REVIEW: ‘Eternal Boys,’ Episodes 7-8 – “The First Show” and “CD Debut”

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With their first video hitting 100,000 views, the Eternal Boys are ready to step out and start meeting audiences face-to-face. But have they properly laid the groundwork for a successful premiere? And if it doesn’t succeed, how will the group rebound from such a defeat in Eternal Boys Episodes 7-8? Perhaps the biggest moment for any performer is stepping out in front of a crowd for the first time. No matter how much you have practiced and prepared, there is no training that can truly capture the feeling of a real crowd. How anyone can be brave enough to take that step boggles my socially anxious mind. Eternal Boys Episodes 7-8 capture everything about the experience wonderfully. The fear, excitement, and possibility of those first steps. It showcases the group coming together for each other, and when things don’t go quite right, they put their heads down and try to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.

It is this rebound moment that I think is the strongest in this week’s episodes. The group, led by Kantaro’s astute observations, realize that their biggest problem was in the most basic elements of their approach. They were trying to take all their cues from what idol groups always do. But they aren’t like other idol groups. So why do things like them? I love this, especially as I’ve always hated the “one size fits all” approach marketing often takes to art. Each unique thing should be treated in a way that fits it, not in the way that fits most things.

Once the band’s first performance is out of the way, Eternal Boys Episodes 7-8 focuses on the public’s response to their first single going live and how the band tries to encourage their initially faltering numbers to increase. The best thing about this story is how it highlights just how much more than performing groups are expected to do in the age of social media. The boys take turns inviting the online audience to share their hobbies and daily life. These light-hearted moments are fun, delivering some nice chuckles as the various members’ showcase, or fail to showcase, their off-stage talents. The humor in these moments is also augmented through the visuals. The goofiness of the protagonists as they strive to entertain their burgeoning public is always presented in a way that allows the viewer to laugh with the characters on screen, as opposed to at them.

An element that runs through both of Eternal Boys Episodes 7-8‘s stories that I really like is the scale of the events, as well as the expectations for them that the show sets. This is a first-of-its-kind, middle-aged idol group. No one, not even their bosses expect huge crowds and thousands upon thousands of sales. The marks that the band does manage to hit, as well as their excitement over them, captures that great feeling of triumph that small acts share, even if no one else may notice.

Eternal Boys Episodes 7-8 succeed to stand out for the series thus far. While earlier entries were pleasant enough to watch, they never managed to get me to engage with the Eternal Boys in a real way. By so skillfully delivering these first shaky steps for the group, however, I find myself far more invested in the group than I was last week.

Eternal Boys Episodes 7-8 are streaming now on HIDIVE.