Blu Ray Review: LoveLive! Second Season
By: Scarlette
Note: We were provided a review copy of LoveLive! courtesy of NIS AmericaJapan is well known for its idols. If you were to ask a group of young people what they wanted to be when they grew up, you would most likely get a handful of kids saying that want to be an idol---because becoming an idol in Japan is really as close to god status as you can get. The Japanese take their idols, and the business of becoming an idol, very very very seriously. It isn't surprising that one of the popular anime titles of the past couple of seasons is about a young girl group aiming to becoming super popular idols. LoveLive! the Second season picks up after the first season where the girls have pretty much separated ways, but are coming back together in hopes to actually compete in the LoveLife! competition and become an idol group.
Box Set Review:
Nothing entirely special here- pretty standard packing for blu rays. Nothing entirely grabs your eye, other than some clean animation with a bunch of cute girls.
LoveLive! second season is 13 episodes long and retails, according to distributor NIS America's website, for $46.99. It is NOT a special edition, it the standard series set.My wallet already hurts looking at the price for 13 episodes. You flip the box over to check out the special features and there is practically nothing there. Special features lists two items: clean (textless) Japanese opening and closing for the series, and the original feature trailers for the series when it was ready to premier and revving up the hype train. At this point, my wallet just doesn't hurt for the price point, but insult to injury has been added. For $47 dollars, I get 13 episodes (Both fully dubbed or subtitled, whichever you prefer) and some items I could, quite literally, youtube.[youtube id="4YegiqiLMAw"]So... I stand corrected, just a little bit. I couldn't locate a "clean" or "textless" opening on youtube. However, watching the opening, its pretty clear that the text isn't in the way or distracting. Point is: Having a textless opening isn't something to boast about on a box, and neither is having the original Japanese promos.Clearly the box set is lacking, hopefully the series will make up for the demanding price point of LoveLive!
Anime Review
Honestly, LoveLive! never hit my "interested" radar. Im not too interested in a bunch of adorable school girls, singing and dancing, trying to over come their personal and professional obstacles so they can become idols. The actual premise for the story seems awfully shallow--but, honestly, no different from the shounen sports series that are out. Just different platforms for people of different interest. That being said, I thought I would give LoveLive a fighting chance because there have been other shows where it doesnt seem like it would grab me but did (particularly Haikyuu), and turned out to be excellent pieces of anime. I think got to about episode 5 or 6 and from there it was an uphill battle for me to finish the series. All of the girls in the group are these standard stereotypes of what consists in girl idol groups and in anime. You have the cheerful leader, the quiet and reserved, the klutz, so on and so on--they're all there. The girls lack depth besides their perspective role or arch type that they are contributing, the development of the cast --even as a second season--is minimal, and flat. When the premise of the show is not very interesting to begin with, you hope the character development would be enough to keep your audience engaged. The character development wasn't there, it was flat. What does the series fall back on in hopes to keep an audience? In the case of LoveLive! it relies heavily on it's gorgeous animation and trendy jpop idol songs/soundtrack.What LoveLive! does have going for it is that its a gorgeous piece of animation. There is no denying that this series dropped alot of its budget into the animation. It's modern and crisp, the colors are saturated, and all around an enjoyment to watch. There are a few times, usually in the group performances, where you see the CG rendering be kind of clunky and not fluid--but those times are very minimal compared to the rest of the series animation. The animation is solid.
The music? Im on the fence. The girls sound good, they sound like an idol group, but there is nothing distinguishing about them besides the "kawaii!" costumes that they perform in. All the songs they sing are about doing their best, reaching their dreams, and working as a team--all very light and touchy feely. Its easy listening and catchy j-pop---but if you've heard one girl group song, you've hear them all. LoveLive! doesn't break any boundaries when its comes to it's music, it plays it safe- like it's cast of characters- by following the successful, but stale, idol formula.LoveLive! isnt' fresh or amazing, its pretty sub-par, its enough of a show, with good animation, to keep you watching when the latest installments of your favorite shows have already been watched. As other reviewers of the Mithical team says, LoveLive! is a simply a "junk food" type of anime show. It isn't difficult to watch, it isnt thought provoking, it tugs on the emotions exactly when you expect it to, the situations and characters that are presented in this show have been presented a thousand different times---but the biggest flaw for LoveLive! is that it doesn't try to be different, its okay with working the standard formula and the delivery of the show is average at best.
The verdict?
LoveLive! is an average anime, but a very pretty anime to watch. The box set doesn't make me want to be a big fan either. At $47 for 13 episode with no bonuses, the blu ray set is steep for an average series. If you're a fan of LoveLive! and absolutely disagree with everything Ive had to say, the price point is obviously not something that bothers you. But for a consumer who is looking to make their collection larger, or is unsure if the series is for them, I would suggest waiting till the box set drops or find it at a discount. The price simply isn't worth it for 13 episodes of mediocrity.