I am not joking when I say this is one of the best, if not, THE BEST idol anime I have ever watched (specifically male idol anime).
I am so confused as to why not a lot of people are watching this. Is it because it's a male idol anime and most of the characters are boys? Is it because it's from a game? Is it because it looks like fujobait? Is it because it's probably a boring reverse harem with a boring MC? (it's not).
People are sleeping VERY hard on this show.
Story:
Okay, to be honest, the story isn't too amazing but it's better than most idol anime out there. It sometimes gets a bit too cliche at times but if you can turn a blind eye to that, it's a pretty solid show. Each character gets their own arc (a lot of them are pretty damn deep) and I like that a lot.
Art:
Art is very cute, all the characters are drawn very well and the animation is pretty solid. I personally still can't bare the 3DCG during the performances because it always looks so stiff and out of place, but it's only during most of the performances so it's fine really.
Sound:
Honestly... it's just generic idol music. There really isn't that much of a difference from other idol anime... a lot of the songs are quite catchy (Natsu Shiyouze is stuck in my head), but the more you listen to it the more you realize it's just... well... idol music. I like them because I'm a huge seiyuu-ota and I love my seiyuus.
Character:
In my honest, true to god opinion, this is the best part of the show. All the characters are well written, they all have a valid reason as to why they want to become an idol. It's not your typical "it's always been my dream to be an idol" or "i want to be like this person i admire/idolize" kind of reason. They all have actually interesting reasons why.
The characters aren't perfect ikemen/bishounen pretty boys either, they all each have their individual flaws, and the problems they deal with actually make a ton of sense and are all very interesting.
Their manager, isn't a generic whiny girl either. She actually wants the best for the boys and is always trying her best. I really like the fact that she treats the boys as if they're her children and I like that she has no romantic feelings towards anyone at all and knows her role as a manager.
Enjoyment:
I enjoyed this show a lot. It made me cry, made me wheeze of laughter and it sometimes made me cringe too. I looked forward to every episode, every week and I never get tired of it no matter how many times I watch it. It's super fun and entertaining and the chemistry between all the characters is very fun to watch.
Overall:
I gave this show a 10/10, because in general, I like to watch a lot of male idol anime, and a lot of them are guilty pleasures to me because I'm aware most of them aren't even good. So when I found an actually good male idol anime, I was amazed. I fell in love. When getting into IDOLiSH7, I wasn't expecting to find a gem at all, but I did. It's one of the few idol anime that is actually good and has a decent story with good and non-generic characters. I liked Second Beat! a tad bit more than the first season, because we got to see the darker side of things and we got more information on the antagonist(?) of the story (not really sure if he's considered as an antagonist, but he currently seems like he is), and also I got to see something about my favorite character (which is Tamaki), I won't say any more info on that because it's spoilers.
We also got to see more on another idol unit, RE:VALE, and the problems they're dealing with too.
I look forward to the 3rd Season a lot, I have high expectations and I hope it stays as a good gem.
I want more people to watch this too because I personally think this brilliant show needs all the attention and notoriety it can get.
