To be fair, if you went into this film thinking it was just a light-hearted, entertaining time-killer that couldn't possibly offer any artistic or creative genius, you would probably have a good time.
But unfortunately for me, School Idol Project Season 2 touched me in a way I had not thought possible. It beautifully expressed relevant themes about surrounding yourself with people that make you feel whole, enjoying your youth, and of course, knowing when to end a good thing.
This film took absolutely none of that into consideration. It simply did not need to exist, in any capacity. Season 2 crafted a beautiful and heartfelt goodbye to these characters we have grown to love, sending the third years (and the franchise, supposedly) off with Aishiteru Banzai and Oh, Love & Peace. It was perfect.
And then the money came calling.
I know it may seem odd to be getting mad that an IDOL ANIME FRANCHISE cares about making money more than producing a quality product, but if Season 2 taught me anything, it was that idol anime can be artistically AND commercially fulfilling.
But this film wasn't even bad. Angelic Angel, Hello, Hoshi wo Kazoete, ?←Heartbeat, and Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari are all absolutely fantastic songs with beautiful visuals, and as a whole, the film was very technically sound. So why am I mad?
Well, this franchise blatantly backed up on its own core themes.
In Season 2, Episode 11, μ's came together to make a very difficult decision. Even though Yukiho and Alisa would be enrolling into Otonokizaka in a few months and would love to join μ's, μ's is not μ's without the third years. It's always 9, no more, no less. They each stand out in their own way, but they only feel whole when they're around each other. THAT is their legacy: knowing when to end a good thing, even if its not an easy choice to make.
And that completely parallels the franchise itself. Yukiho and Alisa represent Aqours, and μ's represents... well... μ's. The higher-ups in Love Live could've either continued using the μ's name with the inclusion of a new generation (keeping μ's around a little longer), or made the right choice, which was to end the μ's saga while they were still on top.
We all know what they chose.
Needless to say, the μ's saga should've ended with the conclusion of season 2, but the executives decided to take the easy road and extend μ's's time in the limelight. They literally did THE EXACT OPPOSITE of the characters that THEY wrote. So to recap, some fictional Japanese schoolgirls are more mature than the executives behind the most popular idol franchise in all of Japan. Interesting.
