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This seems like it'll be another one of those anime plots where nobody acts like real people but maybe it doesn't hurt to just go along with it. Quiet loner boy wants a quiet high school life, but by chance he gets lucky and girl who loves the attention she gets from posting anonymous candid photography of herself online just so happens to fall right on top of him.

The girl has a glowing personality to play off of the boy's aloof character and they find themselves partaking in saucy scenarios. It's very much like what you get in every standard rom-com like it.

Only ... thing that's unrealistic is that she isn't making her fanbase pay to see her titties, but it's her natural perverted desire for voyeurism & attention that'll make her best girl when this get's an anime in a few years or so.

This manga is somewhat strange. I'd think I was reading a quirky fan made doujin if I wasn't seeing Shounen Jump+ listed as the company serializing it.

So this story revolves around Otto pulling stunts in a last ditch effort to save his life after a mishap during a fight with Spider-Man in New York, and in the process he ends up sending his consciousness into the body of a girl. A middle schooler. In Japan. This is basically isekai no matter how you stretch it. And a lot about this manga won't make sense so you should probably view this manga with the same ... mindset as a gag anime.

Spider-Man (Peter Parker) & Otto's normal personalities are dialed down and parodied a bit in order to make this anime spidey fantasy work. The girl Otto is sharing a body with (Otoha) is as nice as can be, so Otoha's good & Otto's bad personality often clash when deciding to to deal with elements of Otoha's life such the bullying as well as clashing with villains & various alternate variations of known figures in Spider-Man's mythos.

Side characters consist of the girls who bully Otoha as well as introducing a new Spider figure said to be from another universe. Hasn't brrn too mich to write home about so far, but I want to hope this new Spider figure gets fleshed out more by the end of this story's run.

It doesn't feel like must-read material, but it's somewhat interesting enough for me to want to keep following it. And as I mentioned, you shouldn't go into this expecting a fully serious Spider-Man story. It's silly similarly to an OK comedy movie, but it still has time to concoct a decent enough narrative. I'll update this review again once it's completed.

From what I've seen of the iDOLM@STER anime series so far I quite like the whole series overall. The TV series was generally a fun watch and this movie basically feels like more of the show. While I liked this overall, I'd be lying if I didn't say it was kinda lackluster. And I'll keep this spoiler-free as can be.

The movie starts off pretty well introducing us to the girls following the end of the show. They're all accomplished, experienced, and established idols to the point where they're basically superstars landing all sorts of big gigs. The beginning of this movie has everyone unite once ... again to prep for a huge gig the producer lands them and that first 40 minutes or so until time for the ending performance was this series doing what I feel it does best, and that's being casual.

iDOLM@STER hasn't necessarily been great when it comes to being dramatic, but it's had some situations that were handled better than others. And the entire movie past that first 40 minutes until that last performance has everyone suddenly hit with two big cases: Producer revealing bad news to the 765 girls and then 765 being tossed into the turmoil of another group's struggles. I actually think Producer has earned the right to act as a plot device in this final showing of the 765 branch of the iDOLM@STER series as he's been developed into a notable figure through the anime who keeps the girls afloat as idols as well as striving to do a good job in his role for everyone else's sake opposed to his cookie cutter portrayal in the games. But then the main issue with this movie lies in that other group I mentioned. I didn't really mind their presence per se, but they introduce a degree of tension that you could say isn't enough to carry basically an entire movie on it's own, and then it's not entirely something we hadn't seen already.

Now onto the second group. They kinda squander the potential screentime members of 765 could've gotten because they're given a bit too much focus IMO. I actually like their inclusion in general because I thought we'd be getting some kind of passing a torch kinda moment with 765 to them, but we're thrown too deep into their issues and it affects everyone because a good part of the movie becomes more about them than 765. Don't forget, 765 already consists of 14 main members (15 if you count Kotori), so it doesn't help that they added 7 more people for them to share a screen with so a lot of characters still get screen time but their presence is subdued. I was definitely disappointed that the majority of the 765 girls didn't really have any individual moments to look back on.

Of everyone thrown into the shuffle here, Haruka gets elevated as she's put in an important role that sees her bearing the most responsibility on behalf of everyone, so if you're a fan of her or like her you'll be pleased there just as I was. It felt like an appropriate role for her because it challenges her to make decisions for problems that other members would've either had less difficulty dealing with or couldn't have done so with the same degree of tact. I also liked her interactions with another member of the other group as Haruka is seen as a role model for her but the two are very similar in many ways.

When it comes to general aspects such as animation and music this movie does just as well in those areas as it did in the show. Guess my only small complaint for music would be the execution as I would've liked it if there were more moments where entire songs were performed rather than used for brief transitions.

Overall I'd say I liked this movie, and if you were a fan of the main show or the series in general you'll probably be content with this. It does unfortunately have a lot of the same issues as the show though. The drama is…considerably typical for an idol series and it felt more like a side story for the show than a plot to carry a movie that would've been better served as a farewell for 765 given this is the last main anime entry. Wouldn't say this is a must watch entry, but it's a decent conclusion to their story even if it isn't actually satisfyingly conclusive enough.

PUCHM@S is iDOLM@STER's take on the theme of chibi styled spin-off routes that a number of series like to explore. In most cases they consist of simple fluff that we really have no reason to overthink or be too serious in critiquing; just watch and enjoy for the moment, but PUCHIM@S, while treading in that same territory was fairly more enjoyable than the majority of the other spin-off shows like it.

Rather than just turning the whole cast into cute blobs, they keep the girls in their normal forms and instead find themselves discovering the existences of these doll-like entities resembling every girl affliated with ... 765 at random times and in random locations then bringing them back to the 765 studio to shelter them all. When I think of babies with relevant roles in anime like something like Precure for instance, I don't expect much except looking cute and a lot of GOO GOO GAA GAA, but the PUCHIM@S are simply sized like babies and are pretty intelligent and sentient entities that come with their own quirks based on the 765 girls they're visually stylized from and I grew to like all of them quickly. The 765 girls are also here with their personalities and traits seen in the show accelerated a bit. Then the producer is here as well but his head is shaped into the letter P and character made whimsical so he's a goof with less presence here but it's played for laughs.

This show is essentially fun fanservice. It's fun seeing the girls interact with miniature versions of themselves as well as being generally happy. The interactions between everyone are executed well and with enough time for us to process the humor in their antics. Episodes are only 2 minutes (credits & next episode previews included) but they aren't bouncing jokes at you at a rapid pace or acting senselessly to make half-baked lackluster parody humor, the pacing is normal so when a situation is still ongoing by the end of an episode it's immediately followed up and multiple consecutive episodes flow together like one.

Remember, it's a chibi spin-off so don't overanalyze it, enjoy it.

This is the prequel episode to iDOLM@STER's chibi spinoff. This episode has the main girls introducing us to the chibi versions of themselves as well as showcasing their talents and quirks. They're all cute and the gimmicks seem like they'll enhance the viewing experience of the Puchimas show. This kind of thing is something most people will skip on given it's just extra fluff content with no ties to the main series, but remember that the episodes won't run long so it should be a quick, fun, and easy watch. I'm anticipating the usual slapstick style of comedy from this with the show firing off ... every quick gag, reference, & segment on all cylinders possible.

That's about all I have to say. I could've waited until I saw the full thing and made the review there (I still will), but I felt like writing this. At this point I'm monologing because this site won't let me post the review until it reaches a certain duration even though there isn't exactly a lot fo be said about a single 5 minute episode. Well, it you've gotten this far, thanks for reading.

So Shiny Festa is a three episode OVA that depicts the girls being selected to participate in a music festival, but festival itself is a separate instance, so this OVA works like a linear visual novel in a sense where the beginning & end are the exact same for each episode, but the girls are broken into different groups for each episode and go about their performances in their own way. All main members of 765 receive a moderate & justifiable amount of exposure through each episode as well.

There's not quite much to note about this as it all plays out like a standard ... scenario from the main show. Quality is still up to snuff from the music, implementation of it, the art, etc. Felt like an odd choice to create a repeat scenario rather than have each group take on unique situations, but aside from that there's not much to scoff from. Recommend? Not sure I'd say that exactly, but as a fan of the series you may as well whenever you can as it's around an hour overall.

Prior to finally watching this & making this review, I'd been dying to dip my toes into this. Feel like I've seen stuff from every other idol/music franchise except for the one with "iDOL" in the title. This shares various similarities with those other shows I've seen but something about this drew me in.

There isn't really a long term objective at play here. The show is basically a slice of life anime looking at the lives of idols work towards simply gaining exposure and make their mark in the idol world under their studio 765 Production, and as idols they find themselves eventually taking up ... a wide variety of jobs with the help of their Producer. The girls don't have a long term objective they're trying to reach like performing at a popular venue or anything. Some plot points will build up in the background for later episodes to focus on, but most cases here are presented in an episodic fashion. Admittedly they kinda feel rather directionless throughout this until they start to take off later on, but the show seemed more set on looking at 765 as a group and the members individually. The group gets introduced to some rival figures, but aside from a petty producer equivalent to a malicious Pretty Cure villain, they don't have much competition to note. But the world around 765 is balanced. The world of iDOLM@STER is very peachy, but it surprisingly isn't too afraid to get a bit dark at times of and I appreciated seeing it because there are moments that when they happen can hit you.

A general thing I had a problem with is how shows like this tell you a lot but don't always show the processes behind them. In an early episode we're shown the girls taking professional studio shots to help with their promotions, it's a very simple thing but showed a step in them making a transition outside of dancing and singing practice. The show has a lot of things it wants to look at but doesn't always explain or show the steps they took to get to various points. Sure the show could've benefitted from some long-term drama to engross the characters with but I felt like it plays off its slice of life elements well enough.

This show's primary cast consists of 13 main girls as the idols, the Producer who handles all the booking. They have the complicated task of trying to sell the audience on 14 characters and as expected they did an alright job at it. Everyone will find someone they consider their favorite(s), but it's a large group so some feel noticeably more significant in the group than others whose motivations and aspirations as idols aren't presented as strongly or effectively as they could've. A character's focus episode most of the times introduces their backstory or explores their personality quickly, gives them a brief moment of acknowledgement, and then resolves it just as quickly or never really look at it enough ever again going forward. Xenoglossia was my 1st iDOLM@STER experience and while people may hate it, I honestly thought it did a better job at selling some of the characters here, but nevertheless they're still a strongpoint of this.

To me, not every character NEEDS to be intricately written and not every character will be. The majority of the 765 girls have basic fundamental characterization & situations to explore and some have more in-depth arcs with deeper tones and messages, but I wouldn't replace or remove any of them. While individually some characters falter, 765 works pretty well as a group is pretty fun to follow. Everyone gets plenty of moments to just be themselves on screen and play to their strengths enough to leave enough of a solid impression from each of them. As I mentioned earlier about the world being peachy but dark that also applies to the characters. While the characters could've been given more time to simmer on their issues and kinks. there's plenty of layers of emotion to them made known. I wish the Producer and Kotori got some of that time to get some characterization, but you could tell that they're just there to assist in spotlighting the girls.

Touching on the aesthetics, the art is good and remained consistent through the show. The animation when it came time to see dancing isn't exactly Sunrise with Love Live quality, but fairly solid. And if you wanted to venture into the iDOLM@STER games they showcase a LOT of songs through inserts and each episode having separate songs used for the ED sequences. The 2 OPs "Ready" & "Change" are good selections whose lyrical content feel fitting for the 2 halves of the show they accompany. And the VAs have varying ranges they reach given they're all playing characters with varied personalities, so you may pick up on little things about each like how Ami & Mami share a VA and she handles it well, Chihiya's VA having a pretty distinguishably good singing voice, Miki's VA doing well at conveying her exuberant demeanor, etc.

iDOLM@STER in spite of some issues is a nice look at the idol industry in anime form with some elements glossed up but with it's own pool of depth. It was very fun, and I honestly enjoyed the slice of life antics here more than I did other series like this that I've shilled for...

Not too much to say but I'm tempted to make a review for this regardless. Unlike most I'm coming from this after Xenoglossia then going to the main series after this. It's nice to see the visual changes from Xenoglossia that better resemble the older iDOLM@STER games and get this last look at the older style before they get the visual upgrade seen in the A-1 pictures adaptation.

This 17 minute OVA plays out like a rushed high school theater play with the actors all playing themselves. 3 of the girls get involved in a flurry of scenarios and are ultimately trying to hurry to ... make it to a live performance with the other girls waiting for them. It's nothing too much to note other than seeing a look at how far this series has come from where it's gotten to now. It's a quick, easy, and fun watch so I feel no need to give it a hard time.

These specials consist of 9 episodes with varying runtimes between 2-7 minutes each and in total last for about the duration of 2 normal anime episodes. These episodes are all slice of life moments based on different points in time during the show, but also consist of a good amount of character interactions and traces of lore from events in the show. The girls come in pairs of 2 each and they engage in casual banter as well as further fleshing out some relationships and individual character stories seen in the show.

The visuals for the most part consist of photographs and a few seconds long ... portions of animation with the characters talking over them. It's almost presented in a voiced visual novel format without the usual VN elements for sub watchers.

The final episode serves as an epilogue to the main series and is properly animated, but is unfortunately the shortest of the specials just giving you a just quick look at where the characters ended up following the end of the series. You're not missing too much if you don't want to watch them, but if you liked the main show, aren't gravely offended by brazen fanservice, and wouldn't mind more slice of life engagement with the girls why not watch it I say.

Prior to starting this show, I'd been eager to take that first step towards getting into the iDOLM@STER series one day, so of course I ended up here at the very first iDOLM@STER anime. Seeing the mixed reception this specific take on the series has made me all the more curious to watch it myself and I didn't really have too many expectations for it only wanting it to be decent...and I feel safe to say that that is exactly how I ended up feeling about this: it's really decent.

For the Mondenkind girls (Protagonists) we start with: Haruka, Iori, Makoto, Ritsuko, Azusa, Yukiho, & ... Ami. Yayoi is here too as Haruka's childhood friend, but made unaware of Haruka & her friends being mech pilots.
For the Turiavita girl (Antagonists) we start with: Chihiya.

The first half of this show is for the most part a slice of life. These episodes may be considered slow to most, but they introduce us to the cast and the world so if you're here for the characters as seen in the games & the other version of iDOLM@STER you may appreciate it more. We're guided by the main protagonist Haruka Amami as she gets baited into becoming a mech pilot under the assumption that she was auditioning to become a music idol (kinda like me with this show) and starts to simmer into the idea of piloting a mech to save the world. We see her developing steady relationships with the rest of the girls clashing with them in various ways, becoming better accustomed with her mech Imber, and understanding the roles she and her friends serve in Mondenkind's mission objectives. Every interaction here helps to better serve the 2nd half where the plot starts to become more apparent after meeting everyone and getting a barebones grasp at what they seek to achieve. It does a good job at getting you to like the majority of the cast alongside Haruka by displaying the struggles each face, showcasing their individually view on things around them, and how they choose to act on those areas.

Without spoiling anything, plot is kinda strange. Government operation has a secret base of operations hiding in plain sight in the guise of a school where the objective is to aid mechs in destroying with chunks of the moon that fall at seemingly random intervals of time, which is kinda the general gist of why the mech concept is here and implemented. For some unexplained reason they need middle-high school girls to do pilot the mechs and they all develop these odd relationships with the mechs. The mechs are said to have core of which they derive some semblance of human emotion and feeling to a point where they can have brief conversations with as well as understand what the mechs want and feel through what I can only assume to be some odd spiritual connection, and I can't recall any explanation as to how it's even possible. And going on about lack of explanations, there are a lot of other things that'll happen and never get properly explained from large scale plot details to even some character details and some high-scale level of convenience that you're kinda just left to accept it and take in stride without letting downplay your experience by overthinking.

From a design standpoint of the whole show there's not much to write home about. The animation is good. Character designs are simple but I'd probably go out on a whim and say I kinda like some a bit better than the more polished versions in the main iDOLM@STER adaptation & revamp. I'll even say I appreciate the simplicity of their designs because it makes them feel more natural with the background characters around them. Though I'm dying to say it: Haruka looks A LOT like Cardcaptor Sakura in the show especially when wearing the ribbons & Chihiya is the spitting image of Misato Katsuragi from Evangelion in general so whenever those 2 clashed it was kinda like watching bizarre fan fiction at play.

I'm a bit surprised I don't have much to say about music given the series' name and all. THE OPs & EDs were all good, the 1st OP Binetsu S.O.S! was fire and kinda catchy, the ED Yuukyuu no Tabibito~Dear Boy was beaufiful in its own way, and the 2nd OP Zankoku yo Kibou to Nare felt like it set the mood of the 2nd half of the show pretty well. There's background music AT TIMES and it was simple having fulfilled its purpose while also a lot of moments left to the spoken dialogue of the characters.

I was expecting this to be similar to Macross or something integrating mech battles with idols singing, but this is purely a mecha and scarce acknowledgement of actual idol activity and seemingly minimal resemblance to what the main iDOLM@STER series and story should be like. Xenoglossia only seems like it's an iDOLM@STER show in name only while just using the characters' names and just loosely giving meaning to the term "iDOLM@STER" in it's own way. As flawed, odd, and unexpected this was as my first foray into the iDOLM@STER series I can't say I hated it. Perhaps those accustomed to the standard side of this series may struggle to accept it adjusting to my guess of character deviations and drastic change in setting and tone, but on it's own as a mecha anime it seems pretty decent. As someone who had no set expectations of this to begin with I actually ended up liking this more than I might've thought I would, but if asked if I'd recommend it...I'd say if you've got a good amount of patience and can showcase enough tolerance to let this show tell the tale it wants to in spite of it's clear-as-day issues.