The popular iDOLM@STER series has stepped up its male idol game by announcing two new CD releases by male units “Beit” and “High×Joker”, and a highly anticipated first live concert at the end of this year!

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A popular game initiative that has captured the hearts of idol fans all around, iDOLM@STER is finally moving fast to capture the 2D male idol industry with iDOLM@STER SideM. In this recent announcement, two male units “Beit” and “High×Joker” will finally be voiced, joining the ranks of existing SideM units “Jupiter” and “DRAMATIC STARS“.

“Beit” is themed “Sparkling Princes” and is a 3-person unit featuring Kyoji Takajo (CV: Yuuichirou Umehara), Pierre (CV: Shun Horie) and Watanabe Minoru (CV: Tomohito Takatsuka).

“High×Joker” follows the theme “Fresh, youthful high-schoolers”, and is a 5-person unit consisting of Shiki Iseya (CV: Shou Nogami), Hayato Akiyama (CV: Shouya Chiba), Haruna Wakazato (CV: Yuusuke Shirai), Jun Fuyumi (CV: Takuma Nagatsuka), Natsuki Sakaki (CV: Hiroshi Watanabe)

While the details and track listing of the upcoming releases by “Beit” and “High×Joker” have yet to be announced, the CDs titled 「ST@RTING LINE -03 Beit」and「ST@RTING LINE -04 High×Joker」respectively will be tentatively released on 22nd July this year. It is likely that the format will be similar to iDOLM@STER SideM’s earlier releases, where there will be 2 unique group songs, a unit-specific version of iDOLM@STER SideM song「DRIVE A LIVE」, and a two-part drama track.

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THE iDOLM@STER SideM will also be holding its first live concert on 6th Dec 2015. The concert will be at the MAIHAMA Amphitheater, with a modest capacity of 2170, which incidentally is also the stage where the THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS first performed live. In addition to the 4 announced groups performing, there is hope for more to be announced in the near future.

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Details
Date: 6th December 2015
Venue: MAIHAMA Amphitheater

Starring:
Jupiter [Takuma Terashima (Touma Amagase), Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Shouta Mitarai), Daichi Kanbara (Hokuto Ijuuin)

DRAMATIC STARS [Shuugo Nakamura (Teru Tendo), Yuuma Uchida (Kaoru Sakuraba), Taku Yashiro (Tsubasa Kashiwagi)

Beit [Yuuichirou Umehara (Kyoji Takajo), Shun Horie (Pierre), Tomohito Takatsuka (Watanabe Minoru)

High × Joker [Shou Nogami (Shiki Iseya), Shouya Chiba (Hayato Akiyama), Yuusuke Shirai (Haruna Wakazato), Takuma Nagatsuka (Jun Fuyumi), Hiroshi Watanabe (Natsuki Sakaki)

Ticket
Price: 6,800 yen (tax inclusive)
(Ticket balloting available with the purchase of CDs 「ST@RTING LINE -03 Beit」「ST@RTING LINE -04 High×Joker」to be released on 22nd July)

Stayed tuned to their Official Live Website for more details to be announced!

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Earlier this year, the first two groups under THE iDOLM@STER: SideM “Jupiter” and “DRAMATIC STARS” have released CD singles complete with group songs and a drama track each, with double releases on 15th April.

Check out their official song previews below!

“Jupiter” features Touma Amagase (CV: Takuma Terashima), Shouta Mitarai (CV: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka), and Hokuto Ijuuin (CV: Daichi Kanbara).

 

“DRAMATIC STARS” features Teru Tendo (CV: Shuugo Nakamura), Kaoru Sakuraba (CV: Yuuma Uchida), and Tsubasa Kashiwagi (CV: Taku Yashiro).

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THE iDOLM@STER: SideM was only introduced as a game last year, and voices implemented fairly recently in March only this year. However, this is not the first time IDOLM@STER has featured male idol units.

Many may be unaware that their first male unit “Jupiter” was introduced as far back as at the 2010 Tokyo game Show, and their first in-game appearance was in THE iDOLM@STER 2. The same group has also released an album titled “THE IDOLM@STER Jupiter” in 2011, which included 2 group songs and 3 solo songs sung by each member (yes, with the exact same cast!).

Jupiter in IDOLM@STER : “Alice or Guilty”

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With this, iDOLM@STER SideM has finally started moving its gears, a late newcomer to the 2D male idol and boyband market, which has no doubt been dominated by the wildly successful Uta no Prince-sama, or Utapri, franchise.

Interestingly, Utapri was first released in 2011, the same year that IDOLM@STER’s first male unit was announced. Within a few years, Utapri has captured a strong fanbase with its myriad of games, anime adaptations and live concerts, even expanding to the Super Saitama Arena next year, with a full seating capacity of almost 37,000. One wonders if THE iDOLM@STER could have shared this success if it had gone all out with its Side M plans at that time.

Nonetheless, we are game and highly excited to see if THE iDOLM@STER’s experience and success with the 2D female idol franchise can translate to greater success with their boys!

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Links:

THE iDOLM@STER SideM Official Website (Lantis): http://www.lantis.jp/sidem/
THE iDOLM@STER SideM 1st STAGE ~ST@RTING!~ Website (Lantis): http://www.lantis.jp/sidem/1stlive/
THE iDOLM@STER SideM Official Game Website (Bandai Namco): http://side-m.idolmaster.jp/