In an industry that’s so dominated by corporate greed and a homogenization and commercialization that threatens its very self, it’s weird that there are so many ‘one and only’s. There’s very few studios that can pull off what P.A. Works has with one work they’ve done this season- let alone all three. On the topic of threes, NareNare -Cheer For You!- episode 3 does a solid job of expressing that nature. Though it’s little that has changed from the prior episodes, it’s hard to not continue to praise the wildly unique and highly original work on display each Sunday so far.
Though it might be at the end of the episode, I just have to talk about it. When dealing with crowds, details, and a lot of movement, you have one recourse: CGI. Of course, P.A. Works is no stranger to that though, as they have in-house staffer Haruki Suzuki as a CG Director on their anime. A sibling CG director to Motonoari Ichikawa, their experience may be (marginally) less, but their nature more than makes up for that. In a single word, I would explain their CGI in Narenare -Cheer For You!- episode 3 as cheeky. It quite literally only appears at the end before reverting to 2D, and technically didn’t even “need” to be brought out when they did. By doing so, though, they effectively prepped the viewer for the idea that the dance sequence for the ED would be in CGI. It’s really fun and knowledgeable work that admits the difference between CGI and 2D rather than trying to forcefully blend them.
Though, it certainly helps when you have Sanzigen on your side. Though the composition can’t quite match the 2D line art, it’s still quite good work- very much what you’d expect out of a studio that’s taking on their own CGI anime with Guilty Gear Strive soon. It’s a bit off topic, but it’s quite commendable how far Sanzigen has come as a complete studio rather than a supplemental piece of anime production. Though they have a ways to go against Orange (even though Sanzigen only started a year later), I’m very curious to see how far they can reach with their work outside of Bang Dream! and D4DJ.


Getting back on topic with cool work in Narenare -Cheer For You!- episode 3, the storyboards this episode from Kenichi Imaizumi were quite good. A P.A. Works staffer at heart, they’ve fluttered around the industry a great deal in recent years but still find a home with the studio every so often, most recently appearing as an episode director for the studio’s Komada: A Whiskey Family movie. Though a lot of their edge may have dulled with recent major projects such as their (near excessive) storyboarding for the Kingdom anime which they direct, they brought a great deal of depth and humor to the episode. In particular, I found their work with the “inner” Suzuha to be quite fun. The way it gets worked into the episode and separated from the external Suzuha at times was quite creative, further playing into that awareness of space as one or the other of our parkour princess is obscured.
Giving a more specific example though, I think their handling of a conversation of Kanata’s yips is a phenomenal one. The way they establish angles, conversations, and subjects is just lovely. You start with a wide shot for Suzuha to establish the ongoing conversation, and the punch in on a pairing of Nodoka and Shion to sell their back and forth about not forcing Kanata to cheer. Here, they position Nodaka as the lead in the conversation as she’s the one that puts forward the idea, while we view Shion directly for the affirmation of that statement. Then, we quickly cut to a shot that sees Megumi as an external perspective of the conversation as she contemplates what to say, but before she can do anything we have Anna interject. She successfully derails the conversation and rewinds the layouts until we can pull back and include everyone as they follow in agreement after Megumi’s opinion is voiced. It’s not… the kind of work that ends up praised as godlike, or anything of the sort. Rather, it’s the kind of work that can easily be missing in plenty of anime and pull the viewer out of these more critical and emotional moments. It gives the viewer everything they need to connect with the sequence from a technical perspective. That, and some really fun moments with our comic relief character Anna- who can see the chibi up on Suzuha’s head?
Getting to more serious topics with Narenare -Cheer For You!- episode 3, I think the discussion surrounding Kanata’s yips continues to be done quite well. Of course, they make it seem like it’s completely cleared up in this episode, but there’s far more to it than just that. These sorts of things don’t go away overnight, and while Kanata has made it over that barrier, it still exists in her mind. An easy way to think about that is that we see how it affected Kanata during the cheering. It exists, but she made it past it thanks to some help. In particular, the way they approach and interact with it does really well to paint it as a competitive struggle.
Look back at episode 1 where Kanata is able to fly through the sky like it was nothing. Then, at episode 2 where she fails. Then, arrive at Narenare -Cheer For You!- episode 3, and you can piece together the above conclusion. When in a competitive and stressful environment where perfection is natural, the ghosts of failures that cost her team the competition appear. Though it’s probably better generalized as “performance anxiety”, given how it appears for a little bit in this episode. When offset by positive memories- in this case dreams- though, Kanata’s able to get up there like nothing ever happened. It’s a great piece that ties together the duality of our characters that they have trouble expressing in their normal settings, but when together as a group are able to be themselves.


Even though P.A. Works might be speedrunning that narrative beat a little bit, it’s hard to say it doesn’t fit the dense but lax nature of the work. We can’t spend all day on these inner people when it’s the outer ones that will be doing the cheering, right? This is a cheer leading anime…. right? Jokes aside, it’s a thoughtful bit of exposure in Narenare -Cheer For You!- episode 3 that puts the struggles of the past on the back-burner, letting our cheer squad step forward confidently into their internet stardom era.
Joking a bit more about pacing and scope, you could say that we’ve now completed Act I of Narenare. With episode 1 representing a prologue, and the prior two episodes comprising our first act, we now find ourselves hurtling towards our second act. Will it be the internet sensation of PomPom, or will it be our girls facing up against their previous connections and outward lives? We probably know the answer to that, but it’s still fun to drum up a bit of drama.
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