If you know anything about me, you know that I love idols. So, when I heard about the anime Music Girls (Ongaku Shoujo), I needed to check it out. Right away, I could tell this anime was going to be, well, different.
The series is about a girl named Hanako and an unpopular idol group called the Music Girls. Upon seeing the Music Girls perform live, Hanako decides she wants to support the group in any way she can. Although while she is great at dancing, Hanako is terrible at singing. So, she joins the idol group’s staff. Right away, I liked this concept because it wasn’t expected. I thought she would be a fantastic performer who saved the group with her voice, but it took a different approach completely. Instead, she supports all of the members of Music Girls behind the scenes.
I also liked how the idol group was unpopular at first. Instead of the group being created from scratch like in Love Live, or being recruited by an agency, like in Idolmaster, the Music Girls had been around for a while and just weren’t getting any momentum. The first two episodes were a little odd – the fact Hanako’s parents just let her join a random idol group on a whim was questionable. Plus, I couldn’t quite tell if the show was trying to be silly, serious, or something else entirely. However, I was looking forward to seeing how the story developed.
“Music Girls maintained its unpredictability throughout the whole season.“
Did the anime’s interesting take on idols live up to my expectations? Um, kind of. If anything, Music Girls maintained its unpredictability throughout the whole season. But this wasn’t always a good thing. I noticed a pattern as the series went on – a string of episodes would be really good, but then the series would hurl a chunk of bad episodes at us.
For example, Episode 3 was great, in my opinion. In this episode, Hanako can help the reclusive Hiyo open up. The episode had both solid animation (which it didn’t have most of the time) and solid character development. We learned about why Hiyo was so withdrawn, and we got a believable resolution to her problem. I was very pleased with that episode.
Then there were episodes like Episode 7. I don’t know what that episode was. The story was all over the place, and a giant octopus appeared – yes, I am not kidding. A giant octopus. It was completely unbelievable since there were no other supernatural events leading up to that point. There was also some fan service, which hadn’t been very present before.
“Episode 7 in Music Girls fell emotionally flat.”
The overall focus of that episode was Kotoko and her brother; some trashy magazine sees the two of them together and writes rumors about Kotoko having a boyfriend. The episode also tried to focus on the fact that Kotoko is supposed to be the sisterly figure of the group. She is supposed to help keep everyone sane. But we never really get to see how in this episode or any of the others. Plus, the whole brother scandal thing seemed silly to me.
Overall, I felt that Episode 7 fell emotionally flat. It did get sentimental near the end, but I wasn’t feeling it. Herein lies my biggest issue with the series. Sometimes, it was very touching and serious, but other times, it was so bizarre I wasn’t sure what to think. I actually have a very silly sense of humor. Sometimes, I welcomed the absurdity and the seriousness mixed in, like in Episode 6. Miku writes a song about karaage (fried chicken) and, in doing so, inspires a veteran songwriter who had become complacent. I couldn’t stop laughing. As someone who is gender-fluid, I actually liked the message of the episode: that everyone can identify with different genders despite their own.
“The lack of focus was frustrating to me.”
Other times, an episode would be solely focused on a solemn matter, like when Urori wanted to quit the group. Hanako consoles her, and Urori finally lets out all of her frustrations – it was very cathartic, and I felt all of Urori’s emotions.
But the mixture of ridiculousness and heavier topics didn’t always work out. For example, in Episode 10, I liked how the show focused on Kiri’s shyness and sickliness. But the episode took place during a game show, and everything going on was so ludicrous it was hard to appreciate Kiri tackling her anxiety. I agree with what Anime Q and A wrote in their series overview: “At times, it feels like a parody, while, other times, it feels like a student film. Other times, it leans into loose comedy, while, other times, it comes across as a sincere slice of life but never does it commit to one wholly.”
The lack of focus was frustrating to me. If you want to do comedy, that’s fine; if you want to do a slice of life, that’s fine. If you want to do both, that’s also fine. But please stick to your decisions and see them through. If every episode had been like Episode 6 – with its perfect blend of silly and serious – the show would have felt balanced. But that’s, sadly, not the case.
“Sasame is the quirky type, which is almost always my favourite.”
Although I pay attention to the storylines and music of idol shows, my main focus is always the girls – I mean, who isn’t? (Speaking of music, I did like the songs in the show, but they played the same ones over and over again.) In my opinion, the Love Live franchise has become such a phenomenon because it has incredibly strong characters. As for Music Girls, it did have some characters that I liked – namely Hiyo, Sasame, and Miku.
Sasame is the quirky type, which is almost always my favorite. I really liked her character design and her pet crayfish, Var-chan! I also liked Miku because of her quirkiness, and I actually love karaage, so I found her obsession with it hilarious. But Hiyo was my absolute favorite. Her character design reminds me of Renge from Non-Non Biyori, and her initial awkwardness reminds me of myself.
Incidentally, I felt that the show focused on these three side characters more than the other ones. Therefore, I got to learn a lot more about their personalities. As for the main characters, I liked Hanako, although some of her random talents were a little unbelievable, and Urori, even if her actions pissed me off sometimes.
But did I like the characters enough to spend money on their merchandise or in a mobile game the way I do with Love Live? No. Well, maybe I can buy a Hiyo charm or something. But most of the characters and the show as a whole need a lot more work before it gets to the point where fans will be desperate to get their favorite as a UR.
“To prevent the audience from leaving, Hanako goes on stage and basically makes a fool out of herself.“
However, even with some good characters, the characterization was uneven. We barely learned anything about the members of HES (Haru, Eri, Sarasa), and I would likely have learned more about Roro. If they had cut out some of the unneeded parts (like the giant octopus) and fixed certain plot points, we may have been able to learn more about each of them.
As Music Girls headed toward its end, I prayed the final episode would somehow redeem the series. Unfortunately, it resulted in more unpredictability. This was both good and bad. It wasn’t your typical “We put on a great show, and now everyone loves us!” scenario. There was an unexpected twist that could have maybe worked, but it was executed in a very weird way. Basically, the power goes out during an important performance, and the crowd starts to get bored. To prevent the audience from leaving, Hanako goes on stage and basically makes a fool out of herself. The Music Girls all get upset at Hanako – and at themselves – for letting her embarrass herself in front of so many people.
Somehow, their fight led to more than 10,000 people showing up for the performance. The label executives, who were threatening to disband the group, then decided to let the Music Girls stay together. So, weirdly, did the drama keep the group together? However, after all of her sacrifices for the group, the Music Girls let Hanako become an official member. But Hanako still can’t sing…
