With this CD series coming to an end, I thought I'd be sentimental and say that this entire ST@RTING LINE series has just cemented SideM as my favorite male idol series.
I'm super picky about anisongs, and that's coming from someone with a passion for music. And coming from someone who also loves male idols... I'll admit that the songs are not as good as female anisong idols. There's something about iDOLM@STER and Love Live! songs and their production value that blows male anisongs out of the water. I don't know if it's a stigma, the voices themselves, the characters... but I've definitely felt it for a long time.
But after each SideM CD release, I'm always being pleasantly surprised by the vocals, composition, etc. You can tell Bandai, Lantis, and the seiyuu themselves have put so much heart into SideM and that's what I appreciate so much. The seiyuu shows and live appearances; these are new and growing seiyuu that we get to learn more and more about.
With that being said, I'm really excited for the future of SideM and, even with its faults, I'm glad I get to see the male anisong industry grow.
tl;dr: mixed feelings towards male anisong franchises, but sidem stands above them and alongside female anisong franchises
