The one where Kotaro becomes post-time skip Eren Yeager. More importantly, it's his turn to be depressed, while Sakura is the one trying to push him back into the swing of things.
The first episode of Season Two, also known as Revenge.
A familiar bird flies across a familiar blue sky. As the camera pans down, we end ourselves up in a dried squid factory run by a (real-life) company in Saga known as "Kojima". And a familiar gal rides her way to the company's carpark. It's Ai Mizuno herself, and she's...looking a bit more pale than usual. She greets the office staff a "good morning" and makes her way to the factory area to prepare herself for today's shift.
Yes, that's right. Ai is working for a dried squid factory now- and as she begins performing the company's anthem for the rest of her comrade co-workers, we see that she's not the only zombie working hard at a lowly job. It's everyone in Franchouchou who is working hard.
Sakura Minamoto and Tae Yamada have both gotten a job wrangling up cows and scrubbing their hides at a Saga farm. Saki Nikaido has been accepted into working overnight with construction work for the prefecture. Junko Konno managed to get hired into making traditional dolls at a factory. And Lily Hoshikawa was able to be picked as Saga's new milk delivery gal. Yes, it seems like Franchouchou have been reduced to working their asses off...but the question is, why?
Later that evening, almost everyone returns home from their daily grind- with the exception of Yugiri, who has been working at Bar Chinatsu, which would be a difficult job for the rest of Franchouchou (given they still cannot reveal their zombie secret), but Yugiri is most suited for a bartending job thanks to her skills as a courtesan. That being said, their zombie secret has yet to be revealed by anyone, so they're safe. But let's get back to them soon, we need to recap on what has happened since we last saw our legendary zombie idols on screen.
During the last winter of the Heisei era (i.e. the winter of 2018), Franchouchou were able to successfully pull off their first solo concert at Arpino, even though they were initially crushed by the sudden snow-storm that attempted to shut down their show. This lead to Franchouchou making a bigger mark on Saga, as their "Best Of Franchouchou" album subsequently made them richer thanks to the huge sales (both in-universe and real life; the album itself was released in our world, too!).
This lead to a very gung-ho Kotaro Tatsumi (our legendary idol producer) immediately getting Franchouchou a massive opportunity...performing at the Ekimae Fudosan Stadium! Compared to Arpino, the size of the stadium is beyond anything the group has performed in. And the result of this gigantic EFS concert that Franchouchou got into was...
...abysmal. Very, very, very abysmal.
The concert was supposed to get Franchouchou to sell 30,000 tickets. They ended up selling 500 tickets. This resulted in one of, if not, the worst concert blunder in idol industry history, as it left Kotaro with a multi-million yen debt, forcing Franchouchou to go out of commission until that debt is cleared. And because of that, our legendary idol producer has been reduced to a drunken, depressive mess. Complete with longer hair.
Tropes:
- Big Damn Heroes: Kotaro is able to help the girls finish their concert by riling up their fans to cheer for them, all while getting the crap kicked out of him by an angry audience of metal fans.
- Bittersweet Ending: While the anniversary concert at Geils degenerates into a riot and is largely a failure, Kotaro is back in action and the girls of Franchouchou are ready to make their comeback.
- Broken Pedestal: Sakura loses her respect for Kotaro when he decides to abandon Franchouchou to their own devices, until the end when he returns.
- Character Development: Sakura is much more mature and calm when interacting with Kotaro, showing greater familiarity between the two. She displays a much more grounded form of optimism that melds her wary pessimism from life and upbeat optimism after death.
- Cryptic Conversation: While talking to the batender, Kotaro mentions being on a deadline of some kind, but never elaborates what he means by this.
- Determinator:
- Franchouchou refuses to call it quits even after hitting rock bottom.
- Once he's snapped out of his funk, Kotaro withstands an angry and hostile audience of metal fans to bolster the girls' performance.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Maimai is in the audience, cowering amidst the brawl that's broken out.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: The girls have had to pick up part-time jobs to pay for a massive amount of debt from their EFS concert.
- Sakura and Tae tend to a dairy farm.
- Saki works night shifts as a construction worker.
- Ai works in a production line at a dried squid factory.
- Junko paints ceramic dolls at a cultural center.
- Yugiri works a night shift as a bartender.
- Lily delivers milk to aboard a bicycle.
- Happy Ending Override: Despite last season ending on a hopeful note, Franchouchou has hit rock-bottom because of a failed concert that left them in serious debt. While the girls are all working part-time jobs to pay off the debt, Kotaro is in a depressive state, drinking heavily at bars and wallowing in his misery.
- Heroic BSoD: Kotaro is an absolutely miserable state after the EFS failure. It takes a while for him to fully snap back just in time to help Franchouchou.
- He's Back!: Kotaro charges into Geils to save Franchouchou's performance, getting the few dedicated fans there to see them riled up. By the next morning, he's back in with his classic haircut and suit, albeit a little scraped and bruised from the fight that broke out.
- Hidden Depths: Junko, the living image of purity, know how to pick locks.
- Kick the Morality Pet: In his depressed state, Kotaro is incredibly hostile to Sakura, prompting her to call him out.
- Meaningful Echo:
- Sakura attempts to reach Kotaro using the same words of encouragement he used when she was also in a bad state last season.
- Kotaro pretty much says the same thing that Sakura said at the end of the show's very first episode.Kotaro: [inhales] GOOD MORNING LLLADIEEEEES!!!
- Pet the Dog:
- Kotaro crassly walks into a bar, drunk and yelling his thoughts out. He realizes its the bar Yugiri is working a night shift at, and immediately leaves to spare her any embarrassment.Kotaro: [drunk] BAHAHAHA! Never been here before!
[Beat as he and Yugiri lock eyes]
Kotaro: [Bowing in shame] Wrong bar. My apologies. - The Bartender manages to rile up Kotaro enough so that he can go and save Franchouchou.
- Kotaro crassly walks into a bar, drunk and yelling his thoughts out. He realizes its the bar Yugiri is working a night shift at, and immediately leaves to spare her any embarrassment.
- Rebuilt Pedestal: After Kotaro realizes what an ass he was being thanks to the bartender, he comes in to help the idols and earns back Sakura's respect.
- Undeathly Pallor: The girls in their attempt to replicate Kotaro's make up skills can only achieve a look that makes them look alive but incredibly emaciated. Ai's co-workers fret over her not eating enough.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: In one scene, Yugiri tries to comfort a drunken and morose Kotaro as he pukes his guts out over a low wall.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Sakura to Kotaro.Sakura: What happened to you? Don't you remember what you told me?
[Flashback to Kotaro trying to snap her out of her own Heroic BSoD] Kotaro: "I have what it takes!" "I will never abandon you!"
Sakura: Where did that Kotaro go?
Kotaro: I guess I had less than I thought.
Sakura: You jerk! I've had enough!
[Throws his drink across the table and leaves]
