The iDOLM@STER

There are some anime series that you desperately want to love. You’re either drawn in by the premise, one of the characters will strike your fancy for some reason and you’ll begin a furious Pixiv binge in search of any fanart of them to the point that your computer crashes and you’re declared legally dead, or you see some shimmer of pure gold underneath that thick sheen of shit and mediocrity and want to see if it’ll be more evident later on. The Idolmaster was one of the latter series, and it left me feeling entirely unsatisfied from start to finish.

The premise is simple enough: ... Twelve girls of questionable talent with single-note personalities and insecurities all vie for the chance to become idols with the help of their talent company and their ever-faithful producer. This single idea takes them all over Japan as their popularity inexplicably soars and they learn important things like trust, friendship, and synchronized dancing. Say what you will about the overall quality, it sticks to this premise throughout without ever losing the spirit of the idea. If you’re not in the market for a show all about the power of friendship or supposedly catchy pop music, there won’t be much for you here.

For me, the most important thing in any show is how the characters develop and interact. Something with a fantastic plot or great production won’t leave much of an impression if the characters don’t; see Madoka Magica. Unfortunately, this is the first and gravest misstep that the Idolmaster makes.

Though it really can’t be helped with such a large cast of main characters, there isn’t much gravity to how the characters develop or interact. One minute, soliloquies are dropped regarding what problems a certain character has on their rocky road to idol stardom, the next the plot tousles them on the head, tells them to move on with their lives, and it’s never brought up again. While I understand that everybody is supposed to develop, it still feels awkwardly crammed in when it shouldn’t be.

This would be acceptable if all of the characters were memorable in some way, but some quite simply shine over the many others, leading to some intimate moments feeling resolved much too quickly in order to get back to what the Idolmaster perceives to be the most important characters. Haruka and the Futami twins seem to take up the most time, leaving the likes of Azusa and Makoto in the background for all but a few scant moments when they could have been fleshed out and humanized much more.

These overly-sentimental bits are punctuated every so often by the meddling of a rival talent company, 961 Pro, led by the conniving Takao Kuroi, which essentially play out the same each time. While they’re a welcome distraction from the slew of halfhearted character developments, these scenes could have easily been left out without the series suffering in any way. Don’t get me wrong, these were the only episodes in which I believed that the 765 Pro girls would come out more mature and fleshed out in the end, but I acknowledge their overall pointlessness. They take away nothing from the experience, but they add very little in return.

Where the Idolmaster came closest to breaking out of mediocrity was in the last few episodes, as Haruka dealt with everyone’s newfound success and consequential estrangement. It’s well paced and actually competent, leading to a complete departure from the episodic format of before.

Story and character-wise, the Idolmaster falls a bit flat for me, even with the competently strung together drama in the final episodes. However, if there is one area where it shines, it’s definitely the production. The animation is crisp, the character designs are pleasing to the eye and soft by comparison, the dancing is wonderfully choreographed, the music could actually be confused for something thrown onto the market to be bought by thousands of impressionable Japanese teens and otaku of all sorts… in short, the Idolmaster went all out to bring the games to life, and that’s something to be admired.

Yet, for all the dazzling displays and occasional moments of interesting storytelling, the Idolmaster fails to be anything more than a flashy series that’s ultimately completely forgettable. Yet I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this is the best adaptation of the game series that anybody’s ever going to make. I tried to like the Idolmaster for what it was, and I did enjoy it every now and then, but overall it was a disappointing experience that I wouldn’t in good faith recommend.

I’d like to think that I’ve made plenty of ventures into different genres and styles of anime. Part of the fun in consuming the medium for me is finding something new to explore, and throwing myself in the deep end at times has proven to be a worthwhile experience. However, I’d found myself shying away from the realm of idol anime and I’m not too sure why. There was not much that appealed to me or reached out to say ‘you really need to give this a go’. I had to push myself to take a leap of faith and decided to use The Idolm@ster ... to do just that.

The Idolm@ster provided me with a bumpy ride but formed itself into something pleasant by the time the 25 episodes had come to a close. Was I blown away by the visuals, the choreography or the music? Sure, but the reason I enjoyed The Idolm@ster far more than I thought I would is because the show really isn’t about the music and dancing. It’s about the teamwork needed to make that all happen. That really caught me by surprise. It must be said that I’m not really one for the brand of music depicted, with its overly mushy lyrics and the fact that most songs come off as sounding the same to me. I went into the show expecting that to be the focus and have the characterisation poorly tacked on. I was wrong. Even though the cast is pretty much designed to cover all the ranges of emotions and personality types (i.e. the snotty one, the shy one, the mysterious one, the androgynous one etc.) they’re usually fun to watch. The Idolm@ster does a solid job of creating a cast you want to cheer on, even if some of them irritated me to no end.

The Idolm@ster follows 12 girls looking to make their big break in glitzy and glamourous world of idols. They dance, act and sing under the guidance of their producer as they desperately seek out a way to make a bigger name for not only themselves but also their production studio, 765. In the way of a story, as you could imagine, it’s pretty simple. The group take on jobs wherever they can while trying to better understand each other and industry that lays ahead of them. Trouble often strikes in some form, whether it be a wardrobe concern or someone out to sabotage their name. Early on I started to get worried because everything felt so aimless. There all these issues befalling everyone but even when things get resolved it’s back to square one, like nothing has really changed amongst the group as a collective. The comedy seemed to fall flat and the show tended to rely on it too much for its own good. My leap into the genre wasn’t off to the most comfortable of starts.

It’s the latter story arcs of The Idolm@ster that make sitting through the tedious opening half of the show worthwhile. These parts start to actually flesh out the characters, delve into their past and - above all - actually show the importance of depending upon each other. The struggles aren’t just simple filming but instead they create consequences for the group as a whole – and that’s much more engaging for the viewer. The questions the characters ask start to steer away from “How can I improve my image?” to “How can I make sure I’m not letting anyone down?”. While it can be fun to watch the cast act cute, it’s much more impactful and rewarding to watch them all resolve their personal problems. The drama is never overbearing though, thankfully. The show always maintains this sense of optimism without being dark or too serious for its own good. The balance is just right. Because we get to know all the cast that little bit more, watching them battle their way to the show’s conclusion is a fun experience.

The 12 girls themselves are a mixed bag. A handful of them came across as interesting, because you could actually see something holding them back and I was left wondering what it could be. Some are there to provide a bit of comedy. Some I feel were just making up the numbers. It would be fruitless to really harp on about what are ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ characters in the 765 group. Everyone will pick a favourite and latch themselves onto their story and cheer them on. That’s the beauty of a show like this. There will be at least one of them that will strike you as likeable or interesting. Some of them I couldn’t stand but that’s to be expected when you are writing to cover as many personalities as possible to appease to the widest possible audience. Some side characters feel irrelevant, including one comically evil villain, who does a better job at dragging down my enjoyment as opposed to being of great value.

The visuals are a treat. Performances look and sound the part – you can certainly see where the bulk of the budget was directed towards by A-1 Pictures. The vocals are top notch, both in and out of musical performances. The VA work helps breathe distinct identities into the large main cast. Biggest praise from me goes towards Asami Imai (Chihaya Kisaragi) and also Kenji Akabane who is the perfect choice for the loveable and often bumbling Producer.

For all its annoying quirks and characters, The Idolm@ster eventually becomes something a slight cut above average. Edging through the often unbearable opening half of the show at least helped pave the way for something more interesting to come. There’s nothing exactly memorable or mind blowing about The Idolm@ster. If you can come to terms with its often cheesy 'friendship conquers all' mentality then there will be enjoyment to be found. Give the show a try if you want something really simple and easy to watch and might just have you nodding your head along. It’s just a bit of colourful, melodic fun.

Story:
The idolmaster is a story about a group of idols that pursue their dream into stardom. The story is very simple with it written in episodic format, each character has their own spotlight in their respective episodes. The anime shows us the daily lives of the idol group members, with their struggles and how they overcome their flaws. With its being episodic, there's actually no main conflict in the show, I do think that is not a big deal with the anime itself coming with the Slice of Life genre, but sometimes the episode just feels like a filler episode that gives no development to ... the story nor the character. On the other side we never see how the group actually develops through the story, everything feels like it is just flowing like any idol anime should be. The last few episodes with the Haruka character arc are indeed the best part of the story.

Character:
The words that producer said in episode 12 "I don't really understand all of you girls yet" indeed describe how I feel towards the group when I finish watching this anime. Overall, the character feels decent, each idols were unique with their own traits. With the problem of having too many characters, some characters are not really explored through the anime, making them appear to be flat and boring. Miki, Chihaya, and Haruka are indeed the most standout characters in terms of writing, at some point they feel alive with their struggle and motivation to become an idol. On the second cour of the show we finally face the antagonist of the show. Their appearance somehow feels unnecessary and just there to extend the story.

Visual
Thing I like the most from this anime is the animation, especially when it comes to character acting animation, it is just so outstanding. The performance scene is great too, it kinda amazed me for anime at that time, cause nowadays anime tends to use CGI to make this kind of scene. When it comes to character design, Atsushi Nishigori never fails with it. Every character design is very contrasting with each other and so colorful.

Conclusion
The idolm@ster is a good idol anime that mainly focuses on the daily lives of idol group members. If you were looking for an idol anime with a simple story and great visual, you should give it a try.