News

Aniplus Asia to Air Simulcast of The Idolm@ster SideM, Wake Up, Girls! New Chapter

Aniplus Asia announced on Monday and Tuesday that it will stream The Idolm@ster SideM and Wake Up, Girls! New Chapter (Wake Up, Girls! Shin Shō) anime series. It will also air the "Episode of Jupiter" prequel to The Idolm@ster SideM, as well as the Wake Up, Girls! - Seven Idols (Wake Up, Girls!: The Movie) OVA.

The Idolm@ster SideM's "Episode of Jupiter," which centers on the three Jupiter idol unit members, will debut its simulcast on Saturday at 12:00 a.m. GMT +8. The main series will begin its simulcast on October 7 at 12:00 a.m. GMT +8.

Aniplus Asia describes the anime:

315 Production – a newly set up small talent agency – has assembled a group of aspiring male idols from various occupational fields. They include a former lawyer, a former doctor, former pilot and so on…

Even though everyone hails from different background, they share a common dream: to be the top idol.

And so, the stories of these male idols at 315 Production take centre stage…

The anime's main staff are returning from other works in The IDOLM@STER series. Takahiro Harada (The IDOLM@STER, The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls episode director) and Miyuki Kuroki (The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls, Occultic;Nine episode director) are directing the anime at A-1 Pictures. Yuniko Ayana (BanG Dream!, Kinmoza! Kiniro + Mosaic) and Yukie Sugawara (Hina Logi: from Luck & Logic, Overlord) are in charge of series composition. Yuusuke Tanaka (Occultic;Nine, Fractale animation director) and Haruko Iizuka (Tamayura, Little Busters!) are designing the characters. Tanaka and Maho Yoshikawa (Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru, The irregular at magic high school) are serving as chief animation directors. EFFY is composing the music. The voice cast for all six idol groups are performing the show's opening theme song "Reason!!".

The Idolm@ster SideM game launched in July 2014, and is available for iOS and Android devices, as well as on Mobage and ChromeApps. Like other games in The Idolm@ster franchise, SideM is built on the concept of "idols you can produce." The app focuses on the male idols at the agency 315 Production (pronounced "Saikō Production" or "Ultimate Production"). The app now has more than one million downloads.

Bandai Namco Entertainment revealed The Idolm@ster SideM Live On St@ge app in February. The app will arrive later this year.

Wake Up, Girls! - Seven Idols will air on October 10 at 1:30 a.m. GMT +8. The main Wake Up, Girls! New Chapter show will begin simulcasting on October 10 at 2:35 a.m.

Aniplus Asia describes the Wake Up, Girls! - Seven Idols anime:

Green Leaves Entertainment is in the worst situation any Talent Management Agency can be in… they have NO talent! Desperate for an act, President Junko Tange targets the idol singer market and gives her flunky Matsuda his marching orders: get a girl group to manage, even if it means building one from scratch!

The anime debuted theatrically in January 2014, alongside the first Wake Up, Girls! television anime. It was followed by the Wake Up, Girls! Seishun no Kage and Wake Up, Girls! Beyond the Bottom films in 2015.

Aniplus Asia describes the Wake Up, Girls! New Chapter anime:

After overcoming countless challenges and finally emerging victorious over the nation's idol group I-1 Club at the Idol Festival, Wake Up, Girls! – under the management of tiny Sendai production company Green Leaves Entertainment – continues their journey amidst the harsh reality of an “idol recession”.

Meanwhile, three high school students in Sendai aspire to be the next new idols…

Shin Itagaki (Wake Up, Girls! episode 10 storyboards, Teekyu) is replacing Yutaka Yamamoto as the director of the new anime, and Miyuki Sugawara is replacing Sunao Chikaoka as the character designer, although Chikaoka is still credited for the original character designs. Similarly, Millepensee is replacing Ordet as the main animation studio. Satoru Kousaki and monaca are returning to compose the music at DIVE II Entertainment, and the original story and scripts are credited to "Green Leaves." The new anime will feature the previous Wake Up, Girls! group members, and also new characters. The Wake Up, Girls! idol group are performing the opening theme song "7 Senses" and the ending theme song "Shizuku no Kan" (Drop's Crown) for the series.