Love Live! The School Idol Movie

I had the pleasure of watching this in theaters in Japan, and the movie is just what you would expect a Love Live! film to be: 1/3 music and dancing, 1/3 anime girls doing cute/funny things, and 1/3 drama - an animated musical comedy. If you already watched the first 2 seasons of the show, you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. However, there is one huge difference between the movie and the show: the first half takes place in NEW YORK CITY. As a New Yorker, it was an absolute joy watching my favorite group of animated girls take on the great metropolison the other side of the world. It also had great insight into how Japanese people think of the United States. As someone who lives in NYC, I don't fully appreciate the city, but from the perspective of Japanese high school girls, it must be a helluva place. It is also clear that the art crew for the movie did their research and location scouting in NYC, because a lot of the spots featured throughout the film are locations I walked through just last week (although it's also clear that they probably didn't interact much with real New Yorkers; the NYers featured in the film are WAY too nice and well-mannered haha). Anyway, my review breakdown: Story: 6 The story for the Love Live! anime has never been any more than a means to get the girls dancing and singing, and the movie's no different in this regard. Basically, the plot is very simple: the girls have been invited to perform a live concert in New York City (the first half of the movie), and after they get back to Japan, they are surprised to find out that their overseas stint has earned them fame back home (second half of the movie). There is some drama involved regarding the third years graduating and whether to continue the group, but it's basically the same main conflict as the second season of the TV anime. Once the group gets back to Japan, it's the usual stuff we've already seen before. The plot is pretty bare-bones, and since this movie is almost 2 hours long, there were definitely parts of the film that felt dragged out. Some of the songs and dance sequences also came out of nowhere with little segue, like some sort of Broadway musical. Overall, I'd have to say the story was the weak point of the film. Art: 9 The animation is almost the same as from the show, and all the characters' movements and features are beautifully animated. The musical dancing scenes are especially well-done, although I'm not a big fan of the CGI concerts (this film has 3 of those, and 3 purely 2D ones). One place the movie surpasses the show is the backgrounds. As I said before, the backgrounds for New York are meticulous and surprisingly accurate. The Akihabara backgrounds are quite detailed as well. It was quite amusing looking at all the brand parodies in the background in the film's attempt to avoid a copyright lawsuit. Overall, solid art and animation, slight but not major improvement over the show. Sound: 9 All the characters' voices are on point as usual. It was quite amusing listening to Honoka and Nozomi trying to speak English in NYC. To the film's credit, they actually got legit English speakers to voice the New Yorkers in the movie, so the film remains MOSTLY Engrish-free. The songs are the catchy tunes we've come to expect, and pair off really well with the dance sequences. However, I will say that the 6 songs featured in the film are not the series' strongest ones (my personal opinion is that the group's best song was the opening from season 1). They are quite good, but not good enough to put on my iPod. Character: 7 All the characters we know and love are back, a mysterious new character comes into the mix, and a new generation of school idols are hinted at towards the end of the film. But there is one HUGE problem. It's no secret that Honoka is the least popular of the 9 girls, and after watching this film, I think I know why: the film spends WAY too much running time trying to develop Honoka's character and her inner struggles as the team leader. It would be fine if it's an episode of the show, but in a 2-hour film like this, the result is that screen time is taken from the other girls who are just as, if not more, interesting in terms of talent and personality as Honoka. By the end of the film, I wished there was less Honoka, and more of the other girls. Not a problem with Honoka's character herself, but more with the direction of the movie. Also, as expected, Nico gets all the funniest scenes in the film. She's my favorite. :D Enjoyment: 10 Despite some of the flaws I listed above, the film was overall wholly enjoyable. A great way to spend 2 hours sitting back and enjoying some great music and dancing, funny antics, and cute girls doing cute things. What more could an anime fan ask for? If you enjoyed the first 2 seasons of the show, then you are sure to enjoy this movie as well. Overall: 8

When I started to watch Love Live!, I was extremely skeptical of how the plot would play out. I'm not really into the whole idol culture but I wanted to keep my mind open and give Love Live! a shot. And boy am I glad I did. Now I can at least appreciate what idols have to undergo. The movie, which builds off plot-wise immediately after the second season, uses the same kind of group dynamic that was present in the second season. Although this form of group dynamic doesn't change much from the second season (or ever, lol) you could almost feel the charisma beamingfrom the group. The characters, despite the fact that their personalities are clearly drawn from stereotypes/archetypes, clearly mesh together very, very well. They complement each other and this is reflected through their dialogues and reactions. As for the sound, well, this should be pretty self-explanatory. What would a music-themed anime be without, well, music? One interesting thing that this movie does differently from the prequels is that there is a much heavier emphasis on the sound. In the previous two seasons, the songs were still there (and done very well, if I may say so myself) but they served more to advance the plot as a whole. In the movie - for a lack of a better phrase - the μ's break out into song based on the situational context that they are in. Basically, think High School Musical all over again. Is this done well? I think so - it certainly adds new flavor to the entire series, but that is my own personal opinion. Now for the cons. Bear with me for a bit. The plot itself had a rougher execution than the second season. There were some parts in the movie where the plot was rushed to some degree. For example, consider the transitioning scenes from New York (where they are at Times Square) back to Japan (where they are meeting fans at the airport). To me, these scenes were kind of thrown together into an incoherent mess. Although you could tell what was happening at any given moment, sometimes the plot jumped from Point A to Point B inconsistently. These scenes needed to be flushed out more so that viewers can more easily comprehend what is happening. Another thing I didn't really like was how the movie was piecemealed into two parts - one part in NY and the other back in Japan. The connection between these two parts of the movie needed to be more clearly established. True, perhaps their trip to NY served as inspiration to the Idol festival in Japan, but this was not really flushed out well. If the movie left out the entire adventure in NY, could the rest of the plot been executed in the same way? Perhaps. Maybe some of us wouldn't like that, but it's still possible. One last thing: the symbolism. Okay, I know this movie tries really hard to integrate some kind of deep symbolism that was not present in the first two seasons of Love Live! But if you're like me, just an average anime watcher, the symbolism completely flies right past you (e.g. the street singer in NY). Symbols don't necessarily have to be obvious, but they should be incorporated into the plot in a way that still makes sense. But kudos for trying. Overall, definitely a nice way to end Love Live! But is it on par with the second season? I argue not. tl;dr Pros: + Good music + Crisp art, like always + Good group dynamics + Some development, especially when the μ's explore their identity, but definitely not on par with the development in the second season Cons: - Some parts of the plot transitioned poorly (i.e. were rushed), making it difficult to follow - Connection between NY + Japan somewhat unclear and needs to be flushed out more - Symbolism present but difficult to interpret Story: 4 Art: 6 Sound: 9 Character: 6 Enjoyment: 7 Overall: 5 *Note: I put a heavier emphasis into my rating on story and characters. Mwahaha.*

Before read, please forgive my grammar and of course my sentence: Yesterday, I have watched the Love Live the School Idol Movie. To be honest, I don’t know what to review about this movie but I will try to keep it simple as possible. About the synopsis, I think everyone knows this is sequel to LL season 2 and they are having fun travelling together as they sing and dance as school idol. The story seems to be bland but the implied content there is very strong. I do not want to spoiler it but, you need to watch it to understand so, I just leave ithere. For animation, Sunrise really did a good job maintaining their usual animation performance much like previous LL series like dancing and background. For OST, it was pleasant to hear with their singing while dancing, also they included some nice old soundtrack and for me it’s pretty much nostalgic. Verdict (for movie): For any anime watchers or Love Live fans who has finished LL S1 & S2, I strongly recommended to watch this movie as the answer for those who feel empty after their finished the series like me. You may feel like boring or not-to-awesome like previous series, but there is something that the movie or specifically Muse want to say to you. As always, it’s 10/10 for me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final verdict: So, the movie has end, from what I can view, think and understand about this series. It’s one of the masterpieces in anime industry. I know you might want to say, I’m biased or something like that but to tell you the truth, LL series so far has moved me way better than anime I have done watched. The exciting, the feels, the emotions are really portrayed and it makes you truly immersed with the characters especially Muse member (of course). I would not recommend for those who have weak-willed or easily to feel depressed because the sad moment can strike you hard but, the cure is out there which is LL movie, so go finish the series as soon as possible and watch the movie. I’m really sad because Muse was disbanded and because of that I cried a lot, depressed and empty-inside but, as Honoka said: “We will see this through the end” and it turns out to be true which the ending was the movie. I will try to support new incoming school idol “Aquors” but to me Muse still my best school idol and I can’t deny that. Last but not least, I still remember their catchphrase "Muse - A story achieved together" which was true since their first single. Thanks for reading my review and I really appreciated that. Muse….music….START!!!!

The Love Live movie celebrates what μ’s essentially is, namely the school idol project. The idol group was formed as a way to save the girls’ school, Otonokizaka Academy, from having to close down. While μ’s mainly consists of the nine school idols, other Otonokizaka Academy students - as well as the principal - always offer their support when it comes to organising and promoting performances. However, as the third years graduate, the group comes to realise they cannot continue as school idols anymore and begin to fear that the end of μ’s will mark the end of their friendship. Over the course of the movie,the members of μ’s mature by accepting the inevitable end of their school idol project and by understanding what it means. The band members realise that their friendship is not bound by idoling and how a shared love of something can bring together different people. This, also understanding that, even when that thing is over, it won’t spell the end for their friendship. Love Live! The School Idol Movie celebrates μ’s and the friendship that binds them. While the latter half of the movie focuses more on Honoka, the screen-time the μ’s band members receive is very evenly distributed. All members get their chance to shine through songs and character moments, yet the movie still always focuses on them as a group, be it a group of friends or an idol group. Additionally, the movie features three insert songs sung by the third, second and first years, respectively, giving every year the opportunity to stand out. This shared focus on all of μ’s’ members further emphasises the theme of friendship, which ultimately takes centre stage. The movie consists of two parts: The first part finds μ’s going to New York in an attempt to make school idols more popular worldwide, and the second part deals with μ’s’ last performance as a group. One could even argue that the movie serves as a great introduction to Love Live as it is exactly what fans have come to expect from this slice-of-life idol anime and doesn’t really offer anything new but a shiny exterior. To some viewers, exactly this may pose a problem since they have expected something bigger, especially plot-wise. The plot of the second part as well as the centre issue μ’s has to deal with in particular are rather problematic as they have already been done in the TV series, though in the movie it is elaborated upon. However, Love Live is not beloved for it’s deep and meaningful plot. You watch it for its light-heartedness, its innocence, its catchy J-Pop and most importantly, its loveable characters with their contagious cheerfulness. Love Live! The School Idol Movie is Still 10/10. Very enjoyable, Had laughs but mostly crying at the end cause they are ending. All the performance is amazing too for me. If you're a fan of the Love Live series, then you should watch this. Actually, if you're a fan of the Love Live series, then I don't know why you haven't watched this already. However, if you're looking for a film that has a deep storyline, and unique characters, then you're better off looking for another anime movie.

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