darrel95 - 2016-12-13 06:16:15

It was really good, wish A-RISE had more character development though. They played an important role in the series since the first episode- inspired Honoka to create μ’s to save the school.

adaline.waelchi - 2016-06-03 03:37:06

...I'm speechless.

When I started watching Love Live, the only expectation I had was good music. It was a show about idols after all, and it seemed more like a marketing campaign to sell said music, but never in my wildest dreams would I see a project with so much heart. Love Live is a love letter (no wordplay intended) to not just music enthusiasts, but to creators of all forms, whether through music, dancing or the written and spoken word. If the first season wasn't proof enough of that for me, the second season sure did its best to hammer that in.

Granted, it's still not perfect in its execution, particularly when it comes to the story. With Mu's efforts to preserve Otonokizaka High finally paying off, Honoka has taken on a new challenge...becoming the student council president? In addition, due to the popularity of the first Love Live, the majority of Mu's wants to tackle Love Live's second iteration. Honoka initially refuses, but upon finding out that her seniors are graduating soon, she reverses her decision and decides to take on Love Live as a farewell tour for the third-year members of Mu's.

Whereas the first season did a great job of keeping me emotionally involved in the show's scenarios, the second season stumbles a bit at first before regaining its footing. It's not that I don't care about what's happening to the characters, it's that I feel the writing isn't as strong here. The emotions don't quite feel natural or genuine to me, and come off as a little forced instead. I know that they have to keep the plot moving forward somehow, but I had a hard time buying into it at first.

Speaking of the characters, you should know who these people are by now because they haven't changed much from the first season. Some characters get some decent development, particularly Nico, Rin and Nozomi, the latter of which leads to the creation of one of my favorite songs from Mu's. But we'll get to that later. At the end, though, it feels like something between them has changed over time, even though they don't seem to have significantly changed. I haven't felt this from a group of characters since Azumanga Daioh, which is saying quite a bit.

Animation-wise, the CG has improved slightly. The OP especially looks a little better with the CG, but a few music videos still seem to use the lower-quality CG from the first season. Otherwise, the animation still feels consistent with the first season, which is good.

Now here is where things get interesting. The music of the second season is good, but I feel that the best songs were either the ones that stood alone from the show itself or the reused songs from the first season. Not to say that the first season didn't have that same problem, but I feel it was more noticeable in the second. They must have realized halfway through that the quality of the songs was decreasing, and decided to use nostalgia (in my opinion, the best kind of fanservice) for the first season to enhance the moments.

Well, it sure as heck worked!

I feel that the best moments of the second season were either callbacks to the first season or the songs that weren't in the first season but I already liked outside the show. It's amazing how music works to excite you, huh? :P

The English dub is again spot-on, perhaps moreso now that they have had time to get into the characters. This may be one of my favorite anime dubs ever, up there with the likes of Lucky Star and Ghost Stories. It's going to be sad to let them go after this... ;;

After twenty-six episodes, I can't believe that the adventures of Mu's are ending. It was certainly a rocky journey, both literally and technically, but I grew to like these characters so much. The music they perform will stay with me for a long time, but after watching this show...

...Wait, hold on. What is it? We're not done yet?! There's a movie I have to watch now?!? AW, COME ON!

simonis.zetta - 2014-09-15 23:53:12

Story: The girls of μ's are back! Thanks to the efforts back in the first season, the school is now safe from closing. Soon they find out that A second LoveLive! contest is happening and decide to try it out. The girls agree that they'll try to win it and beat the biggest idol group A-RISE since this will be the last time all nine girls can try to win it together due to three of the members graduating. Slice of life and drama ensues!

The story is really well handled, the pacing is just right for the show as they show the progress of them getting ready to compete to Love Live by training, practicing, and then eventually getting to Love Live and meeting up with A-RISE themselves! And there is also not a single dull or boring moment in this season, every scene is important and essential whether its in story progression or character development, kind of like season one but the pacing and story structure in this was better and wasn't so convoluted and predictable. The ending of this anime is far better handled here than in the last season where as it was rushed and contrived, this one is really touching and well done (chances are you will cry in it too, like me ;_;). Yeah, the story is also pretty generic, like the idol group trying to win a competition and such, but its not to become more famous, its too create memories with each other and other people... wait that does sound like in belongs in a typical musical idol anime... but its done well here. 9/10

Animation: The animation is very much the same as the first season with some improvements. The lip syncing is actually more solid this time around and the character movements are still fluid and nice, especially during the dancing scenes which have upped to a degree and are now better than ever (we even see A-RISE perform and its... actually really good :O). The character designs are still the same as before and they all look really nice (the outfits are cuter now). Some of the character models are a bit odd, but you have to pay real close attention in order to notice them. 9/10

Sound: Oh man, the songs in this are a huge improvement over the last season. In that I could only remember the OP song and didn't remember much else even though I kind of liked them. Here these songs are not as forgettable and are still really catchy and fun to listen to; the OP and ED are my favorites actually. My favorite songs that they sung in the show were Snow Halation and Dance Party :) Sadly I do not remember the others even though they're really good, but I guess its cause they only played them once... like ever? 9.5/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e3Qlpynmk4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pVO9ae5WDw

Characters: The characters are all loveable and memorable basically, what else is there to say? Well ok there is stuff to say about them. The secondary characters get a lot more development this time around as opposed to the first season where only the main characters and student council Eli got any development (and Hanayo) where here its the other way around. From Nozomi's reason to befriending Eli to Rin's status as a tomboy and desire to be someone different. All of them are done well and everyone gets just enough screen time in this. The rival group A-RISE is actually pretty interesting and aren't so bad, they're good sports and even contemplate on how Love Live managed to get popular and loved (no pun intended) so quickly but it isn't out of anger, as its just out of curiosity. I find them to be pretty interesting characters but its a shame they didn't get much screen time. Though they aren't the main focus of the show. 10/10/

Enjoyment: Very high, I was happy and sad in many different parts of the show. This was definitely more enjoyable than I could ever imagine and I can see why it had gotten so popular. There was not one dull or aggravating moment in this (Nozomi doesn't even do the annoying breast grab this time around which is also a plus) and I do believe this is better than the other season. I think you don't have to watch the first season to enjoy this but for a stronger and better feel you should watch that first.

Overall: Best idol anime I've seen yet, if you like music, slice of life, and drama mixed in, season one and two of this will not disappoint you at all.

Thanks for reading my 61st review~

anabelle22 - 2014-07-01 21:15:11