English Dub Review: Smile Down the Runway “Must Not Lose”

Overview:

The final battle has arrived.

Our Take:

The Geika Fashion Show has finally arrived and with it, a lot of the major conflicts of the season come to a final conclusion. This is most importantly, Ikuto’s time to shine. He clashes briefly with not with Ayano but Kaoru, and gives encouragement to Kokoro. Instead of being harsh and forward, he decides to take his approach with a reassuring smile.

Ikuto’s designs are ones that take you around the world. He chooses fabrics and styles that are very reminiscent of the fashion capitals of the world. It not only shows an attention to detail, but also a lot of research. Most importantly, it blends both male and female figures to make an androgynous style, breaking the very struct gender boundaries that exist in fashion silhouettes. Regardless of whatever you personally think of Ikuto’s clothing, as fashion taste is something that varies so heavily per person, it’s unquestionably a very personal fashion show. It’s on theme and is different enough to engage with the audience very heavily, so technically, it’s quite good. However, to the audience as a whole, and specifically to his family, Ikuto’s inspiration comes from a deeper source.

The music he chose is one that his family recognizes instantly, one that they used to play all the time. Meanwhile, the outfits are not just standing out because they’re from different parts of the world and their style and craftsmanship, but because they remind his family of his sisters. The final outfit, the one that even the judges were impressed by, is a recreation or at least a branching off from one of the first clothes that Ikuto made for his mother. It’s the same pants style that she wore to the fashion show herself. In the flashback, it shows that the pants that he made were wrinkled, but now his clothes are fitted perfectly. It’s a great showing of how far Ikuto has become, and how everything comes back to his family.

I kind of wish the animation popped a little more during the fashion show, at times it seemed a little clunky, but it definitely did show off the clothing down the runway. I’m really excited to see what the other contestants do, especially considering how much this episode capitalized on what the show has built up. This was Ikuto’s time to shine, and he really did shine.