R Episode 5 – Away Team Drama

**Away Team Drama** is the fifth episode of Dream Festival! R. The episode aired on September 20th, 2017.

## Plot

*Shin finds himself reflecting on his past love of acting while focusing on his Idol path and attempts to reconnect to it. But as he mourns what he lost a friend steps in to help.*

## Summary

While waiting for work to resume, Shin thinks back to the past when he was starring in a detective program as a child actor. Being a co-star in a new series, he reads his line with conviction, only to be told that it was changed recently and because he had to leave for idol rehearsals, they simply overlooked it. Shin is disappointed but nobody minds since it was kind of their fault anyway, but Sota's mother insists he is wasting *So-chan's* time and isn't serious. Sota tries calming his mother by mentioning how busy idols are, and he suggests they give Shin some cards to read his new lines from. The staff like this idea and Shin is surprised by the natural aura he sees in the little boy.

Later, DearDream has been doing gravure work and while Shin takes his turn the guys recall that it's been some time since they last got a chance to work together outside of a performance. Chizuru practices making a *5* with his body as Junya recalls seeing Itsuki in a "*really sexy commercial*", and Chizuru brings up watching Junya every week on *ParaSata*, and this reminds them that Chizuru was a quiz show recently. The guys then recall Shin is focusing work on a new drama, and they are startled noticing how seriously he's focusing on the script now that he's finished, unaware of what happened earlier. They try to suggest he relaxes a little to avoid overdoing it, but Shin insists he will be fine. Only for them to remind him that he forgot to change out of his gravure outfit when he tries leaving.

Concerned over Shin, Chizuru looks up information regarding the drama. It's about a grade-schooler who is also the vice principal of the school requested to take it back from the four, elite students who are out of control. They recognize the child as Sota Makabe, a popular child actor as of late who owes his success to his manager, who is also his mother.

Shin returns to the filming location to find Sota chatting with the guys about going out to eat later until his mom comes by to make a rude, snide remark regarding how late Shin is. He is confused because he thought he was on time since they didn't plan to start until three pm, but as it turns out he wasn't informed of their schedule change and they were waiting for him to show up. Shin apologizes for this and again nobody minds -besides Sota's mom- although the script has been revised again.

Once they finish the scene, Shin is requested to invoke further emotion and they call break. He listens as the other cast members chat about how amazing Sota is and comment on him as well. Someone nearby is shown listening to this before they leave, and Sota's mother remains unhappy over being behind by an hour due to him. Shin does't really care about her however, and he prepares to leave when Sota and the guys show up to invite him to come out to eat with them. Unfortunately he is forced to turn them down because he has more work.

To his surprise, Shin finds himself confronted by Chikage, who is able to deduce that he might feel troubled by his inability to fit in right now. Shin didn't realize he was there, and Chikage brings up that he also had filming work today. He finished earlier and decided to check on Shin, bringing up that he sees the uncertainty in his acting. Shin asks him why an idol should be in a drama, and Chikage recalls what his uncle -Ichika Saotome- would say in this case. "*Idols are the away team no matter where they go. Whether they're put on dramas, variety shows, or work anywhere else, there are career actors and comedians there. Idols are born by stepping onto an away team's field.*"

Shin takes these words to heart but he becomes depressed. Later, Sho walks by to find him sitting alone.

The following day, Sota approaches Shin and greets him. Noticing his mood, Shin comments that he seems to be energetic that day, to which Shota responds that he loves the drama and is excited to get to work on it, but seeing Shin's expression he asks if he feels the same way. He then mentions that they have a guest today, and Shin is shocked seeing Junya nearby. As it turns out, he's been brought in to play the *"big brother"* role.

Filming quickly gets underway, and as soon as they take their first break Shin asks Junya why he is there. Junya doesn't say anything, waiting until later in the evening to reveal that Sho requested him to come and help. He admits he was a little nervous and compliments Shin for always keeping his cool, but Shin insists its nothing since he has experience. Junya reminds him that he isn't the same person he *once* was however, causing Shin to recall a past conversation with Sho.

He saw the change in Shin, and while he didn't know what it was to make him stop acting, he told him that it was important to get back up after a stumble, even if it might take him down a different path. He then suggested he try to become an Idol and Shin accepted, being complimented by several others for his talents. Initially he only became an Idol because he was told to, and as a result he pushed others away until eventually he became too hard to even approach. A few years later, Junya showed up as a new idol of D4 and they met when Shin found him preparing to start training one late evening. Junya explained his plans and right away he asked Shin to join him as an idol unit; something that the guys think about now as they grab a bite to eat.

Junya reminds Shin that he outright told him that he didn't like "*chummy*" types, but he still thinks it would have been interesting to see what it was like. Shin recalls how he avoided befriending others after losing Keigo, but now he has opened up and has DearDream by his side, and he is proud of them. But in the process, his idol career has caused him to lose something he once had.

Seeing the mood, Junya attempts to lighten it with a metaphor, pointing out that Shin likes halibut sushi, but he likes egg sushi, and asks if egg is bad. Shin states that it is good, but different, so Junya asks him if this is good enough. It's possible they may not match those who are exclusive to one line of work, but it's not something worth clinging to unless they love it still; so as an Idol they should put their all into everything they have gained, rather than mourn what they lost. While Shin still makes a cool actor, he is able to shine best as an Idol. Touched by Junya's thoughtful encouragement, Shin thanks him and decides that instead of trying to go back to his old ways he should tackle the job as his current self.

The next day the guys are shocked to find out that the drama's ending received a major overhaul because the big-time sponsor found the original too cliche. The director and writers had no choice but to hurry up and try to fix it by coming up with a new ending on the spot. As they discuss this, Sota's mother is telling off the staff for changing the script since Sota spent the day before practicing and they try to explain that this cannot be helped, but she refuses to listen and decides to take Sota off of the drama. Shin quickly steps in and asks that they film the ending as they originally planned and he promises that it won't be cliche or boring.

Initially everyone is doubtful, but as they didn't have other plans they decide to trust him, with Junya complimenting Shin's boldness. To help Junya, Shin offers him advice by saying that for today they will be the duo they couldn't be in the past. Sota then apologizes to Shin for his mothers behavior, but he promises to do his best as well because of his love for the drama, and in return Shin promises that because he loves it as well Sota won't be alone.

With that the filming resumes. Sota is approached by a group of delinquents and they prepare to attack when Shin and Junya show up to defend him. Everyone is left amazed by their acting skills, including Sota and his rude mother, and flawlessly they complete the scene. Happy with how things turned out, the staff is sure that they won't be in any trouble if they use this, and Sota excitedly compliments them, along with his mother, who struggles to show them kindness until Junya manages to charm her.

Eventually a performance for the duo arrives and they chat with the audience. They inform them of their roles in the drama and ask that they watch it before introducing their new song, "*Symmetric Love*".

Sometime later, Chizuru is reading the reviews of the drama while the guys are training. Everyone was amazed to see Shin and Junya working together, but by now Chizuru and Itsuki are a little concerned due to how much everyone has been growing. Shin notices this and suggests they begin searching for their new sides. They agree, realizing he has a point.

As this is going on, a perplexed Kanade watches their performance from a car and promises not to fall behind.

## Trivia

* This is the first time Shin narrates a "Previously on" segment in the intro.
* Shin mentions Lake Baikal, based off of a running joke in the mobile game.
* Chizuru poses in the form of the number five to represent the five members of DearDream. Coincidentally, this is episode number five of season two.

## Gallery

R Episode 5 – Away Team Drama/Image Gallery