Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season

As another year begins at Yuigaoka Girls' High School, ushering in a fresh batch of students, the school idol club Liella! is excited to expand their membership. However, Liella! is extremely popular due to the astounding talent they have continuously displayed; thus, new students lack the courage to even consider approaching the club, fearing the rigorous training that might lie ahead.

Amid her worries, club leader and co-founder Kanon Shibuya meets first-year student Kinako Sakurakouji and tells her about the world of school idols. This leaves Kinako in awe, but being fairly average herself, she feels she would not be capable of matching the spirited performances of the brilliant Liella! members. Nonetheless, Kinako receives encouragement to join the group and comes to share their dream of reaching for the stars once again in the grand Love Live! Competition.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shibuya, Kanon Main

Date, Sayuri Japanese

Tang, Keke Main

Liyuu Japanese

Heanna, Sumire Main

Payton, Naomi Japanese

Arashi, Chisato Main

Misaki, Nako Japanese

Hazuki, Ren Main

Aoyama, Nagisa Japanese

Wakana, Shiki Main

Ookuma, Wakana Japanese

Yoneme, Mei Main

Yabushima, Akane Japanese

Onitsuka, Natsumi Main

Emori, Aya Japanese

Sakurakouji, Kinako Main

Suzuhara, Nozomi Japanese

Margarete, Wien Supporting

Yuina Japanese

Ootsuka, Hiroshi Producer

Kyougoku, Takahiko Director

Nagasaki, Yukio Sound Director

Nakayama, Naoya Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Apr 23, 2023

AyemAFK

Recommended

It was good,(8.12) for me. It was good enough for an idol anime.

In terms of story, actually I didn't expect much considering this is an idol anime. But actually, some of the plots that are presented are quite impressive even though in fact they are still light on the overall story which was predictable from the start of this anime's release. The characters presented in this series have their own motivations which are quite unique and become something fresh in this anime. The main character is also quite impressive and really has the aura of a leader so she gets plus rating points because to ... be honest I really like her.

In terms of design, there isn't much that can be discussed because in reality it's normal. The character descriptions and costume designs provided are actually good but nothing more than that. From a visual standpoint, this anime likes to flex in moments where they are performing songs. And at that moment, to be honest, the visual quality displayed can be said to be quite good and eye-catching. In terms of the most important in anime idol, namely audio. This anime spoils us with the quality of the oshi that cannot be doubted and also the songs that are given are actually quite good objectively. However, in terms of subjectivity, it is natural that people have their own preferences.

Finally, I just want to argue that only stupid people expect a lot from aspects other than audio in idol anime. Overall, this anime is fun enough to be enjoyed by idol lovers. For those of you who want to start an idol journey, Love Live will be a long but exciting journey. But if you are not ready to sacrifice time, money for other personal satisfactions. Better to just watch ordinary anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 2, 2023

Porukana

Mixed Feelings

After watching the first season of Superstar, I had taken an almost 1 year break from idol shows, and so when I finally sat down to watch season 2 of Superstar, I feel like I went in with a much more different perspective than others who may have kept up a little more with the fandom.

I feel like most of the negative feelings towards season 2 of Love Live! SuperStar is based around the new members who were added into Liella. Although I understand the precious feeling towards the original unprecedentedly small cast of Liella, I don't necessarily think the added characters ruined the show ... or the group. I admit, that some of the introductions and induction into the club felt a bit forced at times, but in total I disagree with the sentiment that their designs were sub-par or that they didn't fit well with the synergy of Liella. On the surface, their characters and personalities do have good synergies and is relatively harmonious to the group, I think it is only when you compare the altered/updated group dynamic with the original 5-person group that you feel like something special was lost. But I just believe that this is a testament to how well the characters were written in season 1, and how it is really hard to maintain such a thing for season 2.

I probably only have this opinion since I had long forgotten the unique and excited feelings I had for the original 5-person Liella, and was able to view this season with a cleansed pallet, so I understand if those who are more invested don't agree with my sentiment.

But other than that here are a short list of pros and cons of this show:

Pros:
- Incredible animation, it seems that the quality of production has just been going up and up
- Some good story writing, it has been a while since I've felt that the writers of the story decided to give any thought in synthesizing details and events across episodes, as opposed to the traditional "each episode is dedicated to a certain character" type formula (Although it is still present, it feels much more thought out and harmonious)
- (some) good character development
- Banger songs (mostly), and killer OP!!
- The voice acting for the OG members of Liella have definitely improved significantly! Especially the voice actresses for Sumire and Kanon blew me away at times

Cons:
- Some aspects of characters or story can feel forced or awkward at times
- The classic idol show cringe! (can be a positive depending on who you are...)
- Ok so what the f- is the ending? Please explain... like why?
- The stuff I talked about above

Honestly I really liked this new season, I think in what it lost in the uniqueness of the small cast, was made up with the sort of magic touch that was similar to the original love live school idol project, and it did it well and subtly as compared to the other love live series that tried to copy it.

Though I may be kind of biased since Mei x Shiki made me squeal like a dolphin haha...

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Oct 10, 2022

myokohi

Not Recommended

With this being the third anime installment in the Love Live! saga (not including Nijigasaki which is a separate entity), Superstar!! had a lot of pressure among the larger LL community to live up to expectations that would recreate a familiar formula while also providing something new to entice the fans.

Unfortunately, it has failed at this goal, and nothing short of a miracle can salvage this anime series.


While there's much that can be said about Superstar!! in regards to its plot, like retaining a common structure comparable to School Idol Project and Sunshine!!, it manages to do incomprehensibly worse than its predecessors at telling a ... coherent narrative. What sold this show to me to get this low of a rating though has been the characters and their dynamic with one another, which is practically nonexistent if Shibuya Kanon is not involved.

As opposed to both μ's and Aqours (as well as Nijigaku), Liella, the idol group in this anime, only comprises five members in contrast to the usual nine… only until it doesn’t, deciding to add an additional four members (Shiki and Mei are amazing, the same can't be said for Natsumi and Kinako) while leaving the original five, minus Shibuya Kanon, with little character growth besides comedic bickering (Keke and Sumire) or last minute dialogue (Ren and Chisato). Had Liella! followed its initial vision from the start of the series, there was the possibility of developing closer and perhaps more realistic character interactions than seen in the previous installments. With how the characters have interacted with each other so far in both this and the prior season though, this seems to be unlikely to happen even with an unprecedented third season.

At the end of the day though, Love Live! at its core is a music anime, and wow does Superstar!! fail to deliver in this category. While in the insert songs present in the anime are mediocre at best to downright awful at worst (the b-sides of their singles are amazing though, and it’s infuriating these superior songs weren’t featured in the anime like they should’ve been), the true musical aspect of Superstar!! that it shares with his predecessors has been the original soundtrack. At least, that’s what I would’ve said had they built upon the soundtrack from the first season instead of recycling the same two themes whenever something even slightly emotional happens (call it the Ren funeral song when a somber piano and/or violin plays). In other words, this season managed to make me have utter disdain for the one element of a Love Live! anime that never failed to disappoint me. I gotta hand it to Superstar!! Season 2 for pulling off the unthinkable ^^

Whether you're a diehard fan of Love Live! or just stumbled upon this anime by mistake, I would strongly avoid giving Love Live! Superstar!! a watch so long as you're interested in a compelling story, relatable characters wanting to achieve their dreams, or great music. For those who are among the Love Live! community that have decided to give Superstar!! a skip, I applaud you for making the right call, as School Idol Project, Sunshine!!, or Nijigasaki are all infinitely better stories within the Love Live! franchise, and only deserve far more love than the trainwreck that has been Liella’s journey.


What could’ve been a fresh and beautiful story about a group of friends going through their three years of high school together to win the biggest idol competition in Japan, what we got instead was nothing short but disappointing, especially as someone who had high hopes for this group when they first debuted. Overall, a 2/10 for Love Live! Superstar!!

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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