UlasanAnime.com – The IDOLM@STER series recently celebrated its 15th anniversary with a series of extensive live streams over the past weekend. The festivities began in the days leading up to the weekend with promotional art shared on Twitter. More significantly, the official IDOLM@STER website underwent a refresh, moving to a new domain, idolmaster-official.jp, and a dedicated IDOLM@STER channel was launched on YouTube, accompanied by a new Twitter account, @imas_ch.
The revamped website boasts a more modern design, a significant improvement from the previous iteration. It now includes integrated reference data, notably on a dedicated idol list subsite. Key features previously used on the old site, such as event subsites and schedulers, are now prominently displayed in the header, making the schedule easier to navigate with franchise filters. The news pages also offer filtering options, showcasing a much-improved user experience compared to the old homepage.
Ideally, this new site would be complemented by data from other valuable resources like imas-db for seiyuu and setlist information, CGSS Games DB and MLTD Games DB for game-specific data, and Project-imas for translated content and song details. The anniversary streams themselves featured a marathon of content, including anime, movies, and past live performances. Saturday’s stream included MOIW2014’s second day, while Sunday showcased both days of MOIW2015, SideM 1st, and Shiny 1st.
To conclude the weekend, a two-hour live stream featured the performers reflecting on the past 15 years of the IDOLM@STER world. Amidst the nostalgic content, four significant news items were announced. However, surprisingly, there was no new information regarding Starlit Season.
The most substantial piece of news, beyond the daily free ten-pulls offered in all IDOLM@STER games starting from the announcement, is an upcoming collaboration between CGSS (Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage) and MLTD (Million Live! Theater Days) scheduled for this winter. Given that winter typically begins around December 21st, this collaboration is still quite a ways off, adding to the anticipation, especially in a year like 2020.
The year 2020 has presented unique circumstances, leading to the cancellation of anticipated live events such as the Shiny Colors 2nd live (which would have included Noctchill 1st and Straylight 1st), Million Live!’s 7th live (which was to feature fireworks and an anime announcement), and the first major solo 765AS live since January 2018 (intended to accompany a new console game). In their place, fans were treated to approximately 32 hours of live streaming content spread across a 40-hour period. This extensive streaming marathon was likely facilitated by the four-day weekend in Japan.
These digital replacements for the normally deeply emotional and nostalgic live events have proven to be effective in fostering connection. The tear-jerking music video released was well-received, and it’s plausible that the desired emotional impact could have been achieved with less extensive programming.
It’s important to recognize that the streaming events and announcements serve as incentives, but the true driving force behind the series’ longevity is its dedicated fanbase. The IDOLM@STER is not merely a commercial endeavor; it thrives on the feedback and desires of its fans, which Bandai Namco acknowledges. This symbiotic relationship, where fans invest financially and the creators provide content and services, fosters a virtuous cycle of capitalism. Both parties find satisfaction in this exchange, though it doesn’t necessarily reflect flawless execution by the company.
While the tear-jerker music video was commendable and the new 15th Anniversary song was enjoyable, their impact is amplified by the context of the series’ overall journey. Looking back, IDOLM@STER’s success has often come about despite its numerous challenges and occasional missteps. It’s not that mistakes weren’t made, but rather that the elements that resonated with the audience, the aspects that fans focused on, and ultimately the overall positive experiences outweighed the limitations and difficulties faced by both creators and fans.
This perspective is crucial when viewing IDOLM@STER in 2020. The passion and engagement of the fandom online proved to be far more rewarding than any specific announcements made during the anniversary livestream. Seeing Twitter feeds filled with outpouring of love for IDOLM@STER was both therapeutic and moving.
Fans reminisced about cherished memories from past anime and movie releases. Many discovered or rediscovered the cast members from years ago, some for the very first time. Countless stories were shared, detailing the incredible memories fans have cultivated as Producers. This regular expression of shared sentiment, even if just once a year, is vital for the community’s health.
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It’s possible that the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified this kind of fan interaction, or perhaps it’s an inherent aspect of what makes fandom so worthwhile. Regardless, the collective passion and shared experiences are what truly sustain and propel the IDOLM@STER legacy forward.
