Genjitsu No Yohane: Sunshine In The Mirror

At this point, I have resigned to the fact that the Love Live franchise isn’t going to die. Why am I even concerned since I’m not a huge big fan? Yeah, got to keep milking dry those fans and keep them cheering on forever these idols of yesteryears! Heh. So while the Nijigasaki team is still relevant today and the Superstar franchise going to have an unprecedented third anime season, what about the old ones? Like Aqours? Still remember them? Are they still around? Yeah. Now they are. But instead of making the boring story of down to earth plot of saving their school or any other realistic narrative, the only way to spice things up is to turn the whole thing into fantasy! You mean like taking those idol girls and giving them fantasy roleplaying roles? Yup. But how? Oh yeah. If you remember in Aqours, we had a member who is highly delusional AKA chuunibyou. Ah yes. So it’s the perfect excuse to create a spinoff via fantasy theme using the Aqours name. And so here we are, Genjitsu No Yohane: Sunshine In The Mirror focuses on our chuunibyou girl as she returns to her hometown after failing to make it big in the city. Of course with the support of her friends, she’ll slowly realize the meaning of life and get back on her feet. And yes, some magic!

Episode 1
Yohane attends an audition. Even telling her big dreams in the city of Tokai. Well, she failed! Then she gets a call from mom. Forgot her birthday is today, huh? Yohane requests to send some money but mom rejects her and reminds her why she left her town 2 years ago. It was to become some big star, right? And how is that coming along? Yeah… Mom then wants her to come back because she needs to leave for some work. Yeah, Yohane has to take care of the house! This will be perfect chance for her to think about her future. And so Yohane reluctantly makes her way back to her little town of Numazu. She’s mad nobody welcomes her back? Hey, you’re a nobody! Only her talking dog, Lailaps welcome her back. Lailaps knows she doesn’t want to come back here. Yes, she admits to it since she has no good memories of the place nor friends. So is Lailaps not her friend? Well, she considers this guardian doggy as her sister. How sweet. So as they go around town, many recognizes Lailaps but not Yohane. Yeah, who are you? Except for Hanamaru. Suddenly a strange eerie vibration rocks the place. Hanamaru explains nobody knows why it keeps happening and it seems that has affected their fruit harvesting too. But everyone decides to stay positive and carry on. Yohane goes off as Lailaps wonders if she should’ve talked more with Hanamaru. As Yohane is indifferent, Lailaps notes why she left Numazu in the first place since it has nothing for it. Yohane has no intentions of staying and doing some small time job here. Sad. Lailaps brings her to a huge tree stump in the forest. Remember this place where she used to sing and dance? She always looked like she was having fun. This makes Yohane even sadder as she starts to realize herself as a failure. Hanamaru disagrees because she often watched Yohane singing and dancing and it gave her the motivation to go into baking that she loves. She wants to see her sing and dance again. Time for Yohane to put on her idol worthy performance. Once that is done, it must have been so magical that a wand pops up for her! Happy Hanamaru gives her some sweets as thanks. Lailaps notes that Yohane has also enjoyed talking with Hanamaru and she should be more honest with herself. Yohane herself admits she has not felt this enjoyment for a long time and it makes her happy. So she thinks her talents are finally blooming? Lailaps thinks she barely passed. Yohane can’t use any magic but she can still scare Lailaps with her phobia of bugs!

Episode 2
Since it’s boring, Yohane wants to leave. Lailaps: Do you have money? Okay then, time to work. And so Yohane becomes a fortune teller. Still waiting for her first customer… Then a few kids come by to ask help find their lost ball. Not paying? No service! Next is Hanamaru. I guess Yohane doesn’t want to entertain her so she closes the shop. That’s good too because Hanamaru wants to bring her to meet a few people! So Yohane meets Chika who works at an inn and Dia who is the boss of Numazu’s admin bureau. At the end of the day, Yohane is unsure if she can handle so many people. Then she notices Hanamaru making lots of money from selling her sweets. Hanamaru says that working isn’t all just about money. Yohane is now torn about everything. Should she leave town with nothing? Obviously not because that won’t feel right. Yohane is soon happy as she gets her first real customer. Riko is a zoologist and wants to ask some questions about some animals. So as Yohane gets ready her stuffs, yeah, pretty impressive ‘magic’ setup. All for show. But as Yohane figures out about Riko, all her answers are wrong! Even getting today’s weather wrong too! Oh my, is she a scam. Riko would love to leave now but spots Lailaps. She wants to research this animal and will pay any amount. Tempting at first but eventually Yohane won’t sell her partner to her. Riko apologizes for her rudeness when those kids return with some money. Still not enough to help them find the lost ball? And when other townspeople seek Yohane’s help, oh well, can she turn them down. So yeah, Yohane is now an errand girl, doing everything at their request. In the midst of it, finding those kids’ lost ball. At the end of the day, Yohane seems fulfilled as she thanks Hanamaru for introducing her to other people and listening to her song. That night, not sure why Yohane is wandering around in the woods. Didn’t Dia warn about not doing so because of dangerous creatures? Unless she wasn’t listening. Mysterious fog envelopes the place as Yohane gets trapped. WTF who these strange people coming to her rescue?! Million Dollar who?!

Episode 3
Yeah well, Million Dollar is Chika and her sisters from the inn. After freeing Yohane, they confide in their boss (their mom) about what to do with those monster deer. As the deer are innocent and under some evil influence, they must not hurt it. Meanwhile Dia has received the same reports so she and her fairy sister, Ruby make sortie. Is she some kamen rider? Dia also kicks ass but it seems Chika is not her ally as both have differing views on how to solve this. They would’ve continued to be loggerheads had not Yohane tell them they should be working together. They put aside their differences and we can see the miracle in teamwork as they save the day. Or night. Everyone thanks Yohane for her help as Dia continues explaining that she knows something is happening in Numazu but the people have ignored their warnings. That is why the bureau is trying to tackle this from the shadows. As for Yohane’s power that she derives from the staff, since she too is unsure about it, they suggest to go see the Demon Lord of Warshimer Island. So they head to this underwater fantasy and meet the Demon Lord who is no other than Mari. It seems she is not fond of being called so. Asking about the staff’s powers, Mari believes that power is her resonance. She might be able to save Numazu. Though, Yohane is sceptical about that. Yohane hopes the town will be peaceful as she plans to stay here longer. However Mari has already noticed and could hear Numazu screaming but yet the people hasn’t noticed it. Perhaps those who can hear are children and animals. According to the legend, this world was once flowing with heart but it began to stagnate and that’s when the dark powers start to grow. This will eventually bring calamity to the land. Yohane wonders why Mari can’t save Numazu herself. She attributes her weird appearance but Mari doesn’t think so. Those horns make her look cute and after talking to her, she knows she’s a good person. Wow. Such kind words. Mari sends her off with a gift. Lailaps praises Yohane for making friends (with a Demon Lord nevertheless!) but Yohane can’t help notice her being lonely.

Episode 4
You is here to deliver a letter for Yohane. It’s from mom. Figured out the answer to her homework yet? Oops! She forgot! For some reason, You has Yohane help deliver her mails. You’re getting someone unauthorized to do your job?! Is this even legal?! Oh heck, as long as they have fun. Part of the fun is taking a pair of makeshift wings as they fly to Kanan’s island home to deliver the mail. Yeah, got to do it in style. They also meet Tonosama who is a mechanical frog made by Kanan and a very intelligent AI. As Kanan is the recycling queen, she collects junks to be recycled. She receives the letter from kids wanting to repair the swing at the park which has broken down. So everybody gets down there to fix it but Yohane is screwing up a lot. Obviously she’s having some confidence issues so Kanan put it this way. Look to the future. Don’t see a rundown swing. Envision the kids having a good time playing on it and thus it makes you glad you work hard to fix it. In the end, it is fixed and everyone is happy. Yohane hopes to find the answer to the homework but everyone wants to chill first. WTF Yohane dives straight into the sea?! Yeah, cue for their music video. Now Yohane feels at home and really loves Numazu. Just don’t forget these feelings.

Episode 5
Yohane goes to see Mari again who then shows her an old book handed down by generations. Can’t read the language. It mentions about the fate of this town but I guess it is all cryptic language and something to do about resonance. When Mari learns about the symbols on Yohane’s staff (more pops up the more friends she makes), this makes Mari sad. Something about she swore never to go back to that town again after leaving as a child. When she gets anxious she can hear those awful sounds of the people. Yohane leaves also sad because she can’t find a way to help her. Yohane then sees Dia who has received many warnings from Mari before any bad incident happens. Dia wanted to see Mari but was always refused. She will try to help her as much as possible. Yohane then talks about this with Kanan, You and Ruby about being different. Ruby can relate since as a fairy she was scared at first but after taking that first step, she wasn’t anymore. Yohane returns to talk to Mari again but she asserts she doesn’t need friends. Yohane doesn’t like the sad way she talks and assumes things. Stubborn Mari stays adamant to be alone forever until Yohane talks about herself being in the same shoes until she starts making friends. Then everything started changing for the better. Mari remembers always crying because she could hear thoughts. But father told her to use that power to help those in need. Mari decides to believe in Yohane and follow her through town. Still nervous as her horns attract attention, but with Yohane around, she gets by. But soon it gets too overwhelming for Mari as she could sense and hear all their stares and voices. Yohane then tells her to close her eyes. Then open them again and the whole world will be different. She does so and now she sees everyone being amazed with her. Everyone is also grateful about her warnings as Mari puts up the nicest smile ever. So she can smile like that too. After meeting with Dia, Yohane brings Mari to her tree stump. She is about to sing for her when lightning strikes! So God doesn’t want her to sing?!

Episode 6
The girls start screaming. Oh wait. It’s just Riko. Damn, they scared each other. Anyway, she is investigating the strange behaviours of animals in Numazu since they are more sensitive to humans. Too bad she can only speculate. Including if this resonance thingy is the cause. Marin explains a little about such in the legends that has happened numerous times. This could be another one of this incidences. They head to Dia to find out more about the town’s history. Dia praises Riko for her research but still scolds her for doing such things alone. Riko seeing Ruby for the first time, wants to examine her?! Almost caused an accident there. As the girls leave, it seems Riko isn’t going to stay here and is leaving Numazu tomorrow. So yeah, everyone feeling gloomy about this. Next day, Yohane and Mari see off Riko. Riko feeling bad about this because she is an outsider? Mari understands because she too was an outsider in her own town until Yohane reached out to her. Similarly, Yohane too didn’t open up until recently because everyone treated her kindly. Cue for Riko to explain why she doesn’t make friends because her parents would move often and just when she gets close to someone, it’s time to say goodbye. Therefore the logic of not getting involved with others so as not to feel lonely. Until she met a lost dog. They become friends for a while until the dog found its owner. Then it’s back to being lonely again. She ended up reading and interested in researching animals and thus travelled all over but never stayed long. So by this logic, the reason she is leaving. But Yohane has heard her heart and now she understands her. Cue for Yohane-Mari duet. So they continue to hang out as Mari thinks resonance is everyone’s feelings she can’t hear. There is someone who can sing it as a song and fill the world with songs. That song will resonate in the hearts of many and make the world whole again. Perhaps such people have disappeared from this town a long time ago. Because of this, Yohane thinks her song can be of help. All this has made Riko changed her mind so she is now staying. Power of friendship. Dia suggests to deepen their friendship in order to work more effectively, they’re going to have a girls’ night.

Episode 7
Unsure what to do on a girls’ night out, Yohane goes to ask others since she is put in charge of it. So, basically everybody has their own stuffs they wish they want to do, huh? Luckily Dia will take care of the accommodation so Yohane is free to concentrate on that. We see her putting in all the effort for 2 weeks. Hope she is having enough rest. Then on the day of that meeting, everyone arrives. Uhm, Ruby in normal human size? Yohane hands out her thick hard handmade programme to everyone. Too bad everyone starts doing their own thing. Then they want to hear Dia sing and Dia has even reserved a stage for her. All the stress causes her to pass out! Look what you all have done! But don’t worry, she’s just tired. When she wakes up, she apologizes but everyone feels guilty because she worked so hard for this. Lailaps is also here to help provide moral support for them. Lailaps talk to Yohane that she doesn’t need to push so hard and take it all upon herself. It is okay to ask others for help. Yohane admits doing so because she wants others to acknowledge her. Yohane returns and they start it all off by making sweets. They have more fun for the rest of the day and oh boy, Yohane never knew it would be this fun doing things together. Because now she feels stupid for trying to act tough and leave Numazu. This is her place of birth and has always been here. With that, she doesn’t want to sing along but with everyone. Nobody actually thought of that and think it is a good idea. Let’s do it!

Episode 8
The festival in Numazu is in full swing. We see everyone having fun in experiencing it as well as those who are stationed at their jobs. Yohane then gets dragged into a man a takoyaki stall. Others would love to help but they are busy with their own duties. Can Yohane keep up with the orders? Oh man, this is tough! Eventually with all that practice, she gets used to it and is somewhat a pro. Luckily she gets help from the local kids so it’s not all that bad. The stall owner thanks her by giving her a free box of takoyaki. All that hard work for 1 lousy freebie?! Oh well, it tastes good. Then as Yohane and co go round having their fun, soon Yohane realizes she has lost her staff. Panic sets in. She can’t sing without it. Hence everyone goes into high gear to look for it. Oh damn, using high-tech surveillance cameras and even handing out posters?! Have you seen this staff! This is serious. So when everyone comes back emptyhanded, they ask Yohane to remember hard when she last seen it. Basically, she left it on the float. So they stop the parade just to search it?! Wow, everyone must think something is wrong. Is there a bomb? As they cannot find it, Lailaps tries to calm Yohane down. Maybe she can sing without it. But Yohane snaps back at her and even blames her that she was supposed to look out for it! My, my. Lailaps then freaks out upon seeing a bug. But this helps pinpoint the missing staff. It’s right there in the bird’s beak of the float! OMFG!!! WHERE WAS EVERYONE LOOKING IF IT WAS HIDING IN SUCH AN OBVIOUS PLACE???!!! Footage shows she left the staff near some ponies. They ‘fought’ over it until the girls playing the shooting gallery, spooked them and it flew into that beak. Wow. After Yohane apologizes to Lailaps, now everyone can sing their song to close the festival. So is this official? Aqours is back as a whole?

Episode 9
It has been a week since the festival ended and Yohane is lazing around doing nothing. Lailaps asks her next move but I guess she prefers to laze around. She’ll think about it later. Lailaps then leaves since today is some important day. Curious Yohane goes to tail her and sees a few different sides of her helping the townspeople. Of course Riko and Ruby are also observing Lailaps so they continue to tail and observe Lailaps interacting with others. But soon they lose sight of her. And as they go in round in search, rumours then start to spread that she is missing or kidnapped. Yeah, Dia even initiates the entire town to help look for Numazu’s treasure! It’s really a big deal! Yohane is at the outskirts of Numazu and finds this place familiar. It is the place she first met Lailaps when she was young. Yohane notices a kitten stuck on a tree and going to fall. She tries to save it but luckily Lailaps is here to help before an accident happens. Yohane and Lailaps talk as the latter knows she was being followed. Then they reminisce about this place where Yohane first met her when she got separated from her mom. Yohane begged mom to keep Lailaps and she agreed after setting some conditions. Thanks to that, she got close to her. Lailaps also reveals she made a promise to mom to keep an eye on Yohane till she grows up. So today is a special day as it is the anniversary of their meeting. Yohane continues to talk about all the experiences and fun she had here and it’s all thanks to her. When Lailaps is about to reveal something about her magic, the rest has found them as Yohane happily joins them.

Episode 10
Yohane realizes she loves singing but can’t find herself to commit to it. Well, maybe this one can. Because a judge from the city has seen her performance at the festival. She is thrilled and gives her an invitation to an audition in Tokai. While it is a great offer, Yohane still has doubts. But soon word goes around that Yohane will be going to Tokai to become a big star. To a point where Dia personally summons Yohane and thinks she will be representing Numazu on the big stage! Because of that, she has arranged for a special party to send her off. Yohane continues to have doubts, especially everything being turned into a big deal. Then she heads to the location where the party is. Still unsure? Can’t blame her, she thinks she can still fail. But her friends ask if that is a bad thing. She might have failed the last time. But she came back and polished herself up. She is better than before. That night as Yohane practises what to say to mom, Lailaps wonders if she can make it if she still sounds this nervous. Then she drops the bombshell that she will not attend the party or follow her to Tokai. If she wants to be independent and make it on her own, can’t always rely on her, right? Though, this leaves Yohane very confused. On the day of the party, Yohane gets a lot of well wishes from the people. Then it’s her turn to give her speech. The usual how she failed at first but returned to Numazu and the incredible friends she made. But she also rants about Lailaps not wanting to see her off. She sounds so sad. But suddenly Lailaps returns. She says the party is over and warns everyone to run. Too late. The calamity strikes. The place turns into some haunted zone? As everyone evacuates, Yohane is told Hanamaru is missing. Looking for her, it seems she can’t leave her pet boar who is too scared to move. And then a monster pops up…

Episode 11
Well, deer monster is scared off easily but boy, it’s damn fast! However Yohane is not impressed. She faults herself as the cause of it. Unheeding to Lailaps’ advice, she throws away her staff, believing it to be the source of all the misery. Now she’ll go back being magicless. The morning after, Yohane stays in bed and remains depressed. Her friends visit but she is in no mood to see them. She is also done with the audition and be going. She even tells off Lailaps if she doesn’t want to tell what happened that day, it’s fine. It’s not like her heart can take it. While the rest are discussing about the calamity, they can’t help worry about Yohane. They still believe she is very much needed to get through this. So how? Maybe they can continue the party. A party to cheer her up. Dia and Ruby continue their patrol. It’s that monster again but Lailaps chases it off. But doggie isn’t done yet. She dives into the river to retrieve Yohane’s staff. Oh, it’s still there? Oh wait. Now the current carries it away! Swim doggie, swim! Meanwhile Yohane gets a surprise as her friends show up and usher her to the inn. They give her the best treatment and service before putting up, uhm, clumsy performance? I don’t think it’s part of the script. But Yohane still isn’t happy. She feels she has no right to accept their kindness. Yes, that same self-loathing talk that she can’t do anything. Of course her friends say all the positive things and they are all doing it because she is their friend. And Yohane can’t forever be gloomy so she picks herself up and gets her groove back. Remembering she said something mean to Lailaps today, the rest cheer on her to go apologize. Yohane makes her way but where to find her? Oh, here comes Ruby that something has happened to her. She’s got the staff but on the verge of death from the stunt. So dramatic. Maybe she’s just overly tired?

Episode 12
I guess the calamity is getting bad so the whole town is evacuating. Lailaps is in the care of Riko and although still unconscious, her condition is stable. A young girl soon shows up filled with anxiety because her friend is missing and they had an argument. Don’t worry, Yohane will go look for her. She does find her but as she approaches her, some power knocks Yohane unconscious. Cue for snippets of how she met Lailaps. All the times they spent together till Yohane left for Tokai. The friends find her so she is safe and so are those young girls. But at this point, Lailaps is missing. Uhm, wasn’t Riko keeping an eye on her?! As they look for Lailaps, Yohane starts to remember more of their past. Especially when she wished she could talk. Because that day Yohane botched in her talk and felt she didn’t want friends anymore. All she needed was her. And then it’s like some magic as Lailaps was able to talk, much to Yohane’s happiness. All great times until Yohane told her she wanted to go to Tokai to become a singer and be famous. A worried Lailaps asked if it was the right thing because she feared she might end up hating singing. But Yohane got mad and felt puzzled why Lailaps wouldn’t support her dream. Their relationship strained until the day Yohane left Numazu and Lailaps wasn’t even there to see her off. Yohane realizes Lailaps is. Yes, she is at the tree stump, the place where it all started. The big revelation is that Lailaps is actually a part of Yohane. Hence that is why she is like her mirror. Lailaps explains her insecurities as he watched Yohane grew, she feared she wouldn’t be needed anymore and that’s why spoilt her as a child to make her feel needed. But after all that, Lailaps realizes she herself is the one who needs to grow up. Lailaps have now come to accept this day has come as Yohane now has her own friends to support her. This means the magic spell will be broken. Now we see Yohane singing a farewell song for Lailaps. Thank you, Lailaps and goodbye.

Episode 13
A recap about the legend that brings calamity and only the resonance will be able to bring the happiness back to the people. So now the calamity has engulfed Numazu that nobody can leave. Everybody is doing what they can. Where’s Yohane? She’s going to confront the core of the calamity. By singing! And yes, she won’t do it alone but the rest of her friends. So as they put up the greatest idol performance ever, apparently the calamity is not impressed and zaps them. Yohane trapped in some bubble. Her mind in some unconscious state. But she hears the voice of Lailaps and her friends so she revives. Yes, the singing continues and this time it is able to defeat the calamity and bring back the sunshine to Numazu! In the aftermath, we see Numazu being rebuilt. Everyone helping out with it. Yohane? Well, she’s singing alone and she’s already made up her mind to stay here forever. She realizes going to Tokai was just venting out her frustrations. She thought she had to live up to everyone’s hopes but it’s not the case. She’ll try to find something only she can do that is fun. Let me guess. Singing, right? And of course she is not doing it alone but all her friends also want to sing together with her as it brings everybody together.

Keep On Walking On Sunshine: Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone
Yeah. It was that simple in defeating the calamity, huh? Just sing your heart out. That’s it. When the world is a song that is obviously the only thing to do. In a way, making it feel like this calamity thing is like one big celestial idol fan because the only way to appease it is to do an idol performance! Holy sh*t! Do you not think so?! But yeah, I guess it is better than sacrificing virgins by ripping their hearts out or throwing them into the volcano! So yeah, the calamity being appeased and satisfied like an idol fan seems to be a way better solution. Sunshine through my window/ That’s what you are/ My shining star/ Making me feel like I’m top of the world/ Telling me I’ll go far…

So the story is still pretty basic and nothing extreme. Well, at first I have this thinking that if they were going to make a fantasy theme, they might make in such a way that Aqours will be on a journey to go slay the Demon Lord and protect the world from his tyranny and evil. Yeah. Something like that. But I forgot this is Love Live so it’s not going to go that far. This means it is still somewhat an idol or music genre although laced with some magic and fantasy elements which of course I feel that it is quite mild. After all, idol genres are already magical themselves, no?! Yeah, I’m thinking hardcore fans will find their favourite idols to be magical in the first place! In fact, the calamity here felt so mild because no animals that were affected by it were even killed or harmed! Just some bad looking fog with a dash of scary lightning and thunder here and there whatsoever. Wow. So magical. So miraculous.

Forgive me (or not) if I find the plot for this spinoff to be somewhat boring. I mean, I should have expected this kind of story from the start. It is after all a Love Live franchise. Thus the whole series is about Yohane trying to find herself and getting herself back on her 2 feet. Because she can’t do it alone, hence ushering her friends in to help her overcome what’s been eating her and all her other insecurities. Feels like a pretty generic and normal friendship drama to me. But of course to keep in line with that magic theme, hence that very flimsy and enigmatic calamity thingy which I don’t even understand till the end. I feel that this is just a stepping stone for the friends to work together, to bring out whatever drama needed and of course explore the relationship between Yohane and Lailaps. After all, the calamity is like biding its time, not sure if it is waiting for some right conditions or something. A monster pops up but nothing that can’t chase it away easily. Yeah, just to add to the drama effect. Boring! Oh right. Got to remember this is part of Love Live! Don’t it dare steal our sunshine! I know it’s done for me/ If you steal my sunshine/ Not something hard to see/ If you steal my sunshine/ Keeping dumb and built to beat/ If you steal my sunshine…

Character wise, I have mixed feelings but if I to be honest, I find them boring! Yeah, hate me all you want because I am primarily not an idol fan. Even if Yoshiko was my ‘favourite’ (term used very loosely) girl in Aqours, that is only because she is funny and made me laugh. Of course as the title already indicates, Yohane as the titular character is not without her flaws and is far from being perfect. She has big dreams (like everybody else) but became down in the dumps when she experienced a few failures. Lost. Sometimes the best way to ‘reset’ is to go back to your origins and it was Numazu, the sleepy town where she was born. It was quick for her to realize she loves Numazu because it would leave a bad aftertaste if she would continue sulking and hate the town she grew up in! And as already said, Yohane is going to discover herself once she makes some friends because there is all there is to it. When she finally realizes all that, only then she can move on and do things with pride and confidence. That’s what you call maturing and growing up, right? Good day sunshine/ I need to laugh and when the sun is out/ I’ve got something I can laugh about/ I feel good in a special way/ I’m in love and it’s a sunny day…

Then there is her companion AKA Lailaps. Yeah, it was strange to have a big talking canine as the animal mascot because if they wanted an animal mascot, they would’ve used Chika’s dog for it. Uhm, looking a bit goofy so yeah, maybe not (though it does have a cameo here). As we can see, Lailaps has been a pillar of strength and a great companion for Yohane from start to finish. She is very calm and reasonable, the voice of moral support whenever Yohane is feeling the jitters. Even being very patient with her on not lose her temper when Yohane starts mouthing away. A very good friend indeed. My dumb conspiracy theory to label Lailaps as her guardian angel or even a deity watching over Numazu collapsed when it was revealed in the end that this doggie is all part of Yohane. Yeah, should’ve got the hint in the series’ title and that this girl has a chuunibyou counterpart. Now that Yohane has got her groove back, Lailaps may look like she is not needed anymore but of course they will always be forever connected in their hearts, right? Oh wait. Big doggie still around. Just that she lost her voice and can no longer talk like normal. Yeah, it would be sad to kill off the animal mascot who has been part of Numazu’s family. So yeah, Lailaps is still there. But now a normal dog. On a trivial note, the official English title for this series is Yohane The Parhelion. It is an atmospheric optical phenomenon of the sun. Sometimes it is called sun dog. So is this what Lailaps is? Here comes the sun then! But the title indicates it is Yohane… I’m confused… Little darlin’ the smile’s returning to their faces/ Little darlin’ it seems like years since it’s been here/ Here comes the sun/ Here comes the sun/ And I say it’s alright…

With Yohane and Lailaps been given a bulk of the limelight, the other members of Aqours have been relegated to supporting roles. Well, if you are a fan of those others, you’re going to be sad. But from my perspective, they also don’t do much so as not to take away the focus from our main girl and sometimes it feels like they are there because they are Aqours and the need to use their name. Thus they don’t really have a lot of fleshing out and if you know how they are from the start, this is how they will be in the end. Nothing really interesting, though. Not even if Dia doubling as a sentai warrior or Chika as the masked Million Dollar vigilante. Or Mari as the Demon Lord and Ruby being a little fairy who can somehow become human size when needed. Don’t ask or think too much about it. Just the need to give them some fantasy-like roles. If that’s too fantasy-like maybe some having down to earth roles like You being a postal worker, Riko a zoologist, Hanamaru a sweets seller and Kanan an environmentalist-cum-inventor. What great variety of friends Yohane is blessed to have. I’m gonna soak up the sun/ I’m gonna tell everyone to lighten up/ I’m gonna tell ‘em that I’ve got no one to blame/ For every time I feel lame I’m looking up/ I’m gonna soak up the sun.

The only Aqours girl who doesn’t appear is Yoshiko! Hell, you might argue she is Yohane but I’m looking at them as separate personalities! Oh, what if the one behind the calamities is Yoshiko! Because she felt left out from all this friendship fun! How dare her chuunibyou persona get the main character treatment! GRRR!!! Heh. I hope this is not the case. There are a few other minor characters like the neighbourhood kids, Chika’s inn colleagues who double as her vigilante assistants as well as Dia secretary. However they are just minimal in their roles and forgettable. Just like that mechanical frog created by Kanan. What’s its name again? Just like the Aqours friends, they too help in playing their minimal role to cheer up Yohane. With so much support, Yohane certainly can’t stay depressed forever, no? I won’t let the sun go down on me/ I won’t let the sun go down…

Art and animation are quite okay. This spinoff is done by Sunrise who also did the Love Live series so it is good to see some quality and consistencies maintained. Yeah, it would be weird if you can’t recognize your Aqours idols because they look completely different! They are only so because of their outfits. Slight redesigning but they’re still identifiable. Numazu being the sleep seaside town, the background sceneries of the sea as well as the mountains and even the town itself, they are quite nice to look at. There is also some CGI but thankfully they are not very obvious and do not break the series. After all, even in the Love Live series itself, CGI was also employed but they have to make sure the idols look pretty and kawaii or they’ll never hear the end from fans and the internet! If only other animes could make use of CGI effects like this. Might not be a masterpiece but at least it is watchable. On a trivial note, doesn’t Lailaps look a bit like Ranga from Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken? Ironically, both series had a very short collaboration when this spinoff started airing. Oh no, my conspiracy theory of that time Lailaps being reincarnated as a Direwolf…

Obviously the same voices behind Aqours are retained to voice back their characters. The only one I recognized is Youko Hikasa as Lailaps but she is quite docile here as her character doesn’t go through various emotions. And I think I spotted Misaki Kuno as one of those kids but that’s not important. As an anime whose genre is about music, once again I am not impressed or even take a liking for any of the music that were featured here. Yeah, the irony I’m still watching this. Is my taste in music that complicated? Nah. They just sing songs that don’t resonate with me! HAHAHA! Anyway, I don’t find any of the insert songs whether Yohane sings it herself or with the rest of Aqours to be appealing. Not even memorable. Even the opening theme, Genjitsu Mysterium feels too dramatic for my taste. I think they want to make the song sound edgy with some effects but with the dubstep and techno-like beats, I just felt this song is suitable for animes with darker themes. It’s good that the ending theme sounds way different. Yeah, need to sing the same songs? Kimi No Tame Boku No Tame is still upbeat and lively and is very idol-like. But is it me that some parts especially those strings and piano combo somewhat remind me of Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles?

Overall, I only believe that hardcore Love Live fans especially those of Aqours would only welcome such spinoff because it has been like 6 years since the 2nd season graced the airwaves back in 2017. Oh sorry, there was a movie back in 2019 but I didn’t see that. But to turn this into fantasy might sound a bit refreshing to attract non-fans to watch but it gets boring once you realize it’s the same boring drama of friendship and self-discovery. I’m not saying this spinoff is bad but it’s just a tad boring for my tastes. Yes, I still prefer violent and gory ones or those slapstick high school romcoms. Even better with some fanservice! And then get disappointed by it anyway in the end! Oh well, I guess such sunshiny wholesomeness isn’t so bad sometimes. Aren’t we feeling a bit sunshiny today? You are my sunshine/ My only sunshine/ You make me happy/ When skies are grey/ You’ll never know dear/ How much I love you/ Please don’t take my sunshine away…

Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai: Next Sky

Well people, it is no joke that you can never find or see the end of the rainbow in real life. This means a certain Love Live franchise is still going strong! Oh yeah. And I am still wondering why the heck I am watching Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai: Next Sky. This OVA special is the supposed sequel to the second season that ended back in 2022. (Reminder, there was a chibi unrelated Nijiyon Animation after that). What can a single episode do, huh? Maybe it won’t impress like me but I guess hardcore Love Live fans will be happy to get or see anything from their favourite idols. And seeing this takes place after Ayumu returned from her London trip. Oh geez, is the group going to further expand?!

London calling in Japan…
We see our Nijigasaki girls waiting to welcome back Ayumu from her trip from London. They thought they got the wrong girl and blasted the party poppers all over the wrong girl. Well, thank goodness she is the exchange student that Ayumu also brought back from London. Yes, Aira will be here for 2 weeks to study all about she needs to be an idol. Is that enough a time? Aira receives a warm welcome by them back at their clubroom as we hear more praises of all the performances they have done. To help her get familiar with the local culture, they bring her around. This includes visiting the maid café. Couldn’t they have shown this a bit longer?! Oh right, they will turn into maid idols. I’m fine with that… So yeah, lots of sightseeing trip and you wonder if Aira is here as a tourist or wanting to learn and become an idol. Soon, Aira contacts her fellow friend, Penelope back at London and she is very glad she came to Japan. Is it me or do the girls speak English like animes that receive some sort of English dub!!! I guess better than Engrish!!! Soon, it is time for Aira to leave but Ayumu has been noticing a bit of her depression lately. Shioriko also senses something wrong and tracks down Aira. Not very hard to find her, I suppose. She claims Aira’s school idol club application has been rejected. Holy cow! Shioriko called Aira’s school back in London to confirm this?! WTF?! Aira laments such culture here doesn’t exist in London. Duh! Other side of the world! So Aira thought of ending everything here. But no need for such sad endings because since she has some time before her flight home, the other Nijigasaki girls are here to give her more morale boosting words. Hell yeah, even doing an idol performance just for her. Are you feelin’ it now?! How convenient for Penelope to call Aira because this idol thingy has been quite iffy in her books. She thinks she can pull it off. Of course Aira is now filled with confidence because with both of them, they can now try to form an idol club. Now everybody can see her off happy. Few days later, our idols see Aira posting a video that she is starting a school idol in London. Nijigasaki girls can’t lose to this, right?

The Sky Is Never The Limit
Well… That was certainly… Boring! Yeah, throw brickbats and criticisms at me if you want but I guess this cements the case that I’m not really an idol fan and is just watching this for closure sakes. Oh God, will the franchise ever die?! Am I doomed to be obliged to watch this till kingdom come?! That’s for me to deal with later on but as far as this special OVA goes, I must say that it only appeals to the fans of the series since it is you usual wholesome idol stuffs and nothing really more. I mean, what else do you expect from here? Oh, thank goodness Aira isn’t going to join an already bloated Nijigasaki idol club, eh? Who knows? Maybe in the future when she is all established as an idol group, then they can take on Nijigasaki in some international contest and become international superstars! Superstars, baby! Oh, why do I feel that I am infringing on the wrong Love Live franchise?

So while all the idol stuffs here are portrayed as nice, glittering and glamorous, the ironic part is that this whole damn cute culture doesn’t exist halfway around the world! OMG! Are you sure?! So it was funny for me to think that Japan is going to go out and conquer the world and be the new world order of colonisers! Idol style and version! Oh yeah. Imagine bringing the idol culture to foreign lands and I can foresee everybody falling in love with all the cute idols prancing on stage. Uh huh. Makes me think all those cultures without idols are just freaking boring! Yeah, I don’t know what they do there for music entertainment in London or the UK but for not a single idol influence to be there, oh my, such a pity. Just you wait and see, England. Japanese idol culture will soon permeate your land and you will be known as the new Japan of the west! OMFG!!! I want to see this delusional fantasy happening!!! And to hear Aira wanting to start a school idol?! Not an idol club, mind you. School idol! Yeah, might as well dream big and go in for the big kill. Small time idol not going to have any effect in big ol’ London.

Anyway, back to the series, not really impressed and my heart not moved at all hearing the few songs here. Yeah. Really totally not into it. But surprised to Nao Touyama as Aira because are they going to establish her as an idol if this London thingy takes off? Well, I shouldn’t be since Akari Kitou is already doing the role of Kanata here. This whole special is only actually 23 minutes long but it was blown up to almost 30 minutes because the last few minutes include board postings of messages from fans as well as a whole list listing the lot of them. A whole freaking list of them! Feel free the squint and strain your eyes to find your name there. Yeah, I must be feeling so out of place as one who isn’t into the idol scene and to be experiencing all this.

Overall, while this is absolutely a yawn fest for me, idol lovers and especially you hardcore fans are still free to love and appreciate this OVA as you wish. After all, I also read that not many are talking about this OVA because a certain chuunibyou from a certain Love Live group is currently having her own spinoff in the very same season. I guess that one is more outrageous but I’ll have to wait and see how delusional that one will get. Oh God. Did I just admit that I am going to watch that one too? Oh well… But it remains to be seen if this Nijigasaki franchise will get another sequel. After Superstar did the unprecedented and will have a third, the final scene of this OVA teases us with this School Idol GPX. Is that some sort of grand prix competition for idols? Oh God. More idol goodness. No wonder we can never find the end of the rainbow.

Nijiyon Animation

THE LOVE LIVE FRANCHISE JUST CANNOT DIE!!! Yeah. We all know a certain Superstar is going to get an unprecedented third season. But what about those who are more of fans of the Nijigasaki idols? Well, don’t despair. They’re not left out too. Somewhat. And hence this short series known as Nijiyon Animation to give something and appease such fans. Can 3 minutes of airtime per episode do any justice? May not be enough but hey, at least it is better than nothing. I mean, what else do you expect to see from here? More of your cute idols being cute, cuter and cutest!

Episode 1
Yuu filming a documentary on the Nijigasaki girls in their clubroom and introducing them. Some are eager while some are not. Soon, it is their turn to interview Yuu but she panics when they ask about her plans. Make everyone happy? This in turn has them asking whom she likes the best among them. Everybody trying to hint they are the one. Obviously she can’t choose!

Episode 2
Lanzhu and Ai trying to do a cuteness contest. The former learning it from the master Kasumi of course. Oh dear. Some of the girls become judges as they give points and comments on their cuteness. I wonder if Emma knows how to count because her score goes into gazillions… When it is Ai’s turn to strut her cuteness, she herself finds it so funny and can’t stop laughing. So who is the cutest? Yuu points out both are cute and their flustering has them earn perfect points.

Episode 3
The girls want to see a horror movie. Mia is obviously scared but lies that she ain’t afraid of no ghosts. Come the real deal, she’s pleading to go easy on her! We also get to see who are the scaredy cats like Emma, Yuu and Shioriko. Soon Mia dreams that she is in a strange world all by herself. Walking through the dark lonely corridors, she thought she saw Ayumu but her hairball splits up and the body goes dead. Then the hairball starts to talk to her! Mia wakes up from this nightmare. However now she is afraid of Ayumu’s hairballs!

Episode 4
Karin tells Shioriko her origins. She was once from the island and living a carefree life. Until she saw those idol magazines and thought that she is pretty enough to be like them! Hey, got to have confidence in yourself! In the end, she just wanted to become a cool big sister in the city and that’s why she left the island. In a way, making her dreams come true. She hopes to make other dreams come true. This gives Shioriko more motivation to support other others chasing their dreams. As an idol and student council president, she has that capacity. Shioriko and Yuu find themselves in a ‘competition’ to support each other.

Episode 5
Mia is impressed with Emma’s singing and so she suggests she could write a song that will turn her into big time and churn out even more success. However Emma declines her since she hasn’t thought that far yet and is just happy singing where she is. Mia notes how Emma’s singing made her realize that it isn’t all about likes and popularities online and that she genuinely loves songs. Emma sings for her again and this time the rest of the Nijigasaki girls want to join in the singing.

Episode 6
Rina invites Yuu, Ai and Shioriko to test play her online game she created. Well, Mia and Setsuna are already so obsessed in beating each other’s score… So, we see her game being a spoof of Fall Guys?! Lots of quirky and funny stuffs happen in this test run. But it was fun, right? With the game being popular, it seems there is a player who is updating her score every day. Who the f*ck is Sasuke?! Oh, it’s Ayumu. Hope this won’t turn them into Fall Idols… Then Fail Idols!!!

Episode 7
The girls are playing old maid. Lanzhu thinks holding the joker is special! Does she even know how to play! So with everybody clearing their hands, all that are left are Lanzhu and Ayumu. Obviously, Ayumu could see Lanzhu’s reaction when she picks a card. Hence Ayumu chooses the winning card. Oh Lanzhu, having the joker left means you lose! Nothing special! But suddenly, heavy drama?! Because she feels this joker card is special yet lonely. Don’t worry, the rest finds another extra joker card. Now it is paired, none are left out. Is everybody a winner?! I don’t think that’s how the game works, but whatever…

Episode 8
Shizuku is walking her dog at the beach when she bumps into Kanata and Haruka. All of them have fun playing each other as they note the sisters are similar to each other and likewise, Shizuku and her dog. After all, her dog is like a sister to her. They feel blessed having great little sisters. Haruka sleeps on Kanata’s lap after a tiring day. When she wakes up, she mistakes the dog as her sister and gets embarrassed upon realizing the mistake.

Episode 9
Kasumi initiates a contest to be the best little sister. Is she desperate to be cute? Anyway, we see everybody strutting their cute stuffs and giving their opinions about little sisters and big sisters too. In the end, it is Rina who is so cute and squealing everyone’s hard, she wins the title. Yes, even Kasumi gets overwhelmed by her cuteness. Kasumi feels sad about her loss but the rest assure her that she has her own cuteness charm. Because now it’s time to find the best mascot character! Oh dear, not the cuteness Kasumi is looking for! I know who to vote for best joker character!!! HAHAHA!!!

Episode 10
Kasumi initiates a plan to catch Setsuna’s reaction when the scenario doesn’t go as planned or suddenly changes without her prior knowledge. So as they come up with really strange ideas, here comes Setsuna herself. Busted? Kasumi manages to cover it up about her being cute and making her heart skip. Heh. Yeah, got that blushing reaction recorded? Then Setsuna holds a solo performance. Suddenly the power goes out. It’ll take time to come back on (don’t worry, it’s not Kasumi’s doing so don’t panic). How? Setsuna sings on her own and still manages to captivate the crowd. Yuu notes Setsuna will always be the one who thrills their hearts forever.

Episode 11
Ayumu continues training hard for her next performance as Yuu and Shioriko watch over her. Yuu noting how proud she is to have a childhood friend like her. Shioriko also noting the same. But because she is Lanzhu, she always needs to keep her eyes on her. There is no telling what sort of trouble she’ll get when she looks away. Yuu continues to watch Ayumu practice till the end of the day. Yuu saying cute stuffs from her hard work that makes Ayumu blush. Then they walk home together.

Episode 12
Setsuna notices Yuu’s improvement in her piano. Of course Yuu has her to thank. It was hard at first but now it is so much fun. More compliments from Yuu. So thankful she met Setsuna, she’s going to make her blush red like a traffic light. The rest soon stream in, attracted by Yuu’s piano play. Then they all sing together to Yuu’s next recital.

Idol Life Is All Sunshine And Rainbows!
I read there were 3 more short specials that come out with the Blu-Ray discs after this. Oh well, since it is hard to find and I am figuring out it is more or less the same cute idol stuffs so I’m not really desperate to scour the internet just for that. Yeah, not really an idol fan although it feels strange that I am still following this genre. Am I a Love Live closet fan? NNNOOOOO!!!!!

Anyway, this short series is within expectations. Feels like some sort of addendum to the main series. While it gives fans something extra to watch, casual viewers may find it just ordinary as all we see are just glittery and cute idol stuffs. Oh you know, cute girls doing cute things, idol version. Yes, this short may not be enough to satiate hardcore fans who want more out of this but like I’ve said, this series is meant to be light and just amuse us for 3 minutes. And if you’re like me who binge watch this in one sitting, well, easy come, easy go. Nothing really worth noting, nothing that is so extraordinary, nothing that breaks the mould. All within expectations.

Because of the short duration of the series, sometimes it feels like blink or miss moments. I’m not saying there are many moments like that or if there are any. What I’m trying to say is that with the skits so short, before you can warm up to the episode, it already ends. Wow. It’s already over? Thankfully whatever skits in that particular episode aren’t heavy and do not bring forward to the next episode. Hence don’t have to confuse our puny brains to keep up with the Nijigasaki idols’ shenanigans. Is it me or do I feel that Yuu has the most screen time despite the irony that she is not technically an idol? The rest have their fair share but I think there are some who make way less appearance or the least impact like Ai, Shizuku and Kanata. At least that’s how I feel. After all, you know how many members there are in Nijigasaki idol club, right? Considering their latest addition members from last season and all fighting for the same limited screen time, you bet they’re trying to cram everything. Can’t please everyone, huh?

Obviously the visuals here are totally different than the TV series itself as the girls and overall animation are shown in a chibi manner. What a better way to ramp up all the cuteness as well as the light-hearted moments with this chibi style. But don’t worry, despite looking different, you can still identify visually your favourite idols. Yeah, the importance of always having different hair colours and hairstyle for your characters! Heh. But I have a feeling that the visuals are mostly CGI as I can see that CGI smoothness in some scenes. Hey, at least they’re properly done. Imagine the brickbats the series will get if they made terrible CGI quality! Toxic fans will never forgive!

Overall, nothing really special for me as I await the next season of Superstar. Funny and cute, that’s about all. That’s right. All within expectations. This is just like some sort of snack before the next big meal comes. Yeah, this might not even fill your stomach and hardcore fans may still feel as hungry as ever. Thank goodness I’m not a hardcore idol fan. I don’t know if earlier Love Live iterations will get another season or am I overthinking that Muse and Aqours have disbanded! But for our Nijigasaki girls, they’re still continuing to chase their dreams, in fact living the perfect dream. Looks like they won’t be seeing the end of the rainbow anytime so soon.

Love Live! Superstar S2

Galaxy! Finally even the fourth franchise of the Love Live franchise has its second season. That’s right, people. Got to keep up with the trend and not lose out. And hence Love Live! Superstar S2 is a must, seeing our main idol heroines still have not won the coveted Holy Grail last season. Well, it’s a pretty typical story and formula. You have to fail first (oh, for realism! Because no lucky mother wins the biggest prize on their first outing) and that his your benchmark to try-cum-work harder so the next time you’ll surpass this and ultimately win it. That’s the basic ingredient, right? Yeah. Now we’re going to be superstars! Superstars in the making!

Episode 1
Liella’s followers have doubled since. This is thanks to Sunny Passion’ interview who credited them as their greatest rival. Later Sumire confronts Keke about the latter going back to Shanghai. She claims Sunny Passion acknowledging them gave her some leeway but above all, she wants her to keep this a secret. We see Kinako Sakurakoji getting lost in Tokyo. Finally she stumbles at the front of Yuigaoka and realizes this is where she is going to attend high school. She accidentally enters to rooftop and Liella start hounding her if she’s interested to join. Desperate, huh? Hope they don’t scare her away. They soon learn she is just lost. Later Kinako talks to Kanon and we learn she is from Hokkaido. Hence the big city life is sure a shocking eye opening experience for her. Kanon loves the ring of being call a senpai. So happy, she brings her to her place. After all, Kinako’s residence is near her place. With the new school term, we see other potential new characters like Natsumi Onitsuka who is always recording for her L-Tube (time is money!), Mei Yoneme who looks like an obsessed fan of Liella and Shiki Wakana a seemingly science nut. With new first year students, there is of course the recruitment drive for clubs. Honestly, Liella having so many fans but none want to join them? I guess they’re happy just being fans. Keke tries to be aggressive in the recruitment but she’s just scaring them away. And somehow she blames Sumire. Kinako ponders about joining them. However she has no confidence if she could keep up with their training. Kanon hears from her sister that at first she doesn’t understand why she was so obsessed with school idols. But after watching their performance, it moved her. Hence the next time Kanon stumbles into Kinako, she tells her they will be rehearsing their next performance at the rooftop. She hopes she can come see. Kinako thinks about it but still has doubts. Especially about being interested in something but don’t think she’s cut out for it. Natsumi’s advice is that if you fail no matter how many times you try, it proves you’re not cut out for it. But if you don’t try, you’ll never know. Not sure about this WTF move because Shiki plants some device on Kinako’s leg and she can’t stop running until she reaches the rooftop. Liella is ready to put up a performance to show her what it’s like being a school idol. I think Kinako is so impressed she might go into a seizure. With that, Liella welcomes her into their fold.

Episode 2
Kinako joins in the training but she’s lagging far behind. Uhm, doesn’t the other Liella members care about their struggling newbie? I thought they were eager to have a new one? Eventually they give her some motivation and let her be the provisional centre. Yeah, that should make her happy. Later Shiki talks to Kinako and asks about the idol club. Well, she wants her to ask Mei to join it. Uhm, can she not do it herself? Kinako is thinking a lot about this. She talks to Kanon about Liella striving to win and doesn’t want to hold them back. On the other hand, Kanon has her own dilemma since she is trying to find ways to make it fun for freshmen to join. Kinako still having cold feet to ask Mei so Shiki gets the ball rolling by telling Mei that Kinako wants to talk to her. So when Kinako sums up her courage to invite her to join the idol club, Mei looks unimpressed. Kinako fears she is going to get harassed but surprisingly knows this is Shiki’s stint. She says never to do this again since she has no interest in school idols (LIAR!). With Liella still having no potential new members (can Keke quit blaming Sumire?), now Kinako feels it is her fault because she lacks presence. Her reason is that some of her classmates saw her practising and since she is so out of breath, they think being an idol is hard. Hence Liella makes some changes to their training regimen. Cutting their training time shorter, their recruitment is now livelier as they’re giving free takoyaki! Uhm, isn’t this bribery like the last time? Later Mei talks to Kinako about school idols. Despite knowing how hard the training is, yet she joined it. She wants her to carry on and not worry about what others say. Next time Kinako meets up with rest of Liella, she tells them her true feelings that she wants to do her best and strive to win along with them. This means she wants to go back to the old training ways and promises to keep working hard no matter how difficult it is. I’m sure those tears were convincing everyone that they were on the verge on the wrong path because remember, the goal of Liella is to win Love Live and not to recruit newbies. Uhm, can they not do both? Kinako continues to struggle in training. Oh well, ganbatte!

Episode 3
Well, it’s already been a year so it’s time for that idol festival again. Short reminder, Sunny Passion won and Liella took home some special newcomer award. So they think that since Sunny Passion isn’t participating this time (because they also won last year’s Love Live!), they might have a shot at winning. Flawed logic but hey, gotta stay positive. Since they are going last, another flawed logic has them think they’re the main stars. Later Kanon talks to Sunny Passion about them mentioning Liella’s name in their interview. They honestly think Liella did quite a good job although they caution it is still not enough to beat them. After all, they are trying hard to do the impossible as no school has ever defended their Love Live title. Doing so will have their name deeply ingrained in Love Live’s history. One day at the park, suddenly this arrogant b*tch girl confronts Kanon and wants her to sing because she claims she is going to win. WTF?! But when Chisato comes into the picture, she is gone. Don’t tell me she’s a ghost! As the festival gets underway, we see that b*tch girl, Wien Margarete doing her awesome solo performance. Yeah, everybody so awestruck that it makes you wonder if her performance has got black magic. Uh huh. Such a dark dramatic theme, I wonder if this is some magic fantasy performance… In the end, we didn’t get to see Liella’s performance but we see them looking so dumbfounded and sullen. Hey, they didn’t win but isn’t it something special that they won the special award again! That’s an achievement! Kinako starts blaming herself but as we all can tell, the rest don’t see it that way. So the festival was won by Wien. And why is Kanon looking so depressed they lost to a middle school girl?! IS THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING?! But another WTF moment, Wien confronting Kanon outside her home to have some b*tch showdown as she mentions that they are nothing special if others actually think they’re going to be the next winner. In that case, she will have no problem winning. Kanon tries to be realistic that lots of people praised them although they haven’t produced any results yet. Wien not impressed. Next day before Kanon can give her demoralizing speech to her comrades that they might not win, other classmates pop in to congratulate them. They’re okay with Liella winning that award because it’s better than nothing. To them, they are their superstars. That enough to get your motivation back? Because now it’s time for Liella to do a thank you concert for everyone. That’s how it should be, right?

Episode 4
Everyone unanimously trying to make Kanon the club president but she has her reservations. Meanwhile Mei continues to spy on them so Shiki continues to advise her to join them if she wants to. Of course Mei says she doesn’t intend to do that. This has Shiki decide to take some drastic actions. One day after school as Mei bursts into the science club just to remind Shiki to mix with others, she isn’t around. But look, across the rooftop, there Shiki is joining Liella in their practice! Mei goes closer to spy on them. Amidst the shock and confusion, she busted herself. So a new member to join like Shiki? Well, Shiki is just trying out and hasn’t decided yet. Mei is not impressed and leaves. So uhm, no new members yet? Shiki then takes Liella outside of where Mei stays. Take a look inside her room. Filled with Liella and other idol memorabilia! Does Mei not draw her curtains? Oh look, here she comes. Hide! You thought she could see their heads peeking out from the corner but she sees nothing! Is she blind! Well, Shiki reveals Mei has eyesight problems. That is why she is always glaring and others misinterpret it as her being mean and are scared of her. More flashback on their past. Shiki was always a loner but Mei one day hanged out with her and they formed a science club together despite Mei having no interest in science. Shiki believes Mei is interested in idols but refuses to start. Hence she is joining to try to push her to join. Later Shiki confronts Mei. Mei worried about her social life but Shiki worried about her delaying her idol dreams. Since Mei claims she is not cut out to be one, Shiki tells her not to come to the science club since she has no interest in it. This awkward situation prompts Chisato to remember she once felt useless and couldn’t do anything but Kanon gave her some words of motivation. Hence Chisato decides to take on a new challenge by becoming the club president. Then Kanon talks to Mei about her hesitating to join because of Shiki. She wants to be with her, right? Kanon notes they both like each other and hints that both of them can join. Mei then catches Shiki doing a few dance moves in the clubroom and now it’s her turn to hit back. Both accusing themselves for not being cuter than the other, the reason they can’t join. But once they get honest with each other, soon Liella welcomes Shiki and Mei as their newest members.

Episode 5
With Mei and Shiki officially in Liella, everyone else is supportive of them. Except for Natsumi. She can’t believe after doing all those jobs, her views aren’t growing. Then she realizes Liella has increased followers in a short time. You thinking what she’s thinking? It’s time to make money! Show me the money! Hence Liella is ecstatic thinking they’ve finally got a 9th member because that is the magical and legendary number for idols. Sorry to rain on your parade but Natsumi is here to become their producer. That’s right. Manage and promote their activities. Liella thinks it is a good idea since they will have more time to spend on training. What’s this about Liella won’t get any money and all will got to Natsumi who is the CEO of her own company to cover expenses? They agree since they’re not into money. Great. So they do all the job and Natsumi gets rich, huh? Natsumi starts recording Liella’s daily life. I can’t believe when everyone hangs out at Keke’s home, I understand it is small but it can’t be THAT small, right?! Because somehow Kanon and Sumire got the raw end of the deal so they all play this weird card game from outside. I mean, look at Keke’s place, isn’t the living room big enough?! Even if she doesn’t think so, why can’t they hang out in the kitchen or the toilet?! The filming is successful but secretly, Natsumi is uploading such videos to her personal channel and claiming she is playing with Liella to get the views. Also, Liella is in the dark that she is profiting from all this personally. With Love Live preliminaries as well as the school festival after that, Liella thinks it is a burden and it is suggested they split the team. Kanon disagrees since it has to be all of them performing together. Don’t have to be perfect. Just do your best. As Natsumi continues to film, finally Sumire confronts her as she has been suspicious. She accuses her of profiting her videos of them. Shiki then calculates the profits she is making. Wow. Enough to make all of them wanting an explanation, huh? I thought they weren’t doing this for the money? Not if it’s such a big amount! Natsumi runs away. Kanon thinks they should just observe for a while and believes there is more to it. Later Natsumi meet up with the first years. She claims she’ll still upload videos since it is her job. But they are worried not about the money. You see, the videos post both their performance and daily lives. People will obviously see their talent difference with their seniors in the video. They are worried about that. Don’t worry because Natsumi has an idea. And a money making one too! Hence the first years seek to have a different summer vacation schedule from the rest and Chisato approves it. Oh Natsumi is already smelling the money!

Episode 6
Natsumi’s plan is to have the newbies form another sister group. However they are against this because the purpose of this separate training is to get closer to their seniors. If they can’t help them, no point being idols. Natsumi still won’t give up because, yeah, MONEY! So they’re all back in Kinako’s hometown and Natsumi is forced to follow them so as to film some training footage. Hope she can keep up with all the running… Back in her room, she is trying to edit a video of the countdown to Liella’s breakup?! Almost got caught by Kinako as she asks Natsumi’s goal. Nothing. Except making more money so that she would have an easy life in the future. With the newbies’ training uploaded, they are popular enough to rake in the views. The Liella seniors are impressed with it although Sumire still has her reservations especially on that money lover. Natsumi wakes up from this horrible dream. She had many lofty dreams when she was young but foiled by failed prerequisites. When Chisato sends new dance moves to the newbies to try, WTF they’re getting cold feet? So they’re slacking and wondering if they can do this. Very rare for Natsumi to lecture them about giving up because otherwise don’t tell her about your dreams. With a sad tone, she says their dream isn’t impossible and could be achieved if they work hard enough. As the training continues, later Kinako thanks her for it but questions if she really doesn’t have a goal. Natsumi insists so. Natsumi gets scared when she sees a bear. Turns out to be Kanon?! WTF she’s doing some delivery her dad forgot? So she thought of dropping by, huh? She overheard her talk with Kinako. So if she doesn’t have any dreams, why not try chasing theirs with them? Natsumi is not so sure since all her dreams have never come true. Gee, I was expecting some no money answer! Haha! Oops. Kanon then lets her try some steps. Wow. Now we’re dancing in some colourful rainbow field! I hope dinner wasn’t drugged… Now she’s got a taste of it, Liella welcomes its 9th member! I’m sure Natsumi isn’t here for the money anymore… After dancing on stage, everyone looks with glee at Natsumi’s shocked and stunned expression. Amazing, no? She realizes she has finally found her dream. And it ain’t where the money is! Oh damn, gotta stop making money jokes on her…

Episode 7
WTF this Guitar Hero and Fruit Ninja game? But look who’s getting hooked? Ren! Keke is happy to announce the details of Love Live. But the rest are already reading it from the website so that just killed her vibe. Anyway, this year’s tournament will be done remotely and there are no specific themes. Yeah, ran out of ideas or they just don’t give a f*ck, huh? Chisato wants Ren to write the song and Kanon the lyrics. Nothing unusual. Except… What’s this Ren is spacing out and her hands are moving on their own like as though she’s holding a video game controller? Well, everyone thinks she is swamped with works since as the only student council member, she is shouldering all the duties herself and did not get help claiming this school doesn’t have enough students. Are you kidding me?! You can’t find like 2 or 3 people to fill in the post?! Anyway, soon Mei catches Ren in the act. Yeah, instead of writing songs on her piano, she is playing her handheld! Ren panics and tries to bribe her but soon brings her home to reveal… OMFG! She’s got all the game consoles! Every type! Damn it looks like an arcade in here! After getting hooked at Keke’s place, her father kept sending her new consoles to please her. So now Ren wants Mei to hold the key to this room because she can’t concentrate on song writing if she keeps playing? I got a better idea. Why not quit being an idol and be a gamer! Of course that won’t do so Mei agrees to do that. Yeah, now she’s free to focus on her writing. Maybe after just 1 more game… With Mei being suspicious, the rest too get suspicious. So they tail her and see her meeting up with Ren. Spying from afar, the serious look on Ren’s expression and those ambiguous action, Shiki thinks they are dating! Oh no! Scandal?! So the rest confront her and of course Shiki being upfront if they are dating. Of course not! So care to tell what’s happening? Gulp. Meanwhile Ren is itching to just play one game when Kanon is here. Busted? Well actually, Kanon is here to inform that she wants to help her and join her student council. Mei heard it all so she advises Ren to just get clean with everyone. And seeing Liella helping out with the student council duties, this is where Ren finally confesses about her gaming addiction. Well, everyone laughs! They’re glad it’s nothing serious. Yeah, gaming addiction is not a mental issue! As ‘punishment’, she brings them all home as they admire all her consoles and also play some games. Finally this game that Ren is having a hard time with, with everyone’s help she is able to clear it. With this nagging thorn done, Kanon is now able to write her beautiful music.

Episode 8
Looks like Ren will now have some help in the student council. Yes, Kinako and Kanon have officially joined it. I thought Natsumi would’ve been better as the treasurer. On second thought, maybe not… Liella now discuss the venue of their stage. Lots of ideas but as Chisato puts it, it has to be a venue that represents them, their school and everyone in town. Everyone crack their heads but it’s not easy. Furthermore with the school’s open campus, it’s a surprise that Liella won’t be putting up a performance since they want to concentrate on the preliminaries. With the student council girls busy, what the rest of Liella going to do? Yeah, help Chisato sell her rainbow takoyaki! Nobody’s buying… Even Natsumi’s fusion of mixing it with smoothie failed to generate the money… When a potential school girl asks for a tour (oh Keke, don’t be quick to ask her to become an idol), Kanon shows her around. Eventually she asks why the school was built in this location. Funny, of all questions she could ask… Yeah, no answer. Hence Kanon tries to look into the school’s history in hopes this might also give answers for their stage. Then Sunny Passion contacts them and gives them a sneak peak of their stage. Wow. Such a lovely stage over the ocean. Everyone on the island helped built it so it’s a shame that this will be their final Love Live. As Kanon continues to talk to many for ideas, some of their schoolmates decide to help out and shoulder the student council duties so Liella is free to concentrate on their performance. So if they go all the way to the finals, they’ll be permanent student council members? Don’t worry, they help because they want to! So as Liella continues to ponder about their stage, they remember last year having done their performance at this street. Suddenly Kanon hits an idea. Oh my, where’s she running to? So their stage will be where all paths converge and become one. A place where they and many meet. What better place than the big road before their school. So this is why their school was also built here, huh? If it’s not in the official history, they must just be speculating it. Anyway, the stage is done as we hear Liella do their stuff. And to avoid any suspense, good news because Liella will be heading to Tokyo!

Episode 9
I’m sure everyone is celebrating Liella’s success. Yeah, their online subscribers are increasing. But all that joy comes to a crashing halt when they realize that Sunny Passion has not made it to the next level! Oh God. As expected, they contact their rivals and it is true that they actually failed to make the grade because after their performance, Margarete put on an even sterling performance that sealed their fate. So I guess the elusive and historic coveted legend continues… As Liella has their own private celebration, obviously the mood isn’t even there. Even if Natsumi and Shiki have this devious plan to sabotage Margarete (hope they aren’t serious!), it still is a damper. Later Chisato talks to her second year members. Reviewing their performance, it seems there was an obvious difference between them and the newbies. Wow. Are you saying the judges were blind, bias or Liella got through based on absolute luck?! Because the way they are saying it, the newbies will drag them down and the difference that will have them advance or be eliminated for the finals. Hence the dilemma of whether to include them or not because like for Keke, she just wants everyone to have fun together and putting pressure on them defeats the idea. Later Sumire confronts Keke and knows she must produce results or else she’s going back to Shanghai. Keke: Mind your own business. She just wants to sing with everyone. That’s all. That night Margarete confronts Kanon and asks if she is still singing in this pathetic place. Kanon denies and so the b*tch will make her regret her words.

Next day before the training starts, Sumire makes her announcement that she doesn’t want the newbies to perform in the next round. As per rules, although you cannot add members that did not perform in the preliminaries, no rules prevent them for existing ones from not competing. As the newbies are now having second thoughts in being a hindrance, Kanon still believes Liella only has meaning with all of them performing. Sumire goes on to add that with Margarete showing her prowess, it all the reason why they must not slack and win this. If they lose, a lot of people will be sad. Yeah, I guess that can be said for all those idols who didn’t make it past the preliminaries! Sumire hits the nail in the coffin as she reveals she wants to get back into show business and hence she must shine here. This makes Kanon very sad. The disagreement ends because a tearful Keke says so. Back home, we hear Sumire purposely playing the villain. The newbies talk to her and after a short performance, they send their blessings for their seniors to perform and win. But this only makes Sumire feel more distraught as she thought everyone was working hard for this. Is she contradicting herself now? Keke is now in the picture and doesn’t want her to suffer alone. Sumire now comes clean on the truth. She wants to be with Keke right till the end of their high school years. She doesn’t want her to go back to Shanghai. That is why she is desperate to get results to prevent that from happening. Both highly emotional girls hug each other, reiterating their love-hate relationship for each other. I guess that solves everything. Yes, everything back to normal as Liella is a whole now as they resume training to assure their absolute victory!

Episode 10
Training camp at Kinako’s home. Apparently when everyone was brainstorming for the right location, they got to know that Kanon visited her place and the gall she didn’t even tell them! Jealous? Yeah, hope you enjoy your stay because the whole place is snowing! Chisato has Shiki come up with new dance choreography with her. Mei and Rei try to write a new song. Hope they don’t get addicted to the video games… Kanon and Kinako doing some weird yoga poses for lyrics inspiration. Not working… And the rest of our jokers are trying to make the backdrop for their stage. Careful not to crash it now! That’s money in there!!! Before the Tokyo competition begins, all participants have a chance to introduce themselves online. After Liella done theirs, it is Margarete’s turn. She didn’t waste time to tell them her intentions. She is going to show why Love Live is such a low quality with her true song. And with that emotionless b*tch face, she’s trying to be the villain? You bet this is going to make some mad for belittling this sacred competition. GRRR!!! With the newbies training hard, Kanon has an idea for tomorrow’s training. That is, do nothing and have fun! Sometimes you just need to rest and relax. So from ice skating to ice fishing and building a snowman, I guess these aren’t money shuts, eh, Natsumi? Maybe some snowball fight… After that, it is back to their usual training and all. Must be working as Kanon has inspiration to write a new song. Before the competition starts, cue for Margarete to be a b*tch as she warns Liella and especially Kanon once more why she is going to show them their place. Must be just me since I don’t find her dramatic song appealing. But damn, everybody else does. So stunned they are, there is a long silence before a long applause! So will this demoralize Liella? Just get out there and do what you’ve been doing! After they are done with their performance, the results are in. Who will move on to the finals? Tune in next time to find out!

Episode 11
What’s this?! Margarete in 2nd place and this means Liella in 1st place, they win and qualify for the finals!!! Yeah, I shouldn’t be so surprised about it. But tell that to Margarete. That priceless looks on her face. Sore loser b*tch won’t accept the results and even tries to do a Kanye on Taylor Swift by hijacking the emcee’s mic to give her piece of her mind. JUST LOSE GRACEFULLY, B*TCH!!! But with Kanon saying how this is what all has decided, if she cannot accept it, then she has no right to be an idol. Well, that shut her up. As Liella celebrates their victory, of course Margarete’s issue still weigh heavily on Kanon’s mind although the internet is not kind enough and is still ripping into her. Hence she looks into Margarete’s profile and after translating her social media page, it seems she wanted to go to a prestigious music school in Vienna like her sister but failed to enter. But she didn’t say why she entered Love Live. So Kanon meets the b*tch herself. Why is Margarete shocked that she knows about this?! Didn’t she post it online?! Margarete still thinks they are on different levels as Kanon relates how they are similar with that fear of singing in public she had. Margarete blames Kanon for defeating her and stole her dream. Huh? You see, when she failed to enter that school, the people told her about Love Live. If she’d won it, she could get into that school. It’s the reason she entered Love Live. Otherwise she wouldn’t have bothered with this worthless competition. Kanon refutes that and even her claims everyone who loves it are worthless. Speaking like a true sore loser. Kanon believes Liella really won and that their voice and feeling were stronger than hers. Too bad Margarete won’t hear any more of it.

Before Liella can begin their training for the finals, the director summons Kanon. It seems the Vienna school contacted her this morning and has invited Kanon to enrol in their school as a transfer student. Holy f*ck! They want an idol?! While Kanon is free to decide, if she wants to seriously pursue a career in singing, this is her best chance. So as the rest of Liella finds out, they get worried if she would be leaving after Love Live. Well, good news. She isn’t. It is thanks to this school that she has gotten her love for singing back and that’s why she wants to continue to stay her. Yup, music to Liella’s ears. Apparently Chisato catches Margarete eavesdropping (can she hear it all from that distance?!) and goes after her. She won’t let go until she spills the beans. Okay, here is the twist. Apparently her family told her if Kanon enrols in Vienna, she might also have that chance because they want her to learn from Kanon’s singing. Holy sh*t! Kanon > Margarete. Don’t tell me those foreigners are idol fanatics! Margarete would rather not resort to this but if this gets her in, she’ll do it. She’s just using Kanon to achieve her dreams, that’s all. Kanon soon sees the principal and tells her the sad news that she is rejecting this invitation. Okay. Just as long as you don’t regret it. After that, Chisato has a word with the director. Before Liella can get any training started, Chisato interrupts and this is what she wants Kanon to do: Go study abroad.

Episode 12
Since it has always been Kanon’s dream to make her song resonate throughout the world, grab this chance because it’s now or never. Wait. Isn’t the one who is deciding is Kanon herself? She’s not regretting her decision, right? So, is Chisato saying that if Kanon sticks with them and everything else subsequently fails, it will be their fault who stole away her dream?! WTF?! With Chisato crying like that, I’m sure that clouds some of Kanon’s judgment. So we see the characters talk about (boring) stuffs about their time as Liella and before. We all know the drill. Whatever decision Kanon makes, as long as she doesn’t regret it, right? Heck, even Margarete is here to give a piece of her thoughts. Basically, if Kanon goes, she can go back too. She doesn’t want to use her but in order to achieve her dream, she will use any means. So, does she want Kanon to go or not? Kanon then gets a call from Chisato to meet at school. Why not video conferencing? And is school open at this hour?! Oh right. Because all Liella members are here and looks like they want to see her one last time before she goes abroad. So, it’s already decided?! Yeah, with everyone thinking so, Kanon says she’s going to study abroad. You’ll be missed. So nobody going to fill a missing member in Liella? Oh heck, think about that after Love Live! You still remember we have that hurdle to face, huh?! So we breeze through Liella in their training and preparation for the finals. Yeah, it’s the biggest spectacle of the idol world so you bet lots are going to be watching. And now we see Liella strut their winning number on stage. Oh sh*t! Did I spoil it for you?! Because yeah, LIELLA WINS LOVE LIVE!!! Nice trophy sitting there in their cabinet. Can’t blame them for celebrating it the umpteenth time. It never gets bored being a winner! Everybody so happy their dream is fulfilled. And now why is Kanon still around? Don’t want to part? So much so the rest had to throw her out. WTF?! Kanon leaves but at the gates, there is Margarete. What’s this?! She is in Yuigaoka’s uniform?! Oh my. What happened? So she’s enrolling here? Okay. What happened about going back to Vienna? What do you mean studying abroad is cancelled?! Didn’t you get that letter? What letter? Oh sorry. Can’t read German! Oh Kanon…

Super Liella Galaxy
Oh well. That is supposed to be the end of the Love Live franchise, right? We’re all going to be high and dry and no more Love Live idols for years to come, right? Wait… What’s this… OH MAH F*CKING GALAXY!!! YOU MEAN THERE IS GOING TO BE A THIRD SEASON FOR THIS SERIES?! THIS IS SO UNPRECEDENTED! No wonder that trolling cliff-hanger at the end. The first Love Live franchise to have a third season! Uh huh. Caught me by surprise too. I thought it would be over seeing Liella has won Love Live and that’s the end of the whole story, am I right?! Apparently I’m not. Because instead of creating a fifth and new Love Live group (is the fan base for Muse and Aqours still big and excited like before?), my guess is to extend this current one because well, even if Liella had won, there are still issues with Margarete to sort out, right? And yes, Liella going to be international superstars, that’s how I would look at it. Got to remember the name of this series.

Is it me or did the final episode felt like they tried to rush everything? Well, personally I felt that the focus turned out to be more on the Kanon’s dilemma drama than the Love Live itself. Uh huh. I can’t believe it gave me the impression that the Love Live finals weren’t as important as Kanon’s decision and dreams to go abroad! That’s why it felt like it was rushed and brushed through like a breeze. Even more so despite being predictable, Liella finally winning it. Uh huh. A wish fulfilled so that Kanon could go overseas with no regrets. After all, don’t want to go to Vienna as a loser now, doesn’t she? Thank goodness that didn’t happen either so either way, Liella got their ass covered. Heh. And Liella doesn’t have to lose Kanon too. We can be together till the end! Win-win! Because of the freaking insignificance of the Love Live finals, it got me to speculate that Liella was the only idol unit to show up. Uh huh. Others dropped out. That’s why we only see Liella performing, right? Heck, we don’t even know who the other finalists are! Not important. What’s important is that Liella winning it. Obviously if there was only 1 team performing, the winner goes to… No wonder this whole Love Live thingy feels so hollow to me now. Geez…

Not being a huge idol fan myself (hey, I’m just watching the Love Live franchise for nostalgia’s sake because notice I don’t watch newer idol genres and series anymore), I guess this season’s story and all were pretty much predictable and in line with what I was expecting. In other words… BORING! Well okay, not the most boring plot ever but being the idol genre this is, I mean, how far can the story stretch, right? The idol group in focus working hard to achieve their dreams, the appearance of a somewhat not-so-likeable rival to help spur them further, and with the support of everyone, the inevitable of winning Love Live is all but theirs. Hardly things could get any more exciting than that unless you’re purely a hardcore idol fan who loves this kind of formula.

Oh right, the other surprising thing this season is the addition of new members. Just like how Nijigasaki idols did it, Liella also added a few new members to help spice things up and to bloat up their numbers. Hence there was a debate where or not Liella was better being a small unit instead of being blown up to the traditional 9 members like Muse and Aqours. The more the merrier? Yeah, there’s this risk of established fans of a certain idol may sway his/her likes to the newer idol. You know how the pie is only so big, right? Get what I’m trying to say? That’s why some I read prefer the original Liella as it was a smaller unit and it worked well for them. But Liella seems to have more impact as an idol group introducing new members than Nijigasaki because the latter works more as a solo unit and hence not as much impact as it did for Liella. But personally to me, it doesn’t really matter since well yeah, I’m not really an idol fan.

So speaking of the characters, the new ones breathe new life and make things more interesting because with more members, I’m sure they can have more characters and more of their quirkiness spread out. In last season, Sumire and Keke were my ‘favourite’ characters because of their weird dynamism of getting on each other’s nerves. Although they are still at it this season, I feel that is somewhat toned down. And hence, my new ‘favourite’ girl is Natsumi because she is funny and only thinks about raking in the money! Oh yeah. Oninatsu! Got to love her each time she says money in English! Too bad she felt less funny once she became an official Liella member. Because not so money minded anymore and she is focusing mostly on her dreams. Money still her goal but it’s not her priority. Shucks. Oh heck, Keke, Sumire and Natsumi should form a comedy unit and be jokers themselves! Yeah, I would very much like to see that! A Chinese, a giant isopod and a dollar bill walk into a bar… HAHAHA!!! Sighs… I’m sure with Liella the winners, Keke’s dilemma of going back to Shanghai is all but forgotten, huh? Free to stay as she likes. Good. Need to see more Keke x Sumire spat…

As for the other newbies, I also have this feeling that they have been toned down a lot ever since they become official in Liella. Maybe they have to share the same spotlight now, huh? But anyway, their outlandish behaviour was perhaps as some sort of introduction. You know, like Mei being a passionate idol lover but has this mean looks and basically a bit crude like a delinquent on the outside. Then there is her best friend Shiki who is the emotionless girl trope of the group and if you need some weird inventions for some sort of plot convenience, she’s the girl to go to. Last and not least, Kinako. Cheerful and all, sometimes I feel she is a bit meek so when Sumire gets a bit aggressive, she’s like a bit cowering or something.

As for the original members of Liella, the surprising one is Ren because who’d think she would become a video game addict! Wow. That feels like she has really deviated from her character. Her being the spiteful b*tch and somewhat villainess we almost hate last season has been long forgotten. History. Hence that episode with Ren being a video game addict, it was probably my favourite one seeing now she has a different side to it. Yeah, perhaps when Liella disbands, she’ll be a gamer or something. Otherwise without this, Ren could be the blandest member in Love Live that has nothing significant going for her. Because we all know the Sumire x Keke dynamism already, Chisato being the group’s leader (shocking because I thought do-it-all Kanon would helm that role) and speaking of Kanon, I have this feeling that she doesn’t force you into things. But she talks to you enough to change your mind! Not sure if that is psychology at play or she is just really so concerned about everything. Maybe that is why she is different and stands out from the rest. And because she thinks so much about things, she’s got this worried look on her face most of the time. Hey, she’s got to make a lot of big decisions. Don’t want to regret it later, right?

And of course this season’s rival and so called antagonist, Margarete. Yeah, we all need one like her, right? Because Sunny Passion is so friendly that you could hardly feel they are like your true rivals. And now that they have lost, they are a forgone conclusion. Yeah, unless you are totally hardcore fans, nobody flocks around losers. So be thankful with all the support their fans have been giving throughout the years and be grateful that they have at least won it once. Hence continuing the pipe dream of defending champions winning the coveted title for a second consecutive year. It goes to show the tight competition with the many idol groups around because damn if the same idol group wins again, it shows that others have not much improved, right?

So with this brooding b*tch around, she shakes things up by calling Love Live a pariah and things so highly of herself. Well, jokes on her since she lost and now the memes are taunting and haunting her over her arrogance. How can such a high class musician lose in a third rate event? Is it me who is out of touch? Why, no! It is all of you who are out of touch! Yeah. That’s how I mostly feel about her character. Yes, it is easy to cast her as so but I guess they want us to look at her that way so that we can channel our support for Liella. The biggest irony that those Vienna people consider Kanon a better singer than her and imposed a condition on Margarete if she really wants to get into this prestigious music school. Probably I am thinking that those people aren’t really idol lovers but as music lovers generally, no one genre is inferior to another even though you do not like it. So perhaps this is to teach her a lesson and open her eyes about the diversity of music and how it brings everyone together. And now with Margarete donning Yuigaoka’s uniform, oh man, is Liella going to do the impossible and add another new member?! Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! Damn, I thought she would be Kanon’s replacement had the overseas stint happened. In the event of Margarete does become part of Liella, I wonder how it will affect the lucky number 9… Yeah, didn’t know I was this superstitious…

Speaking of dreams, I suppose the theme and goal of this entire franchise is to have people live out their dreams. But I have to tell you about the dark side of it all because not everybody is a winner. Because if everyone is a winner, then nobody is actually a winner. You see Liella and Kanon especially, spouting nice words about never giving up and trying hard to achieve one’s dreams. But for every single winner of Love Live, I bet there are hundreds and even thousands of school idols whose dreams are shattered every year. Uh huh. Easy for Liella and past winners of Love Live to say since they got theirs. Also bear in mind that this is a competition opened to school idols only so you have that limited time and number of times to participate. In the end, you don’t see the other losers as who knows how many gave up or start hating this idol thingy. Sorry to sound so grim but that’s the kind of reality I am thinking. Not everything is a bed or roses, you know. For Liella, they’re so lucky (because they are main characters!).

To make this year’s Love Live more suspicious, the preliminaries were done online. Sure, trying to mirror that Corona thingy in real life but I don’t think in the context of this anime, the virus might not even exist! So I feel it is some sort of sleazy excuse for the organizers not to add to the bulging costs because you know, you have to rent halls and all the equipment and other event organizing costs that go with it. Time is money! So what devilish idea for these idols to do their own stage and all, just send your participation via online! Voila! Let those girls do all the work since everyone is having their heads high in the clouds thinking they would be winning it while the organizers are quietly laughing how this saves them a lot of time, money and effort. And since it is online, who knows? The judges don’t even have to sit there the whole time to judge and can even skip the video! Select the ones we want to watch and pass! OMG. Yeah, because we don’t see other idols performing, I am going to highly speculate Liella’s supporters pulled some strings in the shadow to bribe the committee to make Liella pass! Oh damn! I mean, do you even know the judging criteria for this?! This is probably why Sunny Passion lost too.

As for the music, this season has its bunch too but as usual and it is no more surprising to me, I didn’t hear anything interesting that would pique my interest. Yeah, I guess my music tastes are very different, huh? You know I’m going to sound like a broken recorder at this point but I still have to say it. Because Start:Dash! still remains my only favourite song out of the entire franchise. Heh. Hence if I was the judge of this edition’s Love Live, you bet many will cry as I give them mediocre and low marks! So am I making the Love Live competition easy or tough? Thus for this season’s opening and ending theme, We Will and Oikakeru Yume No Saki De respectively, they just feel like normal and generic idol tunes to me. Nothing special. Of course the ending theme has a few variations in the sense that there will be solo versions of the song in addition to the whole Liella singing it.

With new Liella members, this means new casts in the line-up. Of course they don’t ring a bell to me and just like their senior counterparts, they have no other voice acting role outside this franchise. I mean, it is going to be tough on their schedule as they will be dedicating their careers as 3D versions of Liella too. So we have Nozomi Suzuhara as Kinako, Akane Yabushima as Mei, Wakana Ookuma as Shiki and Aya Emori as Natsumi. Not sure if Yuina who is the voice of Margarete will continue to be a solo artist as this is her debut and only voice acting so far. And yes, Mamiko Noto still around as Kanon’s mom and just making very rare appearances. But there is one that surprised me. Kinako’s mom is voiced by… Is that really Ikue Ootani?! OMG! It’s her! Kinako’s mom is Pikachu or Chopper!!! HAHAHA!!! Sighs…

Art and animation also remain consistent as you can see the high quality visuals put into the animation. From the backgrounds to your idol girls looking all cute and pretty. It’s all about the looks, no? The idols on stage are still done in CGI and they are decent to look at. After all, you don’t want those pretty idols to look so hideous and awkward, right? Idols performing on stage is all about the performance so they better look pretty and good up there. And by that, it means not only in their idol uniforms. While it is not exactly CGI masterpiece, I just hope other anime studios who want to employ such CGI would at least have this sort of level and not give us sh*tty quality.

Overall, this season is pretty average to me. Nothing really special or out of the ordinary. Even my ‘favourite’ funny girls eventually fall flat and the same fate too on the newer ‘favourite’ funny girl. Yeah, what was I really expecting? A fully blown out manzai comedy? In that case, came to the wrong series and genre! Here I thought my stint and journey with anything idol related has ended but looks like I will have to stick around and see that comes in the third season. I am guessing Liella will go on to achieve greater heights but hopefully they won’t come crashing down as fast as they did climbing up. Because if that happens, the superstar would have turned into a supernova! Galaxy!

Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai S2

I see the Love Live power and following are still strong. And so as to keep up with the tradition with the previous iterations, hence Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai S2. Yup. Even this one has got a sequel. Japan isn’t going to slow down in the idol business anytime soon since we have so many idol hungry and crazy fans out there that needs to be satiated with all the glitzy and kawaii idol style dance and music. Uh huh. Yeah, sometimes I wonder if I am a closet idol fan since I feel obliged to watch this. What closure was I trying to find with this series, I don’t know. Don’t ask.

Episode 1
Our Nijigasaki school idols just complete their epic application video. Hmm… Everyone in suits… Looks more like some secret service agents than idols… Anyway, they are hyped to play it during open campus. Shioriko Mifune of the student council greets transfer student from Hong Kong, Zhong Lanzhu. She is so eager to meet the idols that the moment she sees Ayumu, she gives her a big hug. Seems she came all the way from HK to be a school idol here. Why this and not other schools with better idols? She saw their video at the festival and was moved. That simple. Of course she is perplexed with Yuu’s case as she did not see her in the videos but yet she is in an idol club. She claims the club gives her dreams. Ayumu adds because others support her, she is able to live her dreams. Time for the big show to play the application video. Yeah, every student is anticipating this. And when the video goes up… WTF this blooper video?! How the f*ck can they mess up after all that intensive editing?! You think it’s cute, eh? Wait till YOUR embarrassing footage turns up! STOP THE VIDEO! So as to save this event, Lanzhu takes the stage and sings to everyone. Yup, her edgy solo video that will wow everyone. Despite everyone enjoying it, this was against school rules to perform right there so Shioriko has her write a formal apology. No buts. Before the idol girls can ask her to join, Lanzhu declines as she thinks this club won’t make her dreams come true as their ideals don’t match. She believes idols don’t need support from each other and all they have to do is give fan dreams. She will go her own way for the festival. Ah, there’s your obligatory rival development. Lanzhu then throws back the question to Yuu of why she is still in this club. She thinks she would be better off leaving it to pursue her dreams. Yuu praises how amazing Lanzhu is but will achieve her dreams in her own ways. Everyone here has the same feelings. May the best solo, uhm, group wins? See you at the festival.

Episode 2
While planning for the festival, Emma tells her pals that her friends from an idol club of another school will be doing a joint performance with them. They meet Jennifer and Rakshata from YG Academy. The duo also mention about watching Lanzhu’s performance yesterday and are confused she isn’t here. They clear the air that Lanzhu isn’t part of their club. Emma goes to try and convince Lanzhu again but once more, she declines because she can’t stand on a small stage with them. Meanwhile Yuu takes a supplementary exam in her music course. Also there is Mia Taylor who is part of Lanzhu’s groupie. Either she doesn’t care or she is so talented that she just comes in for a while, scribbles a few bits, gives back the sheet to the teacher and leaves. Later Yuu stumbles into her and talks to her and finds out that she doesn’t consider herself as Lanzhu’s friend. She writes the songs that Lanzhu’s wants to sing and via Lanzhu, Mia’s song will get noticed. That’s all to them. With Lanzhu having a fan site stating she will be putting up a surprise performance, Kasumi thinks of tailing her. And finding her weakness! Good luck. So with Emma, Rina and Kanata, they follow Lanzhu around be see her having fun shopping. And then suddenly out of the blue, Lanzhu is in her idol dress and puts up a performance on a garden stage. Not sure if she has a clone… After that, Lanzhu knows the quartet watching and invites them to her suite. She lives better than a princess! She asks about her performance. Great, of course. Lanzhu continues that this is what she wants to give to her fans and nothing beats all the fans adoring and giving her their attention. Is she some idol dictator? But Emma questions if that is what she wants. Of course Lanzhu is adamant she will be a solo artist and if she was in a club, she couldn’t be performing freely like this. The Nijigasaki girls beg to differ but Lanzhu is not buying it. After all, they cannot be compared! And if they still insist, feel free to prove her wrong. Later, Emma is still having doubts and thinks Lanzhu isn’t telling the truth. But she is certain Lanzhu came here after watching their performance and that’s why she can’t leave her alone. So the quartet are going to put on some amazing concert to convince her.

Episode 3
The quartet are all over the place so Rina suggests spending time with each other to get to know each other. You mean they aren’t? This means not only during club hours but sleeping over at each other’s place. So we see them brainstorm for ideas such as designing the kind of outfits they want to design. They have a long way to go… With a little polishing they could be better as stand-up comedians than idols… Meanwhile Yuu is having trouble. More like writer’s block so she seeks Mia’s advice. Well, pretty textbook answer of writing songs people want to hear and as long as you apply the stuffs you learn, you’ll be okay. Gee, uhm, thanks? So she talks to her Nijigasaki idol comrades and after giving her a bit of support, you bet that is going to work and she’ll have some confidence in herself. This gives Kasumi’s side some motivation too to get things done. And so that joint concert is here. Is it me or does their outfit suck?! Yeah, like as though they find some leftover quilt and turned it into some oversized wrapper or something. And they call themselves QU4RTZ. Typical idol performance that has all your generic background characters screaming with joy. But is Lanzhu moved? Hard to tell with that resting b*tch face. And of course Yuu has now renewed confidence and so it is her turn to make the grade. Her piano play so good that Mia’s interest is piqued. So can we safely say she made it because of that cute smile to her pals?

Episode 4
With the success of QU4RTZ, Ai wants to do an online performance to reach more audience. She’s also hinting in forming a unit. Any takers? Why is Emma looking at Karin? Karin still asserts she does it better competing with someone. Gee, that’s a weird way of saying I like it solo. You mean like Lanzhu?! Ai stumbles into Karin at the mall. She introduces her to her neighbour, Misato Kawamoto who has been playing a sisterly role for the most part of her life. So as they hang out together, Karin starts noticing something about Misato. She personally talks to her about her fake smile and it’s like something is bugging her. All Misato says is that she wants to support Ai. Karin talks to Ai about this and both are worried that she might be depressed. Ai wants to talk to Misato but Karin thinks it is better to leave her alone for now. However Ai can leave her onee-sama like that and will do all she can to make her happy. Ai goes to talk to Misato and of course the latter won’t say. This has Ai think of herself being at fault. Misato refutes that and despite all the positive talk, Misato puts a forlorn tone when she says she’ll continue to support her. Ai then talks to Karin how she was right. This makes her have doubts about being an idol now. Should she quit? Karin gets psychological and dares her. Maybe she’ll win Misato’s heart along the way. In that case Ai is going to continue being an idol. As for pairing up, Karin still refuses to pair up but Ai doesn’t mean that as accommodating her feelings. She wants them to stand on the same stage and compete with the same song. If she is looking from this perspective, Karin agrees. Now we see the duo as Driver Diva performing their spacey song live that is also streamed across the social media platform. Once the song is over, Ai is happy to see Misato here. Initially she didn’t have the guts to come but finally decided to. Misato looks sincerely happy and had fun watching her perform. Can she be her fan? Of course. Misato also has Ai to thank as she wants to be a person like her. Someone who can be a friendly rival to Ai.

Episode 5
Shizuku talks to Yuu because she plans to form a unit with Ayumu and Setsuna. Weird. Why ask her and not them?! So when Ayumu sees Yuu and Shizuku out together, you bet there is some sort of jealousy inside. She goes to tail them and since Setsuna is also there, the duo become pseudo detectives. Eventually the duo got busted so they made up a story that they’re here to watch some hero show. Then the quartet go enjoy themselves at the park since they’re there. Yuu and Shizuku reveal about their meeting to brainstorm for ideas about the new unit. So are you relieved now, Ayumu? While doing so, they stumble into Lanzhu. Again, HK girl thinks they’re all fooling around especially Yuu who just barely passed her test, she should stop hanging out in the club. It is because the other girls are spoiling her and that her dreams haven’t take off yet and is just overlapping with the ones around her. If she is satisfied this way, then she hasn’t created anything yet. I’m sure this earns their rebuke but Yuu thanks her kindness instead. Because of what she told her, she realizes she has a long way to go and is confident she’ll get there if she works hard and be positive. She hopes for a little more time if she is concerned for her. Lanzhu, concerned for her?! Never! Then we see Ayumu, Setsuna and Shizuku adlib some pseudo Beauty And The Beast play on stage. Not sure what’s going on. Wasn’t paying attention. Yeah, I’m sure it’s all amazing acting considering Yuu’s reaction.

Episode 6
Kasumi still going around to shoot footage for the festival. One day as Setsuna is being herself discussing stuffs with Ayumu and Shizuku, suddenly Shioriko comes in and sees this. She realizes Nana is Setsuna. Attempts to lie fail miserably. Of course Shioriko will not tell anyone since she doesn’t want to get in the way as Nana has contributed a lot to the school. But soon a problem hits. With a flood of applicants coming in and this will cause the venue to be working at over its usual capacity, there is a possibility the festival might be delayed. And waste everyone’s hard work? Of course when her idol friends hear about it and before Setsuna will go on an apology tour, they agree to help brainstorm for ideas. Uh huh. Setsuna trying to shoulder everything herself when she should know that the student council doesn’t only consist of the president. I take it that those tears means she accepts their help. After explaining to her student council members, they head straight into brainstorming for solutions. Didn’t pay attention to this boring part because all I know is that it is going to proceed because everyone agrees to help out as other schools also agree to participate in this. Before the festival begins, a video plays throughout the school. Nana making her speech and heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this possible. Then of course this is part of the plan to reveal herself to the world that she is also an idol named Setsuna. Just take off those nerdy glasses and undo those boring braids and voila! Here’s your new pretty idol! Some delighted and of course some in shock. Wow, did I hear one of the student council members letting loose a blood curling horror scream?! Shocking indeed. Together with Ayumu and Shizuku, the trio under the unit name of Azuna, start their performance. Once they are done, the festival officially opens.

Episode 7
Kaoruko who is Shioriko’s older sister was once an idol. However her group didn’t get past the qualifiers and hence their dream to Love Live ended. Yeah, so sad. Now she is a teaching staff in the academy. She thought Shioriko should also join the idol club but the latter believes she is best in cheering and supporting them. Later Kaoruko tells the Nijigasaki idols about her past. She felt she let Shioriko down. Of course this means those girls are now going to bug Shioriko to join their club. She stops them claiming she will not become that. True, she once idolized her sister and wanted to become like her. But she failed to achieve the results and her dreams shattered. She even quotes Setsuna about stop focusing on things you aren’t good at and instead focus on the ones that you are good at. That’s why to live her life to her fullest potential, she will support them. That way, everyone can be happy. Yeah, why does she look sad in saying that? And you know the girls won’t ‘accept’ this, right? But eventually it is up to Shioriko to decide and they have no say. But they decide to give it 1 more try to ‘convince’ her. They take her to have fun at the festival. This their true feelings? This is to let her know that they support her and thanks to her, this year’s festival is also a success. Cue for Shioriko to break down a little, claiming she was sad to see Kaoruko regretting. But Kaoruko clear the air that she did not regret it although she was disappointed. Just like she became a teacher to support her students, she believes she can support her to the fullest too. So I guess now Shioriko has this twisted reason that the reason she is supporting them from the side-lines is because she doesn’t want to be apart from school idols. Basically saying, she wants to be a school idol, right? And so Shioriko goes on stage and we see her own music video. Not the best and there’s lots of improvements to be made. But hey, everyone’s gonna support her, right? The idols extend their hand to her to sing with them tomorrow on stage. She declines since she has her duties to fulfil. But once this festival is over, can she come join? WHY OF COURSE! Big group hug! See, you’re already part of the gang. And why the f*ck Lanzhu feels sad in seeing this? Like as though the club just added another idiot that goes against her belief!

Episode 8
It’s the last day of the festival and the one doing the opening act is Lanzhu. The final performance which is to be done by the Nijigasaki idol club, seems empty. Turns out Yuu hasn’t completed the song they’re supposed to be performing. Holy cow. Can she actually make it in time?! I mean, you need to compose, arrange and practice… Worse, she’s having writer’s block right now. So as the final day gets underway, some of them go check on Yuu. She’s agonizing herself in different positions. I’m sure inspiration won’t turn up anytime soon… Shioriko thinks a change of pace is needed. So after talking to her pals, looks like she has an idea what she needs to write. There. So easy! The final act is coming up as everyone anticipates the ‘opening ceremony’. Yeah, some mini boat needed to reach the goal for the whole thing to start. Then it gets stuck! Oh shucks! So does this mean the idol performances are cancelled?! No silly. Lanzhu just goes on stage and start. After her turn, everyone else gets prepared. Mia notices Yuu down and talks to her. Oh, after watching Lanzhu so great, now she’s having depression on how to best that? I thought you’re supposed to do what you’re supposed to do?! If you’re easily influenced, you’ll never get things done! As Yuu talks about her friends and wants to be closer to them, it is then she realizes that is the thrill she wants. With Mia’s help, looks like she makes an overhaul of the song! Damn, the final day must last more than 24 hours! Because Yuu manages to play this song to her friends and they all agree to do it. Yeah, talented idols going to make it sound perfect in a short period of time. So the final performance is at hand as the Nijigasaki idols give thanks to everyone but this time gives the starting spotlight to Yuu as she begins playing her song before the idols start prancing to its full tune. Perfect. The best. What a blast. Later as the Nijigasaki idols celebrate, Lanzhu goes to congratulate them and even admits they have proven her wrong. They all did a great job and their feelings and resolve got through her. Hence coming here was worth it. Wow. That easy? So why doesn’t Lanzhu look happy?

Episode 9
Mia gets a message from Lanzhu that she has quit being a school idol and is going home. Mia won’t take this sh*t and still needs her to sing her music. It’s not over yet. Oh, but Lanzhu claims after seeing the idols at the festival, it made her realize she cannot reach that level. Is she saying Mia’s song isn’t up to standard? In that case, she’ll write the ultimate song for her. Then Shioriko stumbles into Lanzhu as they talk. Shioriko thought she made her mad with her previous statement and wants to apologize. Oh damn, it just makes Lanzhu feel awkward and run away! Once Mia is done and lets Lanzhu hear it, good as always but it’s not a song for her. Mia gets mad and forgets about it. So she’s giving up? Rina talks to Mia and learns that music is everything to her and without it, she is useless. She talks about music being important in her family. She loved singing when she was young but when she debuted, she was suddenly overcome with fear upon realizing how big her family name is in the music world. Ever since she has fears of living up to its standards. Of course Rina doesn’t know any of that and doesn’t care. If Mia loves singing, then just singing. Not for her family but for herself. That is enough motivation for Mia to rewrite the song. With the other Nijigasaki girls helping, Mia is on her way to the ultimate piece. However time is ticking since Lanzhu can’t wait and is leaving. Can the girls stall her at the airport. Seems like it. Stubborn Lanzhu is adamant she still won’t accept Mia’s song. Until Mia tells her that she is giving up and how she will reach her dreams. As long as you’re a school idol, everyone will accept you. That supposed to be the clincher as we hear Mia’s ultimate song. So it’s a song for Mia and not Lanzhu? Lanzhu goes on to explain why she can’t make friends and has always been alone until she saw solo idols performing together. The irony, right? Anyway, this is to help rebuild her friendship with Shioriko. And with Yuu thanking her for her words that made her move on, Lanzhu is back in business and Mia now considers her a rival more than a business partner. And the deal is made even sweeter as Lanzhu wonders if the offer is still open. You bet. Nijigasaki welcomes her as a new member.

Episode 10
Lanzhu, Mia and Shioriko are welcomed to the idol club. Shioriko trying to formally hand over her application to Setsuna but she isn’t the club president. Yuu? Nope. It’s Kasumi. Remember? Since Kasumi feels she isn’t treated like one, she is going to organize a special tour and slumber party to deepen their friendship. So we see Kasumi playing the tour guide as she guides her pals around town. All part of her plan to make others see she’s a capable president. So far so good. I hope. Then everyone stays at Shizuku’s place since it’s quite big. Kasumi again trying to show off her captaincy by winning games but she loses them all. Tomorrow will be the day, eh? With Rina creating a game app on their phones, they are to walk around town and tap on images of kittens that appear randomly. Hmmm… Where have I heard this game before?! I wonder if Rina will get sued for plagiarism… Niji High GO… Once again Kasumi fails to get any kittens and she thought she trained hard for it. The only others who didn’t catch any are Lanzhu and Shioriko. She thinks of teaming up with them to catch some but accidentally revealing her plan to get everyone to revere her. She gets embarrassed and gives an excuse to go find herself. The duo are impressed with her since she is honest with herself. Shioriko notices something has been bugging Lanzhu since. So she wants a group photo, eh? In the end, Yuu gets the most. Sorry Kasumi, getting 1 means you’re the wooden spoon. Yuu’s wish is that since she has written songs for all of them, she hopes they can come up with its lyrics. Then everyone praises Kasumi for being the best president since this won’t be possible without her. Yeah, all your worries were unfounded. That night after everyone plays their sparklers, Lanzhu gets her wish as everyone lines up for a group photo.

Episode 11
Kasumi is ecstatic as she heard rumours that their club may become official. Hey, if that is going to be true, it will have to go through Setsuna who is the school council president, first, right? Now that they have got some merits, it is possible they will be officially recognized. This means better rooms and all and even better, partake in official competitions. Like Love Live. Oh damn. How did I forget about this?! But first, the exams are coming up and some like Kasumi and Karin are close to the failing grade. Prodigy Mia is going to be your coach. Then there is the student council election coming up after the tests. Setsuna isn’t going to defend her seat as she has done what she needs to do. She wants to devote the rest of her time in the idol club. The rest are ‘boring’ scenes as they discuss about the club’s future. We’re all going to be in it, right? When Emma and Kanata spot a gloomy Karin, they go bug her. Basically, she is sad thinking that the seniors will soon graduate and be the first to leave the club. Feeling lonely? While they understand what she meant, they also imply that if you spend too much time worrying about the past or future, you won’t enjoy the moment now. That’s right. Enjoy each day to the fullest. Have fun now. Think about the future later. Then Karin has a brilliant idea. She texts the rest and they all come rushing down just to praise how good that idea is? So it’s just their first concert together, huh? I can see why everyone is so excited. It’s also to thank everyone who has supported them so far. It’s going to be the best concert ever. The tests are over and Kasumi barely passes. While everyone and Kasumi herself are happy because she didn’t fail, Mia is shaking her head. After all that coaching and just this average score? Yeah, it means Mia isn’t a good teacher, HAHAHA! Oh, Karin too gets the same average score… Hey, they’re idols. Not rocket scientists!

Episode 12
Preparations for the concert is on track. While everyone is willing to help the club, we see Yuu having some dilemma of hers. Yes, this music composition competition and she is hesitant of entering it. Ayumu then receives a mail from a fan from London who got inspired by her act. The problem is her friend wants to become an idol but there are no such clubs in their country. This leads to a talk on how idols are basically non-existent in some countries. ARE THEY SAYING WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL TO JAPAN FOR IDOLS?! Because of their busy schedule and circumstances, Yuu and Ayumu are not willing to go for it. Kanata sees Haruka practising so hard for the Love Live preliminaries. She tries to do something to cheer her up when Yuu talks to her about her dilemma. Later the same case for Ayumu. Since when did Kanata become some consultation expert? So I’m sure she has something to say but eventually she can’t give them any advice right now. Then some fan girls of Haruka seeks Kanata’s help. They want to support her but don’t know how to reach her. This leads to Kanata talking to her friends about it. Sure, they want to help but how? Until Rina comes up with a great idea that everybody can go along with. So on the day of the Tokyo Love Live preliminaries, you bet Haruka and the other girls are nervous. But then she receives a text from Kanata that links her to a live video streaming site. It seems the Nijigasaki idols and all their other friends have gathered to give one big cheer support. Yeah, everyone gets emotional but this gives them the much needed motivation to do their best. Now without the nervousness. This also leads to Yuu and Ayumu deciding to take their chance. Yuu will enter the competition and Ayumu will go abroad for a while. To celebrate this, Yuu has written solo songs for each of them!

Episode 13
Our girls are further motivated with all the fans showering them with words of encouragement and other stuffs. Then it is time for the big show. Yes, a medley of them singing their solo songs. Since it’ll take forever to showcase its full song (go buy their CDs, dammit!), we hear snippets and a few second of it. Sometimes it makes me wonder if they’re all lip synching because we see them reacting to fans and all while their song continues to play. Hmm… The newbies giving us a surprise and putting an end to the solo monotony as they go on stage to do their group act. Not in the script but it’s worth it. At least to the fans. During the break before the big final, time to see Yuu getting emotional with her own fans’ words of encouragement. Yeah, it’s to remind us she is very well part of the club. The big finale has all the Nijigasaki girls on stage and doing one big group idol song. But before that can happen, Yuu shouting how much she loves them all. Uhm, does she think the crowd will drown out her voice? Because it did not and they now notice her. Awkward. But a chance to let her speak her true feelings and that the club is here for them. Uhm, is this an idol club or some sort of troubleshooting club? Now can we end it with a bang? Splendid. In the aftermath, Shioriko becomes the new student council president. Being so liberal, she approves any new club. Gotta have fun, right? Others to note, Karin would love to try to get into acting, Kasumi sad her antique throne is rejected by the student council and Ayumu surprises her London friends. Wow. So Engrish…

At The End Of The Rainbow…
YAAAAWN!!! Oh, it’s over? Hopefully. Thank goodness. Yeah, you idol fanatics want to rip my head off but be thankful I am even watching this series! Heh. Here I am thinking if the Nijigasaki idol club has become a lot more famous lately, why aren’t there more people joining it? Does this mean that everybody has short attention span or everybody was just feeling it at the spur of the moment? I mean, when you have people from all over the world cheering for that big concert of theirs, surely it must have made some sort of impact and attract the attention of bigwigs, right? You know, say those Love Live organizers thinking of giving some special pass for them to join in the preliminaries… Oh heck, why am I being so paranoid and overthinking? As long as these Nijigasaki idols enjoy what they do, Love Live or whatever big legendary competitions don’t matter. As long as their fans love them for it. That’s the biggest prize they could get and I believe they already won it.

If I have to put it bluntly (like you have not guessed it already), personally I feel that this season is even much more boring than the first. So I guess this is good news that proves I am not an idol fan? Yeah, sure. Great. Not sure what that proves, though. Because I’m still gonna watch the next Love Live franchise, RIGHT?! Anyway, with a wholesome idol theme, what else the story of a sequel can focus on? I mean, they’re not suddenly going to drop a plot twist like an apocalyptic moment suddenly hits Earth and now our idols have to turn into freedom fighters to fight against the tyranny of alien oppressors with their music?! Oh, sorry. Wrong anime. Yeah. I figured that wouldn’t be the case. And so we go down the boring route of our idol girls trying to improve themselves more down the idol path. Sighs. BIG YAAAAAAAWN!!!

So the only interesting (term used very loosely) thing to note is that unlike other Love Live iterations, this one actually had new members joining the club. Not one, not two but three newbies! Wow. Such a great achievement. Of course the Nijigasaki idols aren’t really an official unit so it somewhat make sense that their door is open for others to join. The more the merrier. And holy cow, I sure did actually forget the plot of why these girls did not even enter Love Live in the first place. Unlike the first 2 iterations of Love Live, this one does not have a school shutting down problem. Therefore I quickly had forgotten why they weren’t really qualified to participate in Love Live and here I was thinking at the start that they weren’t interested in partaking in it. Yeah, the Holy Grail of the idol world and as an idol you don’t covet it? Something very wrong. You’re in the wrong club! So yeah, I’m even amazed I forgot about this fact. I blame the boringness. Heh.

Sad to say, the characters did not resonate with me, old or new. Last season we already had our original Nijigasaki members somewhat fleshed out. Or at least have a dedicated episode to focus on them and see if you would become a fan of that girl. Heh. This season doesn’t repeat that because of the subplot of the battle against Lanzhu. More on this later. Even my so called favourite girl, Kasumi, whom I liked because she was a really funny girl, wasn’t all that funny this time. Even if Kasumi tried to be just that in the later episodes towards the end, it was already too late. She’s just pretty meh like the rest. But don’t worry, I still prefer her over the rest because she is still the funniest. Yeah. And of course the rest don’t change much like Rina still hiding behind her sketchbook and Kanata the sleepy girl. Though, others are more forgettable like Shizuku and Emma.

Having tried the unique formula of being solo idols, at the end of last season we saw them forming performing as a group for the final performance. So why they didn’t keep that up is a mystery to me. Are they saying that they prefer being a solo idol? But of course to spice things up, hence they formed mini units of their own. Not that I can see how much better this is. Yeah, don’t get mad. I’m not really an idol fan so I’m just looking at a point of view that indicates this is more for variety entertainment purposes than anything else. After all, as I have pointed out that this season doesn’t have individually focused episodes, in order to give them some screen time to save time as well, hence the creation of mini idol units. So are they better in a group or as solo? I don’t know. You be the judge.

Lanzhu as a new character introduced this season, at first she was portrayed to be the rival for Nijigasaki. You know, with that condescending attitude and her strict views of what it means to be an idol as well as her b*tch resting face, it seems they were trying to troll us that she would be the antagonist of this series. The much needed rivalry needed for this series because what else can they do. Oh my. An idol series having a real antagonist? Of course there is not going to be any real animosity because had the Nijigasaki girls give in to their feelings, they would’ve lost. That is why Yuu was so cool all the way and instead of being confronting, she’s like being appreciative. Yeah, knocks you off your high horse, eh? And then in the end, it’s like suddenly Lanzhu admits defeat and becomes all meek. Uhm, is this the real Lanzhu? Since Nijigasaki idols are the main characters, obviously they’re going to win so as to rub it into our faces that their brand of idol is right. But so as not to vanquish the loser and to show us that Lanzhu wasn’t really the villain, hence the icing on the cake and win-win situation that she joins the club. I don’t know, but it feels like she just downgraded herself after all that superior talk about idols. But what the heck, as long as they’re happy where they are, so be it.

Something about Mia confuses me. So this American girl joined the club as an idol. Well, nothing wrong with that because I thought she was a composer like Yuu. Because as I know, Yuu is not part of the idol group (as I mistakenly thought she was in last season). While she is part of the club, she is not an idol herself. But now that Mia has joined them, I thought she would be like the same as Yuu but apparently it does not look like it. Unless I am wrong again so feel free to correct me. I am saying this because in the ending credits animation, we see the entire line-up of the Nijigasaki idols even after the newbies joined. Yuu is not part of it. But Mia is. I thought the club would benefit in having a second backup songwriter but the way I see it, Yuu is the one doing all the work. Oh right. I just remembered Mia’s history. So can one not be an idol and songwriter at the same time? Are both jobs mutually exclusive? Singer > songwriter? Well, she might have more talent in songwriting but she prefers singing more.

Last but not least, Shioriko. Typical girl who loves idols but got a setback since young just by watching her sister fail. You thought she would be happy just playing the supporting role but this doesn’t sit well with the rest so they had to bug her until she changed her mind. Yeah. That’s how I see it. I mean, she was seemingly happy with playing the background support role. But those pesky idols kept bugging her and asking her if she really wants to be that forever. Ladies, if somebody keeps pressuring me into something, I am more likely to do it either. Like when some annoying salesman trying to make me buy his product, damn I’m just going to buy it to keep him off my back! Yeah, that is how I feel for Shioriko’s case but thankfully everything turned out better for her so no case of regrets.

Unfortunately for this season, none of the songs resonate with me. For the umpteenth time, let me remind you that because of this, the first song from the first Love Live season and reiteration, Start:Dash! is still by far the best song of the franchise in my books. Nothing else has ever come close to it. Not even Mia’s so called ultimate song. Sorry girl, this means your ultimate song wasn’t that ultimate to begin with. Heh. So whether it is this season’s opening theme, Colorful Dreams Colorful Smiles or the ending theme, Yume Ga Bokura No Taiyou Sa, they just feel pretty generic to me. Did not move my heart a bit. Gentle reminder again, me no idol fan!

This season new casts, surprising to hear Youko Hikasa as Kaoruko but then again, I shouldn’t be since she has played a myriad of roles throughout the years. Oh heck, I shouldn’t be surprised as more established seiyuus often take up supporting roles in such genres. The others are Akina Houmoto debuting as Lanzhu, Shuu Uchida as Mia and Moeka Koizumi as Shioriko. Initially I thought a Chinese born national would be voicing Lanzhu (just like how one did for Love Live! Superstar) but apparently Akina Houmoto’s special skill is fluency in Chinese so that’s that. Yeah… And I suppose Shuu Uchida’s special skill is English because her Mia character often inserts Engrish English into her lines. Oh sh*t! I found out that’s true! Yeah, I’m thinking that for a Japanese if you master English, you can consider that as a special skill. Now we all know why we love Japan, no?

I don’t remember much about last season but if there is one thing I find a bit ‘annoying’ this season is that the animation of the girls singing on stage isn’t really much of an animation. Yup, you often see still pictures of them in action. While I get it that they might want to save time, energy and budget, I thought having too much of such still pictures would ruin the hype and moment. You know, being an idol is all about singing and dancing so it defeats the purpose if we can’t see them move around in their cute moves. After all, they still do employ CGI in such scenes and they aren’t as bad as how some animes have done it. So I don’t see what the problem is here. Or is there some director’s cut released later at a higher price that will showcase their full animation? Sneaky, sneaky…

Overall, I don’t blame you if you hate me for calling this season boring. Because really, it was nothing extraordinary or special to me. Thus I am going to say this again that only idol fans and those who are into music would greatly appreciate this idol genre. Even more so if you’re a big fanatic fan of the Love Live series. But it remains to be seen if this one would break the mould and have another season because it is unlike its other Love Live counterparts, it is more of a group consisting of solo idols, got new idols into their fold and with the possibility of becoming an official club, they have a chance and shot at the glorious Holy Grail. This means it is not impossible for this series to get another season considering these girls have not even getting started on Love Live. A new challenge for them all to undertake. After all, what is the name of this series and franchise again? But will that happen anytime soon? Oh well, perhaps somewhere over the rainbow…

Love Live! Superstar

Apparently I was mistaken in my previous blog about this Love Live! Superstar series. I thought it was going to be a clash between all the previous idols in the Love Live franchise but apparently it was not going to be a battle royale from the best of the best. This is actually another new group and franchise of the series. Yes, that’s right. Another new set of idols to grace of screens so that they can trap more fans and milk them dry by brainwashing them to buy their merchandise and attend their concerts. OOPS!!! I mean, the idol industry isn’t slowing down in Japan anytime soon and since this Love Live Franchise has been going on for years, how do you keep it fresh and going? That’s right. New group. New girls. Are we ready for them to reach superstar status?

Episode 1
Kanon Shibuya has always wanted to make others happy with her singing. Only 1 problem: She has stage fright. Whenever it comes to the real deal, she freezes up and even faints! The dream is so far away… So now we see her a bit moody, a bit rebellious and even wearing a headphone as she walks to school so she doesn’t have to hear others. But for a short period of time, she gets lost in her singing fantasy and this attracts a Chinese girl, Keke Tang. So infatuated with her great voice, she chases Kanon down! Kanon escapes from her but looks like destiny screws with her as Keke is in the same class with her! Oh, Keke wants to form an idol group? A weird recruitment drive as Keke keeps chasing Kanon. Keke continues to beg Kanon to join her idol group and of course you can tell from Kanon’s face, she isn’t so confident about that. This commotion catches the attention of Ren Hazuki who warns of doing something so frivolous. Uh oh. Is she one of those b*tches who looks down on idols like as though they are the pariah of the music industry? Kanon protests and argues back about that but has to keep her mouth shut when asked if she herself wants to be an idol. Kanon just tells Keke that she loves to sing but has no talent for that. You bet Keke isn’t convinced and tries to do more coaxing at her place. Kanon eventually revealing the big truth behind it. But she’ll help Keke find some other potential members. Later Kanon talks to her friend, Chisato Arashi about this. She learns that Ren is the daughter of the founder of this school. Yup, beware. There are a bunch of idol haters around… In school, Kanon tries to help recruit. Not going well. Even getting scolded by one of her own classmates, Sumire Heanna. WTF?! Did you need to be a b*tch?! She just asked you if you wanted to join?! And of course they have to stay away from Ren’s radar. At the end of the day, no new recruits. Keke still thinks she wants Kanon to join. Kanon still refuses. Did she forget what she told you? Argument. Accidental dropping of pamphlets. Oh. Drama. Please try. Because Keke will continue to bug you. Still stubborn, huh? But it’s time for plot convenience to weave its magic because suddenly Kanon has a change of heart. What’s this freedom she yearns when she sings? And just like that she turns back to Keke and tells her she loves to sing. Ah yes, the cue for Kanon to belt out her own idol piece. Great, right? Noticing that this has attracted many bystanders who are so enthralled by her singing, I guess this is the little push she needs to make her rethink she can do this idol stuff. Yeah! She can sing without fear now! Believe it, hallelujah!

Episode 2
You bet Kanon is all over the moon for overcoming her phobia. Well, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Because bad news. Keke tried to apply to establish an idol club but Ren rejected it. They confront her and of course that dumb reason that makes idol songs like the bottom of the barrel in the music hierarchy. Yeah, so many idols around and if they don’t keep up, it will tank their school’s reputation. Our music must be superior in all aspects! So, no. B*tch. If they still insist, they can try another school. Oh damn, Keke really thinks of quitting to find another school! Hold your horses. Don’t give up yet. Because Kanon promised to help out, this time she enlists Chisato’s help to find Ren’s weakness. Stooping this low now, huh? Basically, none. Yeah, she’s like a goddess around. Chisato suggests joining another club first before forming their own but Kanon doesn’t want it because it would mean giving in to Ren’s tyranny. So they go round collecting signatures. Is this election season? Yeah, girls afraid to sign it so as not to invoke the goddess’ wrath or something. They are then summoned by the director who then learns of what is going on. She overturns Ren’s thinking to outright reject something like that because they have no right to stop students from general curriculum. But in exchange to allow this idol club, the girls must get first place in the upcoming idol festival. Tall order? Well, Kanon and Keke enlist Chisato’s help to teach them dance moves. Okay. Only, did Keke tell you girls that she sucks in sports? Oh my. See her catch her breath more than she catch live idol performances, HAHAHAHA!!! Okay, bad pun… So we see Keke struggle to keep up. At the same time, she also wrote some lyrics (some in Chinese?). Eh? How to write lyrics to a song that doesn’t even exist yet? Isn’t that like a poem? Anyway, this inspires Kanon to try and write a song. The rough sample she lets Chisato hears sounds good. So don’t give up. Keke still out of breath… Don’t give up! Carry on! Fighto! In the end, Kanon realizes she is done with her song. Keke also makes improvements in her stamina. Happy Kanon goes to run with her. Don’t worry, Kanon still outruns her. Time to test out this piece. Hey, it’s a good day, right?

Episode 3
Uh oh. Kanon’s old problem is back. Yup. She can’t sing in front of people again! Ren’s obvious answer: Just give up. Not a chance, b*tch! So Keke and Chisato help out to try and make her overcome that fear. I don’t know how making takoyaki is supposed to do the job because it didn’t. Then they make her dress up and put lots of cute accessories. So how does uploading cute pictures of Kanon over the internet will help? Yeah, it won’t work. Kanon is worried Keke has tries so hard to help her but they’re back to square one. Since forcing won’t help, Keke suggests she just stand on stage for now and she’ll do the singing herself. So they do other stuffs like coming up with a name for their duet (Kuuka?) and Chisato providing those fan lights. The girls receive news that Sunny Passion will also be participating in this festival. They’re currently the best idol around and Keke is their biggest fan. It’s the reason why she came to Japan and look, she has a huge photo of them on her wall to worship! Well, sorry to rain on their parade. If Sunny Passion wins this, you know what it means for their idol club, right? Oh well, don’t fret. Just continue to work hard. Later Keke asks Chisato if she is interested in idols. She is but her main goal is to become a dancer and she can’t juggle both at the same time. More added drama as Kanon feels guilty for being a stumbling block at this stage. Time for Keke’s hug to tell why Kanon is her dream. And some short back story of her serious family making her studying always. You bet Kanon isn’t going to sulk and give up. So they continue their training until the day of the performance. Kuuka is up on stage as Kanon is feeling all jittery now. Will she fail? WTF moment because Sumire trips on some plugs and the whole place blacks out. WTF?! Where’s the crew?! The galaxy just got blacked out! Kuuka then sees the crowd using the fan lights. Beautiful. This gives Kanon the much needed booster that she can sing because she’s not alone. All in right timing as Sumire plugs the wire back (HOW THE F*CK ARE THERE NO CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS TO DO THIS?! And the galaxy lights came back on…), the music gets back on and we see them perform lovely on stage. In the end, a rousing applause from the crowd and we don’t even need to see Sunny Passion’s performance. I mean, why show second best when you’ve already seen the best, right? Yup. Kuuka won!!!

Episode 4
Now that they’ve won, Ren reluctantly hands over the keys to their very own clubroom. They promise to work hard but Ren insists if that is the case, be something else than school idols. No can do. Ren goes on to further claim they do not have what it takes to even win Love Live. As Sumire heard all this, she is curious on what a school idol is. So when Kanon and co find their clubroom, Kanon is especially spooked, thinking there is a ghost here! No, it’s just Sumire. Keke eagerly tries to get her to sign up and join the club since Sumire is curious to know. Looks interesting. Okay, let’s try out. It seems Sumire knows a few dance moves on her own and that’s because she has been in show business a few times. Then the question arises: Who should be the centre. Sumire hinting herself but everyone else believes Kanon is fit for that role. Not wanting to give up, an election is held. Kanon wins by a landslide while Sumire has zero votes! She is baffled. Galaxy. Why is Kanon the centre when Sumire clearly has better singing and dancing skills? Maybe it’s her aura? Oh damn, see Sumire’s exaggerated heart attack! If that’s the case, she quits! Kanon tries to find out why and hence stumbles upon Sumire watching her old videos of herself on stage. Cute isopod there… Before Kanon knows it, she is kidnapped! Oh my, Sumire dressing as a priestess and trying to exorcise her?! Are you serious?! Once Kanon tells her intentions, Sumire explains that she did lots of auditions when she was young but only got small roles. Learning about idols and seeing how amateurish they are, she thought she could be the star if she joins. She laments no matter how hard she tries, she will never be able to shine. Galaxy sad. When Kanon tells this to Keke, man, this Chinese girl so mad she insulted idols that she acts like a delinquent and wants to punish Sumire for the insult?! But can she? I mean, Sumire looks pretty down. Even if she is good, the spotlight will never shine on her. And so Kanon comes up with this idea as she hands Sumire her card. Kanon acts as a scouting agency to rope her into the group. Kanon throws down the challenge that if she wants to be the centre, prove it and take it from her. She believes competition will be good for the group too. As long as she doesn’t give up, she can achieve her dreams. With that, Sumire is now officially one of them. Galaxy!

Episode 5
Summer heat is too hot that they can’t practice at their usual place. So as they brainstorm back at Kanon’s cool place, suddenly Yuuna and Mao from Sunny Passion are here to visit. They are inviting them as guest performance to their island where they do a summer concert every year. Of course it’s an opportunity they don’t want to miss. After showing a bit of their dance moves, they as how the girls train. Kanon mentions Chisato as their dance coach. They are surprised they don’t have a real training regimen and can still put on an impressive performance. Later they talk to Chisato alone and they point out that although they are great at singing, it will be hard for them to win higher level competitions. So they’re saying that because they depend on Chisato’s dance moves, it’s not their own and they won’t be able to move forward. And if she was really part of the idol group, she’ll be more like a threat? HUH?! Because of that, Chisato then tells the rest that she won’t be joining them on the island as she plans to take part in a dance tournament which is held at the same time. So the trio make their journey to the island. Kanon doing her yoga poses to get inspiration for her lyrics but nothing. They are personally greeted by Sunny Passion themselves once they alight the ship. But the first order is to have fun first, right? Wow. Such a great time. You don’t know what you’re missing, Chisato. As they tuck in for the night, Keke and Sumire end up in some weird thumb sumo in which Sumire ‘cheated’ to let Keke’s guard down to win. Kanon is already asleep. Not interested in their shenanigans? Must be a long day. In the middle of the night, Keke notices Kanon going out the beach herself. So, trying the yoga pose for inspiration again, huh? Still nothing. Kanon laments Chisato should’ve come with them and their group would’ve been better if she was really part of it. A short flashback how they’ve been friends ever since. Because Chisato loved her singing, it made her want to do something she would love herself. And she found her calling in dancing. Thanks to Chisato, Kanon was able to sing and not give up and that’s why she wants to put all those feelings into the lyrics she is writing.

Episode 6
Flashback shows Chisato is always bullied and her only saviour is Kanon. Sunny Passion comes up with a training menu for their guests. Jogging for 10km? Keke doesn’t even have the stamina to last. But how did she replenish them instantly? Why, Sunny Passion doing a mini performance for her! Best recharge ever. Meanwhile Ren visits Chisato while she is practising. Chisato accidentally drops her bag that reveals her withdrawal application from school! Gasp! Pretend to see nothing… Keke tries to cook for Sunny Passion but all her dishes are burnt. Sumire shows it how it’s done. Keke feels frustrated her rival is good at this. Meanwhile Yuuna and Kanon talk about Chisato whose first love is dancing. That night, Kanon calls Chisato to ask her opinion on the lyrics she wrote. Great, of course. As for Chisato’s contest, it seems she doesn’t sound enthusiastic. She wants to tell her plans after the contest but shelves it. With Ren bugging Chisato many times, finally Chisato has to reveal about the application. If she cannot win the contest, she will quit school and train overseas since she won’t be able to help Kanon. As a bully victim, Chisato was always scared of something. But Kanon was always there to help her and taught her lots of things. Hence she wants to be worthy to stand by Kanon one day and help her back. As for how dancing is related to this, she needs to do something that Kanon can’t on her own. Right before the contest, suddenly Kanon returns to see Chisato! She felt something wrong from last night’s call and thought she was anxious. So yeah, she’s here to support her and all. Kanon doesn’t view Chisato as weak and feels they’re both in the same boat. Long story short, Chisato gets her confidence back and wins the dance contest! We didn’t even get to see how but I guess that’s not important. With that win, this means she officially hands in her application and joins the idol club. And then they go back to the island just in time for the quartet to perform! OMFG! THEY CAN ACHIEVE IT ALL IN JUST 1 DAY???!!! The island must be really close by, huh?

Episode 7
Chisato surprises everyone with her new uniform. She has transferred from the music programme to the general curriculum and will be in Kanon’s class. But looks like there is going to be a student council election. Immediately Keke wants Kanon to run. Time for Kanon to run… Away!!! Déjà vu as Keke chases her. This time she’s got Chisato on her side. Everyone ignores Sumire who hints so much of wanting to run for president… Except for Kanon. Her saviour! Yeah, the rest just lose enthusiasm to campaign for Sumire… Ren’s friends are worried that she is running against a candidate from the general curriculum. They have students 3 times more than the music programme. Don’t worry, right? Sumire ups her campaign by giving free takoyaki! Isn’t this bribery? Thanks to that, Ren wins by a landslide and how the f*ck did Sumire end up with negative votes?! Oh, that bribery thingy, huh? Well, should have let Kanon run? Well, Kanon thinks it wouldn’t make any difference since helming that post is a huge responsibility. Kanon goes to talk about Ren. However although she has nothing against school idols, she believes this school is better off without them. Period. As Ren gives her first speech, she breaks her election promise and will do a music programme for the cultural festival. Hence many get upset and try to sign a petition against her. Time for Sumire to shine again, calling for a recall, blah, blah, blah. But the moment Keke mentions Kanon as their candidate, everyone else gets excited! Kanon, you really running?! Oh Sumire… The girls worry at this rate idols will be banned under Ren’s military dystopian anti-idol world. So in order to find out more about her, they tail her back to her house. Make that a big mansion. The maid, Saya lets them in and as they wait, they get spooked by this big dog, Chibi. They get chased around the mansion until they stumble upon a place with an old photo album and a graduation picture of the school. Then they hear Ren trying to pay off Saya for this month since next month she won’t have money to pay her. Saya is willing to work for free but Ren will not have it. How would she face her late mother? Chibi busts the eavesdroppers. Now that they’ve heard everything, Ren admits that she has no money left and is the only one living here. At this rate she cannot keep the school going and she must do everything she can to prevent that.

Episode 8
Ren continues to explain that it was mom’s dream to open another school in the same location but father who was assigned to work overseas, opposed the idea and left the family. Mom died 2 years ago after overworking. With money running out, dad offered her to come stay with him overseas but she declined as she wanted to make mom’s dreams come true. But it is going to be tough since with dwindling enrolment numbers, she cannot accomplish that goal. Ren hopes to keep this secret as she doesn’t want others student to worry or feel bad. While the rest understands her situation, they think the rest don’t. At this rate, Ren will become hated. Speaking of which, the general curriculum girls are confronting her but she tells them to take it to the student council. Uhm, isn’t she part of the student council?! Of course Kanon wants to go talk to the girls. It’s going to be hard since they are very confrontational. Making it tougher is that Kanon can’t spill Ren’s secret. Yeah, better stop before it gets too complicated. Ren then talks to Kanon and co as she heard what happened. She regrets dragging them into her problem. Also, the director summoned her that she needs to clear this up or this year’s festival will be cancelled. With Ren pleading them to do anything but idol activities, they ask why. I guess they earn the right. This school once was in danger of closing down and an idol club was formed to save it. Her mom was part of that idol group. However they weren’t able to save it and the school closed down. I’m confused. Was it this school or mom’s previous school? As for why Ren was so against them doing idol activities, she couldn’t find records of mom’s school idol activities. Did mom regret being an idol or was it a lie? If being an idol was precious, why is there no record or even a photo of it? Kanon then gets permission from the director to search the archives. Nothing. Ren remembers mom’s words, “I hope our feelings connect in the same place”. But she is unable to connect what it means. Kanon then remembers the keys given to their clubroom. She rushes there just to find something. You bet plot convenience says it is that box hidden in the storage.

Ren addresses the assembly and apologizes for the other day. But the other girls show no mercy and bombard her with harsh questions of her discrimination. That is when Kanon comes in with the biggest puzzle solving piece ever. Yup, it’s a diary of Ren’s mom that details all of her school idol activities. Among the important notes include despite not being able to stop the school’s closure, they don’t regret anything. Because of all the times spent together, she promised to create a school that would connect those feelings again. A school that connects everyone via music. Hence this school is to make that dream come true. And those are her best memories. At this point, now mom’s inaudible words become clear. She told a young Ren that being a school idol was the best memories she had. Even more precious than the birth of her daughter?! Okay, stop with the bad jokes. And that seals the deal with Ren breaking down in tears. Later it is revealed that the director who is a close friend of Ren’s mom, knew everything. But was told to keep quiet and watch over Ren. She has to make the decision herself. Ren thought all the time wasting means they have no time to prepare for the festival. Oh look, everyone is working hard and even into the night to make this festival a success. They love the school so much, right? Kanon then wants Ren to join them as idols. Does she have the right after the way she treated them? Don’t worry. You can do it! And with that handshake, the deal is sealed. Yuigaoka’s school idol is now a whole. Ren joins them in practice and since she is a natural leader, Kanon offers her to try as the centre. The rest agree. Even Sumire. I guess she’ll let her take the stage for a small event. She’ll take the centre for the bigger stage! Okay, whatever. We see the quintet going on stage and perform their best. Everybody happy. School saved, right?

Episode 9
Keke is excited because Love Live is here! Yeah, you can see her passion in telling her friends all about it, right down to where it’s held: Jingu Stadium. However, while everyone is happy dreaming about stardom, she throws caution that it is not going to be easy as every year, the number of entries surpass the last. While they divide their roles, something worrying plagues them: They have no group name and that is a must for Love Live! So I guess they’re going to brainstorm and think hard of a group name, huh? Yeah, after all the silly suggestions, they hit a dead end. I guess calling themselves after the school would be too boring, eh? Keke thought of doing what a legendary Love Live group did: Suggestion box! Too bad at the end of the week, not even a single suggestion. Kanon even seeks Sunny Passion’s advice for inspiration. Since idols need to do more than just dancing and singing, what’s this video streaming? Apparently Ren is a technology noob. Yup, time to teach her. The quintet do their first live streaming to introduce themselves as an idol but with Ren and Kanon in some weird argument and the rest doing something stupid to cover it up, not sure if they got the likes because they’re just funny! But it’s tiring. Since Kanon has been tasked to write the song lyrics as well as come up with the name, she has been locked in a room and not leave till she comes up with them! Since she fools around and gets nothing done, they supervise her. This is harder… She tries to escape but only foiled by Chibi. We’re still at the starting point as Kanon’s classmates give their honest opinion about the group. They don’t really have a common goal and they don’t have a distinctive feature that makes them stand out. And while the rest realize that this means their chance of success will be low, it’s time for Kanon to get an inspiration. So while we see the others practice, we get to hear the lyrics of this song and finally the name of the group that we’ve been dying to know: Liella. From the French word ‘relier’ which means to connect because that is what Ren’s mom wanted all of them to be. With that, Liella finally registers for Love Live.

Episode 10
Nerve wrecking moment to see if their name made it into the preliminaries. However with record entries this year, looks like they will have another preliminary to trim the numbers. Sorry, it’s not rock-scissors-paper but a regional preliminary. But of course. And the theme of this region’s preliminary will be… RAP! Wow. That’s a rare combination… So who is the best rapper in Liella? Well, Kanon can’t rap her head around it, Chisato’s breakdance is awesome but it has nothing to do with rap, Ren goes into haiku mode and Keke can do a bit of rapping but it’s all in Chinese… Yeah, we all look down on Sumire until she shows us she can naturally rap! OMG! And Keke thought she has the lowest potential! Eat your words now! Because of this, Sumire is the centre (of the galaxy!) Wait… WHY IS SUMIRE PANICKING?! ISN’T THIS WHAT SHE WANTS?! She is even asking them to reconsider?! Well, after being second fiddle for all her life, it’s natural that she is feeling the jitters and lacks self-confidence. So she’s only talking big about making her big break, huh? Even when reluctant Keke made a princess outfit for her (OMG, they’re really going to rap in that frilly outfit?!), Sumire is still not convinced. Damn, she even tries to run away?! Keke’s lecture didn’t do the trick. Sumire still convinced the stage will never be hers. She skips training but perhaps she changes her mind, only to hear Keke speaking to her family in Chinese on the phone. Damn, what kind of app she has that translates her speeches immediately. And accurately?! Seems Keke will return home if she cannot fulfil her promise. So Sumire confronts the rest. Oh boy, not another round of no self-confidence. From the way she says things, it looks like Sumire is sad and pressured that they must win or Keke will go home. Another round of Sumire x Keke argument. One still has no confidence and the other, as reluctant as she might be, she has seen how much Sumire put in the effort and is forced to recognize her abilities as the centre. At least for this preliminary. Dramatic moment time because the tiara exclusively for Sumire then flies off Keke’s hands. WTF, is it made of paper???!!! Sumire catches it. A sign that she has accepted the job? And so we see Liella as rapping princesses with Sumire as the centre. Sounds more like hip hop but whatever. Yeah, check it out! Awesome, baby!

Episode 11
The results are in… The top 8 will progress to the finals… Sunny Passion of course… As they scroll through the other names, damn, I am really curious with the group named Neo Mutant Girls!!! I want to see who they are!!! And suddenly… THE COMPUTER FREEZES! Cliff-hanger! But how do Liella know they have passed? A message from Sunny Passion congratulating them. The computer unfreezes in time to confirm that. HOORAY! As everyone congratulates Liella, suddenly the director summons them. She sounds mad so Ren thought it was her fault. Yeah, she clicked some shady lesbian website out of curiosity! Thankfully it’s not that. Liella has received a request to sing at a kindergarten. Well, Kanon seems to be, uhm, not thrilled? Later Chisato reveals to the rest that this was the place Kanon first sang and fainted! Hence she is worried that the trauma might come up again and make her unable to sing. Hey, I thought she overcame that?! So to calm their nerves, they recce the place. Yeah, sure brings back lots of memories. And trauma. Maybe. They get up on stage and just do a little mock singing. Back at school, they continue their practice as they receive the news that the Love Live finals’ theme must include a solo vocal. Wow. Everyone already looking at Kanon. So after a lot of deliberation from the gang, it seems they are in cohorts to have Kanon sing all by herself at the kindergarten. Yeah, they lie and give excuses about why they can’t come and leave it all up to her. Will this backfire? Kanon tries to take it in a positive way. Even asking her sister, Aria how she was like when she was young. Noisy girl. But she didn’t hate it. That’s the spirit. On the day of the concert, it might seem like Kanon has cold feet. But she makes a call to Chisato to thank her for everything. Yeah, you bet the other girls are hiding and waiting to watch her from afar. And of course, Kanon meeting a vision of her younger self and calming her down. I take it, trauma is over, right? So when Kanon goes up on stage, she sings flawlessly. So perfect that Chisato rushes onto stage just to hug her. I bet that’s the morale booster Liella needs for Love Live. Think they can win it now, huh? Oh well, they need all the luck they can get.

Episode 12
First, some good news. Ren’s dad decided to leave some funds for the school. This means no more worries for Yuigaoka closing down. Thanks to Liella’s recent performances, enrolment numbers are up to. Oh yeah. Yuigaoka definitely not shutting down. With those worries settled, it’s time for the next preliminaries. Apparently they have to do an online streaming video from where they are and have to prepare the stage themselves. So now they have to start cracking their heads to design a stage that isn’t so mediocre. Oh, now aside being idols, they have to be stage designers too?! Sunny Passion visits Kanon and they renew their rivalry. But Kanon is worried because everyone is talking how they want to win (IS THAT NOT THE CASE?!) but she is unsure about that when it comes to singing. Due to her fear of singing and how she sings to express herself freely, Sunny Passion advise her that singing isn’t just about competition. You can enjoy singing alone too. Kanon might not understand now but once she sings at Love Live, she’ll understand why they have to win. As Kanon comes up with this stars theme for their stage, it seems other students decide to help out and make this galaxy for them so they can concentrate on their practice. Yeah. Good idea. After lots of practice, Liella checks out the stage… It’s empty! Before Kanon can panic and scream betrayal, the students will show them where the real stage is. Oh damn, they’ve got girls with candles in their hands to light the way! Of course the stage is grand and everyone in town has their hand in making it. Got to support your local idols. So we see them prance and dance on stage. Thank goodness it is snowing so we don’t have to add snow effects. In the end, Liella gets second place. Sunny Passion wins and will head to the finals. Wow. So sad. Like it’s the end of the world. Especially Kanon. She feels so frustrated she cannot return the goodness of everyone who helped them. I can’t imagine those who ranked below them then… So now you understand why you need to win? Yup, Kanon making a passionate vow that they’ll win it next time. This is only their beginning. We’ll let everyone hear our song! Songs for everybody!

Jesus Christ, Superstar Who?!
Hey. Wait a minute. They lost?! It can’t end like that for them, right? Can it?! For real?! Are you sure you follow the script correctly?! Oh. Right. And wouldn’t you know it? But of course, another season! Got to milk you hardcore fans high and dry, RIGHT?! OOPS!!! Yup, the magical excuse to see Liella make a comeback and get their revenge and redemption they deserve. So unless they have to wait another whole year for another shot at fame (hey, they’re all first years only, right?), unless some special provisions or lucky draw will have Liella become a wild card entry at the finals. I don’t know. My guts tell me that. Either I’m a great soothsayer or I’m just having some sort of stomach ache right now for feeling that… But anyway, we all know who will be back and even better when the next season rolls around, right? Just don’t count out our future superstars yet.

So I guess when you have a new group, this means following the common storyline of seeing how the group is formed. That is basically what this season is mostly about as it takes a bulk and 2/3 of this season. So as not to follow the same formula like in its previous franchise of using Love Live to say their school, instead they split that into 2 stories. What I mean is that Liella didn’t use Love Live to save their school. Rather, it is when Liella became a whole, this idol thingy helped saved their school from dwindling numbers. Hence killing 2 birds with 1 stone because this means Ren gets to continue her late mom’s dream. And with this achieved, the final arc focuses on them getting into Love Live. It might feel a bit rushed because I believe they want to focus on the characters. So we see them perform and of course it has to be good. It needs to follow the formula of our main characters getting into Love Live, right? Want to bet they’re going to win this thing too? See you next season then!

Of course like in previous Love Live iterations, the main focus is on the characters that make up the group. But unlike previous Love Live seasons, Liella has the least number of members in comparison. Uh huh. You do know that Muse, Aquors and the Nijigasaki counterparts have like 9 members, right? So I bet to keep the character drama and development a bit more realistic, the less number of members means the more screen time the characters will get. Simple logic, right? Of course please be reminded that it is not quantity but the quality of these characters that is most important, right? Yup. Got that.

And they had to throw in that drama that idols are not worthy as other types of music genres, painting it as some sort of pariah. The lowest of the lowest. Maybe. In a way. Because you see how sexualized Korean K-pops are these days, right? Yeah… Anyway… I’m not sure if this town that this series is set in loves idols but from what I’ve seen, Love Live has been a nationwide phenomenon so it would be really weird if this is the only town that doesn’t have that idol craze. Of course with Ren initially not having a good impression about idols (even if she was just probably pretending) was just to serve as an obstacle for the rest to overcome. To see if they have what it takes to do just that and to make Ren eat her words and make everybody else go gaga about something new in school. I mean, the school does not even have an idol club to begin with! Yup, these students are going to be prim and proper musicians in the future. Oh, what’s this new idol craze? I think I’m going to love it! WOWEE! Go idols!!! Yeah. That’s what I thought about the other girls’ reaction in school when they realize how fascinating this idol genre is.

So yeah, how do you pretty much differentiate your main character from other Love Live characters? I mean, it’s going to be obvious if they have the same personality and traits but just swap hairstyles and colour, right? That won’t do, right? We’ll just call them lazy and just do copy and paste while covering it up with some palette swap or something. So that’s why Kanon who is obviously the main character and centre of the group, they give her this phobia of having stage fright. Something that is unthinkable for those who want to become idols and stand on stage to entertain a million of watching eyes. Eventually as plot convenience has it, Kanon overcomes her trauma and is able to become a natural performer. Wow. If it was only this easy to overcome one’s trauma in real life. I’m not trying to make cheap of her ordeals since we get to see her making the effort and with the unwavering support from her friends (yeah, it feels like a conspiracy they are targeting her the way they want to make her the centre whether she wants it or not), that trauma becomes her strength and stepping stone to greater heights. Now that she has that hunger to win after experiencing her first loss of frustration, can Liella reach the stars? No, the galaxy?! I hope Kanon won’t become some sort of slave driver in her quest to get that coveted and maiden win. Yeah, that loss felt like it flipped some switch insider her or something.

The least interesting character to me is Chisato. A great dancer, she is mostly casted as Kanon’s best friend since childhood because, why not? Of course she plays a vital role in supporting Kanon and while we mostly see her like a lackey playing that role, in a way Kanon has always been supporting and a pillar of strength to this silver haired girl from start. Basically they complement each other. But that’s just about it. At least for me. Ren trying to play the villain so as to keep her mother’s dream going, well, too bad opening credits and other spoilers tell us that there will be something to more than meets the eye. And here we thought how can this character who started out to make us think that she would be a b*tch character, do a complete reversal and become part of the group? Ah yes, family history. Idol related too. I’m still wondering how she’ll continue to stay in her mansion without any money. I mean, will the increased enrolment and thus more fees help to cover that?! I doubt it. Why not sell her mansion and rent a smaller place? Oh right. Mom’s legacy. Once she has discarded her strict b*tch character, it feels like she has turned into some noob character. A little retard if you ask me. Because she is not really knowledgeable in this idol showbiz and isn’t technology savvy either. See where this is going for her character?

If you know me, if I had to pick a Love Live character as my favourite, it would be the girl who would make me laugh. Yes, I like funny girls. And so it is a tie between Keke and Sumire because it is hard for me to choose either. Okay, maybe Keke holds the slighter edge because of her passionate and lively ways. Also, look at that funny face when she panics! Makes her feel like some cartoonish character. I feel that there is a lot more dynamism between Keke-Sumire friendship than Kanon-Chisato one. The latter feels more like your typical and standard childhood and friendship tale. But the former feels like mostly played for laughs because they’re the biggest jokers of the group. I mean, I can’t imagine Kanon and Chisato as naturally funny girls and since Ren was an ex-b*tch character, that leaves the dynamism between Keke and Sumire.

There’s this sort of love-hate relationship between the duo and it is funny to try to see them outdo each other or at least enter one of their petty squabbles. Otherwise Liella could’ve been one boring group if not for them. Weak stamina Keke (just add more Sunny Passion fuel to solve the problem!) with her lively passion and sometimes her unfounded wild imaginations while Sumire is some attention whore and ex-isopod star but karma is a b*tch and always gets relegated to galaxy supporting roles. It feels like a joke and a slap in the face when she had her chance. Stage fright? Uhm, isn’t this somewhat overlapping with Kanon’s case? She’ll never be the main character at this galaxy rate. I suppose this is to rubber stamp that Kanon will always be the centre whether she likes it or not. Chisato always supporting her as her friend, Keke always passionately supporting her as her #1 fan, Sumire too chicken to take the spotlight and Ren, uhm, whatever goes with her because I think she’s trying to repent for being a b*tch character by being meek. So I guess that leaves Kanon for the centre role, eh? You go, girl! Uhm, I mean, go Liella!

If there is one thing that feels lacking about this series, it is the presence of other idol competitors. Sure, we have Sunny Passion as rivals. But nothing too much on them and they look like friendly rivals. Their real rivalry is on stage and elsewhere, they’re just cool people who would love to be your friends. Anyway, my theory as I have said before, it feels there lacks any idols in this series and we don’t see other idols in the vicinity is perhaps to solely concentrate on the girls in Liella. Can’t have us distracted with other groups and with Sunny Passion already filling that role, we need to see concrete proof why Liella is going to be a top idol contender despite being newly formed by a group of misfits. And I thought this series once again will not showcase any male characters at all even as random people on the streets because somehow Love Live idols are only set in an all-female world. And then we see a glimpse of Kanon’s dad albeit a dialogueless character with a couple of seconds of screen time.

It goes without saying, music is an important factor for this series. There are a of course a variety of them. Personally, I don’t think any of the songs resonate with me and if I really had to pick one by force, the closest would be the lively and typical idol song of Mirai Yohou Hallelujah. Oddly, this song was sung at the end of the first episode and the entire Liella members sung it despite note being formed yet as part of Kanon’s path to become an idol. Yeah, conspiracy theories of mine saying that song brought all the future members of Liella together! Anyway, this piece is still a far cry from my all-time favourite Start:Dash! Also to note, the rap-like Nonfiction is also creative and nice as it gives the genre songs idol sing a fresh sound. But of course, still can’t beat Start: Dash! The opening theme, Start!! True Dreams is another typical lively idol song and the same can be said for the ending theme, Mirai Wa Kaze No You Ni albeit at a slightly slower pace. But the ending theme has different variations as each of the Liella members sing a solo version of it and even a combination between them before we have the full group version.

Of course, an entire new seiyuu cast for a totally new idol group. In fact, the quintet of Liella are making their voice acting debut in this series. Now, if Keke sounds a bit different, it’s because she is voiced by a Chinese national, Liyuu. But it also feels weird when she starts speaking in Mandarin, it’s like she has a thick accent. Well, not to say my Mandarin is that good either… The other Liella casts are Sayuri Date as Kanon, Nako Misaki as Chisato, Naomi Payton as Sumire and Nagisa Aoyama as Ren while Sunny Passion are also first timers in this business with Chihaya Yoshitake as Yuuna and Yuna Yuuki as Mao.

A recognizable seiyuu making her appearance here is Romi Paku as the school’s director. Though, I find her low voice to be unsuitable for this character that looks like she should have had a higher pitch voice. I mean, after helming character roles like those in Vlad Love, Radiant and Shingeki No Kyojin, this one feels out of place. The other recognizable one is Kana Hanazawa’s cameo as Saya. Pretty standard. But I thought my ears were deceiving me when I thought I heard someone familiar but brushed it off because I couldn’t put my finger to it at first… But HOLY F*CK!!! IT’S MAMIKO NOTO AS KANON’S MOTHER!!! OMFG!!! OH MAH F*CKING GALAXY GAWD!!! IT’S MAMIKO NOTO!!! I HAVEN’T HEARD HER FOR SO LONG!!! THIS IS SUCH A PLEASANT SURPRISE!!! I ALMOST DAMNED MISSED HER!!! AND MISSED HER VOICE SO MUCH!!!! GALAXY!!! BIG BANG UNIVERSE!!!

For the art and animation, Sunrise has been animating this franchise from the start so it’s only right that they continue with this fourth reincarnation of this idol series. As usual, the girls are looking cute and everything is bright and colourful just to let you know that idols can make your day even brighter! Yeah. There are some CGI parts especially when the girls take the stage but just like in previous seasons, they are not really obvious and blend in seamlessly with the 2D animation. They’re going to promote these idols and the last thing you want is half assed and bad CGI quality.

And yes, let me say again that Liella girls look like some previous Love Live idols. I mean, how far can you really differentiate your characters when you already have so many of them? So yeah, Kanon reminds me of Chika, Sumire is what Dia would’ve been if she was blonde, Ren looks a bit familiar to Kanan and Chisato might have borrowed 1 hairball lump from Ayumu and the other from Yoshiko to have double hairball lumps! Seriously. Surprisingly, Keke doesn’t seem to remind me of anybody so she’s the most different and unique looking Love Live girl! Wow. No wonder I love this funny girl. But her hair with pink spots remind me of some ice cream combo… Chocolate + strawberry. Mmmm… No wonder I love this funny girl. On a trivial note, I wonder if Chibi is related to Shiitake. You know, Chika’s pet dog. They look the same… Missed opportunity for a pet mascot but I guess they don’t want that to steal the limelight away from our idols, huh? Oh, now I remember. Doesn’t Kanon’s family have a pet owl? Another missed opportunity for a pet mascot.

Overall, you know the drill. I’m not really a big idol fan so I’m just watching this mainly out of curiosity and old time nostalgia’s sake. Oh damn, if they’re going to create more new groups under this franchise, I will have to be obliged to watch them all! Sighs. At this point, this franchise is targeted for music and idol fans so if you aren’t into this genre, don’t go dipping your hands into it. Otherwise, it is pretty wholesome and standard affair. No violence. No fanservice. No outrageous slapstick comedy (AKA Looney Tunes style or even Gintama-like parodies). Certainly no complicated plot lines. Just about a group of girls who love singing and want to show the world their idoly talent. Until the next season arrives, I’ll be waiting for the day when all these Love Live idols meet and compete in a grand competition to decide which idol rules them all. So all you hardcore fans out there get ready to splash the cash and support your favourite idols till the end! Heh. Only then I’ll call this a Love Live Superstar competition. Make that Superstar Galaxy!

Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai

This Love Live franchise still going strong? Oh, I’m not really an idol fan so I wasn’t keeping up. So yeah, apparently it is still going strong so much so we have another spinoff. So which school again needs to be saved from closing down? Uhm… What did you say? You mean there is no school this time that is facing any closure due to lack of enrolment and hence the need to form an idol unit to increase the school’s popularity? So then, what’s the point of Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai then? Oh, I see. It’s just about a group of girls coming together to form an idol club and live out their dreams of becoming an idol. I don’t know, doesn’t that sound pretty boring and generic? At least from how far this franchise has come? Oh gee. Well then. At least no immense pressure to save the school by winning the coveted idol title.

Episode 1
Ayumu Uehara and Yuu Takasaki are hanging out at the mall when they see a lone idol, Setsuna Yuuki performing. You bet they are enthralled by her performance. They are interested to know more about her and the poster says she is from Nijigasaki’s school idol club. Hey, that’s their school too! Next day, Yuu is pretty enthusiastic and wanting to go meet Setsuna and even wanting to join the club. Yeah, she watched a ton of idol videos last night and she’s hooked. Ayumu isn’t so sure but tags along. However it’s hard to find the club and nobody knows where it is. With a school looking like a shopping complex having over hundred clubs, that’s why. Then they stop to ask Rina Tennoji but she’s too shy So Ai Miyashita points out where it is. Why has nobody heard of it? Simple. It was only formed this year. When they finally get to the club, the student council president, Nana Nakagawa (creep, she knows all of her students’ names!) tells them that this club is no more because it has just disbanded. SAY WHAT?! And we see all the idol club members here and there being dejected. Ayumu and Yuu are also sad. They felt something could’ve begun but oh well, time to resume their normal lives. Until Ayumu then reveals that she too watched a ton of idol videos and was taken in by it. She suggests creating their own school idol club. She was hesitant because of the fear of getting too emotional and scared. To prove how much she loves idols, Ayumu starts dancing and singing. Damn, it’s like she’s a pro and has her own music video to boot! You convinced now? Let’s see through this dream together!

Episode 2
Kasumi Nakasu sneaks into Nana’s room to search for the idol club’s sign. She got busted but manages to get what she wants and escapes. However it is wasted effort because that room now belongs to some other club. And she gets an earful from Nana too. Kasumi rues this fate and even more so her drama club pals can’t help out (obviously). Thinking of continuing the club herself and become the president, she hears Ayumu and Yuu wanting to become idols. Hey girls, care to join me? Though, Yuu mentions she doesn’t intend to be one but just support Ayumu. Anyway, Kasumi ropes them in as their goal now is to find a suitable place for their club. Looks like this open park will do. Next, to recruit more members. Kasumi demonstrates how to do a very cute (but embarrassing?) introductory video. She lets Ayumu try but is obviously embarrassed and stiff. Fail. Later they ask why the club got disbanded. Kasumi explains briefly they were doing well after formation but there was a breakdown when they decided to do their debut performance. They couldn’t decide and the club went on hiatus. Especially Kasumi disagreeing about it is not passion that the club needs but cuteness. This has her realize that she may be doing the same thing. So as she bums out and talks to saviour Yuu about this, Ayumu practises her intro alone. Only to be seen by Karin Asaka. Oops. But Karin gives her some good advice and this gives Ayumu some confidence. She then returns to Kasumi to record a truly simple but meaningful intro video. With Yuu adding that it doesn’t matter if everyone has different goals as long they can be the best they can be, I guess Kasumi takes it that she is going to be the cutest anyway. And she’ll create a place like that. Cue for Kasumi to sing her own solo music video. Cute. Meanwhile Karin confronts Nana and returns the directory containing all the Nijigasaki’s student names she ‘borrowed’. She points out she couldn’t find anyone by the name of Setsuna Yuuki. Like as though she does not exist. So how can Nana talk to someone like that and disband the club? Unless Nana is Setsuna herself!

Episode 3
Nana admits that and her ex-clubmates are shocked that she quit and not gone on hiatus as told. But Nana is adamant she has quit being a school idol and Setsuna. If they want to continue, go ahead without her. And so Nana continues her mundane job as student council president. Until she catches Yuu playing the piano unauthorized. Yuu then explains how much she loves idols especially the one named Setsuna. Wow. So passionate. Nana then tells her that the idol club has been disbanded but as long as they have the minimum 5 members, they can come apply again. Nana then explains when Setsuna had to call it quits. At first she started out passionately to strive for Love Live but realized she was only holding back her friends. She realized she was just being selfish. So if this is Nana’s plan to discourage her, well… But we all know Nana is the one suffering inside. So if she was really bent on quitting, why watch her old videos? And for God’s sake, why read those comments… Later Karin reveals to a shocked Kasumi that Nana is Setsuna. Well, if Setsuna wants to quit, just let her do so. The club can continue since they have the numbers, right? Of course everyone wonders if this is okay. Does Setsuna feel that way? Eventually they feel they still need her. So they call for Setsuna AND Nana to meet at the rooftop. Nana is surprised to see Yuu. She claims she wasn’t discouraged. This only triggers Nana as she yells her head off that if she is back in, she’ll just hold everyone back. Wow. So mad. In that case, don’t aim for Love Live! Say what? What Yuu meant was, Love Live is important too. But more important is Setsuna being happy. She is fine if she gets to hear her songs. Oh, it’s okay for her to be selfish too. Don’t regret that. Because with that, Nana decides to come back and to usher the return of Setsuna, here’s her solo music video. Yeah, sing loud enough so that the whole school knows who’s back.

Episode 4
Ai and Rina are so amazed by Setsuna so they decide to join the idol club. The more the merrier. But they don’t know what an idol club does! Don’t worry, not even the idol girls themselves know! Hence they brainstorm for ideas or at least the kind of live performances they want to do. In addition to that, some continue their training like Rina and Kanata Konoe training their bodies to be more flexible if they want to do dancing. Ai gives them some tips since her own body is quite flexible due to her athletic nature and volunteerism in helping other sports clubs. Then there’s a session of Kasumi asking what school idols need. Apparently every answer including ‘I don’t know’ is valid because as long as the fans are happy, any answer is correct answer. I thought she was just trying to get them to brainstorm ideas… Then we see Rina and Ai bonding closer with Setsuna over some favourite anime of theirs. When the girls talk and wonder if they can go out there and perform as solo idols, this has Ai thinking a lot. Will there be something she can do on her own that everyone will enjoy? Unlike sports that have straightforward rules, such rules don’t exist for idols. What kind of path is there for idols? Then a talk with Emma Verde and after her accidental puns and her praising how Ai has brought a lot of smiles to the club than before, Ai realizes she loves it when others have fun. She loves running down uncharted paths with so many unknowns. Yeah, it motivated her so much to sing her own solo music video at the park. She proves her point since everyone is happy with her performance. This motivates the rest that if this is how amazing a solo performance is, imagine what they can do together as a group. Yeah, you do the maths. Next day, Ai is making puns but only Yuu is really laughing hard at them all. Literally, ROFL. LOL…

Episode 5
We get to know a little more about Emma. So she came all the way from Switzerland just to eat Japanese food? That and wanting to be a school idol too. So that doesn’t exist in the Swiss? I suppose singing to her goats whom she considers like her siblings can be thought as idol material. I hope it isn’t yodelling. Emma, Girl of the Alps… Anyway she quickly became friends with Karin and learns she is quite a popular model. With Ayumu’s solo video gaining more views (I guess 2000 over views isn’t that bad), Kasumi hopes the rest can do solo videos to boost their popularity. So as they brainstorm what kind of idols they want to be, the most important thing for an idol is clothes. So Emma has Karin use her connections to get costume and accessories club to do some try-outs. But Emma notices something wrong with Karin. It’s like she’s not happy wanting to be an idol and claims she is busy with her modelling job. This has Emma worried and thinking something is not right. Until she stumbles into Karin’s questionnaire from the modelling agency. Right away she rushes to Karin and ‘forces’ her to hang out with her. Yeah, had a lot of fun, didn’t she? Emma then hands back the questionnaire. Seems Karin wrote she is most interested to become a school idol. Emma is baffled why she acted like she hated idols and bottled up those feelings. This has herself thinking she can’t make everyone feel warm if she can’t even make her best friend feel that way. Of course Karin denies, blaming herself that she did so because she’s supposed to be the cool and mature one. Weird logic, but it’s cue for Emma to blow away that dilemma with her own music video. Alps version. Needless to say, Karin is now motivated to become a school idol. So she has always been a school idol from the start? Always has been… And with that, Karin officially joins the club. Can she be a top model and top school idol at the same time? Of course. Nothing’s impossible if you put your mind to it.

Episode 6
Rina always wanted to make friends but thanks to her shy demeanour, she couldn’t. Of course the first one to talk to her in high school was Ai. As the idol girls play some VR game at the mall, some of their classmates praise them of their cool intros. Especially Rina’s since she used quite a cute avatar. Because of that, Rina announces she wants to do a solo concert here. Later she wonders if she was too hasty in making that decision since she really wanted her friends to see her in action. She also feels that her avatar doesn’t reflect the real her. Oh well, you know the drill. The rest will support her. I take it, that means the show is on. But for now, more training. All is going well right until the day before the concert, suddenly Rina realizes something and becomes depressed. She shuts herself in her room! WTF?! Time for her idol pals to go talk to her and see what’s wrong. Well, well. Rina hiding underneath a box in addition to shutting herself in her room! Ultimate recluse! She can’t beat Metal Gear Solid’s Snake, though. So Rina talks about her insecurities that she has not changed since despite yearning to have friends. She still thinks she doesn’t have any despite trying to change. Because of that, she fears people would misunderstand her if she puts up the wrong expression. At this rate, she feels she can’t keep up. Okay girls. You know the drill. Say all the positive things that lifts her spirits and motivation up. With that, can the timid girl get out of her box? Better, she now knows what to do. So on her solo concert, Rina pops out with a mini monitor over her face that will show all the cute emoji expressions. Yeah, I wonder how she can see but whatever. And so Rina performs and connects with her audience. Next day, her classmates were so awed about yesterday’s performance, so I take it they want to be friends with her now, huh? Rina’s new trend I suppose if she can’t wear her monitor all the time, she draws a sketch of her emoji face to show her expression.

Episode 7
Haruka who is Kanata’s sister wants to visit her idol group. Splendid. Haruka herself is an idol of her own school idol club at Shinonome Academy. So everyone is glad to meet Haruka’s little sister. Maybe except for Kasumi who thinks she is their rival out to spy. She wants to prove that they are the better school idol club but records show that Shinonome is way better than Nijigasaki by a mile. And because Kasumi took too long to introduce herself in her cute way, looks like everyone left her behind to show Haruka around. After all the good hospitality, Haruka soon learns that Kanata still has problems stretching and often falls asleep due to all that tiredness. Yeah, looks like everyone has their share in lending their lap pillow for her nap. Because of that, Haruka drops the bombshell that she is going to quit as an idol so she can concentrate taking care of Kanata who is currently helming the household chores since mom is always busy working. She can’t pursue his dreams knowing her sister is going to kill herself at this rate! My, such drama. Of course with both sisters disagreeing, eventually this leads to some awkward and tense moments. So we see Kanata spacing out, worrying and thinking a lot about this issue. Long story short, with her pals giving her some emotional support, looks like the best way to settle this problem is to do a solo music video for Haruka. Cute. So I guess they compromise that they’ll both support each other because they care each other so much. Big sisterly hug! Yeah, I mean, who says they both can’t be idols and sisters at the same time?

Episode 8
Shizuku Osaka who is also part of the drama club, it seems she was helming a lead role for an upcoming performance but a club member decides to replace her, citing she couldn’t put her heart into the role. So Shizuku’s depression is obvious so Kasumi and Rina decide to hang out with her and cheer her up. But it’s not really working. She’s still gloomy as she reveals her love for old movies, the reason she got into acting. The other reason is to forget herself. Wow. Having deep problems for her age, eh? This also somehow affects Kasumi as she feels at a loss on how to bring back her smiles. But with some motivational words from Rina, now she knows what to do. She goes confront Shizuku to ask directly what the problem is. In short, Shizuku has this issue of expressing herself truly because of her fear of people hating me. And something about being torn between an idol and an actress. This pisses off Kasumi as it’s her turn to give her a piece of her mind. Kasumi views herself as cute but yet there are many who never told her so. Case in point, have you, Shizuku? Now that she mentions it, well, Kasumi is cute. There. She said that just fine. There might be others who don’t like Shizuku but for Kasumi, she loves everything about her. So she better do the second audition to get that role back. And just like magic, Shizuku does all that and gets her lead role back again. Everyone goes to see her play which is about, yup, fear of expressing her true self. And bonus for everyone too, she sings and dance to her own music video at the end of it all. Her performance is a success and what words does she have to say for her fans? Please see her for who she is.

Episode 9
Our girls think it is time to discuss about their concert. But oh look, Haruka is here and who did she bring? Himeno Ayanokouji from the idol club of Touou Academy suggests performing in a concert at a festival with her group. She heard how well they did during the drama festival and wanted to see what kind of concert they can put on. However there is 1 problem: The idol block for the concert can only hold 3 idol songs. So if Touou and Shinonome has 1 song as a group each, this means Nijigasaki can have only 1 song. So what’s the problem? Uhm, Nijigasaki is not a group idol and are solo idols? So only 1 of them can go on stage? So I guess they’re not ready as an idol group, huh? So as the rest think of drawing straws, Karin quickly shoots down that idea because if they resort to that, can they say they grew as idols? She doubts Ayanokouji invited them from the goodness of their heart. Hence they must readily pick a member who can face that challenge head on. Woah. Why the suspicions, lady? Later Karin tries to get to some dance school but keeps getting lost. Setsuna, Yuu and Ayumu are nearby because of a store selling idol goods nearby. Yeah, the dance school is just opposite. It’s embarrassing but Karin might be bad at reading maps and has a bad sense of direction. They have thought about what Karin said and they agree to discuss about picking a member. And in the end, they all voted to pick Karin. I don’t know if it’s karma. Oh, right. It’s her turn. The music festival begins and we probably see the nicest b*tch showdown between Karin and Ayanokouji. But it might be that Karin would have to eat her words because suddenly she feels scared?! When she doesn’t come back, the rest fear she is lost. Didn’t take long to find her. And what do you know? Karin admits she is scared after talking big. Okay, girls. Cue to give your pep talk of motivation. Karin must be feeling weird why they’re so nice to her after being mean. Because we’re friends-cum-rivals, silly! And with that, Karin goes on stage to do her solo performance. In the end, Ai and Kasumi feel jealous and regret that they wanted to be the one up there. Don’t worry. You’ll get your chance. Remember they have their own concert to plan. And for that, Setsuna suggests a training camp.

Episode 10
Oh damn, did Kasumi failed her tests?! That’s not cute! That’s not even funny! But it all doesn’t matter because training camp here we come! Guess where? Right in school itself! Hey, no budget. Can’t complain. Looks like the girls are having fun cooking and eating than getting any training. Hey, it’s only the first day. Then we have that talk between Setsuna and Yuu, the former being grateful to the latter because had not that happened, she wouldn’t have been a school idol right now. Yeah, both of them so close to each other, is Ayumu getting worried? A funny moment, Kasumi, Shizuku and Rina thought they could scare Karin, Kanata and Emma with their scary costumes. Ironically, the latter group put on their makeup so bad that they’re scarier! Oh sh*t! That night when all is sleeping, Kasumi tries to get her revenge but Setsuna smacks her down in her sleep! I think she’s the scariest of them all. Next day, the training begins. Since it is boring just running laps, they start playing tag. Hey, it’s still running, right? Yuu gets caught first so as she sits in ‘prison’, she goes through all the comments and praises from the music festival. She realizes not many people knew what school idols are and yet they cheered on them. Duh, can’t be booing them, right?! Now that the running is all over and they’re sweating from head to toe, I know what’s coming? Pool episode! But don’t worry, all their swimsuits are safe. And then a talk between Ayumu and Yuu about their dreams taking on the next step. With everyone’s motivation at all time high (cue for great fireworks to boot), Yuu hypes them all up about making bigger dreams. We make sing and everyone happy, basically. Sounds like a lot of fun, no? For the icing on the cake, she suggests they themselves do a school idol festival for everyone who loves school idols! Oh yeah! We can do it! Yeah, at the same time why not plan world domination too?

Episode 11
Kasumi and Yuu head to the student council to hand in their application for the festival. WTF, they don’t know what a school idol is???!!! These girls literally have no life! Nana trying to stay neutral as possible… But they can’t approve now as it lacks a lot of details and the likes. So if they get all this done, then it can be considered. Okay girls, you now know what to do. So we see they do what they do like Kasumi coming up with a cute (?!) suggestion box for their performance venue but it came back empty because it’s the summer vacation. Then there’s the cementing of Yuu and Ayumu’s friendship. Pretty standard affair. So once they’ve got it all sorted, they return to the student council. They show the suggestion box that is now full, thanks to the word of mouth spread. Yeah, basically everybody would love to lend their support for the idols in any way they can. Looks like the student council members also looked up on what school idol means. Yeah, they’re interested in it too. One even mentioning Setsuna as her favourite! Damn. In such a short time? Anyway, she thinks Nana is a fan of Setsuna too, seeing she sounds passionate about her. Well, technically… And with that, Nana stamps the big approval for the idol club. Hooray! But since we still have some time, it’s time to ramp up Yuu and Ayumu’s friendship drama. Yeah, Ayumu getting all concerned seeing Setsuna and Yuu too close to each other. Later as Setsuna accompanies Ayumu to buy drinks, the latter asking what they talked about together the other day. Oh, stuffs. And something about Yuu playing the piano. Oh Ayumu, you didn’t mean to look THIS shock? I guess she didn’t know. Hence that’s the excuse for her to become depressed but soon, like all in good convenient timing, Ayumu messages her to meet. So at her place, Ayumu shows he the keyboard she has been practising with. She meant to tell her about it but only when she became good at it. I suppose that took a while. However this has Ayumu snap that she told Setsuna first instead of her. Is Setsuna more important than her?! Yuu remains cool. Because that’s not it. What she wanted to tell her lies further. But before she can tell about her dreams, Ayumu shuts her up. No spoilers, please. Now she doesn’t want to hear it? Because Ayumu has always wanted for them to be together. To be a school idol just for her. So just be mine only. Eh? What?! Am I reading too much on this?

Episode 12
Sorry folks. No hot lesbo sex tonight. Ayumu’s isn’t in the mood and goes home. Next day, they try to head to school and act normal. But we can just feel the awkwardness between them. Setsuna is glad Shinonome and Touou agree to participate in their festival. Kasumi rallies her girls to practice but looks like other students need a favour from them so I guess they prefer to help them out rather than whatever Kasumi’s practice. Only Ayumu is left but she too has a girl calling for her. Oh Kasumi, you’re alone. So sad. Not to be left out, a girl calls for Kasumi. So happy. Yuu needs to properly talk things out with Ayumu but looks like the latter still isn’t ready. Because she takes it that they can’t be together anymore. Like, HOW?! If she won’t listen, how can Yuu explain herself?! Later, Ayumu opens up her problems to Setsuna and is afraid of the things that are changing. What’s this about the only person she likes now isn’t just confined to Yuu? I don’t see what the problem is?! Setsuna stays positive because since they started this, they need to see it through. When Yuu finally gets a hold of Ayumu to meet, she shows her a personal flower garden that she and her fans made. All just for you! With love! With lots of lovely words, you know the drill. Their friendship is back on track. We love all of you! This allows Yuu to tell Ayumu about her dreams of playing music for others. This means she will be taking a music course next year. They won’t see each other as often but their hearts are connected, right? So they credit the other as why they’re able to find their dream. So is this where they part? Because Ayumu sings her own solo music video just for her. Later Yuu shows Ayumu part of the song she composed. Lovely.

Episode 13
Yuu tells her friends about what she’s going to do and as expected, all of them support her and will do what they can to help. The festival is here as we see everyone having a good time. Apparently the idol girls are holding their own separate concerts at separate venues around the school, each with their own distinctive theme. Yeah, how is a big nerdy idol fan going to cover everything?! But time for some much needed drama. Because life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Oh dear. What’s happening? Subsequent concerts are soon starting to be cancelled… Why? Because it starts raining!!! OMFG. It’s just raining normally and not even a downpour. Can’t they go out and just perform? Well, I suppose they aren’t waterproof. And just when the rain stops, it is almost at the festival end. Can they continue? Of course they can! Because don’t believe in God, believe in the power of idol friendship!!! Yeah, everyone is still hanging around so you bet our idol girls still have time to get ready and put up one last performance. And that performance is finally for the first time a group showpiece. Of course, thanking everyone and everybody too, the usual drill. In the aftermath, the girls receive lots of email from other schools who absolutely love their festival. Yeah, they want to collaborate. That’s not it. There are letters from other countries expressing how great it is! Don’t stop there! Are there messages from other dimensions too?! Okay, guess not. So I guess this means they have to have another festival with more fun collaborations. As for Yuu, she starts her new path as she takes a test to enter the music course.

Always Keep Chasing Rainbows!
Wow. Do you like what we see and hear? So if that’s the case, where’s the next season? Oh. I see so far this Nijigasaki franchise isn’t going to get another season at the time of this writing. But it looks like I read somewhere there is going to be another Love Live franchise?! Oh wow. More idol goodness to keep the Love Live name running for a long time. But as far as our Nijigasaki idols are concerned, looks like they’ll be busy planning ahead for their next festival. Make it bigger and better. No time to think about Love Live the competition. I mean, they’ve already created and carved their own name via this method, so why do they need to enter that competition for, right?

Obviously there isn’t anything very special and extraordinary about the plot. Just about a bunch of girls trying to live out their idol dreams. So they start small by trying to become popular and stand out within their own school first. No threat of the school closing down (it’s thriving so well that I think it could be its own nation if it wanted to!) and no pressure to perform at that prestigious idol competition known as Love Live. Gee, it all sounds very boring, doesn’t it? Well, perhaps to a non-fan and casual viewers. But either way if I think about it, even in the event if Nijigasaki did follow that same formula as its predecessors, I believe all the episodes that we have seen here could possibly be played out in a similar fashion. After all, in all the franchises and seasons that I have seen, these girls must work hard to become their basic dream of becoming an idol, no?

Hence in a way, this spinoff is probably a bit refreshing since it doesn’t have the basic setting of the school shutting down. Also, because of that, I believe Nijigasaki doesn’t even have their own name for their own idol unit. Yeah, they just called themselves after their own school. I mean, there’s no other idol units in Nijigasaki, right? So instead of having fancy names Muse or Aqours, they just go by their boring obvious school name. Because these girls aren’t vying for the Love Live competition, they don’t have natural competitors whom they can call rivals to compare themselves or set some standards. Oh wait. Can Shinonome and Touou be considered? Yeah, more boring obvious school named idol units. So not really sure if they really grow, if you know what I mean. Sure, we see them get better because which idol unit doesn’t? But where’s the yardstick to measure their progress? Even more so, the idol unit does solo concerts for the most part rather than as a group. Yeah, I can see why they haven’t really come up with a unique idol group name.

Speaking of which, seeing them as a group in the end feels a bit weird. Because as an idol unit that is supposed to show cohesion, unity and solidarity, everyone in the group would have dressed in the same uniform or at least just slight variations of each other. But for Nijigasaki, all the girls here wear their own trademark outfit. While it certainly looks really different and makes each one of them having that unique individualistic feel, sometimes it feels like they just came from other groups and were put together at the last minute. Get what I’m saying? Thus I can’t help feel that perhaps their group performance might be all over the place. Hey, it’s not like we get to see their entire performance, right? But since all the audiences were having a great time, I suppose it went well without a hitch. Heck, even getting complimentary international complimentary letters! So where are those scouts and agents who are supposed to scout them out and make them the next big idol thingy in the world? No, the universe!

So if the story isn’t anything exciting (hey, this is an idol show and music genre to begin with), this means the onus falls on the characters, right? Right. But like I have said, I’m not really an idol fan so I really find the characters, uhm, boring. Is that too strong a word for you idol and Nijigasaki fans? I suppose that’s why the group has a lot of members so they can at least dedicate an episode to a particular idol, see what her issue is and in the end everything turns out well. You know the drill. At the end of the day, I think there are a couple like Kanata, Shizuku and Emma whom I felt that were just winging it and their episode was just because, well, it’s their turn at the spotlight. They aren’t really memorable in the long run if you ask me. That’s why they try to give some sort of slightly odd personality to them in hopes that you’ll remember them such as Ai loving to make bad puns, Kanata loving to snooze and Emma coming all the way from the Swiss Alps.

At this point, I’m also thinking they recycled and ‘refurbish’ the characters so as to create new ones. What do I mean? For example, I thought Karin is the Kanan of Aqours and the Nozomi of Muse. Then for the shy girl trope, Rina is the Ruby of Aqours and Hanayo of Muse. For the energetic type, Ai is the spiritual successor for Aqours’ You and Muse’s Rin. So do you get what I am trying to say here? I can do a chart list of this and last a few more pages but I don’t want to bore myself with extra work just to prove my point. Lazy! I wonder if there are any lazy character tropes in this franchise. Oh, right. Muse’s Honoka, I suppose. Yeah, just shuffle and mix and match their character with a different look and voila! Got yourself a new character for this spinoff.

If I had to choose a ‘favourite’ one, you should know me by now, it should be the funniest girl. Oh, what’s this you say that I am a sucker for a pretty face and you thought I am always picking the prettiest of the lot? Sorry folks. None of them pretty enough to end up on my year ending Top Bishoujo blog! HAHAHA!!! HIDOI!!! But, HAHAHA!!! So anyway, my ‘favourite’ funny girl goes to Kasumi because, yeah, I find her being the funniest. She’s trying to be cute, huh? Well it works too because she’s being funny. At least it makes my viewing session of this spinoff to be a lot tolerable. I mean, me having to sit here for almost half an hour and see and listen to what ‘issues’ the idols are facing. It’s like watching paint dry… So seeing Kasumi trying to be cute and inadvertently being funny breaks me into a smile. Never fails. Kasumi, never stop being you. The other interesting (using this word very loosely here) character is Rina. Because I find it amusing that this shy poker face girl uses her sketchbook to draw her emotions out via emoticons.

Of course the main characters of this spinoff is Yuu and Ayumu. So much so their friendship can be called the biggest drama for this season (even shadowing Nana/Setsuna’s disbanding incident whatever). Yeah, they probably put this issue on hold in the middle so as to introduce and focus on the other girls first. Looking back in hindsight, it isn’t anything big. Sure, it is a big deal for them but to us viewers like yours truly, it’s not the end of the world Armageddon Apocalypse catastrophe where natural disasters destroy the land and aliens invade, kind of big deal. It’s your typical friendship woes just because they decide to move on to pursue their dreams, things change and probably that was the fear Ayumu didn’t want to materialize. The fear of the unknown and the narrow thinking that because they have to walk different paths, they cannot be together anymore. Of course as we have come to expect and see, all those fears were unfounded and a little bit of positivity helps a lot in bringing her out of the doldrums. Wow. Power of friendship. Never underestimate it. The best and most used ingredient ever in this kind of genre!

Initially, Yuu’s role confused me because I thought she was part of the Nijigasaki idol team. Despite early on she did say she didn’t want to become an idol, I thought she changed her mind seeing she continued to stay with the club. Hence I assume she is a regular member. So it was a bit baffling to me when I searched over the internet that Yuu wasn’t part of the team. Did they miss her out? Did she resign in the end? So yeah, I guess this unit group needs somebody to manage them. Manager role, huh? Certainly Muse and Aqours didn’t have managers. Not that I am aware of any. Those groups too had members who wrote songs so I guess they want to change the line-up a bit here. Otherwise, I would have added a few paragraphs above why this series is slightly refreshing different since they have 10 members instead of 9. So Yuu’s like the permanent non-member?

Music is an important element for this series but unfortunately for me, I don’t find any of the solo songs to be enticing or attractive. At least for the predecessors of this franchise, I still love Muse’s Start:Dash! (still the best one of all) and Aqours’ My Mai Tonight (a very distant second). But for this spinoff, nothing really memorable for me because once their elaborated music video is done, I usually forget how the song sounds. Okay, okay. If I really, really, really, really, really, really, really x 100 had to just pick one, the closest would be Kasumi’s Poppin’ Up because it is cutely lively. Rina’s Tsunagaru Connect is only because the lyrics are amusing but tune wise, not really my cup of tea. So if you like lively generic idol pop music like the opening theme, Nijiiro Passions and the ending theme, Neo Sky Neo Map (both of which are of course sung by the Nijigasaki idol girls), then I’m sure you’ll like their solo character songs.

As for the voice acting, I guess it is pretty okay. A new set of seiyuus lining up so when they become idols in real life they can also milk you dry by turning you into their fans. Just my speculation but I feel it’s like that… Anyway, many of them have very minor roles in a handful of animes they have voiced and are basically unknowns. Like Aguri Oonishi as Ayumu, Hinaki Yano as Yuu, Mayu Sagara as Kasumi, Chiemi Tanaka as Rina, Natsumi Murakami as Ai, Maria Sashide as Emma, Kaori Maeda as Shizuku and Natsumi Hioka as Ayanokouji. You may have a heard a little from the rest who are slightly a little more popular like Tomori Kusunoki as Setsuna, Akira Kitou as Kanata, Miyu Kubota as Karin and Kaede Hondo as Haruka.

Art and animation wise, looks pretty consistent with its predecessors. After all, this spinoff is animated by the veteran studio of Sunrise who also did the previous 2 Love Live series. And like I’ve mentioned before, the characters may look familiar to other girls in Muse of Aqours but just swap their personality with their hairstyle and hair colour. For example, Setsuna looks like Muse’s Umi while Yuu could be the alternate personality of Muse’s Niko. And perhaps Ai is the blonde counterpart for this spinoff as it was for Muse’s Eri and Aqours’ Mari. CGI is also used but mainly during the idol’s solo music video. Although not very jarring, you can see the CGI effects if you look closely enough. But it isn’t overall that bad. After all, when you want your video to look perfect and filled with all that sweet and lovely stuffs that surpass drugs and trippy LSD hallucinations, you got to make your CGI work. If only this quality of smoothness is employed in other animes where they used CGI…

Overall, fans of the idol genre and this franchise would only greatly appreciate this adaptation. Otherwise, casual viewers and non-fans like myself would find it utterly boring and nothing much ado. But I have only myself to blame since I have spent some time watching this genre so at this point I should know what to expect. It’s just your basic and typical idol show. What else to expect? So while it isn’t exactly a total disaster, I just find it to be boring. Or is not exciting the word you prefer to hear? Yeah, so disappointed nobody died or blood splattered all over the walls! Just kidding for those who seriously think I am. I’m not sure if they will have another season like its predecessors and it is hard to call since this Nijigasaki idol unit defers slightly from the rest (you know, no school saving, no Love Live competition, singing as solo singers rather than as a group). But oh well, those who can’t wait to see all the Love Live idol units face off can play the rhythm action game Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars (WTF?! It’s a mobile game???!!!) that came out in 2019. Wow. Nijigasaki took on Love Live heavyweights and champions, huh? Yup, it happened. Somewhere over the rainbow.

Love Live! Sunshine!! S2

Seeing that the ultimate goal of saving their school wasn’t accomplished yet, that is why we need to have another season of Love Live! Sunshine!! S2. Another reason for us to keep up with one of our favourite anime idol groups and for hardcore fans to get hyped and salivate over their favourite girls prancing and dancing on stage. Can Aqours do it this time? They better. Or else we would need to have another season…

Episode 1
It is the new school term and Chika is already running late. Meanwhile Mari addresses her fellow students that Aqours failed to make it to the nationals but thanks to everyone’s effort, they manage to keep the school open. However there is more good news as there is another Love Live competition announced. But their goal now is to find a way to increase the enrolment numbers of Uranohoshi before finding their own way to shine. As they go about their daily lives, Kanan notices Mari acting stranger than her usual strange. It is revealed that Mari’s father has decided to cancel the open house that is supposed to be the draw to attract more students to enrol at Uranohoshi. This means Uranohoshi will not be taking applicants for the next year. Mari tried persuading him but he will not budge. Guess what? Chika wants to go talk to him personally now?! He is in America… Naturally with nothing more they can do, they can only imagine in gloom doom fashion had they won Love Live then. So we see Chika doing her usual bumming-cum-pondering until she gets her baseless confidence back to create a miracle. Guess what? The other Aqours members too have the same idea. They’re not giving up yet. They’re going to shine together.

Episode 2
Mari once more tries to convince her father. Even though his stance remained unchanged, unless they can bring in 100 new students, he might budge. So far they only have 10. Well, doesn’t look far, right? Only 90 more to go… Discussing about the new Love Live preliminaries, a rule is that a new song must be sung. So they’re racking their brains to come up with 2 new songs. One for Love Live and the other for the open house. Instead of putting pressure on a single person to write the songs, it is suggested they split into groups. The second years will be writing one and the seniors and juniors will be writing the other. The latter group heads for Mari’s luxurious seaside mansion and end up having fun instead of doing any work. Too tempting… Dia puts her foot down and has the venue change to hers. No fun… We see that both the juniors and seniors have very different tastes in music. So much so Chika is called to intervene because they are at odds over the kind of song they want to write! Seeing that trust is important, it is suggested they do bonding stuffs. Again we see their different tastes. The seniors are more of the outdoor type while the juniors prefer indoor activities. I guess the only true way for all Japanese people of different walks of life to bond is the bath. It certainly feels good but they hardly make any progress. As they leave, it starts raining so they take nearby shelter in a temple. Cue for jump scares… No progress still but then the roof starts leaking as they place pots, plates and pans to catch the leak. This is when it hit them. The different drops come together as one big harmony. That’s the motivation they need to come together. Coincidence or not, both sides finish their song.

Episode 3
More trouble for Aqours. Mari gets a call that the open house will be delayed a week due to the rain as the storm wreak havoc damaging the roads. Chika, it is not okay because this clashes with your Love Live preliminaries! Although held at different times, they discuss the possible travel methods after finishing one. Helicopter? Mari doesn’t want to ask her father for help since they have to do this by themselves. Luxurious liner? Whoever has this kind of cruise ship? The bus is the only possible solution but with a condition: They must go first in the preliminaries as the next bus is in 3 hours. And so all of them have to decide who should take the draw for the preliminaries. Yoshiko wants to do it but others view she has more bad luck than any other. Eventually she ‘defeats’ Dia in a rock-scissors-paper game. Behold her amazing luck! Aqours will perform as number… 24! That’s right in the middle! Hence the girls are now divided to just perform in either one. Of course nobody wants that as they want both. Can a miracle happen? Apparently Chika hits upon a great idea. Tangerines? After Aqours perform in their stylish kimono clad outfit at the preliminaries, all of them start making a dash across the mountain! OMG! Are they going to run all the way?! Not exactly. It seems in the mountains, Chika’s classmate runs a tangerine farm. They can ride some rail machine that is used to pick tangerines. I don’t know if Aqours riding it feels like overcrowding. What the heck? A turtle is faster than this machine! Then Kanan breaks a handle. It now becomes a roller coaster ride. Then they make the rest of their way by foot and manage to awe everyone at the open house. Wow. They really have so much energy after all that running. They can even perform like normal with all the energetic moves and smile. Truly idols. Truly a miracle. Truly crap…?

Episode 4
Everyone except Chika is nervous about the preliminaries’ result. That’s because they did so wonderfully that there’s nothing to worry about. Good for her. And the results are in. They pass! But of course. But here comes the real problem now. They lack the funds that would take them all the way to Tokyo. Just a stinking 5 Yen left. Of course the best next course is to work part time (sorry, Mari is not lending her fortune) but Dia scoffs off that old fashion way and suggests a flea market. It seems she has an ulterior motive. Noticing everyone is closer to Kanan and Mari, Dia too is ‘jealous’ she wants to get closer to them. At the flea market, Chika gives in to cute puppy dog eyes of little girls to sell dirt cheap while Dia makes it a hard bargain and will not sell below the listed price. Yeah, they didn’t sell much anyway. With Chika noticing something is wrong with Dia, she talks to Kanan about it. So Kanan and Mari go bug what’s bugging her. Eventually she reveals it and they couldn’t stop laughing. So at this day job at the zoo, Dia tries to be nice to everyone but they think she is mad and is suspicious of her goody behaviour. Is this really Dia? To avoid more confusion, Kanan and Mari tell the rest the deal. Somehow kindergarten girls are being let loose running all over the place. The girls can’t control them. Some even weep. Even Ruby?! And then Dia takes control of the situation and in her nicest behaviour rounds up all the girls to behave. Wow. At the end of the day, Dia feels dejected she couldn’t achieve what she wanted to but Chika tells her how everyone loves Dia for being strict with them when they slack because it makes them secure. They hope she will always stay that way. Don’t come complaining when she starts scolding the next round…

Episode 5
Riko still has fears of dogs. Especially Chika’s pet, Shiitake. One day, after Yoshiko’s mom visits Yoshiko’s mom, she left her handphone behind. She wants Riko to go return it to her but along the way Riko stumbles into Yoshiko feeding a stray dog. Yoshiko has it chase Riko around! Riko knew this was coming but Yoshiko wants her to temporarily keep this dog as her place doesn’t allow apartments. It seems the other girls will have their reasons too. So her logic is to keep it safe in one’s place who has phobia of dogs? Riko is forced to accept seeing Yoshiko has the dog chase her again. It gets a little awkward for Riko trying to feed it in her room but gets used to it. Then when Yoshiko comes by to claim it, Riko now wants it to stay?! She won’t give it back?! They end up arguing about it including the different name they have given it. It is like fate intervenes because Riko’s mom shows a poster of a missing dog. The dog is rightfully returned and the duo are depressed ever since. Heck, they are in perfect sync depressed. Yoshiko doesn’t accept this outcome and comes up with a conspiracy theory that the owner is fake! She is going to get the dog back! Riko tags along as she feels responsible for it somehow. Outside the owner’s doorstep, the moment the owner pops up, they run and hide. You mean they are going to wait there as long as it takes until the dog appears? We hear Yoshiko and her views as a fallen angel, destiny and unseen power. She might act like chuunibyou but she is also pretty perceptive of reality. She knows all those aren’t real but also accepts them. When the dog finally appears, it looks like it doesn’t remember them as it goes back in the house. I guess that ended it. I guess that’s destiny for them. Riko looks like she has overcome her dog phobia and is able to touch Shiitake. Talk about unseen power and dreams that are more than just coincidences. I don’t know. At least she learnt something from Yoshiko.

Episode 6
Time is running out. They don’t have many applicants and only a month left till the deadline. With the looming preliminaries of Love Live, there are websites trying to predict who would make it. Yeah, Aqours name is surely there. This time the polls will decide who advance to the finals. While it may do away with the anxiety of waiting for results, however this means the number of supporters you have determine your fate. How many students are enrolled at Uranohoshi again? Huge disadvantage. Because of that, Mari and Dia are bugging Kanan to resort using their last chance which is some dance choreography she came up. Kanan still has her doubts since Mari injured herself the last time. She throws away her notebook into the see but Mari jumps in to save it. See her resolve? Because Chika also feels the need to shine more than other groups, Kanan’s choreography comes to mind. Another round of bugging. If they don’t use it now, when will they? Kanan is not amused but decides to put her trust in her. But if it ever becomes risky, she will stop her even if it means dropping out of Love Live. So we see Chika trying her best to practice those moves but comes up short. Of course the usual flashback and motivation why she pushed so hard like everyone else. Even her pals come to support her. Don’t cry now. Keep trying. Close, but still not close enough so Kanan had to give her a final warning if she cannot pull it off by next morning, she’ll forget about doing it. Yeah, she’s going to take the whole night then… With more support from her friends, they remind her the most important person she is doing this for. She named everyone except herself. Yup. That’s it. Because of Chika, they are where they are now. And what are the chances Chika could pull off that move? Because now we see them performing perfectly at the preliminaries.

Episode 7
The results are out. Only the top 3 make it to the finals. And who are they? Drum roll please… Let’s say Aqours not only made it but they won the most votes!!! Thank goodness this isn’t some trolling dream. It is no surprise their view count on the internet keeps rising. But the real test is here. Do they have enough enrolment? Nope. Deadline is looming. Mari calls papa and he only gives her a mere few hours of extension. That’s like 5am in the morning, right? But right after that, the enrolment slowly rises. And then stops. This is like heart attack for them. Chika is so desperate to force invite others and even do a concert now! At this dead of the night? All you can do is believe in yourself. Yeah, believe. I guess shouting to the computer screen won’t change things either. Or screaming to the rising sun. But can a miracle happen? Because 98 enrolments and a minute left to the deadline. Come on… Come on! Suddenly applications are closed. Damn it! So close! On a side note, I want to know who the f*ck enrols during the dead hours?! Unless they’re foreigners, why would any Japanese kid be looking at the site and enrolling at this point?! Unless they are having haunted dreams to enrol or else… Damn drama… Anyway, everyone is frustrated. Especially Chika. Oh, if hard work could only guarantee victory. In the wake of this ‘defeat’, an announcement is made that the school will be absorbed to Numazu. So while everyone is putting up a brave front and try to practice because they still got the finals to win, Chika had to ruin it for everyone and cry. Okay. Nobody is in the mood either. They need some time to think if they really want to participate in the finals for the seniors, it isn’t that important. Eventually everyone believes they still want to participate. Damn you Chika for ruining things again because she doesn’t care about Love Live or their own way to shine. Without the school, there is no way to shine. I guess she complained so loud that the entire school could hear and hence give their answer to support them. They want Aqours to win the finals and cement Uranohoshi’s name as part of Love Live’s history. That is one way to save it and live forever. Not bad idea, right? New motivation, new hype. Let’s get to it.

Episode 8
Aqours is invited to Hakodate in Hokkaido as a special guests to watch the region’s Love Live preliminaries. A few antics of staying warm from the cold and keeping their balance on the wet icy ground… Before the performance begins, they go visit Saint Snow at the backstage. They renew their rivalry with the sisters, Seira and Ria to meet at the finals. Funny, it felt like a jinx because Saint Snow didn’t make the cut! It seems they made a single mistake during their act. Tough luck. Understandably Saint Snow isn’t in any mood but it is affecting Aqours too? Especially Ruby? Yeah, they heard Saint Snow were fighting and made a mistake in their last tournament too. Is this the end of them? Aqours go sightseeing and then stumble into the shop where Saint Snow works and lives. Not sure why Ruby was snooping around but she caught Ria crying in her room. Oh no. Death threats if you tell it to others. Ria then announces Saint Snow is through. She is done with anything that is idol. Later Aqours ponder about Saint Snow’s fate but Ruby seems to be the hardest hit. Because you know, big sister thingy. She almost reveals about Ria’s crying and instead ran away crying herself. WTF. Dia talks to her and it seems Ruby is worried they won’t get to sing together anymore once Dia graduates. She doesn’t want to be alone. Dia tries to be realistic. The school is closing down anyway but don’t think too much about it because focusing on the finals is what is most important. Dia was very happy when Ruby told her she wanted to become a school idol as she thought and decided it on her own. Later Ruby personally goes talk to Ria. Sounds more like reinforcement of their love for their respective big sisters. Ria too is worried about showing to Seira she is independent but screwed it up and now it has become their last song. Ruby tells her not to make it so then as she takes her to sing under the beautiful lighted up Christmas tree.

Episode 9
Ruby wants to do a performance with Ria for Seira and Dia but she needs Hanamaru and Yoshiko’s help. The quartet try to brainstorm things but since more time is needed, they get ‘permission’ to stay back while the other Aqours members take their flight home. Kanan and Mari make Dia paranoid that those young ones are definitely hiding something from them. Like as they they’re going to split from Aqours and form a new unit. Herald Saint Aqours Snow! Oh my, Dia panicked and almost caused the air stewardess to think if it’s some terrorist attack or something. The trio are in Ria’s room. They notice a snowflake crystal on her shelf. Ria explains the story how it was the symbol that made them form Saint Snow. Once they are done writing their song and lyrics, not sure what audition they had to go through so they could approve their event. Nervous, but I’m sure all that love and tears are worth it. They even make their announcement via radio broadcast. Probably the slipping up is what made it memorable. Ria seems to be hiding from a couple of classmates whom she never had the courage to talk to. Apparently she thinks they are upset for losing out on Love Live preliminaries. Yeah, with those faces I can see why… But it turns out they aren’t and are supportive of her and Seira. Wow. Sudden strike of friendship. More tears flowing… Aqours are soon called back to Hakodate. Is this just an elaborate setup so the younger sisters could give their older sisters an invitation to their event? Of course big sisters won’t miss it for the world. Time for a sisterly hug. And more tears… Looks like Aqours have also prepared a surprise and hint their new outfits are prepared. So we get to see the collaborated performance of Aqours and Saint Snow. If it was a surprise, why are they so well coordinated? Okay, maybe they had some little time to practice. In the aftermath, Ria makes up with Seira. Ria won’t keep Saint Snow going and will start a new group and find a different snowflake (why does this sound so politically incorrect?). She’ll make a school idol group that everyone can love.

Episode 10
Flashback shows a young Mari, Kanan and Dia went up to some stargazing site to make a wish on the star. Too bad God wasn’t on their side as it is cloudy and it is starting to rain. Mari was on the verge of giving up till Kanan marked the star chart for reference so that they could have their wish to stay together always. It is New Year’s Day. Saint Snow is here to help Aqours in their training. I guess this is the only way they could keep their relevance. Mari gets a call to be the director at Numazu as it would help ease the transition process. She declines since she is going to an Italian university recommended by her dad. Hence the reminder, she has 3 months left with them. Oh why do you need to trigger those worries and sadness for Chika? A little soul searching as Chika has to come to terms with reality. Mari thought Kanan and Dia would be mad at her for not telling about her plans. They aren’t because they too have their own plans and didn’t tell anyone. Now they’re even. More childhood flashbacks of them being together. One that includes Mari threatening to disown her parents if she didn’t get to hang out with the duo. They must love their daughter so much. The star chart brings back memories. Yup, even it gets cloudy and rains. They start ‘blaming’ each other but eventually Mari blames God! He is trying to not make their wish come true?! If that’s the case, she will disown Him! WTF?! That night, the trio have an idea. They gather the rest of the Aqours. Mari in the driver’s seat? Don’t worry. She’s got a valid licence. Her driving’s fine. I hope. Where to in this night trip? To see the stars. I know this series has some exaggerations but this one is totally ridiculous because we see the van flying into the night sky into the stars!!! OMFG!!!! I figure they must be high on drugs to see this illusion. At the site, looks like it’s raining. Again. Their wish is to one day be together again. So they’re going to stay here till it clears up? Haha! Or else they’ll disown God! Haha! Hahaha!!! You think the sky is going to listen to you? Haha! Haha~… Oh my… God must now be an Aqours fan because he clears it up for them???!!! Freaking miracle???!!! Is God scared of being disowned by a few cute girls? Oh yeah. So scared that he showered a few shooting stars for them to make several wishes. Now wanna bet He is going to make them win Love Live?

Episode 11
Uranohoshi prepares for its closing festival. The highlights include Mari trying to cook some premium nabe and some of Aqours see a couple of strange walrus mascots running by. Tracking them down, they suddenly disappear! Oh my. Ghosts? Still want to continue investigating in this dark storeroom? Why don’t they turn on the lights? Anyway they see the bed sheet moving and the culprit revealed underneath it is Shiitake? When the walrus duo pop up for real, it scares the sh*t out of the dog as it now rampages throughout the school. Why must it break down the arch that took lots of time and effort to put up? Anyway, Dia gives them an earful despite Chika giving explanation that Mito was walking Shiitake but the leash got loose. It is discovered that Kanan and You are behind the mascots and they are supposed to put on some show for kids for the festival. However if You has been fixing the arch, who is the one behind this mascot? NOTHING! OMFG! Real ghost???!!! The festival proceeds well. Highlights include Dia putting up a Love Live quiz and Yoshiko and Hanamaru ‘forcing’ Chika to come take a fortune because no customers. The biggest surprise for everybody is a bunch of girls release an arch made completely out of balloons to thank everyone for everything. Then they release it all to the sky. What a waste. Wouldn’t this be air pollution? What will the next prefecture say when they see balloons flying over? Oh, who cares? This is their last festival and since everyone is happy, let’s turn a blind eye. The festival ends with the students having a bonfire dance. Then Mari makes her final statement as Uranohoshi’s director. Happiness. Thank you. Emotional apology. You know the drill. But with everyone chanting Aqours’ name, everyone turns into a giant choir team and sings together. Wow. Did they sing until the wood becomes charcoal?

Episode 12
I wonder why Chika still holds that previous results sheet that has Aqours in dead last place with zero voters? Anyway, Aqours are off to the shrine to pray for their victory. They are glad to see many of their friends too have written their wish for them to win. But why the sad face when they see that there are also many other fans vouching for other idol groups to win? It’s not like they’re the only group in town, right? But this must be the only shrine in town because the board is filled with only idol victory wishes. Saint Snow is also there to personally give their blessing. Seira asks Chika if she wants to win Love Live. I thought that was a silly question even if Chika asked her previously this same question. As they stay in their inn, they are obviously nervous and pressured to win Love Live to etch Uranohoshi’s name in history. You eases the tension by having a pillow fight! We see Chika going about asking some of Aqours about why they want to win. Again, I thought it’s a silly question but I guess we need to ramp up some emotions from the viewers as they give their personal honest answers. Mostly, it’s got to do with love and pride of being part of Aqours. Of course everybody wants to win! Which team ever goes to the finals and wants to lose?! Silly! So throw away that old results sheet and chart your own path. Anyway, the next day, the big finals is on the cards. One last hurrah from Aqours to hype things up that they have come this far and all that is left is victory. From zero to one, from one to the future. Go, Aqours! We see them in their heavenly performance on stage.

Episode 13
From the banner at the start… Aqours won Love Live! Hooray! End of story. Oh wait. There’s still more? Oh right. Proper closure needed. So we see the students ‘vandalizing’ Uranohoshi walls with paints of positive messages because apparently this is their last day so it gives them the right. Then a final assembly and Mari’s last speech to officially close the school. Then everyone goes around reminiscing their times. Tears flow. Last moments together. More tears. Finally the closing of the gate in which Aqours have the honours to do so for more tears effect. Oh Chika, why make promises that you can’t keep. Because why tell everyone not to cry when everybody is already so into that? In the aftermath, spring is around the corner. The most shocking revelation is Riko is no longer afraid of dogs and has adopted one! And Shiitake has pups now. Shiitake is female?! Chika bums around at the beach. So apparently she gets to keep the banner and puts it out on the beach as it is the best place for everyone to see? Why not on some tall building? Whatever. Then with some encouragement from her family it isn’t like her to give up, Chika throws a paper airplane in which at the gust of her yell, it really flies ridiculously far as Chika chases after it. Oh, like fate playing a prank because it leads her back to Uranohoshi. Hmm… The gate is open… Chika walks around and reminisces all the things she and her pals have done in that particular corner of the school. So nostalgic that damn she’s crying now. What did I tell you about not making such promises? At the hall, she is shocked to see all the students waiting for her and on stage, other Aqours members extending their hand for Chika to join them singing as a group. One more for the road? Man, did they really plan all this and waited for Chika to show up? And Chika not knowing a thing? Okay, I understand if it’s Chika. And they expected all this to turn out exactly as planned? Okay, not surprising if it is for Chika. Thanks for the performances. Bye.

From Sunshine To Shining Star
Oh well… You know it is not over yet because… There is a sequel! Technically, a movie. Apparently goodbye seems to be the hardest word. I mean, would this be the end of the Love Live franchise? Or will they come up with another school that needs to be saved so we can have another bunch of new girls who are ‘forced’ to form an idol group to save their school by winning Love Live? Yeah. This formula is getting old. Unless you are super hardcore fans of idol themed series and one who is so into the Love Live series, then I guess the producers have got you locked in there, milking and squeezing all the money and every penny (or yen in this case) out of you. But I suppose you people won’t mind because you love your idols more than money, right?

I figure only fans of the series and Aqours can only appreciate this sequel. Casual viewers like me would have found nothing exciting or new to the table. Though, it does have its funny moments. In the sense that it felt weird that it seemed funny. But other than that it is basically a bunch of girls becoming idols in hopes of winning and achieving their goal. But if you think the Love Live series is going to be ultimately the same, this Sunshine series is slightly different in the sense of the plot that Aqours were unable to save Uranohoshi. Unlike in the original Love Live series, Muse managed to save Otonokizaka by the end of the first season. If Aqours managed to do that even by the end of the second season, I guess it would not be any different and might as well go back and watch the original Love Live series.

Therefore it gives a much needed drama for this season for Aqours to be even more relevant and work harder to achieve that goal to save their school. Thus for this series, that is why we have Uranohoshi’s final closure as the main ‘story’ while the Love Live tournament feels relegated as secondary. It works to make the feels via separation than winning something. It hits you harder on the emotions there. Hey, this show is about Aqours, not Love Live. I really felt this scene of saving their school was ridiculous because of how unrealistically the numbers were trickling in as the deadline closes. As if it was to enhance the nail biting drama that they could do it, they could do it, and they could do it. At this point you would expect the final second saving grace moment. You know, when a hero diffuses a ticking time bomb, he usually does so with a second left on the clock. Yeah… Alas it was a heart attack and heartbreak for those really expecting for good news. They might have lost this battle but they have won others, right? So it’s not so bad after all. Hey, you can’t win everything and earn a flawless victory. Life is not that rosy despite looking at how easy and fun becoming a school idol is when it isn’t so straightforward. I know they put in a lot of effort in the background that is not shown but still, they make it look like so much fun. Maybe it is for them. After all, it’s not like they want to dominate and conquer the world, right? Or do they? The other ridiculous part was ‘flying to the moon’. I know, exaggeration but really, that was too much.

Fans would be familiar with the members in Aqours especially if you have a favourite girl. This season does focus on some of them but not all of them. I feel the second years like Chika and You are mainly on the side lines while the juniors and the seniors have more limelight and screen time. There is not much changes to the characters either since Yoshiko (or is it Yohane?) is still acting like a chuunibyou, Hanamaru speaking in her weird accent and Ruby still being the shy and most timid of them all. I guess the biggest ‘change’ is Riko overcoming her dog phobia. No more Shiitake chase running joke? Okay then. Good for her. I still maintain Chika as the most annoying of them all because of her tendency to drag others into her own pace. Despite all that sunshine and super optimism, it becomes annoying when you see her spout all those flowery hopes and dreams and making it look so good. Then she tries to act tough by keeping up her positivism and cheery side when we all know that deep down inside she’s breaking up. Shouldn’t she be true to her feelings like always? Whatever. In the end, Aqours is Aqours and they certainly have found their own shine after all the moments they have been through. Their breakup is understandable as they will be going separately to different places. But can they reunite in the later years? Maybe that is all a different story altogether and it won’t be the same as now when they’re still in high school.

As part of the surprise and twist, Saint Snow who is supposed to be Aqours biggest rival crashed out early. I guess this only gives an excuse to have more friendship drama because the sisterly duo definitely have more screen time and focus. Heck, even more excuse to show their sisterly love! I suppose that is the other theme of this series other than friendship. In a perfect world, big sisters love their little sisters and likewise little sisters love their big sisters. What a big happy world. Is it me or does this worlds have only females? Yeah, coincidently those with siblings only have sisters. Where are all the guys?! They become fat ugly useless otakus possibly showing up at concerts and performances when they have to support their favourite idol group. But then again, I have a feeling all the fans in the stands are females too. No wonder you don’t hear any creepy stalker stories from this series. Too traumatic for its sunshine theme.

Artwork and animation remain consistent as the first season, bright and colourful. Cute looking girls and the use of CGI when the girls are dancing on stage. Doesn’t look too bad but it would be if you think too much about it because CGI dances seem to make them look a bit robotic. Because the setting of this place is the seaside, there are some nice backgrounds to look at. As usual, an idol themed series is all about the songs but I didn’t find any that I really like, not even the various insert songs. Well, there’s one. The closest that came to attracting my attention was My Mai Tonight. A typical group idol opening theme, Mirai No Bokura Wa Shitteru Yo with all the cute stuffs that you would expect from Aqours. The same can be said for the ending theme, Yuuki Wa Doko Ni? Kimi No Mune Ni. Of course this has multiple versions. You have the individual solo or duo versions and the big group Aqours version.

During the same season, another idol series aired with its second season: Wake Up, Girls! I am not sure if they are supposed to be going head to head with each other and pitting fans of both sides against each other. But I don’t see anything of that sort serious rivalry since there is no reason to hate or sabotage other groups as long as you love your own. Right? Either way, both have their own styles and their own fans so no big deal or cutthroat competition to see who is better. On a side note, I am neither their fans but yet I still watched both series and all their previous seasons. Am I a closet idol fan?

Overall, like I have said, only fans of Aqours and the idol genre would definitely connect and grow with the characters over 2 seasons (4 if you include the original Love Live that has no real connection with this one). You learn, laugh and cry at all their endeavours and attempts as they inch towards their dream and shine and feel the heart-warming friendship that brought them this far. But like everything else, it must all come to an end so what better way to go out in a bang and do the things you love and want to do before you can never have that chance again. Thank you Aqours for leaving a lasting impression in our hearts (at least till this season ends). Oh wait, there’s that movie sequel so looks like they’re going to be sticking around for a while. From zero to one, from one to the future, and from the future to infinity and beyond! Aqours can really reach for the stars now.

Love Live! Sunshine!!

Eh? Do we need another Love Live series? I thought it was all over. Apparently this isn’t exactly a continuation or a reboot. More like a spinoff. Yes, another new group in focus. At first I thought Love Live! Sunshine!! would be about the younger sisters of the original Muse forming their own group and living up to their predecessor’s legacy. This is not the case. A bunch of new faces and a new school in a different prefecture means everything would be new although we all know the concept and setting would follow a familiar pattern. The forming of a new school idol unit, their trials and tribulations as they try to achieve the ultimate Holy Grail of the idol industry. What else can you expect from this genre? Oh, right. No space ass kicking idols to save the universe here for sure.

Episode 1
Chika Takami is a second year at Uranohoshi Girls’ High School. Along with her friend, You Watanabe they are trying to recruit members for their idol club. No takers. Oddly, Chika has never been interested in clubs and stuffs before but she’s getting into it thinking that school idols are all the rage now. They continue giving out fillers and stumble upon several ‘potentials’. Hanamaru Kunikida and Ruby Kurosawa seem suspicious first. Then there is Yoshiko Tsushima dropping down from a tree and acting all chuunibyou. Ruby seems to know her but Yoshiko seems to be pretending that she doesn’t. And the trio start chasing each other, forgetting all about the idol club. Chika is picked up by the student council president, Dia Kurosawa. She is chastising her for not even applying to create the club. Yup, the club officially doesn’t exist. Besides, there is a minimum of 5 members needed to form a club and Chika is the only one on it. To pour more salt on injury, Dia is adamant she will not have any idol clubs in her school! You thinks Dia is from a traditional fishing family so anything that seems silly will not get her approval. While Chika is trying to figure out ways to get new members, she sees a girl at the pier and thinks she is trying to commit suicide. She tries to stop Riko Sakurauchi from diving in but they both fall into the sea. Later as revealed, she was only diving. The reason being, she is trying to compose a song for a piano and needs to hear the sound of the sea to get inspiration. Despite she is from Tokyo, she doesn’t know what a school idol is. Too dedicated to piano to know anything else. Chika explains about them but doesn’t consider herself as part of them and just your average Jane. Then when she saw Muse performing, she became inspired. That dazzling brightness became her dream. Riko feels Chika’s words cheered her up. As they officially introduce themselves, Riko says she is from Otonokizaka Academy, the school were Muse is from. Chika gets more motivation when You decides to join her club. However Chika and Dia are still head butting each other. Dia tries to discourage them about an original song they need to write for entering Love Live. Because this school has no one gifted in music let alone someone who can compose a song. Then it is like a miracle dropping before Chika because Riko becomes a new transfer student in her class. The first thing she asks is to join her as a school idol. Sorry, she can’t. Dream dashed so quickly…

Episode 2
Chika continuously bugs Riko to join because she is the only one who can write songs. Still no. You on the other hand has designed some drafts for costumes. I think she needs to come up with something cuter than military and police outfits. Again when Chika bugs Dia and tries to give inspiration about Muse, the president snaps for her mispronouncing their name! She then quizzes Chika about Muse’s trivia but she doesn’t know a thing. Well, Dia seems to know awfully a lot. Is she a Muse fan? Unknown to Dia, her trivia interrogation was accidentally broadcasted throughout the entire school. Later Chika tries to lure Ruby with candy. They talk about Dia who is Ruby’s elder sister who is quite against any school idols so they aren’t confident if Chika’s club will get the green light at all. Also Yoshiko has been absent since the first day of school. Chika then sees Riko by the shore again. Still trying to find inspiration for her composition but no luck. Although Chika gives her motivation, Riko still declines thinking this is part of her ruse to get her to join her idol club. Chika accepts her rejection for now. Then she goes diving with her just to try out. As you know, miracles happen when this kind of scene pops up so Riko is able to hear what she wants for her composition. Although Riko agrees to write songs for them, this doesn’t mean she has joined their club. But to start writing one, she needs lyrics. What are lyrics? You mean Chika doesn’t even know what lyrics are? Chika invites Riko to her home-cum-inn to help think up of lyrics. Meet the weird sisters, Shima and Mito and their pet dog that Riko seems to fear? Brainstorming on what to write, since Chika loves school idols, she can write tons of lines on that. Back home, Riko tries to compose her song on her piano but it seems she has some trauma. Eventually when she gets going, Chika is impressed with her composition. Guess what? They live next to each other! Didn’t Riko realize this when she comes home? Anyway Riko still has some fears so Chika allays them by reaching out. I guess it means everything is okay when their hands touch.

Episode 3
The trio are practising their dance moves. Still need more practising. They are interrupted when a helicopter flies low. Riding it is Mari Ohara and Uranohoshi’s new chairwoman aside from being a third year student too. Well, her family is a major patron of the school. Dia is not happy because she vanished a few years ago without saying anything and now she is suddenly back. Mari gives hope to Chika’s idol group. If they can fill in the gym for their first performance, she’ll approve the club and get school funding. Otherwise, they’ll just have to disband. However when they calculate, the entire school isn’t enough to fill the hall. This means they have to get audiences from outside. So Chika begs to Mito for her company of 200 employees to come but looks like it didn’t fly. They go to town to distribute flyers. While You is a natural, Chika sounds threatening. Is that a way to ask people to come to your concert? Shy Riko? What good is talking to a poster will do? Ruby and Hanamaru are there too. But they ask a more pressing issue: What is their group name? And so our trio have to think about a group name quick. Let’s say each come up with their own lame names. They can write all over the beach the potential ones but eventually they stumble upon Aqours. Feels good. Something related to water. Okay, so Aqours it will be. They don’t even know who wrote this. After that it is more flyer distribution. On the night of their performance, the trio are nervous. When the curtains rise, well, only a handful of them. You can count them all who attended. They carry on their performance but halfway the electricity is cut off due to the bad storm. They try to carry on without the music but it is so heart-breaking that Chika is close to tears. And then suddenly here comes Mito bringing her entire colleagues! Wow. Suddenly the hall is filled. Traffic jam all over the place? Well what do you know? Mito scolds Chika for putting the wrong date on the flyer. More miracles because Dia turns on the generators for backup power. The trio continue their performance to a standing ovation. Oh wait. Everybody is standing in the first place. At the end, Dia confronts them that their success is only due to past efforts of other school idols and the kindness of these people. Chika agrees but had they not done anything, nothing would have happened.

Episode 4
Mari gives the green light for the idol club to be approved. This means they have their own clubroom. Uhm, very messy. Clean up time. However they’re still short of members. Ruby reports to Hanamaru that the idol club is approved and is very happy about it. This has Ruby remember she used to act out performances of Muse with Dia. They love idols so much but one day after Dia entered high school, she started hating them and doesn’t want anything to do with it. So if big sister doesn’t like it, Ruby is not allowed to like them too. WTF?! Mari sees her friend, Kanan Matsuura and wants her to join the idol club once she returns to school. It is the reason she came back. However Kanan is not pleased. Hanamaru suggests to Ruby they try out the idol club. Of course Chika is happy but she must remember that if they don’t like it, they won’t join. They hope they can keep this a secret from Dia too. The first order is to train. But there is no decent place for them so it is suggested the rooftop. Like how Muse did it. For stamina training, they run up the mountain. Hanamaru lacks stamina and although considerate Ruby wants to wait for her, she tells her to forge ahead and not be someone she doesn’t want. Otherwise she’ll suffer. After Ruby goes ahead, it seems this is part of Hanamaru’s plan as she is scheduled to meet Dia nearby. She tells her to listen to Ruby. That’s it? Oh, here Ruby and co comes. Dia wants an explanation so Ruby explains the truth. Ruby officially joins Aqours. But what about Hanamaru? She thinks her role is over and returns to the library where she belongs. She loves books. Of course Ruby can’t have her ending like that so she is going to force her to join. Forgive me, I reworded it harshly. Ruby has been observing Hanamaru too and knows she was pushing herself for her sake. She noticed she was happy while practising too and that she loves them as much as her. Let’s be idols together. Hanamaru doesn’t think she doesn’t have what it takes to be an idol. But Chika tells her it is not the question of can or cannot. It is whether you want or not. And so there were five. When they key in their group name to check out rankings on Love Live, they rank 4999. Not bad, right?

Episode 5
Yoshiko believes she is a fallen angel and even records a video of herself doing all those chuunibyou stuffs. But it’s like her other rational personality told her to stop it since she’ll be a high school girl and it will be embarrassing. Unfortunately bad habits are hard to die out so when she first introduced herself in class the first day like that, it’s the reason she never showed up anymore. Aqours move up in their ranking by a few hundred ranks. Not bad. Hanamaru has never seen a computer before since her family runs an old temple. You bet she is a noob when it comes to all technologies. So when she accidentally shuts down the computer… Hope they saved their work. Hanamaru spots Yoshiko spying on them and calls them out. She is afraid her classmates think she is weird but after being assured they won’t remember a thing, she is confident to start anew. Yoshiko portrays herself as the graceful cool beauty. She becomes popular as her classmates would love to know her better. That’s when it goes downhill because Yoshiko starts doing her chuunibyou when they wanted her to do her fortune telling. Oops… She feels disgraced but Chika finds it cute. Thinking this is what they need to improve their rankings further, she asks her to join their school idol club. Everyone tries out the gothic outfit at Chika’s place. But her dog keeps harassing Riko so she literally jumps back home!!! She can become a long jumper if this falls through. A video of a cheesy fallen angel of them is filmed. Embarrassing, right? But it increased their rank just below the thousand mark!!! OMG! Amazing???!!! However when Dia sees this, she blows her top at this utmost embarrassment. She warns them the popularity is only temporary because right now they have dropped back down to behind 1500 as other groups also do their best to stand out. Yoshiko thinks it is the end of her fallen angel days and can live a normal high school life. After she leaves the group, the rest discuss why she was so obsessed being a fallen angel. She was just normal like them and never stood out. Then they realize they want her and chase her all across town just to ask her to join Aqours. She can continue being a fallen angel. It is who she is. It is what she loves. They accept her for all the nonsense. Chika realizes being a school idol isn’t about what people thought or how to get popular. It is doing what you love most that makes you shine the most. And with that, Yoshiko’s in.

Episode 6
Dia learns from Mari that Uranohoshi will close down and merge with Numazu. Of course Mari is trying to delay that from happening, thus her return as chairwoman. But if next year’s enrolment numbers go down, the inevitable will happen. An excuse to use idols to revive the school? Well, Dia is not going to fall for this. So Aqours also learn about this but Chika is ecstatic because they are going to follow the same route as Muse and Otonokizaka. Does she really think this path will also lead Aqours to glory? Well, no harm dreaming. Thus she comes up with an idea of doing a PV. Unfortunately they are all over the place and have no idea on what to report on what is good in their town. Mari also tells Kanan about Uranohoshi’s fate. She can keep it alive but needs her help to come back to school. Kanan is not amused she ‘broke’ into her house just to tell this but Mari reminds her she is her stalker. When Aqours show their PV, if Mari thinks it is trash, I guess it says everything. They might have put in a lot of effort but the result is still crap doesn’t make it any better. Later Chika sees Dia performing alone in the hall. She is amazed at her skills and wants her to join Aqours to help keep it open. But Dia refuses and will fight this her own way. Mari is here to harass remind her about nothing will change if she keeps running away. Dia responds she never ran away. Not now. Not then. When the school is doing community service picking up litter on the each, Chika gets an idea for their PV. They do a music video and mix it in with this communal work.

Episode 7
Aqours now ranks 99th! Not bad! The top 100 qualify for Love Live. Phew, right? Then they get mail for them to attend the Tokyo School Idol World Committee. They’re going to Tokyo! Ruby seeks ‘permission’ from Dia but is told she has already decided on what to do so what others say don’t matter. Then Dia confronts Mari about the idols going to Tokyo. Mari tells her Dia could have stopped them if she wanted although Dia is more concerned if they should fail. If the worse may come to worst, then there’s no avoiding it. So here Aqours is at Tokyo. A bunch of country bumpkin at awe with the tall buildings, the city life, getting lost, getting lost in shopping, etc. Then they run up the legendary stairs that Muse used to run up. Legendary like Rocky Steps? At the shrine on top, they hear the beautiful voice of 2 girls singing. The duo know all about Aqours and seen their videos. They know why they are here and are looking forward to it. From the way they sound, they’re like their rivals, right? And why do they have to look ‘evil’? To show Aqours what kind of bar is raised, one of them does an acrobatic somersault! Later Chika wants to visit Otonokizaka but Riko seems against it. Riko explains she doesn’t hate her ex-school. It’s just that each time she thinks of it, it’s like there are expectations to be met and all she did there was practice and in the end she failed. Chika on the other hand wonders what it’s like to have expectations. When people came to see them off, she felt happy and scared. It’s like she had to meet their expectations and cannot fail. Aqours are at the Dome where they will perform and the audience will vote to rank them. It seems Aqours will be one of teams to start first. Second, in fact. At the backstage, Ruby is still nervous and Yoshiko is still spouting her chuunibyou crap. Then they encounter those girls at the shrine again. You didn’t think they were idol rivals? They are Saint Snow.

Episode 8
Saint Snow goes first and we see their outstanding dance to the rock and hip hop mix. After that it’s Aqours. Well, we didn’t get to see their performance (to say that this isn’t their best?) but we see the girls a bit down and Chika forcing herself to stay cheerful and positive. When they are handed the results, they look for their name of course. Saint Snow ranks 9th. Hmm… Aqours not on the first page. Maybe the second page… Aha! Number 30th. Not bad, right? Well, there are only 30 teams participant. Damn. So how many people voted for them? Zero!!! OMFG! Ironically Saint Snow praises them for their performance. And then a reality check. Because they warn to give up trying to become like Muse. Love Live is not some game. You can’t brush that off easily when they say that with tears in their eyes. On the way home, Chika continues to remain positive and thinks they have done their best. Back home, their fans greet them. But when Dia comes to get them, Ruby lets loose her tears. Time for a little advice. Dia sees nothing wrong in their performance and they have certainly done their best. However there are 7,236 teams participating in this year’s Love Live. More than 10 times last year. The level of competition has risen sharply. Dia also reveals why her side cannot sing. Back then, she and Kanan pestered Mari into joining their idol unit in hopes of saving the school from consolidation. Mari was against it but eventually gave in. But after witnessing how awesome other groups are, it was their turn on stage and they froze. They cannot sing a note. That’s why Dia was against them forming an idol group fearing this might happen. And it did. Mari once more tries to convince Kanan but she continues to give the cold shoulder. Mari now breaks down in tears, wishing to take back those days of them together. Crocodile or not, Kanan is not moved. That night, Chika has a lot to think. Especially when You asked if they should disband. Next morning, Riko is shocked thinking Chika tried to drown herself! She was just thinking with the help of the sound of the sea. She has decided to continue being a school idol. Then she breaks down thinking how frustrating everything was despite trying so hard. Riko hugs her and is glad she is now honest with her feelings. Chika didn’t want to cry so as not to affect their morale. Riko assures they didn’t become school idols for her sake. They did it for themselves. Aqours renew their motivation and set their sights to improve.

Episode 9
Mari turned down studying abroad so she could continue being a school idol. However Kanan for the umpteenth time told her she is quitting. Even Dia agreed with her. Majority won. Aqours try to find out more about their seniors since they heard rumours from Dia that Kanan couldn’t sing that led to this mess. So in order to know more about what Dia said, everyone targets Ruby! The pressure! Too bad she didn’t hear much. They decide to tail Kanan. Hope they saved up their stamina because that girl can run without breaks! Then at the shrine, they see Mari stalking her again to come back and stop running away. Kanan is still stubborn and this time she gets serious. She doesn’t want to see her face again. Next day, Kanan surprises the school when she returns. Mari continues her harassment by giving her the idol uniform. She throws it away. If that is not enough, the drama grows with Mari clinging onto her like a leech. She’s never letting go! Dia can’t do anything as everybody is watching. Ironically it is Chika who tells them to stop this crap and come to the room to explain everything. Wow. Chika is so commanding! Even so, Kanan’s lips are sealed. She remains stubborn saying she couldn’t sing. That’s it. After she leaves, the rest are even more curious to know more. Now they turn to Dia. Get her! The big revelation as she reveals it wasn’t Kanan couldn’t sing. She chose not to sing. On that day, Mari injured herself. Despite Mari insists she could continue, could you imagine had they go on? It would have ended with something worse than an injury. Mari is not pleased her feelings were never sought. She turned down offers from other schools and had even everything all setup for their next idol stint. Dia adds that Kanan was always looking out and worried for her. She was worried they would rob her future and chance to achieve her full potential. Time for Mari to find that girl and slap her. Some past flashbacks as kids how they met and become friends. So time for them to settle it once and for all. Mari starts off that she too was thinking about her. Then the inevitable slap to release her frustrations. Because it was her own fault too for not being honest then, she allows Kanan to slap her. But Kanan signals a hug. Something they did as friends. Time to let out a big emotional hug. And now it is official. The trio join and complete Aqours. At the end of the practice, Kanan reveals their group was also named Aqours. Coincidence? Guess who gave this idea to the juniors? That writing on the beach. Dia has taken them for a ride too. You cheeky devil…

Episode 10
Summer vacation is here but Dia becomes the self-appointed manager to come up with training schedules for Aqours. She’s really into this. But with the neighbourhood association tasking them to work at the seaside café, there is no time for training. It is suggested that they work all day, using morning and evenings for training. Who says being an idol is easy? Chika suggests staying at her place and treat this like a training camp since they will save time on travelling. So after a little fun in the sea, it’s time to work on the seaside café. Dia again appoints herself as the manager as she delegates jobs to make their café more popular than their neighbour’s (which is raking in lots of customers). I guess they were decent but not popular enough to sell out their food and thus they have to finish them for dinner. Yeah, they have Mari’s expensive high quality seafood mix or Yoshiko’s whatever black balls… Tears of the fallen? Yeah, you’ll cry after eating that because it is spicy! The real drama begins when Chika overheard Riko’s family talking about Riko’s upcoming piano competition invitation. They are unsure because Riko has not replied. Chika discovers that the competition is on the same day as Love Live preliminaries. When Chika talks to her, Riko has already set her mind on Love Live. School idols have become a big part of her life now and is more important to her. Why do I have a feeling Chika is going to have the same déjà vu dilemma like Mari did? More Aqours training, working and improvising their cooking. Dia wants to give a history lesson on A-Rise but with Mito giving that stare, Chika quickly calls it a night because she doesn’t want the unthinkable to happen. This is what she actually said, “If we don’t cut the noise right now, the god of this inn is gonna pull my soul right out of my butt!”. Oh sh*t! Back to Chika-Riko drama. Chika has Riko play a piano piece of her least likable song. Chika likes that song. Read: She wants Riko to take part in the piano competition. It’s not like she is asking her to quite Aqours. She thought it would be great if she could go back and play piano again. Remember, playing the piano was important to her. Go on, Chika and the rest aren’t going anywhere. They’ll be waiting for her right here. The green light for permission to pursue her dream and an emotional hug. See? You can have best of both worlds.

Episode 11
Everyone sees off Riko at the train station. After that it is back to more idol training. They are impressed with Saint Snow doing well in their preliminaries but they have to worry about their own. So for idol training they have to clean the pool? I guess it builds up stamina and patience. When it’s time to practice, they realize they can’t start because Riko is missing for the opening gig. Suggesting someone takes her place, somehow everybody is looking at You. Unfortunately You continues to make mistakes all the time. This has You worrying. A much needed call from Riko to Chika as she passes on to everyone to speak to her. When it is You’s turn, her handphone battery is going to go kaput. Why does this always happen? With You obviously looking down, Mari talks to her and after a few cheeky face pinches, she advises her to just say her feelings and thoughts and not make the same mistake like she did. You had a chance to talk to Chika but didn’t have the guts. At home she is thinking of the various scenarios she can tell Chika but they are all dramatically lame. Then the much needed call from Riko to assure her that Chika is really happy to be with her and do her best for her sake. Scenes like these always make the character want to tear up, right? Get ready for more as You is already at tipping point when here comes Chika requesting to practice again with her. This time she thinks You should be dancing in her own way. You breaking down in 3, 2, 1… Let it flow, those tears. Then there is a narration why Chika wanted to become a school idol and nothing else. She didn’t want to shine all by herself and wants others to shine with her so as to spread the light that bring everyone listening to their music together. That way, everything will shine even brighter. Technically speaking. So we get to see Aqours performing as well as Riko in her piano recital at the same time. You can tell they pull off an amazing feat with the crowd applauding. Hey. Is Aqours doing the sign of Black Power? Fist in the air?!

Episode 12
Are you ready to find out if Aqours will advance to the next round? Let’s see… Who the f*ck is Izu Express?! Then they realize the list is by entry number. Oh look, Aqours is on the list! Hooray! They pass! Yes, oh my god indeed, Mari. Even better news is that their PV online is getting more views. But here is the thing that will bring them back to earth: Applicants for Uranohoshi this year is still zero! Oh God. It’s that dreaded number. So with lots of soul searching and thinking, Chika suggests they go back to Tokyo again to see what Muse has that they don’t. Back at the shrine top again, guess who is there again? Saint Snow. They talk and learn Saint Snow is following the footsteps of A-Rise. History repeating itself in a way? I guess Chika asked a stupid question so they have to tell her what else everybody enters Love Live for? To win, of course silly! Aqours then visit Otonokizaka and be awed by its magnificence. When a student of Otonokizaka (Hanayo?) learns they are trying to learn more about Muse, she tells them there is nothing left about them here. They didn’t want to leave anything behind and don’t need those things because their hearts will always be connected. Aqours pay their respect to the school. When they return, Chika has realized why Muse are so amazing. She believes Aqours shouldn’t be like them or chase after them. The amazing about Muse was how they went with nothing and make everyone’s dreams come true. Aqours should be doing things they want their own way. You suggests a hand signal for their group. It looks like an ‘L’ but from another point of view, I thought they look like a gun… Aqours jump with joy with that hand signal and their moto is from zero to one.

Episode 13
We see Aqours training in the summer as well as some of their usual antics. Oh, the number for their school’s open house is still zero. A few of their friends have noticed them practising hard so they talk about their love for their school. At first they thought that there was nothing they can do but after seeing Aqours trying their best, they too want to help out in any way they can. This has Chika thinking that despite hearing everybody saying they love this school and town, why does the number still stand at zero? No, it’s not that everyone is lying. It’s just that the message isn’t getting across. She believes Love Live is not an afterthought. Chika’s mom even returns to lend her support. Oh God. She is a typical anime mom because she looks smaller and younger than Chika! Enough to be her little sister! Aqours is motivated when the entire school wants in to help them out. Wait a minute. Do they not seriously think they can all just go up and perform on stage?! Riko had to break it to them about the rules that only registered members can go up there. Yeah, imagine if they bring the entire country… So we see Aqours having their backstage motivation before heading out to the stage for their regional competition. They start off differently because they are narrating their school’s dire straits and the formation of Aqours. Basically a dramatic summary of what has happened so far. Audiences must be confused if they are watching a play or a concert. Yeah, it lasted over 5 minutes before they get to the real singing and dancing.

Living On Love And Sunshine
Well folks, it looks like if there is a need for it, there is a chance that another sequel for Aqours would be possible. After all, they are going to become better than Muse, right? So what better way to follow in their footsteps and have another, if not more sequels. Because Aqours need to advance and win for our sakes, right? But that is for another time. As far as this spin-off sequel is concerned, personally I am not an idol fan so overall it looks and sounds the same to me. Just repackaging it in a slightly different way and mostly visually. Because it feels like an excuse to distract us that Aqours wants to follow in Muse’s footsteps and thus hiding the fact that we are watching the same plot and journey again but with a different name. Uh huh. Notice how their idol unit is set up just to save the school? How about recruiting members for the group? What about failing and falling back up? A rival to rival them and most important of all, doing their best to win the coveted Love Live title. So similar, right? Might as well rewatch the first 2 seasons of Love Live then.

As I would have guessed and told them from the start when Chika really wanted to become and follow in the footsteps of Muse, Aqours shouldn’t be striving to become like the best school idol group in history ever (for now) because Muse and Aqours are both very different to the core although on the surface they might look the same. Even if this entire storyline feels like going through déjà vu but in a different visual presentation, they are still very much different. Muse is Muse. Aqours is Aqours. They can use Muse as motivation but all Aqours needs to do is to become the best in their own way and pace. Because in that way if they ever become popular, people won’t compare them and say that they are only so because of Muse. That is like they’ve been riding Muse’s wave and will forever be in their shadows.

Well, I certainly have this weird feeling of seeing it all before but yet this season feels different. I mean, if it was completely the same, might as well take out my DVDs of the previous 2 seasons of Love Live and start rewatching them. You can tell the familiar pattern of how the girls are trying to form a new idol group and being the underdog themselves, it isn’t a bed of roses as they will face some sort of obstacle in their bid to win the coveted title. Which of course they’re still a long way to go the way this season plays everything out. Even the ‘completion’ of all the members joining and making Aqours as a whole feels like history repeating itself like Muse since Aqours got all its 9 members after 3/4 of the series. It is around that time that Muse too got completed like that albeit slightly earlier. So do you not think that Aqours is just Muse reborn in a different town?

Making this rebirth of Muse seeing more obvious are the characters themselves. Not only the fact that they have the same number of members, but somehow you could just feel that they are mostly the same characters. Just that they swap hairstyle, hair colour and personalities. And voila! You get a new set of characters for a new group. For example in the looks department, do you not think that Kanan looks suspiciously close to Nozomi? Just take away the boobs. Heh… Then there is the blonde halfie who wields a powerful position in school. Mari is half Italian and the chairwoman while Eri is half Russian and is the student council president. Then there is the joker type who was Niko and her Niko-niko smile, now we have Yoshiko and her fallen angel and chuunibyou crap. Shy girls are still around. If Muse had Hanayo, Aqours has Ruby. Next one is somewhat a bit different but I can think it is to fill in the ‘less feminine’ personality since Rin is a tomboy and they replaced that with Hanamaru the country bumpkin. In terms of roles, it is obvious that Chika is this season’s Honoka as the group’s leader and Riko is the Maki for Aqours since she is the one who only writes songs and plays the piano. Not forgetting the group’s outfit designer are Kotori and You. So do you see how they just swapped everything around and make it sound as though everything is fresh and new?

In view of this, there is not much for me to comment on the girls of Aqours since like I have said, they feel familiar but yet different. But if I want to point out my ‘favourite’ one, it would be Yoshiko because she is a funny girl. Yes, she has a screw loose in her head but she’s funny shamelessly doing her chuunibyou in the middle of public. That’s Yoshiko being Yoshiko (or is it Yohane?). Just like my ‘favourite’ one for Muse was Niko. Because she’s funny. What? You don’t think liking a person because she is funny is not a valid reason? But it seems ever since Aqours became a whole, Yoshiko as the funniest character seems to be taken over by Dia. Uh huh. I believe she is the one that had undergone the most ‘drastic’ change in character among the Aqours members. At first she was very prideful to the point that you’ll be convinced she is just a strict b*tch. But after the issue with her friends are resolved, her funny side shows up and it’s like she can usurp Yoshiko as the comic relief character. Seriously. Then there is Mari too who acts like some sort of stalker to Kanan before and after. Do best friends stalk each other like that? I’m not sure if this is a running joke because Riko is shown to be afraid of Chika’s dog. This phobia seems to be more comical than the phobia of some of Muse’s members. Because Eri was afraid of the dark and Umi was afraid of public performances. So each time she is at her house, it’s like there is this ‘showdown’ between them if it is going to happen or not. When it does, all hell breaks loose as Riko will be running for her life from this canine demon.

Saint Snow is looking to be the destined rival for Aqours although their appearance is just very minimal. It is easy to fall for the trap of trying to compare Saint Snow to their A-Rise counterpart but I believe that on the outside their roles may look like they are similar, we do not have enough information to conclude much about them. Yet. Unless you’re an ardent fan and know everything there is to know about this series. I’m not. Sorry. Is it me or do idol units need to have so many members or just minimal? I thought there would be more members in Saint Snow but it seems there are only 2 of them. Heck, even A-Rise had 3. Yeah, I know. It’s not about the numbers but the quality of their performance. Well, this dismisses my hope to see any one on one showdowns between the rival groups. What the heck am I hoping for?!

Seeing that this is an idol theme series, music plays an important ingredient. Unfortunately I’m not really into this genre so I’m just watching for the sake of ‘nostalgia’ since I have watched the previous Love Live seasons. There are lots of insert songs but none of them really makes my heart jump like the one Muse did, Start:Dash! In fact, that is the only song that I like a lot in the entire Love Live series. Nothing after that comes close to this. So the ending theme, Yume Kataru Yori Yume Utaou sounds decent and lively. It is perhaps the better song for this season if I am forced to pick which is the best song I like. Of course this song has many versions as they are sung by the different mini units of Aqours in addition to the one that is sung as an entire group. The opening theme is Aozora Jumping Heart. Typical idol song but not anything to my liking.

The casts behind Aqours are also a relatively bunch of new seiyuus making their debut or only have minor cameo appearances as background characters in other animes. So we have Anju Inami as Chika, Shuka Saitou as You, Rikako Aida as Riko, Aika Kobayashi as Yoshiko, Kanako Takatsuki as Hanamaru, Ai Furihata as Ruby, Arisa Komiya as Dia and Nanaka Suwa as Kanan. Only Aina Suzuki as Mari has ‘more’ roles than the rest like Shiori in Joukamachi No Dandelion, Kondo in Sansha Sanyou and Tokiko in Bishoujo Yuugi Unit Crane Girls. It is rare to here Kana Asumi these days so it was quite surprising to hear her here as Shima. Kanae Itou also plays a part here as Mito but I didn’t recognize her. Apparently I found out much later that Nana Mizuki and Rie Kugimiya also made their cameos as Riko’s mom and Chika’s mom respectively. Their dialogues are so minimal that I didn’t really get to hear them properly at all. Or maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention…

The art and drawing remain bright and colourful, consistent with the previous seasons of Love Live. After all, they were produced by the veteran studio, Sunrise. So don’t expect to see any big changes in the artwork department because you’ll still have your happy-happy idol girls smiling all the way. Also, they use CGI when the girls are dancing on stage. Although not perfect and you can easily tell this is more 3D animation instead of 2D, at least the difference is not so obvious that it makes watching them perform unbearable. Yeah, at least not robotic. After all, you have to put in some effort if you want people to believe in and be attracted by idols in the thing they do best. You don’t want to fail in this all important visual area, right?

Overall, if you are still into the idol genre, this one should appeal to you. Even more so if you are a fan of the original Love Live and you’re still not over their ‘breaking up’ or ‘end’ and need something new to revitalize your love for the group and brand. Okay, I made that up but if you really enjoying cute and kawaii girls jumping up and down with perfect choreography and synchronicity donning cute and kawaii idol outfits, this series is just like any other idol genre you would expect. Well, I’m not really sure if all-girl group idols are on the decline because recently I noticed there are more reverse harem music genre series coming out recently. From B-Project to Tsukiuta to Magic-Kyun! Renaissance to Dream Festival and don’t forget the Uta No Prince-sama that already has 4 seasons. I don’t want to start a gender idol war or which side does it better but as long as their music can captivate the heart, I’m all for it. Let’s hope Aqours will make their dreams come true before the popularity of idols dies out. You know how fast the rise and fall of idols, right? Out you go if you can’t keep up with the pace. At this rate there will be as much idols there is in Japan as there are stars in the sky. I know there’s a pun somewhere I can make and connect with this… And the chances aren’t zero…

Love Live! School Idol Project S2

When you have saved your school from closure, what else is there for an idol group formed to just do that as their initial goal? It will be a total waste for them to disband so I guess since they are already here, why not give it a shot and try their hands at Love Live again? And yeah. This is what the second season is mostly going to be. But wait a minute. Didn’t they fail to enter the last time? Well, it’s back by popular demand! Wohoo! I figure that is why we are having a second season. After all, this is going to be their last time together. Gasp! Last time together? What are you saying?! Oh girls, even if this will be your last performance together, you will always be in our hearts, right? Well, if you are a big fan of them. I’m not ;p.

Episode 1
Thanks to the increase in enrolment, Otonokizaka Academy will continue to operate and take in new students next year. Hooray! Honoka has been installed as the new student council president and why, we even have a musical version of it as she sings her way through the school corridors and fields! It might just be her imagination because the moment she took the microphone to address the crowd, she forgot all her lines. Now she can’t laze around since Umi is being as strict to get the jobs done. This is going to be tough work… Never knew the student council was going to be lots of work, eh? Hanayo stumbles upon some shocking information. She gathers everyone and they run around everywhere in school trying to find Honoka. After all that running that could have made them great marathon runners, they finally find her and relay the shocking news: There is going to be another Love Live! Thanks to the popularity of the last one (which was won by A-Rise), this time the competition won’t be based on popularity rankings and will go by regions. Think of it like those sports anime, inter-high competitions of each region will slug it out before the top teams qualify for the Nationals-cum-finals. Their hopes are extinguished when they realize they have to fight A-Rise for a spot in the next round. They’re from the same Tokyo region and this is the most competitive idol region across Japan. This sucks. Well, you’ll never know if you don’t try. Just when everyone gets hyped up to join, here comes Honoka pouring cold water on it. She doesn’t think they have to participate. Say what?! This is an atrocity! They interrogate her and her it seems she is more than happy to sing and dance together. They don’t need some fancy competition, right? After all, their goal of keeping the school alive has been achieved. So to prove her point, she takes her groupies to hang out with her after school. See how fun this is? Erm…

Of course the rest cannot accept this as competing in Love Live has been their dream and they believe Honoka must be overwhelmed by her student council duties. Honoka’s sister, Yukiho is also appalled she doesn’t want to enter. She hints that she and Arisa will enter Otonokizaka next year in April, the same time this next Love Live will start. You know what this means? One rainy day, Niko challenges Honoka to a race to climb the stairs. If Honoka wins, they’ll not participate in Love Live. Niko makes a great start (by getting a head start) but trips. Then the rest tell her the seniors like Eri, Nozomi and Niko won’t have time anymore and since Love Live is only open to students, do you know what this means? If they miss it, that’s it. Even if they get eliminated in the preliminaries, at least they can say they tried their best. After all the motivating talk by her friends, Honoka is back to her usual self and agrees to join. Honoka then becomes God. GOD?! Because she is so happy that she yells to the Heavens for the rain to stop and it did!!! F*CKING HELL, NO WAY!!! The sun is even shining through the clouds! What does this mean? As long as you’ve got the determination, you can do anything! Even stopping the rain?

Episode 2
First obstacle… For the next Love Live, they cannot use songs they have sung. That means only new songs because if so, many will be covering songs of professional idols. Everyone turns to Maki… Oh no. What does this mean? Another training camp! Maki is such a rich girl that in last season they went to her beach villa. Now they go to her other villa in the mountains! Everyone is so captivated by the scenery that they forgot to wake up Honoka who was left sleeping in the train! Nobody even noticed… So in the villa, Maki will be composing songs, Umi writing lyrics and Kotori designing their dresses in their respective rooms. However the pressure is getting to them… Writer’s block? We take a slight detour when a squirrel steals Niko’s wristband. Along with Rin, they couldn’t stop running downhill and amazingly miss all the trees and bushes. Am I playing some sort of platform video game here? Eventually they fall into a river. Back at the villa, the rest notice how quiet it is. Then they realize. Maki, Umi and Kotori have escaped! They’re sighing outside! Oh, the depression! I guess the pressure got to them. So it is decided they split into groups and help them out. Eri and Niko will help Maki compose songs. Honoka and Hanayo will help Kotori with the designs while Nozomi and Rin will assist Umi. Despite the luxurious villa, they have to spend their time outdoors in the wild and as far away as possible. No distractions? But seriously… They’re already facing some hitch. Because the temptation to sleep for Honoka and Hanayo is too great to resist! Rin cannot believe she has to do mountain hiking since Umi is such a big crazy climber. How many more mountains will they climb? And Eri has a fear of the dark… So well, it doesn’t seem any progress is made as we see the groups soaking in the hotspring, lying outside watching the stars and having campfire roast potato. Eventually Maki, Kotori and Umi couldn’t sleep and walk back to the villa where they finally find their groove. Next morning, the girls return to the villa and find the trio asleep. At least there is some progress. When they return, they start practising and Niko suddenly realized she has been had. That damn squirrel still got her wristband!

Episode 3
Due to the large number of participants, each idol team can choose a venue for their performance which will be uploaded live on the internet. However they only have one shot at it. Although the top 4 schools of each region will advance, Muse is disheartened to know they still have to face A-Rise. What’s the big deal? So what if they are guaranteed top spot? There are remaining 3 spots, right? As they need to stand out and attract viewers, the topic of sexy dress comes into discussion. Umi and Eri stand for it and might be willing to drop out! Oh no you don’t! First thing to do to garner support is to broadcast throughout their school their ambitions and goals. Umi and Hanayo are also made to do their introductions since they are naturally shy. Then Honoka had to scream into the microphone to rev up everyone. Did your eardrums explode? They go searching around the school for a venue they had not performed before. Zilch. Looks like they performed everywhere. They can’t do it in Akihabara since it is A-Rise’s turf and doing so is like declaring war. While the girls are admiring the promo video of A-Rise outside their school, UTX High School, suddenly the group leader of A-Rise, Tsubasa Kira takes Honoka by the hand and runs into school! Is this some sort of abduction?! The rest go after them and they meet the other A-Rise members, Erena Toudou and Anju Yuuki who welcome them to their school. Hanayo wants their autograph…

A-Rise mentions they know all about Muse since they have been keeping an eye on them since they can feel they are a team of rare calibre. They note Honoka in particular who is shining brightest out of the 9 of them. They know Muse so well that they can explain each of their good traits! What are they stalker?! Maybe except for Niko… Doesn’t she have any good traits? Maybe… Thanks for the flowers. Niko was a big fan of A-Rise before Muse was formed. A-Rise doesn’t hesitate to say they will not lose to them. Despite being the country’s number 1 idol, that is in the past. They want to continue staying as a group that can please the audience better than anyone. That’s why they won’t lose. But why do they look so shocked when Honoka says they won’t lose too? Is it that determination in her eyes? Was it they never expected her to say that and quietly bow down to their dominance? A-Rise allows them to use their school for their performance venue. The preliminaries are here. A-Rise struts their stuff first and they’re pretty damn good that it might just be the demoralizing factor for Muse. This is what happens if you see somebody’s video and pay too much attention before your act. They’re getting negative already that they can’t measure up to them. So are they giving up? Hell, no! You’ve come this far so give it your best shot! So it’s Muse’s turn to perform their flower maiden concept performance and it seems A-Rise is pretty impressed too.

Episode 4
Everyone is nervous. The results of the preliminaries are out. Those qualified in descending order: A-Rise, East Heart, Midnight Cats and… Mu… Mu… Mutant Girls?! WTF?! What kind of idol name is that?! Turns out to be Honoka’s dream! But it could be a premonition because the same thing happens for real. The top 4 in descending order: A-Rise, East Heart, Midnight Cats and… Mu… Mu… Muse! For real?! Yup. It’s them. Hooray! As the next contest is in December and only one of the 4 may advance, this means they need to practice hard and beat A-Rise. However they notice Niko is missing. It seems she can’t come to practice and have something important. They tail her to see her shopping for ingredients. Could it be she has a boyfriend? When they are spotted, Niko runs. And man, she’s good at running. Thanks to her non-existence boobs, she managed to slip through tight places. As Muse is contemplating what is wrong, suddenly here comes mini Niko! Did she turn into a little girl? Actually she is Niko’s sister, Kokoro. She knows them and takes them hiding and running from who knows what. The paparazzi? Then the biggest shock the girls get to know from her mouth: They are Niko’s backup dancers! Eri calls Niko but she’s not picking up the phone. Kokoro brings them to their home and meet another little brother, Kotarou. Yeah. The backup dancers are here for a visit. The girls then realize something amiss. The posters of Muse have been heavily edited with Niko’s face cut and paste as the centre! Her room is filled with such Photoshop pictures! And she’s good!

When Niko gets home, she’s got some explaining to do. However she runs again after seeing Umi’s death stare. Unfortunately she won’t get far as she bumps into another sister of hers, Kokoa. Niko tries to fool around. They’re not amused. So they can accept that her parents are away for a business trip and she has to take care of her siblings and thus can’t practice. But why the lies of them being backup dancers? She won’t say since it has always been that way. This is her house and what she says is none of their business. The girls leave as they ponder what she meant. Eri remembers when Niko was a first year, she wanted to be an idol. To her siblings she must have been a super idol but when thins fell apart, she couldn’t tell them the truth. She tried her best to be a school idol and even handed out flyers but since Eri was busy with student council work and wasn’t interested in becoming an idol, she didn’t give her much attention. Niko continued to go it alone despite lack of audiences and her other members quit. If she had reached out to her then, would things have turned out differently? One day, Honoka surprises Niko by bringing her siblings to school because they said they wanted to see her on stage. Niko is dressed up like a super cute idol and as Muse takes the stage, Niko announces that this is the last time she will sing as herself. She is not quitting but from now on will be performing as Muse. She is going to be a new person. Her dream is to be the number one idol in the universe and she shines brightest when she is in this group. This is not the end but a new beginning. So let the performance begin.

Episode 5
Honoka, Umi and Kotori are having a field trip at Okinawa. Too bad it is raining heavily. There might even be typhoon. Honoka trying to be a shaman to cast away the rain? I think she is more suited to be an idol putting the sun in the heart of her fans! Yeah! So Rin has been selected as an interim leader to practice for a fashion event this weekend. At first she is reluctant and has no confidence but with the rest putting a lot of faith and encouragement in her, she takes up the job. She’s nervous on her first day and she believes the rest pushed this job to her because they didn’t want to do it. Her confidence is all-time low that she believes she is not the cutest like the rest and not fitted to be an idol. Hanayo laments she might not have gotten over it. During elementary school, she was often teased by boys as she was dressed kind of boyish. Then more woes. Thanks to the typhoon building up, the return trip is cancelled. Honoka and co will be stuck and this means Rin’s leadership is extended. To her horror, as the leader and centre, she is required to wear a girly bridal dress during the performance. She can’t take it and snaps. How far can she run? Anyway she still thinks she can’t do it and so Eri suggests having someone else as the leader. Hanayo is suggested and Rin doesn’t hesitate to entrust everything to her. But Hanayo wonders if she is really okay with this. She is. Really? Yes. As in really, really? Yes. Really, really, really for sure? No doubts about it. So the girls practice like usual and Hanayo even calls Honoka to tell what happened for advice. Come performance day, Rin is shocked that the rest wants her to be the leader. They have practised their coordination so that Rin can be the centre. More words of encouragement and believe why they put their trust in her. Probably Hanayo’s statement sealed the deal. She is the girliest of the girliest, cutest of the cutest that she wants to hug her to death! Is Rin some furry animal? Rin dons the wedding costume and goes out on stage. Safe to say, the show is a success. Better still, Rin has got more confidence now.

Episode 6
Akihabara will have a Halloween theme and Muse is invited to participate as well as A-Rise. Although this is not a ranked performance, it will be a great chance for them to boost their popularity and catch up to A-Rise before the next elimination round. And since they’re going for impact, that scary look on Umi’s face indicates she’s really going to give them the greatest impact they’ll ever have. Some of them attend a live interview on the streets of Akihabara but couldn’t match up to the enthusiasm of the host. Eventually it is A-Rise that takes the spotlight. Umi comes up with the idea of impact by having them introduce themselves dressed in different club outfits. I don’t know. Does it feel like they’re just fooling around? Next idea has got to be the funniest. They try to become another person! It’s hilarious to see Umi as Rin, Hanayo as Niko, Nozomi as Honoka, etc. I won’t say they’re perfect but it’s very close. So much so the original is just appalled. Do they really act like that? Yeah. Everyone so weird. Then this is the ultimate impact and change. Thinking they shouldn’t promote themselves as idols and something wilder, Muse suddenly becomes… KISS!!! Hard rock, punk rock ass! It’s scaring away people! Oh yeah. They really made an impact. And now the chairwoman calls them to her office for an explanation. So wanna perform for the rest of their performance in this outfit? No way! Back to brainstorming. Since it still doesn’t get them anywhere and with no time left, they have to start making costumes and other stuffs. So in the end, everyone becomes themselves. They got so infatuated trying to renew themselves to match A-Rise, they probably forgot that each of them are unique and are best the way they are. And the best part is how they all come together, learn and accept one another. Muse puts on a sterling Halloween performance and gets motivated for the next round. Meanwhile Yukiho is lamenting reorganizing the disorganized books and volumes in Honoka’s room. Then she sees a letter. It must be something big that it is enough to make her go into shocking I-can’t-believe-it reaction spasms.

Episode 7
That letter is actually Honoka’s physical measurements. So? She gained weight! Despite doing some exercise, Honoka is still lax about losing her weight. So Umi gives her a dose of reality by making her wear their idol outfit. That scream… Traumatic… She gets lectured that the extra weight will make her movements sluggish and affect her performance. Thus she will undergo a diet! And while they’re arguing about this, they notice Hanayo happily enjoying her big onigiri. It’s the rice season! Notice something else too? Yeah. She put on weight too! And so the duo undergo strict dieting regiments courtesy of Umi the merciless. One day you’ll thank her. So run! Keep running! Tire easily? That’s because you’re dragging all that excess weight. More running! However along the way, the rice shop seems tempting. Hanayo tries to resist but Honoka persuades. In the end they lose out. So there is a big suspicion that the duo start looking forward to their runs. Then Umi discovers this folly… In the aftermath, Umi reports that Hanayo has got her weight back to normal but Honoka did not. I guess back home, she continued eating like no tomorrow. Suddenly students from the art club come in. They are perplexed that their budget was approved even before the meeting. Kotori realizes it was her mistake. She put it in the approved bin prior because of all that distraction going on with Honoka’s dieting. This is going to be a big problem as the word has spread around. Eri and Nozomi can only do so much so the trio work hard to find a solution. At the meeting with all the club representatives, Honoka admits their mistake, apologizes and hopes they can request to withdraw it. She continues explaining that this year the school avoid closure but has lesser students. Thus the budget isn’t much and they have draft and formulate allocated funds that would meet 80% of their respective club’s requirements. It won’t be much but please bear with them and hopefully this amount will increase if the enrolment for next year increases. I guess it wouldn’t seem nice after seeing them bow their heads and put in all the hard work. So everyone agrees to it. Best ending of all, Honoka lost weight because she has been working so hard that she skipped meals. Now that her weight is back to where it original is, she’s going to start eating! Oh no you don’t, says Umi!

Episode 8
Muse is in an interview but Honoka got fired up an unknowingly fires the first salvo that they’ll win! But the issue now is that they need a new song for their next performance. Nozomi suggests a love song since they never had one before. Well, everyone is looking at Umi. She’s the lyricist, right? And everybody is so tense in wondering if she was in a relationship before. She has not. Relieved? Something feels wrong… Maki doesn’t think they can master it in time but Eri and Nozomi don’t want to give up yet. So they try imagining and mental pictures about romance. What’s the camera for, Nozomi? Well, I just thought Maki played the tsundere part to perfection. While Niko was trying to show off her acting chops (the girls aren’t impressed) and something steamy is about to happen but the camera’s battery went out. Good thing? Because Eri and Nozomi continue to want to work on this, Maki suspects something strange. Why are they pushing so hard? No, I don’t think she has this hidden agenda of joining A-Rise. So the next group discussion on romance has them watch a cheap romance movie. Some are so touched, some are sleeping, some just unimpressed. But the most exaggerated one acting like it’s some horror movie is Umi! Turn it off! So can the idea of a love song materialize in time? They’re up against A-Rise so petty tricks like this won’t work. Then it’s like Nozomi has given up and it’s okay if they do their best with the songs they have. Eri doesn’t feel comfortable with her decision. So Maki later confronts the duo and although Nozomi won’t tell, Eri reveals Nozomi’s dream. She wanted all 9 of them to make a song together by linking their words and feelings. That’s why she suggested a love song. Nozomi continues that Muse is a miracle to her. She has always lived alone and changing schools frequently that she doesn’t have any friends. Till she met Eri was like her personality but distanced herself and couldn’t fit in because of her strong identity. After they became friends, they still couldn’t reach out the other people like them. But now those people are connected in a group sharing the same feelings. It would have been nice if it was a song but it doesn’t necessarily have to because Muse has some achieved something big and her biggest dream came true long time ago. Maki calls the others over so they can all discuss the new love song everyone will help contribute. Yes. Maki will write a new one. Everyone learns of Nozomi’s dream and loves her even more.

Episode 9
It’s a very snowy day and tonight is the final preliminary round. So we see some of the Muse members having their sisters wishing them the best. Then everyone meets up but the new student council trio have the school’s open house to take care off so they won’t be there so early yet. At least Honoka is calmer and cooler this time in handling it all. The other 6 head to the stage venue where the final preliminary will take place. Very big. Very grand. So awesome. They also meet A-Rise there and as usual, the declaration they will not lose. Who wants to lose anyway after coming this far? And now for the big drama problem. The snow has been falling all day that it is wreaking havoc on all transportation. It is about to get worse. This means Honoka and co are stuck at school. Oh dear. An hour till the competition starts. Silly? Desperate? Crazy? But you have got to give it to the trio because they are going to walk through that thick blizzard just to get there! So freaking cold! Yeah. It felt like an eternity just reaching the school gates. When the blizzard simmers down, the trio are amazed to see many of their school mates shovelling a pathway to their venue! Serious! The entire way!!!!!! No way!!!! I mean, yes way!!!!! The damn blizzard almost wiped out their hard work. I know you’re in awe with their steadfast but can you get a move on before the snow piles up again? And so running there has never been faster (isn’t it supposed to be slippery?). Muse finally reunites. Honoka becomes an emotional wreck as she hugs Eri. Crying so hard. Crying so loud. So cold. So scary. Brave girl. And we have everyone to thank for who made this possible. Finally it is time for Muse to put up their snowy white performance and their brand new song called Snow Halation. Thank goodness the snow has stopped. Otherwise how to catch their dazzling performance and for every one of their supporters, friends and family to come watch them.

Episode 10
The freshmen and sophomores of Muse meet up at the shrine for New Year’s Day (the seniors are helping out with Nozomi’s shrine). Maki is the only one turning up in a kimono. I guess the rest didn’t bother to dress. Was there any consensus on that? Along the way they meet A-Rise. From the way they tell Muse to win Love Live must really mean that Muse has won the final preliminary round! There’s a plague as prove sitting in the room! OMG! Congratulations! When Arisa tells Eri her wish to join Otonokizaka to join Muse, this has them thinking they need to get the group together and discuss their future. As Muse practises, they also discuss the next round that they’ll be in. Almost 50 groups will compete and it will be much harder since it will be online as fans will be selective of only the groups they like. As the large number of participants, it is impossible for fans to remember them all and thus many have came up with a catchphrase. They need one that captures their own uniqueness as well as the group as a whole. Time to crack their brains. Later Tsubasa speaks to Honoka. She admits A-Rise’s defeat since all was fair. They’ve been pondering about their future since winning Love Live is no longer their goal. Tsubasa can’t help think about the reason they lost. They’ve practised as hard as them, they had great teamwork as them and certainly have won the hearts of fans with their great performance as them. In fact they believed they tried their hardest and gave their best yet. So what went wrong? You asking Honoka? She doesn’t even know where to begin. So Honoka seeks Umi’s advice and she thinks it may have something to do with the catchphrase they’re looking for. Can Yukiho help? She doesn’t know why but Muse makes her feel like she wants to root for them not because Honoka is her sister or a local group. Muse then makes mochi as thanks for their friends’ support. Niko coming up with a bad pun catchphrase. Something that takes the cake. When Honoka sees the board of wishes at the shrine, she notices most of them are well wishes for Muse. Suddenly she gets inspired of the catchphrase that perfectly describes them. The reason they could go so far, accomplished a lot and still keep on going is because of these people and their support. They try their best, the fans support them, they move on and make their dreams come true little by little with everyone’s strength. This is what it means to be school idols. This is what it means to be Muse. And so their catchphrase: Making dreams come true together.

Episode 11
Arisa is so over the moon that she passed her entrance exam into Otonokizaka. Yeah. She can’t wait to join Muse. Although Yukiho passed too, she doesn’t seem too happy. Even Honoka thinks she should be shouting and screaming banzai. Because Yukiho lets loose this bombshell question: What will happen to Muse after graduation? Umi has now a lighter practice regime since their priority now is to stay healthy. However the girls cannot help avoid the topic of what happens to the group after the seniors graduate. Everyone has their opinion. Some say carry one and some wonder if they should. Eri thinks it is Honoka who has to decide since it is certain that the graduation will happen and they can’t continue working as school idols. Arisa continues to be an eager-beaver and shows off the moves she has learnt. Ready to join anytime? Then Yukiho asks her. What is it that she loves so much about Muse? I don’t mean for her to sound like a sourpuss… Arisa does a lot of thinking and then she confronts Honoka. She has made her decision after Yukiho’s words made her realize something important. She won’t join Muse. She loves Muse when they are the 9 of them and since she is not part of it, she’ll aim to create a school idol group she can belong. Soon, Honoka calls the rest of Muse to hang out. She thought a change in pace might do the group some good. So they really enjoy everything they want from playing games at the arcade, shopping at the idol store, bowling, zoo (imitating penguins and flamingos?), art museum (imitating statues?), praying at the shrine, amusement park ride… Wow. It’s really a fulfilling day. Finally the all-important sunset view at the riverbed. Then the inevitable. Honoka has discussed with her friends and despite their different opinions, everyone came to the same conclusion. With a heavy heart, they announce to the seniors that after the performance, Muse will disband! Because Muse will always be the 9 of them. No more, no less. As expected, everyone starts getting emotional when Honoka realizes they’re going to miss the last train. It was just a ploy to distract them because they won’t stop crying if they start. They take a final commemorative group photo. I wonder how everyone can fit in that cramp booth. Heck, can everyone’s face be seen without something funny happening? After all that laughter, I guess the real inevitable stuff has to happen. Hanayo starts the ball rolling when she starts crying. Oh no! Don’t you start now! Ah, what the heck. Let it flow! Don’t hold it in! Cry all your heart out! Tears flowing, lots of hugging, oh man, such emotional scene. That was really good, right? And with that behind them, all that is left is to practice. A week left to their final performance.

Episode 12
Niko is given the honour to represent Muse and pick from the lots (the performance turn I suppose). I guess it is favourable so it’s not surprising she wants to brag about it but the rest don’t pay much attention to her. After more practice, then it hit Hanayo. This will be their last practice together. Oh no. Please, don’t start it. Niko won’t have history repeat itself and wants them to focus on Love Live. After they pray at the shrine, it seems they haven’t the heart to go home. Honoka suggests they have a sleepover at school. Kotori is able to get her mom’s permission. She’ll overlook it this time since applications need to be submitted 2 weeks prior. Yeah. Don’t spoil their fun. Cheeky Nozomi reveals Eri’s phobia of the dark but this darkness is perfect moment for them to look at the stars. They head up to the rooftop and see an amazing sight of the city lights. Honoka shouts out at the top of her voice, the feelings she wants to convey and she has had since meeting all of them. Morning comes and it is the day of Love Live. The stage is even grander and bigger. Before Muse’s turn to perform, they make their last preparations and drive to give their best. Let’s make it awesome. And they don’t disappoint when they go on stage. After their sterling performance and last bow, they can’t contain their emotions at the backstage. Lots of hugging. Lots of tears flowing. Looks familiar this scene? And then they here the crowd calling for an encore! All their friends and family are supporting them. Even A-Rise. And so out they go again on stage after changing into another outfit. Can’t disappoint their fans and supporters, can’t they?

Episode 13
Honoka is a happy girl because she’s done with her farewell speech. Everyone meets Niko’s mom and younger siblings. Then they see Niko putting up a very kiddie behaviour, pestering her mom to come see something. Guess what? There is a trophy that they won Love Live! OMFG! THEY WON!!! But Umi has got a long face because Honoka is late to come clean up the student council room. Nozomi spots a new (temporary) hairstyle while Eri continues to linger and fell attached to her old student council room she will be missing soon. Honoka gives her a big hug and a thank you speech enough to almost make her cry. That’s a no-no before the ceremony. At the graduation ceremony, this time Honoka is well prepared and ever ready. She also talks about her love for music. With Maki on piano, she even sings a song dedicating to the seniors. The other younger Muse members join them and soon everybody. Don’t worry if you don’t know the lyrics. Just hum along! Later Niko clears out the clubroom. It feels almost empty because most of the idol stuffs are hers. She makes Hanayo the new club president. Who else has a better knowledge on idols? Can’t burden the student council trio either. Reluctant at first, she accepts after support from her friends. With Rin as leader, Maki is made vice president too. Nobody is left out. The seniors want to take a last look around the school and Honoka thinks they should all go together since it’s their last time together. Since she said the taboo word, she is made to treat them all drinks. Yeah, it tastes so good when someone else pays. They visit the alpaca stable (expecting offspring!), the auditorium, basking in the grassy field and finally the most frequented place: The rooftop. Yeah. Lots of memories coming back, eh? As the seniors are about to leave school one last time, suddenly Hanayo receives a big news. So big that she can’t say it here as she drags Honoka back into school with the rest curious enough to chase them. So what is it? Another season? Another Love Live? Or just this ending musical performance for us? And someone please tell me where this place Honoka announced they’re going to go together, a place that we’ve never seen to make our dream comes true? Tell me! I’m such a dumb guy…

One Last Hurrah… And Sweet Victory!
Well, even if there is no more future sequels or spin-offs, the real Muse will still be around and doing their usual stuffs that they have been doing since. So is this a fitting farewell to another idol themed anime or this is just the start of a new beginning? One thing for sure, they have left an impact in the hearts of many with their own unique music and dances. After 2 seasons of Love Live and Muse antics and adventures, I suppose it is time the curtains come down because you know, things don’t really last forever or will they go on forever. Even this idol thingy will die out one day. But hey, let’s not talk about that. As far as this series is concerned, although I am still not a big idol fan nor can I see myself converting into one in the nearest possible future or reincarnated life, there are some funny moments, dramatic moments, friendship moments, heart tugging moments, draggy moments, yawning moments… I know, this show isn’t perfect or it will be my cup of tea, but at least I have this same feeling as them, that satisfied feeling that I can move forward, leave it all behind and be proud of it. Although all I did was just watch 2 seasons of it ;).

There was this dilemma of mine whether or not Muse was going to win Love Live or even make it to the preliminaries. Because from the structure of the show (how far could you go with just over a dozen episodes?) and the way they are focusing on other stuffs instead of preparing for the competitions, it had me thinking that maybe they won’t make it after all. Then they’ll focus the rest of the remaining episodes on something else. Maybe the other characters. Because for each time, we are shown that they are being normally happy in the aftermath. Like the outcome of the competition didn’t matter. It feels like a ploy to get our guards down before they plop the biggest and shocking news that they made it through. It keeps you guessing about the results. Did they win or not? Did they pass or not? Why are they acting so nonchalant like as though it didn’t happen at all? And then the news. And it was absolute sweet victory that they won the Love Live. Icing on the cake. Perfect parting gift. With the lack of hurrah and bravos surrounding their victory, it’s like to make you think it never happened because you don’t see anybody ma king a big deal out of it. I mean when they defeated top favourites A-Rise, shouldn’t the idol world media and paparazzi be hounding them? So I suppose with this season, it is like revenge for making for last season’s failure since the first season was more about to save the school, which was the main reason why the idol unit was formed.

Unlike last season where there is this danger of them being disbanded, this time around they are disbanding for good. It is with mixed feelings that they do so because Muse can only be with 9 of them and nobody else. It may be a trend today of replacing band members, adding new ones or kicking out some but nothing beats the original. Sometimes when you change members so often, it is like a different group and might as well disband the original one and form a new one instead of using the old name. Also, I think that if they want to continue being Muse is also possible. I mean, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to be high school students to be idols, right? They might not have to compete in school idol competitions anymore and maybe in some other competition criteria. So I don’t see the idea of them disbanding and stopping becoming idols just because some of them are graduating. It’s not like they’re not ever going to see each other ever again, right? Right?! Unless…

This season also sees some episode focusing on some of the members like Niko’s household, Rin temporarily having a go as the band’s leader and Nozomi’s wish. It’s great to see some character development for them although overall the characters still largely remain the same as we know them from last season. For example, Niko is still the biggest joker and the comic relief of the group. I guess every group needs one like her. In that sense she is my favourite because she makes me laugh with her antics (even if it is not on purpose), no matter how much everyone ignores her or she doesn’t realize her Niko-Niko Smile is looks quite embarrassing (but you have to give her points for doing it every time). And there are some sides you don’t see about her every day… Funny… So Niko, you’re really the most amusing girl of the bunch and please don’t take it to heart because I really love seeing you when you get all funny and stuff.

Then there is Nozomi who is a little devilish sometimes. For instance, the time when everyone was chasing down Niko, Nozomi can’t squeeze into some tight space because her boobs were the major blocking force. So she sends Rin to do the job and you can see her satisfied smirk on her face! It’s like she’s got revenge on something. Eri continues to be the kind and gentle person unlike her strict ways in the previous season so much so you might have forgotten she started off as a cold person then. Same case with Umi’s fear of performing in public. Maki although is mixing well within the group, she still sounds a bit distant from the way she speaks and all. A bit tsundere too… As usual, you can’t beat Hanayo’s enthusiasm for all things idol and her love for anything that is rice, Rin’s energetic or her penchant to talk like a cat (~nya) and Kotori is getting better in designing her outfits for Muse. Lastly there is Honoka who has turned from someone incapable and unreliable into someone more responsible and mature although basically she is still the same fun and loving person we know. Naturally that is why she is unofficially the leader of Muse if I should say. It’s like she has dramatically changed this season and before you know it, she’s much more than the person we knew from last season.

The drawing and art remains the same as last season. This means the use of CG effects when Muse is taking the stage. Although not obvious but you can tell the difference. I won’t say it is horrible. It feels rather okay. I mean going from 2D to CG, that transition takes some time to get used to. The dance choreographies are also okay. As I said, I’m not a crazy idol fan so I don’t really know how to appreciate such moves. But hats off to them and every other idol group, real or fictional for coming up with such dance routines, step designs and arrangements. It really takes lots of effort and practice to get them right and look perfect. I don’t remember about last season but for this season, I can’t seem to help but notice the pink blushes on the characters’ cheeks. It is like a permanent feature on their face and at times I just can’t take my eyes off it. I just kept staring at it. I know, it makes the girls look lovelier. Can’t argue about that, can’t I?

Music as usual plays a big part of the series but honestly for me who isn’t really a big fan of idols, I can say that they sound rather okay the most. I won’t go crazy about it. Sore Wa Bokutachi No Kiseki is this season’s opening theme and sounds like your typical pop idol girl group with lots of energy and passion in it. Donna Toki Mo Zutto is the pop rock ending theme and just like in last season, despite there is only one song, there are a few versions of it. Nine of them to be exact because each of the Muse members will have their turn taking the lead singing this piece (albeit you’ll only be hearing that version once). Sometimes you can guess who will be singing it by figuring which of the characters has the most focus in that particular episode and you can see that character being highlighted right at the end of the animation. The rest of the insert songs are okay. A-Rise’s ones are also not too bad but still my favourite remains the first insert song of Muse from the first season, Start:Dash! I wish they would at least play it once more again here but the real Muse unit has got lots of songs under their belt.

Somehow watching the end of this makes me feel that this series and Muse in particular have come a long way despite it is only 2 seasons long and only a year in this anime’s context. But yet we have seen them achieved so much, grown so much and bond with each other so much that even the sharpest blade or scissors will not make the slightest cut on their string of friendship. And when they turned the final episode into one last (almost) dramatic farewell episode, thank goodness they didn’t spam the tears again (unlike in the couple of penultimate episodes where the tears flow freely) because who knows I could not even have hold it in although the final episode wasn’t really on that high level of emotional scale. Because you know it is already going to end. You know it is goodbye. The inevitable has arrived. But don’t be afraid. Because once you reach there, you’ll remember all the memories and the good times they have brought to us. There’s plenty of that to get us through for the rest of our lives. Thank you and horosho!

AKB0048 VS Love Live! School Idol Project

Time for another versus but this is my first time doing one on idol themed animes. There are quite a number of idol themed animes over the years and I’m sure everyone who is into anime or idols can name a few. Or perhaps you don’t even have enough fingers to finish counting them all. Anyway today’s versus blog will pit female idol groups from the anime AKB0048 and Love Live! School Idol Project. Both these animes are so far the ‘most prominent’ female idol animes in my repertoire. Idolmaster? Didn’t watch that. Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream? Haven’t watched that yet. Aikatsu? Don’t think I want to watch it. Kirarin Revolution? That’s an idol anime? Lovedol? Abandoned it many years ago. Lemon Angel Project? So old that I even forgot about it. Uta No Prince-sama Maji Love 1000%/2000%? I said female idol groups…

Setting
AKB0048: In the future of the 21st century.
Love Live: Current present day.

Location
AKB0048: In between space and planets of the galaxy.
Love Live: Tokyo, Japan.

Realism
AKB0048: Futuristic sci-fi.
Love Live: More down to earth.

Main group in focus
AKB0048: No Name.
Love Live: Muse.

Members in that group
Coincidentally, both groups have 9 members each. Also, all members are voiced by actual members in the group.
AKB0048: Chieri Sono, Nagisa Motomiya, Orine Aida, Yuuka Ichijou, Suzuko Kanzaki, Sonata Shinonome, Makoto Yokomizo, Kanata Shinonome and Mimori Kishida.
Love Live: Honoka Kousaka, Umi Sonoda, Kotori Minami, Niko Yazawa, Maki Nishikino, Rin Hoshizora, Hanayo Koizumi, Eri Ayase and Nozomi Toujou.

Selection process
AKB0048: Potential candidates were thrown into the battlefield to protect the Successors as they are staging a guerrilla concert. Those who gave up are out. Of course, everything was just a big mock.
Love Live: Honoka, Umi and Kotori try to stage their first live performance to recruit more members. It was disheartening that they thought nobody showed up but slowly those who did will subsequently join them.

Seniors
AKB0048: The Successors of AKB0048.
Love Live: Nil.

Supporting staffs
AKB0048: Tsubasa Katagiri (manager) and Ushiyama (trainer).
Love Live: Nil. They only had themselves.

School/Academy
AKB0048: The mobile base and battleship Katyusha and home planet Akibastar.
Love Live: Otonokizaka Academy in Tokyo.

Oldest member in the group
AKB0048: Mimori and Kanata. They’re from the 75th generation Understudies.
Love Live: Nozomi.

Rich girl
AKB0048: Chieri.
Love Live: Maki.

Joker girl
AKB0048: Sonata and Makoto. Yes, nicknaming penchant girl and cowardly-cum-grumpy girl make them real funny jokers.
Love Live: Niko. Yes, her child-like appearance and aspirations to become an idol makes her a real funny joker.

Spectacles girl
AKB0048: Suzuko.
Love Live: Hanayo. However she substitutes them with contact lens.

The cook
Refers to the one who is very good in cooking.
AKB0048: Papa Cook.
Love Live: Niko.

Sisters
AKB0048: Kanata and Sonata.
Love Live: Honoka and Yukiho. Eri and Arisa.

Daughter of an important person
AKB0048: Chieri is the daughter and heiress of the giant Zodiac Corporation’s CEO.
Love Live: Kotori is the daughter of Otonokizaka’s chairwoman.

Ice queen
They usually ‘defrost’ and warm up later.
AKB0048: Chieri.
Love Live: Eri.

Tsundere
AKB0048: Yuuka. Remember her feelings for Mamoru?
Love Live: Maki. Sort of.

Tomboy
AKB0048: Yuuko and Sae.
Love Live: Rin.

Miko outfit
AKB0048: The underground shrine where Sensei-sensei resides, Tsubasa wears one.
Love Live: Nozomi works part time as a miko priestess.

Song composer for the group
AKB0048: S-Quadruple AKA Sensei-sensei.
Love Live: Maki.

Choreographer for the group
AKB0048: Ushiyama.
Love Live: Kotori and subsequently Eri.

The biggest threat
AKB0048: Entertainment in the future has been banned. The heroines are considered terrorists for staging guerrilla concerts across the galaxy.
Love Live: The school is under threat of being closed down for good as the enrolment rate is declining and very low.

Main enemies
AKB0048: DGTO (Deep Galactic Trade Organization) and DES Enforcers.
Love Live: A-Rise. Well, I don’t really consider this as their enemy but more of their rival.

Initial resentment
AKB0048: Megumi Wanibuchi from the 76th generation resents those in the 77th generation because they seem to have higher chance of succeeding compared to hers who have been around longer than them.
Love Live: Eri wanted to save the school her way but doesn’t approve of Honoka’s method of forming an idol group. Niko wanted the group to break up as she feels they are a disgrace to idols that she holds in high respect.

Mascot of the series
AKB0048: Little light blobs called Kiraras.
Love Live: None that I can think of.

Collapsed from fever
AKB0048: Mimori. A sign that she will be inheriting a Successor’s name.
Love Live: Honoka. She overworked herself for the group’s first performance.

Spartan Training
AKB0048: In addition to singing and dancing, the members need to know basic combat and self defence moves and how to handle weapons as well.
Love Live: In addition to singing and dancing, the members undergo stamina and endurance training. Thank Umi for that.

Place of practice
AKB0048: In the studio.
Love Live: On the school’s rooftop.

Non-concert activities (selective)
AKB0048: Photo shooting events, hand shaking events with fans, variety shows.
Love Live: Part time maid job at a maid café, summer camp at Maki’s villa.

Beach episode
Some fanservice but don’t put too much hope on it.
AKB0048: Episode 10 of first season when the girls are there for a photo shoot.
Love Live: Coincidentally, also episode 10 when the girls are at Maki’s villa.

The competition
AKB0048: The General Elections that would bring back the Centre Nova position. Only Mimori and Chieri made it into the top ten.
Love Live: The top 20 school idols will compete in Love Live to see who will be the best of them all. Muse never got a chance to participate because they have to withdraw when Honoka got sick.

The centre position
AKB0048: After the General Elections, Yuuko took over Takamine’s spot. But in the end, it is Chieri who took that coveted position.
Love Live: Everyone will take turns singing as the centre.

Disappearance
AKB0048: Acchan. She went missing shortly after taking on the Centre Nova position. Subsequently it is Yuuko when she took that position.
Love Live: Umi. Erm… Actually she went temporarily went ‘missing’ because she had this fear of performing in public.

Low morale
AKB0048: Chieri after her father was mysteriously assassinated right before her eyes.
Love Live: Honoka when she blames herself as the cause for her group’s withdrawal from Love Live competition.

CGI effects
Both series uses the computer graphics imagery when the idols start singing in their performance. Very obvious…

Favourite insert song
Please note that this is based on my own personal choice and taste.
AKB0048: Cherry No Nagisa. And no, it doesn’t sound sissy, mind you.
Love Live: Start:Dash!

Number of episodes
AKB0048: 2 seasons of 13 episodes each. Total 26 episodes.
Love Live: 1 season consisting 13 episodes. A second season is being planned. There is 1 OVA released.

Studio production
AKB0048: Satelight.
Love Live: Sunrise.

Conclusion
I’m not a true idol fan so there is much that I am missing or do not know. Thus you may find this versus somewhat incomplete. It’s hard to choose from which is the better one because Love Live is more down to earth so you can relate to a lot of things easily. Whereas AKB0048 has some action and sci-fi elements to it so it makes things more exciting rather than being ‘mundane’. It doesn’t get better to see cute girls piloting badass mechas and kick ass, no? But it can be a little far-fetched sometimes. Both animes also have cute characters. That’s a given since you’re dealing with idol girls so you must have cute girls to appeal to the audience, right? Personally, I prefer those in Love Live as they are more anime-like whereas those in AKB0048 look a little bit cartoonish. Both sides also have their fair share of songs and dance moves but the ones in Love Live seem more unique. Because AKB0048 has more episodes and characters, there is enough for character development to grow and to drive the plot. Ironically, the main characters in Love Live have more individual personalities compared to their counterparts in AKB0048. It boils down to what kind of idol group(s) you support that determines which idols are the best. But with the glut of idol groups from Japan and around the world, looks like we won’t be getting short of any idol supply. As long as there are fans out there, idols will never die.

Love Live! School Idol Project

Can’t get enough of idols? Don’t worry, there are lots of them going around in Japan to fill your idol craving. So many of them that it’s just scary to think of its magnitude and effect it will have. Thank goodness I’m not idol crazy. Anyway, after my stint of AKB0048, an idol themed anime based on the world’s biggest idol unit, here am I once more trying my hands at another idol themed anime. Don’t get the wrong idea that I am starting to have a thing for idols. But what makes Love Live! School Idol Project different from AKB0048 is that this is more grounded to reality. Yes. No futuristic setting. No hi-tech equipment and tools. No magic. No missiles and gun fires. No idols kicking butt. And most important, no oppression and ban from government on anything idols! Wohoo! Idols are free to perform wherever and whenever they like.

So, if there is nothing that threatens the sanctity of idol groups, what kind of storyline will the anime take? Will it be interesting? That depends on how you like to look at your idols. For our group of idol girls in this anime, they need to stop the closure of their school. Heh. How can that be interesting? I’m sure many of us do not feel any more connection with our school (like yours truly and guilty as charged) but for our girls here, they love their school and despite still in high school, they don’t want to see its future shut down just because of low enrolment numbers. Welcome to the real world. Money talks. Numbers are everything. Logically if many people start enrolling, the school can’t shut down, right? So what better way than to attract people to their school by becoming school idols and sing their way into the hearts of the people, right? Everybody loves idols, right? It’s the current craze now, right? Right?! And so, this is the basis for what this anime is about and the reason why they sing and dance, aiming to become top idols.

Episode 0
In this preview episode, we are given an introduction to the series such as the seiyuus that voice the main heroines of this show, the various and numerous promotions and events that led to the inevitable production of this anime and also clips of some of the featured songs and their dance moves. We also have a glimpse of their live concerts whereby the seiyuus of the anime characters and have been voiced by the same person ever since this project’s inception. Talk about lots of consistency, dedication, hard work and perseverance. Not only their voices have been the same but the moves and dances have been also identical in the anime. Lastly, the final promotion of each of the heroines about the anime itself. That’s 9 times over, right? So if you are a very big fan of female pop idols, yeah, there are lots of events, activities and merchandise to grab. So are you ready for the love of your life?

Episode 1
Otonokizaka Academy will be shut down due to the low enrolment number. Honoka Kousaka fainted when she realizes this is not a dream. There goes her high school life she is looking forward so much. In denial, she really thinks it is a dream. Till she sees the bulletin board again. There, depression once more. She is concerned that because she has not studied, the closure of this school means she has to take an entrance exam for another school. That’s bad, right? But as her friends, Umi Sonoda and Kotori Minami put it, the school is staying put till all of them graduate. Even so, they feel bad that the first years will have no juniors below them. The student council president, Eri Ayase and her vice president, Nozomi Toujo ask Kotori if she knew anything about this beforehand since the board chairwoman who announced Otonokizaka’s closure is her mother. She knew nothing. Honoka feels it is wrong for the school to just ‘disappear’ so she thinks if the school’s enrolment increases, it won’t have to shut down. What is it that this school has to attract students? Well, their long history doesn’t seem that great. What about their past clubs’ achievement? Nothing great either. In fact, there is even one scandal of disqualification… When Honoka returns home, she is disheartened her little sister, Kotoha is applying to a different school. Throwing a tantrum won’t get her anywhere because Kotoha too knows it’s a waste of time trying to apply into a school that is going to shut down. Honoka is adamant she will stop the school’s closure. Yeah. Then pigs will fly. Early next morning, Honoka surprises everyone by getting up early and leaving on her own. Actually she is going to scout UTX High School (the school Kotoha is going to apply) and is enthralled to see why so many are flocking over. It has a group of female pop idol, A-Rise doing the promo. Astounding. That’s when an idea hits Honoka.

In class, Honoka tells her friends about this idea of forming a pop idol group to attract students and thus preventing its shutdown. Because based on her minimal research, schools with popular idols attract more students. Umi is not fond of this idea despite Honoka’s persuasion they get to wear cute costumes and shine brightly but negative Umi is not convinced. Being an idol is out of the question for her. Meanwhile Eri and Nozomi see the chairwoman. They too voice their displeasure of the school’s closure. She tells them instead of worrying about trying to prevent the closure, they should focus on efforts to improve the quality of time remaining for the students. In short, there is nothing they can do. Honoka is attracted by the piano and singing of Maki Nishikino. Instantly she asks if she is interested to become an idol. Instant reject. Umi couldn’t concentrate on her archery club because she kept thinking about the possibility of becoming an idol. It really throws her off her target. And balance. So Kotori talks to her and then shows her how Honoka is trying to learn some dance moves by herself. It’s tough but she’s not giving up. And so the trio hand in their application to Eri to form an idol club. Eri is sceptical of them forming one since they are in their second years. Besides, they need 5 members to officially form a club. Borrowing words from the chairwoman, hastily throwing in ideas to prevent the school‘s closure won’t change its predicament and they should be focusing on their time left here. Despite the disappointment, Honoka won’t give up yet.

Episode 2
Honoka hands in her request to Eri for permission to use the auditorium for their concert after the entrance ceremony. Eri remains sceptical but Nozomi takes the trio’s side. They just want to borrow it and not use it for club activities, thus the student council have no right to object. Kotori designs their outfit but Umi objects because she feels the skirt is too short. Besides, she thinks her legs are too fat. Honoka suggests they go on a diet then. But the first order is to come up with a name for their idol group. Let’s say they have a bad naming sense that would make them sound like jokers. So Honoka gets an idea to put a survey of what their group is to be called. It will also garner interest in the group as well. Next is to find a place to practice and since every place possible is filled with people, the rooftop is their only option. But they can’t get started because they don’t know what song to sing! Heck, they don’t even have one! Hanayo Koizumi sees the idol poster and is interested but this shy girl is taken away by her tomboyish friend, Rin Hoshizora.  Niko Yazawa also looks at the poster but with a contempt look on her face. Umi visits Honoka’s home and is appalled that the duo have forgotten about dieting since they are munching away the snacks. Are they serious about becoming idols? Honoka tells them about Maki and her piano and wants to invite her. Then they try to persuade Umi to write lyrics since she used to write poems when she was young. She is forced to because the rest sucks. Yeah. That puppy dog eyes really did help convince her. In exchange for doing this, she will be in charge of their practice schedule. Showing them a clip of A-Rise’s dance, they have lots of stamina and are able to smile while prancing around. She makes Honoka do some push-ups. Easy? Now try doing it while smiling. Tough, no? And so Umi becomes a Spartan in training her buddies to build their stamina by running up the stairs of the shrine. They see Nozomi working here part time as a miko priestess.

Honoka looks for Maki and once again tries to persuade her. Same answer. Not doing it. Why? She just doesn’t want to. Then Eri steps up to talk to Honoka. She wants her to stop this. Their school has never had an idol group before and if this plan backfires, what will others think? That’s why she wants her to stop acting as though saving the school is easy. This throws Honoka off her feet and she starts feeling gloomy that it is not fun and games like she thought. They are running short of time and have not begun on the many preparations. Honoka’s confidence receives a major boost when her other classmates agree to help her out whenever they can. She is even happier when she sees a suggestion in the survey box. It is the Greek alphabet of muse. And so it is decided that they will be called Muse (because writing this alphabet would be a pain for this blog). Honoka goes to look for Maki again and once more she is awed at her piano playing. Again she tries to persuade so Maki tells her reason why she doesn’t want to join because it feels the kind of music they sing isn’t serious and lacks depth. She is more into classical and jazz. Of course Honoka says being an idol isn’t easy either and has her do push-ups while smiling. Then she gives her Umi’s lyrics and wants her to read it. If she is not convinced even after reading it, she will stop bothering her. Honoka praises her singing, the reason why she would love to have her composing songs for them. That evening, Maki sees the trio doing their stamina training and realizes their resolve. She sends them a CD of a song she wrote and the trio are very impressed. They also note their online idol ranking has gone up a notch with a vote. They can thank Maki for that. Yeah. Rank 999. Only 998 more spots to the top.

Episode 3
As the trio continue their training, they spot Maki spying on them and ring her in. Although she is still in denial mode, they let her listen to the song they wrote that they have recorded themselves. In school, a couple of girls recognize Muse because of the video uploaded on the internet. Honoka is happy and is going to give a little sneak peak demonstration but she finds Umi suddenly ‘missing’. Seems she is hiding because she has a fear of performing in public. The best way to overcome her phobia is to let her help them out handing flyers for their concert tomorrow. So they think. She’s more scared than ever. Just think of them as vegetables. Looking weird, eh? It might be demoralizing that nobody is interested in taking a look at their flyer but Umi hits the first one: Hanayo. She thought of taking the short cut and giving all her flyers to her. There’s not short cut to success. Back at Honoka’s home, Kotori shows the dress she has made. To Umi’s dismay it wasn’t what she expected because the skirt is still short. Umi pulls out of the group and says they only have themselves to blame. But when Honoka starts spouting about the hard work and effort they put in, blah, blah, blah, Umi feels bad and changes her mind. Next day after the school entrance ceremony, the trio continue to hand out flyers. But it seems to be tougher than thought since many of them are interested in joining other clubs. Just before the concert, the trio put on their idol costumes. Honoka and Kotori are appalled Umi is wearing track bottoms. Looking very odd. They pull down her pants and make her look in the mirror. And then psycho her how cute she looks. Hanayo wanted to attend the concert but pushy Rin takes her to go look at some sports club to join.

Moments before the curtain rises, Muse is ready to give their best performance yet. And they are going to go all out before the sell-out crowd… Oh… Nobody… Not a soul! Man, this is very disheartening. Honoka is on the verge of tears but tries to put up a brave front. Her classmates feel bad for her because they did all they can to help and yet nobody turned up. Suddenly Hanayo runs into the auditorium. She is puzzled because she thought there is supposed to be a concert. Did she enter the wrong hall? Muse gets their confidence back and to perform even if it’s just one spectator. But that number won’t stay for long because as they perform Start:Dash!, they are soon joined by Rin who came rushing in to look for her friend and is amazed at the performance. Nozomi is listening outside and also catches Maki doing the same but hiding behind a corner. Eri is watching from the broadcasting room while I do not know if Niko has been hiding within the seats of the auditorium all this time or just snuck in. At the end, everyone is awe struck by their performance. But Eri had to pour cold water on their efforts because she doubts continuing this would make a difference. But Honoka insists they will keep singing and dancing. She hasn’t felt like this before and wants to keep believing. They’ll keep trying and do everything they can to get this feeling out there. This feeling in their hearts that brought them here.

Episode 4
Hanayo would love to become an idol as it is her childhood dream. However she feels she can’t as her voice is too soft and shy. Honoka and co are at the alpaca stable and see Hanayo as the caretaker. They remember her as one of the audiences at their concert. Honoka becomes pushy in asking her to join. Or desperate rather. I hope she doesn’t scare her off. When Rin asks Hanayo what club she wants to join and can tell she wants to join the idol club. Hanayo doesn’t have the confidence and asks about Rin herself. Rin considers herself tomboyish and thinks she won’t fit in. Later Hanayo sees Maki secretly taking a Muse recruiting flyer but notices she dropped her student ID. Meanwhile Eri goes to see the chairwoman about wanting permission for the student council to save the school because she thinks the idol group would just make the school more unappealing. The chairwoman disagrees and shows Muse starting to gain popularity because somebody uploaded their video on the internet. Hanayo arrives at Maki’s big mansion to return her student ID. Bringing up the topic of Muse causes Maki to be clumsy as she bumps and crashes into her furniture. Is she interested in joining the idol group? Maki says it is impossible because it is decided she will go to a medicine school so music is over for her. But she did hint that if Hanayo becomes a group member, she’ll help her out once in a while.

Hanayo then goes to Honoka’s home. She opens the room door and sees Kotoha trying to make her breasts big! Oops. Wrong room. In the next room, she sees Umi in her delusion performing to the crowd. Hanayo thinks she is done for when the girls corner her. Can she really forget that embarrassing scenes? Once everyone gathers, they see the uploaded video and wonders if Hanayo will join them. She is still unsure so the rest tell her about their own flaws and would have easily failed in becoming professional idols. But as long they have motivation and a goal to aspire to, they can keep trying. They don’t expect an answer from her now and hope she could take some time to think about it. Although Hanayo tries reading aloud in class, she embarrasses herself by biting her own tongue. Later Maki talks to her and practises with her to speak up her voice. When Rin enters the scene to pester Hanayo to join Muse, I don’t know how it becomes a competition between Rin and Maki to be the one who will take Hanayo to them. WTF. Does she have a say in this? Apparently not because they drag her there while arguing about it. At the rooftop, Rin and Maki give all the encouragement to Hanayo to join. In her own voice she finally expresses her wish to join Muse and they gladly accept her. Why are Rin and Maki crying like as though they are seeing their daughter growing up? Anyway they are not to be left out and Muse extends their recruitment to join them. Care to be part of the idol group? For them to be so defiant at the start, suddenly they just accept? As Rin and Maki wake up early for the training (this is going to be a daily affair), they see Hanayo casting away her spectacles and using contacts instead. She looks cuter and less nerdy this way.

Episode 5
Kotori thinks someone is stalking them. It turns out to be Niko but she tells them all to break up! Muse prepares to practice at the rooftop but it is rainy season. Bummer. Honoka and Rin thought they can practice in the rain but wouldn’t that make it more slippery? Unless you’re as athletic as Rin, maybe. At the fast food joint, Muse tries hard to think of a proper place to practice. And then Honoka just remembered. It takes 5 members to form a club and they have 6! Unknown to them, Niko is spying at the next table and she is appalled Honoka only recently thought of that. The rest realize she is the one who is stealing their fries and burger! Honoka is more concerned about her fries but Niko reminds her to break up as they are a disgrace to real idols before running off. Honoka takes her club application to Eri but she turns it down. Seems the school already has an Idol Research Club and it only has a member. Although it takes 5 members to form a club, once formed, it doesn’t matter how many members are left. Due to the school closing down, they want to discourage the formation of clubs and as long as this one exists, she won’t approve it. Nozomi suggests talking to the sole member of this club. Guess what? Yeah. Niko is the president of this club. Surprised Niko first locks herself inside the clubroom. Then she makes a run and escapes via window. Rin chases her but she ultimately bumps into the alpaca.

Muse is let into the clubroom and they are astounded to see Niko an avid collector of anything school idols. She even has the rarest Legendary Legend of Legend Idol box compilation. Suddenly Hanayo becomes miss-know-it-all. Getting down to business, Niko knows they are here for the merger talks and rejects them instantly. Although they don’t want to disband her club and just need a place to practice, Niko won’t listen. It is not that they practice and train hard every day. It’s because they lack persona. What persona? Niko demonstrates her cutsey Niko-niko smile move. Cute? Or just embarrassing? She believes such persona is to give fans what they want, idols need an appropriate persona. After that she kicks them out. Nozomi has anticipated this so she tells Muse that Niko was once the school’s idol. However she set the bar too high and everyone quit. Niko envies them and since her criticisms prove she takes an interest in them. Niko continues to stalk Honoka and friends and doesn’t believe how close they are. But she herself feels lonely like she’s missing out on something she wanted. One day when she enters the clubroom, she is surprised to see Muse waiting for her and eagerly awaiting her consultation of the next song they will sing. Wait a minute. Did Honoka just include Niko as part of Muse? I guess you can say Niko accepts being part of the idol group because she mentions that training from now on will be tough. Her first advice is that idols aren’t there to show people their smile, but make people smile! Remember that! And so Niko begins training her peers and starts off by doing the Niko-niko smile. She’s strict but she looks happy.

Episode 6
Nozomi goes around helping Muse with her interview to increase their publicity. Honoka is all for it while Umi is against it. Eventually she has to agree… The secret video of Honoka dozing off in class and being lazy… Is this what she bargained for? Feels more like invasion of privacy. We know what Eri will say if she sees this. Niko tries to put up her cutie idol act but what Nozomi wants is to film them in their natural state. Well, I thought Niko’s natural state looks pretty artificial too. I guess nobody is interested and left her to act all by herself. Nozomi continues to film and interview Muse but the way some are shy, uncooperative or just fooling around, it doesn’t seem it will give a good impression. So Nozomi films them while they are at their best during practice. One hour of hard dancing and singing without complaining. Nozomi visits Honoka’s house. Honoka’s mom tries to frantically put on some makeup seeing the student council is here. Honoka wanted to introduce Kotoha but they see her trying to fit into her belt. Just one more hole… Nozomi talks to Honoka about her contribution to Muse. Since the songs, lyrics and even dance steps come from other members, what mostly Honoka does is lazing around and getting wowed from watching other idols online. This makes her wonder how come she is the leader of Muse. Is she? And so Niko calls a meeting with Muse to decide the group’s leader. I thought Niko was the self proclaimed one since she is the president of the club, right? Apparently not. Niko gets all passionate in telling the traits of a leader. Get the feeling she is hinting herself? Why the sudden emphasize and need for a group leader? Because the leader will take the centre position. The rest ignore her and continue to be split in either Umi or Honoka as the leader. Honoka has no qualms if Umi takes over. She doesn’t care if she is no longer the centre since they’ll still be working together as Muse. As everyone is split, Niko tries to hint herself but is completely ignored. Does she want it that bad? Then why not just say it?

And so looks like Niko takes the hard way in determining the leader. First, a karaoke competition whereby the one who scores the highest gets to be it. Niko has already chosen the songs she is confident and will do well and tells those who aren’t interested to not participate since less rivals, better her chance. Guess what? All of them scored above 90 points. Good thing those practices paid off, eh? And they didn’t even take it seriously. Next is the dancing at the arcade challenge. Niko has the same confidence she can beat those amateurs at this game. Guess what? They all did well on their first time. Good thing those practices paid off, eh? Lastly, the aura test. Say what? Whoever finishes handing out their flyer means they have an aura to attract others and thus the winner. Niko is confident since this is her forte. But Kotori finishes first and Niko in dead last. Good thing those… Uhm, never mind. In the end, nobody really stood out and are more equal in the overall score. I see Niko, your chances of becoming the leader is pretty slim. So do they still need a leader? Honoka doesn’t think they should have one as they have been practising and singing just fine without one. She suggests they all take turns. Everyone gets to be the centre. This sits well with everyone and Niko even agrees (she has to). Of course, everybody knows that Honoka is their unofficial leader because she doesn’t let things get in her way, does what she finds most interesting and does it without hesitating. A video of Muse singing is uploaded. Nozomi shows it to Eri who remains sceptical. Nozomi just told them what she feels and hopes Eri would acknowledge them. They will be better if she helps. But Eri tells Nozomi to help them herself. She can’t because her cards state that Eri is the person they need most. Hanayo rushes to the clubroom to tell everyone some big news.

Episode 7
The big news is that there is going to be a Love Live event. The top 20 school idols of the nation will compete to find out who is the best (it will be streamed online too). Hanayo is thrilled that she wants to attend all those concerts but doesn’t have confidence about Muse’s participation. What’s more, Umi says their position is too low for them to qualify. To their surprise, checking their stats again it seems they have been picked as a rising school idol group. There are lots of encouraging comments on their video. Even Maki has fans from other schools waiting outside the gates. As a condition to participate, they need permission from the school so they head towards’ the chairwoman’s room. She agrees but Eri is against it since she herself said they shouldn’t sacrifice their school life for the school. But the chairwoman doesn’t see any harm for them to enter. Eri then demands that she too wants to help save the school but was turned down. Eri thinks she is siding them and leaves. The chairwoman has 1 condition for them to participate: All must not fail any of their subjects. Easy, right? Well, Honoka, Rin and Niko don’t seem to look so good. This is going to be tough. Honoka is so bad in maths that she thinks 7×4 = 26. She took 5 seconds to calculate that. Not good… Rin is weak in English but doesn’t feel the need to speak a foreign language since they’re Japanese (excuse, excuse). Niko asserts she doesn’t fail anything. I don’t think she can fool anybody on this one. So Kotori and Umi will help Honoka while Maki and Hanayo will help Rin. As for Niko, Nozomi will do the honours. Because if she fools around, she’ll give a breast rub she’ll never forget. I never knew Nozomi could be this scary. She might be enjoying it too. Umi sees a girl, Arisa watching a video of Muse that wasn’t uploaded before. Arisa is a fan of Muse and it was recorded by her sister. Who? Eri.

Umi talks to Eri and finds out she is the one who uploads all Muse’s videos. Never crossed her mind she would be the one since she is so against it. Without it, Muse would never have gone this far and got lots of viewers. But Eri doesn’t want her to get the wrong idea. She uploaded those videos to prove Muse wouldn’t get to their fans. However it backfired. She still thinks they are not cut out to represent the school and won’t acknowledge them. Even if they get more popular. Because she views all idols as amateurs, including A-Rise. Umi wants to talk to Nozomi (catching her in the act of molesting Niko’s boobs for fooling around) and wants to know why Eri isn’t fond of idols despite seeing them dance and sing. Umi is shown a ballerina clip of young Eri dancing gracefully. The shock is too deep for Umi as she understands why Eri said that. It made her think what they have been doing all the while. She heads to the student council’s room and hope she could request her to teach Muse to dance at least half as good as her. But Nozomi says that will have to wait and something more important comes first. The exam is in 5 days. If Nozomi wasn’t a demon making the idiotic trio study like hell, Umi becomes demon instructor number 2 because she is going to stay at Honoka’s house till the exam. Not letting up. The exam results are out and thankfully all of them pass (Honoka just barely but a pass is still a pass). It would be tad sad if such lovely girls won’t get to compete in Love Live. Muse is now motivated to seek the chairwoman’s permission but they hear a shocking statement. Outside her office they hear her telling Eri that the decision is final that Otonokizaka will stop accepting student applications next year and will shut down.

Episode 8
Honoka can’t believe it and pleads for more time. What the chairwoman meant was, in 2 weeks’ time they will be having an Open Campus. Middle school goers will have a look around their school and if it is poorly received, Otonokizaka will shut down. Eri will be taking action to ensure events for the Open Campus. But it seems the suggestions suggested by her fellow members seem boring. Is there any other attraction? Yeah. The school’s alpaca.  Oh, she got spit at. As Muse practise, Umi thinks this won’t do and their dance lacks impact. They discuss about Eri who is a great dancer and if you want to compare their dances, of course theirs look amateurish. Honoka feels she wants to get Eri to help train them to dance. Though some are against it, I guess there is no harm in trying. Eri reads her practice speech to her sister but Arisa finds it boring. Is this what she really wants to do? Honoka asks Eri to teach them to dance and she accepts seeing they are popular enough and thus willing to help out. Eri remembers the heartbreak of failing to be selected despite her magnificent dance. Of course she lost out to someone better but the bitter feeling still remained. Eri starts her Spartan training by making them do basic muscle training, stretching and balancing. Rin looks like she is having trouble. She’s in trouble. Shows how unfit some of them are. At the end of the day, she feels they aren’t up to it and tells them if they can’t keep up with it, just tell her sooner so she doesn’t have to waste time on them. Honoka thanks her and hopes she could continue to teach them.

Eri’s dilemma continues. She hears Arisa listening to Muse and enthralled by their efforts and it cheers her up. On the next practice, Eri has doubts whether Muse will improve or not so Honoka says they’re doing it because they want to and they want to save the school just as much as her. Eri leaves but Nozomi confronts her to ask what is it that she wants to do. She always thinks about others but never herself. She’s only trying to stop the school because she feels it’s her duty as student council president. Perhaps that’s the reason why the chairwoman won’t let her. Eri blows her top. She says she would have done something if it could get her somewhere. She starts crying lamenting it is hard for her to join the group now. As she sulks in her classroom, Muse comes to extend their hand for her to join. They heard from Nozomi and should’ve just told them sooner. Though Eri still has her pride, Nozomi knows how to work her way around to convince her. And so, Eri becomes the eighth member. There is even more delight in store because Nozomi becomes the ninth one and Muse is now a whole. Why is she joining now? She’s going according to her cards. Muse as the name suggests refers to the 9 signing goddesses. She is the one who came up with the group’s name. Muse puts up their performance in front of the middle schoolers on Open Campus and they really love their performance.

Episode 9
Due to the welcome response, the decision to shut down the school is postponed. Remember. Just postponed. Another good news is that Muse now has got a bigger room for their club. Thanks to Eri joining them, their popularity skyrocketed and sits at 50th in the rankings. But lately Kotori can’t join them for practice and always leaves early. A new shop selling memorabilia of school idols opens in Akiba. Muse is surprised they even have their own. Is this legal? But Niko seems to be frantic she can’t spot one with her own face on it! And when she does, look how happy she is. They see a picture of Kotori in a maid outfit on sale. And then Kotori comes by in a maid outfit to request that photo be taken off. Once she realizes her pals, she pretends she doesn’t know them and makes a run. She can outrun the rest but she can never beat Nozomi. She knows where she is and threatens a breast rub if she resists. That always works. As explained, she is known as the legendary Akiba maid Minalinsky. It’s mind boggling they don’t even know. She started doing this part time maid café job around the time Muse was formed. This is to change herself. She still feels she can’t do anything compared to her friends although they know very well Kotori has done her fair share of things. Eri notes it is normal that one usually feel they have no talent. But in a way it makes them work harder and improve themselves. Soon Eri announces they will hold a live performance in Akiba. Despite being the stronghold of A-Rise, they’ll get good publicity if they pull off a great performance. And so she entrusts Kotori to write the lyrics of their new song since she knows the place better than the rest. Since everyone is having high hopes for her, she reluctantly accepts.

We see Kotori write… Cute words… But it doesn’t make sense or at least connect. I know she’s trying but… Chocolate parfaits are delicious… Crisp Crepes I want one… Five toed socks feel nice… If you lay out lots of macaroons it is all colourful and makes you smile… Because of that, Kotori has a hard time concentrating in class and at this rate she might go crazy. That’s when Honoka decides to do brainstorming together. So our trio of second years work part time at the maid café with their other Muse members as customers. What better way than to find those words by experiencing the place itself. Kotori shows why she is the legendary maid with her gracious service. I want to be served by her too! Umi who is still afraid of meeting people is doing a more traditional maid’s job: Washing dishes at the back. Aren’t maids supposed to do this kind of jobs? She gets some encouragement from Kotori. She’s like a whole new person when she dons the maid outfit. Honoka gets an idea that she should just use the words that she talks with her friends or anybody in her lyrics. With that, Kotori’s mind flows better as she pens down the words. Muse then puts up their live performance with all of them in a maid outfit and it is a success. The trio also gained lots of experience being a maid. At the end of the day, Kotori wonders how long they’ll be together. She’s sad everything will end in 2 years. Honoka assures her that they’ll always be together. It makes her feel so much better.

Episode 10
Honoka thinks it is too hot to practise. Excuses, excuses. So she comes up with this idea of having a summer camp. She suggests having it at Maki’s villa. Since Eri gives the green light, I guess Maki has no choice but to seek her parents’ permission. Before they depart, Eri has them practise calling each other casually and do away with the senior-junior thingy. Maki’s villa is bigger than everyone thought. Who’d knew she was this rich! Umi has come up with a very rigorous training schedule. 10km swimming followed by 10km running? Wow. Is this Spartan training? I know they’ve got less than a month for the Love Live competition but isn’t this too much. So our lazy trio (that’s Honoka, Niko and Rin) try to worm their way out and they manage to get everyone to have in the beach. Eri approves of it since it will help bridge the gap between them. Nozomi films them as part of the PV. Nozomi notices Maki not mixing with the rest so she goes talk to her despite she is being herself, she actually wants to get along with everyone but just can’t bring herself to express it. Why is Nozomi sticking her nose in her business? Because she knows someone who is very similar like her. Niko surprises everyone that she can cook (despite saying earlier on she has a chef who cooks for her and thus doesn’t know a thing). After that wonderful curry meal, they want to go watch the fireworks. However Umi wants to practise after that. Still giving excuses not to? Since everyone is divided, they go soak in the hotspring before going to bed. It’s going to be a long day of practise tomorrow. However nobody can sleep. Except Umi. She’s already out. They hear something munching away and it turns out to be Honoka. She thinks eating snacks can help her sleep better? Maybe put on more weight, yeah. Nozomi initiates a pillow fight and blames Maki as the source. In no time, it’s every girl for herself. I can’t believe Umi can sleep through all that racket. Till the pillows hit her face. Now she has awakened into a demon! Regret waking her up? Her supersonic pillow throw is enough to put out unfortunate souls into deep sleep! Scary! She is taken out by Nozomi-Maki combo. Nozomi notes Maki is more casual with everyone now. The first light of morning comes. Maki wakes up and sees Nozomi looking over the horizon at the beach. Nozomi tells her how she loves Muse a lot and doesn’t want any member to fall back. Although it was the second years who created Muse, she has been watching them since and has an emotional attachment to the group. The rest of the girls wake up and watch the beautiful sunrise together hand in hand.

Episode 11
Muse has climbed their way to 19th and they are ecstatic if they keep it up, they’ll qualify for Love Live. Of course they can’t rest yet with the many school idols below 20th place not giving up yet since they are approaching the home stretch. This means more practice. Also, Eri suggests to do more performances (since doing something special won’t cut it at this point in time) and to use the upcoming cultural festival as their platform. Because Niko wanted to do something so badly, she ends up being the one who will pick the auditorium for their performance. She didn’t know it was via lottery style. Muse watches in baited breath as she spins. Can her luck bring it? Well, no. No auditorium for them. So depressed. Like it’s the end of the world for some. And some blaming Niko for screwing up. I hope that’s just a joke. They start thinking about other places to hold their performance and the only viable place is the rooftop. Although people down there can’t see them, Honoka suggests they sing out loud and this will attract people to come up and watch them. Great idea. And so the rooftop it will be. Kotori seems to be having her own dilemma. She has received a letter and asks her mom for opinion. She says it is up to her to decide. In another discussion, Honoka suggests of practising a new song that she heard Maki wrote. Do they have time to practise new moves? Honoka just wants to do her best. This means extra solo night training by her own initiative. She even comes up with new moves and works the hardest. Umi is concerned about her for practising up till so late and hopes Kotori would talk her to her senses but she says it’s up to Honoka to do what she wants. That night, Honoka and Umi call each other and think Kotori is acting strange. But Honoka thinks she is just excited for the performance. Honoka continues her midnight jogging even if it’s raining. Subsequently Kotori calls Umi about her dilemma. On the day of the festival, Honoka wakes up a little late (thank her mom for that, otherwise she would have slept through the day) and finds she is sick. Oh no. To make the day worse, it is raining. Honoka hides her illness (seriously, her friends can’t tell?) as Muse gets dressed up. They can’t back out now after they’ve come this far. They are only here because they kept pushing themselves and all they have to do is their best. Kotori doesn’t want to shock the group and will wait after the performance to announce. I wonder if it’s a wise idea for Muse to go out and dance in the rain. I hope the platform is not slippery. You know what can happen with all that dancing, jumping and moving about. Too bad you won’t get to see the effects of idols’ clothes being heavily soaked. Get what I mean ;p. Right after the first song ends, Honoka collapses. Though everyone panics, weak Honoka still won’t give up. She wants to sing the next song. The show must go on.

Episode 12
Muse cannot carry on with the performance and some of the audience start leaving. The girls pay Honoka a visit at her house and she’s recuperating fine. But Eri informs they will not be participating in Love Live. The chairwoman told them to reflect on this and what their original goal was. After discussing, Muse decided to abstain from participating and withdraw themselves. They are no longer in the standings. Eri also says it is no use blaming things now. Everyone is to blame. Honoka didn’t manage herself better and everyone else for not noticing. I bet they didn’t even notice this one: Kotori is seen packing her things at home and is sure she will tell Honoka about it tomorrow. Honoka is depressed back in school so much so Kotori doesn’t have the heart to tell her. Niko couldn’t bear to see it and sends Nozomi to do her breast rub. It always works. As they are out of the running for Love Live, they can take their practice easy and still perform, though they are not in a hurry to do so. They receive the good news that there is an increase in applicants for next year’s intake. Which means the school won’t be closed down for at least another year. Happy everyone? Yeah, but why isn’t Kotori? Umi advises her the longer she puts it off, the harder it gets. Niko celebrates with the rest of Muse about their school’s revival. She’s making a speech nobody wants to listen. Because Kotori continues to be indecisive, Umi decides to tell everyone on her behalf. Kotori will be leaving to study abroad in 2 weeks to study costume designing. She didn’t want to break their spirits and decided to tell them after the festival. Once she leaves, she won’t come back at least after she graduates from high school.

Honoka is upset she never told her. They’re friends, right? But she told Umi, didn’t she? There were many times she wanted to tell her but Honoka was so focused on Love Live. She wanted to tell her after the festival but she collapsed. She wanted to discuss it with her to make a decision since she is her first friend. Kotori runs away in tears. Umi says she may not actually want to go and struggled so long to make a decision probably she was thinking about Honoka. She wasn’t trying to keep it a secret either. Later Honoka mails to Kotori to apologize she never considered how others felt and only thought about herself. But it’s too late now, huh? Though Honoka continues to be depressed in class, Eri calls her up to the rooftop. Muse plans to do a final performance together for Kotori’s farewell. But Honoka blames herself if she had only took note of others, this wouldn’t have happened. Eri chides her for taking all the blame. It won’t do them any good now. Getting depressed won’t get them anywhere. Besides, there’s always next time for Love Live. But Honoka’s morale is so low that she wonders what is the point of competing since they’ve already reached their goal. Besides, they’ll never beat A-Rise. This upsets Niko because she joined them since she took this seriously and believed in her. If she is serious in what she just said, Niko is going to beat her up (only to be restrained by Maki). Is this alone enough to make her lose all her motivation? Eri asks what Honoka will do now. She will quit being a school idol. Umi won’t allow her to have her way and slaps her. Where has the Honoka she knew gone to?

Episode 13
Kotori and Honoka has not talked since and the latter continues to put up a gloomy facade. Eri has put Muse on hiatus and this does not sit well with Niko. Umi goes talk to Kotori and from the way she says things, it is too late for her to turn back now. Oh, really? With so much free time, Honoka hangs out with her friends and at the arcade while playing a dancing game, she is reminded of her times practising and dancing as Muse. After parting ways with her friends, she meets Niko, Rin and Hanayo practising by themselves. Though Muse is on hiatus, nobody said they should stop being a school idol. Don’t you remember? Niko loves idols, the reason she is doing this. She loves the kind of idols that motivate everyone to work hard and asserts her love is different than her half-hearted one. The rest love to have her back since she was the one who started this. Later Eri visits Honoka’s home to apologize about putting Muse on hiatus. Eri talks about herself. People view her as strict and calm but she finds herself hesitant, indecisive and always wanting to cry. However she hides her weak side and wishes she could be like her who is not afraid to show what she feels. Honoka thought her the courage to move on without fear of change because back then, her hands saved her. Kotori’s mom sees her daughter off alone at the airport. It’s better this way she doesn’t see anybody or else she won’t stop crying. Umi sees Honoka at the school’s auditorium. Honoka is here not because of Love Live but her love for singing. She admits being awkward and selfish but wants to keep going. Umi starts laughing. She says she has always been causing them trouble. They can never get her to listen to reason. Take a good example how Umi was forced to join this idol thingy whether she likes it or not. However due to that, she always takes them places. Great places where they can’t go on their own as they lack courage. She is mad not because she didn’t notice how Kotori felt, but rather she was denying how she truly felt. After a short song, Umi tells Honoka to get Kotori. Didn’t she decide to leave? Just like Umi, Kotori wants her to be selfish and wants to be led by her. She found favour with a famous designer and no one would tell her to stay. The only one who can be selfish with her is… Honoka rushes her way just in time to the airport to grab Kotori. She wants to be a school idol with her even if they end up pursuing different dreams one day. Easy as that, Kotori goes back with Honoka just in time for Muse to put on a concert in front of a full hall. At the end, Honoka makes an announcement of Muse Music Start.

OVA
This one only lasts 15 minutes. It begins with Hanayo being freaked out after hearing Maki’s weird dream of being chased through the dark corridors and getting trapped. Later when Maki goes to play the piano, she notices a key without any sound, as she tries to take a closer look, she is scared out of the daylights when she sees a little girl standing by the piano. Because of that, she becomes absent from Muse’s practice the next day. That scared that she turned ill, huh? The girls think of visiting her after practice. When they leave, Eri remembers she forgot something and returns to her classroom to retrieve it. Suddenly it turns dark. Colourful stage lights fill the path as she chases after silhouette of that little girl. When she comes out, Eri is reunited with the rest of her friends, they are surprised that the day has become night! They think they are inside some dream. Then that little girl pops out to confirm it. She is Maki in her young age (Niko is devastated she is cuter than her!). She says they are all interesting as they are very close together. She also says this is a never-ending party. As the fireworks light up the sky, she adds that she has known them for a very long time even before they became Muse. Before she could complete her sentence, she transforms into her high school self. She herself is surprised to find herself here but the rest are amazed of this magic she pulled. Did she? They are certain this is her dream. As for what little Maki wanted to say, it was that she always liked them all. Now we have a full length song and dance video of Muse. WTF. I don’t get it. What’s this OVA about? Unless it’s just a prelude and introduction to this song Music Start which happens to be their sixth and latest single.

S.O.S. (Save Our School)!
Guess I had a feeling it had to end this way. There is no way that a group with cute girls would just disband and end of a story. There is no way that a member would go far away and be separated from the rest of her friends. How else would they make a second season then? It would be impossible to be an idol unit via long distance relationship. It just wouldn’t work. By the way, a sequel has been scheduled to be released somewhere in mid 2014. Fans of the group would definitely rejoice on this news but for me, just like my stint with AKB0048, I’ll still be hanging around to see how far they will climb and eventually become top. The sequel is like giving them a second chance to participate in Love Live since they totally missed this one out due to a little ‘internal misunderstanding’. Maybe it is a good thing too that they didn’t get to participate because it gives them more time to practise and hone their skills. So for a big part of this season, we mainly see how Muse gathers all its members and from what it started as an idol group to save the school (and have already achieved it), they turn their sights to a bigger goal by becoming the nation’s top school idols. So that’s why I have this feeling that the sequel will see Muse take on all-time favourites A-Rise and even if they don’t take the crown from them, at least they will make it known that they have put up a good fight and letting the A-Rise trio that there is another idol group who isn’t so far behind.

Each of the characters has their own personality and with a variety of them, it is easy to see why they shine. A mix of different types of personalities has a great impact in the diversity of the group. You may have fans liking a certain character but in the end, they still love the group as a whole. Honoka is unofficially the leader because of her cheerful outlook and not afraid to let her feelings known. Some may say she’s selfish but I won’t say that it is to a point that makes her a dictator. Even if she seems pushy about it, eventually it is the other girls who agree to her ways, right? So it’s not totally her fault. It’s just that moment of weakness she had in the end that knocked her balance off a little. Because she has helped those in need, now it is their turn to help her back. Out of all the girls, the most amusing one is Niko. If I should say, she is more like the group’s joker. Not to say she is always like one but because of her child-like tendencies, the way she acts and thinks-she-knows-it-all makes her an amusing girl. But her passion for idols is genuine and you can’t pull a fast one on this area. She knows her idol stuff like the back of her hand. Nozomi acts like the big sister of the group, watching and keeping an eye out for them. Her breast rub technique makes her a character that has extreme sides. We can do it the nice way or the hard way…

Eri is one character whom I feel has undergone the most change. Before Muse was a whole, she was always playing the strict no nonsense student council president, not please with what Honoka and co are doing. It’s understandable that she has an image to put up with. Deep down in her heart, she perhaps had always wanted to be part of Muse but because she keeps delaying, the cold image of hers becomes harder to shake off. When she has cast away all that and become part of Muse, she becomes a better person. Heck, I think she looks prettier when she constantly smiles! Better than that serious frown she always had. Umi has also changed because she doesn’t fear performing in public as much as she does before. Maki also learns to mix well with the rest of her friends and Kotori definitely looks better if she has that dreamy look instead of that indecisive one. Was it really that simple? She just wanted a friend to tell her not to go and she won’t? Well, this girly thing I really don’t understand but it’s not my place to say. Rounding up the rest of Muse are the shy Hanayo and tomboyish Rin. With such a variety of characters, how can you not love them? Even the side characters are lovable themselves though I don’t think they’ll ever be part of Muse. Kotoha is a funny girl whenever you catch her in the act of some dieting or self slimming down stuff. Arisa exudes lot of moe while Honoka’s friends are truly friends because they help support her through times.

Hardcore fans would already know this by heart since it is common knowledge but since I only knew about this group via anime, I only learnt that the girls of Muse (in reality, the name was picked via handphone poll – heck, many of the costumes, hairstyle and position are determined via handphone poll) are played and voiced by the same people ever since their inception back in 2010. It’s like they’ve planned this for a long time and anticipated this would eventually happen. I guess this is only right since Muse also have their own fan base (and growing). Fans of a certain idol wouldn’t really like it if some character in the anime is voiced by a different person.  Based from the episode 0 I’ve seen, they have put in quite a lot of effort by staging various promotional events, live programmes and concerts to keep fans coming back for more. They’ve come a long way and you could say it is quite a successful project. Some of the members went on to lend their voice in other animes like Honoka’s Emi Nitta, Kotori’s Aya Uchida, Umi’s Suzuko Mimori, Niko’s Sora Tokui, Eri’s Yoshino Nanjou and Hanayo’s Yurika Kubo. Maki’s Pile, Rin’s Riho Iida and Nozomi’s Aina Kusuda only have this anime as their debut in voice acting. As for the rest of the supporting characters, they didn’t use big veteran names of the seiyuu industry since many of them don’t ring a bell to me (sorry) but they’ve got some experience in the industry. The only veteran seiyuu I recognized from the list is Kikuko Inoue playing as Maki’s mother.

Music plays a big part of any idol themed animes. I won’t say that I totally love their songs and moves, I just find them rather okay. I’m not an idol person so don’t hate me for that. Still, I think they sound pretty good and enjoyable. Of all the songs that I have heard and featured in this anime, the one that I like most is the insert song, Start:Dash! Well, at least I thought it made me tap my feet to its nice tune. The opening theme is Bokura Wa Ima No Naka De by Muse (who else?) and sounds like your typical energetic and happy idol song complete with its own unique moves for this piece. Kitto Seishun Ga Kikoeru by Muse (seriously, you’re not thinking it would be some other group, aren’t you?) is the ending the theme and although it is still the lively piece, it feels less energetic compared to the opening theme. Although this is the only ending song, there are many versions of it. I mean, with 9 members in Muse, there are going to be a version which is sung by only one of them or a duet and so on. The combination is endless although hardcore fans would know the ‘permanent members’ when they are not singing together as a whole and when they break into smaller units of 3. In my opinion, I think they sound better if all sing the song. Because some don’t really sound good if they’re singing solo… Whoops. I’m not the one to say…

The drawing and art of the anime is of course vividly bright and colourful. You can’t attract people having dull and monochrome colours, can’t you? In the course of the anime, you get to see Muse performing in some of their trademark costumes and perhaps even more in the next season. To add to the realism of the dance and choreography, CGI animation of the girls is used just like how it was done in AKB0048 too. At first it may look odd since we have been watching the 2D version for quite a while and then when the performance begins, it shifts into 3D animation. The difference won’t be very much but it is noticeable. More importantly, the animation using CGI is smooth so it doesn’t make Muse feel like a bunch of robots dancing on stage. Of course not the entire song is in CGI mode as some parts are still in 2D animation. This anime was produced by Sunrise and Aikatsu, another idol themed anime was produced under them.

Despite this series lacking all the action and sci-fi stuffs compared to AKB0048, this is still quite an enjoyable show. Unless of course if you aren’t into idols and music, then you may have considered a bunch of girls forming an idol group to save their school from closure to be tad boring. If you’re thinking that this show is intended for girls, I have a feeling it is targeted for mainly males instead. I mean, the main gender group that would love an all-female idol group would be guys, right? There would be girls too but don’t you think all that sexy dance moves and sexy outfit are to attract males? Is it their singing and dancing that we are more interested or is it something else? Well, sometimes I feel that for those who can’t make it to their favourite idol concerts (or even afford it), perhaps this is a reason why this anime is created. So you can watch it from the comfort of your room. But then again, which crazy idol fan doesn’t have every collectible and memorabilia of their favourite idol group, know every darn trivia about them and attended every concert or other events they organized?