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REVIEW: Selection Project




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AspiringShoulder



Joined: 08 Sep 2021
Posts: 12
PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 1:26 pm Reply with quote
Huh, I wonder who wrote thi-
>Yuya Takahashi
...lemme confirm, is this the same guy wh-
>wrote Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
This explains a lot about the supposed dumb twists.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18442
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 2:41 pm Reply with quote
review wrote:
Now I do recognize that my lack of engagement with this part of the plot may simply be due to my own disconnections with the conventions of reality shows as a genre.

It's definitely not just you. I found the exact same parts to be engaging or not as you did. I'm absolutely convinced that one of the angles it was taking was to appeal to reality show fans, but that just ended up being the most run-of-the-mill part its scattershot approach. I also agree with your points about repetition, though I saw it more in the overuse of (and overemphasis on) certain character quirks. My end grade was similar, too.

Since Mercedes reviewed Idoly Pride, I'm curious if you've also seen it, Christopher, and how you would evaluate it by comparison. (Or, for that matter, I'd be interested to see what Mercedes thinks of this one by comparison.) It was certainly SelePro's most direct competitor in 2021 and shared some characteristics, including one of the key twists.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4157
PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 2:49 pm Reply with quote
Ultimately, I thought Selection Project just failed to work. Last year's Idoly Pride, an idol show built around a plot this one stole for an incidental "so what exactly?" moment and they mined that plot for all it was worth. They knew what they were doing.

Selection Project knew what they were stealing, if not exactly "why". There was one moment that could have salvaged the show but it, well, it didn't.
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RobbiRobb



Joined: 08 Oct 2021
Posts: 56
PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 3:30 pm Reply with quote
I seem to be on the much smaller opposite faction, as I enjoyed Selection Project way more than the often in comparison mentioned Idoly Pride. Somehow the supernatural element really didn't work for me and while it did have its interesting sides I personally think Selection Project handled the big twist way better. Without the aforementioned supernatural element, it just felt so much more human and to some extents even relatable. I can't really say I was less surprised about the twist when it came in Selection Project, because I wasn't surprised about it in Idoly Pride in the first place, it was hinted at pretty obvious from the beginning. But that obviously doesn't make Idoly Pride a bad anime either, I just didn't get as much enjoyment from it as Selection Project.

It does, however beg the question how much Selection Project was influenced by Idoly Pride. Selection Project was announced before the first episode of Idoly Pride aired, so it's not like someone saw Idoly Pride on TV and thought it would be a good idea to create a similar show. With the timeframe they had between Idoly Pride finishing and Selection Project starting, this might have also been quite a tight fit, but maybe not impossible though. On the other hand, thinking two completely unrelated teams came up with a really similar story in the same timeframe doesn't sound that realistic either, so there is that as well. In the end it was probably something in between those two, a similar idea and a bit of influence, maybe also in the opposite direction, leading the creators of Selection Project to change some of their plans so that it's not too similar. But at this point I'm just guessing.
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tfwnoymir



Joined: 03 Dec 2017
Posts: 325
Location: Hungary
PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 4:56 pm Reply with quote
As much as I enjoyed the series, one major flaw it has is that it played too safe: giving the idol industry too much credit and not doubling down on the cutthroat aspect of it. That in the end, everyone is a good person at heart, which is either a very optimistic or a downright disingenuous look at the things. I'm not a fan of cynical storytelling either (which is why I avoid series about death games for example), but being wishy-washy about things isn't my style either.

But other than that, the execution is something I wish more anime had: banger visuals, music, great character acting, etcetera. If anything, I wish the same team would work on something that has more bite to it.
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zrdb





PostPosted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 6:58 pm Reply with quote
I like idol shows and this one was generally entertaining, the characters were the high point of it for me. The story line was too ambitious for the show's own good-too many things going on at once but overall it was good watch.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3450
PostPosted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:30 pm Reply with quote
The only reason I was even potentially interested in it was the "twist" of the first episode, its disappointing to learn that the show abandon it right away.

I don't follow musical reality show (both jpn and western version) do anyone who participate in them ever make it big? I feel like I've never once heard about something like that happening, closest thing I can remember was Susan Boyle, iirc.
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xolulu



Joined: 25 Aug 2021
Posts: 16
PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:21 pm Reply with quote
Not sure if they've since fixed it but it's worth calling out that Funimation's translations for this show are badly wrong on several occasions:
https://twitter.com/BadAnimeTLs/status/1449203320216711172
https://twitter.com/BadAnimeTLs/status/1456938490462048264
https://twitter.com/BadAnimeTLs/status/1461916731421511681
https://twitter.com/BadAnimeTLs/status/1466789506669973506
The second link is particularly egregious.
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