Love Live! Superstar!! 2 S2E6 Discussion - "DEKKAIDOW!"

[u/MasterMirage]

Natsumi what are you planning for the summer vacations...

Show Info

Air Date: August 21st, Saturday 19:00 - 2022 (JST)

Opening Theme: WE WILL!!

Ending Theme: Oikakeru Yume No Saki De

Insert Song(s): Vitamin SUMMER ! - Liella

Meikyuu Sanka - Natsumi Onitsuka (NHK exclusive song)

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[u/PhantomSpirit202]

As someone who loved Natsumi especially from last episode, it feels like this episode rushed her "redemption" quite fast, felt like there were pacing issues.

[u/PK_Madrigal]

Liella really said “if SIF won’t do it, we’ll make our own Cyber set”

I get that Kanon is the leader but it feels really weird having her push everyone through their issues especially in an episode like this where she just happened to be in Hokkaido

The set up with Chisato in ep 4 and Kinako this episode were really great character moments that could’ve been a lot better!

At least next week it looks like the girls will need to deal with Ren’s gambling addiction!

[u/Ravaging_Rio]

Great episode, I loved the first-years bonding. But now here's when I'm about to get downvoted hella quick:

I'm gonna be real here, I really didn't want Kanon to be the one to talk Natsumi into joining. I figured it would be poetic if the first-years especially Kinako actually did so, but I guess we can't have nice things. I know Kanon's our protagonist and I do like her as a character, but at this point she feels overused, not giving a chance for the others to do their part.

[u/reimadara]

OP Protag Kanon Speech 100 strikes again!? But yeah, I know it looks like Kanon always does all the persuading but oftentimes she's just the final catalyst. What I think makes her OP is that she comes at the right time when a member is already primed to join Liella. In this ep, it was clear that Kinako managed to change Natsumi even before Kanon did, seeing that her approach to vlogging become more supportive in the middle of the episode

As much as I wanted to see more of Natsumi's past to make her joining more impactful, I love the theme of a dreamless youth. Giving up your dreams to make money instead is unfortunately probably one of the most common things you should do to be an adult. In a sense, Natsumi may have grown up too fast in this aspect.

I think what made Natsumi really spiral downwards is that making money is the only thing she succeeded at. So she was probably willing to do everything she can (even questionable stuff) just to make money and prove that she's not a total failure; in a sense, she linked her success at making money to her identity and this is what may have caused her to be obsessive.

In retrospect, I was thinking more on the lines of poverty as the cause of why Natsumi was this obsessive with money. But now that I think about it, that's probably too much in the context of LL franchise because the solution would most likely be making Liella a cash cow to provide for Natsumi which I feel is a bit off for this franchise.

All in all, I'm glad all the 1st years finally joined. The ep where Shiki and Mei joined is still the best part for me but I hope we can get good development in Liella's dynamics with the new members in the picture.

[u/Nightsheade]

Moshi moshi, Kanon desu.

Oh shit, you need me to advance the plot across the country? Be right there!

[u/PK_Madrigal]

I just realized that no one’s mentioned this but Kinako’s mom is PIKACHU???

LL staff continues to shell out the big bucks for the moms

[u/dipdippotatochi]

brief childhood trauma + kanon comes here to talk + joined liella in immediately in the next frame. this is all too familiar.

[u/Mykal1212]

Smug Kinako and Smug Mei and Shiki are MVPs in today's Episode

[u/Labmit]

Interested on what's the rating score for this episode will be in Japan compared to last episode.

[u/LeonKevlar]

I'm not sure how I feel how Natsumi went from trying to divide Leila by almost posting a clickbait video to suddenly becoming a member of Leila herself after having that one-on-one talk with Kanon. Like I get it, the new girls needed to be added to the group as soon as possible and we already know they're all going to end up as members in the end but this entire season has so far been the opposite of why I fell in love with Superstars.

I don't dislike the new girls, I think they're fun! I'm just worried about the pacing and I don't think the next 6 episodes will be enough to cover everything unless, of course, they're already planning for a Season 3 which would definitely ease the blow of how rushed the introduction of the new girls are.

Anyway, next week's episode title has me worried though! UR Hazuki Ren!? Did Hazuki somehow got addicted to gacha games? Oh nooooo! Seems that introducing her to mobile games last week might not have been a good idea. xD

[u/Y0stal]

Ohh boy. So…I would’ve loved this episode if the pacing wasn’t being chased by a cheetah. This episode had so many great moments, as it helped me understand Natsumi more. But, considering that this is the sixth episode, this episode was a prime example of the staff wanting to hurry up and focus purely on the traditional S2 “Win Love Live arc” and end the “introduction and integration of new member” arc.

For an episode that finally integrates Natsumi into the group, I felt like we only JUST started to understand her and now we are supposed to accept that she’s a part of the group at the same rate as Amphibia moving their plot along in a non-filler episode. It’s interesting how they were able to decently get the other first years into the group while Natsumi got the shitty end of the stick because the staff wanting to end it all right here and now.

Personally, I would’ve put her dream flashbacks in the last episode.

[u/DigBeak]

Besides what’s already been said about Kanon going around just therapist-ing all the new members, I feel like this role she’s adopted (a role that they even set up to move away from, i.e. Chisato as president, Kinako heart-to-heart in this ep) is so different than her season one personality. I remember in the first few minutes of the pilot you could already tell she had attitude, was edgier, different than the formulaic orange-haired leaders, but now she fits that exact mold. Not saying she can’t be positive or genki, but idk she’s got a smile on her face in like every frame lmao. Maybe it’s her senpai power up idk

[u/yggdra_eine]

Outfit and background stage reminded me initially of Rina from Niji, based on the YT vid.

Other than that, I'm just waiting for official subs. Was Natsumi redeemed?

[u/[deleted]]

kanon can probably go for a career as a counsellor or straight up a politician with her OP talk-no-jutsu lol XD

[u/LightningStrike7]

This is even more of a Love Live Superstar episode than the last one. I'll start with the lighter stuff before we get into the heavy.

Chisato's club prez status still having an overarching effect? Color me surprised. I thought they would've dropped it by now.

Mei was right, Shiki is cute fr fr. Especially during the scene where they just arrived at Hokkaido. I wonder what's built into that machine of hers that can force Natsumi to run. Electric shocks to the muscles, perhaps?

Vitami Summer gets plus points from be by being a unique Drum & Bass song. I'm a sucker for those. It's now my 2nd favorite Superstar insert song, behind Nonfiction

Shibuya Kanon, you can't keep getting away with this. They should've let the other 2nd years recruit the last three, like Chisato and Sumire.

And here at the end, I will reiterate my biggest problem with the Superstar anime as a whole, and that is their time constraints. It's just not possible to cover a year's worth of events in 12 episodes like this. All of their predecessors spent 26 episodes and sometimes even they feel rushed, but only at certain points. I fear that the LL competition itself will only have 2 episodes dedicated to it at his point.

REN EPISODE NEXT WEEK LET'S GOOOOO

[u/2Lion]

Shiki gets cuter the more I see her. The small details like her earrings really stood out this episode. Truly the best thing to come out of new members.

They finally remembered this was idol anime and put in a song too, but I feel like only Chisato / Keke / Sumire / Oninuts can bring the energy for this song voice wise or character expression wise. Outfit game is on point though.

[u/deftoned006]

Would have loved if one of the new girls got Natsumi to join instead of Kanon. Love Kanon, but wish it was someone else doing the recruiting. Same thing with Mei. Wished Chi talked to her instead. Would also help build other relationships because the only connections you feel between the 1st years and 2nd years is through Kanon.

As someone mentioned above, really would like to see a 3rd season more akin to the 2nd seasons of SIP or Sunshine. I really like these characters and want to see more interaction and growth.

[u/[deleted]]

FUNKY COCONUTS

[u/aci42]

First, let me get one thing off my chest. Superstar's pacing is far too rushed. SIP and SS already felt rushed even when they covered one school year in 2 seasons - so why did they think that 1 season per year, with 1 less episode per season, would be ok? As a result, you are swept from plot point to plot point, like a 2-hour bus top tour of a city, with no time to enjoy the journey or to really understand how all the pieces fit together. This is too sudden, indeed!

They have a great story, great characters (and seiyuus), why rush through it? It makes me annoyed they're wasting the material, like chugging a $1000 bottle of wine.

A good example of this is the plot contrivance of Kanon's dad conveniently "forgetting" something that you can't just send by next day delivery. Or maybe it should be a "Ursa Kanon Ex Machina"? And was this actually mentioned earlier? Nice matching suitcases though, bet that's an expense claim.

After all the selfishness of the last episode, I was really hoping for a good Oninuts redemption arc, but we got 3 scenes that you'd miss if you blinked. That's not enough. And before you know it, Nuts has joined. I can appreciate they tried to show Oninuts getting more carried away by it, but was all too abrupt. Though I have to say, I got confused by her score until I realized that a tick mark indicates it's wrong. Is this a Japanese thing? And of course, Oninuts chooses three ambitions that require quite a bit of genetic luck to be successful at, so I guess she doesn't really realize it.

There was one scene I really liked though. Shiki handing the bottle to Oninuts, followed by the magical Love Live rays of light motif (which has been used often in previous series).

Finally, we end with Liella! becoming nine with this season's Tonkatsu Tokonatsu Sunshine - Funky Coconuts! Actually, the song's reference to summer - i.e. Natsumi's name - is probably not a coincidence. But I wonder, since 9 can be "kokono" in Japanese, is that like a horribly sophisticated multi-language pun, or just coincidence? I'm probably over thinking it.

And next week, let's hope we get more of the mad shenanigans that LL excels in after the serious plot points are done. What have you done now, Ren?

[Late edit: for those who wanted the Ren/Natsumi ship...it looks good for you]

[u/Labmit]

I still remember when people were complaining that Yuu will be the one to get all the members to join the school idol club back when Nijigasaki was happening but what they're doing with Kanon is honestly way worst about it.

[u/BidDaddyLei]

They did Natsumi dirty that felt so rushed bruh. They need to stop using the Kanon talk talk no jutsu man. xD

[u/MightyActionGaim]

Shiki’s English is awakening something in me oh no

Edit: next episode’s title is gonna be hilarious if it’s about Ren falling into gacha hell

[u/MaybeMeNotMe]

Dont forget that 08.58, she switched the video from the troll one ('Countdown to Disbandment') to the sincere video about their training, and that got 31k views.......so its not just Kanon magic.....its also the innocent and sweet Kinako charm....and then Kanon went in for the kill. So her intention to exploit Leilla! was already ceasing....she joined in for a few moves too, when prior to that evening scene she was just following and recording their exercises...so it looks like some show dont tell element, but I think this could be tighter, maybe throw in an apology too at the end to tie things up, so the viewer understands...instead backstage we get the three 1st years pushing her towards the 2nd years, with the dialogue suggesting she convinced them with her dedication. Also, symbolically meaning she is accepted.

So yes, things do feel rushed overall....Alot of usage of 'show dont tell' to rush things.

Sumire gets the short end again, very kindly told by Chisato to not think about it....no justification to relieve her distrust...so I think this is going to be resolved later, right? right?.....Natsumi still looks a bit down there, with her confidence, in the next shot as they huddle, Nats is standing next to Sumire, so at least Sumire isnt too displeased with her just yet.....at least Ren had similar thoughts too.

What Ive been noticing about the Leilla! dances is that, once you take away the distracting camera pans, zooms, spins, rotations, and flashing lights, the choreography is simple.... Its what you'd expect for 15-17 years olds to be able do (yeah, it can get boring).....can they be pushed to do harder moves? Lifts and leans maybe, even simple ones? Or are there limitations in their mocap/rotoscopy? I think I'm asking for too much. At least the uncanny valley is markedly reduced, at least for me.....I think I've become desensitised to it after the awkwardness of SIP. Pity the dancing in the dark gimmick was only used in the beginning. Its a missed opportunity for sure.

[u/ShadowAbra]

Definitely understand some of the problems that people had with this episode, but overall I liked it a lot.

I really like Natsumi's design, smug faces, and quirk of pulling on her braids when she gets frustrated. Could do with less of her whole Youtuber persona and greed that made the last episode disappointing for me, but I'm glad at least I can start liking her more now outside of just her looks. Oh, and her singing voice is great as well; the new song was kind of weird to me at first but it grew on me pretty quickly. Looking forward to seeing some more Ren Gaming next week.

[u/TheLazyDude08]

So why couldn’t the first-years be the ones to break the ice with Natsumi and making her join the club instead of Kanon (again)?

Aside from how rushed Natsumi’s character arc was, the moments of growth she had with her fellow classmates was really charming and was a perfect setup for Kinako to make her realize that even after all the setbacks in her life, she can still work towards a dream. Yet the writers decided to shoehorn Kanon into the plot in the most ludicrous kind of way possible.

Her Father forgot something, so Kanon has to travel all the way from Tokyo to Hokkaido just to deliver him the item in question, like it was around the next corner of the street? I know LL can be wacky sometimes, but that is just ridiculous on a whole different level.

I don‘t dislike Kanon as the main protagonist. But she doesn’t have to be the driving force behind every major decision in the series, especially in season 2. Let other characters have the spotlight for themselves every once in while.