Yep, big surprise, I reviewed The Idolmaster. As I’m sure you know if you’ve been reading the week in review posts, I was a big fan of this show – in fact, its final score ends up approaching Flowers of Evil/Ping Pong the Animation levels, so yeah, this was definitely a favorite. I was actually a huge fan of this show in spite of the fact that neither of its final emotional arcs really worked for me. I couldn’t buy into either Chihaya or Haruka’s drama, and both of their stories struck me as kind of contrived and hollow. But the execution of those stories was remarkable, and the show overall had such an incredible sheen and understanding of quick touchstone character work that I can barely fault the show for failing in its most emotionally ambitious moments. Idolmaster nailed the small moments, the ones where characters were just coming to understand each other through proximity and time, and that stuff does great work in justifying a couple melodramatic overreaches.
Plus, and this bears repeating many, many times, Idolmaster is so friggin’ beautiful. Holy crap this animation, holy crap this direction, holy crap basically everything about this show’s visual and aural storytelling. Christ, I wish I got to complain about storytelling quibbles in shows this beautiful more often. I wish the general problem was “this show is a visual masterpiece, but sometimes it’s not so good at executing on emotional setpieces.” It’s kind of funny to me that a couple years ago, I probably wouldn’t have been able to appreciate this show, but would likely have been groaning about there being no heir of Gainax to take up the legacy of shows like Evangelion and FLCL. Well, Gainax’s children are here, and they’re doing the best they can. Hire a couple better writers and we’ll be right back in the golden age.
You can check out my extremely positive review over at ANN, or run down my pages and pages and pages of notes below!
Episode 1
Great backgrounds, strong incidental sound design, this nice documentary framing device
Strong pacing and direction in general. Strong animation. Actually interviewing her, emphasizing how far she travels for her work
Really strong opening in general
We meet Makoto, who’s the tomboy-looking one who we immediately see has the “actually wants to be girly” charm point
765 Production is the studio
Their elevator is busted
Now we finally get music
Really energetic animation. Excellent personality-filled, stylized key frames
Ami and Mami Futami
Hibiki Ganaha is the big ponytail one
Hamzou the hamster
We’re getting a huge number of characters immediately, introduced through these goofy office shenanigans
This animation style feels almost Gainax-esque. I wonder who they’ve got working on this
Iori Minase, basically the Nico-style one
Too many damn names aagghh
Takane Shijou’s the silver-haired one
Miki Hoshii is the blond. “My boobs are really big”
Going to voice lessons, working out of a cramped agency, etc. This one’s much, much more grounded than Love Live in certain ways
Yukiho Hagiwara – the timid one, can’t talk with guys
Some nice energetic transitions
The Umi-looking one. “I don’t have anything but singing, so I can’t take it lightly”
Great shot of her in the corner of a toplit frame
Takane is pretty chuuni in a funny way
This show definitely doesn’t shrug anyway from emphasizing boobs. Kinda leery in that Gainax way
Man, the animation is so nice
Iori was actually brought in because her dad runs the company, lol
Yayoi Takatsuki is the orange-haired pigtailed one. The oldest of six siblings, a poor family
This show sort of occupies a weird middle ground between perky glamorizing and reality. Not Love Live, but not real either
We don’t get to see the male president’s face
Really nice that the final “what does being an idol mean” question catches all of them in the place they were interviewed. Nice structuring of the episode, ending where it began
Ending with them finally getting a producer – it’s the cameraman
Episode 2
This show’s humor isn’t really as strong as Love Live
Damn, wonderful animation for the opening song
Maybe because there’s so many characters, this one leans a bit more on types than Love Live
Animation remains great
Azusa’s the older blue-haired one
This time they’re choosing outfits for their promo shots
The four younger girls getting anxious about finding their style. Pretty nice, grounded conflict
The insecurity and warmth of this episode was very genuine
And the ED shots are of Iori at home. Interesting
Episode 3
Holy shit this is a lot of energetic animation
Looks like this’ll be a partially Yukiho-based episode. The girl who’s afraid of guys
Looked it up, and yeah, a ton of the key animation staff here were former Gainax, concentrated on Diebuster and the Imaishi works. It shows
It’s nice that the show keeps finding ways to display how the studio is just scraping by. They’re excited and optimistic, but they are not well-off
They’re going on a trip and are going to sing on a stage
It’s a rinky-dink summer festival in the sticks
Some of these shots are framed so nicely!
Everyone’s disappointed the concert’s not turning out how they’d hoped
Yukiho’s freaking out
All of the idols have their own talents
Miki does standup about wanting to sleep, lol
Makoto and the main girl trying to cheer up Yukiho
Another great backlit shot as the producer tries to console Yukiho
Episode 4
Four of the girls are stuck wearing frog costumes
Hibiki, Takane, Haruka (the MC, gotta remember,), and not-Umi
Chihaya’s the Umi one
Hibiki can communicate with her hamster
Chihaya’s upset they removed the singing segment
She lives alone
So we get some idol song as they compete in a cooking show
The cameras are being creepers, and the show itself is emphasizing that
Chihaya’s very uncomfortable
Oh wow, Chihaya kills the whole mood by defending Haruka
Chihaya’s being forced to do demeaning work that has nothing to do with her passion, and she can’t fake energy for it. This is very good stuff – reminds me of Shounen Hollywood
Gorgeous shot of Chihaya singing, again backlit
I like the unique way this show portrays Takane as a total weirdo
Again emphasizing the creeper camera. Wonder where they’re going with it
A lovely shot as the producer hands Chihaya some bandaids
Really sad shots for Chihaya’s ED
Episode 5
Beach episode time, apparently
Everyone’s dying in the summer heat
Ami and Mami just continuously tying in rock-paper-scissors is cute. Those two work well
Iori freaking out Makoto and Yukiho with scary stories. Lots of little bits in every episode
Every episode has a couple title-announced idol songs
Chihaya jealous of the big boobs
The animation’s really holding together. It’s really something
Yukiho building a hole for herself, lol. The characters are building up nicely over time
Haruka trying to get Chihaya to enjoy herself. The friendship between these two is pretty central
More gorgeous backlit shots
The personalities play off each other well. Most of them aren’t that extreme, so they can work with a variety of the others without relying on one gimmick
This episode’s just entirely little slice of life moments, which is a little much. The show needs some conflict, though overall it’s certainly less purpose-driven than Love Live
Chihaya’s anxious. She thinks she should be practicing, because she’s still not getting singing parts. Chihaya’s story is the best so far
Them talking about their dreams before they go to sleep
A very nice piano song for this ending
A new unit has been created – Azusa, Iori, and one of the twins?
Episode 6
Ryuuguu Komachi is the unit
Ami is the twin in the group
Kotori, the green-haired production assistant, keeps having shoujo or JoJo manga daydreams
Miki feels insecure about Ritsuko not putting her in the unit, and then the producer distractedly promises she can
Producer’s overdoing it, and making things worse
The producer isn’t playing to his idols’ strengths, just shoving work at them
“You’re trying too hard on your own.” This episode is about the producer learning to trust his team, like they talked about at the end of last episode
Miki pushing herself based on a promise the producer can’t fulfill. But Miki’s actually very talented
These little dramas are pretty well-constructed
Miki saves the day
This is a very warm show
And then a gorgeous, full animation performance by the three-piece group. Holy damn
Episode 7
Iori being her Nico/princess self
Yayoi invites Iori and Hibiki to her place for dinner
Yayoi schooling Iori on selecting food at the supermarket
Yayoi is kinda scary-cheery. Her personality permeates the episode
Yayoi’s oldest brother feels resentment towards her, because he thinks she gets to do what she wants
The camera avoids Yayoi’s face after her brother’s outburst. Again, really graceful and effective direction
Iori’s stuck up, but a very good friend to her friends
The casual character animation in this show is just unreal
And Iori calls the producer, pushing forward her character journey too. Nice stuff
This episode manages to establish the context of Yayoi’s story while actually being an Iori story. Excellent work
Nice song here for the climax
The idol songs here are way more diverse than the Love Live ones
Episode 8
Azusa in a wedding dress. Makoto getting annoyed she has to dress like the groom
Azusa wants to get married. That’s her thing so far
Azusa gets mistaken for an actual runaway bride. What a waaacky mixup
Producer counts on Miki to buy them time
Azusa’s taking the whole thing pretty mildly. Apparently getting lost is her other thing
Wacky mafia goon shenanigans
Makoto leading the chase. “Are you guys detectives or something?” “No, we’re idols!”
This is a very fun silly episode
Azusa gets distracted helping little old ladies and lost kids
Makoto being a badass this week
The other bride ends up smitten with Makoto, lol
Now Azusa’s song kicks in as she wanders the town in a montage
Holy crap, Makoto has an awesome high-wire duel with one of the goons. Wonderful animation, fantastic sense of weight to the bodies and direction
And it all ends in a massive chase of Azusa in her wedding dress by the entire town
Episode 9
Opening with a murder mystery featuring the current three-piece idol group. The direction shifts nicely for this sequence
Uh oh, somebody ate Iori’s pudding. TIME FOR A MYSTERY
The show really does have a fun time jumping into different genres
Ami and Mami are on the case
Of course, this episode goes into Mami’s feelings on being left behind by her sister
The mystery isn’t terribly interesting or cleverly composed, but the direction is at least on the ball
Miki ate the pudding
But she ate it because the twins ate her dessert. Of course
Episode 10
The annual talent agency track meet. Hoo boy
All the other girls feeling envious of Ryuuguu Komachi as they prepare to go on-stage. Having one small group of the girls experience early success was a good idea for the drama
The other idols plotting against 765. Idols simultaneously competing and mugging for the camera, trying to win on personality
Aw dang, mean idols talkin’ shit to Yayoi
Jupiter, the idol boy group, arrives
Makoto and Iori fighting. A few mini-dramas this episode
One of the evil idols is smitten with Makoto, of course. Makoto just too cool
Makoto gets injured, Yayoi’s still down
Evil idol businessman tries to strongarm Producer, so Iori throws her weight around
“Get past the rest for me, Makoto.” “Iori, you always ask so much.”
Another very endearing episode
Episode 11
Prepping for their first concert. Yukiho and Yayoi can’t keep up with the steps, so they discuss simplifying things. The better dancers are against this, of course
Everyone’s stressing. Yukiho blames herself, Haruka falls asleep on her feet. Nice little bits of drama interspersed with resolve
“Haruka’s optimism might propel them forwards”
Chihaya helping Haruka practice her singing. Wonderful little moment
Haruka ends up missing her train and staying with Chihaya
Chihaya’s stuff is in boxes. Her home barely looks lived in
Her parents just divorced, so now she wants to live on her own
Nice low-key scenes between the two of them
And the other shoe finally drops for Miki
Episode 12
The Producer is upset because this is such a tense time, and gets angry at Miki. The assistant rightly says he needs to consider her feelings at a time like this
Miki gets her focus song as she’s goofing off avoiding work
Discussing what they might have to do if Miki doesn’t come back
Miki’s a free spirit
“I don’t want your apologies. I want to make up for lost time.” Chihaya gets angry, but she spins it positive, for the sake of the group. She’s more mature than Miki, but Haruka still catches her
Episode 13
Ryuuguu Komachi are held up by a typhoon before the concert
The other idols are forced to stall and pad their setlist until Ryuuguu Komachi can arrive. Trading song positions, etcetera
It seems like Miki is close to the best of them, but she’s flaky
And Yukiho just straight shouldn’t be an idol
All the girls trading off on songs, a couple of them at a time
Everyone’s losing it
“How about we worry about what we want to bring everyone, rather than what they’ll think?” Once again, Haruka’s optimism holds them together
Miki steps up, volunteering to do two straight songs
This episode is great. It’s awesome seeing these characters against the ropes in a way that really makes sense as a musician. Making compromises during unfavorable concert conditions, fighting to overcome the pressure
Miki stirs up the crowd by explaining the situation. Miki’s actually a pretty excellent character – extremely talented, but not always able to push herself
Excellent animation for Miki’s big number
Miki stumbles off the stage
And ANOTHER fully animated song. Jeeeesus
The big performance is a triumph. Great animation, direction, and the sound design works so well
This show definitely earned that ending flashback montage. Blood, sweat, and tears, jeez
Episode 14
That concert really put them on the map. We’re mirroring the first scenes of the first episode, but now there are 765 posters and Haruka has to disguise herself
And their schedules are absolutely swamped now
Yayoi has a cooking program
So the first half was them on the outs, now they’re becoming stars
This OP. SUCH GRATUITOUS ANIMATION. THIS HAIR
They’re all dressed up in ridiculous fruit costumes. A nice unspoken joke
Jupiter, the boy group, pushed them off their cover issue
Looks like their boss is gunning to knock out 765 Productions. Kind of a silly villain
Apparently Kuroi, their leader, has old baggage with the president
“I couldn’t stand his methods for developing idols” lol. This is kind of a step up in absurdity for the show
Although it’s not really unbelievable that larger agencies would push smaller ones around
Miki’s the one who ends up calming the group down
The business is messy, but the fan support cheers them up
Episode 15
And now Chihaya, Haruka, and Miki are on a news show
Miki now calls the producer “honey” and blows him kisses on camera. Whoops
Makoto puts on a frilly outfit, and the entire audience deadpans. Pretty great
What the hell are Ami and Mami doing
These concept episodes really help liven up the show
“Hibiki would be fine against a bear.” “Bear? What are you talking about?”
Takane’s Ramen Chronicles. A suitably ridiculous segment
Chihaya’s worried she can’t relax, because, well, she can’t relax
Haruka smacks herself in the face. There’s that joke that actually happened
Miki uses “honey” on air. lol
Oh my god, this movie preview
A ridiculous giant robot movie
Dressing Makoto in cool dude outfits
Episode 16
Whoa jeez, serious grayscale opening. Chihaya episode, of course
And then Hibiki shows up
Hibiki arguing with her dog and hamster
ono, the bad guys are trying to destroy Hibiki’s show
Jupiter’s on the show!
This episode’s really energetically paced
The silliness of this enemy agency plot kinda undercuts some of this show’s strengths
Hibiki gets straight-up kidnapped and dropped off on a mountain
Wow, this bad dude sure is punchable!
Too many of the episodes come down to chasing for people. They need to think up more narrative ideas. This one’s particularly arbitrary
Hibiki talking to animals is always pretty great, though
Hahahahaha, her hamster slaps her
AND THEN THE SONG KICKS IN FOR THE HAMSTER FIGHT YESSSSSS
HAMZOU’S GOT THIS
ono, Hibiki’s been neglecting her animals. THIS SADNESS
THIS EPISODE GODDAMNIT
Wow, the bad guy’s idols are total idiots
Fun episode, but the point hits at a nice fundamental issue – the compromise between success and family
I should mention how every ED is different
Episode 17
An episode about Makoto’s insecurities
Discussing the likelihood of a high school student going to school on a horse, lol
Chihaya’s got troubles again. They’re very slowly building her story
It does kinda suck being famous for something you dislike about yourself
Another fight with Jupiter Productions
And then Makoto tries to cool off with light gun games
Makoto talking about her dad, how she never got to do what she wanted
We’re even getting a little producer development here
Makoto wants the producer to basically take her on a date
Song time!
Wow, her singing voice is great. Really like this song. The idol songs are pretty diverse
Makoto used to get teased for being so boyish. “Growing into it” hasn’t made her happy
Oh no, street thugs! Time for Makoto to spring into action!
She can’t help being the shoujo hero
Producer takes a hit in the face!
Producer talking about how Makoto’s image lets other girls feel like princesses
Episode 18
Ryuuguu Komachi are practicing for a secret show. Some great Ami faces
Chihaya drama being foreshadowed again
Talking about Ritsuko’s time as an idol
Another gorgeous backlist shot
Azusa’s got the mumps. So will Ritsuko have to replace her in the concert?
Without Azusa, they need to adjust their dance routines
Yep
They’re kinda leaning on the Ritsuko moe factor here
Kinda strains credulity that Ritsuko would be in even close to the physical shape necessary to just jump into their performance
More great expression work. This episode’s got even better character animation than the usual ones
Ritsuko’s fearful flashback is handled really well
She feels intimidated by the fan letters, the scale of it all, compared to how she did as an idol
More just wonderful animation even for the small scenes
Lots of goofy hyper-foreshortening in this episode. So many episodes have a distinctive visual personality
Episode 19
Time for a Takane episode! And the bad guys are gunning for her!
So apparently it’s actually the show director who’s ex-Gainax. Excellent
And with a KyoAni supervisor. Holy shit
Idol Dio hires a tabloid cameraman to expose Takane’s secrets
Takane sure does like food
They fabricate a story about her possibly moving to another agency
Takane wants to fight back
The other girls are suspicious of her
Chihaya visits a grave, and seems to run into her mother. Did her younger brother die?
Jupiter finally learn their boss is behind the dirty tricks
Takane is police chief for the day, somehow
Oh my god, Takane pulls a gun on the photographer. TAKANE
And then she flips him
“The key to victory is spinach”
“You need to trust us all a bit more”
So Takane’s from the moon, of course
Chihaya’s story breaks in the tabloids – her parents divorced because of her brother’s death, she “let her brother die”
Episode 20
Her brother got hit by a car when she was eight. She blames herself
“If I hadn’t been there, my brother would never have been in that accident”
“I have to sing. For my brother’s voice, also”
Jupiter’s getting mad
Now Chihaya can’t sing
A softly lit flashback to the sound of a music box
“My brother was my one and only audience member”
And so she quits
I like how the show continuously, casually demonstrates the ways the girls have to always “perform” their most idol selves regardless of what they’re actually feeling. And it’s not treated as some kind of either deceit or punishment – this is just their job
More wonderful shots using light and darkness
Haruka trying to cheer her up
Gorgeous match cuts
Haruka meets Chihaya’s mother, who gives her Yuu’s notebook to give to Chihaya
Her mother thinks she can’t speak to her without fighting. “She doesn’t trust me anymore.” Dang
More beautifully composed shots
Now Haruka’s doubting herself because of Chihaya’s angry words
“If you hold back when you’re encouraging someone, what’s the point?” Producer giving a really good speech here
This episode is gorgeous
Chihaya’s never sung happily as an idol – she sings out of duty
Great establishing shots
Just Chihaya in the corner to the sound of the sink dripping, held for five seconds
“I don’t want anything. Just leave me alone.”
But Haruka won’t leave her alone
“I know I’m meddling… but even so!”
More beautiful shots
The team wrote a song for Chihaya
Haruka keeping the group up as they wait for Chihaya
Wow, what a great moment. Perfect animation as Chihaya comes back
Chihaya choking on the stage
The whole team comes out to support her during her song
Dang this scene’s well-composed
Episode 21
861 pulling more stupid pranks. They really are a pretty silly villain
And now he’s meddling with their levels at the concert
Chihaya bit’s going a little far. I’m looking forward to the song, though
Gorgeous performance animation, as always
Evil villain laugh from the evil villain
This was a bit of a lesser episode – the 861 stuff was very silly, and the Chihaya addendum was unnecessary
They go to a fancy restaurant to celebrate
Dang, apparently the green-haired assistant (Kotori) moonlights as a lounge singer
“You trust your idols? How ridiculous!” This guy is lol
Episode 22
Christmas episode. Haruka wants to have a party, but it’s tough schedule-wise
Miki’s got a fancy commercial now
Basically everyone’s got a unique event on Christmas
This also kinda seems like a Producer episode
Miki and Haruka get roles in a musical, but it’s still undecided who’s lead and second lead. Wuh oh
Haruka got the lead, I guess
Wow, their schedule looks insane now
Now they kinda barely see each other. Success is a strange thing
Montage of all of them having their various Christmas events
Everyone gets together. And it’s a totally earned reunion – the cast has been divided significantly in this second half, for real reasons, and it’s nice to see the show regain the atmosphere of the carefree first half
Miki earned an idol newcomer award. Not surprising – Miki’s been clearly established as the best of them
The awkward sense of obligation to their fans, as they drift apart from their friends
They keep drawing attention to Haruka not giving Producer the wallet. Hrm
Episode 23
Starting off with some wonderful character animation from Haruka as we see advertisements and success stories for all the girls
I like how consistently this show demonstrates they’re not just an idol group, they all have their own careers
Haruka once again feeling weird about everyone being split up, and visiting the office to regain a sense of normalcy
Haruka’s energy and faith in the group has a lot less purpose when the group can’t get together
Nice scene with Haruka and Chihaya after practice. Chihaya trying to match Haruka’s sacrifices for the group, but Haruka not wanting that
Good framing through this sequence using the bridge
The drama of these episodes isn’t as engaging as the episodics, but there’s a nice warmth to their relationships
Really great shots throughout this episode. Great colors and lighting
Yukiho, Haruka, and Makoto debut a new song. More beautiful animation
Their sunday show is cancelled
“Let’s make it fun through the last episode.” Jeez
Aw jeez, Miki and Haruka still competing for a lead role
Great animation of Haruka nudging over to sit next to Miki
“Let’s both do our best.” “I don’t want that. I want this lead role. I want to prove this to honey. So don’t say that to me.” Miki is pretty great. Definitely one of the more interesting characters
Haruka’s not giving the play part her all
The producer stops by
Haruka almost falls through the stage, but Producer saves her, falling himself. DANG
Episode 24
“What you need to do now is work hard and meet your commitments to your fans”
The shot transitions of Haruka in shock are really good
Haruka wins the lead, basically because the part requires embracing the feelings of abandonment and insecurity she’s already experiencing
Damn this episode’s direction is great. Such excellent shot transitions. Again, every episode has a different personality
Noriko Takao is the director – the person they grabbed from KyoAni
“This might be the last concert we can all have together!”
Miki tells her she’s being selfish, which she is
Wow, this very quiet scene of Haruka breaking down is wonderful
Haruka just doesn’t know what she cares about anymore. She wanted to become an idol, but was happiest when they were a struggling idol family. Now that they’re successful, she’s not passionate
She runs into the Jupiter guy, who’s happy with a smaller agency even though they’re just getting by. He trusts his team now
Chihaya goes to Producer, wondering what to do
This episode leaned a bit too much on a too-thin dramatic core, but it was still emotionally effective
Episode 25
“When we’re all standing on the stage together is when I feel most like an idol”
Great lighting again
Producer makes it to the concert. This cast really has grown together so well
“Without any one of us, it never would have worked. All of us together are what make 765 Productions.” It feels remarkable when a show earns a speech like this
Dear lord this performance is impressive. Beautiful stuff
This show is an animation fan’s dream. Christ
Damn. This episode actually had me really hoping for one more song myself. This stuff is so beautifully animated