This is the list of characters from The Idolmaster game franchise.
765 Production
765 idols The primary characters in The Idolmaster are affiliated with 765 Production, described as a small, independent talent agency based in a small office. In Million Live!, it is depicted as a much larger talent agency, even having its own theater.
Million Live! archetype: Princess Haruka is an all-around ordinary girl and is considered the face of The Idolmaster. She has enjoyed singing and baking sweets ever since she was a child, despite the fact that she seems to be quite inept as a cook in general. She is easily excited and somewhat clumsy, admitting that she habitually trips at least once a day. That said, she always tries to stay positive and keeps a strong resolve, always working the hardest to make the Producer happy. Even though her character image color is red, Haruka actually tends to be a bit partial towards the color magenta, if not pink, which is Iori’s image color. Haruka is best distinguished by the ribbon bows on her hair. Apart from her dream of becoming a famous idol, she’s very grounded in her roots and is comfortable just having work in general, as well as spending time with her fellow idols. Haruka is close to the other idols, but she is the closest to Chihaya Kisaragi, whom she helps overcome her past.
Million Live! archetype: Fairy Cool and serious, Chihaya has the greatest enthusiasm towards music and the greatest natural talent of all of the girls, earnestly believing that if she were no longer able to sing, she would rather die. She does not very much care for the title "idol" though, preferring to refer to herself as a "vocalist" instead. Chihaya enjoys listening to classical music, and often spends her time all by herself, giving a nature of maturity around her, though she is really awkward when it comes to communicating with others. Despite her age, she has the smallest bust among the 765 Pro idols and is very conscious of it whenever she sees other girls with bigger busts, especially Takane and Azusa. Chihaya has a tragic past, namely that she lost her younger brother to a car accident eight years ago, causing her to blame herself for whatever happened that time. This also led to her parents’ divorce, driving a wedge between her and her parents. She overcomes her past thanks to her friends, and after that whenever she comes to her friends, she is quite cheery, but still isn’t very expressive. Chihaya is the best friend of Haruka Amami.
Million Live! archetype: Princess A terrible crier, Yukiho aspires to become an idol in order to help shed her cowardly disposition. She is afraid of dogs – even chihuahuas seem threatening to her – and does not do well with men either. Having grown up in a strict, traditional Japanese household, Yukiho’s drink of choice is tea, preferably green tea. Among her hobbies is poetry, especially writing haikus, but she is too shy to share her poems with anyone even once. Though her image color is white, she tends to be partial to the color "Baby Blue". Whenever she is depressed or scared, she has a habit of running off, exclaiming she will go "dig a hole and bury myself in it." Sometimes, she takes it literally, grabbing a shovel and digging a hole until someone tells her to stop. Yukiho is Makoto Kikuchi’s best friend since childhood. In 2010, Yukiho’s original voice actress, then known as Yurika Ochiai, resigned from her role, citing death threats against her that also forced her to change her name. As a result, she was replaced by Azumi Asakura from The Idolmaster 2 onward.
Million Live! archetype: Angel Yayoi is a bright and cheerful girl who cares for her family very much. Due to her father’s occupational status uncertainty, her family is quite poor, as indicated by Yayoi’s plain clothing, which she has actually had for a very long time. To earn extra money, Yayoi often does cleaning and other odd jobs around the 765 Production office building, and continues to do so even after she debuts as an idol. Fittingly, she is highly energetic, never wanting to let the weight of the world crush her spirit. Yayoi is the oldest of six siblings and is often the one who looks after her siblings, but also wishes she had an "older brother" type around to look after her. Yayoi is very close to Iori Minase, despite having vastly different backgrounds.
Million Live! archetype: Fairy The cool, smart-girl type, Ritsuko believes in theory more than her own inner strength. Originally an intern working at 765 Production after graduating from high school, due to a lack of girls scouted by 765 Production, Ritsuko decided to become an idol herself. Ritsuko’s family consists of herself, her mother, and her father. Her parents share the same traits as Ritsuko – being business-like and hardworking. They also own a small shop in town. Despite being an idol, she still has one hand in the business side of her own celebrities’ life, and is quick to chide the Producer if she thinks he is not doing his job correctly. In The Idolmaster 2, Ritsuko becomes the producer for the idol unit Ryūgū Komachi and ties her hair up. She’ll tie her hair in braids again when using a Ryūgū Komachi costume in the game. In the anime, she is a semi-active idol who became a producer for 765 Production, and ties her hair in braids for the concert in episode 18. As of Platinum Stars, Ritsuko is now a semi-active idol in 765 Production.
Million Live! archetype: Angel The oldest amongst all idols in the game, Azusa’s personality is best described as one of kind-hearted, airheaded "big sister" type. She is very easygoing, but has an incredibly terrible sense of direction, which becomes subject of a running gag – whenever she is walking all by herself, she will end up in a strange, distant place, with no idea of how she got there or how to get back. Her airheaded personality is shown when she thought of Hibiki’s hamster as 'a valuable thing', making her attempt to put him inside an inn room safe. Azusa also enjoys giving and reading fortunes, and has a firm belief that she will one day fall in love with "someone destined for her". One of her motivations for becoming an idol is, in fact, to someday find her true love. In The Idolmaster 2, Azusa cuts her hair short (which was originally long) and makes an idol unit with Iori and Ami called Ryūgū Komachi. In the anime, Azusa still has long hair at the beginning, but later cuts her hair short after she joins Ryūgū Komachi.
Million Live! archetype: Fairy The daughter of one of the associates of the 765 Production president, Iori is a spoiled rich girl who flaunts her family’s wealth. Although she speaks in quite a polite, refined manner on stage and in public, she has a very sharp tongue and is quick to berate other people’s intelligence or attitude, especially the Producer. Probably because she was raised with two older brothers, Iori has grown up with a strong competitive streak, and thus rarely shows any weaknesses. However, she does have a much softer side that she shows from time to time, making her personality that of an archetypal tsundere character. She is sometimes seen carrying around a stuffed rabbit with her, which she named "Usa-chan" (also known as "Charles Donatello the 18th" in the anime). Despite being such a spoiled brat from a wealthy family, her best friend is Yayoi Takatsuki, who happens to be much poorer than her. In The Idolmaster 2, Iori makes an idol unit with Ami and Azusa called Ryūgū Komachi. She also changes her hairstyle, leaving a bang of hair out of her hairband.
Million Live! archetype: Princess The tomboy of the group, Makoto is popularized as the "pretty-boy idol" within 765 Production. As a result, she has accumulated more female fans than male ones, becoming the cause of her psychological complex and a running gag at her expense. She is usually seen in sporty outfits and was already very popular among her fellow students at the all-girls school she attends, and her current work as an idol does not make the situation any easier for her. Her father is a famous race-car driver and had wished for a son instead, so he raised Makoto as a boy. Even though she is not ungrateful of her popularity, underneath her gruff, boyish exterior, Makoto is actually an honest, sensitive girl who wishes to make herself more feminine. Therefore, unbeknownst to her father, she decided to become an idol in order to find a way to a new, more feminine presence for herself and to show others that she can have a girly side as well. She is also shown to be friends with Yukiho Hagiwara, who is much different from her as far as personality is concerned. As of The Idolmaster 2, Makoto grows her hair longer and parts her bangs in the middle, and she is also revealed to be a skilled mixed martial artist.
Million Live! archetype: Angel Ami and Mami are a pair of playful identical twin sisters who make a two-girl singing sensation. Ami and Mami both enjoy doing impressions and teasing their co-workers, though Ami is said to be more fun-loving than Mami. The only way to tell the two girls apart is through their hairstyles – Ami ties her hair to the left, Mami to the right – otherwise, they are identical. They use this to their advantage by switching their hairstyles and both performing as idols, but only underneath Ami’s name. In The Idolmaster arcade game, the only people who actually know that Ami and Mami are twins are fellow members of 765 Production. By the time of The Idolmaster 2, the public has come to acknowledge the existence of the twins. As a result, Ami makes an idol unit with Iori and Azusa called Ryūgū Komachi. In the anime, the twins are already produced as separate idols.
Million Live! archetype: Angel The other half of the Futami twins, Mami is available to produce as a solo idol from The Idolmaster 2 onwards. As the twin sister of Ami, Mami has many similarities to Ami in terms of personality, but is described as more mature and a little more obedient in comparison. While the original arcade game implies that Ami is the older of the twins, the Xbox 360 game hints towards Mami being the older twin, which seems to have been the case since then. Also in The Idolmaster 2, Mami extends her ponytail longer to further differentiate herself from her sister, and she often worries that she doesn’t get as much work as Ami due to the time they spent as an idol under the same name.
Project Fairy Project Fairy is an idol unit introduced in The Idolmaster SP, produced by the rival 961 Production. The unit was specifically created with its three members having different specialties so that they harmonize perfectly with each other. As of The Idolmaster Dearly Stars, the members of Project Fairy have become part of 765 Production.
Million Live! archetype: Angel Introduced in the Xbox 360 game, Miki is a natural, talented girl who feels that she has rarely had to work hard for anything. Because of this, she is pretty lazy and always approaches tasks with a very laid-back personality. She manages good grades with minimal effort and boasts natural good-looks that belie her age, but she can sometimes become an annoyance to others because of the quirky nature she sometimes exhibits. She even receives about 20 confessions of love from boys everyday. Raised in a very laissez-faire family, Miki’s parents don’t see any problem with her becoming an idol. While she doesn’t really have cruel intentions, she believes like everything else, she can make her way to become a top idol easily. Miki also loves onigiri, and can be seen sleeping all day when not doing anything else. Her catchphrase is "Afuu", which she utters every time she finishes yawning. In the Xbox 360 game, Miki is in some way the main character besides Haruka, and her character has developed considerably over the game’s year-long time span. If special conditions are met in the game, she cuts her hair short and no longer dyes it blonde.