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.