I hate to say this, but I am really disappointed with the finale. About eight minutes into the episode, I realized I was bored. I was not engaged with the performances whatsoever but I couldn’t understand why, but by the end I knew what it was. This joint-concert was hyped up to be a major accomplishment for the group, but the biggest qualm I had was the fact we didn’t get to experience their journey to that point whatsoever. There were no serious trials they had to overcome, not like the challenges we have seen in The iDOLM@STER or even The iDOLM@STER Cinderella series. Instead this finale left me with a sense of a wasted potential. We had a group of amazing and charming characters here, but we were never given the opportunity to watch them grow. I also have a big problem with the fact they even bothered to add the twins to the cast, especially in the middle of the series. At that point, both Beit and S.E.M were already restricted to having one episode, so just adding yet another group we’ll never learn about (unless we play the game) doesn’t help whatsoever, and only makes the situation worse. In fact when you look back, the only group that were given more screen-time than Dramatic Stars (privileged as the main characters) were HighxJoker and Jupiter (if you include their special) who got two episodes. And what sucks even more, is when Kaoru’s conflict takes so long to get around to, and when they finally do, it felt rushed and anticlimactic. This series certainly would have benefited having more episodes to work with, just so the character would have room to grow and have the time to tell their own stories.
Another problem I had with the finale was how a large portion of the episode contained recycled footage, and as result lacked impact. I was especially disappointed we did not get to watch them perform Glorious Road, but instead the track rolled in the background as they reviewed everyone’s journey up until now via flashbacks. Though to be fair, it was well put together. Gave me a bit of the feels, despite the underwhelming journey.
Also, this has been bugging me since the beginning of the series, but… Is Kyouji’s hair supposed to be dyed back and forth or something? This isn’t the first time we have seen his brown hair go black. I can’t tell if this is a colouring flaw that will be resolved in the BD/DVD release or this is intentional to reflect the lighting. Either way it’s something that drives me bonkers when I see it because it makes me confused!
On the more positive note, god the songs were so good, and it’s what I love about SideM the most. Each unit has their own distinct sound, and I don’t know about you, stands out- in a good way. I find when someone has a unique voice, it makes it easier to recognize them amongst the blurs of the sounds. Among my favourites besides Jupiter (oh my god, I LOVE ‘Planet scape’ I’ll be listening to that over and over again!) were Dramatic Stars and HighxJoker. Truth be told, I like them all (except for W, not feeling that one) but I wished we had more air time for BEIT and S.E.M. to showcase their vocals.
Final Verdict:
The iDOLM@STER SideM was something I have been waiting for since I watched The iDOLM@STER back in 2011. I fell in love with Jupiter and itched to learn more about them, and truth to be told I was sad when I realized Jupiter would not be the main characters of this show. However instead much to my pleasant surprise, we were introduced a bunch of endearing new characters, and all I could wish for is that we had more time to learn more about them. I don’t know if SideM will have a second season, but I fear if they do they will be introducing even more characters (as implied of Producer scouting someone with a radiant aura), leaving the cast we had fallen in love with in the dust. SideM is a show who definitely would reap the benefit having more episodes to work with. Without a doubt, SideM biggest flaws were the lack of depth in its story and the character development among the cast is virtually nonexistent, with the exception of perhaps Kaoru. It is a shame it had to end this way, and how we weren’t able to learn more about the others, but it doesn’t mean it was horrible. SideM is not great but it’s not bad either, it’s more in the middle where I would describe it as “It’s okay…” It certainly not a must watch show, but it’s also not something you’re going to miss if you choose to skip out on it.
Overall Score: 6/10
- Story/Plot: 4/10
- Characters & Development: 6/10
- Animation Quality: 6/10
- Original Soundtrack: 9/10
Perhaps I could shed some light. The entire concert performance was based off of SideM’s first live in 2015 with performances by the boys VA’s. The anime’s series producer, who was at the event, was so impressed and moved by them (specifically Jupiter) that it was decided to give SideM an anime. As someone who has seen the lives, a lot of scenes were references and callbacks to that and it was enjoyable to see as well as emotional. 2015 was an important year for SideM as it had a lot to prove and a lot of disdain and hate. Their first live showed others that SideM was im@s and it was just as important as OG, Cinderella Girls, and Million Live.
The anime is definitely a love song to fans as there are many references to the original mobage as well as cameos from the other SideM idols. SideM has 15 units (46 characters) but at the time of first live, the anime units were the only ones who were voiced and had songs. If you aren’t even following other aspects of SideM or don’t play the games, a lot of this will get lost on you. The anime showed each units motivations and what they want to achieve together which is what SideM is all about. Second chances and chasing dreams.
And about Kyoji, it’s not a mistake. It’s canon that he dyes his hair from brown to black. I can’t tell you why. Not even BeitP’s can tell you why.
Don’t know if you even care about the other characters or care to get into the branch but if you want more information on 315pro and its idols, you can check this out http://www.project-imas.com/wiki/THE_iDOLM@STER:_SideM
Thank you for providing more insight in regards to the background of SideM. It is a shame they weren’t able to go all out though.
Man, I feel like they could have easily given us a simple explanation about Kyouji’s decision about his hair in their episode. Too bad they decided to ignore it altogether.
I kinda dissapointed too they didn’t show the whole performance on GLORIOUS RO@D song, but the Live on St@ge game announced that the song + dance will be added on the game so eh….. but still a bit waste of promotion a new song there….
Kyoji’s hair colour change is not a colour flaw, he always dye it grayish black when he’s on idol work.
As for why i’m not sure since there’s no explanation from the game on why he dyed it that way….
In case if someone want to see GLORIOUS RO@D performance, someone already uploaded it here
<3 Thanks for sharing! 😀
http://www.project-imas.com/wiki/Kyoji_Takajo
” He also dyes his hair from brown to grayish black in his idol form.”