Name: If a less talented Hideaki Anno made an idol anime [skippable spoilers]
Item: Gekidol
Rating: 70
Author: SayHello2Sunshine

Waifra

If a less talented Hideaki Anno made an idol anime [skippable spoilers]

this'll be my first review, hooray

Gekidol, deriving its name from the japanese words for "theater" (engeki) and "idol" (…idol) is hard to describe. Even though I thought up that Anno analogy halfway through the series, having now completed it, I'm not sure if I could organize my present opinion into something that tact. And I'm trying anyway!

The first thing you'll notice about this anime is how painfully bland the first two episodes are. It plays out exactly like how a quote unquote "twist" on the idol genre would. The opening scene of the series introduces us to the futuristic, state of the art Theatrical Material System - or TMS - that pretty much functions as virtual reality for theatre patrons, allowing productions to fully immerse their audience into their show without the limitations of the physical world. Our protagonist, middle schooler Seria is one member of the audience at the Super Material Theater - or SMT - the pioneer of the TMS.

Of course, she falls in love with the artform. She wishes to be an actor, to be a part of the grand story-telling medium. Outside of the SMT, she reenacts one scene she loved with perfection. Then, we see what is Gekidol's greatest accomplishment and largest fault: the camera goes from Seria, to a city landscape, to a gigantic crater with a multi-colored aura right in the middle of the same city. She then joins the troupe Alice In Theatre - which doesn't get an acronym - and from there the highs and lows of her new actor-idol life begin.

Why I compare this anime to others Anno has made, is that Gekidol at once breaks and doesn't break convention of idol anime. There are your typical conflicts. Actor-idols argue over which role should go to each actor, an actress loses confidence in themselves, and, oh no, they risk going out of business if they can't get high enough sales and they only have one chance to make enough money... that sort of thing. Which is fine! I think those aspects of the show are par for the course and done at least better than most idol anime. But the larger story of Gekidol concerns the massive crater and everything that's happened because of it. I won't be spoiling everything, but I will reveal most of what kept me watching this show. So, go off now and skip the next section if you care about the crater, the role of Doll, and how TMS came to be in the first place.

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

Alright, first of all: Seria was hit hard by the crater. Not physically, but five years prior to the series, she was the only member of her family that survived the event. I wouldn't actually say it affected her that much, but it did enough to trigger the reveal of Gekidol's true colors. Once Seria joins Alice In she has some bonding moments with the other members of the troupe. The first actual production we see out of them is an idol performance made by the wannabe-idol Fujita Manami, who refers to herself in third person with her idol name Lovemin. I don't like her that much. She came up with the idea to spur interest in Alice In, since they're struggling to garner enough attention through plays alone.

Halfway through, the power goes out. Oh no! How will they perform without flashing lights and microphones? Well, one of the other members of Alice In (to be honest I hardly remember any of them) starts reenacting a scene from their upcoming play. In the dark, silent hall, the sole voices of... three members of Alice In strike the hearts of everyone that came to see an idol show. It's a huge success! They're able to show off their idol talent (which never comes up again, actually) and their acting prowess in the same event. Hooray!

They return to Alice In to rehearse for the play they previewed at the idol event, and having seen Seria act previously, every member except one nominates her for the co-star role. The contrarian is Kagami Airi, the second-best character in the whole series. She admits that Seria is a good enough actor for the role, but not if all she amounts to is a copycat of the previous co-star. Remember how I said she reenacted the scene in the first episode "perfectly"? That's because Seria has the talent to mimic people. What a concept that the show almost does nothing with! Back on Airi, her words cause Seria to doubt herself, and to practice with Alice In's "Doll".

Within the show's TMS universe, Dolls are androids that are able to act any perfectly and, when in the virtual reality of the TMS, appear as any person or character. SMT has a number of Dolls, Alice In has one. So Seria practices over and over with Doll but can't seem to find her own voice. Her self-doubt comes to a head when she bursts into tears and hugs Doll for comfort on an empty stage. Doll hugs her back. This moment, this scene, is what kept me from dropping the show. On a whim, after two episodes of perfectly fine content, I watched another and this review is what Gekidol gave me back.

Doll, after coming away from the hug, appears before Seria as her twin sister, Alice. She then makes Seria remember what happened on the day the crater appeared five years ago, which I described earlier. That day was her and Alice's birthday. A birthday cake, the exact same birthday cake Seria remembers seeing five years ago, materializes into existence onstage. This Doll, and all Dolls, have the ability to force others to relive their most emotional memories and to feel those same emotions again in their mind. And it's the crater from five years ago that brought the TMS, and Dolls, into reality.

Getting into things any more than that will spoil the second half of the series, but again, being honest, the last three or so episodes lost me. Among my gripes with Gekidol is how it feels there is so much potential to what it sets up that ends up being pushed aside for a completely different plot that I believe is far less compelling that the pain and doubts of Alice In, and its manager who I didn't even get into, Kaworu. In case you were desperately wondering who I think is the best character of this show that less than a thousand people watched, it's Kaworu.

A more suspect issue, and one that could push people away earlier, is the uncomfortable but uncommon issue/showcasing of these middle schooler's bodies in a sexual light. It's only in two episodes early on, and is a major part of one of Alice In's members backstories, but I understand if reading that put you off immediately and/or disappointed you. Fortunately, the most egregious shots, the show's multiple EDs, are replaced entirely in Funimation's release of this anime.

Alongside that content but definitely not as bad is the show's triumphant set-up of a lesbian couple, and subsequent failure to launch of that relationship. It, along with mostly everything the first half of the show sets up, is background of the second half. It really feels like it was supposed to play a larger role in the story, but hey, there's nothing wrong anyway if it wasn't supposed to be.

To wrap this review up, I'd say that it's a good enough show to start only if you're interested in a thriller, sci-fi type show, or acting and theatre. I'm currently majoring in technical theatre myself, which is most likely why I felt compelled to try my luck with Gekidol in the first place. I did, in fact, enjoy Gekidol the whole time, but my enjoyment of the show graphed would be a bell curve (though the last six minutes brought me back up again).

Still, for what Gekidol is, it's worth the price of admission.