For summer vacation, the first years travel to Kinako’s hometown in Hokkaido to train separately from the second years. As I had suspected in the last post, Natsumi hopes to divide Liella! for the sake of content. I doubt any success Natsumi would have with this plan would last for very long but honestly, she doesn’t make a lot of progress. She pitches a subunit name for her classmates but she quickly drops it when the others get angry and question why they should have a separate name when the plan right now is to perform alongside the second years. Later, Natsumi creates a clickbaity thumbnail for her next video to promote her narrative but after a conversation with Kinkao, she has a change of heart and uses a much more honest thumbnail instead. After that, she joins Liella!. I’m surprised that the show doesn’t go fully into making Natsumi a greedy and toxic scumbag but I also had reservations to this plot so I’m okay with the direction it goes.
None of the other characters figure out what Natsumi is secretly up to. Sumire worries that Liella! would become divided after the training camp but that’s by pure coincidence (also, it’s really funny to imagine Kinako acting that cocky). I figured Shiki would catch on since she looked into Natsumi’s ad revenue but she seems to be in the dark as much as Mei and Kinako. Shiki does however punish Natsumi for the misdeed they already know about. For the training camp, the three make Natsumi cover the traveling costs and that forces Natsumi to use up all the ad revenue she made off of her video. That’s a good enough comeuppance though for good measure, Shiki also uses one of her gadgets to make Natsumi run with her and the others and she also records Natsumi with her phone in case Liella! has to take their producer to court (which would be amazing to see).
This episode sheds some light on Natsumi’s character. Through a flashback dream sequence, it’s revealed that Natsumi kept changing her aspirations when it became clear that they wouldn’t pan out for her. Eventually, she gave up on dreaming big and focused on making money instead. It’s a short but effective backstory. I didn’t sympathize with Natsumi last episode but I do now after this scene. This does feel at odds with Natsumi being a content creator, I don’t think anyone considers that a secured job, but that clash does speak to her character. She thinks her priority is to get dough but deep down, she’s still a bit ambitious. Natsumi’s backstory also informs her change of heart. She ultimately can’t bring herself to sew drama in to the group because she relates with the other first years having aspirations of their own. Eventually, she decides to support them in earnest to keep their dreams alive.
I like that Kinako inadvertently changes Natsumi’s mind. She come across as the purest of the first years and that contrasts nicely with Natsumi’s self-interest. Kinako is also a thematically appropriate choice considering that, much like Natsumi, she also started out thinking that she has nothing going for herself. I expected Kinako to be the one to invite Natsumi into Liella! but to my astonishment, Kanon actually shows up to give the invitation. Apparently, Kanon’s father has a business trip in the area and he forgot something he needs for it so Kanon fast travels over there to deliver the item. It’s an insane excuse to get Kanon involved in the plot and for that reason alone, I love it. The only thing missing is Kanon scurrying away in her weird bear themed hoodie as soon as the other girls notice her. In all seriousness, I get Kanon’s inclusion. She’s the heart of Liella! and she’s more or less invited everyone into the group. She ought to be the one to recruit Natsumi. Kanon also fits thematically, having given up on her dream once before. If anyone relates with Natsumi’s feelings, it’d definitely be her. One detail I really like is Kanon and Natsumi imagining a nearby field of grass glowing in various different colors, akin to the light show we saw in the Season 1 finale MV. It works as a callback and seeing the veteran characters’ colors combined with the new characters’ hammers in the synergy of the expanded roster.
The episode fast forwards to a school festival, where everyone including Natsumi performs together in a MV. The song has some nice electronic instrumentals and it has a lot of energy that’s appropriate for Liella’s first performance as a group of nine. I’m not sure how I feel about the visuals, however. Both the stage and the girls’ outfits have this really gaudy mishmash of colors. Maybe it’s a nod to Natsumi’s algorithm chasing Ltuber background but it just looks weird to me. Also, I try to ignore the illogical aspects of a Love Live! MV but how are these girls performing that high up? Did Shiki develop some anti-gravity tech or something?
So at long last, the gang is all here…again. Funnily enough, this won’t be the last time I’ll say that. I’m still concerned about Superstar‘s ability to juggle this many characters. I get that nine is a sweet spot for Love Live! but one of the reasons I think Superstar!! Season 1 works so well is because it has less characters to work with. That said, I have enjoyed Season 2’s introductions to all the new characters so I want to keep an open mind about how this expanded cast will ultimately fare.
Watch Love Live! Superstar!! on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
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