- Title (English): NIJIYON ANIMATION
- Title (Japanese): にじよんあにめーしょん
- Year: 2023
- Studio: Sunrise
- No. of Episodes: 12 (+3 specials)
- Streaming: Crunchyroll
NIJIYON ANIMATION is a chibi short spin-off series of Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. It’s not explicitly canon with the parent show but it doesn’t necessarily conflict with anything that happens in it either. The show features the expanded roster from Nijigasaki Season 2 so fans of the show should hold off on seeing this show until they’re done with that season.
There isn’t really a plot to NIJIYON ANIMATION. About its only contribution to the mythos is the fourth episode, which reveals some backstory for Karin (Miyu Kubota). For the most part, it’s just a series of fun slice of life/CGDCT antics with the main cast of Nijigasaki. Mileage will vary here but I personally had fun with the show. It makes good use of the parent show’s running gags, including but not limited to Yu (Hinaki Yano) being the unofficial harem protagonist of the series and the vanity of residential gremlin/punching bag Kasumi (Mayu Sagara), while also providing new gags of its own. By far, my favorite episode is the eighth one featuring Kanata (Akari Kito). Admittedly, Kanata is one of my favorite characters in Nijigasaki so I’m biased here but I really did have a good chuckle at the part where she chills with Ophelia, Nijigasaki‘s residential doggo who is horribly underutilized in the parent show. Another favorite is the third episode, in which Mia (Shu Uchida) has a silly nightmare after watching a horror movie with the club.
Everyone gets the spotlight at some point in the season but there is a noticeable emphasis on the three newer girls introduced in Nijigasaki Season 2 – Shioriko (Moeka Koizumi), Lanzhu (Akina Homoto), and Mia. I think that’s a fair decision for the staff to make. Those three were prevalent throughout Nijigasaki Season 2 but they join the idol club pretty late so the show had limited time to have them bond with the original ten main characters. Regardless of canonicity, NIJIYON helps the newer characters feel more like they’re part of the club.
It’s worth noting that NIJIYON ANIMATION features the final performances by Tomori Kusunoki as Setsuna. Kusunoki was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome in 2022. She’s still acting and singing but because working for Love Live! involves performing for live concerts, Kusunoki retired from voicing her respective character after this series. This isn’t explicitly acknowledged by NIJIYON but the show’s tenth, Setsuna-centric episode does feel bittersweet, especially when the character continues her concert in the face of some technical difficulties (which is either a deliberate behind the scenes reference or a massive coincidence). I kind of wish Kusunoki left on a more major project than this but I’m also just glad that she got to voice the character for a little bit longer.
Unlike the main show, NIJIYON utilizes a chibi art style. It’s fitting given the nature of the show. Funnily enough, the show will occasionally present the characters in the traditional art style for comedic effect, which sounds a bit backwards but it does work. Curiously, the show is mostly animated in CGI. Studio Sunrise’s CGI for Love Live! is quite good nowadays, to the point that it blends pretty seamlessly with the traditional animation. That said, they usually don’t use CGI for the vast majority of a given episode so the high use of it in this show takes some getting used to.
Those who enjoy Love Live! for its music will unfortunately get the short end of the stick here (no pun intended). There’s barely any new insert songs here and one point, the show reuses a song from Nijigasaki. I figured this would be the case given the short running time of each episode and the emphasis on slice of life antics but it’s still a little off putting.
To get anything out of NIJIYON, you have to a be fan of the main Nijigasaki anime. If you’re not fond of the parent show, this spin-off is simply not for you. If you are a fan however, this is a nice appetizer for you to enjoy.
Score: 7/10
Pros (+): Fun, bite-sized shenanigans with the Nijigasaki cast; nice farewell to Tomori Kusunoki’s run as Setsuna
Cons (-): Pretty much for fans only
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