Basically this show is about a bunch of girls from different backgrounds wanting to be idols with the help from their producer who remains nameless.
Story
The anime starts off very slow. You are introduced to the characters and you aren't given much information on them until several episodes in. It really feels like a slice of life type of format, just replacing the "school" aspect of it with the "idol" one. It isn't particularly strong, but some episodes can be entertaining. The addition of the rival 965 firm makes things more interesting though, but at times though I felt like dosing off, which in my opinion signifies repeated story lines I've probably seen before. Not particularly great or really bad, but pretty mediocre. I give it a 6.
Art
Hmm...It's not particularly bad and it's not particularly great. There is a lot of moeness, which pretty much does nothing for me unless it's very unique; which it isn't. I'm not particularly bothered by the moeness like I was for other animes (like K-On for example). Character designs are ok, animation is decent and backgrounds are pretty good. Unfortunately, not something I'd consider noteworthy. I give a 6.
Sound
Most of the songs are j-pop, which aren't particularly good or memorable. They sound a lot like the stuff you'd hear on the radio for like a month and then never hear it again. Singing wise it's good, some of the voice actors do a very decent job. Not really much else to say about it. I give it a 5.
Characters
The shows characters tend to be the more interesting part of everything. Most of them aren't quite what they seem. Some characters have gone through some very tough situations, others face difficult circumstances and for the show that's a good thing to convey to the audience. Unfortunately, it doesn't do much of it thorough for you to really appreciate or relate to the characters which makes it fall just short. I give it a low 7.
Enjoyment/Overall
Overall it's a pretty average show. If you are into moeness you'll probably love it and if you hate moeness, you'll definitely hate it. I'm not in either camp, so I say it's pretty average. Characters can be memorable, but so far through 17 episodes the show hasn't really taken off in my opinion. The slice of life story line can be too boring at times and too predictable which just hurts the show overall. I give it a 6.
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Update.
Since the last time I wrote this review, the anime has improved storywise and character wise. You learn a lot more about 965 pro and why the boss does what he does and you learn a lot more about the characters. I believe it was episode 20 was probably the best episode of the entire series. It was very well done and very moving (you learn a lot about Chihaya's past) and I equate it to other famous anime moments like that in Clannad when Tomoya finally accepts his daughter. It was a dramatic episode that really just stood out from all the rest of the anime.
It doesn't stop there though. We got to know more about a few other characters and the episodes just suddenly got a whole lot better. It's a shame they couldn't show us these great episodes until the ending part of the anime because it would have made the anime a lot stronger overall. Luckily I think they did enough to really make this anime stand out a bit more. In all I give it a high 7. The last few episodes really saved this show.
