Trapezium (トラペジウム) is a novel written by former idol Takayama Kazumi, and it was recently adapted into an anime movie. I had been somewhat interested in this movie after watching the trailer, but it was quite low on my list. Still, after hearing someone mention that it is worth a watch, I managed to squeeze out a bit of time in between work to go catch it today.
When the movie started, I was greeted with the familiar names of Kakihara Yuko and Yokoyama Masaru. It signaled that the script and music would be good.
A brief synopsis: The protagonist, Azuma Yu, wants to be an idol. She has this idea of gathering members from the four points of the compass (north, east, south, west) to form an idol group. So she goes off to high schools in her town, visiting one in the south and west and befriended one girl at each school. She also reunited with a childhood friend, who was studying at a high school in the north. With herself being from the eastern side of town, she now has a team of four girls from all four directions, and she works to turn this group into an idol group.
Those who watch this movie expecting to see an idol anime would likely be surprised. While the story is about a group of girls who formed an idol group, the story is really about their different views. It was more human drama than idol anime. It was also very real, since the author was a member of the idol group Nogizaka 46. Similar to Oshi no Ko, it reveals a side of the idol industry in Japan. Like when it was made very clear to the protagonist that, the group with members drawn from and based on the four directions only really had value as a group.
The characters' names were also based on the four directions. The protagonist Azuma's name is 東 in kanji, which is the same character as east. Katori Ranko, who comes from the south, is given the nickname Minami, which is south in Japanese. At the same time, another hint was in her name, Katori, written as 華鳥. In China (and Japan), the phoenix, or 朱雀 or 朱鳥, is the animal symbolising the south. Katori has the character 鳥 in her name, linking her to the south. Meanwhile, the girl from the west is Taiga Kurumi. Her surname Taiga is written as 大河, which means big river, but is also pronounced in the same way as tiger. And guess what, the animal symbolising the west is the white tiger. Finally, Kamei Mika is the girl from the north. Her surname is 亀井 in kanji, with the character of 亀 or tortoise in it. Once against, the black tortoise (玄武) is the animal associated with the north. If you look at it this way, all of them have names associated with the four directions, but only Azuma's name was a direct reference. I was wondering why she didn't have an animal symbol for her name, but I guess the dragon 龍 (or 竜) would probably not have made for a cute girl's name. Also, a direct reference hinted that she is the true idol, the real "east" while the rest were just associated with their respective directions.
The story itself could be a bit too... devious? scheming? for people. The girls thought it was fate that brought them together, but the truth was that it was all Azuma's scheming. She planned for it from the start, venturing to schools in other parts of town to intentionally scout for potential teammates. They went volunteering, but it was not out of goodwill; rather, it was Azuma's plan to create some positive elements in the group's backstory. They thought it was a lucky break that they got to appear on TV, but it was again Azuma's plan to expose the group to media attention by volunteering at a place that was gaining popularity with tourists. In a way, she wanted to fulfill her dream of becoming an idol, and she dragged her friends into it. Kind of selfish, but to someone who thinks that being an idol is the dream occupation, she didn't see her actions as selfish but more like "I am helping all of you to become idols, the best job in the world! What is there is complain?"
Still, the story managed to wrap up on a positive note. And I think that is what made this movie enjoyable. It was not just an outright criticism of the idol industry. It was not just about a scheming, selfish girl. It was a human drama about people with different dreams, different views, about struggling to find your own place in a group, about dealing with other people. It could easily have become very negative, but it did not. That balance kept it real without making it too real. I mean, no one wants to see real life in movies; we see that every day in our own lives already. "Real but not too real" made it a relatable story that could be enjoyed as entertainment.
I hope more people will actually go watch this movie. I was greeted with this view when I went to the cinema today. 13th day of screening after the movie premiered on 10 May 2024.
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