Key foods
- Trapezium offers a realistic view of the challenges in the idol world without any flashy conclusions.
- The film explores the manipulative side of a protagonist who blurs the lines between ambition and friendship to form an idol group.
- Trapezium's art and music capture a modern J-pop vibe that caters to fans of idol anime, but may lack subtlety for newcomers.
The idol music industry has been a powerhouse of Japanese pop culture for decades, and the industry's unique structure has contributed to the lack of anime over the years. From fresh and hearty landscapes Live love! and Pari Parato the scandal of spreading rumors of Oshi no Ko or mental insanity full blueThe dynamics and performances of young, marketable musical talent occupy a constant source of fascination and intrigue in the Japanese sister arts of anime and manga.
A new film from one of anime's most popular studios explores the idol experience by juxtaposing music with realistic challenges — and the ambitions needed to make it big.
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Anime Trapezium Within the World of Idol
trapezoida new feature film produced by Cloverworks, the studio behind some of the most popular anime series of the 2020s, including Spy X Family and Bucky rock!certainly has the pedigree to make a major entry into the world of idol anime. Adding a layer of authenticity to the idol experience is the fact that the film is based on a novel written by Kazumi Takayama, a former member of a major Japanese idol group. There are many expectations to fulfill and previous works to invite potential comparison. And how does he do it? trapezoid Face these different aspects of the multifaceted world of idols? Living up to your name with these different ways of approaching everyone is kind of…balance them
There's hardly any big “twist” or dramatic conclusion trapezoidand this creates a bit of cautious judgment as to what constitutes vandalism or not. The basic setup of the movie is that Yuu, a high school freshman with a lifelong love of idols and idol culture, carefully curates a group of friends around her with whom she wants to eventually start her own idol girl group. The location of each girls' school corresponds to the different directions of North, East, West and South, which is why this group is named.NewsThe girl group eventually reunites, though the girls' struggles with different ambitions and desires in life lead to questions about the future of their musical journey and their wider friendship.
Big dreams, bigger ambitions
To leave the film with such a description is certainly accurate enough for marketing or junk media, but it doesn't quite get to the point of the film, which is really more of a character study of an unremarkable idol. Yoo consciously shapes his friendships based on a group trick in his head, bending the truth about his motivations to make it seem like their bonds are rooted in natural friendship rather than inner ambition.
The girls in the group (a tennis-loving rich girl who attends an elite Christian school, a shy robotic lover who attends business school, and a recently reunited childhood best friend) all seem to be enough to be idol group members. On paper, however, the extent to which Yoo plays a months-long game of essentially feigning their interests in life in order to subtly sway them into following his personal passion goes beyond endearing passion and into somewhat unsettling manipulation. The film knows these resulting dynamics aren't perfect, but it hardly condemns them wholeheartedly. These characters have interesting dynamics and motivations that clash with their musical harmonies, but the film doesn't quite settle on the tensions it wants to portray and how far it goes to show them.
In fact, while the plan of trapezoid It glosses over its hero's more casual outbursts toward his idols and resolves the friend group's personal differences, never deviating from showing the group's overall friendship, which is shown to be genuine, yet with ulterior motives as its primary reason. d'etre On a slightly different note, if the film had focused more on Yves' inner monologue or self-doubt about the extent of his ambitions, it could have been a fascinating character study, or – dare I say it – a more modern and less risky one. Spiritual companion to full blue. Ultimately, though, showcasing the joyous sense of the band's performance, flawed dynamics and all, trapezoid's take on idols is ultimately something of an attempt to have one's cake and eat it too.
Sights and sounds
On a technical level, the film's art and animation are generally good. Director Masahiro Shinohara, whose work previously revolved around directing TV anime, does a commendable job of keeping and building character expressions that give the girls and their interactions great clarity. The film creates a sense of a clear visual sensibility sandwiched between storyboards and in the final art, simple facial expressions pause and frames maintain a strong sense of emotional characterization.
CGI is present throughout the film, but sparingly. Some of the characters outside of the CGI environments in some shots feel like they're being torn between the 2D figures and their 3D shadow environments, but these instances aren't common overall, and the CGI is less obvious (but still visible) in the girls' dance performance. Routines that occupy much more than the visual axes of the film.
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It goes without saying that music should be the main part of any idol movie and its music trapezoid It captures the upbeat and modern feel of J-pop while putting it to the beat (literally) of the girls' idol tour. Composer Masaru Yokoyama, who previously collaborated with Cloverworks in 2019. His blue skycaptures both the sentimentality of high school drama and the more upbeat feel of J-pop for a pleasant soundtrack and a memorable opening theme. The opening sequence along with the music is visual and a bit of fun early on.
trapezoid It will certainly be enjoyable for dedicated fans of idol anime, but it probably won't be the best introduction to that side of the medium for a newcomer. It has the seeds of engaging and complex character dynamics, but handles them with a politeness that prioritizes emotional convention over subtler nuances that one feels were probably more on display in the source novel. That said, for fans of the idol genre, trapezoid It might just prove a fascinating balancing act.
trapezoid
A high school girl determined to become an idol faces obstacles in pursuit of her dream. Along the way, he befriends aspiring stars from all walks of life and learns what his shining ambition really means.