Lovely Idol

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Lovedol ~Lovely Idol~

Logo from the anime series
らぶドル 〜Lovely Idol〜
(Rabudoru)
Genre music,dancing
Light novel
Author Kohki Kanoh
Illustrator Aoi Nishimata
Publisher Flag of Japan Enterbrain
Published April 27, 2001 – February 27, 2004
Game
Developer PrincessSoft
Publisher PrincessSoft
Genre Bishōjo game, Dating sim
Platform PS2
Released April 28, 2005
Light novel: Lovedol -New Lyrics-
Author Agobaria
Illustrator Aoi Nishimata
Publisher Flag of Japan Enterbrain
Published April 25, 2006 – March 24, 2007
TV anime
Director Keitaro Motonaga
Studio AIC, TNK
Network AT-X, Chiba TV, Sun TV, TV Saitama
Original run October 2, 2006 – December 18, 2006
Episodes 12
OVA
Director Keitaro Motonaga
Studio AIC, TNK
Episodes 1
Released March 28, 2007

Lovedol ~Lovely Idol~ (らぶドル Rabudoru?, lit. a Japanese portmanteau of Lovely Idol) is the title of a Japanese series which focuses on a group of young girls who are striving to become famous Japanese idols.

The entire series has a wide range of media, ranging from written prose to a video game and even an anime adaptation. Lovely Idol first began as a set of illustrated short stories serialized in Enterbrain's Magical Cute magazine. The franchise grew to include radio shows, drama CDs, a Japanese bishōjo game by PrincessSoft, and an anime TV series which began airing in Japan on October 2, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The Lovely Idols are a group of young idol singers who have become very popular. Managed by Tomohiro Fujisawa, there have already been two "generations" of performers, with a third about to debut. However, right before the third generation is cued onstage at a concert, Tomohiro learns that their debut has been delayed by the company president. He isn't told why, but is left to figure out for himself what, exactly, the next generation is lacking. While considering what he should do to remedy the situation, he finds a young street musician singing and playing a guitar. Tomohiro may think he's found the answer to his problem, but recruiting her could turn out to be harder than expected.

[edit] Characters

The seiyū listed are from the anime adaptation.

[edit] Third generation idols

Mizuki Sakaki (榊 瑞樹 Sakaki Mizuki)?, (Seiyū - Sakura Nogawa)
Mizuki is known as "The Princess of Songs" on the streets, as she often plays on the streets with her guitar. Many famous record companies have asked her to officially record some songs but she turned them all down. When Tomohiro first asked her to become an idol, she strongly refused and said that she only sings for revenge. However, this all changed once when she first sings on stage with the other idols of the third generation, as seen in episode 3 of the anime. Ever since then, she officially became one of the idols in training in the third batch. The way the kanji is spelled, her given name means "congratulations" (mizu) and "hope" (ki )in Japanese, which would make "congratualtions hope". Had it been spelled 美月, her name would have meant "beautiful moon".
Kotoha Kiryū (桐生 琴葉 Kiryū Kotoha)?, (Seiyū - Mai Nakahara)

A shy girl, she and Mai are the only two in the third batch of Lovedols who had debut experience before.

Mai Nonomiya (野々宮 舞 Nonomiya Mai)?, (Seiyū - Haruko Momoi)

Short but mild tempered girl. Often become the subject of joke when compare about breast size with the other members of the third generation. According to her, she was a child actor for 8 years before joining the third generation. She is also very proud of her beauty. Her given name means "dance" in Japanese.

Miu Nekoya (猫谷 海羽 Nekoya Miu)?, (Seiyū - Yuko Goto)

Miu is a slow girl. She often says "nyuu~" at the end of her sentences. Miu is fond of dancing and is very energetic. She has problems imitating the sound of dogs. Her given name means "beautiful feather" in Japanese.

Hina Hōjō (北条 比奈 Hōjō Hina)?, (Seiyū - Minori Chihara)
Hina is the younger sister of the Chocorat Sisters from the first generation of idols. She often admires her older sisters with pride and joy. Whenever Hina brings up her sisters, she goes on and on about it until someone indicate her doing so. Hina also like to make pastry, however she is very bad at it. Whenever Hina attempt to make them they are bound to explode(thankfully no one gets hurt),during the last episode where she tried to heat up Miu's miso soup, it exploded. It is possibly hinted that she's very bad with oven-ware.
Ruri Fujisawa (藤沢 瑠璃 Fujisawa Ruri)?, (Seiyū - Kanako Sakai)
Ruri is Tomohiro's younger sister who personally asked the president of Sweetfish Productions to join the third batch of idols. A very cheerful girl.

[edit] Sweetfish Productions staff

Tomohiro Fujisawa (藤沢 智弘 Fujisawa Tomohiro)?, (Seiyū - Hideki Ogihara)
Tomohiro is a man who works as one of the managers in Sweetfish Productions. He is the first manager that all of the idols have had in the past and when the story begins is currently managing the third batch of idols.
President Mariko ( )?, (Seiyū - Chinomi Takema)
Mariko is the president of Sweetfish Productions, which is the company that all of the Lovely Idols are affiliated with. She was the sole reason why the third batch had a delay on their debut until Tomohiro could figure out what they were lacking. She tends to have a serious, businesslike personality who only wants the best from her employees.
Miki Fujisawa (藤沢 美樹 Fujisawa Miki)?, (Seiyū - Eriko Kawasaki)
Tomohiro's and Ruri's older sister who is also a manager. It was because of her Tomohiro got his job as a manager. She is somewhat tomboyish, and tends to attack her brother in a playful sibling way causing Tomohiro to fear her a little. Ruri doesn't seem to have a good relationship with her, as shown she speaks rather coldly to her older sister.

[edit] First generation idols

Aya Hiwatari (日渡 あや Hiwatari Aya)?, (Seiyū - Ayako Kawasumi)
China Hōjō (北条 知奈 Hōjō China)?, (Seiyū - Moyu Arishima) & Mina Hōjō (北条 美奈 Hōjō Mina)?, (Seiyū - Kumi Kawai) (Chocorat Sisters)
Yui Arisugawa (有栖川 唯 Arisugawa Yui)?, (Seiyū - Sakura Nogawa)
Ayumi Shindo (進藤 あゆみ Shindo Ayumi)?, (Seiyū - Mayako Nigo)
Sayuki Katagiri (片桐 沙有紀 Katagiri Sayuki)?, (Seiyū - Yu Asakawa)

[edit] Second generation idols

Tōko Yuki (結城 瞳子 Yuki Tōko)?, (Seiyū - Natsuko Kuwatani)
Hibiki Asami (浅見 ひびき Asami Hibiki)?, (Seiyū - Akiko Kobayashi) & Shizuku Oji (大路 しずく Oji Shizuku)?, (Seiyū - Rie Kugimiya) (Piccolo Sisters)

The Piccolo sisters have been known to be troublemakers. This can be seen in episode 6 when they invade the apartment of the third batch. They used to live in the apartment the third generation lived in and they know all the secret routes within (as shown in the episode where they took out a map indicating possible secret routes)

Yukimi Naruse (成瀬 雪見 Naruse Yukimi)?, (Seiyū - Hisayo Mochizuki)
Makoto Fujita (藤田 真琴 Fujita Makoto)?, (Seiyū - Ryoko Shintani)
Rei Nagasawa (長澤 玲 Nagasawa Rei)?, (Seiyū - Yumi Kakazu)

[edit] Media

Lovely Idol was first created as a series of illustrated short stories, and later adapated into radio shows, drama CDs, a video game, and finally a televised anime series.

[edit] Illustrated short stories

Lovely Idol was first serialized in Enterbrain's Magical Cute Premium magazine, beginning with the inaugural spring 2001 issue (released April 27, 2001), featuring the story by Kohki Kanoh and character designs/illustrations by Aoi Nishimata. It followed the transition from the quarterly Premium to the monthly Magical Cute magazine on February 27, 2004, where it ran until the 13th volume. Serialization resumed from the 26th issue (released April 25, 2006) to the 37th issue (released March 24, 2007) with the New Lyrics subtitle, and introduced the "third generation" cast of characters. Story writing was credited to Agobaria, and copyright was shared by Enterbrain and Omegavision (parent company of Navel).

[edit] Radio shows

A 16-episode Lovely Idol radio show first premiered on Animate TV's Net Radio in 2003. In 2004, Lovely Idol became part of a Magicue show on Radio Kansai that was transitioned to Lantis Net Radio in 2005. A new radio show based on the anime cast began airing on Animate TV's Net Radio in 2006.

[edit] Drama CDs

Lantis published four Lovely Idol Drama CDs, beginning in 2003, featuring the first two generations of idols, and a drama CD featuring the third generation was released in 2007. Another six-disc drama CD series was also released in 2007, with each disc telling the same story from the perspective of each of the third-generation characters.

[edit] Video game

The Lovely Idol visual novel video game was released on April 28, 2005 on the Playstation 2 console, and was developed by video game company PrincessSoft.

The player takes the role of Tomohiro, managing the girls' schedules and helping them improve their skills. The player must also talk to the girls about their troubles and go on dates with them. The game could be considered a part of the "raising sim" sub-genre of bishōjo games due to its focus on training the Lovedols.

[edit] Anime

The anime adaptation of the series first aired in Japan on October 3, 2006. The TV broadcast consists of 12 episodes, where the 12th episode aired on 19 December 2006. The 13th and final episode was made available as a DVD-exclusive OVA released in Japan on 28 March 2007.

[edit] Episodes

# Title Original air date
01 "Are You a Lovedol?"
"Rabudoru desu ka?" (らぶドルですか？) 		 October 2, 2006
We are introduced to Lovedol, which is an all-girl idol group comprising of two generations. The third generation is about to make their debut, but the President of Sweetfish Productions delays it last minute. Manager Tomohiro is vaguely told to find what the girls are lacking. And just when he meets the perfect idol candidate, she declines. 
02 "Is it NG?"
"NG desu ka?" (ＮＧですか？) 		 October 9, 2006
The girls from the third group of idols attempt to persuade Mizuki to join them, but are unsuccessful. Tomohiro tries once more with talking with her later, however. 
03 "Is it an Opening Performance?"
"Zenza desu ka?" (前座ですか？) 		 October 16, 2006
The Chocorat Sisters are going to put on a private concert and Tomohiro wants the third group of LoveDols to be there as well. Meanwhile, Mizuki is still contemplating Tomohiro's offer to join the third group. 
04 "Is it a Retirement?"
"Intai desu ka?" (引退ですか？) 		 October 23, 2006
Tomohiro comes down with a cold so Ruri must step in for him as the third group's manager. Today, they go to a voice acting recording where Yukimi Naruse of the second group is playing the lead role in a new anime so that the third group can get some idea of what else is expected of an idol. 
05 "Is it a Barter?"
"Bātā desu ka?" (バーターですか？) 		 October 30, 2006
The third group gets a chance to dance in a commercial with Sayuki Katagiri, though getting the dance in sync is already hard enough. What will they do when they fail the first time? 
06 "Are you Set?"
"Setto desu ka?" (セットですか？) 		 November 6, 2006
While staying in their dormitory, the third group starts noticing strange things happening and suspect ghosts are the cause. 
07 "Is it a Rapid Development?"
"Kyuutenkai, desu ka?" (急展開、ですか？) 		 November 13, 2006
The third group has been given an ultimatum - there will be one final performance in a month and if it fails, the third group will be broken up. Tomohiro has them work as Ayumi Shindo's managers for a day to give them a chance to see what they are lacking. 
08 "Is it a Solo?"
"Soro desu ka?" (ソロですか？) 		 November 20, 2006
Mizuki has been offered a solo debut, because she has the one "thing" that the other five girls are lacking. Apparently they are relying too much on the girl, and thus they will never find what their flaws are. 
09 "Is it a Breakup?"
"Kaisan desu ka?" (解散ですか？) 		 November 27, 2006
Torn by these decisions, Mizuki wishes to leave the company. The other girls are angered at this, and think that they are only being a burden to their friend. 
10 "Can you Reach it?"
"Todokimasu ka?" (届きますか？) 		 December 4, 2006
 
11 "The Song, Do you Remember it?"
"Uta, Oboete imasu ka?" (歌・おぼえていますか？) 		 December 11, 2006
Mizuki confronts her mother and her feelings while the the rest of the third batch continue to practice and promote their event, this time with the help of their seniors. 
12 "Is it the Debut?"
"Hajimari (Debuu) desu ka?" (はじまり（デビュー）ですか？) 		 December 18, 2006
 

[edit] Theme songs

Opening
"Koi, Hajime Mashita!" by Sakura Nogawa
Ending
"LoveLoveLove no Sei na no yo!" by Lovedol (Sakura Nogawa, Mai Nakahara, Haruko Momoi, Yuko Goto, Minori Chihara & Kanako Sakai)

[edit] Insert Songs

"Hateshi no Nai Sora" (果てしのない空) by Sakura Nogawa "HAPPY CLOVER" (sung by all of the 3rd generation girls) "Shiawase Kakumei" (episode 1, during the concert) "Kokoro no Yajirushi" (episode 1, during the concert)

[edit] External links

Languages