For those of you who don't know, Love Live: School Idol Project is based off of a real live idol group called Nine Muses. They all go by different names in the anime itself, but it's a pretty neat concept. Their goal in Season 1 is to keep the school from shutting down by forming an idol group.
In Season 2, their goal is to make the Love Live, and win it all, this will be the last chance for them to do this together as members of the group are graduating after their third year.
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Simply, I don't like many music/idol animes. They stray too far away from the main plot. Often times, they become too focused on being cute, and adorable, much like K-On! did, and steer away from the story as a whole, and for me that's a complete turnoff. With Love Live: School Idol Project, I have not had to worry about that at all. The story is not really comedic in any form, which in turn makes the quality that much better as it truly focuses on it being a slice of life anime, rather then throwing little "hilarious" moments all over the place.
In Season 2, we see a lot more drama, heartache, and realization. After eating through all 13 episodes, it's been nothing short of emotional, and I love it. The theme stays the same, where they're all dedicated to making the best of their school idol group while they can, and they continue to have a goal in mind that they can strive for together.
The art is once again fantastic, other than, in my opinion the 3D they use for their performances. I dislike 3D animation, but that's my preference. Other than that, I thought it was really good. I love the costumes they wear during their performances as well.
The sound, well, if you're watching an anime about school idols, I'm pretty sure you expect good music, and this is nothing short of that. Snow Halation, one of the songs they perform in this season, was just phenomenal (And it's a real song by Nine Muse's, check it out!). I personally enjoy the music they sing, and the BGM is well placed.
Characters, well, there's nine of them, so I'm not going to run through each one as I'd probably do a messy job anyways. I'll just say that each one of these characters, Nico, Nozomi, Eli, Honoka, Umi, Kotori, Rin, Hayano, and Maki are all unique characters in their group. They all have had struggles (As seen in season 1) and coming into season 2 that's no different, however, they have developed incredibly over the span of this season. They've all conquered certain issues with themselves, and they've done this together as a group. That's one of the huge striking points for me, is that no matter what situation they're in, they figure it out together, and they're all there for one another whenever it's called for. Easily the characters are the strongest point within this anime.
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Quite honestly, I've never really enjoyed an anime that's been centred around music much like Love Live. This has been such a fun ride for myself, and while I don't think this anime is for everyone, I'd fully recommend you at least give it a try. I'm pretty sure you'll connect with the characters in one way or another, and that's one of the many reasons this anime is so special.
I don't think I've ever cried such happy tears before. Best choice I made watching this series, all because of a Nico-Ni .gif.
