Love Live! - Sunshine vs. Original Comparison Thread

[Jimmy C]

I held this off until I could watch the last episode, to see if there would be anything more to add, there wasn't.

Unlike most of you guys, I only got to watch Love Live S1 and S2 just weeks before Sunshine and I never got into the rest of its media beyond the anime.
After watching the anime, my impression was the idol performances felt... detached from the episodes, for the most part. You could have replaced the performance in one episode with almost any other and I wouldn't have noticed any difference.
Related to that is the performances felt like the songs and dance routines were handed to the girls by professionals and they just performed them. For all that the girls are supposed to come up with the songs and dance routines themselves, I barely get the feeling that any of the songs are significant to the girls either.
In contrast, I can tell you at least three songs in K-ON! that the series showed what each song meant to the girls. They showed the girls going over the lyrics and their experiences that led to those lyrics. By the time the songs were performed, you knew those songs mattered to the girls and why. That makes the performances special to the audience too.
For LL, there is like only one song that I even feel a bare trace of this connection between the girls and the song, in both seasons.

For Sunshine, I'm glad to see that there is some improvement in this direction. There are two songs that show stronger connections to the girls than anything from SIP. More could be done, more of them coming up with lyrics, stronger connections to their experiences, as well as showing them putting some work into creating the music that goes with the songs. I hope to see progress on these fronts in the next season.

[R.LocK]

No Brand Girls and Start Dash say hello.

And Aishiteru Banzai.

And Susume Tomorrow.

And Love wing bell.

[Jimmy C]

Well, I didn't feel them. Aside from Start Dash, which I believe is from their first live, I don't even know which episodes the others were played in.
In contrast, I did feel Snow Halation and it took my breath away the very first time I watched it, just like Young Dreamer and Memories, Become One would in Sunshine. I heard Snow is one of the few pre-anime singles that made it into the show, I think it was a good choice.

[Nork22]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

as well as showing them putting some work into creating the music that goes with the songs. I hope to see progress on these fronts in the next season.

Not going to happen. All the prep work of making a song just gets passed off while we watch them do silly things. And we like to see them do silly things.

[Jimmy C]

Originally Posted by Nork22

Not going to happen. All the prep work of making a song just gets passed off while we watch them do silly things. And we like to see them do silly things.

If K-ON!, the epitome of doing silly things, can manage it, I hope LL can cram it in well too.

[Nork22]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

If K-ON!, the epitome of doing silly things, can manage it, I hope LL can cram it in well too.

I'm not going to hold K-On up on a pedestal and say they wrote 2 meaningful songs out of how many songs they have and then claim that Love Live should do it too.

And again if you want some unexpected "work" in them creating a song, don't. It's about them telling not showing, because if you think too hard about it, you'll also question how they can afford to mix, composed, create choreography, direct lighting, have funds and be able to afford professional camera work for their songs.

If you don't feel any connection to any of the Love Live songs, that's fine. It's not like the fandom needs to instantly like them, and it's not like the song was instantly loved overnight. But to enjoy the franchise just from the anime alone isn't the whole experience.

[Liddo-kun]

Originally Posted by AP24

The original series had alpaca so what about Sunshine? Is it walrus?

Sunshine also has Shiitake, pet dog of Chika.

[Triple_R]

@Jimmy C - My take is very much the opposite.

One issue I have with Sunshine, that I've largely kept private, is that Sunshine's lives tend to just happen. Bang! Like that. Like it's functionally identical to some friend linking you to a YouTube vid of a nice animated live performance.

In other words, I felt that most of the Sunshine lives could have been transitioned into better. Contextualized more. The Aqours lives in Episodes 6, 9, and 11 pretty much just happen. There's minimal-to-no interaction between Aqours and the audience. You even sometimes have this jarring transition from one scene that has nothing to do with Aqours talking about/preparing for a live performance into the very next scene which is the live performance.

Of course, one huge exception to this is the Aqours live in Episode 13. But that goes too far the other way, if anything.

With the OG, the lives in Love Live Season 1 Episodes 3, 8, 11, and 13 were all transitioned into beautifully. They all had excellent lead-in. They all had strong context giving them much greater emotional weight to me. The dynamic between performers and audience was wonderfully portrayed in each of those lives. With Sunshine, only the live in Episode 3 pulled this off with similar finesse and emotional strength (like I wrote before, Episode 13 kinda overdid it).

[Jimmy C]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

the lives in Love Live Season 1 Episodes 3, 8, 11, and 13 were all transitioned into beautifully. They all had excellent lead-in. They all had strong context giving them much greater emotional weight to me.

I can accept that. To me, they could have swapped the songs they used in those lives and I wouldn't have noticed.

Bang! Like that. Like it's functionally identical to some friend linking you to a YouTube vid of a nice animated live performance.

To me, that may be, but it would be like they linked a very appropriate video to what I had been watching prior.

Here's hoping they do better on all fronts next season.

[Liddo-kun]

These are entirely personal opinions and observation, and not meant to offend fans of charcters.. ok let's start.

1. I think Riko is a much better Umi. Has better character delevelopment with the main character. Came from a distant place, Tokyo, arrived at a province town and eventually became close friends with Chika. Ah, and I'm not liking her because of the yuri bait - can just watch something like Ange Vierge if I need yuri.

2. One reason for watching this show is Yoshiko, simply because Chuunibyou is one of my favorites. No one in the original Love Live compares to her imo. The chuuni factor alone gets my attention. She still stands out even if only a few episodes are focused on her.

3. Considering You as a much better costume maker than Kotori. Again, same issue with Riko. Because You-sora has better character development - being alone with Chika at the start, just the two of them. It setup the anime as being a bit different from the original. And eventual drama near the end. The conflict of jealousy was not really explored in the original.

4. I like Dia more than Eli. A secret fan of µ's. I like how the writers made her serious sometimes, but funny when her real personality is out in the open.

5. Well. and this is just personal observation on our local community here. Aquors is totally trounced on by µ's. At Otaku Expo 2016, we stayed the whole day and I've seen not a single Aquors cosplayer.. but have counted at least 3 awakened maid cosplays of µ's complete with microphone props and mic stand (note: the awakened maid version is by far, one of the more expensive costumes), police version kotori, white day version kotori and others too many to mention. This scenario was repeated again at BOA 2016, seen ninja version of Maki and Nico, Umi awakened maid version that I've not seen at a convention before + others. The only Aquors cosplayer I've seen is a crossdressed guy with aquors school summer uniform ><. So far, few of my friends want to invest on an Aquors costume, but many have worked hard to save money for a µ's costume. We've just ordered a Kotori sore wa boku tachi version and we feel like we've invested in gold (can be sold again easily if we needed cash), because we view Kotori as a character that will be a popular cosplay for many years to come, similar to Chii from Chobits that people still cosplay even if so many years have passed already. Gonna do a Maki and Kotori photoshoot soon. Just waiting for Kotoribird to arrive.

Hoping that Aquors can have a season 2. Need more Yoshiko, You and Dia.

[SleepingTerror]

Originally Posted by Liddo-kun

1. I think Riko is a much better Umi. Has better character delevelopment with the main character. Came from a distant place, Tokyo, arrived at a province town and eventually became close friends with Chika. Ah, and I'm not liking her because of the yuri bait - can just watch something like Ange Vierge if I need yuri.

I agree with all your points except for this one. Riko doesn't stand out to me as much as Umi does. Umi comes off as stronger and persistent, and a caretaker of everyone, not just the leader. One of the traits that set her apart from Riko, which I love, is she is a stresser. Perhaps it's because I've seen more of Umi than Riko - since some of my favorite scenes with Umi take place in the movie. Umi, Rin, and Kotori get lost in the big city, and when they find the right hotel, Umi becomes very upset and shuns everyone temporarily - until biology calls and she gives in to food (I found this adorable). Later on, when Honoka is the one who gets lost, Umi cries, showing how worried she is. I've never gotten this sense of urgency from Riko (at least not yet).
Plus Riko's fear of dogs is incomprehensible. I relate much more to Umi never winning a game of cards or getting super embarrassed when watching "indecent" movies

[blakstealth]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

@Jimmy C - My take is very much the opposite.

One issue I have with Sunshine, that I've largely kept private, is that Sunshine's lives tend to just happen. Bang! Like that. Like it's functionally identical to some friend linking you to a YouTube vid of a nice animated live performance.

In other words, I felt that most of the Sunshine lives could have been transitioned into better. Contextualized more. The Aqours lives in Episodes 6, 9, and 11 pretty much just happen. There's minimal-to-no interaction between Aqours and the audience. You even sometimes have this jarring transition from one scene that has nothing to do with Aqours talking about/preparing for a live performance into the very next scene which is the live performance.

Of course, one huge exception to this is the Aqours live in Episode 13. But that goes too far the other way, if anything.

With the OG, the lives in Love Live Season 1 Episodes 3, 8, 11, and 13 were all transitioned into beautifully. They all had excellent lead-in. They all had strong context giving them much greater emotional weight to me. The dynamic between performers and audience was wonderfully portrayed in each of those lives. With Sunshine, only the live in Episode 3 pulled this off with similar finesse and emotional strength (like I wrote before, Episode 13 kinda overdid it).

Oh yeah, this is a good point. Some of those performances in Sunshine came out of nowhere narrative-wise...kinda like a spontaneous act you'll see in a musical. On the other hand, the original had a couple of these moments too. Just one example I can think of...when we're talking about preparations and practice, Mijuku Dreamer was the bokura no live kimi to no life of Sunshine. When Kanan and Mari reconciled and the third years joined the group, they broke out in song and dance just like when the OG convinced Eli to join and Nozomi following suit. Despite of this, every performance in Sunshine has marked a milestone or significant development like the original series. They all definitely had meaning.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by blakstealth

Despite of this, every performance in Sunshine has marked a milestone or significant development like the original series. They all definitely had meaning.

Sure, I'd agree with that. Each Aqours live represented a different point on Aqours Season 1 journey, which was good to see.


One edge I'll give Sunshine (and Aqours) is on costume quality, when it comes to Season 1 vs. Season 1. I liked Aqours' Episode 13 costume more than any costume μ's wore in Love Live Season 1. Aqours' Episode 9 costume was also very good and pretty.

None of the costumes are bad in either show, but Aqours is off to a faster start when it comes to flashy eye-catching costumes. You is an excellent costume-maker. I guess all that fondness for military uniforms has paid off for her!

[blakstealth]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Sure, I'd agree with that. Each Aqours live represented a different point on Aqours Season 1 journey, which was good to see.


One edge I'll give Sunshine (and Aqours) is on costume quality, when it comes to Season 1 vs. Season 1. I liked Aqours' Episode 13 costume more than any costume μ's wore in Love Live Season 1. Aqours' Episode 9 costume was also very good and pretty.

None of the costumes are bad in either show, but Aqours is off to a faster start when it comes to flashy eye-catching costumes. You is an excellent costume-maker. I guess all that fondness for military uniforms has paid off for her!

Oh, I meant that with both Love Live shows in terms of every performance having meaning and some type of emotional drive. It's never just to show off.

Shout out to admiral seamstress You-chan. While we're talking about outfits and costumes, my favorite has to be from Mijuku dreamer. I looooove those kimono dress hybrid things. I don't know what they're called! I know I said this before, but they remind me of the outfits in Angelic Angel in the love live movie. I freeekin love them.

[Liddo-kun]

Originally Posted by SleepingTerror

I agree with all your points except for this one. Riko doesn't stand out to me as much as Umi does. Umi comes off as stronger and persistent, and a caretaker of everyone, not just the leader. One of the traits that set her apart from Riko, which I love, is she is a stresser. Perhaps it's because I've seen more of Umi than Riko - since some of my favorite scenes with Umi take place in the movie. Umi, Rin, and Kotori get lost in the big city, and when they find the right hotel, Umi becomes very upset and shuns everyone temporarily - until biology calls and she gives in to food (I found this adorable). Later on, when Honoka is the one who gets lost, Umi cries, showing how worried she is. I've never gotten this sense of urgency from Riko (at least not yet).
Plus Riko's fear of dogs is incomprehensible. I relate much more to Umi never winning a game of cards or getting super embarrassed when watching "indecent" movies

Hmm, ok. Would just like to say that Umi is also one of my favorites from the original.. I remember her mostly for those times where she gets embarassed. XD Have you watched the live performance of Start Dash live concert? She did a good performance there. :3