Wake Up, Girls! Shichinin no Idol

In Wake Up, Girls! Green Leaves Entertainment is in the worst situation any Talent Management Agency can be in... they have NO talent! Desperate for an act, President Junko Tange targets the idol singer market and gives her flunky Matsuda his marching orders: get a girl group to manage, even if it means building one from scratch!

Since complete singing groups rarely appear out of thin air, Matsuda's now in the difficult position of having to find girls with the right skills who don't already have contracts with Japan's music industry. That girl at the Maid Café? Good enough! A lead singer who's been fired from another group? Sure, why not? How about one who's only 13 years old? What could possibly go wrong there?

They may not be on the A-list, the B-List, or even the C-list to start, but with a little love and a whole lot of hard work, it's possible that all Japan may someday wake up to the music of WAKE UP, GIRLS!

(Source: Sentai Filmworks)

Shimada, Mayu Main

Yoshioka, Mayu Japanese

Okamoto, Miyu Main

Takagi, Miyu Japanese

Katayama, Minami Main

Tanaka, Minami Japanese

Nanase, Yoshino Main

Aoyama, Yoshino Japanese

Kikuma, Kaya Main

Okuno, Kaya Japanese

Hisami, Nanami Main

Yamashita, Nanami Japanese

Hayashida, Airi Main

Eino, Airi Japanese

Tange, Junko Supporting

Hidaka, Noriko Japanese

Oota, Kuniyoshi Supporting

Shimono, Hiro Japanese

Suzuki, Rena Supporting

Akesaka, Satomi Japanese

Katsumata, Hideo Producer

Yoshizawa, Takashi Producer

Kikuchi, Hitoshi Producer

Takashino, Shuuichi Producer

Reviews

Jul 5, 2015

RundownPaper4

Recommended

So here we go. The movie prequel to the TV series.

Let me just say this at the start that the idol genre is an unknown territory for me. I've never watched an idol show before this and I didn't know whether I'd honestly like it.

But that said, I did enjoy this movie and this is due to the pacing of the show. Being a movie and not a TV series it had the opportunity to take a slower, more progressive approach to plot progression.

And what this means is that it had a very refreshing pace which made it enjoyable to watch. Story wise it ... isn't entirely sunshine and daises since it had its fair share of darker than normal moments, but as a result it portrayed a what was to me more realistic view of the idol world, especially of people who want to debut and their management. I found myself cringing a lot but that didn't have to do with the quality of the story, but more the content. The way the characters acted wasn't something I was entirely used to, but I didn't have any problems with them.

On to the artwork. I found the still artwork to be rather pleasing, though the animations did seem awkward some times, though it didn't distract too much from the actual story.

Sound mixing wise there wasn't anything bad about it. Voice actors suited the characters and the background noises were fine too.

Ah the characters. The 7 idols did feel like a rag tag band of aspiring girls, but that's what you would expect of a small talent agency that scouted girls with a mix of personalities. And it was evident that some of them didn't really have a mature way of thinking and I liked that. Though the story didn't focus on all of the girls, but mainly 2 of them and their character progression. What I enjoyed the most about the characters is that they (I know I'm repeating this) seemed like actual girls starting out.

Overall it was a movie/canon I'd recommend if you're into idol shows. Hell I'm not but I wouldn't mind watching this series. 9/10 because I enjoyed it but I'm wasn't an idol fan so I couldn't completely immerse myself.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Mar 16, 2014

yngtadpole

Recommended

I wasn't expecting such a great movie especially with the slow start this one has. But there's definitely a sincerity and theme of what idols are being all about that makes this anime really moving. The art's quite unique but the two reasons I enjoyed this anime so much was because the compelling stories and themes and the characters. It's a movie about Girls trying to become idols- the movie moves fast but the great thing about that is there isn't any downtime at all. Once the plot starts to accelerate it just piles on the enjoyment from the dilemmas and struggles, the individuality of ... all the girls, and coming together at the end. One of the best nicely paced little anime movies I've seen. I don't think you'll realize the impact of the story, art of them dancing, sound of their music until the climax hits you like a freight truck. Wish I could say more without spoiling it. xD Watch it and enjoy what has been pieced together into Wake Up, Girls!

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jan 23, 2014

PockyG

Recommended

Pop music. AKA shallow and pedantic. It's easy to be dismissive or cynical about idol groups. Putting aside any predisposition about the topic, what we have here an exciting venture about the unpredictable path to stardom. Unfortunately, this intro to the anime series only takes the first steps and cannot be considered a standalone work.

This intro nails the mood of the development and tribulations of a newly formed idol group, Wake Up, Girls! Fear of the unknown, excitement and hope of potential fame... this anime oozes potential of a fantastic journey to the spotlight. Introducing the character arc of center, Shimada Mayu, retired idol, the ... "problem" with this intro is that there is no definite conclusion. Obviously this will be resolved within the TV series but taking it as a standalone viewing would only leave someone frustrated and begging for more (Which it's clearly designed to do.) Tone hits a sweet spot of slice of life and drama sprinkled with humor which paces this short story to the end before you know it.

Ordet has proven themselves as an upcoming studio with beautiful color palettes but their lineart and animation are a bit rough at times. No they aren't at KyoAni's level at this point, but their cinematography is top notch especially with the finale. The story of the hardships of a new venture surely resonates deeply with this young studio and it pays off in spades.

There is a ton of new VAs in this anime and they all do great work with their respective roles sounding refreshingly as they would for their age. BGM music is subtle but fits perfectly with the mood at hand. What really stands out is the song at the finale which is epic as far as pop music goes.

Yamakan gets a lot of flak around the community at times but after Kannagi, I'm a pretty big fan of his work while acknowledging his shortcomings. He excels with character driven work but stumbles with other aspects. Fortunately this anime is a perfect stage for him and can't wait to see how the story ends. The characterization are somewhat crammed in your face and issues are hastily resolved but it could also be described as efficient storytelling.

This is an anime that exceeds expectations given the subject matter and is confidently and efficiently directed as an intro to one of the more promising series this season with a few rough edges. Just don't expect a self-contained story within and you'll be humming "Stand Up!" all day long.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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