IDOLISH7: SECOND BEAT!

DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ComedyIDOLiSH7
MUSIC ActionNO DOUBT
MUSICRe-raise
MUSICDiSCOVER THE FUTURE
ANIME DramaIDOLiSH7: Third BEAT!
ONA Comedy"RabbiTube" Creator ni Chousen!

REVIEWS

• 

  Sayali64

  100/100
  A True Masterpiece, I don't like idol animes in general but Idolish7 is an exception.

  I watched a Mv on YouTube, I liked it and I know it has anime too, I am not a fan of idol Animes, but I was bored so I decided let's give it a try, At first I thought it must be a reverse harem or your regular idol anime, I watched first two episodes and it I liked it so I watched more and more episodes, with each episode I loved this anime, It was not a reverse harem and it was also not like other idol Animes, Idol Animes are boring but this anime is an exception, it is the Best idol anime Ever.

  Now whenever we talk about idol anime we will think of rainbow, sunshine, guys/girls singing and having fun. It is that to a certain point in Idolish7 but it's lot more than that, It focuses lot on behind the scenes, The Dark side of entertainment industry and it's not only sunshine and rainbow, As you go further into the story, they will show you more and more, How they use and make people? How so many people use underhand tactics to totally remove another person out of the industry, How they struggle to survive in the industry? They also shows fans a lot in the game, shows their reactions, passion and just them being there for the idols and it's a nice touch.
  One of the biggest and most important of these things is how the narrative chooses to present the fans. Rather than limiting fan appearance to just crowd scenes at concerts, i7 takes
  its time to show us fans on an individual level as we watch how the Ordinary Joes of the i7
  universe take in the idols. We, as players and viewers, are privileged to know what goes on
  behind the scenes; we know how much they’ve struggled, what kind of bullshit has been thrown
  their way, and why they had to make the hard decisions they sometimes have to make. But
  regular fans know none of this, and it can be personally sobering to watch how fans react,
  because sometimes? You’ve been that fan.
  Maybe you’ve been the fan that’s disappointed when your fave makes a mistake.
  In terms of Narrative structure, One of the most compelling things about Idolish7 Narrative is that the stakes and situations increase in scale along with the main character's fame and it comes from multiple sources, it's much more than just stronger rivals.

  The Characters, all of the characters are So relatable, they are unique, each one of them as their own strength and weaknesses, and all of them are so likeable, Characters relationships also very realistic, how they interact, act, their relationship with other people and they have not only individual development but also them as a group too, This is the first anime where I like all characters, All of them has a good character development, Since all of the characters are relatable, you will find at least one character which you can relate to, For me the character I relate to most is Yuki, both of us are similar in many ways
  There is lot of foreshadowing too in this anime so it's not like things are happening out of nowhere, there is lot of bulid up before that
  The Songs, they are really good too, I love all the songs, Idol Animes have pretty average songs but Idolish7 has pretty good music
  I watched many Animes but never loved any anime as much as I love this one. It's now my No. 1 favorite anime, I absolutely love and adore all of the characters, So this anime is special and very close to my heart.

  Story - 10/10
  Characters - 10/10
  Art - 9/10
  Animation - 8/10
  Sound/Music - 10/10
  Voice acting - 10/10
  Overall rating - 10/10

  Continue on AniList
• 

  Rinko

  98/100
  I dare you to try and find a better idol anime than this. I doubt you'll ever find one...~

  I'm sure I've said this plenty of times before but, as far as I know, idol anime just aren't good most of the time. Band anime are usually pretty good, but idol anime... not so much.

  I7, however, is an exception. While s1 might not necessarily be anything special, at least not on a first watch, that's just how a music anime works. S2 is where it really shines... and it really does.

  Music/performances:
  For pop music, this is pretty good, honestly. The music certainly has improved this season, compared to last, mostly through the new group, Re:vale.

  Re:vale only has two inserts and the ending, but the ending is a gorgeous song, with a slightly melancholic feel to it, despite the pretty cheerful/motivational lyrics, which fits the show so well. And the inserts are... perhaps the most rock-y pop-rock so far~ Especially the second one...~
  The opening is fairly generic, and most of the titular group's inserts are nothing special, they're generally quite typical pop, especially Perfection Gimmick, but the ep11 insert is really emotional...~
  TRIGGER, the main rival group, has... surprisingly only one insert, but it is absolutely beautiful, at least the version used in the show...~

  Overall the amount of non-background inserts is pretty low, especially considering the length, but considering this show does look at the wider entertainment industry as well and there's a lot to it besides the performances and even more general work... it shouldn't be too surprising. Except it is...~'

  I think they probably should've used a bit more 2D in the performance animations and... not done so many slideshow performance animations, but that's a very minor complaint.
  Maybe the slightly eh animations for most of the performances was to save time/money/whatever for the final performance, which is just absolutely stunning – and the perfect 2D/3D balance~

  Now, onto the main part of the show – and thus also this review – the characters~!

  Characters:
  This show doesn't have a clear main character, nor does it really have anyone with the generic music anime MC personality. There are two characters who have quite a lot of those traits, one of whom even being the centre of the main group, but they're both far from that archetype and it shows quickly.

  I'll start off by talking about Riku Nanase, the energetic, cheerful and somewhat naive centre of the titular group. Though it does sound like I described any number of music anime protagonists, Riku is a lot less over-the-top and pushy than those ones tend to be. And he's cute. And at times he forgets what the professional thing to say is and... in general he might not be the most "professional," but he is beloved by many.

  Next is Iori Izumi, a clever and responsible guy who basically never makes mistakes, and with his calm and calculating personality, helps his manager promote the group well. Though he definitely is a bit heavy handed with his advice at times... I get in the game Tsumugi is a player insert and so couldn't really have too much personality, but they could've at least changed it in the adaptation so that some of Iori's ideas were Tsumugi's to start with, just to make it feel a little... ah what's the word I'm looking for...
  Ah, sorry about that tangent. It actually more applies to (one specific episode of) s1 anyway. Tsumugi did decide something on her own this season, and without Iori's consultation which... kinda makes up for that scene.

  I still do not really understand Yamato nor his personal problems that much. Though he was given a bit of focus in this season, it's not until s3 that he's at the forefront.

  Mitsuki Izumi is the other cheery and high-energy guy, but like Riku he's still quite grounded and, like his brother, very responsible. But he also has somewhat low self-esteem, pointing out his own shortcomings from time to time. And also... his arc in this season is so good, even moreso than Riku's. But I'll get to that later.
  I may have added character-focused drama into the character section in previous reviews, but in a show like this, where the drama is mostly character focused and the character section is long enough already... yeah, it makes sense to save that...~

  Tamaki Yotsuba says whatever's on his mind, struggles with formality and is in general just very blunt with his words, but, though it doesn't come through for a while, he's a really kind and sweet guy, who just almost always acts based solely on his emotions. He was the first one who stood out to me, out of everyone, at the end of s1, and this season just made me love him more. 

  Sogo Osaka is a very polite and reserved guy who rarely speaks up about what he wants and is very often worried about upsetting people, always thinking carefully about everything. The complete opposite, pretty much, of Tamaki, the other member of the only officially-named sub-unit, MEZZO".
  The two naturally struggle to get along, but they do try their best (at least when prompted by someone, usually Yamato) and have a great dynamic in general. And on their own, too, are great and fun characters~

  Nagi Rokuya is a flirt and anime fan with a weird accent. At first I thought he was more leaning into the "smooth flirt" type of character, but on my rewatch I realised that is so not it and he is actually really really funny, both through his flirt fails and in general eccentricities...~ And... despite – or perhaps because of – how eccentric and free-spirited he is, he's actually a really reliable person, and he's... almost like a core pillar of the group.

  Now, next I'll go over their rival group's members. 2/3 of TRIGGER's members seem to have vastly different stage personas to their real personalities, which I find is pretty interesting. And probably quite true about a lot of people in the entertainment industry, honestly.

  The centre of the group, Tenn Kujo, appears to be a kind and sweet and pure angel... but is really a blunt perfectionist who spares no harsh words for anyone who doesn't measure up in terms of professionalism. Despite that, he can and does care for some people, just it rarely comes through, especially as his default mode of showing affection... seems to generally be overly harsh comments...~
  Even upon realising that softer side to him, he's still the one light-haired ruthlessly blunt perfectionist I've seen in music anime who I am not particularly a fan of. Perhaps that'll change should he get an arc focused more solely on him, though...

  Gaku Yaotome is the one who doesn't really have a different persona onstage, and I think that's a good part of what defines him. He's an honest and straightforward guy, who sticks to his values and is very outspoken... whether or not that gets him into fights...~ And he takes pride in who he is. He's also got a stubborn streak, sort of similar to that of Tenn, which really highlights both where the two of them agree and where they disagree.
  Those two have such a good dynamic too...~

  Ryuunosuke Tsunashi has the persona of a smooth ladies' man, when in reality he's a down-to-earth and humble guy who is absolutely clueless around women. And he almost always ends up mediating any arguments that sprout up within the group...~

  Lastly, the two idols introduced in this season...
  They are a comedy duo~ That summarises their personalities well enough, I feel~
  Well, there is more to them, naturally. Momo, the idiot of the pair, is indeed another energetic and bubbly guy, this time to an actually absurd extent and with the added bonus of being a tease, but he's also a really kind guy who always puts others first and knows when to tone down his goofiness. Also his arc is just–
  And while Yuki is serious and cool most of the time, at times he struggles at expressing how he feels and is actually kinda silly himself, even when not acting as Momo's foil...~

  Now, I went over MEZZO"'s dynamic a bit earlier, but really, the dynamics between all of the cast are really great~
  The reason they could get away with not doing any dedicated single-character focus episodes at all, I feel, was because from the very start, they were developing each character alongside each other, along with their unique dynamics. And they really did write that well~ Especially the dynamics between everyone, Riku's and Iori's was always a fun one to see~
  When I was rewatching this I realised, I think, that if you abandon that safe route for a high-drama music anime plot structure, you have to take great care to make sure the characters are still easy to connect to. The other shows I've seen which threw aside that basic structure ended up with boring characters and, consequentially, boring drama.
  But this show really did manage to make it work~
  Even when I first watched it and didn't connect too well with much of the cast in s1, this season... this season made me love almost everyone~

  Story:
  Like most music anime, even sequels, the drama only truly kicks in in ep6. But the tight set up started from the first moments and the serious moments started from the end of ep2.

  Now, as I mentioned, this show handles its cast by developing the characters alongside each other and their relationships/dynamics.
  And that is indeed how the drama works. In this season, there are five dramatic plotlines, all woven alongside the base plot. Two focusing primarily on one character each, both running in parallel between ep6-9, one focusing on the relationships between certain characters, one that's kinda a mix, both of those happening a bit later, and one featuring an antagonistic force.
  All of these plotlines are paced perfectly, feel really natural, are tied together well and... are very painful.
  So painful, in fact, that one of them made it so in my rewatch I couldn't actually watch two episodes at a time for a bit...~

  I wanted to go highly in-depth about each plotline, but I realised my draft was looking like an overly in-depth summary of the plot, with very small anecdotes of my thoughts. Especially Riku's arc for some reason...

  Riku and Mitsuki's arcs have quite a bit in common, honestly, Both were low on confidence, and when they finally felt relieved... comments from their fans shattered their confidence, and it took hearing their manager and some of the older idols' telling them to just be themselves to help them regain it.
  The reason I say Mitsuki's was even more painful/emotional... maybe it's because there was more scenes of his turmoil, the directing was emphasising his pain a lot more, his confidence had been broken more, or because he heard the harsh comments in person... or just 'cause I understand it better than Riku's highly complex arc. Like seriously the draft summary of his arc I wrote up was noticeably a lot longer than Mitsuki's which actually included personal thoughts.
  Anyway... yeah these arcs were painful.

  Momo's arc, also has some similarities, though less so. He's worried about being replaced by Yuki's old partner after their fifth anniversary... the other characters even bring up how it's similar, in that he's kinda comparing himself to that person. Though I think the parallel is more that, while Momo isn't struggling with (a fear of) being outright disliked, he's still got that fear of... just not meaning as much to Yuki as his old partner did. A fear of not being good enough. Which is very similar to what the others went through.

  I'm not quite sure what to say about the other plotlines, aside from they are also well written and... everything really does tie together neatly~ If there are any loose ends, those will be tied up soon.
  I suppose, I can say the plotline with the antagonist force is the least emotional one, but it is still really well written. ~!And, as proven by a scene towards the very end of ep15, it's building up Takamasa's character more... though in a somewhat confusing way for the time being.
  The thing about why he was so desperate to gather great talents already did as much in ep14, but the reveal of him having been the one dressing up as Zero was... certainly intriguing. And the fact Tenn knew... ah, I can't wait to see where that'll lead...~!~

  It's also worth pointing out the brilliant foreshadowing, both with things people say and with subtle movements... and even sometimes the directing gives extra clues. Both for things this season and things still to come.

  Fun:
  How does a freakin' video game adaptation have this level of visual humour? Now we're not talking Bocchi-levels of absurd direction, nowhere near that, nothing is near that, but it is still far above most anime in the unique ways the visual humour is directed~ And considering how the game's stories are, I'm pretty sure, just text with very basic and barely changing visuals, that is just... how~?
  And the comedy is basically always well-timed – one of my favourite jokes this season is basically in the middle of an emotional scene and it... it fit perfectly...~
  The only thing that I think could be better in this regard, is sometimes the chibi cuts are unnecessary and the jokes would land just as well – if not better – if they didn't swap to chibis. But that is only a few scenes.

  Episode 5 is the chaotic episode that is brimming with comedy and misunderstandings that help build character in a fun way, while still blending in a few serious moments quite well. In other words, it's almost a microcosm of what makes this show so good. The insane but natural comedy. The smooth transitions from serious moments to funny ones. The depth of the characters and their dynamics. Episode 5 really shows all that quite well~

  Overall:
  I once said, idol anime are to the music genre, what isekai are to fantasy. Lots of them get made, lots get popular, but, especially compared to shows from other subgenres in the wider genre, you'll very rarely find a good one.
  Continuing on that metaphor... one could say IDOLiSH7 is the Re:Zero of idol anime. A well-written, long, deep, dark, somewhat slow-paced show, standing out in amongst a genre of mostly vapid one-cour shows. And one where, though perhaps not necessarily a perfect adaptation, one can clearly see the care put into it~

  Though, this show is a fair bit lighter than Re:Zero, which is where the metaphor breaks down...~
  But I7 really does blend the lighter moments and the darker ones together so well it's amazing~
  With a vibrant and well-rounded cast, with fun dynamics and very realistic feeling problems, it's a perfect blend of comedy and drama, all feeling so natural, making it a truly outstanding show~

  Continue on AniList

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