Audience reviews
17 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
lycoping
Based on the numerical reviews of this anime, I almost passed. But then I saw someone compare it to "Hibike! Euphonium", and that was enough for me to at least give it a shot. Let me say, the comparison, while incomplete, is apt. This was a *great* anime.
Let me be clear - I'm not really a fan of idols and idol music, but this isn't about idols or idol music, even though it's, well, about idols and idol music. This story is about seven girls thrown together into an idol group who had never known each other before joining the group, a capricious and irresponsible president that somehow manages to pull the group together and is there when it counts, and a feckless manager that, well, somehow manages to be feckful by the end. Is that a word? I have no idea.
Anyway, taken at face value, ther…
Read at the sourceTringapore_98
Every now and then, I decide to take a break from watching seasonal anime to watch non-seasonals instead. The non-seasonal anime that I decided to watch this time was Wake Up, Girls! because of a certain voice actress called Tanaka Minami. However, even though I did decide to watch this anime mainly because of her, the anime proved to be quite enjoyable to watch. Seeing the main characters growing to become a semi-professional idol unit from their very small beginnings did make me warm inside.
Story:
The story has good pacing. Even though most of the episodes showcases a story of a different girl, it also has its own story development. The group, Wake Up Girls(WUG) starts off almost as a dysfunctional unit and has many difficulties initially, but as the anime progresses, WUG gains more p…
Read at the sourcejdvz
People ask me very often: what is your favorite idols anime.
OK, I’d like to live in peace with myself, so I’m going to answer to my imaginary friends.
Firstly, I’m not familiar with the idols culture, I don’t understand it, but I really like idols-anime, it’s a piece of sterilized happiness, straightforward success with songs and dances. Suddenly Wake Up Girls is not an idol anime. It’s an anime about everything, about friendship, about success and failure, even about idols, they’re shown as antagonists and, of course, it’s about weird potatoes, y’know.
But the fact is this is the best, so let’s begin.
1. Plot. Score: Canonical.
A small agency in the small village named Sendai is looted by a big corporation of enterprising idols i-1. The agency director decided to hire seven idols to defe…
Read at the sourcejeikobu11
Some say watch the movie before the series but didn't and I'm glad. Going into this series was really hard, the main reason is because it was always cringe for me from episode 1-12. The wake Up Girls try to get popular and work them selfs to the top. This is the part that annoyed me. Every time they go on stage or do something idol related, they always fail in some way leading to cringe. I feel the need to skip scenes all the time because of this. At the first stage performance of the anime, it was horrible and couldn't be anymore disapointed. Especially when they used bikini's... it was not fan service or a good performance in my eyes, it was entirely cringe... just looking at them thinking they were doing good was even more cringe.
The flaw in this anime in my eyes is the lack of balan…
Read at the sourceGroupanimenight
Tadgh: I'm not into the idol scene. We choose our anime from a random list so we can watch new things. Honestly I didn't enjoy the subject matter much. That said, the anime itself was OK. They made the characters very individual and made it easy to get invested in their struggle. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't like the real life Wake Up Girls! but it was an ok slice of life.
Laohoam: This isn't the first idol anime i have watched, it also isn't the best. that being said it wasn't unbearable. The story progressed well. Reflecting the issue of each girl and the bond that helps them overcome each solution. Though the level of drama was a bit extreme, which is what killed it for me. if you have nothing else to watch give it a try.
Rasanaph- Honestly this just isn't my type of…
Read at the sourceRevisionary
Admittedly, "Wake Up, Girls!" has some issues.
That's not to say, however, that it isn't a good show. As an idol show, it makes an attempt to do something new, which makes it quite a refreshing take on the genre. And while it does succeed at a lot of things, the show is also pulled down by some others.
Story:
(+) A more realistic take on the idol industry
(+) Interesting overarching story
(+) Likeable characters
(+) Excellent pacing
(-) Underdeveloped characters (-) Cliched near the end
Art:
(+) Non-CGI dance sequences look good for the most part
(-) Characters almost look the same
(-) Animation quality fluctuates from terrible to decent
Sound:
(+) Catchy songs
(+) Good voice acting for the most part
(-) Song selection is low compared to idol shows like "Idolm@ster" and "Love Live"
(-)…
Read at the sourcePlankton_LL
Note: This is my first time writing a review. It might be biased but hear me out before asking why. Also, I tried my best to be an obedient chap and followed the guidelines so it should not contain any spoilers whatsoever.
Writing this in 2016 wants me to say this: This is the future.
Wake Up, Girls! is this kind of idol anime that started from literally nothing into something. It's about seven girls aiming for a spotlight at Tokyo's booming idol industry. And so I rate.
Story: 8/10
While I enjoy watching this without watching the prequel movie first, this anime is something that will make you think. "Is this how AKB started? Is this how the folks at 765 Pro and 346 Pro started? Why is it so different from any idol anime currently available on this time and age?" A journey of seven gir…
Read at the sourceRundownPaper4
So. Wake Up Girls! Let me set this clear first before I continue with this review, this is my first idol show that I've watched (TV series one at least) and as such I had pretty much no expectations of it whatsoever.
My first impressions of this anime (after watching the 7 Idols movie) was that it was a surprisingly realistic anime that wasn't sugercoated. And the show carried that throughout in terms of plot.
Story: 10/10
Art: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Character: 10/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Overall: 9/10 Plot wise, this story is amazing. It shows the trials of a small and upcoming idol group that struggles with internal and external disputes. It also shows how each character/idol has her own problems and how they work to overcome them. It's a really moving story in that sense.
Art wise, it's... nic…
Read at the sourceSkyNoHoshi
I actually wanted to watch this since it came out during its seasonal airing. But, I decided that I would watch it later.
Wake Up, Girls! is another idol anime, produced by Ordet and under the direction of the infamous Yamamoto Yutaka.
Before its 12-episode anime, there is a movie to be watched first. I really, really recommend that you watch the movie because it shows how the idol group under the same anime name, “Wake Up, Girls!” (WUG), started. In the anime series, the group faces problematic situations, and it tries to manage and keep it going.
Sadly, the story didn’t shine really well among other idol anime. I would say that there are a lot of clichéd moments, especially during the introductory movie. Also, there’s a lot of idea repetition among members of the group and it really g…
Read at the sourceMindFaze
Wake Up, Girls is a great idol anime with catchy songs and nice characters but above all, it has a moving and realistic story.
Having finally watched Love Live!, I must say it was an anime that I enjoyed incredibly. It is entertaining, funny and the characters’ lifelike interactions are delightful to watch, which comes as no surprise, from an anime which has broken so many records. The songs are of high quality both melodically and vocally, and there is ample character development as we watch the girls struggle to save their school and train to become school idols.
Story-wise, I find it to be lacking in this department compared to WUG. There is a lot of sugar-coating, which makes it difficult to appreciate as a realistic idol anime. Pretty and talented girls dancing and singing cheerfull…
Read at the sourcetosabori
In order for me to write this review, I have spoilers from Wake Up, Girls! and a few from Love Live!
I think I needed Wake Up, Girls in my life more than I realized. I started watching it shortly after Love Live! School Idol Project Season 2 ended, and I was upset. I love idols, especially the concept and realization of them. To see a group of girls save their school, as well as win the national championship was the feel good story I needed. Love Live! ended on a really depressing, positive note and I wanted more.
Enter Wake Up, Girls! A story not of amazing triumph, but the tribulations that come with it. The opening scene of a nervous group of girls, performing their heart out. Then you realize, there’s only a few people in the audience. Each member carries a heavy backstory, few are m…
Read at the sourceTCTriangle
Recently, there has been a flood of idol-related anime. These shows usually follow the tried-and-true "new idols struggling to make it big" formula. Among these, the two most popular seem to be The IDOLM@STER (IM@S) and Love Live! (LL) (and to a lesser extent, AKB0048). I strongly believe Wake Up, Girls! (WUG) has the potential to join these other properties to become another great idol anime series, but some flaws hold it back. Throughout this review I will be mentioning IM@S and LL as points of comparison to WUG because it is unavoidable that this show will be compared to its more well-known brethren.
Story: 8/10
The story follows a newly-formed idol group called Wake Up, Girls! and its struggles to gain recognition first in its native Sendai region, and then in all of Japan. The story…
Read at the sourceCheapo
-WATCH THE MOVIE FIRST- It is episode 0, and highly relevant to the series.
Let me be first to tell you that I'm not a huge fan of slice-of-life anime which this falls SQUARELY into.Also, I am not a big idol fan either. But WUG! is a masterpiece of art, idol management and hype. Here are some facts about the WUG!:
1. Every SINGLE one of the 7 main characters are completely new voice talents. For all of them this is their first major role. The one with the most experience is being train announcer in an another anime before this gig.
2. All the main characters shares their name pronunciation with their respective voice actresses (this only makes sense if you know some Japanese), and shares facial features with them too.
3. The "next week's preview" segment shows the voice actresses in…
Read at the sourceStark700
Note: watch the movie BEFORE you start watching the first episode. You’ll thank me later.
Success doesn’t come easily for anyone. No one is born with talent and although there are some that possesses exceptional abilities, or otherwise labeled a ‘prodigy’, everyone must try something in order to succeed. For idols, there is no exception to that. The people you see on live television performing dances and songs worked long and hard to reach where they are. Why? Because they love performing for the audience. But for a small seven-girl unit called ‘Wake Up, Girls’, they don’t have much of an audience, at least not yet. Directed by Yamaken, Wake Up, Girls is the first show he works on three years since Fractale. And as an original work, one would expect some natural feeling coming out of his…
Read at the sourceJAKQ7111
This show did not start off well at all. The characters were interchangeable, the music (except for the ending theme) was mediocre, and there wasn't even enough of it for a solid idol show. Also, the dramatic backstories and attempts at plot devices fell flat on their faces for most of the show. The last three episodes were a huge step up in the show's quality, and saved its score from being very bad. If you liked AKB0048, Love Live, or Idolmaster, you're better off watching those and skipping this show.
Read at the sourceTaufirec
This is a series that attempts to showcase what true idols are like, it does so fairly well by using characters who are not particularly talented aside from a few who have some singing experience or dancing experience. Doing this allowed the series to focus on the hardships they faced as they practice as well as the hardships of trying to draw a crowd of fans despite their lack of talent which served the show very well. All 7 girls got a chance to have their personal lives expanded on during the series which is a good thing to see for a short show like this, and it was handled well compared to a similar show. The art was fairly basic, but served the show fairly enough, and looked good during their dance scenes. The music might have been the best aspect of the series, it was upbeat and enjo…
Read at the sourcesilverwalls
Nowadays, idol music groups are a firm part of otaku culture. So it doesn't really come off as a surprise that anime more and more includes idols as a theme as well - and it does it quite successful! Wake Up, Girls! is another anime that tries to hop on the moneymaking bandwagon of idol-focused series with a huge original project including a movie, a TV series and of course lots of music. So, how does Wake Up, Girls! (WUG from now on) compete with other popular idol anime series? Not too bad, I would say.
While the 50-minute prequel movie (which you definitely should watch before the series) focused on the auditions and the forming of the seven-member idol group Wake Up, Girls!, the TV series follows our idol group on the way to stardom. It's a basic plot, really - we watch them face vari…
Read at the source