America’s Next Top Model 3, Episode 9: A Tokyo We Will Go!

In first class, Yaya and Amanda have a toast, recline, and eat some ice cream, while we see the other girls in coach looking very uncomfortable. Enough about that though, the girls arrive in Tokyo and it looks amazing! Ann is relieved that she fell asleep on the plane. Amanda says it was a long flight, and the girls meet their guide and board their van. Nicole thinks Tokyo is crowded and hot, just like NYC. They stop at a shrine and the girls go inside. Out comes Tyra, who says she brought them there to see the fashion capital of the world. They will do a ritual of purification and ask for favors from the gods. Umm, okay! Each girl claps and bows, and off they go!

Eva appreciates the culture and wants to be more well rounded. Norelle sees Hello Kitty and gets VERY excited. She’s such a kid – it’s actually endearing. The girls get to their hotel and it’s basically just a bed, as they find out they are staying in a “capsule hotel.” Basically, their bed is the size of a coffin, with a curtain to close for privacy.

They agree to stay positive, and read their Tyra mail. It says to be ready in 30 minutes. The girls quickly get ready and walk to their next shoot to find Jay Manuel waiting for them. He tells them that top models fly and go straight to work and that’s what they will be doing.

He reminds them that the other day they learned about acting, and today they will have a cold read for a commercial for Campbell’s Select soup. The kicker is that they have to do it in Japanese. Norelle tells the camera she can barely speak English. They meet their director, who doesn’t speak English and has an interpreter. Each girl is told the concept of the commercial, and are expected to speak in fluent Japanese. Everyone scurries off to study their lines.

As the girls are studying, Yaya is just hoping she doesn’t embarrass herself. They try to explain what to do to Yaya and she starts her script and messes up. However, she pulls it together nicely and finishes it the second time and is told her Japanese sounded great. Eva is next and does her thing. She doesn’t look like she’s enjoying herself and messes up. She messes up again and again and again. She starts to think the director is getting offended and is taking a very long time. It’s not a pretty site. When they tell her she is done, she knows she failed since she never got though it once. Ann is third and actually does the Japanese part perfectly. She looks really pretty too, and it looks like everything came together nicely – even the director says he was impressed.

Eva bitches about the commercial in the makeup room. She says her pictures are great, so hopefully someone else who takes bad pictures will go home. Ann asks if she means either her or Norelle. Ann then hears Eva say that she hopes Norelle messes up big time. Eva wants to talk to Ann, but Ann is having no part of it. Eva tells Ann that she did really badly, and Ann tells the camera that the roles are switched because she did well. Nicole is doing her commercial now and she says she’s more nervous than she has ever been. Ann still can’t believe that Eva wants Norelle to do poorly. Nicole goes and messes up the first time, but rebounds and does it all on the second try.

Norelle goes right after and messes it up left and right, of course, making her very frustrated. She’s confused and tries again, but knows she did a bad job. Next up is Amanda and she looks really weird. The interpreter says her Japanese is very good, and as she starts singing, the director looks confused. After everyone is finished, the director says they did a good job and gives them a letter. It’s Tyra mail, which tells them to get ready to meet the judges tomorrow because someone is going home.

Back at the hotel, Eva says there are a few panels left and things are different, since there is literally no room for mistakes. She dotting her i’s and crossing her t’s. The girls get in their capsules and go to bed for the evening. As they talk, they look like The Brady Bunch in the beginning when they are all in those squares looking at each other. In the morning, the girls get up and Yaya says she shouldn’t be going home this week, and if she does, she should have a talk with the judges. Norelle is very nervous, and Nicole says she has no idea who is going home.

The girls enter the judging room and Tyra welcomes them. They take their shoes off as Tyra tells them that they will make their 9th cut in determining who will be America’s Next Top Model. She reminds them of the prizes and reintroduces them to the judges, who came all the way from the United States. Also, our guest judge this week is Yente Yoshie, the director of the commercial, along with another interpreter. The girls will be evaluated on their commercial and a test. The test will be to act out a commercial for a Japanese food – something they don’t know.