After having a chunk of my soul firmly ripped out by the ending of the Love Live Movie I heavily debated whether or not I would be able to bear the pain of knowing that the s we had come to know and love over these past 24 something episodes and a movie would no longer be the group we follow. After several hours on Reddit I ultimately decided to continue I havent looked back since. Story Love Live Sunshine depicts a similar story in a different setting with familiar aspects making returns while new ones arise. We start with a core trio in their second year of high school with one of them having been inspired to become a School Idol she quickly gathers her other friends and starts recruiting along the way the core trio helps the first years overcome their nervousness while helping the third years atone for their past mistakes. A conflict of interest inevitably comes up as well as the risk of the school closing down. The first concert is inevitably one of the more memorable ones no matter how well it does and the crews choreography and song composition inevitably climbs from there. From an outsiders perspective it would inevitably seem that the Studio itself is clinging to the legacy s left behind as the characters introduced the sequence of events and the plotline all paralleled events that s went through as a group until it didnt. It should also be noted that while these events parallel the things s went through they certainly did not parallel the depth of each event. Aquors experienced way more hardship along the way compared to what s did even doing really badly at their first concerts but eventually slowly climbing their way all the way to the top of the leaderboards. While the majority of the season was basically a carbon copy around 2/3 of the way through our new idol group now affectionately named Aquors realizes that they arent s and will no way match what s made into a legacy instead they split away from the carbon copy plotline to form their own. This obvious copied plotline splitting into a new one makes for an oddly stunning realization to the viewer that that plotline is exactly what their train of thought is. We all started this series pleading for any chance to see s again but we slowly come to know and love each and every member of Aquors. Well Played. Art and Sound From the first moment the OP played it became clear that Aquors was its own thing while the animation style remained the same because duh its from the same studio. There was an interesting shift of atmosphere. Not because this time the storys set in a coastal town but because of the namesake. Everything done in this season reflects the name Sunshine. Everythings brighter and I mean everything. Of course you cant have an idol anime without its music and this is where Aquors truly shines in its individuality. Their songs are notably brighter happier and perhaps shinier than s tracks. It makes sense on a physical level considering that many of the voice actors in Aquors have higher voice registers or know how to sing higher than most members of s but also because of the namesake once again While s specialized in dreamy sparkling music Aquors bursts in with such an overwhelming amount of positivity I would honesttogod recommend their tracks to the more pessimistic people in life. A comparison between the two seasons OPs also proves my point. s Bokura wa Ima no Naka de is an absolute banger however when you hear Aquorss Aozora Jumping Heart you are instantly filled with more determination than Honokas ever had in her time spent with s. It shows how serious Aquors is about setting their own legacy and how much skill they have to back it up. Characters The characters of Aquors and s share a lot of similar traits like a TON of similarities. Heres a few I noticed before diving into the specifics of each character. A few of the similarities were shuffled between characters possibly to mix things up a bit but ultimately they show up in both groups An extremely upbeat overly hyper orange haired protagonist A grey haired second year whos the protagonists lifelong friend A second year who sacrificed time at her other club to be at the School Idol Club An overly shy 1st year The best friend of the overly shy 1st year with a signature catchphrase A third wheeling 1st year who everyone also likes A foreigner 3rd year with a signature catchphrase in their mother tongue Another 3rd year who tried starting their own School Idol Group but failed for whatever reason A 3rd year whos the Student Council President A pianist who serves as the composer for the group Those were just a few of the similarities the groups have of course these listed traits have been shuffled from person to person but it still bears an undeniable similarity to s and therefore an even bigger reason for that hole in your heart to open back up. Overall I feel that despite being basically a carbon copy of the original Love Live with some uniqueness to them it still feels reasonable and not bad. The explanation behind this makes sense too that Aquors is simply trying to find their own path what makes them different from s and their own unique musical style. It keeps that hole in your heart open but at the same time also seals it. Its refreshing knowing that the group that inspired us also inspired them and I cant wait to see what this group will do
86 /100
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