Oct 17, 2015
At the point of completing Cinderella Girls season 2 there were no reviews so I thought I'd take up the challenge.
Please keep in mind that this is my first time writing an anime review!
Story: 6
The concept of Cinderella Girls 2nd season was something I was originally excited about. Challenges and conflict was quite lacking in the first season and any actual drama was weak. Since the idols were already at the top of their game, it all felt like a magic dream come true too soon, but now come season 2, this makes sense. As the title suggests, Cinderella Girls takes the classic fairy
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tale of Cinderella but with idols! There’s the evil step-mother, the prince and the multiple Cinderellas – the formula was perfect, except for that they didn’t quite pull it off.
In this season, everything the girls have previously worked for falls apart and they must pick up the pieces to start again. The first half of this season was centered around the main girls bonding with idols from other departments in order to overcome the struggles they face. The problem here is that due to such a high number of characters, the development of each girl is almost non-existent. The drama feels unnecessary and forced with no real meaning behind it, other than just giving minor characters some screentime. Ultimately these episodes serve as promotion for the mobile rhythm game as you won't be familiar with these characters unless you've played it.
After following the routine of attempting to give every character an episode to themselves, the story progresses to focusing on New Generations and in particular, Uzuki. In this aspect, the creators appear to be trying to imitate the original IDOLM@STER anime but fails as it lacks the same emotional impact that the original had. I won’t spoil anything but if you are familiar with the original IDOLM@STER you’d know that I’m referring to that particular episode involving Chihaya.
The build-up to the final episodes was rather weak and resolution was decent but in no way fully satisfying. I feel that the ending to the first season was actually a lot more enjoyable than the entire second season altogether, as the first season ending actually felt as though they had achieved something together.
Art: 9
There’s not much to say here as the art and animation in this season were as solid as the season before. The colourful nature of every character was captured perfectly through pleasing character designs and the animation was always smooth.
Sound: 8
An idol anime isn’t an idol anime without music and Cinderella Girls certainly excels in that aspect. Some songs may not be as memorable as those in other idol anime but they are enjoyable nevertheless. The voice acting is very strong and each voice perfectly suits the variety of characters.
Characters: 6
An issue with this series is that a majority of characters have one-dimensional personalities and are quite easily forgettable. Many were incredibly lacking in screentime as they were constantly overshadowed by the New Generations girls (Rin, Mio and Uzuki), which is a shame since a few of the other characters were often the most entertaining whenever they got a chance to appear. I personally found Ranko in particular to be an absolute delight but her presence in this season was almost non-existent. However, this problem is understandable as with such a high cast of characters, some naturally will have the chance to have more time in the limelight than others.
Enjoyment: 7
A lot of aspects in this season just felt weak but despite its flaws I still got some enjoyment out of it. However, it’s incredibly hard to not compare it with the original IDOLM@STER which I find was far more superior in almost every way.
Overall: 7
In all honesty, this series is more deserving of a 6 instead of a 7, but I'm being generous as I still found some enjoyment in it. Overall, this series isn’t terrible but it’s not too good either. I wouldn’t recommend watching it unless you’re a fan of idol anime as otherwise you’re bound to lose interest.
Thank you for reading my review and any feedback is appreciated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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