In this episode, both μ’s and A-Rise are invited to perform at a Halloween event in Akiba. Given that’s it’s a large public event, this is a great opportunity for μ’s to get more support to win Love Live so they want to put out the best show possible. For some reason, the girls feel the need to reinvent their image, thinking it’ll net their concert the biggest impact from the crowd. Frankly, it’s random of the girls to think of this now since they did manage to give a good concert back to back with A-Rise three episodes ago but whatever, I suppose this train of thought would arrive at some point.
The gang does try a couple of ideas but as you might expect, none of them stick and the girls eventually let it go and settle with their usual material once again. With such a clear cut resolution, I was afraid that this episode might take its sweet time and get boring. Perhaps the staff realized as this episode ends up being an entertaining series of gags, in which the girls try ideas so stupid that you’re shocked they decided to give them a whirl.
First, they dress up in outfits inspired by some of Otonokizaka’s various clubs. Most the girls look fine individually but then you have Hanayo dressed as a giant orange and Nico stuck in a kendo uniform that completely obscures her face. Together, the whole group looks ridiculous. After that, the girls decided to impersonate each other. Barring the unintentional roasting, some of their impressions is really spot on. I never thought I’d see Rin act like Maki or Hanayo act like Nico but here we are. The last and arguably goofiest idea is switching their aesthetic from cutesy J-Pop to dressing up like Kiss. That one honestly just speaks for itself. What amazes me across all three gags is the gang unanimously agreeing to each of them. Maki shows some objection but that’s about it. Somehow, they all look at their Kiss cosplays and genuinely think it’d be a great idea.
Oddly enough, the MVP this episode might actually be Kotori’s mother. After spooking the student body with their Kiss cosplays, μ’s gets called to the director’s office. The director doesn’t punish them but she does point out that if these getups is what they’re going for, they’ll have to stick with it until at least the next round of Love Live. That alone opens the girls’ eyes. Maybe reinventing the wheel will work but it’s not going to matter if the returns are short-lived.
As mentioned earlier, the girls eventually let go trying to reinvent themselves. As Honoka points out, μ’s is already a varied group with unique personalities. They’re already at their best when they’re simply being themselves. There’s also an interesting takeaway from Kotori. Nico bemoans that μ’s hasn’t figured out a new way to be impactful but Kotori argues none of what they tried is pointless. Regardless of what they do, even if it results in them losing their way, it’s still worth doing if they had fun and learned something from it. It’s a very mature response and it would not surprise me if this is actually stems from Kotori’s feelings over how the study abroad opportunity went down. That whole arc was a trainwreck but it was a learning experience for Kotori (at least I hope it was) so she probably learned to look for positives from whatever she does going forward.
I’m nitpicking here and I am a little disappointed with how little Halloween actually factors into this episode. Save for a few decorations around Tokyo, you’d honestly forget that this episode takes place around Halloween season. I was hoping the MV would be influenced by the holiday, it does take place during a Halloween event after all, but the results are hit or miss to me. The insert song is good but it’s not necessarily themed after Halloween. Most of the outfits is more or less the same type of attire the girls usually wear, save for some holiday-themed affectations slapped on. Like, Umi is wearing a pirate’s bandanna and that’s really only indication that she’s supposed to be a pirate. Frankly, all the silly costumes the girls wore earlier are better Halloween costumes than the outfits they’re wearing for the actual Halloween event.
Randomly at the end of the episode, Honoka’s sister Yukiho (Nao Toyama) stumbles up on a piece of paper with some startling information. I have no idea what the paper could possibly entail. I just know it’s not going to ask Honoka to study abroad because dang it, we already did that and it didn’t go too well the first time.
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