The "Idols" don't just sing, they use magic, too! Do you believe in Idols?
Yes, that is actually the official English tagline.
Going into this season, I wasn't expecting to pick up more shows. I've already got Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai! and Oregairu S3 on my plate, after all. What more could one possibly want? However, a friend of mine was hyped about another show that brought together KLab and Kadokawa. This show is Lapis Re:LiGHTs.
If you don't know too much about KLab, they are a mobile developer based out of Japan. They are probably best known for their work on Love Live! series of mobile games in partnership with Bushiroad. You can already probably tell where this is headed. Another idol show, you may ask? What's the gimmick? Well, according to the tagline, they're idols that can use real magic.
The first episode spends most of the runtime building up the setting and starts introducing the characters one by one. It seems like an interesting enough premise, as it's a world based on magic in a fantasy setting. Honestly, watching episode 1, you can almost forget this is an idol show and just think it's another generic cute girls doing cute things anime.
We are introduced to our main character, Tiara, the red-haired girl. She travels to Flora Girls' Academy to enroll there. She is quickly accepted and meets up with a childhood friend named Rosetta, the blue-haired girl. She is then assigned to the team that Rosetta is on.
From there, Rosetta takes Tiara on a tour of the campus, which shows her all the magical elements ranging from spell casting to flying disks. We then next meet Lynette, the green-haired girl who happens to be really into books. She seems to be the stereotypical quiet bookworm archetype.
Lastly, we meet Ashley, the purple-haired mature girl, and Lavie, the blonde-haired girl, who might be just a bit oblivious. Of course, it wouldn't be a moe anime without them all having their quirks of their own.
As the story progresses, you learn more about the nature of the academy and the class system. There are three classes in total that are based on scores. The three classes are Noir, Rouge, and Lapis. Of course, the group is placed in Lapis, which is the lowest-ranked group. To top it all off, the scores are calculated in groups and they just so happen to have a failing score.
Episode 2 takes us straight to them attempting to bring up their scores. It wouldn't be one of these anime without some failures along the way. Unfortunately, all their attempts manage to lose them points instead of earning them. However, they can't solve the problem without learning more about the characters, so somehow, we segue into following Rosetta around because she's been sneaking off from the group.
This then leads us to more character and world-building with flashbacks from Tiara and Rosetta's past. At this point, you're probably wondering what any of this has to do with idols, since this seems more like a fantasy magical girl show. Look, I'm not the one in charge of pacing the anime.
You know, it is one of those kinds of anime when you can already feel the yuri vibes. There are multiple instances of relationships being built up and jokes about it already. Not to mention the multiple instances of fan service. I mean, you have to sell this somehow.
By the end of the second episode, we finally get to the idol part of the show. Rosetta leads Tiara to the town square where one of the groups of students named Supernova is performing a live orchestra. (Yes, they do call it an orchestra.) This, of course, dazzles Tiara and you can probably guess what will happen next.
With what we've been shown so far, we can pretty much safely say this is a cute girls doing cute things show mixed in with idols and magic. Look, at this point, you'll either have to like the music or enjoy the above. Either way, it seems like they tried to mash together multiple genres into one to put together an idol show. All in all, the show itself is entertaining enough if you like any of the above things Plus, who knows? Maybe this will all work out. I mean, look at what happened with other idol franchises like Love Live! and THE iDOLM@STER.
Verdict: Idols + magic + cute girls doing cute things = Lapis Re:LiGHTs
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