The Summer 20223 season opened its floodgates so I got preoccupied trying some new shows. Now that it’s taken care of, I’m back with catching up on Love Live! Sunshine!! so that I can watch its Summer 2023 iteration. And speak of the devil, Yohane happens to be one of the central characters this episode (the other being Riko).
In this episode, Aqours are preparing for the regional qualifiers. Considering that this was the wall they ran into last Love Live, the girls are feeling a lot of pressure to pass this round. However, this falls into the background as the real plot of this episode has Yoshiko stumbling upon a lost dog, whom she names “Lailap”. Since her apartment doesn’t allow pets, Yoshiko forces Riko into taking care of the dog in her stead. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before but Riko is scared of dogs, including Chika’s own pet dog, Shitake. Riko is pretty much the last person who would want to take care of a dog. I’d say Yoshiko is out of her mind for doing this but then again, she’s one of the crazy ones so I guess this checks out.
As you can imagine, Riko has an awkward time with the dog. She mostly keeps the dog in the cage Yoshiko bought for it. An exception she makes is when she needs to feed the dog and even then, she ties a rope to her door so that she can close it if the dog gets too close. It’s a sad sight but at least Riko isn’t doing it out of malice. To her credit, Riko does grow attached to the dog as she gives it a new name (“Nocturne”), leaves idol practice ASAP to be with it, and buys them a chew toy. It might help that the dog is pretty well-behaved. It doesn’t mind or at least tolerates being in the cage and it figures out pretty quickly that Riko wants space.
Despite her apartment does not allow pets, Yoshiko eventually decides that she wants to take care of Lailap/Nocturne and she tries to take it back from Riko. Apart from breaking the rule, I’m not sure what Yoshiko has in mind here or if she has a plan at all. That question does become moot as Riko’s mother finds out who the original owner of the dog is, forcing both girls to return it.
You’d think the plot would end there but we then see Yoshiko and Riko having some sort of withdrawal where they already want Lailap/Nocturne back in their lives and they can barely focus on idol practice. So naturally, they decide to stake out the owner’s house in the hopes of seeing the dog or in Yoshiko’s case, steal it. I’ll admit, I found Yoshiko to be annoying here. I know she has chuunibyou but I could not find it funny when she proclaims that she and Lailap must be together because of some arcane contract or when she wonders if the little girl who owns the dog is actually the owner. It’s just insane. Riko isn’t that much better but I can at least understand her more than Yoshiko. She’s never felt that close to a dog before so I get her withdrawal and desire a little more. Thankfully, the writer(s) were smart enough to end the episode with the both girls accepting that they’re not the dog’s owner and that they should move on.
I really like the ending where Riko finally decides to approach Shitake and bridge the gap between them. There have been some hilarious moments involving the two, my favorite being their little “chase” scene in Season 1 Episode 5. However, given the plot of this episode, it makes sense that the show finally retires that running gag and have Riko feel comfortable around the big dog. Sunshine!! could easily keep playing it up for laughs so I’m impressed to learn that this is a legitimate story thread with a genuine and satisfying ending.
Watch Love Live! Sunshine!! on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Tubi
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