Ensemble Stars! (あんさんぶるスターズ！, Ansanburu Sutāzu!) is a Japanese game franchise developed by Cacalia Studio and published by Happy Elements K.K., the Japanese division of the Chinese company Happy Elements. It is a spin-off of the 2012 game Ensemble Girls! It was first released as a life simulationgacha game on Google Play on April 28, 2015, and on the App Store on May 1, 2015.
On March 9, 2020, Ensemble Stars! was rebranded and relaunched under the title Ensemble Stars!! (あんさんぶるスターズ！！, Ansanburu Sutāzu!!, with two exclamation marks), with the original app split into two games catering to different gameplay styles: Ensemble Stars!! Basic, the original game; and Ensemble Stars!! Music, a rhythm game.
The success of the game led to several stage plays and manga adaptations. An anime television series by David Production aired from July 7 to December 22, 2019.[2] A theatrical anime premiered on March 4, 2022.
Ensemble Stars! was released for the Android on April 28, 2015, and iOS on May 1, 2015. Shortly after the game's release, in 2015, Sousuke Sōma, who provided the voice for Arashi Narukami, was replaced by Ryo Kitamura, with all voice clips replaced on July 18, 2015;[8] Kitamura would later go on to portray the character in the stage play adaptations. In April 2017, Yoshimasa Hosoya left the franchise due to a medical hiatus, and Happy Elements announced that he would be replaced by Tomoaki Maeno in the role of Hokuto Hidaka, with all his voice clips replaced beginning on May 31, 2017.[4]
On November 9, 2019, Happy Elements announced at the Animate Girls Festival that they would be adding two new groups, Alkaloid and Crazy B.[9] On March 15, 2020, Ensemble Stars! was relaunched and was split into two separate games: Basic, the original game; and Music, a brand new rhythm game; both games offered different gameplay but contained the same events, storylines, and items.[10]
In March 2016, Ensemble Stars! was planned to launch in China in Q2 2016 through Tencent.[11] In February 2018, Ensemble Stars! was launched in South Korea through Kakao Games.[12] On December 24, 2021, an English version of Ensemble Stars!! Music opened pre-registrations for users in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.[13] It was then officially launched on June 16, 2022.
Manga
A manga adaptation written and illustrated by Ichi Sayo was launched in Kodansha's Shōjo manga magazine Aria on August 28, 2015[14] and ended on December 28, 2016.[15]
An anime television series adaptation was announced in December 2015.[17] It was planned to premiere in 2017, but the staff announced they had postponed it in February 2017.[18] The series was produced by David Production, with Marza Animation Planet producing the 3DCG live scenes, aired from July 7 to December 22, 2019, on Tokyo MX, SUN, KBS, TVA, and BS11.[19] Masakazu Hishida was the director under the pseudonym Junpaku Yagurashita.[20] Yasufumi Soejima was the series director, with Shinichi Inotsume as chief writer, and Haruko Iizuka, Tomoyuki Shitaya, and Eri Nagata as character designers.[21] Akira was the scriptwriter, and Tatsuya Kato composed the series' music.[22]Funimation has acquired the series for streaming in North America; the simuldub premiered on August 4, 2019.[23] The anime uses the CACANi 2D animation & in-between software tool.
On September 10, 2022, a new anime project titled Ensemble Stars!! Recollection Selection: Element (あんさんぶるスターズ！！追憶セレクション「エレメント」, Ansanburu Sutazu!! Tsuioku Serekushon "Eremento") was announced. The anime project aired from April 6 to April 11, 2023 on Ensemble Stars' official YouTube channel.[24] The episodes are also available on the project's website.[25]
On April 25, 2023, a new anime project titled Ensemble Stars!! Recollection Selection: Crossroads (あんさんぶるスターズ！！追憶セレション『クロスロード』) was announced. [26] It aired on November 3, 2023 via the Ensemble Stars' official Youtube channel. [27]
Ensemble Stars! episode list
No.
Title
Original air date
1
"New Wind"
July 7, 2019 (2019-07-07)
2
"Howl"
July 14, 2019 (2019-07-14)
Various groups try to recruit Anzu to be their producer.
3
"Resolve"
July 21, 2019 (2019-07-21)
4
"Blooming"
July 28, 2019 (2019-07-28)
While Akatsuki performs, Keito realizes that Rei had his group compete against them in order to steal their votes from the audience and allow Trickstar to gain an advantage. In addition, Ra*bits secretly distributes pamphlets outlining how to vote to students outside of the venue, and 2wink intentionally stops performing halfway to let Trickstar win. After Trickstar performs "Rebellion Star", they elect Anzu to be the leader of the group. Once the audience and general votes are added, Trickstar wins the S1. Following the S1, Eichi suddenly returns to school.
5
"Marionette (Part 1)"
August 4, 2019 (2019-08-04)
In a flashback, Nazuna recalls the previous school year, when he was a member of the group Valkyrie with Shu and Mika, which had been the top idol group at Yumenosaki Academy at the time. Shu, the leader and a member of the Five Eccentrics, controlled Valkyrie's art direction and treated Nazuna like a doll. When Nazuna begins to change, he becomes pressured to maintain the image of his group. However, he realizes how much Shu and Mika value him when he receives birthday gifts from them. The three sell their next concert tickets together.
6
"Marionette (Part 2)"
August 11, 2019 (2019-08-11)
Six months later, the Dream Idol Festival has dominated the popularity of each idol group at Yumenosaki Academy. To restore Valkyrie's original status, Shu decides to have them enter the next Dream Idol Festival. During their performance, the electricity is suddenly shut off. However, Mika continues singing, prompting them to join in and saving their performance. As Fine, led by Eichi, go to perform, the stage returns to normal, causing Valkyrie to realize that they had been sabotaged. Shu goes into a mental breakdown and Valkyrie goes on a permanent hiatus. During the next school year, Wataru, another member of the Five Eccentrics, advises Nazuna to form Ra*bits with other freshmen who had been rejected from other idol groups. In present time, Nazuna warns Subaru and Anzu about how dangerous Eichi is.
7
"Emperor"
August 18, 2019 (2019-08-18)
In present time, Trickstar gains popularity following Akatsuki's defeat at the S1. Eichi proposes that Trickstar should disband at the height of their fame in order to have their members explore their full potential in other groups, with Subaru and Hokuto assigned to join Fine, Mao to Akatsuki, and Makoto to Knights. Despite initial resistance, Mao suggests they do so as they watch Fine perform. At the end of the performance, Eichi invites all of Yumenosaki Academy's idol groups to participate in the next Dream Idol Festival against idols from other schools.
8
"Rift"
August 25, 2019 (2019-08-25)
The members of Trickstar must decide on whether to fully disband in preparation of the Dream Idol Festival. Subaru is scouted to join Ryuseitai, but he decides he wants to continue with Trickstar. With Ryuseitai's support, Anzu helps by acting as a stand-in member to help Trickstar qualify for the Dream Idol Festival. As the event begins, Subaru and Anzu are scheduled to battle Knights. Upon noticing Izumi and Makoto are not present, Subaru goes to look for them.
9
"Counterattack"
September 1, 2019 (2019-09-01)
Izumi locks Makoto in the practice room, and when Subaru confronts him, Makoto tricks Izumi into opening the door by pretending to bruise his face. Meanwhile, Keito advises Mao to do what he believes to be the right choice. Once Subaru returns with Makoto, they find that Mao has rejoined Trickstar and defeated Knights with Anzu's help.
10
"Element (Part 1)"
September 8, 2019 (2019-09-08)
11
"Element (Part 2)"
September 15, 2019 (2019-09-15)
12
"Decision"
September 22, 2019 (2019-09-22)
13
"Supernova"
October 9, 2019 (2019-10-09)
Chiaki works to develop a new proposal for RYUSEITAI to perform at a theme park.
14
"Tanabata (Part 1)"
October 13, 2019 (2019-10-13)
Eichi asks Anzu to start a new project, and Switch works toward their debut.
15
"Tanabata (Part 2)"
October 20, 2019 (2019-10-20)
Preparations for the Tanabata Festival are underway, and Eichi approaches Valkyrie about entering this DreFes.
16
"Summer Concert (Part 1)"
October 27, 2019 (2019-10-27)
Trickstar meets students from their rival school, Reimei Academy, to get ready for the upcoming Summer Live.
17
"Summer Concert (Part 2)"
November 3, 2019 (2019-11-03)
18
"Judgment"
November 10, 2019 (2019-11-10)
19
"Autumn Live (Part 1)"
November 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)
20
"Autumn Live (Part 2)"
November 24, 2019 (2019-11-24)
21
"Halloween Party"
December 1, 2019 (2019-12-01)
22
"Starlight Festival"
December 8, 2019 (2019-12-08)
Idol units at Yumenosaki Academy compete in the winter S1, the Starlight Festival.
23
"Effort"
December 15, 2019 (2019-12-15)
24
"Miracle"
December 22, 2019 (2019-12-22)
Ensemble Stars!! Recollection Selection: Element episode list
The series received a compilation film titled Ensemble Stars!! Road to Show!!, which premiered on March 4, 2022. It featured 10 idol characters already featured in the game (Mao Isara, Makoto Yuuki, Aira Shiratori, Mayoi Ayase, Nagisa Ran, Hinata Aoi, Kohaku Oukawa, Rei Sakuma, Izumi Sena, Ritsu Sakuma) as well as the player character Anzu.[28] It also featured Mitsunari Samejima, a new character specific to the film.[29] Masakazu Hishida directed the film at David Production, with Asami Nakatani serving as chief director, Seitarō Kino writing the scripts, Haruko Iizuka designing the characters and serving as chief animation director, and Tatsuya Katō composing the film's music.[28] In addition, BukuSuta The World, a series of animated shorts based on Bkub Okawa's parody manga Ensembukubu Stars!, were screened in theaters with Road to Show!![16]
Reception
By March 2016, over 1,500,000 users downloaded the game.[11]
By July 2023, over 16,000,000 users downloaded the game.[30]
