30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 3: Favorite Song(s)
For this, I decided to choose from all songs except sub units and solos, since those'll be in later days.

µ's: KiRa-KiRa Sensation! and Soshite Saigo no Page ni wa. There's actually a bit of significance behind this song: this song was the reason I started to like Umi! I'll reference again back to my Umi birthday post from earlier this year if you want to read that section. That aside, have you actually listened to this song? This is seriously one of the few songs that I never grow tired of listening to, no matter how long it's been playing on repeat. And the outfits? Actually the cutest outfits in the entire series FREE, bar freaking none. SoshiPage is a very close second, but doesn't quite make the cut. BUT! That doesn't mean that this song doesn't slap. I even used Jolno's comment about the song as my senior yearbook quote:

"Though no one knows what lies ahead of us, we're all living together in the present with all we have, so I want to treasure it until the very last moment."

This song is one of the reasons why I find it so important to branch out from the anime if you really enjoyed it. There are only about 25 of µ's' songs that are included in the anime, so 21% of their songs. Sure Puwa Puwa-O!, Love Novels, and Yuujou no Change have off-vocals that play in the background of the anime, but that obviously doesn't count.

Aqours: WONDERFUL STORIES and Tousou Meisou Mobius Loop/Hajimari Road. I actually forgot that WS stories existed, but looking at all of Aqours' songs, and what impact they've had on me, it most definitely takes the cake. The song is very upbeat, and I feel like it captures Aqours' journey to make everyone shine so very well. Both TMML and HR are extremely solid runner-ups. Just when I had begun to lose a bit of faith in Aqours, these songs existed and let me know how it is. Both are really fun-sounding and really get me in the groove whenever I listen to them.

Nijiagku: Nijiiro Passions!.
(Too lazy to find an image lol)
Before the anime started, I'd never fully listened to the full-group Nijigaku songs (and still haven't...), outside of TOKIMEKI Runners. But still, if I had to choose, NijiPassions! would definitely be my favorite, not even cause it's new or anything like that; it's just objectively a banger.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

Day 2: Favorite group

µ's
Plain and simple lol. I don't want to write an entire essay as to why I like µ's so much, but the group really does mean so much to me. I'm not saying that Aqours isn't significant, or that Nijigaku isn't relevant, but I feel µ's got it right, y'know? Back in July, I re-watched SIP for the first time in almost four years, and after that I knew that µ's was my favorite, bar none. Even after the Sunshine re-watch in August, I just didn't feel like I connected with the characters as well, and that not all of the characters were as unique. µ's also has the best music out of every group, especially compared Aqours' recent releases. Early Aqours was pretty banger, but for me they dropped off quite some time ago. µ's as a whole seems much more united than any of the other groups do, which I really appreciate. And though it's true that I don't watch as much of the seiyuu content as others might, I have watched a decent amount from all three groups. And while I definitely believe that things are done a bit better now with seemingly more broadcasts and different activities, I still love the µ's seiyuus so much. I'll touch more on that in a later post, but my love for µ's branches across both the seiyuu and the fictional group.

30 Days of Love Live! Challenge

I've been waiting a while to do this, and since it's finally November, the time has come! I started playing/watching LL on 11/14/16, and I figure commemorating those four years is a good enough excuse to do one of these lol. For this challenge, I'll be using a combination of one made by @CagedGalaxy, and another that I don't know the source for (sorry!), along with my own additions to fit what I wanna talk about; I'll still link the original challenges to credit the makers.

Day 1: Best/least favorite from each group

I feel I should mention: don't get mad if your girl isn't at the top or is at the bottom. Everyone likes their best girl for one reason or another, and that's what makes LL so great: the diversity. That said, just don't go ad hominem on me lol.

Favorites

µ's: Umi/Honoka/Eli. Though to be honest, I love pretty much every member of µ's except for two of them. For more on Umi, see my Umi birthday post from earlier this year.

Aqours: Chika/Dia/Mari. I actually think Aqours has more weak characters than the other groups, but in turn has Chika to level it out. Chika is seriously amazing, and without her Aqours would be kinda dull imo.

Nijigaku: Kasumi/Rina/Ai. Nijigaku was a nice breath of fresh air after Aqours, and much like µ's, they're all really good! However, I'm waiting until after the anime to re-rank and reassess Nijigaku, so for now this is where they stand. I can't say that I really love Kasumi, but she's been a pretty fun character to watch, and both Diamond and ☆Wonderland☆ are some of my favorite Nijigaku solos.

Least Favorites

µ's: Maki and Rin. Here's the issue with Maki: too much tsundere. I like a little bit of tsun as much as the next guy, but every time I re-watch SIP, I can never help but think how too over-the-top it is. Rin on the other hand has the issue of not having a presence at all. Sure she gets Ep. 5 in S2, but that's it. Even then, I love everyone in µ's to some degree, so I definitely don't hate them!

Aqours: You/Hanamaru/Kanan. You is okay, but I've never really felt strongly about the character, and if I had to choose like or dislike, it'd be closer to the latter. Maru is an interesting case. She used to be best girl, but she fell off after S2 because it felt like she was more of a gimmick than anything. Fret not Maru fans, later on during the challenge I'll be giving her some love! But then there's Kanan. Out of every LL girl, Kanan is dead last (sorry Kanan fans). I just don't like her. I don't know why I dislike her so much, but I do.

Nijigaku: Karin(?). Again, can't really say who I like or dislike until after the anime, but Karin has found somehow found her way down to last on my rankings. I guess you could technically put Shioriko down here too, but I don't know enough about her to say either way.

Not 100% sure of the process for officially adding transparents, but for anyone interested in the unidolized Wonderful Rush Umi SR, here ya go. It may need to be touched up a tad bit in some spots, but hopefully not too much.

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY UMI! And to all my fellow Umi fans, I hope your birthday scouts went extremely well!!

Each year, I look more and more forward to this day. While Umi may just be a character from an anime series, I still feel like I'm celebrating this day for a very close friend. It's amazing how we're able to form such deep bonds with characters that can't even acknowledge us, isn't it? When I look at Umi, sometimes I get this uncontrollable urge to smile. That's something I can't say many characters can make me do (except some JoJo characters).

To be honest, I never used to care for Umi. I can't remember exactly why that was, but after watching the anime she just gave the impression of being super bossy and un-fun. Back in 2017, I decided to try to give ever LL! song a listen, and that's when I first started to like Umi. I was listening to KiRa-KiRa Sensation! (which is now my favorite LL song), and at the 2:17 mark, I absolutely fell in love with the voice. Upon doing some research, it was Umi! Once I realized that Umi had the voice of a literal angel, I started actually paying attention to her character, and became absolutely enamoured with her. And ever since 2018, Umi has been my best μ's girl!

There isn't one part of Umi I can think that I dislike, or that I haven't come to love. That isn't to say she's flawless (which ofc she is), but I still love her all the same. Fortunately I've come into some money the past 6 months, and have finally been able to purchase my all-time favorite figure: Birthday Figure Project Umi! Not only is it Umi (which is great), but the whole line of these figure uses the outfits from KiRa-KiRa Sensation! (hands down my favorite outfits out of the entire series)! What isn't to love about it?

So yeah, I really love Umi. Ngl I really struggled to right this since I'm more of a factual writer than I am emotional, so I hope my point came through! Remember to always have a bright and Umi-filled day!!!

The image is of all my current Umi merch! I definitely plan on getting more later this year!