Love Live! Sunshine!!

Episode 17

The Love Live! Sunshine!! girls have pulled off their first big goal of the year—qualifying for the next round in the Love Live. Not only that, but one of their former rivals even thinks they were amongst the top performances, which bodes well for the rest of the competition. But before they can even start thinking about their next step, the school idols need to replenish their coffers, so they start scheming up ways to earn some additional income.

Meanwhile, Student Council President and secret µ's fanatic Dia Kurosawa has a more personal conundrum. She's envious of how close her fellow third years have gotten to the rest of the girls, which brings back some of her feelings of insecurity and loneliness from childhood. She embarks on a mission to cozy up with the rest of her teammates, hoping that they'll give her the coveted suffix -chan as a sign of their new familiar friendship. Unfortunately, all her attempts backfire. Either her authoritative side bursts through unexpectedly, or her attempts at nicety make the girls uneasy. Poor Dia.

It's an incredibly cute episode though, especially since we get a peek behind the silk curtain that is Dia's tough façade. Of course, this portrayal of her multi-faceted nature isn't new—the first season had fun showing off her school idol otaku side and her sweet big sister side, but it's a fun topic that deserves another episode as the series follows the tradition of giving each girl her moment in the spotlight. There's an endearing moment when Dia spies a child that reminds her of her younger self, watching wild-eyed as her more rambunctious peers run amok on a class field trip. In that moment, Dia shows us why she's such an effective student council president, getting the situation under control in that no-nonsense way that some people just have a knack for. It's never fun being the responsible one, but without people like that, the world would fall apart.

In between some of the more serious moments, this episode also gives us a few good visual gags, which this season has been leaning on more heavily (to great effect). There's a bizarre but amazing bit with a dolphin that helps diffuse an awkward conversation, but the best part of the episode comes in the second half, when the girls land a gig working at the local aquarium. Aside from all the bonus adorable animal scenes, we get to see Dia present a new face to the underclassmen, who mostly react with confusion and fear. There's an audio reaction in a scene where You releases a handful of balloons in shock that made me laugh out loud, and I had to chuckle at Dia's stilted attempts at small talk. It's all very sweet, a little funny, but also a bit sad, and it's good that we're given plenty of scenes with Kanan and Mari to help digest what we're seeing play out in Dia's head. It's all too relatable to those of us who find it a struggle to not be perceived as standoffish, despite our awkward efforts otherwise.

Ultimately, the end falls a little flat. The girls give Dia what she's been longing to hear, but it comes with a monologue that sounds too “but you're our stage mom!” to really have the heartwarming effect it's supposed to evoke. For everyone who's ever felt insecure about trying to fit in more with their friends, it rings a little hollow, but I suppose the writers have to keep the character types on track anyway. Overall, it was a fun episode with a lot of predictable beats, and though it might not stand out amongst some of the other character spotlights in the series, it was a good time.

Rating: B

Love Live! Sunshine!! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Bamboo believes the conclusion is obvious that Dia is, in fact, the best girl. Follow her on Twitter.