Summary: Otonokizaka Academy is closing, and of the students who currently attend it are heartbroken. 2nd year student Honoka Kosaka refuses to let the school close. To attract more students, she comes up with the idea of forming a school idol group, and drawing fans to the school. Is this just a crazy scheme, or can Honoka save the school?
Review
Plot: The story of Love Live! is extremely simple. Honoka convinces her friends, Umi and Kotori, to join her in creating a pop idol group; μ's (Muse, named after the Greek Goddesses). The three give it their all, and despite resistance from the student council president, Eli Ayase, eventually find success, and more members. When it's finished growing, μ's has nine members, three from each grade level of the school. As part of their goal to save the school, they decide that making it into the Love Live! school idol festival is their goal. Interwoven with the singing and rise of the group are side-stories of friendship, love, and everyday life. While there are some hardships, the biggest problem with the show is how quickly any issues they have are resolved. Only one problem lasts more than an episode, and most problems are fixed with sheer force of will or a single conversation. It's an unfortunate downside of the season being only thirteen episodes. In the second season, the show continues its general formula as the girls make the championship of Love Live! their goal, and set out to win it. Along with that, there is a confrontation with their chief rival, A-Rise, and emotional conflict created through the realization that once school ends, the third years will no longer be part of μ's because they graduate. As with the first season, most of the conflicts are resolved easily, and even more ridiculously at times. Despite that, there was something special about watching the girls succeed that was just somehow better in the second season, though I can't quite explain why.
Characters: Cute and loveable are the first two words that come to mind to describe the members of μ's. In Japanese, they would be considered Kawaii, or perhaps moe. While their backstories are limited, and reduced to short conversations or flashbacks, I found all nine girls to be good characters. The first three members of μ's are Honoka, Kotori, and Umi. Honoka is a cheerful and bubbly girl who isn't great at school, but gives her all and never gives up on μ's. She learns to become more responsible in the second season when Eli forces her to become the next student council president. Kotori is a bit of an airhead with a penchant for cute things, though she has trouble making decisions for herself. Umi is a member of the archery club and believes in being disciplined in both school and μ's. Next to join are the first year students. Maki is a talented singer and composer, but has trouble opening up to other people. Rin is a go-get-em tomboy, but she lacks Honoka's never give up attitude. Hanayo has loved idols forever, but her shyness causes her some issues on stage. Last to join are the third year students. Nico is the an idol fanatic who wants other's to look up to her, though her view of how an idol should act often gets in the way of that wish. Nozomi, the student council vice-president, is a spiritual girl who enjoys fortune-telling, and her calm, though mischievous, attitude makes her a mother of sorts to the girls. The final member is Eli Ayase, the student council president. Initially, she is entirely against μ's, but is eventually convinced to join the group. Her determination and drive is second only to Honoka, and despite her status, she wants the others to view her as an equal, and not their sempai. There are other characters, but chances are the viewer may never even learn their names outside of a couple little sisters (Arisa - Eli's sister, and Yukiho - Honoka's sister).
Presentation: The animation of Love Live! is split in two. During the normal process of the show it is standard animation, and it looks great and fits the light and upbeat tenor of the show perfectly. The second part is the CGI used to animate μ's performances. While the CGI looks great, and the characters move and dance naturally, the shift that occurs when switching between the two was jarring, especially if the show cut to the audience during a performance. It was very obviously not the same animation, and it took a moment to adjust whenever it changed. Interestingly, this problem is nearly erased in the second season. The basic animation is altered slightly so the skin tone and facial expressions look a little closer to their CGI counterparts. The animation still looks great, and the transitions are much better. The music, arguably the most important part of a show based on an idol group, was great. Unlike some other shows I've seen that have idols perform the same song a dozen times in the show, Love Live!, rarely plays the same song twice outside of the opening and ending animations. Each season has at least a half-dozen songs, and nearly all of them were fun to listen to and watch. The most popular is generally 'Snow Halation', which appears in the second season, and I cannot argue with that at all. It's one of the top songs of the show.
Entertainment Value: If the viewer can get past the simple story, or just likes Japanese idol groups, there is a lot to like here. The show is a pure feel-good chronicle that can easily create smiles on the faces of the audience. Combine that with the toe-tapping sounds of μ's, and it's a definite success. If the viewer doesn't like Japanese music, and can't handle a slice-of-life based show, then I suggest finding another anime to watch.
Rating: 8/10 - A fun filled ride with a super cute anime music group that overcomes its simple story with a good cast and great music. (Season 1 - 8/10, Season 2 - 8/10)
Love Live! School Idol Project - 26 episodes (Season 1 - 13, Season 2 - 13)
Note: The Japanese voice actresses of the show are a real pop idol group of the same name, μ's. They are often split into three units; Lily White, BiBi, and Printemps. Altogether, they currently have 43 songs, with more on the way. A number of their songs have reached the Top 10 on the Japanese music charts, and a few have gone gold. There are two ongoing manga series, both currently at three volumes, and a light novel series, currently with eleven volumes. A game, Love Live! School Idol Paradise was released for the PS Vita, and Love Live! School Idol Festival is available on iOS and Android world wide. The girls of μ's also appear in the CCG Weiß Schwarz. A full length film has also been made and is licensed in the US by NIS America. I watched the show on the Blu-ray release by NIS America in Japanese with subtitles. I highly recommend watching the show in Japanese. A third season, Love Live! Sunshine!!, is planned for release in Japan this summer.
0 Comments