天下制覇

The most negative depiction of idols I've seen in years.

Impressions:

The production side is certainly putting in some genuine effort. The direction in particular. The Scrubs-like fantasy scenes, uncommon as they are, are at least an interesting way to show what the protagonist is thinking rather than have her simply announce and explain it, though there is a bit of that too. It's got a very solid budget as well. Everything is extremely expressive which helps keep it engaging even when the jokes and dialogue are largely empty small talk. Not always to the best effect, like a few really jolting camera swoops, that incredibly cringey cleavage shot at the very start, and the guitar sequence at the end was pretty jerky, but they're making a genuine effort, and I can at least appreciate that when so many shows don't bother.

I think that's where it struggles a bit though. The protagonist painted a mural that she cared a lot about, but her friends thought it was stupid, so she's embarrassed about it, but also protective of it. And here comes the quirky manic pixie girl who cares about it for her against The Corporate Idol Man, giving her the courage to show she cares too. Such springtime of adolescence and whatnot. And modern technology too. But good lord is this so overdone in anime. PA Works has built a cottage industry just on insecure girl meets manic pixie totally-just-a-roomate, and there's not anything particularly unique about this one besides a shared fascination with jellyfish. I'm sure people who like these kinds of shows will probably love this, but… eh. It has the style and presentation pretty down, but is badly missing any real substance.