Love Live! The School Idol Movie

It was the year 2010 when three companies worked together to form a multi-media project: Sunrise, Lantis, and ASCII Media Works. Named “Love Live! School Idol Project”, this project revolves around a group of idols who are tasked to save a girls’ academy from closure and win it all in the most prestigious school idol competition.

5 years later, Love Live became the most popular anime franchise across Japan with the idol group μ’s appeared in various music shows such as TV Asahi’s Music Station and NHK’s Music Japan, and placing 8th in the best-selling musical act in 2015.

For μ’s, they have come a long way from appearing in various PVs animated by Sunrise, to two anime series aired in both January 2013 and April 2014. But now, it’s time for them to go to their separate ways and while they’ve appeared in the 66th Kohaku Uta Gassen (with Yoshino Nanjou absent due to recovering from a knee injury), the idol group are making their curtain call on March 31 to April 1, 2016 for their graduation rites dubbed the “FINAL Live” concert at the Tokyo Dome.

But before they close their school idol career with a bang, they have a movie to deal with!

So with that further ado, here’s Love Live! The School Idol Movie where Honoka Kousaka and the rest of the girls went to the United States, specifically New York, for their first performance outside Japan aside from their well-deserved vacation…

Well, except for Umi Sonoda, Rin Hoshizora and Kotori Minami in which they went to the wrong hotel. Good thing Rin managed to figure it out and went back to the rest of the group.

On the other hand, Umi is upset that Honoka made a blunder regarding the address and the name of the hotel. C’mon Umi-chan, at least she apologize to you!

And you know what, Umi-chan, Kayochin, and Rin managed to get back to this hotel in one piece, so it’s not the end of the world for them!

In any case, μ’s is having a great time in New York ranging from visiting various landmarks, to meeting the locals along the way while doing their practice routine…

…including these three girls who are planning to travel to Japan after seeing Honoka-chan and the rest of the idol group.

I wonder if they’ll watch μ’s perform later on this film?

Apart from sight-seeing, the girls are enjoying a hefty meal. C’mon, America likes to serve in big portions!

Well, except for Kayochin as she wanted to eat white rice… Authentic Japanese white rice!

Um Hanayo, try eating rice produced in the good old US of A like “Carolina White” rice. Oh wait, she still insist on eating Japanese rice!

Now let’s move onto this scene where Honoka got separated from the rest of μ’s by taking the wrong train. That’s sucks!

And since she can’t speak English much and doesn’t know the name of the hotel she’s staying, Honoka might put herself at greater risk.

C’mon, you don’t want her getting kidnapped by a mafia gang!

That’s until Honoka met a singer who has a great voice and not being a shady person.

Oh, and she’s a fellow Japanese just like Honoka in which Kousaka felt at ease on asking her directions on getting back.

So while Honoka is going back to the hotel where Umi-chan and the rest are waiting, this singer told Kousaka that she was once part of an idol group back in her day.

Even though her idol group got disbanded, this female singer continues to sing because she like to!

But anyways, Honoka was reunited with her friends but the lady who helped Kousaka vanished… Oh, and Honoka-chan got her mic case, but I’m sure that she’ll meet this female singer someday!

In any case, it’s time for their performance live at New York. Don’t know why they perform at the Times Square, but at least they’ll get some exposure back in Japan!

Yeah, they did their best when μ’s performed “Angelic Angel”, but I have a feeling that Eri Ayase, Nozomi Toujou, and Nico Yazawa’s graduation from the group might get postponed or even suspended indefinitely…

That’s because they attracted a lot of fans after performing in the Big Apple! In fact, these fans want to have an autograph from Honoka-chan and the rest of μ’s!

See, they can’t help it but make an impromptu fan meeting inside the airport. Of course, there’s more to that other than signing autographs.

You see, Akihabara is littered with posters of μ’s, ranging from small-size that you can hang it on the window apart from flyers…

…to a giant ones being placed on buildings like this one. This is problematic for μ’s as they got so popular that disbanding the group is pretty much impossible!

On the other hand, I feel that it’s an allusion to the real-life version of μ’s where they got so much exposure, including yesterday’s 66th Kohaku Uta Gassen where their performance is aired across Japan.

Yes, they become famous in both the anime and in real-life. But in regards to their anime counterparts, the fans expect μ’s to stage another concert!

That’s when they hit a snag as μ’s is dead-set on disbanding after winning the Love Live! School Idol Competition back in Season 2, yet they didn’t announce their disbandment in public so far.

But then, Nozomi told the rest of the girls to go for it. They’ll stage another concert and tell the audience about their disbandment afterwards.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to just stage another concert as the fans wanted more! What if some passionate fans told μ’s to stay being school idols and not break-up?

And to make matters worse, Kotori’s mother/headmaster wanted μ’s to continue performing as it’s essential for hosting future Love Live! School Idol Competitions at the Akiba Dome.

Well, this is a predicament for Honoka Kousaka as she’s having doubts on how to resolve things.

But you know what, she should ask Tsubasa Kira for advice as she and the rest of A-RISE will continue as idols after graduation.

Of course, she’s worried that the Love Live! competition will cease to exist after winning the first one, so Tsubasa wanted Honoka and the rest of μ’s to continue. Well, that wasn’t a good advice…

How about the female singer where Honoka met her back in New York. I wonder what’s in store for this singer?

Woah, did the female singer just transported Honoka-chan to another dimension? I hope there’s something she can show to Kousaka. But you know what, there’s no need to as the female singer knows that Honoka finally got the answer.

In fact, the mysterious singer is watching Honoka-chan ever since she was a child. So, she said to Kousaka to jump over the puddle just like before!

So yeah, Honoka jumped over the puddle. Of course, she’s just imagining things.

But what’s important that Honoka finally found an answer she’s looking for! So what’s the answer then?

Well, since Honoka and the rest of μ’s love being school idols, they decided to share their passion while closing their career with a bang. That’s their answer she’s looking for and the rest agreed to it!

In any case, they’ll stage a concert not just for μ’s but all school idol groups across Japan. Um, I hope that they can invite Wake Up, Girls! too. Oh wait, they’re not school idols!

But first, they must invite other school idols as Rin Hoshizora demonstrates, using her skills that she gained in America.

Well, it’s weird for Rin-chan imitating the Statue of Liberty while inviting those girls!

Yet, it did work as Rin-chan successfully invited a school idol. Gotta say that the enthusiasm of μ’s helped them a lot!

Meanwhile, A-RISE was invited too for a collaboration with μ’s. They’re here to make a song not just for both of them, but for all school idols out there!

Can’t wait to hear that!

So with that said, μ’s invited tons of school idols across Japan for the biggest gathering in Akihabara.

Yes, they’re preparing for the greatest spectacle that AKB48 and its sister teams couldn’t handle!

But before they stage the biggest concert in Akiba, μ’s told their fellow school idols that they’ll disband after the Nico, Eri, and Nozomi graduate.

For them, it was a sad news and even I would get upset with it. However, it’s not like they’re gonna finish their career on a whimper however as Honoka and the rest will leave a legacy that would secure a future for school idols!

Basically, it’s not the end of the world once μ’s leave the school idol scene… It’s the beginning of something greater for Love Live! School Idol Competition!

And now, it’s time for the main event where μ’s and countless school idol groups perform “SUNNY DAY SONG”, a fitting song for all idols out there.

See, AKB48 got nothing when it has a sheer number of idols performing at their home turf!

Let’s not forget about A-RISE as they joined in as well, since they collaborated with μ’s on making this song.

On the other hand, those three New Yorkers went to Japan to see school idols perform spectacularly. How wonderful that they came to see this moment!

And finally, here’s Arisa Ayase and Yukiho Kousaka. Sure that they didn’t join μ’s but these two will continue their legacy as members of the Idol Research Club!

Can’t wait for both Arisa and Yukiho telling stories about a great school idol group that shaped history…

With that said, this concert was a success as μ’s and the rest of the school idol groups made a spectacular event that would secure a future for Love Live! School Idol Competition.

Great job to those girls from Otonokizaka Academy!

And now, it’s time for a commemoration photo courtesy of Nozomi Toujou. C’mon, it should be preserved to future generations once μ’s went to their separate ways!

And I gotta say, it was a nice shot! Seriously, this picture should be in a museum- Oh wait, it should be kept by both Arisa and Yukiho for those new club members to see!

Well, that’s it for Love Live! The School Idol Movie. Watching it again makes me wanna cry as it’s truly is a fitting conclusion to Honoka Kousaka and the girls that form the idol group μ’s. They sure left a lasting legacy to both in the anime and in real-life. Sadly for them, their contract with Lantis will expire after the Final Live to make way for Aquors, the newest school idol group that would carry the legacy as the new face of the Love Live! franchise.

With that said, I’m gonna miss μ’s as it changed me after watching the first anime series back in January 2015. Of course, I should have experienced it back in 2010!

Until then, their graduation rites at the Tokyo Dome is a few months away. But for now, it’s time to say good-bye to those girls!

See ya in March 31, 2016… But then again, I would resort to watching the Blu-ray version of the Final Live!

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