Related Reviews: Ensemble Stars!, A3! Spring and Summer and Idolish7 Vibrato~ Not reverse harem but I enjoyed em all

Now that A3! Spring and Summer have sealed its non-reverse harem deal, it's the perfect time to bring back my penchant for posting in threes for related reviews. We could say this is the second part of Related Review: Female Managers and All-boy Idol Groups: Idolish 7, B-Project and Top Management. But of course A3 has a female director and all-boy actors while Ensemble Stars! has a producer instead of a manager. So maybe we can call it now 'female-xxx and all-boy xxx-raising'. It doesn't make sense but you get the idea, right? Anyway, they fall under one flower in Levels of Reverse Harem. They are usually joshimuke which is media targeted for the female and has no romance routes. In the anime, one or more bishonen may show interest towards the female managers/producer/director whatever however the girls are in supporting roles only. The main feature is really them boys. Top Management is an exception since it's a kdrama. I'm going to review them in the order I have watched them. Also, I have not played any of the games. 

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Ensemble Stars! 24 episodes  

Yumenosaki Private Academy is a school for idols. The unit, Trickstar, wants to create a revolution to change the unfair system together with Anzu the first female student and only producer of the school.

You might have noticed by now how I frame the plot to make it seem like a reverse harem or make the girls more important. Yup, intentional. I have long since finished this however I have a backlog of reviews and this is not on the top of my priorities since it's not reverse harem. 

It veers away from its predecessors and focuses on idol activities in a school setting. And when I say school, I mean a plethora of students and units that are really good looking to ogle at and the most important detail is that you can tell them apart. Again looking at you Sengoku Night Blood and Stand My Heroes. There are other student/background characters but with missing eyes which I find so creepy. Like the faceless extras in Kamigabi no Asobi anime series and Alice in the Country of Hearts movie. Another pet peeve is that I don't like the 3D version (?) when they perform. I see this in Idolish7 and B-Project too. Please enlighten me.

My favorite unit right away is Undead but as the series progress, I began to see the appeal of each group even Trickstar.  I didn't like Trickstar character designs and costume at first. I find some of the groups overhyped like fine and Eden. But Knights has the best song/vocals. I watched Silent Oath twice.

Half the time I get lost with the mechanics of the idol battles. I was just in for the boys, their performances, and the sweet, little encounters with Anzu. The difference with Anzu with the other girls so far is that there are many guys flirting with her...especially my best boy, REI!!! But again it's not full-blown romance.

Enstar has hooked me with all its characters.  I wasn't prepared for it to end even if it already had 24 episodes. I was okay with mindlessly watching it go on and on...

A3! Spring and Summer 12 episodes

Mankai Theater is for closure. To save it, Izumi Tachibana promises to bring it back to its former glory by becoming a director and recruiting all-male troupe members. The first season features Spring and Summer Troupes.

I generally find the mobile game adaptations lacking but EnStar and A3 proved me wrong. The showbiz trope is not something new in reverse harem but I think this is the first one for theater. I find the scenarios a fresh break from idol activities. For context, I was a thespian back in highschool and college (and the club president too in highschool ), so I can relate with what they were going through. The fear of forgetting your line and the exhilaration of performing. Trying to steal the spotlight when you're just a supporting character. Wait what? Haha It's one of my happiest memories in school.

I was enjoying A3 when I realized halfway that wait this is not going the reverse harem route. I was feeling optimistic when Usui is all out with his feelings. And she has these moments with each character that makes you read between the lines especially if you have an overactive mind like me. But in the end, I don't mind. It makes more sense for her to be a supporting character rather than with guys fawning all over her.  Among the three heroines, Izumi is my favorite. She has personality and really calls the shots. For the guys, I like them all but my favorite is Itaru. Why do I fall for guys with hidden evil-ish personalities?

I dig the humor and matter-of-fact lines. It's the opposite of the idealistic storyline and flowery dialogues that I feel from idol series in general. It's like the audience can't take humor or imperfection.

Summer Troupe is impressive with their acting chops but their problem is their relationship unlike with the Spring who has teamwork but sans the skills. I preferred Spring's play with their energy and the fight scenes but I still rooted for the Summer guys. If I were to describe them in one word, Spring troupe is 'refreshing' while summer is 'strong'. Looking forward to Autumn and Winter. And a double tap for heart for the stylish street clothes of A3.

Idolish7 Vibrato 8 episodes

This is the ONA series that followed the first season of Idolish7. It features Trigger origins, Idolish7 on their day offs, and resolution to the plagiarized song from first season.

I have no immediate plans to pick up Idolish7 Vibrato and the sequel. But since A3 is not reverse harem and with my pending review of Enstar too, might as well pick it up again I mean it's ONA so it's gonna be a breeze to watch it. And what a breeze it was, I enjoyed it. It was not too focused on idol activities and the format was perfect.

Even if it's short, I liked that there's a moment when Yamato and Gaku make a scene over Tsumugi.  Nagi also shined here. I realized there's always a foreigner and otaku in reverse harem and kinda reverse harem anime. And with so many similarities in themes and character stereotypes, there was one scene that made me confuse it with Uta Pri. I'm like oh wait you are thinking of a different storyline. They all got jumbled sometimes in my head now. And third group, Re: Vale, is introduced here.

I loved the songs overall and direction for Trigger scenes. This left a feel-good impression on me that I'm contemplating catching up on the Idolish 7 Second Beat (which is on hiatus due to covid19). BTW this is free for a limited time on Youtube for #stayathome efforts in Japan.

I can see the third part of this review in the future now: Related Reviews: Idolish 7 Second Beat, A3! Autumn and Winter and I-Chu. How did you find the anime? Which do you like? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Please also follow Reverse Harem Garden on Instagram. Nine more followers to go to reach the first hundred!

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