Bad Endings in Idol Shine Post Game Are Too Cruel

With the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, several exclusive titles have finally hit the market—among them is Shine Post: Be Your Idol, a game based on the Shine Post multimedia franchise. Previously known through its anime and light novels, this new game brings a unique idol management experience exclusively to smartphones and Switch 2 consoles.

In Be Your Idol, you start as someone inspired by a live idol performance. Years later, financially stable, you decide to launch your own talent agency and help five aspiring girls achieve their dream of performing at the legendary Nippon Budokan—the pinnacle of success for any idol.

But success doesn’t come easy, and the game doesn’t shy away from showing what failure truly looks like.

A Harsh Look at Failure: The Bad Endings Are Devastating

Players who have been trying out the game since its June 5th release are discovering just how cruel the “bad endings” can be. One player shared screenshots of a failed playthrough, where one of the girls, unable to reach idol status, falls into despair.

“Even though I knew we only had three years… just three years… I was such an idiot,” the character sobs.

In this story arc, the player fails to train the girls into becoming professional idols within the three-year time limit. Months later, during a post-failure scene, the girl admits:

“I guess I’ve become what people call a NEET. Maybe that’s just adulthood nowadays, huh?”

The game continues by providing detailed life summaries for the characters who didn’t make it, some of which are surprisingly grounded and painful:

• Aoba is now a college student but regrets prioritizing her idol career over her initial university choice and considers transferring.

• Yawara is planning to return to rhythmic gymnastics, but there’s a sense of lingering doubt.

• Reimi seems cheerful but struggles to find a part-time job.

• Nagi has stopped attending school and appears mentally exhausted.

And yes, your agency can go bankrupt if you mismanage your finances—down to running live shows at a loss, as one in-game screenshot demonstrates.

• Nanami graduated from high school but neither works nor looks for employment, rarely leaving her house.

• Rinka, still in her second year of high school, has already given up on university and avoids contact with adults.

While games like The Idolmaster often emphasize the glamour and optimism of idol life, Shine Post: Be Your Idol pulls no punches. It reveals the emotional and psychological toll of failure, both on the young girls chasing their dreams and on the player, who bears the responsibility of guiding them.

Reactions from Japanese fans on social media range from emotional to reflective:

“Don’t show me such a realistic bad ending for my first group of idols…”

“This is harsher than Tokimeki Memorial.”

“It’s divine. The emotional weight is overwhelming, but I’m still going to play.”

“This is exactly what The Idolmaster chose not to do… and now I need to play this.”

Perhaps the most powerful takeaway came from a comment that speaks directly to the game’s emotional realism:

“If you’re going to produce idols, you need to understand that you’re shaping their precious teenage years—years that will never return. The developers of Shine Post captured that truth.”

Shine Post: Be Your Idol is not just another flashy idol sim—it’s a sobering reminder of how fleeting youth can be and how much responsibility lies in managing real dreams, even in a game. It’s currently available in Japanese for smartphones and Nintendo Switch 2.