They're diverse in age, body types, and even abilities - something rare for any anime, let alone a cute-action one.
I love that the 'disabled' character actually has so much more to her than her disability - in fact, it's only ever brought up in context of her relationships, and even then it's not really the issue at hand. Too often, disabled characters seem to become their disabilities, and it gets played for sympathy and laughs - Genki is neither.
Half the characters come off as either Love Live or Precure copies initially, but every single one has far more to their character than meets the eyes, and besides superficial similarities, are all very different from their apparent inspiration.
No single character has the limelight for a full episode, so each character is as memorable and lovable as the last, which is an impressive feat with such a large cast. Sometimes, episodes have a clear protagonist, but even then they're guided and pushed forward by the others.
The relationships between the duos are very well thought out, believable and entertaining. Unfortunately, they don't vibe so well as an overall group, and it often ends up feeling clunky when they're all together.
STORY: 8
The concept is awesome - what can girls who can't sing do to bring fame to their town? Apparently, put on magical girl stage shows. It's cool, unique, and as someone who can't sing myself, is a great alternative to the usual miraculously a-cappella tween fair. The fact they clearly start from nothing, and face issues like those in the real life film industry do, is awesome.
Everything serves a purpose - no side plot or back story is wasted, either building individuals, relationships, or pushing the girls forward.
Unfortunately, the pacing goes from meandering to racing and back again, making it difficult at times to feel as engaged. Plus, the motivation for it all is lacking, with most of it coming from only three members of the cast, with the others seemingly just along for the ride.
SOUND : 7
There's nothing amazing going on here - it's fairly standard Magical Girl stuff, with a handful of cute idol thrown in. The theme tune is catchy, the ending is generic, and the action scene are exactly what you'd expect.
ART: 7.5
Some of it is smartly done - their costumes for example start simple, but steadily improve and become more complicated as the show continues Other things, like the extreme shows of emotion, do well at providing comedy without resorting to chibis. The scenery, on the other hand, remains pretty bland and simple throughout.
OVERALL: 8
This show has a lot to offer to fans of both Magical Girl and Idol shows - or those looking to try the other genre. It's unique and fun, but not perfect by any means.
