In the last episode, we see Alisa make a New Year’s wish to get accepted into Otonokizaka and join μ’s. Parallel to that, the show establishes that everyone in μ’s has agreed to hold off on discussing the group’s future until after the Love Live finals. This episode addresses both of these threads. Here, both Alisa and Yukiho pass Otonokizaka’s entrance exams, prompting μ’s to discuss the elephant in the room earlier than they originally planned. Honestly, I’m glad the show is getting it out of the way now. Doing it after Love Live, after the girls presumably win it no less, doesn’t exactly sound like a positive note to end the story on.
Initially, you get a range of opinions on the matter. Nico is all for her underclassmen continuing on as μ’s. Hanayo feels it wouldn’t be the same once the third years leave. Eli meanwhile falls somewhere in the middle; she reckons that whatever happens to μ’s after Love Live should be entirely up to the first year and second year members and the third years should respect whatever decision they make since they’re leaving anyway. I imagine Eli is the most awkward position since she’s Alisa’s sister. If she says μ’s should disband, she risks making Alisa upset but Alisa also can’t be school idols with her anyway since she’s graduating soon.
I felt bad for Alisa at first. She’s been a big supporter of μ’s since her introduction so naturally, she really wants to join the group. At the same time, it doesn’t seem like μ’s themselves has some reservations about accepting new members once the third years graduate. This is best demonstrated when Alisa tries to do μ’s roll call and Honoka subconsciously feels that it’s not the same as when she does with her friends. It would be weird for Alisa and Yukiho to join μ’s this late into the story but I’d also hate to see her get rejected by μ’s and get upset over it.
With that in mind, it’s wise of this episode to have Alisa change her own mind about joining μ’s. With some persuasion by Yukiho, Alisa realizes that a big reason why she loves μ’s is because of the nine idols themselves. Once she joins μ’s and Eli, Nozomi, and Nico leave, μ’s wouldn’t be the same and Alisa would likely become disenchanted with the group. In that sense, it is actually for the better that Alisa doesn’t join μ’s. By having Alisa willingly opt out, μ’s doesn’t have to concern themselves over the prospect of future members and deciding on its future becomes a much easier decision to make.
In lieu of her original plan, Alisa decides that she and Yukiho will form a new group. I don’t believe there is a Love Live! song performed by either character so if the show does depict these two as idols, it’ll probably do so very briefly. I think that would be a missed opportunity since both Ayane Sakura and Nao Toyama can sing but then again, the only characters outside of the main cast who get any songs are the major rival groups.
After Alisa tells Honoka of her decision, the latter leads the club in sightseeing around Tokyo for a whole day. Funnily enough, this is actually the first time where the girls are hanging out and goofing off on purpose. It also might be the only time as Honoka wants everyone to have fun before the first and second years tell the third years what they’ve decided to do with μ’s after the Love Live finals and after the third years graduate. After mulling over, the younger members of the group have decided that μ’s will be no more. They argue that the group wouldn’t be the same if even just one member leaves. The remaining members will instead continue their school idol groups under a new name.
To be honest, I don’t fully empathize with this conflict. I have become accustomed to seeing μ’s as a group of nine idols but it’s worth pointing out that μ’s didn’t start out with nine. Me personally, I like the group even when it was just Honoka, Umi, and Kotori. It would be weird to see μ’s without Eli, Nozomi, and Nico but I’ve also seen the group without them so I can’t help but agree with Nico that it would be fine if μ’s continued after the third years leaves. Admittedly, it also doesn’t help that I’ve seen Sunshine!!, which deals with a similar conflict and offers a different take on the manner, a take that I might prefer in hindsight.
That said, I still feel the girls’ anguish over putting μ’s to an end and I do think this adds some weight to this season’s final stretch. When you think about it, μ’s hasn’t been around for a very long time. In-universe, it’s barely been a year since Honoka created it with Umi and Kotori. That does kind of undermine the plot of Sunshine!! a bit. Like, is μ’s really a bunch of legends if their careers were that short-lived? In the context of School Idol Project however, the short tenure works well. The girls haven’t been school idols for very long. They wish they could be μ’s for longer but the reality is they can’t, at least not without making some concessions. As painful as that is, they have to accept it. Also, even if it is obvious that μ’s will win Love Live, I can’t help but feel the pressure and that’s thanks to this conflict. They have to make this final round count as this is the only chance they’ll get as a group of nine.
Watch Love Live! School Idol Project on Crunchyroll
Xenodude Scribbles 