oooooooh the kerel liking anzu backstory! I've been asked this quite often back when I was still using tellonym, and i'm pretty sure i've described it in pieces but not the whole thing! to be honest, i can never fully articulate the right words to describe how it happened, when it happened or my exact feelings. I think I've been holding off on answering questions regarding why i like anzu so much because i know i might have more to say later, but i'll give it a try!

Warning: VERY RAMBLY and unorganized since i'm writing this as I think! Beware of typos and incorrect grammar!

i just think anzu is such a cool and interesting character! I need to sit you down with me for a second and just really think about anzu.

i kinda like supporting underdogs or characters that people don't normally pay attention to, and for me anzu really fit that bill. think about it, she's an MC that most fans overlook and just project onto, but there's so much going on for her. so much personality and development written between the lines that it's crazy. i saw that even before the anime in 2019, a few people have already dubbed themselves anzu fans either because of knowledge from engirls or from genuine support on where her story would go. even i remember when I binged the anime after all the episodes aired (couldn't tune in weekly so I waited instead) i vaguely remember looking fanart of her specially while watching (there was a bunch of new ones from people who watched the anime and celebrated her appearance, but overall it was still mostly art from people who has their own "anzu" designs y'know?)

she's the silent protagonist of enstars, who has a simple yet cute design! I love how she looks like every protagonist ever (simple brown haired girl) yet somehow still so unique? the light blue eyes makes her stand out, and the stand-out strand on her hair gives her a cool silhouette that the designer clearly added to make her stand out (i say designer, but i meant the storyboarder who doodled her often when the anime is airing, which i assume they may have designed her too because of how they worded their tweets and their evident affection for her :)) visually i think she fits in with the rest of the cast quite well (which is why I get annoyed when people see a brown haired girl and say "omg i thought that was anzu" like no??? there's so much more to her design than just brown hair???? and tbh her hair is bordering auburn or burnt sienna imo????)

speaking of fitting with the cast, she has a backstory and personality that makes her fit in so well with everyone! she doesn't feel like a normal girl thrown into a wacky world of idols, but a weird girl who has found a place alongside other weird people (which is EXACTLY the explanation used for her brother Tenkousei-kun in engirls, which just blows my mind because everything was planned and well-executed in my opinion). she's silent and a bit of a doormat due to her experiences in Kimisaki; she just wants to help her friends in any way she can because they've inspired her so much. her gratitude and affection manifests in the extreme hardwork and dedication she has for the idols. i think being able to read her perspective from the novels really helps to understand her mindset about how much guilt she feels from Kimisaki and how much she's become saved by the hand outstretch to her by Trickstar in Yumenosaki. she isn't very assertive, but kindly reaches out to others if she ever finds someone alone or in need of help as seen in multiple instances in EnGirls and EnStars. she doesn't talk much, but when she does she uses her voice to say important things (like what mao said). People naturally gravitate towards her because she's the kind of person who is interested in others and loves to care and listen to them. But at the same time she's also silly, goofy and can be mean sometimes too, just as she's always been in Kimisaki. She likes drawing and doodles to the point of spending most of her time in her old school and club activities drawing, and now doodling goofy characters in her proposals and notebooks. she's always been a creative one, with her art and sewing being prevalent in Kimisaki and becomes useful to her when she goes to Yumenosaki too. I think I remember even Akira making a tweet during EG's run that Angie(Anzu) is so cool and op. She has her own tastes that can be read in the text, such as liking muscles, little brothers, big sisters, dressing guys in cute and doll-like clothes. She's hardworking to a fault, and that just shows how much she loves the idols and how she wants to give them the very best that she can. Like she was a "slacker" in Kimisaki, but clearly she works very hard when it comes to the things that interest her, which makes her a terrible student but a great producer!

She has unique relationships with the idols, to the point where many people find any fanservice weird in the context of Anzu, who respects her seniors and adores her juniors to the point where it's hard to take seriously. I remember new engstars players tweeting in frustration over Hiyori saying that the Producer(aka Anzu)'s favorite unit is Trickstar, because it goes against their personal preferences. I remember MadaraPs frustrated that his minitalks for a while weren't in the Producer(aka Anzu)'s POV, because at the time there was friction between them. It's another instance of Anzu's personality and preferences leaking out, which goes against the desires of the players (because of course, we're playing as Anzu. Anzu is Anzu :))) Other players have put their story name as "Anzu" in acknowledgement to her as the Producer. Her close bond and undying support with Trickstar, her business partnership and rivalry with Ibara, her immense respect and admiration of Keito, her adoration of the muscle-head idols like Kuro or Jun or Madara, her indescribably complicated relationship with Madara, her sisterly bond with Arashi, her protectiveness over the younger idols she sees like her younger brothers like Hajime, Tori or Mitsuru, and etc. are all so good!!!!!! It makes me almost feel bad for any yumejins whose tastes and preferred relationships with the idols are in contrast to Anzu's writing (because there are.... I've seen them... they aren't happy.....)

I think a lot of the way Anzu is written is just so cool and meta as well???? like think about it. NiceP says that she couldn't "see her color" when he reviewed Anzu's proposal. he couldn't see her personality and interests at all in her work. Not only is this a jab at how she represents the player so of course there isn't too defining about how she's written, especially in Era !!, but it feels like Akira is acknowledging that Anzu is stretching herself too thin to the point where she is no longer "Anzu" but is just "Producer". In the beginning of Era !!, Anzu is asked by Eichi to have everyone refer to her as just "producer" due to the environment they are now in, and she obliges despite it clearly making her feel separated from the idols in multiple occasions. Even Madara, who said he'll always call her by her name due to their bond, eventually switches to Anzu as well. Of course stuff like that depends on the story and writer, and of course they have to keep saying "Producer" for the sake of the players, but it really does feel like we've lost "Anzu", just like what NiceP had implied (we don't know where her arc is going now and it's clearly not being touched on too much in the tours so maybe it's supposed to be across more stories or a meta callout). Of course she's still there, duh every time we see the producer it's always going to still be Anzu, but like what @ATMforTKS mentioned in one of their analysis, it's only really Akira and Kinosei who is writing the same Anzu we had in EnGirls. All the newer writers seems to have the "self-insert" protagonist in mind, which if you imagine it in-universe is like Anzu really degrading herself to just the role of a producer.

Actually, most things about Anzu is just so cool and meta. The way she's a side character from the predecessor game who not only /constantly/ haunts the narrative in that game (oh if you saw my anzu activity breakdown doc you know she's mentioned A LOT), but also becomes the protagonist of the spin-off successor game??? Amazing???? how Anzu's name "Angie" (and pretty much her entire character in general) wasn't conceptualized by Happy Elements and was decided by Akira himself, and she was born through the efforts of the writers (Akira in a tweet mentions that all characters, main and background, were conceptualized by HappyEle before being given to them to expound, except Anzu who was made due to the necessity within the story) and that's so cool!!! It's like she's someone they didn't expect but she's constantly fighting and proving her existence (the fans who erase her & happyele who wanted a self-insert protagonist versus anzu and the writers who constantly saying "look at her!! that's their producer!!). And then there's things like her quiet and silent personality, which IRL is because she's a protagonist that's meant to represent the player, but in-universe is perfectly explained??? she's never been assertive and talkative, and was even known in Kimisaki for being a slacker who stays quiet in the back of the class, but all becomes even worse after transfering from Kimisaki, which even Rei points out that her demeanor can only be explained by terrible experiences. She was part of a failed revolution in Kimisaki, which makes her passion and drive to help Trickstar in their revolution make so much sense, and their success even extra satisfying and cathartic when you realized it's truly a victory for all five of them. She failed once, but was finally able to succeed with her new friends.

Plus even her arrival in Yumenosaki has backstory, she wasn't just some random girl who got thrown into a new world out of nowhere for no reason like what others may think. Kimisaki wanted to get rid of the students who were causing trouble, Yumenosaki wanted a capable, smart and intelligent girl who can be their test subject for the Producer Course, fulfilling their need for a female student for their future co-ed switch and a producer for the idols in one go. Anzu hears of this and immediately jumps in at the opportunity, not even really thinking about it because of how desperate she was to transfer, which is convenient for Kimisaki and Yumenosaki (although she probably wasn't the girl they expected, but they still got the capable producer they wanted in the end). Just reading the opening pages of the novel, how anxious Anzu was to enter 2A and how she's already given up hope of her school life because of how she fears everything will go the same way before being blinded by the light that is Subaru's idol aura MAKES ME FEEL THINGS!!!!!! the hurt she feels when Trickstar gets broken up, because of her past experiences MAKES ME FEEL THINGS!!!!

My inner "support the unpopular character" thing really kicks in remembering how Anzu never belongs wherever she goes. She couldn't find her footing in Kimisaki Academy, and just as she finds her friend group they all got bullied by the student body, hated by the teachers, and had to transfer out. In Yumenosaki, at first she's in the Idol Course where she gained lots of friends! but she's still the only female student and only producer, plus everyone was pretty vile to her in the beginning. In the next year, the Producer Course has been established! there are so many underclassmen producers who are both male and female! But, they don't like her because of how close she is with the idols, they think she's intentionally monopolizing them and think they are better than her because a lot of them enrolled under a recommendation. In Ensemble Square's Producer Association, Anzu has lots of co-worker producers and media practitioners! But they are easily willing to throw her under a bus and kick her out just to hide how easily their authority overseeing SS was easily taken by a third party, and is very willing to ruin her reputation to be able to do so. BUT THAT'S OKAY SHE'S INDEPENDENT NOW SHE'S OUT OF ES WOOOOOOOOOOOO. In real life, Anzu has lots of fans! But most people, especially those who came in from EngStars (although it's always been prevalent even before that... I would know... I experienced it...) only consider her to be a "self-insert protagonist made to be projected onto" and confidently disregards her existence without knowing her personality, history, backstory, and character arcs. SEE??? ANZU ALWAYS LOSES!!!! when i see a character like that, it makes me want to support her even more! to give her all the love that she deserves but doesn't get!!!! AND I WILL GIVE IT ALL TO HER!!! even if i am the only audience!!!!!

Knowing Anzu's story from EnGirls and putting that together when reading EnStars makes everything feel sooo complete in regards to Anzu's feelings and actions, I cannot stress that enough. I genuinely can't imagine anyone taking Anzu's place as the female student who enrolled as the producer. Everything went the way it did because it was "Anzu" who walked through those doors. Anzu, with all the emotional baggage, skills, and personality that she brought with her. It was because Anzu had that kind of dedication, diligence, loyalty, kind-heartedness, creativity, talent, trauma, and desperation for a revolution, just as much as Trickstar did, that she was able to become a capable producer who helped all the idols rise to the top. When I see EnStars OC producers meant to "replace" Anzu, I usually close my eyes hahaha I just can't imagine anyone else in her place, I feel like they don't understand how she ended up there and why she's perfect as the original transfer student and producer.

But I think it's also important to know where I came from before this. You see, I've always known of EnStars and just peeked at it everyone now and then, but I didn't really jump into it until 2020-2021. Around that time, I was into "My Next Life as a Villainess" or hamefura :DD It was one of my main starting points into getting into otome isekai mangas / rofan manhwas you see! One of the most mind-blowing parts when I first got into the manga and novel was Maria Campbell's backstory. The fact that she, someone who I and Katarina alike just knew as a kind and sweet protagonist of the otome game, was actually someone with a deeper backstory that givesan explanation to their personality and mindset. Maria becomes more than just a "otome game protagonist" and becomes her own person in the eyes of the readers, and eventually Katarina herself. It wasn't a new concept, protagonists who have a full backstory isn't something hamefura invented or anything, but the way it was presented was so good. The way the story makes you feel comfortable through Katarina's persepective to just see Maria as a kind, sweet and talented heroine to be wary of, before unpeeling the layers and shows that she's way more than that, made me feel things. I think I felt something similar when I learned more of Anzu's story too, and I feel like maybe I wouldn't be so crazy about Anzu if I didn't consume that type of media first, where characters (usually a villainess or supporting character FL) see a "heroine" as more than just what their titles makes you expect from them (whether it'd be good or bad parts of their personality and story).

Anzu became way more than just a "self-insert protagonist" and is a full character independent of the player, whom I want to support just as much if not more than the playable characters in the game.

Man, I know I haven't written enough and there's still much I can say in terms of EnGirls x EnStars content, and I didn't even go deep into her CHARACTER ARCS!!! and individual RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE IDOLS!!! and more of her CHARACTER QUIRKS!!! AND HER FAMILY???? I mean there's still time until her birthday, maybe I can articulate my thoughts properly by then? Maybe you can ask me the same question after like 3-4 months and I can give you a better answer once I group my thoughts better and add everything I forgot :DDDD Hope this is good enough for now (>.<)