# E1 - From This First Step
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/GK9U30E43/from-this-first-step)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
**[00:04] ---**
Everyone.
**[00:05] ---**
I know everyone here worked hard
for today's performance.
**[00:11] ---**
Kotono.
**[00:12] ---**
Yes.
**[00:13] ---**
Sakura.
**[00:14] ---**
Yes.
**[00:15] ---**
Rei.
**[00:17] ---**
Yes.
**[00:18] ---**
Nagisa.
**[00:19] ---**
Yes.
**[00:20] ---**
Suzu.
**[00:21] ---**
Yes, indeed.
**[00:22] ---**
Saki.
**[00:23] ---**
Yes.
**[00:25] ---**
Chisa.
**[00:25] ---**
Y-Yes.
**[00:27] ---**
Shizuku.
**[00:28] ---**
Yeah.
**[00:29] ---**
Miss Haruko.
**[00:31] ---**
Yes.
**[00:32] ---**
Mei.
**[00:33] ---**
Yup!
**[00:35] ---**
To be honest, technique-wise,
we're far from perfect.
**[00:39] ---**
But all your efforts up until today
are engraved in you.
**[00:44] ---**
Give it everything you've got
now for this performance!
**[00:48] ---**
Yes!
**[00:54] ---**
Ready Kotono?
**[00:56] ---**
Yeah.
**[01:04] ---**
Hoshimi Productions!
**[01:05] ---**
--Let's...
--...go!
**[01:06] ---**
Fight!
**[01:07] ---**
Go, go, go! Yeah!
**[01:19] ---**
This stage is our very first step.
**[01:23] ---**
Are you watching...
**[01:25] ---**
...Mana?
**[01:31] ---**
"5 YEARS AGO"
**[01:35] ---**
"Hoshimi High School"
**[01:37] ---**
"Congratulations "Welcome "Spring
on your admission!" New Students!" Festival"
**[01:40] ---**
Hey, new students!
**[01:42] ---**
Promise me you'll make the next three years
an unforgettable high school experience!
**[01:51] ---**
--The light and shadow of youth.
**[01:52] ---**
--Next, each club will be coming up
to promote themselves!
--The light and shadow of youth.
**[01:55] ---**
--Next, each club will be coming up
to promote themselves!
--Of course, she's the light and I'm...
**[01:56] ---**
--Make sure to stay for it
if you're still undecided.
--Of course, she's the light and I'm...
**[01:58] ---**
--Makino, hurry up!
**[01:59] ---**
--But I'd recommend staying for it
even if you've decided, too!
--Makino, hurry up!
**[02:01] ---**
--But I'd recommend staying for it
even if you've decided, too!
--Coming!
**[02:02] ---**
They go all out for these presentations,
so please check them out!
**[02:05] ---**
After that, we'll move on to
the fun recreational activities!
**[02:13] ---**
Light and shadow don't mix inherently...
**[02:22] ---**
Why is she sitting next to me?
**[02:25] ---**
It's science next.
**[02:26] ---**
I'm so going to fall asleep!
**[02:29] ---**
After class?
**[02:30] ---**
Yup.
**[02:31] ---**
I want to talk to you about something.
**[02:41] ---**
It can't be now?
**[02:42] ---**
No!
**[02:44] ---**
Listen.
**[02:45] ---**
I better see you after school!
**[02:53] ---**
What was that about?
**[02:56] ---**
The emperor has abdicated
**[02:59] ---**
and by next autumn,
**[03:00] ---**
--As far as these things go...
--he shaved his head
and entered priesthood.
**[03:02] ---**
--It's usually a confession...
--He wandered the mountains
here and there
**[03:06] ---**
--No... There's no way that would happen to me.
--and devoted himself
to Buddhist training.
**[03:09] ---**
--The narrator speaks in a distinct tone
regarding the emperor.
**[03:10] ---**
--It must be one of those pranks or something.
--The narrator speaks in a distinct tone
regarding the emperor.
**[03:12] ---**
--They have great respect
towards the emperor.
**[03:13] ---**
--Do people still do those things?
--They have great respect
towards the emperor.
**[03:15] ---**
This will be on the test.
**[03:17] ---**
I guess so...
**[03:24] ---**
A prank?
**[03:26] ---**
What is?
**[03:27] ---**
What do you mean? Um...
**[03:29] ---**
This scenario...
**[03:31] ---**
I'm not sure what you're talking about.
**[03:35] ---**
Anyway, I have a favor to ask you, Makino.
**[03:43] ---**
An idol...?
**[03:44] ---**
Yeah...
**[03:47] ---**
Is that weird?
**[03:48] ---**
No.
**[03:49] ---**
I was just surprised because it was abrupt.
**[03:52] ---**
But well, I'd say you can become one.
**[03:55] ---**
Nagase, you can be an idol.
**[03:58] ---**
I think it would suit you, Nagase.
**[04:00] ---**
It's Mana!
**[04:02] ---**
What?
**[04:03] ---**
Just call me Mana.
**[04:05] ---**
Everyone else calls me that, too.
**[04:07] ---**
What... Um...
**[04:09] ---**
That's a bit...
**[04:10] ---**
It's totally fine!
**[04:17] ---**
All right...
**[04:19] ---**
Then...
**[04:20] ---**
Mana.
**[04:21] ---**
Good!
**[04:23] ---**
Then, Makino...
**[04:25] ---**
Oh, my first name is Kohei.
**[04:30] ---**
I knew that.
**[04:31] ---**
You can call me Kohei, too.
**[04:33] ---**
No, that would be weird.
**[04:35] ---**
I'm calling you Makino, okay?
**[04:37] ---**
If we call each other by our
first names out of the blue,
**[04:39] ---**
everyone would get suspicious.
**[04:41] ---**
That doesn't make any sense.
**[04:44] ---**
So...
**[04:45] ---**
It seems like the person who
scouted me is a famous producer.
**[04:51] ---**
Nagas--
**[04:53] ---**
That probably happens to you a lot, Mana.
**[04:56] ---**
That's not true.
**[04:58] ---**
It's never happened to me before,
so I don't know what to do.
**[05:03] ---**
But I am interested...
**[05:05] ---**
So I thought about it a lot
and consulted my little sister...
**[05:09] ---**
So, why me...?
**[05:12] ---**
W-Well.
**[05:14] ---**
Boys can be knowledgeable about idols, right?
**[05:18] ---**
It's not like all the guys are...
**[05:22] ---**
There's that complicated
Venus-something system, right?
**[05:26] ---**
I thought I'd consult someone
knowledgeable about that.
**[05:30] ---**
I'm not knowledgeable at all, either.
**[05:32] ---**
I would ask Furuta or Kawano about that--
**[05:36] ---**
I'm asking you, Makino!
**[05:43] ---**
I haven't told anyone else about this,
**[05:46] ---**
so don't tell anyone, okay?
**[05:47] ---**
I don't get it... Why me?
**[05:50] ---**
That's because...
**[05:57] ---**
You sit right next to me and it was convenient!
**[06:00] ---**
Purely proximity, huh?
**[06:07] ---**
So... About that favor I wanted to ask...
**[06:11] ---**
Yeah.
**[06:13] ---**
Actually...
**[06:17] ---**
"Hoshimi Productions"
**[06:22] ---**
Kohei Makino, a second-year in high school.
**[06:25] ---**
So you're classmates with Mana?
**[06:27] ---**
Yes.
**[06:29] ---**
What's your relationship?
**[06:31] ---**
Well...
**[06:32] ---**
We sit right next to each other.
**[06:34] ---**
Sit next to each other?
**[06:36] ---**
That's it?
**[06:37] ---**
Naga--
**[06:38] ---**
Mana and I've never really spoken at school...
**[06:42] ---**
That's not true!
**[06:44] ---**
We've spoken three times...
**[06:46] ---**
Or was it twice...?
**[06:50] ---**
Are you familiar with the Venus Program?
**[06:53] ---**
Yes, the general idea of it.
**[06:56] ---**
It's a ranking system for idols, right?
**[06:59] ---**
That's right.
**[07:00] ---**
Based on various data like popularity,
performance, and audience reaction,
**[07:06] ---**
an AI makes a judgment and
spits out the numeric data.
**[07:10] ---**
An AI...?
**[07:11] ---**
It's an attempt to have idols
compete under equal conditions.
**[07:15] ---**
It's sounding more like a sports game.
**[07:18] ---**
We'll be registering idols from our
agency in the Venus Program, too.
**[07:22] ---**
Mana, too, of course.
**[07:26] ---**
It's true that we're short-handed.
**[07:29] ---**
We'll have to hire someone eventually
to keep things running.
**[07:32] ---**
Since you're in school, you'll be
part-time until you graduate.
**[07:36] ---**
What? So that means...
**[07:38] ---**
You're hired.
**[07:40] ---**
Thank you very much, President.
**[07:42] ---**
That's too stuffy, just call me Saegusa.
**[07:46] ---**
To hire you part-time was one of the conditions
to get Mana to sign with us, anyway.
**[07:51] ---**
--Hey!
--What?
**[07:53] ---**
We had already decided to hire you.
**[07:55] ---**
Mr. Saegusa, you promised you wouldn't tell!
**[07:59] ---**
Oh, yeah?
**[08:00] ---**
Gosh!
**[08:07] ---**
Mana, I'm coming in.
**[08:09] ---**
Okay!
**[08:12] ---**
It's almost time for rehears--
**[08:21] ---**
What do you think?
**[08:23] ---**
It's... all right.
**[08:24] ---**
Look at me and say it.
**[08:26] ---**
I am looking.
**[08:28] ---**
How would you rate me out of 100?
**[08:30] ---**
Eighty-five...
**[08:32] ---**
Apparently, not being able to say 100
is the nature of Japanese people.
**[08:36] ---**
If I rated you 100 already,
what happens when you improve?
**[08:41] ---**
I, Mana Nagase,
**[08:43] ---**
will aim to be an idol that can't
be rated on a 100-point-scale!
**[08:49] ---**
Miss Nagase, it's time for rehearsal!
**[08:52] ---**
Coming!
**[09:45] ---**
"Newcomer Award"
**[09:58] ---**
"Idol Championship"
**[10:00] ---**
Pretty soon, I'll be a high school graduate.
**[10:02] ---**
Time flew by quick!
**[10:04] ---**
Oh, yeah!
**[10:05] ---**
Let's go for a drive soon!
**[10:07] ---**
Hey! Don't talk to me right now.
**[10:10] ---**
I just got my driver's license...
**[10:11] ---**
Here, say, "ah."
**[10:20] ---**
We're gonna be even busier after we graduate.
**[10:23] ---**
So you better brace yourself!
**[10:26] ---**
You better not forget you said that.
**[10:32] ---**
Graduate representative, Mana Nagase.
**[10:32] ---**
"Graduation"
Graduate representative, Mana Nagase.
**[10:35] ---**
Yes!
**[10:38] ---**
During my six years attending
Hoshimi Junior High and High School,
**[10:42] ---**
I've had various encounters.
**[10:45] ---**
Each encounter contributed to who I am today
and led to my current entertainment career.
**[10:50] ---**
I am grateful for the open-minded
teachers at this school...
**[10:54] ---**
Senpai!
**[10:55] ---**
Congratulations on graduating!
**[10:57] ---**
Are you staying for the concert?
**[10:59] ---**
"Mana Nagase Special Concert Stage"
Of course!
**[11:01] ---**
"Mana Nagase Special Concert Stage"
It's a privilege as a
Hoshimi High School student.
**[11:03] ---**
Happy graduation, Makino.
**[11:06] ---**
Congratulations, Mana.
**[11:11] ---**
Well, I better go!
**[11:13] ---**
Make sure you watch my last
concert as a high school student!
**[11:18] ---**
I will.
**[11:32] ---**
Wow!
**[11:37] ---**
After graduating high school,
I was promoted from a part-time
**[11:42] ---**
to a full-time employee at Hoshimi Productions.
**[11:44] ---**
"Hoshimi Productions"
**[11:47] ---**
"Reception Room"
**[11:48] ---**
The 14th Next Venus Grand Prix.
**[11:52] ---**
Will we be entering it this time?
**[11:55] ---**
I'll leave that decision to both of you.
**[11:58] ---**
Why didn't we enter it last year?
**[12:00] ---**
I deemed it was too early.
**[12:03] ---**
The Venus Grand Prix is
limited to newcomer idols only.
**[12:07] ---**
"14TH NEXT VENUS GRAND PRIX
Project Proposal"
If I win, I instantly join
the ranks of top idols.
**[12:11] ---**
Your current popularity doesn't apply.
**[12:14] ---**
Every participant starts off
from an equal baseline.
**[12:19] ---**
It will test your true abilities.
**[12:21] ---**
Um, I think I'll--
**[12:23] ---**
--I'll enter!
--What?
**[12:25] ---**
Let's do this!
**[12:26] ---**
You are my senior, Haruko!
**[12:28] ---**
It's our chance!
**[12:30] ---**
Only by two months...
**[12:33] ---**
Well, if you are entering...
**[12:35] ---**
I'll make sure I win, of course!
**[12:38] ---**
Haruko and I will both participate!
**[12:41] ---**
What?! What?!
**[12:43] ---**
M-Mana...
**[12:45] ---**
Let's do this together!
**[12:46] ---**
--All right!
--Oh, no...
**[12:52] ---**
I'm so nervous.
**[13:05] ---**
Do you have the confidence
to defeat all these rivals?
**[13:10] ---**
Who do you think I am?
**[13:12] ---**
Jeez.
**[13:14] ---**
You haven't changed at all, huh?
**[13:17] ---**
I can't afford to lose at this point.
**[13:18] ---**
I want to meet everyone's expectations.
**[13:21] ---**
For Haruko, who unfortunately lost...
**[13:24] ---**
For Mr. Saegusa and the staff...
**[13:26] ---**
And most importantly,
for my fans who support me.
**[13:31] ---**
You're right.
**[13:32] ---**
And plus a little for you, too, Makino.
**[13:35] ---**
I'm just an after-thought, huh?
**[13:41] ---**
This is as far as I go every time.
**[13:46] ---**
I can only watch you from here.
**[13:49] ---**
That's your job right, Makino?
**[13:56] ---**
Yeah.
**[13:57] ---**
Plus...
**[13:59] ---**
You being there...
**[14:01] ---**
...could be a source of power for me.
**[14:04] ---**
Here I go!
**[14:09] ---**
"Mana Nagase"
**[14:14] ---**
She did it!
**[14:15] ---**
Go, Mana!
**[14:38] ---**
"Mana Nagase"
**[14:54] ---**
"Hoshimi Productions"
**[15:00] ---**
It's the monumental final round.
**[15:03] ---**
I wanted you to take me there, Makino.
**[15:06] ---**
The traffic seems to be bad right now.
**[15:08] ---**
You better be there for my performance!
**[15:11] ---**
I'll head over as soon as I finish this errand.
**[15:13] ---**
All right, then.
**[15:15] ---**
I won't forgive you for being late,
even if you apologize.
**[15:19] ---**
Mana.
**[15:22] ---**
You made it to the final round.
**[15:24] ---**
You really are amazing.
**[15:30] ---**
Doing what I said I would is my policy.
**[15:33] ---**
Have I ever said any lies?
**[15:35] ---**
Lots of them.
**[15:37] ---**
Did I really?
**[15:41] ---**
You better be there no matter what, Makino.
**[15:44] ---**
If you're not there...
**[15:53] ---**
I'll be waiting for you.
**[15:56] ---**
Sorry for the wait.
**[16:11] ---**
It's true that she said a bunch of little lies.
**[16:14] ---**
But she never told a big lie.
**[16:19] ---**
Mana declared that she'd win.
**[16:22] ---**
Because she did, she really would.
**[16:26] ---**
That's how it felt.
**[16:27] ---**
Excuse me!
**[16:30] ---**
Are you from Hoshimi Productions?
**[16:33] ---**
Yes, I am.
**[16:37] ---**
Still nothing?
**[16:38] ---**
Come on.
**[16:39] ---**
They're taking too long.
**[16:40] ---**
It could be part of the performance.
**[16:43] ---**
"Hoshimi General Hospital"
**[16:53] ---**
"East Tower | West Tower"
"Emergency Room | Internal Medicine"
"Endoscopy Center | Cardiology"
**[16:59] ---**
"OPERATION IN SESSION"
**[17:05] ---**
Mana's accidental death became the biggest news
of the year when it reached the press.
**[17:12] ---**
And so...
**[17:13] ---**
The final round of the 14th
Next Venus Grand Prix
**[17:19] ---**
never commenced.
**[17:24] ---**
"2 YEARS AGO"
**[17:26] ---**
"Hoshimi Productions"
**[17:29] ---**
Makino?
**[17:32] ---**
Makino.
**[17:34] ---**
Oh, yes?
**[17:35] ---**
Is that your phone?
**[17:39] ---**
Yes, thank you for your call.
**[17:42] ---**
Yes, yes.
**[18:19] ---**
Being in the industry can make you
develop weird habits.
**[18:23] ---**
The day of the accident, I thought in the back
of my mind I was being involved in a prank.
**[18:30] ---**
The day of the final round...
She was sent off by herself...
**[18:34] ---**
The conditions were perfect.
**[18:40] ---**
Nothing's changed.
**[18:45] ---**
The instigator is Mana herself.
**[18:48] ---**
She'll come out laughing at
my dumbfounded face.
**[18:52] ---**
I would've been really mad.
**[18:56] ---**
But...
**[18:57] ---**
Even then...
**[18:59] ---**
That would've been...
**[19:02] ---**
...a lot more...
**[19:06] ---**
Makino.
**[19:15] ---**
No way.
**[19:17] ---**
Makino, over here.
**[19:23] ---**
Did I surprise you?
**[19:27] ---**
Mana...
**[19:35] ---**
Hey... So, it was a prank.
**[19:40] ---**
Suspicious as always, I see.
**[19:42] ---**
We've known each other so long,
let's have a little more trust.
**[19:47] ---**
Then stop doing things to startle me.
**[19:51] ---**
You're right.
**[19:52] ---**
Sorry!
**[19:54] ---**
That day, I met Mana again.
**[19:58] ---**
This time, as a ghost.
**[20:03] ---**
"TODAY"
**[20:08] ---**
Morning!
**[20:10] ---**
Well, don't you seem fired up?
**[20:13] ---**
Of course I am.
**[20:14] ---**
Interview day, was it?
**[20:17] ---**
What is it?
**[20:19] ---**
You look more like an interviewee
than an interviewer.
**[20:24] ---**
Well, excuse me.
**[20:25] ---**
But I'm three years older now,
**[20:28] ---**
unlike you.
**[20:30] ---**
Ghosts don't age!
**[20:32] ---**
You can still grow mentally.
**[20:34] ---**
I've been growing, thank you very much.
**[20:37] ---**
I'm a ghost, so let me take my time.
**[20:40] ---**
I feel like you're becoming more
and more of a slacker.
**[20:43] ---**
You used to shine brightly back in the day.
**[20:47] ---**
You know that's a taboo thing
to say to a popular idol!
**[20:51] ---**
That was when you were alive, right?
**[20:58] ---**
Were you doing interviews today?
**[21:00] ---**
Yes.
**[21:01] ---**
There may be a great increase in junior idols.
**[21:04] ---**
I'm happy to hear that.
**[21:06] ---**
Thank you very much.
**[21:08] ---**
But it gets me thinking of
my future career, too.
**[21:12] ---**
I'm sorry that I've been so useless...
**[21:15] ---**
That's not what I meant.
**[21:16] ---**
That's right. It's all your fault, Makino.
**[21:20] ---**
You're failing to bring out Haruko's charms.
**[21:23] ---**
I agree...
**[21:24] ---**
Huh?
**[21:25] ---**
I'm sorry, I was talking to myself!
**[21:27] ---**
Dummy.
**[21:29] ---**
I wonder what kind of girls we'll see today.
**[21:32] ---**
I'm looking forward to it.
**[21:36] ---**
"Hoshimi Productions"
**[21:59] ---**
Are you okay?
**[22:02] ---**
Thanks...
**[22:07] ---**
"From This First Step"