Locodol

First review on MAL (although I have several anime review blog entries). Note: The score is adjusted to MAL scales by adding 1pt to the original score. First of all, this is not the usual idol anime you watch. It's not like shows like Love Live, the The iDOLM@STER etc. Instead surprisingly, the 'Futsuu'(Plain) in the title is what makes this show avoid your stereotypical idol anime. But on the other hand, it also means that this anime is more close to your usual slice-of-life anime. The most important feature of this anime is that in many ways, it is not 'idealized'. It depicts the plain-looking work of Locodolsand how they slowly turn into someone suitable for the job, instead of *cough* turning into a lead guitarist from scratch in one year *cough*. So let's take a look at the 'not idealized' and 'idealized' aspects: -NOT IDEALIZED- >The life as a Locodol, i.e. the main plot. It is more close to real life, but it often becomes too plain and without comedic gags to support. You can't just simply take everyday life onto the screen and make that into an anime. >Nanako doesn't look as if she can become a Locodol from the start. (Regardless of how it turns out) >The mascot: it is just a normal mascot which reminds me of the Blue Badger from the Ace Attorney games. Surprisingly, the mascot turns out very good. >Most songs. Well yeah, usual idol songs are too stereotypical, but here in Locodol, besides the last song they performs(sadly, it sounds like your usual idol track), all we have are some school anthem like songs and the ... mascot-promotion song. This show suffers from a lack of good songs. Explainable since their songs are about promoting things about the town, but poor in sound department nonetheless. >The town's budget. Kind of realistic, but. In some cases it is rather the producer of the anime who is low on budget. -IDEALIZED- >The recognition the Locodols get. Especially: I'm not going to spoil the anime, but in one specific scene, what the Locodols did would be considered 'lame tactics' in real life. >In one case the Locodols took a job not suitable for usual high school students yet they completed the quest. Common in other anime, though. -OTHER ASPECTS- >Fanservice: Usually, when there is fanservice, it's not done very well. For example, Ep01 is rather misleading as it would probably make viewers believe that this show is totally about swimsuit fanservice. >The comedy: ...Not that good. The stalker thing was meh: what did I say just now... 'lame tactics'? >The infamous cliche 'I have been happy because you guys/girls are by my side': Still a bit cliched in this show, but overall natural and heartwarming. You would probably not feel that it's cliched. >The yuri vibe: The problem with the yuri vibe is that it's one of the highlights of the show, so if you don't like yuri you'll find the show less enjoyable. So how to sum it up? This show tries to stand out from your usual idol anime, but to avoid bordering on a normal slice of life it tries to support itself with massive yuri vibes. Overall the show is heartwarming, but still a bit cliched among 'cute girls engaging in activities' slice of life anime. Plus, especially in the earlier episodes, it fails to give us some entertainment value, and it still can't avoid several problems normal slice of life anime usually have. Recommended for: >People who are tired of usual idol anime(I'm not a huge fan but far from being sick of the genre) >People who like some heartwarming story about girls engaging in activities >People who like light-hearted yuri. Story: 6 Art: 6 Sound: 4 Character: 7 Enjoyment: 7 Overall: 6 (Stats: Suspicious Ups=0, Downs=0 as of 22 Apr 2015. Calculated with statistical hypothesis)

Nagarekawa: a quiet, peaceful country town in Japan, where there aren't any tourist attractions to attract tourist for such amusement parks but they do have public swimming pools! So the Nagarekawa City Hall decided to promote their city, by introducing Kohinata Yukari and Usami Nanyako. Thus the Nagarekawa girls was born with 2 more girls joining them. Their aim? Promote Nagarekawa City! The story for the series is nothing much interesting but 4 main girls being the locodols trying to promote Nagarekawa via National TV or entering contest in order to be featured in the Television. They do have fanservice but not that much, whati also expect that constant comedy and the good moments has done this perfectly. So i might as well give 7 out of 10 The animation throughout the series is fluid, not lag or weird animation or akward animation, the background image is not too saturated, the character designs were pretty nice and appealing. Once again, Studio Feel is in charge for this since i can see the hair gradients of the characters. Rate 8/10 The sound were pretty appealing not to loud, childish or boring. The OP and the ED is fine, the voice actors for this series is decent, not too bad. 7/10 Most characters i like would be Usami Nanako with her mess up lines for such her name and also her air-headness. 7/10 Overall there is nothing much spectacular about the series but I do enjoy watching it. What i assume that this may ended up as a casual experience filled with characters and interactions that make your lips twitch into a smile almost against your will. Also it's quite relaxing and calm. With that i give 8/10 Overall 8/10 -looking forward for the new OVAs

Well i came to see this anime with an expectation of an idol anime. By the way, i find idol anime kinda interesting, i mean i admire their over-the-top passion for the business right ? I think if you love your job, that's good always. But Locodol is not a typical idol anime. Its more like a lovely, fun slice of life series when two girls meet by fate (lol), they then decide to be the featuring faces to promote their province. And then the everyday working life begins. The characters are cute, the op, ed and the soundtrack are amazing. Definitely worth the watch. I thinkthis is one of the most underrated anime of the season for sure.

This anime is one of those anime that I watch after seeing something really sad or feelsy. It's short, it's bright, and it's a lot of fun. The story is basically about Nanko Usami, an average high school girl, whose uncle signs her up to be a Locodol, or Local Idol, with an upperclassman, Yukari Kohinata. It's basically the duo trying to be the Locodol's while making their small town of Nagarekawa known everywhere. The characters are all a lot of fun. Nanako is funny, Yukari is a sweet heart, and the girls in the costumed mascot Ogokoro-kun, Yui and Mirai, are a lotof fun as well, even if they show up towards the end. Locdol is just a feel good anime. You want to see the duo become successful and win the Locodol competition in the end of the series. And there really isn't an antagonist. It's just gals being pals. If you want something light hearted to fill the void of a sad anime or show, this is definitely a good way.