This is an idol franchise, with actual voice actresses hired for voice work and appearing in real life live shows done at least once per-year; Of course there will be some awesome and memorable songs among the fanbase.
open/close all folders
CINDERELLA MASTER Solos
The "CINDERELLA MASTER" series, when referring to solo songs, is a collection of Image Songs done by the idols that have been selected in the batch for every season they're selected, either by ranking higher (especially considering Top 10s or even the first place) in the yearly General Election or by their appearances in other media like the anime. So far, there are 54 voiced idols who have received their Image Song, but here are some notable examples.
- Kaede Takagaki's "Koi Kaze" is widely considered the best song out of all the Cinderella Girls tracks, if not the entire series. It's often compared to Chihaya's "Aoi Tori" in the original game, a fellow epic and orchestral song composed by the same composer, Go Shiina. The result of the 6th Cinderella Girls Election and the songs election (with both happening at the same time) resulted in an album featuring three variants of "Koi Kaze". One of them, titled "Koi Kaze -Hanaba-", was implemented into Starlight Stage as part of the The New Year 9 Million Live exclusive event. It's as awesome as its original counterpart, ramping its orchestra aspect up. Go Shiina later composed Hajime Fujiwara's solo, "Arakane no Utsuwa," which begins with only piano and vocals, gradually adding orchestra for an emotional crescendo to the chorus.
- Miku Maekawa's "Onedari Shall We~?", a surprisingly good jazz song with a cat theme. Kanako also does a softer rendition of the song in 346Pro IDOL selection Vol.4 album.
- Mika Jougasaki's hit solo "TOKIMEKI Escalate" is best enjoyed live. You will never listen to "TOKIMEKI" the same again after chanting and singing along with the live calls.
- Uzuki Shimamura wants you to "S(mile)ING!". This pop song presents a perfect cute feeling that is Uzuki herself, making anyone who listens to this... smile. The 25th episode of the Anime adds an emotional touch, when Uzuki sings "S(mile)ING!" after her tearful breakdown.
- Nao Kamiya gives you her first solo song, "2nd SIDE", composed by former DJMAX contributor ESTi. The song is uplifting yet so groovy, reminicent of the composer's known works in DJMAX games.
- Syoko Hoshi's "Dokukinoko Densetsu" is BY FAR the hardest song in entire franchise, perfectly showcasing her psychotic side in what could be considered moshing while on magic mushrooms.
- Sae Kobayakawa's "HANAKANZASHI", best known for its "konchikinchin" lines. This is coming from IOSYS lead ARM, the denpa composer for "LET'S GO HAPPY!!"
- "in fact", the image song of Arisu Tachibana, wins many hearts of producers. This is a ballad song that moves anyone who listens to it.
- Shiki Ichinose's "Himitsu no Toilette", aside from being a notoriously hard song in Starlight Stage, is a pretty addicting song from the composer of NiGHTS into Dreams…, Tomoko Sasaki.
- "Kyoumei Sekai no Ontology", Asuka Ninomiya's image song. A Chuunibyou like Asuka needs a cool, epic rock song that deals with "the proof of her existence" (which is her line in the refrain). What's cooler is that a renowned Vocaloid producer, Karasuyasabou, composed this image song.
- "Last Kiss" is an electronic-sounding pop song sung by Miyu Mifune, but what makes it special is her soothing voice.
- "Onna no Michi wa Hoshi no Michi" by Tomoe Murakami, especially for anyone who is familiar with Enka genre. Her delivery is deep and crisp, almost like an midlife adult singing. Keep in mind, Tomoe is supposed to be 13 years old.
- Special mention to former Bandai Namco composer Taku Inoue, who made three CM solos, two of them EDM-influenced:
- Miria Akagi's "Romantic Now", a cute and catchy Rhymes on a Dime rap. It was also performed live by Tomoyo Kurosawa, Miria's voice actress. And oddly enough, it also got a remix covered by Uzuki in 346Pro IDOL selection Vol.1 album.
- Kanade Hayami's "Hotel Moonside" is a memorable banger from the release. It looks like it came straight from a Western EDM dance club.
- "Radio Happy", Yui Ohtsuki's image song, is so catchily upbeat, giving the same club vibes that "Hotel Moonside" has.
- Hajime Fujiwara's "Arakane no Utsuwa" ramps up the orchestral power and gives Kaede's "Koi Kaze" a run for its money.
- Riamu Yumemi's "OTAHEN Anthem" can be summed up as insane and energetic, purely an acquired taste.
- Akira Sunazuka's "#HE4DSHOT" is an energetic, high beat banger that fits Akira's character and really makes you excited to jump out from the battle bus.
Starlight Master Solos
Each STARLIGHT MASTER album includes one (or two) extra single image song sung by idols who have received their first image songs in CINDERELLA MASTER series. Some of them tends to be quite a nice addition, even exceeding the featured song.
- "AnemoneStar" by Rin Shibuya, from STARLIGHT MASTER 01 Snow Wings, is an epic rock track backed with powerful strings, a perfect fit for Rin's personality. The song's title is a callback to the episode 1 of the Anime, in which Rin explains to Uzuki that an Anemone is a flower that symbolizes anticipation and hope.
- "Step!" by Mio Honda, from STARLIGHT MASTER 02 Tulip, exploded in popularity due to certain animated fan clip
. - "SUPERLOVE☆" by Rika Jougasaki, from STARLIGHT MASTER 03 Hi-Fi☆Days, is the definition of who Rika is, bringing an uptempo punk rock that is equally cute and exciting.
- "Nyan to☆Spectacle" by Miku Maekawa has two extremely difficult rapidfire tongue twister sections. In lives, Natsunee pulls it off but gets a bit winded in the second section. Not so in the 6th live duet with Koume's seiyuu, as Chokotan goes through it without missing a beat.
- From STARLIGHT MASTER 6 Love Destiny comes "PANDEMIC ALONE" by Syoko Hoshi. For once, we get to listen to Syoko's non-psychotic side... at least until half a minute in the song, we get to some truly murderous drumming work. You're reading this right. For the rest of the song, we get to witness one hell of a Bait-and-Switch.
- "Takusan!" by Anastasia, from STARLIGHT MASTER 10 Jet to the Future, is very cheerful, contrasting Anya's prevalent slower mellow style she used to. It can be sung to the rhythm of Boney M's "Rasputin"; Exhibit A: the mashup between the two.
- "Neo Beautiful Pain" by Nao Kamiya, from STARLIGHT MASTER 11 Ankira!? Kyousoukyoku. AJURIKA (also a former Bamco composer, similar to Taku Inoue) grooves it out by making a hardcore dance song, topped with Nao's powerful singing voice.
- "Frederica, Neko Yameru Yo" by Frederica Miyamoto, from STARLIGHT MASTER 15 Sakura no Koro, is very catchy, and considered by many as being vastly superior to Frederica's own "Ki-ma-gu-re☆Cafe au lait!" at some extent.
- "Dreaming of You" by Mizuki Kawashima, from STARLIGHT MASTER 16 ∀NSWER, pays tribute to classic Japanese city pop songs, and it's worth listening if you enjoy the city pop genre. Of course Mizuki, an Old Maid idol, would like to sing this.
- "PROUST EFFECT" by Shiki Ichinose, from STARLIGHT MASTER 17 Nothing but You, sounds like a good prog rock song.
- "if" by Kanade Hayami, from STARLIGHT MASTER 18 Mouretsu★Yonaoshi Guilty!, is a departure from "Hotel Moonside". Coming from the composer of "in fact", this song explores Kanade's softer side with a ballad.
- "Watagumo" by Miria Akagi is a beautiful ballad, implied to be a lullaby to her baby brother. After her episode in the anime where she dealt with her issues over being The Unfavorite, it's a wonderful next step.
- "Ginga Toshokan" by Fumika Sagisawa, from STARLIGHT MASTER 19 With Love, is an emotional rock song from the composer behind "Kyoumei Sekai no Ontology". What's even more surprising is how Fumika ends the song: a heartfelt storytelling narration.
- "Private Sign" by Syuko Shiomi, from STARLIGHT MASTER 20 Little Riddle, sounds like a drum'n'bass piece that is a polar opposite to her first Japanesque rock solo song, "Ao no Ichibanboshi".
- "Yume no Kyrie ~Ochiru Hoshi no Shirabe~" by Ranko Kanzaki, from STARLIGHT MASTER 26 Bi ni Iri Sai o Ugatsu, hits like a truck when the choir backing gets augmented by heavy drum lines. Its reff is headbang-able.
- "to you for me" by Arisu Tachibana, from STARLIGHT MASTER 27 Vast world. Just as her voice actress, Amina Satou, bursts into tears everytime she sings "in fact" live on stage, she also cried while singing this song in the 7th LIVE. It helps that it lyrically continues what's left from "in fact".
- "Ai no Sanka" by Momoka Sakurai, from STARLIGHT MASTER 29 Crazy Crazy, is a major step up and a massive 180-degrees turn from her previous solo, "La Vie en Rose", in a good way. The violin solo gives a good vibe that represents Momoka's elegance.
- "Sunny Drop" by Yui Ohtsuki, from STARLIGHT MASTER 32 Undead Dance Rock, follows what "Radio Happy" has: an addictive yet slow-paced EDM-sounding song to dance to, despite being helmed by a different composer (Seibin note , who composes "Palette").
- "Blessing" by Kaede Takagaki, from STARLIGHT MASTER 34 Sunshine See May. After the great success of "Koi Kaze", Kaede returns to her glory with this Fusion-inspired song with orchestral elements. Kaede even hits the high note during the chorus part!
- From STARLIGHT MASTER GOLD RUSH 12 we got "Hibi Adventure Nano Deshite" by Yoshino Yorita. Like Yui's Sunny Drop before, it flips the character's image around by showing the jovial and cute side of the normally calm and demure Yoshino's singing voice in a fast and upbeat rhythm that won't left your ears after listening.
Group Songs
Group Songs cover General Election albums, "jewelries!" albums, and other group songs under the "CINDERELLA MASTER" branding.
- Among group songs, "Absolute NIne" is a powerful yet still catchy song sung by the top 3 idols in each type for the 4th Cinderella Girls' General Election. note
- Among the jewelries! series of albums, "Nation Blue" (Cool jewelries! 001, performed by Rin, Kaede, Ranko, Minami, and Riina) stands out amongst the rest of the Cool jewelries! selection and, to a lesser extent, the jewelries! selection. This song is basically the theme song of the Cool types of the original mobile game. If this sounds very trance-y to you, AJURIKA wants to say hi.
- "EVERMORE", a song commemorating the 5th Anniversary of Cinderella Girls (originally performed by Asuka, Ranko, Mika, Miku, and Shiki), is ten times more powerful than Absolute NIne, and you might want to sing along in tears. The 4th LIVE rendition of this song gets WAY better, since it was performed by (almost) every voice actress who performed in the 4th LIVE.
- 2018 kicks off with a big fan surprise, "Trust Me", the 7th General Election's group song, sung by three of each idol from differing types who ranked high during the election, including the newly voiced Kako, Hikaru, and Hinako. Just take a listen of the short version included in the game, and it's the first chart that allows nine units at once in an MV.
- On a more slow note, the 5th General Election's group song "always" has lyrics basically Thanking the Viewer for their support. Understandably, this is a Tear Jerker song for longtime fans.
- Doubling as awesome music for the franchise as a whole, "VOY@GER" is an image song and MV sung by the representative of each IDOLM@STER franchise ranging from the OG-mas to Shinymas. The Cinderella Girls version is sung by Minami, Syuko, and Hayate, gives you the cool and upbeat side of the song.
- The 10th annual election winner group song "Kiseki no Akashi" is a soft, slow paced group song primarily led by Fumika, its winner. You can feel her character with all the lyrics she sung, which is more apparent in her solo version.
- The 10th Cinderella Girls election Milestone Celebration ends with the equally glorious "Koko Kara Mirai e!", sung by the first 10 Cinderella Girls that won the 10 electionslist of winners complete with the triumphant orchestratic piece in the intro.
Anime songs
Songs originating from the original anime adaptation, the 4-panel comic anime adaptation, and the Spin-Off! short listed here.
- The first season opening, "Star!!" is an awesomely catchy opener. "SAY☆Ippai", indeed. note But then comes "Shine!!", the second season opening, giving a much better opener to the anime, and it gets a bit emotional when listening to the full version of "Shine!!".
- "Memories" by LOVE LAIKA. Similar to 2nd SIDE, ESTi knows his best when making a dance tune. Even better when the song is closely resembling DJMAX-era ESTi.
- "-LEGNE- Adanasu Tsurugi Hikari no Shirabe" by Ranko's own alias Rosenburg Engel. The title of the song looks very Chunibyou-ish, and the song is a gothic rock, fitting Ranko's evil eye Chunibyou.
- Dekoration's "LET'S GO HAPPY!!" is a catchy, fast-paced denpa-styled song brought to you by a certain denpa composer from a certain denpa circle.
- Candy Island's "Happyx2 Days" takes the cute cake, specifically, Anzu rapping over the other two's singing.
- "Trancing Pulse", Triad Primus's song in their live performance in episode 22, is widely considered to be one of the best songs, not just in the anime, but also in the entire franchise. Probably owing to the fact that, apart from the catchy, melodic tune, Rin, Nao, and Karen's voices harmonize well with one another in that song.
- "Rockin' Emotion" by Natsuki Kimura has the first honor to receive an image song before getting her Cinderella Master release. It's catchy and spiritful, enough for Riina to take cues from and aspire to.
- "GOIN'!!!" is Cinderella Project's equivalent of "Jibun REST@RT", performed in episode 13 of the anime.
- Asterisk's main song "ØωØver!!" was so good it upped the awesomeness with its Heart Beat rock remix in episode 19. Similar to "First Step" (Yukiho's image song in iM@S 2), Riina and Miku's seiyuu also wrote the lyrics (making it a team effort in real life as well as in the show).
- Anya's new image song after she joins Project Krone, "Nebula Sky", is powerful yet calming, as the lyrics and the delivery show her resolve for a challenge after leaving the group and working as a solo artist under Project Krone.
- "Nagareboshi Kiseki", new generations' second unit song in the second season of the Anime, is dramatically better than generic-sounding "Dekitate Evo! Revo! Generation".
- The magic grand finale song of the anime that is "M@GIC☆". It's ten times better than "GOIN'!!!", guaranteed.
- "Kira! Mankai Smile" proves that Cute type songs aren't always "that" generic. Thanks to its genuinely catchy lyrics, and with five popular Cute idols to back with (Uzuki, Miho, Mayu, Momoka, Anzu, no wonder), it easily became one of the most popular Gekijou ending songs, even if it was the first ending song for the short series. It helps that the source inspiration of the music is the early portrayal of idol music in the late showa era.
- "Etude wa Ikkyoku Dake" is the second ending for the Gekijou and represents the Cool idol, using elements from old ballad (Showa Kayo) instruments in their songs proven to be effective enough to allow non Japanese-speaking countries to relate to the music. Case In Point
- "Oumuamua ni Kouun o" from CINDERELLA GIRLS Spin-Off! short is a defining prog-rock-styled tune that is exciting and powerful. What a nice start for Risa's voiced debut.
- Among the CinGeki endings, "Kimi no Stage Isho, Honto wa..." especially stands out as something that could plausibly be mistaken for a classic Nogizaka46 song. (It certainly helps that the lyricist/composer, Shunryu, has experience as a composer for AKB48 and SKE48 under his belt.)
Starlight Stage originals
The songs exclusive to Starlight Stage stand out as well:
- For its ear-worming wordplay, excellent fast-paced jazz backdrop, and mildly suggestive theme, "Tulip" by LiPPS managed to be one of the fan favorites from the first year of the game.
- "Jet to the Future" performed by ROCK THE BEAT (Riina Tada and Natsuki Kimura) has become a fan favourite from its first appearance in the game with its very catchy rocky tune. The fans preferred the M@STER version over the game cut, for some reason.
- "Ankira!? Kyousoukyoku" is a song about ankimonote and Anzu's desire to eat one. The song feels like Kirari and Anzu's interaction between each other, almost as if they're not singing on stage, and it's very catchy.
- "Inochi Moyashite Koiseyo Otome" has a sizeable fan following for its traditional antics.
- "Kawaii make MY day!" from Yellow Mellow (Yuka, Yukari, and Noriko) is, as the title implies, cute. Its earworming vocals and instruments are really cute, making it one of the well-received cute songs in Starlight Stage.
- "Souyoku no Aria" is a collaboration of well-known Chuunibyou duo, Ranko and Asuka, who finally got recognised and received their own duet event song. Many praise it for its drama, expanding a bit of Asuka's character writing as someone who wanted to be understood and acknowledging the flaws in her way of thinking. The song itself is a fantasy-themed idol rock song that surpasses the dark power that is either "LEGNE" (Ranko) or "Ontology" (Asuka).
- "Trinity Field" is another song by Triad Primus, and it really, really rocks! Some might argue that this is even better than the previous "Trancing Pulse".
- Taku Inoue strikes back with a well-known song, "Crazy Crazy" by Lazy Lazy (Frederica and Shiki). The song prides itself in future bass roots, resulting in an instant hit among many fanbase.
- Mysterious Eyes (Kaede and Kanade) has a brand new song, "Pretty Liar", proving that sultry imagery is better in pairs.
- "DecoBoco Speedster" by duo unit SugarSugar☆Mi$n (Nana and Shin) is very fast, very catchy, and very, very chaotic (that's an understatement), and it's all about speeding.
- "Palette", the second unit song by the cute-attribute triplet known as P.C.S. (Uzuki, Miho, Kyoko), is a fast-paced, cute swing song, a huge upgrade from their previous song "Love Letter". The Cute attribute has just got another good song.
- "Fascinate" by Chitose and Chiyo from VelvetRose is a surprise addition coming from two new surprise idols, approaching the harder side of metal rock that is the Djent genre. You read that right, Djent. In an Idol Rhythm Game. Of course this is Cinderella Girls, where every music genre (including Hard Rock and Electronic Dance, or any genre that other idol franchises rarely use) will be explored through the power of Idols.
- "O-Ku-Ri-Mo-No Sunday! by the Hisakawa Twins (Nagi and Hayate, also known as miroir), an addicting, funky, and groovy electro-pop song, becomes an instant hit, and this is coming from two new idols consisting of twins.
- Dimension-3's "Babel" is a hard-banging EDM song that is also a ridiculously hard chart note . Asuka and Shiki seems like a powerful duo, just like fellow Asuka's unit Dark Illuminate.
- "Secret Daybreak" by Dea Aurora (Kanade and Minami) has a familiar Karasuyasabou's stylish feel, resulting in an emotional, yet resonating event song.
- There's one song that rivals or even trumps "Dokukinoko Densetsu" in terms of hardness... Two words. "EVIL LIVE". Try to play it ingamewarning while resisting the urge to headbang.
- "Secret Mirage" by Yukari and Sae really catches the romantic upbeat feel of the 90's instrument; it'll remind you of lost age's anime openings.
- Enter "Red Sole" by flamme martini, a quad group of Hajime, Miyu, Syoko, and the recently voiced Tsukasa accompanied by a classic jazz that ends in a long instrumental outro. It showcases some of the singer's deep singing voice in a different environment they were known to be, like Tsukasa and Syoko for example, the latter being known for a hard grinding metal lyrics and almost screaming voice.
- "Home Sweet Home" stands out for being one of the longest song in the Cinderella Girls franchise, since it's essentially a 9-minute long, whimsical and haunting musical. Halloween does come early this year after all. Each idol has their own solo version with different lyrics from each of their own perspective.
- Following COOL song after Red Sole is "Ochiru Kajitsu" by Fortuna Regina, a duet unit between Ranko and Chitose that culminates in a slow and atmospheric gothic intro that let you know how you should proceed with the song, until they threw it all out of the window once the chorus hits and turns it into a gothic rock that progressively goes faster and faster until the very end. It has to be seen to be believed.
- "UNIQU 3 VOICES!!!" is the trio song of the trio of new idols that got popular over the years; Akira, Akari, and Riamu, and it combines all of the idol's respective musical theme into an energetic, fast-paced harmony that solidifies their bond throughout their story working with the production.
- The game’s anniversary songs deserve a mention, especially the second and the third one. note
- "Illusionista!", the second anniversary music is cheerful and soft, complete with its cool carnival theme that will stuck on your head for quite a while. It doesn't help that the 2nd anniversary event is a vast improvement over the first one.
- But the gem for the best belongs to "GIRLS in the FRONTIER", done exclusively for the game's third anniversary. It's powerful and triumphant, rivaling the likes of "Absolute NIne" and "EVERMORE". The 3D MV emphasizes this even further by utilizing past stages and flashback clips from previous event songs in Deresute (the flashback scene at the beginning shows events that appeared during the second year of the gamenote; meanwhile past event song stages include STORY, Love Destiny, Tulip, With Love, Little Riddle, and Souyoku no Aria, all in order). It earned the #1 spot in the 10th anniversary concerts' top 30 songs for good reason.
- For the fifth anniversary, we got "Go Just Go!". Featuring a carefree, summer-themed jingle with a catchy tune to cheer up your mood, along with an animated MV special for advertising the game. The best part about the LIVE is that the idols will change their outfit midway through the song (only if you put on the default 5th anniversary outfit though).
- The 6th anniversary opens up with "Seikansekai", showcasing the game's VFX to its peak (assuming that you didn't look it from the other way) and a headbanging techno/trance arrangement to accompany your day. Just like Go Just Go!, they also created an animated MV for it, and it's as visually stunning.
- The 7th anniversary forgoes the explosive visual effects and cinematography of the older anniversary event in favor of more sweet, cheerful, and fast paced song and choreography in form of "MOTTO!". The song will stuck in your ears like a worm that you'll beg for more, just like the lyrics!
Covers and Collaborations
Occasionally, Cinderella Girls do a collaboration with non-Cinderella Girls musicians or any other media franchises where the idols cover a song that was sung by that musician or included on that medium. Usually they were featured on the Starlight Stage bonus chart that you can buy from the in-game jukebox.
- "Kurenai" by X Japan is already an awesome music on its own, Syoko's cover on it managed to ramp up a crapton. With its blazing fast Power Metal instrumentals, you wouldn't be playing the chart without headbanging. It would almost come as no surprise when this came near the end of the Glowing Rock concert, complete with pyrotechnics.
- From the Cinderella Girls x Key collab, there's "Tori no Uta", the main theme for visual novel AIR, covered by Kaede Takagaki. It was covered once by Chihaya Kisaragi of the OGMas fame, but Kaede's softer and more mature delivery were comparable to the stronger and sharper delivery Chihaya did.
- There are four cover songs for the Cinderella Girls x DJ KOO collab (all of them are TRF songs), but the one that stands out the most is "Overnight Sensation ～Jidai wa Anata ni Yudaneteru～", covered by Takumi Mukai. With that catchy tune and DJ KOO's own slick, it really makes you feel like living in the bubble era again.
- "Harmonics", from Million Live! Theater Days, is one of the songs for the collaboration between Cinderella Girls and Million Live!; This one is Starlight Stage side of the collab. Rock the Beat team up with Million Live!'s D/Zeal (Shizuka and Julia) to make an amazing rock song a thousand times better. On the other side of the collaboration, Million Live had a collab version of "Crazy Crazy" sung by Lazy Lazy alongside Cleasky (Elena and Miya). Like Harmonics, having a collaborative cover of an existing iM@S song means it's something else (in a good way).
- From the Haruhi Suzumiya collab, both Riamu, Yukimi, and Nana perform the series' own staple "Hare Hare Yukai" in a speedy choreography and very catchy tune, accompanied by a DLC skin exclusive for those three idols only. From the same collab, Karen performs "God Knows...", the iconic Insert Song from the anime adaptation. Karen lilted voice provides an unique spin of the mostly rocky tune of the original.
