***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Tsukipro The Animation. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
The Tsukino Entertainment Production Agency, a.k.a. Tsukipro, has a reputation for signing the biggest and best names in the Japanese music industry. To showcase its top talent, the company holds its annual concert, Tsukipro Live.
Being selected to headline this event is a goal all Japanese musicians strive for. This year, the honor goes to the four rising pop groups SolidS, SOARA, QUELL, and Growth.
If performing at Tsukipro Live isn’t enough of a dream come true, the concert will be held at the legendary Nippon Budokan. To mark this momentous occasion, the four groups have each been instructed to create four new songs.
This is the story of how SolidS, SOARA, QUELL, and Growth prepare for what is to be the greatest show of their careers.
Series Positives
“Odyssey, why did you watch this show?”
That, dear reader, is a very good question. And it is a question I have been asking myself ever since I finished Tsukipro The Animation.
As always, I knew next to nothing about this series before going into it. I never want hearsay to sway one of my reviews. That said, I am still a human being with preferences. And due to those preferences, when I came across Tsukipro, the first thing out of my mouth was, “this looks like a waste of time.”
Any sane person would have taken that as a sign to move along. However, it appears the word “sane” does not describe me. I have had a lot of pleasant surprises in the past. There was a chance Tsukipro could have been good.
It wasn’t, but that’s not the point.
To be fair, Tsukipro was not a train wreck. It was awful, yes, but it was a different kind of awful. This show was boring. Or, at least, that was the case when this series was at its best. When it was at its worst, to be honest, I’m not really sure what happened.
Going back to the original “Why did I watch this show” question, I have a more critical one to ask.
Did I actually watch anything? I must have, right? I mean, I’m writing this review. I’ve got the pictures. So clearly, I saw something. Whatever the case is it's not important. In less than a week, I will have forgotten everything about Tsukipro.
Because of that, I am going to run into a huge problem down the road. A second season for Tsukipro was announced as “In Development” at the end of the final episode.
I have trouble remembering shows I liked. What do you think is going to happen when I return to a franchise with the most impressive feature being its instant forgettability? I will cross that bridge if and when it arrives. But should that day never come, don't worry. It turns out I still need to return to this series.
It appears I made a mistake. Tsukipro wasn’t the first entry in this franchise. While I won’t call Tsukipro a sequel, it is a follow-up, maybe, to the 2016 series, Tsukiuta The Animation.
Do I feel like I missed something by watching these shows out of order? Absolutely not. Had I seen Tsukiuta first, I can't imagine it would have made Tsukipro better. There would have been a bit more context for one or two off-handed remarks, sure. But that would have been it.
Regardless, I promise to review Tsukiuta before the airing of the final episode of the possible Tsukipro second season. I am hoping that day comes later rather than sooner, but that’s neither here nor there.
Jumping off from that point, if you have been following me for a while, you will have noticed I just said something that usually throws me into a massive hissy fit.
Tsukipro promised a second season, and it did this in a way that was a lot more concrete than a bold “To Be Continued” stinger. Given how not good this series was, I understand why you would think I would be livid over this.
I can’t say I’m happy, but I also can’t say I’m surprised. Tsukipro was only the latest entry in a massive media enterprise that has branched out into multiple mediums including manga, stage plays, video games, and much more.
Knowing that, Tsukipro is starting to sound even more like a certain other idol-based series that has grown quite popular in the last few years. But before you get the wrong idea, let me make this clear.
While on the surface, Tsukipro may appear to be the male version of Love Live, there is one significant difference between the two franchises.
Love Live, whether you love it or hate it, had an undeniable charm that Tsukipro lacked.
However, there was one element to Tsukipro that rivaled even Love Live.
The Music
I said this in my Love Live reviews, and I will repeat it here.
I am not a music connoisseur. I only like what I like, and I liked the music of Tsukipro. When SolidS, SOARA, QUELL, and Growth, got the chance to be on stage, that was when they were at their most engaging.
Much like it was in Love Live, the music segments of Tsukipro were a spectacle to behold. These moments opened up the show’s creative potential. Everything was loud, exciting, and, dare I say, entertaining.
When the four groups were at Tsukipro Live, it certainly felt like an event. This was an area where Love Live, particularly Love Live Sunshine Season Two, dropped the ball. The big climatic concert the series had been building towards wasn’t a last-second footnote. When Tsukipro got to this moment, it didn’t hold anything back.
In addition, it is clear where the budget of this series went.
When SolidS, SOARA, QUELL, and Growth had their big opening number, that was when this show’s CGI went into overdrive. There is no other way to say it; it was like looking at a video game. But I’m not listing that as a bad thing. Afterall, there are plenty of video games nowadays that look great.
And by extension, Tsukipro looked pretty good -- in this instance.
Don’t get me wrong. There were plenty of awkward CGI backgrounds throughout Tsukipro that were garbage. It was only during the last big concert when this blatant style swap worked in the show’s favor. Not only was this fitting, but it was also a welcomed change of pace.
Outside of the performances, the visuals of Tsukipro fluctuated from decent to lazy. And in the later episodes of the show, there was a lot more lazy than there was decent.
I will say this. It was disappointing the groups only had one song each during Tsukipro Live that was animated using the polished CGI. SolidS, SOARA, QUELL, and Growth sang four pieces, but three out of the four were only snippets. And during these snippets, the visuals reverted back to the usual animation style of this series.
Luckily, Tsukipro made up some ground when it brought the four groups together to perform the grand finale.
If a second season of Tsukipro has a lot more music and a lot less nonsense, then a competent continuation of this series may not be a lost cause.
WITH THAT SAID:
Any amount of positivity that came from this series’ music was for nothing. As a matter of fact, this aspect of the show was laughably insignificant.
Tsukipro Live was the best part of Tsukipro. This was when the show’s best music came into play. This was also when the show’s ONLY bits of music came into play.
If you want to get to the pinnacle of what Tsukipro got right, you will need to slog through twelve episodes of energy draining BS. Only then, in episode thirteen, at the end of this long road, will you get a taste of anything worth remembering.
Take my word for it. Tsukipro is not worth the effort.
Series Negatives
If you want a sense of how much Tsukipro didn’t know what it was doing; be aware that episode twelve was a full recap of what the series had done up to that point.
I do find the thought of this series being fully aware of how dull it was a little funny. How else do you explain why Tsukipro felt it was necessary to go over everything one more time before the final episode? Should you decide to watch this show and somehow manage to fight the urge to skip through the same exact scenes you have already sat through, then you are a much stronger person than I.
Despite this series being the mess that it was, I am having trouble finding specific examples to talk about. I know there were a lot of moments I could discuss. Too bad I’m having trouble remembering what those moments were.
I’ve already said the biggest problem with Tsukipro. This series was forgettable.
As evidence of that, I have been making it a point not to name any of the characters in this series. I have done as such because I am not in the mood to induce the headache that would arise from me trying to keep everyone in order.
Every person in this show blended together. I can’t tell you a single trait that separated the members of SolidS from the members of the other four groups. And this leads me to something I want to thank Tsukipro for doing.
The majority of this shows’ episodes were dedicated to only one of the four groups. That meant I often didn’t need to keep track of who everyone was.
Naturally, though, there came a point where I thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if the four groups interacted with each other. How would they play off one another? What would they say? What would they do? How would they go about their lives?
The good news is, Tsukipro gave me what I wanted. The bad news is, TSUKIPRO gave me what I wanted. I forgot to take into account this show’s level of incompetence. 
Episode six of Tsukipro, Starting Line – Boys, Be Mighty, was a sports-based episode. Have you ever wondered what it's like to crash into a brick wall while riding a snail; because I no longer do.
This show’s four groups took part in a large sporting event to promote Tsukipro Live. But since this series failed to get me to care about anyone, there was no reason for me to give a crap about anything that was happening. As a result, there were about twenty minutes of cardboard characters running around. In that time, I was able to think of two questions:
One, why didn’t this show play up the fanservice? You had a group of about a dozen good looking guys doing physical activities and producing a lot of glistening sweat. Why did none of them lose their shirts?
Two, instead of a pointless sports tournament, why didn’t this show focus on the music side of this music anime? Do I even need to say why this might be a problem?
Also, there was the “comedy.” For the love of all that is holy, this was painful. Oh, and this wasn’t a problem reserved for only episode six. No this was an issue that persisted throughout the entire series.
I felt myself checking out from this show around episode eight. It could have been sooner; I doubt it was later, but I couldn’t care less when it happened. The point is, it happened. And then Tsukipro ended.
Granted, I’m not even sure this series ever began. But if it weren’t for the all proof telling me otherwise, I’d say it was possible I imagined this whole thing in some fever dream.
Final Thoughts
I’m curious to know how many of you reading this review even knew this show was a thing.
Do I regret watching this series? You’re damn right I do. But if I find myself in a similar situation in the future, which I will, I know I will make the same choices. Who knows? Maybe next time I’ll get lucky.
For now, though, this was a series that existed. It did things. It had characters. It’s a shame the things this show did were dull, and the characters it had were even more so. Although I said the music was decent, it could have only been decent in a relative sense. It might have been terrible, but it was the best thing this show had.
Bad or really bad, it does not matter. Tsukipro The Animation will fade away for me soon enough. For you, I recommend not giving this series the time of day.
But these are just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this show? What would be your advice concerning Tsukipro The Animation? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.
And if you liked what you read, be sure to follow me on my social media sites so that you never miss a post or update. Also, please share this review across the internet to help add to the discussion.
I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.
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I wish i saw this review before downloading, i watched two episodes and i was exhausted😭
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