Category Archives: Idolmaster

August 13, 2015

IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: How Many Is Too Many?

By omo

TL;DR – it’s not about quantity, but quality, once overhead has been accounted for.

Momoka Sakurai

Evirus says here:

There are entirely too many Cinderella Girls. It wasn’t a problem during the first cour when it appeared the show was content with keeping the story on the 14 main idols; that worked for its two-cour predecessor. However, the current season of THE iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls seems intent on cramming more and more of the game’s enormous battery of idols into the anime, presumably attempting to placate ardent fans of niche characters with cameos. Unfortunately, this practice dilutes the show as a whole, making this half of the Cinderella Girls anime somewhat underwhelming.

and concludes with

I’m sure there are disappointed Harada Miyo fans who just want five freaking minutes watching her gap spark plugs, and Yorita Yoshino apostles who want a subplot about her talking to strangers, but neither of these scenarios is likely to do much for the Cinderella Girls anime as a whole. How about spending more time with the ostensible lead trio in New Generations? How about that?

It’s a fair ask, but it’s the wrong ask. Here are some arguments against what Evirus is asking.

First of all, the first season is more or less in line with the same formula as season two, because it cannot possibly focus on all 14 main idols. So what happened was each idol was assigned a grouping and put into the canonical network of interpersonal relationships, and when it’s their turn in the spotlight, we get an group episode. I mean, compare the Miria episode in season 1 versus the Miria episode in season 2. What Miria episode in season 1? The one she just tags along Rika and gets lost? LOL.

I’m just going to interpret what Evirus is whining about as the usual ask in the context of focusing on the development of the main characters. It’s why I say it’s a fair ask. But that’s not the IM@S way.

Which is to say, second, New Generations is kind of meh. Meh in terms of what? There are reasons why there are Yorita fans. Or Momoka fans (in the case of episode 17–look at how those 2-bit minor characters present for fanservice diluted a great episode! Wait). If you took a look at the regularly scheduled elections in the game, you’ll notice one thing: The New Gen girls are just so-so popular until the anime. They may be spotlit as “lead” characters but they cannot carry the show by themselves. That is both true cynically/critically, and true to the theme of IDOLM@STER.

[I am just glad Mio has fans now ;_;]

Also, they’ve been dropping hints on TriPri so I’m sure we’re just going to get a giant ball of mess coming our way when that setup pops. Honestly when Cinderella Project was first announced there was some minor murmur of discontent, because some weren’t sure if Uzuki and Mio can really pull it off.

Last, to answer the question I posed in the title of this post: one idol is too many if it is the wrong one. Unfortunately the anime has only enough time and resources to showcase so many characters while giving them a fair shake, and the Animas formula that Deremas anime is following dictated the kind of complex character development which involve a lot of intercharacter exploration, further limiting how many characters the show can write for. There are going to be times when idols most don’t care about go on stage. (I get the feeling Evirus is knee jerk about his comments based solely on the variety show episode, given the 4 season 2 episodes, thus far, are all very similar in the showcasing-extra-idols aspect, at least by the clock.) But so far every time this happens in Deremas anime it was done in a context that goes with the story of that week. It’s the most we can really ask it to do. The concept behind Cinderella Girls is to have at least one idol you care about than trying to sell a handful of idols that you don’t, and unfortunately it also means having to deal with many idols you don’t care about to get to the ones you do.

If they can make such crafty episodes like #17 every week, I don’t think I would care which idol it is about, because quality is what’s important. And much like that episode demonstrates, one can showcase minor characters just fine while delivering a great experience. Quantity is just an obstacle that needs management.

In that sense, the compromise I offer is that the writing has to account for this aspect. I imagine if you weren’t moved by the Big Sisters moment, the whole episode was a little on the dry side. Maybe we can’t please everybody but the same can be said of all the prior episodes. It comes down to just how well the execution is, I guess.

PS. Here’s a man who has not the right idol in the show.

Leave a comment | posted in Idolmaster, Modern Visual Culture

August 12, 2015

Early Decisions: Summer 2015 Season

By omo

If SAO is our standard bearer of Mary-Sues in recent memory, what makes of GATE and Overlord? This is a rhetorical question I suppose. But I find myself honing in on the political undertones first.

Million Lives

Even before that though, there needs a hook, sometimes. What is the hook in Gangsta? Crime and violence? Sex and violence? Grit? Ha. Hahaha. Maybe the whole dogtag thing? Maybe it’s just the mood I’m in but it almost felt like the show is an insult of actual criminals and gangsters? Which may be okay. Perhaps even more okay, if it turns out that way, is if Gangsta becomes an insult of the genre. I don’t know and wouldn’t know, though, because I missed the hook; a reason to watch the next episode. Other than Mamiko’s character not dying in the first episode? Didn’t these people watch Cowboy Bebop? I guess if you were one of those people who watched Bebop as a result of its critical acclaim, maybe I’ll join you on Gangsta.

On that note, if Haramii is the standard bearer of “boob voice” then that could explain why is she in another MMORPG anime? I mean don’t get me wrong I love her role in Overlord. It’s a lovely hook. That show is also my favorite of the season for some reason. It’s like Log Horizon for me. If Log Horizon for you was shipping and the adoring of a little assassin character, maybe Overlord is not for you. Still, the two have some strong similarities in the narrative approach and setting. I realize people don’t prioritize these things the way I do but I feel Overlord is an improvement on the setting building aspect of Log Horizon in some ways.

Speaking of hook, I thought School Alive had a wonderful pilot. It’s the perfect embodiment of that famous(?) fan fiction about Bottle Fairies and split personalities. It doesn’t go that distance however, and I’m pretty meh on zombies. And maybe even more so on crazy (in a clinical sense) anime characters. It does seem quite entertaining so I’m not hung up on the fact that I haven’t gotten around to it. Another season with no time to watch everything I want to watch, is just a fact we have to deal with.

I’m not even hung up on the fact that I didn’t get around Prison School. I thought I would by now but I guess I thought my time would be better used to make maids in eroge or something. Probably not too different than being up to date to the Wife Is the Student Council President except more time consuming.

I feel good about the Hackadoll anime next season–believe it or not it’s my most hyped upcoming show that I can remember off the top of my head. The other shows on the same anime blocks this season are all pretty okay, and they are all served well by the 8-minute format. Even Wooser… I guess. That one seemed a little borderline because some of the recent episodes felt it went on for just too long. In a weird way I’m also looking forward to the cameo they could mix. I mean it’s clear that Miss Monochrome and Wooser are shows that are open to straight cameos. Hackadoll is even more so when the “IP” itself is about discovery of other IP, to the degree that it outright endorses and what not. Kind of like if Gamers or Animate made their own serious shows, what would be in them? I mean the Hackadoll namas… If you are into the WUG seiyuus (and Ueda Reina) they’re a must watch, and you’ll get what I mean by cameos (maybe).

Supposedly that Hayamin anime with Red Riding Hood naming is good. That’s like people saying Oremonogatari is good. It would be nice if someone can go into details and elaborate on how they could be relevant.

I am also watching Rokka. It’s not that good, in fact every episode felt off-putting. It does serve well with a choppy pace of things, so in this instance I enjoy the plot more so than anything. It takes its time during these “unusual” moments, almost awkwardly, so that could be why every week it feels off-putting. It’s like you  know a cliffhanger is coming but the show misses its timing in telling you what you already know. Maybe I’ll drop at some point, but I’d like to give all the new characters a chance to make an impression. So far only the main dude guy is of any interest… Pikasha playing the lead female is well-deserved but the precarious princess probably won’t get her day in the spotlight until much later.

The opposite problem happens in Million Doll. The concept and story are both right up my ally and the level of meta-ness is perfect, but the anime is lacking to say the least. I kind of hoped the animation is at least good enough so I remember everyone’s names by like 5 episodes, but given the very short length I can cut it some slack. Crunchyroll recently streamed episode 5.5, which means we now get to see Yuiton’s full length legs with English subtitles. That I can accept, since she is just there the whole time, but of the entire length of the fan meeting, why those segments? Specifically, why the segment that points out she’s from Osaka? LOL. I guess it works.

That nicely segue into Sore ga Seiyuu, which is obviously a must watch for me. It’s sad people compare it to Shirobako when the two are actually nothing alike. Of course, they are also entirely alike in their glamorized/deglamorizing view of the industry, but why would anyone watch something like that? Joke aside, it’s nice to finally see some drama this week. It’s funny to see how Kugyuu and Hocchan are in their cartoon flesh. It’s especially amusing if you think about the various versions of herself that Horie had to play in the recent years. That said unless you are a seiyuu otaku of some measure this is not exactly going to be enjoyable. In a lot of ways, Sore ga Seiyuu gives you the inside look at a voice actress’s internal thoughts rather than the internal working of an animation project. It’s much more personal and also a lot less compelling/hit or miss, unless you have already a hook there.

[Here’s an aside. Take Yoshimura Haruka as an example. She’s still a “newbie seiyuu” in the technical sense, soon to graduate out of that bracket. It seems that she shares some of these exact anxieties our protagonists share, if you read this interview. Even the way she name dropped Pe and Nu, or her coleads from Shirobako… Also, thank goodness for IDOLM@STER, right?]

What is always enjoyable is great seiyuu performances. I feel like that every time I watch Monster Musume because there is nothing else redeeming about the show. The voice acting is carrying it. Well, maybe one other thing: the political undertone. I mentioned in a chat once but if we think about MonMusu as a harem with fantastical creatures combined with harem characters, we realize isn’t the only IP on the market with that concept. Even Bakemonogatari and the like, really, is merging the plight of a young girl with the notion of some eastern phantom. And it’s not alone. Normal, quiet guy’s life gets upended by rowdy and over-excited young women trying to bone him? Except this time, they’re not Cat Planet Cuties. The monster fetishes aside, isn’t this what we can call, for the lack of a better term, a “gaijin harem”? The immigration issues too certainly highlight this. How does a normal, if model, Japanese specimen deal with these foreign intruders? They clearly mean well but they’re a handful, as they gaijin smash into your heart. What to do?

Joke aside, Monmusu doesn’t deserve 2 paragraphs, let alone faint praise in the form of thematic exploration of its parallel with western notion of liberty and romance (and other aspects of everyday life…Cat Planet Cuties does, though). Maybe Charlotte does, but I can’t watch that show objectively devoid of my Mocho biases and tendencies. It’s a great show and her character is decidedly similar to her business persona. The story and characters are who you expect them to be, knowing Charlotte’s Maeda Jun roots. I hope for the best, and PA Works so far is doing a good job. And knowing that, we are way too early in the game to pass any real judgment on it, even if the story has been placing hints along as expected.

The other original title I like this season is Classroom Crisis. It can be really good, it can be mediocre, but it probably won’t be bad. It’s a little boring but I’m ossan enough to enjoy that kind of boredom. Cobalt is a great song and probably my favorite this season. There’s also some social commentary as undertone here that’s pretty enjoyable, if kind of wrong-headed.

Shimoseka is clearly socially interesting, but it’s also interesting from the seiyuu perspective. And beyond that, the story is a little interesting. I don’t think it’s tapping into the full potential of the premise and I’m not sure I like how it exists in the school context because that puts the weird things it can pull in line with other stories in the same setting, but I’m willing to let it prove me wrong. At the very least it can be fun on the basis that the anime is about a bunch of perverted jokes.

I tried the first episode of several shows above and dropped them, but also Aoharu x Machinegun, Actually I, and Ushio & Tora (which had a really good episode 1 that’s just like the one I saw 15+ yr ago). I don’t think I would mind watching more but there wasn’t anything compelling. Actually the first one up there was particularly tough, since it’s not my kind of thing? I probably would be watching Symphogear except I cannot be arsed to undrop shows from years ago. Praise it more guys, maybe I will change my mind (lol).

On the notes for sequels, I am enjoying Non Non Biyori a lot, and this take is brilliant. Less brilliant is Working season 3. It puts me to sleep. In fact it inspired me to track often each show this season has done so:

[Title]: [Ep count that I fell asleep on]/[Ep count watched]

Working!!!: 4/5
Monmusu: 2/6
Classroom Crisis: 0/6
Gate: 0/6
Non Non: 0/6
Rokka: 1/5
Gatchaman S2: 1/3
Charlotte: 0/6
Shimoseka: 1/3
Sore ga Seiyuu: 0/6
Overlord: 0/6
IMAS CG: LOL/Every episode twice

I think I fell asleep on an ep of Wakaba Girl. Anyways, I ignored the short stuff because of the obvious reasons. Back to Working. I think it’s the A/B format each episode uses, it would mean the slow part of the ep puts me away and I would wake up on the good part or vice versa. Not much I can do besides trying to watch it not when food coma is coming or at a time when I am not tired. I guess a positive way to spin this is that Working is disarmingly funny, and relaxes me. The negative way to spin this is that it’s just a boring same-recipe-every-time gag that has expired last season.

I’m also of two minds on Gatchaman Crowds Insight (two different minds), so I’ll keep that to myself for now and make a call later once I am more caught up. It’s on the to-watch list for sure.

Still up to date on Food Wars and Baseball A.

Yeah I’m watching IM@S CG. Lately it’s been good. Not sure that is because the episodes are good or I’m still under the influence of 10th. Most likely both.

Last but not least, Teekyuu backlog ever increasing. And I don’t mind the least.

Leave a comment | posted in Charlotte, Classroom Crisis, Gatchaman, Idolmaster, Modern Visual Culture, Overlord, Shimoneta to Iu Gainen ga Sonzai Shinai Taikutsu na Sekai, Sore ga Seiyuu, Teekyu

August 6, 2015

Japan 2015 Trip #3: Reaccounting, Counting the Costs

By omo

From Osaka

At some point during my trip a few of us who shared a room in Japan (in 3 different cities!) started calling ourselves “Meiwakrew” for fun, because we were a bunch of crazy eventers up for crazy things. Like typical kids from the USA, we were in Japan to party. Well, to a degree. At the same time this trip was definitely an odd one with various mishaps but nonetheless fun and rewarding.

Continue reading

Leave a comment | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Idolmaster, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop, Wake Up Girls!

August 1, 2015

Cinderella Girls 16

By omo

Nana, Haruna, Saori

I think this episode serves a bit of a trigger warning for me, jokingly speaking. The subject matter in this week’s Cinderella Girls deals with the characters the idols put on. I feel, over the years, this is just something that gets confounded by westerners and when it’s in the context of musical artists, many if not most people do not get it.

To be fair, it’s also kind of a strange idea from any point of view, not just a western one. Even if we talk about relatively fundamental concepts like honne and tatemae, it’s not easy to explain what happens to Maekawa Miku when she puts on her glasses or when she puts on her cat ears. It’s like personas, but it isn’t like a disguise or a mask. On top of that in reality things are even murkier, and not as clear cut, and things bleed everywhere.

Well, reality in Japan’s ad-covered train cars and wide sidewalks of Tokyo, maybe, it’s a little easier to figure out. We think of characters from construction companies or big-box stores as mascots, or funny commercials where the mascot or spokesperson or whatever that it is, as a representation of what it is–a commercial conveying some idea about some goods or services. In the case of a normal human being as the mascot, no matter it’s the “public face” or the “private face,” it still reflects the individual to some varying degrees. (And in the “silly Japanese advertisement” context it can mean very little.) What does that mean for idols?

Last week, we saw Takagaki Kaede, who is this pun-ripping idol whose earnestness might be her most charming point in my eyes. She was who she is in front of her fans, and she stands by that in order to gets her feelings across, despite the ups and downs presented in the episode. It might be easy to say that Kaede can do it because she was being true to herself, her feelings, but it’s exactly the same thing that Abe Nana had to do this week to remain Usaminseijin. But her character probably could be said as the antithesis in some ways. It’s a manufactured identity that avid late-night anime viewers are probably familiar with.

I thought this week’s episode particularly struck a chord for me because it speaks a lot louder if you’ve seen Marietti perform Märchen Debut (like from SSA). Here it is, this “typical” looking Japanese voice actress, in the idol getup, doing her best trying to channel Abe Nana who is channeling her Usamin persona, and she’s leading an arena full of people to go “Mimimi, mimimi, Uuusamiiii.” There’s that dissonance between what you see but at the same time, you’re having a lot of fun. It’s exactly like how this week’s episode is trying to portray the difference between the Kaedes of the world versus the “gag tier” idols that we don’t take seriously.

Just because some of us don’t take it seriously doesn’t mean the idols don’t take it seriously, or does it mean it’s not worth taking seriously. It is no different of a craft between the different types of idols out there. Just different “images” or characters. And that gap is something universal, just that in Japanese idol culture, it’s a very complicated and strangely manufactured thing. It’s kind of like how Lady Gaga works I guess? And it’s clear that there are good gag idols and great gag idols, so just like any other craft, some are better at it, and there’s an art to it.

And on that note, ever seen Key the Metal Idol? That’s a good show to see what “manufacturing” means in this context. Granted in the year 2015, idol culture is closer to what is portrayed in Million Doll than Love Live or Idolm@ster or Key (circa 1994), but the totem pole building never ends in that sense, where our favorite idols serve as conduits between the potentially sprawling franchises behind them, and the sea of fans (or even just a single one) in front of them. It’s about fellowship through personality, dance and music, and that’s no different today than it was thousands of years ago.

Which is to say I think this looking down at the idol warring factions (say, AKB48) is just a misunderstanding of what Japanese idols do. AKB as a franchise may have its problems, some could even be used to characterize larger ills in the Japanese entertainment industry or even Japanese culture in general, but that’s entirely besides the point of why and how fans love idols. And yeah, I feel certain groups out west look down on Japanese idols because they have a thoroughly western sense of artistic authenticity and don’t want to really understand how things work in this context.

And hopefully this week’s Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls would help to explain that.

Leave a comment | posted in Idolmaster

July 9, 2015

Tenth And Beyond

By omo

One of these days I’ll have to pin that eventer post again.

The truth is work and 10th prep have killed most of my free time since ANorth. I was able to catch up on some anime still this past weekend, by not going to AX, but AX sounded like it was pretty cool. Only one thing there (that I currently know, anyway) that kind of killed me for missing out was seeing A1 Pictures give away a Goripon Miki sketch and Akai-san’s Asterisks sketch to the random masses. I hope those two found good homes.

I am still going to Otakon. I think of it as winding down by killing myself some more, but I probably will take it easy there. Between now and then remains furious preparation, performing the miracle of packing everything in one not-too-big luggage, coordination of many parties and some live concerts and whatever that I do in Japan. Hopefully not all that much.

I did watch some of the new stuff this season, but let me just put to rest the things I finished:

Fate UBW was pretty okay. It did what I thought it did, which is unable to wrap around the tension of the last two main encounters together in a nice set piece sort of thing, as the UBW movie showed us how it can be done. What made it better was the epilogue. How can we not forgive it after that?

Euphonium – I wish I was at AX. Also Moyochi was great. The best episodes was 11 and 12. Yurigoggle types shed delicious tear which was an unexpected bonus.

Danmachi – This is what anime is for a lot of us. And this one was pretty good.

Etotama – This is what cartoon is for a lot of us. And this one is pretty good. It also is the first anime that I honestly thought the 3D parts were sometimes even more preferred than the 2D. It’s just done better. Rieshon and all the newbie Ponycan seiyuu were bonus. Also, I wish I was at AX. Hanabe looked like she could’ve used more support.

Oreguile 2 – S1 was better.

Triage X – Fun show but I am glad it’s over. Can’t take too much of this.

Plastic Memories – Solid and I like how this anime is not really about robots.

Punch Line – Probably my favorite of the season. It is like making chawamushi or baking a flan, like everything goes in there right but it doesn’t always come out right. Close but no cigar for Punch Line.

I’m still mawing away at Kekkai Sensen, Ninja Slayer and a couple other shows I haven’t decided to drop. Picking up Shoukugeki no Soma is good for health methinks, but the last episode rubbed me the wrong way: if they think a soufflé omelette is a limited timed good, then they have never had good eggs benedict. By all means the shelf life of those things are way shorter than how fast bubbles collapse when fluffy eggs get soggy. IMO they screwed up the science here…

Seems like I’m topping out at 10 shows a season huh. Can I fit enough on my iPad for the round trip to Tokyo to catch up? I think so. Just need to delete some namas and lives on it.

===

As the merchandising for the possibly largest IM@S event approaches its fervent peak, we got to see a lot of cool new illustrations put out on top of things to sell. But the best one had to be this tokuten for Nishigori’s new artbook.

OMG SO GOOD GORIPON

And it’s not just official merchandise. Fans are putting together their tribute. For SSA last year I spent just a meager one hundred American dollars on commissioned artwork. This year I’m about to spend three times that in just American alone, plus about another two and a half 万 to get some semi-pros to do art for flowers. And that’s just me. Which is to say there should be a lot of cool artwork from fans for this special occasion.

[And that pales to the amount we’re spending on the actual flowers themselves. And just the ones I’m organizing (not all of HPT). It adds up to a lot. A LOT. And I’m glad 10th is not going to happen again. So going to not YOLO next year.]

3 comments | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Idolmaster, Punch Line, Shokugeki no Soma, Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabu Kome wa Machigatteiru.