is a Japanese
free-to-play
"Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...
simulation video game
Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...
co-developed by
Cygames
is a Japanese video game development studio established in 2011 by CyberAgent. Mobile and e-commerce company DeNA acquired a 24% stake in the studio in 2012, and Nintendo acquired another 5% stake in 2018, leaving CyberAgent with 69% of the sha ...
and
Bandai Namco Studios
is a Japanese video game development, video game developer headquartered in Kōtō, Tokyo and founded in 2012, with studios in Singapore and Malaysia. Bandai Namco Studios is a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Bandai Namco Games ...
for the
Mobage
is a portal and social network for games owned by the Japanese company DeNA. It derives its name from the Japanese slang word for mobile games.
History
In 2011, as part of a strategy to unify its services, DeNA rebranded Mobage Town as Mob ...
social network platform for mobile phones. It was first released on November 28, 2011, for feature phones, and compatibility was extended to
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
and
Android
Android most commonly refers to:
*Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google
* Android TV, a operating system developed ...
devices on December 16, 2011. The game is based on ''
The Idolmaster
is a Japanese media franchise that began in 2005 with a Life simulation game, raising simulation and Rhythm game, rhythm video game series created by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The series primarily centers on the career of a pr ...
'' franchise, and features a cast of new
idol
Idol or Idols may refer to:
Religion and philosophy
* Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents
* Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...
characters. In September 2015, a
music video game
A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs. Music video games may take a ...
developed by Cygames titled ''
The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage'' was released on the
Google Play Store
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...
and
Apple Store
The Apple Store is a chain of Retail, retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell, service and repair various Apple products, including Macintosh, Mac desktop and MacBook laptop personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad ta ...
in Japan. The original game ended service on March 30, 2023, and was succeeded by its spinoff game and adaptations.
The story in ''Cinderella Girls'' follows the career of a producer in charge of leading and training prospective pop idols to stardom. Its
gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...
follows a
digital collectible card game
A digital collectible card game (DCCG) or online collectible card game (OCCG) is a computer or video game that emulates collectible card games (CCG) and is typically played online or occasionally as a standalone video game. Many DCCGs are types of ...
format in which each idol is represented as a card, which the player may use to form a unit of idols to train in lessons, take to jobs, and compete against opponents. ''Cinderella Girls'' has made transitions to other media. An
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
television series adaptation produced by
A-1 Pictures
is a Japanese animation studio and production company founded by ex- Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata. It is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex.
History
The company was established by SMEJ's animat ...
aired in Japan between January 10 and October 17, 2015, and was simulcast by
Daisuki
Daisuki may refer to:
* Daisuki (website), a Japanese anime streaming website
* ''Daisuki'' (magazine), a German manga magazine
* "Daisuki", a 1997 song by Yuki Uchida
* ''Daisuki'', a Malaysian comic by Kaoru and published by Gempak Starz
* "Dai ...
. It was followed by a 3-minute short
chibi slice of life
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to Naturalism (theatre), naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence ...
anime series produced by
Gathering
Gather, gatherer, or gathering may refer to:
Anthropology and sociology
*Hunter-gatherer, a person or a society whose subsistence depends on hunting and gathering of wild foods
* Intensive gathering, the practice of cultivating wild plants as a s ...
that has been running since 2017.
Various
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series, three sets of manga anthologies, two
Internet radio
Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...
talk shows featuring the series' voice actresses,
image song
In Japan, an image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album (often called an image album or character album) for an anime, video game, drama, manga, or other commercial product that is sometimes sung by the voice actor or a ...
singles and albums, and live concerts have also been produced.
Premise
The game and series takes place at the 346 Pro talent agency, where a producer is raising a group of idols to stardom in what is known as "The Cinderella Project". The anime follows three such girls, Rin Shibuya, Uzuki Shimamura, and Mio Honda, along with their fellow idols, as they become part of the Cinderella Project.
Gameplay
''Cinderella Girls'' is a
free-to-play
"Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...
,
simulation
A simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real world. In this broad sense, simulation can often be used interchangeably with model. Sometimes a clear distinction between the two terms is made, in ...
social network game
A social network game (sometimes simply referred to as a social media game, social gaming, or online social game) is a type of online game that is played through social networks or social media. They typically feature gamification systems with mu ...
based on ''
The Idolmaster
is a Japanese media franchise that began in 2005 with a Life simulation game, raising simulation and Rhythm game, rhythm video game series created by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The series primarily centers on the career of a pr ...
'' franchise. Like its forerunners
''The Idolmaster'' and ''
The Idolmaster 2
is a Japanese raising simulation video game in ''The Idolmaster'' series developed and published by Namco Bandai Games. It was originally released on February 24, 2011, for the Xbox 360 in Japan, and later for the PlayStation 3 on October 27, 20 ...
'', the player assumes the role of a
talent producer who is in charge of training prospective pop
idols on their way to stardom. Idols are represented in the game as
collectible cards divided into three categories: cute, cool, and passion. The player begins by choosing one of the three categories, and they will then receive an idol belonging to the category.
Each idol has several statistics points that influence gameplay: attack, defense, cost, and affection rate; each idol is also designated one of three rarities: normal, rare, or S rare, all of which also have a "plus" variant.
There are several activities which the player may take their idols to participate in, such as work, live battles, and lessons. Work are jobs that the producer and idols can take in different regions of Japan. During a job, the player earns in-game money and fans, receives new idols or costumes,
and may also increase an idol's affection rate. As work progresses, the player also earns
experience point
An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
s and increases their
producer level. The amount of progress the player may make at a given time is limited by the amount of stamina they have, which depletes during work. To continue working after the stamina has been completely depleted, the player must either wait for the stamina gauge to replenish over time or use in-game items. The amount of stamina the player has is determined by their producer level, but it can also be increased by allocating earned bonus points. After completing a number of jobs in an area, the player and idols are occasionally challenged by a computer-controlled rival idol. To finish working in the area, the player must compete against this opponent with the idol that they have chosen as the leader.
By defeating the rival idol, the player receives the idol's corresponding card or in-game items.
Live battle is an asynchronous multiplayer gameplay mode in which the player can compete against other players on the
Mobage
is a portal and social network for games owned by the Japanese company DeNA. It derives its name from the Japanese slang word for mobile games.
History
In 2011, as part of a strategy to unify its services, DeNA rebranded Mobage Town as Mob ...
platform. To initiate live battles against other players, the player must first assemble an idol unit for attacking. The player can add a maximum of five idols to their unit, but only the first idols whose costs are cumulatively equal to or lower than the player's attacking cost limit are played during battle. Like stamina, the player's cost allowance is determined by their producer level, but it can also be increased by allocating additional points. If the player has cost remaining in the unit, then additional idols whose cost can fit the gap are played as back members. In order to win the live battle, the player must obtain a higher score—determined by the idol units' total attack, defense, and skills—than their opponent. By defeating his or her opponent, the player earns additional fans and money, and receives a costume from the opponent.
Similarly, the player may assemble a unit for defense, which is limited by the player's total defending cost. For either units, the player may add the same idol character to the unit more than once, but the same idol card is only permitted once.
To raise the attack and defense competency of an idol, the player can have her participate in lessons. To participate in a lesson, the player must first choose up to ten other idols as lesson partners, who will then be removed from the player's roster in exchange for raising the level, attack, and defense of the idol who partakes in the lesson.
The player can also increase an idol's attack and defense by raising her affection rate to the maximum. Lastly, the player can choose to participate in training,
and combine two identical idols to obtain her "plus" variant.
Development and release
''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls'' was developed by Cygames for
DeNA
is a Japanese provider of mobile portal and e-commerce websites headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It owns the Mobage cell phone platform and also operates other services, including the e-commerce website DeNA Shopping (formerly: Bidders).
H ...
's
Mobage
is a portal and social network for games owned by the Japanese company DeNA. It derives its name from the Japanese slang word for mobile games.
History
In 2011, as part of a strategy to unify its services, DeNA rebranded Mobage Town as Mob ...
social network platform for mobile phones. It was first announced on October 14, 2011, under the tentative title "''Idolmaster'' Social Game", and pre-registration for the game was opened to the public on November 16, 2011. It was first released on November 28, 2011, for Japanese feature phones, and compatibility was extended to
Android
Android most commonly refers to:
*Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google
* Android TV, a operating system developed ...
and
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
devices as a
web application
A web application (or web app) is application software that is created with web technologies and runs via a web browser. Web applications emerged during the late 1990s and allowed for the server to dynamically build a response to the request, ...
on December 16, 2011. To commemorate the game's third anniversary, native applications for Android and iOS were respectively released on November 17 and November 25, 2014. A
Google Chrome App
Google Chrome Apps, or commonly just Chrome Apps, were a certain type of non-standardized web application that ran on the Google Chrome web browser. Chrome apps could be obtained from the Chrome Web Store along with various free and paid apps, ...
version for the
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, an ...
browser was also released on October 28, 2015. The game was later released in South Korea for the Daum Mobage platform as an application for Android devices on December 2, 2014, and it featured a new idol character exclusive to the version. The Korean language version of the game shut down on March 14, 2016.
In May 2012, the
Consumer Affairs Agency
The is an administrative agency of the Cabinet Office of Japan responsible for consumer protection established on September 1, 2009.
Under the law passed on December 10, 2022, the Consumer Affairs Agency now also has jurisdiction over the issue ...
determined that the gameplay mechanic's usage in social network games violated Japanese law, and announced it would issue a request to DeNA and other social game platforms for its removal.
''Cinderella Girls'' was cited as an example of a game that employed the tactic.
The mechanism was later removed from the game, following separate announcements by DeNA and Bandai Namco that the companies would cease its usage in their social games.
Related media
Manga
''Cinderella Girls'' has received several
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
adaptations since its service commenced. A five-panel
comic strip
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
by Kuma-Jet, titled , began its serialization in the ''Cinderella Girls'' video game in March 2012. The comic strips have been collected into multiple volumes published by
ASCII Media Works
, formerly , is a Japanese Publishing, publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing headquartered in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It originally formed on April 1, 2008, as a result of a Mergers and acquisitions, merger bet ...
with its first volume published on January 27, 2015; its 11th volume was released on September 26, 2019.
The first manga series adaptation, titled , was illustrated by Namo, and focuses on the characters Uzuki Shimamura, Rin Shibuya, and Mio Honda. It was serialized in
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
's
shōnen manga
is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of both adolescent boys and young men. It is, along with Shōjo manga, manga (targeting adolescent girls and young women), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adults ...
magazine ''
Gangan Joker
is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company merged with Square to form Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in the ...
'' between its October 2012 and November 2013 issues. The chapters were later collected into two volumes released on April 25 and November 25, 2013. A second manga series, titled , was illustrated by Hamachon, and centers on the characters Riina Tada, Kanako Mimura, and Rika Jōgasaki. The manga was serialized in Square Enix's
seinen manga
is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word means "youth", but the term " manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like '' Weekly Manga Times'' and '' Weekly Man ...
magazine ''Monthly Big Gangan'' between its October 2012 and April 2017 issues with frequent hiatuses, and the first volume was released on April 25, 2013.
A
four-panel comic strip manga adaptation, titled and illustrated by Sadoru Chiba and written by Haruki Kashiba for seinen manga magazine ''
Young Gangan
is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company merged with Square to form Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in t ...
'', was serialized in the magazine's 22nd issue for 2012 until its 6th issue for 2016. Three volumes were published by Square Enix between November 25, 2013, and April 25, 2016. This was followed by two four-panel comic strip manga adaptations by Saya Kiyoshi for ''Big Gangan'', titled and ; the latter series follows the characters featured in the Internet radio show of the same name. The two series were serialized in ''Big Gangan'' between the twelfth volume of 2012 and the eighth volume of 2013, and were collected into a volume released on November 25, 2013. Another four-panel comic strip series, titled ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls Dereradisan'', was illustrated by Ajiichi for the manga website ''Gangan Online''. The series also follows the Internet radio show's characters, and began serialization on the website on September 12, 2013.
''Cinderella Girls'' has also inspired several sets of manga
anthologies
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...
illustrated by a multitude of different artists. The first manga anthology, titled ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls Shuffle!!'', was regularly serialized on ''
Gangan Online
is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company merged with Square to form Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in t ...
'' between August 2 and November 8, 2012, and was serialized irregularly thereafter. Its first volume was released on April 25, 2013. A six-volume anthology series, titled ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls Comic Anthology'', was published by
Ichijinsha
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga-related publication, including magazines and books.
The company was first established in August 1992 as a limited company under the name Studio DNA whose main purpose was to edit shōnen manga ...
between October 25, 2012, and October 31, 2013. The series devoted two volumes to each image category in the game: Cute, Cool and Passion, and each category's second anthology was also bundled with a
drama CD
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
written by Tatsuya Takahashi.
Age-focused manga series have since been published based on the game: ''
The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls U149
is a Japanese Spin-off (media), spin-off manga series of ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls'' free-to-play simulation video game by Cygames and Bandai Namco Entertainment#Bandai Namco Studios, Bandai Namco Studios. The series is created by Ky ...
'', a web manga written and illustrated by Kyono and published by Cygames' Cycomics division which focuses on a cast of idols aged 9 to 12 (Miria Akagi, Arisu Tachibana, Risa Matoba, Koharu Koga, Nina Ichihara, Kaoru Ryuzaki and Haru Yuuki) and their producer and began serialization on October 15, 2016; and ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls After20'', written and illustrated by Han Nigō and also published by Cycomics which focuses on a cast aged 20 and up (Miyu Mifune, Kaede Takagaki, Mizuki Kawashima, Shino Hiiragi and Sanae Katagiri) as they eat food and drink beers, and began serialization on December 23, 2017.
Anime
The first
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
adaptation of ''Cinderella Girls'' was the
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for the song "Onegai! Cinderella". The music video was produced to commemorate the game's second anniversary, and it was streamed within the game on November 28, 2013. The music video was later included in the
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
and DVD ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls: Animation First Set'', released on November 5, 2014.
An anime television series adaptation was first announced at the concert "The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls 1st Live Wonderful Magic!!" on April 5, 2014.
The anime was produced by the animation studio
A-1 Pictures
is a Japanese animation studio and production company founded by ex- Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata. It is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex.
History
The company was established by SMEJ's animat ...
and directed by Noriko Takao, who, with writer Tatsuya Takahashi, shared supervision duty for the series screenplay, and Yūsuke Matsuo based the character designs on designs provided by illustrator Annin Dōfu;
the music was composed by Hidekazu Tanaka of Monaca. The series aired in Japan on
BS11 via
satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
, and
Tokyo MX
JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...
and nine other local independent terrestrial stations between January 10 and April 11, 2015, and was simulcast on
Daisuki
Daisuki may refer to:
* Daisuki (website), a Japanese anime streaming website
* ''Daisuki'' (magazine), a German manga magazine
* "Daisuki", a 1997 song by Yuki Uchida
* ''Daisuki'', a Malaysian comic by Kaoru and published by Gempak Starz
* "Dai ...
. The series aired in split seasons, with the second season having aired between July 17 and October 17, 2015. An
original video animation
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...
episode was shipped with the ninth DVD and Blu-ray compilation volume on February 25, 2016. The opening theme is "Star!!" by Cinderella Project, a group composed of Uzuki Shimamura (
Ayaka Ōhashi
is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo. She is affiliated with the talent agency HoriPro International. As a singer, she is signed under Lantis. Originally a child actress, she appeared in many commercials, dramas, NHK Educational TV ...
), Rin Shibuya (
Ayaka Fukuhara
is a Japanese voice actress from Kagoshima Prefecture affiliated with the agency Across Entertainment. After aspiring to become a voice actress early in life, she made her acting debut in 2012 as the character Rin Shibuya in ''The Idolmaster Cin ...
), Mio Honda (
Sayuri Hara
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She is affiliated with 81 Produce.
Personal life
In December 2023, Sayuri Hara announced her marriage on X (formerly Twitter).
Filmography
Anime
;2009
*'' Jewelpet'' as Rinko Kougyoku
;2010
*'' ...
), Miria Akagi (
Tomoyo Kurosawa
is a Japanese actress and singer. Her major voice acting roles include '' Yuki Yuna is a Hero'' as Itsuki Inubozaki, ''Arknights'' as Amiya, '' Sound! Euphonium'' as Kumiko Ōmae, Otome Arisugawa in ''Aikatsu!'', Rebecca in '' Cyberpunk: Edgerunn ...
), Anastasia (
Sumire Uesaka
is a Japanese voice actress and singer associated with Voice Kit. She won the Best Rookie Actress at the 10th Seiyu Awards. She made her singing debut in April 2013 under King Records.
Career
Uesaka became a regular on the web radio program ' ...
), Chieri Ogata (
Naomi Ōzora
is a Japanese voice actress from Osaka Prefecture. Her major voice roles include Hana Uzaki in '' Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!'', Jahy in '' The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!'', Inari Fushimi in '' Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha'', Chio Miyamo in ...
), Ranko Kanzaki (
Maaya Uchida
is a Japanese actress and singer who works for I'm Enterprise. She won the Best Rookie Actress Award at the 8th Seiyu Awards. She is best known for her roles such as Fischl in ''Genshin Impact'', Rikka Takanashi in ''Love, Chunibyo & Other De ...
), Rika Jōgasaki (
Nozomi Yamamoto
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with VIMS.
Personal life
Yamamoto married in January 2020. In January 2023, Yamamoto announced her pregnancy.
Voice acting roles
Anime television series
;2011
*''Haganai'' as Yukimura Kusunoki
*'' Un-Go' ...
), Riina Tada (
Ruriko Aoki
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Atomic Monkey. She voiced Riina Tada in ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls'', for which she received a top-ten charting single. She also voiced Ranra in '' The World Is Still Beautiful'', Yucho La in ' ...
), Minami Nitta (
Aya Suzaki
is a Japanese voice actress and narrator affiliated with I'm Enterprise. She is widely known for her work, such as Tamako Kitashirakawa in '' Tamako Market''.
Biography
Suzaki is good at singing, and lists soft tennis and scuba diving as her ...
), Anzu Futaba (
Hiromi Igarashi
is a Japanese voice actress from Sapporo, Hokkaido. She is affiliated with Mausu Promotion. Her major roles are Anzu Futaba in the Japanese idol franchise ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls''; Hina Takanashi, the youngest daughter in '' Listen ...
), Miku Maekawa (
Natsumi Takamori
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Raccoon Dog. Some of her major roles are Mei Misaki in '' Another'', Miku Maekawa in ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls'', Nikka Edvardine Katajainen in ''Brave Witches'', Ellery Himeyuri in '' Tante ...
), Kanako Mimura (
Yuka Ōtsubo
is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Chiba Prefecture affiliated with Early Wing. In 2014, she started her career as a singer by joining the band SmileY inc. with Vocaloid musician Yuuyu-P. She also did the voice of Vocaloid character Azu ...
) and Kirari Moroboshi (
Rei Matsuzaki).
An anime television series adaptation of Kuma-Jet's ''Cinderella Girls Theater'' spin-off manga, produced by
Gathering
Gather, gatherer, or gathering may refer to:
Anthropology and sociology
*Hunter-gatherer, a person or a society whose subsistence depends on hunting and gathering of wild foods
* Intensive gathering, the practice of cultivating wild plants as a s ...
and directed by Mankyū, was announced on November 28, 2016, as part of the game's 5th anniversary
via a 3-minute short film distributed online and premiered its first season which ran from April 4 to June 27, 2017. The series was then renewed for three more seasons, with the second season premiering on October 3, 2017, the third running from July 3 to September 25, 2018 and the fourth, titled ''Climax Season'', from April 2 to June 25, 2019. In February 2020, a new anime spun off from ''Theater'' titled ''Extra Stage'' was announced and was streamed exclusively in both the ''Cinderella Girls'' and ''Starlight Stage'' mobile games from March 24, 2020, to April 13, 2021. ''Extra Stage'' ran for 48 episodes and Mankyū returned to direct the series. This time, production moved from Gathering to
Zero-G
Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) or, incorrectly, zero gravity.
Weight is a measurement of the fo ...
.
On November 10, 2019, a promotional animated 6-minute short film, titled ''Spin-off!'', was announced at the concert "The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls 7th Live Tour Special 3chord Funky Dancing!". The short was directed by Naoki Yoshibe and produced by
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
** Orange juice
*Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...
in cooperation with
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
, Cygames, karaoke equipment manufacturer
Daiichi Kosho Company
is a Japanese electronics and aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Tokyo. As an electronics manufacturer the company specializes in karaoke equipment.
History
Between about 1992 and 2003 the company branched in ...
and
Nissin Foods
is a Japanese food company. Founded in 1948 by Momofuku Ando in Izumiōtsu, Osaka, it owns Nissin Food Products, Nissin Chilled Foods, Nissin Frozen Foods, and Myojo Foods. It is known for development of the world's first marketed brand of i ...
. The theme song of the short is "Oumuamua ni Kōun o" by Shiki Ichinose (
Kotomi Aihara), Shin Sato (
Yumiri Hanamori
is a Japanese voice actress. She used the alias – her given name spelled backwards – in her debut, "The Second Audition".
Career
Hanamori became interested in acting during her second year in high school.
In 2015, she served as the 62nd pe ...
), Risa Matoba (
Hana Tamegai
is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Atomic Monkey. She is known for portraying Misha in '' Kemono Michi: Rise Up'', Risa Matoba in ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls'', and Tsumugi Tsutsumi in '' Studio Apartment, Good Lightin ...
), Nao Kamiya (
Eriko Matsui
is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Nakamura-ku, Nagoya. She is affiliated with DAX Production.
Early life
Matsui graduated from Aichi Prefectural Gamagori High School. She graduated from the voice actor talent department at Yoyogi Anima ...
) and Chitose Kurosaki (Kaoru Sakura). It premiered on Amazon Prime Video on the same day as its announcement. The short marks the eighth anniversary of the franchise. The full film was released on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
on December 8, 2019, by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
An anime television series adaptation of Kyono's ''
Cinderella Girls U149'' manga was announced during the final concert in "The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls 10th Anniversary Magical Wonderland!!!" tour on April 3, 2022. It was produced by
CygamesPictures
is a Japanese animation studio subsidiary of Cygames.
Establishment
In 2015, Cygames announced the creation of its own anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating fro ...
and directed by Manabu Okamoto, who was also the sound director, with Hiroyuki Takashima served as assistant director, Oki Murayama handled the scripts, Norie Igawa designed the characters for animation,
Nippon Columbia
, often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...
produced the music, and
Makoto Miyazaki composed the music score. The series aired from April 6 to June 29, 2023, on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.[Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...]
streamed the series. Plus Media Networks Asia to carried the anime in Southeast Asia, to be premiered on
Aniplus Asia
Aniplus Inc. () is a South Korean television channel and anime distributor. Founded in 2004, the company also operates different businesses including a video on demand platform and a merchandising arm in its own country.
Aniplus is owned by JJ ...
.
Reception
In September 2012, the ''
Nikkei Shimbun
''The Nikkei'', also known as , is the flagship publication of Nikkei, Inc. (based in Tokyo) and the world's largest financial newspaper, with a daily circulation exceeding 1.73 million copies. The Nikkei 225, a stock market index for the Tokyo S ...
'' reported that ''Cinderella Girls'' earns over 1 billion
yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro.
T ...
in monthly revenue.
The game currently has a playerbase of at least 4.6 million players.
References
External links
*
Anime official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Idolmaster Cinderella Girls, The
2015 anime television series debuts
2017 anime television series debuts
2011 video games
2012 manga
2013 manga
2015 Japanese television series endings
A-1 Pictures
Android (operating system) games
Anime television series based on video games
Bandai Namco games
Business simulation games
Crunchyroll anime
Cygames franchises
Digital collectible card games
Free-to-play video games
Gathering
IOS games
Japanese idol video games
Japanese idols in anime and manga
Life simulation games
Music in anime and manga
Music video games
Orange (animation studio)
Rhythm games
Seinen manga
Shōnen manga
Cinderella Girls
Tokyo MX original programming
Video games developed in Japan
Zero-G (studio)