Ensemble Stars is a Japanese rhythm game produced by Happy Elements. It first launched in 2015 as "Ensemble Stars! Basic", a game where the player took the role of the producer to guide their idols through the mini--games. In 2019, "Ensemble Stars!! Music" was launched, starting a new year in the main story and introducing the iconic rhythm game aspect.

I started playing Ensemble Stars in October of 2022, not long after the English release of Music. I fell in love with the complexity of the storylines and the realism of the characters. Due to the story covering four years, readers are able to watch characters grow and mature. I must say, I was quite emotional when they announced the new ages for the characters in the next arc—characters I had watched grow from nervous first years are now confident third years guiding the next generation of idols. The game holds a special place in my heart and I want to share it on my website so other people can experience just a tiny amount of what this crazy piece of media is like!

I've always felt that the game was just an excuse to tell the story and I don't think there is any other medium that allows for so many characters to get so much screen time and character development. From April 2024, Ensemble Stars is moving onto the third phase of its story, starting the fourth year within the world. Six new characters have been introduced, forming a new unit, and over the events leading up to this change, many older idols have been phased out.
I do not play on the Japanese server and am skeptical of the fan-translations that make their way through social media networks and as such, this shrine will usually only touch on content that is avaliable on the English server.