22/7

Miu Takigawa views the world from behind the safety of her bangs, content with peacefully passing unnoticed through life. Reserved and timid, Miu struggles to converse with or even smile at customers when at her part time job, but she works tirelessly to support her mother and precious little sister, Haru. It is a shock when a letter arrives from the entertainment company GIP, announcing that she has been chosen as a candidate for their new project.

Miu decides to accept the invitation and heads to the meeting spot where the eccentric ensemble of other candidates filter in, all summoned by their own letters. Not long after, the girls are escorted by a manager to a luxurious secret facility, where it is explained that they must follow the mysterious directions of "The Wall," whose orders are absolute.

The 24th of December, 2016, will see the birth of idols like no other; on that day, the group 22/7 will debut, whether or not Miu and the other members are ready to take the stage.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Takigawa, Miu Main

Saijou, Nagomi Japanese

Toda, Jun Main

Yoshimiya, Ruri Japanese

Fujima, Sakura Main

Amaki, Sally Japanese

Tachikawa, Ayaka Main

Miyase, Reina Japanese

Maruyama, Akane Main

Shirosawa, Kanae Japanese

Saitou, Nicole Main

Kawase, Uta Japanese

Satou, Reika Main

Chiharu Japanese

Kouno, Miyako Main

Kuraoka, Mizuha Japanese

Gouda, Aoi Supporting

Miyake, Kenta Japanese

Takigawa, Sayuki Supporting

Hisakawa, Aya Japanese

Nara, Shunsuke Producer

Abo, Takao Director, Storyboard

Fujita, Akiko Sound Director

Kawabata, Takashi Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Mar 28, 2020

Stark700

Recommended

An anime adaptation of 22/7 adds another title to the seasonal idol lineup we get every year. Usually, we get at least 1-2 idol theme anime per season but 22/7 is also known for being a real life idol group. And make no mistake, becoming a member of the 22/7 idol group is no easy task. Because out of over 10,000 candidates, only a few are selected as being worthy. On a few are born to be an idol. Only a few has what it takes to be a member of 22/7.

Idol shows are known for their promotional material and a testament of having characters ... as role models. The members have strict life styles and in Japanese culture, they must abide to rules or be eliminated. Because of this, becoming part of an idol group is a celebrated feat, an accomplishment that one should be proud of. 22/7 consists of 8 characters, all with different personalities, backgrounds, and ambitions. However, they are united under the same banner, to be idols and entertain the world through music.

The idol culture graces us with facts that in the entertainment world, anything can happen. Being high school students, they’re still learning to grow up and taking steps into adolescence is no easy task. The first few episodes promises to set up a storytelling saga to showcase the reality of idol life. Being managed by “The Wall”, the show is unique in that it’s not managed by a talent agency. From the first episode, we are introduced to Miu Takuigawa, an ordinary high school teenager looking for work. After having trouble earning income for her family, she decides to become a member but interestingly enough, Miu is one of the less qualified members compared to the other cast. More interestingly, Miu is initially chosen as the lead center and with that comes a huge responsibility. It doesn’t take long for her to clash with fellow idol member Nicole in the second episode. And this shouldn’t be a surprise either as the audience should easily be able to see that Nicole qualifies more as a leader than Miu. The first two episodes brings together the melodrama and reality of being in an idol group. Even within the group, they have problems so what’s to say they won’t face even bigger problems?

Luckily, differences can be put aside as by the time we reach the third episode, 22/7 is in line to perform their first live concert. It doesn’t go well at first due to equipment failure but as the leader, Miu takes charge for herself and manages to save them from humiliation. In essence, her actions earns the respect of the group and the audience. And because of her committment, it’s safe to say that Miu earned her spot. But this show isn’t just about Miu. Viewers should remember that there are 7 other girls and each of them come from different backgrounds. From episode 4 and onwards, we are given insights about some of their personalities and background stories on a personal level for the remaining cast. This form of storytelling is also important as it showcase the realism of the show. There’s obvious social problems that the idols deal with including social anxiety, loneliness, self-doubt, and even the deaths of a loved one. If we look at the bigger picture, this show seems to aim to be an emotional drama than the lighthearted pop culture such as Idolmaster or Love Live. Some of my favorite episodes in this season exists because it gets you emotionally invested into the cast such as Akane, Toda, and even Ayaka. Other times, the anime aims to collectively tell stories about the group as a whole to the world. In one of the later episodes, it tests the emotional connection of the group as they become attached together like a family. The more you watch 22/7, the more you realize it’s more than just a group of idols existing together to perform on stage. It’s about living a life to fulfill dreams and overcoming life obstacles that didn’t seem possible.

From the theatrical performances to the character designs, A-1 Pictures adapted this anime like a play. The characters are the actors, or idols in this case, but always portrayed as realistic as possible. They are humans after all and even transcending into the idol realm doesn’t immortalize them as Gods. But as 22/7 grows more in popularity, you can see how the group improves themselves with better dance coordination, singing tunes, and even their stage outfits. On the technical level, the animated music videos themselves uses CGI with some 3D choreography. Now, before you throw the towel, I do want to say this show managed to animate itself rather well. The dance movements look sharp and chereography has coordination while not being overly reliant on the animation itself. It may take time to get used to but as it stands, 22/7’s CGI works wonders.

Now, the big question remains. How should the music be judged? As “idols who cross dimensions”, the seiyu in this show had to undergo through lengthy process of being selected so rest assured that the music you hear is top tier quality. It relies a lot on conveying emotions and communicating the idols’ emotions to the audience. Sony Music Records bought top tier talent together to compose their discography. The most noticeable one is perhaps the OP theme song, “MuzuI” performed by Uta Kawase. Also distinguishable is the fact that almost every episode contains a different ED theme, most often featuring the prominent character related to that episode. Insert songs are also occasionally used in episodes during climatic moments.

There’s a good chance people missed out on this show this year. It’s a niche anime targeted to the music demographic but from what’s shown, 22/7 itself went above expectations to be more than just idols performing on stage. The amount of melancholy is above the general consensus and in retrospect, it reinvents itself as a music drama. Spread the word and let it be known that 22/7 is a rewarding experience.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 28, 2020

Firechick12012

Mixed Feelings

Real time: I've never been a fan of idols, both the Western kind or Japan's versions of them. The same goes for idol-based anime, mostly because many of them tend to be formulaic or of poor quality. There have been some good ones, but I've seen very few of them. Honestly, the only idol anime I can say that I really love is Fancy Lala, and even that's stretching it, as Fancy Lala's focus isn't really on being an idol. I haven't seen either The IdolM@ster nor Wake Up Girls (I do plan to see the former later on), AKB0048 was fun and ambitious though ... kind of stupid at times, I've heard great things about Skip Beat and ZombieLand Saga, but again, haven't seen them. I like Aikatsu well enough, though it is a show aimed at children and is much more on the silly, idealistic side of things, and anyone who's talked to me at all knows I'm not touching Love Live with a ten foot pole, mostly because of the fact that it plays sexual harassment for comedy, and that absolutely does not sit right with me. I wasn't intending on watching the newest idol anime, 22/7, but reading someone's review of the first episode had me intrigued, because it had a main character who was very cynical and bitter, far from your typical idol anime protagonist, and it had an interesting, if stupid premise. I know nothing of the actual real life idol group 22/7, so the review will solely focus on the anime. To be honest, the first episode did win me over, and I was really hoping this would be good. And it tried. It really tried...but it fell flat on its face. Big time.

So what's the story? It begins with a girl named Miu who finds a mysterious letter in her mail. She and seven other girls are made to gather at a zoo, and a man named Gouda takes them down to an underground facility. There, they find out that they've all been recruited to start an idol group called 22/7, and everything they do is going to be dictated by a magical, sentient wall that spits orders on brass plates. In order to be successful, they have to follow the wall's orders to the letter. Understandably, many of the girls don't know what's going on and are opposed to it, Miu especially, as she's not too keen on the idea of being used to fulfill someone else's whims, wall or no. But then she gets fired from her job, and has no source of income. Reluctantly, she and the other girls return to the facility and decide to become the idol group 22/7, though they still have no idea what the wall even is or why they have to do everything it tells them to do.

Yeah. The idea of a sentient wall dictating an entire idol group is pretty hilarious in how stupid it sounds, and it's inspired many a joke since the anime's premiere. But if you ignore that, the anime promised to be a more cynical, realistic look at the idol business, not unlike Wake Up Girls. And for the first four or so episodes, the anime seemed to hit the ground running. It has smooth, stunning animation, though not without the occasional glaring CGI, great music, Miu is a great, refreshing protagonist who actually had flaws she needed to overcome, and the anime seemed to actually care about characterization rather than making the girls into one note moe archetypes. In all honesty, 22/7 could have really been something great, and it promised to try and stand out from the sea of bad idol anime. So what went wrong? Why the low rating? Well...a lot of things.

First off, for an anime about a group of idol singers, it doesn't really highlight a lot of things that are important to showing the girls becoming idols. We never see them take dance lessons or record songs in a recording booth, other than, like, one single scene and that's it. We rarely, if ever, see them actually putting in effort or learning about the ins and outs of the idol industry, and those things are really important if you want to show these girls growing as both individuals and as a group. Say what you will about Aikatsu, but it at least showed the girls taking the time to practice, train, and go deep into the business practices that make idols what they are. Even Fancy Lala didn't simply gloss over these important details, as it knew they were really important if it wanted to show how the idol industry worked. There's only one scene in episode 3 where the girls are having their first concert and have to deal with bad audio equipment, but it gets resolved right away and leaves no impact whatsoever. For what its worth, the actual soundtrack is good, and the songs are well sung, but I only have one issue with the opening theme: It seems to just cut off at the end, like it didn't have time to really wrap up before the show was set to start.

The second main problem is the series' overall structure. Every episode has two parts to it, with one half taking place in the present, showing the girls' activities, and the other half consisting of flashbacks to the girls' backstories, showing how they got to be where they are. But this can be a double edged sword, and without the right balance, this can really make or break a show, and not only does 22/7 suffer from this, its way of inserting flashbacks in their episodes results in a weird tonal whiplash. For example, episode 6 begins with Reika, as a baby, nearly dying of some unknown illness, with her mother doing so later, and the next scene? Bam! Girls at the beach in their swimsuits! Can you see how jarring that type of transition can be? 22/7 can be at its best when it actually puts effort into tying the girls' pasts to current events (Sakura's episode being one such example), but at its worst when it's unable to find that balance (Again, Reika's episode). Because of the way the episodes are made, the show tends to gloss over things that are important while putting too much focus on things that don't really mean much in the big picture. For example, various episodes imply that Sakura returning to America is going to be important, but nothing ever comes out of it, and that plot thread is never resolved.

If I could use one word to describe 22/7 in a nutshell, it'd be...contradictory. The writing for this show is really inconsistent and it's like the writers don't really know what they want to do with their characters most of the time, Nicole being an example in that early on, she's established as a haughty, bitchy character, but she's occasionally nice to the girls, and just seems to flip-flop between the two personalities without a real reason for being either one. Not even her focus episode sheds any light on why she's so needlessly mean to the other girls. Some characters are better than others, with Miu being the standout example. In my opinion, I feel she's the best character. Both her backstory and personality are down to earth, and she's such a refreshing change from the happy, optimistic idol series mains who want to be idols, though I will admit, her low pitched voice really isn't going to win her any Oscars. But again, as the show loses steam halfway through its run, Miu's original personality seems to disappear until the very end. Ayaka is pretty much a non-entity as a character and her reasons for being an idol are...really stupid and dumb, and poor Reika really got the shaft, because her episode was not only poorly written and endorsed a bad message (Reika doesn't want to wear a skimpy swimsuit for a photo shoot because she doesn't want to be a teenage sex object, which would normally be valid and understandable? Too bad! Get in the bikini, Reika!), but was really sexist. Jun's episode wasn't much better: What do you do when all your idols save for one get sick from food poisoning? Instead of postponing their jobs and waiting a day for everyone to be back to normal, let's completely overwork a 15-year-old girl by having her do a crap ton of jobs, even the ones her idol friends were supposed to do, over the course of an entire day!

Which then leads me to the show's biggest problem: The characters as individuals are fine, though kind of bland, but since we never really get to watch them evolve and grow as a group, any pathos that comes from events such as breaking up doesn't feel earned in spite of the show's attempts to milk as much drama as possible. We never really see them truly come together as a group despite the show's attempts at telling us that they're awesome as a group, because, you know, we never see them doing stuff like dance lessons or recording songs or actually working together. Basically, the show is paying lip service to the idea of developing them as a group. I think the show might have done better had it just focused on Miu and cut down the flashbacks in favor of putting more time into having the girls learn to function as a group, like the show tries to advertise. Finally, we don't learn much about the wall, and even at the end, what the hell it even is is never really resolved, making it yet another plot thread that's been abandoned for the sake of idol flashiness.

It's a shame that 22/7 turned out this way, as I really wanted to like this show. The first three episodes were great, but after that, it loses steam quickly and just ends on a whimper, too caught up in its own hubris to really attempt something meaningful. Then again, this is another commerical for a famous idol group, so I guess it turning out the way it did was inevitable. I mean, I'll still watch this over Love Live (Except episode 6. Screw that episode in the eye), but it's an idol show that tried, and failed, to stand out from the oversaturated genre, and just didn't deliver.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 29, 2020

eff-fume

Not Recommended

For some reason 22/7 has little to no negative reviews even with this relatively low MAL score so I thought I would take it upon myself to justify why it is the way it is.

For one, 22/7 has a ridiculous premise. I will spoil it right here, so here we go: The reason why all 8 girls were summoned to become an idol group was because a giant Wall (yes, WALL) that an entire secret facility was build around on spit out a golden plate that said so.
I want to inform anyone that might not know this, but 22/7 is a real idol group. ... Which decided to make a promo anime. With a magic fantasy wall that spit out the absolute order that these girls are the key to form the ideal idol group. If this isn’t a promo that shows you are a little too full of yourself, I don’t know what is.

The wall’s orders are all absolute, truthful and all just work successfully every time. Meaning this series has no stakes. No stakes they might fail or any other emotional stakes because the series doesn’t bother to invest into any other element of a story.

The entire show is the characters doing some idol shit, implying they are struggling, instead grotesquely succeeding because the WALL is just the baddest boss ever and giving every single member an artificially emotional and dramatic backstory for the viewers to feel for them. Because this is how we write anime.

I don’t actually know if every member of this idol group has these backstories in real life, but I honestly doubt it by how anime and predictable they were.


Aspects I liked about the show were the strong production values. Having Yukiko Horiguchi as character designer on your team as well as a director or episode directors that bump out several great layouts is in your favor. Though since this is not Kyoto Animation, most of the effort put into the animation falls relatively flat because this studio isn’t all too well equipped to draw the taxing character designs of Yukiko as well as the script not being tight enough to actually justify any of the creative decisions. I wouldn’t say much is off-model but some scenes look more cleaner and better polished up than others. All the characters are but only pretty character designs of specific-archetype-number X with fake emotional backstories to back them up, that are so artificially crafted most people couldn’t fall for it if they tried. Though the reviews and almost 7.0 average score are telling me that it worked for some folks for sure.
I would be lying in denying that I didn’t enjoy the emotional core of episode 7, which not only striked me with its incredible storyboard layouts and fairly good plot, but I cannot say so for everything else in the show. All backstories, even the one I somewhat enjoyed, were just raw templates ripped out of the book “How to create a mediocre anime” and make no actual sense in context of the interal logic of the series. I will tell you a secret: Giving every character in your show a backstory isn’t going to make them get fleshed out or feel more authentic, especially when all the backstories are badly written and dishonest in their emotional core. The show is of one cour length, you could’ve made a competent idol anime out of what talent they already had on board by having a competent script writer just write idols be idols and fleshing them out with having to handle the struggles of the work and in their interactions with their group, but all of these aspects fall short because half of every episode has to be backstory time.

And if that wasn’t the worst aspect: I don’t think some members can sing. Some sound completely tone-deaf and to that are terrible voice actors, some are a little more authentic. Overall making the idol group voice act their “character” was not a smart idea, as they mostly sound bad. Especially the performances are underwhelming. The melodies are generic and forgettable and the lyrics are self-important and pretentious. Especially the debute song is a pack off ass. Singing about “Life is so hard” – urgh, just makes me sick.


So overall what makes 22/7 not great is the badly written script, artificial and bland characters but having a generally great production even if the team cannot handle it like a KyoAni would. But what made it really bad was the finale. The finale just flat out made the anime say to the viewers that they don’t care in explaining the Wall at all. The last episode was actually hilarious, I recommend watching that one at least.

This anime didn’t give a fuck. For sure some of the production team did, because I consider it a good production, but the actual product is an empty husk and creatively bankrupt piece of “art” that serves exactly one point – promo for an idol group.
They didn’t care to write an authentic, genuine and emotional script, they just wrote some “anime bullshit” premise and then threw in emotional backstories to sway any uneducated viewer easily.
Also let the characters grow to love being an idol seemingly off-screen and make them all emotionally invested in the job right before the last order of the wall is delivered towards the end of the show, then let the plot commence and leave the show end with a “bang” – all to promote an idol group. One of the harshest industries there are. And they glorify this work in this anime as well.

22/7 sucked and was among the most banal and shameless promos I have seen, while wasting some great animation talent in the same process. Truly shameful.



Overview


Story: 1/10 – Absolutely terrible
Art & Animation: 7/10 – Really good with great layouts. Not on a KyoAni level, though it felt like they tried with having Yukiko on the team
Sound: 4/10 – Terrible voice acting and pretentious and artificially emotional lyrics, falls in theme with the show. It did have a decent OST and sounddesign though.
Character: 2/10 – Nothing humane.
Enjoyment: 6/10 – I did have a good time even if some of it was laughing by how dumb it was
Idol: 3/10 – It speaks for itself
Overall: 4.0 (range: 3.5-4.5, strong 3 to light 4)

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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