English Dub Review: Smile Down the Runway; “Individual Styles”

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Ikuto and Kokoro start a solid friendship and enter the fashion contest at Geika, where they will each face their own personal trials. 

Our Take

The sudden cliffhanger from the end of the previous episode is strangely not addressed at all in this one. Toh and Hajime don’t even make an appearance. But that’s not such a big deal as we receive plenty of other new and engaging scenarios instead. 

Ikuto and Kokoro are waiting for the morning trains to start running again after what was probably another grueling night of being overworked. This gives them a chance to connect, which they certainly do, finding similarities in each other, such as being from big families. We also learn some more particulars about Kokoro herself, how her physique pushed her into modeling where she met and was inspired by Mai Ayano to become a designer herself. As we learn more and more about this modest young woman, Ikuto finds himself an ally in her. 

Kokoro’s character arc thickens when later on, Ikuto discovers her being harassed by her manager who is borderline ordering her to quit Geika and return to modeling. Harassment is actually a very accurate word for it, as it borders on verbal abuse. This manager states that Kokoro is the shining hope for this modeling agency, making her horrendous attitude all the more egregious. If the existence of your agency rides entirely on one person, you should probably be trying to butter them up rather than treating them like shit. 

As Kokoro opens up more, we find that she is beleaguered on all sides of her life. Her standout height and physique had others directing her into trying out modeling, which unfortunately earned her a torrent of caustic envy from her colleagues upon her arrival. And every time she tries to quit, be it to avoid toxicity or to pursue her new dream, her two-bit manager shows up and guilt trips her, saying how someone with her build is obligated to utilize it for modeling, which is patently BS. The truly worst part of this is that Kokoro is an incredibly timid and passive girl, so amidst all of the pressure she submits and tries to please everyone’s ego. Watching a young person with a lot of potential tear up and give in like this is depressing. 

Her stresses are soon alleviated, though not in the most graceful way. Ikuto just happens to be at the perfect time and place any time exposition or development happens regarding Kokoro and always happens to get to the truth of the matter through some convenient outside means. He quickly breezes from scene to scene, grasps her true potential and draws parallels to himself, though it’s less of a smooth stride and more akin to narrative stumbling. Regardless, he perks her up the way others have perked him up and she gleefully discovers her motivation, which is all good stuff. 

As for Ikuto himself, he is participating in a fashion show contest at Geika, as per the agreement Hajime made with the school. First place grants the winner the opportunity to study in Paris and start their own brand. Considering that’s probably an incredibly expensive and prestigious prize, I’m surprised that they’re granting someone who isn’t paying them tuition the ability to win it. 

One of the contestants in Ikuto’s group is a girl named Kaoru, who Ikuto recognizes as the fitter from Hajime’s show that acerbically told him and Chiyuki off. She maintains this prickly aura, getting slightly hostile upon re-encountering Ikuto. But as we see more bits of her character unravel, she seems less like a bad person and more like she’s just innately curt and a bit passively belligerent. In addition, we also learn that she treats Ikuto the way she does because she believes he “ruined” Hajime’s fashion show. Her apparent obsession with Hajime notably indicates that she won’t remain a tertiary character for much longer. 

This isn’t the only hostility Ikuto encounters. He receives some sneers for being poor for paying the participation fee with loose change. Ironically, the one to save him from further embarrassment is Kaoru, who simply wants to stop wasting time. When Ikuto asks her nearby friend for her name, her friend rebuffs him, commenting that this tense atmosphere is normal in a competitive environment. 

The way Ikuto responds to this interpretation is admirable; even though he recognizes this is a competition, he sees no reason not to try to be friendly and thank people for their kind acts. He says this in full confidence, without any of his usual trepidation, which is very refreshing. I also agree with him here; this is an indirect competition thus far, where you can’t really influence or react to your opponents. There’s nobody to “fight,” per se, so there’s no reason to block everybody out. Though amongst teenagers in a specialized environment like this, this sort of pettiness isn’t too surprising. 

The students and Ikuto receive their first task for the fashion contest from a famous model named Sara, whose theme is overly broad and not very helpful. After a failed iteration, Ikuto desperately heads to Chiyuki’s place for some advice on Sara. As he awkwardly tries not to gawk at her as she exercises in loose lounge-wear, Chiyuki seems to coincidentally have a bevy of footage of Sara in various settings. As it turns out, Sara is a relatively short woman who worked hard to make it as a successful model, serving as a prime role model for Chiyuki. 

The revelation of Sara happening to be Chiyuki’s role model is a nice touch, but the real value here comes from the enlightening of Chiyuki’s ethos. Despite Ikuto inadvertently ogling her body, watching how she practices walking around the house in heels and the way she stretches and trains her legs shed light on the particulars of her craft, as well as her steadfast attitude towards it.  From this, it’s no wonder that Ikuto once again receives motivation from her. 

Seeing Ikuto thrive off of Chiyuki’s passion almost every episode isn’t entirely a bad thing, even if it’s a little repetitive by this point. But she won’t be around all the time, as she’s heading to Paris soon. Though, if Ikuto does happen to win this contest before then, that would be very convenient.