High School Star Musical

Episodes 1 and 2:

No one watching this one? I don't blame people because the synopsis looks pretty generic, buuut Tents felt like trying it out and we ended up finding it cheesy enjoyable if not mind blowing. I think this might end up being a more enjoyable version of the godawful Shounen Hollywood.

The voice actors can't sing for shit, but each episode has a couple of musical numbers so it's more of a musical than Dance with Douchebags and the musical numbers are at least fun to watch with silly costumes for the characters.

There's also some really silly drama and interpersonal conflicts. None of it is surprising or well fleshed out, but it's the kind of stuff you'd expect for this series. The guys are as generic and stock as they come, but their dynamic works well enough for what the series is trying to accomplish.

For me the fun parts are the musical numbers and the silly as fuck improv in the second episode.
 
Episode 7:

Sooo how long were those guys hiding in the bushes, hoping someone would show up so they could break into that song and dance routine?

I was amused when they tried to blame a bear for breaking the vase. It was just so completely random.
 
Episode 12:

Holy fuck, that last episode was cheese as hell, but it pulled it off well.
The storm suddenly clearing for the performance is exactly the kinda silliness I expect from this show. I really liked that last performance. There were lots of budget saving tricks so they didn't have to animate all of the dancing, but it still looked pretty good. This series was always a much better musical than Dance with Douchabags.

The last episode actually has a pretty nice sense of closure to it. The ending is open for a sequel, but unlike a lot of anime of this type it brings all of the character arcs around even for the secondary characters. It's a rare anime that has a really satisfying ending.

Overall, this series is pretty generic and cliche. The characters are exactly what you'd expect, the comedy is mostly bland with only a few great jokes here and there, and the plot is paint by numbers. However, the series does it well and I found it to be enjoyably cheesy. The drama doesn't get too heavy and doesn't weigh down the exuberance of the show.

The music was pretty solid even if the voice actors weren't the greatest singers. They put a lot of zeal and gusto into the music, and it shows in the end. All of the songs weren't winners, but it pretty easily outdoes the other musical from this season. The OST in general was great and it helped to set the overall mood of the series.

I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. It certainly does the want to be idols thing better than Shounen Hollywood. 3 out of 5
 
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