So we have what appears to be another drama heavy idol show. That’s fine. I have experience with those. Let’s do this.
Miu with her bangs.
Our story began following lead girl Miu complaining about adults as she lived her life for the sake of it. She worked at a convenience store but wasn’t very social. The point of this episode was to show the first step of her going from the above pic…
Idol Miu.
…to this along with whatever else awaited her.
The first step began with Miu getting a black letter from a company called GIP. She didn’t want to go at first but the show would have ended had she not so she went.
From left to right. Akane (Fav), Miu, Jun, Sakura and Sato.
The meeting spot was at the gorilla den of a zoo. There Miu met her soon to be idol teammates. I shall briefly give my first impressions of them:
Blonde: Sakura. She’ll most likely be Miu’s Kotori.
Brunette: Jun. She’s easily spooked. For now I’ll call her Oddball #2.
Redhead: Sato. She’s the tsundere.
Akane: My current #1 hype girl. She’s the brainy one. You know. The one who gives direct opinions and analyzes everything.
Ayaka.
Ayaka: She’s the “Chick” of the group. Think something like a gyaru. I could be wrong but that’s the first impression I got.
Nicole.
Nicole: She’s the “Stick up her ass” of the group. Super talented, strict and way too serious. Whether she’ll eventually become the nicest and most supportive of the group like many of her ilk remains to be seen.
Miyako.
Last but not least we have Miyako, aka Oddball #1. I predict she’ll be the favorite of many.
Gorilla Goda.
Their Manager, Producer, whatever will be Gorilla Goda. He was like “Welcome. Follow me”. The girls hesitated but again the story wouldn’t progress otherwise so they followed.
22/7’s Shrine.
The GIP HQ was located underground. We got a quick montage of the token idol facilities/floors and in the end were introduced to a standby room that looked like a shrine. As we all know female idols are the second most powerful beings in Japanese media (the first ones being lolis) so it makes sense. The mystery owner of GIP is behind The Wall. As idols their #1 job will be to follow The Wall, aka 22/7’s orders.
Miu about to leave.
7 of the girls were like “I have no idea what’s going on but I’ll give it a shot” while Miu was like “Screw this mysterious crap. I’m going home”. Gorilla Gado was like “You will return”.
Miu’s Family.
As she went home Miu complained about adult authority some more along with idols being stupid puppets made to dance for disgusting mortals. She was like “As long as have a paying job, my mom and sis I’m good”.
Less than a minute later…
“What do you mean I’m fired?”
Her former boss was like “You’re not a team player, your coworkers are afraid of you and customers complained over your lack of friendliness”. As Miu pleaded her case the boss told her “Look. A job means doing things you don’t enjoy. That’s how it goes”.
Bath scenes like this got several visual novels banned from Steam for “pedo shit”. Remember kids, Western adults are weenies.
Miu got fired, got a bit upset at her imouto for asking about her musical career and lied to her mom. She sold her keyboard piano for a cheap price but didn’t care so long as she got rid of her. Of course this crushed her but she felt it had to be done.
Angry but determined Miu.
On December 24th, 2016 before the idol enlisting deadline ran out Miu returned to the 22/7 Shrine. In her words she came back so she could learn how to become a miserable adult and make money to support her family, happiness be damned, no matter what it took. Either 22/7 responded to her rant or as I said she made it just in time.
Again I have experience with serious idol shows such as Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls and Wake-Up Girls. This looks like a hybrid of the two. I’m interested.
PS: My best guess is Miu hates adults because her dad left them.
The Yuri Empire 
8 girls means 4 couples and the main yuri couple should already be (very) clear.
Miu x Sakura is so obvious and Miyako x Jun – as the two youngest – aka Oddball 1 and 2, too. The other 4 are still hard to tell. Time will show.
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Not thinking about ships yet myself.
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“Remember kids, Western adults are weenies.” xD
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Hehe.
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This another akb48 anime.
Made by akb48 producer.
Real virtual idol not just anime.
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Okay then.
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at first, I was just happy for an idol anime, and the cast seemed fun enough, but then things actually happened, and I’m pretty sure we’re in for much more than just “idol drama”.
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Depends on who or what 22/7 actually is and its challenges for the girls.
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I´m interested in this one and the lead voice is very different from the usual ones and I like it.
I think this is going to have similar demonic subtext as one show from last year. Yes, I´m talking about demon giraffe.
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Yes. She sounds deeper than most main idols.
It’s a possibility.
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Oh, the feels of the first episode were promising, hope this magic continue
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Have been following them for almost two years on youtube. Glad to see Sally, Miyako, Jun, Ayaka, and Reika finally get animated. Even if the anime turns out to be crap, I will still watch it out of loyalty to the idols that I like.
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While I do think the show is gonna be dark and heavy, I do not see the Shrine thing coming. It’s interesting. I have to admit I got all teary. Miu’s sister is so cute. I hope Miu manages to buy or get her keyboard back. I don’t have favorite girl and ship yet. I’m too invested in Miu’s story. Oh, also that is one big office. I’m eager to see what happens next.
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Hope to see more of Miu’s family as they play a vital role in her character development. As someone pointed out her having a deeper voice than most idol leaders is pretty neat.
Same. Waiting to see what happens before deciding on potential ships.
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Miu sounds like a non-anime Japanese person! That is intriguing in itself, and I can’t remember such a character before, at least not a main character.
That said, Nicole has an incredibly sexy voice and pronunciation. She’s my favourite for now thanks to that alone (well all right, she’s also beautiful ^^). I hope she doesn’t have to be so cold the whole show. I do like the teaseable redhead tsundere too.
The energy definitely reminds me of Revue Starlight. Which means it could end very badly or very kindly. I will absolutely watch this!
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It could be another Starlight.
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This was a real treat to watch and I’m 100% intrigued. Like a few others, I’m so invested in Miu’s story and am in love with her character. She is very unique in every way and to echo the above comment, I don’t think I’ve see a character like her before. Her voice is very alluring too. 😉 She’s definitely my best girl so far. As for ships, I agree, too soon to call, though some seem more likely than not. Can’t wait to see more of this show. It just may be this years Revue Starlight and if so, I’m so ready for it.
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Miu’s different from most lead idols, which is part of her appeal.
Yup.No shipping material yet.
Very intrigued to see what happens next.
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Well, this is a rather atypical Idol Protagonist and quite a gamble from the producers. Generally, most Idol protagonist tends to be presented, at least on the surface as upbeat and fundamentally optimistic people. Myu is written almost as if she’s a subversion to the types of Idol protagonists that have a certain faith in humanity – in contrast, she holds a fairly extreme, misanthropic view of the world. Some might even dub her world-view particularly edgy, and certainly rather black and white.
And there in lies the twist: Myu does not begin on the best foot with the rest of her would-be colleagues, because her misanthropic personality is not an easy personality to work with. Therein of course lies a tension in the story from the get-go- we have a protagonist in a dark mental space, and we have a group that right away get’s on a very wrong foot with the protagonist. Idol shows rarely kick off with plot tension from the get go, so 22/7 is again pushing against the mold. More-over, unlike most Idol protagonist, Myu’s motivations are incredibly based: she needs the money, coming from a single parent, two child family.
It’s also interesting that the show makes jabs at the Idol Industry. From the insinuation of the parallels of a Zoo to an Idol agency, to Myu’s very rant against what she deems to be the absurdity of the concept of Idols, this show is certainly laying out a fairly common line of criticism of the Idol Industry. The parallels between the Wall and the Agency as a Cult of the Wall are unmistakable too. For a show that is supposed to promote an Idol group, daring to put such themes is quite a gamble inded.
I can only assume though, that because the show is ultimately meant to promote 22/7, an actual group of Seiyuu-Idols, that the show would try to engage in Idol Apologia, for the lack of a more precise term.
That being said, the voice acting is, to put it charitably, rather raw – especially the voice acting of the protagonist. On one hand, it’s understandable, since for many of these voice actors, this is literally their first role. On the other hand, it doesn’t make for the easiest of listening.
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That explains why Miu sounds like a real Japanese girl rather than an anime character. Interesting. I agree that her manner of speaking is a bit tough for me to get used to as well.
Whereas Nicole sounds far cuter and sexier than the usual anime voice actors ^^
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My speculation is that Miu is an aspiring composer whose dreams ran into her socio-economic reality, and hence is stuck in a dead-end job with unmarketable skills. If 22/7 wants to deliver Idol Apologia, it would probably argue that the Agency and Wall gives Miu a chance to truly actualize herself as a person, by giving her the opportunity to put her central competencies and rediscover her former passion for music, or something like that. Without the Wall, Miu would never ever had an opportunity to become a professional composer.
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Interesting first ep. Looks like this one will be a pretty drama heavy idol show. Not that I mind too much, as long as the drama doesn’t go too overboard and get frustrating to watch. I do like A-1 Pictures anime, so I’ll be on board for this one.
Also, not sure who I like the most so far. Might take a few eps before I get a favorite nailed down.
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My favorite character design is Ayaka, including her hairstyle and clothing. I love cute girls dressed in mini-skirts.
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Great choice.
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