THE iDOLM@STER > Characters
Why do love your idol?
liza94:
I like Ganaha Hibiki because she is very confident yet very funny. :) And she has a cat! ;) (a character who loves (and has) a cat always gets bonus points from me! ;) ) And she has a good voice for both funny and serious songs, I can't remember a song she messed up in! 8)
I like the Futami twins because they are very funny and call others by the funny nicknames they made up! :) They can sing any song in their unique style, only one song I don't like in their version is "Here we go!!". I started to watch Anim@s because Asami Shimoda was my most favourite singer back then!
And I just love Chihaya-sama because she has all nesessary qualities for being the best idol! 8)
1. She is always cool, serious and ready for hard work.
2. She has the best voice I have ever heard! Her songs are always perfect! 8) Every time I listen to her songs I think: "It's like a goddess singing!"! ::) I forgot about Chihaya-Master completely when I heard "Nemurihime"! :o
3. She is beautiful (especially in the games).
Okayu:
It was interesting to see why the older members loved their favorite idols. I didn't realize voice was valued so much. I've listened to all the idols a lot so I enjoy listening to all of them. Personality is important to me too. Rambling about Chihaya incoming.
---
While many people and official materials refer to Chihaya as stoic, I think that refers more to her idol side. Personal wise I'd say her being awkwardly cute is a trait a lot of people like.
Chihaya is considered the hardest to deal with, or used to be before tension was removed, but I found it harder to please Iori personally. Maybe it depends on the person and how well they know that idol.
I've seen a lot of misunderstandings about Chihaya, a lot coming from the anime, even in this forum. I'd be glad to respond to any questions you have about this.
OFA mentions how Chihaya as an idol and Chihaya as a person are pretty different, and thinking upon it I think that's true. We're mostly shown the idols personally so it's easy to forget that the in universe fans don't see the idols like we do.
As for Chihaya's voice I always liked the power in it and how she sings long notes. In OFA I'm not sure if it's by chance or related to the plot, but I felt that her singing has improved. For example her version of 99 Nights combining softness and power, while her Visionary being pretty cute. Before OFA I had assumed that her Eden would be my favorite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6M3t1rHeJI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phqRwKlTpOo
Chihaya comes off as mature for her age, at times I used to forget that Haruka was older than her. However she does have an immature side to her (although it seems like this isn't shown as much in later works). For example when Chihaya says that she's enjoying her life as an idol and student Producer suddenly responds that he'll leave her and she responds like this. http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ra4dpvl7hrnk74k/
I think Chihaya's story is pretty relate able to those who have dealt with divorce or loss of a loved one. While it is obligatory to mention it as Namco is appealing to newcomers as well, it's actually been mentioned less as time goes on (her main OFA route reduced it down to one sentence even).
Even if you don't relate to her story, Chihaya tends to ponder and over think things even when she's grown as an idol, and I think that's another relate able quality she has.
Interesting to note is that her VA Mingosu originally didn't like Chihaya that much when she auditioned for idolmaster. She was shown a black and white image of Chihaya in plaid and sandals like this.
She thought "Who would want to pick someone like this? Wouldn't someone cuter or girlier be better?". Originally Chihaya was going to be a loner, but it was Mingosu who suggested that Chihaya's main trait be "likes singing" before they fleshed her out. Something to note is that not only Ohayou Asagohan, but pretty much all of original arcade recordings were sung differently on purpose. Mingosu would sing songs like Watashi wa idol cutely, and would be told "You need to sing it more coldly, Chihaya hasn't opened up her heart yet" or along those lines. Of course eventually Mingosu warmed up to Chihaya and now they're really close.
Interview Source: http://www.famitsu.com/news/201011/19035791.html
I think another reason why Chihaya seems like such a love or hate character is due to how she changes throughout her routes. Even the original arcade players didn't like Chihaya that much on lower ranks, it was people that got her to C Rank or above that were encouraging others to do the same. Unlike now people couldn't just look up videos of the commus online either. In a sense Saihyou is similar in that it starts out gloomy but turns into a positive song.
For example
iM@S 1 E Rank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6LjE-R_3UE
iM@S 1 AB Rank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7xfRO9q004
OFA Evening Commu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQNl3Zzb53g
OFA Morning Commu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-_h15FQZjs
I enjoy how passionate she is about music. I think her final imas 2 text was adorable in how it combined her indirectness with her knowledge about music.
I've always kind of viewed Miki and Chihaya as opposites, and that's why I think them being rivals was interesting.
Miki - Talented but lazy (not including Awakened Miki), quick to quit when things don't go her way, very open about her feelings, has lots of friends, her parents are together and her sister is alive, outgoing, big breasts, etc.
Chihaya - Talented but dedicated, only quits when it's the last option, very indirect about her feelings, has no friends outside of 765Pro, her parents are divorced and her brother is dead, introverted, small breasts, etc.
I think Chihaya and Haruka being designed together helped them get along so well. They both have their positives and negatives with each other. For example they can fight over things like Chihaya being too closed off or self centered, while Chihaya gets upset when Haruka says she wants to be more like Chihaya. Haruka admires Chihaya's singing voice and knows how she acts well, while Chihaya admires Haruka's positiveness and enjoyment of things. They both enjoy music but in different ways. Haruka helps get Chihaya into some of her hobbies like baking, while Chihaya helps Haruka become more informed about music by helping her with singing or giving her recommendations.
One of my favorite stories is Eternal Prism 3 as it pits Miki and Chihaya against each other as love rivals and unlike SP has an interesting ending. http://www.mediafire.com/listen/5ctiumy12hoo0hl/
It also explored things like Chihaya being afraid to love Producer due to having lost someone she loved in the past.
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/zm4oggebbr49rf2/
Speaking of Chihaya being indirect, something to note is that if you ask her about something romantic directly she'll get flustered or mad, but if you ask indirectly she'll start mentioning it on her own. Another hint is that Chihaya doesn't like excuses or jokes when she's being serious about something, it's best to be honest with her rather than trying to soften the blow.
A trend I noticed in the serious drama CDs involving Chihaya is that her onemindedness and quietness would get others like Haruka and Miki angry at her for being so selfish and unfeeling.
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/sgho8cazl651eoa/
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/tvj3fbs61bb3wch/
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/cz73fuozwabcd37/
By the way Chihaya losing her voice was done in New Stage 03 years before imas 2 or the 2011 anime released. http://www.mediafire.com/listen/q1c94f4bozfh5wq/
Sorry if this came off as completely unsorted, I was adding things as I thought of them. All the mediafire links are audio clips of the things I mentioned.
Saturos:
>all this in-depth Chihaya love
DeviantProtagonist:
Love is an apt word choice. It must also be so nice to know Japanese, Okayu; I'd delve into such specifics as much as you would.
Chihaya's voice and quirks aside, the one real reason I admire her is my empathy; her tragic history and subsequent upbringing prior to becoming an idol are scarily similar to mine. I had lost my young sister as a child -- her name's Danielle -- and my parents tore themselves apart to divorce whilst I was caught in the center of it. There was very little light to turn to.
Time and again I'd see people brush this off as tropey, but trust me, these circumstances are very real. It's not something I'd wish upon even my worst enemy. Years afterwards I mainly kept to myself, hardly investing my passions and wishing I had traded places with my beloved sister -- she deserved so much more.
Nevertheless, that came to change when friends and family turned around my sour outlook and made me the amicable, yearning individual I am today. Moreover, my family has come to a good standing, very close to the best it has been since the golden days. Nothing, if very little, of the initial ire exists anymore.
Stemming from everything here, Chihaya gives me peace in that her tales often deal with overcoming these woes -- and to bloom afterwards into this grandiose figure, that all who could only be content with is to simply smile for a grander future. Danielle wouldn't have me differently.
mariokirby:
@Okayu
Thanks, for the details. I also kind of noticed it myself about Chihaya as I played through Idolm@ster 2 and One for All and watched the anime/movie/OVA while listening to the drama CDs (at least the ones pertaining to 2nd vision Idolm@ster). I didn't get into the Idolm@ster franchise until the upcoming of 2nd vision way back in early 2011. It seems like 2nd vision improved on a lot of things especially the idols themselves like Chihaya.
Still, I don't know Japanese, but I'm grateful for you to be able to share your observations/translations with those who are less literate like me.
@DeviantProtagonist
Wow. That was a pretty intense struggle what you went through. Also, a very profound observation about yourself. It's easy to forget that on the internet that there's a story behind every person who posts on forums. Coincidentally, you shared a very similar experience as Chihaya.
Now, I get what you mean by this in your post in the other topic.
--- Quote from: DeviantProtagonist on January 19, 2015, 02:10:20 am ---1. Chihaya -- for being the sublime songstress whose history hits so close to home.
--- End quote ---
For me, Chihaya is not just my most favorite idol, but also my most favorite videogame/anime female character (AKA waifu). I have reasons, but I don't know which topic to post it in. (more like being too lazy to post).
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