After an interplanetary war at the beginning of the 21st century, planet Earth has been left in ruins, with much of its ecosystem completely destroyed. Because it was no longer possible to live a normal life on this planet, the inhabitants are forced to move on to other planets where life will, hopefully, be more comfortable.
The Deep Galactic Trade Organization, a totalitarian government that affects many of the newly inhabited planets, has somehow come to the conclusion that music is a source of evil, and that it must be banned and destroyed for good. The talent group AKB0048 is soon formed, based on the original AKB48 members that once lived on Earth. Even though their music is now considered universally illegal, they make it their mission to bring their music back to life by travelling from one planet to another and holding as many concerts as they possibly can. They must undergo a whole new set of training methods in order to become the best that they can possibly be, while also avoiding the constant danger of being arrested because of their music. Join interplanetary popstars AKB0048 as they try to save the world－with music!
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Comentários
Stellio
With the large amount of questionable things AKB0048 attempted, this show was inevitably doomed to fail. The large casts of characters, the doubtable synopsis and its variety of genres clustered together just to name a few. Most ridiculous of all, the director expected AKB48 singers, a real-life, popular idol group, to successfully convert into voice actresses. Furthermore, most soundtracks in the actual anime will be inserted directly from AKB48's popular debuts, and this all just seemed too convenient to work out. Thus, I walked into AKB0048 expecting some terribly scripted dialogues, incorrect utilization of AKB48 soundtracks, and tons more to name. But here I am,telling you that AKB0048 can actually be safely described as multitudes of great things, one of them being a successful collaboration of impinging, tricky anime genres.
However, ignoring AKB0048’s flaws would be too generous. The plot of this Series was just too chaotic in the beginning, and awkward even to the extent of a laughable synopsis. Its attempt at mixing interplanetary mecha themes with the assemblage of idols, who are all such independent loli's, just seemed too silly to fit together. At first, I continuously questioned the silly premise of the story, but later I just decided to go along with it just due to the fact that I don’t have a time machine.
=Now the Actual Review Begins=
Even with all its flaws, AKB0048 proved to me that any future is possible.
Behind all this seemingly plugged up garbage plot, I found a pearl in the sea of sewage. Before watching this series, I constituted all my opinions about idols in a Western sense. Long story short, I live in a very industrialized environment where idols are all seemingly just good-looking people with no talent whatsoever. In other words, certain despicable individuals over the past years have influenced me to completely lose respects for others with similar occupations (even in anime). Ironically, AKB0048, a crew consisting of cute girls, has elaborated enough on idols’ daily lives that I’m actually reconsidering my view point on this world’s entertainment industry. How it has done so with the slice of life, comedy, & science fiction genres fascinates me even up to today.
As a male, I never understood why a vast amount of the female population have always wanted to become an idol (not a sexist statement, it’s a fact that most idol groups include females). But, that is not to say they all have such ambitions for the same reason. With different feelings, intentions, and reasons for becoming an idol, most people who desire to rise to a position of fame come from places scattered all across the board. With that being said, most successful idols do share one thing in common; the way AKB0048 depict these idols, they all seem like a determined bunch, despite their inabilities, adversities, or any obstacles in their way. Now the supernatural situation within ABK0048 doesn't seem as irrelevant, does it? This constitutional restriction on entertainment, although clumsily scripted, immediately creates a universe where young females are disallowed their dreams of perhaps rising to become an idol. Too bad even in a universe where interplanetary wars are supposedly happening, teenagers still don’t think when they act.
As the story starts developing, three young girls who want to become the 77th Generation of AKB0048 idols consistently meet more and more obstacles as the story progresses. The first few episodes explore some character’s family issues, backgrounds, personalities, and give a vivid detail of where the series is heading, while the whole entertainment ban theme over-arches all these episodes. Things get tougher the more you get into it. Haters, dealing with failures, and stressing over little details of your actions will all lead to shed tears. But in the end, you’re never the only one going through it. There are always people going through the same pain as you, as they walk the same path as an idol. This relationship then establishes friendships between the idols depicted in this series, and it is a very interesting concept of friendship that it illustrates, by simply dealing with every day issues. As the Series progresses, the intensity builds up as well. At first the plot was driven simply by a few science fiction references, but by the end supernatural and mecha themes are thoroughly explored. Though, don't get confused because although the plot is very detailed in its description; the overall mood of AKB0048 still remains to mostly be drama/slice of life. Even though the execution of mecha scenes in AKB0048 seemed needless and unnecessary, the appearance of mecha did contribute to illustrating (symbolic) difficulties that even idols have to overcome. But to an extent, this theme was probably exaggerated on too much, while lacking the correct coherence most mecha/shounen shows actually have.
Besides these heavily emphasized themes, AKB0048 also frequently (meaning, A LOT) transitions into comedy moments. These scenes often follow serious, dramatic moments, but rarely feels barged in through the whole development. In fact, the serious moments themselves appear to be melodramatic sometimes too. But, those are just the result of the conflicted traits within some characters, which essentially arouses a feeling of drama without the actual atmosphere being so just by itself. This makes even further sense because most of the characters are professional drama queens, which, as I mentioned before, makes up these lighthearted comedy moments within this anime. Just the over dramatic atmosphere itself being consistently interfered by clumsy, klutz moments are hilarious by themselves, but the show sometimes even makes fun of itself. I won't go into details, but let's just say perversely suggestive jokes occur frequently. Even in the one beach episode (ep10) and other possible candidates where fan-service was visible, the story still progressed and was always accompanied by those suggestive jokes mentioned above. In other words, fan service done correctly without being too distracting. Personally, this consistent aspect of the show made it a more enjoyable watch.
The developments of characters were incredibly smooth as the series played out. That is, to say, if you didn't get annoyed by them from episode 1. Some characters are very irksome when they are first introduced. Unlike most anime though, these annoying characters all change in some ways in AKB0048. It's not just subtle or slight adjustments either, it's life changing choices these characters decide on which makes the viewer so attached to them. These character developments don't just occur to a few selected people either. While there are obvious main characters with bigger roles, most other (side) characters actually get their own arcs, and have a re-occurring role(s) throughout this whole series. Please note that though the cast of character is about 2 dozen idols, AKB0048 was able to handle all those characters while getting the plot to flow well, and making sure nobody gets overshadowed for the most part either. Now, that's just a bit impressive.
For an anime almost made to commercialize AKB48's songs, I'd have to say it did a great job. Any fans of the real life AKB48 idol group should check out this anime (and vice versa), think of this show almost like a behind-the-stage TV series. The music was top notched in terms of the J-pop genre, but I feared for terrible synchronization with the animation, and luckily it didn't turn out bad at all. There were also notable background music playing and it's remarkable how just a lighthearted themed soundtrack can help scenes transition from one to another (especially from those dramatic to comedy scenes). Also, due to the lack of experiences it probably took a while for those AKB48 member to suddenly become voice actors. But by the end not only was the voice acting minimal quality, they all seemed to fit the character very well, so well that It should be considerably outstanding for those undergraduates.
Animation was good, and there were obvious efforts put into the character designs. Those efforts are exemplified by the motif of carving cute (loli-like; moe) things such as hearts with a very shallow curve into characters' hairs. Not only the characters, but it's choreography within those dancing scenes also seemed fairly unique. The animation even switches into a 3-D dancing crew during actual performances of dances, and my eyeballs were just overfilled with soothing joy. For someone who's impatient to the point that even waiting 10 minutes for a movie to start becomes a problem, I'd have to say it did a fine job entertaining me with those mesmerizing dancing performances.
All in all, with a few due casualties, I think AKB0048 deserves a better rating than what most viewers are giving it. While exploring the daily lives of idols, AKB0048 accurately depicts symbolic obstacles faced by those working in the entertainment industry. Although this anime is layered over by exaggerated, heavy mecha/supernatural themes, AKB0048 still manages to blend it in somewhat nicely into the rest of its plot, and ended up with a just right amount of varieties of genres. There's never any overly done action scenes, and the serious parts/arcs of this drama have nicely attached meaning behind them all. Though, do look out for comedy scenes caused by melodramatic moments, inelegant characters, and some referenced jokes which barely cut for PG13-audiences. As for recommendations, this series is a tricky one due to its vast amount of genres; however, I would recommend AKB0048 especially to slice of life fans out there, who won't mind a few awkwardly fastened mecha plot points here and there.
Thinking back on AKB0048 now, there may be hope for the entertainment industry after all. With such a surprising treat from the first season, I can safely say second season may be just as exciting. Now if people would just listen...
DmonHiro
Well now, here's something that I was expecting to be a giant pile of horse crap. I mean, come ON, a show about AKB48 saving the world through song? That's so freaking dumb. And then I remembered Macross already did that... Wait... Kawamori Shouji is directing it? THE HELL? The director of Macross Zero, Aquarion, and Macross Frontier (among others) is directing a AKB48 anime? Color me intrigued. Series is composed by Okada Mari, who has some very good titles under her belt (Hanasaku Iroha, Gosick, Wondering Son). All in all, the production team seems solid. So yeah, that's how I started watching this show, inspite of all the ridicule I got from my friends. Am I sorry I watched it? Hell no, it turned out to be one of my favorites this past season. Please keep in mind that this review will contain spoilers.
Overview:
In hindsight, there have been far worse plots then "let's save the world through song". I'm looking at you, Queen's Blade. But, seems that the story is not exactly that. In the future space travel is possible. But in a strange twist, entertainment is banned on many planets. While they do not go in depth into what "entertainment" means in this world, from what I can tell, singing, dancing and concerts are against the law. I haven't been able to find out too much about this, but apparently, in 1948, Japan passed the Entertainment Business Control Law which was similar, but much less intrusive, then what is presented in this show. All in all, it's not completely implausible. We've already seen shows where books are banned. At first we aren't given a reason as to why this is happening, but we'll get into that later. AKB0048 is a rogue idol group that sweeps in and hold illegal concerts on planets where entertainment is banned, while fighting off the DES (anti-entertainment army). DES actually uses live ammo, so the idols could very well get killed. Still, they fight back with non-lethal weapons. During one such concert of Lancaastar, four young girls, Nagisa, Yuuka, Chieri and Orine, watch the concert and decide to join the group when they are older. And so begins their adventures from passing the audition, to actually getting there, to becoming part of their beloved idol group.
Plot:
The plot moves fairly fast. It takes two episodes for the girls to actually reach AKB0048 and another three for them to get to their first event. During that time, they train in both entertaining and fighting. Kawamori "The Troll" Shouji gives us an episode 3 right out of Macross, to the point where I was wondering if I downloaded the wrong show. Needless to say, all's well that ends well, after some high speed battles, songs and angst. Yup, that's our Kawamori. Also, there's a fan service episode at the beach... with plot in it. Don't see many of those.
Characters:
Here's where it gets interesting. The characters are a joy to watch. Nagisa is determined, but detests conflict. Yuuka is outgoing, and enjoys being in the center of attention. Orine is shy and very soft-spoken. Chieri is cold, distant and extremely competent. Of course, she gets much more mellow once we learn her reason for being so cold. She also tends to be painfully blunt when trying to help, which makes her seem mean and only out for herself. On the way to AKB0048, they meet three more girls: Sonata, Suzuko and Makoto. Sonata is the youngest of the group, full of energy and well... adorable. Suzuko is quiet and very knowledgeable Makoto is shy, loud, and has low self-esteem. Not sure how she got there... to be honest. Once on Akihabastar (yes, horrible pun, I know) we meet the final two understudies: Kanata and Mimori. Kanata is Sonata's big sister and Mimori is Kanata's best friend. These two have been understudies for two years. That's a LOT. Of these characters, most get some decent development, while some are neglected for now. They act surprisingly realistic for this type of show, and the dynamics between them are quite good. They are, in a way, paired up to each other (Nagisa & Chieri, Yuuka & Orine, Suzuko & Sonata & Makoto, Kanata & Mimori). Still, some of the best character development comes from the current successors of Takamina and Yuuko, part of the first to learn the selection process. They will probably develop the characters even more in the second season, coming 2013.
Art:
The art is hit and miss. No, not hit OR miss. The normal art for the characters, the backgrounds and the rest is fine. I am very fond of the character designs. But, during the concerts, the switch to CG for some of the dance. It looks jarring, and really, I don't know why they keep doing this. Still, it's not unwatchable, even though the CG in the first couple of episodes is pretty bad. The action scenes are great. Well, he directed Macross, for Pete’s sake, they'd better be.
Voice acting:
OK, this one's special. The main character are voiced by actual members of AKB48. Now, the girls of AKB48 are not voice actors, and that's painfully obvious in the first episodes. I got used to their voices fairly quick though, and they do a good job of making you feel the right emotions. The current successors are voiced by very experienced staff and do a great job. Not much to say about this, really.
Music:
AKB48 songs, what did you expect? Still, they are very good, and the singing battles are fantastic. I especially loved Beginner and Ooge Diamond. The emotions transmitted during those songs were absolutely fantastic (despair and team work, love and hope). There are a ton of songs, and they are all quite decent, but those two are fantastic. Oh, and the OP/ED are featured in the last episode, with the ED actually being a plot point.
Final thoughts:
This was entertaining as all hell. I couldn't wait till the next episode, and now I'm going to have to wait till 2013 for more. This show got a lot of hate, much of it before it even aired, just for being about AKB48. Many still bash it, even though they most likely haven't seen it. If you enjoyed Macross Frontier, you will enjoy this. Just watch it, and make a decision for yourself. I hope this review got you at least a little bit interested.
Fantassy
So, AKB was a series that not many people seemed to like, so with this review I’ll try my hardest to explain why it managed to win me over. And let me get one thing straight: it’s not like I’m some sort of idol fanboy. In fact, I hate the idol business. I really dislike J-Pop as a music genre. And I’m really not a fan of abusing moe and cute girls to pander to an audience. So yes: how on earth did this show manage to win me over? For the people who aren’t familiar at all with AKB0048: AKB48 is an idol group, consistingout of a huge amount of teenaged girls who sing songs and do other cute things. This series is meant to promote them: the main characters are all played by various members, most of whom have no voice acting experience, and the plot is about a world in which music has been outlawed and the girls run around and perform guerilla concerts as a sort of resistance. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? Yeah, but here is the thing: the two main creators, the chief director and the main writer, are two of the biggest trolls around in the anime business: Shoji Kawamori and Mari Okada. And they were given a lot of freedom. I still don’t know who found that a good idea, but bless this person.
Now, to fully appreciate this series, you’re going to have to need to read inbetween the lines a bit. It’s indeed true that we have a bunch of idols who sing and fight evil enemy soldiers at the same time. But at the same time this series does some really surprising things as a show that’s meant to be a promotion of an idol group. I mean, usually these things are incredibly cheap and superfluous: cartoonified members of the group go on random adventures and try to be as cute or cool as possible. AKB0048 however, completely throws these conventions out of the window and starts to focus on the uglier sides of being an idol; how unfair the business can be sometimes, how hard it forces teenaged girls to work and how it forces some dangerous mindsets on them. This series, on one half is indeed cute girls doing cute things, but that other half is really dark to balance all of that out, with some really cynical messages at times.
Beyond that, this show also is just very well executed. The thing with this show is that nearly all voice actresses are completely new, so they don’t have a stereotype that they all try to fit in like what you’d have if people like Kugimiya Rie were cast and all. There are a lot of characters in this show, but none are unlikable or try to force their cuteness down the viewer’s throats. They’re all well-developed and all have engaging issues that actually differ quite a bit. Beyond that there is excellent animation and musical numbers: the performances in this series really work and its use of music is really excellent.
Having said all that though, the overall storyline of this show IS completely silly. The people who outlawed entertainment are nothing more than shallow villains, and somehow they keep getting beaten by a bunch of little girls despite being in armored tanks and mechas. For as much attention this series gives to entertainment and idols, so little it spends on the actual bad guys of this series. That really is the biggest weakness of this series: at times it will be really, really hard to maintain your suspense of disbelief. The sign whether you’ll like this show or not is probably at episode number two: if at that point the characters don’t interest you, then you’ll have a very hard time with this. That episode however does have the power to really capture its audience though, so if you’re interested in this series, do give it a chance and don’t be put off by the whole premise… too much.
YuanMori
It's not often that an anime comes around that pulls one over on the audience as fast as AKB0048 does. Given what is probably one of the silliest premises ever in anime the writing takes hold and runs away with it, spinning a complex story of futuristic idols in a world where entertainment is banned. I went into this show with incredibly low expectations and came away wowed. Although the show does not fall too dark there are some rather grim undertones - to perform their concerts in worlds where entertainment is banned the idols form two teams, a performance group and a defending group. Theidols on defense have to fight against an organization that uses live ammunition and is actively trying to capture or kill the 00 members.
Behind the concert and combat scenes there is also the mystery of just who runs 0048 and the implication is shady at best. Even then, and even among the tears, the show manages to also be bright, cheery and full of love.
It's an emotional roller coaster I recommend checking out, even (and especially) if you aren't a fan of the actual AKB48. I went into it knowing nothing of the original group.
pedrosp14
First let me apologize for the mistakes I can make as I am from Brazil. I have watched some Idol animes to know that this one is my favorite of them. I will try not to tell any spoilers. Story (8): The plot spins around 4 girls who as kids attended to the concert of AKB0048, an ''rebel'' group who makes concerts on planets where entertainment is banned, facing lots of danger they risk their lifes to bring joy to people, and show love. These 4 girls decide that one day they will join this group. I really think this is a great story, it is different fromwhat we are used to on idol animes. I mean, even though it is an idol anime it has a lot of action on it due to the fact that entertainment is banned in a lot of planets, and there are fights on it. There are also some emotional parts (nothing that resembles something like Clannad but it gets to you). One feature that i liked is the fact that they used the real akb48 names on the anime to refer to the ''original'' members.
Art (9):
The art overall has nothing really special, but it is well made, and the 3D characters on the dancing parts are really cool.
Sound (9):
Well the soundtrack is the music from akb48 the real idol group from japan, so its really good. The music that the girls sing are also from the group so thats cool. I liked it.
Character (9):
I felt like every character were well developed and had enough time to make people fall with them. Of course there are the main ones that got more time but secondary characters also are important for the trama. If anyone is wondering, my favorite is Hikari Kimishima also known as Yuko Oshima the 9th!
Enjoyment (10):
I think i finished all 2 seasons of this anime in 3 days, and that is a lot, i just got hooked from episode to episode and couldn't stop, I really liked it and i feel that even dough there should be a third season, the second one has a decent ending.
Overall (9):
I recommend it to anyone that seeks an Idol, musical, action or drama anime cuz this one has it all. It is between my favorite of the genre so give it a shot, it has kind of a slow start but it only gets better!
DesuChan
AKB0048, its sole purpose is to promote the real life group AKB48, an infamous japanese girls group. Honestly I have been an AKB48 fan since I discovered J-culture itself, but having it become an anime was an entirely different situation for me. I was very skeptical about AKB0048, and for a long time when I see AKB0048 on other member's anime list, I would often ignore it because the synopsis sounded stupid enough. But on one faithful day, I decided to download it and give it a try. Since the genre was "Music", one of my favourite genre's I downloaded the Blue-Ray edition... my lifechanged.
The opening theme, ""Kibou ni Tsuite (希望について)" just blew me off my chair. I was greeted by extreme god-tiered animation and harmonic music. Although there were character spoilers and some side stories in the opening, I didn't seem to mind because the animation was just too good. As a musician, hearing the combination of instruments along with the energetic drumming and "hopeful" melody got me exited. I have to say this is a well-done quality opening as it perfectly suits the background of the story.
The ending theme, "Yume wa Nandomo Umarekawaru (夢は何度も生まれ変わる)" is just fantastic. I have never heard of such beautiful combinations of natural instruments and electro base + harmonic vocals before. In most anime's, I would often ignore the ending theme because they are not as "exiting" as the opening theme. However, "Yume wa Nandomo Umarekawaru (夢は何度も生まれ変わる)" just stopped my fingers from pressing the next episode. This ending theme had some sort of hypnosis on me, besides the music, the animation of AKB0048 member's shadow dancing just fitted into the music so well, I just couldn't resist!! And yes, this is one of the best ending themes ever.
Now, for the story review -------
In an alternative timeline, the Earth's environment is destroyed by a world war, forcing humans to leave planet Earth and strive in other planets. Entertainment and music becomes heavily banned in several planets as they are said to "move the soul" of an individual. (It certainly does) Can you imagine a planet where there is no music and entertainment? I certainly couldn't! Then out of the midst of despair, the infamous galatic group, "AKB0048" holds its concert on one of these planets under the entertainment ban and reintroduced music into the planet. In one of these planets, our main characters of the story are then introduced to us smuggling from underground sewer channels towards an AKB0048 concert as they have not yet experience a real life concert before. The intro roars to their ears (and ours) and the concert then commences! The next scene is most probably one of the most mind-blowing, exiting, awesome etc etc performance you will ever experience! The stage design, choreography, music, LIGHTS!, EVERYTHING was just PERFECT in those few minutes. Special "dancing software" was also used to stimulate real and accurate "dancing" while maintaining the cute and glamouring characters during some of the dance scenes. At first glance, it may seem kinda stupid, 3D computer models often don't go well with animation. Nevertheless, it went well with AKB0048 without disrupting the character's outward appearances, it also provided accurate movements and went well with the thrilling concert.
Our main characters, inspired by AKB0048 were determined to one day be a part of the group. They eventually managed somehow during the auditions (somewhere, contains spoiler) and undergo AKB0048 training. Yes, it applies to all the live groups today, when individuals have passed auditions, they are required to take "training" before they can actually perform in live concerts and release albums. The concept applies to AKB0048 anime as well but it will be dramatised in a few episodes to reduce some flaws.
Although AKB0048 lacked character development and story development, along with the universe history, I still enjoyed this anime because you will NEVER see another anime that has such brilliant concerts scenes and colourful, creative character designs.
After reading all that~ I must be a fanboy, and yes I am a fanboy of AKB0048. In fact, it made it to my top 5 favourite anime's. So the question remains, why AKB0048? Was it the awesome Soundtracks? The glamorous characters? Quality art? For some reason I do not even know myself when it comes to this.
Heres the answer, "it was fun!". Indeed it may seem weird to all of you who are reading my first review, however I enjoyed AKB0048 simply because it is basically about NOTHING, almost nothing at all! If you have ever been to a live concert, and had fun singing along with the melody, I would highly recommend AKB0048 because you do not even need to know or understand the story. You just have to allow the music and visuals to flow~ throughout your body and relax. Then AKB0048 shall be the most enjoyable "in-house" entertainment you will ever receive!
*(I would recommend you to watch AKB0048 AFTER a nice hot shower)*
Criticise if you must as I hope to improve my review skills so I can provide more accurate details on my next review.
By the way, for those who are interested in piano~ :
http://www.youtube.com/user/Animenzzz/videos?flow=grid&view=0
Phantasmafloria
With the coming of a new age for the Japanese music industry, it becomes difficult to get by without mentioning AKB48. A national phenomena, and a growing one overseas with a fandom somewhat familiar yet strikingly different to that of anime. Speculation from media and fans alike have all pointed towards AKB0048 to being a anime cashout as required for the expansion of the 48 group empire, a journey into the world of animation. Under the tutelage of Shōji Kawamori of Macross fame however, we receive a unique and interesting look into a microcosm of idol fandom and a surprisingly clever critique of the wrongs within theidol industry and the media surrounding it.
Cue the sporadic tale of a couple of small town girls with a dream to become idols in a world where entertainment has become forbidden. A world of
inherit despair and over industrialization.
This is AKB0048. The story of the idols who you can meet.
Story:
0048 introduces us to a new age of prohibition within a universe that hungers for the underground performances of a group known as AKB0048, one which has carried on a tradition of entertaining fans across the galaxy by producing generations among generations of idols, much like the current day idol-making powerhouse.
We enter the lives of 4 girls bound by fate in an industrialized planet, seemingly lacking of all hope with their only source of entertainment being the guerrilla stage performances of AKB0048 who travel from planet to planet in the mother ship "Kachuusha". The group itself however is at constant war with the galactic authority known as "DES", ruthless and immediate in their judgement.
The 4 girls enter this world, some of them knowing little of the complications that come with stardom. A representation of the innocence that the young stars of AKB48 are thrown into as they are thrown into the field with little training to fend for themselves. DES, a representation of the harsh industry of entertainment that has since long seen the idol industry disappear, a monopoly dominated by Morning Musume, H!P and other groups who struggle to enter mainstream media.
From here, we follow their growth, struggles and their hope as they begin their journeys to become idols, a forbidden dream within a world that has abandoned the hedonistic values of music and live entertainment for a work-centric and hierarchical lifestyle with many living in poverty and without hope.
Girls who will undertake all of the challenges that their real-life counterparts have gone through, and more. Nagisa and Chieri in particular (both names a reference to Atsuko Maeda's flagship stage number"Nagisa no Cherry") become the center of the anime, with much of the events revolving around the relationship of the two, and those around them.
At the heart of the anime is a critique of the very being that made the anime itself possible, an inherit hatred for the nature of idol fandom, yet a love letter to the creator for having given the chance to set these ordinary girls free. Without handing out too many spoilers, many of the events revolve around common happenings in the idol world including the no-love rule, the challenges of the industry, rivalry, dealing with "haters" but more importantly, the fact that idols exist to entertain fans with little chance of any return, and over-rewarding the select, talented few who become successful. There are plenty of other gems to explore, but this is a taste of what to expect.
Art: With Idolm@ster having set the standard for animated dance routines and numbers, many will wonder about the capabilities of the CG animation featured in 0048. The CG animation makes dance numbers seem almost static, movements and dances are stiff. Accompanied with an oddly moving camera, the dances are short and interleaved with 2D animation. The CG does it's job however erratic it may be.
The idols look beautiful, with incredible detail and magnificent backdrops to accompany them. key moments of the anime are given particular detail and lead to some of the greatest closeups and close-ins in an idol anime.
The action backdrops set to the music of AKB are also a combined effort of 2d and CG animation, a stunning effort and very watchable. The idols seem to fight with a sense of finesse and purpose.
Overall animation is generally smooth, with hardly any frames lacking detail.
Music, Sound and Seiyuu:
The original music features are a combination of new music, and instrumental arranges of popular AKB songs. All of them placed with great care to evoke an emotional reaction from fans.
The cast are a combination of professional voice actors for the Senbatsu, and members of the real AKB48, giving the anime a true sense of authenticity. A move that will leave some skeptical, but appreciative for the amount of fan service that the producers provide. Mayu is great as Chieri, while Iwaka Karen's performance as Nagisa may leave a bit to be desired. The most surprsing performance is Kumi Yagami's "Sonata", a special performance sure to be appreciated by fans. Most of the AKB48 members are well casted.
The Senbatsu cast handles their roles fine, with Aice5 VA's Akemi Kanda and Yui Horei and Ryoko Shiraishi as Takahashi Minami.
Sound direction for stages, battles and everything in between while somewhat ordinary get the job done.
Character Development: With the number of characters typical of idol anime, it becomes difficult to develop individual characters. The Senbatsu retain the personalities of their original, real life counterparts in a very charming and complimentary fashion that would make the original Senbatsu blush.
The Kenkyuusei, being voiced by actual idols build character through their relationships with the Senbatsu, assigned by the writers individually and reflecting the kind of seniority apparently present in AKB48.
The writers intentionally and cleverly use the graduation and succession system to give the Kenyuusei a kind of shadow to follow, eventually retaining many qualities given to them by the Senbatsu. Through their friendships with the Senbatsu, the gain personality as an idol and a public figure. Through their friendships among themselves, they begin to grow as human beings how struggle with the realities set beside them. Much of their humanity, they throw away to become stars, martyrs to people and to other fateful wannabe idols.
Conclusion: As a deconstruction of idol fandom and anime, AKB0048 is a gutsy attempt at removing the campiness of idol anime and presenting an original and unique look at idol popularity through the lives of the "Kenkyuusei" who set to live out their dreams in an era of prohibition.
Despite the episodic feel of the events within the anime, AKB0048 manages to narrowly escape and disprove speculation of being a simple AKB48 cash cop-out. AKB0048 is an enjoyable ride for both fans of anime and 48 group lovers.
Give this one a go.
Recommended: Fans of AKB48, idol anime and curious lovers of musicals and stage acts. Fans of mecha and those disillusioned by AKB or hate 48 groups.
Not recommended for: Those with little understanding of idol fandom, those uninterested in music and the impatient.
captjoe213
Another Robert's Too Late Review coming atcha! This particular anime is an interesting one, and not for the best of reasons. As always I'm working from the dubbed version, which I'm led to believe is fairly significant, as the real life pop group, from what I understand, did the voices in the original Japanese. If the story was as convoluted and overbearing in that version, my assessment would stand just as firm. Another important note is this review is covering BOTH seasons of the show, as they do make for one (in)coherent whole. No matter how cute, there will not be a spot on theRTLR of idol anime for these girls. Let's drop it like it's hot.
Story: 4
Let me start by saying this: when it comes to idol and music anime, I'm very hard to disappoint. I have on my shelves right now all 9 Love Live! girls, all 13 Idolmaster season 1 girls, and even the entire K-On band. I love me some good idol anime. This is not one of them. Even at first blush, the show looked ultra awesome. I mean, c'mon, they have mic-sabers and flying platforms! But the more they moved into the series, the more disjointed and nonsensical it became. They pick up threads, get half way through them, and then just dump them outright for the next gimmick. Add to that the incredibly weird system of 'generations' and we're just in all kinds of a mess.
For example, there are some girls in the actual main group that are like 11th or 12th 'generation' and are young women singing. Yet our main cast is primarily built around the 75th 'generation' growing and coming of age! How can we have a young 20-ish girl being SIXTY 'generations' older than the trainees in the current class? Even if you don't take 'generations' to mean an age group, and instead as nothing more than the most recent recruits, you still have to end up washing out dozens of 'generations' because there's only a handful of actual 00 members, and most of the trainees (our main cast) are from the 74th and 75th generation. Bout the only way it works is that they are churning out a generation every week or two, and even then it appears that the vast majority of the girls completely fail. This view is somewhat tempered by the fact the trainees are shown learning the ropes for a month or even more. This system is asinine and does not work.
Then we have a plethora of plot points picked up and then just utterly dropped for no reason. Late in the second season an important character dies, one who should have had a huge impact on a cast member, along with the policing force because of his immense power and wealth, but naw, he's dead, who cares, let's all dance and sing. He is mourned slightly, but gotten over quickly, and they never bother to tell us who killed him or why.
That's not the only flaw to come up. At one point they introduce an understudy position, of which there is competition and such for. They use the system basically once, and it's never mentioned again, for the most part. And why would this be an issue? Every performing group, from music to theater have plans in place to deal with unexpected absences. Why introduce the idea as something so radical and cause so much drama with it when it should have well been a given?
Furthermore, we're given a 'Dr. Claw' situation in a character called, I kid you not (in the dub) Sensei Sensei. He's like a pair of eyes and that's it, only says a word or two at a time, but is approached by the manager of 00 and the other attendants in full shrine maiden garb, like he's some kind of god or something. We never learn who or what he is. In fact he is rather redundant because we learn that it's the floating jellyfish things in their magical cave that make the decisions on who becomes a full fledged member or not.
Then they throw nonsense at us like the idea of a general election, which logically should decide who is a full member and who isn't right? Wrong. Succession still comes as the flying jellyfish or the god thing decide it. Why elect anyone to anything if the deciding factor is some flying, glowing blobs? Exactly what were they elected to? If the election picked the group, then why does the succession phenomenon occur?
They also go a strange route of having each girl that becomes a full fledged member take on the name of a retiring (or retired) former member. It's not absolutely outlandish, but it does cause a good deal of confusion as some girls move from being their given character name to being known as their 'new' member name. Also we really never see how retirement works for the group. There are a few characters that are former members, but they never explain if a girl is forced to give up the group at a certain age, or if she waits until her successor arises or anything. It's very random feeling.
They throw in extraneous details that seem to make no sense as well. They have friendly rivalries between girls who never complete on anywhere near the same level. They have a trainee they put forward as having real potential for leadership that never leads. They just seemed to grab an idea, run with it, and drop it before finishing it out properly.
All of these issues are set against the backdrop of entertainment being banned on many planets, which is utterly ludicrous. Who in the world thinks that sugary J-pop is going to destroy the fabric of society? I know there are those in the real world that live austere lives, but they do so by choice, not because they are forced into the lifestyle by the law. And of course we have an anti-entertainment military force fighting the group, along with a ragtag group of insurgents. If you really want to look at this way, the 00 group is kind of terrorists in a sense. They go someplace via spaceship, break the law concerning entertainment, and while they do not kill, they do destroy military equipment left and right. We have situations where the girls are singing their happy-go-lucky songs while beating the shit out of soldiers with their taser like mic-sabers.
The biggest issue throughout most of both seasons is this thing called the center nova. Apparently it has to be triggered under exact circumstances to happen, and the last one to do it literally disappeared. It is shown later that she is either dead or in a different dimension or some such. Yet everyone wants to be the center nova. Why in the world would there be so much competition for a position that, as far as is known for most of the run, killed the last person that held it? They never adequately explain what the center nova truly is beyond 'special' and what it means beyond 'music is love'. It's this big thing everyone wants to be, but with no clear motivation as to why.
I came into the series just loving the idea of Love Live! meets Star Wars or something, and I was completely let down by half baked ideas and nonsensical plots. I was more than ready to overlook flaws many would call out, but I just can't help but be utterly disappointed in what I saw, and the wasted potential they had and misused.
Art: 8
Wow, what a swing huh? The art is so cute it hurts. Most all the girls in the group or the trainees all have heart highlights in their hair and in their eyes. Other characters, especially former members, those hearts turn to diamonds. This is as cutesy as it comes, and I have to admit I did like the way the girls looked. There is one big issue though, in the concert mode, they kick over to CG and it is incredibly noticeable. This is really bad in the first season where we're not so familiar with as many faces, but even at the end of the second one, we still have this jarring transition between 'hand drawn' and CG animation that is absolutely irritating. It was the main thing that detracted from the score for me, as the 'moe' looks of the rest of the show work just fine for me.
Sound: 7
There's a lot of music to be had in this anime, and I found a lot of it catchy and fun. They don't hesitate to play music very often, sometimes playing a song in the climax of the episode just to turn around and play the end theme immediately afterwards. I liked the music well enough, none of it drove me wild, but I did tap my feet along with it many times. To me, if you're going to do a music/idol anime, you need to actually play some tunes, and this one does just that. Of course being based on a real life group I imagine helped a great deal in that respect.
The themes were nice enough, though none of them really stood out to me. They seemed to fit the feeling of the show nicely and I have no complaints, they just weren't all that fantastic to me. They get the job done, and that's what we're looking for.
The voice acting in the dub is a mixed bag. Some of the girls are absolutely ear destroying (the blonde in pigtails for exampe) while others, such as the main character sound just fine. A lot of them seem to be trying too hard to match up to the cutesy persona of the characters instead of working on putting in a good performance.
Character: 4
The entire cast seems to be overwritten. They try to shoehorn in too many elements such as the rivalries and other dramatic elements to the point it's just hard to keep up with. They seem to write each character with an arc in mind, but forget to make that arc match up with any other character, leaving each of them out in the wind, and making the whole thing disjointed. It's like they saw higher quality shows, and decided they wanted to use every element from those shows they could. But by throwing it in all together, instead of a delicious dish, we get just awfulness. Ambition for a project is good, but there is such a thing as overdoing it. They cross that line many times with most of the characters.
The character types are cliche, have the shy one, the earnest one, the annoying one, the sad one, the one filled with determination, so on and so forth. And with them all over dramatizing the plot points, it just really doesn't come together very well.
Enjoyment: 5
I found moments of the show to like, but very few. The music was a highlight for me, and a character or two kind of drew my attention, but for the most part, I wanted so much more than it could give, and I couldn't bring myself to really get into it. If they would have stuck to a few plot points and fleshed them out, we might have had a great show on our hands, but instead we get so busy with this and that, that the show kind of loses it's identity. A fatal flaw for any form of entertainment, for sure
Best Girl: Suzuko Kanzaki mainly because she's not over the top voice wise, she's quieter and more introspective, and very intelligent, knowing a great deal about the group's history and such. She doesn't seem to get caught up in the inane drama as much as the other girls do. Hence my vote.
Really there are better things to watch out there. If you're needing idol anime in your live, check Love Live!, check Idolmaster, check Kids on the Slope, hell check K-On even. Just don't let the cool sci-fi bend to this one fool you, it is nowhere near as awesome as the first couple episodes make it out to be. If this was the people's only form of entertainment, I can see why they banned it. Pass for sure.
avadanekedavra
AKB0048 is a story of a group of girls’ dream to become a part (some, as successors) of a famous all-female entertainment group AKB0048, or 00 for short. Story: (9/10) A group of girls that rebels against the government thru entertainment and music? What a stupid idea. It’s so stupid that it actually turned out wonderful. Planets, under the entertainment ban, are dull and lifeless. Entertainment is their only catalyst. I can now imagine how bad our lives would be without entertainment. AKB0048 has this excellent storyline that begins with a small piece, progresses, and links up all of the characters’ stories but still maintains those smallparts. What’s even better is that those small parts turned out to be the principal elements of its entirety.
With the ending, where the main characters get to stay on their home planet for a very little time, to meet a few fans and to, again, say goodbye, to sing a song while going on board the Flying Get, was a great way to end its first season. And ending with some mysteries still unsolved and an announcement of a new general election is just really harsh that it makes you want to watch the second season immediately.
Art: (9/10)
Seriously. People should really stop me from watching animes that have this kind of animation. And people reading this should stop, too.
With an animation like that, I don’t think you’d settle for another anime that is animated with less quality. (Whoops. P.A. Works fan talking.) AKB0048, together with its superb production, plus some 3D graphics, will really allure the viewer to watch it repeatedly. Two thumps up for Satelight.
Also, both the opening and ending animations were really exceptional. You’d be amazed just by watching it. It was also really impressive to see those choreographies danced by the girls in the finale.
Moreover, from dull, dead, and gray, turning into these striking, vibrant, and not-too-vivid colours made it really worth the view and easy on the eyes.
Still, I found some errors (mostly, in the finale) that made it lose a point for me. At around one time, the backgrounds weren’t moving, some characters looked a bit odd, and the movements (dancing, singing, and common body movements) were not in sync (or maybe it’s just my copy). Also, there was this instance that it looked more cartoon-ish than anime-ic.
CGI was good, too. But, in some episodes, it looked like a video game, rather than an ‘animation’.
Sound: (4/10)
I am not a fan of AKB48. In fact, I didn’t know them before watching AKB0048. After watching the show, I started reading about them in Wikipedia.
A few songs, like River and Aitakatta, were used frequently and were sung from time to time. It just got to the point where it sounded aggravating. They should’ve used more songs. Worse is, the soundtrack mostly consisted with more AKB48 songs’ instrumentals. It just wasn’t reasonable. AKB0048 deserves more songs and musical scores.
Despite all that, there are a few songs that are actually good, like Shout Out Diamond, Sasae, and both the opening and ending themes (by NO NAME) Kibou ni Tsuite and Yume wa Nando mo Umarekawaru. These are just a few of the songs from AKB0048 that will make you forget the rest of the soundtrack.
Character: (8/10)
For me, my favourite characters would be Chieri and Nagisa. (Well, mostly Chieri.)
Chieri Sono is the daughter of Zodiac Corporation’s CEO, a major military supplier for the DGTO. From the looks of it, Chieri has the biggest risk in joining 00. Unlike Nagisa, whose father is just an official in the Anti-Entertainment Admin.
Chieri was also the most evolving charater in the series. From a cute, little fan, to a mysterious, competitive, negative thinking, doesn’t-want-anybody-in-her-way, then to the friendly and looks-out-for-her-friends but still maintains her competitiveness type of girl. She was just the most amazing character in the show. Her straightforward attitude (but has a deep meaning behind it) is also really venerable.
Also. Nagisa and Suzuko were the prettiest girl in the series. And Sonata was the cutest.
All characters were very likeable. However, some characters, like Makoto and Suzuko, were given less performance than the others. Even Tsubasa had a bigger role than them. Characters, main or minor, should be given the right exposure and adequate appearances.
Enjoyment: (7/10)
Enjoyment from this anime is average. People who will definitely enjoy this are those who like to watch musicals (TV series, movies, etc.) What made it more enjoying (for me) must be EveTaku’s fancy karaoke.
It had some boring instances, forced jokes, and don’t even get me started AGAIN on the repetitive songs. So, ultimately, the word “Enjoyment” is just for its story and characters (and some songs).
Overall: (7/10)
Overall, AKB0048 will manage to capture the viewer in the beginning, will push you away in the middle, and pulls you back with the last episodes.
Also, as much as this anime looks like it is for ALL ages, it isn’t. With gun pointings and shootings, bombs, lying, bathing suits, and girls under the age of 15 participating in combat, should not be viewed by young people. This SHOULD NOT be mimicked.
All in all, AKB0048 is worth watching. Just don’t expect for a lot of hilarious jokes and songs, okay?
La_Caro
Watched it bc I'm an AKB48 fan :) it really touched my heart in certain moments cause I've wanted to join 48G since I was 15 and seeing the girls leave their homes, being nervous on the selection process, practice along with the other members, having their first handshake event and their own concert made me tear eyed :') I may not be able to acomplish this dream of mine but seeing them do it really filled me with joy. Love all of the details, big and small, from the inclusion of the wotas to the Mayuyu cyborg xD at first I wondered why theycouldn't have used the original AKB to voice "themselves" but thinking about it now I'm happy they gave exposure to lesser popular members from 48G
All of the chacacters were memorable one way or another (Sonata you just stood up for being annoying sorry not sorry)
Wasn't expecting this anime to be as good as it was, fully recomend if you'd like to see thestruggles an idol has to face to fulfill her dreams + space blasters
Fatalpulse
Audiences can easily dismiss the "Three episode rule" while watching AKB0048, for that everything you see in the first episode is what you will see in the all the upcoming episodes. It's straightforward and the audiences can immediately tell if this is their thing or not. AKB0048 the pure concentrated Shoji Kawamori crack, it's harmless, silly, over the top, visually stunning, and honestly embraces itself on its shortcomings. While these may not be the recipe of what makes a legendary piece, the show keeps viewers relaxed and satisfied. I myself came into this show with zero knoweldge about AKB48, and ended up still knowing nothing aboutAKB48, but one thing is certain, I am ENTERTAINED.
thevaleycat
First, I’d like to mention that when I watched this anime a while back, I was unaware of how popular the idol industry was in Japan, let alone who the group AKB48 was. I came into this show expecting an enjoyable music-focused anime, and I was happy with what I got. STORY: The best thing about this show is the mixing of genres. It has a futuristic sci-fi setting, which lays the foundation for the universal ban on entertainment. The group of idols also serves as a group of rebels who are fighting to bring their music to their fans all across the universe. I really likedthis premise and enjoyed the combination of their music performances and the fight scenes. That said, the plot about “saving the world” didn’t really go anywhere and could’ve been fleshed out more.
CHARACTERS:
It has a huge cast of characters, and all of them are likable for the most part. I liked the concept of succession, which ends up being a major point of motivation for the new idols. Since there are so many characters, only a few get proper character development (mainly Nagisa and Chieri). Unless you find some characters particularly annoying, it’s easy to ignore the unimportant background characters and focus on the group as a whole (especially during their performances).
SOUND:
I liked the songs. I don’t listen to J-pop much, but this style of music appeals to me and the music is the main reason why I enjoyed this show so much. There were a couple songs I found cringey, but combined with the dance routines and the fight scenes, I still liked their performances.
ART:
It’s colorful and fun. I don’t really have any complaints. I especially liked the contrast between the bright stage during their performances and the dull backgrounds: it emphasizes the futuristic setting and and gives it an ethereal look.
ENJOYMENT:
I enjoyed it. I was looking for a music anime, and the music is what made this show for me, combined with the unique setting and action scenes. It was a mix of everything, and though the actual story had its flaws, it was a very entertaining show to watch.
Mikaru7
Okay.. starting to review AKB0048 is hard for me a bit I guess.. but here goes... Story- 10/10-- The story is a bit unrealistic, with girls fighting with weapons and also singing with the. But it's truly fun and entertaining. Art- 8/10-- The art is nice and I liked it alot. But sometimes it turns me off and other times it is awesome for me. Sound- 10/10-- The background sounds are awesome. The seiyuus do a great job in voice acting. Music is entertaining.Character- 8/10--
Characters are likable or lovable. I couldn't get to like only a few characters but others are all amazing for me.
Enjoyment- 10/10
I enjoyed a lot while watching AKB0048.
My overall rating is 10/10. I absolutely loved it because it had alot of drama and I'm a huge drama fan myself. Oh and it has another season as well!
Zerathos_Dagon
Wow, what a ride this anime was. In short, my recommendation is to just watch AKB0048. It's amazing. Art and Sound [9/10] Both top-notch. They can sometimes feel like they could be better in some ways (though I wouldn't be able to tell you why), but overall they manage to be very amazing in AKB0048. The moments where the characters appear 'on stage' are especially spectaculair. Story and Characters [7/10] As for the characters and story, these are also really enjoyable to watch. However, it's here where I can spot one of the few flaws I see with AKB0048. There's a little bit too much 'training arcs' formy liking. It feels like the character development is given way too much priority, which leaves me feeling like the actual story is moving too slow. In addition to this, I think they could inject a lot more scenes where the characters just engage in simple, funny and cute goofing around. I feel like there's way too much seriousness and brooding, and while they certainly have their place here (especially in an anime like this), it could also very much do with a lot more light-hearted moments to highlight their cute and heartwarming aspects and really show them like idols even more. But even though I'm pointing out these things, I still think the story and characters are good enough to be enjoyable.
Enjoyment/Overall [8/10]
Overall, I very much enjoyed AKB0048, and I'm certainly planning to watch the sequel too. Episode 13 was definitely the highlight of this anime for me. I was planning to give this anime a 7, but man, that episode gave me enough chills to boost it to an 8 all on its own. Anyway, despite the overabundance of 'training arcs' and seriousness, and the sometimes slow-feeling story, I would certainly recommend others to give this anime a try.
BluXBerry
I'm pretty sure people would hate me for this but I honestly thought that AKB0048 was better than Love Live! School Idol Project. This was because the idols in AKB0048 were fighting to put on shows and I think fighting idols are cool. I literally kept searching and searching to find a fighting idol anime like this. Not only that but the art style gave the characters this glossy look and I loved all their eyes! Most people said that this was as failure anime but, I thought this was an a outstanding anime. Somwhere along the line I had something that I couldrelate to in real life, so if you want to give this anime a try go for it and maybe you'll find something you can relate to in real life.
BigBoss0327
Story: 8/10 AKB0048 started off great. I really like an anime that has a perfect first episode, and from then on every other episode had me in tears. I don't know if that was due to the fact that I sacrificed a whole six and a half hours of sleep to watch this or because I was emotionally touched in some way. Probably both. This anime is just so unique though. Idol anime + Action + Mecha + Cute Girls. What more could you want? Oh yeah, plus it actually has a decent story. It's dark, mysterious, filled with love, hate, jealousy, and all that nastystuff. The only reason I can't give the story a 10/10 is because it's incomplete
But that's why there's a second season airing at the moment!
Characters: 10/10
Even though there are so many characters and I still can't name 3 of them off the back of my head, they were great. I don't listen to K-pop, J-pop or any of that stuff, nor do I keep up with the latest about that kind of stuff. I do however, know the hardships that girls have to go through in order to become idols and this anime does a pretty damn good job of showing it through another perspective. The constant fear of being replaced, competing with your friends non-stop, hours and hours of giving it their all, just to please us. I could really relate to some of the things they went through so this anime had some positive impact on me. I also believe that the characters were voiced by actual AKB48 members so that was a cool change~
Music: 10/10
Only two things need to be shown here...
[video=youtube;vB42q0ckz_8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vB42q0ckz_8[/video]
[video=youtube;l9_jGY4HiUY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l9_jGY4HiUY[/video]
I'm sure by watching those you can already tell.. This anime is like no other.
Aside from the awesome opening, the anime was also filled with songs which played at the perfect moments.
Art: 10/10
HD. What can I say? It's unique. Like nothing I've seen before. Bright colours, dark colours...
There was really nothing faulty about it. Only one thing annoyed me for a while, and that was their eyes. But then I figured out that there was a meaning behind them, so my peeve is invalid!
Overall Enjoyment: 10/10
I just decided to start this anime at 3am on a whim and ended up watching it all the way through to 9am without sleep, that must mean something right? It was quite an enjoyable anime unlike anything I've seen before. Literally.. I have not seen ANYTHING that's comparable. Unless you can show me another anime about inter-galactic idols who use guns and mechas fighting like.. tanks and stuff, while singing and performing in front of huge crowds...
So as you can tell.. I really enjoyed this anime. It was fresh.
And while I can't recommend it to everyone, I'd say to at least give it a chance.
It's pretty underrated.
VOTED BEST ANIME OF 2012 BY ANIMENZZZ
FINAL RATE: 48/50 (9/10 on MAL)
All I can say is, there is no other anime that is comparable.
It's either a masterpiece, or complete madness. You decide.
All I'm saying is that you should at least give this anime a shot, otherwise you're missing a lot of fun~
Ian_K
Have you seen those videos of Metallica performing in Moscow in 1991, just after the oppressive Communist regime collapsed? A sea of human beings - hundreds of thousands - are going absolutely nuts to experience firsthand music that just a few years before had been banned. Harried-looking soldiers are desperately pushing back against the tidal wave of people, trying to maintain some sense of order. Imagine all of this but with rainbow-colored teenage girls flying through the sky and robots battling anti-entertainment forces and you have an idea of what AKB0048 is like at its best. This should come as no surprise, sincethe show is directed by Mr. Macross himself, Shoji Kawamori. If anyone can turn a cash-grab promo for a musical group into something special, it's going to be the man who first combined transforming mecha action, idol music, and love triangles so many years ago. Under his veteran tutelage, whenever the girls are in action, the show is consistently entertaining.
Unfortunately, the show is considerably duller in the long stretches between concerts/battles. Mari Okada's script is typical of her output. The drama that forms the bulk of the show is competent but unsurprising, and as subtle as a hammer to the head. There is also some perfunctory, unimaginative fanservice (Yes Virginia, there is a swimsuit episode). But what truly threatens to sink the show are the attempts to justify practices of the real AKB48. The way the girls are forced to adopt the identities of previous members of the group, the exploitative photo shoots, the hate mail - whenever the show touches on these aspects of the lives of AKB48 members, it forces us to reconsider the house of cards that is our suspension of disbelief.
It is all good and well to tell a story about the importance of music, and to paint pop musicians as soldiers of freedom fighting against the forces of repression and conformity. But when the show tries to make weak excuses for real-life exploitation, it punches holes in the narrative and makes me question whether or not this is really a show I want to keep watching.
Despite these misgivings, I enjoyed AKB0048 overall. The action scenes succeeded in putting a dopey grin on my face often enough to justify all the times I wanted to bang my head against the wall. But I don't know if I'm really up for season 2.
UltraDoom
I liked this way more than I should have. The art was fantastic with mix of traditional and CG work for the performances, I enjoyed the modern style and the attention paid to the choreography and background art in particular. I also found myself having favorite songs very quickly (Beginner anyone?!?!). The music in this show is based on real songs performed by the actual AKB48 which has an almost equally interesting story (check out wikipedia). The story is based on the spread of peace and centers on the efforts of the individual members as they overcome personal struggles and push through to new limits.The character development really shines in this regard and you get a bit of a feel for the master/apprentice-survivor/american idol type mash-up happening along the way. The story is far more intense than it appears and the richness of the multiple stories is very engaging. Its funny, touching, encouraging and really well done, give it a try!
mouthpiece
The season before this show aired, we had Black Rock Shooter, (BRS) a title made for similar reasons: To sell via name and to appeal to its established audience. AKB0048 (AKB) is made just to cater the fans of the homonymous teen idol group and nothing more. Not only that, but unlike BRS which had a pseudo-serious premise to attract the unsuspected, AKB doesn’t even try. The story is completely retarded and is nothing but a piss-poor excuse for some plot and conflict to exist in some form. It is still your typical moe-flick where nothing of importance ever happens … even when it is supposedto. Basically they combined the procedure of making pop-idols out of normal girls with a sort of resistance war against armies of oppressors. So you get pop idol / resistance fighters trying to become famous and glamorous / fighting against a status quo that has banned entertainment.
At the same time, I must hand it to them for not trying to make “just” a slice-of-life pop idol show. Those things get boring in a few episodes. Remember that snoredrome that was Idol Master a season earlier to this? As dumb as its earlier version Xenoglossia was, at least it had a little bit more than the obvious. So, no sir we have some context, this is a coming of age story taking place in a dystopian society. And the girls are not carefree K-On clones who aspire to be glamorous and mesmerize the audiences as means to get into their pockets. They struggle against their parents and sacrifice their platonic boyfriends in order to find happiness and help others … through J-pop. Ok, it’s stupid but the music in the show is supposed to have a magical effect that makes people happy. And supposed the society they live in went to some rough times because of too many carefree citizens and decided to head the other way. And supposed every time they have a forbidden concert they need to be singing for the fans at the same time they are fighting the security forces.
All that kinda remind me of the rough overall story found in the original Macross. And indeed, the director is Kawamori Shouji, the very same person who directed it. Of course over there the whole pop idol busyness was just a rather small part of a very big epic setting. AKB doesn’t have anything serious in it and hardly amazing battles or imposing antagonists. All you get is a bunch of cutely dressed pretty girls hovering in the air and singing J-pop songs, which makes the audience to feel happy. And then fight with martial arts and smoke bombs, while still singing perfectly. And the army is trying to capture them with nets and firework missiles. It’s stupid but at least it doesn’t try to pass as serious, despite the otherwise serious premise.
Speaking of which, the previous season we had another anime with pop idols. [/b] Symphogear [/b] was a complete failure for having a very rushed plot and a very uneven atmosphere that was jumping back and forth from fluffy to tragic like crazy. So trust me, it could have been far worse; or do I need to unbury the dreadful memories of Final Fantasy 10-2 to prove my point? I otherwise find no interest in this mess; I prefer something besides teen idols, where we also get engaging plots of the likes of Looking for the Full Moon, Perfect Blue, or Key the Metal Idol.
Other than that, the production values are quite good; especially for the team that took over the whole project. Satelight Studios have made several anime throughout the years, most of which are average in their budgets. I otherwise liked only Noein amongst them and only for its interesting scenario. In AKB’s case they did a fine job to portrait a dull society and its counterpart a dreamy land full of colors and concerts. They didn’t hold back on making everything look detailed and I would even say they went artsy with it. The girls are drawn almost chibi-like and have reflections of hearts and stars on their heads to the point I felt like I was watching an anthropomorphic version of My Little Pony. The 3D dancing of the idols is quite eye-catchy too with all the motion, and the fireworks, and the crowds, and the neon glow sticks you get in those concerts in general. It reminds me of the ending video of Heartcatch Pretty Cure for some reason.
As for the sound part I am no fan of J-pop but nothing sounds too irritating and the fans will definitely get kicks out of listening to the songs of their favorite band. And voice acting is ok, considering how some of the girls are actually voiced by the actual pop idols and this is their first time as voice actors.
Down to it, this is not a show of mass appeal despite trying to make it feel like it is for everybody by being easy going, full of cute girls, teen angst and high spirits. It was made specifically for people who dig pop idols, and that’s it; most won’t even give it a second glance because of the stupid story and no amount of good visuals can change that.
I can even say that the whole show is insulting, as it’s a poor attempt to mask an industry that thrives on the dreams and hopes of young girls by making it look like they are the saviors of the universe. There is no magic here people, it’s just people getting high on a shallow type of music before the singers get to their 30’s and are kicked out for fresh blood. Seriously, what is this crap trying to present it like a vital humanitarian act? The Red Cross does more than them and it doesn’t need to dress cute or dance their way through the battlefield.
And it can actually feel even worse if you think really hard about what is going on in this show. As you will notice early on, the girls are literally treated as objects instead of people. They are not allowed to sing their own songs; they must learn the established songs of the past pop idols and they must dance in the exact same way as they did. They are not even allowed to have their own personality and name, as their ulterior goal is to replace the older generation of AKB instead of being individuals. They are treated as if they are spare parts in a huge emotionless machine! That is what I loved in Looking for the Full Moon; the heroine there refused to sing the cheesy lyrics that others wrote for her and was dead set on doing her own song. She was only one pop idol and yet she had a million times more characterization than these 47 cardboards.
Not to mention that mysterious leader figure of their planet. It looks like a demon who had absolute control over everybody’s lives. For all we know pop idols could have been banned to prevent the demon from taking over the galaxy by brainwashing people with cute girls.
Easy watch? Yes. Enjoyable? Perhaps. Memorable? No. Quality material? Hell no!
And now for some excused scorings.
ART SECTION: 8/10
General Artwork 2/2 (looks colourfully cute)
Character Figures 1/2 (generic)
Backgrounds 2/2 (fitting with the feeling of the series)
Animation 1/2 (basic)
Visual Effects 2/2 (lots of hearts and rainbows)
SOUND SECTION: 7/10
Voice Acting 2/3 (corny but fitting with the feeling of the series)
Music Themes 3/4 (not great but fitting with the feeling of the series)
Sound Effects 2/3 (ok I guess)
STORY SECTION: 3/10
Premise 0/2 (retarded)
Pacing 0/2 (loose)
Complexity 2/2 (rich context)
Plausibility 0/2 (none)
Conclusion 1/2 (cheesy)
CHARACTER SECTION: 6/10
Presence 1/2 (generic)
Personality 2/2 (cheesy but well founded)
Backdrop 1/2 (generic and simplistic but it’s there)
Development 1/2 (overblown but it’s there)
Catharsis 1/2 (overblown but it’s there)
VALUE SECTION: 2/10
Historical Value 0/3 (none)
Rewatchability 0/3 (no reason to rewatch it)
Memorability 2/4 (the premise is weird enough to kinda remember it)
ENJOYMENT SECTION: 2/10
Art 1/1 (looks cute)
Sound 1/2 (the songs are corny but they have their appeal if you are a fan of jpop)
Story 0/3 (retarded)
Characters 0/4 (drones)
VERDICT: 4.5/10
