(13 episodes)
What’s it about ?
This girls’ high school is about to be closed down, as it’s boring and unable to attract any new students. Clearly the solution is to set up an Idol Club that’ll bring in the new recruits in mass !
Characters
Honoka, our protagonist. She alternates between (short) bouts of depression at the idea of her school closing down, and fits of hyperness as she jumps into her new project. Amazingly, the idol thing isn’t entirely her idea : she copied it on the super-hi-tech fancy new school just next door. (Also, it seems a lot of other schools in the country are doing it too.)
Umi & Kotori, her two best friends, who seem much more well-off and having much better grades than her (one’s in the archery club ; the other’s the daughter of the school board chairwoman). Anyway, one’s sceptical, the other more easy-going, and by the end of the episode they’re both on board.
Because of the current crisis, even the student council seems to only have two members. They’re sorry to say they can’t approve of such a stupid idea (they don’t even have the minimum 5 members !). Beyond the façade, they’re really sorry : they too are fishing for any idea to save the school. Yeah, I give them two episodes before they join in too.
In the music room there’s a girl who randomly goes into elaborate idol-like numbers on the piano. She’s so drafted.
I think there’s a character with an Y chromosome that shows up in the background for two seconds.
Production Values
Bright and shiny, as you’d expect. The idol segments (including the OP/ED) are a mixture of traditional animation (for closer shots) and the now mandatory elaborate CG dancing segments, which looks slightly more natural than the all-CG trend that’s been all the rage lately.
The musical number themselves are perfectly fine, and the remainder of the soundtrack goes out of its way to be as melodramatic and over-the-top as possible.
Overall Impression
There’s no getting around it : this is a very stupid premise indeed. The good news is that the creative team have committed to it with gusto, making it as fun and hyper as it could be. Yes, it’s silly, but it’s got so much energy and enthusiasm that you can’t help rooting for our heroines.
Special mention to the ending of the episode : after a setback, our three leads start making gestures and proclamations that get more and more dramatic (almost operatic), until they smoothly launch into the ED’s musical number. It’s a transition that has to be seen to be believed, and it works perfectly.
This isn’t high art, but the execution is so impressive that I’m sold on it. This is going to be this season’s hilariously fun show.
