Shocked's Blog

Anime Relations: Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World

With the upcoming second adaption of the light novels coming up, I felt it was appropriate to take another look at episode 2 of Kino's Journey, "A Tale of Feeding Off Others." It's one of my favorite episodes in all of anime, if not all of fiction, and I'd like to make a little write up on my observations.



Ambiguity is great within this episode, as much of it is left to interpretation. Upon rewatching the episode, I was reminded three minutes in that the emphasis placed on the killing of both the rabbits and the slavers are about equal. So, based on one's own interpretation, one could make an argument over the weights of the deaths.

From a neutral stance, the deaths hold equal weight. Not in the sense that both deaths don't matter, but both deaths carried the same amount of severity. Kino chose to kill the rabbits not for herself directly, but through indirect motivations as explained by her in the episode. By helping her fellow humans, she hopes that if she were in a similar situation where she was stranded, another human would help her in the same way. In a sense, she was building good karma. Also, because she was rewarded a valuable ring, it also appealed to her own vanity, chipping away at her stance as a distant observer. She's human after all, and her own wants and needs aren't just limited to the purely pragmatic. This created an extra obligation for her to assist these stranded travelers, even though it lead to her being betrayed.

As such, the next way to interpret the scene is through the killing of the slavers being justified, as well as the killing of the rabbits being a horrific waste of life. This interpretation paints the slavers as being criminals, dehumanized and deserving of death. It takes the stance of a viewer of the anime, where one is distant from both Kino and the slavers. In this case, one would feel bad for Kino, who was almost captured and sold as a slave after showing much generosity and kindness. The slavers deserved death for their actions, and Kino's actions were fully justified. Additionally, the rabbits, whom were given a significant emphasis for their killings, would seem wasted on the slavers. Their lives were given up for a lost cause. The slavers' deaths, while were given emphasis, wouldn't have been to highlight the horror of the death, but to give satisfaction, much like a bullet piercing an enemy person in a shooting game would feature that slow down effect, helping us appreciate our skill at killing our fellow man. It's celebratory in a sense, but in another interpretation, it would feel the complete opposite.



In this case, the deaths of the slavers would feel heavier than the rabbits. This would be, arguably, from the eyes of Kino. She was visibly shaken from the ordeal, displaying one of her few brief moments of vulnerability in the series. Truthfully, it's difficult to tell how she may have felt, which is in part due to great writing and animation. From my own perspective, however, I interpreted her reaction to the slavers' deaths to be of mourning. She consciously chose to help them. She befriended them. She ate meals with them and listen to stories about their friends and families, their dreams and ambitions, and their love of their homeland. She learned of their traditions, their culture, their history, and was even invited to visit their homeland one day for festivities and fun. She toiled and struggled with them to dig their truck out of the snow, and was equally joyous upon it being freed. Then she was betrayed.

Was she shocked? Was she half-expecting the betrayal after Hermes asked about their cargo earlier? Was she used to this sort of treatment, especially remarking how she was "almost done for this time?" Was she exasperated and tired? Was she frightened and caught in inner turmoil? Was she vengeful and spiteful? Or did she have traits of all of the above, uncertain of which emotion to prioritize at the moment, instead choosing to embrace her revolver - one of her many metallic allies in place of absent human connections? Did this, as a result, make her feel sad for the slavers, but also feel like a horrific person for killing three fellow travelers whom she had just befriended?

Much like herself, these three slavers wanted to survive, and it just so happened that their method of doing so was through the sacrifice of others. Indeed, slavery is horrific, but through the eyes of Kino, it's possible to justify it as another way to live, much like how she would kill rabbits to ensure her own survival. Or, in this case, killing other humans.

From a neutral stance, both the lives of the rabbits and the humans are equal. Therefore, it would be hypocritical to judge the slavers for their lifestyle. By saying that the killing of the slavers was justified, it would also be hypocritical to say that the killing of the rabbits was wrong. However, as a viewer, it would be possible to place the lives of the rabbits above the slavers based on the thought of slavery being wrong. It's also possible to say that human lives weigh more than animals. Or, even if they were equal, Kino did spend more time with the slavers than with the rabbits, and any bad feelings over the rabbits would be through transient semantics and morals. The time spent with the slavers was more meaningful, and thus more tragic.



For the longest time, this episode has been one of my favorites of any anime I've seen, and it has yet to fail me. I've rewatched this episode intermittently throughout the past 5 years, and I'm still finding new things every time I rewatch it. Great stuff.

Anime Relations: The iDOLM@STER

At this moment, I've watched The iDOLM@STER 5 times, making it the anime I've rewatched the most.

Every time. I've always found new things that I didn't notice before.

Every. Single. Time.

So, I don't even know how to approach this anymore. I've spoken on The iDOLM@STER at general levels, at character specific levels, and through comparisons with other shows. So, I'm going to instead detail exactly what I find great and troublesome within each episode off of memory. The 5th time I watched it was the Christmas of 2015, which was also the day I finally watched The iDOLM@STER film. To me, that was my departure from the anime and the very last time I intend to watch the series for a long, long time. I have no intention to rewatch the series, even for this post, so it's also a personal test, and to hopefully get this out of my system, I’m going to see what has remained prominent in my mind after all this time.


Episode 1: This Is Where the Girls Start
- The episode's tone is calm and quiet, leaving a lot of room for absorbing the atmosphere of the office and world itself. There are comedic and sporadic moments scattered about, but it's mostly quiet with a lot of moments where it's just the characters talking with no or subdued background music.

- Documentary-styled first episode, displaying an almost professional presentation of its characters while recalling the visual novel-esque format of its games. I've seen people compare this to reality TV with Jersey Shores being the oddest comparison, which may highlight the disdain for reality TV blending into anime. I enjoyed it however, as I haven't seen much reality television, I've never seen Jersey Shores, and the format felt completely unique to anime.

- Adding to the previous point, the format highlights the candid interactions of the girls, whom are, in fact, the main focus of the show. It's an extremely straightforward point, but I see this get glossed over, misinterpreted, or over interpreted somehow.

- Haruka immediately tripping upon her introduction. Words cannot begin to describe how important this moment is for the rest of the anime.

- I like how each character is quickly introduced and how they already know each other. This is a close nit studio with pre-existing relationships, so it bypasses the trouble of member gathering, the growing pains of learning to work together, and shortens the introduction episode to only the introduction episode.

- The photo shown after Ritsuko's introduction shows her about a year back I believe. Makoto in that photo has her shorter iDOLM@STER 1, in comparison to her Second Vision hair that's seen presently in the anime. An extremely small touch that recalls an earlier time in the game's storyline that I absolutely missed the first few rewatches.

- Notice the differences between when the characters are aware of the camera and when they're just acting normally. The difference between how characters act while working and them normally blend, yet are separate. It's extremely subtle, but it pops back up over the course of the anime when they must keep up appearances in the public eye.

- With a careful eye, you can tell that this was animated by the Trigger team. The high energy jerkiness of the animation during comedic moments recall many of Gainax's works.

- I once saw a complaint that you never see the idols train or practice. They're doing it here in the first episode. They then continue to do so a few times during other episodes. Is it truly necessary to constantly see them practice every episode? They've been in the business for a while now, so they know how to do their job. Isn't it more interesting to see them actually do their jobs than constantly talk about doing so?

- The conversation with Iori and Yayoi always did annoy me. Perhaps it's because I never particularly liked Yayoi's "uu-uuu!" phrase. I eventually grew accustomed to it, yeah, but this scene always bothered me since it was just blurted out.

- Ever notice how the twins are just as tall as Haruka, Yukiho, and even Ritsuko? There's actually not much for this show with regards to "lolis." At least, with regards to what anime usually presents as of recently.

- Seeing Haruka selling CDs on the street with assistance from Kotori, the secretary, always stuck out as a great scene. It really shows how understaffed and unpopular they are at the beginning.

- The oddest part about The iDOLM@STER's beginnings is how humble and, well, poor they are. The story really is a Cinderella story, more so than the actual Cinderalla Girls anime I'd argue.

- Miki, Chihaya, and Haruka all at vocal practice together. This was a very small scene, but it immediately grouped together the main arc characters in the first episode without being obvious. Quite the amazing touch.

- And here the appearance of the first two sexual fan service scenes of the anime. Thank you Miki and Azusa for that and other scenes you'll contribute to. As a note, sexual fan service is implicit during episode 4's cooking show, the beach and bath scenes in episode 5, when Asuza was running during episode 9's athletic competition, episode 14 again when the twins discussed Azusa's breasts, and...that's it. One implicit scene, one discussed scene, and five full scenes out of a 25 episode anime. As a pandering show, I cannot stress how impressive how well the team that gave us Panty & Stocking and Kill la Kill were able to restrain themselves here.

- I really, really like this ending sequence where all the idols narrative their individual dreams and reasons for being an idol. This sets in motion the rest of the anime, where we get to see how well they all pursue their own paths.



Episode 2: The Girls Start "Preparing"

- Focusing on Iori, this episode is more bubbly and, what I'd argue, the most bubblegum idol pop of the anime.

- I see the idol business as a disassociation between how you want to act, how you think you should act, how others actually want you to act, what you think others think you should act, and what you really are. As such it's appropriate for this episode, which is about the try-hard Iori, to be the most pop idol like.

- In the previous episode, we got to see how the idols acted in candid and filmed scenarios. Now we get to see them act and pose during the shoot, demonstrating how they act in a professional scenario.

- Everyone was featured in the previous episode, and they're all featured again in this episode and the next. Don't get used to this, as while other anime may feature all the characters in every episode, The iDOLM@STER picks and chooses. Even here, the focus is on Iori, Yayoi, Ami and Mami. Everyone else are cursory characters adding to select scenes. This is important as it allows the anime to focus on key characters each episode, rather than forcing each character to appear in each episode, allotting them a few obligatory seconds to get across their gimmick and remind us of their existences.

- Makoto is amazing. But yeah, Iori is right. Taking away Makoto's boyish charm, she'd have nothing left. This franchise, like others in the same vein, is run on walking cardboard cutouts. I'm constantly surprised at how much I like this series, much less Makoto herself.

- The Producer's role here is of an instructor, a guidance counselor, and of a boss. He has many roles to fulfill throughout this anime, and while he looks and acts generic, it also means he can fulfill those roles without breaking character. I've seen him compared to the more dynamic and colorful 346 Producer, but they really serve different purposes. The Producer here is to stay in the background and not stick out, allowing the 765 girls to shine in the forefront. Had the Producer been a dynamic character here, he would have stolen time and attention away from the girls - the primary draw of the series.



Episode 3: Everything Starts With One Courageous Step

- Yukiho's episode involves going from the city to a backwater village to perform at a small festival - stepping out of one's comfort zone into an unknown territory. This is Yukiho's reason for becoming an idol in a nutshell. It's fast, eccentric, and zany, yet it also has slower, reflective moments in between. Once again, Yukiho's character.

- Rather than practicing, it's great seeing the idols help prepare for the concert. They're cooking, setting up lighting and sound equipment, organizing chairs, running stands, and working with the people there in various other tasks.

- The iDOLM@STER came out a year after Working!!, so the idea of a girl who's deathly afraid of men probably recalled another girl's excessively violent tendencies, and thus a disdain for Yukiho's character. I did not watch Working!! until 4 years after I watched The iDOLM@STER, so I didn't have that preconceived notion.

- This episode revolves around Yukiho, Haruka, and Makoto primarily. Notice how there's not real set groupings of characters, but you can visibly see different characters being closer to other specific characters. This allows for a lot more dynamic groupings and individualized characters, as opposed to other shows that focus so much on groups that the individual is lost or reduced to walking gimmicks.

- We actually got to learn a bit about The Producer here. How about that.

- Yukiho seemed to conquer her fears a bit here, but this isn't the end-all of her character. Each character highlight episode serves as a stepping stone for further development down the road in subtle ways.



Episode 4: That Changes Who I Am

- Chihaya's episode is obviously moody and serious. There's just no other way around that at this point.

- If you think about it, Chihaya's arc started off in the very first episode where she talked about her intents for being an idol. It's then further emphasized here to greater effect.

- Here's a grouping of Chihaya, Haruka, Hibiki, and Takane. Thinking back, Hibiki and Takane used to be part of Project Fairy in The iDOLM@STER SP series, so it makes sense for them to be grouped up here. I actually didn't notice this until I typed this up. Damn.

- I'd like to compare this episode to one of the earlier Wake-Up Girls episodes, which also featured their idols being used for sleazy reasons. In Wake-Up Girls, it was horrible to watch, it was way overplayed and became near prostitution, was ended extremely abruptly with a hard switch to some "and that takes care of that" scene, and I'm still irked by each episode ending with the actual voice actresses acting cheery and cutesy, conflicting to how "realistic" the series tries to be. Here, while the sleaziness is referenced, we aren't actually shown anything. This is the same reason why I don't mind censorship in certain anime. At times like this, just getting the point across is fine. I don't need to know, nor do I want to know, the full details. It just detracts from the point being made. To get across how sexualizing idols can be bad, it's difficult when if the idols' images are compromised by them paradoxically being shown off sexually, then having that message tossed aside by the show moving on.

- Notice how upon Chihaya retorting to the show's sleaziness, Haruka immediately gets to the front stage and acts up her clumsiness to cover for the Chihaya's outburst. She's naturally clumsy, but she knows how to play it up as part of her idol image.

- Chihaya, in terms of vocal range and strength of her long notes, is probably the best of the cast. Amongst other similar anime where characters are praised for being great singers, it's in The iDOLM@STER where the characters, and by extension the voice actresses, truly are great singers.

- Also, at this point, Aoi Tori is extremely cliché to me since I've heard of it in so many places. Very few in-series songs actually appeal to me though, so that's another issue.



Episode 5: Spending Summer Vacation With Everyone

- And once again, it's another episode with everyone, though it's discussed that it may not happen much more in the future. Iori's completely correct, and this exact conversation will be referenced 17 episodes later.

- That quick Gendo Ikari reference.

- Faaaaaan service.

- Yukiho digging in the sand. It's a joke.

- First appearance of Chihaya's "k-kuu" utterance.

- Notice that Iori hung out with Yayoi in the first and second episodes, and is protective of her here when Miki was being flirty. This is all before the 7th episode where their friendship is fully established.

- Kotori doing Kotori things. That and being lonely. Also, Ryuuguu Komachi's beginnings. You could barely see it in the papers on Kotori's desk during that phone call.

- The ages of the idols range from Yayoi to Azusa. Seeing Azusa drink that like really hammered in that fact. They're not all school girls, and they're not all from the same place. They work in the same office, but they're really of different walks of life.



Episode 6: The Decision to Continue Forward

- This was The Producer's episode, and it focused on him trying to understand his idols and himself better. It's jumpy, excited, and full of frustration of course.

- Miki asking an innocent question about joining Ryuuguu Komachi. Boy does this have implications 5 episodes later.

- That candy from Haruka becomes important too later on. Much, much later on.

- While the anime has small references to its game origins or its fandom, it also references itself through small bits of foreshadowing that don't amount to anything early on, but become greatly significant in later episodes. I once saw this referred to as basic foreshadowing, but that implies that there's a basic way to foreshadow things, and that the foreshadowing was inconsequential. While I'd argue it was effective in setting up lot points way down the line, I'd also argue that I'd much prefer basic foreshadowing than sudden plot revelations popping up out of nowhere. Yes, a sudden illness or departure is shocking, but so would Godzilla showing up and doing a tap dance. It's shocking, but it doesn't make for a good story without anything backing it up.

- There's actually some discussion about certain roles each idol is best suited in here. The show acknowledges here that each idol has their strengths and weaknesses, emphasizing their individuality and how not everyone can succeed at everything equally. In other words, these aren't identical, copy/pasted personas and character designs. They're each suited for different things.

- Also, fully animated and hand-drawn Smokey Thrill. Looks amazing and it completely improves upon the game's stiff CGI.



Episode 7: Things You Love, Things That Are Important

- Yayoi's episode is the most family-oriented episode, and thus it was warm and fuzzy than other episodes.

- The grouping here is Yayoi, Iori, and Hibiki. On paper, this grouping is awkward, yet it still works in execution.

- Take note of how Iori isn't dismissive of Yayoi's lifestyle. She remarks and reacts, but she never refuses hospitality, nor does she look down on anyone. Also, as a reminder, Iori's first appearance was the first iDOLM@STER arcade game's release in 2005. Rie's breakout anime, Shakugan no Shana, was also released that same year.

- The insert song here is literally bubbly.

- Here's a great moment in directing. When Chosuke ran out of the house, Yayoi remarked that such an event never happened before. We can't see Yayoi's face, but we can see everyone else's. It's a small, but great example of letting us, the viewer, figuring out how to feel by ourselves. In a lesser anime, we would have seen her face of what I'd presume awkward nervousness mixed with sadness. We can only guess here though.

- Iori here not only helping, but talking calmly to Chosuke about her own experiences and how to face his problems head on. This is, perhaps, recalling the Producer helping Iori in the second episode, but that might be extrapolating. The point here is that Iori isn't violent, abusive, immature, or unreasonable. She's demanding and prideful, but knows full well how to do her job and live as both a younger sibling and a person seeking recognition.

- I dislike group crying scenes, but in retrospect, this was one of the better non-arc episodes.



Episode 8: The Indirect Route to Happiness

- Azusa's episode with assistance from Miki and Makoto. Once again, near random grouping, but for some reason Miki and Makoto are a ship. Go figure.

- As a huge contrast from the down-to-Earth issues of the previous episode, Azusa is floaty and bubbly. Thus, her episode, makes no sense on paper.

- Trigger went all out with the animation for this episode. In the art department, you can see Gurren Lagann characters all over.

- Makoto is amazing.

- Once again, we have a character playing up her personality to the camera. Miki's stalling for time doing Miki things, but it works since that's her persona.

- This was simply a fun episode, but it really takes you around town to see all walks of life. Or, it also puts the characters into a wide variety of situations beyond simple school/training/concert locations.

- I've seen this episode criticized since it was solved immediately by Mr. Oil Baron, who's name is actually Oil Baron, being immediately married by that woman upon learning of his wealth. Why...why is it this single off-handed joke episode nitpicked over other shows out there? No, rather, is it supposed to be for its portrayal of this nameless woman? Is it the idea that wealth solved everything here? Was it the fact that it was solved so quickly to begin with? I understand the complaint, but it's just such an odd place for the complaint to surface.



Episode 9: Things You Can Do As Two

- Ami and Mami's episode was, oddly enough, of the mystery genre.

- This somewhat involved all the characters, but through the lens of the twins.

- It's quite intriguing how everyone gets caught up in Ami's and Mami's game. They all start acting different too, as if they were in an actual mystery anime. While this was present in previous episodes, this episode, since it featured all the characters, showed off their potential in being featured in any context, with any genre, and still make the story work.

- Around the time when the puzzle pieces began coming together, it got extremely tense somehow, up until the climax between Mami and Takane. The song choice makes no sense on paper, but without knowing it, Next Life sounds amazing in that scene.

- Suddenly, it turns into something by Studio Shaft during the "trap" scene.

- I dislike Remei Starline.

- And because of that, it took 5 years. Literally 5 years to learn of that after credit scene. This is exactly why The iDOLM@STER is too much for me. Every single time, there's always something new. Bah.



Episode 10: Moving Forward a Little Bit, With Everyone

- The athletic meet with everyone in it, and of course, it's the most "shounen-esque" episode of the anime.

- The twins trolling The Producer was great.

- Miki quickly stating something to the effect of "Ryuuguu Komachi or bust!"

- Iori putting her money and prestige to good use. Fast and effective scene of her flaunting her power. And of course, it was for Yayoi. And maybe Makoto as a favor back for messing up earlier. Wait, wasn't that a ship too? I've seen Makoto shipped with Yukiho, Miki, Yayoi, Mami, and Kotori off the top of my head. I would be surprised if the list went on too. Huh.

- Makoto is amazing. On top of making the Bullet-Speed Girls less tear-licking evil by turning that one girl lesbian, that last sprint was her channeling the soon-to-be Matoi Ryuko. I'm always hyped to hear Makoto charging at the last leg of the race.

- I will admit though, the baton handoffs were a bit awkward since it was always the camera zooming into the runner, pass, quick sound byte with a still of the running in motion, and repeat.

- And I will also admit that this could have been avoided if Makoto and Iori weren't so hot-headed. It also didn't help when Makoto tried to pick up the pace during the three-legged race, causing her to trip and injure her knee as a result of her own arrogance.



Episode 11: Hopes, Uncertainties and Signs

- This is technically Haruka's episode, and of course it's features everyone working together to improve themselves as idols. I say technically though as it's the true lead-in for Miki's story.
- A whole episode dedicated to training. There you go.

- If I remember correctly, Yukiho and Yayoi have the lowest base stats in the games, so it makes sense for them to be falling behind. I also recall that for Yukiho at least, she has the highest potential for growth.

- Adding onto the last point, I want to praise Yukiho here. Or, perhaps the writing staff. In any other anime, her outburst here would have been dragged out for at least one episode, if not two or three in the worst cases. It was quickly solved by Takane's pep talk and everyone moved on to their own personal training regimens on top of them studying for exams.

- Might I also highlight the fact that despite them studying for exams, we never see a classroom in the whole main episode? Thank you so very much iDOLM@STER.

- We also have another nod to Chihaya's arc here actually, as well as the further establishment of Haruka's and Chihaya's friendship. There was actually a brief awkward moment when Chihaya talked about her parents' divorce before Haruka switched the conversation to the cooking reminding her of the show in the 4th episode. So take apart this scene, Chihaya mentioned a heavy topic was was uncomfortable for her, so Haruka recognized this and called back to a previous episode that seemed inconsequential, but served its purpose here to change the subject, though it would later come up proper during Chihaya's arc.

- There's a lot of time spent throughout this episode with quiet scenes as well. This anime really knows how to slow itself down when appropriate.

- They also really know how to slow down during practice and highlight the characters' mistakes. They're usually small bits to improve on as well, rather than outright incompetence.

- Miki's talk with Ritsuko was actually pretty good, as we don't actually hear what they say. In fact, Miki slowly walks off, which was a great reaction to the bad news. No overacting, no heavy drama. We can only guess at the conversation's actual content, and the result is a simple text message of Miki calling The Producer an idiot.



Episode 12: A Goal with a One-Way Path

- ...Which is then followed by us hearing what they actually say. That and Miki running off, which didn't coincide with what happened previously.

- This is Miki's proper episode by the way, and it's floaty, but not floaty like Azusa's. Instead, rather than floating around like a cloud, it's floating around looking for something interesting. Something inspiring. Something that can get Miki excited and passionate about.

- And yes, the dialogue is damn awkward. Miki wanting to sparkle and wanting to feel excited as she spoke to The Producer was damn weird.

- Besides that though, watching Miki and the Producer go around town was pleasant enough, if just for the brief insight into Miki's daily habits.

- Also, that extremely fast Do-Dai appearance that I completely missed for so many years.

- While I didn't think much of the episode's actual content, I'll speak well on Chihaya here. She spoke once in the middle where she suggested that everyone should work on what they could in preparation for the upcoming concert, despite Miki being absent. She also commented during Miki's return that she should immediately get back to work to make up for lost time. Chihaya was both concerned and frustrated, but as a professional, the most important thing to do is to get the job done. I think a lesser anime would have inserted a good slapping contest with tears and whining, but that didn't happen. And thank goodness for that.

- Also, notice how Miki listens well to Chihaya's professionalism.



Episode 13: And so, the Girls Rise to the Shining Stage

- No opening. A great touch.

- Notice the gift boxes. Iori, Azusa, and Ami have their own boxes while everyone else's are grouped in a general 765 Pro box. Also note the promotional posters and banners that feature Ryuuguu Komachi above everyone else. While the idols have always been a close nit family, there are clear differences in how they're marketed. It's just never inspired any actual drama about one being better than the other, which is probably because there's no other established "group" in 765 Pro besides Ryuuguu Komachi.

- The episode starts off slow, much like a roller coaster begins its climb to the peak. As the air rises in tension though as Ryuuguu Komachi's situation gets worse. At first, they're stuck in a typhoon, then they're caught with a flat tire, and finally they're trapped in traffic and are outright panicking.

- Watching the staff haphazardly reorganize the song list is great. It's really great. It's sad to see, but it's really great to see the work put in behind the scenes, if just for a brief moment.
- The show starts off amazingly in how it paces its songs. They're all, in my opinion, throwaway, cliche, or standard fare songs that require neither attention nor care. Then in the middle, we start getting some image songs that feature full character art.

- It's a battle of time, where 765 Pro must stall for time while Ryuuguu Komachi are on their way, and the audience is getting restless. The idols are coming to the end of their list, and Miki is accidentally scheduled for two dance-intensive songs back to back. Recalling her promise in the previous episode to do her best, she gets on stage and turns on her stage persona. She's carefree and almost improvising, but she acts naturally with inspires confidence in the audience. She's sweating out there under the spotlight, but she's still smiling and working hard out there. Then, the lights dim and Heart of the Marionette begins.

- The first appearance of a non-cheery, non-poppy, non-standard fare song. A actual dance number too that was animated and everything. And it was by Miki, who shows off her serious voice here, securing her place as a very capable singer amongst the cast, one that shouldn't be underestimated. If I were to describe Miki in one word, she's the most clutch of the entire cast. She first demonstrated this in episode 6 where she memorized a whole dance sequence with Makoto in one go, and it was shown here again where she helped stall for as long as possible while giving the audience a great performance.

- Then we have a nice quiet scene between Haruka and Miki, where they simply discuss their impressions of the stage. There was actually a discussion about this before the performance, so it was a nice additional follow up. It was also nice to see more behind-the-scenes details such as the oxygen canisters and the floor plans to the performance hall in the back. This episode really went all out, and it's not over yet either.

- And there we go. REST@RT in its full animated glory. I had never been to an idol concert before, so this was my first exposure to what one might be like. In other anime, the focus would have been solely on the stage. We would barely hear the crowd, and at most we'd get reaction shots to various people in the stands looking on with tearful approval or something. Here, we get chants and hoots, We have lights swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the song. We got mobile lights, confetti, cheers, and a dynamic camera that expresses just how energetic a concert might be like. It was, at that moment, I think I became a fan of the anime.

- And then we had the ending where everyone was passed out exhausted. It was a great closure to a great episode, which then reflected on the past 13 episodes leading up to this halfway point.



Episode 14: The World that Began to Change!

- We're not immediately told the state of things by words. We're shown how things have changed visually. Haruka, echoing the first episode, almost trips at the train platform, but catches herself this time. She gets on like before, but as people get on board, she instead has to put on a disguise as to not draw attention. We see advertisements for herself and her coworkers on billboards, magazines, television screens, and in various apparel. We're shown the effects of the actual concert, which then leads into the characters finally narrating their own changes. They've become more confident in their work, and have found niches in the types of idols they wish to be.

- Yayoi hosts a cooking show, Yukiho has taken up theater, Hibiki has an animal show, Miki is an absolute superstar, Chihaya has begun pursuing purely musical interests, etc. I've seen criticisms that The iDOLM@STER characters are stagnant and undeveloped. We don't need everything narrated to us on screen, as if we were children incapable of understanding subtle visual cues. We don't need every single character to undergo extreme change, as it's unreasonable to expect every character in an anime to experience dramatic change. By itself, dramatic change isn't inherently good. I don't know how this became expected, but I see it happen in many criticisms of long running and slice-of-life franchises. I can only hope it's due to differing tastes, but regardless, here in this episode is character change. Subtle, understated, and in line with how they characters were established.

-And here's the appearance of Jupiter and 961 Pro. The largest amounts of criticisms I've seen for this show is with regards to 961 Pro. They're cartoonish and impossible to take seriously, so I do just that. I don't take them seriously, and instead treat them as a narrative tools to push the develop both the main and side characters, as well as help establish some of the more powerful moments of the second half. For the longest time, I didn't see their inclusion as flaws. I still don't, but I can at least understand their distaste. Though, if the lack of a continuous plot in The iDOLM@STER is seen as a flaw, and the inclusion of a plot here is also a flaw, I'm left exasperated at what is considered "good."

- Also, Miki showing maturity and another tiny hint at Chihaya's coming arc.



Episode 15: Everyone Together, It's a Live Broadcast! A Live Broadcast!

- This is a great episode demonstrating the comedic potential for The iDOLM@STER. In any scenario, with any combination of characters, they can perform without a hitch.

- Azusa being completely out of place, yet completely fitting for the preceding joke was great.

- The audience reactions are great.

- Makoto's cuteness appeal failure was great.

- Haruka choking on water was great.

- We actually got a nice little talk here between Chihaya and Haruka. Haruka looks up to Miki for being so amazingly confident. Chihaya admires Haruka for being upbeat and cheerful, despite messing up so much. Miki respects Chihaya for being serious and passionate at her job. This is some great characterization here.

- Haruka getting smacked in the face by the box was great, and was a reference to real life event too.

- Chihaya laughing uncontrollably was great.

- Miki not caring at all was great.

- Hibiki not noticing the bear sign was great.

- Takane's random ramen expedition and not knowing how to order food was great.

- The movie was purely Gurren Lagann and was amazing.

- Makoto's boyish appeal success was amazing.

- Yayoi being unable to read large words was great.

- Hibiki getting helplessly lost was great. Not everything worked out properly, which sounds like a proper game show.

- This was, by far, one of the best standalone comedic episodes I've seen.



Episode 16: How It Feels to be All Alone

- Thinking back, Yayoi's episode was focused around her family. Hibiki was there, and here, we have another episode about family, but it's about Hibiki's pets. As I'm typing this, perhaps the groupings weren't completely random, and were actually planned to an even more subtle level than I thought. I'm possibly overthinking this, but at this stage, I'm willing to go all out.

- This was actually one of the weaker episodes, as the conflict revolved around Hibiki completely falling for Kuroi's ploy, despite being warned beforehand. Additionally, the resolution was a simplistic "happily ever after" ending I've seen in other similar shows.

- This does, however, highlight Hibiki's character as being the most loneliest, despite it never being outright stated in the anime.

- Also, that brief Chihaya bit was a thing.



Episode 17: Makoto, A True Prince

- Makoto is great, but this was, in my opinion, the second weakest episode. While Trigger worked on this episode, we were cheated out of a Makoto fight, the art dipped in multiple areas, and the whole beginning sequence was an awkward setup for the rest of the episode.
- By the way, Chihaya moment again.

- What I did like about this episode was how much of a Shoujo anime this felt like. For a Makoto episode, it's very appropriate for The iDOLM@STER to step into Shoujo territory.

- Another thing I like is how it chose to characterize Makoto. In other anime, the tomboyish character would want to be girly, but is traumatized by being bullied over any attempts to do so. They're also typically insecure about being tomboyish to begin with, so they tend to over exaggerate how boyish they are, are actually visibly girlish but simply talk tough, or veer towards tsundere-like qualities when confronted. For their character episodes, they may dress up as a girl, but they'll eventually revert back to being boyish, as that's either what they're most confortable being, or that's what the show requires to continue the status quo. It's very stereotypical and expected, rendering the archetype a one-note bore.

- Here, Makoto makes constant strides to be girlish, but just so happens to be a failure at doing so. It has been treated comically before, but for this episode, it takes a more dramatic look at it. In a lesser anime, other characters would force the tomboyish character into girlish outfits, but Makoto has always tried to change herself. She has a clear goal for being an idol, and she's frustrated that she's pigeonholed as a tomboy. Makoto realizes though that the dream she wishes for is the same dream she can fulfill for other girls - a revelation that left her speechless.

- The ending carousel had bubbles and sparkles everywhere. Literally a typical shoujo. It's cliché, simple, but somehow fitting.

- Makoto is a character that wears many masks. She's a boyish idol, a girlish idol, a tomboy by nature, and a girl at heart. The distinction between the person she wants to be, the idol other see her as, her characterization in a meta sense, and the person she truly is has given me some of the best musings over gender identity since Revolutionary Girl Utena.



Episode 18: Lots of, Everything

- Ritsuko's episode is one revolving around nostalgia. It's quite reflective while beginning the trend of scattered quiet moments, signaling the coming end of the series.

- Chihaya again.

- I've seen this episode praised for its animation actually, as well as how well it recalls Ritsuko's past. Oddly enough, while I recognize both points, I didn't consider this episode to be all that impressive when compared to other episodes. I don't really have much to say with regards to Ritsuko herself, though I must admit seeing her practice with Iori and Ami was quite amusing. This was then followed by her practicing alone in a park at night, which made for a great moment demonstrating, once again, how much work the idols do off-screen.

- I also want to emphasize this episode for Azusa. To repeat, this episode is absolutely amazing for how it treat illness. In any other anime, this would have been the annoyingly obtrusive "character gets sick, collapses on stage, tears and suffering" drama bomb. Here, Azusa gets the mumps, calls in sick, and the characters simply get a replacement. I cannot thank The iDOLM@STER enough for this show of tact and respect for ourselves and its characters. The cast isn't a one-trick act. They can work in varying combinations, and they don't require every single character to be present. 765 Pro consists not of one single functioning group, but multiple diverse individuals that can also work together, making for extremely dynamic interactions, and this episode demonstrates this quality expertly.

- Also, notice Miki's show of maturity, turning down Ritsuko's request to be part of Ryuuguu Komachi. Once again, a lot of tact and respect for ourselves and the characters.



Episode 19: Like the Moon Hiding Between the Clouds

- Much like Takane, this episode is shrouded in mysteries.

- I've once heard that The iDOLM@STER succeeds at diversifying its characters, yet blends their characters at certain levels to have overlaps without appearing like a disjointed handful of Skittles. I agree with this, as Takane has a similar air of affluent nobility, much like Iori is a rich scion. However, as Iori is prideful and loud, Takane is graceful and aloof. This overlap exists throughout the cast, such as Haruka/Makoto/Yukiho being girlish, Ami/Mami/Yayoi/Iori being childish, Haruka/Chihaya/Miki's professionalism, Azusa/Takane being aloof, and so on.

- Here's a tidbid about myself: I disliked being surprised. It's not that I want to see plot events coming from a mile away, but I don't have a high opinion of anime that rely on plot twists and shock value. They may be fun to watch the first time, but I'll never enjoy them as much the second time around. It's one of the reasons why I like slice-of-life anime, as I can rewatch them repeated without ever getting tired. Their events are to be expected, so they're not the draw of show. It's instead the characters, the atmosphere, and the interactions.

- Chihaya and Takane are, in their own ways, mysterious characters, but while Takane is a mystery by design, Chihaya is simply withdrawn, so their conversation strikes me as someone with true hidden depths telling another to be cautious of uncovering secrets.

- That Chihaya drama bomb though.

- Takane's character songs remind me of Kalafina.



Episode 20: Promise

- Chihaya's episode. Dyed blue, accented with slow instrumental pieces, and featuring long silent scenes, this episode begins the final act of The iDOLM@STER, which are some of the best episodes of slice-of-life drama I've seen.

- First, no opening theme. Absolutely fantastic.

- The characters are narrating over the events being portrayed in the episode. One particular moment I like is when Chihaya was in a lesson but could get her voice out, thus she began screaming in pain and frustration. However, this wasn't actually voiced, and we could only see what was going on. We, as viewers, had to interpret the events of the episode. Had this been voiced, it would have probably been raspy, painful, and overly dramatic. Or, in other words, the workings of a lesser anime. We don't need to hear everything that happens. We just need to know that it did, and our minds can fill in the blanks. No matter how the scene played out, it would not have been as effective as it is in our minds.

- Without making a big fuss, Chihaya quietly leaves the agency. We can then see the effects of the column detailing her past in various magazines and talk shows. The characters have to compensate for her absence by keeping up appearances, remaining cheerful and upbeat on camera, despite being torn up in the inside.

- A nice moment between Haruka and Chihaya here where Chihaya yells at her. Well, maybe "nice" is the wrong word, but it was done quite well. Haruka is ousted as a happy-go-lucky "do your best" character, and this bit is discussed between Haruka and The Producer.

- Also, notice how long it's been since The Producer has been around. Additionally, notice how much work the characters have been getting over the past couple episodes. His role in the anime is to keep the spotlight shining on the idols. He's not meant to be a developed character, stealing away attention from the main actors. However, The Producer does act as support for the girls given the situation. Since the beginning of the series, The Producer has been a boss, a teacher, an older brother, a guidance counselor, a punching bag, a promoter, a prince, and a friend. He's not a developed character, but he becomes dynamic by reflecting the diverse cast upon himself, and this is without stealing away screentime.

- Seeing everyone working together to write their own song was great. They've really grown since the first episode.

- Hello Evangelion elevator scene. Or maybe it's the train station scene. Either ways, the 10 second hold on Chihaya in her room was absolutely amazing. The depression shown here isn't screaming, crying, whining, and in-your-face visuals demanding that you should feel sad. It's quiet, but unbearably heavy. Reserved, yet speaks volumes without a single word.

- Haruka is truly a great friend here, and rather some cheap scene of Haruka breaking in or Chihaya running out of the door, Haruka simply departs, leaving Chihaya to look over Haruka's delivery.

- Chihaya's return backstage was quite nice, but starting from here, The iDOLM@STER ascends to yet another level, rising above all other titles I've seen in the same vein.

- In any other show, the episode would have ended after Chihaya returned back stage, where she'd, in a cliché way, run on stage, give some cheesy speech about friendship, then end with a solo song. Instead, we have that same talk just between Haruka and Chihaya, which is much more personal and effective.

- In any other show, once Chihaya got on stage, she would have, with a cheap, teary smile, begun singing some cheesy idol pop thanking the audience with characters on the side reacting and commenting. Instead, Chihaya calmly gets on stage, begins to sing, and chokes. She completely chokes. On the spot, in front of an entire audience, she chokes. It was completely heartbreaking.

- Then, in another step beyond other titles, we get the group performance of Yakusoku. Prior, Chihaya was characterized by having great vocals, but it wasn't until now where we truly got to hear her voice boom. She's not just an idol. She's a professional singer, one that doesn't rely on pure visual appeal to garner fans.

- I've seen criticisms of this arc not being impactful emotionally, and while I'd chalk that up to personal taste, I'll say this: for the longest time, I considered Haruka's arc to be the most impactful, as well as the one with the most amount of effort and build up put into creating it. For a singular episode however, this episode was, perhaps, the best in terms of how its events were paced out, how its atmosphere was built up, and how its climatic end brought Chihaya's main story to a close.



Episode 21: Like a Flower Blooming

- This episode revolved mainly around the secondary cast, namely President Takagi, President Kuroi, Kotori and Yoshizawa. As such, the episode leading into a piano bar was absolutely fantastic, lending to iDOLM@STER's ability to transition from pop idol nonsense to a place that's respectable and refined. By no means am I making hispter or elitist claims. This is simply demonstrating The iDOLM@STER's ability to exist at so many levels.

- Also, if Miki is clutch, then I'd describe Chihaya as badass. Yes, in iDOLM@STER of all places, I'd describe a character as badass. That moment when Chihaya got on stage and sung without any musical accompaniment impacted that much. It fully demonstrated Chihaya's, and her voice actress's, abilities as not an idol, but a singer. It was, perhaps, the most powerful singular moment in the entire anime.

- I've seen before that The iDOLM@STER lacks full performances and actual idol songs performed on stage when compared to other anime. I agree, as from what I've seen, in terms of being an idol anime, it isn't as effective in that regard. As an actualanime though, it uses songs as a medium to get across so much. There's just too much unsaid about the underlying of The iDOLM@STER that I fear I'm unsure of where I'm looking too far. But, the point stands. While it falls behind in the sheer number of concert performances, it provides great depth and impact in return for fewer performances. And, seeing as I don't seem to enjoy idol anime, The iDOLM@STER, as lesser performing idol anime, instead becomes a greater performing anime in all other areas.

- By the way, I completely lost it when I saw Kotori perform at the bar. Black velvet dress, piano accompaniment, and an appropriately jazzy song? Time after time again, The iDOLM@STER impresses me.

- And finally, the end to the 961 Pro bit, and it was quite nice actually. There was no real big blow up, the dust calmly settled after the fallout and life continued on.



Episode 22: On Christmas Eve

- The most reflective and warm-feeling of all the episodes given its relation to Christmas and New Years. It's also the proper beginnings of Haruka's arc, appropriately enough.

- This happened in episode 13, but once again, Haruka walks into an empty office, remarking at how busy everyone has become. After episode 14, you really lose track of how popular everyone has gotten. People came and went, characters are grouped and separated, the fiasco with 961 Pro distracted from everyone's true growth until this episode. Upon looking back, 765 Pro's journey has come a long way in a single year. Everyone is at different locations with different responsibilities, working for their own specific sponsers and fan bases. They're all living their dreams, the same dreams they set out to fulfill at the beginning of the show.

- The Producer really pulled out all the stops here to get everyone together. Behind the scenes, he's a really hard worker.

- Seeing everyone accidentally bring one cake each was hilariously charming, giving that warm Chrismas-feel. That's on top of everyone catching Yukiho's birthday simultaneously.

- And here's that callback to episode 5. Iori stated that everyone would be amazingly busy in one year's time, so much that they would hardly see each other anymore. This prediction came true, and while it's great that everyone's living up to their full potential, it's also sad that this family is slowly moving away as each character pursues their own passions. It's a natural course of action, especially given how diverse the cast is, and is a great quality to have. As a result, having this discussed was an absolute pleasure.

- There's a subtle scene here where Haruka is standing apart in the dark, looking at all her friends surrounded by light. This image has burned into Haruka's mind so many times, but it has since become such a rare sight that it made her pause, possibly without her realizing it.



Episode 23: I

- And here's Haruka's arc in full force.

- What does it mean to be an idol? What kinds of clothes do you wear? What kinds of songs and acts do you perform? Who do you meet? How do you speak?

- What is an idol to the individual? What is an idol to the audience? What is the difference between your own definitions and the definitions of the public? Where do they overlap? Where to they conflict?

- What work goes into becoming an idol? How much practice do you do? How much control do you have over the direction of your career?

- Do you have to make sacrifices to become successful?

- At the end, when you're successful and popular, are you still able to reach back at people behind you? Are you still the same person from when you started? Was your goal reached the way you intended? Do you even remember your original goal?

- This episode performed wonderfully. Similar to episode 20, in any other anime, these events would have been compressed to a single blow up. There would have been a sudden breakdown in front of the whole cast, featuring painfully dramatic scenes like screaming, slapping, and declarations of quitting with lots of shock and awe.

- Instead, we have Haruka slowly breaking down. She starts of cheerful, remarking at how she hardly falls on her face anymore. She then becomes distraught over the difficulty of failing to get everyone to practice for the New Year's conert, as well as the hardships of her the stage play audition. She's still optimistic though, and pumps herself up to dispel thoughts of doubt and worry.

- By the way, from episode 3, we get to see Yukiho in full bloom. She's the center for her new song, and she performs great. It's amazing to see how far she's gotten, just as Haruka was amazing, if just a little sad at seeing everyone growing increasingly distant.

- Once again, in any other anime, Chihaya leaving for an overseas recording would have been the big moment. She's Haruka's best friend, and this would have been a huge blow to Haruka's emotional state. However, Haruka instead keeps up the cheerful act, pushing Chihaya to go since that's what she's always dreamed of doing. Maintaining the facade, Haruka goes home, completely depressed, yet strong enough to not worry her friends.

- Then, the Sunday show was cancelled. Here's a great moment where everyone reacts in passive acceptance, but as this is going on, we get shots of everyone with Haruka in the forefront. We're unable to see Haruka's face though, so we can only guess at what she's feeling. This is similar to a scene in episode 7 with Yayoi, but it's done to greater effect here.
- We then get some really great cinematography as Haruka realizes how alone she is. My favorite is the zoomed out shot of her walking alone on that bridge.

- Slowly but surely, Haruka is breaking down, and the biggest blow was Miki refusing to work together with Haruka for the stage play. I've seen Miki praised here for being professional and Haruka criticized for being a selfish goodie-two-shoes. I've also seen Miki criticized for being unreasonable aggressive and Haruka being ignored altogether. I see this as a great moment where two people want different things out of the same job. Seeing these desires clash, especially since Haruka didn't even intend to spark aggression, was a great moment for both Haruka's and Miki's characterization.

- Lastly, the scene between Haruka and The Producer. You know, up until this point, Haruka has hardly tripped or acted clumsy. Then suddenly, she almost trips - into an open trap door on stage. It was so fast that if you blinked, you could have missed it. Haruka almost falls in, The Producer pulls her own and falls in instead. Then, a cut to the credits. I'd hesitate to call this scene perfect, but I have no idea how to improve on it. That was just...perfect. And the credit was simple white text on black, eventually giving way to stills of the operation, the reactions of the characters, and the actual first time Haruka has cried during this arc. Everything is subdued, quiet, and restrained, yet it provides more depth than any crying session could offer.



Episode 24: Dream

- I'm an absolute fan of theatrics, especially those which blend in-universe realities and our own real life perceptions. The beginning of this episode was fantastic. It was beyond anything I could have expected from The iDOLM@STER, even after the previously great episodes.

- Characterized by introspection, the core of Haruka's arc details her reason for becoming an idol, her reason for remaining an idol, and the path she wishes to remain on as she continues down her path.

- No opening too. I love the attention and care put into this anime. I really do.

- For the record, while I like Makoto the best when considering all of iDOLM@STER's material, within just the anime, I consider Haruka the best for how she's characterized here. She didn't break down and quit out of frustration. She truly wanted to work harder at getting everyone together, but upon realizing that she had forgotten her reason for being an idol, she froze. She didn't start bawling uncontrollably, she just silently broke down, questioning her own reason for being. This also wasn't in front of an entire audience or with the whole group, it was just with Ritsuko and Miki. To me, this moment contends with Chihaya regaining her voice for the most single powerful moment in the anime. For Chihaya, it was her coming to terms with her trauma. For Haruka, it was her realizing it existed to begin with.

- Haruka was made to take a leave of absence, despite her wanting to continue working. During this, we have another silent scene with Haruka in her room, recalling when Chihaya isolated herself. The difference, however, was that Haruka was still willing to leave her home and venture outside.

- This was referenced in episode 20 actually, where Haruka's position as the cheerful "do your best" character was discussed. Here, we have Haruka trying to come to terms with herself. She didn't need a huge recovery team to come to her rescue, full of tearful hugs and all that. Haruka took a personal journey, getting her back on track by herself. In any other anime, there would have been some big message of love and friendship. Instead, through the strength of the individual, Haruka is able to return to 765 Pro with open arms. You don't need to become Perfect Blue to have introspection. You really, really don't.



Episode 25: Everyone, Together!

- And the finale. Here, The iDOLM@STER does a mashup of both the first and second opening songs with all new animation. This isn't a linear journey, nor is it a cyclical one. It's one built on top of previous experiences. The iDOLM@STER not only understands this, but it also visually demonstrates this through another fully animated live performance.

- Yes, the last talk the Producer had listing everyone's names off was cheesy. Yes, the last talk where everyone narrated their enthusiasm on stage was cheesy. Yes, the last song itself was cheesy. But damn it all, at this point, it was well earned. The growth of one year and 25 episodes led to this point, and it served as a great farewell to the series. At least until the rest of the series happened, which I didn’t have as high of an opinion on.

- That President Kuroi trolling though.

- Really nice ending to an anime that was far better than it had any right to be.





tl;dr

Episode 1: Great introduction to the characters.

Episode 2: Iori episode. Great introduction to their work.

Episode 3: Yukiho episode. Great first concert to show off how unpopular they are.

Episode 4: Chihaya’s first episode. A risky episode that could have gone really bad.

Episode 5: Beach episode. Nice discussion about the future.

Episode 6: Producer episode. Understanding how each idol works. First signs of Miki’s arc. First fully animated song.

Episode 7: Yayoi episode. Iori had some nice moments. Very family oriented.

Episode 8: Azusa episode. Trigger was here.

Episode 9: Ami and Mami episode. Suddenly, a mystery anime.

Episode 10: Idol competition episode. Suddenly, a shounen anime.

Episode 11: Haruka’s first episode. Training, training, training. Miki’s arc begins.

Episode 12: Miki episode. Awkward, but had some nice Chihaya moments.

Episode 13: First big concert episode. Miki being clutch. Amazing overall.

Episode 14: Cooldown episode. Subtle growth and passage of time. 961 Pro properly appears. First signs of Chihaya’s arc.

Episode 15: Are We Live!? episode. Amazingly hilarious.

Episode 16: Hibiki episode. Probably the weakest episode. Family oriented, but with pets.

Episode 17: Makoto episode. Probably the second weakest. Suddenly, a shoujo anime.

Episode 18: Ritsuko episode. That direction style though.

Episode 19: Takane episode. Overshadowed by the fact that it’s the beginning of Chihaya’s arc.

Episode 20: Chihaya’s second episode. Amazing atmosphere, build up, and climax.

Episode 21: Side character episode. Departure of 961 Pro. Quite classy.

Episode 22: Christmas episode. Reflective and nostalgic-feeling. Haruka’s arc begins.

Episode 23: Haruka’s second episode. Breakdown. Amazingly directed.

Episode 24: Haruka’s third episode. Again, amazingly directed.

Episode 25: Finale episode. Budget being dumped in truckloads here. Great ending.

Anime Relations: The iDOLM@STER, Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! School Idol Project 2nd Season

I don't exactly like The iDOLM@STER as a franchise. In truth, I have a low opinion of all the idol franchises I've exposed myself to, which includes The iDOLM@STER, Love Live, AKB0048, and Wake-Up Girls. However, The iDOLM@STER remains a mystery to me, where I truly enjoy its anime and specific song choices. Before writing my blog entry on The iDOLM@STER, I tried to figure out why I thought that way, which is why I watched the other three idol anime I listed. I also plan on watching others as well, since it's something I don't fully understand.

As a note, I have not watched the Love Live movie, the The iDOLM@STER movie, or Cinderella Girls. Everything is based solely on the 2011 iDOLM@STER TV anime and the Love Live TV anime.



The iDOLM@STER at a Glance

Back in 2011, I didn't know a thing about The iDOLM@STER. My only exposure to it was a few assorted song clips off of Nico Nico Douga and Wikipedia info about its games, but it wasn't until I saw discussions about it involving former Gainax staff did I take interest. When I was first watched The iDOLM@STER anime, I didn't know a thing about the idol industry either. However, I did have experience with shows such as K-on, Lucky Star, Strike Witches, and Love Hina, so I had expected some ecchi harem comedy. As such, that was my frame of reference.




Immediately, I was impressed by the first episode. It took its time to introduce all its characters in a way I had never seen, using the interviews to focus specifically on the characters' personalities, not comedic gimmicks nor a dramatic plot. I really appreciate that, as it does not distract from the characters, which is critical to a slice-of-life. Of course, this is in retrospect, as at the time I was only drawn by the first episode's style.

The episodes up until the halfway point was a roller coaster, and I had found myself learning more about each individual character thanks to their highlight episodes. Then, episode 8 made me a Makoto Kikuchi fan through Studio Trigger's assistance. Episode 10 did it again, simultaneously demonstrating characters' guts and ability to be clutch. Episode 13 followed through in spades. In a lesser show, just one of the individual songs would have been the big moment, and the rest of the episode would have been panicking. The iDOLM@STER has the luxury of a huge song library, allowing it to pace itself out with cheap inserts and give its biggest songs the most attention, particularly its fully hand drawn dance sequences.

The following episodes was a roller coaster experience, as the idols slowly became more famous, and by having it narrated. It's a slow transition, marked by how the characters disguise themselves, ads around town, and the characters' mannerisms adjusting to their newfound popularity. Yet, this was the area where The iDOLM@STER started to drag, as it reflects its usage of filler songs - padding itself out before the bigger moments. The episodes preceding the 20th are the ones I see as the core of the The iDOLM@STER anime. Today, I would give this portion a 10/10 if the anime were divided up. This is not something I'd easily do, as the last time I've given something a 10/10 was Tokyo Godfather in 2012.




In an ordinary anime, the 20th episode would have been the end with Chihaya's arc. However, it continued into episode 21 with a fantastic a Capella performance, something which I have never seen before. I described Chihaya's performance as badass - a word I never would have imagined using for an idol anime. Episode 22's Christmas episode was a fine breather episode, with small hints setting up the final arc. Haruka's downward spiral in episode 23 was a slow transition, rather than something caused by a singular event like illness, bureaucratic interference, or someone moving away. Seeing her slowly crumble, only to finally shed tears in the ending sequence, completely recalls the drama of Key Visual Arts, but restrained to a down-to-earth level. By that point, and up until the end of the show, I was a fan.

At that point, I began looking more intently at the series as a whole, including the CDs, console games, live performances, and the online social games. From what I concluded, when the series speaks with a heartfelt intent, I regard it with great respect. At other times, it just disappoints me, if not outright insults me. This greatly surprised and confused me, which caused me to watch other idol anime such as Love Live, AKB0048, and Wake-Up Girls to experience more idol anime. Once again, to my surprise, none of them impressed.




Love Live at a Glance

Love Live in particular was of interest, due to its great popularity. I've actually watched it twice, thinking I would like it better the second time. I truly like its comedy, and I consider it far better than The iDOLM@STER. The best comedic moments of The iDOLM@STER were Azusa's wedding shoot and the game show, but those were by virtue of Studio Trigger's influence. Outside of those episodes, nothing really stood out. Comparatively, Love Live reminded me of a Disney television show, where the comedy was fast paced with quick cuts. Aided by how damn pretty the show is, everything was just radiant and colorful. However, everything felt hollow, where the show seemed to drive itself with its drama - something which never had any weight.




In the very first minute, Love Live's conflict is immediately introduced: the school is closing down, and no one can do anything about it. I didn't even know who Honoka was, but apparently I was supposed to feel sorry for both her, and for the school, which I knew even less about. This then transitioned into the opening them, which conveniently shows off all the characters important to the anime. The beginning drama of earning members was already spoiled by the opening dance sequence. Thus, the interference by Eli and Nico only prolonged their eventual membership. Then, the end of the first season had Honoka's illness, Kotori's departure, and the possible breaking up of the group all piled up within a few episodes. I believe they did not predict a second season, which is why everything was poured in at the end. Had they, such drama should have been paced out over the two seasons, rather than the clumsiness that currently exists.

The second season had its own share of troubles as well, with its beginning so full of cheesy comedy that, while I enjoyed, was remarkably corny. There's something about Honoka running into the rain, shouting at it to stop. Not only did it stop, but rays of light broke through the clouds, and as Honoka ran happily, horses neighed, rainbows came about, and the camera panned around Honoka as if she were some Disney princess. It was hilarious and I loved it, but for the wrong reasons intended.

Then, as the show continued, it turns out that A-Rise, whom μ's earnestly trailed, actually admired them and desired to make peace without any confrontation. Everything works out, nobody's feelings were hurt, and the show ended on an anti-climactic note with the first opening being played. It's quite something actually, as in comparison, The iDOLM@STER had a mash up of both its openings, as if everything finally came together at the end. In Love Live, it seemed more like they were back to where they started - without a reason for being beyond their loosely defined enthusiasm. This actually served as a reason for why I rewatched Love Live, as I honestly couldn't remember why the members of μ's were involved beyond their friendship, which relates to how I interpret idol anime.



To Be an Idol Anime

As an idol anime, its purpose should be to sell its characters, thriving on variety to appeal to the broadest audience. Love Live appeals to its viewership first and foremost, as evident by its voting system influencing how songs are performed. However, its aesthetic is singular, its songs are all of the energetic pop idol breed, and its archetypical characters are walking gimmicks, full of one-liner responses to any given situation. From the moment each character joins μ's, they hardly change, nor are they ever challenged. The entire show is a safe environment for vague idol dreams to thrive. At first, it was to save the school. Then, it was to surpass A-Rise. Then, it was the Love Live competition. These were goals of μ's, but not goals of each individual member. As a result, each character exist merely as extensions of μ's, rather than individual people. There's hardly any variety to this. If one were to not like μ's or its songs, the characters held no weight, for they were hardly characters to begin with. This is weakness is furthered by the debacle regarding the group's center. Such a concept was foreign to me going into Love Live, as The iDOLM@STER never addressed the issue of having a center. It creates a hierarchy of importance within μ's, devaluing each character as a result. Thus further surprised me when I went into AKB0048, which completely revolves around centers in an idol unit. And, in the The iDOLM@STER games, this concept of a center exists as well, which strikes me as odd considering it never came up in the anime.




In the case of The iDOLM@STER's anime, the idols exist as individuals, only brought together under the label of 765 Pro during the biggest moments. Since μ's always travel as one group, there never seemed to be a truly important moment. Every song is a group song, and each ending sequence, while they're sung by different member combinations, are always the same song. No matter how the combination is configured, μ's is limited to its own singular existence.

In comparison, The iDOLM@STER's anime alone has over 60 unique songs, with a large portion sung by individual characters. The genius of The iDOLM@STER's anime is its usage of its songs. If the characters are the focus, then its songs are its driving force. These songs are individualized, fitting the personalities and styles of each character, whom are cardboard cutout archetypes, no different than Love Live. However, by individualizing the songs, they, by extension, flesh out each character as unique people, possessing different vocal qualities, different choices of songs, and different types of appeal to different people. 765 Pro ties everyone together, but with the anime's construction, it's built for people to latch on to at least one character's unique character gimmick, personality type, personal goals, song type, or simply their visual appeal. Love Live does this as well, but without the help of individualized songs or specific goals. Without them, Love Live's characters lack a humanity to them. This is further emphasized in how both are drawn.

There also exists a wide variety of settings, jobs, and performance types that extend beyond just musical concerts in The iDOLM@STER. Love Live does have more concert scenes, which furthers its status as a better idol show. However, it's completely centers itself around its school setting, extending momentarily to places such as a beach vacation house, Akihabara, and various members' homes. These places involve idol training, looks into the members' and family situations, and general development revealing their personal lives. The iDOLM@STER in comparison does not involve schools nor Akihabara, but in addition to the beach episode, it includes backwater villages, game shows, wedding shoots, shopping arcades, track and field events, cityscapes, amusement parks, a high-class restaurant, and various meet-and-greet events. While The iDOLM@STER is centered around the 756 Pro office, it's not always the focus. Instead, it's a home base where it allows the show to leap into other contexts, expressing The IDOLM@STER as a colorful world with different events happening every episode, making it akin to a show about professional idols working in a business, rather than school idols strictly living out their idealistic dreams.

The iDOLM@STER did not have the clean, high quality art and animation which Love Live had. Instead, The iDOLM@STER stutters in animation, featuring a multitude of off-model scenes in between its big concert episodes. However, because of this, the tradeoff is this allows the entire show to be rendered in the same hand drawn aesthetic. The exaggerated art style takes full advantage of the animated medium, giving a vibrant liveliness which, in The iDOLM@STER's case, lacks in its CG rendered games. This is shared with Love Live, as its CG, despite being combined with hand drawn animation, comes across as too perfect. Too clean. Orchestrated. Artificial. In addition, While having each and every song performed beautifully would be nice, nothing would feel special. They'd all be on the same level with no sense of change. This allows the big moments to seem even bigger, as the performances would completely outdo everything else prior. There's a sense of flow here, where the music and level of detail rises and falls with the story, where the slow and fun times feature equally fun songs of lesser importance. These moments also feature fewer idols, with groups of approximately 3 being focused on at a time. The entire cast won't show up in every episode, stealing screen time from one another. This personalizes each focus episode, allowing the bigger moments, where all the idols are assembled with more intense songs, to truly feel like a grand event.

With regards to its style, because The iDOLM@STER is hand drawn, there exists an organic rhythm to its animation, where everything is always lively, jumping around, excited and full of energy. During the dance scenes, hair and clothes jump as the characters jump. They have sweat beads on their faces, showing off their effort and demonstrating the difficulty of dancing and singing under the spotlight. The The iDOLM@STER games and Love Live lack this, and as a result, we a carefully constructed stage with idols on it. No people, no audience, and no visual proof of hardship. I suppose Honoka collapsing immediately after their school festival performance counts as hardship, but during the dance sequence, there was no evidence as such. After the performance, it seemed as if she threw herself to the ground, suffering from her deadly cold. Of course, μ's aren't professional idols, they're school idols. They're not expected to act like Miki of The iDOLM@STER, who after two straight dance-heavy performances, collapsed off the stage, taking her time to recover for the next number. Nor should they act like Chihaya, choosing to sing alone on the stage despite recovering from a traumatic event with the backup music disabled.

Lastly, The iDOLM@STER appeals to a wide breadth of fans, both of the idol variety and those whom have nothing to do with the craze. On one hand, The iDOLM@STER possesses idol anime traits comparable to Love Live. On the other, it has the fan appeal of small, subtle shout outs to the The iDOLM@STER fan base, including in-jokes, memes, references to real life events, and references to their voice actresses’ personality quirks. It also references Studio Trigger and Gainax's history of wild action and mecha combat, reaching outside the idol fan base. It also possesses a wide variety of songs beyond the typical high-pitched pop idol variety, with each idol displaying their vocal range through original songs and covers. For example, Miki Hoshii is characterized as a lazy, gluttonous, bubbly idol who performs like a superstar due to her upbeat personality. Her songs, however, range from high-pitched idol pop, to jazz, to a melancholic song of longing, to even a calm love song about the passing seasons. Each character has this kind of range in tone and style, allowing them to show off their talents beyond their visual appeal and personality quirks. This is character development through songs, which expresses the different emotions they can take, as well as demonstrating their abilities as singers, not idols.

With regards to the anime's writing, it’s a story that stretches from start to finish, where moments from the very beginning get brought back and referenced at the very end, often through significant revelations and events. In fact, moments throughout the entire show have implications on where the idols stood at the end of The iDOLM@STER, a move normally associated with introspective anime of a higher caliber. It respects its viewers enough to not give a watered-down idol experience full of fluffy hopes and dreams. Instead, it's full of hard work in trying to reach those dreams. It's not easy, but it's something you can work through with your friends and family. And yet, you can't always rely on them. At some point, you also need to stand on your own two feet. To do that, you need to know who you are, what you're trying to accomplish, what you're willing to sacrifice to get there, and to give proper thanks to everyone who got you to where you are. Reach for the stars, but never forget where you stand.




Ending Thoughts


For an idol show, this is something both children and adults could gain from. The iDOLM@STER appeals to different mindsets as such, a far cry from Love Live's attempt at appealing to idol fans strictly through pure visuals and character gimmicks. It actually surprised me to hear Love Live airing on Japan's Disney channel, which helps in my comparison of Love Live to a Disney show. In fact, Love Live should have had a harder time appealing to a broad viewership, as it presents itself as a highly eccentric idol show, compared to The iDOLM@STER which is more down-to-earth and approachable by non-idol fans. Perhaps it's because Love Live has such a strong singular identity and purpose: servicing its fan base without any twists or turns. First problem: school is closing. Second problem: the Love Live competition. Love Live, as such, succeeds by being direct, simple, and to the point.

Comparatively, The iDOLM@STER emphasizes more heavily emphasizes its slice-of-life presentation, where each episode is its own story, featuring a different idol, in different contexts, with different music, and with subtly different styles. Paradoxically, The iDOLM@STER's diversity lost to Love Live's simplicity.

Because of this, Love Live succeeds as an idol anime, appealing to the idol fan base directly and presenting itself with a clear, straightforward, easy to understand plot. They are idol characters in the truest sense, existing in a lighthearted and carefree world devoid of any implications regarding the idol business. However, I don't see them as people, unlike the The iDOLM@STER characters. Each has their own dreams; they have their own reasons for being an idol, influenced by their archetypes, backgrounds, experiences, personalities, and reasons for being. And, with the show itself, The iDOLM@STER is an idealistic and optimistic portrayal of the idol business, but it presents itself as a setting founded on hard work and struggle. At the end, isn't this variety what idol shows strive for? Also, much like an idol show, happy endings exist, but they don't come cheap. As a fan of slice-of-life shows grounded in reality, I couldn't ask for anything more, which is why I'm a fan of the The iDOLM@STER anime. At least, that’s what I tell myself.

With the series as a whole, which includes hundreds of repeated gimmick-driven characters, trash pop idol songs, a fearsome fan base I distance myself from, and a gravure photography game attached to the main series, I find solace in the anime and the songs with adventure away from the typical and cliché.

With that, I'm going to give another listen to Takane Shijou's rendition of Katachi Aru Mono.







tl;dr - The iDOLM@STER is the greatest pandering show I have seen. At face value, The iDOLM@STER is a fun slice-of-life story about characters from a small-time idol agency working their way up in the world, learning more about themselves and adjusting to an ever-changing life. Peeling back its layers, The iDOLM@STER has a variety of characters, music, styles, tones, and levels of enjoyment which allow newcomers to enjoy it as an anime, existing fans to get a kick out of the subtle series in-jokes, and people like me to dig in and piece together its inner workings.

Love Live is a fun idol show with a distinct comedic style, reminding me Disney at some points. When it's having fun with its characters, it truly shines. However, it at times goes too far with its comedy, given its assumed realistic aesthetic. Also, its dramatic bits do not add to the show, but rather detract, as they seem included just to provide drama, rather than give any tangible worth.

I've tried comparing it to The iDOLM@STER in the past, but they're truly two different shows attempting two different things. Treating them as an idol show though, Love Live is better since it directly communicates with its audience, particularly through how it had viewer voting to decide how songs were performed. As an actual anime though, I have a high respect for The iDOLM@STER for being a multifaceted show, enjoyable at a base level, and fascinating through an in-depth analysis.

And, to this day, I still refuse to fully admit that The iDOLM@STER is a great show worth of all the colorful words I use. Yet, even upon my 4th rewatch, I'm unable to find faults beyond nitpicks.




As an ending note, I would like to express something that has bothered me regarding The iDOLM@STER. Since watching the anime back in 2011, Makoto Kikuchi remains as one of my favorite characters, but I do not like a single one of her game or anime-original songs. To be specific, my opinion on them range from indifference to an outright dislike. Also, her character in the games appear to be a walking piece of cardboard, and her character in the anime was a walking gimmick with a bit of character attached to it. I hope this demonstrates how torn I am with regards to the series.

Anime Relations: The iDOLM@STER

So, it's Makoto Kikuchi's birthday today. She was 17 in the second iDOLM@STER game released in February 2011, which makes her 21 years old today. With the magic of fictional idols though, she's eternally 17 in the eyes of her fans, rendering birthdays completely pointless. I normally regard celebrating a character's birth date as either people having fun or delusional episodes. For today, I hope I'm not being delusional.



This past summer has been a trial of fire for me, where I marathoned as many random anime as I could in order to get a better grasp at the medium. Amidst the marathon, I also knew of Makoto's birthday coming up on August 29th, so I also made a goal of watching three idol shows - Wake Up Girls, AKB0048, and Love Live - in preparation not only for my previous iDOLM@STER anime write up, but for this one here. Makoto has always been a mystery for me. She's certainly one of my favorite characters, but I never understood why.




I love complex characters whom don't fit into any specific archetype, as they prove to be more dynamic and fascinating. With characters like Kenshin Himura, Anthy Himemiya, and Kotomine Kirei, it would be far easier to write analyses on with the amount of developmental material readily available within their anime. As such, it would be easy to explain why they are worth looking into. Idol shows aren't known for their character complexity (unless we're talking about Perfect Blue), so I'm gonna challenge both my writing and my anime integrity with this write up. I actually considered going fanboy mode for a change, but enthusiasm without direction is wasted effort.

For Makoto's birthday, I'm going to attempt a character analysis on a character who is, at base, a cardboard cutout, and see how far I can go.








The tomboy archetype in anime enjoys popularity through appealing to both bishounen and bishoujo fans. It easily comes off as a gimmick though, relying on a boyish design, boyish mannerisms, and enough changing scenes to remind us that the character is a girl. In worse cases, it becomes a source of fake character depth, for it sets up characters to come to terms with their gender identity. By itself, gender identity is a fascinating topic that can give a character a myriad of interpretations. As an archetype however, it copies and pastes that development, turning it into a shallow and repetitive character type.

So, in looking at Makoto Kikuchi of The iDOLM@STER, this is the main obstacle her character must overcome through the games, the anime, and her songs.




Makoto Kikuchi, voiced by Hiromi Hirata, is the "princely" idol of 765 pro. However, she became an idol to be more girly, so her image is the complete opposite to her goal. The games portray her as a passionate idol with very little awareness to what's around her. She often speaks before thinking, easily being pranked or fooled for laughs.

Originally her father wanted a boy, so Makoto was raised as one, much to her dismay. Out of habit though, she speaks like a boy, dresses like a boy, loves sports, excels in high-energy dancing, and is known to beat up grown men with her Karate. This helps with her idol job, as she excels at songs with intense choreography. Despite these traits, she fully enjoys reading fashion magazines, is afraid of bugs, and loves cute dresses and outfits, much to the dismay of her fans. Ironically, she wants to be the princess whom will be swept off her feet by a gallant prince, but due to her job, she must become the prince for her female fans. She's not deterred though, and she constantly make strides to defy both her upbringing and the expectations of all those around her.




From the games, her backstory is presented as such, but it's delivered through a visual novel-esque fashion. Because of this, scripted dialogue dictate the flow of the game, making for very linear developments. Makoto constantly wishes to do girly things, yet is most successful when she's pigeonheld as the handsome prince. When she gets fanmail from other girls, she becomes depressed for the rest of the day. It's treated as a joke before becoming conditioned responses. Story and character quickly lose significance, for what little exist. Once a story is played through once, replay value is only worthwhile for unseen costumes, dance sequences, and dialogue choices.

For Makoto, this meant that she was, unfortunately, a bore. A walking archetype in full view. She had a few personal songs, but many of the other songs are generic and are made to be sung by anyone. The lack of individualization made all the characters, Makoto included, different only by their character gimmicks. It makes sense due to the games' arcade origins, but it leaves much to be desired. This has always been a weakness of the games, as they're essentially character raising simulators. The simplified character personalities lend to easy accessibility and recognizability, but offers little in terms of depth. Yes, looking for depth in an idol game is absurd, but as new games are introduced, the characters began being marketed by visual appeal - namely sex appeal in some cases. I have always abhorred the marketing of idols paradoxically through purity/sexuality, and iDOLM@STER is currently embracing this in full. Whilst it's fine to play and have fun, the games don't offer much else.



With the anime, her personality is essentially the same as the games, but its presentation differs with to the animated medium. She's allowed to break from her scripted sound bytes and instead speaks in actual conversations, making her seem less of an archetype and more like a person. They key to this are reactions; reacting to things around her at real time, not through text boxes. Unfortunately, while the anime made her a bit more fleshed out, she's still an unrealized character at this point. Makoto only received a single highlight episode, so there's not much to work with. She's definitely portrayed as ambitious and full of life, but that speaks more of what she's like, rather than who she is. To add more insult, the episode itself cut corners in the art department, not to mention doing a bait-and-switch for a Makoto fight scene. Still, the games gave her a base and the anime gave her a form. With that, the stage is set for her songs to give her a soul.








Before going into her songs though, I should mention my thoughts on the songs in idol shows in general. I don't exactly have problems with idol shows, but from what I can tell, once you've heard a song about love/friendship/effort/victory, you've heard them all. Energetic, upbeat, happy, all that regular stuff. Thus, these shows then become about the spectacle, causing the songs themselves to have little presence compared to the characters and the story. This isn't normally a problem for most shows, as music normally serves to set the tone of a scene. This doesn't work for idol shows though, as it's supposed to be one of their main draws. Idol shows, as a result, focus more on visual appeal more than anything else. Visual comedy, concert sequences, cute antics, the ensuing drama complete with despair-filled faces - music is always in the backdrop.

With iDOLM@STER's anime, there's a heavy focus on its music, demonstrated by the sheer amount of songs featured throughout the show. Furthermore, there's a variety of songs present that speak more of typical poppy songs. Still, these songs still exist, and Makoto partakes in such songs at times. However, her songs are of varying tones and styles, speaking of the different sides of her personality.




Through my interpretation of Makoto's songs, Agent Into the Night presents her as a dominating personality, immediately noticeable by the song's tone. It's a rather intense song with rather unfortunate implications, but it's the Makoto that's aggressive and daring. Meisou Mind is her attempt at a mature sounding love song - at least what she considers to be mature. It's her attempt at being grown up. Electronic and fierce, it speaks of an equally fierce passion in searching for something beyond herself. Tear is a breakup song expressing her solemn and serious side, existing as the only depressing sounding song that belongs to her. Jitensha is her girlish passion, displaying her desire to be recognized as such with all the energy of a headstrong sprint. She becomes a wild cannon - explosive, awkward, loud, and proud. Cheering Letter portrays Makoto's passion for life in a calm, wistful manner. It's the Makoto that's always waiting for her prince's hand, but it's also the Makoto that's willing to become a prince for those in need.

Besides her image songs, her voice actress has also done many covers for while in character. As some examples, she has done Interstellar Flight, Natsu no Hana, and Groovin' Magic as anime-related songs. With real life songs, she has covered Tomorrow, if Spring Should Come, Let's Go Searching For Pieces of Stars Again, and Swallowtail Butterfly. There's a large breadth covered, much more than what I've mentioned. All these songs further demonstrate the Makoto's vocal potential, as well as adding bits to Makoto's repertoire variety.




Actually, I'd also like to highlight Swallowtail Butterfly. As I see it, it's all of Makoto's person in one song; the song's mature nature, the melancholic longing, the energetic bursts, and the song's tone taking full advantage of her character's traits. Plus, the song takes full advantage of her deep voice through vocal projection, whose potential hasn't been fully utilized by the main series. It's one of my favorite Japanese songs and, out of context, seems like a song from an actual singer, rather than from a fictional character. Reinterpreting this though, it makes Makoto seem like a real person. This, along with the previously listed songs, display the voice actress's talents and the depth of Makoto's character. It's the strength of her songs.









In a word, Makoto is the sun: bright and brimming with fiery passion. She's easily discouraged and susceptible to pressure, but she'll quickly rebound with the strength of a hot-blooded shounen main. Makoto's rather naive and childish, but she knows when to get serious. She'll be the first to take the initiative when the occasion calls for action. As an idol, Makoto plays both the prince and the princess; she's both the knight in shining armor and the damsel awaiting her rescue. As a character, she's a straightforward and honest girl who wistfully looks towards the future, but embraces the present with all of her heart.




However, even amidst my respect, I must step back. I've always thought that I was immune to the idol craze, seeing as how I regard the industry with pity and exasperation. I've also always recognized the distinction between character and voice actress, acknowledging the idealization of fiction and the reality of things. Yet, I must admit that my views of Makoto are also idealized. An idol is crafted to fit the image of perfection in the eyes of fans, often at absurd lengths. Fictional idols, however, benefit from being craftable in the most literal of senses, and thus can fit any mold necessary. Makoto isn't real, but that's how it's meant to be. She's a fictional idol, so she's able to fit the ideals of her real life fans, just as she can fulfill the dreams of her in-series female admirers.

It's been nearly half a year since I bought a $70 Makoto Angelic Island figure - the only figure I own - and I still don't completely know the reasoning behind the purchase. I don't regret it, but that makes it all the more ponderous. Perhaps she's the closest thing I have to a waifu, despite me regarding waifuism as something between a fun game and an unhealthy obsession. Perhaps I admire her character so much that I wanted to somehow show my respect with the purchase.



Realistically though, I randomly came across it at a local convention, seemingly out of place amidst the mainstream apparel. It was the only iDOLM@STER item I could find in the dealer's room, and it was both the first and only convention I've ever been to. Finding Makoto there couldn't have been a coincidence. At least, that's what this vain anime fan wishes to believe.







tl;dr - Makoto Kikuchi is one of my favorite characters not for what she is, but for the multitude of ways there are to read into her personality, especially given her bare bones background. Idol and singer, masculine and feminine, archetype and person, prince and princess - she is a character who wears many masks, and embraces all of them while still being true to herself. With the entirety of her character, she's a stupidly honest girl with a passion for life.

And so, to the character whom I still don't completely understand, Happy Birthday Makoto.

Anime Relations: The iDOLM@STER

I like The iDOLM@STER.



It's been three years since I've first had that thought, and I still don't know if I really mean it. In hindsight, had I known what the idol industry was truly like three years ago, my first viewing of iM@S probably would have been with condemning eyes.

Despite that, I have a $70 Makoto Kikuchi figure on my shelf. I also have 10 hours worth of iM@S songs I go through as I work. Hell, I've watched through the anime thrice, a rarity given my lack of time nowadays. What worth is critical analysis of the animated medium when tripe like this receives attention over more intelligent works?

Nothing I write here is concrete, but as of now, I feel a disconnect between what I see in iM@S and how it actually portrays itself. While I enjoy the songs, the core 13 characters, and the atmosphere of the anime, I'm constantly reminded of its artificial games, its contradictory pure-yet-sexual nature, and of its same-face syndrome that depends heavily on character gimmicks to differentiate them. Still, in that disconnect, I believe therein lies a possible core element that draws me to specific kinds of stories. So, as I analyze what iM@S means to me, hopefully I can show what I see in it is as a game, an anime, and as music.






Giving a bit of background, iM@S is based on a series of arcade simulation character raising games, akin to Princess Maker or The Sims. It later transitioned to the home console, the handheld gaming market, a cellphone social card game, and of course, the anime. The main games are similar to a visual novel, consisting of choices that influence both the condition of the idol and the endings you can get. Unlike a visual novel though, it's more interactive with the inclusion of various minigames to increase the idol's stats and performance in auditions. The online social game involves collecting cards of the 13 original idols plus approximately 200 others across the multiple titles.

The iDOLM@STER's success can be attributed to its inclusion of multiple preset characters, of whom players would become invested into. On one hand, it's a chance for people to follow and guide a character from obscurity to stardom. On the other hand, it's a blatant "pick your waifu" franchise.

The anime itself is a unique work of unique backing. There's no real original story to work off of. The individual character "stories" consists of repeated character gimmicks and identical journeys of going against rivals, dealing with their own character flaws, and eventually achieving fame before repeating it all again with other characters. There are two listed directors: the first is Noriko Takao, who has done storyboards for shows like Clannad, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Air, and Saint Young Men. From her, there's a distinct comedic style to the show along with a smooth transition to drama, but without lingering on the drama longer than necessary. The second is Atsushi Nishigori, who has been the animation director, character designer, and episode director of anime such as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and its movies, Evangelion 2.0, Panty & Stocking w/ Garterbelt, and various others. The Gainax influence can be seen throughout the show, including choice character designs and animation styles.







My respect for the show is partially due to its presentation and execution. To my surprise, there's no romance in this show. The only hint of romance is from Miki Hoshii's flirtatious nature, which never grows past a schoolyard crush. The producer has no name, but he's still his own person. Despite being surrounded by girls, he keeps his relationship with the idols at a professional level, speaking to the idols as a producer, a teacher, a punching bag, and a friend. There's very little sexual fan service. Listing them, there's episode 1 with Azusa and Miki briefly showing off their assets, episode 4 which points out the distastefulness of service shots despite not actually showing anything, the episode 5 beach episode, and...I think that's it. 2 scenes and 2 episodes out of a 26 episode series.


Rather, the series is full of actual fan service, or material created for the fan community. These can range from the first episode being a recreation of the game's interface, right down to the Diebuster/Gurren Lagann-esque mecha movie during episode 15 that pokes fun at everyone's character gimmicks. There's also Haruka Amami smacking herself with a box, in reference to her voice actress experiencing the same thing, or even something as subtle as Miki referring to Ritsuko Akizuki as "Ritsuko...san..." as she does in the game.

Every episode has different insert songs. Every episode has a different ending song. In fact, many of the songs were created just for the anime. The songs are played in the background, allowing for many songs to be played without restraining the idols to the stage. The dance sequences aren't CG. They're hand-drawn, which can be seen by their organically fluid motion. The attention to detail is fantastic in the anime, where non-fans can enjoy taking light steps into the world of iM@S, whereas actual fans can appreciate the smaller touches.


The show references the games and builds off of it to become its own work, capable of standing on its own as a self-sufficient story. There are three main arcs of the show: Miki Hoshii's, Chihaya Kisaragi's, and Haruka Amami's. The tragedy of this show is how surprisingly well-developed these three characters end up being, overshadowing every other character. The show is not perfectly constructed, as each character would need their own full arc to develop them. It would make for an absurdly drawn out show, but as they are now, the other characters are presented as walking gimmicks. Still, for what it is, the show show attempts to interject realistic drama to a series dependent on the idealistic and the unrealistic.







To qualify the phrase "realistic drama," the first arc revolves around Miki, who just wants to get by with an easy career, despite being blessed with the ability to perform. Upon seeing three of her colleagues form an idol unit and gain fame via television performance, she asks the producer to join their idol unit. Being on the phone at the time, the producer agrees without paying attention, causing Miki to reform herself in vain. She trains more seriously, takes initiatives in her work, and even begins speaking with more respect. Upon learning of the misunderstanding though, Miki bails on the idol agency, despite it being very close to the agency's first major concert.

It was an abrupt, selfish, immature, and very Miki-like action. What makes this realistic is how the action is based on Miki's character gimmick: lazy with zero motivation to work. She was enchanted by the television performance, and with the false promise, she put forth effort with great enthusiasm, possibly for the first time in her life. After leaving, the producer convinces her to come back temporarily, telling her that it may have been the spotlight, not the idol unit itself, that she fell in love with. Once she gets back into the groove, she becomes a more playful and active idol as the show's lighthearted nature returns. This kind of investment in character development occurs for each of the characters in varying levels throughout the show. It's an impressive feat given the show's initial premise.

The music of the series is a source of inner debate for me. I was actually first introduced to iDOLM@STER through the music. The character songs are mostly pop songs that attempt to inspire energy and excitement. Not very interesting at first glance. However, as I looked through the list of character songs, I noticed that the voice actresses covered real-life songs while in character. Here lies the other source of my respect for the series.








iM@S's image must be energetic, fun-filled, and approachable. The characters must be simple with gimmicks to easily identify them with. This gives way to shallow characters with remarkably generic songs, even though its understandable. Although, this is made worse though the games, where many of the songs can be sung by any idol, causing them to lose their impact since they're not tied to any one character, preventing those character from projecting their personalities into the songs. In other words, they become generic and forgettable.

This is solved through character songs that can only be sung by the characters they're made for. The importance of this is how these songs tell much of the characters themselves, more so than what's presented through dialogue. It's character development through songs, if you will. With the introduction of cover songs, given that they are sung by specific characters, these covers further define them and cause them to become distinct personalities. This is accomplished by two factors:

1. The strength of the original songs, which are detached from the idol industry. Thus, they range from a melancholic love song accompanied by only a piano, all the way to an acoustic cover of Jirachi: Wishmaker's ending theme.
2. The sincerity found in the covers. The voice actresses, in character, delivered these songs slightly altered for iM@S. This allows for the characters to interject their own interpretation of these songs, which is then reflected by the characters' personalities. This is important because if these covers were subpar, they would disrespect the original songs and make the characters seem like jokes. As Chihaya states in the anime, "No matter what kind of song it is, I'd like to capture it as best I can. If I didn't, I feel that it would be rude not only to the song, but to he people who listen to me sing."

Through these covers, the voice actresses can also demonstrate their voice range, the characters are able to develop further, the series can gain respectability by paying tribute to respectable songs, iM@S fans can be exposed to works outside of their comfort zones, and we are all able to simply enjoy songs different from the electronic and poppy.







In my final assessment, I like what iM@S is as a whole. The games definitely irk me, but its usage of character songs to develop its characters is fascinating. With the anime, it knows its roots and recognizes that it's an anime, so although it introduces drama, it doesn't overstep its boundaries in trying to be more than its premise allows. It stays honest to the viewers and to itself. The show solely focused on the characters with their songs as background. As a result, as iM@S pays homage to its roots, it remembers that it's an anime and develops its characters over the course of the show. It's technically made to sell the characters, the games, and the voice actresses. However, the show's atmosphere is of an anime, not a commercial, so it reads more of a story about girls trying to make it big, as opposed to a transparent show trying to suck money out of its viewers.

As an idol show, there should be a large focus on concert scenes, uniforms, and various outfits to show off their idol assets. However, most of the show consists of the idols going about their daily life, focusing more on the characters as people, as opposed to the characters as idols. Even during their jobs, the show focuses more on the characters for who they are, as opposed to what the show is supposed to be selling. This is, again, aided by the individualized character songs, which help develop the characters and advertise their songs in one move. The iM@S is an idealistic and unrealistic presentation of the idol industry, but with the magic of anime, it doesn't sell their characters, their voice actresses, or even the games. The show sells the experience it creates. It's simplistic and depends on selling itself, but I like how it manages to give depth to its characters with an enthusiasm not many other series could pull off. When the series tries to sell itself, it frustrates me to no end. When the series is sincere, it becomes a series I'm proud to be a fan of.








tl;dr - The iDOLM@STER is an idealistic, picturesque, and inaccurate representation of the idol industry. Despite that, its enthusiasm and its displays of sincerity towards its fans have caused the series to become of one my guilty pleasures.

Also, iDOLM@STER has been featured in a live orchestra. The series' popularity has since gone from the original 13 and dispersed into the Dearly Stars girls, Cinderella girls, and Million Live girls. I don't know what the future holds, but at least for one point in time, iDOLM@STER was quite something to behold.

Anime Relations: Ookami to Koushinryou, Ookami to Koushinryou II

Let me tell you an old story. It was a distant time, about two years ago I believe, back when the K-on! movie rocked the anime world and when Guilty Crown was a thing; back when Steins;Gate revitalized our love for Dr. Pepper and when Fate/zero made us Type-MOON fans scream in delight. It was a summer evening when I found a little show called Spice and Wolf on MAL's anime listings. I knew two things about it: it had economics and a wolf girl, which is an accurate description of the show...as accurate as describing the Pacific Ocean as being a lot of water anyways.

Spice and Wolf isn't actually that old to be honest, as it first aired in 2008, yet I praise it for invoking a certain sense of nostalgia in me. It's not the Renaissance-esque setting, no, but it's the romance. It's honest and straightforward romance. The show has been praised for it's dialogue and character interactions again and again, and yet I'll add more to it. The relationship between Lawrence and Holo is so simplistic and honest, yet so dynamic and witty. When I first watched it, I fell in love with their banter, and at the moment of this post, I happily own the two current animated seasons, as well as the light novels up to volume 9.

It has taken me two years of heavy stalling, but I have finally finished season two on Thanksgiving 2013. Quite the wonderful anime to close out autumn I must say. So, in honor of this, allow me to open up Spice and Wolf explore, through my interpretation, its inner workings, flaws, and overall greatness that eclipse the said flaws.







At its core, Spice and Wolf's main draw is the characters and their interactions. It's not Holo being naked, it's not the economics, it's not the pleasant nature of the show, and it's most certainly not Holo being naked. I fully 100% guarantee that if one were to watch this show with the intention of getting off to a cute wolf girl doing cute things, they would be bored out of their mind. Being a dialogue-heavy show, it's most certainly a turn-off to anyone who isn't willing to use the head that's not attached to their waist.

At least, that's what I would say a year ago. Now, however, I now believe that it works for the show in a roundabout way.



As I said, Spice and Wolf is all about the characters, but I'm not going to talk about them specifically. Many reviews have already done that, and I'm not doing a review. Instead, as a mechanic in the anime, the characters work towards making a brilliantly told story. Spice and Wolf works by balancing comedy, fantasy, action, adventure, moe, slice of life, drama, tragedy, romance, suspense, and even a little pervertedness. However, these aren't genres that Spice and Wolf falls into. Rather, they are things that come about as people live their lives. I can say with confidence that any average person will naturally experience all the traditional literary genres in their lives, which is exactly what Spice and Wolf does. It's an honest story about characters living their lives, experiencing everything and anything that the world has to offer. This is present in the various story arcs, it's present in the setting itself, and it's most certainly present in the interactions of Lawrence and Holo.



I would very much call Holo one of my favorite characters in fiction, but I can't talk about her without talking about Lawrence. I've seen many reviewers praise Holo for being such a dynamic female lead, yet give very little besides an off-comment compliment towards Lawrence's existence. While I full-heartedly agree that Holo steals the spotlight, it also does a great injustice to the show, to Lawrence, and even to Holo herself. Spice and Wolf cannot exist with only the Wolf, the witty dialogue would not be the same without the economics, and Holo cannot drive the show without Lawrence. It would be like Baccano's Miria without Isaac, Cowboy Bebop without Yoko Kanno, or Akiyuki Shinbou without his headtilts.



Spice and Wolf, as I see it, exists in two states: intelligence and "who gives a crap." The beauty of this setup is the show's ability to explain the heavy nature of economics and quickly switch to Holo doing something, anything, to break the tension, whether if it's showing off her brilliance to annoy Lawrence or falling asleep in drunken frustration. Using the heavy dialogue, the show develops the world, introduces complex plot elements, and maintains the show's mature outlook. With the tension breaking, the show develops the characters, adds comedic relief to ease fans into the complex plot elements, and keeps the show accessible, even to people who aren't able to follow all the terminology.



As mentioned, for people who can follow the explanations, they can enjoy the intelligent part of the show with Lawrence. For people who can't or can't be bothered, they can, like Holo, say "who gives a crap" and blow everything off. It's certainly nice to get a grasp of both states, but that's really up to the individual viewer. Spice and Wolf is certainly a show that's hard to get into, but that's what makes it a mature show: it requires a certain level of experience and know-how to understand what's going on, and while it does try to explain everything, it does so in great detail, trusting the viewer either attempt to understand Lawrence's explanations. Or, you can accept it as pointless ramblings and follow Holo's adventure to find interesting foods. Spice and Wolf embraces all that it is, and it's a package deal that offers viewers an honest romance with no strings attached. All it asks is to keep an open mind.



I have no issue with the show's art. It fits with the show's underplayed nature, and the subjectiveness of art is something that's too sticky and unpleasant to dive into. The music is obviously well made, as it fits with the setting and what not. The animation is whatever. In all honesty, it takes Welcome to the NHK levels of QUALITY ANIMATION to really get to me, so I'm not one to talk about animation unless it's amazing or amazingly terrible. Spice and Wolf merely gets the job done. The technicals of Spice and Wolf aren't really important, as they are not the main draw of the show. You don't criticize an apple tree for not producing bananas, nor should you dislike potatoes just because they're grown from the ground. I can accept someone for disliking Holo's attitude, Lawrence's lackluster personality in comparison to Holo, the heavy dialogue, the slow story, or just the fact that it's cutesy in appearance. They're...superficial, but I can accept them. If there was a flaw with Spice and Wolf though, I think it goes deeper.






Before I truly start, this is a good chance to express my concerns with recommending this series to others: Spice and Wolf a show of false impressions. People who expect a smart show may be startled at Holo emerging naked from Lawrence's wagon. In fact, they may have been warded off by the cover art to begin with, where it's always Holo featured as some cute wolf girl in some cute pose. The opposite is also true, where people who expect a cute-wolf-girl-doing-cute-wolf-girl-things type of show get, instead, a dialogue-heavy show with little action or blatant comedy. Of course, this can work since Spice and Wolf specializes in breaking such expectations with wit and class, but at the same time, it's hard to advertise Spice and Wolf without doing the show injustice.



The problem with the show, I believe, isn't actually a real problem. It's more of its presentation being inaccessible by just anyone. Sure, not every show is made for everyone, and yeah, everyone has their likes and dislikes, but Spice and Wolf has a rather high level of entry in the world of anime. It requires sacrificing the comfort of spoon-fed information and generalizations of large-scale ideas such as justice or friendship. It speaks to viewers like a quirky high school teacher or college professor, explaining complex concepts with a wittiness that makes you forget that you didn't understand a thing, then when you're knowledge is tested by the plot catching up, suddenly you'll realize that you have no idea what's going on. Asking the show to explain everything in simpler terms would be asking the show to not treat its viewers maturely, but at the same time, it's a prime example of a show that's not made for everyone.



Without faulting anyone, Spice and Wolf is a hard show to get into, not because of its subject material, but because of how it speaks to its viewers. It expects its viewers to be able to follow its explanations from one plot point to the next, essentially asking its viewers to think and comprehend as they watch. Anime is capable of many things, and it's just as capable of educating as it's great at entertaining. I can guarantee that if someone were to watch this show expecting to just be entertained, they'll unexpectedly get complex concepts that'll fly over their head. It's not that they're dumb, that's absurd to assume. Rather, it's the way that Spice and Wolf plays with its viewer's expectations, where it exists on dual states of intelligence and "who gives a crap." It can't be helped with the way the Spice and Wolf is written, but at the same time, it's a shame that not everyone can get into this show.



Anyways, this leads to something I found interesting between watching the anime and reading the light novels. With the light novels, there are also illustrations with Holo in cute poses and whatnot, but being nearly all text, I found myself forgetting what Holo looked like. Just by reading her words, she seemed more like a mischievous old lady than the energetic wolf girl I was so used to. Lawrence too was different, where he seemed much more practical and cynical in the light novels, which can be compared to his aloof and emotional self in the anime. These are both interpretations I accept, but in the anime, it took advantage of the fact that it's a visual medium. It managed to visualize and vocalize both the smarts and cuteness of the series in a way that added to the series, rather than outright changing or reinterpreting anything. In doing so, it managed to retain the smarts of the light novel while adding the visual appeal that only an anime could provide. At every level, from its writing and production to its characters and their interactions, Spice and Wolf manages to combine everything so seamlessly.





I would compare this show to eating in an expensive restaurant. The food is excellent and exquisite, but not everyone can afford to eat there. Even then, the taste may not appeal to everyone. Plus, at the end of the meal, there's the big bill that just kills the mood. At the time of this post, there's still no season 3 in sight, and while Spice and Wolf has been amazing, it sucks that there's nothing to look forward to in terms of the anime. The light novels are done and are being translated at the rate of 2-3 novels per year, so they'll all be translated by 2016 or 2017 if all goes well.



It's a pleasant show that I wholeheartedly enjoy. It does not focus on plot twists or emotional manipulation, which allows me to rewatch specific episodes to simply enjoy the interaction between Lawrence and Holo. Spice and Wolf has not changed my life in any way, but it has given me an experience that I have great pleasure in sharing with others. It's a great story that has proven itself to be a stand-out title amongst the thousands of anime out there.







tl;dr - I love Spice and Wolf, but definitely hard to both advertise and get into. I fault it for having minor problems here and there, but at the end, it's the smartest romance I have seen so far.