Mirishita 2025 Famitsu WakachikoP interview

To convey "congratulations" and "gratitude"

Interview with "Million Live" Producer, Wakako Hazama

The finale of this feature is an interview with Producer Hazama. She spoke passionately with us about the "challenges" faced in various fields.

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Challenging new forms of expressions and courses that have never been challenged before

- Once again, "Mirishita" has taken another step in its goal to "continue to reach even greater heights". Could you perhaps summarize what happened over the course of this 8th year?

Hazama: Even as we are in our eighth year, it has still been quite a big challenge. We've completed the "MOVEMENT OF STARS" event series, and have begun a new event series titled "BATTLE OF THEATER", which pits the idols against one another. It took quite a number of attempts to get there, and had rather challenging content to implement, but I believe now we are able to show new sides to the idols that are never-seen-before.


- It was rather shocking.

Hazama: For songs, we implemented some highly requested songs from the Producers, such as "U.N.M.E.I Live" and the comic collaboration songs. They've always been highly ranked in the various Famitsu surveys over the years, so I'm glad that we were finally able to implement them at this time. In addition, for the 12th year of "Million Live!", we will be taking on new challenges, such as "THE iDOLM@STER 765 MILLION ALLSTARS HOTCHPOTCH FESTIV@L!! 2", various collaborations with different companies, the 52-week CD series release, and the MiriAni OVA episode.


- Please tell us about the concept and the goals of the new series, "BATTLE OF THEATER".

Hazama: Regarding this, I would like to share the comments from 3 members of our development and management team: Takahiro Kakizawa, Yoshito Higashi and Keisuke Arai.

Kakizawa: "MOVEMENT OF STARS" was an event series dedicated to showcasing the radiance of the idols of both the 765 Pro ALLSTARS (AS) and MILLION STARS (MS). This time around, in order to showcase new sides of the various charms of the 765 Pro idols and combining the AS and MS, the new series "BATTLE OF THEATER (BOT)" was create led by Higashi of the Content Planning Team and Arai of the Event Planning Team.

Higashi: The Content Planning Team, including Aoki (Tomoko, scenario writer) and Fukami (Wakako, card planner), came up with this while discussing various ideas. We eventually came up with an event series that focuses more on the growth and development of the idols, something new as Mirishita has continued on for so long, to allow for the charms of the idols to be enjoyed even further as we head into the 8th Anniversary of Mirishita. Instead of working together on stage, they can come to a greater understanding with one another if they seriously clash with each other head-to-head. I believe this kind of interaction can lead to even greater developments. I would also like the Producers to get directly involved in these competitions to further enjoy the feeling of Producing the idols, and to greater appreciate the world of "Million Live!" These feelings were what gave birth to BOT.

Arai: As BOT was an event series focusing on the "clashes" between the various idols, the Event Planning Team discussed interactive elements to tie into this theme, and came up with the "voting system". As Higashi mentioned earlier, he wanted a way to interact "live" with the world of Mirishita, and this is at the core of that idea. As we move forward with the BOT series, we are looking into adding and adjusting various specifications as new round continue to release so everyone can enjoy both the new series and its worldview.


- How was the reaction to the "Idol Grand Prix Prologue Demo ver."?

Hazama: We would like to sincerely apologize for the delay, but we were able to release the "Prologue Demo ver." from January until March. Though it was not a full release, we're happy to see that more Producers than expected have tried the new mode. The moest common response that we've seen is that they were glad to see stories with a focus on a single idol, and that they wanted to see more. The idea of focusing on a single idol at a time was something that was difficult to portray in Mirishita prior, which is why we developed "iGRA", which is a mode separate from Mirishita, and we were happy to receive such a response. We'll keep developing iGRA to make it even more enjoyable, so please wait for a little while longer.


- The details of 12thLIVE were announced on 4th June. It will feature Reika Kitakami and Kaori Sakuramori as the main idols, so how did you decide on something like this?

Hazama: In February 2024, on the 2nd day of "10thLIVE TOUR ACT-4 MILION THE@TER!!!!!", we had realized the dream of all 39 cast members gathered together without even a single person missing. As the Million Stars have already reached such a kingly milestone, their next challenge would thus be "leading performances" that would be the upcoming development from 11thLIVE onwards. With the viewpoint of "What kind of performance would this idol have when placed in the center?", we hope to deliver a performance with a strong theme that shows great respect to the idols' individuality. We hope that not only the Producers of their favorite idols, but all Producers who support the Million Stars will enjoy. As 11thLIVE has currently been postponed, the event team is currently working hard to adjust the date and the venue of the event. We would like to apologize for the delay, but please give us some more time so we can make an announcement.


- Did the reception to the anime and the input from the Producers play a major role in the decision to release an OVA for the Million Live! anime?

Hazama: We indeed decided to create the MiriAni OVA as a response to the incredible passion the Producers responded to the anime with. Of course, the anime itself played a big role, but also the Producers'support for other things like the revival screenings and the MiriAni fanbook were what we believe made this project possible. We'll be giving a progress report on the livestream on 30th June, so you should check the archives.


- What was your impression when you first saw and heard the 8th Anniversary's key visual, costume and song?

Hazama: For the 8th Anniversary, the theme is "an atmosphere overflowing with youth, with youthfulness, like a school festival". Looking at the rough sketch of the key visual, I was shocked to see the idols jumping about. The illustrations of previous anniversaries have the idols basically just standing normally, but this is the first time that they're shown jumping. The idea of having the song and the details of the costume to be based around "butterflies" is, of course, meant to express the idols jumping about, which I believe came out wonderfully. Being able to fly like butterflies during their performance, because of the days of preparations with their comrades. The story is convey through the various lesson scenes and the music in the MV, and it is a work that I believe can be enjoyed infinitely (∞), which I believe to be fitting for the 8th Anniversary of this project.


- What plans do you have for the 8th Anniversary event, where Producers, who not only love Mirishita, are so determined to say "We gave it our all" every year?

Hazama: Every year, the Producers not only clear the Joint Anniversary Mission, but even the additional mission as well, and we are extremely grateful for that enthusiasm. Your enthusiasm has encouraged us, and to allow us to update the game to make it easier to play, so we would like it if you could enjoy this year's Anniversary event with the same, no, even more enthusiasm!


- Please tell us your outlook on the upcoming 9th year for "Mirishita" and "Million Live!" as a whole.

Hazama: Mirishita has just entered its 9th year, but we intend to continue challenging ourselves, and to continue growing alongside the Producers. Million Live! has also just passed its 12th Anniversary. As we move towards the 15th Anniversary, we will continue to expand the places where the idols can flourish via various measures such as Lives, the Anime OVA, and various corporate collaborations.


- Finally, a message for all the Producers, if you would.

Hazama: Producers, congratulations (x52) on the 8th Anniversary of Mirishita! Thank you so much (x52) for supporting Mirishita for the past 8 years! This is the 8th time we have had a special interview in Famitsu. Every year, I like to express my "congratulations" and my "gratitude" to all my fellow Producers, and being able to do so in these articles is always a great honor. I'd like to thank all the cast members who have continued in "Million Live!", and the development and operations team, the Live event team, the License team, the Anime team and the Promotion team, who've always been pursuing the best with everything they have. And of course, the reason that they can keep doing their best is you all, the Producers. Thank you for your continued infinite （∞） support!