Idoly Pride (stylized in all-caps) is aJapanese idol-themed multimedia project created byCyberAgent subsidiary QualiArts and CyberNext (a joint venture withNexon), Straight Edge, andSony Music Entertainment Japan subsidiary MusicRay'n, with character designs byQP:flapper. The series has been adapted into two manga series. Ananime television series by CAAnimation andLerche aired from January to March 2021.
A smallentertainment company, Hoshimi Production, based in Hoshimi City, produced one of the rising stars of the idol industry: Mana Nagase. One day, she died in a traffic accident on her way to the Venus Grand Prix finals, devastating the people around her, but also inspiring some of them to become eternal idols.
A few years later, Hoshimi Production holds an audition to find a new idol. Kotono Nagase, the younger sister of Mana, appears on stage along with Sakura Kawasaki, a girl with a voice just like Mana's. Starting with just Kotono and Sakura, and later totaling to a group of ten girls which are divided into two groups: Moon Tempest and Sunny Peace, they all gather and start living together in a dormitory.
The series also features Trinity Aile wanting to surpass Mana, apart from LizNoir that harbors an extraordinary rivalry with her. Standing up to each other and competing with the pride in their hearts, they aim for their best as the emotions surrounding Mana and the rivalry become entangled.
Hoshimi Production (星見プロダクション,Hoshimi Purodakushon) is a small talent agency focused on idols, located in the suburbs of Kanto, headed by Shinji Saegusa.
Mana was a high school student who instantly became popular the moment she debuted as a solo idol. She personally asked her high school classmate, Kōhei Makino, to be her manager at Hoshimi Production because he sat next to her. She was to appear in the Venus Grand Prix finals, only to be killed in a traffic accident while on her way there. She later appears in front of Kōhei as a ghost. It is implied that she had feelings for Kōhei, which are confirmed in the last episode as she kisses him before returning to the afterlife.
Kōhei is Mana's classmate at high school and later manager at Hoshimi Production. A kind of person who cannot refuse when asked, he is looking after the girls at Hoshimi Production, along with Mana's spirit, whom he can see. Kōhei also serves as the protagonist in the game version, albeit as a self-insert character, and is simply referred as "Manager". It is implied that he had feelings for Mana.
Shinji is Hoshimi Production's President. He used to work for a Van Production, a bigger entertainment company, but decided to quit as he desires to have his own company. He was the one who first scouted Mana, and later employed Kōhei as her manager at her request.
The ten girls associated with Hoshimi Production are later divided into two groups: Moon Tempest (月のテンペスト,Tsuki Tenpesuto) and Sunny Peace. Together, they are collectively referred to as Hoshimi Production.
Kotono is Mana's younger sister who decided to become an idol to live her sister's dream. A stoic and serious person, she serves as leader of the group Moon Tempest. Kotono was initially against the idea of Mana becoming an idol, as the two had much less time together once Mana started her career. Kotono is a sophomore at Hoshimi Private High School.
Sakura is a bright sophomore at Mitsugasaki Public High School, who decided to participate in an audition by Hoshimi Production because her heart guides her. Serving as leader of the group Sunny Peace, Sakura's singing voice is said to be similar to Mana's, even surprising Mana herself. It is revealed that Sakura had a heart condition, and that Mana had donated her heart to her. Later in the series, Sakura decides to sing with her own voice, which eventually leads Mana to pass on.
Rei is a third-year student at Reiba Girls' Private High School who is good at dancing, even winning a place in a Japanese dance championship. Raised in a strict family, her parents do not want her to be a dancer. She is a member of Sunny Peace.
Nagisa is a sophomore at Hoshimi Private High School, Kotono's classmate, and member of Moon Tempest. She decided to become an idol because "Kotono seems to have fun talking about it".
The oldest of the group at 20 years old, Haruko already had a solo idol career even before Mana. She graduated from Hoshimi Private High School and is currently attending Seiyō Gakuen Private University. She is a member of Sunny Peace. She initially lied about her age to the other members of Hoshimi Production because she was conscious of being older than the others.
Saki is a third-year student at Mitsugasaki Public High School and its student council president; at school, she is considered an honor student. She always admires idols and decided to become one herself. She is the older sister of Chisa Shiraishi. She is a member of Moon Tempest.
The younger sister of Saki Shiraishi, Chisa is a freshman at Mitsugasaki Public High School. She became an idol because she wants to be together with her sister. However, upon being separated from Saki and becoming a member of Sunny Peace, Chisa begins learning to stop relying too much on her sister.
A third year student at Reiba Girls' Private Middle School who greatly admires Mana, referring to her as "Mana-sama". Suzu comes from a wealthy family, a fact she often brings up during her introductions, and came to Hoshimi Production to escape from a certain trouble. She is a member of Moon Tempest.
A freshman at Hoshimi Private High School and member of Moon Tempest. Mei is a girl who is personally scouted by Kōhei to change the tension between the members. She has an athletic personality and is the only person besides Kōhei who can see Mana.
An idol otaku and member of Sunny Peace, Shizuku is a freshman at Mitsugasaki Public High School. She is generally quiet and prefers to keep her mouth shut, but starts to talk much whenever there is a talk about idols.
Asakura serves as president of Van Production. Despite being calm and emotionless, he always has the back of the idol groups he created. Asakura is Rui's biological father, but unaware of this.
The voice actresses of LizNoir are the members of group unitSphere. In the anime, only Rio and Aoi appear as members of the group at first, while Ai and Kokoro join the group in the last episode.
Amanga series by Hiroki Haruse, titledIdoly Pride Stage of Asterism, was serialized onKadokawa'sComic Newtype website from June 10, 2020,[5] to November 30, 2021.[8]
A second manga series by Yuriko Asami, titledIdoly Pride Beginning of Lodestar, was serialized through theComicWalker andNiconico Seiga websites from October 30, 2020,[9][10] to June 24, 2021.[11] The series focuses on Mana Nagase and serves as a prequel to the main series.[9][10]
Ananime television series was first announced in December 2019.[17] It is the first anime produced by CAAnimation, a label created byCyberAgent to produce original anime.[18]Lerche is also credited for production. The series was directed by Yū Kinome and written by Tatsuya Takahashi, with character designs by Sumie Kinoshita. It aired from January 10 to March 28, 2021, onTokyo MX and other channels.[2][19][a] The opening theme song is "Idoly Pride" while the ending theme song is "The Sun, Moon and Stars", both performed by Hoshimi Production.[21]Funimation licensed the series and streamed it on its website in North America, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland; mainland Europe throughWakanim; Australia and New Zealand throughAnimeLab.[22]
A mobile game forAndroid andiOS developed by QualiArts was released on June 24, 2021.[25][26]
A year after its initial Japanese release, an English version was later stealthily revealed to be published by Boltrend Games.[27] It had a closed beta test on September 14, 2022,[28] with the end date previously being September 21, before being extended for two days.[29] After said beta, Boltrend Games would start pre-registrations with an official release date to be announced.[30]
Following months of silence, Boltrend Games announced in February 2023 that they were no longer publishing the game.[31][user-generated source] A global release by Neowiz was announced in March 2023.[32] Pre-registrations began the following month.[33] The game was released on June 1, 2023, and would follow the content schedule of the Korean version.[34]
Idoly Pride is an example of thetwin films phenomena alongsideSelection Project. Reviewers have compared both anime to each other and have described the two as sharing certain storylines and similar characters.[35][36][37] Both franchises were greenlit days apart in December 2019,[38][39] and aired within months of each other.
^On Air | TVアニメ「IDOLY PRIDE」公式サイト [On Air | TV Anime "Idoly Pride" Official Website].anime.idolypride.jp (in Japanese).Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 18, 2021.
^Music | TVアニメ「IDOLY PRIDE」公式サイト [Music | TV Anime "Idoly Pride" Official Website].anime.idolypride.jp (in Japanese).Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 18, 2021.
^STORY | TVアニメ「IDOLY PRIDE」公式サイト [Story | TV Anime "Idoly Pride" Official Website].anime.idolypride.jp (in Japanese).Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. RetrievedMarch 22, 2020.
