Another multimedia project that gives us musically oriented girls.
What They Say:
When Mana Shikimiya joins her new school’s struggling Lyrical Tradition Dance club, she finds herself swept up in a dream shared by thousands of other middle school girls across Japan: To someday compete at the Prism Stage, where teams of young women battle in song and dance for the chance to become the next generation of top idol singers!
First, though, she’ll have to help save the club from being shut down, and then she and her new friends Sayu, Mizuhua, Kae, Kasumi and Minori will have to up their musical game in order to make it to the first level of competition. Because no matter how badly they want to win, there are hundreds of other girls who want it just as much… and those girls all have a head start!
The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this release is done with the original Japanese language track only in stereo encoded using the DTS-HD MA lossless codec. The series is one that works a fairly standard approach for this type of property with a lot of it being dialogue-oriented with a healthy mix of music along the way. As a stereo mix, it keeps things moving back and forth across the forward soundstage in decent ways from time to time but it’s not something with a lot of standout activity to it. These moments give it a bit more life and it serves the material well. The dialogue itself is straightforward throughout the show with some decent placement and a clean and clear presentation with no dropouts or distortions during regular playback.
Video:
Originally airing in 2019, the transfer for this TV series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p using the AVC codec. The twelve episodes are spread across two discs with nine on the first and three on the second. Animated by Graphinica, the show has a bright and colorful look that’s standard for this genre and it’s appealing throughout with smooth animation for the most part that doesn’t suffer from problems such as cross coloration or noticeable noise. The character designs give it a little more of an edge in being different with the proportions and sizes but it’s still largely in the usual line. The encoding brings out the pop of the colors really well as it goes for a more robust look while not going into the realm of garish. The release is one that will definitely please fans with how it looks as it’s a solid and clean presentation that captures the look of the show as designed.
Packaging:
The packaging for this release comes in a standard-sized Blu-ray case that holds the two discs against the interior walls. The front cover artwork is one of several key visuals that were release that places the core group together in their performance outfits on stage together with lots of smiles and hits of the audience off to the side. It’s not the standard angle you see these things at but I love the color design for it and just how it comes across. The back cover gives us a mix of pinks and purples for its color design with a fun kind of “floating” look for the design where we get a good breakdown of the summary of the premise and the extras. The shots from the show are decent and we get a solid technical grid below the production credits that lists everything out cleanly and clearly. No show related inserts are included nor is there a reversible cover.
Extras:
The only extras for this release are the clean versions of the opening and closing sequences.
This anime series landed as part of a multimedia project in the summer of 2019 to a generally positive response from fans of the genre. With strong animation design and style through Graphinica, it saw Shin Katagi directing it based on the series composition by Team Yoree. The whole larger project is one that on first glance just kind of leaves you glazed over as it’s part of a mobile rhythm game that came out in 2017 and has had some manga to it and a bunch of singles based on the groups/units within it. Everything about its origins speaks to boilerplate stuff where it’ll catch on largely depending on the quality of the execution and how catchy the songs are, or if there’s a breakout performer or hit that just connects. The animation adaptation was planned at the same time and it took a couple of years as is usual to get it all together into its final form.
The basics of the series are entirely familiar as we’re introduced to the catalyst character of Mana, a young woman who has come to a new school while getting away from her past. She had some problems with idols previously but ends up falling in with new friends such as Sayu and Mizuha who are involved with a cultural dance club. There’s a quick and easy bond that they all share but the pressure is on with Mana about joining them in their group so they can rework things nicely with a few more friends to enter the Prism Stage tournament that’s coming up. You could write that about a dozen other series for the most part with a few minor changes and it’d work just as easily. That’s part and parcel with any subgenre but after a decade of stories like this, it’s easy to feel a little burned out on all of this at this point.
And it does do a lot of those basics in bringing together the groups and forming stuff and having all the relationship elements that normally exist. But this one moves its focus in a slightly different way as it progresses because it keeps it to some established couples and delves into that and establishes it quickly rather than drawing it out for half the season or more. The show doesn’t go all in on making these real fully formed couples as you’d get possibly with a college-age show, but it exists in that space where the pairings are of very close friendship, admiration, and love that can be construed to be very romantic as we see with many all-girls stories over the years. That keeps it “clean” enough for all audiences but those looking to envision it deeper and richer, the nuance is there and the interpretations are easy as we see Sayu and Manga getting closer or the cuteness of Kae and Kasumi which pairs off the quiet genius type and the athletic type. These are relationship dynamics that exist all over in real life and other works so it’s quick and easy to identify and lets us just slip right into it.
Thankfully, there isn’t a lot of real relationship drama here and it doesn’t play with Mana as the usual lead in that she’s interchangeable with all the girls. Friends and friendly? Sure. But it’s not a harem-style show involving these characters and that helps a good bit. It spends a lot of time with the core and extended cast all together but watching the groupings form and seeing the way they connect, toy and tease each other, and are there for each other is fun. It’s certainly, for me, a lot more enjoyable than the music. I lost my interest for better or worse in J-pop style music in the previous decade so little of it really resonates for me here and that is something that makes a lot of idol shows a bit of work together through. But with the designs that are used here, the look of the show in general, and its focus on the pairings that come up, it’s got more to offer.
In Summary:
There is a lot of familiarity with this series as it does play within the idol genre in a way that most of them do. While it may avoid the big things like what Love! Live! did with its initial storyline, it still is about the music, performances, and the larger goal. But what it does is insert and work with some really good pairings along the way for the characters and engages with that taste of yuri that a lot of fans want while still keeping it from going all-in on that. It’s openly accessible and fun and your enjoyment will stem from how much you like the pairings, which was that almost kind of rare time where you don’t find yourself wanting to rearrange the setup to your own preferences because what’s here works well. The show has a clean audio presentation that handles the music well and visually it’s solid and in some places quite striking. It’s a good looking if basic release overall but it offers fans who’ve fallen in love with it a chance to own it without relying on streaming availability and that’s very meaningful.
Features:
Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 Language, English Subtitles, Clean Opening, Clean Closing
Content Grade: B
Audio Grade: B+
Video Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: B-
Released By: Sentai Filmworks
Release Date: June 23rd, 2020
MSRP: $59.98
Running Time: 300 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
