The Idolmaster

Infobox VG |title = The Idolmaster


caption = Xbox 360 Box Cover Art
developer = Namco
publisher = Namco Bandai
designer =
engine =
version =
released = Arcade: vgrelease|Japan|JPN|July 26, 2005
Xbox 360: vgrelease|Japan|JPN|January 25, 2007
Platinum Collection: vgrelease|Japan|JPN|November 01, 2007
genre = Raiser sim
modes = Single Player
ratings = CERO: C (15+)
platforms = Arcade, Xbox 360
media =
requirements =
input = Touch screen (arcade)
Game controller (Xbox 360)
cabinet=
arcade system= Namco System 246
cpu=
sound=
display=
width= nihongo title|The Idolmaster|アイドルマスター|Aidorumasutā|officially romanized as "THE iDOLM@STER" is an arcade and console music rhythm game released only in Japan by Namco (now Namco Bandai) on July 26,2005. It was released on the Xbox 360 on January 25, 2007. The game follows the career of a producer who works for the fictional "765 Production" studio and has to work with a selection of nine prospective pop idols (one of them is a pair of identical twins).

Characters

Idols

;Nihongo|Haruka Amami|天海春香|Amami Haruka:anime voices|Eriko Nakamura:"Age: 16":Haruka is the all-around good girl and main heroine in "The Idolm@ster". She's enjoyed singing and making sweets since she was a child, despite the fact that she seems to be quite inept as a cook in general. She's easily excited and a bit clumsy, admitting herself that she usually falls down somehow at least once a day. However, Haruka remains positive and keeps a strong resolve, always working the hardest to make the Producer happy. Also, although her character image color is red, personally, Haruka actually tends to be more partial toward the color pink (which is Iori's image color). Japanese fans have given Haruka a darker personality known as "Black Haruka". Under this persona she is much more abrasive and even wields a katana on occasion.

:Haruka appears in a downloadable paintscheme for the F-22A in .

;Nihongo|Chihaya Kisaragi|如月千早|Kisaragi Chihaya:anime voices|Asami Imai:"Age: 15":Cool and serious, Chihaya has the greatest enthusiasm towards music (and according to the game, the greatest natural talent for it as well) out of all of the girls, earnestly believing that if she were no longer able to sing, she would rather die. She doesn't very much care for the title "idol" in fact, and prefers to refer to herself as a "vocalist" instead, somewhat shunning the non-singing parts of being an idol. During her time off, Chihaya enjoys listening to classical music, along with generally spending time by herself, giving an aura of maturity about her. Though in actuality, she's really just awkward when it comes to communicating with other people. Despite her age, she has the smallest bust out of all of the characters, which makes her the subject of many jokes in fan material.

:Chihaya appears in a downloadable paintscheme for the F-15E in .

;Nihongo|Yukiho Hagiwara|萩原雪歩|Hagiwara Yukiho:anime voices|Yurika Ochiai:"Age: 16":A terrible crybaby, Yukiho aspires to become an idol in order to one day shed her cowardly disposition. She's afraid of dogs (even chihuahuas seem threatening to her) and doesn't do well with boys either. Having grown up in a strict, traditional Japanese household, Yukiho's drink of choice is tea; predominantly green tea. Also, among her hobbies is writing poetry, but she's usually too shy to even share her poems with anyone. Whenever she's depressed, she has a habit of running off exclaiming she'll "go dig a hole and bury herself in it", however whether this is just a saying or if she actually digs holes remains a bit of a mystery.

:Yukiho appears in a downloadable paintscheme for the F-117 in .

;Nihongo|Yayoi Takatsuki|高槻やよい|Takatsuki Yayoi:anime voices|Mayako Nigo:"Age: 13":Yayoi is a bright and cheerful girl who cares for her family very much. Due to her father's unstable occupational status, her family is actually quite poor, as indicated by Yayoi's plain clothing, which she's actually had for a very long time. To earn extra money, Yayoi often does cleaning and other odd jobs around the 765 Production building, and continues to do so even after she debuts as an idol. She's endlessly energetic, however, and never lets the weight of the world discourage her. Yayoi is the oldest of 5 siblings and always has to be the one to look after them, but also wishes that she had an "older brother" type around to look after her.

:Yayoi appears in a downloadable paintscheme for the Mirage 2000 in .

;Nihongo|Ritsuko Akizuki|秋月律子|Akizuki Ritsuko:anime voices|Naomi Wakabayashi:"Age: 18":The cool, smart-girl type, Ritsuko believes in theory more than her own inner strength. Originally an intern working at 765 Production after graduating from high school, due to a lack of girls scouted by 765 Production Ritsuko became an idol herself. Though despite being an idol, she still has one hand in the business side of her own celebrity, and is quick to chide the Producer if she thinks he isn't doing his job right. Also, Ritsuko's appearance remains conservative and business-like, as she always wears glasses and keeps her hair in two modest pigtails. No matter the costume or event in the game, she never takes her glasses off, or lets her hair down, with the exception of the pajama costume in Live For You!.

:Ritsuko appears in a downloadable paintscheme for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in .

;Nihongo|Azusa Miura|三浦あずさ|Miura Azusa:anime voices|Chiaki Takahashi:"Age: 20":The oldest amongst all idols in the game, Azusa's personality reflects that of a kind-hearted but ditzy "big sister" type. She has a very easy going and carefree personality, though also an incredibly terrible sense of direction, and while walking her dog will occasionally end up in strange, distant places with nary a clue of how she got there, or how to get back. Azusa also enjoys giving and reading fortunes, and has a firm belief that she'll one day fall in love with her "destined someone". One of her motivations for becoming an idol, in fact, is for her someone to one day perhaps find her first.

:Azusa appears as a downloadable paintscheme for the F-14D SuperTomcat in the game .

;Nihongo|Iori Minase|水瀬伊織|Minase Iori:anime voices|Rie Kugimiya:"Age: 14":The daughter of one of the associates of the 765 Production president, Iori is a spoiled rich girl who flaunts her family's wealth around. Although she is quite polite and refined on stage and in public, when with the Producer and other girls she has a very sharp tongue, and is quick to berate other people's intelligence (especially the Producer's). As a result of having two older brothers, Iori has grown up with a deep complex of hating to lose, and thus rarely shows any weaknesses. She does, however, have a much softer side that she shows from time to time, making her personality that of a perfect tsundere character. The stuffed rabbit that she carries around with her constantly is named "Usa-chan".

:Iori appears as a downloadable paintscheme for the Dassault Rafale in .

;Nihongo|Makoto Kikuchi|菊地真|Kikuchi Makoto:anime voices|Hiromi Hirata:"Age: 16":Makoto is popularized as the "pretty-boy idol" within 765 Production, and has accumulated more female than male fans because of this. Granted, she was already rather popular among her fellow students at the all-girls school she attends -- her current work as an idol not making the situation any easier for her. While not ungrateful of her popularity, underneath her gruff, boyish exterior Makoto is actually an honest, sensitive girl, and wishes to make herself more feminine. Therefore, unbeknownst to her father she decided to become an idol in order to find a way to a new, more feminine presence for herself and to show others that she can have a girly side as well.

:Makoto appears as a downloadable paintscheme for the EF-2000 Typhoon in .

;Nihongo|Ami and Mami Futami|双海亜美・真美|Futami Ami and Mami:anime voices|Asami Shimoda:"Age: 12":A playful pair of twin sisters who make a two-girl singing sensation. Ami and Mami both enjoy doing impressions and teasing their friends, though Mami seems to somewhat be a little more mature than Ami (even though she is technically the younger one). The only way to tell the two girls apart is through their hairstyles -- Ami tying her hair to the right, Mami to the left -- otherwise, they are completely identical. They use this fact by switching their hairstyles and both performing as idols (underneath Ami's name). The only people privy to the fact that Ami is actually a pair of twins are the insiders of 765 Production.

:Ami and Mami appear in downloadable paintschemes for the Mitsubishi F-2 and the F-16 Fighting Falcon in .

;Nihongo|Miki Hoshii|星井美希|Hoshii Miki:anime voices|Akiko Hasegawa:"Age: 14":Miki has rarely had to work hard for anything. It is because of this that she always approaches tasks with a very laid back attitude. She manages good grades with minimal effort, and was born with good-looks that belie her age. She even receives around 20 confessions of love per day from boys. She's grown up in a very laissez-faire family, who had no problems with her becoming an idol. While she doesn't really have cruel intentions, she believes like everything else, she can make her way to becoming top idol easily. As she appears only in the Xbox 360 version of the game, Miki is in some ways the second main character (behind Haruka) and her character is developed considerably over the game's year-long timespan. Later in the game, she cuts her hair short and no longer dyes it blonde. Originally, Miki wasn't supposed to be in the game (as seen in the promo). This could be why she does not appear in anime spin-off "Idolmaster: Xenoglossia".

:Miki appears in downloadable paintschemes for the Su-33 and the Su-47, in . She is also the only idol not to appear in .

765 Production Staff

Producer:The protagonist of "The Idolm@ster" and character through whom the game is played. He is a young, rookie producer who has been put in charge of a new set of pop idols. In the game, his name is never given, and is decided by the player. His personality is also dependent on the player's choices, and can range from sweet and protective, to very perverted. However, in the Drama CDs, he's most usually portrayed as somewhere in between.

;Nihongo|Junichirou Takagi|高木順一朗|Takagi Junichirou:anime voices|Kan Tokumaru:The president of 765 Production. He takes the Producer under his wing and monitors his performance in charge of the girls. He is never seen as anything but a silhouette, and rarely encountered outside of the 765 building, except at the final performance in the Idolm@ster game.

;Nihongo|Kotori Otonashi|音無小鳥|Otonashi Kotori:anime voices|Juri Takita:An office clerk at 765 Production, while Kotori only appears at the end of the actual Idolm@ster game, she is a recurring character within the Drama CDs. Originally featured on the Idolm@ster arcade game webpage in the F.A.Q. section, she has accumulated enough fans to appear in other aspects of the Project IM@S franchise. Among the few things disclosed about her personality and character, we know that Kotori is a little older than Azusa (making her somewhere in her twenties), and despite not being an idol herself, loves to sing. Her last name literally means "soundless".

Xbox 360 release

"The Idolm@ster" has been credited with making Japan's ratio of Xbox Live sign-ups to the number consoles sold the highest in the world. [http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/rumor-japans-xbl-signup-rate-highest-in-the-world-241420.php Rumor: Japan's XBL Sign-Up Rate? Highest In The World ] ] Over four times as many Microsoft points were sold on the date of "The Idolm@ster" 360 release as on the date before it.

The Xbox 360 release includes additional songs not included in the Arcade version, as well as a 10th idol to work with.

Playstation Portable (PSP) Release

On Wednesday, July 23rd, a PSP version of The Idolm@ster was announced by gaming magazine Famitsu. It is a direct port of the Arcade game, but will have three different versions, all having 3 different idols to work with. The game is scheduled for a winter 2008 release. [citeweb|title=jp icon Splash Page for The Idolm@ster SP |url=http://www.idolmaster.jp/game_psp/imsp_title.html|accessdate=2008-07-25]

Other Games

(another Xbox 360 game developed and published by Namco) references "The Idom@ster" in special paint schemes for the Su-33 Flanker, F-117A Night Hawk, Su-47 Berkut, F-15E Strike Eagle, and F-22A Raptor as part of downloadable packs of extra aircraft colors made available for purchase on November 22, 2007, December 20, 2007, January 31, 2008, February 28, 2008, March 31, 2008 respectively. The character Miki Hoshii appears on the paint schemes of the Su-33 and Su-47, Yukiho Hagiwara appears on the F-117A, Chihaya Kisaragi appears on the F-15E, Haruka Amami on the F-22A, Yayoi Takatsuki on the Mirage 2000-5, and Iori Minase on the Rafale M. [citeweb| title = jp icon THE IDOLM@STER Items| url=http://www.idolmaster.jp/items/| accessdate=2007-12-04] [citeweb| title= jp icon Ace Combat 6 Downloadable Content (11/22)| url=http://www.acecombat.jp/ace6/mp_cnt06.html| accessdate=2007-12-04] [citeweb| title=jp icon Ace Combat 6 Downloadable Content (2/28) |url=http://www.acecombat.jp/ace6/mp_cnt10.html |accessdate=2008-02-24] A stage in Beautiful Katamari set in the Producer's office features a song by all of the girls, titled 'Danketsu.'

equel

A sequel titled "The Idolm@ster: Live For You" was released on February 28, 2008. [citeweb| title=The Singing Idolmaster Girls Return |last=Ashcraft |first=Brian |url=http://kotaku.com/gaming/clip/the-singing-idolmaster-girls-return-327297.php |publisher=Kotaku |date=November 28, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-24]

It also has an accompanying OAV featuring the voice actresses from the game. It should be noted that it is different from the anime "Idolmaster: Xenoglossia" (see below) as this one follows the game closely and has Miki Hoshii finally animated for the first time. The OAV involves Haruka, Chihaya, and Miki trying to reach Tokyo in time to catch up with the rest of girls in their latest concert after the trio get lost in the middle of nowhere.

Anime

The series was later adapted into a television anime series, "" by Sunrise. Directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai, it was shown across Japan from April to October 2007. Numerous of the Sunrise staff working on "Xenoglossia" have also previously worked on "My-HiME" and "My-Otome". The series centers around mecha and reimagines the ten prospective idols as fighter pilots of those robots, eight of them also posing as students. Some girls were also given different ages. Chihaya, Iori & Yayoi were all made 2 years older (17,16 & 15 respectively), while Yukiho was made a year younger at 15.

It should be noted that the anime series has no relation in story to the game and is an alternate universe, from the game.