Otaku Reviews: Nagi no Asukara (凪のあすから) [First Half]

Warning: The following contains spoilers! Viewer discretion is advised.

I wrote this review halfway through the series (thirteen episodes in); opinion is subject to change.

When I first decided to start watching Nagi no Asukara, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much. The only reason why I even started watching it in the first place is because the animation looked pretty. That was it. But now, thirteen episodes in, I am absolutely in love with this series and deem it as one of my favorite anime series of this year.

Story

Nagi begins pretty simply. Four middle school friends—Manaka, Hikari, Chisaki, and Kaname—are sea people, meaning they live under the sea. They are able to breathe because the Sea God gave the people of the sea a gift many centuries ago: Ena, a sort of layer of skin that allows people to breathe underwater. The sea people look exactly like humans; the only differences are that the sea people's eyes are an awesome blue color and their skin (aka their Ena) sparkles like the vampires from Twilight when they're in the sun.

Gah! Never mind! Let's stay away from that atrocity.

So anyway, the school of these four children closes (for what reason, I have no clue), and they have to go to the school above the surface. Now the sea people and the surface people have this sort of racism against each other, the sea people calling the surface people pigs and the surface people calling the sea people . . . well, fish. The root of this hatred goes back to when the first sea people went up to the surface to live there. The longer they stayed there, the less powerful their Ena became. Ena is extremely sensitive to UV rays, so when a sea person stays out on the surface for too long, their Ena begins to break, like glass. So the people who went up to the surface eventually lost their Ena and could no longer live in the sea. As time went on, less and less people believed in the Sea God, therefore weakening his power.

Now that being said, one of the kids Hikari, the son of the Chief Priest of Shioshishio (the village the sea people live in), has this prejudice against them as well, believing them to be greedy pigs for throwing away the gift of Ena from the Sea God. So of course Hikari is rude to the surface people and calls them pigs. So when Manaka accidentally gets caught by a surface boy named Tsumugu in a net and is instantly enamored with him, Hikari gets a little worked up, especially since he has feelings for Manaka. However, as the anime proceeds, Hikari starts to form a friendship with the people of the surface, and even at one point stands up for them to his own kind, saying that they are not greedy pigs.

Yeah! We aren't animals!

So not much happens for a few episodes (just relationships growing and friendships forming) until around episode eight or nine. Around this time it starts snowing saline, something that's only supposed to happen underwater. It is discovered that the Sea God's powers are weakening, causing the saltflake snow to keep falling and cooling the world, which will eventually lead to the world freezing and all the surface people dying. In the meantime, the sea people will enter hibernation, staying asleep until the Sea God's powers are renewed and the world is restored to its former self. Hikari and the others want to avoid this, so they want to perform the Ofunehiki, a sort of ceremony in honor of the Sea God. Hikari's older sister Akari (yeah, their names rhyme) wants to replace the offering with herself so that it'll please the Sea God and she can go marry her boyfriend from the surface.

So a few episodes later, episode thirteen, they perform the Ofunehiki. However, the Sea God wants to take Akari as an actual offering and tries to drag her down in a whirlpool. Manaka and Hikari go down to save her, but the Sea God won't allow them. Manaka then offers herself to the Sea God in place of Akari, and he releases Akari. Hikari tries to rescue Manaka but he fails. Also caught in the whirlpool, Tsumugu flies off the boat and is pulled down by it. Chisaki and Kaname go to rescue him and return him to the boat. As Kaname is climbing onto the boat, he sees Chisaki hugging Tsumugu. At the same time a pillar falls down near them and the boat makes a quick turn to avoid it, accidentally throwing Kaname off the boat and into the place where the pillar falls into the water. Suddenly a barrier covers Shioshishio and Akari is found alone floating to the surface.

You really have to give credit to the story of this anime. So little happened in the beginning but so much happens in the halfway point. The last episode definitely had me on the edge on my seat, and left me awed and wanting more. You already got what is assumed to be two deaths (Manaka and Kaname), somebody's missing (Hikari), the people of Shioshishio are hibernating, and the Sea God is a total douche canoe.

Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do a cliffhanger. Nagi no Asukara will continue airing on January 9. And so the wait begins.

Characters

The character development in Nagi no Asukara is one of the best I have ever seen. Hikari grows from this immature, rash kid to this wise, determined man. Manaka matures from an annoying crybaby to an independent young lady. Honestly, you'll have to see it to believe it.

Now, because these two characters have so much growth, they outshine the rest of the cast—for a while, at least. Chiaki, while a bit of a mother figure, doesn't really grow like the other characters do. Thankfully she isn't really annoying, but she's sort of . . . bland. As for Kaname, he seemed like the typical nice guy; quiet and mature, not much is going for him. That is until this happens:

Wait. Am I reading this right? Someone actually confessed? And Kaname of all people?

Way to go, bro! From the third (or fourth?) wheel to badass, congrats!

Holy ****! This guy is fearless!

Where did you come from, person? What did you do with the real Kaname? Not only did you confess to someone, you actually told her parents you did.

. . .

Hold up a second. My mind is having trouble processing this. This man deserves a medal for being such a badass!

Moving on, last but not least we have Tsumugu. The guy who seems to always have a blank face and a cool head, and at times offers advice to the other characters. Like Chisaki, Tsumugu is a bit boring, as well. But I do see what he wishes to be (a sea person with Ena, like his grandfather is implied to be) and where he wants to be (Shioshishio).

Now there are other characters as well, like Akari's boyfriend from the surface, the boyfriend's daughter, the daughter's best friend, the kids' teacher and friends from school, etc., etc. But at least most of the characters have an importance in the overall plot. Most of them are rather enjoyable to watch.

Now something that has to be addressed in Nagi no Asukara is that there is a love, er . . . polygon going around. Here's a picture to help you out:

Hm . . . all the arrows end up pointing at the fish.

The love polygon isn't bad, in fact it's probably one of the best ones out there, but it really irks me that nobody realizes that someone likes them. Thankfully, though, around episode ten Kaname confesses to Chisaki, Hikari to Manaka, and Chisaki to Hikari, so hopefully something good is going to happen.

Animation

The animation in Nagi is absolutely breathtaking. I love the backgrounds, I love the shading, I love the reflections, and I love how the sun's rays look. Everything is so detailed, so life-like—it's gorgeous! Like look at this picture:

Ooh! Three suns! Pretty!

Oh. My. God. Have you ever seen anything so pretty? Before watching Nagi I thought that Free! was the best animated anime of the year, but once I saw this show, my opinion changed in an instant!

Sound

The opening song is sung by Ray and the ending song by Nagi Yanagi (ha, ha, her first name has the word nagi in it; great coincidence to the anime, yeah?). Interestingly enough, both Ray and Nagi have worked together before in another anime, Amnesia. But in this anime, Ray sings the opening song and Nagi sings the ending song, so the roles are reversed. Just a little interesting tidbit there.

So, how is the opening? Well, I absolutely adore it. The chorus is so soothing and it gives you such a good feeling. I think it works real well with the anime's mood.

Now for the ending, it fits the anime's theme to a tee, especially after episode thirteen. It sounded really cool, with its chorus's "hehehe," but once you watch episode thirteen, those little "hehehe"'s sound absolutely spooky and make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

Note how the hourglass has water in it instead of sand. But hell if I know what it means.

I hear there's going to be a new opening and ending song, so, if it's true, I hope they'll live up to the previous songs. I look forward to listening to them.

Overall Enjoyment

In the beginning, the anime is pretty slow-paced. Not a lot of drama is happening, and only some tween love triangle is going around. However, once the main problem is revealed, a flood of dilemmas come crashing through and real-life worries are addressed. What if one of us wakes up before the other? What if one of us doesn't wake up? What if they never wake up at all? These are all questions the characters ask and are concerned about. And the wonderful thing is that the problems just keep on getting bigger and bigger.

In the latest episode, episode thirteen, Manaka sacrifices herself to the Sea God in place of Akari, Kaname seemingly dies from a pillar falling on him, Hikari is nowhere to be seen, and a barrier covers Shioshishio. All these problems and we have to wait until January to see how they are resolved and what'll happen next.

I am literally left speechless at how mature this anime is and how fast everything seems to be going. Nagi is a beautiful anime that is more than just your typical slice-of-life romance show.

The Bottom Line

I hereby give this anime the score of ★★★★☆, with each section rated the following:

Story: ★★★½

Characters: ★★★★☆

Animation: ★★★★☆

Sound: ★★★★☆

Enjoyment: ★★★★☆

Because of its rating, this anime is deemed "Great," and I recommend it to do the people who wish to watch a good anime with fantastic animation, character development, and a growing plot. And with that, see you next time, otakus!

Otaku Reviews: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club (フリー！)

Get it? FREEstyle? Ha-ha! Ahem. Moving on . . .

Probably one of the most popular anime of the summer, Free! certainly gave the ladies (and gentlemen, perhaps) something to look forward to every "water time."* Does the anime deserve its popularity? Let's find out, but let's start with history first.

*At the end of the preview for the next episode, a still image of the characters would show up with the caption "see you next water time . . ." which basically means "see you next Wednesday . . ."

History

Kyoto Animation, being the awesome company it is, one day decided to show off how good their animation skills have gotten. So, they released a video showing off one of the most difficult things to animate: water. The video is so hot, it went viral, creating a massive boom of fan-made biographies, fan art, and fanfiction on the net—heck, even petitions were made for the studio to make a series! With so much pressure, on July 4, 2013, an anime series of Free! was made—

—and this review became destined to be written. Oh, and also, watch that viral video of Free! below—like, NOW.

Story

The story to Free! is actually quite simple, although there are some, er . . . memorable(?) (and may I say kind of cliché?) sub-plots, like: tragic backstory, beach episode (though, surprisingly, everyone's skin is almost completely covered by clothing—which is pretty tame compared to most anime), tournaments, succeeding a parent, etc., etc. But the basic story can be summed up to this:

Free! starts with four boys—Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, and Rin—before graduating from elementary school. They had all participated in a swimming tournament and gained victory but later parted ways. Years later, Haruka, Makoto, and Nagisa reunite when they enroll into high school. Not long after, Rin, who was thought to be in Australia, turns up and challenges Haruka to a race and wins. Afterward, Nagisa mentions creating a swimming club and cleaning up the run-down outdoor pool to use. Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, and, later on, Rei, form the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club and work together in making the club a success. Rin's victory over Haruka means nothing to him as he realizes that Haruka has stopped swimming competitively and is not in top shape. He claims that he cannot get over the fact until Haruka competes against him for real. The members of the revived Iwatobi Swim Club later enter a swimming competition against Rin.

—Courtesy of Wikipedia

Well, it's a sport-genre anime, and, honestly, having never watched a sports anime, this is a new territory of anime I've never been in, so I was keeping that in mind when I began watching this—but, to my surprise, it wasn't as difficult to understand as I'd have thought it to be. The characters explain to the viewers what certain terms of swimming are and, even if they don't, you can figure out some of them on your own quite easily.

Characters

With a lot of sub-plots, there are, surprisingly, not a lot of characters. Not that this is a bad thing, of course: I'd rather watch an anime with a small, well-developed cast than one with a large, stereotypical cast. So, with only twelve episodes, I'm glad Free! didn't try to squeeze in so many characters. Our main cast can be simplified to five people: Nanase Haruka, Tachibana Makoto, Hazuki Nagisa, Matsuoka Rin, and Ryugazaki Rei (who doesn't appear until a few episodes later in the series). Now, if I were to choose what the best thing about this anime is, it would be character development. Each of the main cast grows throughout the anime, most notably Haruka and Rin. So it's very nice that we see the characters grow from the first episode to the last episode.

The characters may start off as stereotypes, but if you keep on watching, they'll become more and more realistic.

Sigh. If only they were real . . .

Animation

As mentioned before, Kyoto Ani did the animation for Free!, and, as expected from the company that brought us shows such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Clannad, they did a hell of an awesome job! The animation on the water is just stunning and beautiful! I don't think water has ever looked as good until now! All I can say is that the animation for Free! is that it's just gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS! (Plus, the bods of the guys are very pleasing to the eye. *wink, wink*)

Sound

Like the animation, the soundtrack for Free! is just gorgeous and very pleasing to the ears. I very much enjoyed the opening and ending songs of the anime (not just because the main cast sings it *cough, cough*), and I also adored the background music of Free!. If you ever get the chance, listen to some of the soundtracks on YouTube or, better yet, the actual album.

Overall Enjoyment

Overall, Free! is an awesome anime that'll leave you smiling and giggling like an idiot. Long story short, this was my reaction right before I was going to watch a new episode:

Every time.

'Nuff said.

The Bottom Line

I hereby give this anime the score of ★★★★☆, with each section rated the following:

Story: ★★★☆☆

Characters: ★★★½

Animation: ★★★★½

Sound: ★★★★☆

Enjoyment: ★★★★½

Because of its rating, this anime is deemed "Good," and I recommend it to anybody who loves sports (especially swimming), bishōnen guys, better than great anime shows, good-looking guys, gorgeous animation, good-looking guys, and—did I already mentioned good-looking guys? For alternate recommendations, I point you to the basketball anime Kuroko's Basketball. Both shows have entertaining characters and great animation, although Kuroko is more of a sports anime than a slice of life, unlike Free!. If you want a more slice of life anime with sports in it—although this one's a bit of a stretch—I recommend Chihayafuru. While it doesn't have pretty boys like Free! does (excluding the two main love interests), Chihayafuru is a fun sports anime with that healthy dose of slice of life. Hopefully one of these shows will have what you're looking for. And with that, see you next water time, otakus! Or, perhaps . . . next summer. ;)

Otaku Reviews: Detective Conan (名探偵コナン)

Don't worry, everyone! There are a lot more logos! ^__^

Detective Conan, the anime with over 700 episodes and has been around for more than 15 years. Gosh, where to begin. Wait! I know! The beginning of time!!

History

Gosho Aoyama began publishing the manga in January 19, 1994 and currently has 79 volumes. The anime premiered about two years later on January 8, 1996 and has over 700 twenty-five-minute episodes (rounding up to over 17,500 minutes—not counting the one hour episodes, of course!). The anime is ranked 16th for longest anime series (see here for full list). Next thing up is the story.

Story

Shinichi Kudo, a 17 year-old detective prodigy that often helps the police with cases, goes on a "date" with his childhood friend Mouri Ran after she wins a karate tournament to Tropical Land. While there, he sees someone acting suspiciously and excuses himself from his friend, who gets the feeling that she'll never see him again. While investigating, he discovers that the man is making a trade with another man. Just then, Shinichi gets hit in the head by a guy from behind. The two then force him to take a pill (which is later revealed to be called APTX 4869, a rather odd name for a pill) and leave him to die. However, an odd event happens in which, instead of dying, Shinichi turns into a seven year-old boy.

To hide his identity, Shinichi changes his name to Conan Edogawa (the two names of the mystery writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—author of Sherlock Holmes—and Edogawa Rampo). From then on he lives with Ran and her father, Mouri Kogoro, a private detective, under the persona of a kid. Despite being a child, Conan helps and solves cases for Kogoro in hopes getting a case related to the Black Organization, an organization, he discovers, that was at fault for his changing into a kid.

So there you have it: the plot. Now do you understand why this has over 700 episodes? No? Well, maybe it's because of the fact that 99.9% OF ALL THE EPISODES ARE FILLER. I just really wish this anime would focus more on the overall plot rather than on a mystery the characters comes across. However, I'll admit, each episode is very compelling and challenges you to solve the case before Conan (and sometimes other people). Now, you can't have a story without its characters, right?

Characters

Don't worry, guys. There are WAY more characters than this! :D

As expected from a 700+ episodes anime series, there are a chock-full amount of characters. The main cast being closest in the image above. However, the side characters are also interesting and quirky, making this anime have a great cast. It'd take ages to list all the characters, so I leave them to you to discover their oddities and humor, and to figure out which ones you love and hate—because you will find them.

Animation

It's a bit hard for me to judge this anime's animation, because, well, animation sure does improves after a decade, and this anime is no exception. The first few seasons may look odd to you, though, for their "pumpkin-like" noses and large ears, but these elements balance out in the later seasons of the anime. However, I believe the early 2000s is when the anime's animation was at its prime. I'm not as much a fan of the current animation, but it's definitely acceptable.

Look! She looks like a rhino from the side!

Sound

Having over a dozen of opening and ending songs, this anime has a lot of soundtracks. However, a disappointing thing I have realized about the anime is that a lot of the jazz from the '90s vanished without a trace in the 2000s. Which is a shame, because there are some pretty damn catchy jazz songs. Overall, however, the music and soundtrack for the anime is very well made and has some of my favorite anime songs.

Overall Enjoyment

Overall, the anime is very enjoyable. There is humor, romance, action, and surprisingly heartache. Everyone should be able to find something they like in this anime, and I have found a lot of things to like, and hate, about the anime. The major problem I have with this anime is, once again, its length—it's just way, way, WAY too long! Honestly, if it stuck to a coherent plot, this anime could have been summed up to 50 or so episodes—maybe even a hundred. But it does not, unfortunately, and, because it is filled with a bunch of filler episodes, the anime suffers the consequences.

The Bottom Line

I hereby give this anime the score of ★★★½, with each section rated the following:

Story: ★★★☆☆

Characters: ★★★½

Animation: ★★★☆☆

Sound: ★★★½

Enjoyment: ★★★★☆

Because of its rating, this anime is deemed "Good," and I recommend it to the mystery-loving community, people twelve and older (there's some gore, just to let you know), and someone who just wants to watch a good mystery show. And with that, see you next time, otakus!

Otaku Reviews: Itazura na Kiss (イタズラなKiss)

Just by the logo, you can totally tell this is a romance anime.

Itazura na Kiss was the one anime that FINALLY followed the characters pass high school other than Clannad. And for what you get, it's a pretty good anime. Now let's go back in time.

History

Tada Kaoru began publishing Itazura na Kiss in October 1991. The anime came out in 2008. Wait a second, what's with this time gap?! Well, Kaoru sadly passed away on March 11, 1999 due to cerebral hemorrhage (translation to those who are not medical students or doctors: bleeding of the brain). Kaoru was moving into a new house when she hit her head on a marble table and died after being in a coma for three weeks. Because of her unexpected death, Itazura na Kiss was cancelled. With her husband's permission, the manga is still being published. Very depressing, indeed. But I'm glad that her husband was kind enough to allow the publication of the manga to continue. Another positive thing is that Kaoru told her husband the ending of the series before she died, which was later incorporated into the anime, so at least the people who have seen the anime and I saw the true ending of the series that the author envisioned.

Story

There are a lot of sub-plots in this anime—and when I say "a lot" I mean A LOT. But it can be simplified to this:

A high school girl named Kotoko finally tells a fellow senior named Naoki that she has loved him from afar since she saw him on their first day of high school. However, Naoki, a handsome genius and good athlete, rejects her offhand. Fate intervenes when a mild earthquake ruins Kotoko's family house. While the house gets rebuilt, Kotoko and her dad stay at the home of her dad's childhood friend...whose son is Naoki. Naoki eventually falls for Kotoko and started to have romantic, protective feelings for her.

— Courtesy of Wikipedia

So, from this summary, it seems that this anime is just the typical comedy-romance anime set in high school, right? WRONG! People, judging an anime by its cover is a big no-no in my book! As mentioned earlier, this anime takes you beyond the characters' lives in high school to college and even work! Therefore, I give this anime a big pat on the back for being different than 99.5% of all shoujo anime.

Characters

Like anime, never judge a character by his or her appearance! She may be ditzy and clumsy, but at least she's not a glutton!

Just as there are many sub-plots in the anime, there are many, many characters—but all of them very memorable and comedic. For the sake of time, I'll just talk about three. The first is the heroine, Aihara Kotoko. Yes, Kotoko is a bit of a ditz, clumsy, and not very smart, but what makes her so good a character is her determination and how (unintentionally) funny she is. In fact, I'll tell you one of my favorite moments. Kotoko is trying to finish her summer homework, but has a hard time solving the math problems. But because her room is right across from Irie's, she decides to sneak in and take his summer homework. While sneaking in, she begins acting like a ninja but stubs her toe on the table. Now that's just funny. I mean, it's a lot more funnier seeing it than reading about it, so you might not find it that funny now, but when you're in the moment, it's hilarious.

Not the cutest of anime guys, but kudos to the animators for making him different than the ordinary mix of shoujo guys.

Our next main character is Irie Naoki, but throughout the anime, Kotoko just calls him Irie (because it'd be rude to call someone you don't know that well by their first name). At first you'd think that Irie is going to be a boring, lifeless genius, but as the anime progresses, Irie does have his funny moments and even emotional moments, too. At the beginning of the series, Irie was about as emotional as a rock. So much so, he didn't even read Kotoko's love letter and rejected her in front of everyone. But over time, you grow to love Irie because Kotoko brings emotions out of him, and eventually vice-versa.

You would have never guessed she was Irie's mom, now would ya?

And last but not least, Irie's mother Noriko. Oh. My. God. Noriko is one of the best comedic anime characters—not just in shoujo anime but—of all time. Noriko has an eccentric and paparazzi-like personality, that makes her instantly likable. She's the kind of woman that every girl wishes to be her crush's mom, because she always pushes her son to become the girl's boyfriend. Noriko wants her son Irie to hook up with Kotoko, but struggles because of Irie's personality. Now, there's a reason why Irie acts the way he does, but if I tell you why, it would ruin one of the best comedic moments in the anime, so I'll keep quiet about it—think of it as a favor.

Animation

Those who have already watched the anime may or may not have realized this, but midway through the series (or two-thirds of the way in, if you want a more perfect estimate), the animation style changes. Not drastically, of course, 'cause then everybody would notice. The change happens specifically (and as far as I can tell) to Kotoko's eyes. Nothing to worry, much less care, about, but just a little bit of interesting trivia for you there. Below's a picture of the different eyes, so feel free to compare the bottom image with the one in the section above.

Thank god the makeup here is modest. I've seen far too many anime shows with the heroine or someone else animated horribly with makeup.

Excluding the minor change to the animation, for 2008, the animation was very well done.

Sound

The soundtrack for Itazura na Kiss can be summed up in one word: wonderful. If you ever get the chance, go on YouTube (or better yet go buy the album) and listen to some of the soundtracks, I assure you, you won't regret it. My personal favorites being OST. 15 Amai Namida ("Sweet Tears") and OST 16. Eien no Chikai ("The Eternal Vows").

Overall Enjoyment

Overall, this anime is simply fantastic and a must-see! The humor, romance, characters, and everything is perfect! I mean, Itazura na Kiss is no Clannad, by all means, where the latter can become very dramatic and dark and deep. But if you have just recovered from the depression caused by Clannad, Itazura na Kiss will surely lift your spirits. If anything, I feel that most people who watch this anime will end up liking it—if not, loving it.

The Bottom Line

I hereby give this anime the score of ★★★★☆, with each section rated the following:

Story: ★★★½

Characters: ★★★★☆

Animation: ★★★☆☆

Sound: ★★★½

Enjoyment: ★★★★☆

Because of its rating, this anime is deemed "Great," and I recommend it to the shoujo community, people who want a slice of life anime, fans of Clannad, and to people who just want to watch a good anime. And with that, see you next time, otakus!

P.S. Rest in peace, Kaoru-san! ♥

Otaku Reviews: Love Live! School Idol Project (ラブライブ! School Idol Project)

I just love it when the Japanese translates the title for you.

Love Live! School Idol Project is one of those anime shows that I was REALLY looking forward to watching, but after seeing the first episode was sadly and utterly disappointed. BUT not unsatisfied, no. Before I explain why I was so disappointed, let's talk history first.

History

Love Live! wasn't created with the intention of becoming an anime—it was created with the intention of getting money. In the July issue of Dengeki G's magazine in 2010, the project was announced (thus why it's called "Love Live! School Idol Project") and also mentioned that the magazine will be collaborating with the anime studio Sunrise and music label Lantis to create said project. In August, the story and characters were introduced, and the project was explained in more detail. Also in August, polls were created for cellphones, ranking the characters for their positions in the music videos that Sunrise would produce. An example would be in the idol group's first LIVE (single), "Bokura no LIVE Kimi to no LIFE" ("僕らのLIVE 君とのLIFE" in Japanese), the character Kousaka Honoka won the poll and was the center of the music video. There were also other polls that determined the idols' hairstyles and costumes. In November, there were polls to determine the group's name. Ultimately, μ's (pronounced "muse") was the winner.

Story

All-in-all, the story is pretty simple: Nine high school girls, Kousaka Honoka, Ayase Eri, Minami Kotori, Sonoda Umi, Hoshizora Rin, Nishikino Maki, Toujou Nozomi, Koizumi Hanayo, and Yazawa Niko, form an idol group called μ's in order to save their school, Otonokizaka High School, from closing. There, the simplest plot ever! Of course, each episode has its own little sub-plot, but when you come down to it, it's not much. But this is where I have a problem with the anime.

Oh, how cliché can a show get? We already know what's going to happen from episode 1, so there was really no point in watching it, since I've seen the story before. And yet I watched it. Every episode and every second of it (although I did skip the ending after hearing it once or twice, 'cause, let's face it, the opening is so much better). BUT before any of you decide to skip this show, I will admit there is a twist somewhere near the end, but it was REALLY predictable about what was going to happen afterwards. Here's something I'm gonna admit: For the first two LIVES, I liked how the characters were designed and the story you can kind of pick up from it, but when I watched the anime, I was sorely disappointed. 

For one, there is no romance. Why is there NEVER any romance in idol anime (with the exception of Kirarin Revolution)?! From the fourth LIVE, "Mogyutto "LOVE" de Sekkin Chuu!" ("もぎゅっと“love”で接近中!"), it TOTALLY looked like there was going to be romance in the anime, but alas there was not. This is just a nitpick, though. But a big one for me, because I like my anime with some fluff.

Secondly, I wouldn't have mind the anime as much if the story wasn't so cliché. This could've been a great anime, but because of other anime shows (K-On!, iDOLM@STER, etc.), I believe this show suffered from their clichés. As much as I despise the story, I will admit the truth: I was satisfied when I finished the anime.

Characters

There are a total of nine main characters. Yes, I'm not joking. But, hey, at least it's not like iDOLM@STER that has THIRTEEN characters. Honestly, the characters are clichéd, and I can tell you their personalities right here and now. Kousaka Honoka, the typical shoujo heroine; Ayase Eri, the mature, beautiful character; Minami Kotori, the cute, clumsy one; Sonoda Umi, the serious one that is always dragged around by the heroine; Hoshizora Rin, the athletic, "neko" (cat) girl; Nishikino Maki, the tsundere who has to follow her parents' footsteps (doctor career); Toujou Nozomi, the wise oddball (but I will admit that she's the most interesting character of the bunch); Koizumi Hanayo, the shy, stuttering one; Yazawa Niko, the cute one that refused to have anything to do with the heroine, but is convinced later on.

Now, as much as I bash the characters, there are the ones I love (Eri, Niko, Nozomi), the ones I like alright (Umi, Rin, Maki, Hanayo, Honoka), and the one I, er . . . to put it nicely, get annoyed with (Kotori). But I have someone I know who absolutely despises one of the characters (Niko) for every action she does or thing she says. After thinking for some time, I realized that there are some characters that are useless, "some" being Hanayo and Rin. Now, I know there's going to be a season two, so hopefully the characters will become more developed. So, you should find a character you love, like, and absolutely despise get irritated by.

Animation

Alright, if you either have good memory or were paying attention, I wrote earlier that I liked the original designs of the characters from the first and second singles of μ's. Granted, the designs get more colorful and cuter later, but there was something about the original designs that I liked. Okay, here's two nitpicks I have with the current designs: I hate how the elbows and knees look (I hate the pink shade on it), and how the nails on the characters look. Below, I have shown you two images featuring μ's: an original design of the school uniform and the group's fifth LIVE "Wonderful Rush."

Before . . .

. . . and after.

Now, keep in mind, as I said before, these are only nitpicks. But there was something so charming and unique about the original designs that I can't put my finger on it. But the animation in the anime is very well made, as expected from Sunrise, the animation studio that created Cowboy Bebop.

Sound

Although I can't say that the anime music is superior to the singles, the music is pretty well made. My two favorite being the opening song of the anime, "Bokura wa Ima no Naka de" ("僕らは今のなかで"), and a song by another idol group (A-Rise), "Private Wars." As for μ's singles, it'd be "Natsuiro Egao de 1, 2, Jump!" ("夏色えがおで1,2,Jump!").

Overall Enjoyment

Overall, the anime is decent. It's not horrendous or anything, but it could have been a lot better—and I mean A LOT better than it is now. If the anime wasn't as overly cliché as it is now, it probably would've been a pretty good anime. But for what you get, it's enough to satisfy you—some people, at least. Now, after thinking for a little bit, I realized that I was excited to see the next episode when the anime was being released on Crunchyroll. But after season one was over, I began to realize how annoyed I was by the characters, voices, and story.

The Bottom Line

I hereby give this anime the score of ★★☆☆☆, with each section rated the following:

Story: ★☆☆☆☆

Characters: ★½

Animation: ★★★½

Sound: ★★★★☆

Enjoyment: ★★☆☆☆

Because of its rating, this anime is deemed "Terrible," and something you can just pass. For alternate recommendations, I point you to the much better idol anime Wake Up, Girls! While animation isn't as good and colorful as Love Live!, WUG! takes a much more mature and serious approach to the idol genre, showing you the darker side of the idol industry. Another recommendation would be the ever classic idol anime THE iDOLM@STER, a show I've heard positive things about and has a supposedly "deep" story. And with that, see you next time, otakus!