First Impressions / Love Live! / Series Introduction

OP Sequence

OP: 「青空Jumping Heart」 (Aozora Jumping Heart) by AUQORS

「輝きたい!!」 (Kageyakitai!!)
“I Want To Shine!!”

After two seasons and a final live, Love Live makes its triumphant return to our computer screens.

Starting Over

For those of you who haven’t watched the original series or invested too much damn time into the game, Love Live is your typical girl idol show. With a total of nine members, the original group known as µ’s from Otonokizaka high school rose through the ranks and became one of the most well known school idols throughout the land. Fast forward to where Sunshine starts and it looks like we’re about to start everything over from scratch.

Something that honestly, I was pretty impressed with how was done. Seeing how we’ve seen this formula play out during the show’s original run, I’m glad that the writers didn’t just rehash the same concepts and tropes and threw some spice into this spinoff sequel. And while you could argue that the “main” girl known as Takami Chika may resemble Honoka in more ways than just her upbeat can-do attitude, that’s where most of the obvious similarities stop. From the extremely oppressive student council president Dia (who totally let it slip that she knows way too much about idols) to the adorably dorky You that you just want to squeeze because she’s so cute, it’s nice to know the characters will all be just as unique as the girls who came before hand.

General Impressions & Looking Ahead

Overall, I think Sunshine did a good job with its introductory episode. With glimpses of the main cast floating throughout the episode and a super big nod to veterans of the series in the form of an old µ’s performance, I was loving every moment of it. Throw in how it looks like Chika won’t have the easiest time forming what will eventually be known as Aquors and it looks like we’re in for a fun ride.

That said, we’ll see just how good or bad this sequel ends up being. While I highly doubt anything horrible will happen, you never know with big name shows like these. Hopefully we’ll just get great episode after great episode. In any case, I’ll catch you guys next week. Ciao!

General Housekeeping

In an effort to provide the most information possible, I’ll throw the names of things like insert songs down here or important facts for your reference.

  • No Ending Song this week.
  • Insert Song Name: 決めたよHand in Hand performed by 高海千歌（伊波杏樹）、桜内梨子（逢田梨香子）、渡辺曜（斉藤朱夏）

P.S. Sorry for the late post! I was at Anime-Expo over the weekend and just finally found some time to sit down and catch up with the new shows. Man, if only we had more hours in a day to watch anime!

 

Preview

54 Comments

    1. No doubt about that. Not one but three photobombers this time, and Dia of all people. Last I checked too Yoshiko’s face and scissor hand pics have been going around. Hanamaru covering her ears and Dia and Chika’s stylish shouting match could make potential funny memes too.

      Zhinvu
      Reply

  3. Well Takaii… It’s FINALLY HERE!

    I’m actually excited for this show. I really want to see how it pans out.

    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2035.jpg

    This scene itself is rather poignant though. You see Riko folding Oto’s uniform and neatly place it while keeping her back to it. It pretty much symbolises that Muse has come to pass and it’s Aquors’s turn for the lime light. I like the feathery touch as well.

    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2031.jpg

    When this came out, I sensed a great disturbance in the fandom. It’s as if the entire fandom started to tearfully sing Start:Dash. I actually teared up when I watched Muse season 1’s finale.

    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2032.jpg

    Oh and Takaii… I see what you did there…

    Move aside Chika, You, Dia, Zura-girl and Yohane… Make way for the best girl’s appearance!

    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2026.jpg

    PROTECT THAT SMILE!!!
    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2043.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2001%20-%20Large%20Preview%2003.jpg

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Velvet Scarlantina
    Reply

      1. I think I can understand why.

        Muse started from scratch and built up the Love Live brand. Thus we veteran Love Livers grew up with Muse.

        For a bulk of the veteran Love Livers, they just see Aquors as merely inheriting Muse’s success and fan base. Thus that’s why I think we don’t view Aquors as high regard as Muse.

        Velvet Scarlantina
        Reply

  4. They gave me enough bait to tune in for the second episode. It’s amusing how Chika is so similar to Honoka but is completely different. Her motives, passion and friend circle is very different from Honoka. I think the inevitable comparison is rather cruel for her. But good luck to her in getting that song writer.

    Another thing I noticed is that there are a lot of swimmers in this soon to be team. Is that why they’re called Aquors? Wonder how the others relate to water.

    Finally a technical observation, it looks like they’ve improved the 3DCG modelling a lot. Glad to see it improving every season. My biggest gripe for the previous season was how µ’s performance compared to A-Rise, so hopefully it will be better this time. They may even get more youtube hits from me instead of just audio CD sales XD.

    theirs
    Reply

    1. It’s no coincidence since Sunshine is set in Numazu which is pretty much a seaside area and some of its attractions are Aquariums and Marine Parks. So yeah what’s common with the girls of Aqours is their hometown, except maybe for Riko who is a transferee. Now that you mention it, Dia and Ruby do come from a fishing family, and Chika’s family runs an onsen.

      Zhinvu
      Reply

    3. Actually there is much simpler reason why they are called Aqours: It was voted by the fans.

      Much like µ’s before, their group name was determined by fan vote. Lantis just provides the character profiles, the setting (a seaside town with orange farming) as well as a couple of short stories. The task of submitting and voting for the group name is done by fans.

      To be honest I was a little disappointed that Aqours won because there were more intresting names on the list including KiSeKi, Soleil and Orange’squash (yes really) but Aqours won the vote so that is their name.

      fragb85
      Reply

      2. What. you don’t think Orange`squash is a great name? And that’s not even going to the voting for the sub-group names. One of the nominated names for the ChikaYouRuby Group was POWERFUL GARAGE (Yes, really). And no, that name didn’t win the vote either sadly.

        fragb85
        Reply

  5. I’ve been hyped for this after getting to know the new school idols, watching their net shows, and listening to the drama tracks. And definitely this new episode didn’t disappoint. Aozora Jumping Heart instantly became my favorite Aqours song just from the few seconds of watching that opening animation. It’s right there next to Koi ni Naritai Aquarium, Strawberry Trapper and Todokanai hoshi da toshitemo. I never really thought about whether it felt like a rehash of its predecessor or if the characters felt like carbon copies of u’s. All I know is I enjoyed every second of it. My initial favorite would have to be Yoshiko because her profile stated she’s a gamer. Well she still is but then I added Mari and Dia after listening to the drama tracks, and after this episode Hanamaru is a new favorite of mine, one of the reasons being the Gintama jokes I associate with her. Definitely following this show and looking forward to Mari’s debut and the new songs. For me, they’ll be doing something right if they produce a song that can make me forget Kaguya no Shiro de Odoritai which is my all time favorite u’s song.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

  6. That implication that Dia knows a lot more about idols than she lets on… Interesting… Might need to do a rewatch.

    While I’m most intrigued by Dia, Hanamaru (and her “-zura” verbal tic), Yoshiko (and her chuunibyou tendencies), Mari, Ruby and Kanan might start to grow on me as well.

    P.S.: Is it safe to expect a post about AX anytime soon?

    Incognito
    Reply

    2. The 3rd year diver girl (Kanan?) also seemed like she knew something when school idols were mentioned. Feels like a prior attempt to have school idols may have gone miserably due to a lack of a songwriter…

      SK
      Reply

    1. Anyway I really hope that there would be some Idol anime who actually realistically explored of being an idol like in Asia. It not all flowers and sunshine as what these shows make you believe.

      Gwynbleidd
      Reply

      1. You should check out a series called Wake Up, Girls, which does a good job of delving into the darker side of the idol industry. Just make sure to watch the movie first before the actual series.

        Van
        Reply

  9. Some similarities are seen:
    The Leader: Honoka->Chika
    The Leader’s Best Friend: Umi->You
    The Pianist: Maki->Riko
    The Ojou: Kotori->Mari
    The SC President: Eli->Dia
    The Big Sister: Nozomi->Kanan
    The Genki Girl: Rin->Hanamaru
    The Shy Girl: Hanayo->Ruby
    The Butt Monkey: Nico->Yoshiko

    Exukvera
    Reply

    1. Some very general similarities yes, but once you get past the surface, the girls are quite different in ways… (never heard all the prologue/introduction drama CDs and all that other introductory stuff leading up to Sunshine!! though, so there’s most likely a lot more known about the girls from those)

      Chika’s upbeat personality is certainly reminiscent of Honoka, but her motivations for wanting for form a School Idol group are very different. Where Honoka saw forming a School Idol Group as the best way to help save her school, Chika is someone who was simply looking for that “something” in her life that she believed she could be great at and stand out.

      Umi was initially against the whole idea of a School Idol Group, but You was obviously quite supportive from the beginning, even if she thought she would be too busy with Swimming Club to directly participate at first.

      Maki was a tsundere who simply didn’t want to join initially while Riko is clearly more openly kind and has her own reason (probably revealed next episode) why she turned down Chika’s request to join.

      Don’t know anything in-depth about Mari yet to make any deeper comparison to Kotori yet other than the implied connection/rivalry with Kanan and her family.

      Eli rejected the idea of a School Idol Club largely just for personal reasons. Dia gave some legitimate reasons on top of possibly having something personal involved too given her knowledge about what Love Live! entails.

      Don’t know anything in-depth about Kanan yet to make any deeper comparison to Nozomi other than the implied connection/rivalry with Mari and her family.

      Don’t know anything in-depth about Hanamaru yet to make any deeper comparison to Rin, but her established “connection” to Yoshiko by having known her previously is something.

      Don’t know anything in-depth about Ruby yet to make any deeper connection to Hanayo, though while Hanayo was shy, Ruby’s shyness is cranked up to twenty given she freaked out so much and shut down just by having her hand touched.

      Don’t know anything in-depth about Yoshiko yet to make any deeper connection to Nico, though right off the bat, the biggest difference is that while Nico simply acted how she believed an (stereotypical) idol would act and only in secret, Yoshiko is simply a full on Chuunibyou who isn’t afraid to act it out in front of others.

      …so it’s a shame when I see other people on other sites act so surprised or even insulted that there dare be any similarities between the girls of Aqours and Muse to the point where I’ve even seen Aqours ignorantly called all but copycats of Muse.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

      1. I actually thought Mari is more of Aqours’ Nozomi due to both do things at their own pace with Mari bordering on what some might say is insanity. That and both are represented by the color purple. I would very much recommend listening to the drama tracks to get an idea of what kind of crazy Mari is, even Dia. What is unknown though is if Aqours’ personalities in the drama tracks will be carried over into the anime. It did feel a little different that Chika would go as far as butt heads with Dia for rejecting her club application. I do agree on your take that at least Dia was giving practical reason for rejecting the school idol club aside from just saying it’s nonsense. Last I remember Eri’s reason that Honoka and company’s dancing was not up to her standards was only revealed when she was confronted directly. In Dia’s case, it might be because of her traditional family upbringing that she thinks school idols are nonsense. We’ll just have to wait for what the anime will reveal.

        Zhinvu
        Reply

    2. Some similarities are seen:
      The Leader: Honoka->Chika
      The Leader’s Best Friend: Umi->You
      The Pianist aka best girl: Maki->Riko
      The Ojou: Kotori->Mari
      The SC President: Eli->Dia
      The Big Sister: Nozomi->Kanan
      The Genki Girl: Rin->Hanamaru
      The Shy Girl: Hanayo->Ruby
      The Butt Monkey aka annoying b@tch : Nico->Yoshiko

      Fixed

      Velvet Scarlantina
      Reply

  10. For those of you who haven’t watched the original series or invested too much damn time into the game

    Wait, is Takaii an SIF player? Because high five!

    But yeah, Love Live has admittedly become a guilty pleasure of mine. I’ve already invested a lot on SIF, reading the translated manga and supplementary materials and keeping a good deal of Love live soundtracks on my MPS3 player. So I’m quite happy that the franchise is getting new blood.

    So far I do enjoy what I’m seeing. Chika may seem like a Honoka clone, but it looks like she has more of a character arc going (wanting to be special). And I do like that she was willing to butt heads with Dia to get her group started. Its certainly more interesting than that dull rivalry that Honoka and Eli had on the first series.

    Also I got a chuckle for the completely random musical number that was thrown in at the end because I’ve always liked musicals. Yes, I like anime, mecha and classical musicals. I’m kind of weird like that.

    fragb85
    Reply

    1. Chika suddenly breaking into song reminded me so much of those musical numbers from the movie. Like when u’s was taking cover from the rain and suddenly Rin jumps out and then the first years’ song starts. It was random, but still entertaining. My favorite will always be the third years’ and Nozomi memorable spin.

      Zhinvu
      Reply

  12. Takaii, try removing the double exclamation marks from this series. That might be the one bugging out picture postings that we take directly from the episode review

    Velvet Scarlantina
    Reply

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