It was 2017 Anime Expo. Overwatch was still the hottest commodity, and there was a voice actor panel for it. A few of my friends were going to it, so I rushed there after exploring the exhibit hall.

Unfortunately, it was in the Marriott... which took some walking to get into. and in that summer heat, getting there was exhausting.

So it turns out the Overwatch panel was capped, and the Love Live Sunshine panel was nearby, either next to it or in the Marriott.

It fortunately still had open spots. I also didn't want to walk back to LACC so I just waited in line, not knowing what to expect.

Then this huge surge of energy came when Aqours came out. and no matter what they did, everybody except for me cheered. It was like I was in a sporting event, and the home team was demolishing the away team. The cheers were deafening.

After the Q&A session with Aqours is over, I take note of this Love Live franchise, and go back to completing my plans.

So, I start watching the original anime first, then Sunshine, and then the movie. It was addicting, but I did not know what to do after that.

I don't remember if I discovered lives or SIF after that but I'll talk about lives first.

It was stunning, the idols were mirroring the same movements as the ones in the animated CGs.

As for the game, it was the reason why I found a job LOL...

like my mindset was okay, I'll just apply to a lot of places so I can dolphin/whale in SIF.

Anyways, after that, I went deeper into idol hell, and eventually watched my first DV which was Second Live/HPT Tour.

Besides helping me land a job, this series let me meet a mostly great community, meet new people, and help me carry on with my life.

Oh, and it also helped me graduate since I wrote a small research article on how Aqours affected Numazu.

Its been more than 2 years, and I still love this franchise.

Moral of the story is go to random panels at Anime Expo if you're bored.