Shake It! Shounan Beach

## Chronology

**Shake It! Shounan Beach** is the 3rd episode of Idol Jihen. The episode aired on January 29, 2017.

## Plot

*When the Heroine Party competes in the upcoming Swimsuit Competition they meet last years winners. Will they be able to beat the charismatic members of the Bishoujo Party?*

## Summary

An assembly is being held, with the girls of the Bishoujo party being chewed out for "inappropriate" attire. Their flashy nails, pink modifications to their outfits, and hair accessories are deemed unfit for true representatives- according to the man before them. The girls are not phased by his attitude as he chews out the fourth one for being late to the meeting. Ume tries to tell him it's fine for them to be themselves, because they're all different but this only leaves him fuming.

After the assembly, the group from the Heroine Party wait in the hallway to find Assemblyman Katsurayama in a huff, discussing something with his secretaries outside. They are unable to hear him as Natsuki notices how many assistants he has. Sachie explains that his father was a big shot so many people want to work beneath him, although she wonders what could have upset him so much.

That evening, Katsurayama is being calmed by his head secretary. He is still angry at being made fun of and accuses the girls of being useless outside of looking pretty. He wants to get revenge for their mockery though, and to his delight his head secretary has thought ahead. He brings up the upcoming Swimsuit Competition and mentions having contacted the event directors to see to it the Bishoujo Party is sabotaged in front of everyone.

When the event arrives the girls find themselves surrounding by familiar and new faces. Natsuki is very excited as she recalls how much she loved to watch this event on television growing up, but her joy is shifted to surprise when she spots a the Bishoujo nearby boasting of their plans to win this year. Having recognized them as last years winners she continues growing excited, only for Shizuka to remind her that this isn't only for fun- but work as well. Natsuki promises she will do her best when Sachie points out their approval rating will go up if they were to win it.

Meanwhile, a man back stage expresses relief when a man (really the head secretary) shows up. Having been recommended by Katsurayama, the man has high hopes this new MC will do well. The man assures him the event will go fine, with the other unaware of his impure intentions. When in the clear, the man contacts Katsurayama to inform him that he made it through with no problem.

With that the event gets underway with the various Parties being introduced: From the Sunlight and Starlight Parties to the brand new Subculture Party, followed by last years winners the Bishoujo Party, and the Heroine Party. Before handing over the flag from last years win, the Bishoujo Party stop to take a quick picture with the Heroine Party. Ume then goes on to recite the speech Natsuki remembers by heart and accidentally recites with her. While this gets the crowd riled up with excitement it only flusters her, but thankfully the fourth member of Bishoujo Party has shown up late yet again and the attention on Natsuki is cut short. In seconds the Bishoujo Party manages to excite the crowd over with their charming, playful and easy-going natures. Remarking on this, Natsuki is just as inspired to get herself pumped up in time for the first competition: Giant Rollers.

The Heroine Party is able to quickly clear it with Bishoujo Party catching up. Seeing how easy this was, the MC decides to turn up the difficulty by raising one of the Rollers and making it spin faster to cause the younger Wakaba Team difficulty and get them thrown out of the course and out of the game.

The next event is held, where the girls must keep hold of the banana boats driven by someone else. Once again the MC interferes telling the driver to speed up. In the process, Shirayuki from the Starlight Party has been eliminated from the event. However, the MC's initial delighted response catches the Bishoujo Party's suspicion and Ume remarks that normally competitors last much longer in the games.

They move onto the last game of the morning, a challenging survival race composed of ropes and things in the water they have to balance on. If they touch the water at all, they're out. The Heroine Party manages to do very well, with the MC remarking on Natsuki's speed and how effortless she made it look, allowing the Heroine Party to pass with ease. This excites Ume on getting a serious threat this time around as three of the Sunlight Party's team are knocked out from the competition after two of the girls grab a hold of the other and they all fall into the water. As they try to get out the little octopus from earlier find them and begin clinging to the girls.

In his car, Katsurayama watches with amusement to find the various Parties dwindling down.

The MC remarks that the Bishoujo Party has yet to move from their spot after seeing the pool beneath them full of octopus. In this time, the Heroine Party is starting to notice something off about the MC but they don't linger on it long- watching as the Bishoujo team manage to surpass the obstacle.

Backstage, the Heroine Party and Bishoujo Party work to get the octopus off of the fallen girls. Shizuka remarks on how strange of an occurrence it is though, and Ume mentions that it seemed too erotic to be scripted. Having been suspicious, one of the Sunlight Girls mentions that she did some info digging and saw nothing of it within the script, causing one of the Bishoujo Party girls to wonder why they were in the water. After nobody can think of anything, the Sunlight girl goes on to mention that the Rougai Party bought a ton of octopus for the event, but they wonder if its speculation or a real thing. Sachie recalls the incident from the other day and deems it to be entirely possible, but Ume could care less because this only made things more exciting in her opinion.

It's then Natsuki gets an idea, and the girls take the octopus to make Takoyaki. During the lunch break they offer them to the crowd with a donations box funding the Uminohane Charity. Everyone lines up right away and the girls work to hand out the food while a frustrated Katsurayama angrily insults them.

After the work is finished, Ume compliments Natsuki's idea. Natsuki explains that it only came to her at that instant, but with this money they can help keep the ocean clean. Curious, Ume asks if there are any good beaches in Niigata, and Natsuki thinks about the Sasagawa Nagare Coast and she strikes up conversation with Ume over them. Ume reveals to her that she has always dreamed of visiting every beach in the world, but suddenly she realizes she is hungry, so the duo sit down to share some onigiri that Natsuki's grandmother packed. They continue to bond as they find common ground within each other, and Ume asks her to call her by something else- since she finds her name too old-fashioned. Natsuki comes up with "Momo-san", and Ume agrees to it before asking her if she is playing to win. To her surprise, Natsuki claims she isn't. She has just always wanted to compete in the swimsuit competition so she's playing to have as much fun as she can. She thinks that if she enjoys it to its fullest others will too, but she starts to worry that maybe its foolish of her to think that way. Ume doesn't think so though.

As they are observed by the other two Heroine Party members, the remaining groups return to find that a row of bathing suits has been left for them- along with a letter. The letter appears to have been left by a child, confusing the two teams and suddenly the Sunlight girls show up again, believing there might be a trick. They observe the outfits but Monika and Hiyori, two of the Bishoujo Girls have put them on, deeming them fine. Ume and Sakura remain unchanged, along with the Heroine Party.

The final game of the day is held, with everyone competing in a water gun game where they must break the targets on the "aliens" heads before their own are. Quickly the game gets underway, but when the duo wearing the outfits are hit by water their outfits begin to dissolve. Quickly they take shelter as the MC remarks on it, causing the remaining girls to realize the Rougai Party really was the cause of it. Ume suggests they remain calm and cool about it though, because they will be fine, but she suggests to an emergency alliance and they all take shelter while she attempts to think of a plan. Suddenly she sees an opening and tells them to shoot, with the girls winning the game.

With Katsurayama in a foul mood at their win, his head assistant decides to end the final game with one last trick, this time weakening the bars holding up the section by undoing their screws. Angrier than ever he continues to work before announcing the girls must climb up a slippery slope to reach the microphones half-way up. The girls who manage to grab them and get up on top will get a chance to sing for everyone to close out the event.

Ume is happy that Natsuki is still there, but she mentions knowing she would make it. The event begins, but the girls quickly notice how slippery the slope is with water pouring on them. They continue to run, with Monika, Sakura, and Hiyori managing to grab the microphones from Sachie and Shizuka. Just as Ume is able to grab the last microphone, Natsuki notices part of the stage behind her break apart. Ume joins her friends and together the Bishoujo Party perform on top of the stage as Sachie and Shizuka attempt to help Natsuki. Even as the stage flies down the slope and into the water, the Bishoujo Party perform, managing to excite the crowd and win over the nasty Katsurayama and the MC.

The Heroine Party comment that while the Bishoujo Party won, they still had a lot of fun. The two teams pose for another photo- which doesn't go unnoticed by the strange and intimidating man. He observes the photo and silently gives it a Like.

## Trivia

* This is the first appearance of the Wakaba Party and Subculture Party in the anime.
	+ The Starlight Party also had a cameo in the episode.
	+ In both cases, nobody in said parties had a speaking line.