Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow (Movie)

Love Live! Sunshine!! as a TV show ended in Fall 2017 but its story continued on in 2019 with a theatrical film subtitled Over the Rainbow. My episode reviews for this series isn’t over just yet. This is actually the first anime tie-in movie I’m covering for my episode reviews. There’s movies for shows that I’ve covered before Sunshine!! but I haven’t gotten around to them (I need to work on that…). Oddly enough, this movie is currently unavailable for streaming. I believe Funimation licensed it in the U.S. and I imagine they still have it after they merged with Crunchyroll and took on its name as the movie can still be bought digitally on Amazon. My only guess then is there’s some issue with the contract. I hope this will eventually get ironed out as it’s weird to have the entire series available for streaming except for the movie.

Over the Rainbow begins with a flashback scene showing a young Chika (Anju Inami) and You (Nanaka Suwa) bumping into Riko (Rikako Aida) at the beach. This actually has no real bearing on the movie’s plot and none of the aforementioned characters acknowledge this encounter at all. I think this scene is included because later in the movie, Chika imagines herself and everyone else in Aqours as little kids, including Riko. This show never depicted Riko as a little kid so perhaps the flashback, assuming that it actually is a flashback, is included so that the sight of little Riko is less out of the blue. It’s weird and a bit clumsy but I suppose that’s par for the course with Sunshine!!.

After that odd scene, the movie picks up right where the TV show left off, with Aqours performing their “last” concert at Uranohoshi. Turns out, the gang has a second song for the event. Things quickly take a stylistic or non-sensical turn as the show moves the girls from the school to various parts of Uchiura, with various extras performing with them. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to just call Love Live! a musical. It’s often loose with its internal logic whenever the music starts playing so calling this series a musical would help me with looking the other way.

I got to say, the opening number sets a pretty high bar for the rest of the movie. The song is more orchestral in nature. There’s a lot of dynamic “camerawork” and animation. The amount of locales and extras makes the whole sequence a lot grander compared to previous numbers. It all feels very befitting for the big screen. I find it funny that some of the extras are men, an extremely rare sight in this franchise. It’s as if that’s somehow part of the presumed budget increase the animators got for the movie.

Some time after the concert, the third-years – Dia (Arisa Komiya), Kanan (Nanaka Suwa), and Mari (Aina Suzuki) – have once again departed from Uchiura for a post-graduation trip in Italy. Meanwhile, the remaining members of Aqours – Chika, You, Riko, Ruby (Ai Furihata), Hanamaru (Kanako Takatsuki), and Yoshiko (Aika Kobayashi) – vow to continue their school idol careers with just the six of them. While searching for a new place to practice, the girls try to locate their new school, Seishin High School, only to find that Uranohoshi will be treated as a “branch school” in an old and run down building. The girls learn from a You’s cousin Tsuki (Tomoyo Kurosawa), who attends Seishin, that a lot of people are resisting the merger, fearing that bringing Uranohoshi’s students will devalue the prestige Seishin has built for their clubs. I guess it’s a consolation that barely anyone in either school wanted the merger to happen but Seishin has some serious gall to put Uranohoshi’s students somewhere else. Even more insulting is that the new building so bad that the girls would be better off coming back to their old campus.

Being the most successful club in Uranohoshi, Aqours realizes that they’re only ones who could assuage Seishin’s concerns. You’d think all Aqours needs to do is present their victory flag from Love Live as proof of their prestige but I guess Chika left the flag at the beach and is too lazy to pick it up. I’d also wager the statistics for their PVs would also suffice. Instead, Aqours opts to perform at a club event in Seishin’s auditorium. Unfortunately, the performance goes badly and Aqours fails to persuade the powers that be. This performance happens offscreen so we have to take the girls’ word that they made a basic mistake on the stage. I understand cutting that out for pacing but it would sting more if we could actually see what the exact error is.

The next day, the girls are visited by Sarah (Asami Tano) and Leah (Hinata Sato). Sarah watches them practice and concludes that Aqours is struggling to perform in Dia, Kanan, and Mari’s absence. Leah then lashes out at Aqours, with Sarah explaining that she’s been struggling to start a new school idol group. Before anyone can dwell on either situation, everyone is visited by Mari’s mother (Akiko Yajima). Apparently, the third-years have gone missing so she requests for Aqours to search for them. Obviously, the request is really suspicious, what with an adult woman contacting her daughter’s friends as opposed to the authorities. Regardless, Aqours agrees to fly over to Italy, bringing Tsuki along as their guide. Aside from making sure the third years are okay, the gang thinks reuniting with them will help them out of their funk.

The gang begins their trip in Venice. Thanks to some clues left by the third years, it actually doesn’t take that long for Aqours to locate them. The gang soon learn however that Mari, Dia, and Kanan are on the run, due to some wanted posters posted by Mari’s mother. While running off, the third-years break into the movie’s second insert song. The performance is refreshing, not just because of the Italian backdrops but also because it’s just Mari, Dia, and Kanan singing. Up until now, we never actually got to see the original Aqours perform on their own, so I’m glad that the movie finally gives them that opportunity. The whole sequence is also funny with how the extras look at the trio in confusion, either because of the wanted posters or because they’re singing and dancing.

At a hideout in Florence (which I believe is a bit of a trek from Venice), the third years explain to their underclassmen and Tsuki what’s going on. Mari went against her mother’s wishes by going to Uranohoshi and becoming a school idol. In retaliation, Mari’s mother is arranging a marriage for her to secure their family’s future. While definitely harsh, you can see Mari’s mother’s point of view. Technically, Mari did fail to keep Uranohoshi alive and school idols aren’t exactly a viable career path.

Mari’s mother soon arrives at the hideout, forcing Mari to bargain for her freedom. If Mari and her friends can prove that her school idol career wasn’t a complete waste, then her mother will back off. Per the first years’ suggestion, Aqours heads over to Rome (I swear, they make traveling look so easy) and perform the movie’s third insert song at the Spanish Steps. I’m glad Mari is the center, it’s only fitting since the subplot is centered around her (pun not intended). The performance goes without a hitch and it attracts a pretty large crowd. Seeing the positive reception and the girls’ passion, Mari’s mother concedes and gives Mari back her freedom. With conflict taken care of, everyone returns to Uchiura.

I guess a major point of criticism I have with the movie is that the detour to Italy is, well, a detour. It does steer the story away from the whole Seishin and Uranohoshi fiasco. That said, it is a fun way to reintegrate the third years into the narrative and to further explore Mari’s character. Even if in a superficial sense, the tourist attractions in Italy do make for a refreshing aesthetic for some of the movie’s insert songs.

At Uchiura, The first and second year members of Aqours prepare for another live show, with help from their classmates and a few students from Seishin who are fans of Yohane. During preparations, the girls learn that Sarah might convince Leah to transfer to Seishin so that she can join Aqours in time for the school year. Everyone is fine with the idea except for Ruby, who thinks that joining Aqours isn’t what Leah wants. With how well Saint Aqours Snow worked, I don’t think Leah transferring is a bad idea per se. However, Ruby has a point. Leah is very particular about her idol group. Case in point, she had Saint Snow disbanded because she wanted to keep it between her and Sarah. Joining an established group such as Aqours just isn’t Leah’s style and it’d be an easy out for her situation.

In lieu of Sarah’s original plan, both Saint Snow and Aqours decide to hold a joint live show as the “final round of Love Live” that they would’ve experienced if Saint Snow passed the regional qualifiers. That way, Leah regains her passion to be a school idol and all the underclassmen get to perform with their upperclassmen one last time. I thought Leah’s arc wrapped up nicely in Season 2 so it initially felt weird to bring it up again. In hindsight, revisiting it allows for a nice parallel to Aqours’ own situation. Plus, it’s a good excuse to have Saints Snow perform again. It’s nice hearing their rock-oriented music again. We haven’t heard that in a long time. As for Aqours, they give a good performance as well. Having them perform at sunrise signifies that the group is moving on to a new era in their school idol careers. I also like that the third years are wearing a different outfit from the others. Even in group shots, they look “separated” from the rest of the group, signifying the inevitable split within the group.

Impressed with Aqours’ performance, Tsuki uploads her recorded footage onto the internet. In doing so, more people at Seishin come around to integrating Uranohoshi’s students in the main campus and offer to help Aqours with their upcoming live show. Early on, I didn’t know what to make of Tsuki. She has the same mannerisms as You and I get that they’re cousins but the spitting image is a bit too silly for me. The movie establishes that Tsuki lived in Italy for a few years so the only reason she really accompanies Aqours in Italy is so that Aqours isn’t completely lost in the country. The part where she uploads the footage is where she finally clicks for me. Tsuki is essentially a viewpoint character for Seishin, spending the entire movie observing Aqours and understanding why they are special before finally giving her support and getting others to join the bandwagon.

At the end of the movie, Aqours perform at the live show, giving us the last insert song for the movie and Sunshine!! as a whole. The gang is no longer worried about the third years’ absence, realizing now from the couple of events that they’ll still be with them in spirit. Dia, Mari, and Kanan watch the remaining six perform but they leave partway through the song, content that Aqours will live on without them. The first third of the song is sung by the first and second years though after that, the third years do join in a presumably imagined scenario. That kind of undermines the three physically departing from the scene but I suppose including them in the song proves the remaining six members’ point that that the third-years are never truly gone. Looking from behind the scenes, it would also be a shame if the very last song in Sunshine!! didn’t involve the entire main cast so I get the comprise the staff went with. Besides, it doesn’t stop the scene from being any more bittersweet.

There’s a couple of scenes that play during and after the credits. First, we see Leah continuing to find members for her new group. Next, we see the branch school building closed down. I would’ve liked to see the girls at Seishin but that’s a good enough indicator that they succeeded in getting Uranohoshi’s students over to the main building. After post-credit scene, some extras talk about Aqours’ concert, with one of them writing the group’s name in the sand, much like Dia did in Season 1. It doesn’t technically bring the story full circle but it’s nevertheless a good callback and a nice visual to end the entire series on.

I’m not the biggest fans of Sunshine‘s season finales so coming off of those, I really enjoyed the movie by comparison. To start off, this movie addresses all the potential loose ends in the show. The question of what Aqours will do once the third years graduate is brought up a couple times in the latter half of Season 2 though the girls put that on off to focus on the pressing matter of the Love Live finals. Making that one of the overarching plots in the movie is a smart move. It’s implied that Mari doesn’t entirely get along with her folks though it’s only until the movie that it’s properly explored and resolved. As mentioned earlier, revisiting Leah’s arc feels a little weird at first. I think it’s wrapped up rather neatly in Season 2. Still, the movie does a good job reopening that can of worms as a parallel to Aqours’ arc and resolving it a second time. Aside from putting a bow on everything, this movie is simply a lot of fun to watch. I’ve really grown attached to the characters so watching their final adventures makes for a bittersweet experience. As is par for the course with the franchise, the soundtrack is infectiously catchy. The first insert song in particular is a highlight for me.

I would say this movie is the actual end of the road, and I believe it is for this particular continuity, but there is Yohane the Parhelion to look forward to. Adding Sunshine!! to the list of shows to cover in episode reviews and putting Yohane up for consideration did translate to more work for myself. It’d probably still help me to watch Sunshine!! but since Yohane appears to be its own thing, I probably didn’t need to cover the parent show for the sake of competition. That said, I don’t regret going through with this series of episode reviews. Sunshine!! has its issues but it’s been a fun ride from beginning to end and I enjoyed sharing my two cents on each and every episode. I hope this feeling will continue on with the spin-off series.