Lapis Re:LiGHTs

Not a masterpiece, but a fine piece of art. Lapis Re:LIGHTs breaks the “Re:” curse and gains a nice position in this season’s chart. Maybe too underestimated, and maybe it’s because that underestimation that I can give a high score. Although it’s evidently a moe product, the depiction of the story and world is much more deeper than “non-moe” works of this period, giving the impression that those kind of works lack the attention and the perfectionism which we find in Lapis Re:LIGHTs. The technical direction is extremely precise, with cinematographic cuts and meticulous care of context and scenery. Oh, how I like the satisfaction ofhaving a character design meant for beauty and not for arousing the viewer. There’s not much to tell: this level of accuracy in details and product construction trespasses every other anime of the season: first place and academic kiss, chapeau! The story is nonexistent in the beginning, but a good painting doesn’t necessarily need a good story to tell. We have a peak in the late episodes where we discover the harsh meaning of being an idol witch, not just smiling and dancing. Then, the characters. Everyone has a personality, everyone has a role, everyone is an apparent stereotype. Just what I need in these idol products, perfect. Dialogues and interactions flow naturally through all the scenes, nothing is forced, everything is calculated in the author’s mind, and that’s a simple but good fact. The balance between all the characters is so well created that you cannot recognize a protagonist: the entire group is important and composed by main characters, which strengthen the cohesion between the viewer ant the story. TL;DR: Real enjoyment, relaxing time. The evolution of this kind of products is astounding, and I hope for more of this simple but refreshing stories.

Talk about surprise of the season. Without any prior knowledge coming into this series I was fully expecting a low budget soulless mobage adaptation not unlike Nanabun. And not especially Milky Holmes Lite. To be perfectly honest going in into the first episode initially had me fearing the show would be your typical idol show with school saving, rivals, angst and protagonist powers. Then the second episode completely and utterly shattered those expectations to become something special. I mean, this is a show with a goddamned lesbian cabaret club. It’s wacky and insane and thankfully the idol stuff is kept to a minimum and the justificationsfor idol activities in a fantasy setting are done well enough. It's clear a lot of thought and effort has been put into what is essentially a mobage ad. The setting and backgrounds are beautiful and the faux-mediterranean setting is a welcome change for a fantasy setting that doesn't reuse the same medieval europe isekai template. Even minor background characters have interesting developments like that one couple who appears in backgrounds and breaks up by the end of the show. It's great and proof that nothing is taken for granted or regarded as some throwaway prop. Even the final plot twist had been telegraphed since the beginning of the show. Of course, that's not why I enjoyed the show so much. And it's not because of the mediocre songs as well (some are decent though). It's largely the cast and characters and how damedame they all are. Seriously. An early episode for instance has them chasing a duck to a pier. Now the standard expected gag would be for the gang and the duck to fall into the river only for the duck to swim away, but in Lapis Relights the duck instead vaults over them and into a separate trap laid by members of the group who didn't jump into the river. It's great seeing how incompetent everyone (apart from Alpha) is, and the inter/intra group dynamics shine brightly because of this interplay. For lack of a better description, it really is Milky Holmes lite but in a fantastical setting. I did wish supernova got more exposure and screentime than what we got in the anime, to better establish them as a more antagonistic group, maybe have Yue develop more of a rivalry with Tia, but spreading out the focus to everyone else is good too. The 19 or so other cast members all receive sufficient characterization and are all uniquely distinctive enough in personalities and character relationships, and it is genuinely fun to see each new episode to see how everyone interacts with everyone else. The show really establishes good chemistry between each character no matter how unlikely the groupings are, and it's a real shame the show is only 12 episodes long. I know they wouldn't do this, but I really wanna see a sequel to this to further flesh everyone out. So, while the idol performances were more of a distraction that anything, the show still succeeds with strong character relationships and great humour. It has been a long while since a Damedame show has graced the post-Milky Holmes era, but Lapis Relights shows the spirit of Damedame is still strong. 7/10

"Just another CGDCT idol anime with the right amount of everything CGDCT idol enthusiasts need." - Yes, this is Lapis Re:LiGHTs. Lapis Re:LiGHTs felt somewhat like Little Witch Academia but without the fantasy adventure thrill. Regardless of its unperceivable story the cuteness, good songs and soft yuri baits and teases makes up for everything, making the show overall better to a certain extent. Expect water if you asked a server in a restaurant for water. I'm just going to point this out for people who are planning to watch Lapis Re:LiGHTs : "If you're here for something else which isn't CGDCT or idol then youwon't get it." All in all Lapis Re:LiGHTs honestly could've been better than a lazy attempt of copying or mixing aspects of shows such as AKB0048 and/or Little Witch Academia. Yes, I don't mind things like these but I do feel like adding a touch of excitement or big burst of thrill sensations along with a bit more uniquity would make this show better than what it is in the present. A bland happiness. Recommended to all CGDCT and idol homies out there. This is a must watch for y'all.

I’ll say it now, coming from the perspective as someone who doesn’t usually like Idol anime/games: Lapis Re:LiGHTs was surprisingly good. The only substantial issue present is the VAST difference in quality between episodes, switching from borderline putting me to sleep to downright amazing. As a result, I think I’ll have to discuss them separately in four “sub-reviews”, if you will. Episodes I & II: 8/10 This series has a very strong start, introducing us to five likeable (albeit somewhat cliche) characters and a promising storyline. Teasers for future backstory plot points regarding Tiara’s sickness and the significance of her- well, tiara, also help to really draw youin with that building mystery. Episodes III, IV, V, & VI: 4/10 Absolutely nothing of value is added here, with about twenty characters introduced in a manner so rapid fire it ensures you won’t be able to care about any of them. The only redeeming qualities here are the segments featuring the main five characters, and quite frankly, I wish they had kept the cast to that much more manageable sizing. This filler marathon is by far the show’s weakest point, being unbearable to the point of almost making me drop the show by episode V. Thankfully, I decided to stick it out, something which I was very happy about later on. Episodes VII, VIII, & IX: 7/10 From this point onwards, the show seems to regain its sense of direction, focusing in on the story to a degree which builds upon plot points set up in the first two episodes. I can’t reveal much without spoilers, but the twist at he very end of this arc(?) genuinely had me on the edge of my metaphorical seat as I eagerly anticipated what was to come. Episodes X, XI, & XII: 9/10 Now THIS is what I was hoping for when I first picked this anime up. These final three episodes incorporate a fantastic mix of drama, magic, and song/dance numbers, leaving me glad I stuck out that earlier mess just to see this. While the ending isn’t perfect (this was clearly meant to have a second season, but after the game’s closing and overall minimal interest in the project, that never came to fruition), it’s satisfying enough and closes all of the major plot threads which had been opened throughout the series. In all, this finale was by far the highlight of Lapis Re:LiGHTs. OVERALL THOUGHTS: If you’re looking to watch this, and you aren’t willing to be EXTREMELY patient with unrelated filler, I would recommend watching episodes 1 and 2, then immediately skipping to episode 7 and watching until the end. Otherwise, this is definitely a solid series which is at least worth giving a shot.