PriPara

PriPara (プリパラ) is a Japanese arcade game by Takara Tomy and the successor of the Pretty Rhythm series of arcade games and the second entry in the Pretty Series. An anime television series adaptation by Tatsunoko Production and DongWoo A&E, comprising three seasons, aired from 2014 to 2017. A second animation adaption, Idol Time PriPara, premiered in 2017. A mobile game, Idol Land PriPara, was released in 2023 along with a web series. PriPara also produces four animated films.

Plot
Every girl finds a mysterious PriTicket which grants them entrance to the world of PriPara, where aspiring idols perform to pass an audition. At the Paprika Private Academy, PriPara activity is prohibited for elementary school students.

Season 1
Fifth grade student Laala Manaka finds a lost PriTicket bag belonging to an idol, Mirei Minami, leading her to PriPara, a virtual world where people transform into their idol alter ego. Laala forms SoLaMi Smile, a trio consisting of Mirei and Sophy Hojo, managed by Kuma, a bear-like character who was formerly Mirei's manager. They are joined by Sion Todo who forms Dressing Pafe with Canadian-Japanese twins Dorothy and Reona West, managed by Sophy's manager, Usagi. Both units had the goal of earning the Paradise Coord.

Halfway through the season, Laala encounters Falulu, a robotic vocal doll born from the desire of many girls to go to PriPara. SoLaMi Dressing competes against Falulu for the Paradise Coord in several idol competitions. The group wins and Laala exchanges PriTickets with Falulu, who falls into a coma. After performing a concert in their Paradise Coords, SoLaMi Dressing revives Falulu, who becomes more emotional, expressive, and human-like. When Falulu goes to PriPari in France, SoLaMi Dressing disbands back into SoLaMi Smile and Dressing Pafe.

Season 2
With the grand opening of Dream Theater, the six idols reform SoLaMi Smile and Dressing Pafé. They encounter Aromageddon, an angel-devil duo consisting of Mikan Shiratama and Aroma Kurosu. At the same time, the idols are joined by Fuwari Midorikaze from The Palps in EuroPara and Hibiki Shikyōin. Fuwari and Laala aim to win the Summer Dream Idol Grand Prix, only for their Summer Dream Idol Coords to be stolen by Hibiki. Ajimi Kiki, later revealed to be the art teacher of Paprika Academy, forms a dream team alongside Cosmo with the PriPara Police (Laala, Dorothy, and Mikan). Ajimi and Cosmo win the Autumn Dream Idol Grand Prix, but their Autumn Dream Idol Coords are taken by the Masked Genius.

During the Winter Dream Idol Grand Prix, a spoiled, mischievous vocal doll, Gaaruru joins Aromageddon, which is renamed Gaarmageddon. The FriendAll team (Laala, Dorothy, Mirei, Mikan, and Aroma) won the Spring Dream Idol Grand Prix and restored PriPara.

Season 3
During the announcement of Divine Idol Grand Prix, Meganii realizes that the special judge, Jewlie, has gone missing. After giving a tour to newcomer Chili Tsukigawa, Laala finds a mysterious baby named Jululu who thinks she is her mother. Laala raises Jewlulu with the help of her younger sister, Non. At the same time, Laala encounters Triangle – a trio consisting of Junon, Pinon, and Kanon – managed by Usagi's sister Usacha. Laala shows Jewlulu to her friends, and Meganii reveals that the baby is Jewlie.

As the tournament begins, Gaarmageddon loses to Dressing Pafé in the first round, while Ucchari Big Bang loses to TriColore. SoLaMi SMILE defeats both NonSugar and TriColore and manages to almost win against Dressing Pafé. However the disappearance of Jewlie and Janice cause the Divine Idol Grand Prix Stage to fail. SoLaMi SMILE tries to fix everything, only to fail initially until all of their friends start singing along, giving them the power to save the world.

Media
PriPara is a rhythm game which was developed by Syn Sophia. A player can create a character and progress by performing live shows.

A manga adaptation by Hitsuji Tsujinaga began serialization in Shogakukan's shōjo manga magazine Ciao in July 2014.

Anime series and films
An anime television-series adaptation by Tatsunoko and DongWoo A&E aired on TV Tokyo and other TXN stations from July 5, 2014, to March 28, 2017. It was succeeded by Idol Time Pripara on April 4, 2017. In the second quarter of 2015, the series could also be seen on three JAITS stations in Nara (TVN), Shiga (BBC) and Wakayama (WTV). During the first season's second story arc, the series began airing on FNN affiliate Sendai Television. On July 5, 2015, PriPara began airing on ANN affiliate SATV. In 2015, the animation for one of the endings was changed after the Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization lodged a complaint for depicting the characters in swimsuits. While the images of the characters in swimsuits were not changed, the ending was edited to remove an image of Sophy Hojo wearing black lingerie, to which appeared to be an homage to Marilyn Monroe.

An animated theatrical film, ''PriPara the Movie: Everyone, Assemble! Prism Tours'', was released in March 2015. A second film, titled ''Fly Out, PriPara: Aim for it with Everyone! Idol☆Grand Prix'' was released the same year on October 24. A third film, PriPara Minna no Akogare Let's Go PriPari, was released on March 12, 2016. An English-dubbed pilot was produced by William Winckler Productions in 2017.

PriPara: All Idol Perfect Stage!
PriPara: All Idol Perfect Stage! (プリパラ オールアイドルパーフェクトステージ！) is a rhythm game developed by Syn Sophia for the Nintendo Switch released on March 22, 2018. Players create a custom character to dance to songs from the PriPara anime as well as to songs exclusive to the game. Gameplay consists of timing button presses to on-screen prompts. The game also includes a harder difficulty called Gold Mode to add additional green and blue prompts that utilize different buttons. By performing well in the rhythm sections of the game, currency is gained that players can spend to customize their avatar with additional accessories and outfits.

Idol Land PriPara
A mobile app titled Idol Land PriPara was released on December 6, 2020. In the app, players create and customize characters who can become idols. Produced by Tatsunoko, the anime is directed by Makoto Moriwaki, Michihiro Tsuchiya is supervising the scripts and Avex Pictures is producing the music. Originally set to be released in Q2 2021, the game was delayed five times to August 17, 2023. Soon after launch, however, the game undergone a maintenance until August 23 because its servers were overwhelmed by the number of users. The anime was postponed together with the game, during which period four episodes were previewed.