Konomi Baba

Konomi Baba (馬場このみ *Baba Konomi*), is one of the idols featured in The iDOLM@STER: Million Live! and is also one of the members of the "39 Project" (「39（サンキュー）プロジェクト」 "*sankyuu purojekuto*") during the events of Theater Days. Her Million Live! original card type was Dance, meanwhile her Theater Days card type is Angel. She is voiced by Minami Takahashi (高橋未奈美 *Takahashi Minami*).

## Appearance

Konomi has long, honey-brown hair that is usually kept in a braid over her left shoulder, tied with a blue scrunchie. She has two ahoge that stick out from the side of her head, and her eyes are turquoise in color.

Her casual wear consists of a frilly pink top that exposes her shoulders, and a pair of folded denim shorts. Her shoes are brown boots that reach up to slightly below her knees.

## Personality

The oldest but third shortest idol within the production, Konomi is a mature and reliable adult despite her looks. She is easygoing and sometimes playful, and often tries to convince the producer, her fellow idols and even her fans that she is a “sexy, adulty lady”. While not many take Konomi’s claims seriously - the main source of her frustration - she is still well respected around the production for her reliability and, beyond her playfulness, ability to read the mood well and handle stressful situations. However, she still struggles with many things regarding her height, and even carries around her driver’s licence at all times in order to prove her age. She can often be seen looking after the younger idols, saying “Leave it to Konomi-oneesan!” and reassuring those who may be feeling uneasy or nervous before lives, as well as worrying for others who seem to be pushing themselves too hard. Konomi dislikes when the producer gives her work meant for kids well below her age, always saying that she’s not a child but rather “a mature 24 year-old adult”; despite this, she never fails to complete her work to the best of her abilities. Still, while Konomi does hate being treated like a child, she is actually not opposed to being a cute idol instead of her usual sexy approach and is more than willing to show her potential in any area. She’s often the victim of many jokes due to her height, such as other idols not being able to spot her because she’s so short, but Konomi is actually confident in her appearance and is proud of how she looks; she claimed before that she wouldn’t change herself to appear more sexy even if presented the chance.

Prior to becoming an idol, Konomi had only worked office jobs and is thus willing to help out around the production office on top of her normal idol work. She has acknowledged and taken on the role of being everyone’s go-to idol for reassurance, and works hard to maintain that image in everyone else’s eyes. As such, she does her best to be quick-minded and is often the voice of reason or the one coming up with compromises during tight situations. Konomi reveals to actually want to be mature and cool even as an idol on stage and has many other similar worries, but for the sake of not troubling her fellow idols, she keeps her problems to herself. Like any other adult, however, Konomi also loves drinking; she is good friends with Rio, Kaori and Fuka, and the four of them - nicknamed *Team Adult* - go out to drink often.

It is hinted that Konomi has a more unknown, gentle and soft side that is only more prominent in her image songs *Dear…* and *To…*, where she is shown to want to be in love and be loved. *To…*, specifically, depicts a side of Konomi that reveals that she wants to be pampered, cared for and looked after, just like how she always cares for and looks after everyone else; that she also wants to be on the receiving end of affection and be able to show her true self rather than always trying so hard to remain as everyone’s reliable older sister figure.

## History

#### **THE iDOLM@STER: Million Live!**

Before meeting Konomi, the producer, expecting an adult-looking 24 year-old, initially mistook her for an elementary schooler. After Konomi greets them, the producer wonders if she really is Baba Konomi after all; if they ask whether she is, Konomi confirms her name and her age, and asks the producer if it's weird to want to start being an idol at her age. She says that she may have a slow start, but will do her best using the experiences that the younger idols don't have. The producer then notes that she's rather motivated and starts to think about how to produce Konomi. However, if the producer decides to ask if she is lost, Konomi says "Who are you calling a child!" and claims that she's clearly an adult. The producer, disbelieving, continues and asks where her parents are; frustrated, Konomi shows her ID to prove her age. After looking at her ID and recognising her name, the producer apologizes for being rude, and notes to be careful not to treat her like a child in the future.

#### **THE iDOLM@STER Million Live!: Theater Days**

The producer is called by the president and is told "I'll leave the rest to you", and thus assumes Konomi, who is in the office, is there to audition for the 39Project. After Konomi's self introduction, the producer guesses she's a middle schooler and notes that she seems responsible for her age. They ask why she applied to their production, and Konomi replies that she believes she'd be able to make use of all the prior experience that she had gained. Slightly confused, the producer asks if the "experience" was that she had sung or danced somewhere before; Konomi is taken aback and says that she has only done karaoke with her friends before, but isn't bad at it and always livened up the atmosphere. Regarding dance, Konomi admits to have not much experience, but has good reflexes. The producer then asks what her appeal points are; slightly more confident now, Konomi answers that she is an efficient worker and had an office position as well in her previous company, and continues to talk about her graduation from university on top of other qualifications. The producer realizes that she's actually a working adult and not a young student, and proceeds to ask why Konomi decided to switch from office work to become an idol. Konomi is shocked and states that she's here to apply for an office position to become an office lady, and the two realize they had been on different pages the whole time. The producer apologizes for being rash and explains to Konomi about the 39Project, and how they thought she was applying for that instead. Konomi jokes about not being against the idea of being an idol, and the producer notes that the gap between her age and appearance is interesting. They offer to give her a chance at being an idol, saying that Konomi's physical gap has a charm, to which she assumes is her "sexiness". In hopes of becoming a sexy idol, Konomi agrees to give it a try.

#### **THE iDOLM@STER Million Live! Brand New Song**

*This section will contain spoilers for the Brand New Song manga.*

Konomi one of the three main characters in the *Brand New Song* adaptation, along with Momoko and Yuriko; the three of them are put into a unit for their debut lives. At first, Konomi, as the oldest of the three, acts as their voice of reason; when Momoko is impatient and frustrated with waiting for the 39Project to begin, Konomi explains that even though they’re just waiting around, there are many people like the producer and Misaki who are working hard to get them started as idols. She also mentions that, as a former office worker, she understands the things going on behind the scenes and that the best way to quickly become an idol is to wait patiently and continue supporting the producer. Afterwards, the producer announces the start of the 39Project, and that they decided to form a temporary unit consisting of those three girls.
As the three of them begin practicing for the theater’s opening live, they brainstorm for various ideas on what kind of theme to follow. Konomi suggests having a sexy theme, while Momoko points out that someone like Konomi would suit an angel’s image better - to which she argues is “totally going down the cuteness route!”. When Yuriko bashfully rejects the sexy theme as well, Konomi retorts that sexiness is a state of mind.

While backstage before the start of their first live, Konomi is shown to be nervous, drinking milk and attempting to calm down. Yuriko points out that, with the amount of practice, they never got the chance to come up with a unit theme, and Konomi says that ultimately, it’s fine not to have one - as it’s the first theater live, being yourself onstage as an idol is more important than following a theme. Right before the unit goes on stage, the producer comes to check up on them and asks how Konomi is doing, to which she admits that she’s actually nervous, and that if she were by herself, she wouldn’t be able to do it. Konomi then promises to the producer that she won’t let them regret scouting her.

During Konomi’s arc in the manga, she is shown to be slightly stressed before her solo live performance, wanting to go back to practice more even when she’s out with Subaru and Tsubasa: Subaru points this out to her, adding on that she’s the only one constantly staying late to practice more too, but Konomi brushes it off and leaves quickly. Tsubasa then asks Subaru, “Having fun is better than doing tough things, right?” Afterwards, Konomi ends up heading back to the theater, fully aware that her performance is fine, yet can’t seem to calm down when she’s not moving her body. Rio happens to come in for her own lessons soon after, and notes that Konomi seems to be overworking herself, who in defense, claims that there’s nothing wrong with working hard for her first solo performance. Rio tells her that there’s no point in working hard if she’s just going to wreck herself, and then prompts Konomi to sit when she’s about to collapse. Upon asking why Konomi is working so hard, Rio is only greeted with a “Sorry for making you worry, but this is my own problem.” At that, Rio reminds Konomi of how they had met, how despite only knowing each other for six months, they have gotten close, and that Rio truly respects Konomi as a woman, a drinking partner and as a friend. Slightly unsure, Konomi replies that she feels the same way, but Rio tells her that if that’s how she feels, then shouldn’t she open her heart a bit more? Shocked and worried that she may have been giving off the wrong impression the whole time, Konomi begins to apologise but Rio takes her hand and says that she’s simply worried, and just wants to know what Konomi is thinking. After all, bottling everything up is unhealthy, and even if she can’t do anything, Rio at least wants to lend an ear. So Konomi shares a bit of her mind: she explains that she had been appointed as the leader of the unit with Momoko and Yuriko, yet while she wasn’t looking, the two of them had grown into such wonderful idols since the beginning of the project. Konomi had begun to doubt her own progress as an idol, and her position as the leader of a unit where the other members are shining so bright - and because of that, she was desperate to make her solo performance perfect. Rio then tells Konomi that she had been misunderstanding the two, and explains that Momoko and Yuriko had only been working so hard for Konomi’s sake from the beginning - that they wanted to show they person they loved how cool they could be. Konomi begins to cry and calls herself lame for misunderstanding such a thing, only for Subaru to burst in and tell her that Konomi *is* cool. She continues and talks about how at the live earlier, when she was nervous, it was Konomi who held her hand to calm her down, telling Subaru that she wasn’t alone. Subaru then says that she wants to be able to help Konomi this time, and brings her along to an onsen together with Tsubasa. Konomi tries to resist, saying that she still needs practice, but Rio says, “What you need now isn’t practice, is it?” and Konomi, finally smiling, says that she’ll allow herself to indulge a little.

Before her solo performance, Konomi is shown to be a bit nervous and unsure, but wants to be able to convey her feelings to her fans. Then, recalling the phone call she had the night before, Konomi remembers that Yuriko and Momoko had promised to come watch her perform - and that no matter what, she isn’t alone. Konomi thinks about what she had left unsaid with the two girls, and resolves to tell them after the live. The producer then calls Konomi aside and tells her that it isn’t necessary to be better than Yuriko and Momoko as the unit leader, and that she’s fine as she is as long as she’s supporting them fully (to which Konomi questions whether Rio had told the producer to say that, which she had). The producer continues and says that they had always waited for the day where they could see Konomi stand onstage alone as an idol; that being an idol comes with having an unclear future and is much different from being an office worker, but they’re glad to see her come this far. They tell her that she’s wonderful, and that there’s no one more suited to be a leader than Konomi. Konomi realises that all along, she had just wanted to hear this: from the beginning, she secretly want to see if she had potential in herself to be something more, and she now finally has the courage to show and embrace her weakness as an idol. She asks the producer to hold her hand briefly before going on stage to perform her image song, To....

After her solo live, upon spotting Yuriko and Momoko backstage, Konomi rushes over to embrace them, and her hair tie gets caught between Rio’s finger, causing her braid to become undone. Unfazed, Konomi finally tells the other two idols what she’d been meaning to say since after their first live together - that she wants to sing with the two of them together again. She had been unsure back then and, in an attempt to act as an adult, swallowed her courage to say what she wanted to say. But, now, she’s sure that this is only the starting line of their story - if it’s the three of them, then they can become top idols together.

## Relationships

#### Rio Momose

While Konomi is good friends with all the adult idols, she is particularly close to Rio and the two often go out drinking and shopping together. Despite appearing to look like a child to those around her, Rio genuinely believes Konomi, including her looks, is sexy. On top of that, Rio looks up to and respects Konomi a lot due to their differences - Rio has an attractive body, but lacks maturity; Konomi, who looks half her age, is a responsible and reliable adult. Despite not being in any official units or songs together, their good relationship is often evident in all Million Live media. In the Brand New Song manga, Rio is the one who reaches out to help and comfort Konomi, who had been struggling on her own to aim for a perfect live; they were then both able to show each other slightly different sides of themselves. Rio had also mentioned respecting Konomi a lot as a woman, a drinking buddy and as a friend, saying that she felt as though the feeling wasn’t mutual as other woman didn’t open her heart enough; this shows that Rio cares about their relationship a lot, and wishes that Konomi could rely on her as much as Rio relies on her.

## Trivia

* Konomi has a younger sister.
* It is revealed in a caravan story that the reason Konomi looks like a child is that a sexy spirit had been following her since elementary school, stunting her growth to prevent her from becoming so sexy that men would fight over her and cause destruction to the country. This all came from a fortune teller; the accuracy of the "lore" is unknown. However, when the fortune teller offered to exorcise the spirit in order to let Konomi's body continue growing, Konomi, along with Serika and Rio, decided that she's happy with how she looks now and doesn't need a sexier appearance to continue being sexy.