Today’s featured Producer is Omo a MakotoP and also the guy you can mostly thank for putting this website together! I’m clearly running out of things to say for these P intros but one thing to certainly note is Omo looks a lot like the WUG guy. He also really gets into doing calls and cheering during lives whether BD or in real life despite being an ossan himself. Thinking about it, so do I. A-Am I going to look like that too one day…?
1. How did you first learn about “The iDOLM@STER”? What were your first impressions?
I learned about IM@S through the news when it was ported to the Xbox. My impression of the game when I first learned about it was that it’s a silly Japanese game that would never sell in the USA.
What would leave a stronger impression was the Nicom@s era videos and memes that leaked over the Pacific and reached my eyes. But to me that was just a “thing” and I didn’t pay it much mind, besides that those were some nice MADs.
2. Have you played any of the idolm@ster games? Which is your favorite?
I only have played the IM@S games since IM@S2. I tried a little of the original on XBox some years prior to IM@S2, and not having the language mastery was off-putting. By the time IM@S2 rolled around I had enough help from supplementary material and self-learning to enjoy the experience. That game to me was the gateway to Producer fandom.
I probably enjoyed the Shiny Festa series the most to date, so that includes the PSP games, then on iOS in English, and then I also have all of the Shiny TV packs. I love Machiuke Prince!
I also dabble a little bit in Cinderella Girls and a lot more in Million Live. I would spend more time playing OFA except I find the gameplay a little too much of a grind…100 hours later.
3. Which idol is your favorite and why?
Makoto is my favorite idol. How much and who I like in the 765Pro ranks changes all the time, but Makoto always come out on top when I do a sort once in a blue moon. I think she is written with my weakness in mind, not so much as an archetype but in terms of the personality that they really teased out in OFA. Okay maybe I also do like athletic girls. In the interest of brevity let’s just say she’s more than all I need in a Japanese idol.
It’s pretty amusing how different Ps get together and enjoy each others’ company while cheering for the same or different idols. I still remember meeting Anim@s animator Koji Masunari in 2014 and how he told us (me and another MakotoP) that MakotoPs are troublesome people. I heartily agreed with him. In that way I also feel Makoto and I were destined for each other.
Also, I always loved Nekopuchi’s Makoto, and his love for Makoto really comes through from his illustrations. I find it totally moving. It’s really hard to say no when your fellow Ps come up with such persuasive means.
4. What is your favorite idolm@ster song and why?
If I had to pick only one, it would be Jibun Rest@rt, but only because I asked myself “if someone asks you what your favorite IM@S song was, what would you answer?” ahead of time and came up with an answer. Honestly I don’t even think I’ve heard every single IM@S song between all the music from before I started following IM@S, all the spinoff material like the radio shows, Puchim@s, and now CG and ML.
I think there’s a reason why JiSt@rt is a popular choice among Ps. I’m fairly typical among anison weebs that we don’t sweat a lot on lyrics, but somehow this one just grew on me more and more.
The moment when this song showed up in the IM@S Movie is one that I always watch out for.
Aside from that though, I like a lot of the music from the franchise. Besides the two songs I previously mentioned, Little Match Girl, Monday Night Fever☆, and MOONY are also my favorites from the core 765. I adore Watashi-tachi wa Zutto… Deshou? because it is a lovely analogy that resonates with me. I like the call-heavy songs from CG (Yuki’s single and Dekoration’s single) and I really like many of the LTH songs.
5. What’s your favorite aspect of the idolm@ster series?
I like IM@S because it’s a good model of freedom and a good example of the way faith grows in an otaku franchise. It might start like a seed but it will become a massive tree that is a shelter for many, and it’s feel-time when you see it happen, even when it’s nothing special. Freedom to like whichever idol you like (or even whichever you dislike) is something that is core of being a Producer, and I feel the franchise work hard to make it possible for all kinds of Producers to coexist this way. One way this manifests is that a lot of older Ps are really classy and welcoming of new Ps joining the fold. I hope that’s a tradition that keeps going.
There are a lot of other aspects about this particular fandom that I do like, but I think that was one core attribute that allowed the franchise to survive this long. Tenth desuyo, 10th!
6. When and how did you become a “Producer”? That is, when did you consider yourself an idolm@ster fan?
Probably when I found myself really addicted to IM@S2. There was a time when I want to talk shop and couldn’t find anyone to do it. That’s when I realized I have taken things to the next level. I gave it a year or so, and the itch just didn’t go away. What made it worse was that my “brand” of IM@S fandom is not the one purely rooted in the games and characters, but more about the 3D aspects and in the business/culture side, which the pre-Anim@s IM@S P community was not ready to deal with (and for the most part, is still not).
I eventually found people to talk to online about the stuff I cared more about, but it’s not the same as befriending people who are into it. A lot of my existing friends who I evented with were not really into IM@S, but I felt it was important to communicate clearly what is driving me nuts. Eventually there’s a convergence of these things, so I have both friends who understand what I had to go through, and friends who I can talk IM@S with.
And that is a pretty powerful force. Maybe this is why “enabling” is something some of us do actively. It’s like seeing the butterfly effect or a Rube Goldberg contraption go off.
7. Have you ever been to an idolm@ster live concert? Please share your experience or any particularly special memories if so.
Yes and my first IM@S live was IDOL of M@STER WORLD in 2014 February. I was already an “eventer” then so this was nothing super new, however it was a show at a massive scale and I learned more about Producer culture and everything leading up to the show, and after the show.
I didn’t pay it much mind, but standing in the cold in Saitama while holding a sign to the international offkai was something I still vividly remember. I was full of adrenaline from after the live, and was not tired at all.
8. Do you play any of the mobile game series such as Cinderella Girls and Million Live?
I play both Cinderella Girls and Million Live. And I guess Shiny Festa counts too right?
I feel Cinderella Girls is a lot of fun as a character platform, similar to a lot of other character-drive mobile games.
Million Live feels more like a new experience with IM@S, so I prefer it. The fact that it adds new content for the core 765 girls was a big reason too.
Also I first really got exposed to both games when I went to Japan for IM@S SSA. Somehow every JP P that I talked to showed me their ML profile pages, so it felt like I should also play ML (over CG) just as a matter of fate. I knew some groups played one or another from other folks I know from Japan, but there was no way I can actively keep up on both games. ML seemed like the more accessible one, so I stuck with it.
I try very hard to just log in every day in CG LOL. I managed to occasionally compete in ML events, on the other hand.
9. Are you watching the Cinderella Girls anime? What are your thoughts?
I did watch the Cinderella Girls anime. I have a lot of thoughts, many that I have recorded on my own anime blog, and elsewhere. For brevity’s sake I’m just going to say that I have a hard time coming up with coherent thoughts about it, so I’ll spare that spiel here. I’m looking forward to season 2, at any rate.
One thing I want to say is that the members of HPT do get to “simulwatch” the anime via OTA (for those in Japan), pirate streams, or from Daisuki’s 30-minutes-later streams (which worked surprisingly well). It is totally a ton of fun, and that experience in which the CG anime enabled go well beyond the content of the animation themselves. That sort of thing you can only experience once in a lifetime. I’m glad in 2015 I was able to find a group to do this with.
10. Do you have any favorite seiyuu related to the idolm@ster series?
I have many favorites, as a seiyuu otaku for a long time now (decades?). Out of the bunch, I am partial to Hanazawa Kana, Hara Yumi, Numakura Manami, Asakura Momo, Asakura Azumi, Kido Ibuki, and that’s just a few. I am also a fan of many on the Xenoglossia cast!
Nowadays I cheer for everybody in the franchise. From old guards like new-mom Kami to first-time performers like Saito Yuka last weekend. Even the guys to an extent. I mean how can you not be a TakeuchiP supporter? This kid is so refreshingly cool.
11. Shout out your love about the idolm@ster series, say anything you’d like!
The chant “IM@S Saikou” is not without merit. It’s not purely a way to express our feelings at the end of a live that we say it. I believe people (Ps, staff, cast) do what they can to make it a worthwhile thing. It’s with that spirit, despite its ups and downs, that the franchise has persevered for ten years. I feel both simultaneously grateful and fortunate to be able to glimpse beyond the brilliant future.
In the same way I wish more people can partake and make IM@S great, and also allow the rest of us Producers to enjoy what new people have to contribute.
12. [From YashaFoxP] Imagine you are a producer of a TV show that stars seiyuus. Every episode exactly two of them have for one day engage in some kind of profession. Of course the show has cameras on the all the time and there are also special challenges that seiyuus must face, which they are of course not aware of.
So my question would be: who would you choose (one of them must be Mocho, because (○・▽・○)), what would be their profession for your show and what would be the challenge they would face.
Just want to say first that I love this question. Haramii fans should know that directing a variety show is something she is interested in, as she enjoys these programs. Second, I guess I have to talk about Mocho, huh. Not to mention the subject matter. YashaFox is a kind and thoughtful guy! Now to the question itself:
Profession: professional taste tester.
Special challenges: eat something they don’t like and rank them. Winner (decided by a panel of judges who are actually professional tasters) will get to eat something they actually like, that is expensive.
Challenger #1: Aasakura Momo, aka., Mocho (○・▽・○)
Challenger #2: Hara Yumi, aka., Haramii
I feel like I have to explain this giant inside joke, but that is no fun. Instead, I will show you how Mocho eats. Because that is all I am going for.
For those people who may be unfamiliar, Haramii has a solo radio show (and it’s available in podcast form) in which she regularly rate a domestic food item. Usually it’s some kind of light snack, but sometimes she gets to taste something extravagant. Like high quality salami, or something silly like pudding ramen. Her tastes are fairly blue-collar and it is a great segment. Anyway, while Mocho has her supernatural charisma going for her, Haramii has been doing this for years and will naturally have a leg up over her junior.
And it’s not to say Mocho is not the most unpolished eater. She knows very well what is good and what isn’t. It’s just she is uncannily expressive through her facial expression, rooted with her countryside background, that you really don’t need to say anything more to provide the most amusing experience.
It is no coincidence, I think, that Haramii is also one of the biggest Mocho fans from 765Pro.
In IM@S and HPT tradition, this challenge really should involve noodles, shouldn’t it?
13. Say something about the next interviewed person (ShinP), also please ask them a question.
Shinn is an interesting guy. Of all the creatures of 4chan that I know in various capacities, he plays the persona best. But recently Shinn seems to have taken a liking to Fuchigami Mai, and that’s a drastic departure from his usual schtik. I’m also in no shape to come up with a drawn-out scenario. I’ll just cheat a little.
Tell us Shinn-nii, what is Maimai’s secret sauce? What’s so special about her? And as a CG Producer, how does her role in Cinderella Girls help you get to know her and get to like her?
You can follow omo on Twitter @omonomono
<Better Know A Producer>
#01 – [Exciel]
#02 – [Kurotsuki]
#03 – [vota]
#04 – [Seraph]
#05 – [Shinikenshi]
#06 – [Erwin]
#07 – [JT]
#08 – [garbejP]
#09 – [KenP]
#10 – [YashaFoxP]
#11 – [omo]←Here
#11 – [ShinP]