I can’t believe we finally get an insert song by Sunny Passion and it’s during a level of a Beat Saber clone. You know, at least with Saint Snow, we got to see their concerts.
Anyway, this is a Ren-centric episode (with some attention given to Kanon and Mei). Out of anyone in the original five, Ren definitely needed the spotlight the most. She was the last of the five to join Liella! and her only featured episodes in Season 1 were the ones where she’s recruited. I like Ren a fair amount but she has gotten a short end of the stick and she could use some more attention.
The plot of this episode revolves around Ren’s newfound gaming addiction, which was introduced two episodes ago. I still find it random that Ren has become a gamer and that’s part of her arc but it does make a lot more sense here. Between school, the student council, and Liella!, Ren is an extremely busy girl. And while being a school idol counts as a hobby, Ren doesn’t really do it to chill and unwind. Video games is Ren’s first real pastime. As silly as it sounds, this is a pretty big development for her character. This also creates an interesting conflict for the character. Ren is in her right to indulge in her new hobby but she’s become so obsessed with it that her already busy daily routine is now out of whack.
A missed opportunity here is not having Ren play a rhythm gacha mobile game akin to Love Live‘s and whale for a UR idol. I suppose that’d be too on the nose and too self-deprecating for the show to do but it would’ve conveyed how far Ren is in the deep end and it would’ve been one of the most amazing meta jokes of all time. That said, the show is not kidding when it says Ren loves video games. I mean, just look at her room. She has a PC setup with a gaming chair, a giant TV with surround sound, and a ton of consoles across various generations. The show gives her a very eclectic collection of consoles too. Like, Ren has the usual favorites such as a Famicom and a PS2 but she also has the more niche consoles such as the CD-I and the Apple Pippin. You cannot look at all this and not call Ren a gamer. The show makes sure of that.
As for how Ren procured such a collection, it’s explained that her father sends most, if not, all of the consoles to her as gifts for all of her hard work. See, you know the guy is overseas if he’s sending Ren Xbox consoles (which is eternally the least popular of the big three in Japan). It’s amazing how Ren’s father went from heading out to buy milk to buying her all the video games. For an unseen character, this guy has quite the redemption arc.
The plot comes to a head when Kanon tells Ren that they’re working on Liella’s next song together. Ren tries to compose some instrumentals but she finds herself distracted with her games. By happenstance, Mei finds out about this dilemma. Ren decides to entrust her with the key to her gaming room so that she can better focus on the song. Technically, this wouldn’t lock Ren from playing games on her phone but I’m nitpicking here and it’s possible that Ren gave herself that loophole on purpose. A more major bone I have to pick here is the lack of a chase scene. I really wish Ren went insane and ran after Mei for the key. That would’ve been amazing.
It’s a little silly that Ren tries to keep her gaming a secret from everyone else, especially the other second years. I get that it’d look bad or embarrassing for the student council president to neglect her duties because she’s too pre-occupied playing video games. That said, barely anyone in Liella! is judgmental. There’s Keke and Sumire roasting each other and that’s about it. Really, Ren has nothing to worry about and sure enough, when Ren confesses at the end of the episode, everyone is accepting of her hobby. To Superstar‘s credit, the show seems aware that Ren is overthinking here as there’s a scene where she imagines the second years kicking her out of Liella! and some of their personalities are deliberately a bit off. I can’t imagine Kanon being mean to anyone. I also love that Chisato rejects Ren for not being a circle, which Mei thinks is absurd. Clearly, Mei hasn’t known Chisato for very long.
I kind of figured the resolution would be to have Mei compose the song with Ren. They both play the piano and the show previously suggested the Mei could act as a secondary composer for Liella!. This surprisingly does not happen and Ren is implied to remain as the sole composer for the next song. That’s a bit baffling to me. I still enjoy Mei’s role in this episode, acting as a straight man who alternates between amazement and concern at Ren’s passion. There’s a particularly entertaining bit where Mei tries to keep Ren’s secret safe safe and everyone jumps to the conclusion that she an Ren are dating. I’d love it if Love Live! would commit to a ship for once but that is really funny. That Shiki is the nosiest one out of the bunch is on point. I also chuckled when Chisato said Mei and Ren have entered the “forbidden world”, as if she herself hasn’t had her fair share of subtext with Kanon.
Speaking of Kanon, she decides to become the student council’s vice president to help lighten Ren’s workload. I never minded that Kanon kept running away from taking on any extra responsibilities. It’s both relatable and cute. I did however hope that Kanon would eventually do something of the like so I’m happy that it finally has happened. Chisato makes an interesting point here. She’s challenged herself by becoming the idol club’s president and that’s because Kanon once told her that she can do anything so long as she tries. If not hypocritical, it would be silly if Kanon never takes her own advice to heart.
Watch Love Live! Superstar!! on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
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