Right as I finished writing/published the last episode review, the powers that be announced that the Yohane spin-off show will premiere on July 2nd. LiveChart is saying the show will actually premiere on ABEMA a week early on June 25th so there’s a small chance someone might fansub it before the official release. Regardless of the date, I don’t think I’ll finish the Sunshine!! episode reviews in time so I’ll most likely have to start the Yohane show late. It sucks for me but that’s how the cookie has crumbled. Hopefully, I can at least progress more in Sunshine!! and reduce the backlog enough before Yohane premieres.
Anyway, in this episode, Aqours has landed themselves in the Top 100 school idol groups thanks to their PV and they get invited to perform at an event in Tokyo. Mari gives the club the okay to travel to Tokyo with the secret intent that the trip will test Aqours’ resolve to succeed and save their school. Dia learns about the trip from Ruby and while Dia tells her sister to do what she wants, she is concerned over how the trip will go and confronts Mari about it. I’m guessing the third-years might gone down this path before and it crushed them, hence their strained relationship with one another. The funny thing is, despite her attitude, Dia might actually be more supportive of Aqours than Mari. Mari did approve of the club but I have to admit that she has imposed some high standards on them. Given her goal and backstory, it also feels like she’s using Aqours as a means to some sort of end. Dia doesn’t have the most positive opinion of the club but it’s not like she wants them to fail. For her to call Mari out on possibly going too far is saying something.
Naturally, since the girls are going to Tokyo, you have the usual bit where they act as a bunch of silly tourists. I particularly like the bit at the beginning where Chika and Ruby dress up in silly outfits that they think are trendy in Tokyo and Hanamaru shows up dressed as some sort of adventure while Riko, the one who’s actually from Tokyo, looks at them with a mix of confusion and disgust. Funnily enough, the show doesn’t do anything different with Yoshiko, as if the staff knew that her donning her chuunibyou stuff is weird enough to elicit a laugh.
Something that randomly caught my attention is this brief scene where Riko sees an advertisement for yuri fan fiction and scurries away from the gang to buy some for herself. I doubt this show will actually explore Riko’s sexuality, let alone any possible romance between her and someone else in the cast. Still, I can’t help but be a little surprised with this bit. In a franchise full of yuri subtext, this might be one of the more overt ones I’ve seen so far. Also, I’m amused over how tame the ad seems to be. It just advertises “chin-in-hand kisses” and the picture only shows one girl cupping her hand around nothing (although maybe the other girl is invisible). How scandalous!
During the trip, Aqours runs into a pair of girls practicing their singing. The girls are formally introduced during the idol event as Sarah and Leah Kazuno (Asami Tano and Hinata Sato), sisters who perform as a school idol duo named Saint Snow. I’m guessing these two are the rival group in Sunshine!!. Leah certainly comes across as such, what with her giving Aqours the silent treatment and the very unnecessary flip she does in front of them, just to show off. Sarah seems to be the more polite one of the two though I kind of expect that to be a façade. I can’t help but think there’s a condescending tone underneath her dialogue. I imagine these two will appear sparingly in the show so I have it to the producers in that they still casted people who can sing. That acapella number Saint Snow sings during their practice session is pretty darn good.
At night, Chika proposes to the gang that they visit Otonokizaka Girls’ Academy before the event. The following day, the girls don’t do that which I find surprising. Considering the amount of callbacks to School Idol Project, you’d think Sunshine!! would have its cast visit the original school. Maybe the show is saving it for later but that would imply restraint and that in of itself would shock me. Mentioning Otonokizaka doesn’t go entirely to waste as Riko talks to Chika about the high expectations she faced during her time in the school, resulting in her transferring to Uranohoshi. I doubt there’s a lot of nuance to be had here but there’s a neat contrast to Sunshine!! having someone with a complicated relationship with Otonokizaka, considering that the original cast was all about saving it from closure. In response to Riko, Chika admits that she’s been feeling pressure from her friends and family over the Tokyo event. While Chika thinks she’s rambling, her words prove to provide some comfort for Riko as she realizes that she’s no longer alone in dealing with high expectations. She now has friends to take on the burden.
Given the talk of high pressure and the introduction of Saint Snow, I think it’s safe to say that Aqours aren’t going to succeed all that much during the idol show. To question to instead ask if how badly does it go for them and how exactly will they rebound from there. I imagine they’ll eventually rebound. There’s no way Sunshine pulls a title drop, only to then have its girls miss out on the actual event.
Watch Love Live! Sunshine!! on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Tubi
Xenodude Scribbles 