I realize that no one really wants to hear my ramblings when I’m the only one that likes these shows… but I still gotta say them somewhere. So of course the best place to put them is on a blog that no one reads! Besides, this way it looks like there’s actually content here.
Wake Up, Girls! Shichinin no Idol
Prequel movie to the Wake Up, Girls! anime that I have been looking forward to. Most of the movie was pretty slow paced and it took its time introducing the characters, but I did like the build up to the concert at the end. I’m torn between Mayu, Yoshino, and Miyu… Mayu is probably the closest to my tastes, but Yoshino is the coolest and Miyu’s meido-sugata was ridiculously adorable (plus twintails!). I do like how everyone has “normal” hair colours and modest figures, even though it might make the animation seem duller. The concert itself I found was quite well done, considering (most of) the girls are total rookies. It was pure sakuga, and the dance moves (and the song) were pretty cute. I didn’t mind the panchira either, since it followed from the conversation they had before the performance, with the manager saying he’d hurry to go buy 見せパン, and the girls insisting it’d be fine. Overall it was nice and heartwarming, which is all I want out of an idol show, really. The little epilogue after the credits just maxed out that meter, when the lone wota demands an encore, the girls are all flustered because they don’t have any other songs, and the wota is just like “That’s totally OK! ﾜｰｲヽ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉﾜｰｲ”
Wake Up, Girls! – Episode 1
And now the real series begins. This episode refers back to the movie quite often, and you can feel the drama building up as people (mockingly) react to Mayu’s reappearance. WUG’s debut song Tachiagare! is used as the OP, and I like it a lot. I can feel that idol energy! The ED, Kotonoha Aoba is a slow ballad which I don’t really like, but it’ll do. This episode involves the group managing to get back together after a stroke of luck with a new interested manager… but they get a shock at the end because he seems sketchy as fuck and shoves a bikini at them. w
At this point I’d say my WUG ranking would go something like this: Mayu > Miyu > Yoshino > Kaya > Minami > Nanami > Airi. I’m looking forward to seeing more from the I-1 Club girls!
Go! Go! 575 – Episode 1
A promotional anime for the Vita game Utakumi 575, consisting of four short 5-minute episodes. I ended up preordering the game so I figured I might as well watch the anime w. The character designs are done by Kanzaki Hiro of Oreimo fame and have interesting little quirks (Maccha’s skull hairpins that contrast her hime cut, Azuki’s… floral hairstyle). Anyway, I’m looking forward to the game a lot, so this cute little anime is nice to watch while I wait.
Aikatsu! – Episode 64
Not really sure which episode number matches with the week that most winter stuff started airing… I’ll just go with 64 since that’s the most recent one I’ve watched. (Actually I’m just too lazy to look up air dates.) This episode was the usual lighthearted fun; IMO the best part was when Ichigo was showing off her new premium dress… underwater. The second-best part was the smile challenge during the race. Actually maybe those are tied for best part. Ran and Aoi make an awesome pair. I’m kind of sad about how whenever they bring everyone together for an event, the only ones that have a chance of winning are Ichigo and Seira (in the first season, just replace Seira with Mizuki)… kind of ruins the anticipation. :(
Nourin – Episode 1
This episode started off the best way any series possibly can… and then I found myself raging along with the rest of the audience, and then going “…Oh, okay.” At this point I’ve seen so many major Yukarin roles that hearing Yuka-tan with her trademark cutesy voice seemed kind of weird, but I can probably get used to it. My main concern is that it doesn’t look like Yuka-tan is going to go back to being an idol, so that opening scene is the only concert we’ll get. :(
SoniAni – Episode 1
Ugh, Sonico is disgusting. I didn’t want to watch this show, but I did it anyway for more Suzu… and cats. Sadly there wasn’t actually much Suzu in this episode. I just hope that Pochako NEVER makes an appearance. As long as they don’t try to sneak her in, I think I’ll be able to stomach this.