English Dub Review: Smile Down the Runway “Rivals”

Overview:

Chiyuki and Ikuto look at their motivations.

Our Take:

Chiyuki starts at an extremely low point: while she’s always had the height barrier to overcome, now she has also been reminded that her talents aren’t good enough. Very sweetly, what pushes her past that is Ikuto’s support. Honestly, this is a very cute part; I like seeing the two of them inspire and support each other.

What fuels Chiyuki is spite. Most people have told her that she’s unable to achieve her dream, and the only one who can prove them wrong is herself. It is entirely fueled by her own personal motivation and desire to push herself forward regardless. If she has been told she’s not good enough, then she will prove the naysayers wrong. Interestingly, she does something new– she uses her bad reputation to make Kokoro’s bid stronger. I didn’t expect this teamup, but seeing as they both need to prove themselves against bigger odds, it makes a lot of sense.

On the other hand, you have Ikuto. Ikuto is far more self-sacrificing; he has his own dreams and his own wants, but he is willing to put that aside when he witnesses far greater stakes. When he sees just how much is on the line for Kokoro, his first thought is to concede the fight to her. Even Chiyuki notices this right away, and asks Ikuto to fight with all he has, but he still falters on this. Fighting for spite is not something that drives him; he is more willing to mark his dream as trivial instead of seeing it through. However, what ends up pushing him further, and accepting the competition is the support of his mother.

Ikuto later realizes that it’s Ayano that he needs to prove wrong, but unlike Chiyuki, that’s a secondary thing. He can only be pushed to do better by external rivalries after he has the support of the people he cares for. His sickly mother wanting to see his show, Chiyuki wanting him to do his best– that’s what really pushes him forward.

In that sense, it’s pretty interesting to see how different people, especially creative people, manage to motivate themselves even further. Sometimes it’s entirely internal drive, to struggle against a world that is unforgiving in the face of what they want, and sometimes it’s external, to work harder thanks to the people that believe in you. It showed that well, and that’s pretty cool.