The iDOLM@STER SideM

As someone who's watched a lot of male idol anime, I went into Side M not expecting much more than a fluffy plot-less ride, hopefully with some slapstick moments of humour. I haven't watched the original iM@S series, but after watching Side M, I now know I need to give at least the original 2011 series a try. Because Side M is the best male idol anime I've ever seen.

STORY: 7/10 (Good)
The fact that this anime has any semblance of a story already catapults it into above average territory. The fact that the story follows a realistic arc? Nearly unbelievable. We follow 315 Productions as ... the company gets its start, with 315Pro's only producer/talent scout, Producer (or KaitoP, after his seiyuu) building up his almighty stable of talent (19 idols. 19. Individual. Idols.)

Side M's greatest storytelling method is to introduce the units first as already formed, before delving into each member of those units via the central member. For example, the audience's 'in' to HighxJoker, the largest unit with 5 members, is through Shiki. As we get to know and empathise with him, we see his relationships and interactions with the other four and it spirals out from there.

Characters are individuals, units built up over arcs that don't feel overly machinated or contrived, and all within a 13 episode season that feels just right. That's not to say the story breaks new ground or doesn't resort to tropes, because it does, but the storytelling itself is clear and pure. Unlike with Uta no Prince Sama or Tsukipro, both male idol anime with a non-anime foundational brand, Side M doesn't introduce beats that feel fake. It is a simple story, well told, no unnecessary frills attached.

ART: 8/10 (Very Good)
You can recognise an iM@S series right off, and that style carries through in Side M. Characters are recognisable but not over drawn, each character given enough of an identity to be just right but not too much.

Also the way that Side M utilises 3D in its performance sequences is perfect. Unlike rendering the whole sequence in 3D which can make characters slip into the uncanny valley, Side M only uses it in shots that are backlit or taken from a distance, reserving traditional 2D animation for any shots from the front. Fantastic.

SOUND: 9/10 (Great)
The seiyuu are excellent, pretty much all of them. I especially like that the majority of the seiyuu are unknowns, with Side M being their debut project. I feel like the casting of non-A List seiyuu means that rather than relying on the name first, singing ability second (cough Uta no Prince Sama cough), most of these seiyuu were cast because they can actually sing.

And since this is an idol anime, we're also talking insert songs. And the vast majority of them are catchy as all hell. Units have their own distinct sound within the pop spectrum - Dramatic Stars is drum and bass driven, S.E.M are electronic-infused etc. Side M has been around for a while and I highly recommend checking out the discography for your best unit, you won't be disappointed.

CHARACTER: 8/10 (Very Good)
When I started Side M, I was very sure that there was no way in hell all 19 idols would be getting characters or backstories. But I am so glad to be proven wrong. While our main trio of Tendou, Kaoru and Tsubasa (Dramatic Stars) get the lion's share of individual development, the remaining units each get at least one episode to shine. And the greatest thing about this anime? The majority of the idols are in their 20s. Our main trio, Dramatic Stars, are made up of men that are older than 24. S.E.M has two members in their 30s. Finally, an idol anime where not everyone is in high school!

While of course I have my best unit (S.E.M or Dramatic Stars depending on the day) and my best boy (which changes depending on my mood, but mostly Tendou that pure cinnamon roll), each of the 19+ characters have an identity. Even the faceless 315Pro President. Sure those identities aren't necessarily original, but they're charming takes on the tropes.

Also, if you're wondering like I was why there were unnamed-and-yet-noticeably-designed characters that occasionally pop up during the episodes, those are cameos. In the official Side M game that spawned this anime, 315Pro has a LOT more than 19 idols. Which means we have to get a season two. Right. RIGHT.

ENJOYMENT & OVERALL: 9/10 (Great)
For an anime I started just to pass the time with, the fact that I waited on tenterhooks all week for a new episode is a sign in and of itself to me just how much I enjoyed Side M. It's a great, easy blend of slice of life with idol anime, something with just enough stakes to keep you on board, characters that are compelling, charming and cute and a simple story which is well executed.

If you're looking for a male idol anime to watch, watch Side M. If you're looking for an idol anime to watch, watch Side M. If you're looking for something that will be fun, fluffy entertainment, something to make you smile and escape from IRL for a little while, watch Side M.

I've been a huge fan of the SideM series since 2016. Of course, I was very excited when this anime was announced, even though my favorite characters from the game weren't featured in it. However, I wouldn't recommend this anime to anyone who is 1) unfamilar with SideM already, or 2) hasn't watched THE iDOLM@STER (2011) and its film. This review will consider Episode of Jupiter as part of this anime.

Story (6/10) - Fair
There's two points I'd like to focus on. First, I think it's important to watch THE iDOLM@STER (2011) and its film prior to watch Episode of Jupiter and the SideM anime. EoJ ... explicitly has a scene from the movie and while it's not really considered a spoiler, new watchers would probably feel nothing for EoJ if they hadn't yet experienced Jupiter's story through the original anime. Although I'm a big Jupiter fan and EoJ was my favorite episode, I've already met multiple people who disliked Jupiter because of the 'suddenness' of their story in EoJ; they don't really get a good introduction in comparison to the others.

Secondly, the episodes themselves. There was an overarching plot... I think? But it's not memorable to me, so I don't think it was anything significant. SideM has a pretty lax and chill atmosphere, it's just a bunch of dudes trying to become idols. It almost has a slice-of-life feel in that it's mainly made of self-contained episodes. One of the latter episodes has some drama, but it gets cleared up quite quickly. Most episodes focus on one or two idol units. The episodes themselves are fine for what they are, cute and short stories. However, there ARE 19 characters in a 13 episode anime, so while they do a good job at introducing the characters on a base level, they aren't able to go into the characters very deeply (even for aspects that may be a major part of their character in the games). More on this later.

Basically, it's fine if you like more light-hearted stories that don't have much of a serious plot. Usually, I'd like this sort of story, but I also feel like SideM doesn't handle it the best what with all of the characters.

Art (8/10) - Very Good
Art and animation is very nice, appealing and easy on the eyes. Heaps of wonderfully hand-animated dance scenes with just a little bit of CG that's barely noticeable. My only con is that some character design features were softened in order to fit the art style, but I don't really mind that either. Might make characters look a bit same-facey.

Sound (10/10) - Outstanding
Nothing to complain about here! As usual, the voice actors suit their characters perfectly and are all distinguishable except maybe the twins, but they ARE twins, even if they're voiced by different people. Many new songs were created especially for the anime and they all sound great!

Character (7/10) - Good
I'm biased, having read a lot of the in-game material, so I think all of these characters are already great. The units chosen for the anime are definitely the less gimmicky and niche ones, so they should be able to appeal to more people in general. However, due to the units only having one or two episodes to themselves, more interesting aspects of their character easily get overlooked. This makes them seem boring in comparison to their portrayal in-game. For example, the anime does not mention Minori's ex-delinquent or dead uncle past at all despite it being a large part of his character. Sure, there was one minor reference to this in a gag, but without mentioning it directly he simply seems like a normal soft anime boy. For that reason, I think that the cast should've been cut down further, perhaps to just Jupiter and DRAMATIC STARS. Not only would it allow them to dive deeper into their characters, but a more serious plot could also work with a smaller cast.

Enjoyment (4/10) - Decent
Not going to lie, after EoJ it was kinda a slog to get through the rest. I don't enjoy watching anime in general, so there's that. But I also felt like it was pretty boring. Not just because my favorite characters were only shown for 5 seconds. Maybe it is the lack of strong overarching plot afterall; iM@S 2011 had a similar episodic format yet I still found it enjoyable because there were clear storylines running throughout it. This could be because of what the anime was adapted from, though-- there's no 'main story' in the SideM games for the anime to follow. Maybe if it were longer, they could go deeper into the characters and have some interesting plot lines.

Overall (7/10) - Good
Ultimately, SideM is good, maybe even great if you enjoy soft and light-hearted anime with good music. I would treat it as a sequel and watch iM@S 2011 first for full enjoyment of EoJ. It's OK as an introduction for these six units from SideM, but don't expect to learn a lot about them and anything about the others. If you want to know more about the characters, I would suggest looking at the dozens of translated SideM game content (just google "SideM English TL Archive"). A lot of the characters have a ton of translated manga that talk about their backstory and personality, which is how I'd personally recommend one 'gets into' SideM. But if you prefer anime, this show isn't bad either.

I don’t think highly of A-1 Pictures. There aren’t any particular people there who I think are at fault, but rather how the studio itself is managed has led to some rather lackluster projects. The typical A-1 anime isn’t particularly ambitious, and while it will be enough to entertain you while you’re watching it, it’s unlikely to leave a lasting impression. That said, I think A-1 has had some more interesting projects over the course of 2017, such as Demi-chan, Saekano Flat, and Fate Apocrypha. But sadly here we are at the end of the year, with a few projects that are the quality I’ve ... come to expect from this studio.

The iDOLM@STER SideM is the latest entry in the iM@S franchise, though this time, the idols are all male to cater to a female audience. There isn’t much of an overarching story present in this season, and it instead serves mainly just to introduce the characters. That said, every entry in the series prior to this point has continued for two cours, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see another season down the line, that would potentially bring up a greater conflict. But until then, I hope you like character introductions….

…because you’ll be seeing a lot of them. SideM has an expansive cast of 20 characters, and it takes the first 7 episodes to even introduce all of them. Similar to Cinderella Girls, SideM manages this cast by dividing it up into units, so that audiences can meet the cast a few members at a time and not be overwhelmed. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the same character archetypes are being recycled in each unit (I particularly dislike “Guy who can’t go two sentences without injecting broken English into his speech”), and little is done to characterize the cast beyond their most surface traits. It’s not like it would have been impossible to distinguish a bit more between characters in the same archetype. One detail that had the potential to be interesting was that most of the characters were adults that had had careers prior to debuting as idols – including a doctor, two soccer players, three teachers, and even a prince – and it would have been neat if that factored into their characterization instead of just being lipservice backstory. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is the producer, who, despite appearing the most since he serves as a mentor to all of the units, ends up being the least developed member of the cast. While it’s true that his development is secondary to that of the actual idols, previous entries in the franchise have demonstrated that it’s possible for the producer to have a compelling character arc in the background, and it’s a shame that this one ended up staying a blank slate.

Equally disappointing is the performance scenes, or rather, the absence of them. Almost every time that a performance is about to begin, the camera cuts away to focus in on another scene somewhere else. While this is an understandable move to lighten the load on the animators, it seems strange to have an idol show where the performances aren’t used for spectacle. And when the audience does get to see these performances, the camera either lingers close enough so that there’s never many characters in the shot at once, or far enough away so that the use of CG can be disguised. The choreography is unimpressive and the camerawork is uninspired, and the performances all end up feeling like missed opportunities.

And with so little focus on the performances, it’s only natural that the songs would suffer as well. When the camera isn’t even on the stage where a performance is happening, it’s not uncommon for the focus to instead be on a conversation in a separate scene, reducing the song to just background noise. In addition, the official subs also don’t bother to translate the lyrics, which seems to be standard practice at this point. It wouldn’t even have been hard; many of the songs weren’t original and were just taken from the SideM mobile game, so the translation team could have used the English lyrics that already existed courtesy of Project iM@S. It seems strange to say this about an idol anime, but the music basically feels like an afterthought.

With all of these issues, I had originally written SideM off as another cash-in about which no one on the production team actually cared. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. After finishing the show, I learned that much of the staff has been involved with iM@S since the beginning, and care about the franchise a lot. For example, there’s Kuroki Miyuki, one of the directors for SideM, who was a key animator for the original 2011 iM@S, and has been vocal about her love of the Jupiter boys. It was heartbreaking to learn that so much love had gone into this production, and that the end product had still turned out so lackluster. This team had been passionate about the project, but they weren’t given adequate time or resources to create their vision. Going back to the first paragraph, this is my problem with A-1 – that they view anime as a business more than as an artistic medium. There are definitely exceptions to this, but in general the studio seems to strive for acceptable rather than exceptional – projects that are just good enough that people will buy the physical releases. I hope to see more bold and interesting originals in the future, but A-1 Pictures simply isn’t the studio from which I expect them to come. There’s talent in the anime industry, and it needs to be given a chance.