Love Stage!!: Episode 02

Because I was able to meet you – キミニアエタカラ

Ready for the second episode of Love Stage? Love Stage!! pulls off another adorable episode filled with silly humour which is sure to make anyone smile. Picking up from where it left off during the previous episode, we got through the filming of the Happy Wedding commercial, up till the part where Ryouma inevitably expresses his feelings for Izumi. At the end, both Izumi and Ryouma’s true characters were exposed and Ryouma stormed off in a childish fit but you can be sure that this won’t be the last you see of the handsome and naive idol.

I got a mini-shock at the first scene (which wasn’t in the manga) when I thought they decided to add a Lala-lulu girl into the cast. Nooooo! But luckily, it was just an illustration of Izumi’s ideal of having his first kiss with a girl like his beloved anime character. I watch BL specifically because I find some girls irritating. Moving on, Izumi freaks out after having his first kiss taken by another guy and runs off, leaving Ryouma looking rather forlorn like a man who was left at the altar. Poor Ryouma, he must have been so confused since 1) he doesn’t know that Izumi is a guy, 2) he doesn’t know that it was Izumi’s first kiss, and 3) He would have thought that Izumi knew about the kissing scene beforehand. Despite his behaviour after finding out that Izumi was Shougo’s brother, I do believe that Ryouma is a good guy at heart. Afterall, he persuaded the director to replace the kiss scene after finding out that Izumi was far from being experienced with kissing people.

When Rei failed to coax Izumi out of the dressing room, he picked up his phone to call brother Shougo who was… already walking towards Izumi’s dressing room! It is really nice to see how much Shougo dotes on Izumi (I mean, he flew all the way from London to Tokyo just to see his little brother’s debut) and how Izumi doesn’t even hesitate to open the door to Shougo. Brotherly love~

I appreciate the extra development of Izumi’s father (voiced by Okiayu Ryoutarou) when he talks to Rei about his hopes for Izumi to overcome his childhood trauma. It adds some depth to his character, who will otherwise be remembered as just a mild husband. Being a comedy, nothing can get too serious so the conversation ended with Seiya-san giving a disclaimer on his intentions behind accepting the filming request. But we know better.

Shougo has been carrying this suspiciously looking pillow-thing since he got off the taxi, and we finally see what it was when he unwrapped it in the dressing room – the legendary, super limited edition Lala-lulu life-sized body pillow! Izumi’s reaction to the body pillow was absolutely hilarious, kudos to Yonaga Tsubasa for acting it out so perfectly. Once again, we see a display of how strong the otaku force in Izumi is, when he instantly recognises the limited edition merchandise and changes his mind about kissing Ryouma. All for the love of Lala-lulu~

Thanks to otaku power and Lala-lulu love, the commercial filming ended successfully. Recognising that this was his last chance (unless he wants to wait another 10 years?) to confess his feelings, Ryouma grabbed Izumi’s hand before Izumi leaves; what was Ryouma going to say to Izumi in front of all the extras? We never got to hear it because Ryouma was mobbed by his fans who wanted autographs, handshakes and just about any form of contact with the handsome idol.

Even though his first chance was ruined, and thank goodness it was, fate led the two of them to meet again in front of Izumi’s dressing room. Before Izumi could respond to Ryouma’s confession, the doting brother appears again and literally exposes Izumi’s gender to the dumbfounded Ryouma. Ryouma was so embarrassed that he stormed off yelling insults at the two brothers, poor Ryouma. But Izumi got his body pillow and the Happy Wedding commercial was a success, all ends well! For now.

I had been hesitant to trash DAIGO‘s voice acting after the first episode but the second episode gave me enough DAIGO-time to conclude that I don’t like his voice acting. After the previous episode, I youtubed his songs (search for Breakerz) and regained some faith in him when I heard him sing. Convinced as I was that he has a good voice, I have serious doubts about the way he uses it in Love Stage!!. Even though it seems like his interpretation of Shougo’s character is accurate (he IS the author’s brother afterall), it doesn’t sound convincing. At all. Most of the time he sounds like he’s pushing himself and straining his voice above it’s normal range, dragging out some syllables too deliberately and sounding like he was reciting from a script. Shougo is clearly a character designed to be liked by everyone but I can’t bring myself to like him. What is with the forced cheeriness, gayness and “tee-hee”s? However, I think that DAIGO would do so much better if he uses a lower voice. While tempting Izumi with the Lala-lulu body pillow, his voice dropped below level irritating for just one sentence “if you quit this commercial, this offer goes off the table”. I can stand that tone, please use that more often… but I guess you can’t anymore.

On a brighter note, Yonaga Tsubasa was brilliant in his role of Izumi. He could go from agitated to calm, then to happy and serious so naturally that it makes me feel glad that he’s the one voicing Izumi. Having DAIGO in this show just makes me appreciate everyone else more. Dear all, I’m so sorry for taking your skills for granted in the past.

After the two episodes, I’m confident that Love Stage!! wouldn’t disappoint me and might exceed expectations. Even though this is a season with quite a few strong shoujo animes being aired, I think Love Stage!! is doing quite well so far and will continue to do so for the rest of the season ^^

• Anime
• Anime Review
• DAIGO
• Eguchi Takuya
• Hirakawa Daisuke
• Love Stage!!
• Okiayu Ryoutarou
• Yonaga Tsubasa