30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 15: Rank All Aqours Members

I apologize to anyone that actually looks forward to these, with the new event on EN and life being a pain, I haven't had as much time to work on these as I'd prefer. That being said, I don't want to rush these either (the character rankings). Nijigaku won't be too hard since I'll be reranking them after the anime finishes anyway. Compared to µ’s, I don’t have as much to say equally between everyone, but I’ll do my Rubesty (sorry…)! Like last time, I apologize for the typos, wherever they may be.

Something else I’d like to add: if you want to discuss any of what I talked about or your character favorites, feel free to ask/discuss! I’m always open to different viewpoints and won’t insult you or anything if we don’t see eye to eye.

Anyways!

#1. Chika - Chika is really good. I mean... just watching the anime should be enough to understand how amazing her character is. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I do think that Chika is a better character than Honoka. I do like Honoka more than Chika, but Chika’s character is definitely better written in certain aspects. Yet again, I’d like to plug WatTheWut and his amazing video on Chika.
What I Love: Mikan :D
What I Dislike: N/A

#2. Dia - When I initially watched Sunshine, I hated this character (which is similar to how I felt about Umi). Strict characters that wanna get on your case for literally everything and seem to want to have zero fun are not my cup of tea. However, when S2 rolled around, Dia got her development episode so to speak. After that, I definitely had a different opinion of Dia. She may be strict, but with reason. She strives for excellence and perfection as a school idol, and dealing with idiots like Chika and Mari probably doesn't help. Over time, much like Umi, Dia climbed the ranks and now sits very comfortably at the second ranked spot, which is definitely impressive. Dia is a perfect example of why certain characters need development. Without that, I would've continued to detest her character for a long time, or at least until I rewatched Sunshine. I'm not saying that characters need development to be good either, just that, there are character types that need some sort of meaningful event to happen that either changes the viewer's outlook, or changes the character (though not fundamentally). Umi doesn't exactly have what you'd call "great character development", but it does exist. Sure, she could have used a little more, but I'm pretty content with how Umi turned out.
What I Love: She is my queen.
What I Dislike: I'm not sure actually. Again, her character isn't without flaws (no character is), but I might just be blind to whatever they are.

#3. Ruby - I love Ruby, let’s just get that out in the open. Her character is one of the stronger ones in Sunshine in my opinion, and she’s easily one of the most notable examples of character development in the anime. S1 Ruby isn’t bad by any means. We see her come out of her shell to go after the dream that she long wanted to achieve: being an idol. Much like Hanayo, she seemingly lacked the confidence in herself to set course towards her goal, and required the help of Maru(Maki/Rin), to progress. In S2, we see both Ruby and Leah come to terms with the fact that they won’t be able to perform with their sisters anymore. Being dependent on someone for such a long period of your life, someone who you can confide in, who you look towards for comfort, all of a sudden moving on leaving you behind is tough. Ruby also knows that Dia is worried about how she’ll fare, and in order to let her know that she’ll be okay on her, she’s able to find the courage to get the message across to her: through song. Without Awaken the Power, Ruby’s character would more than likely not have developed much more than it had from S1. Kinda a weird place to end it, but that’s really all I got lol.
What I Love: Her ability to find confidence in herself when she needs to.
What I Dislike: Not much, if anything. This high up in the list you’re less likely to find anything negative (since I do like these characters more). I legitimately do try to think of things for each character, but sometimes I really just don’t have anything.

#4. Yoshiko - I don’t know how to describe this character at all lol. She’s the Nico of Sunshine seeing as how she’s pretty much the butt of everyone’s joke, or someone’s giving her crap, but it’s still entertaining regardless. Compared to the other Dia and Ruby, I don’t have much to say, but I either way she does feel like a solid character at the very least.
What I Love: Whether or not she can really control herself is debatable, but I like how she isn’t after to act how she does. She seldom let’s others' opinions get in her way and you have to respect that to a certain degree.
What I Dislike: Not so much directed at Yoshiko, but it is slightly annoying how people always call her Yohane. I love Yoshiko (maybe not as much as others), but I rarely ever call her Yohane. You’re not in the wrong if you prefer calling her that either, so don’t think I’m insulting you or anything if you do!

#5. Riko - Riko is a solid character, not much else to say. As I get closer to the middle of the list, I don’t have much to say because it’s kinda that middle ground of, “I like you, but not completely.”
What I Love: How she’s pretty much gay for Chika.
What I Dislike: In order to be gay with Chika, she had to take You away from her...

#6. Mari - Mari is pretty good, but I feel like the characters above her a just a bit better. Along with Riko, Maru, and Chika, she’s also had the honor of being ranked first, though much like Riko, it wasn't for too long.
What I Love: Shiny!, but also her “engrish” is pretty entertaining.
What I Dislike: Nothing if I’m being honest.

#7. You - You seems pretty popular, and I kind of understand why, but she’s just not for me. That’s all I got. I’m not even going to bother writing likes or dislikes because You is probably the most neutral character on this list.

#8. Hanamaru - I’ve talked quite a bit about Maru already throughout the challenge, so I’ll be quick. When I started SIF, the event going on at the time was “Research is Required”, a Maru/You token event for those unfamiliar. The moment I laid eyes on her, as cheesy as it sounds, it was practically love at first sight (not real love, obviously). After finishing SIP and moving on to Sunshine, I fell in love with her character even more. Over time, however, my love for her started to fade away, especially after S2. A lot of her character seemed to end up being “Zura”, eating, or ripping on Yoshiko, and at a certain point it gets stale. I’m not saying that her character is bad either. Rather, it seems to boil down to a gimmick most of the time. I hate saying that too because I don’t wanna rip on someone’s favorite character, but that’s the nicest way I can say it.
What I Love: How much she cares about Ruby, zura.
What I Dislike: Too much “Zura”, zura.

#9. Kanan - Sorry, but what does Kanan do exactly? Even after four years, my opinion of her has all but improved. She just isn’t good. I personally find the third years as a whole to be pretty weak, though that’s probably an unpopular opinion. On their, I think both Mari and Dia are fine, but as a group, meh. I’m always open to changing my views and whatnot, and I do my best to set aside my opinions and bias towards a character, and willing to give them a second chance, but man, what do ya’ll see in Kanan? That’s kinda a rhetorical question, but also if you like Kanan and wanna give me some reasons as to why you like her, or why she’s your favorite, I’d genuinely be glad to hear!
I don’t enjoy disliking characters because we all like our favorites for certain reasons, and it sucks knowing that I might dislike someone’s favorite girl. That’s why I truly want to avoid character hate.
What I Love: Sorry but I got nothing.
What I Dislike: I don’t even know if I’m being completely honest.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 14: Rank All µ's Members

I didn't get this out yesterday due to rewatching SIP. I actually started it in the morning as was ~25% done, but then chrome just randomly closed on me... That aside, I wanted to not rush this and really think about what I want to say, so I figured I'd wait. Aqours ranking will still hopefully be out later today! I wanted to say at least one thing that I love and dislike about each character, so even if I don't love a character, I'm not just bashing them either.
Also expect typos cause I'm definitely not going to proof read this entire thing.

#1. Umi - I implore you to look at my birthday post from earlier this year instead of simply rewriting it again. Though I hadn't rewatched the anime at the time of writing it, and have rewatched since (literally just rewatched it, too), I can confirm there isn't much that I would change. Yes, some of her reactions are a little over the top, but compared to how Maki is at times it’s fine.
What I Love: Almost everything.
What I Dislike: She does get a little too mad at Honoka sometimes, but can you blame her?

#2. Honoka - I get the impression that Honoka is either about average or a little below on people’s favorites, and I really don’t get why. Honoka is just like… really good. I like characters like Honoka that are very energetic and positive (and sometimes stupid), so I’ve always thought that she’s at least in the upper half. Rewatching the anime has even further solidified my love for Honoka, to the point where she actually surpassed Eli, who had been my second favorite for a long time. Honoka’s (Emitsun’s), singing is actually amazing, too, so she’s also got that going for her.
What I Love: Her overflowing positivity and motivation.
What I Dislike: I can’t think of anything tbh. Not that she’s flawless, but I’m struggling to think of anything.

#3. Eli - I believed that Eli would be the eternal second place holder for the longest time, but then Honoka decided it was time to change that. Still, third out of nine isn’t bad. One reason I’ve always liked Eli is because of how mature she, but at the same time can still be cute or clumsy. Not to mention, how can you not get behind a pretty much canonically gay relationship like NozoEli?
What I Love: Her style, coolness, and maturity, coupled with being extremely adorable.
What I Dislike: How they kept NozoEli pretty much entirely out of the anime.

#4. Nozomi - I talked about Nozomi a bit last week, and the same goes for here. Nozomi was my favorite ever since I’d finished the anime, and wasn’t until Umi usurped her position back in 2018 that she was forced out of the number one spot. That aside, Nozomi will always be one of my favorite characters. I love her overflowing positivity, and how she seemingly doesn’t take anything seriously. Even so, she’s probably the most perceptive character in the anime, and constantly looks out for others that she herself hasn’t been acquainted with (MakiRinPana).
What I Love: ^^
What I Dislike: In S2 Ep 8, she should've just been honest and told everyone her dream, instead of causing such a misunderstanding.

#5. Nico - Broken record here, but I talked about Nico last week, too, so you can check that out if you so wish. Bottom line, Nico is one of the strongest characters in the entire anime. When I first watched SIP, I thought Nico was dead last beside Umi. After a little while, I started to think that she actually was the best character (not favorite wise, but just objectively).
Now, while that may be true, she still isn’t better than Umi.
What I love about Nico is when she lets out how she really feels. Most of the time, she wears the personality of Nico-Nii, and while it’s entertaining, seeing just how much Nico does in fact care about µ’s is very heartwarming.
What I Love: Her sincerity towards being a school idol.
What I Dislike: She's the No. 1 Idol in the Universe - the epitome of perfection - what is there not to like?

#6. Hanayo - Compared to the other characters, I don't have as much to say about Hanayo. Hanayo is definitely significant to me, however. She was my starter in SIF, and she was my other favorite after watching the anime along with Nozomi, so I’ve liked her for quite a while.
What I Love: I kinda get the impression that she's just very fluffy and that makes me sorta happy.
What I Dislike: What d'ya mean? Dislike and Hanayo don't go together.

#7. Kotori - Kotori is pretty much the bridge between the top and lower halves of this list; she isn’t the greatest character, but she’s far from the worst. Like Hanayo, I don't have much good or bad to say about Kotori. It's been a bit since I watched it, but I'm again gonna plug WatTheWut again because his Kotori video was really solid.
What I Love: She's very positive (almost to a fault), and is always supporting Honoka no matter what she wants to do.
What I Dislike: At times, I think she does need to be a little more forward, or more strict towards Honoka. I get that it's not really in-character to be like that, but it would've been nice to see a bit more variation.

#8. Maki - If Maki’s character had more of a balance between being normal and tsundere, I’m sure she’d be much higher. However, that fact has not, is not, and will not change; that’s just her character type. Don’t get me wrong: I love me a good tsundere, one done correctly with a good balance. But with Maki, rarely does it seem like she lets up. If she were able to be more honest about things, again, she’d be much higher. Maki does have her good moments, though, just not as many as I’d prefer.
What I Love: How much she cares about the other first years.**
What I Dislike: Too much tsun.

#9. Rin - I don’t understand this character. I don’t hate the character, but she’s just isn't up my alley. Compared to literally every other character, I feel like she lacks a strong presence. Even a character like Hanayo, who, maybe doesn’t have a lot going on, still has an actual character. I can actually think of things I like about Hanayo, whereas Rin pretty much draws a blank. I guess that’s a bit subjective because we all like different things, but I can’t think of any reason to dislike her either; she just doesn’t have a lot going on compared to other characters, and that pushes her down to ninth. Again, I do not hate this character, I just feel that she’s a bit weaker than the rest of µ’s.
What I Love: She likes Hanayo, and I also like Hanayo... so that?
What I Dislike: ^See the above paragraph^

Day 13: Favorite Nijigaku Year Group

Literally Zero Clue
In the same way that I'm waiting to re-rank Nijigaku until after the anime finishes, I'm waiting for this as well. At the very least, it would be between the first and second years, that much I know. Instead of deciding, I'll just list who my favorite of each year is, to be fair. First years would be Kasumi, second years Ai, and third years (probably) Emma. A bit of trend this week has been mentioning rankings that are "coming up" later in the week, and that starts tomorrow. I'm going to completely spare that details this time and just wait until the 16th (which is when SIFEN finally gets Teru Teru Bouzu Umi!). Though, if you're really interested, you can look back at the other posts I've recently done to get some opinions on Kasumi and Ai at the very least, if you really want to know.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 12: Favorite Aqours Year Group

1st Years

Unlike µ's, none of my top three (as of now), are first years. That begs the question: why? Well, looking at each individual year group, I don't feel a strong vibe really coming off of any of them, both second and third years. Part of the issue is that I have mixed feelings about the members of those year groups, so it does make it difficult to like them as a whole.

One reason I love the first years is that seems so full of youth and energy. They really seem like they're making the most of they're high school life, and truly enjoy being idols, which is great to see. The dynamic that they as well is fairly entertaining, even though that dynamic is basically taking pity on Yoshiko (that's half of her character anyway, though). I'm not super keen on Hanamaru, but once upon a time, long, long ago, she was indeed best girl. Alone, I don't like her character that much, but paired with the other first years she's much better. Ruby and Yoshiko are easily my favorites, each for my their own reasons. Ruby's character development in S2 was a good boost to her overall character that easily bumped her into my top four. Yoshiko, well, I just like her. While she is the epitome of comic relief, I do believe that she is a solid character. I'll be ranking Aqours members in a few days, so I'll save the super in-depth stuff for then.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 11: Favorite µ's Year Group

2nd Years

I just really like the second years, man; always have. After re-watching the anime after so long, I started to see why that was. The second years share a very close bond because of their long relationship, and that's something that I understand pretty well. My two closest friends and I have know each other for around 15-16 years, so about three-quarters of my life. I don't know where I'd be in life without either of them, so I'm very thankful that they've somehow managed to stick around with me all of these years. While I can't draw super direct similarities between the second years and our group, one of them is very Kotori-like in the sense that she struggles to be forward at times, and that's resulted in misunderstandings, but nothing as serious as we saw in Season 1. I suppose that I'd compare myself to Honoka, though it's more so due to my high energy and wanting to lead. My other friend might as well be the epitome of Ai. It's actually kinda scary how similar they are (both in personality and a bit of appearance), but we're not quite to Nijigaku yet.

But we're here to talk about µ's not me, right? I wouldn't say that my love for the second years has anything to do with the fact that Umi and Honoka are my top two in µ's. As you'll (maybe) see with Aqours tomorrow, character favorites don't always correlate to everything that you like (it's the same with seiyuus, too). I really like the third years, too, but they lack the same type of closeness that the second years have. First years don't even come up in the equation. I love Hanayo, and will fight for Hanayo, but the whole first year dynamic is a bit meh for me. And if I can be really honest for a sec, I generally think that the first years are one the weakest year groups in all of Love Live! ( I hate to end this on a negative note but I actually not have much else to lol).

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 10: Favorite Season 2 Episode

Ok so this was actually super difficult to narrow down. Season 2 is amazing and has a lot of really good episodes to offer. I wanted to avoid a tie if I could, but alas, it just wasn't doable. With that being said, the two episodes are...

Episode 8: My Wish
As a Nozomi fan, I wouldn't be doing her justice if I neglected this episode. Throughout the anime, Nozomi is always there to give a lending hand (or a washi-washi), but for what purpose? Why did she want to cultivate this group so badly? Simply, to create a miracle. A miracle that would bring together people much like herself, people that were awkward and struggled with themselves to fit or to reach out. Seeing Nozomi grow up with out so much as anyone to call a friend, while I won't say hits close to home, I can sympathize with the pain the she must have felt. Luckily, she then finds Eli and realizes that they both share the same issue, and is able to reach out to her because of it, leading to a long (and maybe gay?), friendship.

At the end of the day, all Nozomi really wanted was people to call friends, and with those friends, create something meaningful and unforgettable. That might sound selfish, but being selfish isn't always a negative thing. Nozomi wanted to belong, and to have people that she could laugh and have fun with. And by being selfish, Nozomi was able to create the miracle that is µ's.

...and Episode 11: That Which We Decided
I'm not saying that making me cry automatically makes an episode or a show good, but from what I've learned, it almost does? What I love about this episode is that everyone's feelings are made clear. As much as everyone loves µ's, the remaining members know in their hearts that µ's is not µ's without nine. In order for µ's to be what they created, all nine members must be present. So while the 1st and 2nd years may want to continue being idols, µ's is not the platform to continue doing so. µ's wanted to hold that light the made them one, only when they were completely one, together. That's one of the reasons that I love µ's so much: they push aside their desire to continue in order to preserve "what was", and what they all shared.

As the runner-up, we have Episode 4: No. 1 Idol in the Universe

If you missed my post from yesterday, I had quite a bit to talk about in regards to Nico, and I suppose that my love from this episode sort of stems from that. This may not be a super impactful episode, but it's difficult (for me at least), to not sympathize with Nico. To attain the light that she so desperately wanted to achieve, she herself ended up in darkness. But, a new glimmer of light appeared when µ's reached their hands out to Nico for guidance. While Nico took advantage of this opportunity in order to achieve her original goal, she comes to realize that without µ's, she would never have been gotten the chance. So, I suppose that this episode is about casting aside your old self and embracing who you are, and the people around you, or something like that?

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

I decided to only do µ's for this since I've watched the entirety of School Idol Project four times, and in doing so pretty much know what I like (I actually plan on re-watching again later this week).

Day 9: Favorite Season 1 Episode

Episode 5: Nico Attacks!

I might not relate to Nico the most on every level, but I really empathize with her. Among friends whom I share like interests with, I've always been one step ahead, or been much more serious than they are, much like Nico was about becoming a school idol.

I really understand that feeling of unintentionally leaving people behind because I'm so passionate about something, and ultimately not being able to share those experiences because of that (though luckily one my closest friends doesn't care at all lol).

I suppose that it's more so that I like Nico's character than the episode itself, but this is her episode after all. To some, Nico is just a meme (understandably), but in reality, she truly is one of the best characters in the series. I'd recommend watching WatTheWut's video on Nico that he recently did (or all of his videos, they're all really good), if you have yet to realize that. It actually wasn't until around May of 2019 that I started to realize just how good of a character she really was. Later in the week, I'll be doing µ's character rankings, so I'll lay off the character love until then lol.

As the runner-up, we have Episode 8: What I Want....

It was pretty hard to bench this episode, but Nico Attacks! just barely wins. I understand how hard it can be to admit what you really want, or weather you're doing it out of self-interest or because you feel that obligation to. Especially in Eli's position, after constantly working against Honoka and the others, it would have been hard for her to even entertain joining µ's. Much like Nico and Umi, all that was needed was for someone to simply reach out to them, because as some may know, sometimes it takes that extra push from others.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

I decided to skip Nijigaku subunit songs since there's like... six of them total. I don't even have a QU4RTZ song that I like either so...

Anyway!

Day 8: Favorite PV(s)

This doesn't include the anime songs, such as Happy maker! or BokuHika, but instead the separately released singles like Borarara.

Bokura no LIVE, Kimi to no LIFE
The song that started it all. Let's just be glad that they decided to touch-up the characters' designs moving and didn't just stick with this, right? Poor character design aside, the PV is... still not the great. But even if that is the case, Borarara is a very important song to me. A reoccurring theme throughout this post will be "nostalgia", and Borarara hits hard with it (though maybe not like Mermaid festa vol.1).

Natsuiro Egao de 1, 2, Jump!
Skipping right over Snow halation we have another amazing (and nostalgic), song. And a Nico center no less! Having a different center for an animated PV was significant, as it really showcased how Love Live! did things a bit differently. Even if Honoka is the center of ~37 songs, having dynamic centers allows characters to all share the spotlight.

Wonderful Rush I really like Wonderful Rush because it's such a great tool to use to compare just how much µ's changed in a little over two years (that and it's a bop). Seeing as how it was released ~5 months before the anime, there's this interesting hybrid design between the older PVs and the anime, which I find really cool. And again, shoutouts to a Kotori center PV (she did have baby maybe but still)! It's a very impactful song too, and I feel like it serves as a really good transition from the PVs to the more standard "anime" format. Also, this is a HUGE nostalgia song for me (again lol).

A song for You! You? You!!
I didn't get into Love Live! until late 2016, after which µ's had already disbanded and stopped releasing singles. So for me to be able to experience a completely new album release really meant so, so, much to me. Luckily, this is was my reward, so to speak. I'm really glad that both A song for You!! and Natte Shimatta! are really good songs. I was really afraid of the coupling track not being good, so that was a relief. But the PV itself is great, too, chock full of fan service, cute shots, and meaningful and emotional callbacks to earlier PVs/parts of the series. Maybe after another four-ish years we'll be blessed another new µ's single...

Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM (I don't own the BD, and I couldn't find any high quality screenshots, so here's a crusty one) Looking back on it, I should've made this an HM on one of the earlier challenges, but it's whatever. Kimi no Kokoro, HPT, and Mitaiken HORIZON are okay, but AQUARIUM really takes the cake. Easily one of my favorite and most memorable Aqours songs from back in the day. I don't fully dig You as the center, but I can let it slide since this song is so damn catchy lol.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 7: Favorite Subunit Songs (Aqours)

CYaRon!: Sakura Bye Bye/P.S. no Mukougawa/Kinmirai Happy End. People sleep on Mukougawa and that's kinda sad cause this song is pretty lit. Genki Zenkai used to be my favorite, but back in 2018 when SIFEN had the x10 EXP and mega decreased LP (expert songs only took 5 LP!), I played the song so much that I want to never hear it again. Then All Star came out and I played it a lot there. Sakura Bye Bye is up there too, but the song is a little too repetitive and can get annoying quickly.

Guilty Kiss: Guilty Eyes Fever/New Romantic Sailors (album). Can't say much more than I've already said about GK, but boy do they have some fire songs. And the fact the New Romantic Sailors whole album is an entire jam is actually insane. Before July I had actually not listened to any other song on the album lol, New Romantic Sailors was all I needed.

AZALEA: INNOCENT BIRD.
Almost every AZALEA song is meh, but somehow the came out with this amazing song. I mean, sorry to the AZALEA fans out there, but the music just isn't there with this group. Torikoriko PLEASE!! and Tokimeki Bunruigaku are alright I suppose, but they're definitely not my favorties.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 6: Favorite µ's Subunit Songs

Printemps: WAO-WAO Poweful day! (album)/Puwa Puwa-O!. Overall Printemps is pretty lacking, but you gotta give 'em props for going out with a banger. I don't love Printemps (I don't hate them either), but a lot of their songs are just *not good*. It also feels like Honoka doesn't fit what Printemps aesthetic, but that isn't relevant here lol. Puwa Puwa-O! is a weird song, albeit catchy as all hell. And while I wouldn't say that it's underrated, I don't see many people talk about for whatever reason.

BiBi: PSYCHIC FIRE/Saitei de Saikou no Paradiso. It was pretty difficult trying to narrow down songs for BiBi because, let's be honest, they all slap pretty hard. However, to me, BiBi wouldn't be the group that they are without PSYCHIC FIRE; this song is really what defines BiBi imo. A very popular song to be sure, but boy is it fire! You really just can't go wrong with PSYCHIC FIRE. A very close second, and another all time favorite of mine goes to Saitei de Saikou. It's unfortunate that we never got a life performance or something in SIFAC like other songs that haven't been performed live (HEART to HEART! and Arashi no Naka). I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe with the SIFAC port that they'll add extra content like that, but I doubt it :(.

lily white: Literally every song except Kimi no Kuse ni!. The started with a bop and ended with a banger. Anone Ganbare! in particular has been one of my favorite songs for over three years now, so my love for lily white does run pretty far back. IDK if people really do or not, but I feel like people sleep on Futari Happiness. Sure, it might be a lower tempo, but it's still a good bop, and just such a chill song.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 5: Favorite Subunits

µ's: lily white. For the longest time, I would've said that BiBi was my favorite subunit, but after extensively listening to every µ's song (more so than I normally do), I gradually started to release that lily white is clearly the best. I'd always liked lily white, but I wouldn't have considered them my favorite per se. Lily white's aesthetic is actually sooo good, and not even just the fictional group, but at live performances as well. I'll get more into the songs tomorrow but lily white has some of the best songs byfar. BiBi is a close second, but Printemps isn't even close (sorry Honoka).

Aqours: Guilty Kiss. I'll be blunt: Aqours has really bad subunits overall. But somehow, out if the three one group stands tall above the others in an unparalleled light (or darkness, rather). Guilty Kiss not only rocks their aesthetic very well, but they're music actually rocks too. Both CYaRon! and AZALEA just seem like half-assed attempts at subunits that both seem to be missing something. AZALEA has the aesthetic and the voices, but lacks any good songs. CYaRon! has ok songs but has a really weird aesthetic going the I don't quite understand. Guilty Kiss has it all though. I wouldn't say that they're the best subunit overall, but compared to how good µ's' subunits are, I'd say that Guilty Kiss is pretty dope.

Nijigaku: DiverDiva(?) Not 100% sure about this one, but both SUPER NOVA and Love Triangle are the real deal. QU4RTZ and AZuNa aren't bad, but they don't have that strong of an aesthetic for me to get behind. As time goes on, it'd be nice if we got some more subunit content from Nijigaku, even if it's only one more album.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 4: Favorite Solo(s)
I made a rule for myself that if my favorite of anything is related to best girl, then I'll make sure to list another option for some variety.

µ's: Yuuki no Reason, Watashitachi wa Mirai no Hana, and Yume naki Yume wa Yume Janai.
(Not that it matters, but I actually made this cover. Feel free to use it if you want!)
Even if Umi wasn't best girl, her solos would still more than likely be the best; they're really just that good (though it's a shame we never got a full-length Yuuki no Reason live performace...)! That aside, what about Yume Janai? Well, the song is a banger (a given). While I don't necessarily think that a solo has to reflect the character well, Yume Janai does pretty well, though maybe not as well as others.

Also.
Have you seen µ's 3rd Anniversary live?
Emitsun comes out riding an actual bike. Like ok that's pretty dope.
It got nerfed for ENDLESS PARADE.
Another fun fact: DYK that Ai wa Taiyou Ja Nai? was never performed live? Wild.

Aqours: One More Sunshine Story.
Even before Chika was best girl, OMSS was the best Aqours single FREE, so I decided to make an exception to the rule; the runner-up would be RED GEM WINK. Anyways, I just really love this song. Chika's (and Anchan's), energy really gets across to the listener. And, while this is obviously her solo so it makes sense, but this song really captures Chika's character well. Like super well.

Nijigaku: Diamond, ☆Wonderland☆, and Nemureru Mori ni Ikitai na. Kasumi's solos are almost the entire reason why I started to even like the character, the same with Kanata. I really just love Kasumi's energy and enthusiasm with these songs, and just her whole character in general. On the other hand, Nemureru is just such a good, chill, calm song that I can't not like it. And, in comparison, not that many of the Nijigaku solos are much higher than average imo.