Dec 29 2011 04:38 AM The iDOLM@STER, the adaptation of the famous video games in Japan that follows the development of various idols in 765 Pro.
The story of the show is rather simple for the most part. Each of the 12 (later 13) idols get on average an episode or two of background story, kind of like Amagami SS. However, the difference was how the show managed to weave itself together as it went on. The first half of the series was really bland and dull with basically one-shot episodes as the girls made their ways to becoming professional idols. It really was not until the second half of the series that the momentum picked up where the agency and the girls learned the harsh reality of the idol world, including various forms of sabotage. What made the execution great was the fluid presentation of additional character development along with a dramatic story at the end of the day.
Animation was by A-1 Pictures, which was fairly average for them. I've seen better but it's really to be expected of this title. Not to mention that it's nice to see characters accurately represented from the original games (not to mention not letting Miki cut her hair and keeping it dyed blonde...absolutely ugly when that happened in the game). On another note, however, there was a vast amount of recycling throughout the series and made the show feel very cheap. Granted that I initially did not have much hope for this show, I expected better if they were going to pour that kind of material into the second half of the series. It felt they mixed up the budget when giving the first half of the series better quality than the latter.
Music is mostly from the game with a few anime originals here and there. First of all, it's iDOLM@STER, meaning that the franchise was designed for music. If the music wasn't good, then something not only went terribly wrong, but the franchise probably shouldn't have been continue after one game. That said, the music is certainly good. Maybe not all are worth re-listening to but they definitely chose a variety of the favorites as well as "mandatory/key" character image songs. Seiyuu are the same as the game.
Enjoyment? If you got through the first half of the series, then you better finish it because it's only uphill from there. If you didn't then it's not surprising. As said before, the first half of the series is really where it hurts. A lack of interesting development and nothing particularly moving to really keep the momentum going. Given the huge dividing line between shows during its premiering season (Summer 2011), in my opinion it really could not distinguish itself from being in the pool of "good" shows.
Overall, the series really improved as it went on. The show really caters more towards fans of the franchise over anything else, but those who are new to the franchise and stuck with it were rewarded well. While the series is pretty much linear with no plot twists, surprises, etc... it goes to show that even simple series can still hit it big (kind of what the show tries to tell anyways
). That said, I'm glad that I gave this show another chance and definitely hope to see them animate the future tales of the iDOLM@STER franchise. For those who don't know, this series more or less attempts to animate the original game released in 2005 and later remade for the Xbox 360 in 2007. Ryuuguu Komachi, however, is a group that is established in iDOLM@STER 2 so there is a bit of a mix.
Preliminary Score: 6/10
Final Score: 7/10 Notes about score:
It's actually high 7's but since I don't feel it really qualifies for an 8/10 given the flaws, I'll leave it at that. 
