PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS

PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS logo

**PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS** is the third season of the Japanese spin-off of the Korean show PRODUCE 101. It is the first season to create a girl group.

Each episode (except the final) was broadcasted on the Japanese streaming service Lemino every Thursday at 21:00 JST (GMT+9), with its premiere airing on October 5, 2023. Each episode was rerun on the PRODUCE 101 official YouTube channel with English subtitles the following Monday at 21:00 JST (GMT+9) and was taken off after one week. The season finale aired exclusively on TBS on December 16, 2023, with the video on demand uploaded on Lemino afterwards.

## Promotion and Broadcast

On April 20, 2023, PRODUCE 101 JAPAN was announced to renew for a third season, with the change of featuring all female contestants.

## Cast

### Presenters

* Kimura Kaela (national producer representative)
* Yabuki Nako (show ambassador)

### Vocal Trainers

* Aoyama Thelma
* Lee Honggi

### Dance Trainers

* Nakasone Rino
* YUMEKI

### Guests

* CHANMINA (episode 6 and 7)
* Choi Yena (episode 10)
* Jo Yuri (episode 10)

## Trainees

*Main Article: PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS/Trainees*

Color key
      Final members of ME:I

      Contestants eliminated in the final episode

      Contestants eliminated in the third elimination round

      Contestants eliminated in the second elimination round

      Contestants eliminated in the first elimination round

      Contestants that have withdrawn from the show

## Episodes

### Episode 1

(October 5, 2023)
The 101 trainees[a] are split into 26 groups and introduced one by one into a room with a pyramid-shaped seating arrangement. The trainees get to choose which seat they want to sit in, with the highest chair being 1st place. After sitting down, the monitors above display the rank that the other trainees (outside of their audition group) gave them. Once all the trainees have filled the pyramid, Kimura Kaela enters the room and introduces herself and the five trainers. Then the level placement test occurs, with each audition group performing in front of everyone and the trainers determining which level each trainee is placed, from A being the highly skilled to F being the poorly skilled. The episode ends about halfway through the level placement test.

### Episode 2

(October 12, 2023)
The level placement test continues, and the theme song for the season, "LEAP HIGH! ~Asu e, Meippai~", is revealed by Kimura Kaela. Each level practices the choreography and lyrics in a different area of the complex and undergo a level reevaluation after three days.

### Episode 3

(October 19, 2023)
The rearranged levels are revealed, and the center for the theme song needs to be picked. The trainees in classes B to F vote Sakurai Miu as the center, and the next mission, the group battle begins. The trainees are split into sixteen groups, with Sakurai Miu getting priority on which teammates she wants in her group. Afterwards, the trainees race to choose their desired song. The episode shows the practice and performances for the "How You Like That", "LOVE DIVE", and "Seifuku no Mannequin" teams before ending.

### Episode 4

(October 26, 2023)
The practice and performances for the rest of the teams are shown. At the end, the trainees gather and Kimura Kaela recaps the group battle before showing the ranks of all the trainees based on the on-site votes.

### Episode 5

(November 2, 2023)
This is the first ranking announcement. Trainees who place under 50th place are eliminated from the show.

### Episode 6

(November 9, 2023)
Yabuki Nako appears as a special MC and introduces the position battle. The 50 remaining trainees choose out of eight songs to perform, each song pertaining to the vocal, dance, and rap & vocal positions. "RUN RUN" is revealed to be a double mission, meaning the winner of this group receives double on-site votes and benefits, but only if they also place 1st in the dance position. If they do not, then the entire group receive zero votes. Four of the ten groups perform before the episode's end.

### Episode 7

(November 16, 2023)
The practice and performances for the rest of the groups are shown. The trainees gather at the end and Kimura Kaela recaps the positioin battle before showing the ranks of all the trainees based on the on-site votes.

### Episode 8

(November 23, 2023)
This is the second ranking announcement. Trainees who place under 35th place are eliminated from the show. In addition, the initial lineups for the concept evaluation are formed, voted for by the national producers between the airings of episode 5 and 6.

### Episode 9

(November 30, 2023)
The five songs for the concept evaluation perform with their new lineups, with some trainees having to leave their original group. At the end, the 35 remaining trainees gather and Kimura Kaela recaps the concept evaluation before showing the ranks of all the trainees based on the on-site votes.

### Episode 10

This is the third ranking announcement. Trainees who place under 20th place are eliminated from the show. Afterwards, the two teams for the debut evaluation are formed, in addition to Kimura Kaela unveiling a special gift. At the end of the episode, the trainers say their good-byes at their last practice.

### Episode SP

In this special episode before the finals, the five trainers meet up and talk about their favorite performances and how much the remaining twenty trainees have improved.

### Episode 11

(December 16, 2023)
This is the show's finale. After performances of three songs, Kimura Kaela announces the final lineup one by one. They form the group ME:I.

## Aftermath

The top eleven trainees formed the group ME:I under LAPONE Entertainment.

## Discography

* "LEAP HIGH! ~Asu e, Meippai~" (2023)
* "LEAP HIGH! ~Asu e, Meippai~ (Piano Ver.)" (2023)
* *35 GIRLS 5 CONCEPTS* (2023)
* *FINAL* (2023)
* *PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS* (2024)

## Trivia

* This season is the first to have trainees from Kagawa and Tokushima as well as an Indonesian trainee.

## Notes

a.**^**  The actual number of trainees is 96 due to five trainees leaving before the concept battle.

## References

1. ↑ "「PRODUCE 101 JAPAN」シーズン3は初のガールズグループオーディション、NTTドコモの映像配信サービス「Lemino」で独占配信決定" (in Japanese). *The Television*. 2023-04-24.
2. ↑ "「PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS」英語字幕付 海外限定配信のお知らせ" (in Japanese). *PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS Official Website*. 2023-10-04.
3. ↑ "101 TRAINEES" *PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS official website*. 2023-10-04.

 Extended Plays