OVERALL RATING: 9.4/10

*some review parts will be the same as the other idolish7 seasons! eg: world/setting is the same for all of them

plot: 9/10 -- i greatly enjoyed the story from beginning to end. the story is very unique, there are plenty of idol anime out there, but this is very different from the rest of them. instead of the typically happy, wholesomeness that idol anime usually have, this season really portrayed what life as an idol can be like, all the positives & negatives. we get to see a whole different side of the idol world & it's truly worth seeing. i do have to say that there was a LOT going on in this season. it was almost overwhelming, to be honest. i also had trouble understanding the whole chiba salon event, but it might be because i'm a little slow with understanding these things. there exponentially more drama than the previous seasons which wasn't bad at all! i did really enjoy it, but it was just a lot for me.

world/setting: 9/10 -- i believe a lot of effort was put into the creation of this world. the overall setting is japan which is pretty normal, but there was also the creation of a country as one of the main characters' homeland which is very interesting. it's a pretty normal setting, but for this idol anime & its purpose, i wouldn't want anywhere else to be the setting. something in particular that i found amazing is that there are several settings in this anime. for example, we get to see inside different agencies, idol dorms, & even the homes of some idols. however, there is one thing i would change: the aging of the characters. in some anime, time does not pass. there are no birthdays, no anniversaries, & that is fine. because time does not pass. however, in this anime time canonically passes. there are annual events & anniversaries that happen, but there are no birthdays & characters do not age. we have high schoolers who have been stuck in their final year of high school for almost 2 years. that is the one thing i would change.

purpose: 10/10 -- i almost rated this lower, but remembered that this is just part 1 of season 3. i feel that this is a perfect introduction to part 2. we start getting introduced to very important characters, including a clear antagonist. there was so much going on in this season, but everything had a reason for being in the story. i particularly liked seeing the backstory of yamato & re:vale. additionally, the whole friends day event seemed like just a fun little addition to the season, but it does lead into part 2.

characters: 9/10 -- for most of the characters, if they were meant to be liked/disliked, i perfectly liked/disliked them. anyone i disliked had given me perfect reasons to dislike them as they were written. for the characters i truly liked, i was able to grow an emotional attachment to them. most of the characters were truly written with great thought behind them, with intricate personalities & backstories. the new characters we are introduced to in this season don't have too much development yet, but that is expected since this is only part 1 of season 3. there was also some character development for specific characters such as yamato & re:vale & banri. i will say that i was unhappy with sumire's character. i know this is a male idol anime which focuses on the men, but with so few women in the show, i felt like sumire's character was very disappointing. she blindly followed what was ordered of her & her goal was to end up with a successful man; it just didn't sit right with me. i don't mind that she took on an antagonistic role, but i wish she was given better reasons for doing so & better characterization.

storytelling: 10/10 -- there are very few monologues, if any at all. the viewers are not spoiled regarding anything. we see what happens when it happens, meaning we find out things when the characters find out or when it finally gets brought to light. however, there is a lot of subtle foreshadowing which i love. the timeline is constructed chronologically so everything is well organised.

enjoyment: 10/10 -- i enjoyed this season. that's it. i binged the whole season because i couldn't stop watching. there were some parts that i admit i didn't enjoy, but i think those parts were not meant to be enjoyed, if that makes sense. for example, anything bad happening is not really enjoyable to me, but the season as a whole was enjoyable along with those bad happenings.

animation/visuals: 9/10 -- i loved the animation for the entire season EXCEPT for the cgi dancing. if not for the occasional 3d cgi, this would have been a 10/10. we get to see how beautiful the idols can look as well as how cute they can be. i love the art style of the anime as well as the character designs & how they are animated. the only thing that ruins the animation is the cgi. that is the one thing i would change.

pace: 9/10 -- there was kind of a lot going on in this season so i felt like the pacing was just a bit rough around the edges. overall, it was great throughout, but some parts did go by quickly. i think i personally needed more time to process everything, though it could have been because i watched the whole season at once. i needed some time to understand the whole chiba salon event & ended up rewatching those parts a few times.

soundtrack: 10/10 -- as an idol anime, i loved the soundtrack. all of the openings, endings, insert songs, & background music were perfect. this anime does start with the typical jpop idol music, but it expands into different genres which is amazing. also, a detail i love is that a lot of the background music is the piano or instrumental version of previous songs from past seasons & they are chosen based on the mood of the anime. i loved that the music followed the emotions of the characters as well as what was going on in the story.

gut feeling: 9/10 -- one of my favorite anime, but i will have to say it's not a perfect 10/10 for me.