(L) Love Live! School Idol Project (1st Season)

[Enternal]

Originally Posted by playmaker2k

Spoiler for nsfw:

This is how you form an alliance.

(New Wallpaper)

*Nosebleeds
*Recovers
*Looks at other images that everyone posted. especially those by Chiaki-chan
*Massive nosebleeds from repeated assaults from all those images
*Recovers several days later

Ahem. Wow, have been busy and not come here for a while and what do I see? In depth discussion, yuri goggles, yuri goggles with super glue on, lots and lots of delicious images, Eri-sama~, Maki-sama~, Umi-sama~, Kotori-chwan, Honka-chan, nico nico ni~, nyan nyan, Hanayo, craziness, Justice league, Wonder Woman, and... batman... wtf. Seems very exciting!

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Anybody want to make final predictions for the finale?

Some important open questions we can make predictions on...

1) Will Kotori stay with Honoka/Muse, or go Overseas?

2) Will Muse successfully put on a final 9-person concert?

3) Will Muse continue on beyond the finale of this episode, or will they dissolve?

4) Which yuri pairings will be hinted at, if any?

5) How many girls get their breasts groped by Nozomi in the final episode?


My predictions...

1) Kotori changes her mind and chooses to stay with Honoka and Umi. This is announced after her "going away" concert so that this concert can retain its emotional poignancy in the heat of the moment.

2) Yes, Muse succeeds in putting on a final 9-person concert.

3) Muse's future will be uncertain, but no definite dissolving (you know, just in case the show gets a sequel ).

4) These yuri pairings are hinted at - Honoka/Kotori (for obvious reasons), Nico/Maki (lightly).

5) 2.

Yuri? Hmm... Honoka/Kotori/Umi. Umi/Maki/Eri (Umi's a player but Eri is fine with getting her hands on anything she can her hands on). Maki/Nico. Rin/Hanayo. Nozomi is a hard one... she just gropes everyone that she can. Damn, I wish I could see Nozomi groping Eri... *massive nosebleed

[NoemiChan]

Not Honoka again?! Leave my waifu alone with me...!!!

[MisaoFan]

Spoiler for Episode 13 (End) + Review:

It's been a while I'd never teared a lot since Horizon, and watching the first half leaves me in nothing but depression. The girls get separated in their own way, Nozomi never had a chance to grope her friends in this finale, and suddenly in the second half...Honoka is returning her idol way by giving Eri and Honoka back, as well the other teammates, and they even sing their first song together in a live concert, I was full of joy, and I've never felt sad until the last episode before the finale as well...
I had low expectations on each episode, but each time in turn on, I was impressed, and it has awesome visuals and a decent story to make it up. The music videos are fun to look and listen, and most of the series before the last few episodes was pretty comedic and it has a lot of character-specific antics like the Niko's, and the girls put enough effort into their training before singing and dancing their new ways. The remaining episodes however go full-on drama involving the school issues and such, but other than that, it was pretty enjoyable though somewhat memorable enough to get after sometimes.

[lildevilinhell]

Spoiler for Episode 13:

Lol... It was as expected.
Honoka glomps Kotori and manages to get her on time for their live in the auditorium~
ARISE even watches it ~.^
Even Honoka's dad has manly tears after watching the performance of
Startash!! (9 µ's ver)

Honoka's recovery was thanks to those 3 helpers helping her cheer up slowly and renewing the feeling of why she loved being an idol. Kayo, Rin, and Nico continue on idol activities and asks Honoka to come watch when they perform. Eri talks to Honoka in Honoka's room and confesses how she was jealous of Honoka's ability to act on her honest feelings. She reminds that Honoka was the one who taught her the most important thing, to not be afraid of change and the have the courage to move forward, that Eri was saved by the hand that Honoka lent out.

[pagan poor]

Originally Posted by pagan poor

The official release of the song is April 3, which is after the next (and last) episode of this season. So, technically it isn't spoiling, just that someone unofficially sends it to the internet wild before the actual release date.

The OST is due out on April 10, so you won't have to wait long to hear the A-Rise song .

[LoweGear]

This ending feels way too unsatisfying... of the S2 hooks I've seen in endings this season, this one is the most blatant. It really didn't feel like an ending and more like a mid-season episode, like as if Idolm@ster ended at episode 13. The difference though is that IM@S could've ended at said episode and it would've been a satisfying ending, while this... DAMN YOU SUNRISE, SECOND SEASON RIGHT NAO!!!!!!!

They're gonna be releasing a 6th PV soon though, so that's consolation at least, but still

[YourIdeas]

Spoiler for "Episode 13:

That was a rather strange way to go about the episode. After Honoka leaves, most of the other idols just sort of give up because there's no point continuing Muse if there's no Honoka. Takes a bit of convincing on Honoka's end but after some DDR, finally comes to her senses, which manages to pull everyone back together and make Kotori change her mind about studying abroad at the last second. (which, as sweet as it seems, just looked selfish on Honoka's part.) From here, they decide to continue with being school idols, and their "debut" performance makes them rise back up through the ranks enough to catch A-Rise's attention. It felt like they were trying to condense two episodes into one, which just made the break-up of the group feel purposeless.

The timeline in this show is a bit strange to me (Nico, Nozomi, and Eri are gonna have to graduate at some point, being 3rd years and all) and I didn't care too much for the Idolm@ster-esque ripoff ending but overall, it's been a pretty enjoyable series. Many of the antics felt fresh and most of the drama was done well. It seems they're pulling for a 2nd season, which I'll be looking forward to, but despite the ending's flaws, I was fairly content with what I watched overall. Looking forward to that 6th single.

[lildevilinhell]

Originally Posted by YourIdeas

Spoiler for "Episode 13:

Takes a bit of convincing on Honoka's end but after some DDR, finally comes to her senses, which manages to pull everyone back together and make Kotori change her mind about studying abroad at the last second. (which, as sweet as it seems, just looked selfish on Honoka's part.) From here, they decide to continue with being school idols, and their "debut" performance makes them rise back up through the ranks enough to catch A-Rise's attention.

Spoiler for ep13:

In that case, Umi is on the same level on the selfishness there. Umi was the one who thought up and encouraged Honoka to get Kotori back with Umi's very reason to get her back is out of selfishness in the first place , something that only Honoka can pull off lol. They can't have their clothes designer leaving .

Even so, Kotori herself admitted out-loud that she already knew what she really wanted to do in the first place, so it was like pulling her back to where she wanted to be. So their selfishness didn't go against Kotori's wishes.

I'm not sure about A-RISE's attention was grabbed by her rising in ranks, since they technically weren't really registered yet (based off the video, they were still No Name and the µ's wasn't shown till the end). Maybe more like they recognized the song?

[Nork22]

Spoiler for Episode 13:

Of course it wasn't Umi that made Honoka realise the fun times she had at being an idol. It was the least expect trio of helpers that did it. Then slowly Rin and Hanayo (and Nico) are still determine to continue on as idols, and that spark something in Honoka. And lastly Eli stopped by to tell Honoka her feelings before joining Muse and tells Honoka to rise on forward and extends her hand out to Honoka like Honoka did for Eli.

And now it comes back to that wish Honoka made in episode 3, where Muse is now performing in front of a full house. And the segment of Start Dash! with all 9 muse members was awesome. Even Honoka's dad was crying manly tears.

In the end, this was a great series from start to finish despite the show having a lot of frilly comedic moments and blatant advertisement to buy the single CDs. And I thought the characters grew a lot during the last 13 episode, compared to about 2-3 in idolm@ster. Though the only thing now I wish for is a 2nd season. Come on Dengeki and Sunrise you guys know you want to!

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by LoweGear

This ending feels way too unsatisfying... of the S2 hooks I've seen in endings this season, this one is the most blatant. It really didn't feel like an ending and more like a mid-season episode, like as if Idolm@ster ended at episode 13. The difference though is that IM@S could've ended at said episode and it would've been a satisfying ending, while this... DAMN YOU SUNRISE, SECOND SEASON RIGHT NAO!!!!!!!

They're gonna be releasing a 6th PV soon though, so that's consolation at least, but still

SECOND SEASON NOW!!! Is basically what my brain is shouting. I feel so giddy now.

[Pen3]

Guess i don't get my Mogyutto remake

[kitten320]

The bit I disliked the most is how predictable whole Kotori thing was.
I really think it would be much better and emotional if Kotori left and Muse had a send off performance for her.

And then have Kotori come back in season 2 saying that school was not for her and come back.
Would be far more emotional.


Otherwise nice episode and good shows over all. Better than I thought it would be and hope to have season 2 at some point especially now that A-Rise knows about Muse.

8/10 from me.

[Julio C]

Good show overall, but it did felt like the second half got too predicable and the drama was out of place sometimes. It's no where near the iM@S level for me especially in the drama department. I'm not expecting a second season since the show may or may not sell well enough to warrant that.

Once again Maki is still my favorite.

[Enternal]

Originally Posted by Julio C

Good show overall, but it did felt like the second half got too predicable and the drama was out of place sometimes. It's no where near the iM@S level for me especially in the drama department. I'm not expecting a second season since the show may or may not sell well enough to warrant that.

Once again Maki is still my favorite.

It's selling extremely well actually so I sure hope there's a second season!

Anyways, Eri~

[ars89]

Was that Maki's mom that ran into Kotori's mom? Looked like they knew each other.

[Humble Loser]

Predictable? Yes. But did I love it? You betcha. At the end of the day, I always viewed Love Live! as a feel good show. And in that department, it shines. The characters each have their quirks but gel perfectly together.

9/10

P.S.
Second season, we need you now! Thanks in advance.

[playmaker2k]

I really like the part where ARISE is watching. The look on their faces was priceless. lol

Right after that scene, they showed Muse's captains of their years.

Eri, Honoka, and Maki aka the better versions of them.

Lowegear, where did you hear about a 6th pv?

Acquiring minds want to know. (me)

[Triple_R]

A lot of anime have the reputation of starting great, and ending great, but being weak in the broad middle in-between.

I would say that Love Live! is now an example of the complete opposite of that.

The 1st Episode was a little bit silly, and hard to take seriously at times, but still reasonably enjoyable and demonstrating real potential.

Episodes 2 through 11 hardly missed a beat, including many memorable and wonderfully dramatic moments. The show just kept steadily improving throughout almost this entire run.

But now, we finish off with a finale that is a little bit silly, and hard to take seriously at times...


I think I get what the writers were aiming for with the final two episodes of Love Live!, but I also think it was ultimately more than they could execute well in two episodes worth of content. I can't help but think that Love Live! would have been better off if they had just kept pushing Muse forward with a solid bounce back after Honoka's collapse, and if Kotori's subplot had either never happened or Honoka had soldiered on through it without ever quitting.

So to be fair, I do appreciate what they tried to do here. And there was some nice and compelling elements to it (I honestly really loved the DDR scene, as I think it smartly demonstrates one of the lasting benefits to Honoka becoming a School Idol). But some parts of this final episode are almost impossible to truly believe. Let's be frank - Nobody changes their mind on a major life decision when they're at the freakin' airport. And how the heck do amateurs pull off a packed concert on a wing and a prayer like that? I mean... wow!

I have to say, though, Honoka's dad in tears was loltastic. Such delicious cheese!


On the whole, Love Live! was a fun and rewarding watch. Episodes 2 through 11 was an extremely strong run for this show. But if ever an anime should have just played things straight, I think it was this one.

Ah well, 85/100 overall.


I have mixed feelings about a second season. Logically speaking, the 3rd years would be graduating before then, and that means Eri and your comedy relief (Nico and Nozomi) would have to be replaced. Eri was simply fantastic overall. I think she'd be really hard to replace. So would the comic value of Nico and Nozomi.

That being said, this show is selling great, so a second season is almost a definite. It's not every day Sunrise can get easy money out of a non-mecha property.

[viperdk1]

If anyone recalls, there were three sub-groups formed from the Muse members - BiBi, Printemps and Lily White - and until I remembered the groupings (i.e. Eri, Maki and Nico for BiBi etc.) I thought that was the direction they were taking the show in. As such, whilst watching, part of me thought it was a little bit of a cop-out that was solved all that little too quickly.

The other part of me then took over and shut me up, after which came the tears of happiness for the final performance of the season - genuinely loved this series from start to finish, and I'm looking forward to any future showings. A slightly more 'realistic' portrayal of the life of an 'idol', that went beyond the public persona that an idol showcases (see A-RISE in this for that kind of portrayal). Admittedly I haven't seen AKB0048 or Idolmaster but if they're in the same vein as this I will watch the hell out of them

[jeroz]

any character development for Nico is always nice.

Though i do agree that with all the great buildup, the ending is kind of conventional. It would probably better if there's 1 more episode to the show so there's time to build on more emotional impact in the usual unorthodox ways the series has showed us so far. I wouldn't say that the ending dragged the whole series down, but it's certainly not as perfect as we would've liked it to be. So, many, cliches XD