Idoly Pride

Hoshimi Production

Hoshimi Production (星見プロダクション) is a small talent agency focused on idols, located in the suburbs of Kanto, headed by Shinji Saegusa.

• Mana Nagase (長瀬 麻奈)
• Mana was a high school student who instantly became popular the moment she debuted as a solo idol. She personally asked her high school classmate, Kōhei Makino, to be her manager at Hoshimi Production because he sat next to her. She was to appear in the Venus Grand Prix finals, only to be killed in a traffic accident while on her way there. She later appears in front of Kōhei as a ghost. It is implied that she had feelings for Kōhei, which are confirmed in the last episode as she kisses him before returning to the afterlife.

• Kōhei Makino (牧野 航平)
• Kōhei is Mana's classmate at high school and later manager at Hoshimi Production. A kind of person who cannot refuse when asked, he is looking after the girls at Hoshimi Production, along with Mana's spirit, whom he can see. Kōhei also serves as the protagonist in the game version, albeit as a self-insert character, and is simply referred as "Manager". It is implied that he had feelings for Mana.

• Shinji Saegusa (三枝 信司)
• Shinji is Hoshimi Production's President. He used to work for a Van Production, a bigger entertainment company, but decided to quit as he desires to have his own company. He was the one who first scouted Mana, and later employed Kōhei as her manager at her request.

Idols

The ten girls associated with Hoshimi Production are later divided into two groups: Moon Tempest (月のテンペスト) and Sunny Peace. Together, they are collectively referred to as Hoshimi Production.

• Kotono Nagase (長瀬 琴乃)
• Kotono is Mana's younger sister who decided to become an idol to live her sister's dream. A stoic and serious person, she serves as leader of the group Moon Tempest. Kotono was initially against the idea of Mana becoming an idol, as the two had much less time together once Mana started her career. Kotono is a sophomore at Hoshimi Private High School.

• Sakura Kawasaki (川咲 さくら)
• Sakura is a bright sophomore at Mitsugasaki Public High School, who decided to participate in an audition by Hoshimi Production because her heart guides her. Serving as leader of the group Sunny Peace, Sakura's singing voice is said to be similar to Mana's, even surprising Mana herself. It is revealed that Sakura had a heart condition, and that Mana had donated her heart to her. Later in the series, Sakura decides to sing with her own voice, which eventually leads Mana to pass on.

• Rei Ichinose (一ノ瀬 怜)
• Rei is a third-year student at Reiba Girls' Private High School who is good at dancing, even winning a place in a Japanese dance championship. Raised in a strict family, her parents do not want her to be a dancer. She is a member of Sunny Peace.

• Nagisa Ibuki (伊吹 渚)
• Nagisa is a sophomore at Hoshimi Private High School, Kotono's classmate, and member of Moon Tempest. She decided to become an idol because "Kotono seems to have fun talking about it".

• Haruko Saeki (佐伯 遙子)
• The oldest of the group at 20 years old, Haruko already had a solo idol career even before Mana. She graduated from Hoshimi Private High School and is currently attending Seiyō Gakuen Private University. She is a member of Sunny Peace. She initially lied about her age to the other members of Hoshimi Production because she was conscious of being older than the others.

• Saki Shiraishi (白石 沙季)
• Saki is a third-year student at Mitsugasaki Public High School and its student council president; at school, she is considered an honor student. She always admires idols and decided to become one herself. She is the older sister of Chisa Shiraishi. She is a member of Moon Tempest.

• Chisa Shiraishi (白石 千紗)
• The younger sister of Saki Shiraishi, Chisa is a freshman at Mitsugasaki Public High School. She became an idol because she wants to be together with her sister. However, upon being separated from Saki and becoming a member of Sunny Peace, Chisa begins learning to stop relying too much on her sister.

• Suzu Narumiya (成宮 すず)
• A third year student at Reiba Girls' Private Middle School who greatly admires Mana, referring to her as "Mana-sama". Suzu comes from a wealthy family, a fact she often brings up during her introductions, and came to Hoshimi Production to escape from a certain trouble. She is a member of Moon Tempest.

• Mei Hayasaka (早坂 芽衣)
• A freshman at Hoshimi Private High School and member of Moon Tempest. Mei is a girl who is personally scouted by Kōhei to change the tension between the members. She has an athletic personality and is the only person besides Kōhei who can see Mana.

• Shizuku Hyōdō (兵藤 雫)
• An idol otaku and member of Sunny Peace, Shizuku is a freshman at Mitsugasaki Public High School. She is generally quiet and prefers to keep her mouth shut, but starts to talk much whenever there is a talk about idols.

Van Production

The entertainment company with a particular specialty in idols, and Saegusa's former employers.

• Kyoichi Asakura (朝倉 恭一)
• (anime)
• Asakura serves as president of Van Production. Despite being calm and emotionless, he always has the back of the idol groups he created. Asakura is Rui's biological father, but unaware of this.
• Kiriko Himeno (姫野 霧子)
• (anime)
• Kiriko is LizNoir's manager in Van Production.

Trinity Aile

The voice actresses of Trinity Aile are the members of group unit TrySail.

• Rui Tendō (天動 瑠依)
• Rui is Trinity Aile's center.
• Yū Suzumura (鈴村 優)
• Yū is a bright girl who speaks in a Kyoto dialect.
• Sumire Okuyama (奥山 すみれ)
• Sumire is former child actress who turned into a singer.

LizNoir

The voice actresses of LizNoir are the members of group unit Sphere. In the anime, only Rio and Aoi appear as members of the group at first, while Ai and Kokoro join the group in the last episode.

• Rio Kanzaki (神崎 莉央)
• Aoi Igawa (井川 葵)
• Ai Komiyama (小美山 愛)
• Kokoro Akazaki (赤崎 こころ)

Manga

A manga series by Hiroki Haruse, titled Idoly Pride Stage of Asterism, was serialized on Kadokawa's Comic Newtype website from June 10, 2020,[6] to November 30, 2021.[7]

A second manga series by Yuriko Asami, titled Idoly Pride Beginning of Lodestar, was serialized through the ComicWalker and Niconico Seiga websites from October 30, 2020, to June 24, 2021.[8] The series focuses on Mana Nagase and serves as a prequel to the main series.[9][10]

Volume list

Idoly Pride Stage of Asterism

Idoly Pride Beginning of Lodestar

Anime

An anime television series was first announced in December 2019.[16] It is the first anime produced by CAAnimation, a label created by CyberAgent to produce original anime.[17] Lerche is also credited for production. The series was directed by Yū Kinome and written by Tatsuya Takahashi, with character designs by Sumie Kinoshita. It aired from January 10 to March 28, 2021, on Tokyo MX and other channels.[18][19] The opening theme song is "Idoly Pride" while the ending theme song is "The Sun, Moon and Stars", both performed by Hoshimi Production.[21] Funimation licensed the series and streamed it on its website in North America, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland; mainland Europe through Wakanim; Australia and New Zealand through AnimeLab.[22]

Game

A mobile game for Android and iOS developed by QualiArts was released on June 24, 2021.[25][26]

A year after its initial Japanese release, an English version was later stealthily revealed to be published by Boltrend Games.[27] It had a closed beta test on September 14, 2022,[28] with the end date previously being September 21, before being extended for two days.[29] After said beta, Boltrend Games would start pre-registrations with an official release date to be announced.[30]

Following months of silence, Boltrend Games announced in February 2023 that they were no longer publishing the game.[31] A global release by Neowiz was announced in March 2023.[32] Pre-registrations began the following month.[33] The game was released on June 1, 2023, and would follow the content schedule of the Korean version.[34]