Uzuki Shimamura is an ordinary girl who dreams of being an idol, so she goes to a special training school. One day, a producer for 346 Production shows up with the news that she’s one of three girls chosen for the Cinderella Project, even though she didn’t pass the audition the first time around. Uzuki is thrilled, but the project can’t start until the other two members are picked… “P” scouts Rin Shibuya, who he has in mind for the second opening. However, Rin isn’t interested in becoming an idol and turns him down flat…

Uzuki and Rin come to 346 Production for the first time. They meet the final member who won the idol version of a “second chance sweepstakes,” Mio Honda, as well as the 12 other eccentric members, and thus the project can finally start. The first job for the three newcomers is to do a publicity shoot, but their nervousness threatens to derail the whole thing. Somehow, they get through it, and well enough to impress superidol Mika Jougasaki, who suddenly hires the trio to be her backup dancers for an upcoming concert!

Uzuki, Rin, and Mio start taking lessons to train to be Mika’s back dancers. It’s a long, hard struggle, but thanks to the encouragement of the other project members, they somehow make it. But the pressure of being on stage for the first time has stressed the trio out so much that even the final rehearsal doesn’t go well. Will they be able to get it together for the actual concert?

Uzuki, Rin, and Mio have been tapped to film the Cinderella Project's PR video. They go around filming their fellow members on a handy cam, a few of whom are challenging subjects. But after the video is done, P makes an important announcement!

Two units are going to make their debut, one with Uzuki, Rin, and Mio, the other with Minami and Anastasia. They all become busy with lessons to prepare for their mini-concert debut. However, Miku's frustrations boil over dangerously when her own debut can't be seen on the horizon.

Uzuki, Rin, and Mio are the members of New Generations, while Minami and Anastasia make up Love Laika. A mini-concert to promote their respective debut CDs is planned, and the members of both units are preparing with interviews, fitting sessions, and the like. Minami and Anastasia are extremely nervous since it’ll be their first time performing on stage, but they do their best to prepare by working together and training a lot. Meanwhile, the members of New Generations can’t wait to have another onstage experience like they did with Mika. The day of their first concert finally comes, but what do the members see when they look out over the stage?

P fails to chase after Mio when she runs out of the office. This makes Rin and the other project members distrust P's attitude and what he means to do on his own. Then Rin leaves the project too, and it looks like the whole thing may fall apart. P pays a visit to Uzuki, who had the misfortune of catching a cold at this critical time, but her smile and unflagging dream of becoming an idol strengthens P's resolve to bring Mio and Rin back into the fold. Meanwhile, the other members hear about how P became cowardly in the way he interacts with the idols after a past incident...

As summer rolls around, P and the idols become closer, while the project moves along nicely. And for Ranko, it's especially nice, as she gets to make her CD debut next. However, there's a major gap between the image Ranko has crafted for herself and the way P perceives that image. He makes an effort to understand her, and she does her best to communicate with him, but will they be able to reach a middle ground?

Kanako, Chieri, and Anzu make their unit debut as Candy Island. However, Anzu states that she doesn’t want to work. Kanako is laid-back and does everything at her own pace, and Chieri is so nervous about an audience watching her that she can’t look at them. The unit seems iffy from the get-go, but the three of them are invited to appear on a variety show hosted by Mizuki Kawashima and Airi Totoki. Preoccupied by the audience’s gaze, the newly-minted trio has zero teamwork as they face off against three other idols. It doesn’t help when a terrifying “punishment” is announced beforehand for whichever team loses!

The trio of Rika, Miria, and Kirari make their debut as Dekorationt and even do a tie-in with the fashion brand Pika Pika Pop. The unit does fine with a PR event, but P feels they can involve the audience more. While thinking of ways to do just that, the trio takes a breather in Harajuku, but when P gets separated from them, both sides look in all the wrong places for each other. The clock is ticking too, since the next event starts soon, so never mind engaging the audience, Dekoration may miss the whole thing!

Miku Maekawa and Riina Tada are going to make their debut as the Cinderella Project's final unit. However, Miku aims to be a cute, cat-eared idol, while Riina's goal is to become a cool rock idol. The two are like oil and water, and both are strongly opposed to the unit idea. But when their participation in the units-only summer festival is on the line, they make an effort to get on the same wavelength, starting with becoming roommates!

With their participation in the summer fest decided, the project members work hard taking lessons at a camp. But when P has to leave for another duty, Minami is given the camp coordinator role. Aside from performing their own solo unit songs, the members also have to learn a new group song but have a rough time trying to get in sync with each other with the choreography. Seeing them struggle, Minami suddenly cancels the group lesson... and initiates an athletic meet under the guise of a "special program"!

The summer fest is here at last. All of the project members are nervous about performing on the grand stage, but their rehearsals go smoothly thanks to Minami's leadership. But then Minami collapses from accumulated stress. Ranko does an emergency fill in for Minami with Love Laika and somehow, the rest of the Cinderella Project's performances go off without a hitch... until a sudden downpour causes the rest of the concert to be canceled!