Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes!

The Music Kingdom, a separate harmonious world that guards music, contains note-shaped gems called Sound Jewels; the Sound Jewels together produce the "Song of Blessings", a powerful melody that purifies and soothes people's hearts. However, they are stolen by the Demon King, who corrupts them into Negative Jewels and covers the Music Kingdom in darkness. Through the Dokudoku-dan, the Demon King's henchmen, the Negative Jewels are used to turn humans into Negative Jewelers. The Negative Aura spread by the Negative Jewelers allows the Demon King to compose his "Song of Darkness" to conquer the human world. In order to recover the Sound Jewels, the goddess of the Music Kingdom sends the Poppun, Rockie, and Clanosuke to the human world to seek help. ==Cast and characters==

Miracle Tunes The main characters are in an idol group named Miracle² (pronounced "miracle miracle") who is signed to a fictional record label called Raspberry Music. They transform into Miracle Tunes using their Miracle Pods Each girl is given a Miracle Takt and fight with the Miracle Tambourines. Halfway throughout the series, the characters each recover a Crystal Jewel, which they can use to transform into Final Mode. During this time, Kanon's Miracle Takt changes into the Final Tune Takt. • Asaka Uchida She is a bright and cheerful girl who is scatterbrained at times. • Suzuka Adachi She is the leader of Miracle² Fuka is a first-year middle school student. She is a dance prodigy who is serious about performing, causing her to disagree with Kanon sometimes. • Rina Usukura as : Akari is a first-year middle school student. Born in the village of Amerimura, Akari and her sister Hikari lived in the United States where they debuted as KariKari before returning to Japan and joining Miracle². Hikari is a perfectionist and pays close attention to her appearance except for when she relaxes at home. as : Yuzuhara is Miracle²'s manager who knows Miracle Tunes' true identities. She is later revealed to be a former idol and Idol Warrior. • Sasuke Otsuru Music Kingdom • as : The Goddess of Music is the queen of the Music Kingdom, communicating with Miracle² through a mirror in the studio's makeup room. She is later revealed to be Mai's mother. • Mari Hino as (voice): Poppun is the Fairy Rhythm of pop music and Kanon's partner. She tries her best in everything and loves to eat and sleep. • Makiko Hiraguchi as (voice): Rocky is the Fairy Rhythm of rock music and Mai's partner. Rockie has a cool and cheeky personality, but he gets scared easily. • Yuko Mori as (voice): Clanosuke is the Fairy Rhythm of classical music and Fuka's partner. Clanosuke is a diligent fairy and a crybaby. • Reika Yoshimoto as (voice): Alm is a Fairy Rhythm who is one of the Goddess' attendants and Sopra's older sister, later becoming Akari's partner. Alm is very confident and has a personality like a "queen." • Chitose Morinaga as (voice): Sopra is a Fairy Rhythm who is one of the Goddess' attendants and Alm's younger sister, later becoming Hikari's partner. Sopra is gentle and loves cleaning. Dark World • James Jirayu as : The Demon King is ruler of the Dark World who devastated the Music Kingdom stole the Sound Jewels needed to play the "Song of Blessings", the only thing that can purify him. His ultimate goal is to cover the world in darkness once he finishes composing the "Song of Darkness." • Baruto Kaito as and : Uno and Sano are twin demons created by the Demon King to replace the Dokudoku-dan. After Miracle Tunes acquire Final Mode, Uno and Sano are purified into a tortoise and a hare. Dokudoku-dan The are three Deluxe Negative Jewelers who serve under the Demon King as his commanders, using the Negative Jewels to turn people into that spread a Negative Aura for the Demon King's use in composing the "Song of Darkness." • as : Mizoochi is a Deluxe Negative Jeweler and the Dokudoku-dan's acting leader. • as : Nechigae is a Deluxe Negative Jeweler and the Dodukdoku-dan's sole female member. • Satoshi Tomiura as : Komuragaeri is a Deluxe Negative Jeweler and the Dokudoku-dan's eccentric genius. Recurring characters • Daijiro Kawaoka as : Mr. Sakurai is Kanon's homeroom teacher at Angie Private Academy. • Naoki Sasahara as : Yunta is Kanon's classmate and sits next to her. • Andrew Night as : Rudolph is Kanon's classmate and is half-Japanese. He lived abroad before moving back to Japan and is a big fan of Akari. • Kohaku Suda as : Erina is Kanon's classmate and one of the top students in class. • as : Ryo is a popular child actor. ==Production==

Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! was a collaborative project between Takara Tomy, OLM, Inc. and Shogakukan, the publishers of the manga magazines Ciao and Pucchigumi. The production also included a toy line produced by Takara Tomy, featuring the magical items, weapons, and accessories depicted in the show. The show was primarily aimed towards a female audience between the ages of 2 and 6. The show was advertised with the catchphrase, Additional staff members included Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, Takeshi Yokoi, Kenichiro Nishiumi, and Ryusuke Kurahashi as episode directors, with Hisako Fujihira, Kana Matsui, and Mao Aoki as the main writers for the show. The dances were choreographed by EXPG Studio. Despite the difference in experience between Miike and the main cast, Miike's attitude towards the project was consistent with his other work, with OLM producer Fumio Inoue stating that they worked without dismissing it as "simply a kids' show." Principal photography for Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! began in September 2016 Transformation and live finish scenes were filmed at a studio in front of a green screen, where CG effects were later applied. Nishiumi mentioned that scenes were shot with discussion from Miike, who wanted the show to be portrayed in a "cute" manner. Episode 38 was filmed in the headquarters of Takara Tomy, with the live performance filmed first and the episode plot afterwards. Casting Auditions were held by Ciao and Pucchigumi in December 2015 with the aid of LDH. Five girls were selected out of 11 finalists. The winners were revealed in August 2016 at Ciao Summer Festival, consisting of core cast members Asaka Uchida, Suzuka Adachi, and Yuzuha Oda. Rina Usukura and Mio Nishiyama were cast at the same time as Uchida, Adachi, and Oda, but were officially announced to the public during a press conference in June 2017. Ito was in charge of their dance lessons. Nishiumi assisted the cast with acting lessons, which began in June 2016. Prior to joining production, most of the main cast had dance experience, and Adachi, who had been part of EXPG Studio's female U-14 trainee team Kizzy and Bunnies. Usukura was a 5th generation member of the female U-12 dance and model agency Roni Girls. Nishiyama was the winner of Roni Girls' Catalogue Model Award in 2013 and the Smile Award at the Ciao Girl Audition in 2015. The only cast member without any dance experience was Uchida, who noted that training was "difficult." Broadcast The show was originally broadcast from April 2, 2017, to March 25, 2018, on TV Tokyo and BS TV Tokyo. Episodes were also uploaded onto Takara Tomy's official YouTube channel one week after its original broadcast date, with each new episode available worldwide to the public for up to one week. Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! was also aired in Thailand, South Korea, and China in regional language dubs. Because television and commercials did not have a wide reach to the target demographic, project manager Reiko Sasaki attempted to use YouTube and other social media to have a wider outreach to the audience. Music During the show's run, the in-show Japanese idol group Miracle² held music activities under Sony Music Entertainment Japan, with main cast Asaka Uchida, Suzuka Adachi, Yuzuha Oda, Rina Usukura, and Mio Nishiyama performing as their characters at concerts, live events, and music festivals, including Japan Expo Thailand 2017. They also appeared as guest regulars as their characters on the children's variety show Oha Suta. Miracle² performed all the opening and ending theme songs to Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes!, as well as other songs on the show's original soundtrack. An updated version, "Catch Me! (Powered Up Version)", was released as a B-side to Miracle²'s second single, "Jump!", and includes Usukura and Nishiyama's vocals, which was used as the second opening theme song. The opening theme song for the show's second half, "Ten Made Todoke", featured elaborate choreography that the cast found difficult to learn, but also contained simple hand movements during the chorus that children could follow. Likewise, "Ten Made Todoke" was praised for its "mature EDM sound" despite the actresses' age and was recommended for adults who enjoy idol music. ==Media==

Discography Albums Singles Manga Two manga adaptations were released simultaneously during the show's run. to the February 2018 issue released on January 3, 2018. As a side promotion to the series, the June 2017 issue of Ciao also distributed the Folk Sound Jewel as one of its furoku (magazine gifts). was illustrated by Yuuki Harami and ran in Pucchigumi from the May 2017 issue to the April 2018 issue. Novel A novelization written by Kana Matsui, one of the show's screenwriters, was released on March 22, 2017, with illustrations provided by Asuka Ogura. Video game A video game developed by FuRyu titled for the Nintendo 3DS was announced in August 2017. It was released as both a physical copy and on the Nintendo 3DS eShop on November 9, 2017. Kanon's Idol Warrior outfit was made available in the arcade game PriPara for the characters Michiru, Nino, Mirei, Laala, Yui, and Sophy through a card exclusively released in Pucchigumi on August 12, 2017. Remake An Italian remake for European audiences began airing on October 13, 2018. The main cast consists of Giulia Sara Salemi, Emily Shaqiri, and Jasmine Roberta Molinaro. The supporting cast includes Raul Navarro, Josep Ma Riera, Yuna Miralles, Angelo Pintus, Michelle Hunziker, Leonardo Decarli, and Greta Pierotti. ==Reception==

Television ratings for Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! averaged 1% in nationwide viewership in Japan and about 5-10% of viewers from the target audience. The third DVD compilation box peaked at #13 and sold 1,291 copies in its first week. Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! was viewed as a new female counterpart to the Super Sentai series due to including female-oriented interests like Japanese idols, which were often seen in media targeted to young girls. Other editors at Real Sound believe the popularity of Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! came from the revived interest in live-action tokusatsu shows aimed at a female audience, which had declined in the early 1990s due to competing toy sales with Sailor Moon and growing interest in magical girl series in anime format. Eriko Ishii from Real Sound praised the show for paying attention to details that would make the show appealing to its main female demographic while comparing the music to Tetsuya Komuro and stating that parents who are drawn in by the J-pop appeal would also want to "cheer for them." As for the music activities of the show's main cast, the music video for Miracle²'s debut song, "Catch Me!", amassed more than 5 million views on YouTube. "Catch Me!" also sold over 5,000 copies within the first week of sales, with 3,000 people attending the release event. Miracle Best: Complete Miracle² Songs sold over 31,000 copies, with 24,000 copies sold on its first week of release. A consecutive total of 3,000 people attended their final concert tour in March 2018, with a total of 1,500 people for each of their two shows. ==References==