Kami Kuzu Idol – 01

OP Sequence

OP: 「Let`s Zing!」by ZINGS

「 Episode 01」

Kami Kuzu Idol is a promising new idol show built on the humorous chemistry between the bitter, cynical Yuuya and the cheery, spunky Asahi. Yuuya’s bitter dismay for the idol industry could prove to hinder some of the plot going forward and, much like any idol show, you won’t be writing home about the dance sequences. But where the show has the potential to shine even brighter is its focus on Asahi and how quirky and amusing she is as she aims to possess Yuuya’s body and regain the old spark she had back when she was alive.

NEW DOG, OLD TRICKS

From the first episode alone, it felt like the premise for a few of the inspiring, comedic J-D dramas I’ve seen where a down-and-out professional is given a supernatural intervention. Yuuya fits the mold as the cold, careless protagonist who could use Asahi’s infectious optimism for the idol industry to thaw his icy disposition and get him to appreciate the life he leads. It sounds cheesy, but if you go into Kami Kuzu Idol’s first episode with this mindset, you won’t be disappointed.

While the chemistry between the main duo of a J-Drama is the not-so-secret ingredient to making them an addicting experience, I’d hope that the series doesn’t lean as much into Yuuya’s pessimism now that he’s met his ghost partner. It can be exhausting to watch pessimistic characters maintain all of the focus if their pessimism winds up being their sole personality trait. To his credit though, it is still the first episode, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up getting more of a personality boost by the time he begins endearing more to Asahi’s concerns.

SUPER DRRRRRRRY

Speaking of Asahi, she’s absolutely the best reason to tune in to Kami Kuzu Idol. She’s adorable, has a hilarious personality, and isn’t just a pushover when Yuuya tries to avoid his responsibilities. It was pretty funny to see how she automatically jumps to unbridled fury the moment she realizes that even someone as dead as she is would be more excited about being a living, breathing idol than a mopey killjoy who only coasts by as an idol for the money.

I also think that Asahi’s story provides a great emotional core for the series. As much as she tries her best to adjust to life as a ghost, it’s all too painful to see life pass by her when she has no chance of getting back in the saddle. She wants to continue being the center of attention as she was when she was alive, but now that she’s dead, she’s completely cut off from anyone ever being able to see her again. It only serves to remind Asahi of how much she relied on her career as a way of feeling better about herself to see herself feeling displaced now that she isn’t able to command an audience as she used to.

A DOSE OF A FREAKY GHOST

Now that Asahi and Yuuya made a pact to help one another fulfill their own personal goals, it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes before other issues arise from their plan. Yuuya currently sees Asahi as an easy meal ticket so that he can be successful on auto-pilot without having to consider a new job. But as Kelly Price once sang, “the more money we come across, the more problems we see”.

With success comes more exposure and less of a general direction as to how he could even replicate Asahi’s enthusiasm on the off-chance that he loses the ability to fuse with Asahi. Will Asahi act as more of a crutch for Yuuya or will he use this as an opportunity to gain a better appreciation for the lucky streak he’d gotten by being a part of ZINGS, to begin with?

On top of all of this, I’m curious about if/how Asahi will Yuuya’s body offstage. Asahi misses the stage enough that she’s hyper-focused on using his body to live vicariously through performing as Yuuya. At the same time, she still has the same capacity for emotions as any living person would considering how she escaped Yuya’s body once she was flustered by how attractive Yuuya’s partner Kazuki looked.

TASTE THE FAME

Based on the ending sequence, I can also see an instance where Asahi gets carried away and uses Yuuya’s body to go on dates or hang-out opportunities with Kazuki. I’d be pretty impressed if the show ever confronted whether Asahi would want to possess Yuuya’s body to go through life experiences she might’ve missed out on like love, travel, or culinary pursuits.

Maybe it’ll show restraint and be hesitant about diving into Asahi’s character beyond her love for performing, but it’d be neat to see if they do go into the existentialist territory of begging to question what Asahi makes of life after death. She refused to pass on because she wasn’t satisfied with how she left before she could enjoy her peak, but what if she had more desires beyond just performing until she was bored? Just an interesting thought that I couldn’t help but humor. Nonetheless, as-is, Kami Kuzu Idol should still prove to be a fun, worthwhile experience based on how amusing it is to see Asahi changes Yuuya’s appearance and disposition at the moment she possesses him.

ED Sequence

ED: Kimi Kira「キミキラ」by ZINGS