It's an issue that's at the moment unrelated to this picture, which shows Ryou in the middle of a very uncomfortable situation. It's hard out here for a trap.
I also thought of Ryou when I heard about this otaku backlash. Ryou (to me) looks more male than female, which is actually pretty surprising considering the culture behind it. Decent design too.
I like that a risk (if you want to call it that) was taken and male idols were added. How many rhythm games do you know that involve a male cast that equals the females?
Is it possible to have a discussion anymore without someone downvoting out of disagreement?
@wigglepuss It was a combination of character removal and character addition. But since IDOLM@STER largely appeals to the male demographic, the adding of male characters is likely the major annoyance.