Line #70 Anime/AKB0048


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_8381.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:It's [=AKB48=] [[InSpace IN SPAAAAAACE]]!]]
3
4	->''"In a future where humankind has moved into space... the tears we shed become stars.''\
5	''[=AKB0048=]. We will fly through space to see you."''
6
7	''[=AKB0048=]'' is a 2012 Japanese anime television series based on the popular Music/AKB48 idol group. The anime is produced by Creator/{{Satelight}}, with Creator/ShojiKawamori as chief director and writer. The first season began airing on April 29, 2012 and ended on July 22, 2012. The second season started airing January 5, 2013 and ended on March 30, 2013. The series draws upon the real-life [=AKB48=]'s repertoire for its soundtrack, with composer Slavek Kowalewski arranging some of it and contributing some original works for the series' incidental music.
8
9	At the start of the 21st century, an interplanetary war broke out. Earth's ecosystem was destroyed, and humanity was forced to flee the planet. In this new society, things that "disturb the heart" like music and art are forbidden. 48 years later, a legendary idol group is resurrected as [=AKB0048=]. Labeled as terrorists, they must take up arms to defend their careers and their fans.
10
11	Young Nagisa Motomiya, Yuka Ichijo and Orine Aida had lived their whole lives on Lancastar, a planet fully under the Entertainment Ban. Their lives changed completely one day when their new friend Chieri Sono took them to a guerrilla concert held in defiance of the ban by [=AKB0048=]. Inspired by the singers' radiance, the four girls vow to become members of 00 themselves. Four years later, they leave home to take part in the [=AKB0048=] auditions. Once they get there however, they find that [=AKB0048=] isn't all about singing and dancing and looking pretty. Dangerous and possibly fatal endeavors are involved when going up against the Entertainment Ban and its Destroy Entertainment Soldiers (DES). And within the group, there is more going on behind the scenes than even the members realize.
12
13	To the surprise of many, an English dub premiered at the Los Angeles Convention Center in July of 2013, with the release of the first season coming that autumn.
14
15	Also has two manga adaptations: ''[=AKB0048=] EPISODE 0'', a prequel that tells the story of Atsuko Maeda the 12th and serialized in Nakayoshi; and ''[=AKB0048=] Heart-Gata Operation'', which follows Kanata, Acchan the 13th, Yuko the 9th, and Kojiharu the 8th in a mission to protect the group from the thief Elixir's menace, serialized in Bessatsu Friend.
16	----
17	!!This series contains examples of:
18	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: As is tradition with Creator/{{Satelight}}. Rather obvious 3D effects are used for the idol's performances, certain dance sequences, and the mech battles.
19	* AbnormalAmmo: In keeping with their TechnicalPacifist beliefs, [=AKB0048=] LAS mechas will shoot an incapacitating gel substance at piloted enemy robots to take them out of the fight.
20	* AceCustom: Takamina's personal LAS has a ribbon over the cockpit, to signify it's her unit.
21	** A manned DES mech in custom colors appears in Episode 8.
22	* AllThereInTheManual: Things like the girls' ages, their homeworlds, and the Successors' real names are all in bonus material.
23	* AmazonBrigade: As singers in a time where entertainment is banned, AKB have to be able to defend themselves.
24	* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:The series ends with AKB retaking Akibastar and determined to keep entertainment alive. However, despite the major setback, DES is still active.]]
25	* AppliedPhlebotinum: Dualium. It's used in FTL transport, it's connected to various phenomenons related to the idols, and certain creatures are naturally sensitive to it. Just like the Force!
26	%% * ArcWords: "No Name... No Name..."
27	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: When the 76th gen trainees dispute Tsubasa's selection of the entire 77th gen as stand-ins:
28	-->'''Tsubasa:''' Can the 76th generation perform today's setlist? Though they weren't selected, everyone in the 77th generation practiced. What was the 76th generation doing?
29	* ArtificialGravity: Used for the most part when in space but, much to the trainees' dismay, not their ship's sleeping quarters. They spend a lot of time floating helplessly trying to get to their sleep pods, where they have trouble sleeping still because they keep floating off the mats.
30	* AscendedExtra: The mobile game ''[=AKB0048=] Galaxy Cinderella'' features some other successors that are only shown for a few seconds on screen in the main series, like Haruka Shimazaki the 8th, Yui Yokoyama the 7.5th or Ayaka Umeda the 7th.
31	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: This is believed to be what happens to Center Nova when they disappear. [[spoiler:It's true. This also appears to be Mr. Sono's true goal, as he wants to "transcend time and space"]].
32	* AsLethalAsItNeedsToBe: [[LaserBlade Mic Sabers]] can cut straight through armored mecha, but when used on DES soldiers they simply zap them into unconsciousness.
33	* AutobotsRockOut: How Team 00 make their entrance in Episode 2, by hijacking a ship's radio to announce their arrival.
34	* BandToon: Of the real [=AKB48=], naturally. In a twist, the characters aren't the real-life members of the group, but people who aspire to be just like them centuries later.
35	* TheBattlestar: The battleship ''Katyusha'', which serves as [=AKB0048=]'s mobile base and transport; and the ''Flying Get'', the mothership for their CoolAirship.
36	* BeachEpisode: Episode 10 has everyone going to a planet's beach resort for a photo shoot, much to Makoto's distress, since she'd recently put on a few pounds.
37	* BigDamnHeroes: [=AKB0048=] save the trainees and other passengers on a ship during a DES SpaceMarine attack. Later the [[{{Fanboy}} WOTA]] members show up to help them drive off another attack during a handshake event.
38	* BoardingParty: The DES have no qualm about forcing themselves into a civilian space ship by just smashing into it in order to capture Nagisa and company who are on their way to their second audition for [=AKB0048=]. For that matter, neither does [=AKB0048=] itself have any qualm doing the same thing when rescuing Nagisa and company!
39	* {{Brainwashed}}: The group is certain that DES brainwashing tactics are at least partly responsible [[spoiler:for the people of Akibastar hating them after they were driven off the planet]]. For their part, the DES believe that the songs of [=AKB0048=] brainwash those who hear them and use unmanned drone robots to prevent it.
40	* BreatherEpisode: Right after the episodes where [[spoiler:Akibastar fall to the DES, Yuko disappears in an explosion, Miichan is revealed as TheMole, and the group only barely escapes all that with their lives]] we get the episode where everyone is relatively safe, the girls get the chance to offer each other some moral support, Suzuko gets high on shrooms, Orine makes a cute little critter friend, and everyone gets to dance and sing with giant bouncing gorilla-bear monsters.
41	* BridgeBunnies: A trio of unnamed young women who operate the ''Katyusha'' and do all the usual readings and status updates.
42	* CallBack:
43	** When they first meet on their way to their auditions, Sonata autographs Suzuko's soda can with the explanation that it would be worth a lot of money when she became a [=AKB0048=] member. Later Nagisa asks Suzuko who she's a fan of and Suzuko holds up the old can and says she's a supporter of Sonati as an "early investment".
44	** An early episode shows that Mimori answers all her fan mail and writes back to every letter sender. During [[spoiler:her succession concert]] her fans brought lights and organized themselves so that glow spelled out "Thank You for the Letters!" from Mimori's vantage point, causing her voice to crack a little as she choked back her emotional tears.
45	** When Makoto experiences a crisis of confidence after she botched an infiltration mission, a DES soldier and secret fan named Higashino inspires and helps her, only to stay behind to buy her time to escape. [[spoiler:He's seen at the very end, as a member of the WOTA and riding atop a Mokoto-themed LAS.]]
46	* CastingGag:
47	** EVERY single one of the Understudies is voice acted, at least in the Japanese version, by active and former members of the REAL Music/AKB48 group.
48	** Also semi-averted in one way. They didn't have Chieri Sono or Mimori Kishida voiced by the same person as they become in ''Anime/AKB0048''. [[spoiler: And Acchan didn't voice Nagisa either...]]
49	* CasualInterstellarTravel: Thanks to the dualium, or in 0048's case, the Kirara Drive, traveling from star system to star system is about as difficult as a plane ride from one part of a country to another.
50	* CelebrityToons: A bit of a subversion in that the actual [=AKB48=] members don't appear in the show[[note]]Although some of them voice the kenkyuusei/trainees/understudies/whichever-you-prefer in the show[[/note]], instead talking about future successors to both the group and the members' individual names.
51	* ConvenientlyClosePlanet: The group makes a random jump while fleeing from the DES after [[spoiler:being driven off Akibastar]] and come out right on top of a perfectly inhabitable world where they can rest and repair.
52	* CoolAirship: That also serves as a mobile stage platform and an aircraft carrier!
53	* CostumeTestMontage: After learning that they will be participating in a hand-shaking event the trainees go off to buy new clothes to look good. Their selections range from the average, the risque, and the downright bizarre.
54	* CulturePolice: The Destroy Entertainment Solders, or DES. As the name suggests, any entertainment driven media is targeted for destruction. Anti-entertainment radicals are also mentioned. And it is to serve the cause of a bunch of {{cor\|ruptCorporateExecutive}}porations who wants to control the monopoly on FasterThanLightTravel.
55	* {{Crapsack World}}s: Those worlds under the Entertainment Ban. When the CulturePolice fires live ammo at both the idols and their audience; or the citizens are living in poverty and dying, you know the planet has gone to the gutter. Comparisons can be drawn between the government in this anime and totalitarian governments both real and fictional. Nagisa's father won't be out of place working for the Party in ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''. In fact, Nagisa's class has an off-color Union Jack on the front wall. Makes you wonder whether the people involved actually read the book.
56	* {{Descriptive\|ville}}star: The word preceding "-star" in a planet's name will probably give you an indication of what that world is like. Some are obvious, like Tundrastar being an ice world. Others are more subtle, like Akibastar being named after the city of Akihabara, where the Real Life [=AKB48=] is headquartered.
57	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The series received a mobile game called ''[=AKB0048=] Galaxy Cinderella'', produced by Namco Bandai... who also makes another very popular idol-training mobile game called ''VideoGame/TheIdolmaster: Cinderella Girls''.
58	** A series involving singers, mecha and the power of music as a force for defending the galaxy, created by Shoji Kawamori... [[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross No, we]] [[Anime/MacrossDoYouRememberLove do not]] [[Anime/MacrossPlus know of]] [[Anime/Macross7 any franchise]] [[Anime/MacrossZero like that...]] [[Anime/MacrossFrontier No, none]] [[Anime/MacrossDelta at all...]][[note]]Harmony Gold didn't even try for the distribution rights.[[/note]]
59	* DodgeballIsHell: The girls on the team opposite of Kanata feel this way during a broadcasted game between idols, due to how good a player she is. Mimori rallies her wavering team and it turns out their fears were misplaced since the rest of Kanata's team sucked hard and lost.
60	* DressingAsTheEnemy: The 77th Generation girls minus Chieri infiltrate a DGTO asteroid base to find out why so many officials and corporate bigwigs are gathering and go in dressed as custodians.
61	** DisguisedInDrag: Problem is, they were supposed to be boy custodians and thus keep addressing each other as "dude" and "bro" to keep up the charade.
62	* DystopianEdict: The Entertainment Ban which prohibits all forms of frivolous media. How dystopian a planet is, is reflected by how strictly they enforce the ban. Akibastar doesn't have it at all and looks like a lively and healthy city. Tundrastar enforces it rigidly and the first thing the group notices while waiting in a bread line is how lifeless and unhappy everyone is.
63	* EarthThatWas: In episode 25, it is explained the original [=AKB48=] was born in Akihabara, Japan, before Earth was laid to waste.
64	* FunWithAcronyms: The World Over Technology Association, aka WOTA.
65	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
66	** At the very beginning of the series, Nagisa starts wearing a green scrunchie on one side of her head. [[spoiler: All known successors to Atsuko Maeda have some kind of hair accessory on that side of her head. By the end of the series, This includes ''Nagisa herself'', the '''''14th''''' Atsuko Maeda...]]
67	** On their day off, Yuko explains to Nagisa and Chieri that all the idols who achieved the Center Nova position mysteriously disappear. While throwing out ideas as to why and how she mentions offhandedly that the last Minami Minegishi had been seen wandering Akibastar. Sure enough, she turns up alive and well [[spoiler:as their photographer in disguise]].
68	* TheFuture: Of the SpaceOpera variation. Taking place in the year 0048, it's features a space where people have conquered space traveling, managed to live on various different planets with ease, and the technology have become so advanced from hologram cellphones, to spaceship-like trains, mechas and also spaceships that can also fuction as a stage for [=AKB0048=]. On the other side of stuff however, music and many forms of entertaintment have been considered banned, and the iron gloved rule of the DES means that any planets are into a cold steeled no music dictation.
69	* GrandFinale: [[spoiler:Nagisa becomes Acchan the 14th and Chieri becomes the Center Nova, all in one episode. It doesn't get grander than that.]]
70	* HakunaMatata: The song, ''"Uhho Uhhoho"'', is just that, a song about forgetting worries and not letting life get the better of you. While sung to the pack of angry fungi to calm them down, it applies just as much to the singers who were still smarting over [[spoiler:losing Yuko and being forced to flee Akibastar]].
71	* HeartSymbol: Every member of the [=AKB0048=] has a heart shaped shine in their hair and [[ExoticEyeDesigns in their eyes as well]]. This feature in particular seems to be a manifestation of the ''potential'' of a girl to be a future Successor, as it shows up the young Lancastar girls after they witness their first concert. It happens again to another set of young girls after they see their first 00 performance as well.
72	** Former members have diamonds instead. Justified by the fact that there are tons of characters, makes it easier for people to just identify who is in and who isn't.
73	* HeroSecretService: The WOTA Brigade. Shall DES force raid an [=AKB0048=] concert, they will fight back for their idols' sake. And they aren't some ragtag militia, they are armed with ''HumongousMecha'' and ''MacrossMissileMassacre''.
74	* HighTurnoverRate: Some of the Successors don't last very long compared to others, judging by the generations of the current set. While the average indicates most of the Successors are around the 8th generation of their names, the last Acchan was the 13th! [[spoiler:And by the end, they're on Acchan the 14th.]]
75	* HitSoHardTheCalendarFeltIt: The war in the backstory started some time in the 21st Century. By the time it was done, Earth was rendered uninhabitable, prompting quick space colonization and the adoption of the Star Calendar. Coincidentally, the story starts in the year 0048.
76	* {{Hologram}}: The Successors display giant hologram versions of themselves during performances so that the whole audience can see them. On a more individual basis, the futuristic phones the girls have all have holographic projection screens.
77	* HostileShowTakeOver: What was supposed to be a high profile show trial to sentence captured 0048 members Yukirin, Chieri, and Sonata turns into a concert/rescue as the rest of the group pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment. Yuka and Orine even take the time to act as newscasters for the camera and promote [=AKB0048=].
78	* HumongousMecha: Both [=AKB0048=] and the DES have mechs. Those mechs can fight in outer space. And then episode 6 reveals the WOTA, an otaku group that has their own colorfully decorated mechs, who assist Sae.
79	* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: The highly trained elite DES soldiers who have mecha suits and a huge numerical advantage can't seem to hit a handful of idols who are busy singing and dancing.[[spoiler: Possibly justified as it's revealed that Papa Sono and the D.G.T.O. are using [=AKB0048=] for their own sinister purposes, and the fact that they believe the idols use mind control, so instead of soldiers they tend to send unmanned mechs after the girls.]]
80	* InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha: When riot police or other ground forces can't handle the job DES brings out the LAS, the Live Assault Suits. Fortunately [=AKB0048=] helped themselves to a few of the enemy's LAS some time ago and thus fight and fly in mechas just as often.
81	* InvincibleVillain: The DES, being funded by the DGTO, makes them nearly impossible to take down completely, having near-infinite manpower and AttackDrones at their disposal despite best efforts to hinder them. [[AndTheAdventureContinues The series even ends with the DES down, but not out and AKB vowing to keep the fight going until the Ban is appealed and their foes defeated for good.]]
82	* IrritationIsTheSincerestFormOfFlattery: In an attempt to catch up to Yuko and Chieri, [[spoiler:the popular candidates for Center Nova and Succession]], Nagisa begins imitating Yuko's dancing style during rehearsal. Not impressed with her copycat, Yuko interrupts a rehearsal session to shout at Nagisa (and Chieri for a different reason) and call her out on her lackluster performance. Ushiyama then takes Nagisa aside and explains to her that stiffly mimicking Yuko isn't going to make her better.
83	* {{Itasha}}: The WOTA mechs all have gaudy 00-themed paintjobs.
84	* LastEpisodeThemeReprise: In the first season, the Understudies sing both their opening and ending theme songs. The latter is actually considered their special song in-universe, while the former is actually a plot point when it causes the whole group to shine [[spoiler:in the same manner Center Novas do before they disappear]] that Mikako starts begging them to stop singing!
85	** In ''Next Stage'' the new ending is performed [[spoiler:to get the DES ground forces to stop fighting and triggers Chieri's ascension to the Center Nova position]]. The original opening theme makes a second comeback as the final song that [[spoiler:unites the power of No Name and forces the DES forces out of the system]].
86	* KangarooCourt: [[spoiler: Chieri, Sonata, and Yukirin]] find themselves in one after being captured by the DES in the first episode of season 2 which consists of almost nothing but blasting them for their alleged offenses. They are then sentenced, for the crime of "disturbing the heart", to almost half a century in prison. Fortunately, they're rescued by the rest of [=0048=] before they could be thrown into prison.
87	* LaserBlade: The micsabers - microphones with laser swords springing from the bottom, as Nagisa found out when she nearly sliced her own head off.
88	* LegacyCharacter: Individual member names in RealLife Music/AKB48 have become titles (which also doubles as ''NomDeGuerre'').
89	** Special mention goes to Tomomi the 11th, whose family has invoked GenerationXerox to better pull this off for ''ten generations in a row''.
90	* LivingProp: You could be forgiven for not realizing there are 18 successors and not just eight since the other ten have no role in the story, no voices, and literally only show up when they need to fill in chairs. Most of the 76th generation qualifies as well.
91	* LoudOfWar: The inevitable result of being a band of rogue singers who flaunt the law and are responded to with violence. While they do actually fight when confronted with opposition, the group while continue playing music and singing just to stick it to their enemies.
92	* MacrossMissileMassacre: {{Narm}}tacularly, the missile has the "No Idol" sign on their head. This is from a studio that animated ''Anime/MacrossFrontier''[[note]]as well as the de facto creator of the original ''Anime/{{Macross}}''[[/note]].
93	** The WOTA brigade in episode 6 deploys this with ''fingerheld glowstick missiles''.
94	* MeaningfulRename: Trainees inherit the names of the original [=AKB48=] members they were chosen to succeed. [[spoiler:And they're chosen by the Kirara based on how close their souls resonate with one of the original members.]]
95	* MegaCorp: The Deep Galaxy Trade Operation (or "DGTO" for short) who provides the DES with the weapons they needs in order to enforce it's FTL monopoly.
96	* MoodWhiplash: While previous encounters with [=AKB0048=] had already proven the job was dangerous, the combat training in episode 3 was portrayed more as humorous than dangerous up until the [[ChildSoldiers trainees]] were thrown into an [[WarIsHell actual battle]] again DES, complete with explosions, cannon fire, and bodies being thrown into the air like dolls. [[spoiler: Whiplashes again after it's revealed to all be fake and a SecretTestOfCharacter. All the girls are fine, save for a few broken bones.]]
97	* MundaneMadeAwesome: The above mention micsabers, and Takamina's hair bow, which doubles as a tazer.
98	* MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast: How else would a group of idols deal with a herd of giant wild monsters who think they're being hunted?
99	-->'''Sayaka:''' We're not dealing with humans here, of course our words won't get through to them. But we have our song!
100	* NewSeasonNewName: Each episode is called a stage so the second season is called, appropriately enough, ''[=AKB0048=] Next Stage''.
101	* NonActorVehicle: Only a few of the main cast members have acted in anime before this. However, they can definitely ''sing''.
102	* NonLethalWarfare: How many series can claim that the only confirmed death in the entire series, considering the amount of space battles, was ONE person, and that was due to an assassination?
103	** WOTA and [=AKB0048=] are the stand-outs here. To promote the fact they are all innocents, they [[ActualPacifist NEVER attack to kill]]. Even in infiltration and close quarters combat, [[SetSwordsToStun they manage to never strike a killing blow]]. Their kill count in the entire series: ZERO.
104	* NoNewFashionsInTheFuture: The fashions of the next century are suspiciously similar to the ones worn today. And by "suspiciously similar" that is to say "exactly alike". Some of the clothes worn by the girls are actually real life outfits of [=AKB48=] members, which is justified by [=AKB0048=] trying to emulate their predecessors as much as possible.
105	* OurShowersAreDifferent: The ''Katyusha'' has what looks like futuristic pod showers for the girls to refresh themselves after a hard day of practice, but then it turns out they A) Dispense water just like regular showers and B) Are all ''broken'' and spew out rust until you screw around with the handles a bit. Apparently plumbing maintenance isn't high on Tsubasa's budget list.
106	* ThePlan: [[spoiler:Chieri's father is using footage of AKB's exploits to study the Kirara Effect.]]
107	* RecycledAnimation: The routine for "Beginner" is reused later in the series, which could be excused since a dance routine isn't supposed to change but they used the exact same cuts and camera angles. Sae's cockpit scene is repeated at least three times, with one instance showing it upside down for a variation in space.
108	* RedHerringMole: Chieri. Despite her aloof behavior, distance from others, and knowledge that her company created the weapons that the DES were using, she is not a DES spy.
109	* ReplacementScrappy: [[invoked]] [[DefiedTrope Defying]] this is the crux of episode 6.
110	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The Kirara; floating, glowing, baseball-sized creatures that come in a variety of colors whose only features are a pair of beady black eyes.
111	** The Funghis before they grow up.
112	* RunningGag: Everytime Tsubasa shows up in front of fans, she's greeted with shouts of "Mariko-sama!", much to her consternation. Tsubasa was the former Mariko Shinoda, and graduated after Acchan's disappearance to become [=AKB0048=]'s manager.
113	* SecretTestOfCharacter: [[spoiler:The idol trainees' first live firefight against the DES is in fact a mock battle designed to weed out girls who can't handle the chaos of the battlefield, complete with paint used as bullets.]]
114	* SeriousBusiness: Considering idol business is labelled an act of terrorism...
115	* ShoutOut:
116	** The katakana for the name of Nagisa's home planet can be rendered "[[Anime/MacrossFrontier Ranka]] Star", though it's officially spelled "Lancastar".
117	** The DES Ace in Episode 8, [[spoiler: who splashes Takamina]], has a Skull emblem, another shout out to Macross [[note]]Skull Squadron has the reputation of being the best Valkyrie squadron in any Macross incarnation, and has appeared in ''every'' series Shoji Kawamori has created.[[/note]].
118	** The English dub gives Sonata this little gem after infiltrating a DES base and taking down some soldiers:
119	--->'''Sonata:''' ''[[{{VideoGame/Starcraft}} "We're in your base, knockin' out your dudes!"]]''
120	** Visually, the ''Flying Get'' is very similar to the ''Gekko'' from ''Anime/EurekaSeven''.
121	* ShownTheirWork: There's a lot of little touches that diehard fans will appreciate. For example:
122	** Chieri's outfit in her Episode 7 flashback was previously worn by Yuko Oshima for a concert.
123	** Kanata's line of following Takamina to the ends of the universe ("Takamina ni tsuite ikimasu!") was also the title of a tribute concert to Takamina... that was supposed to take place in March 2011. The Sendai quake put an end to that.
124	** They use a lot of the choreography from [=AKB48=]'s stage shows when they're on a proper stage.
125	** The battleship ''Katyusha'' is named after the AKB single ''Everyday, Katyusha''; while the ''Flying Get'' is named after the single of the same name.
126	** On their first appearance on stage, the successors sing "Aitakatta". It was AKB's first major single.
127	* SingleBiomePlanet: If their names are anything to go by, most of the planets shown are this. Tundrastar, for example is an ice world and it's mentioned that Kanata and Sonata are from a desert world, Saharastar. Akibastar, with the exception of the underground city, is a total wasteland as the result of war.
128	* SpaceIsNoisy: While actual music is shown to be coming from speakers, the roar of engines or the sound of lasers and explosions goes through space just fine.
129	* SpaceMarine: The elite DES soldiers who comb the ship for AKB candidates. Clad in PowerArmor, they are really rank and file above their planet-bound counterpart. They are prone to violence. ''They will open fire at little girls'', be it idol or civilian. Yes, that's as terrifying as it sounds.
130	* SpaceOpera: Or perhaps it should be called a "Space Idol Show" instead?
131	* TheSpartanWay: Idol training is pretty brutal. Not only do the idol trainees have to learn to sing and dance, but they must undergo combat and pilot training to defend against DES attacks, culminating in a brutal [[spoiler:mock]] battle against DES forces.
132	* SpiritualAntithesis: To ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. Major spoiler! [[spoiler:The Center Nova phenomenon is basically a daemonic ascension: the person become an immortal entity inside the galactic collective consciousness, and able to magically influence people in the real space. Furthermore, said ascended person become able to manipulate warp transport and goes through solid. But instead of creating vicious cycle of violence and hate like Chaos cults, [=AKB0048=] instead focus on making the world a pleasant place.]] Mari Okada wrote most of the script, and the 'entities of collective consciousness' is also used in another anime in which she wrote the script: ''Anime/BlackRockShooter''.
133	* StealthPun: In episode 3 the rifles used during training are ''[=AK47s=]''.
134	** Is Nagisa and co's home planet called "Lancastar" (as used in the official subs) or "[[MacrossFrontier Ranka]]star" (an IdolSinger from another show directed by Creator/ShojiKawamori)? [[JapaneseRanguage Or both?]]
135	* StormingTheCastle: The entire AKB group storms one of the most heavily fortified Anti-Entertainment planets in order to [[spoiler:rescue Chieri, Sonata, and Yukirin]].
136	* StylishProtectionGear: The group's combat uniforms serve as body armor, though they don't look like it. At one point, Chieri stops a bullet with her ''sleeve''.
137	* TechnicalPacifist: The DES practice this to a certain extent as they aim to capture Idols while the Idols and WOTA practice it completely with even their guns being set on stun and tranquilize.
138	* ThemeMusicPowerUp: Frequently {{invoked\|Trope}} by 00 members. Minami even starts playing music during [[spoiler:the invasion of Akibastar]], because AKB shines the brightest at concerts.
139	* [[TouchedByVorlons Touched by Kirara]]: The real meaning of being a Center Nova. [[spoiler:They retain existence as dimensional apparition, which may or may not be an awful thing.]]
140	* TrainingFromHell: Episode 3 reveals that standard idol training involves some serious heavy combat programs.
141	** TrainingMontage: Including swordsmanship, hand-to-hand against robots, rifle practice, Zero G maneuver training, and broken showers.
142	* UndergroundCity: The part of Akibastar we see is actually underground, the sky is actually a projection from the domed ceiling whose giant frameworks are clearly visible from below. The surface of the planet was ravaged by war, making it dark and desolate.
143	** ElaborateUndergroundBase: And even deeper than that is the temple under the [=AKB0048=] stage where Tsubasa communicates with Sensei Sensei.
144	* UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler:The entire population of Akibastar, after AKB is forced to retreat when DES attacks. Admittedly, considering the DES uses brainwashing and propaganda, it's understandable why. the [=AKBs=] are able to eventually reverse this position; but it takes nearly getting killed in the process by both the citizens and the DES, and graduating from their understudy in order to do so.]]
145	* WarForFunAndProfit: The DGTO's Modus Operandi for banning entertainment is specifically this. They control the resource Dualium which allows FTL, idols attract Kirara which also produces FTL travel power. They started a war to justify that.
146	* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: The DGTO resorts to ''forced child labor'' in order to take care of all of the mundane chores in its bases.
147	* WhamEpisode:
148	** Episode 20, where [[spoiler:Mimori becomes Mariko the 8th and Mikako is revealed as a mole working for Mr. Sono. Also, after finally figuring out the conditions to initiate a Center Nova effect, Mr. Sono orders the DES fleet to mobilize and attack Akibastar]].
149	** Episode 21, where [[spoiler:DES attacks Akibastar in full force, wrecking much of the city in the process. In order to fight them off, Yuko becomes the next Center Nova but disappears (read: self destructed) soon after.]]
150	** Episode 24, where [[spoiler:Chieri is on the verge of reconciling with her father, until he is assassinated by a sniper.]]
151	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never do find out who assassinated [[spoiler:Chieri's father]]. However, this is {{lampshade\|Hanging}}d by Tsubasa pointing out that if the D.G.T.O. were responsible for it, then the full truth will probably never be known.
152	* WorldOfActionGirls[=/=]WorldOfBadass: Asskicking idols and their fans.
153	* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The eponymous group, for the crime of "disturbing the heart". They really ''are'' armed fighters with a political message to broadcast, but they aren't firing at anyone unless they are attacked first. Even then they only deal in non-lethal damage.

Context Anime / AKB0048