There’s only one loose end left in this season and that’s Wien and Tomari’s inevitable recruitment into Liella!. This episode serves as part one of a presumed two where Liella! is finally a team of eleven idols. I do think Superstar!! is cutting it close. Assuming the gang unites next episode, we’d be left with just four episodes where to get see them hang out and perform together. Then again, Love Live! taking its sweet time to assemble the gang is par for the course. Hell, Ren didn’t join Liella! until two thirds into Superstar‘s first season. Maybe four episodes is enough to work with.
As you might’ve speculated, the Shanghai school idol festival is what gets the ball rolling. The joint concert has been a success, so much so that a lot of people want to see Yuigaoka’s two school idol groups unite into one. Adding pressure is the fact that only one idol group from a given school can compete at Love Live. To determine who gets to represent Yuigaoka, the director (Romi Park) wants Liella! and TomaKanoTe compete against each other at the school’s upcoming school festival.
While everyone at Liella! likes the idea of uniting the two groups, Wien and Tomari remain as holdouts on the matter. Even though they both admit the joint concert back at Shanghai was fun, they still have their reasons with staying separate from Liella!. Tomari still wants to see if Natsumi is serious about being a school idol and she feels the best way to do that is by being her sister’s rival. Meanwhile, Wien is still adamant about beating Liella!. These two are definitely stubborn but I’m okay with that. I would’ve hated it if they did join Liella! right after the Shanghai festival. That can work for certain characters but in the case of these two, it would’ve been cheap and it wouldn’t really resolve either of their arcs.
I figured this episode would have Liella! try to get Wien and Tomari to change their minds though it only happens in one scene where the second years hilariously force Natsumi to invite the two (this show sure has gotten mileage out of Shiki’s weird tech). A little surprising that they only try once but I suppose any more than that and the episode would start to feel repetitive. I do like that the second years are specifically the ones trying to invite Wien and Tomari. When you think about it, the future of Liella! kind of rests more on the younger members, what with the original five on their way out in a few months.
As for Kanon, she invites Tomari to a sleepover with her and Wien, as a way for the three of them to grow closer. I love how, even though Kanon wants to unite everyone more than anyone else, she doesn’t use the sleepover to persuade Wien and Tomari. For a good chunk of time, she engages with the two in small talk and she takes them to places around her block. When it finally is time to talk about Liella! and the festival, Kanon asks her friends if they truly want to compete against Liella!. Once she gets confirmation, she joins them in their goal and she offers her support. Helping Wien and Tomari defeat Liella! technically does nothing for Kanon’s goal but Kanon still chooses to help them because those two are her friends and she respects their decision. If that’s not emblematic of Kanon’s character, I don’t know what is. Also neat is how Kanon’s kindness and understanding is so strong that Wien and Tomari are starting to feel bad about making her compete against her old group and they come up with a plan that can hopefully repay the favor. Given their respective personalities, it’s pretty heartwarming seeing these two warm up to Kanon.
Next episode is presumably when the two school idol groups “duke” it out. While I would be okay with Liella! winning, I would much rather see TomaKanoTe defeat them. On a superficial level, this trio technically doesn’t have a single win under their belt so I expect the show to hand one of them before Liella! is finally united. More importantly, TomaKanoTe winning is the only way I think the show can fulfill Wien’s arc on a satisfactory note. It’d be stupid for her to lose and then still join Liella! regardless of that. For the sake of closure, she needs to win.
Watch Love Live! Superstar!! on Crunchyroll.
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