Idolm@ster was worth my time especially Cinderella girls, I had it on my queue for a minute and I just finished it the other day. The plot is simple yet so interesting, you are watching these girls hungry for work and to be their ideal idol grow over time. I loved how everything built up to a fantastic ending with such amazing music.
I love how each girl and unit got their episode highlighting their relationships and struggles they encounter. My favorite was the rockstar and the cat girl, they literally are oil and water but it made sense why they make a great duo. The thing that made cinderella girls interesting to me was the concept of unity and compromising. Several times, characters like the cat girl or the fallen angel thought they can do everything by themselves only to realize they could if they make an effort to rely on their fellow idols. Even the producer made better choices when he asked the girls what they want to do about their public image.
Each episode could stand alone but for the most part they were part of an intertwined story, we watched each unit and idol develop from being stuck as a cliche character to a character would is relatable yet open to change. I loved the variety tv episodes where the girls while nervous and new to being on tv had to learn to adapt on the fly and work together to overcome an opposing unit. My other favorite episode is watching ranko, a fallen angel idol finally be understood by her peers. The reason why no one understood her is because they focused too much on deciphering every word instead of asking her and getting to know her better. Turns out she wasn't hard to understand, she just felt embarrassed about being normal and kinda gave up on being understood. In the end, someone actually does understand her they just never told anyone else because they assumed everyone else could understand her.
The music never failed to impress me, I almost never skipped the opening and every song played in the anime made me want to buy the album. The only gripe I'd have with the series would be how the producer feels like a stand in character, his defining traits are he looks like he's always upset, super polite and looks creepy when he's surrounded by the idols.I get he's made that way on purpose but the gag that the girls might like him and he never really reacts sometimes left me bored.