Ten times? Twenty? Or thirty, forty, even fifty?
Nodoka Toyohama had lost count of how many times she had flubbed a take. She wanted to give up, but the director who had called cut time and again was still working seriously, and Sakuta Azusagawa, the friend she had just made, was right beside her, constantly encouraging her. Nodoka Toyohama couldn't give up!
She could only pull herself together and perform this take with even more seriousness than the last. Nodoka Toyohama didn't know how much longer she could hold on, but she kept holding on...
"Cut!" At last, another call to stop rang out.
Nodoka Toyohama felt like she was about to reach her limit. No matter how hard she tried, the director always looked dissatisfied. Maybe...
"Keep it up..." Yet just when she wanted to give up, Sakuta Azusagawa remained as steadfast as ever. "Nodoka, believe in yourself. Be yourself. You're definitely the best!"
Nodoka Toyohama: "..."
Be herself, my ass! If she went back to being her original self, who knew how badly she'd get chewed out...
She just wanted to give up!
Maybe she should just use her old attitude and muddle through...
Mentally and physically exhausted, she had even started wondering whether she should make the director give up on her. Whatever happened, she couldn't keep going!
And so, another performance began...
Nodoka Toyohama finally became herself again!
"Cut..." Once the performance ended, the director called a halt again.
Nodoka Toyohama: "..."
Even if she failed, she could just say she was too tired. She had failed so many times already...
"Perfect!" But just as she began making excuses for herself, Director Kitano exclaimed, "As expected of Mai. Despite being two completely different styles, you only failed a few dozen times before perfectly achieving the goal..."