The idolmaster is a story about a group of idols that pursue their dream into stardom. The story is very simple with it written in episodic format, each character has their own spotlight in their respective episodes. The anime shows us the daily lives of the idol group members, with their struggles and how they overcome their flaws. With its being episodic, there's actually no main conflict in the show, I do think that is not a big deal with the anime itself coming with the Slice of Life genre, but sometimes the episode just feels like a filler episode that gives no development to the story nor the character. On the other side we never see how the group actually develops through the story, everything feels like it is just flowing like any idol anime should be. The last few episodes with the Haruka character arc are indeed the best part of the story.
Character:
The words that producer said in episode 12 "I don't really understand all of you girls yet" indeed describe how I feel towards the group when I finish watching this anime. Overall, the character feels decent, each idols were unique with their own traits. With the problem of having too many characters, some characters are not really explored through the anime, making them appear to be flat and boring. Miki, Chihaya, and Haruka are indeed the most standout characters in terms of writing, at some point they feel alive with their struggle and motivation to become an idol. On the second cour of the show we finally face the antagonist of the show. Their appearance somehow feels unnecessary and just there to extend the story.
Visual
Thing I like the most from this anime is the animation, especially when it comes to character acting animation, it is just so outstanding. The performance scene is great too, it kinda amazed me for anime at that time, cause nowadays anime tends to use CGI to make this kind of scene. When it comes to character design, Atsushi Nishigori never fails with it. Every character design is very contrasting with each other and so colorful.
Conclusion
The idolm@ster is a good idol anime that mainly focuses on the daily lives of idol group members. If you were looking for an idol anime with a simple story and great visual, you should give it a try.
