It's surprising how far the series has come over the past couple years. I'm not sure most people thought much about it when the first season aired, other than that it was your typical idol show with some cute girls and some cool tunes. But after the airing of the excellent second season, and now with the movie finally cementing what it is that makes the series so special for so many people, Love Live has established itself as one of the most significant series in the anime industry and present-day Japanese culture.
It would be foolish to claim that all Love Live has going for it is its popularity, however. It succeeds at being more than just a fun little idol show. Even if it may have a few minor issues, as all anime do, and even with the large layer of cheese surrounding some of its dialogue, Love Live is a truly heart-warming and excellently crafted anime, and I am very sad to see it end.
Love Live's movie is similar to the K-ON movie in many ways, particularly in its structure, as the trip to New York represents only a portion of the film's screen time. And, really, it is for the better that way. If all we saw were the girls of Muse having fun and singing around in New York City, it's likely it would feel like a mere spin-off rather than a meaningful advancement in the story and the characterisation. Love Live does advance the story-- it does give you something to care about, as it is not only an end for the girls, but also for the fans, as it is unlikely we will ever see anything involving these characters again, at least in the animated form. And that's hard to accept at times; there was a sinking feeling in my stomach that I don't often get from watching anime. But this is the way it should be. I'd be more than happy to see the girls continue their idol activities past high school, but it was the right time for this chapter to end. It is an ending I can be satisfied with, even if I do not want it to be over. And I don't.
While the TV series had a couple characters I wasn't too big on (particularly Nozomi), none of them felt bothersome or out-of-place here. They have all done enough to earn their place... though, certainly, I would not complain if my Nico were to hog all the screen-time instead. It was somewhat difficult to pay attention to what was going on since I would often start laughing like a crazy person whenever Nico appeared. I hadn't seen my glorious Nico in animated form for a year and a half, so it could not be helped. I was also a bit surprised at how damn adorable Kotori was; it appears I may have been blind and deaf when I was watching the TV series.
A great job is done at making New York City feel alive and bustling, with real locations modeled upon and with random pedestrians occasionally having their say. Seeing Honoka and the rest fumble around with their terrible English (ekkusukuzu mii!) in a futile attempt to communicate with Americans, is, unsurprisingly, pretty hilarious. By the way, I have no idea how the hell that one girl knew they were Japanese at first sight. Even I, having seen a whole heck of a lot of Asians in my lifetime, have some difficulty immediately telling a Japanese person apart from, say, a Chinese one. I'll just assume Random Blonde Lady is smarter than me!
It seems Love Live likes to experiment with the idea of being a musical, too, since the characters will sometimes bust out their dance moves all impromptu in the middle of the city, random Americans joining and signing along and all. It certainly adds some... uh, life and energy to the story, even if I would personally prefer they find a less silly reason to showcases their vocals. Love Live is obviously not aiming to be a perfect representation of reality, and that's just fine. Who needs reality, anyway?
The dialogue can occasionally be a bit cheesy (Honoka hopping and twirling around at the end, claiming she "can fly!", yay!), but this isn't nearly frequent enough to be a big deal. If anything, it'll just make you laugh a little bit. I don't expect all scenes to be perfectly mature and believable, because Love Live is a big series with big appeal, especially for young girls who normally enjoy that sort of thing. I don't feel comfortable taking that away from them. Love Live is fine as it is.
The songs are great and their performances well-coordinated (particularly at the very end with Nic-- with Muse dancing and tapping their feet along), but my one complaint is that the movie still uses some CG during these scenes. The CG doesn't look bad, not by any means, nor does it feel out-of-place (especially when compared with rival shows such as Aikatsu), but certainly it would have been nice if fluid 2D animation were used all the time instead, rather than most of the time. The animators could have gone all-out here, but they chose not to, presumably because of deadlines and other business-y things. Instead the movie looks merely good, rather than fantastic, which is something I'm still pretty OK with.
It is also worth noting that, unlike a majority of anime, Love Live actually knows how to time its background music in a way that feels appropriate - sentimental yet not melodramatic. It doesn't go overboard, but it does still make an effort, hitting the key moments of the track as it pans over the girls sitting and pondering their future in the club room, rather than screaming at the top of their lungs as most anime characters apparently have a fixation with. I don't think most people will tear up during these scenes, but it is quite hard not to have at least some sort of emotional reaction. Love Live knows knows how to convey emotion to its audience when it wants to.
There are also a few subtle visual tricks that add to the cinematic feel, like a young Honoka jumping before immediately cutting to present-day Honoka's foot slamming off the ground. These aren't details that are likely to cross your mind as you watch, but they do add up and give the experience more of an impact and a punch. It's clear the animators wanted to set the series off on a grander stage than it started on.
The Love Live movie is a hell of a time, and is easily the most fun I have had with an anime since Shirobako finished airing. I came in expecting nothing more than to see more of my Nico doing her thing and being the beautiful lady that she is, and while there certainly was a decent amount of that, there's far more here, too. Love Live wanted to end on a happy note rather than a sad one, and it did a fantastic job at doing so. I've had a lot of fun with you, Love Live, and while I don't know if I can let go, I can at least say goodbye.
