Cinderella Girls S1 E2

## Plot

At 346 Productions, Uzuki and Rin arrive at the studio. This is the first episode to use the usual theme song. Despite being in Japanese, therefore I have no idea what it means, it's still really good. You get to see all the Cinderella Girls. It's actually an amazingly clever bit of foreshadowing that you probably would never notice until you watched the final episode of season 1. Apparently, it's called Star!! with two exclamation points. Anyways, Mio also arrives there. The Cinderella Project room is on the 30th floor. The 346 Productions buildings feel more like a college campus than a studio, especially since most of the idols are between middle school and college age. Rin, Uzuki, and Mio go to the elevator. Strangely, Mio requests to go to the 22nd floor. She must not be good with directions, like Azusa. She'll totally get lost. There's no one in the project room, just Rin, Uzuki, and Mio. The producer and his secretary come in. The producer formally introduces Mio to them. Mio is a very lucky person and is in 10th grade. The producer says that he also chose Mio because of her smile. His secretary introduces herself as Chihiro Senkawa. She also gives the girls energy drinks. The show seems inconsistent about how old the three girls are and who's the leader. In this episode, Rin is in 9th grade and Mio says she's the same… even though a few minutes ago she said she was in 10th grade, and she says it again later. Uzuki says she's a year older and Rin says that she should be their leader… but then in episode 6 and beyond Mio says she's the leader. In my mind, they're all about the same age, 15 or 16. And they just mesh so well together that no one seems to be the definitive leader. On their way to their lessons, Uzuki, Mio, and Rin run into the unit Blue Napoleon, famous idols. Rin spots a girl in a tree. When she looks back again, the girl is gone. Since Uzuki is the only one with formal training, she says they can ask her for help if they want. They meet their new trainer. Oddly enough, the first time they try the dance, it's *Uzuki*, the one with actual *training*, that falls on her butt. The girls go exploring and find a spa room. In a studio. When Mio and Uzuki go in the spa, they meet another famous idol. There's also a gym, a pool, a sauna, an office area, a rather large grounds area, and a cafe. The cafe is called Mishiro cafe. Mishiro is the name of the family that owns 346 Productions. Their waitress is Nana Abe, an idol with a maid outfit and bunny ears who also works at the cafe. Also called 346 Cafe. Because the girls went exploring, they're late to meet the producer. He takes them to meet the other members and take PR photos. They meet the other eleven girls. There's 11 year old Miria Akagi, as well as 12 year old Rika Jougasaki, a 7th grader. She's the girl Rin saw in the tree earlier. There's also cat lover Miku Maekawa, with her "Nya!" catchphrase, and tall and happy Kirari, 17 years old. Lacrosse playing college student Minami Nitta, and her friend, Russian speaking Anastasia, or simply Anya. And the baker, Kanako Mimura, Riina Tada, rock lover and soon to be rock idol, and shy Chieri Ogata. She loves clovers! Plus gothic, riddle speaking Ranko Kanzaki. They're one person short. The last and youngest girl is sleeping. It's lazy Anzu Futaba and her pink bunny, of course! Wearing a shirt that says, "IF YOU WORK, YOU LOSE." That seems to be Anzu's philosophy in life. Since they have fourteen members, the Cinderella project can finally begin. The girl working at the other set comes in. It's the high school model/idol, Mika Jougasaki! Wearing almost nothing but a bra and shorts! At least she has some tall boots on, but still! She's Rika's older sister. Yeah, you're setting such a great example for your 12 year old younger sister, Mika! In later episodes we see Rika likes outfits that expose a lot and she has a very… scandalous mind for a 12 year old. Then when they see Mika's photo shoot, she poses rather… suggestively. All the girls take their PR photos, but Uzuki, Rin, and Mio are too unnatural their first time. They retake the photos, this time getting the girls to relax by playing with a ball and talking to each other. Also, the girls show some great volleyball skills. Mika asks the producer if the girls' schedules are set yet. They're not. Mika has an idea. All the girls take a group picture together. They invite the producer to be in it, but he declines. Mika wants Rin, Uzuki, and Mio to perform with her as backup dancers for her next concert. The producer is unsure about it, since it's so soon, but the manager convinces him to do it. Rika and Miria were listening outside the door. And so were Miku, Anastasia, Minami, and Riina.

## Review

This was a great episode! The theme song is great, and I like all the characters. Okay, Miku can be annoying and needy, but only until episode 5. About half the season focuses on the main three, Rin, Uzuki, and Mio, then it shifts the focus to all the other girls. By the end of the first season, it feels like one big family instead of a bunch of smaller groups. I love it!