The Idol M@ster Cinderella Girls

Episodes 1-2

The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls is the latest in a series of anime, manga, and games in the popular franchise about grooming young idols for stardom as their producer. Even if you have no familiarity with the franchise, or have found yourself disappointed in it before, fans of idol shows in general should find plenty to enjoy in these first two episodes, from the fact that each of our three main girls has a distinct (and not too clichéd) personality to the 80s film-style montage of them exploring their production company's building. It is certainly my personal favorite of what I have seen from The IDOLM@STER's offerings, and there's a good natured cheer that permeates both of these introductory episodes.

Episode one introduces us to Uzuki and Rin, two of the three protagonists. The girls couldn't be more different: Uzuki is a little flighty and has aspired to be an idol her entire life. She's been auditioning a lot, but has yet to make the cut. In fact, she didn't make it to the finals in the recent audition she attended for a new group called the Cinderella Girls, so she's thrilled when the group's producer comes to find her. Apparently three spaces opened up, and Uzuki was close enough to the winning group that she made the cut. Thrilled, Uzuki immediately accepts the offer and redoubles her practicing. She even buys herself a congratulatory bouquet, which is where she meets Rin. Rin is reserved but has a look of trouble about her, the kind that makes adults suspect that she is up to no good. She has no interest in being an idol, but the moment the producer sees her, he wants her for the group. His efforts to woo her are pretty funny, particularly since he's a creepy looking guy. Eventually Rin is persuaded, and in episode two, she and Uzuki meet Mio, the third of their triad. Mio is like a less well-behaved Uzuki – she's exuberant almost to a fault. She clearly makes the other girls a little uncomfortable, and you get the feeling that they're really not sure what to do with her. Even Mio is cowed, however, when they meet the other eleven girls who are part of the Cinderella project, all of whom are clearly much more confident, and possibly competent, than our three.

Rin is a large part of what makes the show for me. She never auditioned and has zero interest in being an idol...or in much of anything else. She's frustrated that the producer, having spotted her in the park, keeps finding her and trying to give her his card. While he clearly feels creepy – and looks it too – he keeps after her. But it isn't him who convinces Rin to give it a try; fittingly it is Uzuki, whose visible shock that Rin might not want to be an idol seems to make her rethink her position. That the animation can get as much expression out of Rin's stoic face as Uzuki's plastic one is pretty impressive, and the whole episode looks very nice, particularly the flow of Uzuki's hair. We can also immediately recognize Rin's dog as a Yorkie, not just from the coloring, but also from the body language; she's got that small dog shiver down pat. I also appreciated that Rin isn't suddenly enthusiastic once she decides to accept the producer's offer. She's willing to try, but she's still a reserved person, and it will be interesting to see how (and if) that changes once she's on stage. The second episode does see a bit of a drop in animation quality, primarily when the girls aren't seen from close up, but it maintains an impressive fidelity to movement. Hair and clothing rarely, if ever, moves as a single unit: individual curls and strands move separately and school uniform ribbons don't just stay static as if they were made of hard plastic instead of cloth. This latter is most easily seen in the opening theme (although it is present throughout both episodes), where you can see the bounce of different parts of the ribbon as characters move. Likewise skirts don't move as if they were tubes of cloth; we can see ripples where the seams are and feel the weight (or lack thereof) of the fabric. While episode two doesn't give us as much time to see the girls' habitual movements (such as Uzuki's spins in episode one), there are still plenty of small details to drool over.

I am a bit concerned about the size of the cast – eleven additional girls, all of whom have recognizable quirks, are all introduced at once. The conclusion of episode two makes it look as if the rest of the Cinderellas will be kept more or less in the background while Mio, Uzuki, and Rin function as a separate group of three, but if they all come to the fore, it could be tough to keep them all straight...or at least not confuse them with other silver/purple haired Russian girls, shy girls, baking girls, or girls who say “nya” a lot. However, given that only our three were chosen to help a popular idol in her next concert, this worry may be for naught.

Cinderella Girls' first two episodes showcase some beautiful animation, catchy tunes (love that insert song in episode two!), and three very different but equally appealing main heroines. The second episode may not look quite as gorgeous as the first, but the story is proceeding at a good pace, neither feeling rushed nor dragging, and whether you like Idolm@ster in general or idol shows in specific, it looks like this one is going to be worth following.

Rating: B

The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls is currently streaming on Daisuki.

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.