This review has been a long time in coming, one I promised to do long ago to my podcast co-host. Well, Draggle, I finally watched AKB0048. I can’t even begin to count every instance where you referenced this work when talking about other anime, nor can I expect you to stop anytime soon. Now, I’ll finally understand where you’re coming from, even if I don’t completely agree with you on the merits.
Because, when we get to the heart of the matter, I don’t particularly love this show. I don’t hate it either. Watching from start to finish wasn’t even difficult, which is more than I can say for a lot of other works in recent memory. I suppose the biggest thing holding me back from truly accepting this show for what it is was my own inflated expectations based on the praise of others (cough, cough, my friend). Still, I laughed, I rolled my eyes, I shook my first, and, at the end, I, too, wished that the Lancastar concert had gone as planned.
What Came Before
I want to start with my history with idol shows, because it shapes so many of my expectations and misgivings about the category in general. The main contenders that come to mind are The iDOLM@STER and Love Live! franchises, both of which include multiple series and spin-offs.
I distinctly remember first watching The Idol Master back in 2011. I did so out of a sense of obligation, knowing full well how much my peers adored the characters. And, against all my reservations and reluctance, I fell in love with the cast from confident Miki, to shy Haruka, and even to childish Iori. There were so many girls to get to know and learn to appreciate. The anime did a fantastic job of introducing me to each one of them and showing me their good and bad sides. They became less names and more people I could sympathize with, and, eventually, cheer for.
The iDOLM@STER’s arrangement of multiple groups is closest in set up among my comparisons to that of AKB0048 and their multiple generations of singers. I adored the first cast of 765 Productions, but not so much those that followed. Some, I downright refused to watch after a single episode. I was reminded of that favoritism when watching AKB’s generations pitted against one another. It wasn’t hard to resent the 76th for their jealousy of 77th and unkind treatment of 75th’s Kanata. Similarly, both shows feature the working-side of being an idol, including practices, handshake events, and photo shoots. There’s so much more to it than just getting on stage and looking pretty.
Love Live! as a whole is tied to its high school premise and will always remain that way. As such, there are aspects to it that differ greatly from the aforementioned works, primarily the characters’ motivations and end goals. They’re younger and, as such, have tendencies to envision closer and more immediate outcomes. The inaugural 2013 series, and some of those that follow, focus on the threat that is their school closing in the near future and battle it with the rising popularity that is the school idol.
Sure, the original nine from Otonokizaka High enjoy singing and dancing, but they don’t do it for some greater end of bringing music back to the masses or fighting a conservative society, nor do they perform with the hopes of making careers to support their futures. The stakes seem high at the moment to them, but, in reality, their home isn’t in dire need of another school; there are enough options to choose from that are just as unique and promising.
I chose to use these two franchises as examples not only because of my familiarity with them, but also because of their extensive title list and significance to the genre as a whole. There are plenty of other interesting idol shows I could discuss and loved just as much, if not more, including Wake Up, Girls!; ZOMBIE LAND SAGA; and Macross (Frontier, specifically). But if I were to that, we’d be here for far longer than even I’d want in the end. Onward, we go!
Where We Are Now
We’re in space, obviously!
Well, aren’t we, always? What I mean to say is that AKB0048 travels across space to multiple planets, their girls living and spending much of their time on spaceships and waging battle within mecha suits that can kill and be killed. The famous idol group moves from planet to planet performing their songs and doing whatever they can to bring the joy that is entertainment to people who might not otherwise ever experience it.
The notion that a faction would be large and influential enough to shut down entire planets with laws forbidding art and organizing anti-entertainment parties sounds ridiculous and simplistic, but the scary thing is that this isn’t something that hasn’t already happened in our own history. I had to remind myself of that fact whenever I started to roll my eyes at DES and their startling likeness to stormtroopers who can’t hit a target even if their lives depend on it.
The result of the widespread bans and control on what goes in and out turns nations into factories where the citizens live their days devoid of the very sorts of enjoyments that make life worth living. Lancastar, the home planet of the main characters in the 77th generation, is a prime example. When they revisit after their time away spent training, it’s to a colorless home they barely recognize.
Since we’re watching this show, we’re obviously on the side of our girls who shine bright and risk their lives to bring that light into the darkness. How can we not cheer them on and wish that same happiness onto those who cheer alongside us?
So, as often as I rolled my eyes or made comparisons, the setting worked for me. I have a weakness for space, anyways. As a young girl, I used to imagine myself hopping into an X-wing and flying off to some distant star with a trusty droid, or perhaps a Wookie, as my only companion. Then, just like now, I’d be on the side of the good, those that rebelled against conformity. Similar to our girls, here, only with far less singing and dancing.
Speaking of Those Girls
I kind of can’t stand Nagisa. I’m not a fan of Chieri, either. Maybe the bigger issue is that they’re just the exact archetypes I usually dislike in anime. I’ve never been one to find weak-willed characters like Nagisa very interesting, mostly because of my own internal desire for confidence and determination to do what needs to be done. Then there’s Chieri, who has both of those in abundance, but uses them poorly without care for those around her.
Still, these are our leads. Thank goodness idol shows of this nature have such large casts, otherwise I’d go crazy and toss this entire anime into the bin.
The 77th generation includes several other girls, a couple of them also from Lancastar and far more likable from the get go. My favorite is Orine, the daughter of a machine manufacturer who knows her way around the factory and cares deeply for its workers. Unbeknownst to her until far later in the series is the truth of her father’s employment by the DES for weaponized machinery. Her soft spoken nature might be mistaken for weakness, but the truth is that Orine is one of the most self-aware and selfless members in their friend group and generation.
Orine comes to terms with her involvement in the war in a way that I wish Nagisa and Chieri would, but everyone goes their own pace and me expecting the same from them is probably unfair. Nagisa does eventually confront her father, the head official of Lancastar’s entertainment faction who is in charge of maintaining and upholding their laws. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been to grow up in a household where she was expected to be an example to others. To run away and audition for AKB0048 without guarantee of acceptance despite her father outright forbidding it is a testament to Nagisa’s willpower. If only she showed it more often.
Chieri pissed me off early on with the chip on her shoulder that had her treating the other girls like they were somehow lesser because of their lack of experience and confidence. We get it, Chieri, you worked your little butt off to be the best you could be in every area you could think of relative to being an idol. That doesn’t make you any more likable. The exact opposite, actually. Nobody likes a do-gooder who enjoys shoving her accomplishments in your face unprompted.
I did warm to her, eventually, as she, too, warmed to her former friends. I can’t help but begrudgingly respect blunt personalities who say things as they are without fear of the repercussions or the perceptions of others. Chieri says what she wants, when she wants, and that’s that. You either get on board, or get lost. When she showed weakness at her identity and that of her father’s coming out, I found her even more sympathetic.
That leaves Yuuka, the one who left the smallest impression on me of the four, for good and for bad. She didn’t frustrate me in the way that Nagisa and Chieri did, but she didn’t particularly interest me, either. I thought it mildly commendable how she was willing to not only leave behind her family to audition, but her boyfriend, as well. She earned my respect after their spat and presumed breakup—how could I not admire her sticking to her convictions to keep her promise to audition alongside her friends and possibly make a long held dream come true. That’s where my interest faded. She had the benefit of my identifying her as quick to anger, but also quick to forgive. Yuuka continued to feature alongside the other three, usually in tandem with Orine, but didn’t recapture my attention until her arc near the end of the series. It’s only then where we got some actual closure with her ex-boyfriend that strengthened her resolve to join AKB0048.
With only one of the quartet earning my affections, I was left to look elsewhere for further entertainment. Their peers within the 77th unfortunately didn’t provide much competition with the exception of Suzuko and her almost magical ability to read others and say just what’s needed at a particular moment. Sonata? Please. I wanted to kick the brat from the ship and straight back to her parents the moment we met her. Makoto is the exact type of classmate who’d leech off others in a group project then whine when they didn’t get the best score.
The 76th generation is comprised almost entirely of forgettable wannabes who waste their time being jealous whenever someone newer succeeds, and the 75th has only two girls left after everyone else gave up. Thankfully, Kanata and Mimori are among the most entertaining characters that this show has to offer and are important role models for the newer girls to follow.
That leaves the active members of AKB0048, among whom we only get to meet a few. Unfortunately, none of the girls were particularly likable outside of their performances. They all share an obsession with their namesakes, a unique aspect of this world that I forgot to mention earlier. Unlike other idol shows where the individual girls retain their identities and often fabricate them to cater to specific demographics, the named members of AKB0048 always remain the same even if the actual girl changes. The names are more roles that are filled only by the most appropriate. This is why some girls have very little hope of being promoted—if the current member using that name still plays the part better than anyone else, then that role will remain the same for the foreseeable future.
We see this issue play out with the name of Minami Takahashi, where the 5th member to hold that name, Shiori, is temporarily supplanted by 75th’s Kanata and goes through an entire identity crisis wondering if she should just retire so Kanata doesn’t remain stuck forever. That scene where Kanata gets so, so close to performing live as Minami only to be guilted into stepping aside for the still-injured Shiori made me beyond furious. I wanted to shake the older girl for her shameless jealousy and greed, even if I sympathized with her for feeling that way in the first place.
Because They Said So
That arc ties in to another part of this world that still baffles me even now. When I mention Shiori getting supplanted by Kanata as the best Minami, I don’t say that out of nowhere or because some mentor figure in the show said it. We see it in the pseudo-holy chamber where the future members are foretold through images and the kirara, tiny, flying, bug-like creatures that only glow for specific individuals.
Who and what is making these predictions? Where do the kirara come from? What is it that the kirara sense that compels them to glow for some and not others? The whole process of promotion and “ascension” sounds as vague and mystical as the notion of destiny, but those are literally what decides these girls’ futures. Not some visible panel of judges or the teachers who coach them.
Can you blame me for being distrustful? These girls risk their lives to bring music to the universe, leaving behind everyone and everything they know behind. Once they’re accepted into the AKB0048 program, a reliable path towards success should be in place to give them goalposts and self-security.
Tsubasa, AKB0048’s manager and a former member herself, plays the part of most interest to me. There’s a side of me that wonders if that’s because she’s closer in age to me than the girls, but another side sees her motivations and pairs it with that earlier distrust of the system they all follow. The great mystery of past Center Novae—how they’re chosen, why they’re no longer chosen, why they disappear, and where they go—drives Tsubasa to retire and join as support. Her closest friend and the last appointed Center Novae vanished in the same way as those before her. We don’t learn why that is in this series, but I assume the truth will all be unveiled in the sequel.
If it’s not, then I will be royally and epically pissed.
Looking Ahead
This is about the strongest my emotions get for AKB0048: annoyed, confused, and reluctantly intrigued. I want to find out more about the group’s history, how the first team was formed. Who is this “Sensei-Sensei” that writes their multitude of songs, and why do they defer to the kirara for all their decisions?
The visuals of the show itself are pleasant enough, though I could do without the CG performances. The jump from close-up 2D to 3D figures dancing around the screen is extremely jarring, making it difficult to immerse myself in the concerts.
I will be continuing on to the sequel after I post this review, and hope that all the questions I’ve posed are answered there. Maybe somewhere along the way Nagisa and Chieri will realize they actually like and trust one another again, Sonata will grow up enough to be less obnoxious, and Makoto will vanish somewhere, preferably to never be seen again.
Crossing my fingers.
Rating: 1 dango
*Rating system:
- 0 dango – average and forgettable.
- 1 dango – very good in its category.
- 2 dango – excellent show that is worth a try.
- 3 dango – exceptional show one must watch.
Anime B&B 