The iDOLM@STER

Both stories deal with a group of up-and-coming idols. 

Both are stories about girls becoming idols and all of the challenges they must face. AKB0048 is set in the future and has battle elements while iM@S is contemporary and more realistic. 

Both follow a cheerful group of girls that love music and sharing time together.  

Both are about a young idol group rising to stardom. 

Workplace drama featuring a really wide cast. Both touch on the darker sides of show business, but rather than wallow in misery the characters move forward, accepting that the business they are in is cruel but that it's what they want to do. Both also depict their characters advancing in their careers and the worries that come with even positive change. 

The idols in both i7 and im@s started off as a rookie who's struggled to achieve popularity--but when they finally reached their peak, that's only the beginning to more conflicts as they finally learn the true purpose of being an idol. Not only that, but being challenged by fellow idol groups (TRIGGER, Jupiter) from a rival company that held grudge towards the main characters' company (Yaotome Production, 961pro), the small competition between the popularity of smaller units that became the starting point of the whole group's popularity (MEZZO'', Ryuuguu Komachi), both of the plot in i7 and im@s explored more on the near-realistic side of the idol industry, as they also focus on the aspect of character development and teamwork. read more 

Both Hanasaku Iroha and The iDOLM@STER are clumsy, humble, honest, and idealistic coming-of-age slice of life anime that do their jobs very well. They focus primarily on the characters themselves as individuals, rather than focusing strictly on their comedic mannerisms. While both have comedic moments, both actually excel at using atmosphere to accent its character-driven drama. Hanasaku Iroha does this through its visual splendor, whereas The iDOLM@STER - a show primarily about music - takes full advantage of silence during critical scenes. Due to their coming-of-age stories, both shows have strong elements of time, where it's used as a slow and melancholic way to highlight changes in plot, setting, and characters during key moments. Hanasaku Iroha has some of the prettiest and detailed settings for a slice of life television series, boasting a strong start that establishes its identity as a no-gimmick drama about growing up in an unfamiliar town. Immediately, it portrays itself as less of an anime and more like a live-action drama as it focuses on the stories of all its characters, particularly the adults, as opposed to any quirky mannerism common in slice of life shows. There's romance too, but it plays second to the growth of its characters, serving as a means to measure their maturity over the series. The iDOLM@STER is primarily a slice of life comedy, but it begins with quiet scenes of the characters going about their lives - echoing the more dramatic moments later in the series. Despite being an idol show with a male lead, there's very little fan service, there's even less romance, and while most of the characters are in school, there is not one single instance during any episode where a school is shown. The show instead follows the character to different locations, in different outfits, doing different activities as they grow into their roles as aspiring idols. To any fans of coming-of-age slice of life dramas, I cannot recommend these shows enough. read more 

Both of these Anime deal with following a particular job and the ups and downs. Except, the characters involved are not your average person, they all have various personalities with quirks in them. 

Love Live! and The iDOLM@STER both have idols with the purpose of reaching their goals, mostly becoming the #1 most famous idols in the entertainment business; have a lot of Slice Of Life elements with comedy and music sprinkled on top of them and have origin stories behind some (if not all) of the characters present in the animes. Only difference between The iDOLM@STER and Love Live! is the fact that the former is based on the namesake video game series only released in Japan, while the latter is a multimedia project with Sunrise and Lantis. 

Both about Idols trying to get popular 

Both of these shows follow a group of girls as they progress in their desired career in show business. Love Get Chu's characters are aiming to be seiyuu but later also become idols, and iM@S' characters are aiming to become idols of course. Focus is given in both shows to the effort that the characters put into their work in order to make others happy. 

Both series are about a group as they work to become idols. The IDOLM@STER is a harem whereas Uta no Prince-sama is a reverse harem. 

both by the same anime studio, fluffy story line. Idolmaster is more of "over the top" kind of anime thats talk about the company. SoRaNoWoTo is more darker and intense that has wars. but both have cute girls. 

The storylines of both Anime follow a group of girls on their way to becoming popular idols. 

They both, while executing it in very different ways, use the pretense of music for deep character development. They also have a similar style of comedy, although in comparison, The iDOLM@STER is a bit toned down. Also they give compelling stories that use music as a catalyst to give these characters meaning. 

Both are about what it's like to work in the Japanese Idol industry. 

Both are comedies about a girls becoming idols. Both have similari animation. 

Shine post is similar to Idolm@ster not only in that it's a story about professional idols struggling with their own problems as well as those of this market. It is also shown here how the girls try to overcome these problems and fight their weaknesses. On top of that we have a similar brilliant Producer, who appropriately tries to make their paths. In addition, the animation itself and the quality of the audio/video part are on a similar (and in some places even higher) level to Idolm@ster. Both series tried to avoid 3D animation at all costs, which I personally appreciate. We also see a similar story-building schmeat to that of Idolm@ster, which just works well in this type of series. The characters are introduced one by one and their problems and how they are solved while lightly pushing the plot forward in the background. For me, Idolm@ster is the reference for series about idols, and so far very few series have managed to come close to this level. For me, Shine Post is one of those few titles that I could in good conscience place next to Idolm@ster.  read more 

Large roster of characters, each with their own characteristics, motivations, trials and tribulations en route to becoming a top idol/seiyuu. 

Idols climbing towards success. 

Girls have their dreams. Both Anime deal with the idol buisness. 

Both series deal with a group of idols that perform music trying to pursue their dreams. Unlike other idols anime, these series focus more on the single characters and their development, rather than on the groups. The main characters (Yuu/Producer) are similar: both are supportive and helpful people and even if they are not part of the performing group, they always help the girls and try to cheer them up when they are down.  

These titles are quite different in the way they treat their characters. Idol Densetsu Eriko focuses more on the development of the main character, while The Idolmaster is more about the interactions between the group members. But somehow, The Idolmaster reminded me also of Idol Densetsu Eriko. Both titles are about idols making a career. They sometimes have a serious feel to them, as they touch realistic looking problems. Also the competition is not always fair. If you want to see idols struggling on a sometimes slippery slope to the top, you may be interested in these titles.  

OG Idolm@ster has a lot more comedy and slice of life elements, while the story of Idoly Pride is much more serious. However, both shows share a heavy focus on idol industry / career development, agency competition, and in the latter half of Idolm@ster, interpersonal / character drama.  

Different production unit. But same universe. 

These Anime feature a lone Male amongst numerous Females. The iDOLM@STER depicts regular girls starting their journey on towards stardom as music idols, whereas in Baby Princess 3D it covers everyday life with an abnormally large family group *Just a little warning for Baby Princess 3D as it has Ecchi moments & Lolis* 

They're both about idols and music 

both anime is about Idols who are trying to be the best. some love and romance going on. CPS is not "crazy" as IM@S but both are about the same topic. 

Series with enormous casts and so much moe that people complain about it when they should actually be thankful it isn't another school comedy. 

Both have a group of girls who are becoming famous. 

Teenagers learn how to become successful in the respective publishing and entertainment industries of Japan. 

Both of these anime deal with music, so if you are looking for any Anime dealing with music, here you go. 

They have similar feels, and the characters are generally all idols.  

In both iDOLM@STER and the Hamtaro movies there are many musical interludes featuring female idols dressed like hussies singing cute music and dancing on a stage with lots of dramatic camera angles, except the idols in the Hamtaro movies are hamsters. 

Another colorful and touching anime about girls focused on following their dreams with all their difficulties but improving every day to reach the top in the idol industry. 

Both series features young girls who have the dedication and passion to become professional singers. They try to make their names known to the world through their talent and love for singing. Both series are lighthearted that has comedy, drama, and of course music. Both series' characters also has cheerful personalities although at times struggles with what they do. 

Both involve girls trying to become idols and have a company help them achieve their goals. While idolmaster may focus more on them getting jobs and how they complete it, Skip Beat follows Kyokuo revenge and how she plans to make it to the top. Either series is very enjoyable  

Both are great counterparts to each other. The iDOLM@STER is mainly rooted in telling a sweet story about upcoming idols, while BECK is more focused on telling a dramatic, sometimes heart wrenching tale of the rise of a rock group. One is fluffy, one is realistic. Both are about music and very entertaining.