AKB0048 - Episode 6

Chieri = Mayuyu = <3

I found it amusing how the phrase "Haters gonna hate" could actually be applied to this episode. It's already obvious that Orine is someone who doesn't have much self-confidence. So when she gets hate mail from an "anti" (translated at "hater"), her shocked and scared reaction didn't come as a surprise. A part of me wants to scold her like Chieri did since I also felt that, if she couldn't handle something as minor as this, she'll have a tough time in the future. However, I also sympathized with her because of her unfortunate past in which she was all alone. So when Orine finally got her first handshake (apparently these handshake events are popular for idols/celebrities in Japan) and also managed to get a compliment out of her "very first hater", who just happens to be a tsundere, I couldn't help but smile.

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

Although she didn't have a lot of screentime in this episode, I found Chieri made the most impact to the story. I noticed her reserved behaviour even more in the episode and started to wonder what might be the cause of that. On the inside, I know her intentions are not malicious; she just wants to reach her/their (i.e. Nagisa, Yuuka, Orine, and herself) dream. So when she delivered the final blow to one of DES' machines and said, "I knew it. This machine...", I instantly realized that this might be connected to her seemingly cold personality. While I was editing the episode, the translator made a comment on this line, jokingly stating that Chieri might have just found out that the machines are from her father's company. If this is the case, the reason for Chieri's actions might be related to her internal conflict of having to choose between either obeying her father (anti-entertainment) or walking her own path (pro-entertainment; AKB0048). And I think that this struggle, coupled with the latter choice being one of independence, is why Chieri distances herself from the others. The question now is, what will happen once everyone else finds out about this, assuming it's true?

On the trivia side of things, the men who appeared and screamed random things before joining the idols in their fight are called "ヲタ" (wota). Also, "missilume" was the combination of "missiles" and "cyalume"; you could also call them "glow stick missiles", I guess.

Note: "真夏のSounds good!" is an EPIC song. The PV is really good, too (if you don't mind the random changes between "sci-fi with blood" and "dancing on the beach in swimsuits" scenes).

Insert Songs
Kanji	Romaji	English	Links
真夏のSounds good!	Manatsu no Sounds good!	Midsummer Sounds good!	Lyrics | Video
アンチ	ANCHI (Anti)	Anti	Lyrics | Video