It’s the final day of the second school idol festival and we’re back at the fanciest school in existence. Actually, if you need any proof that Nijigasaki is insanely prestigious, you just need to look at all the festival exhibits. These darn teenagers literally built buildings within the school building as well a bunch of giant decor to hang from the ceiling. The most notable creation is the water slider created by the school’s Nagashi Somen Club, which loops around the entire campus and is intended to kick off Lanzhu’s performance. It’s a fun callback (the Nagashi Somen Club had a cameo back in Season 1 Episode 1) but damn, I’m trying to picture all the planning and construction that club had to do. It’s honestly amazing how much more extravagant this school is compared to all the other schools in the Love Live! franchise.
Lanzhu has a new song for her performance but shockingly, this episode doesn’t present it in a stylistic or dynamically animated MV as per usual and it abruptly cuts the song after the first couple of lines. It’s an unusual and criminal move for Love Live! to pull. I guess the decision was made to save time but I don’t know, shouldn’t a musical anime be paced with the music in mind? And if you aren’t going to use the new song in earnest, why even use it in the first place? It’s especially baffling as the snippet provided in the scene sounds good, to the point that I want to hear more. Putting aside, I do love how the water slider screws up at the end and Lanzhu proceeds to perform, getting everyone to forget about that blunder. That’s a great display of the character’s confidence and her command of the stage.
The main plot of the episode revolves around Yu. And yes, this is arguably the first Yu centric episode in the entire show (which is 21 episodes in). There have been plenty of episodes where Yu is the second most prevalent character, most notably in the Ayumu centric episodes, but this is the first time where Yu is the first. Apparently, the festival’s closing performance will be a song performed by the Nijigasaki club and, more importantly, written and composed by Yu. The problem is that Yu has been struck with writer’s block.
I actually have a hard time buying into this plot. Part of that is the fact that Yu is struggling to finish the song on the day the club will perform it. Even if Yu finished it early in the day, would the club realistically have enough time to memorize the lyrics? What about the dance choreography or the visual effects? There’s also the fact that this show has set numerous precedents where someone bangs out a number through sheer will. It just feels silly to see writer’s block when a lot of the times, the girls have been winging it.
This is not to say that the plot doesn’t work. I do think it clicks when Yu talks to Mia about the song. Yu admits that the song is fine in its current form but she feels it lacks a certain thrill that she finds in a lot of school idol songs. Mia reckons that it’s because school idols give it their all and that isn’t necessarily a concern that she and Yu need to have. As songwriters and composers, their job is to make the music that people will enjoy. So long as Yu’s song is liked by her friends and their fans, whether or not it has the thrill Yu is looking for shouldn’t necessarily be her concern. It’s a very valid point but obviously, that doesn’t make Yu go “screw it” and hand the song over the club. She soon realizes that what she really wants with the song is to express herself just as much as her friends do with their work so she reworks the song with Mia and decides to perform it alongside the club. That Mia helps Yu at all is interesting. Given her expertise, you’d think Yu would be someone she’d ignore. And yet, there have now been a couple of times where Yu piques her curiosity. I suppose it’s because Yu is willing to go the extra mile and express herself with her work, which Mia doesn’t seem to do so she can’t help but take interest in what Yu is up to.
The insert song at the end marks the second time the Nijigasaki club performs as a group. I looked it up and it’s actually one of the very first songs the cast recorded, even predating the anime. Normally, the Love Live! anime incorporates new material but this exception works really well in how it’s framed as the first song Yu created for the club and the first song she performs with them. I will admit that I currently prefer the group song from Season 1 though this one does feel convey the club’s unity better. At least for the TV edit, the girls sings the entire song together. Speaking of unity, I love how the outfits resemble the ones the girls wore before, albeit modified so that they don’t clash as much with each other, thereby working more as a set. That was something that I thought the group performance in Season 1 lacked so I’m glad to see it here.
In contrast to the highly stylized MVs that are usually seen in Nijigasaki, the club’s performance this time around is played pretty straight, akin to the MVs in other Love Live! series. I’m not sure what the reasoning is here but the sequence is very well animated so I don’t really mind the change. What does baffle me is the lack intercutting between the idols performing on the stage and Yu playing the piano opposite of them. That undermines Yu’s decision to perform with her friends. At least it’s a nice image to bookend the MV as well as a cheeky easter egg as I believe Hinaki Yano does something like this during Nijigasaki‘s live shows.
At an afterparty, Lanzhu concedes in her competition with the club. She admits that the club stole the show and that Yu has proven to her that she’s fulfilling her dreams with her friends. Despite her graceful response, Lanzhu does not ask to join the club. That then begs the question of what’s next for her. I couldn’t help but feel concerned when she parts ways with them. Something tells me she isn’t just referring to the party.
Watch Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club on Crunchyroll and Funimation
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