Shounen Hollywood: Holly Stage for 49

(BASED IMO)

Hey, Uta no Prince-sama fans, this may be the right anime for you. Like idols singing and dancing? Idols with beautiful faces? We'll you have come to the right anime. Shounen Hollywood: Holly Stage for 49 is right for you! You'll be experiencing songs, and dances in some of the episodes!


STORY:
It's about boys trying to be idols so they'll be known worldwide. So far, each episode is telling their lives before they joined the idol group "SHONEN HOLLYWOOD" and random stuffs happen each episode.

ART:
The art is a bit realistic. But there are mistakes or other drawings that I don't like because it doesn't ... seem to fit the background perfectly. And their faces look like weird, I haven't seen an anime that has the drawing like this, but the character designer has done a good job.

SOUND:
The seiyuus used in each characters are just perfect, except for Amaki, Daisuke Ono would be perfect, Kakihara-san is not fitted with Amaki. The background song fits with the atmosphere of the anime, happy and joyful songs are perfect! The OP song & ED song are okay to me.

CHARACTER:
Their attitudes are like high school boys having their time of their lives dancing and singing happily, not like us otakus spending our time in front of the computer/laptop watching anime and stuffs. I really enjoyed some of the characters.

ENJOYMENT:
It's a bit dull. And the hell, it will also have a season two. I laughed.. because of their faces(no offense to the fans). Well, there are times that I copy them while dancing.
It was okay.

OVERALL:
In the end... Meh. Just meh.

With an all male cast, you'd expect the producers to take the usual fan-service route as we watch the bight, glistening lives of these up and coming idols. But Shounen Hollywood gave me a pleasant surprise.

First, this show won't please everyone. That's just that. For the same reason not everyone loves a bubbly romance or a quirky comedy, it's all preference and personal taste. Also this is just going to be an informal review focusing on the pros of the series.

If you've been watching loads of fast pace, action packed shows and need a little breather, then maybe you might want to give this ... anime a chance. Shounen Hollywood is a slice of life through and through, and also one of the most realist works I've seen in a long time. The art style itself is more realistic then most anime (but hey different's not bad and it is all still just an art form). It's has a slow, easygoing pace most of the time, and that's where I think this series deserves some credit. It doesn't try to entertain it's audience with tones of drama, traumatic back stories, or shinning comebacks. Rather we see these teenagers as they struggle with their personal problems, insecurities, how they deal with each other, and how they ultimately grow together to make Shounen Hollywood (their group) a success.

Anyone familiar with the world of music would know that it takes A LOT of time and work if you want to make a name for yourself. And I like how Shounen Hollywood takes it's time, using a good majority of it portraying how they're just practicing to improve nonstop. Cause the reality is, your not going to get those fans unless you put your best efforts out there.

A last point worth mentioning is how fun this is to watch if you are a J-pop fan. Btw, I said this show was realistic but there's probably some people who would beg to differ. And I want to clarify that this show is realistic from a more Japanese perspective. Just different cultures, different values, different norms, you probably get it. So anyways back to my point. The Japanese idol industry is quite different then western pop music, and it was great to see it from a behind-the-scenes sort of way. There were several moments when I saw how several of my favorite guy groups had done or said the exact same things as these characters. And I laughed when realizing, like the Shounen Hollywood members, they probably get embarrassed having to say cliche catch phrases and pickup lines too. The songs themselves remind me of the J-idol style of music.

Despite what I've said about it, Shounen Hollywood does have times it could have been better. I truthfully enjoyed it but after all is said and done, I really can't say it was an extraordinary show. Other reviews say plenty on what kind of flaws it has so I won't. But since none of them highlighted what Shounen Hollywood did do right, I though I'd be the one to at least mention them.

Well this summer season of anime had some really good shows and some really big disappointments. 'Shounen Hollywood: Holly Stage for 49' though was the biggest surprise for me. A nice slice of life with a lot of J-Pop 6/10

I'm genuinely impressed with the show, it doesn't mind telling you straight out some of the negative aspects of show business (especially how Japan produces their Idols) they have some profound lines here and there...I'm not a big fan of J-Pop so the music isn't really why I enjoyed watching this (and I'm sure with less of it I would have given it a higher score), ... there's also no yaoi even if you would assume that by having an all male cast!
We follow our characters in what they're doing in their everyday life as well as their training to become Idols. Kakeru is a high-school student that was scouted, Ikuma the oldest member used to be a delinquent, Kira has always been in show business as child actor, Shun wants to become a musician, Daiki is an orphan and fan of the original Shounen Hollywood...so a colorful bunch that got together under 'Shachou' (former member of Shonen Hollywood) who manages the guys. We find out more about each ones backgrounds and dreams later on.
What I appreciate is, that you don't only see those characters having the time of their lives and saying things like 'This is great, I'll fulfill my dream of becoming an Idol...blah blah' sunshine and rainbows. No. They actually say things like 'I don't want to do this' or 'this is ridiculous and embarrassing'. They are holding a mirror on male Idols and what they have to go through. This show is more realistic and less melodramatic than other anime in the same genre, and partly responsible for that is the experienced manager, who tells Kakeru how it's going to be for him in the future. His friends won't be his friends anymore once he's famous, they'll probably sell private story's about him (whether they are true or not), the media is merciless and you won't make it with just talent or just hard work, and getting a fan base takes time. The manager already went through that, so he knows show business is never a save career. All those uncomfortable subjects are processed and I think 'Shounen Hollywood: Holly Stage for 49' is refreshingly different. So even if you don't like J-pop like me, this show has a lot more to offer than just hot guys and music. The members want to accomplish something out of the ordinary (maybe you have dreamed of performing on a big stage one day too), they're still young and inexperienced and many times lose hope and want to quit. The character development is well done, and so are the dialogs, and the pace of the anime is relatively slow, which I always prefer in slice of life.

Now what I don't like so much is the animation, compared to other anime it's really nothing special. The bands performances weren't spectacular, sometimes it was rather cringe worthy. And some moments were simply dull. But I was always waiting for the next episode because I wanted to know if they will become successful Idols, and if in the end that was what the boys really wanted. The journey of them becoming the next big thing looks pretty exiting.

- Edit
Season two for 2015 confirmed ^^