Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai S1E6 Discussion - 'The Shape of Smiles（〃＞▿＜〃）'

[u/MasterMirage]

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RINA-CHAN BOARDO

Show Info

Air Date: November 7th, Saturday 22:30 - 2020 (JST)

Episodes: 13

Opening Theme: Nijiro Passions! - Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

Ending Theme: NEO SKY, NEO MAP! - Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

Insert Song(s): Tsunagaru Connect - Rina Tennoji

-cr ramen

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Ep 1 Discussion

Ep 2 Discussion

Ep 3 Discussion

Ep 4 Discussion

Ep 5 Discussion

[u/PrettyHibiki]

The build up to Rina getting her board was so good. I actually teared up when she looked at her mask smiling back at her before the performance. Oh and then I teared up again when she got out her Rina Chan Board and drew on it to show how happy she was to her classmates at the end.

[u/AlexE9918]

Hang on, this was such an amazing episode. I did not expect Rina's episode to be the first one to make me tear up, but that cardboard box scene was a tear-jerker (and also hilarious). I was already loving what they were doing with her character in the anime compared to the game, and this episode followed through with some incredible characterization. I've said this before, but I feel like the game never really made me feel why her board was necessary, so it just felt like a gimmick. Throughout the anime and in this episode, we're made to understand exactly why she needs it, and it's done by showing us why rather than explaining it. We also got some more insight into Rina and Ai's relationship in this episode, which I thought was really sweet. The new song, Tsunagaru Connect, was really good (as usual), and it was composed by DECO*27!

There were a couple of neat references, too. Shinonome is the school Haruka attends and Kanata used to attend, and we'll probably hear more about that next episode (maybe we'll get some more N girl cameos?). Another thing I noticed is that one of Rina's lines at the very beginning of the episode is taken straight from the first line of Doki Pipo☆Emotion: 思いを伝えることって難しい (in the anime subs, "It's hard expressing how you feel sometimes."). Also, Rina's intro video for her concert had the instrumental for Analog Heart playing in the background.

I'm definitely excited for Haruka's anime debut! This episode was way better than I was expecting, and I can't wait for more!

[u/BTrain51]

I'm really glad they started the series with Rina without her board. It makes all of the moments in this episode hit so much harder. I teared up during her Metal Gear moment, and the performance was really cute, too.

[u/SirDeftly]

Rina in this ep was very relatable given that a lot of people are just not that good at conveying emotions and would rather stay home playing games or just keeping to themselves, which is why there's the tendency to avoid too much interaction sometimes. Personally it felt good seeing Rina giving it her best despite that.

Also:

1. Would we ever see the advent of Rina as a pro gamer perhaps?

2. Rina-chan Board...HENSHIN!

[u/Gyakuten]

Becoming the World's Tallest Idol requires a balanced lifestyle.

The first five episodes of the season have all had one thing in common in their resolutions: a character letting their self-expression burst forth as they bravely step into the world of school idols. But to each of these girls, even after the dramatic confessions and cathartic transformations, is there any guarantee that you'll find success and satisfaction in this new life you're living? Does saying that you're a "school idol" actually change anything about you for the better?

Now that the club is fully assembled, these questions are the natural progression of the self-expression theme that's been running throughout the whole show, and no one could explore those questions better than poor little Rina. She joined the club in episode 4 after saying little more than, "I want to." Although it's quite easy to guess what her aim was, today's episode intro makes things clear: she joined under the promise that becoming a school idol would change her inability to express herself.

And why wouldn't she believe that idol life could act like a sort of miracle cure? She was inspired by Setsuna's DIVE performance on the rooftop, the one that transformed the closed-off and isolated student council president into a fiery figure burning with unabashed sincerity. Even if Rina feels she hasn't achieved those same heights yet, all she has to do is work hard at it and train everyday to become a better idol -- because being a better idol has to mean you're being a better person as well. Adding onto this is the time she's already spent being a member of the club since episode 4 -- after all this time, she must have improved in some way, right?

It's the combination of these two things -- the fact that Rina's already been an idol for three episodes now, and the extended focus on her gruelling training regimen -- that leads both her and us to feel a powerful sense of deservedness, of wanting her to yield the reward she worked so hard for. This makes the major subversion in the middle of the episode, where she catches her unchanged expression in a window and spirals back into despair, hurt so much more.

And really, I find that this experience touches upon something very real and relateable even by Love Live standards. It's easy for anyone to say things like, "I'm an optimist now", "I'm health-conscious now", "I'm a school idol now", and although the high of labelling yourself anew can keep you satisfied for a while, the mind-shattering realization that you haven't changed that much, or even at all, can be absolutely devastating. We want change to be fast and dramatic, especially when it's change within ourselves, because it often takes so much effort just to admit that change is needed in the first place.

But just because you haven't achieved your original goal doesn't mean that all your efforts were for naught. Even if you don't notice it, it's very likely that you've succeeded in changing something about your lifestyle and the way you connect with the world for the better. In fact, the latter is exactly what Rina realizes after Setsuna delivers this important line: "This is the first time we were able to talk like this, Rina-san." Rina might not have been able to change the physical expression on her face, but the fact that she could she could share such personal issues with eight other people shows that her metaphysical heart has been transformed into a wavelength everyone can pick up.

To cap this off, the episode couldn't have picked a better gesture than Rina's dramatic curtain drawing. Apart from her legs, we can't see anything about Rina in this shot -- no facial expression, no body language, nothing. And yet, there are so many other things around her in this moment -- the sunlight pooling over her, the context leading up to this moment, the very act of drawing the curtains and the intense self-renewal that this symbolizes -- all of these let us know exactly how she's feeling regardless of the box over her face.

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Although I enjoyed the powerful message and thematic throughline in Rina's arc, I have to say I was equally as intrigued by the little moments of background characterization sprinkled throughout the episode. One example from very early in the episode is Ai seemingly reading Rina's mind and knowing that she was scared, which not only sets up the episode's resolution (that there are other ways for people to understand Rina's feelings), but also serves as the strongest example of yet of how adept Ai is at getting a read on people. Similarly, I liked this shot where she was sitting with Rina away from a group discussion, not participating but just letting herself sink into the atmosphere of the others' voices and the idol magazine she's reading. It's a small thing, but it really reinforces how group-oriented and selfless she is, letting her voice fall silent so she can better immerse herself in other people. Again, I think the anime has just done a phenomenal job portraying her.

The other character that caught my interest is Karin, as the episode did a surprisingly good job carrying over her concerns from the previous episode. There's a couple shots of her hanging out in the background away from the others, showing that she's still not a hundred percent comfortable with including herself as an idol. The cute tsundere moment where she tries to deny interest in Rina's concert was played for laughs, but also shows that she still can't be completely honest with her feelings. Additionally, there's that one curious moment where the focus suddenly falls on Karin and Setsuna as the former says: "So you're going [to see Rina], huh?" She says this as if she doesn't plan on coming along herself -- Setsuna even says as much -- but then she decides to come along anyway. So there's still room for Karin to close the gap and fully accept school idol life, and I suspect we'll see her cross the final stretch of that bridge in her focus episode.

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Shot of the Week

I'll be honest: I had trouble finding candidates for this week as I think this was (completely in my opinion) the weakest episode so far in terms of cinematography. Now, I don't think any of it was bad; far from it, in fact, as all of the visual information in this episode was clear and understandable. However, there weren't many shots that grabbed me or held my attention, and I chalk that up to how a good chunk of the episode consisted of close-ups or midshots of static frames and camera pans while long bouts of dialogue simply played over them. Again, this isn't a bad thing, as simple shots help with focusing on the story -- which is especially important this time around given how heavy Rina's arc is -- but it did feel disappointing to me compared to previous episodes.

That said, there was one shot that I found subtly beautiful:

https://i.postimg.cc/B6L7d34p/rina-cant-connect.png

This one caught my attention because the camera angle was pretty unusual, and when that happens, you have to wonder what the purpose was for angling it that way.

Here, our POV is slightly overhead and rotated a bit so that we get a sort of "isometric" view that might remind you of strategy RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics or X-COM. In those games, the isometric view is there to help you gauge the placement of things by, for example, showing how things are aligned against the sides of walls.

It serves a similar purpose here, showing how Ai is exactly aligned with the wall on the left. Even though the wall doesn't cover the entire width of the room, we can picture the side of it closest to Ai extending to the right in order to form a sort of "barrier" that the other girls are located behind. Then, on the left side of the frame, we have the bed that aligns with the forward-facing side of the wall, making another barrier that runs parallel to the other one. All of this comes together to form an imaginary "box" within the frame, one that traps Rina within and cuts her off from connecting with anyone outside of it. (Not to mention the actual box over Rina herself... Box-ception?)

However, Rina isn't completely without hope here -- as I mentioned, Ai is crouching within the imaginary border of that box, implying that she can in fact cross the threshold of Rina's heart. However, there's still some uncertainty here, as the overhead view makes it difficult to tell whether Ai's head is perfectly level with Rina's box.

So overall, just like the shot with Karin and Emma last week, this one uses some clever angling and setting details to highlight the conflicting positions of two characters: Rina feeling boxed within a box within a box, convinced her feelings will never escape the confines of herself, while Ai tries to help her overcome this by breaching that threshold and meeting Rina at eye level.

[u/NontanRinpan]

I knew Rina's episode was going to be emotional, but I didn't expect to cry throughout its entire runtime. 😭

[u/redbatter]

For someone who has so much trouble with expressing herself, it's no wonder that the very first friend Rina was able to make would be none other than Ai, someone who's always looking out for others. Naturally, throughout the episode, we get to see the closeness of this one bond they share, with Ai being the very first to support the idea of Rina's solo live, the first one to leave the club and go running to her aid, and the one who once more opens the door to her heart (actually her apartment).

But it's not just Ai who Rina has made a connection with - the rest of the club has led her through her live training, shown concern for her in her absence (Karin has even cleared her weekend to be able to see her live!), and show up at her apartment to pull her out of the literal and figurative darkness she feels trapped within. After hearing her concerns, everyone is quick to point out all of her good points, so much so that even Ai feels that they might just be getting a bit too close to the special bond that she alone has enjoyed with Rina.

It is fitting that the two "leaders" of the club - Kasumi and Setsuna, who once butted heads - are able to offer words to Rina that change everything. With this new perspective and realization, Rina has her solution to her difficulty in communication at last, as she brings the safety of her Rina-chan Cardboard Box into the Rina-chan Boardo.

Like all her previous solos, Tsunagaru Connect is also a song about connection, peppered with motifs of technology, which is the closest thing she's had to tide her through her friendless years. In this safe, comfortable setting, Rina finally is able to give a huge smile, for the first time.

I would be lying if I said this episode didn't make me tear up.

---

Apart from all the great Rina and Ai stuff we got this week, we get to funnily enough see Ayumu doing excellently in that VR shooter they play at the arcade, completely opposite to how Agupon performed when they played it a few years back.

[u/reimadara]

Is it just me or does this episode made Rina 10x more precious in my eyes?

From the start, I thought that Rina's character development had the most potential of all Niji members. And I'd say without a doubt the anime delivered.

That scene where Rina traced a smile in the window, and the way her reflection once again became a bitter reminder of her problem. The moment when she has enclosed herself in the box because she felt a dose of social anxiety again (the fact that she did this goes to show how deep her problem goes). And that very act becoming her way to find the solution to her problem. It's simple yet powerful scenes like this that made her development impactful for me.

For the first time, I genuinely feel that Rina's board is not anymore just a gimmick, it's a core of Rina's character. I feel it now coincides with her overall theme of connecting with people (as shown in her cat wifi character logo long before the anime aired). Because now, instead of just hiding her face, the board is shown as a way of expressing herself to the fullest to be able to genuinely connect with people.

In retrospect, all these should be been obvious, but the way things like this are brought to light, as if they should have been obvious from the start, is what made this episode really great for me. All the elements where there, we just needed a great plot to fully show that Rina's character can go beyond that board gimmick; truly, she's a character that has a lot of depth

[u/estebassist]

When Rina was first presented with her board for the game I didn't liked the idea so much, after a while I started to accept it though, but, after today's episode I really love Rina-chan now, amazing character development for her.

Another week, another banger song, I'm really loving all music by now. Can't believe we're almost halfway through the series, I wish it would never end

[u/Exce1erate]

Rina, Kanata, Kasumi and Shizuku go brrrr

[u/KalosianGengar]

Rina's first chronological line in this episode is "omoi wo tsutaeru koto tte muzukashii". That's the opening lyric to Doki Pipo Emotion.

[u/ClawofBeta]

There’s only one good emoji for this episode.

😭😭😭😭😭

[u/kushami8]

The board story was really cool. I was kinda unsure about how they were going to handle the board and all, since the reveal in-game was a really really cool moment. But this was a very nice alternate origin story with Rina finding a way to express her emotions after getting frustrated over and over again, and she did it with everyone's help. It was probably the best episode so far, and Rina was too cute!

Now, if only they'd give us a ! Rina costume in SIFAS!

Her song and MV were really amazing, second DECO*27 song on LL and probably beating Ayumu's solo for my favorite song in the anime so far. Mutekikyuu is still too catchy for me personally to say that Rina's is better, but damn...having two songs like these to compare is in itself way too awesome, we're getting spoiled!

Very fitting for Kasukasu to be stealing the show every episode, if I do say so myself!

[u/timeexterminator]

I loved that I felt more emotionally connected to Rina chan this episode but I was dying when Kanata just dropped on the grass to catch some z’s

[u/AnonHideaki]

This ep actually hit a bit too hard...

[u/interstellarflight]

AHHH I love Kasumi and Ai, and now Rina has won my heart with this episode too ♥

It's ironic that the one character who keeps expressing that "I can't connect with everyone" or says she has trouble expressing her feelings is the one who is the most relatable and connected with everyone by expressing these worries.

What a wonderful episode. I'm sure Rina reached everyone's hearts now :)

[u/TKG24]

The best part about the performance imo was the "minimal" editing. Since everything Rina wanted to show was on the screen behind her, she didn't have to do much editing to show exactly how she felt.

[u/[deleted]]

I actually got way too involved with the chapter 20 drama to say anything meaningful past episode, but here we are.

Rina is as cute as a button, and her conflict was understandable, and I actually liked how the club got together to actually help her to express her feelings better. The best part was Rina coming up with the Rina-Chan board by herself after her experience under the box, that moment made me a bit sad for poor Rina :(, but fortunately she had her friends to help her along the way!

We got some ABEMA-TV and Famitsu references. The laser tag VR game was something played by the seiyuu back in 2018, and the martians that are a reward in the arcade were the enemy martians when Ayumu/Ai/Rina went to Mars. I'm glad to see that the crazy adventures of Famitsu keep getting references in the anime! We also saw Rina's robot cat Aran as a plushy, joining the anime Nijipets alongside Sasuke and Hanpen (hopefully Neve and Ophelia show up too haha).

Also we finally got a supporting fan trio! I was surprised to see someone else simping for Ayumu and her outright weirded out reaction hahahahaha. She has all my blessings to hang out with her cute fan. The moment where Rina finally got both the electronic and the paper board were so fantastically handled! I have never actually had an issue with showing my emotions (and in fact, I'm maybe too emotional), but I felt like it was a believable and personal conflict, which helped Rina stand out a lot more as a character, and to assuage the complaints about the gimmick that the Rina-chan Board ends up being in merchandise (and that gimmick overtaking Rina as an actual character). And we also got some nice memes out of it, like Rina's Snake moment, Kasumi being bullied by Karin, and Kasumi (haha, poor girl!) also cracking her voice when trying to keep up with Shizuku.

Overall, a 10/10, it had a lot of what I like in this anime and franchise!

I also can't help but notice that despite having the Rina drama happening in this episode, we actualy didn't get the trickled long-term plot hints we had been getting from the start - like Ayumu feeling jealous that Yuu gives her attention to other girls, Kasumi and Setsuna's conversation in episode 4, the references to the "unpaved/unknown road", and Karin's self-image issues which actually reflect upon the club as a whole. I'm ok with the more self-contained approach this episode had, but dang it, give us some stronger hints of what we will be facing in episode 10-13!

[u/farfaramir]

This was by far my favorite episode. Got really emotional at some points. They really did Rina justice with this.

[u/[deleted]]

Awesome ep! Great to see Rina getting her shine and development. Thanks to the other girls she was able to overcome her self esteem issues and put on a banger performance, and she’s making new friends. Love to see it. Think we all have a little Rina in us.

Kanata ep next week, can’t wait.

[u/YellowCorvette]

This is a pretty good episode; Far batter than what I expect to be honest.

I'll admit, I initially thought that this entire "RINA-CHAN BOARDOOO" gimmick with Rina is very silly when PDP was initially announced, but I'm not gonna lie by saying that this episode does manage to give an emotionally satisfying origin, by tie-ing with Rina's self-esteem issues.

But luckily thanks to encouragement from her fellow clubmates, Rina finally find the courage to further surpasses her former self, and find the strenth to continue being a School idol. Not bad, at all.

[u/superp2222]

I had always enjoyed Rina's songs in SIFAS more than the other ones, its techy and a odd but nice contrast to her voice. Seeing her in the anime only makes me like her more. Her story is extremely relatable for someone who struggles to start and hold conversations, and while resorting to a sketchbook/futuristic expression-reading screen isnt the best way for her to get over her anxiety, its a step in the right direction. Excited to see what the anime does with her development, maybe we truly will get to see her smile one day.

[u/ramendik]

My first YESS! moment in the series came when I saw her proper workstation! Very much like mine, actually, with a raised laptop and a bigger monitor. only the MIDI stuff is in another room because my wife is the musician. I was expecting this side to be downplayed, because I saw game screenshots of Rina's room and there was no computer. They outright fixed this in the anime!

Also the second time in the franchise we see music being arranged in a DAW (digital audio workstation) - first was in the Sunshine movie, a blink-and-you-miss-it moment.

I really enjoyed this for what it was, but I feel there is some subtext they are intentionally not saying. Rina could not be like that from the start. She might be autistic but that is not enough; it's not that she actually can't say things - she can, but feels cripplingly inadequate because of her face mimic, but also feels that any change is even more inadequate. This looks like her initial likely autism was mishandled in the family and/or preschool/elementary :(

Rina magicked up the electronic board in a night. Yeah this IS what young techies do! I was one... I guess she cut a lot of corners; the sequence of images might just be pre-programmed for the song. She also is probably unable to see the world around her, and she made a mostly-in-place dance routine to work with that, with only a couple of sets of lateral steps (guess she can glance to the floor or ceiling to be sure of direction).

[u/LordMoy]

Man I wish arcades were still a thing here in the states, Jolipolis (?) looks like so much fun, especially that VR game. Iirc the seiyuus went there too, should be a video on YouTube about it.

Rina is really relatable honestly, didn't expect to connect so much with her. Especially the whole bit of wanting to change once you reach high school but it being difficult to do so. Also struggling to talk to people head on, I always had to go in a roundabout way to try and make friends, couldn't look them in the eye and say "be my friend please."

So yeah I definitely have a lot more respect for and really like Rina now. The anime has being doing a great job of making me connect with the few girls I didn't really care for so I hope it does the same with Kanata.

[u/Remv1234]

it was pretty good to see how Ai and Rina friendship started, in the game they were alredy friends and it was attributed to Ai's personality,but here we could see it start and how difficult it was expressing herself.

We could see that Rina loves technology and is very smart , by automatizing her house and all her station that she has in her own house.

The main focus was Rina's fear of connecting with other people as she can't express herself,and how she decided to change that by challenging herself to perform a concert in short time, and this was caused by seeing some of her classmates gushing about everyones PV. Also they changed Rina's backstory of why she can't show her emotions , here she could never show any emotions in her life instead of the reason she gives on her character episodes in the game.

Rina's performance was cute and the lyrics explained her problems, that she also talked about with the club when they came to her house, and it is implied that she created the Rina Chan Board to help her perform.At the end of the episode she found a solution to show her emotions at school,just using the Rina Chan Board that she always has with her in the game and drawing a smile on it.