It’s another lousy set of days for the members of Beck as Eddie gets accosted by a gold-toothed thug looking for Lucille. Eddie had already asked Jim to cut out Yukio’s singing scene from the documentary, but Lucille’s owner found out anyway. Elsewhere, Ran tells Eiji that Beck has potential, but will never get a major debut. Ran is especially petty, and wants revenge after Beck and Dying Breed made a fool of Eiji on stage. As if it wasn’t hard enough having to work part-time to pay for all the recording costs! Yukio has a crummy job at the restaurant, and between Saitoh complaining to scam a free meal, and Maho’s friend Yoshito instantly hating Yukio, it’s a wonder that Yukio hasn’t quit like all the other dishwashers before him. He does get a little bit of sunshine, as he runs into the girl from before; she works at the donut shop next door and Yukio’s interest is perked. Yoshito is a prettyboy in a dorama (he plays an ubercheesy wheelchair-bound kid in a show called “Geppachi”), and is all mad when Maho invites Yukio to a party. When Yukio calls for more details, Yoshito tricks Yukio by telling him to show up in a suit with a present; then, when Yukio follows the instructions, Yoshito takes the flowers and turns Yukio out on the street. Maho finds out and tries to catch up to Yukio, but Yukio is already at home pouring his sadness into a new song.
Finally, Yukio is running out of time to buy the Telecaster. Katahira Tatsuya, the drummer for Loud Crime City (the premier Japanese rock band), wants to buy it, but the store owner Takano reserved it (for one month) for Yukio as a favor to Taira. We later find that Loud Crime City is calling it quits, and when the reporter interviewing Katahira proclaims that Japanese rock will die, Katahira muses about some awesome new band that is probably waiting in the wings. Naturally, we then cut to Beck’s live, where Yukio is playing his heart out (it’s the White Falcon’s last show). Luckily, the owner of a small indie label enjoyed the show and inquires about picking up some CDs. He’s Sound Factory Record’s Frank Alvin and the members of Beck decide to trust him, even though Frank’s just some no-name from Chicago, USA.
Quite a number of little things happened in this episode, and many of the subtle developments will probably be important later. Maho is sending out mixed messages again, but then again she’s just 15-ish (she was 14 in the second episode). It’s not like Yukio’s completely devoted either, as he clearly wants to flirt with donut girl. Also, there’s still the mysterious tension of the evil guys after Lucille. None of this, however, compares to the sheer villainy of Yoshito. The guy is so easy to hate that I think he makes a great character. Even Hyoudou wasn’t this bad! I can’t wait to see Yoshito get what’s coming to him. In the meantime, Beck will have to overcome a lot of obstacles. As evidenced by the demise of Loud Crime City, it’s not easy to make it as a band. For some reason, I felt like Yukio changing guitars was like a metaphor for the development of Beck, but I’ve forgotten exactly why I thought this in the first place…
