Selection Project

Selection project. Out of all the seasonals I never expected this one to be my favorite. Comparing this to more known shows including the love live franchise, what really caught my eye is how good the production quality for this anime is. After the series ended I can firmly say that I am keeping my 10 and here’s why, Firstly, I would like to put out that I find it great when idol MCs show/vent out their frustrations because in reality life isn't always great. Having an MC that isn't always happy can present more humanity towards the anime. I absolutely loved the first few episodes,it's clear how they identified what the "challenges" the MC would have to face as the plot progresses, and opening the anime showing the vulnerable side of the MCs life, well you'd just want to cheer for her more. Character dynamic isn't that uncommon when it comes to these types of anime, there is always a "rival" or a "best friend". Well in this one, although Suzu and Rena may have the "rival" aspects, it can just be seen as 2 people who aren't particularly friends but both look up to someone dear to them, namely amasawa akari, and it's great how they addressed that connection later on. Story- 10 It has the classic rags to riches kind of story where the mc starts out as a singer/dancer aspiring to be an idol. What stood out to me is the fact that our mc was hospitalized in her childhood due to a chronic illness, overcoming such illness would be considered the plot of the anime however as we move on later into the episode at the qualifiers where we can say that "tragedy strikes" I can really see a connection with Shibuya kanon (Love live superstar MC) as they have similar events that occur. The first few episodes were amazing to open the anime as we got to know our MC, her story, and what inspires her to become an idol. I really liked the competition foundation that they laid out in the beginning and I believe this helped further deepen the connections between the “9”. (Spoilers)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It is also worth mentioning that the issue faced in the later episodes where you have to vote 2 people out poses a psychological dilemma to the young group. How they handled their issue was shocking but it was reasonable considering the previous events that originated from Suzu’s reveal before “Naked Blue”. Now just because it’s the most reasonable choice for the group, it doesn’t change the fact that it is a wasted opportunity. We can see this from characters from the previous audition appearing before the first street live. Even if karin ono (one of the eliminated contestants) had some negative thoughts against 9-tie for their decision, the previous contestants still gave their support regardless. I also liked how the CEO and sumipan still acted as the guardian angels of 9-tie even after they left the competition. These interactions and connections just show how impactful 9-tie was on their short time onstage. Near the end of the anime my theories were confirmed, however I was still shocked by the brilliant execution on Suzu’s inner struggles. The surprise appearance of akari amasawa was honestly shocking, I saw this type of interaction in other anime (siesta is dead the anime as an example) as well, but what was so great about this was that it was short and meaningful. We didn’t see akari carrying Suzu throughout the whole anime, we didn’t see Suzu always asking for help either. This just helped us remember that Suzu was able to do this with her own strength and even in the end when she was unconscious in the hospital, we could see that Akari merely gave her a push to wake up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Art- 10 Personally, one of the best CGI I have ever seen for the Idol genre, the quality is superb and I really think this should set the standard for the future idol anime. Sound- 10 B.B cover by Suzu.Rena was honestly what got me hooked into this the most, symbolisms aren’t that uncommon in songs especially with choreography. But in this particular song we could see moments where Rena looked up to Suzu, we can see that the lyrics accomplish the struggle of being catchy and inspiring at the same time and I loved it, it was a great touch for the overall song and I got goosebumps all the way. I believe the songs really captured aspects of the characters who sung them as the episodes they were molded around made you get to know the idols a bit more and I found this really great especially since the songs are very memorable. I would also like to highlight the effort they put in to include more variations of “only on yell” throughout the anime. Overall the ost is amazing, the music is able to set the mood as well and I could sit here and listen to them the whole day. Character- 9 It would seem at the begginning that we would have the generic go-getter idol mc type of character, but as we journeyed through the anime, we were able to uncover what was within this mask that she kept hidden to herself. But even before this we were able to see her character development in the earlier episodes and I loved how they depicted her story to the audience. It was great how they made it so you could sympathize and relate to her story in the beginning about having someone we look up to and one day hoping to be in the same "stage" as them. We could also notice generic types among the other idols but their chemistry and how there is a whole episode devoted to the development of each "sub-group" is really what made me like them more. I also find it amazing on how the dynamics for each subgroup was determined because we could say that even when there were clashes in personality, almost all of the characters had their redeeming moment and I loved it. Enjoyment- 10 Could probably rewatch it again and again and again without getting bored. Really love the characters, story and the songs as well. Overall- 10 I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the idol genre, truly a hidden gem.