SideM Mobage 2021/07/08 ~ 2021/07/14
Originally posted on 07/15/2021
Original T/L Notes:
If there’s anything cultural you don’t understand in this event story, I’d recommend giving the Tanabata wiki page a quick read!
And happy (almost) 7th anniversary to SideM. I like this series a normal amount.
Event Preview
A job offer to star in a commercial promoting Tanabata has come in for Jupiter and Mofumofuen.
This time, it’s also the idols’ job to help with preparing and setting up the Tanabata decorations to be used for the CM filming, the process of which will be shown as making-of footage.
The idols enjoy making the decorations for Tanabata and hanging them up while showing each other the ropes.
The wishes on the tanzaku vary between each member, from those who boast of wanting nothing but to be a top idol, to those who have a lot to wish for and write multiple tanzaku.
Meanwhile, Hokuto, who thinks it would be interesting to write about overcoming a weakness after hearing about it from a certain member, begins writing his wish.
A CM shoot with everyone’s wishes kept in their hearts begins!
Let’s film a CM full of Tanabata charm!
Chapter 1
Kanon: Good work today~♪ Producer-san, we have a new job offer, don’t we?
Shiro: I hope we get to dance a ton for it!
Kanon: Ufufu, Shiro-kun’s getting all excited! Kanon is too!
Nao: What kind of work will it be? …Ah, a commercial for Tanabata?
Shiro: What is there about Tanabata that we gotta promote?
Nao: …Apparently it’s a commercial to popularize Tanabata celebrations. I see.
Kanon: I want everyone to have fun during Tanabata, like they do during Halloween or Christmas~
Nao: Me too. Let’s put our all into invigorating an old Japanese tradition!
Shiro: Looks like we’re working together with Jupiter. Alright! I’m gonna show them who’s boss!
Kanon: No leaving Kanon behind either!
Chapter 2
Hokuto: Producer, I took a look at the work proposal we received.
It seems we’ll be shooting making-of footage for the Tanabata CM.
Shouta: So they’re gonna film us even during rehearsals and in between the shoot? Sounds kinda nerve-wracking.
Touma: It’s fine to be a little nervous, right? In fact, that only motivates me even more!
Hokuto: Haha. I’ll do my best as always, of course.
And also… What did it say after that again?
Shouta: “You’ll all be making Tanabata decorations to be used on the commercial’s set”.
Touma: Things like chains made out of origami? I don’t think I’ve made stuff like that since elementary school.
Hokuto: It’s nice to regain some of that childlike innocence every once in a while though, isn’t it?
It might even be a good experience learning how to make props ourselves.
Chapter 3
Hokuto: That’s right, you did a good job. Next, cut a slit from the opposite direction…
Kanon: Woah…♪ That’s so cool! Kanon made a pretty patterned decoration!
Thanks for teaching me, Hokuto-kun♪
Nao: It should work better if you make a crease first.
Then you do this… And it’s done!
Shouta: That’s amazing! Look at you go, Nao-chan♪
Nao: Ehehe…♪ It’s just something I learned during arts and crafts at school. I’m glad I remembered how to do it correctly.
Shiro: Everyone’s really good at this. I’m not gonna be able to keep up at this rate…!
Touma: Hmm? Hey, don’t say that. You’re doing a great job, Shiro.
Shiro: But the stars I cut out are all jagged…
Nao and Kanon are doing so well, so I’ve gotta try harder!
Touma: You really hate losing, don’t you, Shiro. But that’s actually something that I like about you.
Shiro: Nao and Kanon are my friends, but they’re also my rivals.
That’s why I can’t lose to them, even in crafts!
Touma: That’s the spirit! How about when you finish that decoration, we’ll make the next one together!
Shiro: Sure thing! We’re gonna make the best Tanabata decorations!
Chapter 4
Hokuto: After this… We’re supposed to write our wishes on tanzaku and hang them from the bamboo.
Shouta: What should I wish for~? Do you know what you want yet, Touma-kun?
Touma: It’s obvious what I want to wish for.
Our dream is to be top idols! Isn’t that right? There’s no way I’d wish for anything else!
Hokuto: A wish… When it comes down to more trivial wishes, I have a few in mind…
But it’s just like Touma said. If I had to write anything, it would probably be our dream of being top idols.
Shouta: You two are so serious. I’ve got a bunch of wishes myself♪
You can afford to write a couple of selfish wishes, you know.
Hokuto: Selfish wishes…
Touma: If that’s the case, I want to be more like Hokuto.
I wanna be able to recite cool lines with style like him without getting embarrassed!
Hokuto: Haha, I think the way you are now already has a lot of charm to it though.
I see… It might be interesting to write down wishes about overcoming things we’re not good with.
(As for me… I suppose this wish should do.)
Chapter 5
Shiro: Hey, hey. I just picked up this tanzaku. You wrote this, didn’t you, Hokuto?
Hokuto: …Yeah. That’s my tanzaku.
It must have fallen from the tree when the string snapped.
Shiro: I read your wish… I didn’t know you hated kiwis.
Hokuto: Haha, that’s right.
I can’t eat them no matter how hard I try. I thought I’d write about it on my tanzaku so I could get over this.
Shiro: My mom always tells me I have to finish my food, whether I like it or not.
So there’re things even you don’t like, Hokuto.
Hokuto: Even I have things I dislike or that I’m not good with.
What I wrote here about kiwis…
We had all talked about how nice it would be to write wishes about overcoming our weaknesses…
But other than this selfish wish of mine, I have another wish that I want fulfilled, together as Jupiter.
Shiro: A wish you want fulfilled together as Jupiter…?
Hokuto: My wish… My wish is to become top idols together with Touma and Shouta.
Shiro: …!!
You can definitely do it, Hokuto! You could even start liking kiwis if you wanted to!
Hokuto: Haha, thank you very much for your vote of confidence.
Shiro: …But! I’m gonna be a top idol too, so that doesn’t mean I’ll let you beat me to it!
Hokuto: Is that so? Let’s both work hard to make our wishes come true.
Chapter 6
Touma: After rehearsals comes the main event. We’re gonna show everyone just how great Tanabata is!
Shouta: Man, making those Tanabata decorations was so fun.
Now we’re in the perfect condition to shoot an absolutely amazing CM♪
Hokuto: That’s right. I’m glad we got to take part in making the decorations.
I think we’ll be able to do an even better job of conveying Tanabata’s appeal because of it.
Maybe that was the director’s master plan all along? …Haha.
Touma: The first scene is mine and Shouta’s. Let’s go, Shouta.
Shouta: Alrighty. See you later, Hokuto-kun♪
Hokuto: Yeah, good luck you two.
Chapter 7
Nao: (I hope we’ll be able to make the Milky Way look as beautiful as it really is…)
(Alright…! I made it look just like I wanted. After this, we just have to keep this energy up…)
Kanon: (The Tanabata decorations and stars are really pretty, but…)
(Kanon has to show everyone that I’m just as pretty and cute!)
Shiro: Nao and Kanon really are awesome… But someone like me can’t lose to them!
Now it’s my turn to surprise them with what I’m made of!
Shiro: (…Ok, the next thing I gotta do is hold this star gently in my hands…)
(I’ll send this star that’s filled with an important wish up to the sky.)
(It’s really easy to imagine how precious this star is thanks to everyone’s Tanabata decorations.)
(I hope somehow all of our wishes will come true too…!)
Chapter 8
Hokuto: (This star symbolizes the light of love that Hikoboshi sends to Orihime…)
(But it also symbolizes the message we want to send to our viewers…)
(When I think about it like that… Alright. I wonder if it’ll reach them.)
Shouta: Good job, Hokuto-kun! You were super cool out there♪
Touma: Why’s it we’re all wearing the same costumes on the same set…
But when Hokuto does it, he looks sexier than the rest of us…?
Hokuto: It’s because the legend behind Tanabata is about the love between a man and a woman.
I just stayed conscious of what kind of story it was, to an extent.
I’m also the oldest one out of all of us in this commercial…
So I figured it was my duty to add a bit of an adult flair to it.
Touma: That’s a deep take… It’s amazing how much you thought this through. So that’s what that was all about, huh.
Shouta: That’s so like Hokuto. I guess we’ve got a lot to learn from him.
Hokuto: I think everyone else acted really well too. Alright, there are only three scenes left.
Let’s stay vigilant and keep this energy up until the end.
Chapter 9
Shiro: They checked the footage and it’s clear as day! I ended up showing everyone up after all!
Kanon: Kanon stood out too!
Nao: I-I did my best as well.
Shiro: Yeah! We all did great this time around! Um… Actually…
Isn’t this kinda thing what they call “mutual encouragement”?
Kanon: Mutual encouragement? Hey, hey, what’s that mean?
Nao: It’s when we cheer each other on and work hard together.
Shiro: There’s still a bit of filming left, so let’s keep encouraging each other!
…Oh yeah, and I almost forgot one other wish I had.
Producer, can I hang up this tanzaku before the shoot finishes?
Kanon: Whatcha got there~? What’d you write~?
Nao: “I hope my crafting skills get better“ …What does this mean?
Shiro: Hehe, this is a part of mutual encouragement too!
Chapter 10
Touma: Hey guys, did you hear from Producer?
Looks like that Tanabata CM was a big hit!
Hokuto: I’m glad to hear it. It’s the result of how hard we worked.
Shouta: I hope everyone has an even greater Tanabata celebration today after watching our commercial.
Touma: Yeah! We got lucky with some nice weather tonight too.
Shouta: I’m glad the skies are clear.
Hokuto: All thanks to the teru teru bouzu everyone made.
…Well then, should we head back inside soon?
Producer got us bamboo grass for Tanabata.
Shouta: It’s a Tanabata festival with everyone in the agency! I think I’m gonna write some more wishes.
Touma: What else could you possibly wish for?
Shouta: Can’t I write the same wishes I already made earlier?
Touma: Well, I guess so. Then I know what I’m writing!
Shouta: Let me guess, “top idol”? That’s all you ever talk about!
Touma: By the way, what did you wish for earlier, Hokuto?
Shouta: He wrote that he wants to be able to eat kiwi, didn’t he.
Hokuto: Haha… I wonder if it’s ok if I write something else this time.
I have… We have a more important wish, after all.
Some T/L notes that weren’t important enough to detract from the story by using footnotes for but are still worth mentioning:
- Chapter 5: “Selfish wish” translates more literally to “personal wish”, but I felt, especially in Hokuto’s choice to wish for something for himself for once rather than for something he wants to do with/together as Jupiter, that “selfish” carries a more fitting connotation.
- Chapter 8: When Hokuto says “love between a man and a woman”, he is saying a phrase that means, literally, along the lines of “showing affection” but can also mean the actual act of sex between two people (the implication being that his interpretation of the legend might be inherently sexual).
- Chapter 9: Shiro’s mention of “mutual encouragement” is a four-character idiom, which is why Kanon has a hard time understanding it just from hearing the phrase.
- Chapter 10: Touma and Shouta mentioning good weather and clear skies could just be a general appreciation for their night not getting rained out (this scene takes place on Saito’s building’s roof; also, it’s still rainy season), but it also ties into the legend that Orihime and Hikoboshi won’t be able to see each other on Tanabata if it rains.
【Nonchalant Kindness】 Hokuto Ijuuin
Would you accept this origami star, Himeno-kun? Its brilliance doesn’t stand a chance against yours, but I still think it suits you… Look, just as I thought☆
Lovers who can only see each other once a year… I don’t think I’d be able to stand it. If I wanted to be with them, I’m sure I’d jump through even space and time to see my Little Angel.
【Many Wishes】 Shiro Tachibana
A new game… To get better grades… Aah! I have way too many things to wish for! But it’d be awesome if all of these came true. May all my wishes be granted!
If we keep wishing, I’m sure our hopes will be realized. That’s what I believe. That’s why no matter what comes up in our lives, let’s do our best together. Wishes, reach the stars!
【Star Festival】 Kanon Himeno
I wrote down my wish! Put it all the way at the top of the bamboo, Hokuto-kun. The closer to the stars it is, the more your wish comes true♪
Stars, please grant everyone’s wishes. Because everyone else’s smiles are where Kanon gets power. I wanna make them smile lots.
【Star Festival】 Shouta Mitarai
What wishes should I write on my tanzaku—Woah, Producer! Don’t look before I finish hanging them up. If I showed them to you first, they wouldn’t come true, right?
Clouds, vanish! Rain, rain, go away! I’ll decorate the night sky with stars, just for the lovers who can only meet tonight. I hope they have a fantastic date!
【Star Festival】 Touma Amagase
We’ve still got a lot of origami chains left over. Ok then, I’ll attach this to the wall over here and make it look even flashier. Nao! Help me out a bit!
When the wishes everyone made on their tanzaku float up to the sky, they might become stars themselves. Each and every shining star is its own wish. Ain’t that kinda incredible to think about?
【Star Festival】 Nao Okamura
Woah, cookies! They’re in the shape of Tanabata stars. Which color should I eat first? Fufu, Kanon looks like he wants to say it’d be a waste to eat them.
Have you decided what you want to wish for yet? My wish was, “May Mofumofuen continue working together forever”. I hope my wishes reach the stars…!
SideMinh 