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The Winter 2023 Anime Preview Guide
UniteUp!

How would you rate episode 1 of
UniteUp! ?
Community score: 3.4



What is this?

Akira Kiyose sings on a video streaming site under the singer name "KIKUNOYU." One day the talent agency sMiLea Production scouts him. sMiLea is an agency founded by the retired legendary idol pair AneLa to train new budding idols. Akira then forms an idol group with Banri Naoe and Chihiro Isuzugawa, who were also scouted. Their new group, Protostar, will debut alongside other new idol groups with sMiLea Production: Legit and Jaxx Jaxx.

UniteUp! is the television anime of Sony Music's "next dimensional idol project" and streams on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.


How was the first episode?

Caitlin Moore
Rating:

While I disagree with the concept of an objective review, sometimes you look at something and say, “I can see the merit in this, I'm just not interested in what it's doing.” Such is the case with UniteUp!, a stunningly-directed and well-written boy idol show that I have absolutely zero interest in.

It's nothing short of a beautiful show. This season's technical offerings thus far have been mostly middling; this one could well be the best of the bunch in terms of presentation. From start to finish, Akira's world comes to life in stunning detail, from the bathhouse his family runs to the old anime merchandise that line the shelves in his bedroom to the well-appointed offices of the talent agency sMILea. The lighting and layouts are always just right to convey the scene's mood, often symbolizing Akira's mental state in the moment. The character designs are shockingly varied for this kind of series as well; we have yet to meet most of the boys (I counted 13 in the opening and only three have been introduced), but all of them have easily distinguishable facial features.

Akira isn't exactly a dynamo; he's clearly going through something, having recently quit baseball for an unexplained reason. He's already started talking about abandoning childhood ideals, even though he's still only a high school student, and always looks vaguely dissatisfied. Is it just teen angst, or something deeper? Whatever the cause, it makes him feel more like a real person than most idol anime protagonists, who peppily spout lines about twinkling or whatever that would never come from a real human's mouth. He doesn't get into platitudes about how he just wants to make people happy as an idol. He's just a teenage boy who loves to sing, whether it's belting his favorite anime theme song while pretending a baseball bat is a microphone, in a karaoke booth, or now, to a crowd of people. While he's not the most energetic main character, he's a whole lot more human than most protagonists of the genre.

However, I do have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed. I got the impression at first that Akira's friend Kacchan, who he's known since they were small children, was getting scouted right alongside him since they were shown singing together. Kacchan is also both athletic and fat, and I was interested to see how the show would handle him and incorporate a bit more body diversity. But, it turns out that he's just going to cheer Akira on from the sidelines. He's still a good character and I hope he sticks around—I'd just have liked to see someone of his appearance in more than just a support role.

One notable thing about UniteUp! is that the primary cast is almost entirely newcomers; if you check the voice actors' credits, it's many of their first roles. Even Akira's actor only has one previous role. Now given, it was Denji from Chainsaw Man, which is as meaty as they get, but it seems like part of the purpose of the project is to act as a launching pad for new voice actors. The voice acting in the episode is naturalistic, with an easy chemistry between the characters that made them really feel like they had known each other for a long time, but I'm not sure if that'll keep up as more characters are introduced. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the units in the show translated into real life, though I won't be listening to them. I was never a fan of boy bands after all, even in middle school.

I waffled a lot on how to score UniteUp!, but in the end, I had to give it high marks, even if I won't be watching it further.


Richard Eisenbeis
Rating:

Doing these guides each season, I've watched a lot of male idol anime premieres. This is easily the best one among them. While that might sound like I am damning with faint praise, I want to be clear that's not the case. This is so far from your typical first episode of a male idol anime that it's stunning. In fact, the music element is almost irrelevant to the story being told. Akira's talent could have been in nearly any other sport or hobby and the episode would have worked just as well. This is because, when it comes down to it, UniteUp! is a coming-of-age tale more than anything else.

What we have here is a kid who has reached that age where reality has hit him in the face. He's realized that, while he dominated in little league baseball, he doesn't have the talent to go pro. His dream that he was so sure of when he was a kid is never going to be reality.

Now, in most other shows of this type, Akira would watch an Anela performance and become inspired to become a singer. He'd be some starry-eyed youth, gung ho and ready to give his all—not a disillusioned kid wandering aimlessly through life. But what makes this episode work is that, as much as it's about Akira, it's also about his first fan, the one person who believed in Akira when he couldn't believe in himself: his best friend “Kacchan.”

While Kacchan definitely crosses some personal boundaries this episode—namely recording Akira's singing and posting it online without permission—everything he does is to try and help his friend break out of his funk. He wants Akira to know that, even if his talent isn't baseball, he is far from talentless. And more than that, through singing, Akira has reached not only the hearts of his best friend and the hundreds of people who listened to him online, but world-famous singers as well.

All in all, this episode is a solid tale of true friendship and the fact that giving up on your childhood dreams doesn't mean giving up on dreaming—even if the dream you find is one you never before considered. It's great stuff from start to finish.


Nicholas Dupree
Rating:

I admit I can sometimes be unfair to idol shows. You put a bunch of generically attractive anime characters in matching outfits on a poster, and my eyes start to lose focus. I already called Technoroid Overmind a largely generic idol delivery vehicle with as much dismissal as I can muster. And I was expecting something similar with UniteUp!, but I was very, very pleasantly surprised when I didn't get a parade of identically handsome guys with one-note personalities; instead watched one of the best premieres of the season so far.

The key to that is how this episode explores our main character, Akira. Rather than your typical music-loving bundle of energy, our future lead idol is a grounded, nervous teenager. He likes to sing, but he needs to be more confident to actually pursue a career. Rather than 7-12 other idols, his social circle is a close friend, his family, and the gaggle of neighborhood personalities that frequent his family's bathhouse. Akira himself is a likable guy who it's easy to sympathize with, trying to grow up while still secretly clinging to his childhood obsessions like his favorite space-baseball anime. The somber yet easygoing way we follow his daily routine and watch him and his friend hang out like regular kids paint a strong picture of who he is well before he's invited into the world of show business. That legwork makes his ultimate decision much more meaningful to the audience and builds a rock-solid supporting cast before Akira ever steps on stage.

The show looks excellent too. There's a refreshing diversity to the designs, notably Kacchan's bulkier frame. Even the other idols we see have different silhouettes, with the older guys looking noticeably fitter and more adult than our high school protagonist. In a genre where the guys can be so conventionally bishounen it's hard to tell them apart, it gives all the characters a solid visual personality before they've even uttered a word. The direction and storyboarding are strong, drawing you into the characters' emotions and emphasizing lighting and shadows to build mood; it's great stuff. There's even a pretty impressive opening performance that, while featuring some jank when the choreography gets ahead of itself, utilizes its 3D elements well.

This is a solid premiere, and I say that as someone who doesn't usually enjoy idol shows. But this premiere won me over quickly. When Akira's mother was joking about her soon-to-be-famous son bringing in new customers to the family business, I was sold on watching another episode. Even if this kind of show isn't your bag, give it a try; you might find something special.


Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Let it be known that the first episode of UniteUp! commits two grave sins: protagonist Akira's friend Acchan records him singing secretly and posts it online, and his mother puts pineapple in miso soup. I don't know which is worse. But even with my deep and abiding dislike of pineapple, I have to settle on what his friend did to Akira as the worst of the two issues, even though arguably there would not be a plot had he not done so. And Acchan's actions come from a good place; after quitting baseball for reasons that have yet to be revealed, he's been at loose ends, and his friend wants him to find something he can do well and have confidence in again. Did he go about it the right way? Absolutely not. But that his heart was in the right place when he did it may make this feel like less of a mean premise for some viewers.

It does not, however, make for a particularly good first episode. It takes a relatively similar approach as the manga Hikaru in the Light!, right down to the bathhouse where both protectionists spend time because it's the family business. But where Hikaru in the Light!'s heroine actively wants to sing, Unite Up's Akira does not appear to share those ambitions. Even when he eventually agrees to go along with it, he's clearly still deciding whether to embark on this particular career. In part, this could be due to him being completely overwhelmed by the fact that his friend went behind his back to get him noticed, and then his mother agreed to allow him to become an idol without telling him that the agency had contacted her. If someone is in control of Akira's life, it sure isn't him.

Plot aside, this has many of the required trappings for an idol show. There are various beautiful people, including the two Akira is unwittingly being put into a group with, decently perky Jpop songs, and choreography that doesn't quite work. There's even a pair of famous former idols running the agency that scouts Akira to ensure that all boxes are ticked. In terms of first episodes, I might put this above B Project but below IDOLiSH 7, which has a different hook than most others. But even if we never see pineapple put in miso soup again (or green tea), there's something uncomfortable about how Akira is shepherded into show business. This looks and sounds fine, but parts are distasteful enough that I don't need to watch anymore.


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