A dog walks and hits an anime. Episode 23] "Uta no Prince Sama! Maji LOVE Legend Star" is different from the past!

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Well, the latest in the series, "Uta no Prince Sama! Maji LOVE Legend Star," has finally begun.

Five years have passed since the first season aired in July 2011, and we have come to the fourth season, and although the popularity has somewhat settled down, it is still one of the most well-known male idol series. The popularity of the series has been stable since the first episode, but on the other hand, the fourth season seems to be different from the previous ones. ......?

I, who have known "UtaPri" through the anime and have been watching it since the first season, would like to share with you what I feel is different about the fourth season and what I expect to see in the fourth season. and what I expect to see in the 4th season.

Maji Love" is an anime musical about princes!

The anime series "Uta no Prince Sama! Maji LOVE" has depicted the interaction and growth of female composer Haruka Nanami and the idol unit ST☆RISH.

The original work is an "Otome game" for women who enjoy romance with idol candidates. And since the anime is a "musical" themed around the songs that appear in each episode (all new for this production), the story was not too complicated.

Yes, a "musical.

The stage is decorated with gorgeous and attractive handsome men and women singing and performing. The story is simple, but it is more than adequate. The show is all about singing, dancing, and the promise of characters suddenly bursting into song. When the characters sing with passion and emotion, the hearts of the audience are moved. Sometimes the audience joins in the excitement .......

Therefore, "UtaPri" does not have anything unexpected in the main story that would make fans' hearts skip a beat. From the first broadcast, each "UtaPri" series has always started with the first episode, in which the princes, especially Haruka, are shown to each other. Then, in the second episode, the direction of the series is presented, and from the third episode, the episodes of each member are told one by one, accompanied by their music. The title of each episode is basically the title of the song sung in that episode.

The fourth season of "Uta no Prince Sama! Maji LOVE Legend Star" also began in this way. At first glance, just like the usual "Maji LOVE" series.

But yet, something is different about the fourth season. Such a sense of discomfort was felt from the very first episode.

Where is the ending theme dance?

When the fourth season started, my first thought was, "Huh? was that the video of the stage for the ending theme, which always appeared first, was not there this time.

The ending theme, "Maji LOVE Legend Star," was a bit calmer than the previous "Maji LOVE 1000%," "Maji LOVE 2000%," and "Maji LOVE Revolution," which were the type of uplifting songs that would excite the audience at a concert. The ending video is also a little bit different from "ST☆ST".

The ending video does not show "ST☆RISH" dancing, but rather shows the daily lives of the 18 members, including "QUARTET NIGHT" and "HE★VENS," in a calm manner.

The opening theme song "Tempest," sung by Mamoru Miyano, is also shown as an image of Haruka and the seven students (including a black cat hidden in the corner of the screen) reminiscing about their student days. ), which is both terribly nostalgic and somehow heartbreaking at the same time.

Is this a premonition that a break is coming?　Perhaps we will know the answer when the series comes to an end.

Although the dance scene was not shown in the first episode, when the duet project is successfully completed, the three units will compete in a three-way battle live performance.

In the previous episodes of the series, we saw the best part of the live performance scene in the first episode and also at the end of each week, but this time, I think it will be saved for the last.

Like the audience in the play, we in front of the TV may see the stage for the first time on-air. This makes me very much looking forward to what is to come.

Starting with "TOKIYA" and ending with "OTOYA"?

I also wondered about the way the "ST☆RISH" episodes were presented. I was also wondering about the way the episodes of "ST☆RISH" were presented.

The first of the seven princes in "ST☆RISH" is Otoya Itsuki. However, in the "Maji Love" TV anime series, Ichinose Tokiya was a major presence. He plays the tori in the episodes and speaks on the theme. He is also featured in the opening of the show, perhaps because cast member Mamoru Miyano sings the opening theme.

This Tokiya appeared early in this fourth season of "Legendary Star" in three episodes.

In this work, three units, "ST☆RISH," their senior unit "QUARTET NIGHT," and "HE★VENS" from a rival production, compete against each other in a decisive live for the opening artist of the sports festival "SSS (Triple S)".

In order for "ST☆RISH" and their rival unit "HE★VENS" to improve each other until the decisive battle live, a "duet project" has been organized.

The members of "ST☆RISH" and "HE★VENS" will team up one by one and duet on a new song. In addition, songs from the play will be released sequentially as "duet idol songs" in accordance with the main story, and this order is probably also the order of the main story episodes.

This means that the last of the seven should be the episode between Ondeya Ichijuki and his rival Eiichi Otori.

Here, we believe, is one of the tricks of this series.

Ontonari is bright and positive, but actually has a shadow.

While Tokiya is a hard-working, theory-oriented genius, Otoya is a sensualist who has a natural sense of style and sings lively songs with great sensitivity. Always smiling, he is a bright light for his friends.

However, in contrast to his cheerful personality, it is revealed in the TV series that he actually grew up in an orphanage without parents.

Originally, the seven members of "ST☆RISH" were the "main characters" in their respective routes in the original game, so each one of them has a background and shadow that could easily be the main character. There are also many settings that have not been revealed in the TV series. I have remembered that for a long time.

If this is the case, we may be able to expect a disturbance centering on Otoya.

The episodes just before the climax are always a bit, but not too much. I am expecting that Otoya and "ST☆RISH" through Otoya will be explored a little more.

Will "ST☆RISH" change "HE★VENS"?

The duet project is being carried out one group at a time.

ST☆RISH" belonging to Shining Office and "HE★VENS" belonging to Raging Entertainment are rival units whose presidents are at odds with each other.

I was expecting HE★VENS to be a bunch of arrogant and nasty guys with all kinds of problems, but when the show started, I found out that they were all kind of cute in their own way.

And, as I watched them, I realized that "ST☆RISH" has no blurriness anymore. In order to sing with their friends, they are devoting all their energy to make the duet project with "HE★VENS" a success in order to aim higher with their friends.

As a result, it seems that "ST☆RISH" is healing and empowering "HE★VENS" by singing together and even leading them to a new path.

And even the sarcastic-looking "HE★VENS" has a family-like friendliness that makes them hard to hate.

What is the end of the interaction between "ST☆RISH" and "HE★VENS"?　Maybe something will happen when "HE★VENS" is made to have feelings for each other.

A new song sung by "HE★VENS" will also be released; we can't wait to hear this new song, which follows "HE★VENS GATE" that appeared in the second season, in the full-length movie.

Let's enjoy the laughter, tears, and excitement of the princes!

Although there were no dance scenes, the first episode was still very spirited. A total of 18 princes from 3 units escorted Haruka to the venue in limousines, trailers, and transport planes (!) while she sang. The song "Let Your Dreams Become Songs...! is 5 minutes and 40 seconds long!　The stage was set to music, the tune changed, the members changed, and the song was sung. This is the joy of watching a musical, as the songs are all connected to one another.

UtaPri" with all the handsome characters is "UtaPri" with laughter at the same time. Whether the original game is nostalgic or anything goes, there are many mysterious settings that are full of points to poke fun at, so there is always something to laugh at.

The princes are beautiful and serious, which makes you laugh. Although what they are doing is very serious, they are so forceful in their development that sometimes even their coolness is turned into a laugh, inviting the fans' full force of laughter (the strongest is probably Camus, who brings the laughter even in one cut!) ).

) It is because of the long accumulation of work up to this point that just seeing all the princes together is exciting, reminding us of many things and imagining new ones.

I am going to enjoy every single episode and every single episode of the fourth season, which I have a feeling will mark a major milestone in the development of the show's presentation style.


(Text by YAMAYU)
(C) UTA☆PRI-LS PROJECT