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It wasn’t me it was the whoopee cushion I swear!

Lory’s thoughts mimic our own, namely that Kyoko is amazing. Although this week we are reminded that while her determination may be strong, Kyoko is at the end of the day a human being. So far she has been letting her anger carry her, not stopping to give much thought to anything else other than her revenge. But the outcome of the audition forces Kyoko to face the feelings she has been suppressing thus far.

Aww crap the President sat on the whoopee cushion, I’m screwed.

Poor Takenori, its a wonder the man doesn’t die from a ruptured stomach ulcer or aneurysm given the stress he’s under as he sits through the auditions.

Why is daddy shaking on top of mommy like that?

So last week Kyoko looked pretty scary up there with her knife. But no she doesn’t decide to win the audition by killing all the other contestants. She does it with her skill called ‘The Katsura Technique’ something only top Japanese chef’s are usually able to accomplish. It involves cutting the vegetable in a continuous hair thick layer.
Kyoko learned to do this when she was little to please Sho’s parents and all that practice helps her to really impress everyone with the rose she produces.

If I just place this camera here I’ll have panty shots galore

Its ironic that even though she is going through all of this in order to get revenge on Shou. Its a skill she learned in order to please his family which helps to get through this stage of the audition. Although as we later see as much as anything related to Sho can also serve as a strength of Kyoko’s its also her biggest weakness.

I found the camera you placed in the bathroom Sho!!!!!

Kyoko is happy about her success and is sure she will make it through with her braveness and prove Ren wrong.

I’ve heard of Donkey shows, but hippo’s? Is that even physically possible?

Kyoko gets the impression that Kanae is jealous after all her ranting. But it turns out she just feels Kyoko is like a hippopotamus and will be remembered just because she is a rarely seen animal! Kanae states that Kyoko won’t make it while she will emerge as the most promising prospect.

In his dreams he’s actually that big.

The next challenge is a reaction test, where the the participants will have to respond to whatever it said to them over a phone. Kanae aces it and it seems that Kyoko is doing rather well too.

For the last time, I will not do a hippo show.

The conversation she has to listen to though reminds her of Sho and her anger and resentment rises to the surface.

No hippo show? Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

While initially pleased with how Kyoko performed at the task, once her anger takes over, the change in attitude really saddens President Lory.

Kyoko’s makeover didn’t quite work out as she’d planned.

Takenori is surprised after Kyoko’s failure since he figured she would torment him until the end of the earth. But she is actually pretty subdued and just wants to know why she failed. Takenori tells her its because she lacks something important. Kyoko lacks love, to love and struggle to get the love of the audience.

Once home Kyoko falls into despair and lets everything that has happened to her recently finally sink in. She rails at Sho, blaming him for her inability to love, but a talk with the manager of the store gets that fighting spirit back.

That’s right, I’m sorry. I know it means I won’t make it in showbiz, but no hippo shows for this girl.

While it seems he’s a very stern man and might not approve of what Kyoko is doing, the manager of the Darumaya store does support Kyoko’s spirit and that is why he lent her his knife for her Katsura technique. While he might not like her decision to go into show business he is angry at her for giving up despite her loss at the audition. This is enough to get Kyoko’s fire of determination flaming again.

I’m sure we can get her to see sense, she’ll learn hippo’s are great.

Its a good thing too, since President Lory was intrigued enough by Kyoko that he wants to give her another chance. But in order to get it she will have to come before him and so he waits to see if she has the determination to try once again.

And so my worship of Kyoko continues because we get proof she isn’t a boring one-dimensional character. We get to see the more vulnerable side of Kyoko this week. Yes it does exist! Kyoko’s biggest strength, her feelings are also her biggest weakness.

Her anger at Sho is a powerful driving force and serves as fuel for her determination. The problem is however that she lets it overcome her and now she finally realizes what Ren had been trying to tell her.

While determination is great, if you don’t have love or enthusiasm for what you are doing that will show through in what you do and the audience will have no love for your performance.

The talent is there, the President can see it, but Kyoko needs to uncover it. She needs to get past her reason for getting into show business and find her love for it. In essence she’ll only truly begin to succeed when she learns she must do what she does for herself, not because she feels she has something to prove to Sho.