Idols in Space vers. 0048

Idols in space have certainly been done before (like Macross), but what if you add in one of the most prolific idols groups of all time into the mix?

And that's where AKB0048 comes in heralding the name of AKB48 into anime.

Now today I got around to seeing the first 5 episodes of the show. I find it quite funny that the so-called successors are actually not voiced by their namesakes, but are voiced by famous voice actors instead. Although I'm not really a fan of AKB48, I still did a bit of research and knew about probably half of the successors' like the General Manager Takamina or the "android girl" Mayuyu. Even funnier is seeing Chieri, who is voiced by the real Mayuyu, talk with 00 Mayuyu, voiced by Yukari Tamura.

Anyways I'm not really sure how I feel about the show right now. I'm not a huge fan of purely ensemble songs if I can't hear at least some distinct groups/solos, though I have to admit that I loved "Aitakatta" when I first heard it all those years ago. Some of the orchestraic mixs of the AKB songs were actually really nice, as I felt some chills hearing Aitakatta like that. Even Heavy Rotation sounded quite different and nice. The fact that I can recognize the majority of the songs sung probably meant my "research" was successful.

Aside from songs, I'm quite liking the characters, though I believe they have a lot more development to go before they become much better characters. Nagisa kind of reminds me of Ranka from Macross F, with her amateurish voice that really fits as newbie idol character. Though I have yet to hear her sing solo, so I'm only comparing the voice acting part.

The random references to stuff were also amusing though it also made everything that should be "serious" sound quite funny like the ship "Flying Get". Though I guess this is the type of show that you're not supposed to take too seriously. Though there is that serious reference to Acchan being one of the greatest AKBs to graduate, which was nice.

Now I just hope this series decides to develop their characters more and be enjoyable even to a cursory AKB fan. Perhaps it'll get me into them a little bit more. Though I am still a "Beginner".