Episode 5

Episode 5 is the fifth episode of the ARP Backstage Pass (Artists Republic Performers) anime series by Akari Uchida. It aired February 17, 2020.

Summary
Every performance by ARP is a battle of who can win over the audience the best. Leon wins his first show ever and Reiji is unable to comprehend his loss. He wonders how Shinji can effortlessly take a loss and not be bothered. Reiji feels like the odd one out in the group.

Reflecting on his first meeting with Shinji, he tried to understand what Shinji lacks since he seemingly has it all. He came to the conclusion that Shinji is a greedy pig because of how he lacks self control when it comes to snacks.

However when he tries to think of Leon, he dismisses the chance of Leon having any complexity to his existence and calls him annoying. He bothers Reiji all the time with attempts of making friends.

Reiji was abused as a child and never felt that he could make emotional connections with anyone until he met Daiya. They met as children and Daiya introduced him to rock and roll. Daiya helped him get through all his hardships.

Reiji has a habit of forgetting to do things, getting distracted and falling asleep. He simplifies complex problems to one or the other circumstances so he can take action directly. He is very guarded and still has trouble warming up to his ARP teammates. He is very welcomed in the group, but chooses to internalize his issues instead.