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「みんな揃って、生放送ですよ生放送！」 (Minna Sorotte, Nama Housou Desu yo Nama Housou!)
“Everyone Gather, It’s a Live Broadcast, a Live Broadcast!”
There’s no holding 765 Pro down, as they’re popular enough to have their own live program now. If you’re looking for a “show” that’s purely about cute girls doing cute things, IM@S “Are We Live? Sunday” is definitely it. Amazingly enough, the entire episode was dedicated to it too, so it was like watching a show within a show. I’ll be quick to admit that it’s a lot more fun watching the girls be themselves while aspiring to become top idols than watching them in a rigid television program, but the unique approach did give us an interesting inside look on things. It kind of reminded me of the premiere that was viewed entirely behind the Producer’s camera lens, except here it was all about the backstage access.
The actually humor on the other hand was pretty hit and miss, especially with some corners that really dragged out (e.g. Takane’s ramen expedition). Makoto’s attempt to be cute on the other hand was a real treat, simply because this is the first time Yukiho’s shown so much disappointment and passion toward something. Heck, she almost turned this into a Makoto episode with her makeovers — all three of them. For me, Haruka still stole the show though, smacking herself in the face and getting Chihaya of all people laughing helplessly. (I see she likes the slapstick stuff.) With all this attention on Haruka lately, she’s edging close to Miki in terms of being the most enjoyable to watch. Miki’s a little too docile after getting on good terms with the Producer, calling him “Honey” all time, and blowing him kisses, so I dare say she’s lost a lot of her nonchalant sleepyhead charm from earlier episodes. (*GASP*) In comparison, Haruka’s airheadedness still works for me, plus she looked pretty badass as the villain in their super robot movie, which has more combinations (i.e. “gattai”) than you can shake a stick at.
Suffice to say, the over-the-top movie trailer was the highlight of the episode. The melodrama was a nice quirky touch, but that was when I thought this was just a comedic skit. Cute idols or not, they’re really pushing the limits of their selling power with something like this, except maybe for people like me, being a mecha and IM@S fan. While it may not have measured up in terms of silliness, I would’ve loved to see a Xenoglossia variation of the trailer. That would’ve been more cool than funny, but oh-so-awesome to hear the original seiyuu in their spin-off roles. For everyone else, save for some revealing outfits care of Takane and Miki, the trailer as-is had parody written all over it. Your mileage will definitely vary depending on your familiarity with super robots. In any case, this was a decent episode overall. I did feel kind of bad for Hibiki, even though she managed to weather through the storm.
* Full-length images (Makoto special plus Takane): 05, 19, 28, 29, 30.
ED15 Sequence
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ED15: 「MEGARE!」 by 765PRO ALLSTARS
Watch the 15th ED!: Streaming ▼
Preview
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This is making me want to get back on this anime. I still don’t understand why I ever stopped.
I liked a lot of this episode (the Makoto/Yukiho blatant pandering most of all), but I have to say the two funniest gags were Haruka getting smacked in the face by the box, and the Ami+Mami=Amami one right before the movie. I just lost it when they turned around and had those ribbons on.
Haha i don’t know why, maybe it’s because i wasn’t expecting it, but the very first one with the “out of body” had me laughing hard
Man. I never expected Yukiho to have an expression like this .
I think we have found the direction to make Yukiho a more interesting character!
A lot of the jokes in this episode are meme based. Some stands on their own really well without knowing where it comes from (like Haruka hitting herself with the box lid is related to the seiyuu), some are deeper, like the ramen one. You have to know it to understand it. As usual going to nicodouga would be a nice place to start understanding the memes.
The ramen shop is actually based on a real chain of ramen stores – Ramen Jiro, and you can actually get that much bean sprouts on it. You can see it here: http://youtu.be/Ti9jEV6cF-8
The store is quite famous with the otakus for its price and volume and exactly the way how Takane orders at the counter that makes it sound like you are chanting a spell, you can find more stuff related to the chain on nicodouga. There’s also a connection with Takane’s seiyuu being a big eater, so there’s a few layers of meme in there.
Thanks for the info!
I’ll admit that I don’t know too much about the IM@S seiyuus since this series is the most prominent work for a lot of them.
It’s funny how the thing that had me raise an eyebrow in Takane’s pic is the 360 controller that she’s holding. “Wait, didn’t that console kinda bomb over there?”
Mind you, of course that was after looking through the rest of the pic *cough*
Up until this point (when the PS3 version of THE iDOLM@STER2 is released this month), the Idolmaster franchise has been a 360 exclusive.
I would venture a guess that a notable percentage of all 360s owned in Japan are owned for the sole purpose of playing Idolmaster.
Why would holding a 360 controller be weird? After all the imas franchise only really took off when it was ported to the 360 and was at one time THE game that got people to buy the 360 in the first place. It’s perfectly reasonable to say if there wasn’t the 360, imas wouldn’t be here now (and no it wasn’t because MS bought out the imas franchise either, it was the other way around that Namco pitched the franchise to both but only MS had the right network environment for the game’s online requirements AND was willing to help develop it). Any hardcore imas fan worth their salt would associated imas with the 360. It’s actually nice of the people in charge of the anime to correctly pay respect to the game’s origin instead of rewriting the history, especially considering that this show is partially funded by Sony!
Also this isn’t the first time a 360 is feature in the show, in previous episodes you can also find the console next to the TV.
Miki is just cute when trying the grab Producer’s attention.
If anyone wanted to see how insane Japanese Variety Shows are, then look no further. Its a great setting for random skits for the whole cast though. I love how it incorporates alot of iM@S refrences, like the Dark Haruka meme, and the Box Incident with the VA’s of Haruka and Chihaya.
Poor Makoto, the stupid fans can’t let her get into a dress without crticism. She can be very sexy if she was given a chance!
P.S. Megare is awesome.
That video will never, ever cease to be funny.
As for Makoto and dresses, Makoto could look good in a dress, but definitely not that dress.
Seeing that vid definitely adds another layer to that scene. Maybe Divine could post the link up in the original article since it helps elaborate on the whole thing.
I didn’t know the box hitting her was a meme, and I still laughed! It’s a funny scene by itself.
Also Divine, I think its worth mentioning that the staff went as far as to make a fake website for their fake live show.
That’s an awesome tie-in! Specially since it was referenced on the episode that they had “uploaded” the video of Haruka hitting herself with the box!
Damn, they went all out huh? They weren’t kidding about checking the website to see if Hibiki made it to the goal. It turns out she did!
Mecha Chihaya, huh? I’m sure that’s a reference to Chihaya’s mechanical singing of “Ohayo! Asagohan,” IIRC.
Also had laughs at the Box Incident, and for once, the flipped version of the anime clip fits!
You know what was really great about mecha Chihaya? That even her very own robot’s chest was as flat as a board.
Found the episode pretty fun. And still happy with Miki airtime. 🙂
Fun episode. I found Chihaya laughing more entertaining that Haruka’s antics in this episode. Never imagined her to love humor that much. Miki’s goof ups could have been disastrous in real life, though they kind of just skipped over it. Makoto could look good in a dress, but sadly they probably won’t ever allow it in the anime I guess. The mecha stuff, is that homage to Xenoglossia or were they just laughing at Sunrise’s efforts at making an IdolM@ster anime? XD
Again the mecha stuff has too many layers of meme to correctly point to one particular factor. As already mentioned, Chihaya’s robotic sounding version of “Ohayo Asagohan” plus the visor accessory was the first true origin of Mecha Chihaya – which the fans had massive creative fun turning it into many doujin work including using it as the giant robot in an imas Super Sentai/Power Ranger parody series on nicodouga (and coincidentally this fan made parody also features Dark Haruka as the enemy boss!). There are also a lot of classic mecha series homage in the trailer itself, for example the way Ami/Mami controls Kisaragi is a homage to Giant Robo, chest missile from the Asusa robot and the scythe from the head is obviously a Mazinger reference etc. Of course Kisaragi having a super flat and slippery chest is just the usual Chihaya Bullying. To me it just seems the staff was just having as much fun referencing as many imas memes as they could and not really aiming to make fun of Xenoglossia in particular, and it just turns out that making a robot parody trailer was the best way to go.
Not everybody hates mecha.
i wonder if the miki calling producer ‘honey’ will have a scandal effect in the industry, with 961 pro liking to do underhand means.
Is it wrong to think that the “dolled” up Makoto is the best outfit out of the three?
Will probably be the only time she dresses up in a really girly outfit.
The problem was she was doing it wrong. That frilly, pink dress with giant ribbons and long skirt were an abomination. If she wears a dress, she needs to show some skin like shoulders or thighs. And if she wants to be more girly she shouldn’t do cute, she should play up the sexy instead, which she excels at thanks to her voice.
Needs more Yayoi dammit!
Dark Haruka Rises! (Oh hey, another meme) Also, +1 lol at Ami and Mami impersonating Haruka. I forget which CD it’s in, but the voice actor for the twins does some spot-on imitations of the other characters (in character, herself). Shoutout to Big O Yukiho digging holes.
https://randomc.net/image/THE%20IDOLM@STER/THE%20IDOLM@STER%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
Whoa.
Double-fang Hibiki.
Double-fang Hibiki all the way.
All the way across the skyyyyy.
This episode had so much awesome stuff.
Oh Harukakka, please prostate your feet on me. Please.
That mecha segment was awesome. And Makoto was trying way to hard to be feminine, and I laughed when Yukiho went medieval on Makoto.
And all that Miki flirting with BROducer and saying Hannai on air. God I can’t get enough of it.
Then there’s the twins, Takane and Ramen.
Another great episode. Gosh, I haven’t seen an episode of IM@S which hasn’t impressed me.
Haruka has been gaining a lot of charm points lately but I’m disappointed the live program didn’t include a single singing performance by Chihaya. Producer-san, when will you learn?
Seems like Kuroi Pro and that obnoxious boy band is returning next week. That can never be good. Die Jupiter Die!!!
Good episode but Still no love for Hibiki :/
A-1 pictures just keeps setting bar higher and higher, don’t they?
I find Chihaya trying hard to suppress her laughter too cute, I never knew she had it in her for such humour.
Kudos to A-1 incorporating the “Box Incident” video, which many above have referenced.
When Makoto appeared with her overkill cutey frill dress, I nearly sprayed my screen with water which I was drinking at the time.
And the endless mecha combo was just too absolutely hilarious, it’s as though they’re doing a self-spoof on the Xenoglossia spin-off. I particularly find amusing mecha Kisaragi’s turning her flat chest into a “missile dodging” asset.
(They even got a key-chain of “Overmaster Kisaragi” lol )
(Yuri goggles on: Chihaya finally revealed her lolicon colours when she casually commented on how cute Yayoi was XD )
Do they really have TV shows like this in Japan; where a bunch of idols get together and do random stuff for an hour, or something???
That would be an unequivocal “Yes”. Because just before this episode aired on TBS, I saw them showing some sort of a variety game show (albeit half an hour) featuring the eponymous AKB48.
Japanese Game shows are all about their random insanity. There’s a gold mine of videos of them at the internet.
WTF!?! I’ve seen a few of the tamer ones on midnight television, and I thought they were pretty crazy- but these are outright insane… 😯
Giggling Chihaya is love.
For Takane (and many others), ramen is SERIOUS BUSINESS.
Anyway, for a more or less filler-esque episode, it was actually one of my favorites as well (particularly for the meme usage, lol).
Also loved Takane’s and Miki’s outfits for the movie.
I actually still kind of struggle to see the big charm of Haruka, since she’s supposed to be the “heroine” of the franchise. She seems so… normal and bland to me. Not to mention her ribbons that kind of irk me. She’s definitely a cute character, but I don’t see much real appeal to her that makes her stand out.
Miki was cute as usual, but Makoto definitely stole the show when she came out in that frilly dress (Pipipipi!)~ Even Yukiho was great in this episode. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was definitely still enjoyable.
Being normal is Haruka’s charm point. Even in the games, President Takagi expresses how generic she is. That’s how she rolls, when everyone becomes buried in their stereotypes, she’s always the normal, sane and down-to-earth one among the bunch. That pretty much makes her the de facto leader of the idols.
except when she trips of course.
0% plot progression, 100% fun. I was in stitches for the robot battle sketch. I almost died when Azusa-robo shot out boob missiles and when dark Haruka came out. I really loved all the meme-based sketches, especially the Makoto dress up and box sketch. Watch this video, you’ll appreciate it more. And yes, those are Chihaya’s and Haruka’s VA’s.
Anyways, I’m very, very happy that Haruka, Miki, and Chihaya are getting even more viewing time. It’s becoming more and more obvious that those three are the main characters in the anime overall (which isn’t suprising, since Haruka and Miki get massive amounts of character development even when not playing their routes.
Also, I was really surprised that when showed Chihaya’s “Arcadia” during mecha fight; it’s a pretty good song. Same goes for the ED.
…. okay. Now that scene becomes 20% cooler.
https://randomc.net/image/THE%20IDOLM@STER/THE%20IDOLM@STER%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2019.jpg
Very sexy….
Love the tomboy types, so all those fullbody screenshots of Makoto make me very happy.
Ta… Ta… Takane… ugh… ( / *3*)/
Haruka messing up was so cash. Great Satsui no Hadou Haruka
Yukiho showed us a side of her we didn´t know.
I caught:
Chihaya is a Yayoi fangirl.
Gainax.
Mecha Chihaya (singer).
Dark Haruka.
Looks like Hibiki had an accident or some sort, go for it broducer!
Takane is holding an Xbox 360 control.
You must defeat the top idol to stand a chance.
A bit late but Happy birthday Divine. Even if I don’t read as much as some time ago & don’t comment I still like what you do. Keep it up man.
The blog itself was very good, but I was extremely amazed at the comments.. After clicking all the links that connect to the show, I have a whole new understanding of the episode. Nice job readers
I must admit I reacted the same way as the fangirls for Makoto. Yukiho showed that she’s another fangirl lol. Evil!Haruka was surprinsily convincing. And we never can have enough of Miki being Miki. A nice episode, even if nothing happened at the end.
And I hope Evil!Haruka comes in her super mecha and punches those Jupiter jerks or something. Seriously, they might be bishies but the fugly one (Shota) is the only one who’s not that annoying, at least here in the anime. Both Squall and Seifer piss me off.
Finally thanks to Divine for those full pics of Makoto. I really like Miki but I have a sweet spot for reverse traps.
“With all this attention on Haruka lately, she’s edging close to Miki in terms of being the most enjoyable to watch. Miki’s a little too docile after getting on good terms with the Producer, calling him “Honey” all time, and blowing him kisses, so I dare say she’s lost a lot of her nonchalant sleepyhead charm from earlier episodes. (*GASP*)”
You’re just jealous D:… XD