Before going into Season 3, I thought this was going to be uncharted territory for Love Live!. And technically speaking, it certainly is unprecedented to go three seasons and not conclude two seasons with a movie, as it was the case with the franchise’s first two series. Having polluted my brain with Love Live! lore and having now seen Season 3 in its entirety however, I realize that this season is actually a pretty familiar tale. Fundamentally, it is just a Love Live! movie told across twelve television episodes. The trip to another country. A proper conclusion to the rival’s arc. The passing of the torch. These are all story beats that the movies did before.
I totally get it if a longtime fan takes issue with that. Love Live! has been regurgitating itself for a little over a decade at this point. Me personally, I think these beats are done differently enough. For example, Margarette joining Liella! is basically a spin on the prospect of Leah joining Aqours but this time around, the rival actually does join the main group. I’d also argue that these beats are also done the best here in Superstar!! Season 3. I don’t recall taking issue with the pacing of the movies but boy did these plot points really benefited from the expanded run time. Imagine the trip to Shanghai happening over the course of a couple of minutes or Margarette and Tomari being a part of Liella! for the final act of a movie and not the final stretch of a TV season. That would’ve sucked. I’m glad these elements were allowed to breath. Of course, the one plot element that benefits the most here is the departure of the original five, which hits really hard by the time you get to this final episode.
While packing up for the Vienna National Academy of Music, Kanon realizes again that she’ll be all alone there, prompting her to give Keke a call. Keke is all ears but she abruptly hangs up when she bumps into Sumire. As it turns out, both of them have joined the same talent agency. Aside from being a nice note to end both Keke’s and Sumire’s arcs, it is freaking hilarious that they’re both going to work together after graduation. I mean damn, there are other ships in Love Live! that wish it could get this far. There really is no stopping this toxic relationship.
Kanon decides to play a song on her guitar before getting a call back from Keke. The song she plays is actually the same one she performed at the very start of the series, before she even meets any of her future teammates. I must say, the song’s theme of how music can have a positive effect on someone carries a lot more weight after seeing this entire series. Kanon then gets a call from Keke, who invites her to Yuigaoka, where everyone in the original five are going to hang out in a sort of graduation party. On her way to the school, Kanon sees that her kōhai are already hard at work for the next Love Live. I like how Mei becomes the next club president and yet, it seems like Margarette and Tomari are the ones steering the ship. Knowing those two, I kind of want to pray for the second years.
The graduation party is a little silly, what with the original five having a kotatsu in the gymnasium. Whose kotatsu is that? How did they bring it all the way to the school campus? About the only thing they explain is that they do in fact have permission from the director to do this. I get that they don’t want to hang out on the rooftop or the clubroom, as those areas are no longer theirs per se, but seeing them all alone in the big, empty gym is frankly a little funny. Still, it’s nice seeing these five get together before the big day. We also learn that Ren will be working with Yuigaoka’s admin, her friends even speculating that she’s on her way to becoming the next director. The previous episode gave us an update on everyone in the original five except Ren so I’m glad that the show didn’t forget to give her one.
As for the actual graduation ceremony, there are actually a couple good laughs here and there. The best joke is easily Kinako wanting to use her authority to hold her senpai back another year. Obviously, she doesn’t have that kind of power but that is 100% something she would do. For the most part though, I was getting pretty emotional seeing the event play out. The director telling Ren that she’s honored her mother’s legacy, the original five getting their diplomas, Ren’s and Kinako’s graduation speeches, all the ugly crying from the second and third year members. It all makes for a very bittersweet experience for me. I think the moment that hit me the hardest is Tomari asking Kanon if she could have the ribbon on her school uniform and telling her senpai how much she admires her. Considering that she’s spent the least amount of time with Kanon out of anyone in the cast, it warms my heart that she wanted to make sure that Kanon knows how much she values the time they did have together.
Before departing for good, the third years reveal to their kōhai that they’ve written one more song and they perform it for them in one final concert. The insert song, “Hajimari wa Kimi no Sora”, is actually Liella’s debut single so it’s a bit poetic for it to be the last one in the anime. Curiously, the version performed in this episode is a new one that includes all eleven members of Liella!. However, you don’t actually hear the entire group sing until the credits roll. The portion used for the MV is sung by the original five. It’s a compromise for sure but I really like it. I remember in the Sunshine!! movie, where the remaining six members of Aqours perform the last song but then the third years still join the song in an imaginary segment, even though they actually leave the premise. I get that the movie wanted the whole cast for the last song but it was a weird way to go about the MV. The way it’s done here in Superstar!!, where it’s the whole group but only the original five’s parts are performed in-universe, is much better.
That’s the thing that I appreciate most about the finale. I really like the whole roster but Kanon, Keke, Chisato, Sumire, and Ren are the ones we’ve been following for three whole seasons. More so than with μ’s and Aqours, it was going to be a big deal to see the third year members of Liella! leave and this episode is well aware of that. It knows that we’d be saying goodbye to them the most so I’m really glad that there’s a whole episode dedicated to their graduation and that they get to perform the last song in the entire show. The story began with these five and it more or less ends with them as well.
There wasn’t an announcement of a sequel of any kind, be it a movie or even a fourth season. I’m seeing some people in forums being hopeful for an announcement later down the line and to be fair, it would be very interesting to see the next chapter for the remaining six members of Liella!. That said, we technically got the movie in the form of Season 3 and I doubt the staff would dare to continue on without its original five idols. This is likely it for Superstar!! but to be fair, this is a terrific note to end on.
I really am going to miss Love Live! Superstar!!. I’ve enjoyed all the iterations to some degree but this is by far, my favorite. The whole cast is charming and endearing, the music is great, and the story is a fun ride that really benefited from the more gradual pacing and expanded run time that’s been given to it. Love Live! has more or less told the same story three times and I hope that this is the last traditional one in the franchise, because this is about as good as it’s going to get.
Watch Love Live! Superstar!! on Crunchyroll.
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