IDOLM@STER: Xenoglossia

A robot anime based on the characters of THE iDOLM@STER. Have idols fight each other, confront each other, sometimes get hurt, and maybe even die. It will also include romance elements. The idols will fall in love... with the robots they pilot!

The Idolmaster series is popular today, but when it was first released as an arcade game, its popularity was not as great as it is today. That's probably why they were allowed to alter the characters' settings like this. At the time, THE iDOLM@STER was not that popular, and the developer team was busy developing a new game rather than an anime adaptation. That's why such a project was approved. Naturally, the fans of the original work were outraged. They were furious that the characters' settings were changed and they were made to pilot robots. Above all, their own wives (meaning their favorite characters) would fall in love with the robots. It must be a very unpleasant experience for them. Nevertheless, this anime is interesting. I am one of the fans of THE iDOLM@STER. I am not in favor of changing the characters, but it was not too difficult to enjoy watching this strange concept with its well-crafted story and originality.

According to Wikipedia, the concept is "My-HiME with characters from THE iDOLM@STER.

The star system used in this work, the technique of having characters play different roles in different productions on different stages, is an element introduced into this work from "My-Otome." The story takes place in Japan, more than 100 years after the collapse of the moon. The earth is threatened by falling meteorites. Since Japan does not have nuclear weapons, it cannot intercept meteorites with nuclear weapons like other countries. Therefore, as an alternative to nuclear weapons, the extraterrestrial life form "iDOL" discovered after the collapse of the moon was used to remove meteorites. This iDOL is not a mere machine, but seems to have a will. In order to remove the meteorite, it is necessary for humans to pilot the iDOL. However, the iDOL must be controlled by a beautiful girl or it will be rejected. This is where the characters from THE iDOLM@STER come in. Another subplot involves the conflict between Mondenkind and Turiavita. Mondenkind is an international organization dedicated to reconstruction. Turiavita is a rival organization independent of Mondenkind's Idol Study Department. This background knowledge is sufficient for this review. There are many other detailed subplots, and this story is quite complicated if you don't concentrate on following it. It is great that so much setting was developed for this anime. In the original story, Idolmaster was meant to be a producer of top idols. You become an Idolmaster by producing the idols in your charge and developing them to the top idol. In XENOGLOSSIA, it means pilot of iDOL.

One of the main factors that make this anime interesting is that this is no ordinary robot anime. The characters treat iDOLs as equals to humans. Just as you fall in love with a person, you fall in love with a strong and gentle iDOL. Such an unusual atmosphere is quite appealing. For example, in the first episode, the story progresses without knowing much about the setting. There are fewer lines than in the others. It includes a scene of a visit to a grave that lingers and, as one might expect, a battle scene. Although the story progresses rapidly without being well understood, each scene has an unusual atmosphere, which gives the audience a sense of anticipation for what is to come. Although I lost interest as the final episode neared its conclusion due to the complex plot involved, I really enjoyed it until I got used to the alien setting. As more is gradually revealed about the setting, I will understand it better. I will explain less here because it takes the fun out of following the story. Even if you are skeptical about this anime, I would like you to actually watch it.

Here is one thing to consider about the characters. Their personalities, voice actors, treatment, and everything else is different. In the original, Takatsuki Yayoi (Ami Shimizu) is a poor but energetic younger girl. However, in this work, she appears as a friend and equal to Haruka (Yuka Iguchi). She is not an idol master, but an ordinary celebrity. There is no longer any trace of the original work. Another character who has changed significantly from the original is KISARAGI Chihaya (Shimizu Kari). In the original work, she was known for her small breasts. In this work, they are 89 centimeters. This is a terrible change. No wonder fans are angry. All joking aside, she is the idol master of Turia Beata. In short, she is an enemy character. She is a dangerous character who is obsessed with one of the iDOLs, Inbel, and tries to fuse with her. Compared to these two, the other characters are not so different in personality from the original, although their character designs have changed to a certain extent.

Yuka Iguchi, who plays the leading role of Haruka, makes her first starring appearance in this production. Perhaps because of this, she mentions this work whenever she speaks of it as "a work that I have a special attachment to. Eriko Nakamura, who played Haruka in the original "THE iDOLM@STER," had this to say about the film.

She said, "I'm glad that Haruka (in XENOGLOSSIA) is not me. Nakamura said that she had the impression that Haruka in this work was different from Haruka in the original game, and that if she had played Haruka in "XENOGLOSSIA" as well, she would be a different Haruka, which would negate the Haruka she had played in the past. The difference between the game and the anime would have confused those who knew the Haruka of the past." (quoted from Wikipedia).

The work was also well received by some fanatics and now boasts a cult following, albeit in a very small circle of fans. While this is not exhaustive evidence of the quality of the anime, it may be enough to conclude that the anime is better than its reputation. In fact, as a concept-driven robot anime, it is very appealing; the CG fight scenes are not very powerful, but the atmospheric appeal is real.

Four years after the release of this anime, "THE iDOLM@STER," based on the original setting, was released, and compared to XENOGLOSSIA, the characters were more appealing. I quite enjoyed the appealing characters and music, although there were some scenes that were quite aggressively dropped into emotional scenes. It is probably one of the best anime of all time, and while XENOGLOSSIA lacks some of those things, it is a cut above in terms of originality of concept and worldview.

In the end, I'm not sure if it was as well received by the public as most would have expected. It certainly pales in comparison to the original THE iDOLM@STER, with a score of 6.45 on MyAnimeList and 5.0 on IMDb. Some people may not be able to see the characters as completely different from the original. While I cannot recommend this anime to such people, I recommend this anime to everyone else.