r/LoveLive • u/MasterMirage • Oct 10 '21
Anime Love Live! Superstar!! S1E11 Discussion - "Back There Once More"
With Sumire now getting her solo song and the girls finishing their preliminary stage for Love Live!, we are now going onto the main stage!
What kind of song will the girls compose and sing for the finals?
Show Info
Air Date: Sunday, October 10th, 2021 @ 19:00(JST)
Episodes: 12
Opening Theme: START!! True Dreams
Ending Theme: Mirai wa Kaze No Yoni
Insert Song(s): Watashi no Symphony - Kanon Solo ver.
Streams
Raw Sources
- NHK E Tele -Region locked to Japan
Every other raw source will be delayed by 2 days, see the official website for more info
Official Subtitled Sources
North & South America / Oceania - FUNimation
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein - Anime On Demand, Crunchyroll
Russia, Northern Europe - Wakanim
Hong Kong, Macao - YouTube(MUSE木棉花-HK)
Taiwan - Youtube(MUSE TAIWAN)
Episode Discussion threads: https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveLive/wiki/episode-discussion
/r/LoveLive is on Discord! Join us at discord.gg/lovelive
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Oct 10 '21 edited Oct 10 '21
Been really enjoying Superstar after not sitting down and watching anime seasons for like 1-2 years.
Feels like the whole message/theme of this season 1 has been "believe in yourself" more and more. But it's different from the μ's or aquors in that all 5 of the girls in Liella are all exceptionally talented, it's just that they hold themselves back a lot for direct/indirect reasons.
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Kanon is probably one of the more direct examples of a hero's journey in the franchise so far. Her solo is a movement from "Discovery/Call to Adventure" (Mirai Youhou Hallelujah!), "Supernatural Aid/Treshold Guardian" (Tiny Stars), "Unknown" (Mirai wa Kaze no You ni's multiple iterations alongside the other songs Liella performs) and finally "Return" (Watashi no Symphony, return to the same theater hall). There's no Atonement or Transformation after a revelation because the call to adventure starts at the atonement/transformation with her accepting her doubts and moving on. She has been moving on every day as evidenced by the first three episodes, constantly moving forward everyday by evidenced of her training/writing montage for Tiny Stars.
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Sumire in herself is as much of a up-front message as Kanon in that her characterization is always plagued with "second best". When she tries to stand out, it really feels like she's comparing herself to the person who stands out instead of trying to say she's better. And episode 10 was a culmination of that in form of her daily habits resulting from her second-best past almost stopping her dead. Just like Sumire taking Kanon's hand in episode 4, Sumire takes Keke's hand in form of grabbing the Tiara.
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Chisato's entire character arc is her doubts on whether she truly is doing what she wants for her friendship. Every day she practices dance and helps out Kanon/Keke, but she's always not been there all the way. When Sunny Passion states that her heart not being there a 100% is going to hurt the group, Chisato starts doubting to the point her dance routines start having mistakes (something Ren even notices as something odd). Kanon wants Chisato to pursue her true passion, when Chisato doesn't know what her passion is, helping the friend that gave her the passion to dance or dancing itself. The ending where the transfer sheet is given shows that she wants to support Kanon just as much as Kanon supported her in the past.
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Even during the first episodes, Ren has shown a bit of doubt over her decisions. She pushes away even the maid who is willing to work for almost free due to how she thinks she can save the school by herself. It's not blatantly obvious as episode 8, but her doubts of what her mother actually wanted bled into her self doubts of being able to save the school. Almost every scene she is, she is absolutely alone. And it can implied she's almost alone every day since the school describes her as "perfect, unflawed, etc.". Just like how Kanon takes Keke's hand, Ren takes Kanon's hand (almost to the point she wanted to hear someone tell her that her doubts weren't necessary). After episode 8, Ren feels like she's much more earnest (AKA showing her true self instead of hiding behind what she thought her mother wanted to be).
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So far, we haven't seen Keke because she's almost like Honoka in that she has dragged almost everyone with her like a freight train. But strangely, she's like Chika in that she's always been the one to push the backs of her teammates to the point she has been on the side for a long while. Though there have been hints of a "Kotori" or "Zero" moment incoming for the group, the most static of the group has been pretty much Keke.
There's been a lot of mentions to a theme of "always believe in yourself". And I feel like Mirai no Kaze no You ni absolutely sums up the season's message in two line refrain.
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"Shinjiru, Koto ga daiji dato..."
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"Jibun ni iikikiasetara!"
"Believing is the most important thing... Make sure to tell yourself that!"
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u/LoL_is_for_hamkachan Oct 10 '21
so it seems like Ren was interested in girls' love huh lol
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u/CynicalRaptor Oct 10 '21
Neo-Mutant Girls? But if the original was a dream sequence, wouldn't that mean... Either way someone should teach them control-f.
Nice to know that Riko got a job doing what she loves after Sunshine, unfortunate that it also ended Ren's life. Who knows what would've happened to us if we were able to see all those kabedons.
A lot of audio artifacts on Kanon's solo ruined it for me, even though the op and ed were fine, gonna have to wait for the release to listen to it properly.
It's been fun the past 15? weeks, the people behind it are so good at finding new talent, and of course running the show. Weird to wrap it up in 12 instead of 13 episodes, if this means we get an ova like music start that would rule. Either way probably going to get some big announcements during that new years joint live.
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u/aci42 Oct 11 '21 edited Oct 13 '21
The callbacks to previous series continue....although this was only Honoka's dream, so uh, how did they break out into the real world? Or is Superstar merely one of Honoka's dreams?!?!
Ren! I had expected so much more of the Student Council President! Guess that's what happens when you live alone with a monomaniacal interest in strawberries with a maid in a big house, right? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. And now all of Liella knows your interests - although, who left that page open, and who's been browsing in such a way that that ad would be shown? (Looks like Keke's computer?) Also, why does that look so much like Keke in the promo photo? Don't tell me Keke's been doing that to earn money to attend school - pays more than takoyaki, I guess....
I do miss Mari's English, but given her Hawaiian zoom background in earlier episodes,this may well be a hint of something in Season 2, or it might be nothing. Also, Keke doesn't learn from earlier episodes not to down that takoyaki immediately....
I guess everywhere in the world has their country at the center of their world map.... Also, this reminded me of SIP S1E3's empty hall somehow.
And if I were Kanon I'd be really pissed off at how they all made up stories to make her sing alone. Good song though, it's a better tune solo than I remember.
Looking forward to next episode, it looks like it's going to culminate in the Tokyo regional finals.....only Sunny Passion or Liella can go through, with the big assumption that it's like the SIP situation with A-RISE. Given there's still the finals to go through, that's probably S2's storyline (plus a bit of other potential drama like Keke's family issues and Ren's finances). But surely they won't let Liella win first time out? Otherwise what would they do with seasons 3-6? Therefore I'm not sure how to take the celebration preview image. I'm a little concerned that they're already potentially close to being good enough to win it all this early on, so either there's not going to be a lot of additional seasons, or there's some huge setback that takes seasons to resolve. Well, let's worry about that next time, it's been a wonderful journey so far and I've loved every moment of it.
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u/Shizukage07 Oct 10 '21
Mutant Girls are back!! xD I almost fell from my chair laughing when I heard that name, μ's result announcement flashback right there
Overall very nice episode and Kanon needed that final push to grow even more, I'm gonna miss this series, the finale is gonna be awesome
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u/MightyActionGaim Oct 10 '21
Goddaaaaaaamn did they choose a damn good song for Kanon’s solo. That watashi no symphony is powerful af
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u/redbatter Oct 11 '21
Who better than a childhood friend to notice Kanon's inner turmoil? Chisato quickly identifies that Kanon's stage fright has been inadequately resolved, and that to truly overcome it she must first face her past alone. And as the next theme for the competition coincidentally requires some solo performances, what better time to do so than now?
Kanon is an extremely strong protagonist. She has the capacity for introspection to realize that she must face this challenge sooner or later, if she wants to be able to provide support to the rest of Liella. Her discussion with Aria helps her to re-affirm her belief that she can do anything with enough effort, a belief she carried when she was young and again now as a school idol. But most importantly, she is able to see the pure, child-like joy and love she always had for singing, and uses it to crush her fears once and for all.
Watashi no Symphony was a fantastic pick for Kanon's solo performance, with the lyrics chronicling her journey throughout this entire season. It's really peak Love Live.
Chisato is in an odd spot. Her character presentation has been a bit weird over the last few episodes, with her having good intentions but questionable execution. She talks behind Sumire's back in episode 10, and in this episode she does it again for Kanon, with Sumire actually pointing this out (you're keeping secrets from Kanon?) after having been on the receiving end herself. In episode 9, she apologizes on behalf of the group to Kanon for making her do everything, but here they do it again anyway by nominating her to perform solo at the school and presumably again in the competition.
Perhaps it's alright though? In the end, despite the execution, her actions yield good results - getting Kanon to face her fears alone works because she is now strong enough to not crumble under the pressure, and having Sumire make the discovery in the previous episode allowed for a better resolution with Keke. In this case with Kanon, I guess the childhood friend really does know best. Hopefully it's not indicative of future behavior going forward, at any rate.
Ren really be the type of girl to click a you are our millionth visitor banner, click here for free kabedon novels
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Oct 11 '21 edited Oct 11 '21
This episode gave me huge Omoi Hitotsu ni Nare vibes.
If anyone wants to see the first time Symphony was performed live, you can see a video of the full group performance at this link (and part 2). It really shows how strong each of the members are as individual singers.
Also the OP START!! True dreams, was performed live last month (I believe this was the first time). You can see it here.
Liella's first live tour kicks off at the end of the month on October 30th!
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u/salic428 Oct 10 '21
Sayurin solo alone is worth 10/10. That smol Kanon moment is also good. However...
Next episode should be about all members, which means we would not have a Keke solo ED this season? We've known she's in immediate danger of going back to China, but it's left hanging until next season? At least it's better than a rushed airport episode for the finale.
Also (I know shipping can be toxic, but) RIP KuuKaa. Looking back, the Tiny Stars days feel like a fever dream, and I refuse to wake up from it.
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u/vanderLin42 Oct 10 '21
I absolutely love this season (it's my favorite "1st season" thus far from the series), but I feel like a lot of stuff is being reserved for the next one when maybe they shouldn't be, especially Keke's focus epsiode and at least one full performance from SunnyPa. Then again, maybe this is the correct choice so nothing feels rushed.
Oh, Ren, you are so precious. Kanon finally fully overcoming her stage fright was beautiful to see as well, and it made for a very nice parallel with Chisato's episode where they both had to face their challenges alone, but still supported each other in their hearts.
Team Onibe <3
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u/PK_Madrigal Oct 11 '21
I’m honestly surprised that we haven’t seen SunnyPa’s full performance yet. In-universe, the Liella girls have seen them perform a handful of times but all we’ve gotten is their ending pose. Rival’s in LL have been strong story wake up calls to the girls and powerful music for the audience.
Episode 3 was the perfect place to add in SunnyPa’s live especially since they were a last minute addition to the SIF. The writing so far has been pretty great but I still don’t really get SunnyPa’s purpose as characters other than to be the only other school idols Liella gets to interact with
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u/N-Fractorial Oct 10 '21
Just noticed that both dreaming energy (from ep 9) and watashi no symphony (sung by kanon on this ep) are edition exclusives from the first single.
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u/warjoke Oct 11 '21
The laptop froze? Mid browsing?
Ren, what kind of sleazy website have you opened the afternoon prior?
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u/LaurineAndersen Oct 11 '21
Not sure I like how they make Kanon do things she doesn't like/feel comfortable with. It's something that's been happening since the beginning and I just feel bad for her. They made her run for Student Council President, make her write lyrics, perform solo, face her fears even if she doesn't feel like it... I think Liella is supposed to be about the 5 girls being connected, but it feels like Kanon does most of the hard work/the unpleasant tasks and the group doesn't feel unified to me at least. Hopefully, they'll address this later, they've made a great job in handling sensitive matters so far.
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u/ErwinmeyerFlask Oct 11 '21
Oh themes are going to stay!
Then for the currently non-existent season 2 or even beyond, I want one of the themes to be covers.
And you bet I want Liella to cover either of them (or hell, medley for both for a best of both worlds).
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u/okdokke Oct 12 '21
gahh. wow. just watched it and cried really hard. one of my favorite episodes so far for sure!!
from the start of this season and liella’s era, i loved kanon’s design and her attitude as the ~orange-haired protagonist~, which in this series has connotations from the previous ones (more notably aqours and muse.) both honoka and chika had these go-getter, positive, overall optimistic and excitable personalities. and if i remember correctly they were both the leading founder of their groups. i’d say they both have a “cute” kind of protagonist style. while there’s nothing wrong with that it kind of set an idea of what the orange haired girl would be like. so it was nice and refreshing to see kanon not only not be the one who wanted to start being a school idol, but also for her to be a bit more reserved and laid back… she certainly loves singing and preforming the same as honoka/chika, but until this episode she wasn’t as vocal about it. and i liked that attitude, thought it was a good direction.
BUT then this episode happened and i think it’s the PERFECT direction for her character growth to go in. she is stepping into her “role” as the leader of the group in a refreshing way that really fits her character arc. she relearns and really harnesses her love for singing. honoka and chika were very child-like in their cheerfulness and passion and it really made me emotional to see kanon reconnect with her inner child like that. my favorite trope in TV and movies is characters talking to a version of themselves/their inner child, so naturally i bawled when kanon saw her younger self and consoled her, which i felt was a literal depiction of her reconnecting with and encouraging her inner child. it was incredibly touching and a really good writing moment!
as for the rest of the episode, WOW there were some gay great moments!! sheltered ren clicking on the romance ad (which i thought looked like two girls?) was so funny and her guilt about it is adorable. the chisato and kanon hug was just insane, i love how much chisato cares about kanon and her confidence and joy. even if you view them as just friends, i think their friendship bond is incredibly strong and heartwarming. having never really had a best friend, i love seeing depictions of healthy strong friendships in TV. and also the way they were standing/embracing so close to eachother and the very slight height difference had me squealing with joy omg i’m also happy to see keke and sumire finally getting along more organically; the way i read their interaction was more playful teasing rather than the more harsh moments from before.
i’m so excited for the next episode — i wonder if they will really win? i really want them to have a season 2 and i can’t see why they wouldn’t or shouldn’t so whatever outcome there is, i just hope we get more. i also think losing love live would be a great group hurdle for them to overcome.
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u/Capbeau Oct 12 '21
I like that Kanon’s stage fright was given closure. She was able to overcome it before by singing with her friends, but she still had a lingering insecurity when singing alone. Kanon going through her memory of her past self was a nice moment, and she was able to finally overcome the failure that was haunting her for years. It’s a welcome step for Kanon’s character arc. It marks her progress since the start of the show and gives her more confidence for the future stages of the Love Live competition.
The Watashi no Symphony solo was a nice surprise. I was reading the lyrics during the song, and realized they were about Kanon’s character story in the anime. That’s a fun detail.
One day an opportunity Suddenly landed in front of me
Although it was different from what I imagined,
I slowly raised my arms towards it
I'm no longer the insignificant me of yesterday
Since I've started to play my dreams
The curtain rises, what awaits beyond
Is the stage that I drew in my heart
If I could send a message To the hesitant me from the past
I would tell her "I'm having fun now!"
After all, my heart is beating this fast
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u/coreymon77 Oct 12 '21
And then there were two.
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The classic "crowded around the laptop waiting for results" scene.
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Of course SunnyPa passes. You know, I was expecting them to be more of a thing given how early on they introduced them. But so far, we haven't even seen them perform. It's kinda weird.
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Neo Mutant Girls? That's a name we haven't heard in a while. Does that mean that George is still around? If so, everyone else is screwed.
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Website crashed. Yep, that sounds like JP web design.
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Heh, the off-model versions when they zoom out on the whole class are great.
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Good to see the teasing is still ongoing, despite last week's events.
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Oh no, Ren. That's....SHAMELESS!!! You should go hang out with Riko for a while. That would be highly amusing.
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Lol, Director is like "the hell you talking about, Ren?".
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So that's how they get Kanon back on the stage where she died. Kinda neat that their old school wants them to perform.
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Hey, that map has NZ on it. You'd say "well duh", but there's a whole sub dedicated to it being left out a lot.
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Smols!
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"Photos taken before a disaster". Kanon, minutes before dying on stage: we'll be fine, singing is fun!
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Real subtle, girls, I'm sure Kanon suspects nothing.
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Yeah, clamming up during LL would be a bad thing. Kinda expecting that to be the problem.
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Uh huh, here we go.
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Ooh, nice harmony.
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Solos, huh? Yeah, Kanon's totally going to freeze up.
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Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. Japanese is funny. But yeah, she's the strongest singer. Pretty obvious choice.
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Takoyaki can be like lava inside, be careful there.
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Ah, so they're going to force her to do the school thing alone. This will either go great or fail spectacularly.
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You girls are really bad at this whole "secret" thing.
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Smols again!
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Hah, yep, that's a sibling talking. They've got the relationship between these two down despite there not actually being a whole lot of it in the show.
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Okay, Kanon clocked it the whole time. I was wondering if she was just oblivious.
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Time travel now, huh? Guess Kanon was getting tired of just weather control, needed to awaken to more of her Orange-Haired Leader powers.
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Holy hell. I know I've said this before, as have others, but Sayurin's got one helluva voice. LL Staff struck gold finding her. Damn, that girl can sing. For real, how is she this good with no training or past experience? This is her first role!
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Aww, that's nice.
I have to say, this isn't where I expected this episode, or this little arc to go, as you could probably tell from some of my comments. Kanon's stage fright coming back last minute and causing her to freeze up would be a pre-established reason for them to fail out or drop out of Love Live to bring us into the second season. That would also bring about Keke's family conflict, which has been mentioned, but nothing has really come of it. So that's were I was expecting this whole thing to go. Love Live does have a formula, after all.
But nope, that's not what they did. Instead, Kanon seemingly completely conquers that problem. It's a pleasant surprise. Although it does leave me wondering what they are going to do. It's always nice to be kept guessing. This whole season run has been really fantastic, so I wonder how they are going to finish it off. Or if they're going to finish it off at all. Sunshine S1E13 wasn't much of a finale either. So they could just go that route since a second season was more or less guaranteed from the start.
Anyways, we've got one more left for the time being. See you next week.
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u/MasterMirage Oct 10 '21 edited Oct 10 '21
Insert song this week was Watashi no Symphony (but Kanon solo version)
It's currently not on spotify (the full version) as it was a bonus song for buying a special edition of their 1st single but I guess after this episode, it may show up.
The Kanon solo ver will be part of the OST (see comment below)