It perhaps goes without saying that Ayumu has made things really damn awkward between her and Yu, what with the pinning and the pleading. It’s so awkward that the two put things on hold to clear their heads and figure out what to do. Of course, this is easier said than done when they both have the school idol festival to concern themselves with. Naturally, this conflict lasts for the entire episode. It’s fine for the most part though it can get frustrating. I got particularly annoyed when Yu tries to tell Ayumu what exactly her dream is and Ayumu refuses to hear it, having concluded that it’ll cause the two of them drift apart from each other. I understand Ayumu’s fear but she really is lousy here. She should at least hear out what her best friend(?) has to say before drawing a conclusion.
Though it takes a while to get there, the resolution is worth it. Yu works with Ayumu’s fans to set up the idol’s stage for the festival. That’s a smart bit of writing there, having Yu work on the festival as she should while working her way towards reconciling with Ayumu at the same time. Even though they’re extras, it is neat to have Ayumu’s fans looking out for her and contribute towards her character development. For the stage, Yu and the fans incorporate a lot of flowers, which was a motif for Ayumu’s insert song in Episode 1. Really, this gives Yu the excuse of gifting a flower to Ayumu and reveal that it represents unchanging feelings. I’ll admit it’s an awfully convenient plot device but it is a nice gesture and I don’t know what else Yu would use.
As for Ayumu, she has Setsuna talk some sense into her. Considering that Ayumu kept fretting over Setsuna as some sort rival for Yu’s affection, it’s just as important for Ayumu to reconcile with Setsuna just as much as she should with Yu. Setsuna diffusing the tension is also appropriate, not just because she’s been this weird third wheel but also because, like Ayumu, she also made a preemptive decision out of fear of where things were going with er friends. She’s been in Ayumu’s situation before so she can vouch from experience that it’s better to see things through.
After a two episode hiatus, Nijigasaki treats us with a new insert song. As you might’ve guessed, Ayumu is the one performing this time around, joining Setsuna as the only characters this season who has gotten to perform twice. The new song feels similar to the first one though it does sound happier to reflect to Ayumu’s growth. I like that Ayumu performs on the same flight of stairs she used way back in Episode 1. With this episode having Ayumu renew her wedding vows reconcile with Yu, it’s fitting to have her perform at the place where she decided to become a school idol and asked Yu to support her. The reused location does cause Ayumu’s second performance to feel very similar to the first one though to the show’s credit, both the stage and Ayumu’s outfit has a slightly different look to them. A nice touch is the inclusion of the flower Yu gives to Ayumu, which the latter adorns into her hair.
Regarding Yu, the big thing she’s been trying to tell Ayumu is that she plans on taking the exam to transfer to Nijigasaki’s music course. I was curious if her interest in the piano would lead to anything so I’m glad to see the show following up on it. That said, this season has one episode left so I’m going to go ahead and assume that any more progress will happen next season.
With the Ayumu drama taken care of, all that’s left for this season is the school idol festival. Something that amused me during the prep is the amount of people helping each of Nijigasaki’s idols. Maybe school resumed and I missed it but if that isn’t the case, it seriously doesn’t look like the school is actually closed. Most hilarious is how Kasumi barely gets someone for her planning. At this rate, I have to wonder if she’ll even have people attending her concert. Considering that everyone is still a solo act, I do wonder how the concert will actually be depicted. As a reminder, there’s nine of these girls so unless the next episode is mostly insert numbers, I have a hard time believing that we’ll have nine songs. A medley seems more realistic and that could be cool depending on how well everyone’s music styles mesh together.
Watch Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and VRV (via Crunchyroll)
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