Idol Project Complete Collection

By Bryce Coulter     February 16, 2007
Release Date: January 01, 2006



What They Say
Contains the complete series on 2 DVDs!

Mimu dreams of being just like the top idol, Yuri, but she's not one of the six chosen successors. She'll fight through extra-terrestrial kidnappers and multidimensional menaces just to grasp the Golden Microphone and entrance an audience. But first she'll have to win the Eight Excellent Idol Competition. Will Mimu be the new Inter-dimensional Idol?

The Review!
Saving the world with a little love and pop... Kaaa-booom!!

Audio:
We watched this show mostly in English some Japanese. The voice cast for both English and Japanese were pretty much spot-on. We really didn't prefer one cast over the other with this series. The audio for this show was decent despite its age. The dialogue is clean and clear throughout and we noticed no dropouts or distortions.

Video:
Originally released in 1995, Idol Project holds up well to the anime image quality standards for its time. Cross coloration is non-existent, but there is some aliasing present during sequences where there is a lot of action. Compared to today's standards, this show looks decent. The animation is fluid, shows lots of bright solid colors, and has very little transfer issues. Obviously, the color brightness does not even come close in comparison to the anime released today.

Packaging:
The Idol Project packaging is bright, vibrant, and attractive. A pose of Mimu takes up a good chunk of the front cover with super-deformed versions of the rest of the idols from the show. The images of Mimu and the idols are set against some nice design work with light and eye-catching colors. The back cover provides more super deformed images of the characters and a brief summary of the show. The disc production and technical information is nice, and it is clearly listed here as well. The insert for the collection has a mix of the cover artwork on one side with the chapter listings while the reverse side has advertisements. I was very surprised to see that there was absolutely no fan service whatsoever shown on the packaging, as this show is the epitome of a fan boy's fan service dream. However, just about any veteran of anime can tell by looking at the cover that this show is going to have a good amount of fan service.

Menu:
The menu is simple that has a static piece of artwork of Mimu in full pose while part of the opening song plays along. The layout of the menu is done in much the same color and style design as the cover. There is hardly anything on the disc other than the show. The menus are quick to load and problem free.

Extras:
N/A

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers).
Idol Project is an anime made specifically for fanboys who have a fan service addiction. I'm sure there are a lot of anime out there that can outdo Idol Project when it comes to fan service. However, this anime has to have the most panty shots per minute of any anime title I have yet had the privilege of viewing. As one can tell, this reviewer is not a fan of shows that contain fan service. A bit of nudity and Corvette's aggressive affections for pretty young things like Mimu was not what I really get into. Teens or younger, or the prudish should really avoid this show.

In all fairness this reviewer was somewhat amused by this show. One thing Idol Project depicts well is the crazed fans at their very silliest and most malignant as they adore their idols. This is best exhibited by the biggest fan of the Excellent Idols. He appears less scary than encouraging and helpful. He's obviously an otaku as he is always showing off his merchandising collection. It's the kind of mentality where benign "Otakunization" of the world today is charming and amusing more than realistic. Especially in light of the real reputation "otaku" have in Japan.

On with the review...

The plot for this show is very simple. Yuri is the most popular idol in the world. Her popularity has elevated her to not only the ultimate idol, but also a political leader. Everyone idolizes her and looks to her example of prettiness and charm for inspiration. Yuri is now looking for a new successor to her throne. She's already chosen six successors, but a seventh remains to be chosen before she can head off to pasture at the Idol Singers Retirement Home. This works out great for Mimu Emilton, a fourteen year old girl who aspires to be like Yuri. She's on her way to audition for the final slot as Idol Project opens. Idol Project is one of those shows that will throw you right into the action, without any regard for plot details. The entire first third of the disc is all about Mimu being introduced to the six reigning successors to Yuri, all in a flashy, loud amusement park.

As if this entire setup was not enough, the plot turns into absolute incoherent foolishness almost immediately. Aliens kidnap Mimu and the Excellent Idols and take them to giant resort planet of BaliHawaii. Yuri had captured the aliens' hearts when she first ascended to prominence, and they want to see what her new heirs are like. As such, they've gotten all the cutest girls from several planets and thrown them all into a great big water race! The winners get to do an important favor for the aliens that will win their hearts. You know what this means, don't you? It means we get to see them in swimsuits! My favorite character is the volcano-game show-announcer guy who says 'KA-BOOM!!' after each sentence and erupts lava from his head.

The storyline for this series is just an excuse for those really cute girls to get in compromising, yet (mostly) harmless situations while usually wearing next to nothing. However, the plot is still executed just well enough not to be laughable for the *wrong* reasons. How will it end, will Mimu and the gang be able to woo the hearts of the aliens on BaliHawaii? Well, it's pretty obvious how this going to end...

Summary:
If you're looking for anything socially redeeming or cerebral in this anime, you've really gone way off-course. Idol Project is amusing if you're willing to forgive the fan service, Okay, a lot of fan service. A good many people are going to find this a bit too silly for their liking. KA-BOOM!

Features
Japanese 2.0 Language,English 2.0 Language,English Subtitles

Review Equipment
Hitachi 62VS69 62" UltraVision LCD Projection HDTV, XBOX 360 DVD player, XBOX 360 Component HDAV Cable with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.