Wake Up, Girls!

Note: watch the movie BEFORE you start watching the first episode. You’ll thank me later.

Success doesn’t come easily for anyone. No one is born with talent and although there are some that possesses exceptional abilities, or otherwise labeled a ‘prodigy’, everyone must try something in order to succeed. For idols, there is no exception to that. The people you see on live television performing dances and songs worked long and hard to reach where they are. Why? Because they love performing for the audience. But for a small seven-girl unit called ‘Wake Up, Girls’, they don’t have much of an audience, at least not yet. ...

Directed by Yamaken, Wake Up, Girls is the first show he works on three years since Fractale. And as an original work, one would expect some natural feeling coming out of his writing. While that seems so, there’s suggestions that the show itself builds more for just the road to earning success. It suggests that the characters themselves are on their personal road to not only become an idol but also to change themselves. But for a show to succeed in this way requires development, something that is staggering for just 12 episodes. It’s also important to watch the movie (Wake Up, Girls! Shichinin no Idol) before venturing on to this series. It’s the prequel after all.

And 12 episodes really is just like pouring oil into water. The end result isn’t pretty and neither is the overall direction of this show altogether. But for starters, Wake Up, Girls does a decent setup with its general concept a bit differently in some ways. Compared to some other idol theme series such as Idolmaster, Love Live, and Akb4008 Stage, WuG has a more realistic vibe. The main characters aren’t famous and in fact doesn’t seem different from your average day folks. They all come from different backgrounds and it takes some time for them to come together as a group with a united goal – to become a professional idol group for the world to recognize. The diversity could be perhaps something to expand on and one such character hold a more distinctive stand than others. Her name is Mayu and was recognized as a centerpiece figure in a former group she was once part of, the I-Club. Unlike them, WuG is more like a freshman. I-Club is not only their rival but also their senior as a group of experienced idols. What the show brings together is to see how WuG climbs a ladder to success in the entertainment industry. Against such a rival, that’s no pushover.

Mayu is perhaps a character of various complexity. Most of this revolves around her past as a former member of I-Club. Her talent has earned the nickname ‘Mayushi’ where she also has a fanbase on the Internet. Yet, her decision to quit the group now has backlash from fans that invites insecurity to such attention. Regardless, Mayu still stands out as perhaps the most prominent character in WuG as the series explores her dynamics. But from basic perspective, it’s easy to cherry pick her present state of being. From her first encounter with WuG’S manager Kōhei Matsuda, one can tell that she no longer wishes to be an idol, at least in the entertainment field. So where does that lead her now? After some convincing, she does want to become an idol again but not without some tough love. There’s also an exploration of her persona and inner psyche at the surface level. But what the show doesn’t do right is dealing with how she copes with this and her seemingly resolve seems rushed. At the same time, some of her development lacks sympathy despite the feelings she tries to reach out to others. It may feel realistic on some stances but the way it conveys itself is lacking. On the other hand, her relationship with her mother can be relatable in some ways. Remember when your parents sometimes disagree with you on topics such as your future? Mayu’s scenario is not so different.

Other characters comes from a variety of backgrounds although they all have the ambition to become an idol. A few of them stands out more than others such as Miyu and her hyperactive personality or Yoshino as a defacto leader with her experience. Unfortunately, not all of them get enough characterization as the show focuses on their path to their future, rather than their past. Only a few characters get spotlight with Mayu being the centerpiece. What that past does explore is the rivalry between her and Shiho, the current center spot of I-1 Club. Yet, that rivalry is frivolous and lacks impact on some aspects. Through the few encounters they have, it’s shown that I-1 Club always steps ahead. This should be no surprise considering their experience while WuG is more of a newbie. Still, their progress feels rushed and lacks integrity.

What the series does have is realism, defined in a rather natural way especially for the idol group WuG. Most of them seems to stay themselves rather than trying to become someone who they are not. They also take their work seriously and have fun while at it. At the same time, they group develops a strong bond with each other despite the hardship of being an idol. There’s no competition among each other to see who is the best unlike Mayu’s past days as an idol in the I-1 Club. Everyone stays united and when life becomes tough, they look out after one another. There’s a certain appeal for WuG as well when they take the stage to please both the audience and people who supports them. The story itself also gets to the point right away rather than pushing buttons to drag itself. It’s important for a 1 cour show to focus on this aspect to truly and realistically show just how difficult it is to become an idol. It takes skill, determination, and integrity. WuG delivers that with the extensive training programs, their coach’s method of discipline, and rivalry with other idol groups. Even the audition will invite tension and make it realistically challenging to high degree of credibility. It’s a hard life out there.

Animation wise, we get a moderate and average delivery. None of the characters stands out in any particular way with their character designs. They look simple and even the first episode has the idol group dance on stage in school uniforms, a classic of what you may see during childhood days. The Green Leaves Entertainment agency itself also seems to lack any distinctive features although it once again demonstrates credibility. Because it’s near bankruptcy, you’d expect a simple design and that’s what you’ll get. There’s also small bits of fan service that may be distracting but most of it isn’t depicted as shock value.

As an idol theme show, soundtrack is a key element that empowers WuG. The music has a way to clearly describe itself as artistic with the enthusiasm. The downside is the rather repetitiveness the show seems to demonstrate with a lack of diversity in its songs. What the singing festival present lacks strength with how the song is performed. Fortunately, the OST finds itself to balance this with its well-coordinated tone. A quiet atmosphere with a small group of idols, the soundtrack creates realism from all angles. On the other hand, the OP song isn’t very easily to appreciate with its weak artistic features.

WuG isn’t a show I’ll remember for long. Yet, it depicts more of a realistic way of how the entertainment industry works as being an idol and reach success is a very challenging task. It’s not a joke considering the minimum amount of comedy demonstrated by each episode. Yet, the girls of the group has that spirit, the dream to reach success as a group united by an ambition. Just don’t expect any deep enthralling story or strong character development as the show isn’t trying to write a tale of success. Rather, it tries to create a story of an idol life. Did it reach success? I’d say so-so.

This show did not start off well at all. The characters were interchangeable, the music (except for the ending theme) was mediocre, and there wasn't even enough of it for a solid idol show. Also, the dramatic backstories and attempts at plot devices fell flat on their faces for most of the show. The last three episodes were a huge step up in the show's quality, and saved its score from being very bad. If you liked AKB0048, Love Live, or Idolmaster, you're better off watching those and skipping this show.

Some say watch the movie before the series but didn't and I'm glad. Going into this series was really hard, the main reason is because it was always cringe for me from episode 1-12. The wake Up Girls try to get popular and work them selfs to the top. This is the part that annoyed me. Every time they go on stage or do something idol related, they always fail in some way leading to cringe. I feel the need to skip scenes all the time because of this. At the first stage performance of the anime, it was horrible and couldn't be anymore disapointed. ... Especially when they used bikini's... it was not fan service or a good performance in my eyes, it was entirely cringe... just looking at them thinking they were doing good was even more cringe.

The flaw in this anime in my eyes is the lack of balance. The balance of going through bad and good times. That goes with success and failure too. Not going to name individual music anime but balancing that out could of improved my rating and thoughts of the anime. Honestly though, who would always want to see failures and depressed faces ( if u watched idol Jihen then u would know what I mean even more). Anyway this is the area that made me cringe every episode, no great moments on stage until the last few episodes and just absolutely embarrassing themselves. I mean this quite seriously, they were annoying AF.

Moving away from the bad sides of the anime, I will dedicate this paragraph to the good points (thank me). First, From only being local unknown idols they went through some god-like development to get into the finals in episode 12. They didn't get as much training as their opponents but that was without a doubt inevitable, you will understand when if you watch it. Improving after failures is supposedly a good point but there's also a point for how much a watcher can handle these fails. Moving fowards towards their dreams when they hit slumps and get into fights, that was probably difficult for them but they didn't ever give up ( looked like some nearly did though) so I give them credit for dedication and motivation.

The characters in this were sometimes just "no good", like for instance crap directors who look like they are just trying to show the idols bad sides. The art was nothing special but a few face designs made me think for a few moments thinking stuff like,"what's up with that chin outline but we all get that like for Occultic Nine. The sound was the best thing I enjoyed about the anime, the lives and the music in general is good.

With that all said, no anime can be perfect so if your going to watch this then prepare for the things I said. This is all my thoughts so it may differ with your views. Allow me to take some more of your time to give you a review based on how the anime is in general not based on my likes and what not.

Its not a garbage anime at all, if anything it has high potential. It improved and did a great job with making the watchers emotion go wild. Its definitely worth the watch but its not a steady ship with no waves, it's a rocky ship at night during a storm. Either way you end up at the destination of your desire. So we are going to take the route of hardships and watching over the troubled idols but it's still entertaining in the end.

I'm ending this review here, please keep my review in mind if your planning to watch it. Hope I helped.

I actually wanted to watch this since it came out during its seasonal airing. But, I decided that I would watch it later.

Wake Up, Girls! is another idol anime, produced by Ordet and under the direction of the infamous Yamamoto Yutaka.

Before its 12-episode anime, there is a movie to be watched first. I really, really recommend that you watch the movie because it shows how the idol group under the same anime name, “Wake Up, Girls!” (WUG), started. In the anime series, the group faces problematic situations, and it tries to manage and keep it going.

Sadly, the story didn’t shine really well among other idol ... anime. I would say that there are a lot of clichéd moments, especially during the introductory movie. Also, there’s a lot of idea repetition among members of the group and it really gets annoying hearing from them.

I really hated the first two episodes, because it sudden introduces fan-service, which I felt that it shouldn't be included. However, it needed to be in just for the context of the story. sigh…

Despite the mediocre story, it still have some positive points in the anime. I like how the story sets around 2013-2014. It even made references to real life events, such as the tragic earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region, although the anime don’t really focus much on it. Also, the group managed to work their way up to something spectacular, which I think is the best moment in the anime.

I question myself how scary is the idol industry in Japan. The anime showed another bigger and successful idol group, called the I-1. Watching them suffer really irk me. Would such methods from the group be similar to some idol groups in Japan? That’s where reality prove otherwise.

I would say that all the characters in the idol group are varied. Each of them have their own qualities and personality. They have their own reasons to why they want to be an idol, and I find (most of) them quite sweet. Some of them have interesting background which affect who they are.

Character development is okay. I would say some of them continued on after their struggle, thanks to someone else. Overall, I think the group did develop since its formation. And of course, there has to be one character that was from another idol group. Thanks, clichéd anime!

Animation is good, but not great. Starting from the characters, I would say the idols have the same freaking face. Also, there is inconsistent drawing of the characters, making them out of their body shape. The character design is fine, except the awkward hair colour choices. The facial expressions from the characters are nice. The scenery is good-looking, but not special. Also, I like how the performances is mostly 2D-drawn, instead of 3D-rendered.

Although it is an idol anime, I would say music isn’t heavily focused in it. I was a bit disappointed, because I know there are other idol anime that lots of songs sung by the respective idol groups or even solo acts. But still, I love the songs sung by the group. The OPs and ED are sung by the group and they are awesome in their own ways. The background music is fine. Voice acting is okay, but very few voices just don’t really match the characters well.

So, have I enjoyed Wake Up, Girls! like any other idol anime?
My answer would be “only the last few episodes”. The other episodes bore me to sleep (yes, I did sleep when marathoning it) due to the cliché the anime gets all the time. I think the anime really tried its best to be a good one, but honestly I doubt so.

I think I'm the type of person who enjoy more on the glee side of the idol industry, instead of the seriousness. Hence, I would recommend this anime only to people who enjoy idols a lot.