology works. And Sakura has a hard time explaining due to the two having vastly different terminology.
- Foreshadowing: Ai has a brief panic when a camera flashes in front of her; later on you learn that she has PTSD from her death via lightning.
- Heroic BSoD: Believing there's no place for her ideals as an 80's idol in the modern day, Junko shuts down and considers leaving Franchouchou for good.
- Kabuki Theatre: Kotaro begins his morning briefing doing a exaggerated kabuki routine.
- The Reveal:
- Junko died in a plane crash on her way to tour in Saga.
- Ai was killed by a freak lightning strike during her concert.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Ai is deathly afraid of lightning due to the storm that took her life. She can do nothing but anxiously curl up at the sound of thunder.
