It’s been a while since I last blogged about Love Live! Sunshine!!. Also, the Yohane spin-off is premiering next month so catching up has become a tall order for me. Anyway…
So as it turns out, Uranohoshi is going to close down and merge with another school due to a dwindling student body. And yes, this is yet another thing copied over from School Idol Project. As I’ve previously stated, I haven’t finished the original show so I can’t make comparisons. I’ll admit that not being able to do so is getting on my nerves but at least I’m less biased and can maybe judge Sunshine!! more on its own terms. That we find out that Uranohoshi is closing down at the midway point is a bit odd to me. I guess it’d be too on the nose if Sunshine!! revealed this at the beginning just like in School Idol Project but this is hardly the most shocking plot twist out there. Really, I’d be more surprised if the school isn’t closing down.
Funnily enough, Sunshine!! does lean into the fact that this plot has been done before as Chika sees it as her moment to shine. Being the big μ’s fan that she is, Chika is naturally excited that she now gets to follow in their footsteps, right down to saving a school. If it worked for μ’s, surely it will work for Aqours. Mind you, Chika does come to take on the prospect more earnestly. When she has Aqours create a PV for their town and school, they struggle to come up with good things to say. Rather than settle with a halfhearted attempt, Chika decides search for an answer on her own, even declining assistance offered by Mari. Chika is following μ’s’ example but she does come to the realization that she can’t do so without actually having legitimate attachment to her school.
Ultimately, the one who helps Chika in finding her answer is Riko. Riko comments on how close the townsfolk are with one another and Chika realizes that it’s the people that make Uchiura special. That Riko points this out is interesting as she is one of the newest residents in the town. You’d think Chika or You would be the first to realize this as they’ve been living in Uchiura their whole lives but I suppose it’s so obvious that they’ve been taking it for granted. Riko being new here actually makes her more likely to comment on the town’s community. While I’m at it, the same could be said about Mari. Despite her wealthy background and her being away from Uchiura for some time, she presumably came to the answer as Riko and Chika and shares the same affinity towards her town and school as the others do.
Sunshine!! is definitely building towards something involving the third years. In this episode, it’s all but confirmed that Dia, Kanan, and Mari were school idols and it fell apart at some point. How and why things didn’t pan out is unknown but this does explain Kanan and Dia’s complicated relationship with school idols and the awkward, distant relationship Mari has with both of them. I suppose the question now is how will these three path things up and what kind of role Aqours will play in that. The show almost got Aqours involved in this episode when Chika wants to ask Dia about school idols, only for Ruby to request that they save it for later. I would call this moment contrived but to be fair, starting a potential arc with the third years would complicate this episode.
I enjoyed the insert number in this episode. The song is pretty good but what really stands out to me is the visuals, particularly with the transition from day to sunset and the use of lanterns. The logistics are a little bit questionable. I can’t help but wonder how long the girls had been filming and how exactly they got that really good aerial shot of the lanterns spelling out Aqours’ name. Still, these elements make for some pretty visuals and it pairs nicely with the song in conveying Aqours’ desire to promote their town and save their school. Chika being the center initially feels like a no-brainer, what with her being the protagonist and all, but it is appropriate here since she was at the forefront of this episode’s character development.
Watch Love Live! Sunshine!! on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Tubi
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