As the clock ticks ever closer to the early April 2023 anime debut of The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls U149, we have received both new character-centric key artwork (above) and a brand new trailer (below). This trailer reveals the show’s opening theme song titled ‘Shine In The Sky☆’, and focuses on the young idols who will be at the centre of the anime series.

We also get our first sneak peek at Koharu Koga’s Japanese voice actor, being the only main featured cast member (as of writing) to not have a voice actor in the wider Cinderella Girls franchise. Just whom the voice actor is, is still unknown.

First starting as a simple rhythm game franchise in Japanese arcades with barely more than a dozen characters to its name in the early 2000s, Bandai Namco’s The Idolm@ster franchise now spans several hundred idols across multiple franchises. The one with the most characters, totalling 190, is The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls, which I have written about more than a few times on this site, with its rhythm game from CyGames easily one of my favourite mobile games. But with 190 characters, not all receive the attention they deserve in the mainline games, so spin-off media such as manga franchises gives these characters the attention they deserve. One of these, is The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls U149 from author Kyow No (廾之).

U149 is a manga focusing on the younger idols in the franchise, with its namesake focusing on characters who are 149cm in height or smaller – with essentially all the little idols being in elementary school or the lower grades of middle school. Owning and having read several volumes of the manga, it is a downright adorable and heart-warming series which gives each character ample chance to shine. 

The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls U149 will feature as part of Japan’s Spring 2023 anime season, with first broadcasts taking place on 5 April 2023. Unfortunately no western licensor has confirmed their acquisition of streaming rights yet, but hopefully the likes of CrunchyRoll or HIDIVE to take the plunge in making an English version a reality.

For those unable to access the Youtube clip, the trailer is also available on the anime’s official Youtube channel (above).

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