Followers Season 1 Episode 1 Recap – Hashtag

Limi is a famous photographer. She takes photos of a model in the middle of an intersection in Japan. People recognize her and approach them. Limi’s staff tries to stop her from continuing the shoot because it’s about time the cars start moving. Yuruco, Limi’s manager, tells the staff to let Limi be.

Meanwhile, Natsume, a girl who dreams to be an actress, lies on the floor with blood pooling underneath her head. A woman screams when she sees her. As soon as the director says cut, Natsume offers her hand for a handshake. The director ignores Natsume and goes straight to another actor behind her. Natsume looks at her watch and realizes she’s late for her next work.

An event is being held, and cameras flash as they take photos of the celebrities. Limi arrives at the event with her manager. Everyone recognizes Limi. Different celebrities take photos with her, and in no time, their followers share and like the posts. Natsume attends the event and dresses as a server with blood still on her face. Her friends laugh at Natsume as she complains. She can’t understand why she always gets roles to play as a corpse.

Sunny, Natsume’s friend, tells her that she likes Natsume’s roles because they have a story. Natsume hugs her friend, and Sunny tells her she has good news for her. Sunny takes out the list of guests for the event. She tells Natsume that is their chance to make connections. She takes out the business cards she made for Natsume and herself. Although she likes the idea, Natsume says they will lose their jobs. Limi Nara wins the Woman of the Future Award. While she gives her speech, Natsume listens to her and gets inspired. Sunny hands Natsume the business cards. Natsume stays in her place, still holding the tray of drinks while listening to Limi. 

Limi meets with her friends Akane, Tajima, and Yuruco after the event. Meanwhile, Natsume eats with her friends after their work. Natsume is worried about how the difference in numbers of followers is like the difference in success in life. 

An agent tells Natsume that 21 is already old for an actress. He advises her to go to school and get some kind of certification. Natsume asks the agent if she’s getting fired. The agent laughs at her and says that if she gets a part by her renewal date, then things will change, but he mocks her and says it has to be a role of a living person.

Natsume attends an audition for a new role. When one of the panelists hears what agency she is from, he doesn’t look happy. After Natsume throws her lines, one of the panelists receives a phone call. Natsume stops and watches the man talk to the phone on his way out. They tell her to start from the beginning. But as soon as she says her lines, one of the panelists stops her. Natsume looks surprised, but she thanks them and goes back to her seat. The next auditionee goes to the front and introduces herself. They immediately call for the producer when they hear what company she is from. Natsume closes her eyes and slouches on her seat.

Limi does another photo shoot with another model. In the middle of the photo shoot, she goes to the toilet. Yuruco looks worried. Limi flushes the blood in the toilet bowl. She washes the blood from her hands as tears flow down her face. She wipes her tears and goes back to the shoot.

Limi rides the car with Yuruco. She looks out the window with a sad look on her face. Her expression changes when they pass by some cherry blossom trees. She asks the driver to stop the car then she grabs her camera. She snaps photos of the flowers while Yuruco observes her from afar. While she takes photos, a kid mistakes her for her mom. Limi chats with the kid until the mother comes from her child.

Natsume walks by Limi but doesn’t see her. She stops and takes photos of the cherry blossom from her broken phone. Limi posts the photo she took, and the post immediately gets flooded with likes. Natsume’s post, however, gets no like.

Sunny makes out with another girl. The girl hugs Sunny afterward, but Sunny is too busy with her phone. She sees Natsume’s post, so she immediately tells the girl goodbye and leaves. Sunny waits for Natsume. She tells her it’s not good for an actress to post that. She hands Natsume a can of beer and asks if she failed another audition. Natsume nods and tells her friend that if she doesn’t get more parts, her agency will fire her.

Natsume tells Sunny that cherry blossoms remind her of young actresses. She sees them bloom every year, but they easily start falling. She thinks about how many people say cherry blossoms are beautiful, but the flowers disappear in no time. Natsume gets envious that cherry blossoms get the chance to bloom. She worries that if she doesn’t get the chance to bloom, she won’t even fall. Sunny holds Natsume and comforts her as she cries.

A doctor tells Limi there is nothing she can do about a miscarriage. Limi worries that one miscarriage will make her prone to having more miscarriages. The doctor asks her to stop blaming herself. She adds that the miscarriage she experienced ten years ago is unrelated to the recent one. When Limi goes home, she’s surprised to see Yuruco there. Yuruco realizes there is something Limi hasn’t told him. Limi admits she was supposed to tell Yuruco until she recently lost the baby. Yuruco hugs her while they both cry. Natsume delivers food to offices during one of her jobs. She receives a call from the agency saying she has to cover for a girl who got sick.

Natsume tries to say that she’s working at the moment. The agent gets mad, tells her that anyone can do it, and ends the call. Natsume goes to the shoot to cover for the sick girl. She still wears her uniform, so the staff thinks someone has ordered food. Natsume says she’s the stand-in, and she’s there for work. They give her something else to wear. The staff scolds Natsume and calls her an amateur.

Limi arrives and greets the staff. The staff tells Natsume not to be nervous because they can’t care less about her acting. He adds that no one is even looking at Natsume. And she’s not even going to be photographed. He even calls her by the wrong name. The staff rudely tells her that she’s just a nobody while he asks her to smile. Natsume stares back at him. She stares angrily at him while she unwraps the chocolate bar handed her. Natsume bites the chocolate bar and eats it while tears fall from her eyes. Limi grabs her camera and starts taking photos of Natsume. Natsume wipes her lips and smudges her lipstick.

Limi puts down her camera and stares at Natsume. A staff member announces the arrival of a celebrity, and everybody starts greeting her. Natsume gets scolded for eating the chocolate. The celebrity hugs Limi and walks to Natsume to take her place. Everybody forgets about Natsume, and she grabs a chair and sits behind the crowd. Natsume receives a call from her agent on her way home. He tells her she’s fired.

Limi checks her phone after work. She checks Natsume’s social media account. She sees that Natsume also posted a photo of the cherry blossoms. Limi posts a photo of Natsume she took, with hashtags #beautifulanger, #livetoextremes. Limi asks Yuruco to add something to next year’s schedule. Yuruco asks her what it is. Limi replies, “having a baby.” Yuruco tells Limi she forgets that she doesn’t have a partner.

Natsume checks the notifications on her phone. A lot of people start following her. Sunny calls her and tells her Limi posted a photo of Natsume on her social media account. Natsume looks surprised when she sees Limi started following her social media account. 

Our Thoughts:

We think that the story just shows how different lives people are living. The difference between Limi’s life and Natsume’s life is just too big. But even if Limi is more successful than Natsume, she has problems she has to deal with. Celebrities are excited to work with her, and she enjoys fame and fortune. Natsume, on the other hand, struggles with her career. She’s only 21 years old, but the agent thinks she’s already old for her job. She has to work here and there, delivering food and sometimes as a waitress. 

We think that Limi saw the potential in Natsume. If only the celebrity didn’t show up quickly, Limi might have said something to Natsume. So, that’s just how it is. Sometimes like Natsume, people are good at something, but they need people to see it. If people notice they are good at something, that can help them succeed.

We are looking forward to knowing if Natsume will be a successful actress or if she will just give up.