THE iDOLM@STER (franchise) (2024)

THE iDOLM@STER (アイドルマスター Aidorumasutaa) is a Japanese mix-media franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly known as Namco before the merger. Rooting from a series of video games, this franchise has been expanded through other types of media such as songs, anime, manga, and real-life concerts.

It centers around the idols and a rookie Producer with the goal of becoming famous. The franchise's first installment was the arcade game of the same name, released on July 26, 2005. Most games are primarily developed by the in-house studio division, with some games in the franchise being developed by other companies under the original owner's supervision, such as Cygames (for Cinderella Girls), among others. Most games from the franchise have been released for various gaming platforms from the year 2010 onwards, totalling of 36 software releases as of now. Its development project name is called Project iM@S.

There are two ways of rendering the name of the franchise. The name is stylized as "THE iDOLM@STER" with the lowercase "i", which is used on the logos. It can also be rendered as "THE IDOLM@STER" with the capitalized "I", which is used officially on the titles across any medium (such as albums, units, etc.). In this wiki, the former spelling is used for naming the games and adaptations.

Branches

THE iDOLM@STER features a variety of branches (officially called "Brands"), each with different idols, characters, songs, and themes. Click each branch's link to see an in-depth look of the branch.

THE iDOLM@STER

The main branch of the franchise is simply titled THE iDOLM@STER. It revolves around the talent agency 765 Production, with its producer having the goal of guiding its pop idols, known as 765PRO ALLSTARS, on their path to fame. An anime adaptation, based on THE iDOLM@STER 2, first aired in 2011, with the movie, Kagayaki no Mukougawa e!, debuting in Japanese theaters in 2014. The branch also has manga adaptations, such as THE iDOLM@STER relations and THE iDOLM@STER 2 The world is all one!!. All music releases that featured mainline games are handled by Nippon Columbia. The agencies 876 Production and 961 Production are also considered part of the mainline games. The non-canonical mecha anime series Xenoglossia is based on the characters in their first era appearances.

Cinderella Girls

THE iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls is the second branch of the franchise. Cinderella Girls features 190 obtainable original idols, the highest number of idols in a branch. It started as a social media game on Mobage, which was released in 2011, and shut down on March 31, 2023, but was also expanded to include a number of anime and manga adaptations, including the 2015 anime of the same name and the spin-off continuity of the branch called U149. Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage, an online mobile rhythm game, was released on September 3, 2015. Due to the nature of user-named Production clans in the original game, Cinderella Girls is the only branch without a definite talent agency (as 346 Production is used for the 2015 anime continuity). All games and other contents are mostly handled by Cygames, with Nippon Columbia handling music distribution; as the original 765 Production idols' are more involved in Million Live!, Cinderella Girls is currently the only active branch with music releases under Columbia.

Million Live!

The third branch in the franchise, THE iDOLM@STER Million Live! began as a social media game on GREE, released in 2013. Tied closely to the original iDOLM@STER branch, its main focus is the 765 Live Theater, and has a cast of 39 new idols unique to this branch called MILLIONSTARS. 765PRO ALLSTARS idols appear in the branch's games as MILLIONSTARS' seniors. Million Live! Theater Days, a rhythm game similar to Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage, was released on June 29th, 2017. Its anime adaptation began airing on October 8th, 2023, roughly 10 years after the branch's inception. For the first time in the franchise, Bandai Namco Music Live's own label Lantis handles all music releases of this branch.

SideM

THE iDOLM@STER SideM is the fourth branch of the franchise. It features male idols, unlike the other branchs, which feature female idols. All idols in this branch are assigned into each official unit. Originally a Mobage game, it sees the return of four idols who previously appeared in previous games - 961 Production's Jupiter and 876 Production's Ryo Akizuki - all joining 315 Production, the branch's talent agency. It also spawned two animated series, the 2017 anime of the same name and its spin-off shorts Wakeatte Mini!. The music distribution for this branch is released by Lantis. It is also the only branch without currently active games, as its latest game, SideM GROWING STARS, was shut down on July 31st, 2023.

Shiny Colors

Began as an HTML5 training simulation browser game, THE iDOLM@STER Shiny Colors is the fifth branch featuring 283 Production. Its approach on dividing idols into units is similar to SideM's. This franchise is also known for focusing on compelling storylines as shown in the browser game. A rhythm game titled Shiny Colors Song for Prism was released on November 14th, 2023. An anime adaptation of the same name aired in April 2024, with its second season coming in Fall 2024. As with Million Live! and SideM, all album releases for this branch are published by Lantis.

Gakuen iDOLM@STER

The sixth main branch was announced on March 5th, 2024, with its first mobile game released on May 16th, 2024. It was developed by QualiArts, marking the second time a CyberAgent subsidiary developed an iDOLM@STER release (the first one being Cinderella Girls by Cygames). It is the first branch to be introduced during the 3.0 Vision era. Unlike other branches, it takes place in an academy named Hatsuboshi Gakuen, where the student of the Producer Department raises students of the Idol Department. All music releases of this branch go through ASOBINOTES, BNE's own record label, making the first time since Million Live! a new label publishes a main branch's releases. Depending on the promotional materials, the English subtitle is either "THE IDOLM@STER Gakuen" or "Gakuen IDOLM@STER".

Non-Branch Projects

.KR

The first project to be released outside of Japan (South Korea), .KR is an amalgamation of K-Pop and THE iDOLM@STER elements. This project is drastically different from others as it stems from a Korean drama series of the same name. The cast was chosen through public auditions and voting systems. Those who passed every audition were given roles in the drama, 10 of which formed Real Girls Project unit. This project is co-produced by Tokyo-based company Interactive Media Mix (IMX).

PROJECT vα-liv

A developmental project stemming from 3.0 Vision, PROJECT vα-liv mixes THE iDOLM@STER with the Virtual YouTuber culture. This project revolves around idol cadets who aim to make their idol debut through distribution activities, akin to typical VTubers. Unlike other voice actors in the franchise, the voice actors in charge have not been disclosed at the time being. The first three candidates in this project debuted at 876 Production after they passed the criteria of 5,000 points on the final exam concert. Music releases on this project are done by ASOBINOTES.