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If I wanted those idol moments, I would watch the original once more. And, naturally, this means Superstar will not be to every Love Live fan's palate.īut it is exactly this aspect that made Superstar so refreshing for me, as a veteran of the franchise. Those looking for performances and idol moments may find Superstar's first season feels like more a prologue than a first half of a story.
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The girls do not even decide on a group name until the last few episodes of the season. In many regards, the 'school idol' setting of the franchise is more a backdrop than a primary focus. Instead of striving to make the audience teary-eyed, Superstar looks to instill joy and laughter. There is no impending doom from the girls' school potentially being entirely closed, nor is there romantic tension or heated rivalry in the lieu of Saint Snow's portrayal in Sunshine- quite the opposite. a more dramatic approach to the storytelling, Superstar looks instead to comedy and catharsis as a means of connecting with its audience. Contrary to expectations, Superstar is actually a slice-of-life anime first, and an idol anime second. Superstar revealed itself not just as an excellent anime in its own right, but also the most fresh the franchise has been in nearly a decade. Coming less than a year after the third Love Live series, Nijigasaki, I was worried of the fatigue that may come from yet another shuffling of the cast. With Superstar being the franchise's fourth and latest adventure, it's understandable that some may be reluctant to watch once more a series seemingly treading familiar roads. Throughout their journey, the girls make new friends and meet new members that join them to become the dazzling idols others can only imagine.
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The resilience of these aspiring idols is put to the test as they face the challenges that come their way.
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Even so, the girls soon visit the director, who allows them to set up their school idol club under one condition-they must win first place at the Yoyogi School Idol Festival. Even though Kanon makes the conscious decision to quit music altogether, her classmate Tang Keke rekindles Kanon's passion for music with her own: a passion for school idols.Īlthough Keke and Kanon try to form a school idol group, their effort meets strong objections from Ren Hazuki, the daughter of the school's director. However, due to her stage fright, Kanon fails to make it into Yuigaoka Girls' High School's music program and instead ends up in the general curriculum. Everyone has a dream they strive to achieve, and so does the musically talented Kanon Shibuya.
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