Uemura Nozomi's Route, cont.After Nozomi makes her national debut and begins her activities as a full-fledged idol, she is surprised to discover there is more to being an idol than meets the eye. It’s more than just singing and dancing on stage—idols are heavily diverse in the entertainment industry. Nozomi has to get used to doing photoshoots (particularly in a swimsuit), advertising for commercials, hosting or participating in variety shows, meeting and greeting fans and signing autographs after concerts, etc. Plus, her knowledge in pop music is very limited as she has spent most of her studies in classical and choral music. However, she is a very fast learner and manages to really get the job done. Once her unit reaches Rank E and defeats 876Pro in their first festival, Kenji is really impressed by not only her vocal talents, but her leadership skills. It’s almost like she’s a natural for this sort of thing. Nozomi is not too surprised, though. Over the years, several of her peers have claimed she was born to be a leader. She was appointed the student president of her choir clubs during her junior high (second and third years) and high school (second half of her first year and all of her second year) years. Outside choir, her classmates tend to turn to her for assistance and support, often putting her in charge of class assignments. However, she often declines offers to be a study buddy, preferring to study under her own standards, whether it be music or academics. Last year, she was even given an offer to run for student council president of her high school, but decided to turn it down in favor of her music studies. Even after she passed her audition with ZetaPro on her first try, she was often put in charge of teaching the other idol candidates during lessons. Many of her peers and even adults have profited from Nozomi’s guidance. Nozomi promises to be just as reliable leading her idol unit. Kenji is really proud of her for all she has to offer to the unit, but still reminds her that he is in charge of her career. Nozomi understands, but she asks Kenji to make sure she makes absolutely no mistakes and he pulls as much weight as she does, if not even more. Kenji makes a promise to Nozomi to live up to her expectations. It will be a tall order, but Kenji knows he must do it for her sake.
On the day of the Sunny Beach Festival, Nozomi feels confident she and her unit have the skills to defeat 765Pro. Even with a sudden change in opponents (who turns out to be Kagura), Nozomi is not shaken in the slightest. Despite putting her all into the performance, Kagura completely mops the floor with ZetaPro. She cannot help but laugh at the weakness of Nozomi’s unit. She did not even have to put in any effort to walk away with an easy victory. Kagura then leaves, telling Nozomi that while she may be skilled in her own right, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Nozomi is so frustrated she is not even willing to utter a word to anyone else. As ZetaPro drives back to the office, Kenji grows more and more worried about her.
Back at the office, Nozomi releases her pent-up frustration, blaming her loss on the incompetence of her partners as well as Kenji. It does not even matter to her that her opponent was a nationally-acclaimed diva from a trio of juggernaut idols sweeping the nation. To Nozomi, her partners lack discipline. They have been lax in their practicing (as in they have not been training as diligently as Nozomi). They do not know the importance of their jobs. They seem to stray away from her advice. This is why the unit as a whole is still unable to perform at a professional level. Kenji tries to calm Nozomi down, claiming she should not let one mere loss get in her way, but Nozomi quickly silences him. To her, Kenji is hopelessly flawed as a leader. If he truly is a leader of her standards, the unit would be able to perform flawlessly, manage their time more efficiently, be much more successful in general, and would not have lost to Kagura. If he cannot live up to her expectations, she will no longer acknowledge him as her producer. To make sure something like this does not happen again, Nozomi declares that she will take charge of the unit. Lessons will be more frequent and more diligent to make sure each and every performance is flawless. She also greatly requires 60-minute practicing every non-work day from the other two idols so that their technique will never get sloppy. As idols, they should be performers, even when off stage or work. The other two idols, no matter who they might be, are a little distraught to have such rough sanctions placed upon them. Kenji tries to interrupt, but to no avail. It appears as though nothing he says will make Nozomi reconsider. Kenji and the President start to worry about Nozomi, believing she may be taking things too far and is not considering the feelings of her partners.
As Kagura tells Yamato the news about her most recent victory, she can pretty much tell from her hidden frustration that Nozomi is about to snap. With this news, Yamato feels pretty much assured that ZetaPro is no longer a threat and victory is all but in the bag.
Over the next few weeks, despite the unit getting their groove back after a couple of successful outings, Nozomi continues to work her unit to the bone to make sure they continue to put on perfect performances. The President has to remind Nozomi that Kenji is still the one in charge of managing their work, but she often keeps the other two around after being dismissed for the evening to put in some extra practice time, much to her partners’ dismay. One day, Kenji arrives early. He really wants to know what is troubling Nozomi, so he asks the President to set aside some conversation time for the two of them. Later that evening, Nozomi tries to set aside some extra practice time for her partners, but the President calls it off, letting them go home for the evening. Nozomi tries to object, but the President insists, claiming Kenji is getting worried about her and really wants to have a chat with her. Nozomi complies and notices Kenji sitting on a bench just outside the main entrance. Kenji has been very concerned with how Nozomi is trying to run the unit. Her partners are clearly starting to show signs of fatigue from all that extra practice. Kenji fears if this keeps up, things will eventually begin to worsen rather than get better. He knows Nozomi has good intentions, but he wonders what she is really thinking. What does she really plan to get out of all this? Nozomi decides to tell the truth behind her reasons. All her life has been devoted to music. Nozomi has established herself as a singing prodigy ever since she was a child. She was a standout student in her elementary school music classes. Her voice was much more refined than other kids her age. She was invited to the school choir at the age of 8, becoming one of its youngest members. She was involved in all her schools’ choir clubs since then to continue to hone her abilities. Over the years, she has landed several solo parts in group songs and even solo performances. She has also aided other choir members with her uncanny ability to spot even the slightest flaw in a performance, even in her own. All of Nozomi’s choir teachers and private instructors have praised her for her incredible skill. When she’s not studying for classes, practicing her performance repertoire, or honing her voice, she reads books on classical music and composers, hoping to attain more knowledge of the great names, songs, and music styles of the past. Because of all the praise Nozomi received as a singer and a leader, she keeps setting her own standards higher and higher. She knows she is great, but wants to become even better. She felt as though she had to be absolutely perfect in order to consider her performances successful. Going into her final year of high school, her ultimate goal is to be able to study in an esteemed music conservatory after she graduates. Her first choice is Juilliard School in New York City. She heard about it from a pamphlet given to her by her high school’s choir director who believed a place like that would be perfect for someone of her level. However, she is well aware of any conservatory’s low acceptance rate (Juilliard’s is 7.2%). This is why Nozomi decided to become an idol. She wanted to prove to the nation (as well as the conservatories) that she has what it takes to be accepted into a conservatory and really take her musical career to the next level. Kenji is really proud that Nozomi cares deeply about her talents and wants to use them to the fullest. However, he believes perfection should not be everything. Her intolerance for mistakes has made her partners push harder than they should. The other two idols do not need to practice as much as she does in order to be able to perform at her level. Being a musician himself, Kenji knows from experience that no performance is perfect. The real trick is to be able to recover gracefully and keep pressing on. The only way the audience will be able to tell if a mistake was made is if it really sticks out. In other words, Nozomi should not make a big deal about it. It usually comes down to the satisfaction of the audience. If they are happy, the performer is happy. Nozomi later apologizes to Kenji for snapping at him and trying to be a control freak. Ever since she lost to Kagura, Nozomi felt as though she had to take over so that the unit will perform to her standards and be able to defeat her in their next encounter. Kenji thinks it would be best for Nozomi to cancel the extra practice time after work and on off-work days unless it is absolutely necessary. Not everyone needs to practice every day in order to maintain their skills. Plus, she should not feel like she has to run the whole show. It will put too much pressure on everyone, especially herself. Finally, like he said before, perfection is not everything. Nozomi thanks Kenji for an insightful chat and promises she will be a better leader from now on. Once again, she is willing to work with Kenji in charge as her producer. With that, the two of them part for the evening.
(to be continued)
My first impression is that Nozomi is like a mix of Chihaya and Ritsuko.
Yeah, I compared her personality exactly the same way (especially if you look back on the character description on the first page). But she does have her reasons, considering her past success and future goals.
Finally got around to reading all these.
I had forgotten how much I loved your characters. Yoshino is so unique! It's not every day you see an upbeat meganekko. I really love her. She's becoming a fast favorite of mine. :3
I'm glad you like Yoshino. I really wanted to make her unique among meganekko girls while adding some more common meganekko elements (i.e. her bursts of happiness leading to clumsy moments). Something tells me she might become the most popular of my loli trio.
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