"Lemon Angel Project" is a thirteen episode Japanese anime drama that is also considered slice of life. It all revolves around a Japanese pop group called Lemon Angel which was an all-girl group consisting of five members. However, the group broke up under mysterious circumstances. The members ended up vanishing without a trace as well. It was supposed to be the greatest girl group in all of Japan. However, people have still wondered what happened to the original members. A music producer decides to hold auditions for a new Lemon Angel group. This is where the title of Lemon Angel Project comes from. In a sense, this is like Spice Girls mixed with anime.
The series itself is directed by Daisuke Chiba.
An average high school student named Tomo Minaguchi is pretty oblivious to what’s going on. However, she is soon approached to audition for Lemon Angel. She can come off as pretty insecure, anxious, and pretty noisy. In the beginning, it turns off several people that Tomo comes across. That includes her teacher Yui. It is also revealed that Lemon Angel members are merely holographic images created by Yui. Tomo becomes aware of the secret as she looks around the music studio. It becomes evident on how the first Lemon Angel group had vanished.
However Tomo along with Saaya Yuki, Erika Campbell, Fuyumi Sakakiba, Miru Nagisa, and Miki Suwa make up the new Lemon Angel group dubbed as "Lemon Angel: Act II."
With Lemon Angel being the greatest all-girl group in Japan, it is very reminiscent of "S1MONE." The movie itself had starred Al Pacino. A model named Rachel Roberts ended up with the part of S1MONE that is pronounced as "Simone." This was short for "Simulation One" which was a computer program created by a man named Hank who was portrayed by Christopher Meloni. There are plenty of things in Lemon Angel Project that mirrors that of S1MONE.
Lemon Project was merely an artificial intelligence created by Yui. S1MONE was merely a limited AI created by Hank. Al Pacino’s character very much had to control Simone’s actions. In the series, the new group is chosen as the images for the next Lemon Angel Project.
Lemon Angel brings the interesting premise on how a popular group could be merely a holographic program. As it’s popular, there are bound to be leaks. It explores how girl-groups are merely a dime a dozen. The series also explores the ruthlessness of record labels and how they mainly want to gain money without caring of the well being of their artists.
It’s a very down to earth anime but at the same time shows how competitive and cutthroat the music industry can be in terms of boy and girl groups. However, Lemon Angel Project still has a very interesting story. This is a perfect anime adaptation of the audition and rehearsal process that many aspiring singers go through in order to join a girl group.
This is very much an anime series that should appeal mostly to the female audience. However, there’s not an English-dubbed version available. It’s unknown if or when a company such as ADV, Ocean, or Funimation will acquire the North American license for Lemon Angel Project.