There are oftentimes certain expectations when it comes to each iteration of Love Live. One might assume that certain familiar story beats would be prevalent within each version or that each series must follow a similar storyline but this is not always true. And while Nijigasaki may not have the same level of tearful or dramatic storytelling like its counterparts that older fans may look for, it makes up for it by doing its own thing and excelling at it. It still maintains many of the core aspects people love about the franchise in being a charming and inspirational story with cute slice of life yet doesn’t resort to many of the stumbles its counterparts make and that’s what I feel makes it so special and unique.
Given the nature of the first season, it was difficult to imagine where they were going to take the story. Would they go down a similar route of having dedicated episodes for each solo idol or would something change? As much as I liked how they handled individual character episodes before, it seems the show had some different ideas this time around. The story picks up around where we left off with the school idol club riding off the heels of the School Idol Festival and given their immense success, they decide to host another one. But there are many hurdles that lay before them before they reach that point as they now have to face adversity to their beliefs as solo idols. We see the debut of three new girls to go alongside our main group in Lanzhu Zhong, Mia Taylor, and Shioriko Mifune and they play a significant role this season.
Lanzhu Zhong is an exchange student from Hong Kong who transferred to Nijigasaki High School in order to become a school idol. However, she has no intention of joining the idol club as her ideals don’t exactly line up with that of our main group. While in the first season we saw the main group receiving support from others as well as interacting with their fans, Lanzhu deems this to be unnecessary claiming that connecting with fans and viewing them more as equals will hold her back and instead treats them as mere spectators made to admire her from afar. Being a perfectionist who loves to express herself with confidence, she wants to be someone who captivates more than anyone else while bathing in the spotlight alone and even thinks she can outperform the school idol club during the next School Idol Festival. This paints her as a sort of competitive rival who challenges the school idol club in what they believe in as well as Yuu in particular, saying she is better off leaving the club entirely in order to fully pursue her dream in music since she isn’t an idol.
Mia Taylor is also an exchange student and is what some may label as being naturally talented at music and a prodigy having skipped grades and is seemingly quite smart. Coming from a prestigious music family, she seeks to write songs. Throughout the course of the show, she utilizes and relies on Lanzhu in order to spread her songs and gain recognition as well as gives Yuu some advice while she is in the music course. Mia also happens to speak fluent English to go alongside her Japanese (due in large part to her voice actress being part Australian) which is something I rarely see in anime. I found it commendable how every remark she makes in English would oftentimes be surprising at first yet would simultaneously feel as if it flows naturally with her conversation rather than being out of place.
Shioriko Mifune is someone who begins working with Setsuna in doing Student Council business. She steadily becomes more involved with the school idol club’s antics and provides support whenever she can while having a strict belief that she needs only do what she knows she can do best. She also has a family member who plays a role in shaping how she views idols.
Like with the previous season, Nijigasaki continues to characterize in subtle and natural ways while not merely resorting to one particular character trait allowing for easier understanding and relatability to these three new characters despite whatever personal goals, motivations, or struggles they might have. Their addition to the cast feels rather seamless as they make themselves relevant as the series goes on with their own arcs and backstories while not taking away too much screentime from everyone else.
As for the rest of the cast, while each of them received an ample amount of development and characterization in the previous season, this season expands on it. They now have to prove Lanzhu wrong and that there’s value in being helped by others and connecting with them, especially fans. But how will they go about doing so?
The Nijigasaki group has been one that focused more on the individual with each member having their own color corresponding to them in order to stand out. But now the idea of overlapping colors is introduced and with it comes the incorporation of subunits. Now subunits have always been a thing in Love Live from µ's and Aqours, however, it has never been implemented into the actual story before as far as performing goes and has largely been a non-anime aspect of the franchise. For those unaware, a subunit is essentially a smaller group comprising only a few of the members. In Nijigasaki, these units are aptly named QU4RTZ, DiverDiva, and AZUNA and much like with each solo idol song, each subunit carries with it its own style of music and performance. I found this aspect to the show to be particularly interesting since it not only gives them an answer to Lanzhu’s call in letting them reach out to her in different ways but by already being solo idols, they earn a lot more freedom and flexibility in what they can do when expressing themselves. They are able to expand on their group dynamic and relationships with one another and create an entirely new color by understanding and bringing forth each of their individual strengths. It also now gives the characters a new perspective and plays well into the overall themes in that despite being solo idols, everyone was great at observing others yet struggled at seeing themselves and being honest in order to move forward and we saw this many times in the previous season. With the element of subunits (as well as some other events later on) now in the story, it should be noted that the pacing has noticeably been slowed down in several of the episodes which is a bit of a contrast when compared to the more brisk pacing of the first season. The focus is not just on a singular character but on many as we view each of their perspectives and how they handle transitioning into a small group setting. The girls continue to grow and learn new things about themselves through each other and the idols aren’t the only ones who develop either. Yuu does as well.
When the school idol club helped her find her dream, Yuu joined the music course in order to play piano and write songs but she finds herself struggling quite a bit having to ask for advice. Both Mia and the idol club give differing opinions on what she can do and Yuu inevitably has to decide what strategy fits her best as she wants to prove to Lanzhu that she can accomplish her goals her own way while being a part of the club and give back to everyone who inspired her.
And while Nijigasaki now focuses much of its attention on miniature group arcs, it doesn’t completely shy away from still excelling on its individual character ones. Each main girl gets a distinct focus at some point this season but Setsuna, being one of the more noteworthy and significant girls of the cast, receives in my view one of the strongest episodes of the series. She is someone who has been struggling to maintain the secret of having two different identities: one as the responsible student council president and the other as an enthusiastic school idol and the way in which she is able to handle this provides a rather surprisingly mature and emotional but fitting closure to her arc as well as a notable stepping stone for how the rest of the story will be impacted from that point.
The side characters also see much prominence having become fans or appreciators of the Nijigasaki group. It feels like there is a concise network amongst the different schools where they can rely on one another in times of need or to arrange certain school events. There were a few moments though where I felt some of their introductions were a bit out of place with their presence being made merely to solve certain plot elements.
The artstyle has remained consistent across both seasons with character designs and highly detailed backgrounds. As far as performances go, there was a part of me that thought going into this that it would not be able to live up to the same level of quality as the previous season. Thankfully that was not the case. Studio Sunrise continues to deliver with Love Live Nijigasaki having some of the most smooth, gorgeous, and visually stunning use of CG and animation quality in the franchise. I simply cannot praise the animators, the directing, or the storyboarding enough. Despite having a complex arrangement of scenes (particularly with the subunit performances), each one flows well into the other with the same level of robust choreography, cinematography, and dynamic camerawork as the first season as well as maintaining the aspect of being like a music video. I particularly appreciated all the little references and easter eggs they sprinkle throughout the songs that more hardcore fans will recognize (like of other Nijigasaki songs not shown in the anime or of the girls in different outfits). It’s a nice touch.
Being from a well established idol franchise, Nijigasaki has incredible music, both solo and group. There is a noticeable difference in the feel between the two types of songs. Solo songs largely reflect the nature and personality of the idol who’s singing (like Lanzhu’s invigorating performance about being at the top) whereas group songs have a mixture of personalities incorporating a multitude of themes. While one may prefer one over the other, I think subunit performances still carry a lot of the vigor, energy, and charm that one would expect from a solo song. They feel a bit reminiscent of the other series for which group songs are the norm. My only real complaint about the music is that we didn’t get a full version performance of a certain Lanzhu song that came for a short while. The voice actresses excelled in their roles both with portraying their characters as well as singing every song with passion and enthusiasm. Soundtrack is still utilized well throughout particularly in the more lighthearted and comedic segments which there are plentiful amounts of. The implementation of song styles for OP and ED mirrors that of the previous season with the OP: Colorful Dreams! Colorful Smiles! being an upbeat and enthusiastic song with gorgeous visuals to kick off every episode while the ED: Yume ga Bokura no Taiyou sa is a more quiet track with a somber tone and childlike drawing visuals reminiscent of Neo Sky Neo Map.
With everything said, I believe this is an excellent season and a fitting continuation to Nijigasaki. While its story may be simple in nature and the pacing is a bit slower this time around, the ways in which Nijigasaki is able to portray its entire main cast and their issues to go alongside its excellent use of themes without resorting to much drama is something I feel makes it stand out even amongst the other entries of this franchise. When the first season of this show arrived, many viewed it as a breath of fresh air as it brought several new things to the table and mixed up the typical Love Live formula in various ways. Now with the second season, it continues to do so, this time incorporating new and innovative aspects even to itself. The cast has grown larger in size and yet it still manages to give the new girls adequate time to shine and characterize them in genuine and meaningful ways while not neglecting the screentime and development of everyone else. It’s noteworthy how far the Nijigasaki girls have come from their beginnings where they each had an episode dedicated to them and how they now deal with the new challenges before them. There is a sense of progression and it’s quite sad knowing a journey like this has to end at some point since this is one of the most lovable casts I’ve seen.
Experiencing Love Live Nijigasaki has been some of the most fun I’ve ever had with an anime and it’s a show I initially went into with some hesitation. But by the end, it’s proven to be something quite special. There’s meaning, there’s fulfillment, and there’s heart in the journey these girls go through.
