English Dub Review: Actors: Songs Connection “abandone”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Saku chooses not to embark on joining up with any clubs, as he is already busy enough as it is with his two jobs and caring for his older sister Nozomi at the hospital. However, Sosuke and Uta won’t take no for an answer. They decide to not give up on him as a potential band member or as a potential friend.

With their help, Saku begins to search around the city for possible sightings of the white shadows, the rumored ghost/angel/spirits who are said to grant wishes such as healing. They don’t have much luck despite investigating using a number of interesting methods including having Uta write live song lyrics. But when Uta and Sosuke go to visit Nozomi in the hospital, they have a breakthrough and discover that the white shadows are summoned by song. Once they relay the info to Saku, he’s able to summon them and tell them his wish for Nozomi to be healthy and happy once again.

Our Take:

Music, magic, and club activities… I wasn’t sure which direction this show would be going for in the long run, but it looks like it might be all three! In these four-episode, abandone, Saku is still ignoring the clubs in favor of magic and to a lesser extent, music. But given how persistent the singing club is being about Saku signing up, I can’t see him remaining unaffiliated for very long. I think the most likely option though is that he’ll join up with Sosuke and Uta, considering just how close the trio is becoming.

Sosuke and Uta don’t belong to any particular club themselves. They do operate a kind of musical arrangement in which Sosuke makes music and Uta writes lyrics, but they really want Saku to join them as a singer to form a bonafide band. But when he turns them down and suddenly becomes a lot more distant, the two of them decide to find out what’s going on. They tail him to the hospital, where he confesses that his sister is really sick and that he’s hoping to find white shadows in order to cure her. Upon hearing these Sosuke volunteers himself immediately to assist. It’s a nice showing of just how good a friend he and Uta turn out to be, despite Saku acting in ways others might find abnormal. Their visit to Nozomi is also sweet, and I love that she gets to meet them herself in person.

The thing to take away from this episode is that the white shadows are not only real but that they can be summoned by singing. Hearing that people have seen the white shadows near the mysterious replica of Stonehenge that’s randomly appeared behind the school (that’s totally normal, right?), he goes to check it out for himself. Sosuke and Uta, after singing a duet, discover the secret to summoning the white shadows and go to tell him. His song makes a bunch of them appear around the monument. At this point, it’s pretty clear that supernatural forces are real and connected to singing. I’m thinking the singing club and their weird surveillance program with the cats will factor into this somehow as well. Maybe there are people trying to control the white shadows to do bad things with their music?

This week’s dub was solid, with nice vocal performances from the cast. (Although Uta did sound a bit too auto-tuned.) “You are aware that you’re not supposed to drink in the lab, right?” Usuki is a hilarious club advisor. “Flightless dreams can’t reach imagination’s wings.” Uta’s nonsense might get old if he was on-screen more, but so far I think he’s being utilized in the perfect amount. “This is something you believe in, so of course I care.” Sosuke is the sweetest friend! “Nope, this method’s not worth it if the lyrics are gonna be that bad.” Cut Uta’s lyrics some slack! He has performance anxiety! “I knew your idea would be dumb, but this is appalling. I won’t have any part in this.” The singing club president having to put up with Ryo’s dumb ideas is a nice addition to this week’s humor.

The fourth episode, abandone, does a nice job of getting the white shadows to the forefront, along with developing Sosuke and Uta as a pair of reliable friends that Saku’s definitely needs to start relying on more. Nozomi apparently has some more hope now, too, which I like? I’m very curious to know how the series will proceed now that the white shadows are more reality than myth.