Category Archives: Modern Visual Culture

July 25, 2023

IDOLM@STER 18th Stream, SideM Thoughts

By omo

This is just the thoughts from this particular Producer, so take it as you will. Just reacting to some other folks from this morning (evening JP time on July 25) when the 18th anniversary stream dropped its usual payload of news and inter-brand interactions.

I’m lurking in a couple community discord servers for IDOLM@STER. Some SideMs are gnashing teeth. Others are just putting them to perspective. You can see some of that in the Youtube comments. I think perspective is important, as it can highlight the way forward out of this hellish situation. But I think some empathy and compassion is good. More over, these emotions and momentary problems are probably something that will come and pass with time, without us doing a whole lot.

One thing I noticed is that many of these online communities are surrounding the core game product. This is Deresute, MLTD, the Enza Shiny game, and what have you. Players of the console 765Pro games kind of dissolves into the background as old(er) people who bring up obscure data points (see above about perspective) but it’s not tangibly linked to the community. The band of IDOLM@STER branding is not that strong.

I think this is invariably the case when all it takes is a smartphone or emulator, and Qooapp. All these free-to-play games have no doors, effectively, other than being in Japanese. And just like how anime culture in America is a rainbow regurgitation of the same thing in Japan, a lot is lost in the translation. Or more precisely, a lot is missing in the localization of a media mix IP, that wasn’t even localized to begin with. Localization outfits are just publishers, they are not marketing firms with a hand in the media mix pie who want to sell rights to merch or whatever it takes to do SideM Ice Cream.

I would feel way less secure as a SideM P if all I had was the game and not the concerts, the live streams, the music, the anime, the comics, and the fandom at large. I really think this is part of the answer to Bannam dropping the Growing Stars game, but not much of this has come. Anyways, it has been disconcerting for some Ps and things have remained uncomfortable.

I remember seeing the SideM announcement at MOIW 2014 intermission. I was there at my first IM@S concert and still feeling a bit overwhelmed. Yes, even back then, we, collectively (Japan?), know that joseimuke stuff was taking off. Women buying 2D dude merch was a bigger thing than it was ever before. It was a force to tap into, if you are an opportunist. So at some level, SideM joining the fray was already a bit, let’s just say, sus, fundamentally.

At any rate, SideM fits this scheme, and I bemused around then, even, that Bannam was a tad late. But the dice were cast, and we’re in it together. Will IDOLM@STER as a business translate well as joseimuke content and media mix strategy? Despite hindsight being mostly 20/20, I think the answer is still unclear. To some degree, we see where it was successful. We also see the missteps.

I think one clear thing we can say is that Bannam executed the SideM vision with some urgency. Vision 2.0 started with IDOLM@STER 2, which introduced us to Jupiter. These guys are the lynchpins for the SideM franchise and connects us from today back all the way to origin. SideM also provided a home Akizuki Ryo, which we cannot say enough to thank for. Maybe this is at SideM’s cost as a female-pandering franchise, but ultimately it was just one person in a group with 46 or 49 idols. These are, in the big picture of the 18 years of IDOLM@STER, large, franchise-altering moves. They’re on par with Shiny Colors dropping a new unit every year from 2019 to 2022. But I didn’t think Bannam and the SideM team played this up well. Maybe because they were urgently trying to solidify this brand?

I believe urgency was why SideM took the path of Million Live, almost carbon-copy from web game to app game. It was definitely why SideM had a TV anime first, well before Million. But did this urgency pay off? I’m not sure. I can say that the transition to the app game did more to harm it than any other decision for the series, because SideM LIVE ON ST@GE was not up to the quality and standards set by the other games in the series. If rushing was a big factor towards the cause of it, it was just a bad decision.

In 2021 we got SideM GROWING STARS, which is being shut down this month. The circumstances surrounding the shutdown is still a mystery. But we probably got here only because the mistake that was LOS. Still, we should properly credit who credit is due: Bannam needs to own the bad treatment for this franchise at the closing of the game. SideM now does not have a game platform to put all the character content on top of. I think that’s actually okay, but it invites envy and criticism.

Objectively speaking, what SideM is doing is becoming more lean and agile. New character media mix franchises often start this way: announcements, casts, recorded songs and drama. But this is sort of the opposite business strategy for IDOLM@STER, one that hasn’t really happened until the launch of Shiny Colors. It is still a really weird way to see an IDOLM@STER brand exist. How can players be players without an ongoing game? Until this existential issue is resolved, it stands to reason that SideM players and producers are going to have their undies in a knot.

Given this blog and I am very silver-lining oriented, this is the best spin I can put on it. Bannam did what they could, they pushed the franchise and hit all the high notes until the Covid years. There is not much left to execute for SideM in the Vision 2.0 game plan.

So, because I have nothing to lose if I am wrong, you should take the following prediction as far or as close as you want. I suggest that the 6th franchise in IDOLM@STER canon might be also joseimuke. KominoP said it started 5 years ago. What started 5 years ago? So again, I have nothing to lose if I’m wrong, it’s going to be joseimuke, and 2.5D oriented. I mean it makes sense. It’s the one arrow missing in the quiver of the IDOLM@STER franchise. I want real life Haruka tripping on stage, just like how I really enjoyed my time at the Umamusume stage performance. SideM did rodokugeki. Is this why IDOLM@STER was so slow to this punch?

Because, on paper, the only threat to IDOLM@STER is Umamusume. Bang Dream is for kids! D4DJ is … also for kids. IDOLM@STER is for boomers! Love Live is actually just not-iM@S and belongs to Bandai Namco anyways. That’s why the franchise want to expand and add, it needs to grow to replace the warm bodies that will graduate from the series because invariably, as long as SideM or Million or 765Pro continues to exist, Bannam will make mistakes along the way. Rightfully so, it’s okay to quit when these entertainment IPs stop being entertaining.

Except Cinderella Girls–it continues to grow, and Cygames seemed to have hit the winning formula. Doomposting, unvoiced Producers continue to cause chaos and rub people the wrong way as entitled pricks. One person’s bug is another person’s feature, I guess.

Leave a comment | posted in Bishoujo Gaming, Idolmaster, Modern Visual Culture

June 29, 2023

Framing IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls U149

By omo

As I was watching the final episode of U149, I thought back to how a lot of the core concepts of Cinderella Girls come down to pretty silly, bare-bones ideas but taken to the extremely-real. To use a metaphor, when the fairy godmother turned a pumpkin into a horse carriage in the Disney rendition of Cinderella, it was literally a pumpkin that morphed magically and gained the functions of a carriage. When you think of the tomboy 5th grader, maybe you can conjure up Haru. When you think of a gal 5th grader, maybe you can conjure up Risa. These acts of speaking into reality through the power of imagination is underneath all of that.

Much of this show is about fleshing out not just these character ideas, but depicting the unreal origins of these ideas with the reality of what the IDOLM@STER brand is about: idol production and all that jazz. It both sells that fantasy but it still have to tip the hat to all of the rest underneath, to use the madly-peddling swan metaphor. What’s also unreal, in the sense that this is an anime about the following topic, is that children signed under a major idol agency are child laborers. Granted, this is probably the kind people don’t look down upon in general (although many still do), but playing heavily on the “child vs adult” themes (Arisu is the child idol who wants to be an adult but is too childish to do so, in a nutshell.) all of those comes into play. It is a weird feeling to think of U149 in those terms, yet every time these kids bump into those types of workplace problems, it’s hard to not think of it.

So many scenes in the series, we see the U149 Producer working hard, putting his money towards his charges, not to mention spending all his time working for their projects. The U149 Producer displays plenty of childishness as depicted by societal norms, but is overall quite a normal adult dealing with the usual adult problems (in a work setting). He is the foil for the U149 idols.

It gets amusing and a bit confusing because the children themselves also take care of each other. One of them produces costumes, another cooks well. Some of them demonstrate emotional maturity and others have leadership skills. Some are stronger than others. In as much as U149 is a team or a unit, in demonstrating a satisfactory level of respect, or attractiveness, the kids also loses some of what makes kids kids I think.

Maybe that is why I really enjoy this aspect when Miria brings that standard kid-energy and that shadow of fear underneath her steel-woman-child visage during the live stream. Miria episodes are all so good because there’s this obvious internal conflict in which she out-matures it.

But as it were, why do people dote over Arisu…? Rhetorically, yes, I get it, I’m just saying every bratty snot in the 3rd Division has a surprising amount of inner qualities that makes them admirable as people. Maybe those qualities also make (at least some of) them attractive as idols, but it would be safe to say it is quite too early for that for the majority of them.

PS. Ever since COVID, Cinderella Girls shows all use smart/digital tickets. It means for oversea Producers, getting tickets require jumping a different set of hoops than before. It also means it’s harder than ever to proxy. Yet we see them draw in these paper tickets into the show and it just make me shake my head in disbelief. Go on, magical anime about little kids who tries to sing, dance, and behave like amusing little things. This is also amusing (in a not-so-great way).

Leave a comment | posted in Idolmaster, Modern Visual Culture

April 29, 2023

THE IDOLM@STER Million Live 10th Tour Act 1 Saitama Super Arena

By omo

Trying a new format to better condense? I say this every time but had I? I guess this is the product review format of event review, because, “producer” is just a “T” short from “product”? It’s just the usual ranting, though.

Million Live, after all the ups and downs, is now entering its 10th year and they decided to have a 4-stop tour, spanning from April this year until February 2024. Act 1 (or the first stop) was at the SSA on the 22nd and 23rd. Act 2 will be at Port Messe Nagoya Exhibition Hall on July 29-30th. Act 3 will be at the West Japan General Exhibition Center in Kitakyushu on November 4-5th. The final act, Act 4, will be at K Arena Yokohama on February 24-25th. K Arena opens for business in September this year so that would be interesting to see. I’ll try to go to another stop, but no promises.

Here’s the crux of Act 1. They wanted to drop “first” to “fourth” with the 37-color promotional material and outfits. They wanted us to remember first, second, third and fourth. But they didn’t do Welcome this entire weekend… It’s a mixed bag as an old-timer. Heart full, eyes clear, mind on fire–just like what 4th did to me.

But, has everything worked out in time?

Continue reading

2 comments | posted in Modern Visual Culture

April 16, 2023

IDOLM@STER vα-liv, Launch, Famitsu Interview

By omo

Simps know where to find the “goods” so instead I’ll dive right in to the meta. For starters, despite all the funny things they may have mentioned in the launch stream, the project is relatively orthodox (can anything vtuber be “orthodox”?) as far as vtuber agencies go. That is, if you’re a corpo and not some mushroom-after-the-rain start-up. Who knew how all the vtuber research for Kurocon would come in handy?

So officially, the IDOLM@STER 3rd Vision Vtuber project has launched. From now (or April 13th) until the first stream on May 2 (Japan time), it’s going to just be a trickle of content from the initial three vtuber trainees (as they refer to themselves as kenkyuusei or kouhousei anyways). A much more nuts-and-bolts Q&A session can be found here. Well, first watch the launch stream if you haven’t yet. And just to note, the va-live content lives on its on YT channel (which you can’t use the beautified link because it’s broken lmao)! I guess the main IM@S YT channel is already very busy…?

The person in charge of the brand is Haruki Katsumata, who has worked on IM@S for over 10 years (seems to be relegated to live content side such as IM@S MR and Million Live concerts). To summarize the Famitsu article:

  • Superchat may or may not be available? I’m guessing because Bannam has their own platform already and they don’t wanna pay the 30% Google tax, so they need to figure out how to square this with having to exist on YouTube.
    • You cannot be a big time Vtuber and not have a Youtube presence, and frankly anything less is too jank for Bandai Namco in my opinion. Sorry, Twitch, you wouldn’t want this corpo nonsense on your platform anyway.
    • The 3 vtubers’ respective YT channels here: Red, Blue, Yellow
  • The va-liv project was born out of the ‘rona (of course) disruption, especially after the successful Miki Hoshii showroom stunt. Very “wakaru” moment for me.
  • Of course, va-liv will likely “add” although for the first year it’s just these 3.
  • I had worried about the “moat” effect of va-liv, but fundamentally this is just yet another vtuber agency so IM@S and these talents will (continue to) collaborate with other vtubers outside of the brand. Well, I guess this wasn’t the aspect I was worried about–more like from a “revenue loss” POV.
  • I had discussed with others, and of course the interview basically confirms our assumption that eventually voting will be more complicated in the future and involve the fans to “produce stuff.” This is the core business of IM@S after all, and where the revenue is.
  • On monetization, the spiel from Katsumata is that as with other brands in Vision 3.0, it will become a “360” media mix strategy where different modes of monetization is enabled. With streamers and vtubers, there are new revenues being unlocked through va-liv. Of course, there will be more tie-ins and the like to be announced in the future, such as music and the like.
  • The loudest and biggest hand wringing from fans in reaction to va-liv announcement is that this is an elimination system, or audition where elimination is possible at the end of the year. The answer from Katsumata is that they want to set a clear goal post or standard to what the content is? It’s not an open-ended engagement. They also want to incorporate this particular element from the various games (arcade, console, Shiny Colors).

The interview also talked to the 3 talents. Now, stuff for the simps:

  • Senpai they admire:
    • Red: Kyoko Igarashi
    • Blue: l’Antica
    • Yellow: YuNi
  • Impressions of the other two. They only met the day before (the interview was taken right after the launch stream).
    • Red: She was nervous but the other two seem calm and reliable.
    • Blue: Manaka seems like a nervous hamster; Letora has a sunny vibe.
    • Yellow: Both are so cute, Manaka is like cotton candy. Asked if she needed a ride home because I can’t leave her by herself. Cosmo is a cool beauty that I gawk at from top to bottom.
  • Why do you want to become an idol? What kind of idol do you want to be?
    • Yellow: I had to choose between getting a job or continue to pursuit music. This is my one last try so I will give it my best. I want to deliver my song to all of Japan and share my heart with them.
    • Blue: I wanted to be a magical girl and sparkle. Even though I had been working as an entertainer for the longest time among us, it was not going well. I couldn’t give it up, and this project is my last chance. I want to be an idol who sparkles and shines brighter than anyone else.
    • Red: Once I was a volunteer to read to children. I was so happy that I can do things for them and make them happy. Maybe I have the ability to make other smile, and I would like to make people smile with me. Since as a child I was not forward and timid. I wanted to change, I had to change, and I join in this project in order to have the courage to take the first step forward.
  • The interviewer then goes “You said “last chance” so why this project, real or virtual?” (Sort of abridged TL):
    • Yellow: It’s hard to put it into words.
    • Katsumata: It’s hard to put it into words, but to me that’s how it feels to participate in this project?
    • Yellow: Feeling…?
    • Katsumata: I guess it’s hard.
    • Blue: As said earlier, it’s almost 10 years since I have been in show business. Whether I continue or quit performing as an idol comes down to this project. But that’s just as being an idol, I am not sure what will happen in the future for my career afterwards.
    • Red: I am as old as Cosmo but we have the opposite situation. I just finished my second year in Tokyo and also 2 years since I started training to be an idol. I am 16 years old now which is a bit late to start becoming an idol, so I have a complex about it. My shyness was a barrier to becoming an idol, so I said to myself “This is my last chance, I’m going to do my best” as a way to push myself. I think I need to push myself to the limit or else I will never be able to do it.

That’s more or less it. My take is basically that this is going to be your average business vtuber content mill, with curve balls thrown in for idol producers now playing in this space. For the first year, at least, we will continue to see these three vtubers trying to justify this project to BN brass. If people accept and come to adopt these three, I think we will see this project grow in various ways. As it stands, we don’t know what elimination really means, but as with the axing of Saisute in the background, we know nothing lasts forever, and even good(?) things can come to an end. Shiny Color builds this eventuality as part of its vibe, so it is easy to see where this comes from for va-liv.

At the same time I think they deserve a lot of the criticism, both in terms of how to communicate better to the fans and from a business point of view, not put in place where they can assuage our concerns. But I think this is likely a standard operating procedure for any company stepping their toes in this pool, and having to “imas” it may be one layer too thick on top. At the same time, they are asking Ps to be the test or incubating audience, so to speak, so I guess we’ll see if it works or not.

Leave a comment | posted in Modern Visual Culture

March 21, 2023

Google Bard on Slice-of-Life

By omo

Generative, large language model (LLM) systems like Chat GPT or Google Bard are, IMO, experimental systems that creates human-readable text that has some information, which are put together usually via data sets made up of human search activity and web crawling. It’s all still in a relatively early state of maturity so treat this stuff with a grain of salt, at least. I asked Google Bard about slice-of-life anime. Here is a refresher on my take on this bull-crap genre. Anyways, I’ll label my prompts in bold and italics and the answer will immediately follow. FWIW, I am selecting the most amusing draft for all these. There are definitely some differences between the 3 drafts but they are along the same lines every time. Each prompt and answer is delineated by ===.

What are the best slice-of-life anime to watch in 2022

Here are some of the best slice-of-life anime to watch in 2022:

  • Komi Can’t Communicate is a romantic comedy anime about a high school girl who struggles with social anxiety. It is a very well-written and funny anime with great characters and animation.
  • Sasaki and Miyano is a romantic comedy anime about a high school boy who falls in love with his male classmate. It is a very heartwarming and funny anime with great characters and animation.
  • Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is a romantic comedy anime about a high school boy and girl who are both very awkward. It is a very funny and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Kotaro Lives Alone is a slice-of-life anime about a four-year-old boy who lives alone in an apartment building. It is a very heartwarming and funny anime with great characters and animation.
  • Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness is a slice-of-life anime about a high school girl who moves to a rural area to help her grandfather run a traditional Japanese confection shop. It is a very heartwarming and funny anime with great characters and animation.

These are just a few of the many great slice-of-life anime that came out in 2022. With so many great options to choose from, there is sure to be an anime that everyone will enjoy.

===

What are some other great options?

Here are some other great slice-of-life anime:

  • The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. is a comedy anime about a high school student with psychic powers. It is a very funny and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Konosuba is a comedy anime about a group of adventurers who are transported to a fantasy world. It is a very funny and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Yuru Camp is a slice-of-life anime about a group of high school girls who go camping. It is a very relaxing and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Horimiya is a romantic comedy anime about a high school student who is known as a delinquent and a student who is known as a perfect girl. It is a very heartwarming and funny anime with great characters and animation.
  • Tonikaku Kawaii is a romantic comedy anime about a high school student who falls in love with a girl who is very shy. It is a very heartwarming and funny anime with great characters and animation.
  • A Place Further Than the Universe is a slice-of-life anime about a group of high school girls who travel to Antarctica. It is a very heartwarming and inspiring anime with great characters and animation.
  • My Roommate is a Cat is a slice-of-life anime about a young man who adopts a cat. It is a very funny and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Fruits Basket is a slice-of-life anime about a young woman who finds herself living with a family of people who are cursed to turn into animals when they are hugged by someone of the opposite sex. It is a very heartwarming and funny anime with great characters and animation.

===

What are some great kuuki-kei anime?

Kuuki-kei anime are a type of slice-of-life anime that focus on the everyday lives of characters. They are often set in ordinary settings, such as schools, homes, or workplaces. Kuuki-kei anime often have a slow pace and a focus on character development. They can be relaxing and heartwarming, or they can be thought-provoking and introspective.

Here are some great kuuki-kei anime:

  • Hidamari Sketch is a slice-of-life anime about four girls who live in a boarding house and attend an art school. It is a very relaxing and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Aria is a slice-of-life anime about a group of young women who work as gondoliers on a floating city. It is a very slow-paced and relaxing anime with great characters and animation.
  • Azumanga Daioh is a slice-of-life anime about a group of high school girls. It is a very funny and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Lucky Star is a slice-of-life anime about four high school girls. It is a very funny and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Ichigo Mashimaro is a slice-of-life anime about a group of elementary school girls. It is a very funny and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Flying Witch is a slice-of-life anime about a young witch who moves to a small town. It is a very relaxing and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.
  • Non Non Biyori is a slice-of-life anime about a group of high school girls who live in a rural town. It is a very relaxing and heartwarming anime with great characters and animation.

These are just a few of the many great kuuki-kei anime that are available. With so many great options to choose from, there is sure to be an anime that everyone will enjoy.

===

What is slice-of-life anime?

Slice of life anime is a genre of anime that focuses on the everyday lives of characters. These anime often have a slow pace and a focus on character development. They can be relaxing and heartwarming, or they can be thought-provoking and introspective.

Slice of life anime can be set in any time period or location, but they often take place in the present day. They can also be set in a variety of settings, such as schools, homes, or workplaces.

Some of the most popular slice of life anime include:

  • K-On! is a slice of life anime about a group of high school girls who form a light music club.
  • Haikyuu!! is a slice of life anime about a high school boys’ volleyball team.
  • Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is a slice of life anime about a group of childhood friends who reunite after one of their friends dies.
  • Clannad is a slice of life anime about a high school boy who meets a girl with a mysterious past.
  • Violet Evergarden is a slice of life anime about a young woman who becomes an Auto Memory Doll, a person who writes letters for people who cannot write them themselves.

Slice of life anime can be a great way to relax and escape the everyday grind. They can also be a great way to connect with characters and learn about different cultures.

===

So yeah, it’s definitely a bull-crap category, but sufficed to say, after laying enough cow pies on top of each other, a definitive shape is forming. Say what you will about these models, it is still a machine when garbage goes in, garbage comes out.

Leave a comment | posted in Modern Visual Culture