Season 1’s penultimate episode begins with Aqours checking online for the Love Live preliminary results. Obviously, these girls qualify though I did find the false alarm the show tries to pull to be pretty funny. Meanwhile, the piano recital appears to have gone well for Riko, as evidenced by the trophy she wins. I can’t help but think that this is the last we’ll ever see of this plot thread. Riko got her do-over. She’s found closure. I don’t know what else needs to be done here. By that same token however, I have to wonder what Riko will do in Season 2. I’d hate it if she’s given squat. She’s been one of my favorite characters in the show so far.
Despite the preliminaries given Aqours a lot of publicity, the girls discover that their school hasn’t gotten any new applicants. To be frank, that’s a bit presumptuous of them. Perhaps they should wait until after Love Live before gauging interest in their school. Regardless, this has Aqours wondering how μ’s managed to save their school, the previous show’s idol group appearing to be in a league of their own. Rather than Google it, Chika proposes that they all travel to Tokyo again and meet up with Riko to figure out what made μ’s so great.
At Tokyo, Aqours meets up with Saint Snow. I’m a little surprised that Saint Snow is willing to meet up with Aqours considering the blunt comments they made but then again, they do acknowledge Aqours’ talent and popularity so I guess they’re all on speaking terms. During the meeting, Sarah and Leah reveal that they qualify for Love Live and that their main inspiration is A-Rise, the rival group from School Idol Project. The duo isn’t sure what made either μ’s or A-Rise great, concluding that one can only know by reaching the same heights as they did. In other words, you’d need to win Love Live. I can’t help but find it funny that Sarah and Leah are determined to win. I didn’t get far enough in School Idol Project for that show to introduce A-Rise but I have a feeling that they did not win Love Live. Assuming that and by the girls’ logic, you’d think Sarah and Leah should actually lose in order to better understand their idols (pun not intended).
After the meeting with Saint Snow, Riko proposes that everyone in Aqours visit Otonokizaka High School. Following the piano recital, Riko feels a lot more comfortable with confronting her past. In hindsight, it makes sense that the show didn’t have the girls visit the original school in Episode 7. If the girls had done in their previous trip, Otonokizaka would simply be a tourist attraction to them. Having them visit the place to better understand μ’s makes Otonokizaka’s appearance a lot more meaningful.
What is weird however are the extras that appear in this scene. While at the front entrance of the school, the girls are greeted by a Otonokizaka student who weirdly resembles Hanayo (though her hair and eye colors are both different). They also see a little girl who resembles Honoka. I find these two extras bizarre if only because there’s no explicit explanation behind their resemblances. It’s also odd because Sunshine!! hasn’t had anyone from μ’s make an appearance. In a sequel that really wants to remind you of the original show, it actually hasn’t brought back any of the original characters apart from old footage and pictures. So I look at these extras and think that the show is trying to meet somewhere in the middle by evoking the original characters without actually bringing them back and it just doesn’t make sense to me.
As distracting as she is, fake Hanayo does provide Aqours with a very interesting piece of info: μ’s didn’t leave anything behind at their school. They took all their materials, accolades, and records with them, stating that they’re still connected to the school even without those things. It’s a big display of humility on the original cast’s part. They set out to save their school and when they finally accomplished that goal, they felt no need to brag about themselves and instead let the school stand on its own. With that, Chika realizes what made μ’s so great. μ’s didn’t aim to be at the top, they instead did their own thing. For Aqours to be as great as their predecessor, they shouldn’t emulate them and they should instead find their own stride.
I really like how at the end, Chika recites a letter she wrote for Honoka about her discovery. It’s not shown if Chika actually sends the letter to Honoka. I wouldn’t have minded if she did and the show cuts to an older Honoka reading the letter. If Sunshine!! was ever going to have any of the original characters show up, this would be an acceptable opportunity. Still, I like the concept of Chika writing a thank you letter to what is essentially her predecessor. It works well as a sort of passing of the torch and as a finale for Chika’s arc this season. Another detail I want to mention is Chika putting away a μ’s poster she hung in her bedroom. That’s a great visual to convey this episode’s character development. Chika will always love μ’s but she’s now done being a fangirl. She’s ready to be her own school idol.
While I do like the message of this episode, I must admit that the show is having its cake and eating it too. While Sunshine!! has its main characters resolve to follow the beat of their own drum, the show itself hasn’t really done that. It has seemingly followed many of the same story beats as its predecessor and that potentially undermines the message it’s trying to tell in the final stretch. Hopefully, this show can prove that it actually means what it’s saying by having its remainder be more its own thing.
Watch Love Live! Sunshine!! on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Tubi
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