Tachibana Arisu and several of her female colleagues are embarking on careers as professional idols. Their dream has just come true. They have been assigned a Producer to take care of them and take care of promotions. Girls’ excitement leads them to heavily idealize his image in anticipation of their first meeting. The situation was no different on the opposite side. The young boy, who was assigned the matter of running his first unit, expects to deal with older, experienced idols. After a brief clash with reality, both sides notice considerable determination to act and positive energy in each other, which begins their difficult journey to win the hearts of fans.
The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: U149 (2023) – Audiovisual Design
Video
I had some concerns about the visuals. Particularly since, sadly, every other anime from the Idolm@ster universe announced this year will be done in full 3D. This means, I will simply skip them. I’m not going to watch it, even though I love the Idolm@ster. CygamesPictures in this case, does deserve a lot of respect, though. The whole thing looks simply great. Both the character design and the backgrounds themselves. The animation is full of emotion and dynamics. Unfortunately, the stage performances are animated in 3D, but this was not really noticeable, as they were almost non-existent.
The backgrounds in The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: U149 impress with their abundance of detail and full spectrum of colors. Carefully designed, picturesque scenes create a wonderful visual impression. Each frame is thoughtfully designed, and the rich color palette adds depth and emotion.
Audio
The cast of voice actors is a mix of very experienced seiyuu with those with rather limited apprenticeship. You can see names like Kuno Misaki, Kurosawa Tomoyo and Koichi Makoto, but also those with only a few other roles on their record, like Tamegai Hana, Imai Asaka and Komori Yuri. All of them gave a good performance. It’s hardly anything that surprised me, considering how talented Japanese voice actors and dialogue directors are. I liked the opening very much. Interesting progressions and composition. The endings are as many as ten. Each heroine has her own.
The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: U149 (2023) – Plot and Characters
Introduction
I’ve been waiting for a well-made anime in the world of Idolm@ster for some time now. Unlike the first adaptation, based on a brilliant game, the source of Cinderella Girls: U149 is a manga.
A quick look at the plot
Tachibana Arisu and several of her female colleagues are embarking on careers as professional idols. Their dream is about to come true. They have been assigned a Producer to take care of them and take care of promotions. The girls’ excitement leads them to heavily idealize his image in anticipation of their first meeting. Things were similar from the perspective of a young boy who was assigned the matter of running his first unit. He expects to deal with older, experienced idols. After a brief confrontation with reality, the two see in each other a considerable determination to act and positive energy, which begins their difficult journey to win the hearts of fans.
However, the beginnings are difficult. Starting from scratch and the fact that few people want to hire brand new, inexperienced faces in their projects results in this, the girls mainly spend their time training. Their producer, however, does his best to promote them in the best possible way with the minimal funds at his disposal. His hard work soon bears fruit. More and more orders begin to appear, and each of the young idols gains in popularity.
What the series is about
I was very relieved that the director (Okamoto Manabu – by the way, he is also the director of Mushoku Tensei) revisited the formula used in the first series of The Idolm@ster. It set a clear standard after all. A standard that almost guarantees the success of an anime about idols (as it did, for example, in Shine Post). What specifically is it about? Each heroine has her own character and her own problems. In one case it’s about fear of something. In another it’s about overcoming one’s shyness or just plain unwillingness to do a certain thing.
All the girls are given their own episode in which they struggle with these problems. This serves a twofold function. On the one hand, it ensures the development of a character’s personality, while on the other hand, interactions with others broaden the bonds between peers and us, the viewers. In addition, necessarily through this there is no clear main character, as each of the girls is given almost identical time (even if Arisu gives that impression). No one is left out. The entire unit gives the feeling of completeness and integrity. What they achieve is ultimately a direct result of their struggle with themselves, the sacrifices and bonds that have brought them together in all situation
Characters
This time we are dealing with very young idols. This raises issues that other producers who have older girls under their care do not have. Children have a slightly different grasp of reality. They are much easier to discourage, much harder to set priorities and a strict and rigorous schedule of activities. Among them are more emotionally mature girls like Arisu, Momoka and Risa, but these problems affect them too. The authors have really portrayed them well, and the director has phenomenally directed the voice actresses to adequately play these roles. Variety of character types further made the whole thing even more interesting.
The overarching theme of the series is growing up and overcoming one’s fears/problems. Not only through their own strength, but also with the help of friends and adults. This makes a lot of sense in a series whose characters are children. However, that’s not all. The Producer in charge of Unit U149 himself also goes through a long struggle with his superiors. Not only does he have to prove that U149 has a chance to make it on the idol scene, but he also has to show his skills himself. No one in the company takes him seriously because of his young appeal, as well as the nature of his unit. In addition, he has to look for solutions to promote such young idols on his own, as very few have paved this path before.
Other remarks
The unit name U149 is an abbreviation for Under 149 – the height of each heroine is under 149 cm. I tried to look up other meanings of the numbers. Usually in the past, the numbers used in the name of units or agencies in Idolm@ster had several meanings. Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything related to the reading or meaning of 149.
The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: U149 (2023) – Evaluation and Summary
Deep in my heart I hoped that I would be given the opportunity to see something as good as the first adaptation featuring 765 Pro. As a final note, I can’t say that The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: U149 was on par with the aforementioned series. However, it came very close to it. I still think that 2011’s The Idolm@ster is the best idol-themed anime ever made. However, the efforts of the creators of Cinderella Girls: U149 cannot be taken away. It’s a truly sensational idol-themed anime that every fan of the genre ought to watch.
Finalny werdykt
Final evaluation
Which translation do I recommend to watch IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: U149 (2023)
- [anon] (eli) – A very good, original translation. I can’t complain about anything actually.
Galeria
