Remember me
Between hits like Anohana, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate Zero, and Hunter x Hunter, 2011 was quite a packed year for anime. Many of the anime released that year have grown into enduring favorites, still being discussed even a decade later.
That said, 2011 also saw the debut of an all-new anime franchise, and it's one that would capture the hearts of little girls and shoujo enthusiasts everywhere for the next decade or so.
It's hard to believe that so much time has passed, but it's been fourteen years since Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream first aired, and looking back, it's still just as revolutionary.
Pretty Rhythm: The Anime That Encapsulated Girlhood
Based on a popular arcade game, Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream was the first-ever installment of the Pretty franchise that would eventually grow into the PriPara franchise, and what a memorable debut it was. Animated by Tatsunoko Production, the series made its debut in early Spring 2011.
In retrospect, the series' animation was certainly a product of its time, but to the eyes of a teenage girl, it more than succeeded in grabbing one's attention with its cute, sparkly visuals and its ditsy yet lovable protagonist.
The series essentially followed a trio consisting of Aira, the main protagonist, Mion, and Rizumu (whose name is clearly a pun on Rhythm) on their journey to become Prism Stars, which were essentially ice skating idols.
If you took everything that could possibly appeal to a girl and put it all into one anime, you'd essentially get Pretty Rhythm, as the series truly had it all: idol culture, figure skating, jumps, dancing, singing, dress-up, cute animal mascots, magical transformations, and even some innocent romance.
Pretty Rhythm Was Much More Than Your Typical Shoujo Anime
That said, Pretty Rhythm was anything but a lighthearted rhythm anime. The figure skating and jumps gave the series a competitive edge typical of sports anime, while the magical prism stones and transformations incorporated magical girl elements that were very popular at the time, as evidenced by the release of Puella Magi Madoka Magica the same year.
The series also featured strong themes of friendship, thoroughly exploring the interpersonal relationships between the main trio. Aira, Rizumu, and Mion's friendship wasn't instantaneous but fraught with drama and many highs and lows, much like any real one would be, but that made their bond all the stronger by the end.
They each also had their own ambitions, with Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream largely being centered around Rizumu's wish to perform a legendary jump known as the Aurora Rising.
This ambition made way for the series' true plot to emerge, and it was surprisingly a lot deeper than you'd expect, diving into Rizumu's complicated relationship with her mother, who abandoned her and was also the last to perform this legendary jump. Future installments in the franchise, such as Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live, would continue to surprise fans with the same depth.
Pretty Rhythm Joins A Long List of Lost Anime
Crunchyroll prices making Boruto cry
Unfortunately, as great as Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream is, there's no longer any way to legally stream it, or any of the other early sequels, such as Dear My Future and Rainbow Live. In that sense, the series joins an ever-growing list of lost anime such as Golgo 13, Zoids: Chaotic Century, Baccano, and many, many more.
Admittedly, there likely aren't as many viewers eager to watch Pretty Rhythm these days outside of those nostalgic about it, but its streaming availability or lack thereof does call attention to a growing issue.
Once a series gets taken down from a streaming website, it is essentially lost to the sands of time, and it's not hard to imagine the same thing happening to niche anime of the present day ten years down the line.
In many cases, piracy, divisive as it may be, is the only thing keeping these lost anime franchises from becoming just a distant memory. Clearly, streaming hubs need to work on expanding their older catalog rather than constantly entering the rat race for the streaming rights to the next new shiny anime.
Hopefully, as digital accessibility and streaming become the norm, Pretty Rhythm and the many other lost pieces of media like it can find their way back to their nostalgic fans, and when that day comes, it might just be worth giving this decade-old franchise a chance.
While Pretty Rhythm isn't a subversive masterpiece, it might end up surprising you in more ways than one, as many older anime do.
Release Date 2011 - 2012-00-00
Network TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, BS TV Tokyo
Cast
Kana Asumi
Karina Togashi
Sayaka Ohara
Aira Haruna (voice)
Comments (0)