User blog:Lucy554/Aikatsu!: Is it listening to the fans?

All right, I think that it's time everyone talked about this. In the world a animation, no matter what country you're in, there wil always be fans! Now, it's very often that these fans suggest things to add to the series, or things to take out of the series. No, sometimes this comes in the form of a full episode of "fanservice," or giving the fans exactly what they want. Other times, they make permanent changes to the series.

Now, in Aikatsu, sometimes they listen to the fans and it works amazingly, like with the S4 selection! (Because, let's face it, nobody wanted Yume to win against Hime... But everyone also wanted Laura to be in S4... So? They listened to half of our requests? Points for that?) Other times, like with male idols, it almost works. Some people like it, somepeople really don't. Although, they did add depth to Ako's character arc, so good job there. And then... There's Akari. Which didn't work, and the second she was revelade as the new protagonist, fans erupted with rage. Listen, I understand we wanted change, but not like that!

So, are they really listening to us? Well, like I said, yes and no. Sometimes, they do listen to us! Other times, they really don't. Now, a great example of this is with re-using coord peices. While we want some coords to come back in stars so that fans can wear them in the stars GAMES, that doesn't mean you should just keep re-using the shapes and designs. Heck, occasionally, a dress looks like it could be from an original Aikatsu brand, but is just brandless! Here, have so examples!

Now, as you can see, the Sweet Ange Berry skirt looks just like a stage skirt, the Funny Trick Skirt looks like the Neon Rothbart shorts, the Etoile Rainbow Skirt looks like the Star Festival Skirt, and the Melty Pink Bell Headband looks like the Premiere Berry Headband. They've gone as far as reusing peices from AiStars itself, the same year they were released! And sure, these maight be mostly bettoms, but trust me, there are shoes and tops too. You just have to skim through a few coord pages from the last two colections to see the similarities. Sure, you might not know the coord they come from's name, but you get a feeling, "Haven't I seen that before? From the original series? Didn't {Insert character name here} wear something just like that?" Meanwhile, there are plenty of fans sitting there at their desks, drawing inspired coords the likes of which have never been seen in the anime! Here, have a few examples from myself and from other users!

For reference, the top left one is by YumeSuzuki, the one on the right is by SingMeloetta, and the middle left one is by myself. I'm not stealing everyone's art, I'm just siting examples!

And sure, some coords might be better than others, but that's why there are casual coords! The fans are out there making amazing coords, and Bandai is just cranking out clones! Listent to us about this real issue! Heck, there's one coord I've seen, made by a fan, that is possibly the best hand-drawn fan coord I've ever seen!

I mean, just look at this! These coords are inspired and beautiful! The one by Suni-re on the bottom left looks incredible, and should be a real thing in my opinion! These are all beautiful creations! (Note: Due to a glitch, Suni-re's drawing  was puched to the bottom of the post. It's there. Not here. But it's in the post!)

Then there's the matter of the characters themselves. Sure, we'll get an amazing character like Laura or Koharu sometimes, but all of the protagonists are made to fit a mold! Sometimes, I just feel like they aren't listening to us about the things that actually matter!

I don't know if it's just me, but I think we might as well just stsrt sending mail direct to Bandai, snail mail of email! If we can get their attention, maybe some things we want to see can become real!

I think that changing the way certain things are done, or bringing back certain aspects from the original, like "earning" a PR from the designer instead of just getting one, could be a good thing. While Bandai shows no evidence of thinking about it at all, I think that we can make a positive change if we try hard enough.

And no, this isn't me just ragging on Bandai. Like I said, we'll occasionally get something amazing that the fans love! They have some amazing characters and brands, but they usually get the back seat to whatever the protagonist has.

Speaking of the protagonist, remember how I said that they all fit a mold? Yeah, I think that the fans taking action can change that! We might get a protag. with a different typing, or without that classic ribbon! Change is a good thing!

Now, I'm not just saying we sould all be mad at Bandai. They're just out of ideas for some parts of the series. I'm not saying we should send them complaint letters or anything of the sort. I'm trying to say that we can make a Positive difference by sending them letters letting them know what we liked and what we didn't, and what they could change to make everything better as a whole. I'm talking about being polite

But even more than just telling them what we like more than other things, I'm really thinking about giving them ideas. People who have things like twitter and tweet their coord drawings at them, people who don't I'm sure can find an email or phone number somewhere in the depths of the internet to the Aikatsu team! They have to have it somewhere! On their products, maybe?

Fans can make a change, and I'm trying to say that we can maybe halp the series break the new trend of reusing old concepts, in the clothes, and in the story and characters. Like I said, don't be mad at Bandai, just try to give them a nudge in the right direction! What do you think? Should we give this a try and see if they listen, or is it just too risky? Let me know what you think! See you next time!