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

Sakurakouji, Kinako Main

Suzuhara, Nozomi Japanese

Onitsuka, Natsumi Main

Emori, Aya 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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Feb 16, 2025

MelodyOfMemory

Not Recommended

At the end of the day, Love Live exists to sell an idol group. No matter how sincere the intentions of the production staff, which Season 1 wonderfully showed, everything is subservient to this cold hard fact. The sudden introduction of 4 new characters to the group was obviously not a decision made with artistic intent (imagine if Sailor Moon immediately introduced all four Outer Senshi in the second arc rather than steadily growing the cast), and the entire story is poorly thought out, paced, and reeks of rushed production.

To be clear, the newcomers aren't entirely without merit. The first three episodes with Kinako make ... for an interesting conflict between her, who embodies the promise that anyone can become an idol even starting from no experience, and an original generation of five experienced performers who have been pursuing their dreams since childhood. But herein lies the first crack. Shouldn't Keke, who also struggled with poor physical fitness at first, be able to connect with her on a personal level? Instead, the kind, cheerful girl of the first season has been reduced to a sour, miserable caricature of her former self and has to be reminded of their similarity. This character assassination occurred for no apparent reason other than to fill the token Love Live "bickering couple" role with Sumire, who also does almost nothing of note other than serve as the brunt of humiliation by not just Keke, but the rest of the cast.

Remember the promise of the Season 1 finale? One showing five girls who had taken the first significant step to becoming confident performers, but now have higher ambitions to win? Wouldn't you like to see them grow and develop their craft to even greater heights? Isn't that the main reason you're watching this season? Well too bad, because Kanon's Furious Four are barely even in it. Ren only gets one filler episode and may as well be invisible otherwise, with her nominal leadership role being reduced to mere bureaucratic upkeep. Her focus ep is admittedly amusing one, but it's so far removed from her struggles in the first season that one wonders if the execs thought they no longer fit the lighter tone this season went with. Chisato at least does take small steps forward, setting the stage to fully blossom into her own in Season 3, and plays a highly important role in the season finale.

The wonderfully relatable and multifaceted Kanon of the first season has being simplified into a blandly nice Maria von Trapp figure to the new girls while taking a disproportionate amount of the show's screen time. In the final two episodes, Season 1 Kanon does return, and although it still comes at the expense of the rest of the cast, she does receive a significant plot development that serves as a beautiful closure to the story of the girl who has grown so much from her self-hatred and disbelief in her ability to impact the world...except they managed to almost completely screw it up. How such a nihilistic cliffhanger that so thoroughly destroys the credibility of the series' emotional weight managed to pass quality assurance remains a mystery to this day.

In fact, Season 2 has a talent for shooting itself in its own foot. Returning to the new girls, even from a cynical "to sell toys" standpoint, shouldn't the season be a showcase for their unique, admirable traits so people would actually want to buy their toys? Instead, Kinako gets quickly shafted as Mei and Shiki make their simultaneous Liella debuts. Ultimately, they are superfluous as this episode is the full extent of their already shallow motives, with Mei's resting bitch face anxieties never being brought up again and Shiki literally only joining for Mei's sake. Natsumi is more interesting, with her motive of lacking a focused goal in life again contrasting with the dedicated and driven original cast. But again, this is not brought up again after her focus episodes, and it would take until Season 3 where her backstory effectively becomes rewritten from its poorly fleshed out first draft of a Season 2 debut.

Worse, 3/4 of the show's run time is spent comparing them unfavourably to the founding members. Competitiveness is one thing, but you'd think that an idol group of this caliber should have resolved this issue long before the qualifying rounds. Instead, this subplot effectively resolves with the implication that, actually, the original 5 were capable of winning all along by themselves and don't need the newcomers. Oh, did I say "resolves?" Actually, it doesn't resolve anything, as the skill gap between the two Liella generations persists all the way to the final performance, with the only difference being that Kanon decided they should be nicer to the new members.

There is something unpleasantly mean-spirited about this season as a whole. Remember how Season 1 was all about building the girls up and seeing them heal from trauma and failure to become confident performers? Between Keke's bitterness, Sumire's constant heckling, the constant reminders of how weak the new girls are, I fail to see how any of this inspires confidence and self-worth. In fact, if it weren't for the producers giving little thought to having them react to this mistreatment in a realistic way, I'd imagine at least half of Liella would end this season broken and demoralized. How does one so thoroughly miss the point of your own series? What even is the message this season is trying to convey?

One final damning condemnation of this season comes from its final insert song, Mirai no Oto ga Kikoeru (I Can Hear the Sound of the Future). While most of this season's songs are mediocre, with many having only tenuous connections to the story, this one is actually a very touching song that serves as a heartwarming summary and closure to the story of the five founding members (although you have to hear it in full because the anime version does not do it justice). But it primarily works because it almost entirely recaps the story of Season 1, showing how little Season 2 adds to the wider Superstar story as a whole.

It is frustrating to compare this show to Healer Girl, which came out a few months earlier and ended up taking the concept of growing together through singing in an interesting new direction while being more faithful to Superstar Season 1's themes and musical quality than its actual follow-up. That show, like many other non-franchise titles, is unlikely to receive a second season despite the potential for expanding the story. Meanwhile, Love Live is a big enough name for Superstar to get a second chance, and they squandered it. One wonders how much the series could have grown otherwise had it not been constrained by corporate dictates, because I do not believe that anyone directly involved in Season 1 does not care about their work.

Still, despite this season being horribly flawed, it's prevented from receiving a 2 or even a 1 because it's still funny at times and there are elements of a good story in there. It does plant seeds for Season 3 to expand on, and the follow-up also goes some way towards lessening the blow this season inflicted. Those plot elements are unfortunately too important to simply skip this season. But the fact that it had so much of a mess to clean up prevented Season 3 from reaching the heights it could have otherwise.

Is suffering through this season worth it to get there? Only if you love Liella that much, and, well, I guess I watched this season despite bad word-of-mouth. Interpret that as you will.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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