Wake Up, Girls! Episode 3
Nork22: Enjoyed this episode as things start to look up for the group now that Tange is now taking charge of her misdeeds. And Minami has taken a lesson in Nico catchphrases with “It’s tasty, nya!”
Buckeye: This episode is an improvement over the first two seeing how the girls are actually doing stuff that’s intuitive to their idol careers, and doing a great job at it. And then there is the part that develops Minami as someone who is always looking out for others, and is willing to go as far as miss her big opportunity to be with her grandmother at a time of need. …
EmperorBrandon: Oh nice, we got an actual opening this time.
Minami is so adorably sweet. I had a feeling what was probably going to come up with her old lady friends, but thankfully Isokawa seems to have come through that fine and got to watch Minami in good spirits.
Looks like, Mayu, and maybe the rest by association, are soon going to have to deal with tabloid scum.
mk2000: On the bright side, being on tabloids is a sign of at least some popularity. But yeah, whether we wan’t to see that storyline actually animated is another thing.
Hitsugi Amachi: While I’m going to be somewhat cringing at what’s to come, on the other hand I am curious to know what it was that drove Mayu out of I-1, and the tabloid scum will at least give us all of the rumors involved compared to the “official story” which was probably something lame as official reasons for leaving often are. So, I do look forward to next week.
bctaris: Idol shows have done this sort of story, too, with the naive girls learning to do awkward, almost brainless jobs like this, but again this one feels a little more real, trying not to make the actual jobs, or the girls’ reactions to them, too exaggerated just for comedic effect. And it was sweet how Minami serendipitously found out all she had to do–just make a catchphrase! Of course Minami’s story also introduced a little classic melodrama, and though we could all have predicted something like it would come up with her at some point, it fit together well enough.
Mayu’s drama with her mother looks a little more complex, and I could see that adding some depth to that story. It’s a piece as well with the big thing I like with the show, of including a lot of adult characters to complement the teen idols, and with adult situations. And they’re not just all being used as foils. (Not all of them, anyway.) Speaking of complementing factors, I find it interesting how the tabloid guys are introduced basically in reaction to the nascent WUG fan club guys getting things rolling (and who are included in the new OP now).
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bctaris: In a funny way I also like this show because I feel like rooting for it, because it seems to be a skin-of-its-teeth production. Budget’s obviously low, and it showed starkly in the animation of this episode–very low frame rates in some places, and a couple perspective and movement errors, like when Mayu’s mother leaves the kitchen. And it shows in only bringing a usable OP in on the third episode; it’s nice to have, but still a minimal production using a lot of in-show scenes, just repackaged and highlighted a bit. And I’m okay with all of this. Creator/director Yutaka Yamamoto and his company, Ordet, haven’t really done a full (half-hour) 12 episode show before, but seem to be banking a lot on this. It all somehow adds to the character of the show and what it’s about.
EmperorBrandon: For what it’s worth, they are definitely having issues according to Yamakan himself.
Sensuifu: Production issues were apparent even in the first episode, but it was nice to see the effort put into the movie’s dance scene. Perhaps most of the budget went into animating that? Kidding aside, hand-drawn, non-CG assisted dance animation will always look better when done right. In that case, it was and it really stood out from the other, more recent shows that mainly use CG.
Still, I’m of the same sentiment, hoping the show does gain more respect and resources to succeed. Though it seems a lot of the audience in Japan aren’t too thrilled with it and are particularly biased seeing how this show is thought to be the antithesis of how idol shows are supposed to be treated. The discussion seems to be turning into a rather interesting look at the audience’s reaction to where they stand as far as the idol industry is concerned.
Nork22: Funny though because for myself, I find the show entertaining because of the trials the girls go through rather than the hidden commentaries about the idol industry itself. It’s kinda like the same thing with Love Live, going through the trials and tribulations to become popular, although it’s more fantasy fairy tale anyway.
But yes, animation looking bad at the moment, and will last for the next couple of episode while Yamakan gets more help in.
Sensuifu: Oh yeah, my perception of it is different from other idol shows. Doesn’t mean I’ll criticize it in the way other fans have, but I do appreciate the semi-realism to it all.
I’m wondering if it was really a preexisting lack of resources..I hope it isn’t the case where people just left and gave up given the commotion it’s been receiving..
einhorn303: To be honest, I think I’d prefer average-to-mediocre frame animated dance scenes to even the highest quality CG dance scenes. It just has that certain magic, and human touch, to it.
Sensuifu: That’s perhaps one of the biggest detractors for shows that focus on themes where the core should have that ‘human touch’ to it, particularly animating dancing scenes. I mean I’m okay with CG dancing *Vocaloid* for example, but that’s because they’re inherently ‘CG’. But for animated shows such as the idol variety that may heavily depend on CG for their dancing, I find them to be less impressive despite maybe having more detail in their choreography; and not to mention the jarring effect from transitioning to non-CG to CG.
einhorn303: When I first saw WUG, I felt like it was a show made for me. I love the idea of an idol anime, but couldn’t get into any previous shows. WUG’s realism is incredibly refreshing.
I’m definitely not an idol otaku. I have a strong aversion, for one, to AKB48. To me they’re a big mess of conspicuous consumption and bland generic music. So of course, I’m amused that there equivalents in this show are being set up as the bad guys.
Sensuifu: I’m actually more amused by the flak it’s been receiving, as if this show was the only ‘offender’ in regards to how the innards of the idol industry is perceived. This isn’t the only time we’ve seen shady practices happening to idols, or a life of hardship and psycho/social concerns that plague the real lives of idols. In essence, AKB0048 alluded to the very same problems. They just masked it really well. They didn’t want to offend anyone by making it a social commentary. With WUG, it seems the creator is projecting the real issues as realistically as he can. I’m not saying it’s definitely a social commentary, but it’s doing a decent job at recreating an image of the many issues that do exist in the idol world. If by the end the direction hasn’t changed, then perhaps we can call it that. No masking of shady business and the ‘disappearance of idols’ as some may have blindly overlooked in other shows. I know there’s a dark side to the idol industry, I just happen to enjoy this show for what it is. I also enjoy the shows that don’t mention a thing about the reality behind it all too.
