As announced at the end of June, The Idolmaster franchise aired on July 11 at 6:00 p.m. (Japan Standard Time), starring the character Miki Hoshii.
During its announcement, the franchise announced this event as "the first live broadcast of an idol", and several users assumed that it would be a broadcast similar to the ones made by Virtual YouTubers. In fact, voice actress Akiko Hasegawa reported that she was using Bandai Namco Studio's motion capture studio, a place with very advanced technology.【765PRO ALLSTARS】7月11日(土)18：00~ SHOWROOMにて星井美希による特別生配信が決定♪→→ https://t.co/gtDHYtD4Jy #idolmaster pic.twitter.com/4ljoeDt8a5— アイドルマスター公式ツイッター (@imas_official) June 26, 2020
The success of the broadcast was noted from before it started, with 35,000 people in the comment lobby and the hashtag #MikiHoshii trending on Twitter. Miki performed on a 3D model while wearing the “MR ST @ GE” outfit, and the broadcast began with a conversation with her fans, before doing a live performance of the song “Day of the Future”.
Although it was only a thirty-minute event, the broadcast managed to exceed 100,000 viewers, and although it had been announced that the recording would not be archived, the staff changed their minds when they noted that the broadcast was extremely popular. Although the recording has not been uploaded, several users have already shared some captured videos.
Considering this immense popularity, perhaps it is proof that more idols from The Idolmaster franchise will have a few more live events coming soon.
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