The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls U149 Explained
| The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls U149 |
| Ja Kanji: | アイドルマスター シンデレラガールズ U149 |
| Ja Romaji: | Aidorumasutā Shinderera Gāruzu U149 |
| Genre: | Idol, slice of life[1] |
| Type: | manga |
| Author: | Kyowno |
| Demographic: | Shōnen |
| Magazine: | Cycomi |
| First: | October 15, 2016 |
| Volumes: | 17 |
| Volume List: | - Manga
|
is a Japanese spin-off manga series of The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls free-to-play simulation video game by Cygames and Bandai Namco Studios. The series is created by Kyowno, focusing on girls under 149 centimeters tall and 12-years-old or younger to be idols. An anime television series adaptation by CygamesPictures aired from April to June 2023.
Plot
The president of a production agency decides to create a new idol unit titled the Third Entertainment Division to focus on the agency's younger idols who are still in elementary school. With the veteran producers reluctant to get involved with such an unconventional unit, a newly promoted producer is assigned to manage the division. With this unfamiliar situation thrust upon him, the producer decides to create a stage for his idols that nobody has seen before.
Characters
See also: List of The Idolmaster characters.
- One of the more mature idols of the group, 12-year-old Arisu is intelligent but distant, often preferring that others only call her by her family name. Due to her parents largely working for most of the day, Arisu has decided to become an idol and is willing to go to any length to achieve her dream.
- A very polite and well-mannered 12-year-old girl. She is wealthy, and excellent at acing. Her family owns the powerful Sakurai Group.
- Miria is one of the friendliest and outgoing of the idols, and she dreams of being able to do a handshake meet and greet after she debuts. She is 11, and has a baby sister at home.
- An outspoken 12-year-old who is always keeping up with the latest fashion trends. She is very eager to debut as an idol and has great admiration and a close relationship with her father.
- A 12-year-old idol who is very athletic and talented at sports, particularly soccer. She is a tomboy who was forced to join the agency by her father in hopes that she would learn to act and dress more feminine.
- A well-mannered and mature but meek 11-year-old idol who is always glad to help others, but refrains from taking the spotlight herself due to her low self-confidence. She is also talented at sewing and fashion design.
- A 9-year-old idol who is very energetic, happy, and outgoing. Since she often prepares meals for her family, Kaoru is a very skilled cook, but she hates green peppers.
- One of the younger idols of the group, 9-year-old Nina enjoys wearing animal kigurumi. It is revealed that this is a way for her to get attention, as her father is away overseas and her mother is too busy at work to pay much attention to her.
- A 12-year-old idol who has a love for animals and fairy tales. She keeps a pet iguana named Hyou-kun, and she dreams of to becoming a princess. She also has a tendency to get lost.
- The new producer of the Third Entertainment Division. He is short and is frequently mistaken for being younger than he is. While he initially believes he'd like to help produce for older and more mature idols, he soon sees the girls' underlying talent and motivation and decides to help lead them to the stage of their dreams.
Media
Manga
The manga began serialization on October 15, 2016. On May 11, 2024, it was announced that the manga would be ending.[2]
Anime
The anime adaptation was announced during the final concert in "The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls 10th Anniversary Magical Wonderland!!!" tour on April 3, 2022.[3] It is directed by Manabu Okamoto, who is also the sound director, with Hiroyuki Takashima serving as assistant director, Oki Murayama handling the scripts, Norie Igawa designing the characters for animation, Nippon Columbia producing the music, Makoto Miyazaki composing the music score and CygamesPictures animates the series. The opening song "Shine In The Sky☆" is performed by the titular in-story U149 idol unit.[4]
The anime aired from April 6 to June 29, 2023. An original video animation featuring two additional stories was bundled the release of the series' fourth Blu-ray.[5] Crunchyroll holds the license to stream the series in North America,[6] while Plus Media Networks Asia broadcast the series in Southeast Asia.[7]
Notes and References
- News: Egan. Loo. The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls U149 TV Anime's Teaser Video Reveals 2023 Debut. Anime News Network. September 4, 2022. April 16, 2023.
- 1788948656084939027 . kyow_no . U149についてのお知らせになります…！ . Kyowno . May 11, 2024 . June 30, 2024 . ja.
- News: Egan. Loo. The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls U149 Manga Gets TV Anime. Anime News Network. March 3, 2022. April 16, 2023.
- News: Rafael Antonio. Pineda. The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls U149 Anime's Video Reveals Opening Song, April 5 Debut. Anime News Network. February 14, 2023. April 16, 2023.
- News: Crystalyn. Hodgkins. The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls U149 Anime Gets New Episode on 4th Blu-ray Disc Release. Anime News Network. April 6, 2023. April 16, 2023.
- News: Alex. Mateo. Crunchyroll Streams Stella of the Theater: World Dai Star, The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls U149, The Marginal Service Anime. Anime News Network. April 5, 2023. April 16, 2023.
- News: Rafael Antonio. Pineda. Aniplus Asia Airs Simulcast of The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls U149 Anime. Anime News Network. April 5, 2023. April 16, 2023.
