Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Love Live! Superstar!! Season 2
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harminia
 Posts: 2009 Location: australia |
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I love that Ren played 1 (one) video game and then dropped straight into gamer hell.
Her ojousama "maa!"'s whenever she was gifted a console was so hilarious. Plus the start with the VR game was such a good intro. Ren was super relatable in this ep and I'm here for it. It was also nice seeing her and Mei bond, I'm glad the first years are becoming more reliable and getting closer to the second years. also damn was this ep ever gay. I don't know if it'll go any further than this but man Shiki really went into gay feelings meltdown. |
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coreymon77
Posts: 21 |
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That's kinda what Love Live does, though, hides real, genuine, relatable character stuff under wacky antics and catchy music.
Ren's dad trying real hard to buy her affections after being such a stick-in-the-mud in the past. |
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coreymon77
Posts: 21 |
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I think you are somewhat missing the point as to why Kanon chose that spot particularly, which is why that didn't quite register for you. I don't blame you for missing it, but I think it's worth mentioning.
The problem here is that Kanon's reasoning is one of those things that's lost in translation as it is entirely metaphorical. The subtitles don't really do the best job of rendering it because it's really hard to translate. It's not the specific road or the physical location, that part is almost irrelevant, it's what it represents and how it plays into Liella's and Yuigaoka's goals as a whole. Yuigaoka's goal, Ren's mother's dream and what Ren has been fighting to create this whole time is to make a place where people can connect, to forge new connections with new friends and new classmates and Liella carries that message as well, it's even part of their name, with "lier" meaning "to link" or "to connect". Their community is all about connections, it's something they showed when Kanon and Kinako did their little trip around town. So many places, so many people connecting to each other. And that spot, it's where the roads all connect, it's where everything connects, which makes it perfect for Liella and for Yuigaoka. It's a bit tough to get that across in translation, but it does make a whole lot of sense for them. Anyways, that song, wow. These girls truly never miss. This is going to be wonderful seeing performed live. A fun little piece of trivia, Kanon's VA, Sayurin, has yosakoi dance experience. It was one of her hobbies back in school and when she was younger. Based on her tweets about this song, I can only imagine how excited she is about performing it. An interesting note, the little bits where they showed character pairs grabbing each others hands right before the song, those pairs all relate back to things that happened this season so far: Chisato and Shiki connecting over their experiences relying on another friend. Kinako and Nuts connecting over a shared dream, or even the concept of dreams themselves helping them push forward towards their goals. Sumire and Keke connecting over their usual schtick, a connection that will likely be tested next episode. Mei and Ren connecting over the need to to be honest with people and then Kanon connecting back to Kinako, bringing it all full circle as the leader. It all fits and is a nice detail, once again tying things back to the whole connecting theme. Also, at this point, I think it's pretty safe to say that a 3rd season is coming. Of course, nothing is official until it is official, but they have been setting too many things up, putting to many things in motion to pay off later, structuring things around the future too much for there not to be a season 3 in the cards. Wien being a middle-schooler alone is enough to make that clear, but there is plenty more as well. I would be very, very surprised at this point if that was not the plan. So, looks like things are going to start heating up next episode with possibly some continuation on Keke’s family situation. It should be interesting to see. |
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Wasureta
Posts: 53 |
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This version of Love Live! has broken new ground in many ways. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a third season with the same set of girls. The first-years got off to a slow start and need more screen time. Maybe even add three more members for the third season.[/spoiler]
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harminia
Posts: 2009 Location: australia |
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lol rip sunny pas
Man ep 9 was good. I loved oninattsu and shiki teaming up so much. They were so evil. Shiki nodding approvingly after Oninattsu's plan to slander a middle school kid online was such a good touch. and then we got to the drama....and man was this gay as hell. Love Live has always had this sort of "they're probably dating but we're not saying it outright" but somehow I feel like superstar has just completely amped it up. Sumire playing the bad guy just because she doesn't want her crush to leave...that's love huh. also ep 8 has had the best song of the season so far (sans Margarete's song). I really liked it! (It's no non-fiction but it's up there). |
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coreymon77
Posts: 21 |
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I was going to wait for the review to post, but I suppose I'll dump this now.
Holy hell, this episode. This episode! They really went for it with this one. That was one hell of an emotional rollercoaster. So let’s start with the one thing I’m mixed on (or at least was when I first wrote this) before I just start gushing everywhere. Sunny Passion got worfed, defeated off screen for the sake of building up our new threat. It’s an effective trope for establishing how dangerous Wien is, but it also kinda just tosses away the characters who have been with us this whole time. It also robs Liella of the opportunity to truly overcome last year’s loss. I knew SunnyPa weren’t going to win this year, that much was clear from the start, but to never give Liella the chance to truly go up against them after all of their growth, I dunno. It feels like it could be better for Wien to be saved for next season, but this does give our girls another motivation to knock her down a couple of pegs. There’s also that message of always giving it your all because you don’t know when it might be your last opportunity. SunnyPa has never really been the rivals, more like mentors than anything else, but still. It does throw into question what happens for the rest of the season and potentially even next, so there’s that. Upon further reflection since yesterday and talking with other people, yeah, I'm a lot more comfortable with this than I was when I first wrote this. I'll keep it in there, though as it is what I originally wrote upon watching. It seems a lot more like the villain taking out the mentor during the climax of act 2 than anything else, which fits who SunnyPa are and what they have been for Liella and it fits with a lot of the stuff I talk about later. I also don't think this is the last we've seen of these two. They'll be back and I think they will get their chance to perform together at some point, be it next season or during a later movie. But the rest of this, holy shit, where do I even start? I figured the talent gap between the first and second years was going to show up again once the stakes started going up. The thing that I find impressive from the first year girls is how calm they all are about it. They’re entirely on board, even if it means they get cut out. They all pretty well instantly came to the same conclusion, even though the talent gap between the year groups has been a constant concern for them. It’s not often you see that. But then there is the rooftop argument. The emotions flying in that scene. Sumire trying to play the villain even though it’s plain as day how much it pains her to do so, just for the sake of helping her friend. She’s risking losing the respect of the people closest to her all for Keke’s sake. It’s extremely powerful and a lot of this comes down to the acting. The voice acting in this episode was just off the charts. That this is their first roles is nuts. I’m telling you, that “answer me!” from Kanon. Like holy shit, Sayurin, that scream is RAW. All the hurt, all the anger, all the betrayal Kanon is feeling in that one moment, hearing Sumire go back on everything she thought she new about her, everything they have gone through, everything their group is, their friendship is, to just just toss everything aside. You can hear everything in her voice at that moment. It is powerful, especially since Kanon has, so far, always been the levelheaded one, trying to see the best rather than get angry. I can’t even imagine what Sayurin was tapping into to bring out those emotions. I’m not sure I really want to know as those are some extremely real emotions on display there. Also, people are making comments about a slap. Yeah, no, Kanon wasn’t slapping anyone. Had Keke not stepped in right at that moment, she was gonna full on deck Sumire out, full fist and everything. And Paychan, the struggles Sumire has keeping her emotion in check, the worry in her voice when she’s talking to Keke earlier on and the hesitation, the choking up when she decides to give her villain speech, so to speak. The look on her face when Kanon blows her lid and she realizes she might have actually gone too far. The emotions on display from her throughout this entire episode really are really superb. Also special mention goes out to Liyuu, who, might I remind you, is doing all this shit in a second language. An interesting idea was brought up on another conversation about complacency, about a parallel trying to be drawn with Wien here. Both of the main groups so far have been defeated by her as a result of getting too complacent. But now, with her “please, I’ve already won” speech, does it seem like she might be getting a bit complacent herself, possibly leading to her downfall at the hands of Liella? It certainly seems possible. And speaking of Wien, she is so middle schooler it hurts. She tries to put on this aloof, cool, moody, mysterious thing, but that all gets completely tossed out the window when you realize that in order to have her little “I have the high ground” conversation with Kanon, she had to knock on the door and then immediately high-tail it up the stairs like a doofus. Did you notice how Kanon’s reaction to her has changed since the last time, too, how much more forceful she was? The first time, Kanon tried to talk back, but hesitated, not entirely able to refute everything she was saying. This time, though, Kanon is taking no shit, immediately and confidently refuting her words. Kanon is continuing to grow, as is Liella with her. it’s wonderful to see. This change in reaction, combined with the complacency thing is why I think Liella is going to defeat her, possibly even next episode. They already lost to her once back at Yoyogi, so that emotional beat has already been used. There’s has been so much growth in Liella since then, both as a group with the new members, learning more about what represents them so fort, and as individual characters that I think that’s what they are building up to. Everyone else has already talked about Sumire, but yeah, how far she has come. Also how much she cares for Keke that she is willing to lose the respect of everyone else, of the people who have come to mean so much to her, just for the sake of what she thinks is protecting her without betraying her secret, seeming to regress back to her original self for the sake of another, one who saw something in her nobody else could. Of course, she doesn’t actually believe a word she is saying, not anymore, which is why she can’t keep up the charade, especially once the 1st years show up being so accepting, and how quickly she breaks down when actually confronted. It was a really nice piece, bringing back that tiara. I’m not surprised Sumire kept it, given what it represents for her. And presenting it back to Keke in that moment was incredibly powerful. It’s quite a nice piece too that it was actually Chisato this time who was like “You know what? Something is up here and I’m going to find out what it is first” after Sumire’s little display. She’s growing too, it’s so wonderful to see. And her holding Kanon back when, as she does, tries to go after Sumire. Nice. Gotta mention the OST too. You’d expect the insert songs to be the good ones in a series like this, but the OST is no slouch either and it put in the work this episode. Whoo boy did it ever. Anyways, this was a masterpiece, truly top form. One of the best this franchise has ever produced. See you next week. |
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lomez
Posts: 24 |
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She clearly opens her hand before starting to raise it. |
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harminia
Posts: 2009 Location: australia |
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Gotta say, yeah, that bit was so good. The way her voice warped with emotions and she was so forceful and different... Incredible work.
LMAOOOO I hadn't thought of that but that's so true. God, she's such a little chuuni. Also gotta give a shout out to the animation. The overall animation was great as normal but the animation when Sumire is having her tearful breakdown when telling Keke she doesn't want her to go? God, that was so good. They clearly got the facial expression animation expert in for this. was up there with like, that scene from euphonium people post a lot. |
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coreymon77
Posts: 21 |
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Honestly, Sayurin is just flat out amazing. It's nuts what she is able to do, especially with this being her first ever role. They're all incredible, but Staff particularly struck gold finding her in the open auditions.
Lol, completely changes that scene, doesn't it? Not the first time with her, either. Most of the time, when you think about what actually happens when she shows up, it's usually something like this. At this point, the fandom has essentially given her this super-tryhard personality that wants to be all cool and aloof, but is really a complete dork when nobody is looking. So, a middle schooler, essentially. We might even see it directly when they flesh her out a bit more probably next season.
Yeah, the animation here is stellar. It's been wonderful this entire time, I suppose since there was no song this episode, they could dump all the budget into these scenes. Guess that's what happens when you got the kind of money this franchise is working with. |
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darkchibi07
 Posts: 5475 |
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God, if they actually kissed, it would be one of most revolutionary things to ever happen to a big idol franchise and mark uncharted territory of how the fans would react to it. I'd say it's a trip worth traversing. 
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coreymon77
Posts: 21 |
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Okay, so, Wien is toast. I know the show tried to cliffhang us and everything, but let’s be real here, she totally lost. The preview pretty well confirmed it even if the episode itself didn’t already. Every single thing going on was setting her up to lose.
So let’s talk about the songs and how brilliantly they contrast with each other.colourful and welcoming. There is a battle going on here: what does it truly mean to sing, especially as a school idol? You can see it in everything associated with each of these songs, from the lyrics, to the visuals, to the choreography the feel of the songs. Wien’s answer is to sing is to dominate, to control. Singing is about power, about asserting your will over the audience. Her lyrics speak to destroying weakness, shining alone, wiping everything else out in the pursuit of total dominance. Her songs are spectacles meant to awe. It is dark, moody, isolating. She is the star, nobody else and it is only in that isolation that you can pursue greatness. Her choreography is all pulling towards herself. To sing is to be beheld. But in that, there’s an emptiness that is felt. Despite the spectacle, all there really is, is pain. Liella’s answer is a direct refutation, almost point for point. Sing! Shine! Smile! lays out what Liella believes it means to sing. It’s right in the name, to sing is to smile. To sing is to enjoy, to be happy, to have fun and, most importantly, *to share*. Their song is bright, colourful and welcoming. Their choreography is inclusive. Their lyrics are welcoming. They speak to piercing through the darkness as we shine together. They want everyone to join in, to share in this moment, to share in these feelings, because that is how we shine the brightest, together. That is what it means to sing. It is the culmination of everything Liella has experienced, everything they’ve come to learn. It is culmination of their entire goal: to connect people through music and, through those connections to bring happiness and encouragement for people to achieve their dreams. And they only really got to that answer after forming those connections themselves over the course of the entire season, but also during this episode specifically, when they decide to just take the time to make memories and enjoy themselves and it is ultimately what makes the song so much more powerful than it would be on its own. This song, and the episode surrounding it, is the epitome of Liella and, in many ways, the epitome of Love Live as a franchise, of the message this franchise has always tried to push, which is quite fitting given that this marks the 100th broadcast episode of the franchise. Truly fantastic. Some fun facts: The outfits for the song, the blue, knight-looking ones, actually originated irl. They were first debuted during Liella's 2nd concert tour and have been worn several times since, most recently at the TBS CDTV event the other week. Up until now, it has been an entirely irl only outfit and wasn't directly connected to any specific song. Being introduced before the 2nd gen members showed up, it was unknown how or if it would be used in the future. So it's kinda cool having it be imported into the anime world and giving it to the 2nd gen members too. It's unusual for a song outfit to have originated in the 3D realm first before being adapted into the anime instead of the other way around. The only other time this has happened in the past was for Aqours' 1st solo albums, where the album art for them used the outfits the seiyuu wore when performing the solo songs included in the season 2 blu-ray sets at their 3rd Live. |
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merr
Posts: 475 |
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I’m glad we finally got a more sentimental song with all nine girls. I know people thought season 1 had too many of those, but they’re my favorite Love Live songs. Still hoping we get a big sweeping number for the finale.
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coreymon77
Posts: 21 |
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I'm sure we will get one, but I think this style of song really fit better in this episode given the contrasts they were trying to display between the groups.
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rizuchan
 Posts: 976 Location: Kansas |
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Guess it just goes to show different tastes, because I thought Liella!’s song blew Wein’s out of the water this time.
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coreymon77
Posts: 21 |
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I mean, so did I, if my little essay above didn't make it clear. They completely dominated her this time. Her song is nice and all, but it's too empty. Liella's is also just a lot more meaningful.
But hey, music is subjective and all. |
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