I didn't expect myself to enjoy Aikatsu Planet that much. Really.

Oh hi, there! How is life? May God bless you. Also, I need to get my life straight again...AHEM! Well, anyway, my last blog post...I really enjoyed managing my blog post even though I'm expecting this blog to become hot property. Oh, have you seen my latest post about HxEros? If you have not and wanna go there, my one and only advice: "Make sure nobody is behind you while you read it". smirk...

I agree. I would never dream of watching a show like this.

Yep...just like this...I'm being forced back to reality.

Anyway, back to the topic. Remember the post on Aikatsu Planet that I published previously? I actually finished watching Aikatsu Planet despite the format change. Well, it didn't disappoint me. Maybe it's because I put my expectation a bit lower than usual for this franchise.

WARNING:-

SPOILER ALERT! This post is very likely to contain spoilers for this anime. So...if you are planning to watch the anime without any spoilers, you can either continue to read this post or move on and watch the anime.



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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I remember this cover...

Aikatsu Planet! (アイカツプラネット！), much like other Aikatsu franchises, started as an arcade collectable card game in Bandai's Data Carddass line of machines, which launched in December 2020. Unlike the Aikatsu!, Aikatsu Stars!, Aikatsu Friends!, and Aikatsu on Parade! series of arcade games, it revolves around using collectable "swing cards" for idol battle stages, not normal cards.

Announcement banner for 1st series

The whole announcement thing and delay because of the covid pandemic has gotten its mention back in the post that I made on January 2021. Anyway, this rare, special anime/live-action hybrid TV series was aired from January 10 to June 27, 2021, with 25 episodes. Dang, each different Aikatsu anime franchise length has reduced from 3 and a half years long to only half a year long. sigh...whatever. It's fine with me. It's not really an issue. Anyway, let's move on!!!

One of the swing cards...for Glossy Ruby

Plot

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Otoha Mao

I did briefly talk about the plot in the previous post about Aikatsu Planet but I will do it again for this post with more details. So...the story starts with an ordinary first-year student at the private academy Seirei High School, Otoha Mao. She has a normal school girl life, going to school and hanging out with her best friend, Motoya Shiori.

Watching Hana...on a window?

Mao picking up the card for Meisa...that is the start of Mao as an idol?

She saw Hana's performance on the screen as she is with Shiori on the way to school and saw a bunch of people gathering around the screen. As they rushed to the school, Mao accidentally collided with a certain person who will be later revealed as Hinata Meisa. Ah, she picked up the card that Meisa and return it to her. That won't be the last time that Mao will encounter such a card as that is the Aikatsu Planet "swing card" and she will be pulled into the Aikatsu Planet world later.

What a way to ask for help...

Anyway, Mao was approached by a group of people asking her to help with their dancing when she was about to return home with Shiori. She tried to help them after the group's insistence. While she was helping the group out with their dancing, a certain manager named Watanuki Izumi is watching Mao as she waits for a certain idol called Tamaki Ruri to hand over the rundown for her fashion event.

That's an issue...

The chat with Ruri was pretty lighthearted until Izumi was called in an emergency by her fellow co-worker, Segawa Itsuki, that Meisa has left her role as Hana without a warning. So, now, this virtual idol in Aikatsu Planet is without an owner and cannot conduct any job assigned to her. Wow...this kind of thing will never happen in real life without serious consequences. Anyway, as they struggle to fix the issue that Meisa's sudden departure has created, Izumi thought of Mao taking over as Hana in place of Meisa.

That meeting...

She immediately went back to the school where Mao and Shiori is at to meet Mao. Mao is just done with helping the group with their dancing and is ready to return home with Shiori. After they met up, getting an explanation of the situation from Izumi and getting persuaded by Izumi, Mao decided to give it a shot. From then, Mao went through training after training, just to prepare for the special battle stage against another top idol, Q-pit.

That battle stage...

Anyway, long story short, the battle stage with Q-pit was successful and Mao's Hana got a win against Q-pit. Nobody knows that this Hana is different although there are people who did see the changes in Hana. Why this case? I think I mention this before. It's because Mao's new role as the avatar Hana is a secret to everyone else until the agency could make an official announcement at the right time. Also, her personality is different to Meisa's Hana. That's for sure. Anyway, from that day onwards, she goes through her daily life as a normal student and life as Hana alongside her best friend Shiori (who will later be an idol herself), the model Ruri, as well as senior Umekōji Kyōko, they aim to be top idols together. Oh, you ask whether did they announce it? Yes, they did. It was a whole episode.

That final battle stage...

I have to briefly talk about the final battle between Mao (Hana) and Meisa (as Rose after she returned from overseas and back to Aikatsu). Rose rose to prominence quickly as her real-world identity is Meisa and she is already a top idol before she left the Hana role and was taken over by Mao. That final battle is the special competition for the top 4 idols. Hana and Rose are the final contestants as they battle out to see who is the winner. In the end, Hana win as her outfit transforms mid-stage. Well, the ending part is really cheerful and a happy end. That's all I could say about it.

Mao going into the virtual world of Aikatsu Planet...

A brief setting explanation before we move on: "In the adored virtual world of "Aikatsu Planet!", real-life idols can become an avatar. Mao, who assumes the role as Hana, uses "Swing Card" with her chosen "Dressia" to put on a dress, and begins the world of intense Battle Stages with her rivals." So, with that, it's time to move on. There's really nothing much to elaborate on. Plus, if I further dive into the story, the post will be too long. Let's move on...Ah, last episode? Ah, this show's last episode is a unique one as it is a postscript and post-recording interview for the actors involved in this project.

That special episode...

Anime Rating

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Story (Rating: 10/10)

Good story overall. The starting part is kinda like OG Aikatsu where the main character enters into the Aikatsu world without knowing much. Although I do have a bit of an issue with the show being the shortest amongst all the full-season shows in the Aikatsu franchise, it didn't disappoint me with the story plot, story flow and story pacing. The story is really easy to understand too.

Mao and Shiori ready for a proper showdown

Hana vs Shiori

Art and Animation (Rating: 10/10)

This is gonna be awkward...since live-action is involved. Anyway, in this session, I will just focus on the animated part. The virtual characters and virtual world is really pretty. The stage performance CGI is also pretty good. Well, since live-action is the main part of the show, there isn't as much animated part compared to the usual anime that I watch.

The mix of animation and live-action...

Sound and Music (Rating: 10/10)

The theme songs are really nice. The opening song, the ending song, the insert songs...AH...I can't help but give it a full mark. The BGM and sound effect? I would give it a thumbs-up. It might be just my bias. xD

The battle stage between Hana and Ruri...

Characters (Rating: 10/10)

This...not as tough as the Arts and Animation section. Since the character lineup of Aikatsu Planet is not as huge as the ones in the previous Aikatsu franchise, the character development part is more balanced than the previous ones. The growth of each character...thumbs-up to the production team. Also, each character is unique and quite likeable. The interactions between different characters can be really fun to watch. The characters' background is quite well-made. Wow...it's overall great! xD

The special sleepover event

Enjoyment (Rating: 9/10)

I enjoy this anime live-action hybrid show for most parts even though there are parts where I prefer all-out animation to this format. An example of this is when Ruri obviously looked confused when she was faced with the fact that Hana is currently owned by Mao after a photoshoot session. The animation will make it a tad bit better in terms of exaggerating her expression. Other than that, there's nothing much that I would complain about.

What a stage it would be...xD

Overall Rating: 9.8 (10)/10

Screenshots

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Q-pit and Ann...

Cute photo session...xD

Ruri confused expression. It would be better if animated. Just my opinion.

Err...that ancient camera turns the dress into a card?! O.O

Oh, hi, Kyouko.

Ah...Ruri as a cute bear. Cute. xD

Eh...why we are baking now?

Meisa and Izumi moment

Rose!

Wait. The designer is also an idol?!

Oh, her avatar.

Party time, Mao! Congrats!!!

PV/Trailer

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Conclusion

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Oh, hi! Glad you have reached the end. A bit of comment about this...TV show before I end this post. I really never expected that I would ever continue to watch it until the end. It did not disappoint me. The actors and production team involved in this project had done well to make this show. It is an enjoyable experience. The inspiration to make a post about a song from this show motivated me to complete this post as soon as possible. To be honest, whether I had that inspiration or not, I will wanna publish this post as soon as I can. For Christmas! Well, not really. I just wanna make as many posts as I possibly could for this December. Well, that's the end. I hope that you enjoy reading and browsing this blog. Goodbye, and God bless you!

All of the girls!!! Rose, Ann, Beat, Hana, Ruri, Shiori, Q-Pit, Sara!