For all of my prior reviews, I never took concern regarding the seiyuu's performance (voice talent) because they always made it seem so easy regardless of the material. Unfortunately, there is always a first for everything and for my review on Dream Festival!, the greatest issue --for the first time ever-- lies on the seiyuu. Especially for idol genre, the performance of the seiyuu becomes more vital than ever because it would take a different kind of muscle. As it is about singing, the speaking dialogues must be well-synchronized with their respective character's artistry and inner turmoils. Additionally, just like artists in real life, the idolsin idol-genre anime tend to be vulnerable, whimsical, quirky, difficult, and mysterious. One cannot simply utilize the same method with idol characters as they do with Shounen or Seinen characters. The conclusion? It takes the pro among the pros to bring music-genre anime come to life. Unfortunately, the seiyuu in Dream Festival! somehow seem as if they had not gotten that memo.

It is not to say that every seiyuu involved is terrible. Notable exception is definitely Sasaki Junya (voiced with gusto and charm by Tomita Kentarou-- who would later on find his breakout role in Ballroom e Youkoso) to the point of which Junya would have been better off as the primary protagonist than Amamiya Kanade (which, in opposite, is voiced flatly and tentatively by Ishihara Souma). It is understandable that Kanade is more of a blank canvas of a character, but it is as if Ishihara Souma took that character on far too literally.

Nonetheless, there are potentials to be found in this anime. The Dorika element does not always work but once it works, it does make the overall narrative stand out for a bit. It is not to say that the season two should be missed. Some anime deserve a second chance and Dream Festival! is one of them.

#felixlovesanime