AKB0048 - Episode 11

What a twist!

Shifting from the Takamina-Kanata conflict to the Chieri-Nagisa one, this episode of AKB0048 brings what I expected to be the main focus of the series ever since the two understudies' confrontation on the trip to the audition. Obviously, Tsubasa has something up her sleeves when she announced to the unconfident Nagisa that'd she'd be singing a solo song at the understudy performance on Lancastar which is, fittingly enough, the planet where the main four originally lived on. While she doesn't explicitly state her reason for placing Nagisa in this role, what she saw in Mii-chan's photo in the last episode is enough to guess that Tsubasa would like to see Nagisa's full potential.

Information on insert songs used in this episode can be found below.

But it's not just Nagisa who has potential; even the 77th generation as a whole is seen as a special group given that S-Quadruple has composed his first song ever since Acchan graduated, specifically for them. Not surprisingly, this doesn't sit well with Yūko who ends up making a big fuss out of it—and for good reason—before running off to practice it on her own. This display of both jealousy and passion was regarded as "shameful, yet awe-inspiring" by Chieri, which is a positive compliment compared to her criticism of Nagisa's "unacceptable", half-hearted attitude towards practicing the solo song. With the little bit of AKB48 trivia about Maeda Atsuko's initial fear of being a center in mind, this leads me to believe Nagisa will succeed her in the end, while Chieri takes on the name of Ōshima Yūko.

As for three of the girls' not-so-pleasant homecoming (Nagisa finds out her dad's been arrested, Yūka realizes that her crush no longer likes her but is a fan of Suzuko instead, Orine sees that the word "sakura", which she engraved into some metal at the factory she worked at before leaving Lancastar, is now part of a DES machine), the emotional burden becomes even greater. More than just having to perform in their hometown ravaged by the Entertainment Ban, these understudies will also have to overcome their personal struggles. The one who will have the most trouble is probably Nagisa; the stress of performing a solo song while knowing that her father's been arrested because of what she's currently doing may just be too much for her to handle. And when that time comes, I wonder how Chieri will react to seeing her teammate struggling. Will she resort to criticism as usual in hope that it will wake Nagisa up, or will she change her approach and take on the role of supporter/comforter?

Insert Songs
Kanji	Romaji	English	Links
N/A	N/A	To be continued.	Lyrics | Video
渚のCHERRY	Nagisa no CHERRY	Cherry of the Sea Shore	Lyrics | Video (Mayuyu ♥)