AKB0048

Wow, what a ride this anime was. In short, my recommendation is to just watch AKB0048. It's amazing.

Art and Sound [9/10]
Both top-notch. They can sometimes feel like they could be better in some ways (though I wouldn't be able to tell you why), but overall they manage to be very amazing in AKB0048. The moments where the characters appear 'on stage' are especially spectaculair.

Story and Characters [7/10]
As for the characters and story, these are also really enjoyable to watch. However, it's here where I can spot one of the few flaws I see with AKB0048. There's a little bit too much 'training arcs' for ... my liking. It feels like the character development is given way too much priority, which leaves me feeling like the actual story is moving too slow. In addition to this, I think they could inject a lot more scenes where the characters just engage in simple, funny and cute goofing around. I feel like there's way too much seriousness and brooding, and while they certainly have their place here (especially in an anime like this), it could also very much do with a lot more light-hearted moments to highlight their cute and heartwarming aspects and really show them like idols even more. But even though I'm pointing out these things, I still think the story and characters are good enough to be enjoyable.

Enjoyment/Overall [8/10]
Overall, I very much enjoyed AKB0048, and I'm certainly planning to watch the sequel too. Episode 13 was definitely the highlight of this anime for me. I was planning to give this anime a 7, but man, that episode gave me enough chills to boost it to an 8 all on its own. Anyway, despite the overabundance of 'training arcs' and seriousness, and the sometimes slow-feeling story, I would certainly recommend others to give this anime a try.

Story: The story is about the universe being banned from entertainment. That means no music and no concerts. The rebels known as AKB0048 are a bunch pop idols who defy the laws and bring music into peoples hearts. The problem with the story is fact that they took it too far with the plot as in a group of teenage girls facing off against male soldiers in war. Its not believable that girls can beat soldiers with guns. Very dramatic with too much crying among the female characters.

Art: It was okay I did not like the eyes of the females with hearts in them ... and I get it there idols but it doesn't work for me. When they are singing its in 3d which I don't like keep it 2d.

Sound: No songs on this show stood out to me not memorable for viewers to go back to listen too.

Character: There are a lot of characters on this show and a few of them get a chance to shine I guess. The show doesn't focus too much on Nagisa which its strange since she is the main character.

Enjoyment: Not much enjoyment came from me everything seemed bland to me. Too much drama for these teenage girls about their idol status more than saving the world form boredom.

Overall: This anime did something fresh and different but sadly its not an anime that stood out. Ive seen better idol shows that kept it realistic unlike this show which it let it down. They did too much which they didn't have to just keep it simple and enjoyable. 4/10

Have you seen those videos of Metallica performing in Moscow in 1991, just after the oppressive Communist regime collapsed? A sea of human beings - hundreds of thousands - are going absolutely nuts to experience firsthand music that just a few years before had been banned. Harried-looking soldiers are desperately pushing back against the tidal wave of people, trying to maintain some sense of order. Imagine all of this but with rainbow-colored teenage girls flying through the sky and robots battling anti-entertainment forces and you have an idea of what AKB0048 is like at its best.

This should come as no surprise, since ... the show is directed by Mr. Macross himself, Shoji Kawamori. If anyone can turn a cash-grab promo for a musical group into something special, it's going to be the man who first combined transforming mecha action, idol music, and love triangles so many years ago. Under his veteran tutelage, whenever the girls are in action, the show is consistently entertaining.

Unfortunately, the show is considerably duller in the long stretches between concerts/battles. Mari Okada's script is typical of her output. The drama that forms the bulk of the show is competent but unsurprising, and as subtle as a hammer to the head. There is also some perfunctory, unimaginative fanservice (Yes Virginia, there is a swimsuit episode). But what truly threatens to sink the show are the attempts to justify practices of the real AKB48. The way the girls are forced to adopt the identities of previous members of the group, the exploitative photo shoots, the hate mail - whenever the show touches on these aspects of the lives of AKB48 members, it forces us to reconsider the house of cards that is our suspension of disbelief.

It is all good and well to tell a story about the importance of music, and to paint pop musicians as soldiers of freedom fighting against the forces of repression and conformity. But when the show tries to make weak excuses for real-life exploitation, it punches holes in the narrative and makes me question whether or not this is really a show I want to keep watching.

Despite these misgivings, I enjoyed AKB0048 overall. The action scenes succeeded in putting a dopey grin on my face often enough to justify all the times I wanted to bang my head against the wall. But I don't know if I'm really up for season 2.

Story: 8/10
AKB0048 started off great. I really like an anime that has a perfect first episode, and from then on every other episode had me in tears. I don't know if that was due to the fact that I sacrificed a whole six and a half hours of sleep to watch this or because I was emotionally touched in some way. Probably both. This anime is just so unique though. Idol anime + Action + Mecha + Cute Girls. What more could you want? Oh yeah, plus it actually has a decent story. It's dark, mysterious, filled with love, hate, jealousy, and all that nasty ... stuff. The only reason I can't give the story a 10/10 is because it's incomplete

But that's why there's a second season airing at the moment!


Characters: 10/10
Even though there are so many characters and I still can't name 3 of them off the back of my head, they were great. I don't listen to K-pop, J-pop or any of that stuff, nor do I keep up with the latest about that kind of stuff. I do however, know the hardships that girls have to go through in order to become idols and this anime does a pretty damn good job of showing it through another perspective. The constant fear of being replaced, competing with your friends non-stop, hours and hours of giving it their all, just to please us. I could really relate to some of the things they went through so this anime had some positive impact on me. I also believe that the characters were voiced by actual AKB48 members so that was a cool change~

Music: 10/10
Only two things need to be shown here...

[video=youtube;vB42q0ckz_8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vB42q0ckz_8[/video]

[video=youtube;l9_jGY4HiUY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l9_jGY4HiUY[/video]


I'm sure by watching those you can already tell.. This anime is like no other.
Aside from the awesome opening, the anime was also filled with songs which played at the perfect moments.

Art: 10/10
HD. What can I say? It's unique. Like nothing I've seen before. Bright colours, dark colours...
There was really nothing faulty about it. Only one thing annoyed me for a while, and that was their eyes. But then I figured out that there was a meaning behind them, so my peeve is invalid!

Overall Enjoyment: 10/10
I just decided to start this anime at 3am on a whim and ended up watching it all the way through to 9am without sleep, that must mean something right? It was quite an enjoyable anime unlike anything I've seen before. Literally.. I have not seen ANYTHING that's comparable. Unless you can show me another anime about inter-galactic idols who use guns and mechas fighting like.. tanks and stuff, while singing and performing in front of huge crowds...

So as you can tell.. I really enjoyed this anime. It was fresh.
And while I can't recommend it to everyone, I'd say to at least give it a chance.
It's pretty underrated.
VOTED BEST ANIME OF 2012 BY ANIMENZZZ


FINAL RATE: 48/50 (9/10 on MAL)
All I can say is, there is no other anime that is comparable.
It's either a masterpiece, or complete madness. You decide.
All I'm saying is that you should at least give this anime a shot, otherwise you're missing a lot of fun~

I found AKB0048 average. Its not bad or great. I believe the rank of this anime should be around 1500 not 3000. First the storyline isn't very realistic but it isn't really childish. The characters have thier own sense of style but are a bit too dramatic. The sounds are really clear and not postponed. The art isn't that good compared to others its not as realistic as others. I found the anime enjoyment average not really that tempted to watch it but still feel like watching it. Overall is ok and isn't a bad anime to watch. My opinions might change through the next ... few episodes depending how well the storyline and the characters are.

AKB0048 first impression : "AKB0048 got anime"
But when I saw first episode : "Hah? Cyborg, sci-fi?" but Ihad survive, maybe next episode will be "Awesome""
Next episode :"Eeeee?? terorist, Naniii?? Spasu Aidolu? Joudan janai..!! , its very disappointing....

THE IDOLM@STER FAR better than this.

Sounds like a ridiculous premise? Well, it is; there's no pretending on that one. It's not even explained why an organisation called 'DES' decided to ban entertainment, where they come from, or how they get the money to build weapons to fight the idols whenever they show up to hold a concert. But still, in part in spite of its ridiculous premise, and in part because of it, AKB0048 works.

The first few episodes of the show are concerned with the main characters' route into becoming 'understudies' - girls who train to become 'successors'. The successors have the right to bear one of the names of ... the original AKB48 members and sing as them in concerts, while the understudies have to content themselves with practicing and occasionally putting on much more minor concerts.The series is largely plotless, and that's a good thing rather than a bad thing. There's no real enemy besides the faceless DES, who are mostly just there to add some kind of tension to the concerts, which would otherwise bore anyone who didn't already have an interest in AKB48. The individual episodes generally fit together very well, though. There's generally a couple of mini-plots that focus on a few individual characters and some development of the relationships between all the girls. In general, the pacing is very solid.

Of course, it's very much a character-driven show, so the characters are the important thing. Not all of the characters manage to sidestep the stereotype hole that all-female casts so often fall into. Sonata is very much the 'childish character' and Suzuko very much the 'glasses girl'. But in general, they do a pretty good job with that. Chieri and Yuuka were both obvious candidates for 'the tsundere', but the fact that the writers resisted stuffing them unceremoniously into that stereotype makes their interactions with the other characters much more interesting and less predictable. The tension of them all both being friends and being in competition with one another for a spot amongst the successors also adds an interesting tension between them. Furthermore, the fact that for the understudies to become successors, the successors might have to 'graduate' and leave AKB0048 creates a level of tension between the understudies and the successors, something that's quite rightly explored in greater depth in the latter half of the series. It touches on serious issues a couple of times, and there are a few emotional moments, but it never goes too deep into drama or stays there for too long.

The show's probably still really entertaining even if you're not an AKB48 fan, but if you are a fan, it's going to be a whole lot more entertaining, and you're probably going to feel a lot more involved with the characters. Knowing the personalities of the most popular members of AKB48 will mean you get a whole lot more of the jokes and references, and there's (obviously) also a lot of AKB48 music used throughout the show. Most of the successors get a couple of scenes where the focus is on them, which is something you can look forward to if your favourite member is someone who appears in the show (Harunyan for me~). You'll also identify a bit more with the understudies' awed respect of the successors, and you'll enjoy the concept of the heroic WOTA (rather a far cry from actual otaku, I fear, and I speak as someone who could not unjustifiably be accused of being one).

All in all, I'd wholeheartedly recommend AKB0048, although I do so with the caution that I'm not sure what it would be like to watch it without already being an AKB48 fan. I'm not the kind of fan who would buy up multiple copies of their election single, but I do know about most of the popular members and most of their popular singles, which I think really added to my own enjoyment of the series. If you're looking for a fun series that doesn't take itself too seriously and doesn't outstay its welcome, it's a fantastic one to go for.

http://james-neve.com/blogposts/5-anime-review-akb0048

Personally i think this anime is one of those that pull you in straight away.The character designs are adorable so well done to the artist (Cant remember who designed them) The story is unique in a way because there's no other Idol anime where there seen as the enemy by some.This anime is spell bounding so i recommend that you watch it if your interested by Cute clothes,idols,Action,friendship blossoming and dreams coming true

AKB0048 is a mouthful to say much like how bloated this idol anime is!

AKB0048 is a futuristic idol anime that focuses on the Old and New "generations" of AKB0048 or "00" as they fight against the anti-entertainment bans thrghout the galaxy through guerilla concerts, but there's something deeper of being a 00 as well. Now a group of girls by the names of Nagisa Motomiya voiced by Karen Iwata, Chieri Sono voiced by Mayu Watanabe, Sonata Shinonme voiced by Kumi Yagami, Suzuko Kanzaki voiced by Sawako Hata, Makoto Yokomizo voiced by Mao Mita, Kanata Shinonome voiced by Haruka Ishida, Mimori Kishida voiced by Sumire Sato, ... Yuuka Ichijou voiced by Amina Sato and Orine Aida voiced by Sayaka Nakaya as they become the understudies of the current generation of AKB0048. Add to that but each of the characters have stakes in wanting to become successors and be a member of 00, some relational clashes from their current generations as well as old, something about Kirara's, the Center Nova, Sensei-sensei and you already get what one of the glaringly flaws to AKB0048 and that AKB0048 has....well at bit too much going for it in ALL it's elements.

From the already HUGE cast of characters, that spans two or three generations of girls, their support staff and the minor supporting characters to it's many MANY MANY plotlines it has going for it. As much as the character development helps flesh out the cast especially from a huge cast as it is, gets absolutely bogged down by it's world building of the 00 right down to the core, from the support staff especially Tsubasa Katagiri voiced by Yumi Kakazu, the debacle with the Center Nova that heavily concerns Shiori Arisawa and Tsubasa, what the entire deal with Sensei-sensei, the head of the 00, to the Kirara allowing people to recognize people in showing that their true idols that concerns Nagisa....like that just at the top of LA's head and there's more what with Chieri's father tied to the DES (the anti-entertainment ban people) and Yuuko's romantic love interest to Mamoru but MAN that's ALOT of plot points and half of it doesn't addressed or have resolutions.

For the character themselves, they get episodes in the limelight now and again but with it's huge cast and how many of those core cast have plot points major or minor that swallows any development into the mist...well to this end it's bloated with a somewhat narrow focus isn't a good sign. If LA will say this, LA's favourite character at least was Suzuko Kanzaki as her airheadedness was funny and helped lift the mood with her wacky personality alot of time....LA likes alot of megane idols *cough* Makino Yagami *cough*.

So yeah saying AKB0048 is bloated is a freakin' understatement.

In terms of animation done by Satelight, well LA will say one thing, Satelight SHINED when it came to the character designs giving them all "exotic" looking color palettes with some literal shine to them but they also have consistency to them (what does LA mean?...majority of the 00 members and understudies...ALWAYS have lovehearts in their irises as well as love hearts on their hair one way or another). As for the "battle lives", well it's use of 3DCGI is ehhh blatant, not as jank but just ehhh blatant, the few mecha times have some grace, but the choreography mainly the concerts were a bit janky at times, though at least the concerts used the 3DCGI sparingly on the characters. At least the space setting was decent and the planets they go to are schizo-futuristic to dystopian dilapidated landscapes depending if the planet has the ban or not (get it dystopian if ban in place, thriving if ban not in place). All in all, Satelight's animation was mixed from ehhh to decent...kinda expected from the bombastic Shoji Kawamori.

Now, here we go...the voice cast.....yeah what do you expect when the REAL life AKB48 members actually transition into voice acting with NO experience and this is their first?. Yeah "some" of the AKB members sound it, like Mao Mita, Karen Iwata and Sayaka Nakaya where LA can't explain it but they have this stilted non-pop filtered sound whenever they speak. Nonetheless there was some AKB48 members that did fine, from Mayu Watanabe as Chieri, Sumire Sato as Mimori and Amina Sato as Yuuka. Coincidence that some of the current AKB0048 members are actually voiced by veteran voice actors like Mai Nakahara as Youko Asamiya, Ayako Kawasumi as Akira Igarashi, Kana Ueda as Tomoyo Itano, Yui Horie as Ayako Kuroki, Miyuki Sawashiro as Atsuko Maeda the 13th, Mamiko Noto as Chiharu Sakuragi and Yukari Tamura as Mayu...YEAH. Much like the animation and even with some amazing veteran voice actors in the backline...the voice cast was mixed to say the least.

For an anime that's focused on AKB48, well has some "real life writes the plot" mainly with the understudies and trainees based on the VA's actual lives. Like Sayaka Nakaya droppin gout of school to makes ends meet is an example. Weirdly enough one episode has a bit of weird clairvoyance that's to do with *ahem* "I won't let anyone tarnish Sashiko's name"...yeahhhhh considering what happened to the real life Sashiko...just errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr art imitates life...

As much as LA has been somewhat HARSH to this anime, LA will give some graces to this anime and what this first season does, as much of bloated mess it tried to set up it's characters and settings, ven with some of the one off episodes, they did give us some small development to the characters in question, as for the major plots, it at LEAST dealt with some (not all) but some of them and what resolutions we did get was a bit satisfying in some ways, mainly with Nagisa. Finally for an anime that has is stuck with a brand as famous as AKB, this anime is militant about it's brand and shows itself well, almost like it's projecting what an AKB48 would be in an a wacky anime setting and GOES ALL OUT WITH IT showing how great they are, by extension making us curious one way or another about the AKB48 brand. If there's ONE thing Japan is great in doing is advertisement and branding and with anime it damn well shows it!

AKB0048 is a hodgepodge of bogged down ideas with the AKB48 brand implanted into it. Sure the production value is...eh to decent but man with it's tons of multiple active plot points, be it world building or the characters and their relationships to the mix of genres AKB0048 had on being a slice of life in the daily lives of an idol to an idol anime looking at how AKB0048 trains, to a dystopian entertainment ban trying to eliminate the 00 to a slightly yuri anime with it's characters to a mecha anime fighting the DES while doing a guerilla concert. This anime is ALL OVER THE PLACE. While this doesn't mean AKB0048 isn't outright horrible, more like an unfocused bloated mess, but not horrible...per say....but it's flaws are not only detrimental but blatant at what AKB0048 wanted to do but failed in it's execution but to this it tries to leverage itself with what resolutions were taken place in this season and was satisfying, it tried to world build, tried to develop and flesh out the HUGE cast of characters...it tried.

Maybe...maybe AKB0048 might finish up it's many many loose plot threads with it's second season, but for a first season's first impression, AKB0048 if anything in "meh" territory with all it's strengths and weakness accounted for.

If there was a comparison LA could make to AKB0048 anime, it would be that AKB0048 is what AKB48, as Idolmaster Xenoglossia is to the Idolmaster franchise.

After an interplanetary war at the beginning of the 21st century, planet Earth has been left in ruins, with much of its ecosystem completely destroyed. Because it was no longer possible to live a normal life on this planet, the inhabitants are forced to move on to other planets where life will, hopefully, be more comfortable.

The Deep Galactic Trade Organization, a totalitarian government that affects many of the newly inhabited planets, has somehow come to the conclusion that music is a source of evil, and that it must be banned and destroyed for good. The talent group AKB0048 is soon formed, based on the original ... AKB48 members that once lived on Earth. Even though their music is now considered universally illegal, they make it their mission to bring their music back to life by travelling from one planet to another and holding as many concerts as they possibly can. They must undergo a whole new set of training methods in order to become the best that they can possibly be, while also avoiding the constant danger of being arrested because of their music. Join interplanetary popstars AKB0048 as they try to save the world－with music!

This is my first review like ever so yeah i want to be quick as possible you should def watch this anime it's so good you might get bored at the first episodes but it'll quickly pick up the pace. I would confidently say that this is on par with K-on, Love - Live. The only thing that i hate was the characters attitude but i guess it's more like real when they have that attitude and the last one was no season 3 lol i mean i just want more! So yeah my overall rating was 10/10.

I'll be the first to admit that the newly emerging "idol" genre is eyebrow raising. Then again, how can you be so surprised by it with the popularity of idols rising year after year. Most are generally light hearted and offbeat, focusing on music and friendship. AKB0048 does contain this, but it's also so much more.

I went into this show expecting a light hearted something to glance at while doing laundry. I didn't expect to fall in love with the series and watch all 13 episodes of the 1st season in one sitting (it's currently 3:14am and if I didn't have work in about ... 6 hours, I would be working my way into season 2).

The story is -- well, about as well written as any anime logic show driven allows. Still, it's got everything you could want from epic battles with mech elements to extravagant space scenes and girls crying over their passion.

I honestly can't write a review that does this show justice. It's casual, yes, but it shows you a world that you think is light and fuzzy until you understand the underlining elements. If you're anything like me (a person who prefers character growth and storyline above superior art style), you'll find yourself surprised by the characters yo fall in love with.

Side note: I really wish the series would follow through on some of the Yuri fan service elements. We get tastes, but thus far no real relationships beyond friendship. Though, happily, there is great representation. I've found myself really enjoying the messages the story is trying to convey.

Overall, if you like scifi thrillers with romantic underlines and have a fondness for the magical girl genre, I 100% recommend.

This was the very 1st Idol or musical related anime that I actually watched. I never thought that I would love it so much. I honestly regret sticking to special power anime. AKB0048 has a great story, very cute and beautiful characters. Really emotional scenes. I cried a lot through this series, and I cried almost all the way through the last 2 episodes. Seeing how much the characters care about each other, how much they want to achieve their dreams, It just warms my heart so much <3 And the music is absolutely beautiful <3 Nagisa No Cherry is my favorite<3 This is definitely ... the greatest anime I've ever seen <3 If you love anime that involves music with a little bit of sci-fi action, this is the anime for you

Want to know about the most otaku-bait idol show that has ever existed? Love Live? No. iDolm@ster? Close, but not quite there. AKB0048 is the wet dream of every 2-D only fag, who fantasizes about his pure waifu embarking on a space adventure while fighting giant robots. Seriously.

• AKB0048 is literally a sci-fi fanfiction about the members of the actual AKB48 idol group. Where their fans are horrifying CG men with glow-sticks and their favorite cute idols have licenses to carry a revolver, to satiate the average military otaku, while their real weapons is actually their… voice? That's right, what better to fight an Orwellian ... mecha army than singing at them. Memories of Macross are surfacing.

• I know I'm being really harsh on this show, which is supposed to be some kind of galactic nerd parody, but it still felt like an excruciating otaku pandering onahole: sometimes cheap and eternally hollow. You can't really like any of the characters, unless you like the actual member of the idol group. There’s a huge cast of characters, so none of them get much screen time.

• I mean, Chieri kind of does, but it's mostly her being the stereotypical ice queen that eventually warms up to the other girls. I hated the character designs as well; the characters have weird, creepy shapes things in their pupils.

• To my American mind, the weird focus on idol purity took me out of the experience. I mean, I know about the not having a boyfriend and only being in a relationship with fans thing that idols do, but it seems overdone in this show. Love Live looks dirty in comparison to the innocence meter of this show, but in the middle of a war against 1984-esque, entertainment hating replica enemiesーthe contrast between worlds is uncomfortable, to say the least.

• The characters don't seem human. One girl gets a death threat from one of her fans in one episode, and then is able to calmly talk to him during the signing. That seems unrealistic to me. Idols aren't these perfect girls who will cater to our every psycho demand, they're people, too… I think? Most of the girls in the show have two or less character traits that differentiate them from the rest.

• As much as I'm wrecking this show, I did appreciate the platonic friendships among the girls. It's like Natsume Yuujincho, where it's kind of gay but romantic tension doesn’t exist, and you're never caught up in interpersonal struggles.

• The lack of tension between characters or development, leaves world building and story to be the only conceivable factors left, but that doesn’t amount to much. The backgrounds for each planet and the scenery designs are gorgeous, but we're never able to see what's under the veneer.

• The kind of subtlety about what's going on behind the scenes can be well executed in some series, but in this one, since the world is the crutch… leaves everything feeling empty and lifeless.

• I wish they had gone more into the strange surreality with the idol succession and the possiblly Lovecraftian dimension that devours girls who perform in a certain area. I thought THAT was fascinating, but it is never explores it in-depth. I think adding a Cthulhu deity to an idol show would have been amazing. There is nothing about it though; it's mere fan speculation for the most part.

• If there was one more layer that explained why all of the generations of Tomoyo's family are bred to look and act the same. If there was just one piece of fabric to connect the random fridge horror moments, than this series may have tied together very nicely.

• The show chooses to add tons of otaku references and fanservice instead of actually making a solid effort towards anything else. If I wanted a contrived throwback, I would have watched Magical Shopping Arcade again or anything that relies heavily on referential humor.

• This series is incredibly niche and I only recommend if you are a fan of actual idols or you want something filled to the brim with references. Or if you're a diehard fan of Shoji Kawamori. Other than that, I personally don't think there's any other reason to watch this show. Kawamori was already rolling down the hill with Macross Delta, and now here's something else that I'm not a huge fan of. I give the first season of AKB0048 a 3/10 and the second season a 4/10.

This is a really poorly written review, but you should still watch AKB0048 because its like really amazing and stuff

There wasn't even a story. Even so, it still managed to be mind-blowingly amazing. Also, the concept is kinda like a combination of Star Wars and iDOLM@STER.

The CG is really good, but the action isn't exactly the best ever.

The songs are really good. They are all songs from the real idol group AKB48. The music is very emotional, and it makes this anime, like really good and whatever. Although the dubbed speaking voices are really bad.

It is really cool how they involve all the backstories of ... the characters to make it more emotional.

A lot of animes like this convey a message like 'sing for the audience, not just yourself' or 'put others before yourself'. But this one has a different message, saying that 'it's important to do things for yourself too'. I think that this moral is more meaningful and important than all the other 'be kind to others blabla' clique.
I guarantee you'll enjoy this anime very much, and you will cry in like every episode.

Overall, it was simply outstanding. I haven't watched any anime that is more amazing than this.

This is a fun and bubbly show geared towards pre-teens and maybe teens. I like the music, its not really that bad. There are many characters and each and every single one seems to have a backstory that you get glimpses of. Character progression is pretty nicely done and it is nice to see how each one progresses from where they were to where they end up. The story is pretty far fetched but it keeps you intrigued with being more character based which isn't bad. For the adults, this show is not really for us, but it you have pre-teens and younger girls, I'm ... sure they would really dig this show and the music isn't bad to listen to so overall, for adults, its fine, for kids, its pretty good.

I was scrolling the Hulu one day looking for some random anime to watch, and I came upon this. I decided to watch it, and instantly fell in love with this show. It's not an anime I would typically watch, (I'm more into shounen-like anime) but I still enjoyed it. The music is definitely the best aspect of this show. The characters are good, but I think they cry to much! xD The animation is great in my opinion, but it's odd that they have hearts on there hair and eyes......Anyway, this show surprised me as well, as I was not expecting it to have ... any kind of action whatsoever. I honestly recommend this show highly, for people looking for a good anime too watch, of people who are just bored.

I will try to keep this short but...
the characters are cute, time to time I do get confused on what going or the episodes started where everyone hates each other(in general) and in the end they became best friends. And one of the characters look strange close to a character from love live! (which i though was funny) anyway. the anime is cute, and has a neat story enough to keep me watching. (ignoring the action, the actions ok and not too much of it to were it is in every episode. and the weapons are funny too)

This is honestly my favourite anime ever. It made me laugh smile and cry and not to mention inspire me. I even came to love many characters I had previously hated. I highly recommend this anime. Its not some silly cheesy idol anime its much more. Its about real growth and struggle. I dearly hope for a season 3 but don't expect one.

You might be saying - why such a high review when the individual scores are so low? Here's the thing about AKB0048. It's not just the sum of it's parts. Yes, the actual CGI performances and music aren't great and the side characters are needlessly annoying. The main leads and writing are a bit confusing and there's a lot of lore left unexplained. But how can anyone see the concept of AKB - literal anti-idol guerrilla warfare - and keep a straight face?? It's absolutely hilarious. I will never tire of scenes like the opening shot, where frilly petticoats turn out to be grenades and ... cute hair bows are actually tasers, or little throw away gags like no one ever commenting on having a literal, obvious robot/android in the group. Was I emotionally invested in the characters or story? Not really, but as a comedy, this show is absolute gold. If you just want entertaining, stupid fun for dramatic space singing and absolutely insane lore, this is for you. Just don't think too hard about anything (and honestly, after saying "the dictators banned entertainment" and "the army is literally trying to kill cute idol girls for singing to people", is "space jellyfish enable warpspeed when they find a bop" really all that insane?)

AKB0048 represents everything I love about anime, and I have yet to find another show that matches it for sheer enjoyment. It conjures a setting that is objectively absurd, takes it completely seriously, and uses it to communicate a simple but powerful message: music and joy are powerful enough to change the world. This show leaves you feeling like dreams matter, that hope is everything, and that teenage girls are capable of anything they put their minds to.

You aren't supposed to take the setting seriously, and the absurdity of it takes on a kind of deadpan humor I really enjoy. Despite being so odd, this ... show actually does do a great job of portraying the world and its internal logic in a way that makes idols performing guerilla concerts in mechs genuinely seem like a sensible and heroic thing. The characters all have a believable and interesting mix of personality traits, and even though there are so many of them they all feel like tangible people with their own motives and goals. The balance between the idol and guerilla warfare aspects of the show is also done really well, with neither ever overshadowing the other for too long - and both are executed equally well. The music is catchy, the concert fight scene visuals are like candy for your face, and the character designs are unique, adorable, and weirdly badass.

This is the kind of story that could only ever be told through animation, and it's done fantastically. Just don't take it too seriously and you're in for a heck of a ride.

(This review is for both seasons.)