Ensemble Stars!

Ensemble Stars! (あんさんぶるスターズ！) is a Japanese game franchise developed by Cacalia Studio and published by Happy Elements K.K., the Japanese division of the Chinese company Happy Elements. It is a spin-off of the 2012 game Ensemble Girls! It was first released as a life simulation and gacha game on Google Play on April 28, 2015, and on the App Store on May 1, 2015.

On March 9, 2020, Ensemble Stars! was rebranded and relaunched under the title Ensemble Stars!! (あんさんぶるスターズ！！), with the original app split into two games catering to different gameplay styles: ''Ensemble Stars!! Basic, the original game; and Ensemble Stars!! Music'', a rhythm game.

The success of the game led to several stage plays and manga adaptations. An anime television series by David Production aired from July 7 to December 22, 2019. A theatrical anime premiered on March 4, 2022.

Ensemble Square

 * Anzu (あんず)
 * The main protagonist/player of the franchise.
 * The main protagonist/player of the franchise.

Trickstar

 * Hokuto Hidaka (氷鷹 北斗)


 * Subaru Akehoshi (明星 スバル)


 * Makoto Yuuki (遊木 真)


 * Mao Isara (衣更 真緒)
 * The main characters from ! era.
 * The main characters from ! era.

fine

 * Eichi Tenshouin (天祥院 英智)


 * Wataru Hibiki (日々樹 渉)


 * Tori Himemiya (姫宮 桃李)


 * Yuzuru Fushimi (伏見 弓弦)

RYUSEITAI (流星隊)

 * Tetora Nagumo (南雲鉄虎)


 * Midori Takamine (高峯翠)


 * Shinobu Sengoku (仙石忍)


 * Chiaki Morisawa (守沢千秋)


 * Kanata Shinkai (深海奏汰)

ALKALOID

 * Hiiro Amagi (天城一彩)


 * Aira Shiratori (白鳥藍良)


 * Mayoi Ayase (礼瀬 マヨイ)


 * Tatsumi Kazehaya (風早巽)
 * The main characters from !! era.
 * The main characters from !! era.

Eden

 * Nagisa Ran (乱凪砂)


 * Hiyori Tomoe (巴日和)


 * Ibara Saegusa (七種茨)


 * Jun Sazanami (漣 ジュン)

Valkyrie

 * Shu Itsuki (斎宮宗)


 * Mika Kagehira (影片みか)

2wink

 * Hinata Aoi (葵ひなた)
 * Yuta Aoi (葵ゆうた)
 * Both

Crazy:B

 * Rinne Amagi (天城燐音)


 * HiMERU (ひめる)


 * Kohaku Oukawa (桜河 こはく)


 * Niki Shiina (椎名 ニキ)

UNDEAD

 * Rei Sakuma (朔間 零)


 * Kaoru Hakaze (羽風 薫)


 * Koga Ogami (大神晃牙)


 * Adonis Otogari (乙狩アドニス)

Ra*bits

 * Tomoya Mashiro (真白友也)


 * Nazuna Nito (仁兎なずな)


 * Mitsuru Tenma (天満光)


 * Hajime Shino (紫之創)

AKATSUKI (紅月)

 * Keito Hasumi (蓮巳敬人)


 * Kuro Kiryu (鬼龍紅郎)


 * Souma Kanzaki (神崎颯馬)

Knights

 * Tsukasa Suou (朱桜司)


 * Leo Tsukinaga (月永レオ)


 * Izumi Sena (瀬名泉)


 * Ritsu Sakuma (朔間凛月)


 * Arashi Narukami (鳴上嵐)

Switch

 * Natsume Sakasaki (逆先夏目)


 * Tsumugi Aoba (青葉つむぎ)


 * Sora Harukawa (春川宙)

MaM

 * Madara Mikejima (三毛縞斑)

Double Face (Disbanded)

 * Madara Mikejima (三毛縞斑)


 * Kohaku Oukawa (桜河 こはく)

4piece

 * Esu Sagiri (冴霧 笑主)


 * Ibuki Taki (滝 維吹)


 * Kanna Natsu (名都 神無)


 * Fuyume Hanamura (花群 冬芽)


 * Raika Hojo (宝丈 萊香)


 * Nice Arneb Thunder (ナイス・アルネブ・サンダー)

Supporting characters

 * Jin Sagami (佐賀美陣)


 * Akiomi Kunugi (椚章臣)


 * Seiya Hidaka (氷鷹誠矢)


 * Gatekeeper (ゲートキーパー)

Game
Ensemble Stars! was released for the Android on April 28, 2015, and iOS on May 1, 2015. Shortly after the game's release, in 2015, Sousuke Sōma, who provided the voice for Arashi Narukami, was replaced by Ryo Kitamura, with all voice clips replaced on July 18, 2015; Kitamura would later go on to portray the character in the stage play adaptations. In April 2017, Yoshimasa Hosoya left the franchise due to a medical hiatus, and Happy Elements announced that he would be replaced by Tomoaki Maeno in the role of Hokuto Hidaka, with all his voice clips replaced beginning on May 31, 2017.

On November 9, 2019, Happy Elements announced at the Animate Girls Festival that they would be adding two new groups, Alkaloid and Crazy B. On March 15, 2020, Ensemble Stars! was relaunched and was split into two separate games: Basic, the original game; and Music, a brand new rhythm game; both games offered different gameplay but contained the same events, storylines, and items.

In March 2016, Ensemble Stars! was planned to launch in China in Q2 2016 through Tencent. In February 2018, Ensemble Stars! was launched in South Korea through Kakao Games. On December 24, 2021, an English version of ''Ensemble Stars!! Music'' opened pre-registrations for users in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. It was then officially launched on June 16, 2022.

Manga
A manga adaptation written and illustrated by Ichi Sayo was launched in Kodansha's Shōjo manga magazine Aria on August 28, 2015 and ended on December 28, 2016.

Ensembukubu Stars!, a 4-panel gag parody drawn by Bkub Okawa, is serialized on Ensemble Stars! official Twitter account and Dengeki Online since 2017.

Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced in December 2015. It was planned to premiere in 2017, but the staff announced they had postponed it in February 2017. The series was produced by David Production, with Marza Animation Planet producing the 3DCG live scenes, aired from July 7 to December 22, 2019, on Tokyo MX, SUN, KBS, TVA, and BS11. Masakazu Hishida was the director under the pseudonym Junpaku Yagurashita. Yasufumi Soejima was the series director, with Shinichi Inotsume as chief writer, and Haruko Iizuka, Tomoyuki Shitaya, and Eri Nagata as character designers. Akira was the scriptwriter, and Tatsuya Kato composed the series' music. Funimation has acquired the series for streaming in North America; the simuldub premiered on August 4, 2019. The anime uses the CACANi 2D animation & in-between software tool.

On September 10, 2022, a new anime project titled Ensemble Stars!! Recollection Selection: Element (あんさんぶるスターズ！！追憶セレクション「エレメント」) was announced. The anime project aired from April 6 to April 11, 2023 on Ensemble Stars' official YouTube channel. The episodes are also available on the project's website.

On April 25, 2023, a new anime project titled Ensemble Stars!! Recollection Selection: Crossroads (あんさんぶるスターズ！！追憶セレション『クロスロード』) was announced. It will air on November 3, 2023 on the Ensemble Stars' official Youtube channel.

Ensemble Stars!! Recollection Selection: Element episode list
'''Ensemble Stars!! Recollection Selection: Crossroad (Episode List)''' '''Ensemble Stars!! Recollection Selection: Checkmate (Episode List)'''

Film
The series received a compilation film titled ''Ensemble Stars!! Road to Show!!'', which premiered on March 4, 2022. It featured 10 idol characters already featured in the game (Mao Isara, Makoto Yuuki, Aira Shiratori, Mayoi Ayase, Nagisa Ran, Hinata Aoi, Kohaku Oukawa, Rei Sakuma, Izumi Sena, Ritsu Sakuma) as well as the player character Anzu. It also featured Mitsunari Samejima, a new character specific to the film. Masakazu Hishida directed the film at David Production, with Asami Nakatani serving as chief director, Seitarō Kino writing the scripts, Haruko Iizuka designing the characters and serving as chief animation director, and Tatsuya Katō composing the film's music. In addition, BukuSuta The World, a series of animated shorts based on Bkub Okawa's parody manga Ensembukubu Stars!, were screened in theaters with Road to Show!!

Reception
By March 2016, over 1,500,000 users downloaded the game.

By July 2023, over 16,000,000 users downloaded the game.