Episode 1

**Episode 1** is the 1st episode of Phantom of the Idol anime series.

## Premise

Yuya's career is about to go down in flames, but he may have a ghost of a chance if he lets Asahi possess his body and do the hard work for him.

## Synopsis

The narrator starts the episode saying, “Idols.. They shine on stage and bring joy to their fans . These fans make them shine even brighter. This is a story of these idols.”

we see ZINGS doing a live performance, Kazuki doing a good job emceeing.while Niyodo is acting bored. Niyodo says “ this sucks.”After the show, the manager , Hitomi Shinano is scolding Niyodo ,Niyodo asks when he will get paid. Hitomi tells him to stop messing around. She says his whole attitude is the problem, He has dead eyes, he never smiles, and today’s concert was a disaster. She even mentions how Niyodo made the audience sings the parts he forgot! Most ZINGS fans go after Yoshino, Hitomi doesn’t want to deal with someone so unmotivated.

She threatens Niyodo by saying, “Put your fans’ feelings above all else. If you can’t , I’ll fire you and make Yoshino go solo” Yoshino can’t go solo , he kept telling Hitomi he can’t perform solo. Hitomi says, “If you want to keep your job, you have to change your attitude” and leaves the dressing room.

Yoshino panics about Niyodo getting fired but Niyodo wants to look for other jobs. Niyodo states that if he can’t get easy money, he’d rather be fired as an idol-Yoshino calls Niyodo a dirtbag. Yoshino tries to motivate Niyodo to put in effort. Yoshino says that Niyodo’s singing and dancing are not that bad and tells him to try just a little bit. Niyodo argues that the “little bit” is impossible for him. Yoshino says that Niyodo’s fans will be upset-however Niyodo says “They’ll move on soon enough.” Then, a staff member asks Yoshino for something so, Yoshino leaves but before he talks to the staff member he tells Niyodo to think about it more seriously.

Later backstage, as he drinks a can of coffee ,Niyodo thinks about what a hassle it all is, wanting to make easy money, not dealings with fans emotions ,working hard-which he doesn’t want to do , his responsibilities as an idol. He remembers that he was scouted by an agent with the agent saying, “You look so cool! Want to be an idol? You don’t even have to say anything.”

As he complains about not wanting to be an idol, he hears a girl saying that she wants to be an idol. He makes eye contact with the girl. She asks if he sees her- Niyodo assumes she is bullied by others pretending not to see her- Niyodo explains he can see her just fine. The girl introduces herself as the idol Asahi Mogami and asks if he has heard of her , Niyodo doesn’t know who she is. Yoshino walks by,so Niyodo asks if he knows who Asahi Mogami is. Yoshino explains that it’s been a year since Asahi Mogami died. Which means Niyodo just met a ghost.

Niyodo learns that Asahi Mogami was 17 years old, She was known for her innocent smile and love for her fans. The narrator explains that Asahi was devoted to her career to to exclusion of all else….. She was set to become one of the top stars in the country. However, she lost her life in a car accident a year ago. Her sudden loss shocked her fans and the entertainment industry. Niyodo never knew that until today. Yoshino asks how apathetic is Niyodo about his own job. Yoshino didn’t expect Niyodo to talk about something like this and asks why.Niyodo responds with “Nothing really. I was just wondering.” Yoshino can’t see Asahi the ghost. Asahi quickly learns that the other boy’s name is Yoshino. Yoshino tells Niyodo that they changed the venue for the shoot after the concert and Yoshino can write Niyodo’s opening line,if Niyodo wants. Then, Yoshino asks Niyodo if something’s wrong. Niyodo says that nothing’s wrong then, he asks for some time alone. Yoshino gets the wrong idea and says, “Don’t worry. The manager will forgive you. Let’s keep trying.” Then, Yoshino leaves which means Niyodo’s alone with Asahi Mogami the ghost.

Asahi once again asks if he sees her. Niyodo ,whose pinky finger is in his ear responds , “Yeah. Clearly”. Asahi points out that she’s a ghost and Niyodo says ,” If no one can see you, there’s no cash in it for me.” Asahi asks if he can give her more reaction like if he’s scared or excited, Niyodo says Asahi is “surprisingly ordinary” which isn’t meant to be offensive. He just doesn’t care- which is even worse for Asahi.Asahi once again introduces herself- this time as “The former idol who’s currently a ghost, Asahi Mogami.” Niyodo also introduces himself as “Yuya Niyodo”. Asahi cheers that it’s finally great to have someone to talk to, Niyodo’s the first person who’s ever been able to see her. No one notices her, but she knows she can’t blame them, so she’s happy to talk to someone after so long.

Niyodo brings up that Asahi is soon celebrating the first anniversary of her death but she still hangs around this world. He asks if there’s a spiritual reason why she can’t rest in peace. Asahi explains that when she got into the accident, as her consciousness faded……she wondered if she’d ever be able to perform again. The next thing she knew, she was a ghost. She wanted to say goodbye to her fans but they can’t hear her. No matter how hard she shouted, no one noticed. She thought about accepting her fate and going to heaven, she thought she should but she just can’t give up her love of being an idol.

Asahi explains that she came here today since she wanted to see a concert. She then apologizes for being such a downer and says that idols always have to put on a smile and the most important things are liveliness, pep and joy-Niyodo comments that none of which is fit for a ghost.Asahi says that she saw Niyodo’s performance earlier, she thinks it was rather unconventional, it was her first time seeing male idols in action and she learned a lot. Asahi hopes they can be friends as fellow idols, but there’s no chance, Niyodo’s about to get fired.

Asahi asks what Niyodo did. Niyodo says , “It’s more about what I didn’t do.’” He explains that he got into this with being interested in idols, He thought he could make easy money as an idol without doing anything,but practice is hard and events are irritating to him so, Niyodo doesn’t really care if he gets fired. This makes Asahi **very** mad. She gets even **more mad** when Niyodo says that it’s annoying when they tell him to think about fans’ feelings. At this point Asahi snaps, she says “it’s unfair. How dare you become an idol thinking like that! I still want to be one even though I’m dead, How can someone alive be so unmotivated?” Niyodo notices the dark mood. In a fit of rage, Asahi asks to take Niyodo’s place.

The next thing they know, Asahi ended up in Niyodo’s body! Asahi is amazed while Niyodo feels creeped out stating “She took over my body.”Asahi plays around with Niyodo body as Niyodo rants about what just happened. He says “You acted all friendly just because you wanted my body.” But Asahi didn’t want Niyodo’s body but she wants to stay in here for a bit. First, She makes Niyodo do cute choreography which annoys him. Asahi comments that without weight, it’s not like real dance. Niyodo tells Asahi to “stop using him” Asahi is about to do “her favorite thing” but then Yoshino comes back, scaring Niyodo and Asahi-she jumped out of Niyodo’s body. Yoshino asks what’s the matter, Niyodo says that nothing wrong. Yoshino noticed the scream was pretty loud, Niyodo says he was just simulating the stage and then asks if he can practice on his own. Yoshino understands- he doesn’t know the ghost thing- and is rooting for his partner.

When Asahi and Niyodo are alone again,Niyodo realizes it(Asahi in Niyodo’s body) wasn’t permanent . Asahi is lying down to apologize. She says she couldn’t help using his body to satisfy her selfish desire. Niyodo doesn’t mind, but Asahi isn’t supposed to talk like a criminal or a pervert.He feels bad that Asahi can’t be an idol when she really wants to, he wouldn’t mind trading places with her… which gives Niyodo a great idea!

Later,during a ZINGS concert, in the lobby, one woman asks Kasenjiki, Tsugiko and Shigutaro “what gives you Niyodo fans the urge to follow such a loser?” Kasenjiki explains that they’re lucky to be breathing the same air as him. Tsugiko adds that just being in the same dimension brings her joy. Shigutaro thanks Niyodo for being born. The woman who asked the three Niyodo fans the question comments, “You Niyodo fans are out of your mind”.

When the concert opens, the fans get into their seats, they chatter about what might happen. Kasenjiki, Tsugiko and Shigutaro all cheer for Niyodo. The manager is watching too. Yoshino and Niyodo walk onto the stage. Niyodo surprises the crowd doing a lively introduction- they don’t know that Asahi is inside Niyodo’s body. Asahi gets Niyodo to do a cute pose as part of the introduction,then she says she’s happy to see all of them here today and swears to make this concert one to remember. Asahi makes Niyodo say he’s “energized and motivated today”and hopes everyone can keep up with them. Kasenjiki, Shigutaro and Tsugiko are all confused and freaking out. Yoshino is also surprised! Asahi asks Yoshino what’s wrong and tell him the fans are waiting. They announce their first song-which was their debut song- “Bang of Love!”

Turns out Asahi’s cheerful and optimistic personality is exactly what Niyodo needed to drive the crowd wild!  The performance is a great success! Asahi does some fan service at some point of the song. Kasenjiki, Shigutaro and Tsugiko are freaking out about Niyodo’s fan service , saying it’s “the end of the world as we know it!”

When the show is over, two staff members complain about how there’s a lot of Niyodo merchandise left over again. The staff really wish they sold more. Suddenly, many fans run over to the merchandise booth and ask for Niyodo merch, surprising the staff. The Niyodo goods are sold out.

Niyodo and Asahi are in the dressing room. Niyodo is looking at the reviews on his phone saying “this looks like a big incident” . Asahi is worried about if she messed things up but on the contrary, they got very good reviews. Asahi says that it was nice to sing and dance again, She knows they were not here for her…but she felt they’re cheering. Asahi sighs and says she really felt alive. As it was after such a long absence, Asahi had so much fun. Then Asahi gets confused and doesn’t even know what she’s trying to say. But she can clearly say that she loves being an idol. Niyodo says he’s counting on her. Asahi asks, “Wasn’t it just for today?” But Niyodo’s response is “Is that what you want? You love being an idol”. Asahi nervously says that she’ll be very happy to carry on. Niyodo says, “Then there’s nothing to think about.” Niyodo doesn’t want to be an idol but Asahi does, it’s a win-win situation. Besides, after seeing today’s concert, Niyodo knows Asahi is such a great performer. Niyodo comments that Asahi was so lively while she was on stage-even though Asahi’s already dead. But Asahi’s passion for being an idol can never be tarnished by death, which means Asahi agrees to Niyodo’s idea! Asahi says ,”let’s work together hand in hand, Niyodo.” Niyodo and Asahi are now *officially* a team.

The narrator once again speaks. This time he says, “Idols. They shine on stage and bring joy to their fans. With special friends, they continue their growth.”

Niyodo then says he’s glad to have met Asahi, now he can make easy money with no pain. The narrator calls Yuna Niyodo nothing but a dirtbag. The narrator continues ,saying ,”This is how a real star of yesterday and a dirtbag of today joined forces. The story of the Phantom of the Idol is about to unfold”.

After the credits, Kasenjiki, Shigutaro and Tsugiko decide what to order at a restaurant. Tsugiko is quite a big eater according to what she orders(pork stew, pork salad, fried chicken and French fries). When their food arrives, they talk about what happen to Niyodo as they eat their food. Kasenjiki just can’t get over Niyodo showing emotion yet. Shigutaro comments that Niyodo “kinda rebelled against himself”. Kasenjiki cries. As Tsugiko’s so used to being ignored, she’s having a hard time figuring out how to taste this “forbidden fruit”. Kasenjiki wonders if the Niyodo they saw today was the real Niyodo. Were the three Niyodo fans so heartbroken that they ended up having a mass hallucination?

Kasenjiki says that whether it was a hallucination or not doesn’t matter- although Tsugiko thinks it does matter-even if it was a hallucination, Kasenjiki still felt his presence. That’s what really matters, so Kasenjiki is grateful for his entire being. Shigutaro adds that it is Niyodo’s very existence that made them see him in hallucination. They conclude that what they saw **was** a hallucination. Who cares either way? The three fans plan to cheer him on at the next concert.

## **Characters**

Yoshino Kazuki

Yuya Niyodo

Asahi Mogami

Hitomi Shinano

Kasenjiki

Tsugiko

Shigutaro