#aikatsu figure

[dailyfigures]

Shirogane Lily ; Aikatsu! ☆ Alpha x Omega

[figurecollection]

Hana Garage Kit by Sugarstar, from Aikatsu Planet

[stimming-puppet]

pansexual stimboard with themes of being an idol x/x/x|x/x|x/x/x

[festaventurine]

Just girls being girls :) (robbing a CEO)

*Pictures taken by and Shiroko-Aruto is owned by my bf!

[megamidevice]

Hanazono Kirara • Aikatsu Stars! Garage Kit by Double L

[grailfigure]

Shirogane Lily (Rosetta Thorn Coord) // Aikatsu Stars!

1/8 Scale by Alpha x Omega

[lunawings]

I loaded up Aikatsu Cinderella Lesson because I heard that you can scan older Aikatsu cards into it (i.e. cards that aren't on My No. 1 Stage like Aoi's initial PR) but nevermind scanning QR codes, I've been playing for like 10 minutes and I haven't even figured out how to do an audition yet....... I'm just wandering around Starlight Academy collecting cards?? It also doesn't look or sound like Aikatsu at all. Like...

Look at these coords!?! Hahah what.

[curejiraiya]

So my current running theory is that Waccha PriMagi didn't hit anywhere near the sales figures they wanted, but they weren't exactly ready to launch into full PriPara 2 mode for the main pretty series, so they're stalling for time by using all the ideas they had for the second season that got cut because of the lack of sales in the arcade game and the upcoming script read.

Sales for this kind of show are down across the board, and I think they and basically every other company around the world are coming to this conclusion that focusing on bringing back titles that are nostalgic for people who are now in their early twenties and hold lots of buying power is a better financial investment than making new shows for kids. Which on one hand I don't exactly mind because I do like being catered to, but on the other hand Waccha PriMagi was an amazing show, and it not getting renewed for a second season feels like a true stiffle of innovation for the magical girl / idol genre.

I don't know all the facts, but it feels like we saw the same thing with Aikatsu, They cut its newest show because of lack of sales, pivoted to doing an anniversary movie for the first and most popular season, and then canceled it outright. The target audience of Aikatsu is too young to have seen the original series when it aired, so why did it end this way?

Another example of this is the Sailor Moon reboot pivoting from being a one-to-one rework of the manga as its own new standalone anime, to being heavily referential of the original '90s anime because that was higher selling and more popular. The target audience of magical girl anime shows wouldn't know about the 90s anime, so why do we keep seeing this happening?

I could bring up many many examples of this happening in Western media. To be honest I complain about this all the time, we are in an era where studios aren't allowed to make new work, they're required to work with existing IP because it brings in more money, and the anime that I watch are not in a different world, they're facing the exact same dilemma.

And sometimes it can be endearing, I like that we're getting another season of PriPara years later because I think it's a good show and with the right team good can be done with it. But I don't like how the Sailor Moon anime is changing to be against what it originally stood for. And the target audience of both of these shows wouldn't understand the significance of any of this because they didn't grow up with the original.

Sorry for how long this rant got, but basically I think there's a place in the world for both shows, there's time to pander and there's time to make shows for the target audience, and it feels frustrating that one type of show is being killed off for another for the sake of profits, and it's equally frustrating that this is an around the board issue. I want PriMagi season two, I think the show is genuinely good and the best work that studio has put out in years. It stomps on the entirety of PriChan. And in our current post COVID media landscape it feels like we'll never see a show like it again.

[yjyt85r98r]

Aikatsu song reviews: Start Line!

Song

It's kind of impossible not to compare this song to "START DASH SENSATION", because they are quite similar. Yet "Start Line!" is somehow able to evoke a really strong response out of me that SDS just doesn't do for me (at least not to the same extent), and I'm trying to figure out why. I think it's because SL is a bit longer (at least the short version is), has a slightly slower tempo, and does more with buildup/breakdown. All of these things allow more time for an emotional response to form, whereas SDS is very much a "running song" that almost ends too quickly. (Although SDS does build up the intro more, whereas SL already has quite a bit going on at the very beginning.) Anyway, this doesn't make one song better than the other. Both songs are very likely to make Aikatsu fans emotional.

The twinkling piano(?) during the first verse, combined with the melody and delivery of the vocals, gives the impression of light shining through the trees, or a nostalgic memory echoing deep inside the mind. I like that the first half of the verse is really simple with just piano and vocals. The violin really helps give the song an identity of its own, and the way it comes in during the verses is nice. However, I think that the violin's melody during the instrumental part is too repetitive. The subtle four-on-the-floor beat during the chorus and instrumental really helps add energy without being overwhelming, and the drums that subtly come in during the verses make parts of the song feel a little bit more mature.

Despite the song's classical influence, it uses a lot of EDM elements such as sweeps, claps and vocal filters. I have mixed feelings on this. They don't really fit the theme, and I don't really like the way they sound, but they do make the song more exciting somehow.

I think the verses are really essential for building up to the chorus. If someone JUST heard the chorus of this song, I think they could easily feel indifferent to it, but if they heard the whole song, they'd probably like it.

"Start Line!" isn't a unique song, but it has so many little quirks that mean that while there are many similar songs out there, none are quite the same.

Vocals

This is a song that I like in spite of the vocals, yet somehow, the vocals also really help make it what it is? Even if I don't really like the vocals, the song just wouldn't be the same without them.

Hime and Yume both have squeaky voices, but Hime's voice somehow has a stronger and more mature quality behind it. I think most people prefer the Hime version to the Yume & Rola version, but I do like how Yume and Rola's different voices help balance each other out.

There are some autotuned parts which kind of ruin the vocals, but they also add a surreal, airy and dreamy quality to the song that helps make it more exciting. At the very least, the effects on the vocals never reach Aikatsu Friends!-level overediting.

The verses go quite low for an Aikatsu song, but unfortunately, most of the singers were unable to hit those low notes with ease, and the struggle is quite audible. But most of the lower parts also seem to have some kind of filter over them which might make them sound even shallower than they would naturally, so it's hard to judge that fairly.

Lyrics

They're very generic. I don't have a negative opinion on them, but I can say that, unlike certain other songs' lyrics, these ones don't make me feel better when I'm sad.

Choreography

The dance looks like it's supposed to be cute and petite, which doesn't really fit a dynamic song like this. There are a lot of small, quick, sharp movements that look kind of weird and don't match the music at all.

Visuals

The opening visuals are synced pretty well with the music. It's not the best ever, but it works pretty well. In particular, the pastel neons fit well. And the increase of movement and confident expressions during the louder second half of the A-melody helps add energy.

The outfits fit pretty well with the song, as they both kind of blur the lines between 'genuinely elegant' and 'girlypop'.

The stage combined with the song feels really nostalgic somehow. The fountains that gush up during climatic parts are the icing on the cake. The stage seems a bit simple but has more and more details the more you look. I didn't notice until now, but there are two pink and purple checkered pillars with crowns on top, perhaps as a homage to Dreamy Crown/Akari.

The moon version of the stage is absolutely gorgeous and right up my alley, but it totally doesn't fit the song. I mean, this song has such sunny day vibes!

Good points: I don't know! It's just good, okay? Bad points: Autotune and out-of-place EDM noises. But honestly, those things were done with a purpose, and they do add to the song in some way or another.

Rating: 8/10 Personal rating: 8/10

[not-cute-acid-chaan]

Ichigo in my style! Like... yeah. I really like Aikatsu original style with long thon legs, but what i like more is 80′s style hourglass figure 

[sunnybreeze]

Help me decide!

I wanted to get back into drawing again, and I figured that the best way to do that is to go back and redo an old piece! Most of my pieces are from Aikatsu, so I picked some of my finished pieces and some of my sketches that were left unfinished to choose from! Help a girl out please OTL

[figurecollection]

Yurika Toudou 1/7 Scale by MegaHouse, from Aikatsu!

[hikaru-hoshina]

Sooo I watched the very last Aikatsu "movie" (because they are more like 3 episodes screened on fancy movie theaters).

As aspected, everything revolves around the main trio (Ichigo, Ran and Aoi) figuring out what they want to do in life after their graduation, so there are maaaany "grow-up" motivational speeches and nostalgic throw-backs. I wonder if Ichigo will always be the top idol or if some youngster will ever dare to beat her (… kind of an interesting starting point for a future reboot ngl). Showing them as adults in the middle doesn't really sets the hype for me, but I guess they really wanted to have all the graduation performance at the very end. Also it's kind of weird how they have to remind you they are adults by showing them always sipping some kind of alcohol lol. Yurika is clearly “suffering” the Cure Marine fate here by being the big meme and fan service of the show the whole time. Raichi being a grown-up men but still having the voice of a kid is pretty weird. Also, the fact that appeals aren't a thing in this movie is probably a sign that they were there exclusively for promoting the arcade game at the time it was still a thing??

But at the end of the day it's a cute ending, I appreciated that they had realistic goals for their careers after graduation and the adult designs and songs are pretty good. I miss Aikatsu a lot, I've watched it since 2012 and it was one anime that made me grow-up in a way Ichigo and the others does in these final episodes. It's sad the franchise died out quickly (and so its competitors) but it'll always have a special place in my heart.

AND KAYOKO IS ALWAYS TOP TEAR DESIGN IN THESE ENDINGS I LOVE HER A LOT!! It was cool to see that they fully animated the ending instead of using some types of transitions like in the past!

[festaventurine]

Can't do a fanart this year but happy birthday Akari Oozora! You'll always be my idol!

[megamidevice]

Shirogane Lily (Rosetta Thorn Coord ver.) • Aikatsu Stars! 1/8 Scale Figure by Alpha x Omega