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// On :Monday, December 29, 2014
Hey guys! Kanna here!
It's time for another new word today. The word of the day is otome game. This literally means "girl game," and is targeted towards a female market. A typical otome game has two goals; one of which is to develop a relationship between the female protagonist and one of several male (or occasionally female) characters. It's a pretty common genre in Japan and is primarily made up of visual novels and simulation games (dating sims in particular). Numerous English translations of these games have made their way into the English-speaking market and can be found on the iOS App Store, the Google Play Store, and different gaming platforms like the PSP, PS Vita, and the Nintendo 3DS.
So, why do I bring up a new word? Because today's anime was based on an otome game. Now, as most of you have probably guessed, I don't watch a ton of girly anime. I've seen a few girly series, but a good amount of them weren't very good. There was one series that managed to stick out for me, and that series is...Uta no Prince-sama.
OK, I may have forgotten to mention a couple of things. The first being that the title is in Japanese (if you didn't already figure that out) and literally translates out to "Princes of Song" in English. The second thing I forgot to mention is the rest of the title. The anime has two seasons, with a third premiering in April of next year. The first season is called Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000%, and the second season was called Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 2000%. The third season has been confirmed as Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Revolutions.
The genre of anime that this would fall under would be known as reverse harem. Why. Because the shortest possible definition I can give you is this: a reverse harem anime has a female lead and lots of guys.
Lots. Of. Really. Good. Looking. Guys.
In Uta no Prince-sama, or UtaPri for short, we go from six leads to seven in two seasons. Not to Mention the other cute guys in Quartet Night and HEAVENS and...
I'm getting ahead of myself. I thought for sure that I'd be able to get through this anime without gushing over how unbelievably HOT some of the guys in it are. I'm going to do my best to do just that.
-deep breath-
OK. Let's talk about the plot.
The female lead of this series is Haruka Nanami, a girl who wants to attend Saotome Academy so she can become a composer. Saotome Academy is a music school where students can choose to take courses on becoming idols or composers. She manages to get in so she can take the entrance exam after meeting the first two of our male leads, Otoya Ittoki and Ren Jinguji. Throughout the series, she meets Masato Hijirikawa, Natsuki Shinomiya, Syo Kurusu, and Tokiya Ichinose, who will later go on to form the boy band, STARISH. Oh, and there's one catch about the school: NO ROMANCE ALLOWED.
And that's only the first season!
The second season sees the six members of STARISH and Haruka now full-fledged idols and composers. They are now members of Shining Agency's Master Course and are striving to win the UtaPri (teehee, the pun...because the series is called UtaPri for short) award, but a new person enters their midst. Enter Cecil Aijima, prince of Agnapolis, a far off country to the west. He tells Haruka right off the bat that he loves her, which is a big no-no in the world of idols. However, Cecil has no interest in being an idol, and only wishes to sing songs composed by Haruka. This season is where we meet the boys of Quartet Night and the relationships between Haruka and the members of STARISH begin to intensify.
This series is driven mainly by the guys. It's not that Haruka isn't important, but in an otome game, the person typically plays as the girl (or guy in some cases), so everything is up to the person who is playing as the girl (or guy in some cases).
The interesting thing here is that not only do the idols all play different instruments, but they all have their own distinctive musical styles for their character songs.
Anyway, let's talk about our INCREDIBLY awesome guys!
NOTE 1: Because I don't generally categorize my music by genre, some of these descriptions may be a little off. I know what genres like rock n' roll and country sound like, but that doesn't mean that what I think of as country music necessarily is country music.
NOTE 2: Some of the titles of the songs are in English, while others are in Japanese. To make this easier for my readers, I'm using the English translations of the Japanese. So the songs with English titles will be in ALL CAPS (like that) while the English translations of the Japanese song titles will be in normal font.
NOTE 3: THESE ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER WHATSOEVER. Also, I'm only doing the members of STARISH. No Quartet Night or HEAVENS.
Ittoki Otoya: He's probably the nicest out of the guys and very down-to-earth. He's energetic, but also gentle. His songs give other people strength and is nice to pretty much everyone, regardless of who they may be, and loves music more than anything. He plays the guitar. His musical style would have to be described as some kind of rock. I can't quite pinpoint it. His character song in Maji Love 1000% is "BRAND NEW MELODY," and in Maji Love 2000%, it's "SMILE MAGIC."
Ren Jinguji: He's a player. Need I say more? That pretty much sums up his character. He has a pretty laid back personality. His songs light up people's hearts, and he plays the saxophone. As for his musical style...I'd say it's something you'd hear at a jazz club. So...that would probably fall under smooth jazz, right? His character song in Maji Love 1000% is "BELIEVE HEART to the End of the World" and in Maji Love 2000%, it's "ORANGE RHAPSODY."
Masato Hijirikawa: The calm, cool, and collected one of the group. He's super serious and a master at calligraphy. He plays the piano and his musical style would probably be power ballads. Although, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I'd use the word "power" to describe his character song in Maji Love 1000%, "KNOCKING ON THE MIND." The word would definitely be used to describe his character song in Maji Love 2000%, "Cherry Blossoms of Love," though.
Natsuki Shinomiya: The one with an excessive fondness for things that are small and cute. Haruka reminded him of his dog in the first season, and a cherry blossom fairy in the second season (just go with it, because I don't get it, either). He can be fairly light-headed and naive at times. He also has a split personality problem called "Gemini Syndrome," and that personality is known as Satsuki. Satsuki is basically the dark side of Natsuki. Natsuki plays the viola, and his musical style is...well, I can't really describe it. It's interesting, because the writers gave Natsuki two musical styles; one for each of his personalities. In Maji Love 1000%, his character song is "Shout Out to ORION," and in Maji Love 2000%, it's "Promise to SIRIUS."
Syo Kurusu: Before you correct me, YES, that is really how he spells his name. It's spelled Syo, but pronounced "Shou." I don't know who came up with that, how they came up with it, or why. Anyway, Syo is the energetic and upbeat member of the group. He can be hotheaded at times, but he's fairly defensive when he's teased about his height. Yeah, he's also the shortest member of the group. He hates the word "cute." He plays the violin, and his musical style would probably be described as hard rock. Not necessarily metal. Again, a little hard to describe, but I'm going with my best guess. His character song in Maji Love 1000% is "Full Throttle Chivalrous Spirit! LET'S GO! FIGHT!". In Maji Love 2000%, his character song is "TRUE WING."
Tokiya Ichinose: The brooding loner of the group. Of course, he starts out that way, but he does warm up to the others after about...well, the majority of the first season, actually. He's a bit of a perfectionist and gets annoyed fairly easily. But when he does warm up to the others...well...he really isn't that different from before. He's nicer and willing to work with others, and his personality has gotten a bit warmer, too. He still has a bit of that harsh demeanor from time to time, though. He sings and his musical style is...I'd have to say it's a mix of pop and ballads. So...that would probably be pop ballads, right? His character song in Maji Love 1000% is "Seven-Colored COMPASS," and in Maji Love 2000%, it's "CRYSTAL TIME."
Cecil Aijima: He used to be a cat. But he got better. Anyway, he's the cheeky one who later pulls himself together in the end. He's also the newest to being an idol, so because he didn't know love was forbidden, he kinda-sorta-actually confessed his love for Haruka right off the bat. He's also the prince of Agnapolis, a fictional country that actually has its own language. I kid you not. The writers actually made up a bunch of words and stuck them together into coherent-ish phrases. If you listen to the insert song he gets in the second episode of Maji Love 2000%, "REINCARNATION of Love," the beginning part isn't in English or Japanese. It sounds like a combination of German and Spanish, and I have to give his voice actor TONS of credit for using this non-existent language. Anyway, Cecil plays the flute, and his musical style is...well, I can't really describe it. Love songs, maybe? Yeah, let's just go with that. Anyway, his character song in Maji Love 1000% is "Eternity Love," and in Maji Love 2000%, it's "FANTASIA of the Stars."
And those are the lead guys! So, rating? I give this...3000%!
OK, they didn't call the third season Maji Love 3000%, and I can understand why. It would have been Maji Love san-sen (3000) Percent in Japanese and that doesn't sound quite right. Therefore, I take full liberty of using 3000%. What I'm trying to say is...I give this 10/10! The characters are great, and the fact that the female lead is so naive about these SEVEN GUYS being into her is actually kind of adorable. What's just as adorable is that the guys get so close to confessing their feelings to her, but they either end up saying how much they like her songs, or something/someone gets in the way. The music is great and the character development is done amazingly well.
Girls: WATCH THIS. Seriously. It's beyond cheesy, but that's part of what makes it so great. Not to mention there are guys. Lots of them. About fourteen of them so far, and that's only from TWO SEASONS. Oh, and have I mentioned that these guys can SING? I mean, their voices are just...wow. AMAZING.
Guys: Check it out, and if you like it, keep watching. Male fans of UtaPri are pretty rare If you hate it, at least give the music a chance. It's pretty awesome.
Well, that's it for now! Stay tuned for the kid-friendly anime! I won't say what it is, but I will tell you it's sure to send you down a fairly nostalgic road!
