Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live (プリティーリズムレインボーライブ, Puritī Rizumu Reinbō Raibu) is a 2013 Japanese anime television series produced by Tatsunoko Production and Avex Pictures in cooperation with Takara Tomy Arts and Syn Sophia. The series is part of the Pretty Rhythm franchise and is its third animated series, focusing on a group of Japanese idols known as "Prism Stars" that combine song and dance with fashion and figure skating.[2] The anime series was created as a tie-in to promote the arcade game of the same name.
Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live is directed by Masakazu Hishida, with character designs by Okama. The show features a story separate from its preceding seasons, Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream and Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future. During the series' run, each episode ended with a live-action segment titled "Pretty Rhythm Club" hosted by the girl group Prizmmy, along with their sister trainee group Prism Mates.
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For her work experience assignment, middle school student Naru Ayase applies for a manager position at the clothing store Prism Stone in Harajuku. There, she is introduced to Prism Shows, idol-style concerts combining song, dance, fashion, and figure skating,[8] with heart-shaped gems called Prism Stones to accessorize.[2] With her Pair Friend, Lovelin, she is able to perform a new type of Prism Show called a "Prism Live", where she plays an instrument in the middle of a Prism Show. Joined by her classmates, Ann Fukuhara and Ito Suzuno, Naru is hired at Prism Stone and is also asked to take care of Rinne, an amnesiac girl capable of performing four Prism Jump combinations, a feat only accomplished by the current Prism Queen, June Amou. At the same time, the girls draw attention from Bell Renjoji, Otoha Takanashi, and Wakana Morizono, top students from the elite Prism Star school Edel Rose, who challenge them to enter the Dreaming Session.
As Prism Shows are scored based on the number of Prism Jump combinations, Prism Stone loses the Dreaming Session. However, their ability to do Prism Lives interests Hijiri Himuro, the chairman of the Prism Show Association, who believes it may revitalize the public's dying interest in Prism Shows. Prism Lives are later integrated into the scoring system, and their popularity inspires June to perform in Prism Shows again. This, in turn, causes the supervisor of Edel Rose and current Prism King, Jin Norizuki, to use underhanded tactics in order to claim the title of Prism Queen for his school.
During the Winter White Session, Rinne remembers that she is a messenger from the Prism World tasked to spread the Prism Sparkle, which sustain the magic of the rinks, Pair Friends, Prism Stones, and Prism Jumps. Rinne was originally supposed to absorb June, the current Prism Messenger, but June has gone rogue from the Prism World and has been competing in Prism Shows to stay with Hijiri, therefore preventing humans from spreading the Prism Sparkle. Naru learns that in order to save the Prism Sparkle, they must claim the Prism Queen title from June during the Over the Rainbow Session and evolve their Seventh Coord. When the last of the Prism Sparkle vanishes, Naru brings it back with her determination, and Bell wins the Prism Queen Cup. After the girls send Rinne back to the Prism World, everyone moves on with their lives.
Happy RAIN
Happy RAIN (ハッピーレイン♪, Happī Rein) is a Prism Star unit composed of Prism Stone employees Naru Ayase, Ann Fukuhara, and Ito Suzuno.
Naru is 14 years old and a natural airhead who can see the "color" of the music.[11][12] Naru becomes Prism Stone's shop manager for her school's work experience program, and her dream is to be a shop owner of a fashionable shop like Dear Crown. One of her specialties is decorating Prism Stones. Her catchphrase is "So happy!"
As a Prism Star, Naru is a lovely-style performer and uses the Prism Rainbow Guitar during Prism Lives, performing the song "Heart Iro Tori Dream."[13] Near the end of the series, she returns the Prism's sparkle. Afterwards, she becomes a well-known Prism Star and begins working at Dear Crown as a model.
Ann is 14 years old and is able to taste the "color" of the music.[12] Ann is the class representative of Naru and Ito's class and the president of the school's Prism Show Club, with a fascination for aliens. She enjoys sweets, but her father actively discourages her from making them to work in their family's senbei store instead. Ann is hired as the main pastry chef of Prism Stone's sweets corner. Later in the series, she realizes she is in love with her upperclassman, Kazuki. Her catchphrase is "Leave it to Ann!"
As a Prism Star, Ann is a pop-style performer and uses the Prism Rainbow Drums during Prism Lives, performing the song "Sweet Time Cooking Magic (Harapeko Nan Desu Watashi tte)."[13][15]
Ito is 14 years old and is able to feel the "heat" of the music.[12] She has a cool, indifferent personality and prefers to be called by her nickname "Cross" (クロス, Kurosu). Her parents are divorced, but Ito keeps a purple Prism Stone in her pocket as a gift from her mother and learned the piano from her. Ito is in love with Koji and begins dating him in the middle of the series. Ito is hired as the make-up artist of Prism Stone, mostly because she hopes to purchase her father's old guitar from a pawn shop.[12] Her catchphrase is "Intense!"
As a Prism Star, Ito is a cool-style performer and uses the Prism Rainbow Keyboard during Prism Lives, performing the song "BT37.5."[13]
Rinne is a mysterious amnesic girl who is missing emotions and has the appearance of being 14-15 years old.[12][16] She previously appeared on the Nintendo 3DS port of the original Pretty Rhythm arcade game, Pretty Rhythm: My Deco Rainbow Wedding.[16][17] She draws the attention of her rivals for being able to perform four Prism Jump combinations. When she begins attending Naru's school, she registers under the name Rinne Ibara (荊 りんね, Ibara Rinne), with Chisato's surname.
Rinne is revealed to be one of the group-minded messengers from the Prism World. As a Prism Messenger, Rinne is tasked with spreading the Prism Sparkle across the world, but the rules of the Prism World state that she is not allowed to fall in love or perform in Prism Shows. When her mission is completed, she must return to the Prism World, a process that will also cause her to lose her memories, and be absorbed by a new Rinne-type messenger. After remembering her mission, Rinne realizes that June is the cause of her current memory loss, after she tries to prevent them from merging.
As a Prism Star, Rinne is a star-style performer and uses the Prism Rainbow Guitar during Prism Lives, performing the song "Gift".[13]
Bell Rose
Bell Rose (ベルローズ, Beru Rōzu) is a Prism Star unit from Edel Rose composed of Bell Renjoji, Otoha Takanashi, and Wakana Morizono, middle school students from Le Celiana Girls Academy. Their group song is "Rosette Nebula".
Bell is 14 years old and one of the top Prism Stars at Edel Rose. She is able to feel the "love" of music.[12] Bell sees herself as Naru's rival after she is rejected as Prism Stone's manager in favor of the former and also becomes curious about Rinne for being able to perform four Prism Jumps. Having been under pressure to perform perfectly in school and violin from childhood, Bell sees her only escape in Prism Shows and her friendship with Otoha and Wakana.
As a Prism Star, Bell is a sexy-style performer and uses the Prism Rainbow Violin during Prism Lives, performing the song "Get Music!"[18] By the end of the series, she wins the Over the Rainbow Session and becomes the new Prism Queen.
Otoha is a timid 14-year-old Prism Star from Edel Rose who is able to smell the "scent" of music.[12] She enjoys brewing tea and fairytales. She cares for Bell deeply and acts as her personal assistant. Because of this, Otoha is observant about minor details to ensure that everything is perfectly ready. For a brief period of time, she works at Prism Stone after Bell forces her out of the group, but with Ito's encouragement, she learns to be more outgoing and honest about her feelings. Her catchphrase is "Like a fairytale!"
As a Prism Star, Otoha is a feminine-style performer and uses the Prism Rainbow Saxophone during Prism Lives, performing the song "Vanity Colon."[18]
Wakana is a 14-year-old girl Prism Star from Edel Rose who is able to feel the "wind" of music.[12] She tells fortunes with Prism Stones and she views Ann as her rival. Having grown up in a strict family, Wakana spent most of her childhood moving away due to her father's job and thus refuses to let herself become emotionally attached to others. When Kazuki teaches her not to be afraid of taking risks and Ann helps her learn how to trust her friends, she realizes how important Bell and Otoha's friendships are to her.
As a Prism Star, Wakana is an ethnic-style performer and uses the Prism Rainbow Xylophone during Prism Lives, performing the song "Blowin' in the Mind."[18]
The original arcade game was released nationwide in Japan on April 18, 2013, beginning with session 1, titled "Prism Live Debut Edition." The game featured a new system called "Prism Live", where players can enter a bonus round that allows them to score more points with Prism Jump combinations.[3] The session 2 update, titled "All Rare! Ki-ra-me-ki Days Edition", was launched on July 11, 2013 and added Bell, Otoha, and Wakana as playable characters.[3] The session 3 update, titled "Chara Stone! Heartbeat Edition", launched on October 3, 2013 and added June as playable character.[4] During the session 3 update, the game was renamed Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live Duo.[4]
Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live: Kirakira My Design (プリティーリズム･レインボーライブ きらきらマイ☆デザイン) was released for the Nintendo 3DS on November 28, 2013.[19][20] The game features the main female cast as playable characters along with a new character, Cosmo Hojo, as well as the female cast from Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream and Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future.[20] The limited edition of the game came with an exclusive Prism Stone featuring the Miracle Fantasy Rainbow Dress, which was usable on Pretty Rhythm arcade machines.[20] To promote the game, the January 2014 issues of Ciao and Ribon included QR codes with exclusive in-game costumes for the characters.[21] Cosmo also appeared in episode 34 to coincide with the game's release date. Famitsu's editorial team gave the game an average score of 7.8/10.[22]
An expanded version of Kirakira My Design was released for the Nintendo 3DS on January 5, 2015, under the title PriPara & Pretty Rhythm: PriPara de Tsukaeru Oshare Item 1450!, adding Hiro and PriPara character Laala Manaka as playable characters.[23]
Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live premiered on TV Tokyo's 10 AM slot April 6, 2013 as a tie-in to the arcade game and ended on March 29, 2014.[24][9][1] The English dub of Rainbow Live premiered on Animax Asia on June 24, 2014.[25] The characters were designed by illustrator Okama.[1][10] The plot in this series is separate from the previous seasons, Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream and Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future.[11][16] In addition, the plot is a continuation of the 2013 Nintendo 3DS game Pretty Rhythm: My Deco Rainbow Wedding, which focused on Rinne's backstory.[26]
Each episode ended with a live-action segment titled "Pretty Rhythm Club", which was hosted by Prizmmy, a girl group put together by Avex Pictures, and their sister trainee group, Prism Mates.[11][27][28] Prism Mates made an animated cameo in episode 9.[29]
As a collaboration with Avex Pictures to celebrate TRF's 20th anniversary, Prizmmy covered several of their songs as opening themes.[30] The opening theme songs are "Boy Meets Girl for episodes 1-13;[31] "EZ Do Dance" for episodes 14-26;[32] "Crazy Gonna Crazy" for episodes 27-39;[33] and "Butterfly Effect" for episodes 40-51;[34] all songs were performed by Prizmmy. The ending theme songs are "RainBow × RainBow" by Prism Box for episodes 1-13;[35][16] "Rainbow" by Iris for episodes 14-27; "I wannabee myself (Jibun Rashiku Itai)" by Emiri Katō, Yū Serizawa, and Mikako Komatsu for episodes 27-39; and "Happy Star Restaurant" by Prism Box for episodes 40-51.[36]
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Michiyo Kikuta was serialized in Pucchigumi.[37]
Discography
Studio albums
List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live Prism Solo Collection by Bell & Otoha & Wakana
Released: October 16, 2013
Label: Avex Entertainment
Formats: CD, digital download
41
—
Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live Prism Solo Collection by Koji & Hiro & Kazuki
Released: November 20, 2013
Label: Avex Entertainment
Formats: CD, digital download
38
—
Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live Prism Unit Collection
Released: December 18, 2013
Label: Avex Entertainment
Formats: CD, digital download
70
—
Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live Prism Duet Collection
2014
Released: February 19, 2014
Label: Avex Entertainment
Formats: CD, digital download
30
—
Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live Prism Music Collection
Released: April 23, 2014
Label: Avex Entertainment
Formats: CD, digital download
12
—
Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live Prism Boys Collection
Released: September 3, 2014
Label: Avex Entertainment
Formats: CD, digital download
32
—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Merchandise
To coincide with the series, a Prism Stone shop was opened in Harajuku.[39] In Japan, McDonald's released six exclusive Prism Stones with purchase of a Happy Meal in collaboration with the franchise beginning May 17, 2013.[40]
Reception
Theron Martin from Anime News Network rated the first episode 2.5 out of 5, stating that the show's formulaic plot is supposed to be a "cute affair" that allows girls to "indulge in fantasies of magical clothes changes and spectacular ice dancing/singing performances."[11] He complimented Naru for having a "likeably spunky edge" but found DJ Coo both amusing and annoying.[11] Episode 39 scored an average household viewership of 1.9%.[41]
King of Prism is a film series focusing on the male characters of Rainbow Live, targeting an older female demographic.[42] The 2016 film King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm grossed ¥250 million in two months at the Japanese box office,[43] where it eventually grossed ¥800 million ($7,353,421) by the end of its run.[44] The 2017 film King of Prism: Pride the Hero grossed over ¥600 million ($5.35 million) at the Japanese box office.[45] In 2019, King of Prism: Shiny Seven Stars was released as a 4-part film series from March 2 to May 4 and was also broadcast for the Spring 2019 anime season; the theatrical release of all four films had a consecutive box office gross of ¥320 million.[46]
^"King of Prism: Pride the Hero". Imagine-Nation. June 13, 2017. 2:05 minutes in. NHK World-Japan. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2019. Narrator (Dominic "Dynamite" Allen):KinPri is the story of about young performers who aspire to become stars of Prism Show, a fictional sport that uses various performance arts such as dancing, ice skating, and singing.
^"プリズムライブははれのち嵐". Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live. Episode 9 (in Japanese). June 1, 2013. 4:56 and 5:35 minutes in. TV Tokyo. Prism Mates' name appears on the sign.
^"King of Prism: Pride the Hero". Imagine-Nation. June 13, 2017. 2:40 minutes in. NHK World-Japan. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2019. Narrator (Dominic "Dynamite" Allen): The KinPri series originally came out of a 2013 TV anime for children called Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live. KinPri is an official spin-off story centered on a trio unit that appeared in the anime.
