A Turn for the Better

Ogami Banri: Hello, this is Takanashi Productions. …What? What!? Really!? Yes! I will relay it to them immediately!
Takanashi Tsumugi: What’s the matter, Banri-san?
Ogami Banri: The producer has given the OK! Both members of MEZZO" have been officially cast in the drama! (1)
Takanashi Tsumugi: They did it…!!
Ogami Banri: They really did! It seems that the director had given it some more thought after seeing Tamaki’s recent behavior!
Ogami Banri: The theme song is, of course, “Koi no Kakera!” It’s just as the President said! This song helped MEZZO" take a step forward!
Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes…!

Osaka Sougo: MEZZO"’s going to co-star in a drama? (1)
Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes! The theme song will be “Koi no Kakera!” It’s the song we had you two listen to!
Yotsuba Tamaki: Manager, are you happy?
Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes…!
Yotsuba Tamaki: Then, I’ll do my best.
Takanashi Tsumugi: Thank you very much! It appears that the director has taken a liking to the two of you and would like to meet you guys as soon as possible!
Osaka Sougo: I’m glad…. See? There are people out there who have been watching you!
Yotsuba Tamaki: Haha…. Yeah.
Osaka Sougo: But a drama, huh…. I’m not too confident in my acting….
Takanashi Tsumugi: That’s fine! We’ve invited an excellent instructor who’s currently working at the forefront of acting, just for you two!
Yotsuba Tamaki・Osaka Sougo: “An excellent instructor?”

Nikaidou Yamato: I’m not cut out to be an instructor, y'know…. It’s not like I properly studied this or anything, so.
Takanashi Tsumugi: Even so, there must be something you can do!
Nikaidou Yamato: What’s the script about?
Takanashi Tsumugi: It’s a trendy love drama. The heroine is a single woman working as an editor. She will played by Takeshita Eiko-san, who is a very skilled actress. (2)
Takanashi Tsumugi: Sougo-san will be playing a beautician, who is childhood friends with the heroine.
Osaka Sougo: A beautician….
Takanashi Tsumugi: Tamaki-san will be playing a college student. The heroine finds this aspiring boxer on the streets one night and takes him in. (7)
Yotsuba Tamaki: You can take in boxers, from the street? At night…?
Nikaidou Yamato: So who does she pick?
Takanashi Tsumugi: It hasn’t been written yet.
Nikaidou Yamato: I bet Sou’s the one that’ll get rejected.
Osaka Sougo: I agree….
Takanashi Tsumugi: There are times when the childhood friend wins, though! I always root for the childhood friend, even in shoujo manga. Tamaki-san, do you have any experience acting?
Yotsuba Tamaki: In our elementary school play, I was the pheasant in Momotarou. (3)
Nikaidou Yamato: Give us a line.
Yotsuba Tamaki: “ Screeeee!! If you give me one of your millet dumplings, then I shall be your attendant!”
Takanashi Tsumugi: What about you, Sougo-san?
Osaka Sougo: Similarly, I’ve only appeared in a high school play.
Takanashi Tsumugi: What kind of play was it?
Osaka Sougo: I went to an all boys’ high school. Please don’t inquire any further.
Nikaidou Yamato: Were you Juliet?
Osaka Sougo: I was Takao-dayū. (4)
Nikaidou Yamato: Give us a line.
Osaka Sougo: “Wouldst thou fancy a smoke, my Lord?” (5)
Nikaidou Yamato: Nice. Alright, just go with that feeling and do your best, Mr. Pheasant and Takao-dayū. Good work.
Takanashi Tsumugi: Please wait, Yamato-san! I beg of you, please coach them!
Nikaidou Yamato: Like I said, I don’t have anything to teach. I’m still an amateur too. Just get the director to do it.
Takanashi Tsumugi: Could you at least give these two advice, for their sakes? Anything is fine!
Nikaidou Yamato: Imagine the feeling inside your head, and then act it out. Or, you can base it off of things you’ve felt before and just put it into your acting. Either works.
Yotsuba Tamaki: What……?
Osaka Sougo: I don’t understand at all….
Nikaidou Yamato: How about putting it into practice? Try imitating each other– pretend it’s a role and act it out.
Osaka Sougo: Imitate Tamaki-kun?
Yotsuba Tamaki: Sure. I can do it.
Yotsuba Tamaki: Tamaki-kun, you have make sure that you’re 5 minutes early to everything! I love being 5 minutes early to everything.
Osaka Sougo: …….
Yotsuba Tamaki: Huh? Was I off?
Osaka Sougo: …No….
Nikaidou Yamato: Ahahaha! Try it out, Sou.
Osaka Sougo: ……. I’m not quite sure, but….
Osaka Sougo: No, no, no, no!!
Osaka Sougo: Something like that?
Yotsuba Tamaki: …….
Osaka Sougo: D-did I do it wrong? Sorry…?
Yotsuba Tamaki: …Nah…. It’s fine, but….
Yotsuba Tamaki・Osaka Sougo: …….
Yotsuba Tamaki: I’m not like that at all! What am I, a kid throwing a tantrum!?
Osaka Sougo: “I love being 5 minutes early!?” What’s with that! It’s just common sense, and has nothing to do with personal preference!
Nikaidou Yamato: Wahahaha! OK! You two are good to go! See ya.
Takanashi Tsumugi: P-please wait, Yamato-san!
Nikaidou Yamato: What is it this time?
Takanashi Tsumugi: It’s about “Mission.” Are you really not going to accept the offer no matter what?
Nikaidou Yamato: I am.
Takanashi Tsumugi: I must insist…! ……. Wait, what?
Nikaidou Yamato: I said, I’m gonna accept the offer.
Takanashi Tsumugi: T-thank you very much…! You’re going to be the first movie star in Takanashi Productions!
Nikaidou Yamato: Haha…. Then how about you reward me?
Takanashi Tsumugi: Huh….?
Nikaidou Yamato: Onii-san’s working hard, so you should reward me, Manager.
Nikaidou Yamato: Something sexy would be nice?
Takanashi Tsumugi: …….
Takanashi Tsumugi: …How about this pen? If you flip it over it’ll strip.
Nikaidou Yamato: Hmm. So that’s how you took it.

Kujou Aya: –It’s not here…. I wonder where it is……. Maybe I dropped it….
Kujou Aya: Could it be…. That time…….
Kujou Ten: What are you doing?
Kujou Aya: Ten-san…. Ah, Onii-chan…. I lost something important….
Kujou Ten: How about we look for it together?
Kujou Aya: It’s okay. I just remembered, so I’ll go search there.
Kujou Ten: Kujou-san will scold you if you go out too often.
Kujou Aya: Yes… Onii-chan….
Kujou Ten: You don’t have to force yourself to call me ‘Onii-chan.’ I met you just last year, after all. Just 'Ten’ is fine.
Kujou Aya: …Ten-san, what was your reason for letting Kujou-san adopt you? (6)

TL Notes/comments:

Just a heads up, very long notes this time around because I got extremely overeager looking up info about Sougo’s play and!!!!! Yeah.
(1) [dw i did not make a mistake putting (1) for two sentences… its the same issuE]
Remember that drama mentioned way back in 4.3 that KoiKake’s the theme song for? YeP ITS HERE!!! And I had Conveniently Circumvented putting W主演ドラマ into a one-word kind of thing by spreading out the definition over a sentence. Is there… even a word in english… that is specific to a drama/TV show/movie that has two lead actors…??? Like in a Love Triangle-y way??????????????????? Listen, if I was Super Well Versed in TV shows i wouldn’T BE RUNNIGN THIS BLOG!!
Anyways here I am, Avoiding putting it into a single word again because 'two-lead drama’ sounds a little off because idk? two-lead sounds like you’re talking about an EKG/Einthoven’s triangle LMAO.
(2) i’ve always wondered what 演技派 meant other than the literal 'acting/performance FACTION" so i looked it up and it means: Someone who can act well on TV, in movies, and in plays. The opposite would be “individualists” or people who are “produced,” aka people who have no artistry but are very popular.
So tl;dr skilled and excellent actor, aka YAMATO FALLS UNDER THIS DESCRIPTOR AS WELL:^) (later on in part 2, we get to see yamato acting and it, is, indeed, excellent)
Also name disclaimer as usual? I think it’s Eiko? (Which is amusing because one of my favorite i7 artists’ name is eiko wwww)
(3) Momotarou is a popular childrens’ tale, and if you want to read up more click here! You can also read the full thing here + all the hiragana fun
(4) Takao-dayū, aka one of the most famous Oiran (courtesans) in Yoshiwara during the Edo Period, and was ~entangled~ with Date Tsunamune. Read more here!
(5) お大尽、一服のみなんし - aka I dreaded translating this line when i first read it bc it means 1) edo-period/oiran speak 2) somehow conveying that archaic feel to it into english and i just, light me on fiRE!! I did my beST! But anyways here’s the breakdown:
お大尽 - very wealthy person! important person! I watched/read a bit of Kouya Takao (see below), and the protag of the play disguises himself as a young master of sorts so he can meet with Takao-dayuu (since they wouldn’t let some commoner meet with her, even if he had saved up a fortune because she’s more familiar with Actual Lords, etc). Anyways, going off of his disguise and her usual customer base, 'Lord’ it is!
一服のみなんし - “Would you like a smoke?” of tobacco from a pipe, called a kiseru. This part is straightforward, except I went down some strange Wikipedia/Google rabbit hole in hopes of finding a way to make this sound Shakesperean/old because it’s the 1600s… But somehow bumped into articles about how scientists may have detected traces of cannabis on Shakespeare’s pipes so. Well. Sure. BUT YEAH CORRECT ME IF MY OLDE ENGLISH IS INCORRECT, this was the bastard child of 4 am stubbornness and lots of Googling. God.
The interesting thing is that this line directed me to a rakugo (also about Takao-dayuu) called 'Kouya Takao.’ Like many rakugo works, it was also adapted into a period drama/play/movie, hence why Sougo got the chance to act this out in high school.
You can actually watch a performance of Kouya Takao in English over here! And here’s a traditional performance of Kouya Takao!
For a modernized? film project of sorts of the play version, Part 5 of the video is English subbed over here!. Mind you this is more of an adaptation, but the general gist of the story is still there.
(6) The literal is 'Ten-san, why did you become Kujou-san’s adopted child?“ I’ve already read the entirety of Part 2 at this point so, going off of what’ll happen next section!! the sentence ended up like this. It sounds more accusative? than it actually is but it’s just plain and simple curiosity from Aya’s end, from one adoptee to another.
(7) I realized this belatedly as I was bolding all their names buT I had originally put “pick up” bc thats the literal for the japanese verb www but I realized that ~picking up someone frm the streets~ sounds like the heroine of the drama was like;^) hey boy;^) y dont u come home with oneechan;~) wHICH IS NOT, THE THING i hope, but yeah hence why tamakis like??? wtf so u can just find boxers (th people) on the street??? and u can just??? pick them up?? whaT

I ALSO WANT TO APoloGIZE BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN ROTTING IN My GOOGLE DRIVE FOR A While now, like since………….. jun e…………….. 25th……………. I am so sORRY but yeah summer session classes are kicking me in the aSS bUT I WILL TRY TO GET MORE DONE THIS WEEK! I do apologize for not posting this sooner because I usually like translating big chunks and dumping it in queue but Alas, I Suck sO YEAH…

anyways!!

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!

Joint Practice

Kujou Aya: …Ten-san, what was your reason for letting Kujou-san adopt you?
Kujou Ten: What was yours?
Kujou Aya: …Kujou-san shouldered my foster father’s debt and took me in.
Kujou Aya: If it weren’t for him, me and my family would’ve been left out in the cold, wandering the streets. I can’t thank him enough….
Kujou Ten: I see…. I experienced something similar.
Kujou Aya: Were you also poor back then, Ten-san? I couldn’t tell at all. I’m pretty used to being poor, though.
Kujou Ten: You’ve gone through so much.
Kujou Aya: It’s nothing! What about you Ten-san?
Kujou Ten: My parents owned a shop. But they fell into debt….
Kujou Ten: It was to the point where even if they had let go of the shop, they’d still be in the red.
Kujou Ten: My younger brother is sickly, and there’s no way they would’ve been able to take him to the hospital if they were in debt.
Kujou Ten: Kujou-san said that he’d shoulder their debt in exchange for taking me in….
Kujou Ten: And so, I became his adopted child when I was 13.
Kujou Aya: …So that’s how it is….
Kujou Ten: I rebelled against him at first, but now I respect him.
Kujou Aya: Kujou-san is always praising you, Ten-san. He always says, “That boy is perfect….”
Kujou Ten: Haha…. What did you think when you met the real thing?
Kujou Aya: …It’s just as I heard. You’re just like a beautiful doll….
Kujou Ten: I’ll be your prince from now on, Aya. I’ve never had a younger sister before.
Kujou Aya: You’re my second older brother!
Kujou Ten: Indeed. What a strange family we are.
*ding dong*
Kujou Ten: Looks like my manager’s here. I have to go.
Kujou Aya: What are you doing at work today?
Kujou Ten: I’ll be practicing with my younger brother from back then.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Pardon me. Thank you so much for coming all the way here just for the joint practice….
Anesagi Kaoru: The practice rooms over at our agency are much larger but the President didn’t want us to use them, so it’s fine.
Anesagi Kaoru: I’m just here to dispel any trouble.
Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes! I look forward to working with you!
Rokuya Nagi: OH! Welcome! Today will be quite a special day….
Anesagi Kaoru: I’m not here to listen to your lip service!
Rokuya Nagi: OH. Sorry….
Yaotome Gaku: Oh, it’s a rabbit.
Kinako: Myu-myuu!
Yaotome Gaku: Ahaha, it’s cute.
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It really is. I look forward to working with you all today.
Takanashi Tsumugi: I look forward to working with you too! To think that IDOLiSH7 and TRIGGER would have a joint practice together…. It’s just like a dream come true….
Kujou Ten: Where will we be practicing?
Takanashi Tsumugi: The practice rooms will be split up by group! Let me direct everyone there.

Takanashi Tsumugi: And so, joint practice for the Secret Guest Corner in Re:vale’s concert began.
Takanashi Tsumugi: The first unit is Riku-san, Iori-san, and Kujou-san.
Kujou Ten: Good morning.
Nanase Riku: Ten-nii……. Good morning….
Izumi Iori: Good morning….
Kujou Ten: Too sullen. Redo it.
Nanase Riku・Izumi Iori: Huh?
Kujou Ten: Did you not hear me?
Nanase Riku・Izumi Iori: G-good morning!

Takanashi Tsumugi: The second unit is Yamato-san, Mitsuki-san, Nagi-san, and Gaku-san.
Nikaidou Yamato: So I’m in a unit with scary old Yaotome, plus Mitsuki and Nagi who are down in the dumps, huh?
Nikaidou Yamato: Alright then…. Today, I am here to be a cushion. I must forget that I was ever a human being…. (1)
Yaotome Gaku: What are you muttering to yourself?
Nikaidou Yamato: Uwah!
Yaotome Gaku: Hey, Izumi- ani. You’ve been pretty under the weather lately. What happened? (2)
Izumi Mitsuki: I….
Yaotome Gaku: You’ve really silent lately and have been letting others drag you around instead. You’re funny when you talk, though.
Rokuya Nagi: OH….
Yaotome Gaku: Let’s get hyped up for Re:vale, since they’re headed towards their fifth anniversary!

Takanashi Tsumugi: And the last unit is Sougo-san, Tamaki-san, and Tsunashi-san.
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I’m Tsunashi Ryuunosuke. I look forward to working with you guys today.
Osaka Sougo: I am Osaka Sougo. I look forward to working with you too.
Yotsuba Tamaki: Yeah. I look forward to it too, Ryuu- aniki. (3)
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: The two of you are really good at dancing, so I can’t wait to dance with you guys! Now, shall we get started?

Kujou Ten: Stop, stop! Stop the music.
Nanase Riku: Hah…. Ten-nii, what’s wrong?
Kujou Ten: Both of you are moving too awkwardly. You’re both trying to sync up, but aren’t at all.
Kujou Ten: Don’t mind what’s around you, and get the rhythm down yourself first.
Izumi Iori: Hah…. I understand.
Kujou Ten: No, you don’t. You should stand in the back if something like a center change is enough to make your heart waver.
Izumi Iori: …….
Kujou Ten: If that’s all the resolve you have, then you have no right to stand in the center, underneath the spotlights.
Nanase Riku: …. I’m not bothered at all…. Not a bit.
Izumi Iori: I’m not bothered by it either. You…. You just wanted to put some distance between us, that’s all….
Nanase Riku: That’s not it! I….
Nanase Riku: …It’s nothing. Sorry…. Even though I should be grateful towards you Iori….
Kujou Ten: Just say it.
Nanase Riku: Ten-nii….
Kujou Ten: You too. Just tell him.
Izumi Iori: Kujou-san….
Kujou Ten: You have to face both the good feelings and the bad feelings head on. Don’t be so afraid of yourself. (4)
Kujou Ten: Even the people at the top have to deal with bad feelings, which they don’t want to face. The stronger the light, the darker the shadows.
Kujou Ten: Will you avert your eyes and run away? Or face them, and overcome it all?
Kujou Ten: Which path will you choose, IDOLiSH7? (5)

To be continued….

(1) YAMATO “IM HERE 2 BE A CUSHION TODAY” NIKAIDOU……… OK anyways I almost left it as ‘cushion’ but the more I stared at the sentence the more I realized this was probably slang, and yeAH IT IS P MUCH… Yamato is here to provide 'cushioning’ btwn Scary Gaku and Sad Mitsuki+Nagi … so yeah I went with the closest english equivalent instead!! HIS 'I MUST 4GET I WAS A HUmAN’ LINE IS LEFT AS IS THO OFPFPFGP.
(2) GAKU CALLS EVERYONE BY LAST NAME FOR THE MOST PART AND when it comes to the izumi bros, its Older Brother Izumi and Younger Brother Izumi if u wanna go literal… I WANTED TO WRITE IZUMI SR AND IZUMI JR BUT JK THATS USUALLY A FATHER-SON KIND OF THING DAMMIT SO HERE I AM, Translator Note-iNG THIS. There u have it.
(3) aniki means Big Brother,,, so as funny as it would be to call him Ryuubro or BROSEIDON, BRO U LIFT MY HEART UP, BRO …. alas……
(4) lit. “The clean feelings and the unclean feelings, properly look at them.” Kind of hard to stick close to the original literal bc of connotation, since unclean/impure/dirty don’t quite have the same connotation in english….. LMAO
(5) lit. Where is ur Exit,,, BUT SEEING HOW TEN GAVE THEM A DUAL CHOICE THING, and how it’s kind of like presenting a dual pathway branch point…. hence what I put down… WHY MUST U SPEAK IN WEIRD METAPHORS TEN NII!!!! DAMMNT BOY

SHOUTOUT TO KURI AS USUAL FOR CATCHING AND HYSTERICALLY LAUGHING W ME AT MY AWFUL OMITTED WORDS+ TYPOS IMF UCkfjd

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!