So, the Live for You! OVA. The deal here is very simple: if you are a fan of Idolm@ster, you must watch it. Otherwise, stay away.

As an anime, it has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Production values are low, characters go off-model all the time (faces deform), Miki is dumber than a stump. According to ANN, the OVA was produced by a 3-rd string studio Actas on behalf of Bandai Namco. Even Mave-chan was more fulfilling as an anime than this.

But as game tie-in, it's pure fanservice feast. Miki is in (absent from Xenoglossia). They kept the voice talent. We see everyone in the signature outfits (the late-running trio had to be shown in ED stills, since they have no in-show time to swap out of civvies, but they are included). It is probably what watching Puffy AmiYumi was for fans of Puffy.

Liked: Torn apart by internal conflict.
Rewatch: No, my fan's duty is done here.

I remember bloggers mentioned this when it first came out, so I searched for old blog entries, but there wasn't much. There was a crazily goofy entry at Anime History (how to compare incomparable... also, I certainly found a good place to quit Xenoglossia), and -- guess who -- Evirus, of course. This is what happens if you blog since 1991, I guess. It was actually kinda a nostalgic trip, actually.

My first exposure to Idolm@aster came via its fan art, most of which consists of the game's characters behaving inappropriately.

Oh LOL, the life of 4chan surfer. I think it was the Xenoglossia for me that started the trip. Note the category name.

Chihaya is the best Live For You girl, incidentally, probably because she seems the most ordinary. Actually, none of the girls really look like idols, if you ask me; they all seem pretty normal. Hell, any one of them could be the girl next door.

Except Iori, of course.

In re the game and Live For You! character designs: I'm not used to Makoto looking so feminine. Sure, she's the boku-saying tomboy character, but compared to her Xenoglossia counterpart, video game and Live For You! Makoto is positively bubbling with estrogen.

Ah, the days of yore. Nowadays Makoto is even more womanly in IM@S 2nd View, imagine that. I finally understood that it sets her apart from Hibiki, who basically slotted into the "old Makoto" hole plus the sports.

UPDATE: DiGiKerot had a write-up. Screencaps.