Admittedly, when I walked into Anime Central to review i☆Ris the Movie-Full Energy!!-, I pictured the movie as a typical scene of idols dancing through 3D models in their lips. The school is dizzyingly rich in pastels and has little to no story to chew on. While the movie still has all of the above, I was pleasantly surprised to find it a well-rounded isekai with the comedic style of Space Jam (America's best isekai export, don't @ me).
i☆Ris the Movie-Full Energy!!-is a movie best described as having great Saturday morning cartoon energy when it comes to catchy high notes and an upbeat attempt at insightful storytelling than. Although the film sets itself up as a nuanced drama that sees the girls confronting whether they can envision being idols in another decade, the film chooses to eliminates that theme with a simple story about the power of music. , allowing you to be anything you want…literally.
The film opens with the famous idols performing with great courage in what is later revealed to be an empty arena for their upcoming concert. As their team praised them for another stellar performance, the sparkle almost left the room when someone suggested that the idols had another decade of work ahead of them. The weight of this blunt comment shakes the girls, teasing the tension that resonates in idol anime like Oshi no Ko regarding the longevity of stars in the idol industry. Sadly, the film doesn't take the time to seriously explore the emotions it effectively establishes, and instead it becomes just another feel-good movie for fans of the movie. longtime favorite of anime and real-life idol groups.
Before the girl's big performance, I☆Ris is transported into an isekai fantasy world inhabited by squirrels, where they can transform into anything they want – be it villains, mermaid, Oda Nobunaga's second character or anime heroine inspired by JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The internal conflict i☆Ris the Movie-Full Energy!!-established in the film's early moments is replaced by a safer point of friction that sees the girls rejuvenate the lands barren wasteland of the fantasy world and ignite the furry inhabitants' love of music through the power of song.
While i☆Ris the Movie-Full Energy!!-is far from a revolutionary work in media with a clear, realistic capitalist message piercing through the screen to encourage fans to continue supporting the idol group for decades to come, this is not a boring movie. Like a parent jingling keys to seduce their child, i☆Ris the Movie-Full Energy!!-is allergic to any dead silence while sitting too long during his hour-long movie. To prevent such an event from happening, this extremely self-aware isekai film becomes a joke factory with visual gags, shameless product placement for canned cocktails, and blink-and-you'll-miss-it mentions of pop culture touchstones like Sailor Moon Warriors and Super Sentai. Unlike the unintentionally confusing use of dancing 3D models, these crazy 2D animations—are on par with some of the off-model visual gags made famous by irreverent anime comedies. like KONOSUBA—is where the movie really sings. In fact, much of the film's humor does a better job of endearing the i☆Ris to the average audience (i.e. me) as relatable down-to-earth idols with a hint of hidden charm otaku Covering their ruffles is better than the film's admittedly occasional dance number.
Unfortunately, the film's joke-per-minute formula, along with its strenuous efforts to be a fun, low-stakes adventure, also gives it the fleeting quality of bright animated films. Saturday, where the characters return to the old world. their normal lives without anything significantly changing or growing from that experience. Although the film tries its best to bridge the gap by having famous idols admit their decades-long rise has been fraught with hardships, it does just that. through a series of jokes. For example, when the girls face adversity in the isekai world, be it swimming against the current, climbing the edge of a cliff, or dodging a bolt of lightning, they overcome said obstacles by reminding each other that How much more difficult it is to get along with each other. others, studying for exams while on the train, or going on a diet despite hating vegetables at the beginning of my career.
Since the nature of the film is to celebrate the group's decades-long musical career, you'd think the film would try to strike a more resonant tone for the adversities the idol members faced. aspects of their careers that don't stop at just one ending story.
That being said, my viewing of i☆Ris the Movie-Full Energy !!-was no longer fun thanks to the efforts of the die-hard fans present at the event, who turned on their glow sticks whenever i☆Ris starts singing. Instead of distracting from the film, it makes it feel like a truly interactive experience. Conversely, it also completely distracted me from how jarring it was at times to see the 3D models of i☆Ris and their squirrel friends gliding across the 2D background in the finale. My only wish is that the film's message isn't tied to platitudes about sticking to what you do best, even if that might not be what you wanted to do for two decades of your life. life.