05x08 - Rising to the Challenge

[bunniefuu]

Come on, pull yourself together.

At least eat a banana.

Here.

Huh?

How did it end up like this?

What do you mean, "how"?

You were headbanging
and furiously nodding yes.

I had no choice!

Not in front of that audience!

True, the place was on fire.

Yes,

we were all ecstatic to witness
the birth of a new legend…

Don't get swept up in the moment!

What now?

Ikari totally thinks you're on board.

Huh?

It's the National Diet.

No way in hell I'll be elected!

RAGE

AGGRETSUKO

KARAOKE

Retsuko's angry.

She's totally enraged!

Oh my!

It's correcting my hormonal imbalance!

Welcome back, Retsuko!

Yes, it's been a while.

Well, here's to Retsuko's candidacy.

-Cheers!
-Cheers!

As soon as you're done being an idol,

you set your sights on politics.

You're always full of surprises.

I suppose you'll be
an astronaut next year.

That's not happening.

Huh?

And neither is getting elected.

"When unsure which way to go,
take the more challenging path."

I won't do it!

I'm going to the restroom.

That's our Retsuko.

The microphone suits her.

That Ikari guy must be pretty desperate.

I guess you'd be a "celebrity" candidate,

but you're only popular
within a certain niche, right?

Yup, you're gonna lose.

Right?!

Total waste of time and money.

Alright.

-I'll call Ikari and tell him no.
-Yeah.

You tell him!

Aggretsuko is a former underground idol
with over two million channel subscribers.

Rumors say she's the Party of Rage's
new candidate in the next election.

IS SHE RUNNING?

Many see the Party of Rage
as an irrelevant relic of the past.

Will running an idol in the election
help revive the party?

I was so surprised!

She may not look it,
but she's actually really shy--

Don't turn it off.

Hold it!

RAGE

EX-DEATH METAL VOICE IDOL RUNS FOR OFFICE?

ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT

SUBSCRIBERS: 2,197 MILLION

Whoa.

Her sub count is going through the roof.

It's almost at 2,2 million.

Short-Timer,
the president's asking for you!

Go tell him what this is about!

I can't! I'm busy right now!

Why are they using my videos
without my permission?

C'mon Ikari, pick up the phone!

MEMBER'S OFFICE BUILDING

Hello, Ikari speaking.

Oh right, about the interview.

Sure, no problem.

Yes, of course.

Absolutely.

My phone hasn't stopped ringing
since this morning.

And OTM got a lot of new followers.

All according to plan.

With a former member running for office,

everyone wants to know more
about OTM Girls.

This is all thanks to you, Mr. Hyodo.

Please continue to support us.

Sure.

But is she really going to run for office?

Yeah, seems kind of iffy.

It'll work out, right?

You said you know how to pull her strings,
so it shouldn't be a problem.

Yeah, but she may bail on you at any time.

What?!

And you're just telling me now?

I set the stage for her,

but I can't twist her arm.

Don't forget she's just an office worker
with zero interest in politics.

Fame attracts public criticism.

She embraced her role in OTM,
but this is different.

The stakes are higher for her this time.

You of all people should know that.

I do.

But I need her.

It just can't be done

without Aggretsuko.

That's the celebrity candidate
I mentioned this morning.

Oh, the former underground idol?

Ikari should've joined
the Democratic Slumber Party.

What a joke.

THIS IS WHO'S RUNNING?!

JAPAN IS SO OVER

JUST WANTS PUBLICITY

WHOEVER VOTES FOR HER IS A DUMBASS

Look, it's that underground idol.

Knock it off, she can hear you.

Oh, uh…

-Hello, Ikari speaking.
-No way, he picked up.

Mr. Ikari!

I've been calling you all day!

Oh, I'm sorry. I had a lot going on.

How can I help you?

I'm sorry, but…

it's about my candidacy.

I can't do it.

Huh?

What do you mean, "huh"?

Sorry, what did you just say?

I said…

I'm withdrawing my candida--

Huh?

Don't play games with me!

Are you even listening?

Don't worry.

I'm sure you'll win.

-Huh?
-What do you mean, "huh"?

I wouldn't have asked
if I didn't think you could win.

I don't care what you think!

I'm just not cut out for it.

Why?!

I work an office job.

I don't know a thing about politics.

Oh, you don't have to worry about that.

What?

I'm going to drill it into you.

Oh, dang.

It's getting late.

What's keeping her?

Yes, hello?

Is she the woman you brought home?

Huh?

The Party of Rage's celebrity candidate.

Is she the woman you brought home?

Oh.

Actually, she's still on the fence
about the whole thing.

What a pickle.

It's all such nonsense, really.

What are you laughing about?

Huh?

Is this a joke to you?

No.

You took the money.

Don't forget your end of the bargain.

Don't even try to think.

Go sit in a corner and stay there
until the election is over!

If you can't even do something
as simple as that,

then you're just a waste of space!

You don't have the slightest idea
how much work I put into this.

That's what pisses me off about you.

Here's the point.

Make her pull out of the race.

Huh?

Welcome home.

Ikari abducted you?

What did he want you for?

He gave me a lecture from hell
at the Member's Office Building.

National defense, pension systems…

He said there's a lot to learn.

I take it that means

he won't let you back out of running?

I couldn't turn it down.

You know,

maybe Director Gori and Washimi
want you to run in the election.

Like, for real.

Huh?

They were just teasing me.

25 years old, zero experience,
good at death metal voice.

Who's gonna vote
for someone like that? Not me.

Yeah.

Me neither.

Ouch.

But you know,

when I saw you screaming on stage,

I actually got pretty fired up.

You were just swept up in the moment.

I heard that people aged 65 and over
make up a third of Japan's population.

Ikari said the same thing.

Japan is by far
the oldest country in the world.

So it's a society
where old voters choose old candidates

who make the elderly their priority.

That's why the older generation has clung
to their past glory for 30 years.

All they care about is having the money
to go out in style.

It's like the rest of us don't exist.

I want to change things.

But it's impossible.

Because we don't stick together.

What can we do to come together?

We need to reach out to the people

and get them involved, one by one.

What? That's impossible.

Yep, impossible.

But your voice, Retsuko…

I think it can reach everyone.

If I count to ten,

I can

become anything.

Retsuko will do it.

What makes you think that?

On what basis?

I can't prove it.

But there's a view you can only see
when you're up on a stage.

I think Retsuko still hasn't forgotten

what that feels like.

I'll cut to the chase.

Can Retsuko

really win?

I can't guarantee that.

That said,

we have a plan for victory.

Do you mind me asking

how you plan to win?

As things stand, our party has no hope
in proportional representation.

So Retsuko's going to run
in the single-seat constituencies.

Exactly! But which one?

We have to choose carefully.

The arena Aggretsuko will fight in

is right here!

Tokyo Ward Eight!

Tokyo Ward Eight?!

Haida,

isn't that…

We chose this ward
after careful analysis and consideration.

Tokyo Ward Eight
is known as Juzo Haida's domain.

No one has been able to unseat him.

However, now that Juzo has stepped down
due to health issues,

his son Jiro will run in his place.

Political dynasties are nothing new.

Still, Jiro is only 25 years old.

He has virtually no political experience.

He won't get as many votes as his father.

We shall send our beast
into this vacated domain.

We'll lure in undecided voters
and feast upon them.

This is why we need you, Aggretsuko.

Your voice inspires
those who seethe in silence to fight!

I came to return this.

What are you playing at?

Sorry, but…

I'm not sitting in the corner.

AGGRETSUKO