The Love Live franchise is one that contains a lot of different themes and motifs that it carries over and develops from season to season, and it’s latest iteration Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai AKA NijiGaku is no exception. Although separate from the mainline story, it still manages to hold true to the spirit of the franchise, and as it follows the journey of Takasaki Yuu and her goal of finding her dream, it’s easily a perfect continuation of the series!
It’s no secret that Saint Snow is extremely well-loved in the Love Live! fanbase, as they are introduced in the story of Love Live! Sunshine!! with an instant impact. They are edgy and way cooler than Aqours appeared at the time, and to this day receive some of the best music in the franchise. But their importance in the story and what they serve in comparison to the journey of Aqours is often misunderstood, so in celebration of Leah Kazuno’s birthday, I wanted to break down what made this duo so amazing.
A-RISE were the greatest school idols in the world. They were the winners of the first Love Live! and were μ’s superior in every regard…yet they still lost. Why was it that group of perfect idols that lost in the end? Why didn’t they receive as much character development as Saint Snow? Well, it all has to do with what they represent in the world of Love Live and the journey of μ’s. So let’s find out.
The anime for the next entry in the Love Live franchise is coming on October 3rd and I’ve been filled with thoughts and ideas as to how Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai AKA NijiGaku is going to carry out its story considering how fundamentally different it is from School Idol Project and Sunshine. But, taking into account the info from the newly announced trailer, my understanding of the story mode of School Idol Festival All Stars, my general knowledge of the themes of the Love Live series so far and some outside similarities with the iDOLM@STER, I wanted to take this chance to predict the plot of the NijiGaku anime!
μ’s is a legend in the world of school idols. In the anime and even in real life, they left a mark on the world that could never be replicated. At the lead of this amazing and radiant group of nine was a normal girl who ran into an open field in search of the light.
In Love Live! Sunshine!!, there are a lot of words that hold thematic weight throughout the series, but none hit more than those of “regret” and “normal”. These words that embody the goals and motivations of every girl that fills the cast, but the one who embodies them the most gave herself the title “normal monster”. That’s Takami Chika, the leader of Aqours, the girl who could only call herself normal and possibly the greatest protagonist in all of anime.
On the birthday of the Number 1 Idol in the Universe and the most popular Love Live character of all time, we take a look at Yazawa Nico, the mischievous gremlin and two-faced creator of the Nico Nico Nii and member of μ’s, often written off by many people in the community as being nothing more than a meme, being extremely rude or just barely scratching the surface of what she serves to the core of Love Live’s story. Because, make no mistake, there is a reason she is so prominent and why she’s so central to the story of Love Live, and I feel that I have no choice but to do her justice so that people can understand her and further understand the detail and meaning within School Idol Project.
This is Yazawa Nico, the Number 1 Idol in the Universe.
Tsushima Yoshik-I mean Yohane from Love Live! Sunshine!! is my favorite character in all of anime! She’s cute, she’s got a great singing voice, but most importantly she’s a chuuni. She is someone who has a weird hobby yet goes full force into that hobby all the same, and that is integral to the story of Love Live. Wanna know how?
Let me tell you who is Yohane?
In celebration of her birthday, today we’re talking about one of the most central characters to the story of Love Live! Sunshine!! as well as the sequel film Over the Rainbow: Ohara Mari! Fans of the series see Mari as that upbeat, meme spouting ball of positivity that everyone seems to love, but what I feel is a bit undersold is just how central to the series, its themes and the development and understanding of its characters she actually is. The frivolity of a school idol, of wasting one’s youth doing nothing but having fun with others that you love that is one of the foundations of Love Live’s story lies at the core of Mari’s struggle, because for her who had so many expectations placed upon her, she found freedom in this world that she was introduced to by her friends. Arguably hers is a story of tragedy and reconnecting that lies beneath that bright surface, and in order to understand anything about Aqours or even Love Live! Sunshine!! itself, I feel it is vital to understand who she is and what her struggle poses to the world of Love Live! So on the birthday of Uranohoshi’s chairwoman and the ninth member of Aqours, let’s celebrate that girl whose life was forever changed by the wings of freedom that are school idols.
This is Ohara Mari, the girl who struggled against all odds to show her shine to the world.
My Hero Academia is a series with a lot of memorable moments, but easily the best moment to come out of the whole series came from Season 4 during the School Festival Arc, because the performance of Hero Too is a moment that gets me emotional every single time. But why is that?
Today I talk about some anime concert scenes that I believe highlight just why these sorts of scenes always end up being some of my favorites: Love Live! School Idol Project and μ’s performance of START;DASH, Your lie in April and Arima Kousei’s performance of Love’s Sorrow in episode 13, and of course, Class 1-A’s performance of Hero Too in episode 23 of Season 4!
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