LOVE LIVE! SCHOOL IDOL PROJECT
STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
13
RELEASE
March 31, 2013
LENGTH
24 min
DESCRIPTION
Otonokizaka High School stands on the border of three cities: Akihabara—a pop culture mecca that's evolving by the minute; Kanda—a conservative, cultured city where history and tradition reign supreme; and Jinbo—a quiet area reserved for a more mature, sophisticated population. Amidst this culture clash, the school now faces closure due to the enrollment of fewer and fewer students.
With the school planning to close within three years, nine female students come together with one thing in mind—form a pop idol group to revive the school's popularity and keep it from shutting down. "In order to protect our beloved school, there's only one thing we can do... become pop stars!"
Their goal is simple: Become an overnight sensation and use their nationwide media exposure to promote their school and bring in a wave of new students to the ailing area. A simple but solid plan, they figure. Naturally, they're nervous and wonder if this plan can really succeed, but for better or worse their new journey has begun...
"All we can ask for is just a tiny bit of support from you. We truly believe that with your help, we can change the world around us. We will make our dreams come true!"
(Source: NIS America)
CAST
Maki Nishikino
Pile
Nico Yazawa
Sora Tokui
Kotori Minami
Aya Uchida
Nozomi Toujou
Aina Kusuda
Umi Sonoda
Suzuko Mimori
Honoka Kousaka
Emi Nitta
Rin Hoshizora
Riho Iida
Eli Ayase
Yoshino Nanjou
Hanayo Koizumi
Yurika Kubo
Tsubasa Kira
Megu Sakuragawa
Alisa Ayase
Ayane Sakura
Erina Toudou
Maho Matsunaga
Anju Yuuki
Ayuru Ohashi
Alpaca
Anna Mugiho
Yukiho Kousaka
Nao Touyama
Maki no Haha
Kikuko Inoue
Kotori no Haha
Noriko Hidaka
Mika
Sayuri Hara
Honoka no Haha
Masumi Asano
Fumika
Nozomi Yamamoto
Hideko
Marie Miyake
Eli no Sobo
Fumi Hirano
EPISODES
Dubbed
RELATED TO LOVE LIVE! SCHOOL IDOL PROJECT
REVIEWS
Rollo
Every anime fan needs to watch this show.Continue on AniListLove Live! School Idol Project is probably one of my favorite anime so far. Hands down.
What I like
The story is incredibly touching. It's one of the first anime to actually make me feel for the main character. The show doesn't just show you their journey, it pulls you along with them. As the show progresses, you make the same revelations as each of the characters do, you feel as if you're alongside them. For example, at the beginning of the show, Honoka starts μ's to save the school from shutting down. But after gathering so many members and doing a few shows, both she and us start to realize she's not exactly doing it to save the school anymore, she's doing it because she loves it, and she loves her friends. There's another example I'd like to give but it's kind of a spoiler for the last 2 episodes. In their performance at the school's open house, Honoka falls down because she overworked herself, and got a fever due to working in the cold rain. While she was away recovering, the rest of the group decides to pull their name from the Love Live rankings, and go on hiatus. Not only that, but Kotori was planning on talking to Honoka about her leaving the country after that performance. This ends up spiraling into Honoka leaving μ's out of guilt. She didn't feel like she was worthy enough to be an idol, since she felt completely responsible for their name being taken out of Love Live. I took forever to get to my point, but we feel with Honoka. We know exactly how she's feeling. And when Umi slaps Honoka, we feel that too. We go on the same emotional journey along with Honoka, but also everyone else. We understand how everything is just piling on top of Honoka, and she feels too overwhelmed to continue anymore. What's worse is that she feels like everything on her back is entirely her fault, and we actually see where she's getting that from. It's fantastic, and I no-joke almost cried. Almost. ;) Another thing I like about this is the music of course. I don't know if I just have bad things to compare it to, but the only other musical anime I've watched is K-On! and we all know how I felt about K-On!. I thought K-On!'s music was kinda dumb, and a little repetitive. But Love Live just felt a lot more fun. The songs in Love Live helped tell the story, as opposed to being in spite of the story. Not to mention they're actually good songs otherwise. I felt like each of their performances was not just a way to squeeze in the thought "Wait, wait! We still have songs!", and was actually a tangible achievement each of the characters made, as idols and as people. I don't want to compare Love Live to other anime the whole time though, so here's another thing I especially liked.
I absolutely love every single character. The show has 9 main characters, which can be challenging to keep track of but this show handles it exceptionally well. I never felt like any of the character's personalities just didn't fit, nor did I feel any of them were boring. Every single character had a distinct, lovable personality, which I think is partially the reason "Nico Nico Nii" has become such a phenomenon. It's funny even if you haven't seen the show, yet ten times better once you have seen it, because you realize Nico is actually the complete opposite of that. Not only is every character unique, but they all work together in some magical way.
Not to mention this show is hilarious. It nails both visual and spoken comedy.
What I don't like
Of course, no show is perfect. I felt like Nozomi's character was sort of a... Mary Sue? I didn't like how she basically made everything come together for the first half of the season. However, the show did dial it down for the second half quite a bit. But again, for the first half it was kind of annoying that she told us everything was by fate. That's just boring. If Nozomi just didn't have that part of her character, if she didn't read her magical cards, the plot would not change at all and I would honestly like her character a lot more.
Conclusion
Much better than K-On!
Necokeniii
Idols are not only cute but relatable to a degreeContinue on AniListLove live was my first taste in the idol genre, it was a great first step.I initially wasn't into idols for various reasons, but watching this anime changed my whole take on the genre. Love live is a staple in the genre and well received because of its success. What I really enjoyed about this series was how the characters tackled their problems and progressed. Usually I dislike the power of friendship, but it suits the setting for love live. The girls started off as just classmates with only a few being friends which then evolved into a whole dynamic. I love how each of the trios pair well with each other, they compliment each others' weaknesses in a natural way. Seeing the girls' backstories and seeing how it shapes their current personalities warmed my heart. When I saw rin's and nico's backstories, my love for the characters grew tremendously. I know some people dislike nico because of she acts, but if you consider her backstory, it all adds up.The same applies to rin, she comes off shy and indecisive but it's not like she was raised to be confident and decisive due to her parents. Each of the girls can resonate with people whether you see a little bit of yourself in them or they simply remind you of someone you know.
What really made love live worth the binge for me had to come down to how each episode flowed. It can start off with one character causing trouble for the group or they have to work together to get closer to their goal of the love live. The episodes give you a good taste of what the girls are like at home, at school and together practicing. The group dynamics and antics never bored me, each and every turn, I waited to see what they would do next. I can't recall a episode that annoyed me or I would remove from the show. Each episode builds off each other and the overall goal of being school idols.
I love the music in the show, the openings and osts are still stuck in my head. Even though, I watched the anime over 2 months ago. I'm not a fan of cgi but I got used to it. I was glad the actual performances were the way episodes ended instead of beginning with them. At the end of the day, the focus is the nine girls and what they need to do to improve themselves and strengthen their flaws
OVERPOWERED99
The joy of bringing everyone together with the most smile-inducing melodies; that's a passion worth experiencing.Continue on AniList
They're an icon. The symbol of friendship, hope, love, passion, and music admired by those who have seen them. They will show you that enthusiasm and dedication do pay off. They're µ's ("Muse"), an ensemble of nine harmonious members. And they're the idol stars of School Idol Project!
I'll preface by saying that I first dived into the Love Live! franchise just looking to enjoy some catchy songs and CGDCT. Which I did get. All of those are right here in this show. But there's also something else—a special quality that draws a motivational and inspirational angle on what seems to only be a cute entertainment at first glance. It draws me in because it's not easy to find, but once it's realized, we will shoot for the stars.
It is called passion.
For the energetic Honoka, her passion is sparked when her beloved school is in risk of closing down upon a decreasing number of yearly enrollments. To form a school idol group; that is her answer. It's ambitious. It's difficult. It's almost like a fantasy. But she and eight other members will soon find that µ's is their passion. And they will head off on a journey to make people smile, to have fun, and to enjoy being together with those who share the same love as you. Embellished by a rich optimism in a world of musical superstars, this is what School Idol Project is all about.
What brings the best enjoyment out of this show definitely lies in the large cast of cute characters. The story plays it straight with no deep complexities, so it allows us to focus solely on the girls. They're the gears that unify a charming and lovable group. An additive effect. Group antics are entertaining to watch and µ's is basically an adorable embodiment of fun friendship. But not all are just happy moments.
At first, a lot of the members have their own hindering circumstances before they join µ's and the group does face large obstacles along the way. While the resolution is cheesy at times, the roots come back to the one main thing that holds this show together. Their passion. No matter how difficult the obstacles are, no matter the results—success or failure—they will continue to practice hard and dedicate themselves to their dream with smiles on their faces. Even when things seem to change for the worst, their shared passion and love put them back on the correct path. To be passionate about something will always come with reasons. For them, it's not just to save their school. It's also to go up there onto the stage and to perform the best as they can, for themselves and for others. Because in their hearts, they know that this is what they all wanted to continue doing: To be the best school idols out there.
So, when they stand up on the stage to perform a wide variety of spirited songs, you can see their hard work paying off. The mix between 2D and 3D animation might take some time to get used to, but soon enough, it'll become familiar and you can enjoy the dancing choreographs among the colorfully bright atmosphere. Gleaming eyes, enchanting smiles, adorable clothes, and energetic movements. Their emotions sync together with the gorgeous notes from their voices and altogether, all of these features turn their live performance into a stage that's truly fun to experience.
Even when they're done performing, living casually as high school girls, it doesn't stop them from sparkling up with vibrancy. Both the evocative art and the buoyant soundtracks help to give many endearing qualities to µ's. They know how to make me laugh and to make me enjoy their overall enthusiasm. It's simply wonderful. I also have to mention that I lost count on how many times I wanted to say "So kawaii~" at them. Just so you know they're not only passionate, they're also too sweet for my heart to take.
School Idol Project really went beyond what I've expected from an idol anime. My interest for the appealing songs and the girls transformed into an admiration of their passion, perseverance, and power to pursue their goal through and through. The Love Live! franchise has created µ's, the face of tuneful entertainment, so give it a chance to be their audience. Maybe you'll resonate with them as much as I did.
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SCORE
- (3.55/5)
MORE INFO
Ended inMarch 31, 2013
Main Studio Sunrise
Trending Level 1
Favorited by 2,413 Users