Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season

Just when I think Love Live has reached its peak it kicks things into gear and surpasses everything I thought I knew about this franchise. It’s with great pleasure that I say Love Live Superstar!! S2 is easily the best the franchise has ever been and is a blast from beginning to end.

When the Liella girls got announced a couple of years ago I was cautiously optimistic about how their anime would go. They had amazing designs, but not much was known about them since they were only formed in 2021. Fortunately, from the very first episode of season 1 I was hooked on the ... girls’ music, personalities and overall vibe of this LL iteration. That only continued to increase as season 1 went on, and things have got even better this time around in season 2. The biggest overall improvements for me are the story, the drama, the stakes and the performances. LL is at its core a light hearted idol series, but this season actually did a good job of creating tension with Keke’s family situation, introducing the new girls and Margarethe’s rivalry with Kanon.

Speaking of the new girls, I LOVE all of the first years, with the exception of Natsumi. I think they were all such great additions and Shiki and Mei have already become two of my fave idol girls in general. Seeing liella finally come together as a full unit and reach their full potential was just amazing. Of particular note for me was Sumire. She’s one of my fave characters ever, and you could really see her take major strides in this season. Going from kind of a jokey comic relief character to a real leader and her episode with Keke is among the top 3 in LL history imo. A truly beautiful episode.

Now of course, you can’t talk about an idol show without going over the music. I thought the music in this season was phenomenal. Several of the girls solo songs are on constant repeat in my playlist and it looks like Sunrise have nearly perfected CGI blending during performances too. It’s amazing how we’ve come from such blatant and obvious CGI during lives to not even being able to really detect it. Of particular note for me are Margarethe’s performance from episode 10, Liella’s first full 9 member performance and Shiki’s solo performance. All 3 were just stunning.

Love Live Superstar!! Season 1 is a must watch for any fan of the idol genre. Not only is it the perfect follow up to season 1, but it’s one of the best idol seasons, period. The Love Live franchise continues to push the bar and sit atop the music anime mountain, I do not see that changing anytime soon.

Love Live Superstar!! Season 2, gets 10 out of 10.

Love Live as a franchise shows no sign of slowing down, and the 2nd season of Superstar happily continues that momentum. The thing with sequels, is that they’re generally not as good as the original, any piece of creativity that surpasses the original is about as rare as hen’s teeth. As someone who loves Love Live to the stage and back and considers Superstar to be the best out of the four current outputs, I had feelings of excitement, curiosity and disappointment.

Thankfully, the last feeling evaporated after watching this and even before the last episode aired, I realized any fear I had was simply ... misplaced.

The 2nd season of Superstar continues the story of Liella! with the hopes of winning Love Live after their defeat from the previous season whilst hoping to recruit new members to the group. All the charm, positive energy, and endearing character development are all present but also refined as the girls now all feel like veteran idols whilst having a reputation to uphold. This definitely helps when it comes to introducing the new members.

Which actually was the source of my aforementioned disappointment. When it was announced that season two would be adding new characters to the group, I was surprised. Watching (and then re-watching) the first season, I didn’t notice anything that indicated something like that would happen. I was disappointed because Love Live has had nine-girl idol groups before and Superstar instead focused on a smaller cast of five which was one of the biggest draws for me. Still, I did say I would keep an open mind and in hindsight, I’m glad I did. Previous series definitely struggled when it came to introducing nine idols all in one season since there would be a few characters who were significantly less developed or captivating compared to the others.

The way Superstar solves this is by fleshing out the girls in season one and now, with the school idol club in full effect and a tangible goal in everyone’s mind, season two serves as the perfect opportunity to introduce new girls and their aspirations for idol hood, letting their characters bring new life to shake things up a bit. The four new members to make their debut in the spotlight are: Kinako, Mei, Shiki and Natsumi.

I am unapologetically partial toward Shiki. She’s without a shadow of a doubt the most relatable character any Love Live has ever created to me. She’s a science geek, part-time mad scientist, loves reading and animals, is kind and gentle and to top it all off, she’s now an idol. Even though all of those are great, it’s her long-time friendship with Mei that truly establishes her. They have a friendship that could be a spin-off on its own and the anime does a unique job of making their friendship dynamic thanks to Shiki’s constant support of Mei into becoming an idol, flashbacks to when they were in middle school and Mei’s tenderness toward Shiki. It all ties in well when the two eventually join Liella!

Speaking of Mei, she’s even more obsessed with school idols than Keke. She even applied to Yuigaoka with the hopes of joining her faves! She has something of a stubborn, tough girl exterior, but mention anything school idol related around her and she’ll get cutesy and starry-eyed. She also has a talent for playing the piano. Her character is at its best whenever she’s around Shiki, but she also has amusing moments with others, especially Kinako. It’s not a coincidence her hair is red and Shiki’s is blue. They fit the red oni, blue oni trope to a T. They are essentially the same while being different. They both are bad at expressing themselves, they’re shy, they have similar insecurities and are trying to encourage the other to keep going forward even though they never take their own advice.

Kinako is, all the way to her design, the most “normal” of the bunch and is the first one to join. That’s not to say she’s boring, she’s an excellent addition to the cast as she initially provides an outside and hilarious perspective of Liella!. It can be easy to forget that every member has their own quirks and the ability to create chaos and funny shenanigans. She also provides a bunch of heartwarming moments in the anime. Her senpai/kouhai relationship with Kanon is a wonderful example of this. It used to be Kanon who thought she wasn’t good enough to be an idol, but now she’s in a place where she can provide support and encouragement for Kinako. Kinako isn’t the first character to think there’s nothing special about her to be an idol, and that insecurity is amplified when the 2nd years try to ease up on their training schedule since she’s so far behind and second guesses whether she’s really cut out for it. While the older girls’ have good intentions when it comes to handling Kinako, she takes it as a sign of pity which just adds to her insecurity. It makes it all the better when she does stand up for herself. She knows she’s behind, she knows she has to work harder, but she’s going to become a school idol with them no matter what so they don’t have to worry about her so much!

Natsumi tends to stay in the background for a bit working various side gigs, but does get her proper introduction later. She initially comes off more of a clout chaser than anything else. She likes money, a lot, like she’s Mr. Krabs. She also didn’t have any interest in idols whatsoever so it can be easy to dismiss her as selfish. I would argue she does end up being likable once her deeper motivations are revealed, it’s just that I wish Sumire played a key factor in that. She and Sumire had and have similar motivations for joining Liella!, similar experiences with failure, even down to similar hair colour! You’d have to be as blind as Joey’s sister from Yu-Gi-Oh! to not notice the similarities. I’m not just saying that because Sumire is my favourite from the OG 5 and I want her to have more screen time (though, that’d be nice), there was a lot of potential on writing how they’re alike and in doing so, Sumire can become something of a mentor/big sister to a first year and pass on her experience and lessons to someone who needs them. Hey, I only gripe about this stuff because I’m a big fan of Love Live and these characters are so realized, but I believe there are better ways to make that even more so.

Regarding realized characters, just because new characters are brought in, doesn’t mean the older girls don’t get any more development. Kanon becomes something of a mentor figure, Chiasto becomes more of a leader, Ren ends up picking up a new hobby, and Keke and Sumire’s relationship deepens. It shows how far they’ve all come while also having them take on new roles.

My biggest complaint though has got to be the character, Margarete. I don’t hate or even dislike her, but I did have mixed feelings about her in the beginning, and in the end, my feelings haven’t changed. But I at least sympathize with her. She’s supposed to be this mysterious, skilled rival to Liella!, and especially to Kanon. She comes off as someone who’s stuck-up, mean and aloof, but you begrudgingly admit they’re talented. As expected from Love Live, there’s always something else to it. It’s just that I don’t find it all that compelling when it comes to how her problem can be solved. No spoilers though!

Art and animation remain as impressive as ever. All the characters look as visually charming as before, the world/background still has a very warm feel to it, the performances are a treat to look at, and you can play a game of pausing the anime to see the distinct, unique and funny facial expressions the characters make (Natsumi and Mei do this a lot). Love Live in general never fails to impress in this department.

The 2nd season’s music is wonderful, another facet Love Live excels at. I really enjoyed this OP because it conveys the theme of winning, something Liella! hasn’t had the experience of yet. It gives a very happy, uplifting vibe to this season. The music throughout is all about keeping with that style, giving it a determined feeling. The voice actors continue to do a stellar job with their respective characters and kudos must be given to the voice actors of the new members as they convincingly bring their character’s personality to life.

Superstar continues to be a truly enjoyable series overall. Personally, I would see it equal in every aspect with the 1st season. While maintaining everything that made it great, the 2nd season leaves on a high note for the upcoming 3rd season.

That's all I have to say. Thanks for reading.

そんじゃ　あばよ！!

I am genuinely surprised at how much I'm enjoying season 2 of LL:SS at the moment, considering how lackluster the previous season was towards the end, and how bland both seasons of Love Live: Nijigasaki has been! We finally get a proper rival/"villain" and a goal for the girls to work towards, as well as additional characters added to the crew. Now quite honestly, I have been skeptical of adding more girls in, considering how the main appeal of Superstar and Liella to me initially was that less girls meant more character development and focus for each of them, but so far, the new additions ... have been pretty fun. I will say that a certain "CEO"-chan's episode definitely felt a bit too rushed, but her character is an interesting new take, compared to the usual cast of misfits in these shows. Now again, it has only been half a season so far, but it is definitely a massive step up from all the mediocrity that has come before, and I really hope to see Love Live be actually good again. It's not a hard science with Love Live; it's like a sports anime that just needs a proper goal for the team to work towards, and not just flounder about, like in Nijigasaki season 2.

New season, new member, new song, new rival. We will now continue to follow the story of our fellow Liella member on their 2nd years of high school. With the school popularity increasing because Liella live show last season, the school is saved from closing down. And now they have a new goal. Win Love Live tournament and recruiting new members for Liella.

Even though we are not facing a graduation problem like every previous Love Live anime, it can still give us some emotional story. I'm not saying previous Love Live installment is bad its just a breath of fresh air to not see this ... graduation problem on 2nd season of Love Live. Instead we get served with new and unique story only Liella could have. We have heavy problem that include tears dropping everywhere. And we also have the silly problem like gaming addiction, yes idol anime girls with gaming addiction. That is my favorite episode.

Though we got new members now, the old members is not forgotten. We can still see their characters development, even more deep into their personality and personal struggle. At early episode is what i thought the best in context of characters. Because everyone act so realistic to the situation. One example is how the 1st years feel insecure around their upperclassmen. You should watch it yourself really. One thing that still didnt fit for me is their new rival. How she introduced and her act is just weird. I mean its unique, but still kinda weird.

There isn't any significance change in art from season 1. They still got the colorful and vibrant animation style. Plus now there is a lot of new characters design with bright hair color. Actually this affect me on pre-anime hype. There's this one girl who's hair color is normal, she looks like background characters. But after we got introduced to her in the anime, she just as interesting as the other new member. The development of their friendships as they work towards their goal of becoming successful idols is heartwarming and inspiring.

I give every seiyuu involved a thumb up for their great job. Not only they voicing the characters, but also sing and perform all the song they produce in real life. If they dance inside the anime, they use CGI and I can tell you that it is beautifully smooth. But to be honest, there are no songs that stuck in my head. They all sound so generic, except the ED song. Beside from that, nothing grasp my feeling.

Despite all the flawless this anime have, I still enjoy it overall and give it a 9/10. This is the first anime that didn't get a perfect score in my 2 years of watching anime. Doesn't mean its bad, it is still a great anime but lack something small. Either that or my taste in anime advanced as I watch more and more anime every season, I hope its not the latter. Anime scoring beside, I'll definitely rewatch this anime if its get a dub. Thats all I can say about this anime. Thank you for reading my review.

It was good,(8.12) for me. It was good enough for an idol anime.

In terms of story, actually I didn't expect much considering this is an idol anime. But actually, some of the plots that are presented are quite impressive even though in fact they are still light on the overall story which was predictable from the start of this anime's release. The characters presented in this series have their own motivations which are quite unique and become something fresh in this anime. The main character is also quite impressive and really has the aura of a leader so she gets plus rating points because to ... be honest I really like her.

In terms of design, there isn't much that can be discussed because in reality it's normal. The character descriptions and costume designs provided are actually good but nothing more than that. From a visual standpoint, this anime likes to flex in moments where they are performing songs. And at that moment, to be honest, the visual quality displayed can be said to be quite good and eye-catching. In terms of the most important in anime idol, namely audio. This anime spoils us with the quality of the oshi that cannot be doubted and also the songs that are given are actually quite good objectively. However, in terms of subjectivity, it is natural that people have their own preferences.

Finally, I just want to argue that only stupid people expect a lot from aspects other than audio in idol anime. Overall, this anime is fun enough to be enjoyed by idol lovers. For those of you who want to start an idol journey, Love Live will be a long but exciting journey. But if you are not ready to sacrifice time, money for other personal satisfactions. Better to just watch ordinary anime.

I should lead off this review by noting that I am not typically a fan of idol music in anime, and neither season of Love Live Superstar has changed my mind about that. I mention this to add perspective, because I do enjoy this series despite my lack of interest in the music and I think it often gets pigeonholed as something only fans of J-pop would enjoy. Honestly, it bears more of a likeness to "cute girls in a school club" anime than being specifically about music and, in my opinion, remains highly accessible even to people that don't care for idols or their ... music.

That's all largely unchanged from season one, and that sense of continuity is the greatest strength of season two. There was a fair amount of consternation over the announcement that 4 new first-year girls would be added this season, and I was skeptical at first too, since I thought one of the strengths of the first season was the tight cast and how it gave you time to really get to know the characters. I'm pleased to report that, for the most part, the 4 new girls are well-integrated. Kinako fits in so naturally that you almost forget she wasn't one of the original 5, and Shiki and Mei's introduction to the group, while bumpy at times, ends up being pretty heartwarming in the end. Out of the 4, only Natsumi, the money-grubbing Youtube streamer, felt like an afterthought, and 3/4 ain't bad.

It also remains the case, like season one, that Superstar is at it's strongest when it's doing wacky comedy and often stumbles when it tries to do drama. The comedy is still there in season two, the episode where Ren goes down the Gaming rabbithole was a favorite of mine, but laugh out loud moments aren't as common as in season one. On the flip side, season two also avoids some of the bad drama lowlights from season one, like Ren's attempt to ban the school idol club. The drama is still mediocre with few exceptions, but does at least touch on a few interesting themes, especially with regards to the anxieties of the new girls trying to figure out how they fit into Liella. They aren't as talented or experienced as the original 5 yet, and don't want to hold their senpais back from winning Love Live, but they'll never be on the level of the original 5 if they split the group by class. How to balance the growth and integration of the first years with their ambitions is an ongoing theme throughout the season and they do get a few nice moments out of it, but it often tends to be a bit on the treacly side, like most of the drama in the series. There is also a sadly missed opportunity with a subplot about Kanon wanting to study abroad in Austria that, without getting into spoilers, is resolved in a highly unsatisfying way when it had potential to be an excellent storyline if it had been handled better.

There is also one more addition to the cast that I haven't mentioned to this point, and she ends up being one of the most positive things about this season. That would be Margarete Wien, a solo singer that arrives out of nowhere to become Liella's toughest competition in the Love Live regional qualifiers. She oozes chuuni goth princess energy and her philosophies about music are pretty much antithetical to the bright and shiny teamwork that the franchise lives on, which gives the series a shot in the arm every time she shows up. In fact, one of the weaker points of the season is in how she arrives like a hurricane on Liella's doorstep early in the season and then... just disappears for 4 or 5 episodes. It's a bit of a momentum killer given how immediately magnetic she is. It's also frankly hilarious how much better her operatic songs and theatricality are compared with the candy-colored stages and generic J-pop of Liella. It can actually be difficult to suspend your disbelief at times and think that anyone would vote for Liella over her. While I have little interest in most of Liella's music and find their lyrics cloying, Margarete was an entirely different animal and having her sing music that was not J-pop in any practical sense actually made me sit up and pay attention, something I was glad for since she's quite a talented singer. Her presumptive addition to Liella in the already-announced 3rd season is the thing I am most excited for with the future of the series because she's going to bring something completely different to the table than any of the girls in the group now.

Overall, this was a nice continuation of the series. If you liked season one, you'll enjoy season two as well. It makes a few changes but handles them well for the most part. It peaks with comedy and struggles with drama just like season one, but is more consistent. The highs aren't as high in season two, but the lows aren't as low either. The main cast additions mostly get the job done, the original characters don't get pushed to the margins in favor of shiny new objects as I and others feared they would, and the new rival-turned-ally character shows a lot of promise for the future. All in all, a successful sequel that injects just enough change to keep it feeling fresh without compromising its identity.

Love it! SuperGalaxy!!

“Love Live! Superstar!!” is back and it’s just as funny, wholesome and moé as it’s first season.
Now in their second year of high school the girls are having trouble expanding Liella! and getting first years to join due to how popular they are, but also because first years are all concerned they can’t keep up with the intense training schedule. This is a premise I don’t think I’ve seen an idol show attempt before, but it’s a brilliant way of showing off the girls growth and physical fitness from the first season plus it’s a sticking plot point woven through the second. It ... also helps limit the amount of new characters that can be introduced at one time which helps make their introduction feel organic and impactful.

Superstars biggest strength over the other Love Lives has always been it’s small, intimate cast. Were as the other love live casts like Nijigasaki High School Idol Club suffer from what I like to call ‘Too many characters syndrome’ Superstar’s first season main cast consisted of five who were given enough screen time to fully develop as characters, and we in the audience spent a lot of time getting to know them. Thanks to that the four new members of Liella! are given enough space and screen time for their own developments whilst the continuation of Kanon’s, Keke’s, Sumire's, Chisato’s and Ren’s new developments feel organic and natural rather than a quick update to make up for their lack of development in the first season.
Kinako, Mei, Shiki and Natsumi are all very charming and fit into the group dynamic very comfortably. I never felt like they didn’t belong to group despite their quirks.
The only character I didn’t particularly care for was Margarete the antagonist who stands between Liella! and first place at Love Live!. Her motives are… just not all that interesting and she comes off more of a weird stalker rather than an immovable talent.

The animation is still absolutely gorgeous too. From backgrounds to cgi music numbers to… everything else. It’s just a real stunner to look at. That along with the impeccable voice acting makes this show a treat to watch.

If you’ve watched the first season of “Love Live! Superstar!!” and enjoyed it then you’ll enjoy this one too. I personally don’t think the songs are as good as the first seasons, but that didn’t effect my enjoyment. It is definitely the best Love Live! variant in the franchise by far in my humble opinion.

9/10 Amazing.