Overall, that was a really REALLY good first cour I'm excited for the second! There's even a bit of foreshadowing with a possible female antagonist from a rival production. Also, NAO AND KAREN.
Agreed. This episode was incredibly good and makes an excellent setup for the second arc. I really enjoyed how it tied up several earlier plot strings (like Ranko learning team coordination), while opening several new ones (like Triad Primus).
Also... the Producer got serious respect from his idols. I liked that. He's been fighting hard for them to be successful, and after all the missteps and misunderstandings, it seems they all realize this. Go Producer! Fight for everlasting idolmastering!
The mysterious woman foreshadowing was interesting. I'm wondering how she will be presented. She doesn't have to be from a rival production: she could be a rival producer within 346 Production. Just because you work for the same company, doesn't mean you don't have competition from within. If the woman is from a rival corporation though... how might that go, I wonder? 346 Production has been shown as an incredibly massive conglomerate. It pretty much dominates everything media entertainment related (outside of 765 Pro). Another economic juggernaut throwing it's weight around, could have unique situations.
On the other hand, her involvement could just be someone who knows or has worked with the Producer. A past associate as it were. She might be less a threat to the idols, and more of an opportunity to reveal more about why the Producer has become the man he currently is.
***EDIT***Just dawned on me... with all the Cinderella imagery in this series... that woman is probably the Evil Stepmother that's so integral to the original story.
***EDIT 2***Called Mishiro 345 instead of 346.
