The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls 2nd Season

Story: 9/10. I know this is based of a video game but we are talking anime here- almost each and every episode is fun to watch. The subtle humor and the eagerness of Uzuki makes this show more entertaining to watch. The concept of a producer making the girls' dreams come true by helping them become idols performing on stage sounds fun and challenging at the same time. I don't see much dullness overall in each episode.

Characters: 9.5/10 Uzuki Shimamura is the best girl, followed up by Rin and Mio. All characters in the anime have unique personalities and they are supportive of each ... other which is satisfying for the viewer like me. Producer-san has a good heart and cares for the girls. Everyone in the anime is likeable, so I pretty much don't see any reason to dislike them.

OST: 9/10. Music is great, not much to say.

Art: 8/10. Art style looks dated but the complex animations such as the girls dancing are well animated.

Overall 9/10. I love it.

Its an underrated anime in my opinion. I was hoping for more episodes but it is what it is. I would never thought I would fall in love with this anime and demand more from the Cinderella Girls series so much.. again this is based off a video game, but good job A-1 Pictures for adapting this series very well. I recommend it if you are a fan of idols and a bit of drama added to the mix.

I don't understand how 346 production is organized. Are Director Mishiro's words about girls being raw materials really true? It looks like it is.

Moving from a small office to a corporation, in fact, we are faced with a more "realistic" kitchen, forging idols. More corporatism, behind the scenes and other features. However, the words about "raw materials" are not accidental. All these subdivisions of 346 Production were created as if only to mold something working that would bring dividends. The project "Cinderella" seems to stand out from this series, but only tries, because there is nothing to talk about any unity, community. They don't have ... a common goal. She has nowhere to come from when all the idols are paired up with two or three people and promoted. That is, there is a further fragmentation of a separate division 346 Production. What for? Well, if to achieve specific results with selected "raw materials", then yes, this makes sense, but it does not pull on more. Not at all. Cinderella's ball is needed only so that they are not thrown out into the street. Just think about it! The ball, not as a stepping stone to becoming a real idol, but as a way of survival. You could say yes, that's the "real" way of being an idol, but why the hell are these girls being turned into expendables? In such a huge corporation, they turn into some kind of microscopic bacteria, and if someone is thrown out, then nothing terrible will happen, because the corporation will find a new one. Director Mishiro's approach just testifies to this. And of course he's shitty.

Well, since corporations don’t care about idols, they just have heaps of them, somewhere around 200 according to the original source (mobile gacha), then they look appropriate here. Do not misunderstand, every girl has a character, though they didn’t reveal it to us, but they showed someone, and because of this they don’t appear before us as individuals. Well, yes, Miku has a cat image, Rina has a rock, Ranko has an eccentricity, and even less can be said about others, but remove one of them from the anime, there will be no disaster. There is, no, it doesn't matter. They are interchangeable from a corporation's point of view. Therefore, there are problems with the perception of them as individuals. They were leveled, which is so unacceptable even in their environment.

Oh boy. Another grandiose problem, in my opinion, is natural chaos, leapfrog and Brownian movement in the groups of the Cinderella project 346 Production. Why were they created at all? Of course, to promote them as idols, as a close-knit, hand-picked team of girls who together provide great synergy. However, dreams do not come true. I understand that not all combinations can be successful, but why the hell are there so many “intercepts” in one subsection? Why the hell does the Producer say that Mishiro, and not him, managed to develop talent in Anastasia? Did "Love Laika" fail, show a terrible result? Why was an undertaking, whose fate is unknown to us, poured into the sewer? Anyway, Minami and Anastasia didn't give a shit about their duet, since they both decided to try the "new"? All for the "new"? Some crap. And with "New Generations" it was such a complete mess. Either we will bring everyone together, then Shiburin goes to the side (wtf? she is already in the group, hello), then Mio-chan, apparently, got bored with their triple alliance and went to the theater, and Shimamu, who initially just wanted to perform with them (a nod to the first idolmaster) is out of work. Fck it. Sympathy, support and liking I have only for her. The end is also not happy, because everyone will continue to run back and forth. It would be nice if these were collaborations, but no, Rin will remain in the Triad. It all looks like an orgy (here's the original source), honestly.

Only for Shimamu and Producer 7 points.

I have been pleasantly disappointed by this. Possibly spoilers incoming? I'll keep them to a minimum.

As if it's a stereotypical (and casual) occurrence, the second season of this show was awful. The standards were set at a decent bar from the first season, yet they under-performed in the worst way possible. It's not as bad as a 2 or a 3, since the animation, story, characters and songs aren't impossible to bear, but it could have been better.

The story! There's not many spoilers that can really affect the experience of the show, so here we go. After the first season finale, there was a ... small hint towards a 'villain' type of character. And this season starts off with the entire Cinderella Project being postponed until God knows when by said character. Not a bad plotline. I could argue with a lot of people about how this could be something unexpected, maybe even better than the first season. Only if that villain-type character wasn't a fucking moron.

Idols should be idols by themselves as well. It's only fair for group idols to have singles released, right? Well, individuality isn't a thing anymore, since throwing teams together randomly should increase the popularity, bring new fans over and clearly make profit for 346 Productions. This is, in my opinion, truly idiotic. Being individualized was fine; it was a good pretext for the market and a good way to evolve the idol as a person and, of course, as an idol. But suddenly, Rin and Anastasia are thrown in a band of 6 other idols (the project never gets any attention anyway in the show). Also, why not stress Rin with another idol team formed of 2 new idols (that nobody has heard about) just because while practicing, they sounded 'good' or 'they could gain success'? Mio Honda gets thrown around and starts an acting career (because why the fuck not) and Uzuki is the usual shitty non-protagonist she's ever been. I swear, I've heard the phrase "I'll do my best!" coming from her mouth more than lyrics sang my New Generations. I hate the fact that Uzuki Shimamura never got the 'protagonist' spot she deserved. After hyping her up so much in the first season in the beginning, she's overthrown by all the other idols (even new ones) again, and only cared about for a couple episodes. In the first season it was in the beginning, and now it was in the ending. I think the studio tried their best to make the show circular and seem as if it started where it ended, but why would you do this to an Idol show? You would want to see them grow better as Idols. And they're shown like this at the end of the last episode. So why bother going through the beginning of the show again for Uzuki's sake? The studio never bothered to place any attention on her in the first season, so why now? Honestly, it doesn't make any sense. The story is garbage because of the new shitty main character. Even Producer-san can't save this season.

The characters are... what they are. Bland. Simple. Boring. That's to say the least. New Generations as a whole is completely gone from the show. The only ways they mention the band is if they reminisce about it while boasting about progress in new teams. The other idol teams have dissipated as well. There's no more Love Laika and no more Asterisk. They've disbanded because of 'plot development' and 'character development'. Currently, they're all in different groups. It is for their growth, and their growth only. The new main thought about this being good and useful for the idol company. And yet, it ruined everything. Each idol from Cinderella Girls is worse than in the first season. I felt nothing for any of the characters. Producer-san was completely over-shadowed, and he no longer solves many issues in the idol group. Basically, the studio is trying to say 'they can handle their own problems and they don't need their Producer to handle everything anymore'. Then what is a Producer good for? Publicity and morale boosting? That's all? Producer was there for them in the first season. And in this one, he's probably just too overwhelmed with the pressure from the new main (I can't even call her by name, my God...). Did I say that the new main is absolutely hypocritical and braindead by the way? As for that, she's honestly just a filler episode. She ruins the entire show just by being present. I don't want to say anything else, since it wouldn't really change how you already think of her.

Animation was the same as first season. I've got nothing to add, except the fact that I hate when the only characters that seem alive are the Idols, cameramen and a bunch of glowsticks in the audience. Make the show feel more alive for God's sake. At some point, it felt like I was staring at a poorly made canvas of a city road and some characters waiting for a car to go over them. Making unnecessary people static in a shot is productive, but not imaginative. I hate it when shows do this basic shit. It throws the vibe of the episode off.

Sound was alright. The songs were no different than the rest. The intro kind of disappointed me, but you know how it is with A1. They make something good, and then they stomp on it like it was never supposed to actually exist. The first intro? Masterpiece. This second one? As mediocre as they come. Thoroughly disappointed.

The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Season 2 clusterfuck was disappointing. I can't believe I expected something like this to be somewhat good. I don't recommend watching this season, as it will ruin your expectations for the rest of the Idolm@sters. But maybe! Just maybe... This season was made to be shitty as in to promote the movie and Idolm@ster Million Live! A great scheme, A1 Productions! Absolutely mental! Now I despise all of your unknown and unpopular works.

Story 5
Animation 3
Sound 6
Character 2
Enjoyment 3

Overall: 4

It was dreadful to sit through this. Don't watch this season if you're not ready to endure pain and agony. Good luck.