Thread:Yaylitambur/@comment-31049330-20170619100413/@comment-31550693-20170622095024

In that case, since we can't know what specific topic we'll both like to talk about, let's start up with something broad, if it's okay with you: comparing Aikatsu and AiStars through common elements. While they have a lot of things in common, many elements underwent changes. As we freely shoot our opinions, I think we will be able to find many small things to chat on. I might also mention other idol series (mainly Pretty Rhythm and PriPara) that have common elements with the Aikatsu franchise, I hope you don't mind.

What first comes to my mind is the concept of self-production. The parent series made a lot of mention of self-production, but it was mostly about coordinating clothes, picking what to wear with what. And even that was superfluous, because in the end certain sets of clothes predetermined by designers would attract the most attention. Some rare idols, mostly muses, would make minimal suggestions for designs, and that was all.

I commend AiStars for making quite some progress on the concept of self-production. On the clothing aspect, we have muses who are supposed to come up with original designs for their respective brands. Not only muses, all students have to make their own coords (dress-make), though from a limited pallette. Various types of glitters also help widen the pallette and make everyone's dresses unique.

We also see other aspects of production like finding and booking a concert venue, promoting your own concert, planning individual events etc. These are rather rare on screen, but we are told that previous generations also made such "grassroots aikatsu" efforts. Aikatsu also had some production stories, but only for prominent units, so I find that aspect getting better with AiStars.

Not everything is getting better, though. Special appeals are also an element of production, yet we're not given any concrete information on how they happen, and idols don't seem to self-produce them. They're written on the cards, so they're related to the coords, but how? And who designs/plans them? Same with stage designs. On the parent series, there was one occasion that a dress designer said he was also going to design the stage (can't remember the episode, but must be Otome's stage iirc), and that was the only mention of stage design that I can remember. As for appeals, we would see idols training for them on trampoline, but that was pretty much it. Seeing the focus on other elements of production, I was (and still am) expecting AiStars to also address these two things and at least give us some clues on how they are produced, but no mention so far.

I already wrote too long, sorry ^^; Let me stop here for now.

What is your take on self-production, Yume-chan? Or what other elements would you rather chat about?