Wake Up, Girls! Movie & Episode 1
EmperorBrandon: I’m really glad that this movie got streamed. Really seems more like a really long first episode, while the first TV episode is the second episode. They really do follow one after the other.
Despite this being the introduction with all the various girls being recruited and coming together, the real focus this time was on Mayu, who was once a major idol and doesn’t want to go back due to some unfortunate experiences. Really like the friendship between her and Airi, with her helping Airi out with her experience from start even though she didn’t want to get involved in the idol stuff herself. I like how we see her start to waver as the girls are having fun, particularly that cute scene where we see her keep step forward and then back as she can’t decide what to do. In the end, of course, we see her joining when the girls spirits are down and they put on a nice concert.
…
Between the movie and the first episode, really feels like this show replicates the nastiness and cynicism of internet comments rather well. I laughed at “Pics or it didn’t happen”.
I liked Miyu from the start, and she’s become even more of a favorite with how wonderfully quirky and genki she is, coming up with an introduction already. I think she’s already hacked into my heart.
Sabure: This episode reminds me a little bit about iDOLM@STER with the girls working for a struggling production company and the producer being somewhat of a greenhorn in the business. But it still has it unique charms and the girls are fairly likeable so thus far it’s pretty good in my view. I’m pretty much using this show as a warm-up for Love Live! Next Project.
And Miyu is definitely the best girl of the seven thus far. Love her quirkiness.
Jun Kuga: Bah, all of you with your Miyu love. She’s cute and all, but she’s no Kaya.
Nork22: Exactly. Kaya is the best.
…
Yup, the movie really did serve as a long introduction to the girls and idol group.
I had a good chuckle though when they were dancing to Nyaruko’s 2nd OP.
Shiroi Hane: I initially favoured the girl with the huge TV, but Miyu rapidly overshadowed her.
GingaDaiuchuu: [The movie is pretty good] for basically an extended first episode, and it’s interesting that it got movie treatment. I guess this isn’t exactly a big step for Crunchyroll because of that, but it might be something. Too bad Ordet’s animation was a little limited until the dance scene at the end, but that was the important part, and it looked very nice. I don’t know what to think of it yet, but I guess I’ll see where the actual TV series goes.
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[First episode] OP is all recap of the movie until the pan of a still frame at the end. That’s pretty damn lazy, Ordet.
Yeah, I don’t know. I thought the movie had a little more potential, but this first TV episode isn’t giving me much confidence. I probably won’t be following up on it, although maybe I’ll check out some later dance scenes if they look nice.
stardf29: The movie was pretty good. The first episode proper wasn’t much to speak of, though, considering not much really happened.
And at least the idol dancing looks nice.
Also, clearly, Minami is the best.
bctaris: Oh good, the [Kaya] fanclub’s already established! The older, more working-experienced, more jaded (more fashion-conscious) girl who still wants to break out and do something like this, even if the talent isn’t all there? Yeah, she’s my favorite.
So I unintentionally watched the first episode before the movie. But I think I’m glad I did. I think I like the characters and the situation more now than I would have if I had watched the movie first, strangely enough.
Being thrown into the middle of things with the first episode, not really knowing what was what or where or how made me pay attention to the characters and the setting more than I would have. Took me half the episode to figure out even who Matsuda was supposed to be–manager, or someone’s boyfriend, or brother? And that was fine. So I appreciated the slice-of-life introductions there of the girls, and groupings of girls, and how the dynamics played out: how, in the group meeting, the three more serious or cynical members (Kaya, Yoshino, and Nanami) to the right, the more innocent and energetic members to the left (with the more composed Mayu).
It ended up being more interesting treating the movie like a flashback, how-they-got-here (longer) episode. And more fun, too, seeing characters appear from the first episode, and where they come from (hey, that’s Kaya, a burned-out waitress; and so on). … But here’s the thing: I have a feeling that if I, personally, had watched that movie first I wouldn’t have been that interested in this. Because, being the material it is, it was the usual formula, predictable and not necessarily striking out in a newer direction than others of its ilk; though the character writing was intelligent, and the focus on the adult characters was welcome. I would have gone into the first episode afterward seeing it all as a normal, by the numbers story, likable enough, but nothing hooking me (A-1’s expert visual magic with The Idolm@ster was a major draw there). This backwards order, however, made me see the characters, and the character writing, differently. I first saw where they got to; then watching the movie, already knowing that, made me care more for where they came from, looking for the paths. More than I would have in chronological order.
Anyway, there is some good detail and care in this. … This is a stripped down Idolm@ster (literally, just being the seven), and I like, again, the details of the chain-smoking, angry but still well-connected talent company president; the wonderfully sleazy deal-with-the-devil promoter introduced at the end; the classic otaku guy in the movie portion (and I’m sure we’ll see him more) who unintentionally follows the group’s progress around–first just missing buying the I-1 DVD behind Matsuda, then seeing the concert; and the curious lives of some of the girls, like Minami’s groupie grandparents, or Mayu’s interesting home life with her mother and grandparents.
Oh, and Wake Up, Girls! as a group name, influenced both by a love hotel and 80s ma-cheese-mo super-duo Wham!? What’s not to like?
EyeOfPain: So, I watched the first episode before I realized the movie was even online, and I can’t say I was really impressed. As bctaris mentioned, I liked that not all the girls reacted the same to the news about Suda, but aside from that it didn’t feel like they were doing much new. Not having yet finished Idolmaster, I think I’ll work on getting through that, instead of watching this. Plus, the WUG girls are clearly impure idols with that dance routine.
Hitsugi Amachi: I watched movie first and then got to this episode.
I kind of liked this. It didn’t amaze me, but there is something…I don’t know…honest? about how it’s going about things. It’s showing the people involved for what they are, naive wannabe idols, corrupt company president, clueless manager, and now a sleazy producer of some sort (what he wants to produce, I’m not sure).
But the core group of the girls and the manager are interesting and sympathetic enough that I want to see them succeed. Especially Mayu. While the others are on a journey towards stardom (so they hope), Mayu is seeking redemption and an affirmation that whatever happened with I-1 was not fair and not just. Of course, we have to see what actually happened, but I am curious as to what it was. Sadly, the usual story is that another one of the girls, perhaps even her “friend” still in the group, engineered Mayu’s ouster, without Mayu knowing, of course. Well, we’ll see what it was.
