24 November 2013: All right, I'm ready to rewatch THE iDOLM@STER TV
Miki has pretty good hair for someone who sleeps so much.
As you might expect, THE iDOLM@STER TV anime is a bit different if you're already familiar with the characters, their songs, and the dances. The first time I watched the series, I merely had a general understanding of the franchise at best, with most of what I knew coming from (once again) the fan art or from criticisms I had heard of the "apocryphal" Xenoglossia series from years back. I'm still largely ignorant of the gameplay, but I've at least been exposed to the music, more of the fandom, and Haruhi knows how many hours of all-singing, all-dancing videos on YouTube and NicoVideo. I've also played enough Shiny Festa to know I'm pretty terrible at it.
When visiting the offices of 765 Pro, politely decline if
you are offered a "Mami Punch." It is not a beverage.
Unsurprisingly, the introductory episodes of THE iDOLM@STER are much stronger if you already know the franchise. It's endearing to see the game characters brought to life this way. And when you already know how their personalities will develop, there's more opportunity to observe small details and notice early cues. Significantly, I'm almost willing to give the cringing Yukiho a pass for her episode three antics. Anime Yukiho brings up the caboose of my iM@S idol rankings, but she does a little better now that she benefits from my affectionate bias towards "Kosmos, Cosmos" (even if Takane does it better).
