Himitsu no AiPri

Ever since she was a child, Himari Aozora has adored the world of the idol princesses known as AiPri. Long ago, Himari made a promise with her best friend, Mitsuki Hoshikawa, that they would debut as AiPris together. However, Himari has grown to be incredibly shy, and she has all but given up on her dream.

Both girls enroll as first years at Paradise Private Academy. On the first day of school, Himari gets lost on her way back to the dormitory and stumbles upon a room radiating a pink light. She falls into the room, and a bracelet clasps onto her wrist, transporting her to the AiPriVerse—the world where AiPris perform.

Himari accidentally enters the newcomer auditions for the AiPriVerse, and her performance impresses Paradise Academy's Student Council. They offer to become her producers, with the condition that she will conceal her status as an AiPri. Little does Himari know that Mitsuki herself is also an AiPri and has been hiding it from her! Their childhood dream of performing together gradually comes to fruition—even as the academy's principal threatens to ban AiPri from school grounds entirely.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Aozora, Himari Main

Fujidera, Minori Japanese

Hoshikawa, Mitsuki Main

Hiratsuka, Sae Japanese

Suzukaze, Tsumugi Main

Kubo, Yurika Japanese

Mamiya, Chii Supporting

Taichi, You Japanese

Nikaidou, Tamaki Supporting

Suzuki, Anna Japanese

Mitsuba, Airi Supporting

Tokui, Sora Japanese

Ichijouji, Sakura Supporting

Hibi, Yuriko Japanese

Shinomiya, Rinrin Supporting

Watada, Misaki Japanese

Akai, Meganee Supporting

Osuga, Victoria Supporting

Ishigami, Shizuka Japanese

Masada, Satoshi Producer

Iwano, Mitsugu Producer

Ogo, Hirotsugu Producer

Fukuda, Kouhei Producer

Reviews

Apr 6, 2025

Hannescha

Mixed Feelings

AiPri is the first Pretty series I've watched. I had high hopes for it after how much good I've heard about other installments of the franchise, but I'm afraid AiPri was not a very good introduction to the franchise.

AiPri is fun but completely devoid of any substance. It's a series I didn't mind watching one episode every week but if I had 51 episodes to watch at my own pace I don't think I would've finished it because there's much better ways to spend the time it takes to watch 51 episodes of AiPri.

The best thing about AiPri is its characters, or more specifically its ... supporting cast. There are a lot of characters, and though most of them only get one focus episode and are then relegated to just background characters, I think it's great how nearly every background character in AiPri is someone with a name and a face. It makes the academy feel very alive when there are barely any "NPCs" inhabiting it. I especially liked the character Chii, who also initially started as a one-off character but unlike most characters in her role, she ended up becoming a recurring character who brought a lot of comedy to the series, and even had a pretty great character arc throughout the series.

The same unfortunately can not be said for the main trio: Himari, Mitsuki and Tsumugi. I don't think they're bad characters by any means, but their character arcs are very weak. They do not develop much until the end of the series, which makes following them for 51 episodes a tad boring, but that makes all the episodes introducing new classmates more interesting because they do have actual stories to them (even if said story is only one episode)

Now if that's all AiPri was, I would recommend it, as it would be more or less similar to what Aikatsu was like, but the thing that kills AiPri for me is its story and its absurd number of episodes that are just compilations of old songs. AiPri doesn't have much story, it's mostly just fluff and standalone episodes, which I'd be fine with. But when AiPri eventually does try to have a story, said story is bad. It feels very forced and nonsensical, and it feels like the writers just wanted to have some kind of conflict at the end of the season but they didn't think it through at all.

I haven't counted how many recap episodes AiPri has, but I am fairly confident in saying this is the most amount of recap episodes I've ever seen in an anime. There are so many episodes that have no story at all and are just Himari commenting over songs we've already seen. It really feels like either the writers didn't have enough ideas for 51 episodes or there were production issues that forced them to frequently take a break as they prepare the next episode. Whichever is the case, it doesn't make me too hopeful for the second seasons if it's going to be another 50 episodes (but I will be watching that second season either way).

As for the music, it's mostly good. The standouts for me are the first ED as well as Chii's and Quartet Star's songs. You're going to be hearing every song several times, but despite ho many times you hear them some songs are simply more forgettable than others. Though there are no songs that I outright dislike.

Overall AiPri is not a show I can really recommend. There's enough good here that I enjoyed watching it every week for a whole year, but there isn't enough fun here to warrant watching 51 episodes all the way from the beginning.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jun 23, 2024

Edelyne

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (10/51 eps)

Yahoo, the series features magical idols! Himari and Mitsuki start school together, where daily life is colored by talking about Aipri and participating in it. Himari ends up in the Aipri dimension through a mirror and a mysterious bracelet, and surprise, she turns out to be a very natural idol! With the help of the student council, Himari begins her idol journey.

Story:
The MAL preview says it all. There is a lot of slice-of-life style action, and by episode 10, no real story arc had started in my opinion. Most episodes revolve around Aipri live shows and school life, with perhaps some minor dramas or problems.

Sound/Music:
Pripara's ... songs are fun and light J-pop. Otherwise, the soundscape is pretty basic, nothing particularly bad but nothing particularly good either.

Characters:
All the main girls in the series are color-coded. Himari and Mitsuki get the most screen time, but the most interesting personalities are found in the student council. None of the characters became a favorite. The small robot mascots are annoying, as is the live show host character. The mascots aren't even particularly cute, or at least they look really silly.

Art:
Pretty standard. Nothing particularly impressive, with a few poorly drawn scenes in some episodes. The live scenes are in 3D and look okay. The series is saturated with bright, pastel colors.

Enjoyment:
If you want light idol fluff, check this out. I expected more engaging characters and a plot that would get going within ten episodes. This time that didn’t happen, and that’s why the rating is 5.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of television anime acquired for simulcast release during the Spring 2024 season. Anime series licensed for hom...read more

Apr 5, 2024 1:40 PM by Snow | Discuss (29 comments)

	Poll: Himitsu no AiPri Episode 16 Discussion Serafos - Jul 23, 2024	3 replies	by Thaliel »» Aug 13, 11:05 PM
	Poll: Himitsu no AiPri Episode 10 Discussion himecheese - Jun 10, 2024	3 replies	by Thaliel »» Aug 5, 11:11 PM
	Poll: Himitsu no AiPri Episode 51 Discussion Serafos - Mar 29	2 replies	by Varendant »» Apr 3, 8:08 PM
	Poll: Himitsu no AiPri Episode 50 Discussion Serafos - Mar 22	1 replies	by Ch0coPudding »» Mar 24, 4:41 PM
	Poll: Himitsu no AiPri Episode 49 Discussion Serafos - Mar 15	1 replies	by ajw215799 »» Mar 22, 2:36 AM