User blog:Staraptor Kwan/How much influence will the Shoujo genre have in the plotline of Aikatsu Stars?

Hello there, everyone. I'm Staraptor Kwan. Fresh off the Aikatsu Wiki, and after witnessing an emotional finale I was really sad about the fact that Aikatsu had truly ended after 3 and a half years. Well, as they say, there's no use crying over split milk.

And so, I'm going to write my first Aikatsu Stars Wiki blog. To be honest, it took me some time to figure out the main topic, due to an lack of material given that the new series is still in its infancy. However, thanks to the support and encouragement of two of my fellow wiki members and friends who are known as AsakoMango and CureHibiki, I have finally managed to come up with an new topic: How much influence does the shoujo genre have on the plotline of Aikatsu Stars?

In case there's anyone who doesn't know what "shoujo" means, it is a kind of manga aimed at teenage female readership. As such, mature themes like romance will naturally occur, mostly between young teenage males and females in any given type of manga that has shoujo elements. There are also plenty of anime series that also have the shoujo genre like, for example: Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, Akatsuki no Yona, Shugo Chara, Pretty Cure, Fruits Basket, Pretty Rhythm, etc. Now, however, the latest and newest anime series to include the shoujo genre is none other than Aikatsu Stars.

So here's the question I pose towards members of the Aikatsu Stars Wiki community, will Aikatsu Stars have an more plot-driven, romance-inclined, and dramatic storyline compared to its predecessor, Aikatsu?

I know this topic in particular will be quite divisive, particularly among fans of shipping ( like me) and those who are anti-shippers ( not naming any names for peace's sake). I, after all do have some first hand experience of that in the previous wiki. Ever since the news broke that Aikatsu Stars would have some shoujo elements, there has been some discussion among the fans, but not much has come to light. Until now. After all, the evidence is clear, especially in the preview trailer, where Yume is shown talking to a mysterious Sena-lookalike.

One important thing to be discussed about is the inclusion of an all boys unit into Aikatsu Stars, aka the M4, the male counterparts to the S4. While there are several other issues, like how much of an role they will play in the new series, or whether, they are just an copy of More Than True (Naoto's former band), the one thing that relates them to the contents of this blog is...none other than the possbility of romantic pairings (more like shipping) between the male and female idols happening in Aikatsu Stars. But here's a problem. Despite the fact that Aikatsu Stars might take off for an different direction in terms of storyline, there's still the fact that it is the sequel or sister series to Aikatsu, which keep in mind was very lacking of shoujo elements.

After all, the main purpose of Aikatsu was to educate us anime views about the daily struggles of idols, and how much they have to sacrifice and practice in order to give us all those wonderful stage perfomances. As such, other elements like romance, villains, horrific moments, evil rivals instead of your customary friendly rival like Otoshiro Seira or Saionji Tsubaki were cast out in favour of an more realistic approach to making an idol anime. With the shoujo genre, however, each of these possiblities are in favour of making their way into the storyline. But the only thing that's not in favour is how the writers and producers of the Aikatsu Stars anime handle the storyline. I get that the main appeal of Aikatsu Stars and its predecessor Aikatsu are the performances, the appeals, the songs and the dance movements as well as the characterization of the characters. However, one cannot deny without some of the elements I have described earlier, the plot of an idol anime adaptation might stagnate and cease to be appealing, to the point where there's no choice but to reboot and start from block one again. If the producers of Aikatsu Stars can grasp the appeal of the shoujo genre and how important it can be when it comes to ensuring the sucess of an franchise, they should use it to its full potential.

So here's an message to the production team of Aikatsu Stars(although I doubt that the Japanese would actually read my blog, let alone come over to this wiki to listen to our opinions).Don't hold back what could have been in favour of a lean plotline, but instead go all out. Let your imagination and creativity run wild in favour of an good story. Try your best to gain from the shoujo genre its full potential. And finally, and most important of all, give us good justification by giving  Aikatsu Stars an good storyline with shoujo elements along with its usual fare of idol activities so that the pain caused by the abrupt end of the Aikatsu anime adaptation will cease. Don't mess this up, onegaishimazu, Ryuichi Kimura.

So that's the end of my first blog over here. What did you think of it? Do you think Aikatsu Stars will prosper with more romantic and story-driven shoujo elements. Or will it be better off without any of that? Be the first to comment down in the comments box below!

P.S. Thanks AsakoMango and CureHibiki