Dropout Idol Fruit Tart

Illustration by Feel

***Dropout Idol Fruit Tart*** (おちこぼれフルーツタルト, *Ochikobore Furūtsu Taruto*) is a 12-episode, late-night anime adaptation of the manga series of the same name. It was originally scheduled to premiere in July 2020, but due to COVID-19, it was delayed to October 12, 2020.

A special advanced debut of the first episode aired on September 25, 2020 on AT-X.

## Plot

*Dropout Idol Fruit Tart* follows Ino Sakura, a first-year high school student who travels to Tokyo with dreams of becoming an idol. There, she moves into a dormitory-style house for entertainers known as "Nezumi House," and befriends Roko Sekino, a formerly popular child actress, Hayu Nukui, a musician, and Nina Maehara, a model. When Nezumi House is threatened with being torn down, the girls quickly form a new idol unit called "Fruit Tart" and attempt to challenge the entertainment industry in order to raise funds to protect their home.

## Setting

As with the original manga, the series is primarily set in Koganei (小金井市), a city within Tokyo where the headquarters of the show's animation production studio, *Feel*, is also located. The last names of each character represent the actual districts in Koganei, such as *Sekino-cho* (関野町), *Kajino-cho* (梶野町), and *Nukui Minami-cho* (貫井南町). On June 4, 2020, *Dropout Idol Fruit Tart* was introduced during a regular City Council meeting, where the discussion centered on using the series to help promote tourism in Koganei.

The city distributed cardboard panels of each of the characters across the city outside various stores and restaurants, where fans can visit and make certain purchases to obtain a postcard. The panels were originally scheduled to appear between October 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021, but was eventually extended to February 14, 2021. As of February 9, the panel display and postcard promotion was once again extended to March 14, 2021.

In addition, a special "Mouse Festival 2021" event was announced on February 12, 2021, and lasts between March 7, 2021 and the remainder of the month. On March 7, a live performance by the main cast was also scheduled at the Koganei Miyaji Musical Hall.

## Characters

While the last names of each character represent Koganei's districts, the first names each phonetically spell out the Japanese poem, "Iroha," based on the order the characters are formally introduced (first line: "*Iro ha Nihoheto*" - **I**no, **Ro**ko, **Ha**yu, **Ni**na, **Ho**ho, etc.).

This same order is also used in their birthdays, where each character has a birthdate that falls on the same number in months and days - starting with Ino (4/4), Roko (5/5), Hayu (6/6), etc.

## Production

See Also Cast Recording Report
The manga was adapted by Studio Feel, which is located in the same city as the series' setting (Koganei, Japan). Dialog recording was handled by Studio Mausu, with sessions beginning as far back as early-March 2020. Although the series was set to air in July 2020, it was announced in June that the series was postponed to October 2020. Production would continue to progress during the summer, requiring staff to wear masks as they work.

Much of the designs retain the author's trademark style, which feature many description panels on-screen and characters occasionally drawn in "ghost shapes." Comparing the artwork, much of the anime designs resemble the manga author's earlier work in the series. Anime character designer Sumie Kinoshita admits the biggest challenge for her in adapting the manga was picking which volume to base the anime designs from, as there is a noticeable shift between the author's designs in Volume 1 and Volume 4. The pacing for the series is around an episode for every three chapters.

*Dropout Idol Fruit Tart* was featured in two episodes of *Tamura Atsushi's Amazing Anime Seminar*, where the animation studio was featured while developing the anime in June 2020. A series of YouTube mini-episodes of the series were also produced, which features the cast members interviewing each other.

## Staff

* **Original Work** - Sou Hamayumiba
* **Director** - Keiichiro Kawaguchi
* **Series Composition** - Keiichiro Kawaguchi, Takahashi Tatsuya
* **Character Designer** - Sumie Kinoshita
* **Color Design** - Sari Tagawa
* **Director of Photography** - Fumi Nanba
* **Editor** - Rumi Maruyama
* **Sound Director** - Ryousuke Naya
* **Music** - MONACA
* **Sound Studio** - Studio Mausu
* **Animation Studio** - Feel

## Episodes

Following the gag in the manga, each episode eyecatch will feature characters in the order of the poem, Iroha

1. Episode 1 - "We're off to Higako!" (Ino)
2. Episode 2 - "A Rocking New Semester!" (Roko)
3. Episode 3 - "Our First Concert!" (Hayu)
4. Episode 4 - "A New Face!" (Nina)
5. Episode 5 - "Could be a Stalker?" (Hoho)
6. Episode 6 - "The Pervert Appears!" (Hemo)
7. Episode 7 - "I Need to Go... Record?" (Tone)
8. Episode 8 - "Super Awesome Curry!" (Chiko)
9. Episode 9 - "Diuretic Effect!" (Riri)
10. Episode 10 - "Dance and Shine!" (Nua)
11. Episode 11 - "Look at Us!" (Rua)
12. Episode 12 - "Dropout Graduation?" (Oto)

## Broadcast

The following are terrestrial UHF broadcasts for the anime, which consist of three independent stations in two regions:

* **TOKYO MX** (Tokyo Region) (Begins on October 12 and airs every Monday at 10:30PM JST.)
* **KBS Kyoto** (Kansai Region) (Begins on October 14 and airs every Wednesday at 1:00AM JST.)
* **Sun TV** (Kansai Region) (Begins on October 12 and airs every Monday at 11:30PM JST.)

In addition, the series has both a premium channel and satellite broadcast:

* **AT-X** (All Regions/Pay TV) (Broadcasts on October 12 and airs every Monday at 9:30PM JST)
*\*Reruns on Wednesday at 1:30PM, Saturdays at 5:30PM, and Sundays at 10:30PM.*
*\*First episode debuts on September 25 and airs at 11:00PM.*
* **BS NTV** (All Regions/Satellite TV) (Begins on October 15 and airs every Thursday at 12:00AM JST.)

## Trivia

* While discussing the anime at a September 4, 2020 Koganei regular City Council meeting, City Council member Kishida Masayoshi jokingly asked Mayor Nishioka if he had read the manga yet, to which the mayor replied that he had read the first volume.
* Hoho's voice and cadence in the next episode preview sequence is a clear homage to the long-running animated series, *Sazae-san*.
* The hosts of the *Amazing Anime Seminar*, Mukai "Tenshin" Seitaro and Atsushi Tamura, were given the opportunity to voice random fans attending a Fruit Tart concert in episode 9. Both recorded two original lines, "Do you feel that aura?" and "That's the new girl, isn't it? Amazing...", respectively, during filming in June 2020.

## Gallery

Anime Key VisualTVアニメ「おちこぼれフルーツタルト」第1弾PVAnime PV田村淳の超！！アニメセミナー -11Studio Feel/Ochikobore Fruit Tart "Amazing Anime Seminar" Feature (June 2020)First episode eye-catch referenceKinoshita's rough sketch of Nina Maehara
## References

1. ↑ Crunchyroll - Comedy Idol TV Anime Dropout Idol Fruit Tart Postponed From July to October Due to COVID-19. Published June 10, 2020.
2. ↑ 本会議 R2.6.4 10:00-11:59 (Relevant section: 26:14 - 37:19). YouTube (June 4, 2020). Retrieved on August 16, 2020.
Although recorded prior to the series' postponement, the clip shows Koganei City Council member, Kishida Masayoshi (right), bringing forward an initiative to use Dropout Idol Fruit Tart as a means to start fan pilgrimage sites in the city. After introducing the characters with the first volume of the manga on hand, Masayoshi brings forward suggestions to implement the plan and highlights the benefits for tourism, using the city of Oarai as an example with their success with *Girls und Panzer*. Back-and-forths are exchanged between him and the head of the Citizens Affairs Department (off-camera), as well as city mayor, Shinichiro Nishioka (left).
3. ↑ Kogaani Tweet.
4. ↑ [1] Official Tweet.
5. ↑ Manga Time Kirara Carat, November 2020, Pg. 15
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 田村淳の超！！アニメセミナー#11. YouTube (October 2, 2020). Retrieved on October 5, 2020.
7. ↑ 本会議 R2.9.4 13:01-15:06. YouTube (September 4, 2020). Retrieved on September 4, 2020.
8. ↑ Atsushi Tamura's Tweet. Twitter (November 30, 2020) retrieved on December 1, 2020.