Idol Jihen

Increasing income divide, creeping environmental pollution, unsolvable waste issues, childcare waiting lists being discussed without those concerned, repeated corruption… The government, smeared by vested interests, can't do a thing against the many problems and sources of discontent. It's in this situation, with Japan cornered with no way out, that idols rise up to save the day!

The Heroine Party, Sunlight Party, Starlight Party, Bishoujo Party, Wakaba Party, Subculture New Party, and SOS Party. From these seven idol political parties, the idols who have become National Diet members and representatives for each prefecture will smash through the sense of stagnation covering Japan using the power of song and dance! They'll bring back the smiling faces of the people, and wrap Japan in a glittering aura!!

(Source: Honeyfeed)

Hoshina, Natsuki Main

Yashima, Sarara Japanese

Onimaru, Shizuka Main

Fuchigami, Mai Japanese

Kondou, Sachie Main

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Fudou, Mizuki Supporting

Lynn Japanese

Kozuru, Mika Supporting

Akasaki, Chinatsu Japanese

Yami†Ringo-sama Supporting

Yamamoto, Nozomi Japanese

Momoi, Ume Supporting

Nakaya, Sayaka Japanese

Iizuka, Sakurako Supporting

Kubo, Yurika Japanese

Arai, Shirayuki Supporting

Kido, Ibuki Japanese

Shimizu, Yuna Supporting

Serizawa, Yuu Japanese

Ootsuka, Manabu Producer

Abe, Kouji Producer

Mita, Keiji Producer

Itou, Yukihiro Producer

Reviews

Apr 20, 2022

lamaraptor

Recommended

Idols... in the government? Honestly not a bad idea. Considering that I am from the US and more particularly California, where an empty chair would do a better job than our career politicians who couldn't give a sh*t about much less understand the struggles of the common man, the idea of all those old corrupt and frankly evil individuals being replaced by young and cute Japanese pop stars is more appealing than I'd like to admit.

They'll lower taxes by generating government funds from holding big idol handshake events and bolster education by writing songs that teach kids how to count or whatever. Most importantly they'll ... pass no new legislation, because all that sounds too complicated. So yeah conceptually I found this world to be hilarious and I wouldn't mind living in that version of Japan. As a show it's your typical all girl slice of life idol anime with not a whole lot to do that hasn't already been done to death elsewhere. The twist of them all being politicians on the side in addition to the idol business is enough to make it entertaining and unique, so it's never boring. It's a funny premise that manages to not get bogged down in too much pointless drama in the second half, so it's a win in my book.

I give it a solid 8/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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May 24, 2017

ismichi

Mixed Feelings

I pretty much only cared that Tsunku being involved in this, but the generic VA-voices dampened the quality some.

___

.:STORY:. (3)

The premise is a lie. This is generic "Cute Idols Doing Cute Things".

Do not bother if your only interest in the show is the possibility of deep and/or legitimate political discourse. Because that doesn't exist. This is a weak, lackluster attempt of standing out amongst the ever-growing idol culture.

... ---

.:ENJOYMENT:. (4)

I was drawn by this show's promise and its OP song hinted at some actually interesting topics. So, at the very least, I expected them to take politics fairly serious as a job... but, instead, it was merely an idol shtick that benefits nothing and downplays the importance of actually doing something in politics that actually helps the masses.

For what little is actual politics, there's next-to-no consequences to be had. It irked me immensely when they mentioned in passing nothing's being done at the very end for the ~climax~, only for that to have not even been the case. Plus, the Party "opposition" is this group of old farts that dislike culture updates that is instantly won over by maybe a few lines of a song... which they've doubtlessly heard or experienced for years. So that led to a huge logic gap that only dampened the story.

BUT, as its true saving grace, it's important to note that this show actually has a LOT of idol performances and idol discussion that oft gets glossed-over in idol anime. So while it's irksome how little of story and effort went into the actual premise, it's at least honest that this is legit about idols.

... tho, nah; I can't ignore that the OP song legit promised tackling pro-facism/etc viewpoints in politics.

--

.:ART:. (9) & .:SOUND:. (10)

The art style is cute and I truly adore everyone's individualistic fashion.

The music (especially stuff produced by Tsunku) is simply perfect and you can tell that he works on less generic styles than the normal anisong quality we tend to get in anime. Not necessarily a diss on anisongs, but dang if they ain't prone to being highly lackluster on their own.

VA do a pretty good job tho, and the sfx were fine. I have no real complaints, beyond personal taste.

--

.:CHARACTER:. (3)

lol

---

.:OVERALL:. (6)

They should've kept to making several super high quality PVs.

It'd saved time and effort on their end, and receive a far higher rating overall from viewers. Then, as it'd take a while for fan support to be enough to bother and some merch could've been sold to help fund it, they might've actually had the chance to make this an actual show worth watching.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 3, 2023

RESOLVING_POWER

Not Recommended

I watched Idol Jihen, also known as Idol Incidents. Here are my thoughts:

This anime is about idol girls who are also politicians within the national Japanese legislative system. Despite some mature themes involved, this show basically feels like a Saturday-morning cartoon meant for a child audience. The plot is mostly episodic and usually involves the simplistic use of some kind of political conflict, such as a scandal or public policy decision. Aside from these political themes, this feels like a generic formulaic idol show; this anime isn't nearly as creative as it could have been. Regardless, the unusual juxtaposition of idols and politics is silly ... and fun. The absurdity of it got some chuckles out of me. The novelty of mixing idols and Japanese politics is what kept me watching this show, even though the actual scene-by-scene story is quite dull and feels calibrated for a child audience. This anime consistently feels juvenile.

I wish there were more song-and-dance scenes and more musical content in general. All they ever did was recycle the (admittedly quite cute) OP and ED songs for the idol scenes, which was very disappointing and also just another major indication of how low effort this anime is as a whole. They also reused the exact same CGI dance animation multiple times. If you want good musical idol content, look elsewhere. At least some of the idol outfits and character designs are cute.

Idol Jihen is a unique cultural artifact, but ultimately it's not particularly entertaining. If you're interested in the Japanese legislative system, you might get a kick out of this anime, but don't expect much in the way of detail or nuance; the treatment of politics here is quite superficial. Lastly, this seems like it would be a fun show to watch with other people and collectively joke about; it has a lot of meme potential, which hasn't been capitalized upon due to its low viewership.

My overall rating: 4/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Idol Jihen Episode 3 Discussion Stark700 - Jan 22, 2017	22 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jul 30, 1:03 PM
	Poll: Idol Jihen Episode 2 Discussion Stark700 - Jan 15, 2017	33 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jul 30, 12:53 PM
	Poll: Idol Jihen Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jan 8, 2017	64 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Jul 30, 12:50 PM
	MAPPA's best work Yui_Suzumiya69 - Dec 16, 2023	1 replies	by Serafos »» Jun 9, 2024 10:12 AM
	Poll: Idol Jihen Episode 12 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 26, 2017	16 replies	by Serafos »» Dec 23, 2022 8:08 AM