Episode 01 - The New Face That Plays Our Bonds!!

**The New Face That Plays Our Bonds!!** is the premiere episode of the Dream Festival! anime series. The episode aired on September 23, 2016.

## Plot

*Kanade Amamiya has resigned himself to bringing smiles to others, something that gets the attention of Haruto Mikami. Haruto reaches out to Kanade and invites him to become an idol, igniting a new passion within him.*

## Summary

An amazing concert is held, the stage is lit up by the cards held by the audience members. Legendary idol Haruto Mikami is introduced as these special cards are given life, changing the outfits on the trio performing.

Kanade observes this recorded concert from a large screen across the street from where he stands, his attention returning to his friend and co-worker. He complains that a task like handing out *500* balloons in the allotted time is impossible, but Kanade remains bright and willing to give it his all. This catches the attention of a curious man as Kanade runs around the area, in comparison to his friend who hardly puts in any effort. He gives up and has a seat while his energetic friend quickly finds a crying boy to give his last balloon to. His smile encourages Kanade, who takes his friends balloons and continues to hand them out; his brilliantly glowing aura attracting the attention of several people.

As their work day concludes Kanade gave out every single balloon. The suspicious man from before approaches him, and before Kanade realizes what is happening, the man guides him towards his limo. Kanade tries to fight him off but the man easily pushes him inside, going on to reveal his identity after Kanade threatens to call the cops. He is very surprised, and after getting home, he reveals the shocking news to his younger brother, Ritsu. It turns out that Haruto wanted Kanade to become an idol, but he turned him down. Ritsu is very shocked, and their mom points out that being scouted as an idol could be a good thing for Kanade. He was so passionate back in middle school when he played soccer, but he blamed himself for the team losing their final games and gave up. Lately he's been bored and lacks interest in things, but he is still young and should find something to replace it. Kanade remains set in his decision, but suddenly a new voice startles the family. They look to realize Kanade has Haruto's cellphone.

The following day Kanade heads to the Agency to return the phone. He doesn't understand how he got it in the first place, and Haruto's suspicious behavior causes him to realize that he slipped it into his pocket the previous day. Haruto knew he would return it, which was why he was so confident that Kanade would show up. With that, Haruto suggests giving him a tour since he came by, and before he can refuse the offer, he begins to lead Kanade around. As this is going on, they are observed by a blonde-haired male.

While showing off the various features of the Agency, Haruto explains how being an idol works. New idols who are considered to be *Rookie Class* and do not have debut CDs yet. But they have performed live and have fans, although they are only known by idol fans at this point. It takes a while before everyone else recognizes them too. By now, the blonde from earlier is joined by two others, and the trio observe them from inside one of the training rooms. They wonder if Kanade is new, and the shorter, purple-haired boy wonders if Kanade is special. Usually, Haruto doesn't waste his time showing around new prospective talent. Junya -the blonde- becomes annoyed by this.

Kanade remains perplexed and asks Haruto why he sought him out when he clearly doesn't know anything about idols. Haruto expresses his belief that Kanade is someone who can surpass *the ultimate*, he was convinced witnessing him hand out the balloons. He did it with no complaints and worked hours on end without tiring out, and he brought joy and happiness to several people. He warns Kanade that if he does agree to join up, he still has to take the audition and be chosen however. Kanade refuses again and by now Junya interrupts, remarking that someone like Kanade couldn't make it anyway. This frustrates Kanade, who claims he *could* do it if he wanted to. Haruto suggests they go outside to run laps when they begin arguing, and both males stubbornly agree.

Initially Kanade is able to keep up with Junya as Chizuru and Itsuki watch from the sidelines. He's surprised when Junya proves to be much faster than him, and by the time they finish he's barely used any energy in comparison to how exhausted he is. They move onto the next exercise and they are joined by Chizuru and Itsuki as they do Tongue Twisters. While the trio handle this task easily, Kanade becomes flustered and barely keeps up. They head to the workout area and find Shin just finishing, leading Junya to ask that he shows Kanade how to use the equipment. Shin refuses and takes off, leading Chizuru and Itsuki to express how antisocial he is to Kanade.

Late into the evening, Kanade calls it quits after a final run. He's used up every ounce of energy, but it turns out that they are not finished yet: they still have to shower. Junya remarks that it isn't easy being an idol, the only ones that can officially debut on CD are the ones who win the upcoming competition run by the Agency, the *Dream Festival*, or *Dream Fes* for short. He suggests Kanade should quit, because even if he were to pass the audition he'd have a long way to go before he's ready for something like that. He leaves the shower room as Kanade is left contemplating his day, and once he gets home he tiredly prepares for bed. He recalls how soccer made him feel and begins to consider how much fun being an idol could be.

Eventually the day of the audition arrives and Kanade struggles trying to figure out where he's supposed to go. He is approached by Junya and Shin, neither of whom believe he is capable and their cryptic wording confuses him, until he realizes that they will perform with him. Kanade barely has time to react when he's thrust upon the stage, but he starts to doubt his capabilities as he looks out to the audience from the big stage. He is surprised when Junya suddenly offers encouragement, and Kanade thinks about the past two days, and he awkwardly goes on to introduce himself to everyone alongside Shin and Junya. The guys inform him that he is lacking a microphone, so the audience probably can't hear him, but this calms Kanade down enough to focus. The audience insert their chosen cards for the guys to wear and start *Dorica*, the process in which the idol catches the cards sent to them by the audience that represent their feelings. Kanade barely processes this and just manages to reach for one. He warmly thanks everyone for their feelings, and with his spirit restored they perform *Glory Story*.

Kanade is left in a daze as the others walk away, and Haruto approaches him for a chat outside. He asks Kanade of his feelings, and he admits that he was nervous but he enjoyed himself. He still doesn't understand the importance of their fans cheers and Dorica though, leading Haruto to show him by releasing the thousands of Dorica they earned into the sky, filling it with sparkling light. He explains the preciousness of these feelings as Kanade admires it with amazement. He slowly comes to a realization, in that he was stuck in a rut without passion. But he believes that he has found something to return it, and with that Haruto announces that he has officially passed the audition.

## Trivia

* The starting intro of the anime is reminiscent of the ones in the *Aikatsu!* series. In which the main character introduces the series to the audience with similar sounding speeches and ending the segment with a pose.
	+ This might have been intentional, as its been noted how similar the two series are.
* The title in Japanese uses 奏, which is the same kanji that is used to spell Kanade's name.
* When Kanade replies to Junya's challenge, he uses the words イケるっしょ！ (Ikerussho!, *lit. I can do it!*) These words are repeated throughout the episode; later appearing in other episodes of the anime and even the mobile game. This culminated in its usage by fans instead of the traditional Encore! (アンコール！) at DearDream 1st LIVE Real Dream.

## Gallery

Episode 01 - The New Face That Plays Our Bonds!!/Image Gallery