Story: 10/10
What I appreciated the most about Love Live was that it didn't try to pretend that the girls would be able to get up right away and become the top school idols in the nation. Rather than using the typical "Character gets by on sheer luck and natural talent" plotline, it's made entirely obvious that μ's is starting from the very bottom- The group isn't even fully formed until more than halfway through the series. The initial founding trio is shown multiple times at the beginning of the show running up and down stairs and stretching, just so that they can be in shape enough to perform. The road they take to reach their goals is a long one filled with physical, mental, and emotional hardships, and even if it's obvious to most viewers that everything will ultimately turn out well for them, it's still tear-jerking to watch them in their darker moments- and even more satisfying to watch as they gain their first fans, put on their first live performance, and slowly but steadily watching them grow not just as performers, but as a team.
Art: 10/10
The art style in this anime fits the overall tone perfectly- There are a LOT of bright colors, and the girls' eyes are almost constantly sparkling. The animation is generally pretty beautiful to look at. The normal, everyday scenes are above average, but nothing overly special. But whenever there is a performance by μ's (this includes the OP theme), the show upgrades its animation to a more 3D-type style in order to more fluidly portray the dancing and expressions. Those bits are absolutely stunning, even if they take a bit of getting used to.
Sound: 9/10
Of course, as an anime centered around a (school) idol group, there are bound to be some catchy songs, and Love Live doesn't disappoint on that front. Of course there's the bright OP song "Bokura wa Ima no Naka de" and the upbeat ED "Kitto Seishun ga Kikoeru," but each episode usually has at least one insert song that μ's performs as part of the story. They're all about the same in terms of quality, which is to say that they're all really good. I'm not a big enough fan of the style to listen to them on a regular basis outside of watching the show, but none of them are annoying to listen to, and they're all fitting for the mood of the show- that is to say, incredibly optimistic and, for the most part, upbeat.
Character: 8/10
For the most part, I absolutely loved the characters in Love Live. I have a soft spot for first-year member Hanayo, the soft-spoken girl who is extremely shy until she starts talking about her incredible, lifelong passion for idols (her best friend, the ever-energetic first-year Rin- another favorite of mine- comments that she's an entirely different person when someone brings up idols). The other first-year, Maki, was okay, but she never stood out to me as much more than a standard tsundere. The second year trio- arguably the main characters, seeing as they were the initial founders of μ's- were generally pretty likable as well. Honoka was cheerful through the majority of the series (barring one of the more dramatic episodes toward the end), Umi started off a bit frigid but quickly warmed up into one of the more well-rounded characters, and Kotori was usually pretty happy, but didn't play a very critical role until the end. As for the third years, well... they were probably some of my least favorite characters. Nico was a bit annoying (basically a second tsundere, albeit a much LOUDER tsundere than Maki), Nozomi was just sort of bland, although she did grow on me, and Eri, the student council president who is initially opposed to the very existence of μ's, was undoubtedly my least favorite character in the series. Even after she joined the group and mellowed out a bit (This isn't a spoiler, as the OP shows all nine girls together from the very first episode), I just couldn't find it in me to like her.
Basically, I don't think any of the characters are particularly strong on their own. But I still gave them an 8/10, because I loved the way that they all complemented each other, and they all showed at least a little bit of growth at the end of the series.
Enjoyment: 10/10
Based on the scores I gave this anime, I think it should be fairly obvious that I enjoyed it. The sad scenes are only sad for long enough to make the mood upswing that much more satisfying, and the happy scenes are strong because after a while, it's impossible NOT to feel something for the hardworking characters. It's an emotional roller coaster, and it's so much more satisfying than it seems like it's going to be.
Overall: 10/10
Like I said at the beginning, I got a whole lot more out of this anime than I ever expected. I would recommend giving it a watch, even if it doesn't look all that special or interesting at first glance- before I watched Love Live, I had absolutely no interest in idol-themed anime. The music bored me, and I expected it to be yet another "cute girls doing cute things" slice-of-life show. But it's SO much more than that, and I've found a new favorite anime to add to my list.
