The Idolmaster is a Japanese media franchise that began in 2005 with a raising simulation and rhythm video game series created by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The series primarily centers on the career of a producer who works with a group of p ...

'' is a 2011 anime series based on the popular raising sim and

rhythm game Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. Games in the genre typically focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments, and require players to pres ...

franchise of the same name by

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

on the

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

and

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

. The anime is produced by

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division, ...

and directed by Atsushi Nishigori, series composition by Atsushi Nishigori and

Touko Machida is a Japanese anime screenwriter. She debuted as a screenwriter in 2001, and in 2006 got to become the lead screenwriter for the first time with '' Ramen Fighter Miki''. Since ''Ramen Fighter Miki'', she has done screenwriting for many works, su ...

, character design by Atsushi Nishigori, art directed by Kushiro Usui and sound directed by Hiromi Kikuta. Based on ''

The Idolmaster 2 is a Japanese raising simulation video game in ''The Idolmaster'' series developed and published by Bandai Namco Games. It was originally released on February 24, 2011, for the Xbox 360 in Japan, and later for the PlayStation 3 on October 27, 20 ...

'', the anime follows a group of thirteen pop idols from 765 Productions Studios and their goal to become the most popular idols in Japan. The anime aired from July 8, 2011 to December 23, 2011 on TBS and on later dates on

MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician Places * MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US * Mari ...

, CBC, RKB and

BS-i is a Japanese satellite broadcasting station headquartered in Akasaka Gochome, Minato, Tokyo. Its channel name is BS-TBS (formerly, BS-i). It is a member television station of Japan News Network. Channels *Television: BS-TBS is assigned BS16 ...

. An

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

episode was released on June 16, 2012. The anime's first opening theme song for episodes 2 to 12 is "Ready!!" by 765PRO Allstars, the thirteen idols of 765 Productions, sung by their voice actresses, Haruka Amami (

Eriko Nakamura is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. In 2014, at the 4th Newtype Anime awards, she won a voice actor award (female). Biography After going through the Japan Narration Acting Institute, she joined Arts ...

), Chihaya Kisaragi (

Asami Imai is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Early Wing. She debuted as a voice actress in 1999 and as singer in 2009 by releasing her first single "Day by Day / Shining Blue Rain" under the 5pb. Records label. She is also well known f ...

), Yukiho Hagiwara ( Azumi Asakura), Yayoi Takatsuki (

Mayako Nigo is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She was married since April 2014 and that she has given birth to a boy on January 1, 2016. Filmography Television animation * '' Angel Tales'' (TV) as Hamster no Kurumi * ''Rozen Maiden'' (TV) as M ...

), Ritsuko Akizuki (

Naomi Wakabayashi is a Japanese actress and voice actress. She's credited under the name in products with adult content. She has been married since her 33rd birthday, and gave birth to her first child on February 14, 2015. Filmography Anime *'' Aokana: Four ...

), Azusa Miura ( Chiaki Takahashi), Iori Minase (

Rie Kugimiya is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is best known for her voice performances in anime, which include Alphonse Elric in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' series, Kiana in ''Honkai Impact 3rd'', Kagura in ''Gin Tama'', and Happy in ''Fairy Tail ...

), Makoto Kikuchi (

Hiromi Hirata is a Japanese voice actress represented by I'm Enterprise. She is best known for her role as Makoto Kikuchi in '' The Idolmaster'' game series. She was featured as a guest of honor at Anime Expo 2004. In video games, she voices Mao in ''Disgae ...

), Ami and Mami Futami (

Asami Shimoda is a Japanese actress and voice actress. Her best known roles include the Futami twins in ''The Idolmaster'', and Kagamine Rin and Len in the Vocaloid Crypton Future Media's Character Vocal Series. In the adult game ''Tayutama'', she used the ...

), Miki Hoshii (

Akiko Hasegawa is a Japanese voice actress and singer best known as the voice of Miki Hoshii in '' The Idolmaster'' series. She also voices Akari in ''Fantasista Doll'' and Rena Asihara in ''Ro-Kyu-Bu!''. On February 25, 2014, she announced that she has b ...

), Hibiki Ganaha (

Manami Numakura is a Japanese voice actress and former singer. She is affiliated with Arts Vision. Her best-known role is in '' The Idolmaster'' video game franchise where she voices Hibiki Ganaha from the rival group known as Project Fairy. Other major roles ...

) and Takane Shijō (

Yumi Hara is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Osaka Prefecture, Japan. In December 2017, she put her singing career on hold to focus on her voice acting career. She announced her marriage on September 26, 2019. On July 17, 2020, she announced t ...

). For episodes 14 to 19, 21 to 23, 25 and 26, the second opening theme song is "Change!!!!" by 765PRO Allstars. For the ending theme songs, each episode has a different song sung by the idols, including songs from the games.

Episode list

''The Idolmaster''

''The Idolmaster Shiny Festa''

The following are three

episodes included with the three individual versions of the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

game, ''

The Idolmaster Shiny Festa is a series of three Japanese rhythm video games developed and published by Bandai Namco Games. The games are part of '' The Idolmaster'' franchise, and were originally released on October 25, 2012 as , , and for the PlayStation Portable in J ...

'', released on October 25, 2012. They were later released internationally with the

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

version on April 22, 2013. Each episode takes place in the same time frame, revolving around a group of idols being chosen to attend a music festival at an island resort, but the idols chosen are different in each version. The main theme song is "Music" by 765PRO Allstars.

References

External links

''The Idolmaster'' anime official website

''The Idolmaster'' anime website
at TBS * {{DEFAULTSORT:Idolmaster

Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Gree ...