What’s this?
Nijigasaki High School is known for its diverse subjects and the freedom it gives students. Second-year student Yu Takasaki has gone crazy over the charms of School Idols, so she knocks on the door of the School Idol Club with her friend Ayumu Uehara. Sometimes friends, sometimes rivals, the members of this club each bring their own thoughts and motivations to the group.
love live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club is the last entry in the love live! franchise and flows in Crunchyroll Saturdays.
How was the first episode?
Nicholas Dupree
Classification:
I have deduced from the murmurs of fandom that, among the love live! Canyon, Nijigasaki It is considered a bit like a black sheep. There are many reasons why, unlike the other three series in the franchise, is a spin-off that adapts the story of (one of) the mobile games instead of an original production. Instead of having a full-size idol unit, the characters perform on their own, and nearly the entire first season was dedicated character episodes just to introduce us to this herd of school idols. It also has a decidedly more relaxed tone compared to the main shows, which can definitely be a bit of a disappointment if you’re coming from the original series’ melodramatic moments or Sunshine. I understand. But at the same time Nijigasaki has its own charms, and was excited to return to its particular brand of school idolatry before Superstar come back this summer.
And we’re already off to a great start as this season’s premiere offers something that no other entry has given us so far: a complete School Idol Rival. Yes, there was previously Arise, Saint Snow, and Sunny Passion, but they were more mentors than outright competitors: friendly new characters who could help our budding idols along the way and act as a benchmark for their future success. Not so for Lanzhu, who arrives fresh off a plane from Hong Kong to declare her bid for idol supremacy. She does so with unrivaled style and confidence, delivering one of by nijigasaki Iconic music video style musical numbers with the shine of a true mega star. She’s essentially Nico Yazawa with the resources and power to back up her ambition, and that means a song complete with lyrics like “The world revolves around me” and “That’s how perfect I am, ah!” with the show to back it up. It’s full-fledged School Idol Egomania coming to drive Nijigasakids crazy.
I gather that Lanzhu is a divisive character amongst fans of the mobile game, and could very well become irritating depending on how the show handles her, but for now I absolutely love this cocky girl. She exudes the kind of energy you get from the best pro wrestling heels, and I think it’s very promising to have an actual antagonist for our team of do-gooder school idols to face off against.
Outside of that intro, this is business as usual for the Nijigasaki crew. Everyone’s here to show off their defining gimmick once or twice, there’s some teasing between various members, and we’ve got some always-groovy faces from Kasumin to go along with it all. It’s standard material meant to lead up to Lazhu’s introduction, and out of the fan service to put the whole club back in fancy suits, there isn’t too much. These characters are exactly who they were at the end of the last season.
That’s fine for now, but it’s also something I hope this new season can address. We know all these characters and their gimmicks pretty well, the whole first season was dedicated to that, but now we get to see them develop and develop beyond that like before. love live! sequel seasons. If Lanzhu can help push that forward, then he’ll be a very valuable addition to the cast, and if he can’t, he’ll at least look great doing it.