Shōnen Hollywood - Holly Stage for 49

Episode 10

I don't even know where to start with this episode. Shōnen Hollywood has pulled concept episodes before - AIR BOYS was basically the climax to the show's first half, and even the “convince Kakeru to sing” episode rode a conceit far past its breaking point. But this time, in order to convey the experience of Shōnen Hollywood's first performance and TV broadcast, they… straight up play their first performance and TV broadcast. A music revue show, start to finish, all performances included.

Meaning that, since Shōnen Hollywood were the third of five guests, this show's actual first idol performance was Miss Monochrome, in all her creepy CG glory. Followed by a newly solo singer, whose gimmick is apparently just smiling or sighing demurely instead of answering questions. Followed by Shōnen Hollywood, complete with light banter between the hosts and guests all along the way. Followed by two more unrelated guests, thanks for watching, see you next week.

What do I say to that? The show just one hundred percent committed to an episode that was four-fifths not Shōnen Hollywood, slotting their performance into the middle of a gimmicky “everyone here's doing something for the first time!” talk show appearance. The confidence of a choice like this, the way it embodies all of Shōnen Hollywood's attempts to ground idol life in the mundanities of real life, is kind of astonishing to me. How does this show even get away with something like this?

There were a ton of great details scattered throughout this one, from the aforementioned mute idol girl to Kou Osaki (a former Shōnen Hollywood member who got top billing on the program) demonstrating his mastery of showmanship. Shōnen Hollywood has consistently expressed the idea that you have to embrace the artificial charm of public identity, and Kou's lines like “Girls across Japan are watching me. It would be insulting if I didn't get jittery” were a perfect expression of that. In contrast, Makki stole the show on the Shōnen Hollywood side through pure ineptitude - not only did he come off as intensely nervous, he also forgot his lines, answered a host's question with a direct “no,” and even started making peace signs at the audience while other guests were talking, prompting a sharp, subtle nudge from an off-screen Kakeru. Constant details of animation and stilted conversation timing all helped maintain the illusion of a true talk show performance.

As for the actual performances, they were solid overall, and smartly leaned on rotoscoping instead of CG (well, outside of Monochrome, obviously). An abrasive shift to CG would have damaged the illusion of an uncut TV performance this episode was attempting to portray, and the actual animation did a reasonable job, with Shōnen Hollywood's performance definitely being the highlight. But it seems almost silly to judge an episode like this on how good the performances were - the conceit was everything here, and the conceit was brilliant and perfectly executed. More shows should pull wild tricks like this.

Rating: A

Shōnen Hollywood - Holly Stage for 49 is currently streaming on Funimation.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.