In lieu of the mainstream media and audiences embracing 'dark and mature' storytelling in favor of 'childish junk' catered towards 12 year olds, this question shouldn't even be relevant in today's world. Yet here it is, in all of its glory. And for the past six years, only one franchise dared to ever raise that question in the 2010s.
Love Live has enjoyed worldwide popularity, and not just because it has cute girls and really nice songs. If such were the case, then that would mean stuff like Show by Rock! would be popular. Sunrise doesn't just take what it sees and rolls with it, adding irrelevant junk and catering to '"realistic", cute-girls-need-to-suffer fags' and 'wish-fulfillment' like IM@S does, but instead, takes the whole package; by creating story about girls striving to shine, and really, that's all it needs to be. "So, how different, then, is it from other idol shit like Aikatsu?" I'll tell you why.
Because Love Live succeeds at it. Especially Sunshine.
I'll be the first to admit that I was downright skeptical when this was first announced. I was worried it was going to be a copy of the first season, making the same formulaic recruitment episodes and drama, and the mistakes that plagued it. And oh boy was I wrong. I mentioned earlier that Sunrise takes the 'whole package', so what exactly is in it? It's everything about idols. From the way they dress, what they sing down to the girl's personalities and the struggles of adolescence. However, they didn't always succeed at using it. Let's date back to the first Love Live season. While superb in its own way, there were things that prevented perfect enjoyment, such as issues with characterization and drama, as well as circumstances that made little to no sense on the part of some character arcs. All of these problems were whisked away with the advent of Love Live S2, which is probably the most inspiring piece of media I have ever watched. No teen melodrama or action-induced fantasy isekai story is able to say "go do something better with your life" better than this particular second season has, filled to the brim with sad and happy moments that touch my heart deeply. And after just one year after Muse ended their story, Sunshine arrived.
Seeing as it'd be another first season, you could understand my fear. But Sunshine does more than just correct the mistakes of the first season. It takes the very concept of creating a school idol group and makes it its own. Sure, the entire ordeal is formulaic on paper, but the way it blossoms is just so spectacular and uplifting, its as though its not Love Live at all. Yet at the same time, it is.
At first glance, the character designs look about the same, with some copied tropes from the previous series (e.g. student council president, the clumsy one, the shy one, the "futsu no onna" one, the groper etc.). I'm not gonna surprise you by saying "OH! BUT THEYRE DIFFERENT!", no. Essentially, they are different takes on the trope, and this is necessary if Sunshine really wants to tell a new kind of story. What makes these characters stand out and shine on their own is the way they are characterized, and this has a lot to do with the involvement of Muse. It's actually amazing how much influence a group of characters that aren't even there have on the story. In Sunshine, Muse have moved on from singing school girls to living, breathing gods. From the way they're only seen through posters to the way the characters talk about them with revere and divinity. Heck, in one of the episodes, one of the girls sends a fan letter to Honoka (from the first 2 seasons) but it sounds more like a fucking prayer than fan mail.
Essentially, Idol anime are character stories, taking the viewer through the journey of a girl to become the number one star. And while some anime require about a hundred episodes to make a story whole, some only need as few as 13.
Sunshine is rich with flavorful characterization, often using visual directing to do most of the talking rather than outright telling. The use of common/cheesy phrases and emphasis of tone help bring out what these girls are, pulling away from the idea that every teenage girl is a dark, wild and emo Chloe Moretz and instead giving the audience something very different. They give them dreams; desires, none poisonous, but awfully human and representative of who the girls are inside and out. From painful outbursts to soft-spoken sympathy, Sunshine embraces the use of imagery and dialogue to tell us who these characters really are without (mostly) words. A girl seeking acceptance taking a stray hand, a girl who hasn't once dreamed of breaking out of her shell witnessing it on a magazine cover, the desire to shine brighter than diamonds with everyone you've met; there are simply so many things to take from these characters, and in only 13 episodes. Sure, it can be lacking at times, but what the series delivered was more than enough. I'm not going to say what exactly was developed and how; that's for you to experience yourself.
Side-characters were also great, but a bit underused. Of course, with idols, you're always going to have competition and just from simply existing, Saint Snow captures that feeling of intimidation almost perfectly. From their music, to the way they walk, they were certainly very captivating, not only in terms of fear for the main cast, but in their outright beauty. The rest of the cast were your supportive sisters and classmates, and were utilized well if to help the series lose that feeling of insularity.
Going technical, Sunshine not only looks better, is animated better or sounds better. It also FEELS better. It's taken the spirit of Love Live and turned it into something so engrossing and captivating to watch. The short moments on stage are always spectacular, showcasing lots of fluid choreography and outstanding cinematography that puts the original series' efforts to dirt. . While newcomers will be engulfed by the simply beautiful direction of these sequences, old time fans will be welcomed again by the feelings and passionate emotion present in the film or even, dare I say, the Final Live. The music is also fantastic. Every track resembled what was happening at the moment of the series and creates a wholly immersive experience when listening to the tune and lyrics. The best example I can give is Saint Snow's performance, 「Self Control」. It was certainly the most memorable moment in the series, not only in introducing Saint Snow as an idol group or a threat, but as professionals; a pair that knew exactly what they were doing and knew how to do it good.
The backdrop work and animating are nothing short of ecstatic. There is more fluidity in the character and mouth movements, use of lighting and colors are beautifully done and the sound quality is great. There is simply no reason not to watch this in 1080p, if only to get the full experience of the series. On part of directing outside of character drama, there is a whole slew of hilarious moments. Some great, some just okay but nothing ever a bad joke. The timing of the jokes and delivery are a lot better than in previous seasons, where it was usually out of nowhere or just downright unfunny at times. Slice of Life moments had great presentation, making use of attractive sea-like colors for reflection and energy of the scene, to drive out the boredom.
This is money very well spent on Sunrise's part.
Love Live! Sunshine!! recaptures the beauty of the original series through different lens and delivers something that exceeded all of my expectations. It is the second series this year that's made me feel so emotionally captivated, enough to make me shed tears. 2016 wasn't so great but with gems like these, any year can be truly memorable. I look forward to whatever Sunrise has in store for the franchise next, or if we're ever getting that Yohane spin-off that's in high demand right now.
8/10
