“Superiority and Inferiority”

「優越感と劣等感」 (Yuuetsukan to Rettoukan)

If Chiyuki doesn’t consider him as a friend, at least Ikuto avoided the friendzone, right…?

Speculation aside, this week provided a continuation to round one of the fashion tournament – where the contestants were tasked to create a dress for the famous model, Sara. Ikuto’s epiphany came in the form of a pajama design, having realised that Sara hadn’t posted any pictures featuring nightwear onto social media – indicating she lacked good enough clothes in that specific area. I’m sad we rushed from the epiphany to the moment of truth, without really seeing how he brought this idea to life. I always thought the idea was great. The colour coordination looked really nice, and I agreed with Chiyuki’s opinion from the beginning of the episode. That’s something I could imagine a girl buying – and I’m glad that Ikuto stuck by his guns to progress forwards. It should also be noted that Chiyuki’s earlier opinion was the deciding factor that allowed him to push himself forwards. However, Toh had different ideas.

Toh showcased his true colours – ruthlessly tearing Ikuto down, despite the fact he believed the design to be really good. I’m pretty sure he has some awareness that Ikutos is facing problems, which is why he was repeatedly tore into weaknesses that Ikuto can’t help (such as being too poor to afford fabric) before tempting him with a job proposition. Much like a certain movie character, he gave an offer that simply could not be refused. Not that I can’t see where Toh is coming from. If he wants to be the very best, he’ll want to seek out the very best that can work under him – and he’s recognised Ikuto as possessing top tier talent. That said, I have to question his forceful and manipulative methodology, even if he doesn’t have malicious intentions at heart – seeing how he’s working hard to seek out a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Also, even though she makes it clear she hates Ikuto, I could honestly respect how Kaoru recognised that his pajama design wasn’t that bad. Even when Toh was completely shitting on it, his highly respected opinion causing most people to agree with him like sheep, she looked extremely conflicted – a stark contrast with Ryuunosuke’s gloating. While I don’t think her design deserved to be placed the highest, I can recognise the talented craftsmanship that went into it – and concede that I have a plebeian sense of fashion. Kaoru possesses integrity towards her craft and is insanely passionate about fashion – making her an outstandingly compelling character in my eyes, even if I don’t necessarily find her to be particularly likable.

Meanwhile, Chiyuki’s still searching for her big break. And the ensuing emotional rollercoaster took its toll on me. It hurt my soul when she called Niimura – the girl working at that reputable fashion magazine who became a massive fan after Chiyuki wore the dress that Ikuto improvised at the last minute. Things were looking really good. Unfortunately, reality decided to smack Chiyuki back down. Niimura is unable to make the arrangement and another far more dismissive staff member ends up presiding over her interview. And even when she was able to produce a spark of hope, by showing the dismissive woman an impressive photograph from her portfolio, the interview is cut short at the worst moment when a more important client shows up – Kokoro’s agent. And when Chiyuki pondered on the lack of response the next day, she hears back for a minor role in a fashion shoot – only Hasegawa Kokoro is the star of this show. I can’t deny that I’m uneasy about what’s to come. Considering how every waking moment, Chiyuki makes it abundantly clear that her dream is to become a hypermodel, she’s about to encounter an individual from her age range whose exceedingly unimaginable talent might shatter her blindly optimistic comprehension of such a dream.

Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. As always, thanks for reading this post and see you next week to find out if there’s any way in which Chiyuki can measure up to Kokoro.

7 Comments

  1. https://randomc.net/image/Runway%20de%20Waratte/Runway%20de%20Waratte%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2034.jpg
    No, Chiyuki. Don’t apologize to her. She’s the one who should apologize for her condescending behavior towards everyone. I know we may get a backstory on her later on that may have the intention of making the audience sympathize with her, at least a little bit. But at some point, I just have enough of someone’s character being like this that I just don’t care about what may be revealed on them. But that’s just me.

      1. I’m not talking about what Chiyuki has to put up with, I’m talking about the coldhearted attitude of Kokoro’s manager, which extends to even Kokoro herself, telling her she’s meant to be nothing but a model even though she didn’t see her try her hand in it yet. She’s simply this presumptuous towards everyone, no exception. I mean something’s gotta give about that. I understand the world of fashion can be cruel by necessity most of the time, which is why I’m naturally not a fan of it at all. But her attitude seems excessive to me even by fashion world standards, by which I mean off-putting. I could be wrong, though, and there are maybe people like that IRL.

        1. Yeah, but you scolded Chiyuki not to apologize to her. My point is that Chiyuki has no choice but to be deferential – she’s an ant in a room full of brats with magnifying glasses. That’s how most industries work, most especially one as cutthroat as this one.

          1. I didn’t scold Chiyuki. How did that come off as me scolding her? My point was entirely about Kokoro’s manager, even from the original comment. I didn’t even talk about Chiyuki and her struggles before this episode because I already acknowledged how cutthroat the whole industry is. I said what I said as if were there rather scolding the one person who really annoyed me so far due to how unrealistically cruel I perceive her behavior to be.

            Again, my problem is only with Kokoro’s manager, not what Chiyuki has to put up nor the nature of the whole industry. Please don’t get the wrong idea.

          2. LOL, I took “Don’t apologize to her, Chiyuki!” to mean you were saying Chiyuki shouldn’t apologize to her. My bad…

            My point wasn’t that you were blaming Chiyuki for the whole situation, only that Chiyuki wasn’t wrong to apologize because she had no choice. I’ve known many people like that manager in business – they’re distressingly common. That sort of personality is what gets you recognized and rewarded by a lot of companies.

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