The Idols' Ages??

[Bro]

Eh... I like to live in a make believe world where no one ages... imagining any idol 16-to-Azusa is kind of... scary, in a weird sense.

However, older Ami/Mami, Yayoi, Iori, Miki, Hibiki and Chihaya would be cool.. but only a few years older, like two or three years.

And maybe Takane... 

[TTB]

Eh... I like to live in a make believe world where no one ages... imagining any idol 16-to-Azusa is kind of... scary, in a weird sense.

Waaaaaiiiiiiiiit a second... are you saying any idol from 16 to 20 is scary? In what ways is it scary?

That's just too mysterious, please tell us more.

[JNiles]

This topic is still alive??  K, here goes.  I might as well put off finishing up my work for another half hour.

I seriously doubt a bunch of executives sat around focus-grouping the ages of the characters.  (Other than the precursor to Idolmaster, which apparently did yield some useful information.)  What's more important are the ages of the characters relative to each other, so that senior/junior relationships can be charted out or inverted.

As for why they skew as young as they do, I can think of a couple reasons.


- As the producer, you are put in charge of a struggling studio.  It makes sense for the idols to be new and inexperienced, so you can guide their development without having to unteach them.  If you were handed a group at the tail end of their sputtering careers, it would be rather depressing.

- As the franchise progresses, it is easier to age the idols up than down (and having to support or argue away prequels), so starting them off a couple years younger leaves them a buffer.  (Look at what happened to Rorona of the modern Atelier series.  By the third game, Meruru, the developers couldn't cope with the idea that she was hitting her 30's, so they turned her into a 5-year old girl.  This, despite supporting cast members hitting their 40's).

- I could make some vague generalizations about Japan's obsession with youth culture, though I think some of them can be turned back upon us.

- Idol careers are apparently very short, from my limited understanding.  If they don't catch fire, they're done, and if they hang around long enough, they eventually overstay their welcome.  I believe that was the premise of the original Idolmaster; after one year, your idol's career is over, that's it.  Though short careers mean an older cast is viable, would you want another reminder that forced retirement is just around the corner?

- Finally, I think designers occasionally make small errors in judgement when it comes to character traits, be it age, weight, or measurements.  If you have three different people, one writing up character metrics, one doing concept art, and one doing video game sprites or models, characters can wind up looking heavier, shorter, older, etc. than their declared stats.

[Bro]

JNiles covered my reasons, idol careers are short and the older they get the less popular or successful they become. Azusa is a twelve year-old at heart, clearly.

I'm sorry though, I just realized I mistyped that last post. What I meant was any idol aged much more than 2 to 3 years that's already 16 or older is... strange. Not so much scary, I'm just apphrensive of their character designs older than that and how it might affect the game.

[TTB]

- As the producer, you are put in charge of a struggling studio.  It makes sense for the idols to be new and inexperienced, so you can guide their development without having to unteach them.  If you were handed a group at the tail end of their sputtering careers, it would be rather depressing.

They're not all 12 to 13 either, its not one or the other. The ages are spread out.

- As the franchise progresses, it is easier to age the idols up than down (and having to support or argue away prequels), so starting them off a couple years younger leaves them a buffer.  (Look at what happened to Rorona of the modern Atelier series.  By the third game, Meruru, the developers couldn't cope with the idea that she was hitting her 30's, so they turned her into a 5-year old girl.  This, despite supporting cast members hitting their 40's).

Idols can be aged down? I had read about the Atelier thing but I thought that kind of thing is rare.

- I could make some vague generalizations about Japan's obsession with youth culture, though I think some of them can be turned back upon us.

Second part of that sentence +1

- Idol careers are apparently very short, from my limited understanding.  If they don't catch fire, they're done, and if they hang around long enough, they eventually overstay their welcome.  I believe that was the premise of the original Idolmaster; after one year, your idol's career is over, that's it.  Though short careers mean an older cast is viable, would you want another reminder that forced retirement is just around the corner?

That's so freaking horrible. I remember learning about AKB48's "graduation", but it's not really like that... every idol will still have a cluster or "lifeline" of devoted fans, even Aya Hirano did and still does have some followers, and she's fallen farther than any other. Even if a fan no longer spends money on an idol that they know is retired or has gotten married, they still won't forget their infatuation (if it was never demolished by untoward events), and will come out in support of their past love if the need arose.

- Finally, I think designers occasionally make small errors in judgement when it comes to character traits, be it age, weight, or measurements.  If you have three different people, one writing up character metrics, one doing concept art, and one doing video game sprites or models, characters can wind up looking heavier, shorter, older, etc. than their declared stats.

Yes, it's possible.

the older they get the less popular or successful they become. Azusa is a twelve year-old at heart, clearly.

Ok first of all, that's not always the case, although it probably mostly is the case. And secondly Azusa is a lot brighter and wiser than most persons her age! 

What I meant was any idol aged much more than 2 to 3 years that's already 16 or older is... strange. Not so much scary, I'm just apphrensive of their character designs older than that and how it might affect the game.

So 19 year-old idols are strange? But see if a new director took charge tomorrow and Takane became 20, it would be entirely reasonable to keep her appearance completely the same as it is now. The number doesn't necessarily mean anything at all. Kugimiya Rie (Queen TsundeRIE aka Iorin) is THIRTY TWO 32!!!! And she's pretty much a living goddess, the corporeal manifestation of a beloved paradigm. I know I worship her like an idol probably more than any other person I don't personally know, mostly on account of her superb and consistent talent. 

The poll indicates about 3/4 of voters would have the idols be older. Which was what I thought the case would be and also a position I agree with. Erhm... although it seems like Chihaya fans reeeeeeally want her to grow up soon for some reason...? Maybe there is some anxiety about whether the epic washboard will retain its esteemed (lack of?) curvature?

[Lucky Joestar]

I for one would like to see age progression run its course, pegging Azusa’s birth year at 1990.

[Producerchan]

I get annoyed reading the idol's ages/measurements for sure. A lot of them are contradictory (Miki being lighter than Haruka despite being both taller and curvier), unfair (so you're telling me Kanako Mimura's 25.5 inch waist makes her self conscious and "trying to lose weight"? Do me a favor and google "25 inch waist" right now; I assure you, in real life, that is not "fat". And the fact that they give her enormous tits as "compensation" adds insult to injury. Gross.), and, at times, kind of random.

I don't even pay attention to their ages. There's no way, in Japan's competitive job market, that Ritsuko became a producer at 18-19, tbqh.

My headcanons for the cast's ages are as follows. Most of them are about the same
Ritsuko: 25
Azusa: 24
Takane: 20
Haruka: 16
Miki: 17
Chihaya: 18
Makoto: 19
Twins: 15
Yayoi: 15
Iori: 15
Yukiho: 18
Hibiki: 19

I mean, I understand the fantasy about wanting all these girls to be "in their prime". But most thirteen year olds don't look as lean and Ami or Mami, and high school, for most people, is a really embarrassing point in their lives.
I think the games could have been really interesting if they explored how the main cast's career progressed and how their lives are as veteran idols. But we keep getting rewound, game after game, to their "beginnings". I want to see Haruka learn that life as a celebrity is not always so black-and-white. Maybe Chihaya has to struggle between choosing creativity and what will appeal to the masses. I'd love to see an adult Mami or Ami, too, tbh.