🍚Happy Birthday Hanayo!🍙

Even though there are only three Hanayo URs available on the (EN) Step-Up, good luck to those going for them!~

Hanayo's always been a character that I've thought very highly of. Along with Nozomi, she was one of my original best girls, and always ranks pretty consistently whenever I redo my rankings. And while she's certainly not a contender for first place anymore, I still consider Hanayo one of my best girls (even if she is sixth). She's overall a really solid character, and if you like her you're probably pretty cool 😎.

That being said, again, Happy Birthday Hanayo! I hope that we can keep going forward together for years to come! May you have a bountiful harvest of the richest white rice out there!

And although it's fairly simple, I actually had a lot of fun designing this!~

Got some Nijigaku goodies today!~

Overall pleased with the quality of everything, especially the Blu-ray. After collecting every µ's single/BD, I have a deep appreciation for added stuff that isn't just an in-game card that expires... Really looking forward to the next two BDs~

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 30: Thoughts on Superstar/Liella?

Not Impressed

I'm so unimpressed that I'm not going to go out of the way to find a picture. Keep in mind, this isn't because I can't accept the newest part of the series or anything like that. I never complained about Nijigaku at all, in fact I really like Nijigaku. Aqours tried to mimic the members of µ's a little too much, which resulted in not enough character variety. Nijigaku is a genuine breath or fresh air. Even before the anime, or All-Stars, I thought that they looked interesting. Liella? Not even close. The design seems really bland, and they only have five members? Maybe my opinion will change as time goes on, but man they got some work to do. I really wish Nijigaku received the full treatment like Superstar probably will.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 28/29: Favorite thing about Love Live!/How you got into Love Live!.

Everything

I decided to combine these two days because I figured that there may be some overlap, and I need to catchup anyway. As always, with something this long, expect some typos lol. That being said... Saying everything is a bit of a cop-out, yes, but it's the truth. The idols, music, the anime, everything.

But back in 2016, I never imagined that I'd ever watch the show, let alone be this into it. One of the friends I mentioned had a really good friend who you could say I looked up. Not for any real-world reason, but because she indirectly introduced me to what is still my favorite series: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Seeing as how she liked something as great as JoJo, I figured that her opinion on other shows was pretty trustworthy. ...I was wrong. She's the type who likes Gintama, Berserk, et cetera, so something like Love Live! was not her cup of tea at all. I took her opinion with no grain of salt, however, and decided that I too hated this series, despite never watching it (or barely even knowing anything about it for that matter).

Months down the line, I started becoming a bit curious about Love Live!, almost entertaining the idea of watching it. Then, on November 14, 2016, I took that first step. A friend told me that there was a Love Live! rhythm game, and I figured that I should give a shot. So, logically, I decided to watch the anime as well.
And so I did. My opinion? It was alright. Certainly not bad, but not amazing either; average. I muted the songs whenever they played, however (don't really understand why tbh). I continued to play SIF, and I actually managed to Solo Yolo Yukata Kotori, much to the disdain of another friend's friend. Eventually, I began to get a bit bored of the game, and stopped playing. I believe I've mentioned this before, but I remember saying to myself, "If Sunshine gets a second season, I'll get back into the series." It did, and so I did.

From then on, I sort of had to come to terms with the fact that I actually liked Love Live!. It sounds so stupid, I know, but it was genuinely difficult. Gradually, I grew to love the series more and more, and I suppose the rest speaks for itself. The series is without a doubt part of my identity, an integral piece of who I am. It's difficult to imagine life without Love Live!; the characters who I've formed and deepened bonds with, and the music that's helped me get through all kinds of good and bad times.

My only regret is that I wasn't able to discover the series quicker. I wish I could have been here to experience µ's in their prime, and to support them while they were still active. If you haven't picked it up from these challenges already, µ's is my absolute favorite group, and always will be. I don't hate Aqours, and especially don't hate Nijigaku, but they don't mean the same thing to me as µ's does. There's a reason I re-watch School idol project every two months now, and not Sunshine (is it just me or is Over the Rainbow not very sad?) The earliest point in time that I would've known about Love Live! would have been September of 2015 when I took part in Shiny Eeveelution giveaway. All nine Eeveelutions (including normal Eevee), were all based of off each member of µ's. Interestingly, the two I ended up asking for were Nozomi and Hanayo, who were my two favorites after watching the anime.

So yeah, that sums it up. A bit longer, but Day 30 should be easy enough.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 27: Which character do you relate to most/feel is most like you?

Nozomi

I'm not sure if I got it across during my talk about S2 of School idol project (or my ranking), but I really love Nozomi. One reason that I love her so much is that I've always felt that I can relate to her on a somewhat personal level. She's someone that wants to make friends, and with those friends create amazing and everlasting memories. In her youth, Nozomi struggled to make friends because she wasn't a super outgoing person, and she didn't have the courage to reach out to others. Even so, Nozomi managed to find that one person that helped her become who she now is: Eli.

All throughout grade school and high school, I never had to worry about that because our class was fairly small, and we had all been together for years. But once I started college back in 2018, I didn't make any friends. Keep in mind, I still had my friends from high school (who I've mentioned before), so I wasn't alone or anything like that (we all go to different colleges, too). But, I'm also the type of person that can get by on their own perfectly fine, which is why this year hasn't been as hard for me as it has been others. Much like Nozomi found Eli, and then everyone in µ's, I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for my closest friends.

I suppose this became more about myself than Nozomi, huh?

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 26: Any Merch?

In short, yes. I definitely don't own as much as some people, but I'm still pretty proud of what I've got! Covid has kinda limited where I can order from due to shipping and whatnot, but luckily Amazon Japan still ships to the US via DHL (and for a reasonable price so it's a great deal). For preorders, I have Umi and Kotori All-Stars nesos that are set to release next April (I believe that they're normal jumbo size). I also have a wall-scroll from EJ Anime featuring the µ's second years set to release next February (shipping was a bitch but it's worth it lol). I have the A song for You! You? You!! Umi neso coming too, but who knows when that'll show up.
As a side note, I made the NicoMaki/NozoEli thing back in 2017 during my senior year of high school. In retrospect, I should've included it in my post the other day but that's neither here nor there.
If you missed my original post a while ago, I do in fact own every single µ's single (main group, subunits, solos, etc.).

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 25: Favorite Live Song/Live Performance
Fell off the face of the Earth for a few days again but hopefully I can finish this like I had initially intended to lol. This'll only be µ's btw since I haven't watched anything outside of Next Sparkling Day 1 for Aqours and nothing for Nijigaku.

LONELIEST BABY and Kaguya no Shiro de Odoritai (ENDLESS PARADE)

If I were to show someone unfamiliar with Love Live! a live, these would be the two songs that I'd first consider. Both are super catchy are easily within my top 20 favorite µ's songs. The choreography is amazing, and the outfits for these two specific performances are really cute and very animated, which gives their movements some extra flare. The live for LONELIEST BABY is pretty much the entire reason I like the song as much I now do, actually. I've played the song quite a bit in SIF since it's a pretty easy swipe song to FC, but I never really went out of my way to listen to it. Not anymore lol. Everyday I either listen to LONELIEST BABY or I watch the live, and that's not even an exaggeration.

Favorite Live Performance: Dream Sensation Day 2

Right. So, looking at every single performance that µ's has put on, not including Love Live Fest, this is easily the best. I'm a huge fan of the BD bonus songs from both seasons, and Day 2 is full of them. Meaning, we get songs like Zurui yo, Storm in Lover, Moshimo Kara Kitto, Suki desu ga Suki desu ka?, and SoshiPage. Shiawase Iki no SMILING and Kururin MIRACLE are okay, but I can do without them honestly. On top of that, IT'S KUSSUN'S BIRTHDAY. The fact that a live landed on the same day is pretty impressive, and I love how they surprise with an MC dedicated just to her. And, I love how they have Kussun "blow out" the audience's cyalumes like candles. On top of all that we have, in my opinion, the best performance of KiRa-KiRa Sensation!. It's pretty much bar none if you ask me. Then, we get the best encore out of all the lives (unless you count Final Live with BokuHika and MOMENT RING). We get SENTIMENTAL StepS (only time it was performed live), and the best performances of Happy maker! and Dreamin' Go! Go!!. Granted, this was the first µ's live I watched in full, so I may be getting a bit nostalgic for it, but man is it solid. I'd definitely recommend watching it if you have yet to!

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 24: Favorite Ship/Pairing

NozoEli

Lemme just be straight and say that I don't really ship characters; I don't understand why people like to so much, but whatever floats your boat. Plus, it's difficult for me to get behind something that isn't canon. However, NozoEli might as well be canon. I mean, come on! They have an entire song dedicated to be in love with another girl. And they could have picked literally any two characters, yet they went with these two. Plus, they were even featured in traditional Japanese wedding attire (above picture), in DG's. How is this not canon? And even if it wasn't, it'd still be the only ship I'd support anyway. It's pretty clear that these two really care about each other, and while that doesn't mean that you're automatically attracted to someone, it's canon so who cares.

As for other ships... NicoMaki? Hell noooooo. Don't even get me started on that... RinPana? Maybe. I don't know how canon it is, but from what I remember, in School Idol Diary Rin proposed to Hanayo and it was pretty strongtly implied that she said yes so... maybe it's canon? So, while I don't personally ship them, I can support it. Pretty much any µ's second year ships are alright too. As for Aqours... well, they're not really on the ship-dar at all, and we're all tired of hearing the jokes about ChikaRiko and You and all that, so let's stop while we're ahead.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Days 22 & 23: Rank µ's/Aqours Seiyuu

Since I'm super behind, I'm not going to be writing anything, but if you're curious about why I put them where I did, feel free to ask! As a side note, I actually "made" the signatures myself! µ's was pretty easy, but Aqours actually did require a bit of effort. Enjoy!

µ's

Aqours

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Days 18-21: Favorite SRs/URs

Pretty self-explanatory. I don't have much of a connection to these cards compared to some of the ones SIF, but out of over 300 cards and 29 girls, I've narrowed it down to these few.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 17: Do you play All Stars?

This a rant so prepare yourself lol.

Not anymore. The game became very stale and repetitive, and saving stars or whatever the currency was never seemed to matter when it came to scouting. It's a shame since there are a lot of really pretty cards, but man is the game boring. Not once have I gotten an Umi UR, or a UR that I even want for that matter.

If anyone is familiar with tier lists for this game, you're probably familiar with this card.

"Stamina stick. utterly useless otherwise. skill up and absolutely garbage offensive stats."
-Kach

Tl;dr, it's awful.

I've gotten this card three times. An absolutely useless cards that serves no purpose, that even has SRs better than it, three times. Ok, thanks. I'd rather get three thief Elis than this card. I am dead serious. At least then, you can play Easy/Normal songs and get decent scores since it's a timer card, not note based. Getting bad cards in SIF isn't that big a deal, because most cards can at least be used to some degree. I actually have quite a bit of ass cards on SIF, but if you build your teams correctly they can function. Not this garbage Chika card though.

The loading times for this game are absolutely trash as well. I get that it's an asset-heavy game, but man, loading up the game takes longer than Smash 4 did (not really, but that game was 16 GB so it makes sense). Half of the time, it's more optimal to not use 3D MVs anyway so the game doesn't lag, or so you don't miss notes due to not being able to see, which is one of the selling points of the game, the graphics. And the fact that for a while LP was stuck at a max of 100, regenerating much quicker than SIF, and the only way of being able to use LP in bulk was Skip Tickets, meant that you'd constantly need to get on and play songs to be optimal. But you can't just play whichever songs you want either, because that wouldn't be fun. What rhythm game, sorry, rhythm-RPG game limits you based on how good your cards are? Imagine you just bought Project Diva Future Tone, with all the DLC (about 240 iirc), and could only play up to Hard difficulty because you hadn't played the game for long. Ok.

Believe it or not, I actually don't hate this game. Games can have flaws, and the issues that All Stars has on their own aren't bad, but one by one those small issue come together and create this game. And if you like All Stars, goof for you! You clearly have way more patience than I do, and can stay with the game despite it's flaws (though that's still subjective). I'm not saying that SIF doesn't have flaws either, but the game is much more streamlined and simpler overall imo.

More than anything though, the gacha is what really makes this game so annoying. It's almost not even worth it to save for a card you want, since you need to constantly improve your team to do better in events, and play harder difficulty songs and whatnot. At least with Bandori, when I don't get Kokoro after saving for months, I get an Ako to satisfy me for the time being. Even then, having events that require you to have certain members to do well, and then not getting those members after countless tries, you start to not want to play either game anymore. I realized as I was typing this up that SIF is changing to member-boosted events, and while that still isn't great, it's easier to get cards in SIF than All Stars or Bandori imo.

So yeah. With the anime out now, I feel like there isn't much reason to play All Stars when you can just view the MVs and cards online. Honestly, I'm just waiting until the SIFAC home port at this point for the next Love Live! game.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 16: Rank All Nijigaku Members

No in-depth stuff today, since a good majority of this list will change after the anime finishes. I spent almost two hours writing up Aqours stuff yesterday (about five pages long iirc), so I need the break. Plus, I'm two days behind so I really need to catch up lol.