REVIEW: ‘Idoly Pride,’ Episode 6 – “For a Precious Stage”

Idoly Pride (stylized as IDOLY PRIDE) is a brand new Winter 2021 idol anime. The show combines idols with a touch of the supernatural to spin a pretty realistic story about idols trying to reach the top. In Idoly Pride Episode 5, manager Kouhei split the girls into tw, and also introduced final member Ichinose Rei, a seemingly stoic girl with a tender side. Now, in Idoly Pride Episode 6, “For a Precious Stage”, the girls look towards new heights as part of Hoshimi Productions. Namely, they look towards their debut concert, though initially, they seem less than thrilled.

However, it quickly becomes apparent that the girls are determined, and perhaps a bit anxious. Well… maybe incredibly anxious, given the situation. After all, their live concert will be held at the Hoshimi Festival on the same stage where Mana debuted. It seems Mana’s legacy still has a huge amount of influence, especially with Kouhei. However, Mana has largely taken a backseat to the current plot. While she’s certainly an influence, she’s not a driving force.If anything, Idoly Pride Episode 6 further downplays her role, though she’s certainly still present.

With no further hesitation, the girls of Hoshimi Productions get down to work so that when they debut, they’ll be able to rank high within the Venus Program’s algorithms. The girls need to bring their absolute best to reach Mana’s heights. Thankfully, Kouhei, being the good manager he is, sets the girls up with a professional trainer to whip them into shape ahead of their debut. 

What follows is a series of instrumental sequences of the girls giving it their all as they do vocal training, practice interviewing on the radio, get some headshots, and ultimately, give it their all. They’ve been handed a full plate by Hoshimi Productions, but it soon becomes clear that the girls are dedicated to their work as idols. They’re determined to kickstart their career with a bang, even if it means doing a lot of extra legwork day in and day out. Then, after a lot of training, the big day comes.

Now that we’ve got a performance sequence, we can talk about the CGI. Idoly Pride uses CGI almost exclusively for both Sunny Peace and Moon Tempest’s performances. It seems that idol anime have taken this route more and more over the past few years. Even Fall 2020’s Love Live Nijigasaki dipped into the CGI performance sequence. It’s not bad, nor is it intensely obvious. 

Honestly, the CGI just feels unnecessary to me, though I’m glad to say the models still look pretty good. Actually, they look really good, especially Moon Tempest’ models. Personally, I think they which had the cutest outfits. I also liked that their dance switched more frequently between 2D and 3D models.

CGI aside, the performances are really good, and after five episodes of build up, are incredibly satisfying as a viewer. Hopefully, Idoly Pride will give us more sequences like this before the season wraps up. I’d love to see the units combine and perform together. Maybe viewers will get that in the next episode.

In all honesty, Idoly Pride Episode 6 was really, really good. I teared up towards the end of the episode because the payoff is just that satisfying. Finally, everything that Idoly Pride has been working towards finally came to fruition in one very powerful episode. And while this is certainly only the beginning for Sunny Peace and Moon Tempest, it’s a powerful beginning with a lot of heart and enthusiasm behind it.

I don’t hand out my ten-out-of-tens lightly, but I fully feel that Idoly Pride Episode 6 deserves one.

The stars really aligned for Idoly Pride Episode 6. Why? Well, first and foremost, the build up to their debut felt properly exciting and a little bit tense. Then there’s the instrumental training montage. Personally, I feel that was a solid choice that still had heaps of personality. Finally, the performances were really, really good. The dances and songs had loads of characterization that still made the girls feel like individuals. The outfits were on point, and ultimately, everything meshed together so, so perfectly. I hope the show can maintain this level of energy, even during the slower episodes. If it can pull off another episode like this, I truly think Idoly Pride will be a pretty good Winter 2021 anime. 

Idoly Pride is now streaming on Funimation.