Tokyo: The Villainess Girl Is a National Idol

The year is 2016—the golden twilight of Japanese women's idol culture. The legendary 48-group franchise has begun its slow decline, while the Sakamichi series soars: Nogizaka46 stands on the brink of its crowning moment, Keyakizaka46 explodes into overnight stardom, and the yet-unrenamed Hiragana Keyaki struggles upward. The "Symbol" idol movement is just taking root, and the seiyuu-idol phenomenon Aqours fires on all cylinders. Countless new idol projects are launching. This is an era never to return—when million-selling singles were within reach, primetime drama finales cracked 20% ratings, starring films crossed the hundred-billion-yen box office, dome tours sold out in minutes, and even Grammy nominations shone on the horizon. Crowned by Japanese media as the nation's last "national treasure" and a world-class idol, Sakura Kōsaka would come to claim all these honors. In the summer of 2016, reborn as a Tokyo teenager, Sakura Kōsaka is dragged by a friend to an audition for a newly formed girls' group. Almost by accident, she passes the final selection and becomes an idol. At that first tryout, the head judge asks: "Kōsaka, what kind of idol do you want to be?" She tilts her head, blinks, and asks back, "Do you think I can be one?" Years later, a reporter asks the now-undisputed number-one idol: "What is the most important quality for an idol?" Sakura Kōsaka replies: "Loyalty. Never abandon your friends. Never give up." Even a young idol lives by honor and faith.