An idol group does idol things.

As my regular readers are no doubt aware, I think idols are the dumbest things ever. First of all, I don’t understand how anyone would like their crappy music. Second, I don’t understand the appeal of dancing in general. Bah-humbug, get off my lawn.

Lately I’ve been reconsidering though, mainly because of AKB0048, which was fucking amazing. I also sort of enjoyed Love Live, although that was almost entirely due to Nico’s existence. So I’ll give Wake Up, Girls! a chance. What does it have to offer?

One aspect that looks promising is how there’s actually an overarching plot with some stakes, unlike, say, Idolmaster. The idol agency’s boss apparently ran off with all the money, the manager doesn’t know what he’s doing, and they’re in danger of being shut down. They may need to turn to some unsavory characters to survive. Also, many of the girls are unsure whether they even want to continue at their jobs. This is all good.

The characters look promising as well: they each have their own pasts, personalities and goals. Characterization is one area in which idol shows tend to excel and Wake Up, Girls! is no exception. Plus it appears that they have a plot which intends to make use of the characters, unlike Idolmaster. I particularly like how the characters in Wake Up, Girls, look like actual people, instead of having the usual silly anime hairstyles.

To continue the comparison to past idol shows, what is lacking in Wake Up, Girls? I think what it most lacks is FABULOUSNESS. This show is not putting hearts in my eyes. Compared to the other shows I’ve seen, the actual song and dance routine was pretty plain. Perhaps that’s part of the appeal, however. This show seems to be much more down to earth than others I’ve seen.

One final thing which weirded me out:

What the hell. Up until the end, this felt like a wholesome, innocent show. And then we get to the song and dance routine, and these girls start flashing their underwear like crazy. What? It felt extremely out of place.

FYI, there is apparently some prequel movie explaining much of the context which I skipped. Don’t care enough about this to watch an entire movie at the moment.