Lovely Idol 11v2 and new batch

A while back, a commenter pointed out a missing line in ep 11 of Lovedol ~ Lovely Idol (pictured above), and I took the occasion of the release being offered on BakaBT to finally get off my butt and correct it.

Ep 11 v2 Patch

BakaBT Batch

Nyaa Batch

Lovedol ~ Lovely Idol Batch

By somewhat popular request, here's a batch torrent for Lovedol ~ Lovely Idol. I was thinking about doing a complete v2 batch with the .wmv raws I managed to get from area raw, but... like these AME rips, they're wrongly 30fps. It's a shame, because the bitrate in the .wmvs is a bit better and they're anamorphic, but the wrong framerate pushes them into "not worth it" territory. So again, if anyone has access to the .isos and wants to use my subs for new encodes with the right framerate, you're welcome to them. (Just be prepared for lots of little timing adjustments, I suppose.)

So since the only significant error I've noticed was a minor consistency flub in ep 01 that I bet most people won't see, I've decided to go ahead and do a batch. (Maybe there's some insert karaoke fade errors in ep 09, but I don't remember and don't feel like checking.)

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

Lovely Idol 13 - The Final Battle

At long last, here it is, the final episode of Lovely Idol. This was never subbed by WinD back in the day, and is thus an all-new release. KiteSeekers had taken an interest in this unsubbed OVA a long time ago, and they provided the encode, translation, timing, and QC, among other things. I checked the translation and did other general edits, as well as the necessary styling and karaoke to make this fit with my releases of eps 1-12.

Anyway, enjoy some hot springs hijinks -- I'm sure you know what to expect. This just about concludes my work on this series, though if you've seen any errors in previous episodes, let me know so I can v2 them.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)
Ep 13 Torrent (10-bit)

Lovely Idol 12 - The Elements of Harmony

And at long last, we've come to the final TV-aired episode of Lovely Idol. With Mizuki's mommy matters mostly mollified, all that's left is to pull off the debut live show for tens of thousands of idol fans. Unfortunately, there's no way to tell if Sweet Fish's business model relies on a few hundred fans buying thousands of CDs for popularity contest votes and handshake tickets. We can only hope not. Other than that, look forward to some rare non-lazy typesetting from me. The preview features original translations, as it was not in the TV broadcast or the WinD release.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

I may put together a few v2s to fix inconsistencies in the previews in the early episodes. If you've spotted any other errors throughout the release, like typos, wrong/missing words, lines with the wrong character style, etc., please let me know. Also, any suggestions for improving the typesetting of episode titles (in terms of fonts, colors, border/shadow setting, blur values, layering...) are welcome.

As for the never-before-available-in-English episode 13, I do plan to release that in some form at some point.

Lovely Idol 11 - The Big Push

We're almost to the finish line, and the Gen-3 Lovedols are pulling out all the stops to self-promote their event. Luckily, they've got some powerful allies who command a lot of fanboy attention. There's also a culmination of TEH BIG DRAMA arc, and sadly... it doesn't make a lot of sense. I tried, I really did.

Torrent [CRC=8E69DD13]

One area where I didn't try too hard is the typesetting. If you look at the styles in the script, you'll see that I fully admit it's lazy. Unfortunately, the wrong framerates of these raws wreak havoc with any efforts to do frame-by-frame/moving signs. Even if I were skilled enough to typeset them quickly and correctly, they still wouldn't look good. So enjoy your \an8,\an7,\an9,\an4, and so forth.

Maybe I should've gone for those .wmv raws while I had the chance...

Lovely Idol 10 - Ghost of Mother

The drama with Mizuki ramps up even more in this episode, while her fellow five idols struggle to endure Training From Hell(tm) without her. Though if Where the Heart Is taught me anything, it's to always be suspicious of parents who suddenly reappear when you've attained fame and fortune.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

Lovely Idol 09 - Idols, Never Idle

Someday, I swear I'll manage to release more than two episodes in a month. There's really no excuse, considering I work about as much in a week as people with real jobs work in a couple of days. Anyway, here's Lovely Idol 09, including all of its many insert songs. The girls continue to work towards the vaguely defined standards of their agency, while finding some time for revelations and self-discovery along the way. And at the end of the episode, the opening shot of Teh Real Drama Plot is fired.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

Lovely Idol 08 - Telepathic Talent Management

I always thought that celebrity managers/agents were all about helping their clients maximize their star power and earning potential. Under that assumption, managers would tell would-be stars what they should do to succeed, or what they should not do to avoid failing. But it appears that Sweet Fish follows the philosophy of "say that there's a problem, but don't say what it is or how to address it." And meanwhile, the girls get to hang out in an all-expenses-paid company dorm while they guess at answers. Doesn't seem like a great business model, but what do I know? But on the upside, girls hanging out in dorms (at least in anime) means communal bathing scenes, and this episode features less steam in the DVD version than the TV broadcast. No real nudity, but hey, take what you can get I guess...

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

Lovely Idol 07 - Procrastination Nation

I've finally completed the first release of 2013, Lovely Idol 07. This episode has the girls tailing senior idol Ayumi Shindou around town, while they should be working on content for their make-or-break performance. But something tells me a learning experience is in the cards. Also, note that I've translated an insert song that WinD did not translate.

I didn't mean for December to be such an idle month, but I embarked on a journey to complete a new anime series on every day of the month. And for the most part, I succeeded, ranging from finishing up long-stalled 1-cour series, knocking out some movies and OVAs, and marathoning all of Usagi Drop in a single day. And I've also been doing some IRL work that may finally allow me to afford enough technological toys to bring me into the late 00s.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

Lovely Idol 06 - Prepare for Trouble, Make it Double

We're back with Lovely Idol episode 06, where the gang meets up with the "Piccolo" duo from Lovedol Gen-2. But it's no ordinary introduction, as mischief, mayhem, and explosions are the order of the day. And as a special bonus, Shizuku (right, pink hair) is played by the incomparable Rie Kugimiya, in this case closer to her Rizel mode than to Shana/Louise/Aria/etc. Hibiki (left, green hair and "quad-eyes") is played by the lesser-known Akiko Kobayashi; among her few roles is Momo from Shinigami's Ballad. But despite all the wacky hijinx, there might be *gasp* actual plot brewing in the background, and even a cliffhanger.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

As always, I didn't intend for this long of a gap between releases... but as always around this time of year, I've been busy with staffing work for Anime NebrasKon, on top of some real-world "work." I've also been battling some wrist/joint pain that interferes with fansubbing work. Let's just hope it's not carpal tunnel syndrome or whatever, as my sorry non-health-insured self certainly can't afford any surgery. But things should be cleared up for more releases in the next few weeks, both of Saint October/Lovely Idol and possibly a few other things.

Lovely Idol 05 - Our Fabulous Swimsuit Issue

Here we have the aspiring idols of Lovedol Gen-3 heading to the beach for a commercial shoot, proving that all you need to succeed is hard work, talent, and connections with already-established idols. Miu Nekoya may be the best dancer of the bunch, but she's also the biggest diva, with disastrous results. Oh, and this episode also features tons of insert karaoke. Luckily, it's all the same song, but it still bloated the script to 450+ lines.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

Lovely Idol 04 - Koe de Oshigoto!

I'm sure the Japanese voice acting realm is competitive enough that it doesn't need random idols stepping into it, but that's what we have here in this episode. And with Tomohiro out sick, Ruri decides to channel Ritsuko Akizuki and play "Manager for a Day." Some things go wrong, some things go right, and it's mostly cuteness all around. This time, I did notice some little touches, like how Mai primps herself for the camera when there is no camera.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

Lovely Idol 03 - Hey Girl, I'll Make You a Star

Much like the logistically-challenged concert at the end, this episode's release was plagued by errors, like silly mistakes and an Aegisub crash. Nonetheless, the task of dragging icy tsundere Mizuki Sakaki kicking and screaming into stardom seems more or less complete in this episode.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

EDIT: Apparently I now has trusted status on nyaa.

Lovely Idol 02 - You think you've got talent?

As far as the old-school Sailor Moon definition of the term goes, I think Kotoha has the most talent of anyone in this bunch. Still, this show's manager (who actually has a name!) decides to ignore that and pursue the elusive legendary street performer, Mizuki Sakaki. But the four girls pictured above notice this obsession and decide to help, with cutely disastrous results. Nevertheless, Lovedol Gen-3's numbers are increasing, even if those increases come from unlikely places.

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

Thanks again to the Anon in the ep 01 comments for tipping me off to the audio delay issue in even-numbered episodes of AME's rip. Fortunately, the first "HA!" of the OP coincides exactly with the appearance of the title graphic. So I just had to time out the difference, which for ep 02 was 660 ms. Unfortunately, I didn't see any steam reduction in the shower scene at 8:25, so no DVD enhancements there.

Lovedol ~ Lovely Idol 01 - The Poor Man's Idolm@ster

(Image not necessarily indicative of show content)

And now, for something completely different that not many people care about, here's the first episode of Lovedol ~ Lovely Idol, a Fall 2006 anime about... idols and stuff. But mostly stuff. If you want to see an anime about lovely, hardworking, talented girls striving for a goal, all with great animation and a wide variety of music, then I highly recommend The Idolm@ster from Summer 2011. This show... well, I was initially drawn to it by the Princess Soft game origin and the Aoi Nishimata (Final Approach, Shuffle!, We Without Wings) character designs. And while it did deliver cute girls doing cute things, it didn't deliver a whole lot else.

Still, my philosophy is that even marginal/mediocre anime deserve good subtitles. This release uses the Chinese DVD-rips by A.M.E. and English subs from the only group brave enough to translate the series, We are IN Denial. And, well, no offense to those involved, but I didn't care for WinD's subbing style. Things like fragmented timing, overliteral editing (names often used instead of "you"), mistranslations, and tiny/marginless text made the episodes a bit of a chore to watch. So, I found many "opportunities for improvement."

Batch (Nyaa) || Batch (BakaBT)

More info on file technical details and subtitle changes is available at the torrent link. Although these raws are encoded in XviD, they still look better than the TV-rips. They do have a framerate issue, so if anyone can create new encodes or find better raws (like these?), let me know.