First Impressions / Love Live!

「ヨハネ堕天」 (Yohane Daten)
“Yohane Descends”

In my opinion, this week’s episode was truly something great. With a perfect combination of all the slice-of-life and idol elements you could shake a stick at and a itty bit of heartwarming friendship right at the end, there really isn’t much more you could ask for. Well, I guess I would have asked for another insert song, but we can’t have everything!

Chuunibyou demo..

Enter, Tsushima Yoshiko, sometimes also known as Yohane the Fallen Angel. A character who I thought I would completely dislike especially because of her chuunibyou tendencies but ended up genuinely liking quite a bit because of those darn tendencies. Hear me out though – how boring would have it been if her only purpose was to be the “edgy” one of the group? Seeing how µ’s didn’t have any archetype that would fit Yoshiko, you could say I was afraid that by trying to create something they’d end up falling flat on their face. As I said earlier though, Yoshiko is a lot more than just a chuunibyou girl and I loved how the story used it to reinforce some of the finer points behind just what Aqours stands for. Specifically, that each and every person is unique in their own way and should rock whatever it is they enjoy. Because in an industry as superficial as the Idol industry, it’s refreshing to see the dreamers get some of the spotlight.

Chika the Leader

Just like Honoka before her, I doubt there’s anyone who’s watching that would say Chika isn’t the leader of the group. As the founding member and the one who’s trying to push this whole thing as hard as she can, it makes you wonder just how difficult it must be to constantly run face first into obstacle after obstacle. Even when you consider all the help she’s received, it’s pretty amazing Chika hasn’t fallen apart even worse than she did when the power went out during Aqours’ first performance in the gym. And even though this point probably won’t get much focus, it was nice to see Chika acknowledge that leading a group like Aqours isn’t the easiest thing and that she truly has the resolve to try her best to do so.

Looking Ahead

With the sixth member found, it doesn’t look like we have that many more to look for. Luckily, they all seem to be within reach (except Kanan, but I’m sure they’ll flesh her out eventually) and with that surprise cliffhanger between Mari and Dia, I’m willing to bet one of them will be next on the “recruit to Aqours” arc. In any case, I’ll see you guys next week after I blow through all my LP as I slowly re-enter Idolhell. See you!

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. New: I’m also going to keep my favorite girl list here so we can all fight about it together <3

  • No New Insert Song This Week ):
  • After a lot of thinking, I think my current favorites go in this order: Hanamaru, Ruby/You, Yoshiko, Chika, and Riko. The slashes just means I couldn’t pick between the two and they share the same spot. Let me know your favorites down in the comments! And it’s cool to change them later, I know mine might :’)
  • Also, did you know Hanamaru is the shortest of the first years? At 152cm, she’s 2 cm shorter than Ruby.

 

Preview

35 Comments

  1. So Yoshiko is a Rikka-type Chuunibyou trying to turnover a new leaf like Yuuto. interesting. Too bad Chika wouldn’t let her have her way now, haha.

    Honestly, I found the first years of Aquors to be interesting than the first years of μ’s (except for Maki, sorry Kayochin and Rin-chan >_<). Zuramaru's "zura" is bewitching me and her chemistry with Yoshiko is adorable. Ruby-chan won me over since ep 2 with that candy loving smile.
    Now that the 1st and 2nd year is introduced, I'm very interested on how Chika will convince the third years into the group. They obviously didn't have the relationships that Nozomi, Eli or Nico had, and their backstory isn't simple (I think).

    My favorites are Hanamaru, Ruby, Yoshiko, You, Riko and Chika.

    Seorori
    Reply

    1. LOL, when I heard Mari say that gratuitous English phrase, I can’t help but remember the opening of Tenjou Tenge (“Bomb A Head!” by m.C.A.T.). Sure, the anime was ecchi as f**k and it’s not one of the best manga-to-anime adaptations ever released, but that song was catchy as hell…

      Back on topic, Ruby is downright adorable. And this is the first time I’ve liked both sisters (Dia and Ruby) in one idol group. (I was “meh” on 765’s Ami and Mami Futami, while I liked 346’s Mika Jougasaki over her little sister Rika as I found the latter too loli for my tastes.)

      Incognito
      Reply

    1. That’s the best use of Riko’s jump in a meme that I’ve seen to date. Nike can probably replace their Jordan logo with Riko and next thing you know shoes might start selling out in Japan.

      Zhinvu
      Reply

  6. https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2011.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2032.jpg

    Yohana-sama~ <3 *swoon* <3 lol

    Like with the other girls, one of the things that was great with Yoshiko is that she and the others initially TRY to simply be "normal high school girls" that don't draw too much attention to themselves; in ways, pretty much what (tsundere) Dia would probably prefer them to be, but…it doesn't really do much for them. It's boring (Chika), sad (Riko), "scary" (Ruby), or something that they can never truly find satisfaction with. Meeting the others and working towards becoming a school idol is actually helping them overcome their social weaknesses.

    As much as I've seen some people compare Yoshiko to Rikka due to the chuunibyou (Chūnibyō demo Koi ga Shitai!), she is actually much more like Yuta initially (same series) where she wants to be normal, knowing that it's all fake and could potentially ruin her social standing in school, hence why she was afraid to go back to school after her chuuni-intro, but keeps on slipping back into it without meaning to, but has now found others that she knows won't dislike her for it.

    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2020.jpg

    Both more meme material that has been spreading.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

  7. Sakuraichi Riko just won best girl with that jump. So far, she’s probably my favorite love live girl to date and it’s only 4 episodes. I hope Kanaan would get more screen time too.

    JohnGwynbleidd
    Reply

  8. “In any case, I’ll see you guys next week after I blow through all my LP as I slowly re-enter Idolhell.”

    It’s a blood bath this time round.

    THat aside, Riko really continues to be the best girl and I wonder how Zuramaru would react when she finds Rule 34 on the internet

    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2007.jpg

    Wait… She has already learnt about Rule 34… Such intense concentration

    Velvet Scarlantina
    Reply

  10. Mari is still at the top of my list, but Hanamaru inched her way to tie with Mari ever since episode 1 of the anime. Not to mention her seiyuu King is a gamer too. This episode puts her in the same spot as Mari now. I was wondering last week that they didn’t touch on Hanamaru’s lack of tech knowledge so it was a surprise that aspect of her was fully explored in this episode. If I had a little nitpick though, it would be it’s kind of unusual Hanamaru has never ever seen an automatic faucet. As a resident in that area she was bound to have seen one when she’s out. And that she was with the others checking their ranks on the laptop but it’s only here that she was so awed by it. Like I said though those are just little observations because I still loved how Maru was so fascinated by technology.

    It was also surprising how they decided to make Yoshiko the Yuuto type of chuuni, where she’s actually trying to get over it. It was nice how Chika encourages it because that’s what makes Yoshiko stand out, and it was also funny when Chika basically said they appreciate her as Yohane but have no plans to be one of her little demons. Makes me wonder if Yoshiko will alternate from normal to chuuni from time to time since the drama CDs had this running gag of the others never calling her Yohane and Yoshiko always insisting to call her that. Also…

    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2022.jpg

    Riko’s mother is voiced by none other than Nana Mizuki! First it was Sailor Moon’s seiyuu as Mama Yazawa, now this.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

  12. The best episode by far.

    One thing I wish Sunshine would do is to cut down on the amount of references to the original series. Yes, I know that some viewers love the characters talking about μ’s and all the live stages they did, but it’s time for Sunshine to be its own series.

    From what I remember, Cinderella Girls didn’t reference the original Idolmaster very much, other than a couple of posters in the first episode. We also never heard Uzuki, Rin, Mio, and the others talking about how much they wanted to be like Haruka and the original idols. I can’t explain it well but it was more fun to watch as a result.

    ET
    Reply

    1. Even though I somewhat agree with your comment, there is one major difference with those series. Aqours as a group is inspired by µ. While Cinderella project hardly has anything to do with the idols of 765 production. It’s a major plot point in this sequel and I hope it’ll show how they diverge and eventually form their own identity.

      Idolmaster was more of an anime about the franchise, based loosely on the games. Idolmaster Cinderella girls can exist on it’s own as its main plot isn’t directly related with the original. The first was practically about a start up while the sequel was about a part of an established company. They’re in a completely different league. One doesn’t join a major company wanting to imitate a small start up. Especially when there are some bright stars in that major company.

      theirs
      Reply

  15. Just a random question. Can this be enjoyed independently of the previous Love Live! serie? I watched like 3/4th of the first season but then for some reason never finished it.

    I’ve been craving for some relaxing lighthearted series lately and this looks quite fun but I don’t feel like having to catch up 2 seasons + OVAs and a movie, since that would be less relaxing.

    Tepoc
    Reply

    1. it should be since its a spin-off franchise. But it’ll be nice to know the source material since Sunshine keeps referencing U’s (muse) and is one of the reasons why Chika wants to start an idol group.

      sithstormjedi
      Reply

    2. While I’d push you to watch the first series, everything thus far doesn’t require any prior knowledge of Muse or Love Live OG.

      That said, without knowing who Rin is, it’s a little more difficult to really feel why Hanamaru really connects with her.

      Takaii
      Reply

      1. Thanks for the replies. Well, I’ve decided to indeed just watch the 1st season. Now up to episode 3 It’s actually way better then I remembered.

        I’m not actually a big fan on the real life Idol industry (though I have some guilty pleasures, but I just don’t like the whole manufactured and corporate structure surrounding it and the ‘fake’ personalities the band members usually put up) which kind of put me back of watching this series to begin with since I thought those things would be a factor in this series as well.

        Turns out again that it’s not as black and white as I thought as the characters come across as very genuine (it’s anime, I could’ve known) have personal motivations and input in the band and they actually show a lot of unglamorous things right from the extremely rocky start of the band, and even something as the group’s songwriter Maki outright declaring she thinks Idol Music ‘lacks depth and is shallow like it’s not being taken serious’.

        That also helps explain why the songs are of such high quality, though I don’t think it will ever get explained who exactly produces them, unless Maki is casually hiding some godlike industry standard production skills.. But I digress. Oh and then there’s the great expressions and meme faces.. Well I’ll stop bothering you now. I’ve been really bored with this season’s current shows so I couldn’t have chosen a better time to pick this up again. Thanks for motivating me to actually do so.

        Tepoc
        Reply

  16. The first four on your list – Hanamaru, Ruby, You, Yoshiko – along with Mari and Kanan (I won’t deny that Kanan gets a spot for looks alone at this point), are my favorites. I don’t even bother ranking them, because it’s impossible for me to decide.

    I’ll probably get skewered by diehard Muse fans for saying this, but after only a couple of single releases and a mere five episodes into the anime, Love Live! Sunshine!! has already surpassed the original for me. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy listening to the plethora of music and watching both seasons of the anime quite a bit, but for some reason, the main series just never really clicked all the way for me as it has for Sunshine, despite the latter still being in it’s infancy. In such a brief period of time, I’ve become completely hooked. The only other idol series that has managed to achieve the same feat is Wake Up, Girls!, which I consider to be an underrated gem. (While we’re on the subject, I’d really like to see WUG get a second season.)

    Van
    Reply

  17. Hanamaru being fascinatated with modern technology was hilarious. Especially, when she never saw a computer before. Its a good thing it wasn’t contradicted last episode.
    https://randomc.net/image/Love%20Live/Love%20Live%20Sunshine%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
    OH WAIT.But I digress, its still funny.

    Got to give props to Chika, she was the only one who actually LIKED Chunni Yoshiko. And in the end Chika gave Yoshiko exactly what she needed, a place where she be accepted for who she was. Speaking of which, Happy Birthday Chika! May you continue to be suave to the ladies.

    fragb85
    Reply

  18. This was a super fun episode. I wasn’t too sure what to think about Yoshiko’s character just yet. I’m glad they’ve fleshed her out a bit more. She’s just a bit of a weirdo – and Aqours and us will love her for it 🙂

    Kimboslice
    Reply

  20. I’m a bit late, but another fun episode of Love Live Sunshine. I honestly think by episode 5, Sunshine is “shining” more than it’s predecessor. I’m a big fan of the original, but I feel like here they really perfected the recipe and made all of the characters appealing and fun without going overboard. I didn’t think I would like Hanamura so much from the start, but episode 4-5 she’s already grown on me a lot (Zura~~) My current favorites are:

    Hanamura, Riko, Chika, Ruby, Yoshiko, You.

    To be honest though, all of these girls are great in their own way, and they’re pretty close to each other in my rankings (You is still awesome, just hasn’t stood out like the others just yet).

    ChromeNova
    Reply

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