normalestenstars

[normalestenstars]

Upset at HappyElements?

Now's your chance to get your voice heard! Youko Gitsunegal is going to be HAND-DELIVERING A PETITION directly to the HappyElements US office!

You can sign the petition here!

[normalestenstars]

though, on a general note, as enstars approaches it's 10th anniversary i am genuinely curious what's the level of satisfaction among fans... i mean, obviously not good right now considering the official enstars account is getting ratio-ed in like 10+ languages but i wonder if others potentially feel frustrated with enstars/happyele as a whole rather than just one or few instances

[normalestenstars]

hello everyone! happy (late) new year!! i'm wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2025 

as for me, i would like to talk about the state of this blog, and enstars by extension. last year, i made this blog specifically because i was inspired by a different fandom poll. it was meant to be a silly one-off bit, but i didn't expect for people to actually feel invested in this account. i hope that for the few months this account was active, that these random polls were fun to participate in!

however, addressing the actual topic… during my absence, i have lost all interest in enstars. at first i thought to myself well, once my real life becomes less hectic i can still provide something fun for the community even if i have no interest. you don't need to know recent lore to ask questions like "which nui do you think is the cutest?". i thought i could still do this, but… after the new akatsuki event i don't know if i want to engage in a series that does not respect its fans, even if passively. reading stella maris and ibuki's introduction made me extremely antsy as to how enstars (or i guess specifically, maybe akira?) would handle another indigenous character. it both saddens and angers me that once again, enstars is irresponsible with the messages it pushes (intentionally or unconsciously).

this is a feeling that has been festering for me ever since enstars had the audacity to hype up matrix FOR MONTHS. i am not one to have high expectations for gacha games in the first place, and yet this event felt like a blow i've never experienced before with media. i was extremely angry for the lack of sensitivity enstars showed considering its past history, and seemingly didn't care to correct because all companies care for is profit. why bother putting in effort in cultural sensitivity if you can still acquire thousands in revenue without doing so? such (assumed) beliefs make me beyond angry, and so, my interest dwindled over time. it did not help that i did not care for many new stories either.

as 2024 went on, i've come to realize that i've become extremely unsatisfied with the quality of… everything enstars publishes. which in my personal opinion, is unacceptable for the highest grossing joseimuke. gacha games highly depend on the goodwill (or generosity) of its consumers, and yet, enstars seems to expect its audience to accept any and all content. and i ask the question: why? why must we accept offensive portrayals of indigenous people or their cultures, why must we accept ableist writing, etc., why must we accept slop that is simply a cash-grab ? do we not deserve better as fans of a joseimuke that can earn one billion yen in a month? if this was merely a disagreement of the creative direction, i could accept the fact that enstars developed into something that doesn't suit my tastes or expectations. but it's not—it's the continuous disrespect.

i loved crazy:b.

to be honest, i still do love crazy:b. i love their dynamic, i love the bonds they've formed together, i love the characters within this unit, i love their overarching story. and as embarrassing it is to admit this, rinne is still one of my favorite characters despite not liking enstars anymore. but just because i love something doesn't mean i'm willing to overlook flaws or serious issues within the writing/narrative. after all, one of the selling points of enstars is its writing. so therefore, why shouldn't i analyze + critique it? why shouldn't i form opinions around a media that depends on you, the consumer, to form emotional attachment to (for profit)? this is normal and healthy within the scope of media literacy.

as of late (more like a year or so), it feels like being a fan of this series is nothing but a cruel punishment for having the audacity to be invested in these characters. the hatred enstars seemingly has for its fanbase is very… odd, to say the least. i do not understand what compels them to conduct themselves like this as a business. they continue to publish offensive content with no sign of improvement, continue to disregard the feelings of fans, continue to create half-hearted content, and expect to be not held liable for it. and personally, i find that both laughable and ridiculous how greedy this company is. they want our money, yet do not respect us as consumers.

i don't really know how to end this post. i did not mean for it to be so long either. i suppose with all of this rambling, i think it would only be appropriate to direct people to enstars contact form (https://ensemble-stars-music.zendesk.com/hc/ja/requests/new -> select the last option on the dropdown to send feedback). 

additionally, if you've seen the enstars account post a live stream announcement with the akatsuki + ibuki seiyuu, please do not harass them. they have no control over the decisions of management.

anyway, this is a long winded way of saying i probably will not post on this blog anymore. i will not delete it as people seem to derive enjoyment from old posts still, but there will no longer be any future polls. i'm genuinely sorry for leaving this blog if you liked participating in these polls. i had plans on coming back, and i wanted to provide something fun for fans, but i just cannot bring myself to post about enstars anymore for many reasons. which sounds really dramatic, maybe some of you even think i am overreacting. but (most importantly) i'm just tired of a company disrespecting everyone. whether it be through the writing or business decisions, it's just not fair, nor normal. we deserve better. do not lower your standards for a gacha just because you love it—they depend on your willingness to splurge. and that is a powerful position to have as a consumer, even if it doesn't feel like it.

i wish everyone the best, especially if you continue to keep up with the series.

or TL;DR: i hope everyone had fun participating in enstars polls! i appreciate all the cooperation and support everyone has given me through the months i have posted polls. so for that, i sincerely thank everyone =) ! unfortunately, i have no interest in running this blog anymore because of the way this franchise conducts itself. i've liked my fair share of bad media, but this one... is a winner, in the most perplexing way ever haha... orz

[normalestenstars]

Who is the character most likely to get away after murdering a CEO(not Eichi) ?

😭

[normalestenstars]

how exciting! so many people here for such a silly concept... what should we do for celebration

[normalestenstars]

Worst Babysitter Result Summary

The question asked: NiceP needs someone to look after 4piece kids! Who do you trust the least to babysit them

👑 The overall poll winner is Ibara, with 29.7% or 63/212 votes

As for the group winners, they're:

√AtoZ: Natsume, with 53% or 80/151 votes XXVeil: Izumi, with 70.5% or 122/173 votes Branco: *Aira, with 66.3% or 120/181 votes *originally, Aira and Tori tied in the Branco poll Ring.A.Bell: Eichi, with 47.6% or 78/164 votes Getto Spectacle: Kanata, with 34.1% or 62/182 votes La Mort: Ritsu, with 55.3% or 114/206 votes Puffy☆Bunny: Wataru, with 57.9% or 95/164 votes Butou-kai: Tetora, with 49.6% or 67/135 votes BLEND+: Shu, with 55.6% or 99/178 votes Flambé!: Ibara, with 59.9% or 88/147 votes

OR, here's a visual summary of the shuffle winners. Izumi (of XXVeil) was the most unanimous winner for worst babysitter. Kanata (of Getto Spectacle) was the most divided winner.

Is this the best way to conduct the question, who knows! But these are the results nonetheless. Browse the individual polls here

[normalestenstars]

Best Babysitter Result Summary

The question asked: NiceP needs someone to look after 4piece kids! Who do you trust the most to babysit them

👑 The overall poll winner is Nazuna, with 34.1% or 77/226 votes

As for the group winners, they're:

√AtoZ: Chiaki, with 59.5% or 110/185 votes XXVeil: Nazuna, with 85.7% or 192/224 votes Branco: Hajime, with 76.8% or 106/138 votes Ring.A.Bell: Mao, with 67.7% or 130/192 votes Getto Spectacle: Tatsumi, with 43.3% or 61/141 votes La Mort: Rei, with 40.2% or 68/169 votes Puffy☆Bunny: Mika, with 37.6% or 76/202 votes Butou-kai: Kuro, with 48.9% or 91/186 votes BLEND+: Tsumugi, with 39.4% or 52/132 votes Flambé!: Yuzuru, with 42.9% or 63/147 votes

OR, here's a visual summary of the shuffle winners. Nazuna (of XXVeil) was the most unanimous winner for best babysitter. Mika (of Puffy☆Bunny) was the most divided winner.

Is this the best way to conduct the question, who knows! But these are the results nonetheless. Browse the individual polls here

[normalestenstars]

The poll is basically over but you know Eichi would run that baby fights channel that grunkle Stan puts on in gravity falls. You just know

it's enrichment. helps them grow

though. it's not the same as what you're talking about, but thinking on it... correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't eichi kind of approach trickstar in this sort of manner? like he enjoyed being their adversary or rival of sorts because his opposition cultivated them as idols. iirc he described it something like trickstar needing tending to bloom into flowers. and the fact that they didn't obey him is what made them so exciting as an idol group

[normalestenstars]

NiceP needs someone to look after 4piece kids! Who do you trust the LEAST to babysit them

[normalestenstars]

NiceP needs someone to look after 4piece kids! Who do you trust the most to babysit them

[normalestenstars]

iirc, that last ask about Ibara and Bloody Mary is from Frontline Watchdogs. this isnt very relevant to Yuzuru's place in the babysitter polls, but i would like to everyone to know that, when Yuzuru went to help Ibara with Mary, he actually admits to having done the same mistake (training the dog until exhaustion) in the past as well but with King (Tori's dog) instead. this is how he empathizes and helps with Ibara's predicament!

just thought that this would be fun for people to know! lol. Yuzuru made the same mistake of training a dog until exhaustion; which makes sense considering the fact that they both shared relatively the same experiences within that military facility that theyd been in when they were younger _(:3 」∠)_ like instructor, like pupil.. haha

i think. someone should take these two to an amusement park and let them be teenagers for a day. maybe not together but

[normalestenstars]

Ibara would be the Worst babysitter. Adding on to the last anon said, he basically set up a little training camp for Mary. He researched that Yorkshire Terriers are hunting dogs bred to hunt smaller animals like rats or smth iirc. So basically, he sent the little lady running around the yard of the dorms, making her chase around a toy car, which got her exhausted and Yuzuru had to step in. Got told by the vets(?) that Mary's just fatigued and pushed to her limits, as she's not exactly a very active or strong dog. (she's very frail considering her back story where Hiyori found her bloody and shaking)

Ibara, smart as a guy he is, does not know two fucks about taking care of a living being. He'd probably send 4piece into the labyrinths, thinking it's for enrichment. (it would probably be enrichment for Kanna, as he's also a little weirdo like Ibanyan)

i see.... why did he do all of that 😭 does the concept of a pet not exist to him?

[normalestenstars]

on ibara being a babysitter-- in frontline watchdogs, hiyori tasks him with taking care of bloody mary. within like. maybe a day, maybe a few days, he puts her in a bootcamp of his design which legitimately hospitalizes her. please let him take care of your child

WHAT!?!!?!!? WHAT DID HE DO TO HER?????

[normalestenstars]

NiceP needs someone to look after 4piece kids! Who do you trust the LEAST to babysit them

[normalestenstars]

just noticed something. so it seems that all the eccentrics (except for shu atm) have won a poll... except everyone decided only rei is the good babysitter 😭

[normalestenstars]

NiceP needs someone to look after 4piece kids! Who do you trust the LEAST to babysit them

[normalestenstars]

NiceP needs someone to look after 4piece kids! Who do you trust the most to babysit them