The second school idol festival is in full swing now. As decided last episode, this one is taking place across different schools for a whole week. I don’t know if I mentioned this before but a lot of these auxiliary idols are actually from the School Idol Festival mobile game. It’s a neat bit of fanservice though I am divided on the lack of actual insert songs by these characters. It would require a lot of work but I don’t know, the still image montages of everyone posing doesn’t cut it for me. I especially get conflicted when the main characters are performing with these other groups. That makes me even more curious about whatever music they’re supposedly performing.
As it turns out, this episode is primarily focused on Shioriko. While assisting one of the participating schools, Shion Academy, the gang learns that Kaoruko was a school idol there and that Shioriko once dreamed of becoming a school idol herself. Naturally, the gang invites Shioriko to join their club but she declines. After Kaoruko failed to make it to Love Live, Shioriko abandoned her dream and she’s decided to play it safe by helping people who have the drive and talent to become school idols, hence her willingness to manage the school idol festival. I’ll admit that I haven’t paid a lot of attention to Shioriko, there have been times where she’s honestly just there, so this arc goes a long way in giving her character some intrigue and relatability. You get where Shioriko is coming from and there’s nothing inherently wrong with her decision. At the same time however, it’s sad that she doesn’t want to at least try to be a school idol.
I kind of figured it’d be a whole group effort to change Shioriko’s mind though you’d think someone would stand out from the rest in the discourse. I suppose the best candidate would’ve been Lanzhu, what with her being Shioriko’s childhood best friend. However, she’s largely absent in this episode and I don’t know if she would encourage Shioriko to join the club when she herself is off doing her own thing. I’m kind of surprised that the show doesn’t make Yu the most prominent voice of encouragement. Shioriko’s situation is very similar to Yu’s in that she resigns herself to working as a supporter. The key differences are that Yu never intended on being a school idol and she managed to find a dream she wants to pursue. Setsuna would’ve also been a good candidate. She works with Lanzhu at the student council and she’s achieved a balance between walking a safe path and doing what she wants with her student council president and school idol double life.
Granted, the one Shioriko needs to hear from the most is her older sister. I really like the mature introspection Kaoruko has on her school idol experience. She was upset that she failed to make it to Love Live but over the years, she’s come to look fondly on her school idol career. It may not have gone the way she wanted but it was a fun and worthwhile experience and it wasn’t all for naught as it inspired her to pursue a career in education. Honestly, I kind of wish Kaoruko is more prominent. I just really like the idea of a former school idol helping the younger generation. Maybe she could stick around as the idol club’s advisor though the show will probably keep the girls doing their own thing so that seems unlikely to me.
You know, after five episodes setting up the subunits, it actually feels weird to see a solo idol MV again. I almost forgot that this is one of Nijigasaki‘s selling points. The song itself is pretty catchy, with some of the more interesting instrumentals I’ve heard from this show, but what really stands out here are the visuals. The MV alternates from Shioriko performing in front of the defunct gears of a clock to her wandering a library. Eventually, she finds the book containing the key she needs to re-activate the clock. It’s a nice metaphor to her stagnation and her newfound desire to continue onward with her dream. I also like how Shioriko’s dancing shifts from emotionless to energetic as the MV progresses.
After her impromptu performance, Shioriko tells the club that she’ll join them after the school idol festival ends. I guess it’s technically not official just yet but for all intents and purposes, Season 2 has finally inducted one of the new girls into the club. I’m kind of surprised it’s taken so long. I have no idea who will join next though it does seem like the show will hand the spotlight over to Lanzhu again. We see her watching Shioriko perform and she seems very conflicted over her friend becoming a school idol and joining the club.
Watch Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club on Crunchyroll and Funimation
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