Dream Festival!

First things first, let's state the obvious: DreamFes is an idol anime based on a videogame, with a sprinkle of magical boys, in 12 episodes. If you've considered that and have your expectations set accordingly - good. We can also get two things right out of the way: it won't win any award for the story or the overall visuals. Personally, I wouldn't call either of those mediocre, in fact in my opinion, the efforts can, at the very least, be seen, and that's enough to rate of both of them above the completely neutral "meh" middle ground.

Ok, so it's an idol anime, what ... about the idols then? That's one part where I think the anime rises above the average. The main cast consists of five characters, and unlike in some other anime of the genre, they actually are distinct individuals. It might not be painfully obvious right from the start, but as the story unfolds and we get to know them all, it actually becomes clear that they're not just five blanks with different looks. I dare say they aren't even necessarily the usual archetypes, either. It's not only in their back stories and motivations, but it's also visible in how they relate to and deal with each other and with problems life throws at them. Even the supporting characters have their own personalities, and while many of them only have a few appearances throughout the season (consider the constraints of 12 episodes), it manages to shine through quite nicely. They're all loveable (or not, though I don't think there's a single character here that deserves hate) for different reasons, and that's awesome. What's also worth noting in regards to the characters is the fact that most of the VAs are rookies. It's not hard to pick up on at first, and it may be weird and annoying. But hey, everyone's had to start somewhere, and honestly, even if they didn't get any better throughout the season, they grow on you.

Well, what about the music, then? I think it's great. If you're into Japanese pop / idol music in general, of course, but that's common sense. Coming from the game, where it's the main point (it is a rhythm game, after all), it's no surprise that those songs we can hear in the anime, some of which we can even see being "born", are actually mostly quite strong. Totally radio-friendly, of course, either inspirational or emotional (or both), with the usual awkwardness of Engrish here and there - which you've already learnt to love if you're here for this kind of music. And the way the story goes, we learn the meaning of the songs, the stories behind them, which I do believe can important to be able to enjoy music in general. It turns the songs personal in relation to whoever makes it, but at the same time it also gives a way to relate to them, which doesn't have to be exclusive, but is certainly a nice extra.

This sounds like a very good anime! And it really is, probably the most underrated one of the season. Doesn't seem like much at first glance, but once you get into it... The story manages to remain real (or as real as it can be, of course, within the genre limits), almost mundane, in a way, which I believe is an awesome feat. The way the boys interact, the things they have to face and the ways they deal with them: it's actually believable. Even the fanservice parts, whether humorous or of an entirely different nature, felt more organic than in many other anime, more believable details of whatever is going on than things just tacked on as an afterthought. Then of course there are the "magical" elements, the way the idols transform once on stage: it's a cool extra addition that makes the anime a little unique. And it also plays into how the stage performances are rendered 3D graphics: not of any eye-watering quality, for sure, but the thing here is the fact that it's taken over from the game, where we see this same animation style, so it's another way to tie them together. It's unusual at first and takes some time getting used to, and some may never like it at all, but it's worth remembering that it isn't a gimmick without a reason.

All in all: DreamFes is a very good anime, one of those that may just be greater than the sum of their parts. Almost like an underdog, really, and it's rather incredible that it comes in as a timid, shy, ordinary little thing, and then manages to exceed the expectations. That's truly all I can say, it's simply underrated. I'm convinced that it could be an instant favourite of many of the genre's fans, at the very least.

I decided to write a review before the final episode because the episodes seem to be very consistent in quality and feeling. I gave it an overall 8/10, but personally my enjoyment is 11/10.

Dream Festival! is an anime about a few guys who are hoping to make their debut as idols, their dream is to win the Dream Festival contest. We meet Amamiya Kanade in the first episode, who never even thought of becoming an idol, but through Mikami Haruto's persuasion he accepts the offer. He later on forms an idol unit with Shin, Junya, Itsuki and Chizuru and they become the DearDream unit. Later ... on we get to know their main rival, the Kurofune unit.

This is a very typical idol-boys kind of anime. You've got your concerts and silly idol-things (like sending kisses to fans, "every fan is very important to us!", trying to aim higher and higher, occasional drama among the unit mmebers) in every episode, but somehow DreFes does it all in a very endearing way. Every aspect of this anime feels "good, but nothing special", but I think that's what makes it so great - it's a very nonchalant, easy-going anime.

However, that does not mean that it's superficial or boring. I think the personal dramas were good, the occasional suspense was exciting, and all in all, I was (and currently am) entertained.

SONGS
DreFes isn't the best with songs. For example, UtaPri has a lot better songs, but DreFes has some catchy tunes too. Just don't try to focus too much on their terrible English lyrics... They don't use much technique in their songs either - the variety of instruments and modern effects is quite minimal, and every song has the same kind of feeling to it. This kinda makes the concerts (or as they call them, Lives) repetitive and boring, but luckily the songs are quite short, only 1-1.5 minutes long.
For some reason, the animation team went with using CG characters for the dances? Which was a terrible decision in my opinion. The dances look very awkward and even the facial expressions seem kind of blank and emotionless. But then again, luckily it's over quickly, and in comparison to some other CG animations, DreFes actually does surprisingly well.

STORYLINE AND CHARACTERS
I think DreFes's charm lies in these things. Every episode has a pretty solid and enclosed storyline that is easy to follow. The occasional humor is very endearing and adorable. The characters' little quarrels and problems with each other are always solved, and at the end of every episode, everybody goes home with a smile on their face. The problems presented in these episodes are very real (being trampled by rival unit, having to choose between personal career and the idol unit, family problems, etc), but with love, everything can be solved~!

VOICE ACTING
DreFes uses total "newbies" as their voice actors for the main characters. The only "big name" is Mikami Haruto's voice actor, all the other guys have this as their first role. [note: There are still some characters, whose voice actors we don't know.] I won't lie, it's pretty obvious that these guys are kind of new to this field. Sometimes their acting comes out a little flat, and you can hear their effort, but really, it doesn't make it unenjoyable. I think they're doing a great job despite this being their first time. Their characters' personalities really come through, and with the whole package of animation, background music, and all that, the emotions do come through. All in all, I think they are doing an exceptionally good job. Personally, I prefer these new voice actors, because it's kind of different from the usual, it's nice to give them a chance, and it's a nice mix of 'unexperienced voice' and 'trying hard and actually doing it right'.

ART
Unlike some other titles this season, DreFes's animation quality stayed pretty consistent, which is a big thing. Now that doesn't mean that there aren't occasional derp faces, but I think they are cute in their own way. The dancing is surprisingly well animated (except for when it's the CG dancing part), the colors and character designs are really pleasing to the eye. But that's about it - they don't really go overboard and try to make it flashy and sparkly. It's a pretty simple artstyle but I guess that's exactly what makes it nice.

DREFES UNIVERSE
Now it's not like we haven't seen other idol anime titles do some silly and weird things in their idol universes, like flying through the sky and building things with strings of talent etc. etc., so it's really no surprise when I say that in the DreFes universe, the fans choose the idol units' clothes for the concerts, which they then put on magically in a magical-girl-transformation way. The outfits are printed on a card called Dream Card (or Dorika), and when the concert starts, the fans just shoot these out from their designated card holder thinga-majingas, and then the idols need to catch a card to be able to equip it. Surely this whole system was created to boost sales for the game, and it's actually not very well explained in the anime why they went with this kind of system or how this works (but I guess it's my problem for trying to look for logic in an idol anime)

OTHER DREFES THINGS
DreFes is actually pushing through really hard in Japan with arcade games and buyable Dorika cards, and overall they're doing a very strong campaign for this merchandise line. This would make anyone think that the DreFes anime is also just a sales technique and no deep meaning will be found in the storyline, or no huge budget will be spent on it. I was actually surprised in a very positive way. I think the anime is very down-to-earth and loveable, despite the fact that it was really only created to help sell the merch.

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH DREFES
- loveable characters, interesting chemistry between them
- quite relaxing, it's an easy anime to watch, with a solid storyline
- some songs are actually pretty catchy and all that

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T WATCH DREFES
- if you really don't like the concerts and are not willing to skip them
- if you wish for more depth and/or negativity in an anime
- if you're looking for anything sexy or something like that (DreFes is actually very PG-13)

For all of my prior reviews, I never took concern regarding the seiyuu's performance (voice talent) because they always made it seem so easy regardless of the material. Unfortunately, there is always a first for everything and for my review on Dream Festival!, the greatest issue --for the first time ever-- lies on the seiyuu.

Especially for idol genre, the performance of the seiyuu becomes more vital than ever because it would take a different kind of muscle. As it is about singing, the speaking dialogues must be well-synchronized with their respective character's artistry and inner turmoils. Additionally, just like artists in real life, the idols ... in idol-genre anime tend to be vulnerable, whimsical, quirky, difficult, and mysterious. One cannot simply utilize the same method with idol characters as they do with Shounen or Seinen characters. The conclusion? It takes the pro among the pros to bring music-genre anime come to life. Unfortunately, the seiyuu in Dream Festival! somehow seem as if they had not gotten that memo.

It is not to say that every seiyuu involved is terrible. Notable exception is definitely Sasaki Junya (voiced with gusto and charm by Tomita Kentarou-- who would later on find his breakout role in Ballroom e Youkoso) to the point of which Junya would have been better off as the primary protagonist than Amamiya Kanade (which, in opposite, is voiced flatly and tentatively by Ishihara Souma). It is understandable that Kanade is more of a blank canvas of a character, but it is as if Ishihara Souma took that character on far too literally.

Nonetheless, there are potentials to be found in this anime. The Dorika element does not always work but once it works, it does make the overall narrative stand out for a bit. It is not to say that the season two should be missed. Some anime deserve a second chance and Dream Festival! is one of them.

#felixlovesanime

So, first thing: If you are you are going to watch this anime is a MUST that you like boybands, bishonen, why? After all... this anime is about bishonen in a boyband.

If you don't like these two things you can still watch the anime, but you're not their target audiance so I'm sure you're not going to find the same enjoyment as I did,

Let me state the obvious, I LOVE these idol/boyband/bishonen anime but this is a review so I'm goint to do it as it has to be made.

Story: The story is good, is about a group of boys who wants to become ... idols(each one with their motives) and the anime shows their path to do it while they grow as persons and professionals. Simple and good and they worked this in a good and enjoyable anime.

Art: The art is good, is not the best in the world, I got myself thinking a lot of times staring and thinking that something was missing, the movements were a little stiff, something like thiis. They use CG for the dance parts, is a good CG and is well blended with the 2D animation, Have I seen better CG usage in this kind of anime? Yes. But is good so I'll give the Arts a 7

Sound: I love the "main songs" and the anime introduces us to a good number of songs so they don't always sing the same(this is a really good point), when they are not together as a group you see the seyuus are not exactly the best singers you'll find out there. And the voices for Chizuru and Kanade are quite annoying for me. But the songs are addictive and nice to hear so I'll give an 8.

Character: This is a usual idol anime, you'll have a little of their stories as persons, why they want to become idols and their doubts like "should I really be an idol?" "Why am I doing this?". I liked their backgrounds, is convincing and well wrapped, it explains their personalities and you get to really cheer for them, the anime gives the space for them to grow up as persons and idols so is good, and for those who didn't get their space the anime ends announcing a second season for 2017 so I believe they'll explore some characters more in the second season. I'm going to give an 8 and wait for season two :)

Enjoyment: I liiked the characters as said above, the songs, the ending(since there is a second season announced) so I'll give this a 9.

Overall: 8

Is a good anime, not the best I've seen in my life but I enjoyed it and the songs are going to stay with me for a while. I'll be waiting for the second season :)

I'm writing this before watching ep 12 (hasn't come out yet).


Story:

I gave the story a 9/10. Within moments of the first episode, I had a feeling it was based off of a game, and I was sure of it by the first performance. Their dances/performances were all very confusing. The fans have these card holders where they shoot out strange 'Dorika' and choose the clothing of the performers, which was very strange.

The story itself is pretty well done. There were some moments that were very cliche and easily predictable, but the story was solid enough. You got to see development and interesting ... plot lines, cliche as some may be.


Art:

The art is pretty decent, 7/10. I like the animation, except for the awkward 3D CGI when it comes to the dancing during their performances. Their faces look emotionless and flat and it's pretty cringey. Other than that, it's decent. Additionally, the emotional parts are done well. I'm not picky about art, so my only issue is the CGI.


Sound:

6/10, and I'm being a bit generous there. As far as songs go, they're all so... similar. There's not much change and they all seem to have the same beat/tune, even if the lyrics and dances change. As a music anime, that's a bit underwhelming. Shounen Hollywood/UtaPri/Starmyu all had more variety. However it wasn't like the songs were bad, per se, just generic. The opening and ending was interesting, though, and I did like both.

There were some new voice actors for this, I could tell pretty quickly. That, I think, can be both a good and bad thing. I like the change and I appreciate that there's variety, it's always great to hear new voices. Though there were times it could have been better done.



Character:

Dream Festival definitely has good characters. You feel where they want you to feel and dislike where you should. I was expecting the typical batch - passionate MC, tsundere, kuudere, deredere, and hyper Nagisa™ from Free, and they all eventually come around the MC. It starts off with something similar to this, but I found the characters decent and interesting enough.

My only compliant is the lack of female characters. I think it was well done as is, but I'd be interested in seeing at least a few girls that actually played a major role.


Enjoyment:


I definitely enjoyed watching this. It was fun and interesting. Probably would not watch again, but it's good if you're into this type of thing - a gaggle of attractive guys singing and being passionate. It can get 'suggestive' (i'm using that loosely) between them, as you might expect from an anime with a bunch of pretty boys and no female characters, but that's all to the imagination, I guess. Though the targeted group for this is quite obviously women, though.


Overall:

7.5/10
I liked it, and thought it was interesting and a good waste of time. Would recommend to anybody looking for an attractive group of guys to watch. Don't expect too much -- take it lightheartedly, and it's a fun enough watch.

Good enough idol anime but with a couple of things thats hampers it to be any better than an ok one and here is why.

Although the story has a nice beginning thats kinda original and the progress through it is done well in its own way it tend to gets dull as it progress. The reason for this isnt necessarily the story itself but the storys content you can say.

The sound is one of those elements i talked about when it comes to a certain downfall of this anime. I find the songs uinteresting and the op and endings arent any better. I mean ... its not horrible songs and i would grade them as passing idol anime songs but nothing about them makes me want to go back and listen to them again. I would rather watch another idol anime for the songs than to watch this one again for the same reason.

When it comes to characters i actually find them well done in a sence but as we know the main character has alot to say even if its an idol anime. The main character here is a noob in the buisness which can be used as a reason for his slow progress but he problem is that even after that he doesnt progress much in the sence of becomming more interesting or engaging. I find myself remembering many other characters more than i do the main one. His only redeeming quality is one thats with a lot of other mains is that he can do it always but not much more. Even main characters who only seem to have a good attitude also manage to show other abilites that they might not be as much aware of but this main isnt interesting overall.

I enjoyed it to some regards but this anime wont be that anime i go back to if i find myself wanting a good idol anime.

Overall as i see the story combined with the mediocre music and ok characters thats been overshadowed by an uninteresting main character i cant give it more than a 5. I mean if you want to enjoy a great idol anime with good songs to booth this isnt the one but if you just want to go into the idol anime world i think this anime does that well. As long as those who watches this doesnt think this is what idol anime in general are. Since there are alot of better ones out there.

Dream Festival, in my opinion, is one of my favorite idol animes. Yes, more then Love Live!.

Yes yes, I agree that the anime follows the same story as most idol animes, but it makes up for it with the character development (just the main characters, for now, Kurofune will come later).

Finally, there's the music. An idol or music anime with a bad soundtrack cannot be considered an idol or music anime. Luckily, the soundtrack doesn't disappoint. This anime gives the viewers a new song almost every episode, yeah I said 'almost.'

Overall, I think it's an alright idol anime, giving us a few hours ... of enjoyment.

Also, my personal favorite is "2032."

I watched both seasons of Dream Festival. Here are my thoughts:

This is basically male Aikatsu.

Surprisingly good direction. Drama is handled well sometimes. At times there was definitely some 'forced drama' (forgive me for using this phrase), but it's a male idol show so I basically expected that. Forced drama and corniness comes with the territory (keep in mind the target audience demographic of this kind of show). I don't necessarily dislike forced drama but I will acknowledge it when I see it. In any case, the anime did a decent job of achieving the 'emotional rollercoaster' effect that I often enjoy in idol shows such ... as this.

Richer characterization than expected, especially with consideration for cast size. Most episodes had some element of character development within them, which is something I perceive as being a major strong point. The cast is fairly likable as well.

There was occasionally some shounen-ai subtext between characters, but it wasn't prominent. I would have expected more of that kind of thing from an anime like this actually. Not a negative or positive thing, just a neutral observation.

Idol songs themselves are good and the background OST is decent too. I notably enjoyed the voice acting of some of the characters (Yuuto and Chizuru).

Over-the-top tacky idol outfits, just like Aikatsu!

Warning: CGI is used for the dance scenes.
The character designs are very simplistic, probably to make CGI easier. Animation quality is serviceable at best. Art style is quite bland and lacking in detail. Visually, the production seems low budget.


My rating: 7/10
Overall, this anime is surprisingly good for a low-budget low-viewership ONA associated with a video game.

It did everything I'd expect from a male idol show and I felt satisfied with its performance. I wish there were more seasons. I would have rated this higher if the drama was executed a little better or if I liked the characters a little more; that's not to imply that the anime did poorly in either of those regards though.

I'm a huge sucker for idol shows that depict the more realistic/harder/behind-the-scenes aspects of working as an idol. This show does this fairly well, in addition to its other positive qualities. My expectations going into this were admittedly low, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. I really like idol anime though so I might be biased.