Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai 2nd Season

The Nijigasaki High School Idol Club continues to gain popularity as its reputation grows, even catching the attention of aspiring school idol Zhong Lanzhu. However, when Lanzhu visits the club and interacts with its members, she realizes that their ideals differ from her own. This sparks the beginning of a rivalry between Lanzhu and the club members, as she challenges them to see who can captivate a larger audience at the upcoming School Idol Festival.

Thus, the school idol club starts a new chapter in its quest to achieve idol stardom. Being more united than ever before, the girls continue to practice for the festival—wanting to show Lanzhu what it truly means to be a school idol.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tennouji, Rina Main

Tanaka, Chiemi Japanese

Yuuki, Setsuna Main

Kusunoki, Tomori Japanese

Nakasu, Kasumi Main

Sagara, Mayu Japanese

Konoe, Kanata Main

Kitou, Akari Japanese

Uehara, Ayumu Main

Onishi, Aguri Japanese

Ousaka, Shizuku Main

Maeda, Kaori Japanese

Miyashita, Ai Main

Murakami, Natsumi Japanese

Takasaki, Yuu Main

Yano, Hinaki Japanese

Asaka, Karin Main

Kubota, Miyu Japanese

Mifune, Shioriko Main

Koizumi, Moeka Japanese

Ootsuka, Hiroshi Producer

Oda, Makoto Producer

Kawamura, Tomoyuki Director

Nagasaki, Yukio Sound Director

Reviews

Mar 27, 2023

Cozye

Recommended

In a display of happiness and enthusiasm, the second season of Love Live Nijigasaki is a welcome return for the series. It not only manages to capture everything that made its first season shine but also expands on its many themes and ideas all while continuing to set itself apart from the other entries of this franchise.

There are oftentimes certain expectations when it comes to each iteration of Love Live. One might assume that certain familiar story beats would be prevalent within each version or that each series must follow a similar storyline but this is not always true. And while Nijigasaki may not have ... the same level of tearful or dramatic storytelling like its counterparts that older fans may look for, it makes up for it by doing its own thing and excelling at it. It still maintains many of the core aspects people love about the franchise in being a charming and inspirational story with cute slice of life yet doesn’t resort to many of the stumbles its counterparts make and that’s what I feel makes it so special and unique.

Given the nature of the first season, it was difficult to imagine where they were going to take the story. Would they go down a similar route of having dedicated episodes for each solo idol or would something change? As much as I liked how they handled individual character episodes before, it seems the show had some different ideas this time around. The story picks up around where we left off with the school idol club riding off the heels of the School Idol Festival and given their immense success, they decide to host another one. But there are many hurdles that lay before them before they reach that point as they now have to face adversity to their beliefs as solo idols. We see the debut of three new girls to go alongside our main group in Lanzhu Zhong, Mia Taylor, and Shioriko Mifune and they play a significant role this season.

Lanzhu Zhong is an exchange student from Hong Kong who transferred to Nijigasaki High School in order to become a school idol. However, she has no intention of joining the idol club as her ideals don’t exactly line up with that of our main group. While in the first season we saw the main group receiving support from others as well as interacting with their fans, Lanzhu deems this to be unnecessary claiming that connecting with fans and viewing them more as equals will hold her back and instead treats them as mere spectators made to admire her from afar. Being a perfectionist who loves to express herself with confidence, she wants to be someone who captivates more than anyone else while bathing in the spotlight alone and even thinks she can outperform the school idol club during the next School Idol Festival. This paints her as a sort of competitive rival who challenges the school idol club in what they believe in as well as Yuu in particular, saying she is better off leaving the club entirely in order to fully pursue her dream in music since she isn’t an idol.

Mia Taylor is also an exchange student and is what some may label as being naturally talented at music and a prodigy having skipped grades and is seemingly quite smart. Coming from a prestigious music family, she seeks to write songs. Throughout the course of the show, she utilizes and relies on Lanzhu in order to spread her songs and gain recognition as well as gives Yuu some advice while she is in the music course. Mia also happens to speak fluent English to go alongside her Japanese (due in large part to her voice actress being part Australian) which is something I rarely see in anime. I found it commendable how every remark she makes in English would oftentimes be surprising at first yet would simultaneously feel as if it flows naturally with her conversation rather than being out of place.

Shioriko Mifune is someone who begins working with Setsuna in doing Student Council business. She steadily becomes more involved with the school idol club’s antics and provides support whenever she can while having a strict belief that she needs only do what she knows she can do best. She also has a family member who plays a role in shaping how she views idols.

Like with the previous season, Nijigasaki continues to characterize in subtle and natural ways while not merely resorting to one particular character trait allowing for easier understanding and relatability to these three new characters despite whatever personal goals, motivations, or struggles they might have. Their addition to the cast feels rather seamless as they make themselves relevant as the series goes on with their own arcs and backstories while not taking away too much screentime from everyone else.

As for the rest of the cast, while each of them received an ample amount of development and characterization in the previous season, this season expands on it. They now have to prove Lanzhu wrong and that there’s value in being helped by others and connecting with them, especially fans. But how will they go about doing so?

The Nijigasaki group has been one that focused more on the individual with each member having their own color corresponding to them in order to stand out. But now the idea of overlapping colors is introduced and with it comes the incorporation of subunits. Now subunits have always been a thing in Love Live from µ's and Aqours, however, it has never been implemented into the actual story before as far as performing goes and has largely been a non-anime aspect of the franchise. For those unaware, a subunit is essentially a smaller group comprising only a few of the members. In Nijigasaki, these units are aptly named QU4RTZ, DiverDiva, and AZUNA and much like with each solo idol song, each subunit carries with it its own style of music and performance. I found this aspect to the show to be particularly interesting since it not only gives them an answer to Lanzhu’s call in letting them reach out to her in different ways but by already being solo idols, they earn a lot more freedom and flexibility in what they can do when expressing themselves. They are able to expand on their group dynamic and relationships with one another and create an entirely new color by understanding and bringing forth each of their individual strengths. It also now gives the characters a new perspective and plays well into the overall themes in that despite being solo idols, everyone was great at observing others yet struggled at seeing themselves and being honest in order to move forward and we saw this many times in the previous season. With the element of subunits (as well as some other events later on) now in the story, it should be noted that the pacing has noticeably been slowed down in several of the episodes which is a bit of a contrast when compared to the more brisk pacing of the first season. The focus is not just on a singular character but on many as we view each of their perspectives and how they handle transitioning into a small group setting. The girls continue to grow and learn new things about themselves through each other and the idols aren’t the only ones who develop either. Yuu does as well.

When the school idol club helped her find her dream, Yuu joined the music course in order to play piano and write songs but she finds herself struggling quite a bit having to ask for advice. Both Mia and the idol club give differing opinions on what she can do and Yuu inevitably has to decide what strategy fits her best as she wants to prove to Lanzhu that she can accomplish her goals her own way while being a part of the club and give back to everyone who inspired her.

And while Nijigasaki now focuses much of its attention on miniature group arcs, it doesn’t completely shy away from still excelling on its individual character ones. Each main girl gets a distinct focus at some point this season but Setsuna, being one of the more noteworthy and significant girls of the cast, receives in my view one of the strongest episodes of the series. She is someone who has been struggling to maintain the secret of having two different identities: one as the responsible student council president and the other as an enthusiastic school idol and the way in which she is able to handle this provides a rather surprisingly mature and emotional but fitting closure to her arc as well as a notable stepping stone for how the rest of the story will be impacted from that point.

The side characters also see much prominence having become fans or appreciators of the Nijigasaki group. It feels like there is a concise network amongst the different schools where they can rely on one another in times of need or to arrange certain school events. There were a few moments though where I felt some of their introductions were a bit out of place with their presence being made merely to solve certain plot elements.

The artstyle has remained consistent across both seasons with character designs and highly detailed backgrounds. As far as performances go, there was a part of me that thought going into this that it would not be able to live up to the same level of quality as the previous season. Thankfully that was not the case. Studio Sunrise continues to deliver with Love Live Nijigasaki having some of the most smooth, gorgeous, and visually stunning use of CG and animation quality in the franchise. I simply cannot praise the animators, the directing, or the storyboarding enough. Despite having a complex arrangement of scenes (particularly with the subunit performances), each one flows well into the other with the same level of robust choreography, cinematography, and dynamic camerawork as the first season as well as maintaining the aspect of being like a music video. I particularly appreciated all the little references and easter eggs they sprinkle throughout the songs that more hardcore fans will recognize (like of other Nijigasaki songs not shown in the anime or of the girls in different outfits). It’s a nice touch.

Being from a well established idol franchise, Nijigasaki has incredible music, both solo and group. There is a noticeable difference in the feel between the two types of songs. Solo songs largely reflect the nature and personality of the idol who’s singing (like Lanzhu’s invigorating performance about being at the top) whereas group songs have a mixture of personalities incorporating a multitude of themes. While one may prefer one over the other, I think subunit performances still carry a lot of the vigor, energy, and charm that one would expect from a solo song. They feel a bit reminiscent of the other series for which group songs are the norm. My only real complaint about the music is that we didn’t get a full version performance of a certain Lanzhu song that came for a short while. The voice actresses excelled in their roles both with portraying their characters as well as singing every song with passion and enthusiasm. Soundtrack is still utilized well throughout particularly in the more lighthearted and comedic segments which there are plentiful amounts of. The implementation of song styles for OP and ED mirrors that of the previous season with the OP: Colorful Dreams! Colorful Smiles! being an upbeat and enthusiastic song with gorgeous visuals to kick off every episode while the ED: Yume ga Bokura no Taiyou sa is a more quiet track with a somber tone and childlike drawing visuals reminiscent of Neo Sky Neo Map.

With everything said, I believe this is an excellent season and a fitting continuation to Nijigasaki. While its story may be simple in nature and the pacing is a bit slower this time around, the ways in which Nijigasaki is able to portray its entire main cast and their issues to go alongside its excellent use of themes without resorting to much drama is something I feel makes it stand out even amongst the other entries of this franchise. When the first season of this show arrived, many viewed it as a breath of fresh air as it brought several new things to the table and mixed up the typical Love Live formula in various ways. Now with the second season, it continues to do so, this time incorporating new and innovative aspects even to itself. The cast has grown larger in size and yet it still manages to give the new girls adequate time to shine and characterize them in genuine and meaningful ways while not neglecting the screentime and development of everyone else. It’s noteworthy how far the Nijigasaki girls have come from their beginnings where they each had an episode dedicated to them and how they now deal with the new challenges before them. There is a sense of progression and it’s quite sad knowing a journey like this has to end at some point since this is one of the most lovable casts I’ve seen.

Experiencing Love Live Nijigasaki has been some of the most fun I’ve ever had with an anime and it’s a show I initially went into with some hesitation. But by the end, it’s proven to be something quite special. There’s meaning, there’s fulfillment, and there’s heart in the journey these girls go through.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jun 25, 2022

PandaUwU

Mixed Feelings

Spoiler Warning

Here we are with the anticipated second season of Love Live Nijigasaki. The first season received mixed reviews from fans of the series, but I thought it was the best Love Live installment at the time. This second season, however, does not properly execute based on the foundation laid by its predecessor.

This season of Nijigasaki introduces three new characters, Lanzhu, Shioriko, and Mia, but the story is centralized around Lanzhu and her interactions with Shioriko, Mia, and the girls of the School Idol Club. Her philosophy is to captivate others and put on an amazing performance, with that being the extent of it. She ... also disagrees with the beliefs of the School Idol Club, she believes that people should pursue their dreams without needing the help of others. This creates conflict within the characters, where both sides believe in different things. Additionally, this creates an antagonist within the show, which is a first for Love Live, as well as one of the most interesting things that Love Live has done since its start in 2014.

Where I find this anime to struggle is keeping its attention on this theme. At the start, it focuses on this quite solidly, featuring several developments between Lanzhu and the girls to further the plot. One of the main things that occurred during this development was the creation of subunits. Initially, the first subunit was made to “challenge” Lanzhu’s ideology. I feel that this progressed the plot well, carrying the themes of dreams nicely in a short, few-episode mini-arc. After this, two more subunits were formed. Why? I have no clue. The creation of these subunits made absolutely no sense. One of the more important things during the previous season of Nijigasaki was that everyone was a solo idol. Why do they suddenly want to join up when they were against it before? It’s incomprehensible.

The pacing of this season was very inconsistent. Every arc in the show is dedicated to one or two episodes. Everything that was dedicated to a single episode was rushed, yet all assigned two episodes were properly developed. One exception to this rule was Mia, where I felt she got proper development due to how differently she was written from the rest of the cast. She got a single episode to share with Lanzhu, plus little bits of other episodes. Overall, this helped make her development feel more natural and did not require her to have an entire episode dedicated to herself. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Shioriko or Lanzhu. Shioriko followed the single episode rule, while Lanzhu only felt like she got the episode with Mia and bits of other episodes. While yes, Mia got the same treatment and it worked, why is Lanzhu different? Well, she is the main “antagonist,” while Mia was more of a side character. This inherently means there should be more put behind her than the other characters and this is where her character faltered.

Another problem I had with the characters was the relationship between Ayumu and Yu. It could have been handled much more strongly. There was a deficiency of interactions within this season and it makes me question why they decided to establish their relationship in the former season. It wasn’t completely terrible though, as the show dedicated episode 12 to the two of them, which was one of the better episodes within the show.

Despite everything I said so far, not everything about the characters and story is bad. The new characters bounce off the old ones when they interact and interactions between the cast as a whole are sharper than in the previous season. I had a solid amount of fun watching these events play out. The story is starting to reach its end as well. From where they are currently, they’ve started to worry about the graduation of the third-years. Although this could be seen as generic sports anime worries, or standard Love Live “we gotta win before the third-years graduate” kind of thing, I quite enjoy it. It is not an unreasonable thing to think about, while also providing a sense of time.

The animation for this season was varied in quality, but overall solid. My biggest issue is the background art. Sometimes it looked perfectly fine, nothing too amazing, but was solid; at other times it looked like garbage. The backdrops looked like blurry jpegs without even attempting to be hidden. Characters would also be poorly composited within the scene. Outside of these moments, the show looked fine. The character models looked consistent most of the time and the performances looked solid. The animated segments of the performance all looked great, on par with the images from the game they’re based on. The CGI parts were decent. They weren’t as groundbreaking as something like Houseki no Kuni, nor as well-hidden as those in Love Live Superstar, but they looked fine.

Speaking of performances, how did everything sound? It sounded really solid. The BGM was nice to listen to throughout the episodes, and the performances sounded pleasant. Granted, some performances were stronger than others, all were at least something that I would see myself listening to. The lyrics to these songs were all nice and occasionally meaningful, linking to their character arcs within the show, or, in the case of Lanzhu during the first episode, telling you about their character.

This season of Nijigasaki has some highs, as well as some lows. From a technical standpoint, this show is pretty solid, providing captivating performances, while from a writing standpoint, this show can be lacking at times. Overall, this season has been somewhat of a downgrade from its promising first season, which has been very unfortunate to witness.

Thank you for reading.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jul 17, 2022

DaddyDubs

Not Recommended

This season sucks.

(Some) of music like Emotion is great, and there's a few things to like here and there, Ai for example gets a great episode which was really surprising because I honestly didn't care about her at all. But that's about all I have to say positive about Niji season 2. So let's go thru all the negatives.

1- Inconsistent animation
In some of the episodes, the animation looks great and then in other episodes it's extremely lazy for no reason whatsoever. I don't expect this level of laziness from Sunrise, and it's unacceptable for a massive studio that prides itself on quality.

2- Characters and ... Character Relationships
Ayumu and Yuu's relationship (which I didn't care much for in season 1) takes a complete 180 in season 2 especially towards the end in a laughably sad attempt to create drama because the writers must have realized there was no tension or anything to captivate the audience in the previous 8-9 episodes. It's like whoever wrote the later episodes didn't even watch season 1 or just forgot about it.

3- Exposition
You have no idea how awful it was sitting through 11 minutes of characters monologuing. I think the episode with Qu4rtz was one of the worst but there's several where nothing interesting happens other than a song (some episodes don't even get that) and there's tons of time with characters just blabbing something that never gets brought up again just to pad time and get the episode over with.

4- Our three new girls
Out of the three new girls, the only one with a slightly interesting arc was Mia. Lanzhu seemed like she was going to be a villain character like in the game but what happens is nowhere near as exciting. Shioriko's episode is even worse.

5- Jokes fall flat
The jokes are so poorly timed in this season. The problem isn't even writing it's just that the delivery is terrible and they fail ALMOST every single time. Great example is this one scene where Kasumi rages, but the voice acting doesn't even match the expression she makes so it's not even funny.

Stay away from this season if you have high standards for anime. Even as a Love Live enthusiast I expected some semblance of quality but what I got was the beginning of Sunrise mass-producing Love Live for nothing other than to make a profit. I thought first season of Nijigasaki and the game were just mediocre and bland with a few good songs and jokes, but this was just depressing. I just wanted the episodes to be over so I could catch up on Komi and Spy X Family, and while I don't think either of those shows are 10/10 Oscar-worthy masterpieces, they don't insult the audience's intelligence and actually want to tell an entertaining story.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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