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REVIEW: Love Live! School Idol Project Season 2


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 12:06 pm Reply with quote
Personally, I thought the second season was great and even better than the first season as we learn more about some of the characters. I really like the charm of the cast collectively too of course.

The song, spoiler[Snow Halation] which is one of my favorites from the franchise also made the screen so it was nice too. I'll look forward to the movie of course.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4070
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 12:21 pm Reply with quote
I'm still on the fence in regards to watching it, even if it's still in my streaming list. At the end of the whole thing, I'm still stuck on the question of "Why?"

I've seen and own a copy of both seasons of AK0048 which I view as a stealth parody of the idol industry. Love Live! sounds like if K-On went through the plot of the Blues Brothers by the process of soullessly yourself out without the "guiding hand" of "producers" masterminding every step of the process in order to create the musical equivalent of processed cheese.

So why?

And there's an Idol genre? Shouldn't it just remain a theme?
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2599
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 12:32 pm Reply with quote
Animegomaniac wrote:


And there's an Idol genre? Shouldn't it just remain a theme?


Well, with the proliferation of idol-themed shows, I'm inclined to give it its own genre. Enough of them use the same basic set up and very general plot trajectory that I feel it could be compared to established genres. That very well could just be me, though.

As for why, well, what sets Love Live! apart for me is its charm. It isn't trying to make any sort of statement (beyond "friends are good," which is in roughly every other show) and it doesn't want to necessarily make you think about the idol industry. It's pure fantasy in the "we can do it!" vein, and I found that appealing. There's very little fanservice, which helps to keep the show feeling sweet, and at the end of the day it's about a group of friends who make their dream come true. So I guess you could say that it's a feel-good story with catchy jpop music, and that's what kept me watching when most idol shows sort of creep me out.

@Stark700
I liked season 2 better as well. Getting to know the characters really upped the stakes for me, and I definitely teared up a couple of times at the end. Embarassed Smile
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 12:44 pm Reply with quote
I think one of the best things about Love Live! is that it's exactly the sort of thing you see so many works denigrate and ridicule, to the point where they're almost extinct and when they're there they tend to know damn well they're not well thought of, whereas Love Live! just shamelessly and unironically embraces it.
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Animerican14



Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Posts: 963
Location: Saint Louis, MO
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 1:27 pm Reply with quote
I was making good progress watching the first season of Love Live when there were still a few episodes left on Season 2, but then I got distracted by other shows and got tucked into my backlog of recent anime. Any chances of there be another season, if that'd even make sense? I hear there's a movie going to happen, but there are no details on what its relationship to the main series, right?

I sort of want another continuation of Live Love at this point, if only to be a more active part of the twitter conversation the next time. Laughing
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 9:32 pm Reply with quote
The series wrapped up pretty conclusively, if you ignore the blatant movie hook.
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#816792



Joined: 13 Jun 2014
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:46 pm Reply with quote
Pretty sure the snow episode was a tribute to all the fans who went for the endless parade live in February....
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:50 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, season 2 only improved on the first in that it was better than the first, mostly knew what to focus on, the characters.

It was plenty of fun, it knew when to kind of make fun of itself, when to be serious, and when something should have feels.
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nechronius



Joined: 23 Nov 2005
Posts: 275
Location: So Cal, USA
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 1:44 am Reply with quote
There is one thing that really bothered me that they never touched upon except very briefly... The issue of piracy within the show itself.

spoiler[I'm specifically referring to the girls finding their likenesses being sold as merchandise which came as a complete surprise to them.

Who exactly had the rights to their likeness and why did the girls know nothing about it? Who is profiting from them?]


I realize that in the saccharine sweet world of virtual idols this may not have been something the show wanted to dwell on, but you can be sure that in real life this is something that would be heavily protected.

And if there IS an explanation, I don't remember hearing a proper shred of it. spoiler[Am I perhaps remembering that one of the girls was secretly behind the merchandising? Or do the rights somehow get picked up by the "love live" organizing body the moment they agreed to enter the contest?]

Anyway it's been a while since I saw season 1, and perhaps I missed the initial explanation of it, but I thought I was paying attention to season 2 to see if they made mention, but I don't think so. Anybody remember any explanations clearly?
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buldieb



Joined: 17 Jul 2014
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 6:04 am Reply with quote
nechronius wrote:
Anybody remember any explanations clearly?


It was never explained as far as I know. The girls just seemed ecstatic that their presence was out there in the world of idols. I just kind of assumed that merch companies were making 3rd party products as the girls gained popularity.

Season 3: the lengthy legal battle over likeness and merchandising rights.

Anyway, I loved season 2. Instead of throwing in drama for the sake of drama (spoiler[sudden illness at a crucial moment, etc.]) they built all the feels around the emotions of the characters. Some parts were kind of bonkers (shoveling a path through the city), some were downright ludicrous (Honoka the rain god), but that's part of the fun and the charm.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7328
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 4:11 pm Reply with quote
The snow shoveling was clearly written by someone who has never shoveled snow in their life. Those kids looked way too chipper after moving that much snow. Also got to wonder why they started so far from the school.

Anyway, the second season was much more satisfying than the first. Calling the show Love Live and having the characters not even make it there was kinda strange. What did they think this was, One Piece? Although, if you watch the entire thing as one series the loss isn't so bad, but on its own it wasn't such a great ending. I was much happier with season 2 when they just steamrolled their way to the end.

Emerje
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potatochobit



Joined: 26 Aug 2009
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Location: TEXAS
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 3:56 am Reply with quote
I am one of the biggest Love Live! fans in north america and the problem with the second season is obvious.

the writing was very bad.

Quote:
Yeah, season 2 only improved on the first in that it was better than the first, mostly knew what to focus on, the characters.


I'm not sure what you are smoking, but pass it around.

joking aside, I know exactly why you liked season 2.
because it was all fluff fan service.

just like you said - it focused on characters - doing pointless things and dressing up cute.

have you watched soul eater not!?
because you will love that show.
it has amazing characters with absolutely no plot and the second dumbest ending in anime ever only bested by the original Soul Eater.

You want to know what made the first season of Love Live! great?
because there was conflict
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leatherhead333



Joined: 15 Aug 2013
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Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:27 am Reply with quote
^ My thoughts exactly. The conflict wasn't exactly written in the best way but at least it was there.

Honestly I can’t say that I enjoy S2 of Love Live more than the first. S2 is just WAY to random for me. A couple episodes are almost entirely dedicated to something stupid that gets solved by either “friendship” or “realizing that the answer was in front of us all along”.
A good example of this is that accursed “what should we wear?” episode (shivers).

It feels like the show didn’t really have a sense of direction. It’s almost turned into a “concert of the week” format with maybe a character getting development happens but the fact that they stuff it ALL into one episode really cheapens the characterization. The episode that focused on Rin really made me upset with the group. They constantly pushed her to be the leader of the group when she was obviously uncomfortable with it. And despite her objections they never tried to understand how she felt which made them really come off as jerks. However like I said because of “FRIENDSHIP” they are able to spring the fact she was going to end up being the leader anyway (even though they didn’t practice it that way) and it still worked out. Needless to really ruined the episode for me.

I liked the process of building up the group for a noble cause in the first season much better. Everything clearly flowed together and things went a nice/realistic pace. Now it’s just episode after episode that have almost nothing to do with each other. It’s quite a let down for me. The graduation thing was a nice touch but other than that there wasn't much "conflict" in the show which is why I didn't like it as much. Because even when there was conflict it got resolved way to easily.

I do unconditionally love the series but it turned into a big disappointment. Plus given that the show is a cash cow now I highly doubt they are going to let the series die even after the movie. Even if the story telling was reduced to us listening to the girls talk to each other while they drop a wet pickle I can almost guarantee they'll keep up with Laughing
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Ojamajo LimePie



Joined: 09 Nov 2007
Posts: 762
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:34 pm Reply with quote
nechronius wrote:
There is one thing that really bothered me that they never touched upon except very briefly... The issue of piracy within the show itself.

spoiler[I'm specifically referring to the girls finding their likenesses being sold as merchandise which came as a complete surprise to them.

Who exactly had the rights to their likeness and why did the girls know nothing about it? Who is profiting from them?]


spoiler[It's fan-made doujinshi merchandise.]
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 3:36 am Reply with quote
potatochobit wrote:
joking aside, I know exactly why you liked season 2.
because it was all fluff fan service.

just like you said - it focused on characters - doing pointless things and dressing up cute.

Its an idol show. And fanservice, I really don't recall any actual fanservice in there, at least nothing that stood in my mind that I enjoyed. Give me some funny gags, character interaction, growth, and some personality, and I'm golden.

potatochobit wrote:
have you watched soul eater not!?
because you will love that show.
it has amazing characters with absolutely no plot and the second dumbest ending in anime ever only bested by the original Soul Eater.

I liked Soul Eater Not because it felt far more grounded, some funny moments, and a good twist I saw coming just before the reveal. I don't like your tone that I would only like fluff

potatochobit wrote:
You want to know what made the first season of Love Live! great?
because there was conflict

And do you know what set it apart from Wake Up Girls? Likable characters that you can pick up the personality of without much trouble. And what about conflict not being here? You had Niko's long standing lie to her siblings, the new student council, rivals, finding what makes them them, Rin's self image, and the prospect of breaking up and saying goodbye.
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