Love Live! School Idol Project

After watching "Wake up Girls" and listening to plenty of idolm@ster songs, I decided I had a weak spot for idol shows. I just finished watching NHK and as I usually like to do, switch off to something light before picking up another heavy show.
This being said I never had high expectations of Love Live and knew from the start that it was going to be mediocre and that I was just along to satisfier a cute craving. At first things looked good, with the show making me laugh at several points ... and a couple characters actually being somewhat appealing.
Hoever as the show goes on, it is clear that things get stale. What was once at least a sugary sweet piece of candy loses its charm. The class mate boob grab gag get's overused, one character is literally a cat, and most saddening of all, the music is kinda meh when compared to other tracks I have heard come out the Love Live project. The show even resorts to reusing an old mediocre song as a finale.
I ended up disappointed that even though my moe craving was served, I feel as if it left a bitter taste ini my mouth.

When this show was airing I decided not to watch Love Live, because its ain't my style however I ended up watching it because of the rhythm game app I found in a commercial.

This show is really enjoyable. The art, and music were really great and I found myself somehow excited to watch the next episode (hasn't happened in a while.) Now I know I said its enjoyable, but only if you don't really think about it. (I watched while I waited for my LP to refill)

The plot is a group of girls become idols to save their school. Original really, however I ... found it extremely unrealistic because everything seemed to go the main girls way, and they all knew how to sing. Its odd seeing nine people extremely talented at singing to the point they don't need to practice. It also was really predictable, I could for see every character who joined, (you can say its because of the opening, but no. Its just predictable.) And it was all shounen anime where every enemy suddenly become friends with the main. Character. Do people even like their school that much? Why does she love that school so much? Is it because her mom went their? Why?!

Art was good since it went between 2D animation and MMD's I think their called. (Though I've seen better quality ones on YouTube.) The songs manage to make me smile and all were fully translated which was nice since I'm big on lyrics.

Despite this being a more anime it wasn't really moe which is odd. K-on which is a similar show I manage to love at least 2 of their characters (Mio and Azunyan) but with I didn't really like any besides Niko and that's just because I managed to relate to her ( my friends blow me off a lot.) Also the main girl everything went her way, it was seriously annoying.

[Spoiler]
At the end one of the girls was about to leave and the main chick goes into the airport right as she was about to board the plane (how did she get in?) And talked her into staying. (What happened to the plane ticket? You can't just stop stuf like that. Also she is seriously selfish. I've been told I'm selfish, but I'm selfish in a sense that I do my own thing. I don't mess anyone else's life up. She does something she drags everyone down with her.
[Spoiler]

Overall I think this show needs more moe. The only reason I can see someone watching this is so they can play the rhythm game. (It isn't needed but it makes it easier to choose favorites.) The show wasn't funny, moe, or even inspirational. I don't think being a idol would be tough if you can control the weather, and have amazing talent like that, and get everything else you want. Like she screamed at the rain to stop and it did! I'm not even joking. Screw being a idol, be a weather girl. If I had the chance to go back in time and stop myself from watching this I probably would. Yeah watching it is enjoyable but once you get down and think about it you go into this living hell!

Lets just say that this show did not live up to the hype or standards that I had been lead to believe.

I knew about the story coming in. A school is shutting down in a couple years due to the lack of enrollment. A group of girls realize that the most popular school also happens to have the most popular school idol group. So their like, "shoot we can do that. and then the school will be saved." And then they do that. End of story. the rest of the show is them gathering new members and fighting against the administration who wont let them ... try to save the school for some reason.

The music in the show is so meh. The songs are well made but that's the problem. These are, in kayfabe, supposed to be high school girls producing a perfectly made song. Also during the performances the animation cuts to some horribly moving cg. Not only does it look bad, but it moves at a different frame rate, or something, than the rest of the show and its a bit shocking every time.

Coming in, I saw that Nico was pretty much the fan favorite. This is not cause she's cool. It is probably because she actually has a character. Shes and the student president are of few in the show that actually do. Everyone else is either very one dimensional or tropey. I think my enjoyment of the show was harmed because I did not like a single character in the show.

By the first couple of songs, which are in universe huge hits, you realize that this is just a product meant to sell merch and not really an anime. It has no interest in being an anime. Once this glass shattered, it becomes very hard to watch the rest of the show. You realize that no conflict will stay a conflict for long and everything will work out. By the end, the show leaves you with a cliffhanger to watch the second season. No thanks.

Seeing so many reviews saying the second season is better than the first, I watched both before making this review.

After finishing this show, I have this feeling it could have turned out great.

The art, cute designs and the focus on music attracted me.
By the way, the cgi really improved in season 2.


The biggest problem this show has is : the time. The story lasts only a school year, events are rushed. There is no tension at all, every events is one-episode-only. The lack of build-up brings us to another lack : the personality.

While K-on! story takes place on 3years, has only 4 characters to develop ... with 36 episodes, here, we have 1year, 9 characters and 24 episodes.

The characters lack of personality, some have no personality at all, some others are a duplicate of another one, and some are completely ignored.

Fortunately, 2 characters carry the show. A "good" tsundere (maki) and Nozomi. Would you expect to find a Mastermind like Lelouch or Light in a cute school idol show? No. Do you hate it? No. Nozomi is that outstanding.
Unfortunately, the episodes without these two are a complete mess.

While some episodes are good, the inconsistency of the show is really bad, that's why, I can't recommend this show.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS





First let me say, I totally understand why people like this anime. Cute girls doing cute stuff amirite? This was my first idol anime, and frankly I excpected something better.

BUT. I would like to start this review by saying that the plot has some quite big flaws in it, (Aside for it being unrealistic as fuck), for example the time when Umi slapped Honoka to the deepest circles of hell, they just actually made up and never even mentioned or discussed it afterwards?? Like jesus christ your childhood friend just used physical violence towards you and no one cares? Then they just ... made up with a few words and that's it.

The story is also very predictable and boring, I just waited for the episodes to be finally over. It was so annoying how they made the show so overdramatic, the drama was forced, and the episodes practically went like this:

-Episode starts

-Problem comes up

-They solve the problem through magical friendship!

-Everyone cries and hugs, all is fine. Repeat this for 13 episodes and Love Live is what you get.


Sound was fairly good though the voice acting was quite annoying. Squeaky screaming voices destroyed my eardrums. The OST was also just generic songs used in almost every anime.

Now. The characters were clearly based on "types", tsundere, tomboy etc. And add a bit of a backstory, and Voila! You get perverts bying body pillows of them. The characters are so annoying, for example Honoka. MFW when your group member gets sick just before an important event because of her stupidity. I also found Eli annoying, she was an asshole most of the first season.

I didn't really enjoy this series at all and I had more expectations for it. Don't recommend.

Love Live and its sequels are a true treasure in the world of anime. From the moment I saw the vibrant and colorful animation, the originality of the art and character design, I knew I was about to embark on an exciting adventure. The incredibly well-produced music should win awards if it weren't for the rest of the music world not wanting to be overshadowed by it. It combines with the energetic performances of the girls, creating an atmosphere full of joy and positive energy. The animation feels fluid and uses meticulous traditional animation; there is never any cost-cutting with 3D or simplified or undrawn ... backgrounds.

Although the characters may seem stereotypical at first glance, I have discovered that each of the Love Live girls has her own charm and distinctive personality. As the seasons progress, we can see how these talented young girls face challenges and grow as individuals, developing strong relationships among themselves. They have realistic and profound encounters and dialogues about the intricate problems they must face. Their determination captivates me, and anyone can appreciate that the special bond they share is related to a conflicted and scarred past.

The script is never predictable; it has an exciting pace that keeps my attention at all times. The main plot of saving the school through music is completely innovative in the anime industry, and the anime manages to add twists and touching moments that keep me glued to the screen.

The cast of characters is the most diverse I have ever seen in an anime. Each character shines in a unique way and represents different aspects of maturity and personal growth. The subtle romantic relationships between the girls serve as unexpected and novel glue. Obviously, the reason for their presence is to enrich the plot further, and the only reason they don't fully consolidate is simply because there hasn't been enough time to tell the story.