I'm going to be pretty critical of the show, but everything is my honest opinion.
Disappointment is all I can say. The show had so much potential, and not only did it not make use of it, it trampled all over it and threw it in the trash. Before I blast you with all the negatives, I'll start with a few positives.
+ Great character design.
+ Great outfit design
+ Great synergy between the characters
+ Above average CGI
+ Decent animation for the most part
Okay now that I've told you the good parts about the show, let's dig in.
When you look for an idol show, what do most people expect? Usually it's 2 main things. Cute girls - which they got that down atleast - and good music + dance.
Now let me tell you how absolutely disappointed I am at the quality of the music in this show. Absolute hot garbage. To understand this let me explain without spoiling the show. There are 9 girls in this group, and within this group they are split into 3 subgroups. The problem isn't with the main group. The 9 girls together are actually really cute, have good chemistry, and the songs+dance are awesome. The problem is when you split these 9 girls into subgroups. These subgroups try too hard to be 'unique' and 'quirky' with their songs and choreography, the themes each of these groups have are either cringey, cheesy, or just doesn't work with the characters/talents within it. I know it's a marketing strategy to create subgroups within groups to make it easier for new fans to consume, but just dividing these girls up and giving them lackluster production isn't the play. Not to mention the mixing/production quality for the songs each subgroup respectively has are absolutely terrible.
TLDR; Here is my theory: To put it nicely. Selection Project has like 2 production teams. 1 team is a professional team dedicated to the whole group, they produce good quality songs and choreographs. The other team that produces the subgroup's products is a robot smashing a keyboard over and over again until something 'ok' comes out of the speakers. (The OP and the ED slaps though, but that's because it's not from the subgroups)
Edit: Did some more digging, the subgroups actually have a few decent songs, it's just not the ones in the anime.
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Okay but that wasn't even the worst part of the anime. The story was what made this show unwatchable. The best way I can describe the story in this anime is 'haha b*tch you got scammed'. The show presents itself with a pretty unique take on the competitive aspect of the idol industry. Obviously it's not the first show to do this sort of 'tournament arc but for idols' styled story, but the way it sets up the show allows for a lot of *potential* character development and interactions. But even after around episode 6, the show had done almost absolutely nothing to make use of this potential. Which, to be honest, is okay, it just became a typical idol show. But what happens after is not only blatant theft, but they stole another show's plot, and made it worse. Not only did they make a 'plot twist' that was completely unoriginal, it was so cheesy and cringey, as well as predictable that I think I stood up from my chair multiple times to go wash my eyes and ears out.
TLDR: Started off good for about 6 episodes, then: plagiarism, unoriginal, cheesy, cringey, predictable plot ensues.
(If you're curious about the show they ripped off of, its called "Idoly Pride". It's not god tier, but it's much better than this show, so go watch that instead of this)
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I'll end it on a positive note atleast. The characters. The characters are the saving grace of this show. Th girls' aesthetics and story are both well designed and cute. Voice acting and singing are decent, and they each have their own appeals.
But let me shout out one particular character from this show. And that is SumiPanda. The legend made the most cringey parts of this show bearable, and although this isn't a comedy show, the guy's humor is awesome. Great voice acting, great character, and awesome personality. Whoever put this character in the show was obviously making him a joke character, but who knew he would become the main protagonist?!?!? (He's not but I like to think he is)
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After watching this show I think I'll just follow the girls' voice actors on twitter and youtube, and try to erase my memory of this show's plot. It wasn't the girls' fault, it was the production of the anime and music that sucked. Mako best girl!!!!
