Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve tried my best to distance myself from the raving fanboy arguments about A-1 ruining MAI AIDORU WAIFUS. I’ve kinda liked Idolm@ster so far, and it’s about three lightyears ahead the horrifying abomination known as Xenoglossia (which isn’t saying much, of course). That said…god damn A-1, what the hell are you doing?
This was a shoelace budget episode if any, as the derped animation made quite clear from the start. But what I disliked more (and I’m certainly not the only one) is the flashback thing at the start of the episode. What the hell was it even doing there? It’s like they decided to make an episode/storyarc about Chihaya’s traumatic past (that nobody gives a shit about since nobody likes Chihaya, but anyway) but later decided to make it a pointless budget saving episode instead about the 961′s Team Rocket-tier EVAL PALN, while forgetting to remove the flashback scene from the beginning. The preview of episode 17 doesn’t seem to show anything related to Chihaya either. Oh well, I suppose the show has now hit the slump where every penny is saved for the finale. As long as it’s worth it.
It still isn’t as bad as Guilty Crown, though.
I didn’t expect much from Idolm@ster at the beginning, but the big variety of characters and the way they don’t mess up their personalities (much) made me love the show.
About Chihaya, I bet they are trying to build some tension, drama, or whatever. I think most Mio (from K-ON) fans love Chihaya, and since both animes are kinda the same type, she may have quite a lot fans since Mio was popular.
The episode was weak, I guess. The 2 most interesting girls, Miki-Miki and Iori (yeah, I have a thing for tsundere lolis), have already got their spotlight, so I don’t think the show will really go any further (why make Haruka the main girl, though? She never does anything relevant when she appears). Although in this 2nd half of the season, there actually IS a storyline, with all that rivalry thing between the girls and 961 Pro.
And I fully agree with what you said about Guilty Crown! It’s so freaking cliche.
“that nobody gives a shit about since nobody likes Chihaya, but anyway”
i cannot tell you how exact this is.