THE iDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS (2015)

[アイドルマスター シンデレラガールズ]

Season 1

Director: Noriko Takao
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Starring: Ayaka Ohashi, Ayaka Fukuhara, Sayuri Hara
Episodes: 13

Synopsis:
An awkward producer works to debut a crew of rookie idol singers.

Impressions:
I was mainly drawn to this series as a way to better contextualize the mobile game, which I happened to get hooked on. I wanted to get a little more characterization than static cards and a few snippets of dialog can provide. Some people really hate Japan's idol industry and if you're one such person, you'll probably do just as well to stay away. For anyone else, it's a mostly light series, but there are some moments of (melo)drama to be had. I feel the showrunners do a good job of narrowing the focus to a relatively small set of the game's cast, but fans may disappointed to see their personal favorites relegated to cameo appearances. I like how they handled the character of the producer, taking the empty avatar of the game and making this socially awkward guy who you'd almost imagine as a player of the game if he was thrust into the role in real life. The fact that he's always getting in trouble on suspicion of being some kind of deviant never stops being funny. There are some interesting character interactions to be had and I think even if you don't play the game, you can enjoy it. I found it to be a decent watch, so unless you just hate idol singers, consider giving this one a go.

Rating:
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