Looks like Keke and Sumire are still roasting each other. I’m all for it. Their brief feud last episode was very entertaining so I want to see more of that.
While dealing with a heat wave, the Yuigaoka idol club and Chisato meet Sunny Passion, comprised of Kozu-shima residents Yuuna Hijirisawa (Chihaya Yoshitake) and Mao Hiiragi (Yuna Yuki). The two invite the Yuigaoka girls to perform as guests at a local concert in Kozu-shima. Seeing it as a good opportunity, the Yuigaoka girls accept. The two idol groups then spend the rest of the day practicing together. Naturally, Keke is over the moon at meeting her inspiration in person. There’s a particularly funny fangirl moment where Keke brings glowsticks and her own oversized Sunny Pas poster in support for the duo during practice. I’m surprised she doesn’t ask Yuuna and Mao to sign it. Maybe, she thinks she’d be overstepping boundaries but she kind of already did that with bringing the giant poster out in public.
You probably figured it out by now but Sunny Passion is the rival idol group in Superstar!!. I’m curious how heated things will between them and the Yuigaoka club, assuming tensions will arise at all. Based on the seasons that I’ve finished, Love Live! doesn’t go too toxic when it comes to rivalries. Saint Snow, for example, starts off very rude to Aqours but that attitude fizzles out very quickly. Right now, Sunny Pasion seems to be on friendly terms with the Yuigaoka club and they’re genuinely impressed in the progress the latter has made. It’s also worth noting that the upcoming concert is not a competition so I don’t think Sunny Passion is out to discourage the Yuigaoka club from continuing as school idols. Even if that is the plan, it’d be dumb for them to execute it during a concert that matters a great deal to them.
At the end of the day, Chisato asks Sunny Passion for feedback. While the duo commends Chisato for the training regiment she came up with for her friends, they feel that the Yuigaoka club won’t grow as dancers if they continue to rely on her for pointers. That’s a very fair point of criticism. Even though the club has gotten better at dancing, they lack the knowledge to choregraph their songs. That’s all been Chisato’s doing so far. Should Chisato be unavailable, the club would be at severe disadvantage. I find it funny that Yuuna and Mao suggest that Chisato should join the club full-time, thereby furthering the club’s potential and allowing them to claim full creative control and ownership of their dance choreography. It’s such a no brainer at this point.
Back of the beginning of the episode, Chisato is asked by one of her teachers to compete for an upcoming dance competition. When Sunny Passion invites the idol club to the concert, Chisato realizes is date conflicts with the dance competition, putting her at a bit of a crossroad. After consulting with Sunny Passion, Chisato opts to go the competition, leaving her friends to deal with the concert on her own. This seems to be a test, both for the club and Chisato. Maybe Chisato wants to see how the club will fare without her and see if Sunny Passion is right about them relying on her. By that same token, I think Chisato wants to see if she’d okay with the club alone or if it weights too much on her mind to ignore.
The first day of the island is mostly some CGDCT shenanigans and fanservice though there is one dilemma in that Kanon is struggling to write lyrics for the club’s next song. I find it strange that Kanon is in charge of songwriting since that was Keke’s job the first time around. Maybe there’s no set person for the role though it seems a taxing for Kanon to both write the lyrics and compose the instrumentals. Regardless, Kanon wants about her friends though what’s giving writer’s block is her feelings towards Chisato. Writing that Chisato is part of the group wouldn’t be completely inaccurate and it’d be too formal to call her a mentor or coach. Calling Chisato her girlfriend is also out of the question as the show would finally admit the yuri is canon. This prompts Keke to suggest again that Chisato should join the club full time but just like last time, Kanon decides against that as she wants Chisato to pursue her passion. I wonder Kanon will be the last catalyst to Chisato’s inevitable decision to become a school idol. Like, all Chisato needs to finally change her mind is the approval of her best friend.
I’m very curious to see how the next episode plays out. The best time for Chisato to join the club would be the concert at Kozu-shima but with her in the mainland, I don’t how realistically she could get to the island in time. I guess the show could have the club screw up at the concert and then Chisato will join as a silver lining though I don’t know if it’d do that either. That would mean wasting an insert song or skipping it entirely. With the show due for another MV, I don’t think it’s going to take that route.
Watch Love Live! Superstar!! on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
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