The Return of Anime’s Glee Club: Love Live! Sunshine


Howdy, howdy, folks!  I’m back this week with fresh new review on one of the summer’s latest releases.  But before I begin, I do want to apologize again to those who missed me last week.  I’ve had some family issues going on lately-which I will keep private, but family members reading this will know what I’m talking about-, and going through this difficult time has made an impact on me.  While drudging through the rain can be miserable, eventually the clouds will part and let the sun shine through.  Enough said there.  Speaking of sunshine, this week’s review is on a spin-off of an all too familiar show with singing high school girls in flashy short skirts.  That’s right!   This week I’ll be looking at Love Live! Sunshine!
 This series hasn’t been out for too long, so there aren’t a whole lot of episodes currently out.  But what I know so far is this: set in a coastal Japanese town, Chika Takami is hell-bent on starting a school idol group at Uranohoshi Girl’s Academy.  Inspired by μ’s, she is obsessed with idols and even gets her friend You Watanabe involved.  Soon the girls establish the club at Uranohoshi and gain four new members.  However, word quickly spreads that the school will be shut down due to lack of enrollment- the same situation that took place in the original Love Live! series.  Now, the girls must perfect their songs, moves, and everything in between and gain popularity amongst the idol community to save their school!
Looking at what I’ve seen so far of Love Live! Sunshine, I honestly have to say that the jury is out.  There are some great things going on with the series, but there also some things that could be better.  But overall, I give Love Live! Sunshine a 7.5 out of 10.  Much like its original counterpart, Sunshine has the same great animation that fans know and love.  And while there hasn’t been much musically speaking-unless you’ve played the Love Live! game or have looked up their singles on YouTube-, what I’ve heard has been pretty promising as well.  At times I felt Aquors sounded better than μ’s!  Not bad for a bunch of high schoolers.
On the other hand, the plot in general wasn’t as noteworthy.   Don’t get me wrong, it’s not terrible.  But even a few episodes in, you realize that this is the original Love Live! that’s being repeated back to us.  Lament’s terms: it’s the same the thing.  You can even pick out the parallels between the characters, too.  And much like the original, I feel like there could be more depth to it.  Now, just because the basic plot for Sunshine isn’t too far from the original Love Live! doesn’t mean that it’s an exact copy.  There are some big differences between the two.  For instances, the school closing down isn’t even the major issue in this series-not at first anyways.  All the characters want to do is start a school idol group.  But all in all, this spin off is just as entertaining as the first.
So cute high school girls in glittery outfits?  Yes, please!  Cause even though it’s not much different from its original, Love Live! Sunshine will have you singing and dancing just like the original.  To catch up on all the current episodes, check out Funimation’s website, where it streams new episodes every Saturday.  And with that, I’m off!  Stay tuned next week for Character of the Month as well as a sneak peak at Hanime’s Favorites coming in September!  And if you have an anime or topic you want me to look into, let me know!

-Hanime on Anime

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