Love Live! The School Idol Movie

Having put Love Live's final adventure off for weeks after weeks, afraid of meeting the end of the series, now, after finally gathering the courage to watch it, I am left with the thought that Love Live may be the best idol series created. It's surprising how far the series has come over the past couple years. I'm not sure most people thought much about it when the first season aired, other than that it was your typical idol show with some cute girls and some cool tunes. But after the airing of the excellent second season, and now with the movie finally cementing what it is that makes the series so special for so many people, Love Live has established itself as one of the most significant series in the anime industry and present-day Japanese culture. It would be foolish to claim that all Love Live has going for it is its popularity, however. It succeeds at being more than just a fun little idol show. Even if it may have a few minor issues, as all anime do, and even with the large layer of cheese surrounding some of its dialogue, Love Live is a truly heart-warming and excellently crafted anime, and I am very sad to see it end. Love Live's movie is similar to the K-ON movie in many ways, particularly in its structure, as the trip to New York represents only a portion of the film's screen time. And, really, it is for the better that way. If all we saw were the girls of Muse having fun and singing around in New York City, it's likely it would feel like a mere spin-off rather than a meaningful advancement in the story and the characterisation. Love Live does advance the story-- it does give you something to care about, as it is not only an end for the girls, but also for the fans, as it is unlikely we will ever see anything involving these characters again, at least in the animated form. And that's hard to accept at times; there was a sinking feeling in my stomach that I don't often get from watching anime. But this is the way it should be. I'd be more than happy to see the girls continue their idol activities past high school, but it was the right time for this chapter to end. It is an ending I can be satisfied with, even if I do not want it to be over. And I don't. While the TV series had a couple characters I wasn't too big on (particularly Nozomi), none of them felt bothersome or out-of-place here. They have all done enough to earn their place... though, certainly, I would not complain if my Nico were to hog all the screen-time instead. It was somewhat difficult to pay attention to what was going on since I would often start laughing like a crazy person whenever Nico appeared. I hadn't seen my glorious Nico in animated form for a year and a half, so it could not be helped. I was also a bit surprised at how damn adorable Kotori was; it appears I may have been blind and deaf when I was watching the TV series. A great job is done at making New York City feel alive and bustling, with real locations modeled upon and with random pedestrians occasionally having their say. Seeing Honoka and the rest fumble around with their terrible English (ekkusukuzu mii!) in a futile attempt to communicate with Americans, is, unsurprisingly, pretty hilarious. By the way, I have no idea how the hell that one girl knew they were Japanese at first sight. Even I, having seen a whole heck of a lot of Asians in my lifetime, have some difficulty immediately telling a Japanese person apart from, say, a Chinese one. I'll just assume Random Blonde Lady is smarter than me! It seems Love Live likes to experiment with the idea of being a musical, too, since the characters will sometimes bust out their dance moves all impromptu in the middle of the city, random Americans joining and signing along and all. It certainly adds some... uh, life and energy to the story, even if I would personally prefer they find a less silly reason to showcases their vocals. Love Live is obviously not aiming to be a perfect representation of reality, and that's just fine. Who needs reality, anyway? The dialogue can occasionally be a bit cheesy (Honoka hopping and twirling around at the end, claiming she "can fly!", yay!), but this isn't nearly frequent enough to be a big deal. If anything, it'll just make you laugh a little bit. I don't expect all scenes to be perfectly mature and believable, because Love Live is a big series with big appeal, especially for young girls who normally enjoy that sort of thing. I don't feel comfortable taking that away from them. Love Live is fine as it is. The songs are great and their performances well-coordinated (particularly at the very end with Nic-- with Muse dancing and tapping their feet along), but my one complaint is that the movie still uses some CG during these scenes. The CG doesn't look bad, not by any means, nor does it feel out-of-place (especially when compared with rival shows such as Aikatsu), but certainly it would have been nice if fluid 2D animation were used all the time instead, rather than most of the time. The animators could have gone all-out here, but they chose not to, presumably because of deadlines and other business-y things. Instead the movie looks merely good, rather than fantastic, which is something I'm still pretty OK with. It is also worth noting that, unlike a majority of anime, Love Live actually knows how to time its background music in a way that feels appropriate - sentimental yet not melodramatic. It doesn't go overboard, but it does still make an effort, hitting the key moments of the track as it pans over the girls sitting and pondering their future in the club room, rather than screaming at the top of their lungs as most anime characters apparently have a fixation with. I don't think most people will tear up during these scenes, but it is quite hard not to have at least some sort of emotional reaction. Love Live knows knows how to convey emotion to its audience when it wants to. There are also a few subtle visual tricks that add to the cinematic feel, like a young Honoka jumping before immediately cutting to present-day Honoka's foot slamming off the ground. These aren't details that are likely to cross your mind as you watch, but they do add up and give the experience more of an impact and a punch. It's clear the animators wanted to set the series off on a grander stage than it started on. The Love Live movie is a hell of a time, and is easily the most fun I have had with an anime since Shirobako finished airing. I came in expecting nothing more than to see more of my Nico doing her thing and being the beautiful lady that she is, and while there certainly was a decent amount of that, there's far more here, too. Love Live wanted to end on a happy note rather than a sad one, and it did a fantastic job at doing so. I've had a lot of fun with you, Love Live, and while I don't know if I can let go, I can at least say goodbye.

I had the pleasure of watching this in theaters in Japan, and the movie is just what you would expect a Love Live! film to be: 1/3 music and dancing, 1/3 anime girls doing cute/funny things, and 1/3 drama - an animated musical comedy. If you already watched the first 2 seasons of the show, you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. However, there is one huge difference between the movie and the show: the first half takes place in NEW YORK CITY. As a New Yorker, it was an absolute joy watching my favorite group of animated girls take on the great metropolis on the other side of the world. It also had great insight into how Japanese people think of the United States. As someone who lives in NYC, I don't fully appreciate the city, but from the perspective of Japanese high school girls, it must be a helluva place. It is also clear that the art crew for the movie did their research and location scouting in NYC, because a lot of the spots featured throughout the film are locations I walked through just last week (although it's also clear that they probably didn't interact much with real New Yorkers; the NYers featured in the film are WAY too nice and well-mannered haha). Anyway, my review breakdown: Story: 6 The story for the Love Live! anime has never been any more than a means to get the girls dancing and singing, and the movie's no different in this regard. Basically, the plot is very simple: the girls have been invited to perform a live concert in New York City (the first half of the movie), and after they get back to Japan, they are surprised to find out that their overseas stint has earned them fame back home (second half of the movie). There is some drama involved regarding the third years graduating and whether to continue the group, but it's basically the same main conflict as the second season of the TV anime. Once the group gets back to Japan, it's the usual stuff we've already seen before. The plot is pretty bare-bones, and since this movie is almost 2 hours long, there were definitely parts of the film that felt dragged out. Some of the songs and dance sequences also came out of nowhere with little segue, like some sort of Broadway musical. Overall, I'd have to say the story was the weak point of the film. Art: 9 The animation is almost the same as from the show, and all the characters' movements and features are beautifully animated. The musical dancing scenes are especially well-done, although I'm not a big fan of the CGI concerts (this film has 3 of those, and 3 purely 2D ones). One place the movie surpasses the show is the backgrounds. As I said before, the backgrounds for New York are meticulous and surprisingly accurate. The Akihabara backgrounds are quite detailed as well. It was quite amusing looking at all the brand parodies in the background in the film's attempt to avoid a copyright lawsuit. Overall, solid art and animation, slight but not major improvement over the show. Sound: 9 All the characters' voices are on point as usual. It was quite amusing listening to Honoka and Nozomi trying to speak English in NYC. To the film's credit, they actually got legit English speakers to voice the New Yorkers in the movie, so the film remains MOSTLY Engrish-free. The songs are the catchy tunes we've come to expect, and pair off really well with the dance sequences. However, I will say that the 6 songs featured in the film are not the series' strongest ones (my personal opinion is that the group's best song was the opening from season 1). They are quite good, but not good enough to put on my iPod. Character: 7 All the characters we know and love are back, a mysterious new character comes into the mix, and a new generation of school idols are hinted at towards the end of the film. But there is one HUGE problem. It's no secret that Honoka is the least popular of the 9 girls, and after watching this film, I think I know why: the film spends WAY too much running time trying to develop Honoka's character and her inner struggles as the team leader. It would be fine if it's an episode of the show, but in a 2-hour film like this, the result is that screen time is taken from the other girls who are just as, if not more, interesting in terms of talent and personality as Honoka. By the end of the film, I wished there was less Honoka, and more of the other girls. Not a problem with Honoka's character herself, but more with the direction of the movie. Also, as expected, Nico gets all the funniest scenes in the film. She's my favorite. :D Enjoyment: 10 Despite some of the flaws I listed above, the film was overall wholly enjoyable. A great way to spend 2 hours sitting back and enjoying some great music and dancing, funny antics, and cute girls doing cute things. What more could an anime fan ask for? If you enjoyed the first 2 seasons of the show, then you are sure to enjoy this movie as well. Overall: 8

When I started to watch Love Live!, I was extremely skeptical of how the plot would play out. I'm not really into the whole idol culture but I wanted to keep my mind open and give Love Live! a shot. And boy am I glad I did. Now I can at least appreciate what idols have to undergo. The movie, which builds off plot-wise immediately after the second season, uses the same kind of group dynamic that was present in the second season. Although this form of group dynamic doesn't change much from the second season (or ever, lol) you could almost feel the charisma beaming from the group. The characters, despite the fact that their personalities are clearly drawn from stereotypes/archetypes, clearly mesh together very, very well. They complement each other and this is reflected through their dialogues and reactions. As for the sound, well, this should be pretty self-explanatory. What would a music-themed anime be without, well, music? One interesting thing that this movie does differently from the prequels is that there is a much heavier emphasis on the sound. In the previous two seasons, the songs were still there (and done very well, if I may say so myself) but they served more to advance the plot as a whole. In the movie - for a lack of a better phrase - the μ's break out into song based on the situational context that they are in. Basically, think High School Musical all over again. Is this done well? I think so - it certainly adds new flavor to the entire series, but that is my own personal opinion. Now for the cons. Bear with me for a bit. The plot itself had a rougher execution than the second season. There were some parts in the movie where the plot was rushed to some degree. For example, consider the transitioning scenes from New York (where they are at Times Square) back to Japan (where they are meeting fans at the airport). To me, these scenes were kind of thrown together into an incoherent mess. Although you could tell what was happening at any given moment, sometimes the plot jumped from Point A to Point B inconsistently. These scenes needed to be flushed out more so that viewers can more easily comprehend what is happening. Another thing I didn't really like was how the movie was piecemealed into two parts - one part in NY and the other back in Japan. The connection between these two parts of the movie needed to be more clearly established. True, perhaps their trip to NY served as inspiration to the Idol festival in Japan, but this was not really flushed out well. If the movie left out the entire adventure in NY, could the rest of the plot been executed in the same way? Perhaps. Maybe some of us wouldn't like that, but it's still possible. One last thing: the symbolism. Okay, I know this movie tries really hard to integrate some kind of deep symbolism that was not present in the first two seasons of Love Live! But if you're like me, just an average anime watcher, the symbolism completely flies right past you (e.g. the street singer in NY). Symbols don't necessarily have to be obvious, but they should be incorporated into the plot in a way that still makes sense. But kudos for trying. Overall, definitely a nice way to end Love Live! But is it on par with the second season? I argue not. tl;dr Pros: + Good music + Crisp art, like always + Good group dynamics + Some development, especially when the μ's explore their identity, but definitely not on par with the development in the second season Cons: - Some parts of the plot transitioned poorly (i.e. were rushed), making it difficult to follow - Connection between NY + Japan somewhat unclear and needs to be flushed out more - Symbolism present but difficult to interpret Story: 4 Art: 6 Sound: 9 Character: 6 Enjoyment: 7 Overall: 5 *Note: I put a heavier emphasis into my rating on story and characters. Mwahaha.*

Before read, please forgive my grammar and of course my sentence: Yesterday, I have watched the Love Live the School Idol Movie. To be honest, I don’t know what to review about this movie but I will try to keep it simple as possible. About the synopsis, I think everyone knows this is sequel to LL season 2 and they are having fun travelling together as they sing and dance as school idol. The story seems to be bland but the implied content there is very strong. I do not want to spoiler it but, you need to watch it to understand so, I just leave it here. For animation, Sunrise really did a good job maintaining their usual animation performance much like previous LL series like dancing and background. For OST, it was pleasant to hear with their singing while dancing, also they included some nice old soundtrack and for me it’s pretty much nostalgic. Verdict (for movie): For any anime watchers or Love Live fans who has finished LL S1 & S2, I strongly recommended to watch this movie as the answer for those who feel empty after their finished the series like me. You may feel like boring or not-to-awesome like previous series, but there is something that the movie or specifically Muse want to say to you. As always, it’s 10/10 for me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final verdict: So, the movie has end, from what I can view, think and understand about this series. It’s one of the masterpieces in anime industry. I know you might want to say, I’m biased or something like that but to tell you the truth, LL series so far has moved me way better than anime I have done watched. The exciting, the feels, the emotions are really portrayed and it makes you truly immersed with the characters especially Muse member (of course). I would not recommend for those who have weak-willed or easily to feel depressed because the sad moment can strike you hard but, the cure is out there which is LL movie, so go finish the series as soon as possible and watch the movie. I’m really sad because Muse was disbanded and because of that I cried a lot, depressed and empty-inside but, as Honoka said: “We will see this through the end” and it turns out to be true which the ending was the movie. I will try to support new incoming school idol “Aquors” but to me Muse still my best school idol and I can’t deny that. Last but not least, I still remember their catchphrase "Muse - A story achieved together" which was true since their first single. Thanks for reading my review and I really appreciated that. Muse….music….START!!!!

My first introduction to the Love Live! franchise was the app game Love Live! School Idol Festival. It's a very fun, challenging, and addictive game. The playlist is very well done. Some of the songs are very very good! I almost didn't watch the movie since I haven't watched seasons 1 or 2 yet. But since I already knew the characters from the game I figured I just watch the movie and watch the 1st 2 seasons later on. I'm glad I did because the movie on it's own was great. The story is easy to follow and not very complex but it manages to still be a really good story that will invoke both laughter and tears. You kind of start to get the feeling of how important it is to make good memories with your friends and enjoy the time you have together growing up. Eventually things change and as adults we will see some of our friends go a different path than we might take. So no regrets... cherish these moments now. The art was stunning from the streets of New York to the sakura trees of Japan. Everything is vibrant and colorful. The 3 main musical sequences in the movie were beautiful. The New York outfits RAWR! The group idol outfits very nice. And the outfits for the end performance were stunning. Although the music for the game is much better. The songs in the movie were okay. The main songs and side songs actually fit their respective moments pretty well. I enjoyed watching this movie more than I thought. Even though this isn't the type of anime I usually watch. (more action and fight scenes type of anime) It's really worth watching if you're already thinking about watching it. Even if you haven't seen the previous 2 seasons, I don't really think you need to. It's still a great movie even if you're not familiar with the characters. Thank you for reading. Enjoy the show! ^_^

The Love Live movie celebrates what μ’s essentially is, namely the school idol project. The idol group was formed as a way to save the girls’ school, Otonokizaka Academy, from having to close down. While μ’s mainly consists of the nine school idols, other Otonokizaka Academy students - as well as the principal - always offer their support when it comes to organising and promoting performances. However, as the third years graduate, the group comes to realise they cannot continue as school idols anymore and begin to fear that the end of μ’s will mark the end of their friendship. Over the course of the movie, the members of μ’s mature by accepting the inevitable end of their school idol project and by understanding what it means. The band members realise that their friendship is not bound by idoling and how a shared love of something can bring together different people. This, also understanding that, even when that thing is over, it won’t spell the end for their friendship. Love Live! The School Idol Movie celebrates μ’s and the friendship that binds them. While the latter half of the movie focuses more on Honoka, the screen-time the μ’s band members receive is very evenly distributed. All members get their chance to shine through songs and character moments, yet the movie still always focuses on them as a group, be it a group of friends or an idol group. Additionally, the movie features three insert songs sung by the third, second and first years, respectively, giving every year the opportunity to stand out. This shared focus on all of μ’s’ members further emphasises the theme of friendship, which ultimately takes centre stage. The movie consists of two parts: The first part finds μ’s going to New York in an attempt to make school idols more popular worldwide, and the second part deals with μ’s’ last performance as a group. One could even argue that the movie serves as a great introduction to Love Live as it is exactly what fans have come to expect from this slice-of-life idol anime and doesn’t really offer anything new but a shiny exterior. To some viewers, exactly this may pose a problem since they have expected something bigger, especially plot-wise. The plot of the second part as well as the centre issue μ’s has to deal with in particular are rather problematic as they have already been done in the TV series, though in the movie it is elaborated upon. However, Love Live is not beloved for it’s deep and meaningful plot. You watch it for its light-heartedness, its innocence, its catchy J-Pop and most importantly, its loveable characters with their contagious cheerfulness. Love Live! The School Idol Movie is Still 10/10. Very enjoyable, Had laughs but mostly crying at the end cause they are ending. All the performance is amazing too for me. If you're a fan of the Love Live series, then you should watch this. Actually, if you're a fan of the Love Live series, then I don't know why you haven't watched this already. However, if you're looking for a film that has a deep storyline, and unique characters, then you're better off looking for another anime movie.

I managed to finally watch Love Live and this time in theaters! It was an amazing experience might I add even though it was the second screening and there were no posters... So let me say that this was an insanely great movie and really showed what I love most about Love Live... The music. The story was good don't get me wrong but overall I really enjoy the music even though I can't understand what they are saying. The songs have a catchy beat to them that just get's stuck in your head. It's been over 12 hours since I watched it and I still have Sunny Day Song stuck in my head and have already listened to it over 15 times! The story this time was a little different in the sense that it's the buildup to the end of Muse. They plan to break up after a concert to show the appeal of school idols to the world. Before this happens though they end up going to America to meet up and do an interview about School Idols and also play a Live. They sing the song Angelic Angel which let me say I have played a bunch on the game. They return to America and... BOOM all of a sudden they are extremely popular with everyone and there are posters and there Live of Angelic Angel playing all over the place. They are shocked but more importantly they are surrounded by their fans in the airport! After running away from their fans the problem arises *HAHA The puns* where they must decide... will Muse break up or will they continue to sing as Idols! If you didn't figure it out yet they broke up there band and finished off the movie with Sunny Day Song! The movie overall was abesolutely amazing and brings back the feels of the anime when you watched it for the first time. There were many funny moments throughout the movie and it was much more enjoyable then I had expected! Overall I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the Love Live Franchise and also anyone who hasn't seen Love Live should defianetely watch the series then the movie.

I've talked about the first two series of Love Live. In both cases the results were fairly positive and I rather enjoyed the experience. I'm sure some of you are thinking, "but you're literally the biggest killjoy in existence, you aren't allowed to like things." I'm sorry, but that accusation is still hilarious to me. Putting that aside, the second series of Love Live ended with Hanayo getting a message and running off excitedly, followed by the other members of μ's. This film, released last year, follows that plot thread. So, does it lead somewhere interesting or will this be a waste of our time? Let's look. Story: We open with the members of μ's learning that the next love live competition is going to have a larger venue than any before. With plans for it to be held at the Akiba Dome. In order to make those plans come to fruition, they're asked to go overseas as the winners of the last competition and gather interest. In the process, they find themselves riding a sudden wave of popularity, forcing them to question whether they really want to disband. The biggest weakness of the film is that a lot of the main conflict is based on retreading through the ending of the second series and the questions the girls have to ask themselves do lose some of their impact. That being said, overall, the film works quite well. The pacing is well done. The charm and fun of the series are very much present. Even the retreading does kind of work, given that there's a strong impetus for them to have second thoughts. Characters: The cast doesn't develop all that much beyond where they were in the series proper. Which makes some sense, given that the film takes place directly after. The film's strong suit lies in taking these familiar characters and putting them in a new situation. Which allows some new facets to emerge for their characters and enables some strong interactions among them. Art: The artwork looks a lot like the artwork from the series.Which isn't a bad thing by any stretch. the dancing and musical numbers are vibrant, interesting and very nicely done. The characters look good, particularly when it comes to their costuming, and the backgrounds are nicely detailed. Sound: I can't complain about the sound. The cast is made up of excellent singers who are also strong actresses. The sound track is as magnificent as you'd expect based on the series. Ho-yay: The film doesn't include les-yay to the extent that the series does, probably because they don't have as much time. However, they still have a good amount. Hanayo & Rin get a romantic moment. Niko gets seemingly jealous over seeing Maki act close to another girl. Niko, Honoka & Eri share a bed in the Honeymoon suite and there's just a lot of general intimacy among the girls. Final Thoughts: Love Live: The School Idol Film is about what you'd expect. It's a charming film with endearing characters, superb acting and music and ample amounts of les-yay. I would say that it's well worth the watch. As such my final rating is going to be an 8/10. Tomorrow, I'll look at something where I don't have a good idea of what I can expect. I'll be looking at Magic Tree House.

Disclaimer: I'm a huge Love Live fan, so this review is most probably biased. Also, this is my first review, so I'll try to not spoil anything. Love Live, the series that has touched the hearts of many and united a lot of people. It is no doubt well-loved. So to see a part of such a series end, it must be pretty painful and sad, right? Story - 6 I give the story a 6 since there isn't really much to it, really. The movie picks off right where the second season ends, with the reveal of the message Hanayo receives after the third years graduate at the end of the last episode of season two. There, they find out that they've been actually invited to perform abroad. Obviously, they take the opportunity and fly to New York to further make people know and acknowledge the existence of school idols, all while Honoka struggles with herself to find closure with the end of μ's. Yeah, there isn't really much to say about the story, it's simple and plain enough to understand. Art - 9 Now we're going to the good stuff. This art and animation in the movie is a great improvement from the two previous TV shows. It's more fluid and nicer to look at, something changed about the color, too. However, the greatest improvement in the art and animation, in my opinion, is the animation during scenes where they dance and sing, the CG scenes. Anyone who has watched season 1, season 2, and this movie know what I'm talking about. The CG animation from the two TV shows were admittedly terrible, they looked really choppy and bland. They obviously stepped up their game in the movie since the dances look smoother and the colors more vibrant (especially during BokuHika, the last song). It was a really nice change, and it made the experience of watching the movie way better. Sound - 9 Well, since this is an anime that revolves around the world of school idols, music has to play a huge role in this series, and I'm happy to say that they didn't disappoint. Sure, I really am Love Live trash, so my taste in music may be biased as well, but I really enjoyed the songs that were in this movie. From the first song from the first years, to BokuHika, I enjoyed every moment listening to the music and watching the characters sing and dance. I can't really say the same thing to the BGMs, however. They aren't really memorable. Heck, I've forgotten about most of them. The voice acting was great. No complaints there. Character - 10 Now this is the part where the series really shines, in my opinion. The characters are way too lovable and relatable. Watching them interact with their new environment and with each other was extremely enjoyable. Their characters work so well with each other, that they make a scene of them just talking to each other a nice watch. Sure, the cast may be pretty cliche. Honoka, the energetic and optmistic leader. Maki, the tsundere. Eli, the cool beauty, etc... But they work together in a way that makes you not mind at all. Enjoyment/Overall - 10 Of course, I enjoyed every second I spent watching this film, and I've re-watched it multiple times already. If you're a fan of the Love Live series, then you should watch this. Actually, if you're a fan of the Love Live series, then I don't know why you haven't watched this already. However, if you're looking for a film that has a deep storyline, and unique characters, then you're better off looking for another anime movie.

When you're a 20-year-old woman who enjoys watching the animated adventures of Japanese school girls, then you know that there either must be something with you that is seriously wrong, or that the creators of this anime must be doing something seriously right. Personally, I like to think it's the latter, and I hope that this review will not only illustrate why, but that it will also encourage you to watch Love Live! The School Idol Movie. As with the original series, the art and animation used in this anime are truly outstanding. The dance sequences (as well as the outfits and the facial expressions) are as spectacular as ever, although now they also come with some new settings and backgrounds. Since part of this movie takes place in New York City, we get to see a bit of America come to life through the eyes of Japanese artists and animators as well as those of animated Japanese schoolgirls. (Although I personally hate how pretty much every 2 out of 3 movies seem to take place in New York, seeing it in animated form is a different story.) If you watch anime, then you probably know how the Japanese cleverly avoid copyright issues by switching around letters and slightly altering logos of famous brands and trademarks. This movie is no different, and its Japanese take on Times Square and Broadway is nothing short of hilarious. The Phantom of the Opera becomes "Phantasm", Mamma Mia! becomes "Oh Dio", and (my personal favorite) The Lion King becomes "The Tiger Queen". If these funky signs fail to elicit a laugh or a smile from you, then worry not, as there is plenty of Engrish and cultural clashes to keep you amused. From American girls making the Japanese girls feel uncomfortable by being overly friendly, to the former not knowing what "school idols" are and the latter being fed up with eating bread, all these funny / awkward incidents are extremely well grounded in reality and make this movie feel as authentic and realistic as its depictions of Central Park and the Statue of Liberty. Although I would have personally loved to have seen the girls spend more time in NYC so that they could have come across more different, foreign (and inevitably funny) experiences, I do realize that the prime focus of this anime is music and singing rather than international differences, similarities, or cultural clashes. Since younger audiences might also be unable to catch on on these little quirks, having the girls quickly go back to Japan seemed like an understandable and logical course of action. Regardless of whether the girls are in Japan or America, they always stay true to themselves and not only engage in their usual antics but also go through the usual struggles. Nevertheless, this movie is far from being repetitive and is not only consistent in its quality of art and animation, but also in its level of amusement and entertainment. Love Live! The School Idol Movie is just as amusing, entertaining, and endearing as the original series. As mentioned above, in some aspects, it's even better (e.g. settings, art, and animation) while in others it's slightly worse (the story and the struggles are slightly predictable). Overall, however, it is a cute and sweet little movie as well as a wonderful addition to the Love Live! collection. Although you're likely to forget the bubbly and generic JPOP songs featured in this film, you're definitely likely to remember its lovely characters as well as the endearing, positive tingles they will have made you feel inside. If you love Love Live! (or at least kind of like it like I do), then this movie is one you simply can't miss.

The video review is up, but here is the written Review. This review may be a bit biased due to my fanboyism. I had an awesome opportunity to go watch this Movie in Theatres, with a bunch of awesome people. Whether they were cosplayers or just fans, this franchise has meant a lot to them. And it’s sad to see it all come to an end, but with that they gave us the fans what we wanted and ended on a high note. Story - 7/10 If you haven’t seen or watched the Love Live! Yet, I recommend you go watch it, because there might be some spoilers ahead. The story begins right after the ending of Season 2 of Love Live! Where Hanayo gets an email from the organizers of the Love Live! Competition to hold another Love Live! in Tokyo Dome, but in order for that to happen, they need more publicity, so they ask μ's to go to America to give them more coverage. At least that is what the first half of the movie is about, the second half of the movie focuses more of the group μ's and their future, without spoiling too much. The first half, when μ's is in New York plays out as a rather light hearted slice of life, where the girls just basically act like how tourists should. They basically just have fun in New York leading up to their concert at Times Square. The pacing of the movie felt kind of awkward as they seem to jump through multiple plots a lot. There was so much story they were trying to fit in, so some of it concluded either awkwardly or felt too rushed. However some of the plot either made no sense or didn’t needed to be included in the first place. Such as a certain scene where A-Rise is asking to sing with μ's, although the conversation happened, it never really happened in the Movie. And there was a bit of supernatural themes in the movie as well, as we see this mystery woman in the movie, who resembles Honoka, but it’s never confirmed who she is. The story felt like it was doing too much for its 1 hour and 40 minute runtime. We see the girls go to New York, come back realizing their super famous, deciding whether to stay together or not, and organizing a concert. However despite all this, it ended nicely. Characters - 9/10 For the characters all I can is that we get an equal amount of time to spend with all them, with the exception of Honoka, who gets the most attention. But over the course of the movie who see Honoka struggling to make a decision whether to keep μ's or disband them, and it’s that development towards the decision is what makes this story so heart-warming and incredible. The highlights are when all the girls interact with each other, the amount of time they spend with each other a reflected on how feel about each other. They all have the mentality this is the last time they spend, so all their interactions felt very emotional. However they also felt so real as well, as we can feel the emotion in their reactions. Because Love Live! has been more about the members of μ's, its sad to see them interact with each other for one last time, so their final moments together are very touching and entertaining at the same time. I still wished we saw more of the other members of μ's, because Honoka was shown a lot, and I get she’s the center, but an idol anime should be about the members, not just one character, which is kind of disappointing to me. Animation and Sound 9/10, 10/10 The art style and animation is pretty much the same as the tv anime, however there is clearly more detailed put in the movie. The backgrounds look amazing, they look colourful and lively, which is something that was lacking from the tv anime. This can be seen when they go to New York and Akihabara, the environment feels so at home and warm to their real life counter parts. The girl’s designs are cute as usual. However the performances are what shines the most, even though I’m still not a huge fan of 3D, I can’t help but appreciate the choreography of the songs, they used. It runs smooth and looks nice. Where the anime shines the most is not during the 3D performances, but during the times when the characters would randomly break into song like a Disney Musical, where the animation is done in 2D, which makes me wish for them to have done the performances all in the 2D, because it looks so much better. There are 6 main songs in the Movie, 3 of them are Performances and 3 of them are where the characters of each year level break into song randomly. The highlights would be Sunny Day Song, when μ's is performing in front of massive crowd in Akihabara, and the fact that they had so many other idols in the background, it ran smoothly. And 2 of the songs the first and third years broke into where amazing as well, and was so awesome to listen to. There is one thing I like to say about the set list is, it feels there was too little and they didn’t really sound as good as Season 1, in my opinion. To me season 1 had better songs, but I would say the movie is slightly on par with season 2, it’s just because season 2 had Snow Halation. Also apparently the mystery woman was singing an English song, in the Japanese theatrical release, however it was just ‘lalala’ in the global release. Also speaking of the voices, big props to the studio getting actual Americans to play the New Yorkers during the New York scenes, as you can tell their Japanese was so cringe, and also hearing μ's, English was so cringe as well, but in a good way. Because that’s how they should sound, as foreigners. Enjoyment - 10/10 If your fan of Love Live! You’re going to love this movie. The movie itself pays so much homage for the fans of the franchise, so as a fellow fan, I enjoyed this movie from start to finish. The reason for it is because I love the series and know the characters and all their personalities. A lot of the comedy are rehashed from the tv series or reflecting on the characters personalities as we know them, which is why the movie does so well, when we the fans know these are how these characters react. However if you don’t know how these characters are, you’ll be confused. There is a lot of enjoyable moments in the movie and fan service. And I’m not talking about fan service as we see sexualise content, but we see quite a few shippings here and there, which got the audience in the cinema hyped. Especially one scene that was my highlight involving Maki and Nico, who are if you haven’t guessed my favourites. But there is still a lot enjoy from this movie than just the character interactions, the performances and song bring a nice blissful vibe to the whole movie, and your just filled with glee afterwards, which works so well with the ending, because you’re happy to see these characters interact one more time. And I know from experience this is how Idols usually work, they sometime in their lives have to stop, but when they do, there is always another light at the end of the tunnel, and you can’t help but appreciate you were part of the journey. Verdict - 9/10 As we begin to wrap up the review, I give the story a 7. The story is weakest part of the movie for it’s awkward pacing and plot holes, however it is a heart-warming story that should make you feel emotional in a happy way and it ended well. The Animation and Sound get a 9 and 10. The detailed put into the backgrounds and choreography are amazing to look at. And the performances in 2D are awesome to look at, but it does make me wish the 3D performances were 2D, I’m just not a huge fan of the 3D, that is all. The soundtrack it may not be as good as Season 1, but it’s still exciting and enjoyable to listen to. They are all condense with emotion, and the singing is just incredible and brings out the best in you with its happy vibe. The characters get a 9 from me, because each characters get equal amount of screen time, it’s only the fact we see Honoka too much I’m deducting a point, because it should be more about the whole group. But their interactions with each other were good and it was nice to see their relationship with each other fo…

Love Live took off great with the brilliant 1st season, started to stumble with the 2nd, and lands in a real belly flop in this movie. I'm really quite sad to see it end this way. What got me hooked from the start of the 1st season was the CG song/dance performances, and this movie lacks most of that. There are some CG left in the movie that looks cool but mostly it is just "regular" animation. The graphics are good, don't get me wrong, but I really liked that kind of 3D choreography with vividly moving camera angles that the first season brought. Sadly I didn't like the music either. The first two seasons had some ups and downs regarding song quality, but in this movie, none of them hooked me. At least the voice acting is alright as always. The plot is overly simple, un-dramatic and feels mostly like an afterthought. Half of the movie is just cute but non-funny comedy, the other half is cute but rushed, non-dramatic drama. The characters that carried a big part of the two previous seasons don't get much time to bloom, and the time they do get is mostly wasted on shallow "comedy". There really are too many members of Muse; sure they all have different personalities and all, but at least some of them could have been trashed to make room for the rest. At least it looks good. NYC really gets a fair treatment and the girls are as alive and well designed as ever. The only thing I actually enjoyed was Hanoka's "new acquaintance", a really beautiful symbolism that could have made a bittersweet ending even more sweet (Not that the ending actually WAS bittersweet, but I guess that's the direction they were aiming).

Love Live the movie is a great movie. As a fan of this franchise, it's sad knowing that it may be their last time being together. The movie knows that and does a good job at making a decision for muse. Also I am going to talk about some of the section of the movie. But it won't be that big on the spoiler side, so don't worry for the people who haven't seen the movie. The story starts right after end of second season. (Not exactly. They show Honoka and the second years as a child first) They realize that there will be another concert. To be able to go there, they need to become more popular. They will need to go to the US. The first quarter of the movie take place in New York city. You probably wouldn't know though because they never mention New York. You could tell if you look at the buildings tho. Anyway, the story is quite simple, but it has many good meaning for both Love Live fans and non fans. The theme of Love Live is that it's not always a bad thing to say goodbye. It's about the time you had spent with each other. It is not too philosophical, but it has a strong meaning to it. I think the strongest part of the story is that they take advantage of the characterization and place them in different surroundings. They react to the things that they're not use to seeing. For example, Hanayo have problems with the restaurant because they don't have white rice. Which I can relate to her, since I really love to eat food with white rice. The movie is a huge fan service to the Love Live fans. When I say that, I meant they do many things that Love Livers like to do in the fandom; like ship tease. Some people say this already, but the pacing is the problem. To be honest, I really wanted Love Live to be a season 3 instead of a movie. I like movies and all because of the higher budget, it's very limited since it's an hour and 40 mins long. It can't really tell as much compare to a one cour season. Though it does a good job at maintaining a decent flow to the story despite that. The pacing may feel a bit weird because they go point A to point B fairly quick in the movie. After the concert, there's a section when Honoka was by herself and she meet this woman who look similar to her. Hm, I wonder who is she? After their first meeting, Honoka talk about her problem with her. The older woman question Honoka's deliema and tells her the best option to deal with it. It plays a big role later on in the movie. I think this was done wonderfully. This developed Honoka to be a mature leader and decides what best for muse. I mention the characters already, but I want to add something. The characters doesn't really go though a huge development compare to Honoka, but that isn't a bad thing. There's no reason for them to change. They are developed enough and the story is about them growing a bond with each other. They are likable and flesh out from second season. The animation improved a lot. The camera angle and cinematography are lively and appealing as always. They done a lot better at the transition to 2D to CGI. Speaking of CGI, it looks a lot smoother and better. I know some people have problems with CGI, but it's not really bad. If you compare to Idol anime or anime CGI in general, it's not that bad as you are making it to be. The characters design felt strange to me. They look the same, but at the same time, it feels different. I think it's just me, but is Honoka's and Maki hair a bit darker? The soundtrack as usual is good. The insert songs is really catchy and upbeat. There's not much to talk about it. I would recommend you to listen to the ost and songs when you have the chance, unless you don't like j-pop. Also I want to give props for having real English speakers to voice the people. I think the acting is meh, but I love the effort tho. Overall, I think Love Live is a great film. I would totally get it when it gets a home release in United States with an English dub. I gave it an 8 if I want to be critical about it. 10 for my enjoyment.

Story: Is the last journey for Muse, I say is a good send off for them! The explanation isn't the best and you will probably get lost a little if you didn't watch all the previous show. Art: Same thing, Character improved and the color scheme of the show is basically perfected with it! Sound: All the song and soundtrack here is just fantastic! Maybe is just me being a fanboy here, but I think most people will enjoy the music even if they don't watch it Character: Not much is added here outside of honoka childhood. But since is made for the fans I will let it pass Enjoyment: Still 10/10. Very enjoyable, Had laughs but mostly crying at the end cause they are ending. All the performance is amazing too for me Overall: Do I think this is a good way to send off Muse? Yes for sure. Do I think they should end? No. But I guess is the right decision, is time for them to rest (We are we going). If you're a love live fan you shouldn't miss out!

How do you end a six year legacy that has helped revolutionized the way people see 2.5D idols? This is the answer. The Idolm@ster franchise may have kickstarted the whole idea but it is without a doubt that Love Live! especially μ's made it become a cultural phenomenon nationwide in Japan. Don't get me wrong, I love both series. I am an idol fan myself. I played the Xbox 360 port of the original Idolm@ster game and have known about μ's since it debuted in 2010. It was because of Idolm@ster that I got into the world of idols in the first place anyway. Onto the actual review of the movie - it was highly satisfying. It's the final show with a set-list of 6 new songs going into μ's Final Love Live. Sunny Day Song is my favorite μ's song. It was nice of the writers acknowledging the international popularity of the series and decided to include a K-On! Movie style trip overseas. The usage of a mysterious character personifying Honoka's inner insecurities is highly plausible. Not many slice of life series use this particular plot technique as far as I can recall. It was also theorized that the character is actually the adult version of Honoka but the movie intentionally leaves its viewers to utilize their imagination and determining the significance of her character is all up to one's personal interpretation. To me, the main message of the whole movie - the whole series even, is that even with unreliable wings, everyone can fly. The question is whether or not you're willing to risk falling and try flying again. The mysterious character helped emphasize that message. The first scene showed child Honoka jumping across a huge puddle albeit slipping into the puddle a few times. Heck, in the first episode of both season 1 and 2, Honoka jumps. She jumps a lot. It's a recurring theme. I may be mistaken but the first trailer of Love Live! School Idol Project when it was first announced in 2010 had her jumping as well. What would happen to μ's once their third year members graduated was answered towards the end of the second season but the movie gave us a further glimpse of what happens to Otonokizaka High's Idol Research Club once all of the remaining μ's members, the first and second years, graduated which leaves a 3 year gap after μ's disbanded. This is important to take note as Love Live! Sunshine starts to take place at the end of the movie as well but was not particularly mentioned so far. Maybe it is saved for next season.

The Love Live movie has been something that I have been looking forward to for a while now. When the time finally came to see it in theaters, I was stoked. But after seeing the movie, it left something to be desired. The movie, although enjoyable, had some pacing issues, story issues, and a ton of annoying cliches. Now I'm usually not one to dock points for story, especially for an anime about cute girls doing cute things. However, its just felt like a bunch of unrelated events which would be great as episodes of the show, but as a movie to conclude the series, it didn't do a good job at all. Another thing about this movie is that it has the exact same premise as the K-ON! movie. Seriously, it's exactly the same. Musically talented girls you come to know and love from two seasons go to a foreign English speaking country for the first part, and deal with the graduation of some of their members the second part. Now this shouldn't be a problem, given that I absolutely love everything K-ON! However, the whole movie seemed like I had already seen it as an end result. As for the pacing issues, their trip to New York really bugged me. They spent 45 minutes focusing on them walking around New York, which is fine, but instead of elaborating on why they were there at all, it just cuts to them singing, and the next cut is them on the plane back. It just seemed odd. Now I don't mind cliches, but there were so many cliches it felt almost like a cheesy musical by the end of the movie. Speaking of the ending, it left a lot to be desired. It just felt rushed and unemotional, like the writers just wanted to get it over with. However, despite these shortcomings, I did quite enjoy myself. The characters are the characters we have all come to love, except for Umi, for whatever reason she was extremely hostile in the film. The songs were decent, but they weren't nearly as catchy or enjoyable as the songs from the series. The animation was great, except for the obligatory CGI. So, should you watch the movie? If you liked the series, you for sure should watch it. While you could watch the movie without knowing nothing about the series, I wouldn't recommend it, as there are a lot of references that you can only appreciate if you've seen the series. I know this review seems like me complaining about it, but I found the movie to be very enjoyable, despite these flaws. It's worth a watch, I just wouldn't watch it expecting something as good as the actual series.

That's not easy to separate a portion of something that completes itself very goodly, and judge such a portion as only one thing. Especially when it comes, specifically, to a so witty film as the first one of Love Live's franchise. Before all, I'd like to make it clear that this is my first time doing a review, so I apologize if I am not clear enough, or if in some moment I sound more like a fan (or a hater) than an imparcial spectatress. Since the beginning the film is surprising: the photography's finesse and choices, the calm soundtrack and the conceptive equilibrium of the initial scene (Honoka, when she was a child, trying to jump over a puddle and failing) represent the direction's thorough job, and its cleanliness with the project. Love Live's movie is dynamic: in only five minutes, we can all get aware about the girls' situation, that travels to United States to announce a new Love Live event. Availing of this new ambient, the script makes well used jokes in every good moment, what creates an even bigger interest for the protagonists' journey. About the script, it's good in lots of things, at least in the initial ⅔ of the anime. It uses the pauses in the agitated soundtrack to capture surprising expression from all the characters, producing funny moments and fanservice; it has brief dialogues, full of precise informations; and it doesn't keep everything melodramatic. That's a great form to work with such a plot (taking into account that there are nine protagonists to a moderated screen's time). The movie's rhythm is impressive: the serenity in all the presented topics, just like if anything had been previously timed , creates an incredibly natural ambiance, avoiding to be too fast in its development. During the film, everything looks like just another TV show's episode. It doesn't disappoint in terms of photography as well; all the choices of angles and takes is simply inspiring, with really beautiful and memorable frames, since the vision of buildings until an impressive flowers field. Similar to the Disney's animated movies, Love Live: The School Idol Movie is full of musicals, all of them, incredible. There's no any presentation without a great characterization, choreography and lyrics. For being such a beauty, these musicals work as a river between the film's acts, separating the development from the conflict, and etcetera. Bad things in the movie The script begins to oscillate in the moment Honoka gets lost from her friends, and knows a misteryous singer. Even though it creates a little doubt about the woman's identity (and her presence shows more demonstrations of geniality from the movie's producers and directors) her presence is more like a convenience than any other thing. And, being sincere, that's a little predictable where that part of the story was going to end, since our first contact with the character. Another problem present in the development is the rhythm loss of the final moments. In the movie's conclusion, the work stops being really dynamic, losing time in trivial things, what cracks the cadence and dynamism of the movie until that moment. Conclusion Even though the plot's content hasn't been very good or necessary since the beginning, the film was going in a great way, and for this reason it was very above average. Losing a little of this sagacity after the Honoka's past resolution (that thing with the puddle), the movie lost quality. However, ignoring these little imperfections, and the unnecessary fanservice in some moments, the first Love Live's movie is a really fine work, principally in technical terms. A very beautiful movie, full of memorable moments and great messages.

The only anime movie that's not a recap. Its basically Episode 14 of the 2nd season, where we left off with Hayane saying "bad news" and all that. I really enjoyed the movie overall, seeing them sing again, hang out a lil more, But what surprised me the most is that I teared up after all that. Recall the last episodes of the 2nd season, that they will end as a group. The importance of each girls made me remember them by heart as I finished the movie. I will never forget them all as the movie ended. I 💙 them all, each of their trait are special as one group. You can relate to them more if you have each of their special traits. If you've wrapped up Season 2, again, this will clear things....up..😢. Do enjoy the ride!

Love Live! School Idol Movie: The moment when these girls, the U's, went out with a bang. Setting aside the obvious question of "Why did they not think that they are popular already before the tour overseas," and how convenient things are for these girls and other side characters--I think I have no complaints about this movie (speaking plot-wise). The story has this feeling that their time as a school idol group (and also the time for the series) is coming to an end. Conflicted with the dilemma of going to continue as a group, or reforming the group, or just putting it to an end; the main characters are having difficulties with finding the "right" answer. The movie's plot revolves around that idea alone (and of course, along with the plot is the situational Music Videos and frequent comedy scenes). Compared to the prequels to this movie, I find that this had better animation, and better combination with the "usual art" and the CG animation. They blended these two kinds of animations beautifully. But then again, you can't help but think of their faces and body proportions and motions as something weird when compared to their "usual state" when they are drawn by hand instead of being a computer-generated art. With regard to the characters in the movie... There really isn't much to work with the characters. Given that there are already two seasons completed before they released the movie, it is very difficult to introduce additional characters that will contribute to the plot and plot progression of the film. I find it to be "okay" when they inserted an additional character that will help Honoka find a resolution for the group as the leader of U's. But the rest was just "same old, same old . . ." For the final aspect, I find the sound very appropriate and fitting (regardless of a few bumps every now and then). As expected, I've given it a full score for it. Rating: story 7/10 art & animation 9/10 character 8/10 sound 10/10 (Rewatch score) Overall 8/10; I found it to be enjoyable and quite good as a sequel to the two seasons, nothing serious and nothing to be missed, but it's a good ending for the Love Live! School Idol Project series.

*this is the first time I'll be doing a review* As someone who rarely likes Idol-theme show (or rather can't finish watching them), This movie is indeed a good one to boot (and I manage to finished it without being to tired from dealing the drama), and serves as a end pin to the great big franchise. (Unless the guys from Sunrise decided to make a spin-off of this show.) Story: 7 I appeal that this story is actually good despite not really meant for greatness. But I kinda liked on how they managed to close the fact that the the story is true and most of us will eventually or has experience such kind of dilemma. But I think the story kinda a bit dragged and almost ruined my view on this one, But they managed to end it in at least around 25-30 minute time frame when it was needed to be delivered. But, The story shouldn't have focused on one side of the coin... But instead, make use of it's great cast. Art: 9 Art is almost everything that can decide if it's a great watch or not. Art in this category is good and the animation used is somewhat a mix of 2D and 3D and sometimes purely 3D. The art in this movie is great and almost accurate to the details. Sound: 9 I remember the time when someone makes a comparison on the certain Idol shows that are flourishing and was talked about. They say that If you want to listen to great sounds, Love live is the way to go. I kinda agreed to that after Listening the songs played in the movie itself. The ED is interesting (I could probably put it in my music player and now Love Live OP in season 1 is not alone). Character: 7 Love Live Characters kinda fell flat for great characters. But They do have great chemistry despite having those kind of character. Nico Is funny as expected, Maki was very endearing and some of them are also good, if not great. Enjoyment: 8 Despite some flaws on how the characters work and how the story kinda dragged the movie plus the prevalence of elements in a drama (which I think kinda failed to get me engaged). Overall, This movie is a good watch.I enjoyed the time they had in NYC, the random inserts of some songs and the few moments before their last hurrah. The Music is great, the dance was alright and the feeling good mood is also good. Though I didn't get a good cry on this film but overall, this movie is good; A good movie by standards. Overall: 8 As a non-Love Live fan, I can vouch that it is good and is enjoyable. I might hit the two seasons if I can get my hands free.