Spoiler free? - YES. No spoilers in review.
I-Chu: Halfway Through the Idol is an I-chu anime adaption from the game "I-chu: Etoile Stage", which is an idol manager game. I-chu was originally a rhythm mobile game which came out in 2015, and ceased servers mid-2019. If you know of the series A3! then I-chu would be considered their "big brother." They are from the same gaming company Liber anyway.
Story: 7/10
Following the story of an aspiring I-chu singer Aido Seiya, the anime centers around the main unit F∞F (Fire Fenix) and their journey to be the No.1 I-chu idol of their generation. The original I-chu games obviously cover all units and their backstory, however as Seiya is the main face of the franchise it is obvious that him and his unit would be the focus of the plot. Halfway Through the Idol has a generic idol-centric plot, and it's nothing more or nothing less than typical.
Art: 8/10
As a huge fan of the og and new I-chu game series, seeing the boys finally live and moving 2D is a dream come true! After waiting 6 years! It is a shame that their wardrobe is nothing more than 1-2 different costumes put on a cycle. However there are times where the colours and panels really make the characters glow. It's actually really nice as a long-time fan to see them all come to life this way.
Sound: 10/10
One of the best thing about I-chu would be their music. Halfway Through the Idol *ONLY* has Ichu: Etoile Stage beats since this anime is no doubt a promotion of the new game. In all honesty, F∞F's "I am a Hero" would probably have made a bigger impact since it is their debut track from the original game. However, if you do enjoy the shorts of the music in Halfway Through the Idol, I do urge for you to look up their other songs and bask in all their firey bops.
Character: 8/10
Halfway Through the Idol really does show a lot of the boys in their natural habitat. It's honestly nice to see them actually banter with each other. However I only wish that Twinkle Bell recieve a lot more screentime throughout, rather than just being the comedic reliefs in the series. They're hardworking boys as well with their song "Eien Travelors" being one of my favourite beat from the Etoile Stage game itself. It's a shame that all other units had more in depth screentime but leaving the twins behind. Other than that, the anime really does great job bringing the characters to life into fine-ass 2D haha
Enjoyment: 9/10
Look, to a non-idol, non-ichu gamer, and just curious to see another idol anime viewer, I-chu: Halfway Through the Idol would probably just seem mediocre and just "oh, it's another idol anime anyway, time to pass." I don't blame em, or the rating up on MAL to be <7.
I-Chu from the beginning, was an underrated game that never really exploded outside of Japan, and that it came out during the global peak of LLSIF, and the start of Enstars, Bpro, YumeCast and i7 half a decade ago, and it is still going strong in 2021 proves that the franchise itself is not as dead and still *has* it's fans. The anime Halfway Through the Idol is just an extension of what I-chu already has - to open up to global viewers as well, and perhaps to draw them in into the franchise.
I really enjoy the I-chu anime a lot. I feel blessed to see Mitsurugi Akira moving in 2D on on pc. I feel blessed to have seen one of my beloved idol franchise actually get that anime recognition.
I enjoy I-chu because of their beats and bops.
I enjoy I-chu because I've been playing their games since 2015. Read their stories since 2015. And bought countless official merchandise of them all since 2015.
This anime is just a bonus for me and to other I-chu fans to bask in their glory and 2D pixels. Overall, I do think it's a good anime and adaptation. And i want more people to actually listen to their other songs, subunits and crossunits of Liber's og rhythm mobage, I-chu.
