Searching for " Before Waking Up " (often referred to by its Japanese title Mezame no mae ni or Before Awakening ) reveals it as the landmark debut work of Rika Nishimura

But even then, she doesn’t flee. She whispers to the centipedes: “Show me what you’re carrying.”

Conclusion

She kept a notebook on the bedside table, its corner creased from late-night lists and earlier apologies. Tonight she traced a phrase she’d waited a week for: small acts count. It wasn’t a revelation, only a permission. She folded the thought into her palm and felt how ordinary it was to be brave in increments.

“To be best” can mean to be morally admirable, emotionally composed, or creatively alive. The pre-waking self often accesses all three: moral reflection arises without defensiveness, emotions are felt rather than managed, and creative ideas float unedited. In Rika’s case, these traits combine into a potency that daytime compromises might dilute. Her pre-waking clarity functions as an internal compass—showing the person she intends to become. Thus, “best” becomes aspirational: a standard grounded in integrity and possibility rather than external accolades.

In the landscape of Japanese media during the late 20th century, few figures represent the complexities of the "idol" phenomenon as vividly as Rika Nishimura. Her debut work, Before Awakening

The Making of "Before Waking Up"