It's time for me, the Idolm@ster to tell a story!

Hi! I'm trying really hard to watch anime, writing up blog posts, playing Arknights and Azur Lane and dealing with life...AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, do you enjoy my previous post? Oh, you didn't read it? Then go ahead and read it (if you want). Oh, by the way, Happy New Year! Well, I know that it's a little too late for that but at least, it's the first blog post of the year and had been trying to publish it as soon as possible.

Our cute girls...

Hmmm...anyway, it has been a while since I talk about an idol anime...since Aikatsu On Parade, I think. Anyway, this time it will be about Idolm@ster! Let's go!!!!!!!



WARNING:-

SPOILER ALERT!!! If you haven't watched it and plan to watch it without anyone being the spoiler, please DON'T CONTINUE READING!!!



P.S. If you want to be spoiled, well, go ahead and read it. You HAD been warned. Don't blame me for being spoiled if you INSIST on continuing to read this post.

Introduction

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The girls from every Idolm@ster series...

Hmmm...OK, I will do it a little different as there is WAY too many info on this series. There are so many franchises like Idolmaster: Xenoglossia, The Idolm@ster, Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls, blah, blah, blah...AHH!!!!! Screw this!

Aikatsu!

Love Live!!!

Ahem! Anyway, this series is actually a HUGE franchise, just like Love Live, Aikatsu etc. There is a lot of manga, anime and games surrounding this series. It's all thanks to it being a multimedia franchise that is done by a big company, Bandai Namco Entertainment. It has games, anime, all sorts of printed media (even doujinshi...smirk), drama and radio shows. So, it's WAY TOO BIG of a franchise for me to list them down here. I will focus on the anime series that I've watched.

Idolmaster anime!

I will be talking about the anime series, which aired from July 8, 2011, to December 23, 2011, and the original video animation episode that was released on June 16, 2012. These two are animated by A-1 Pictures. Also, I will be talking about the special OVA episode, which has three individual versions of the PlayStation Portable game, The Idolmaster Shiny Festa. Interesting...Anyway, I will also talk about the movie on this post, which is The Idolmaster Movie: Beyond the Brilliant Future! that was released on January 25, 2014.

Ooh...Shiny Festa...

Plot

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That is the place...

sigh...OK, I had a tough time to write out the introduction. Anyway, let me start with the anime, The Idolm@ster. The story starts with a certain idol production company, 765 Production Company where a fresh idol manager comes into this company to kick start the girls' stardom. Yeah, that's it. Period. Let's move on...I'm just kidding. Let's continue.

Time to help to be a star!!!

Ahem! Anyway, this story is about moving towards stardom from a hardly anybody recognized star. Feels like Aikatsu all over again...oh, you mentioned Love Live? Well, it is similar (and obviously, it's not the same). Back to the story. Along the way of bringing these girls to stardom, they have hard times to position themselves in the entertainment world, getting jobs to do as a star and overcoming their personal issues. Isn't it just like life? ...Anyway, let's continue.

That guy...

Jupiter on the magazine...

Man, nostalgia time...

When the stars have grown to a level of good prominence, they start to irk the boss of 961 Production Company who is formerly, the partner of the 765 Production Company boss. They went different ways because of a disagreement on how to bring the kids to stardom. Well, that boss is really bad. He uses every dirty trick to get his star to beat 765 Production stars. Wow...BAD GUY. Yeah, that's pretty much the story.

Welcome!!!

As for the OVA? Oh, it's pretty much a visual novel style typical anime. The story basically is "what if a certain group of girls from the 765 Production Company went to the concert on Vacation Island?". Nothing much say about it. Really. The girls are still as cute as usual though. Anyway, there's also a movie, which talks about the 765 Production Company girls joining the fresh young stars in their summer training. Nice times...cute girls working toward stardom. Reminds of so many idol anime that I have watched...Ahem! Anyway, I have nothing much to say there so let's move on.

What a nice view...

Anime Rating

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Anime

Story (Rating: 8/10)

The growth of character is the main point of this anime. I like it. The character background stories are pretty decent, especially Chihaya. It made me cry...sniff...Ahem! Anyway, the flow and pacing of the story are well-caught. The story is also pretty easy to understand, no crazy theories...well, there are a lot of people who like that. xD

The idols' usual work...live shows!!!!

Art and Animation (Rating: 8/10)

The drawing and animation are well done and pretty consistent. Well, it is pretty dated but not too bad even using current standards. I'm not that good in catching animation problems but for me, it is pretty good if there are no obvious problems.

The animation...well, for me, it feels pretty dated.

Sound and Music (Rating: 9/10)

The opening song...I like it quite a lot...I mean the 1st one. As for the second opening song, I would say it is pretty good. Oh, as for ending song, there are a lot of them. It changes a lot until the point where I have a hard time remembering them. As for insert songs, they are pretty good. Also, there are a lot of them. Enjoy them!

From the opening theme song sequence...

Characters (Rating: 10/10)

The characters...the character development of our cute girls, the interactions amongst themselves and with others...man, those are moments that bring us to like them. Of course, there will certain girls that you and I would prefer and like more amongst those girls but I think you can't deny that we grow to love these girls as grow into a superstar. Isn't life like becoming a superstar? As move on in life, we learn new things, face difficulties and overcome difficulties in life. Anyway, let's move on.

Nice costume, girls!

Enjoyment (Rating: 9/10)

I enjoyed it although I did stop for a moment and restart this journey once again. Well, I dun remember why I stop it but I always have the heart to restart this journey once again. Anyway, the journey of watching the girls is a great experience. xD

XD...interesting moments...

Overall Rating: 8.8 (8.75)/10

Shiny Fiesta

Story (Rating: 6/10)

Story? Well, there are stories but it's more VN style. You choose which group of girls to perform live on stage in a HUGE concert on Vacation Island. They are pretty decent but quite short for me. I like a single continuous story rather than this VN style of storytelling. Let's move...Ok, ok...I will do it. The flow of each story is unique, have good pacing and are easy to understand. Done. NEXT!

This scene is repeated 3 times...

Art and Animation (Rating: 8/10)

Better animation, cute girls are drawn nicer...oh, there is a few repeated scene using the same set of animations since this is a VN style storytelling anime (like Yosuga no Sora). The music videos of the song performed in the anime are 

Well, the same case as the latter picture...

Sound and Music (Rating: 8/10)

Good music for every episode. There is no opening theme song but only ending theme song and different insert songs for each episode. I think they are pretty decent. Enjoy!

The ending theme song...

Characters (Rating: 7/10)

Hardly any character development as it is a short "season". Really. It is so short that I can only say this: If you like the characters in the anime and grown into them throughout the previous season, you will like to see them again just to see them interact with each other and the producer again. xD

Miki is sulking. Awww...

Enjoyment (Rating: 8/10)

I enjoyed parts of it. I like the girls that are presented in the show. The songs are pretty good. Other than that, it's pretty normal. Anyway, that's all I can say.

Theme park time!!!

Overall Rating: 7.4 (7.25)/10 

Movie

Story (Rating: 8/10)

The spotlight is mostly on the idols-in-training for the climax part but the 765 idols are a big part of the spotlight too. It is refreshing to see a bunch of new fresh faces. Also, they are quite cute. xD...AHEM! Anyway, the plot of the story is pretty decent but I do see shadows of the plot of the Idolmaster anime. Putting that aside, the story paces and flow really well, don't have awkward plot progression, which is great. The story is as simple as it gets...I think. I don't think that it's that hard to understand the story.

That intense moment...

Art and Animation (Rating: 9/10)

The arts and animation are more up-to-date, which is nice. I like it. Also, I think that stage live sequence is handled pretty well. I dun think that static animation in the anime is overused. Well, there's nothing more I could say.

Live stage!!!!!

Sound and Music (Rating: 8/10)

The theme song and insert song are pretty decent. You can go and enjoy it, Idolmaster fans. As for background music, I think that the director has given the right music for the right scene.

The theme song sequence...and the credits.

Characters (Rating: 9/10)

CUTE GIRLS!!!! Well, most of the characters are from the previous season so I dun think people who watched the previous season before will dislike them. Anyway...oh, you asked about the new girls? Well, I personally am not into them but their growth in character in the midst of difficulty is admirable. There are also tough decisions to make for the girls from the previous season, which is also another good point for the movie. Likeable? Well, it depends on you. Relatable? Well, perseverance and hard work...aren't they staple for idol anime at this point?

That moment...

Enjoyment (Rating: 10/10)

The movie was pretty decent and have parts that I would like to watch again. The new group of girls' interaction are quite good. Of course, the previous group of girls are a joy to watch. In conclusion, I enjoyed every part of this movie. xD

Uh, oh...Oh...no...

Overall Rating: 8.8 (8.5)/10

Screenshots

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Anime

Gameshow time!!!!

BBQ time!!!

Miki-chan!!!!

Idolmaster LIVE!!!!

Makoto...dating with...deep thinking...

That scene...sniff...I cried there. I'm happy for you, Chihaya.

Haruka...she is troubled...

Shiny Fiesta

Our 1st group of girls...

...and their MV!

Our 2nd group of girls...

...and their MV!

The 3rd group of girls...(Miki is also in it, YEAH!)

...and their MV! It looks quite cool there...

Movie

Cute girls!!!!

More cute girls!!!!!

Ooh...they are wet...ahem!!!

That moment...that almost broke it...

Hey, Jupiter!

Shiho confronts Haruka...

That scene...poor Kana

Caught you, Kana!

Taking a look at the stage that they going to be on...

PV/Trailer

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Conclusion

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Well, that's the end of this post. Sorry for the delay. This blog post is quite huge. I cannot finish all of them in one go. It's not that easy. At one point in time, I wanted to put this series down to go for the newer series that I finished this season. But, I decided against it. Also, I tried my best to complete it to the best of my ability in spite of the busy season. With the busy season ended, I think I can speed my next blog post progress. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy reading and browsing this blog. Goodbye, and God bless you!

This is probably the best way, to sum up, the series...

Overall Rating (whole series): 8.333 (8.167)/10