When someone tells you to "smash it", you'll do just that.
The One With… Junko gaining help from Kotaro (again) to make sure she tackles on her anxiety-ridden issues involving her bond with Ai...by pulling off a very Literal Metaphor during Franchouchou's guest appearance at Iron Frill 2.0's concert.
The second part of the two-parter arc, which is a follow-up to the first two-part arc from Season One (Episode 6 & 7).
Full Recap
To be added
Tropes:
- #1 Dime: Kotaro is quite attached to his electric guitar, having owned it for years and using it as a source of inspiration to keep moving forward... and then Junko smashes it to pieces during her performance.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Policeman A tries to hit on a distressed Junko... only to back off when he realizes she's underaged.
- Armor-Piercing Question:
- Yui can tell that Shiori is interested in "No. 3" because of her resemblance to the legendary Ai Mizuno. Shiori has a hard time trying to deny this.
- Junko confronting Ai about Shiori's offer.Junko: "Ai... did you enjoy being in Iron Frill more than Franchouchou?"
Ai: (shocked) "What are you talking about? Your only going to worry the others at this rate. You realize what a critical time this is for Franchouchou, right? Do you want a repeat of what happened at the EFS?"
Beat
Junko: (Backs away from Ai) "You didn't say no... did you?"
- Broken Tears: Junko runs to a nearby beach and cries her heart out when it seems like Ai is set to leave the group.
- Call-Back: The girls once again perform Mezame Returner (Electric Returner).
- Chekhov's Skill: Tae puts her drumming skills to use by delivering an intense drum solo at the opening act.
- Cliffhanger: Shiori, on live TV, declares Franchouchou to be Iron Frill's biggest competition, leaving both groups completely speechless.
- Declaration of Protection: Junko and Franchouchou refuse to let Shiori take away Ai, something the latter is confident in.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Sakura and Junko are the only ones who know about Ai's offer to rejoin Iron Frill. The others are left unsure as to why Junko has grown increasingly unfocused and sad.
- Both Shiori and Yui note "No.3"'s resemblance to Ai Mizuno, not realizing they are one and the same.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Kotaro convinces Junko to keep Ai from leaving no matter what, encouraging her to
- Hidden Depths:
- Yugiri is a skilled chef, preparing meals for the girls to raise their spirits.
- Junko is an incredible electric guitarist.
- I Choose to Stay: After considering rejoining Iron Frill, Ai decides it's best to let that part of her past go and stay with Franchouchou, helping them all grow stronger in the process.
- Image Song: Gekkou Survive, representing Junko's boost in confidence and assertiveness.
- Literal-Minded: Kotaro urges Junko to "smash through" her self-doubts and work to keep Franchouchou together... she then literally smashes his guitar during her performance. She also takes his advice to "shine brightly" by empowering herself with electricity, though in all fairness, that's happened once before.
- Nightmare Face: Junko when Policeman A sees her without make-up.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Iron Frill's performance is never actually shown, but by all accounts they managed to compete with, if not completely outperform, Franchouchou, true to Shiori's word.
- Rockers Smash Guitars: When in a pinch over how to lead Franchouchou in an upcoming performance with Iron Frill, Kotaro advices her to smash through her limitations. After the group's success, she takes his advice a bit too literally and smashes Kotaro's guitar to pieces.
- The Runner-Up Takes It All: Franchouchou put on an incredible performance as Iron Frill's opening act, winning the respect of their lead singer Shiori. Despite this they're easily outshined by Iron Frill, the group the audience were actually there to see, and until Shiori declares Franchouchou their rivals in an interview their performance is considered little more than a footnote to the number one idol group's tour.
- Running Gag: Policeman A is once again terrified by the zombies, and promptly faints from the shock.
- Say My Name: When Junko's alone and distraught by the chance of Ai leaving her and Franchouchou."AI, YOU JERK!!!"
- Ship Tease: It's implied that Junko has a crush on Ai.
- She becomes incredibly distraught at the possibility of Ai leaving Franchouchou, to the point of breaking down into tears. She then becomes noticeably more clingy, and has a harder time focusing on the performance than the others. She is only able to finally focus when she decides to do whatever it takes to keep Ai in the group.
- The body language between the two is much more intimate than what other members of Franchouchou have shown together, including lots of hand holding, arm clinging, and gentle embraces.
- The two then have a very tender moment in where they reunite mid-performance and fall off the stage together while locked in a deep gaze. Then when Ai and Junko sing the first lines of their group's (re-mixed) signature song, the effects has a line of blue energy start from Ai, which then goes to Junko and (upon "contact" with her) briefly forms a heart symbol next to the latter.
- She clings to Ai tightly when Shiori makes a last gesture to recruit Ai into Iron Frill.
- Shock and Awe: The girls' show has them go into Super Mode yet again and harness some incredibly mesmerizing special effects with their electricity.
- Through His Stomach: Yugiri cooks some of Ai and Junko's favorite foods to help boost their performance morale. Sakura decides to help her.
- Took a Level in Badass: For Junko.
- Realizing she needs to not only lead Franchouchou in place of Ai, but also keep the latter from leaving the group, Junko doubles down on her duties of coordinating the opening act. In a short amount of time, she arranges and choreographs a powerful metal performance with herself as the lead singer and guitarist, and is able to rally Ai into joining Franchouchou on stage for their final song.
- She stands up to Shiori when the latter makes one last attempt to take away Ai.
- Underestimating Badassery: In Shiori's eyes, Franchouchou is just some group of lesser performers that's holding Ai back from achieving her full potential. Not long after, she finds herself wowed by the group's opening act.Shiori: "We came here to give the best performance possible! But... Franchouchou without you is just a bunch of nobodies!"
BeatAi: "You shouldn't underestimate Franchouchou. They've been growing this whole time. Even I have I need to be careful if I don't want them to leave me behind." - What You Are in the Dark: Even before telling Shiori that she has no plans to leave Franchouchou, Ai declares it to herself in front of an Iron Frill poster by telling it "You're too late." Acknowledging that while she may have joined Iron Frill had they found her around the time she had just woken up, yet now after many trials and tribulations, she is Number 3 of Franchouchou.
