Love Live! S2 – 11
How squashed was Rin in the inside of the photo booth?
You can’t put it off forever.
The Big Day
Well, for being a school that was failing to get enough new students, there sure were a lot of numbers up on that board of admissions. Now, I don’t know how many will actually go to Otonokizaka Academy, but they looked to have at least accepted about 120 new students. Pretty good for a place that needed a school idol group to drum up enough interest for applications. And of course, included in those students who were accepted, are Yukiho and Alisa. But that just brings up that taboo topic again, as Alisa’s first thoughts on being accepted into the school are that she can join µ’s.
Well-conveyed emotions
And thoughts of µ’s seem to dampen what should also be a happy day for Yukiho as well. I don’t know why Yukiho is so down about the topic, indeed as soon as Alisa mentions the name of the group, her face clouds up and she seems pretty down about it. And it’s not like talking to Honoka about it helps, even though Honoka tries to guide her to how happy she should be. Honoka doesn’t know any better about what’s going to happen with µ’s, either. After all, they’d made the decision not to talk about making any decisions until after the Love Live! finals, which are a month away. But it’s simple to tell that the issue has been on everyone’s mind, given the way all the air is sucked out of the room when the topic is brought up, effectively putting a complete stop to any thoughts of practice or planning.
Is It Really Better To Wait?
How to bring down a room – talk about the forbidden subject
That’s the question when you’re facing a big decision. It’s tempting to put it off, to defer, to try to not think about it, but what you really find is that you can’t help thinking about it. And this is a tough question: What is the future not just of the Otonokizaka Academy School Idol Group / Club, but also the group named µ’s? This is a group that was formed specifically with these 9 members which was never whole until they all joined. Whether you give credit to Nozomi and her machinations for pushing them together, or to Honoka for attracting them all with her charisma and star power, or just realize that this was a group that was fated to be together, the point is that µ’s has always been these 9: Honoka, Kotori, Umi, Hanayo, Rin, Maki, Nico, Eri, and Nozomi. No more, no less. Noone was cut, noone tried out, they just were the right group. Is it right and proper that a group named µ’s continue with some different people, or eventually with none of the original members?
Nico should watch where she’s going
Opinions on that are certainly divided, or at least they seem to be. There’s plenty of precedence for the name of the group to be tied to the school or the club or even just continuity. We see that with performing groups all the time. Heck, even my band has been Nightfall through all sorts of different people, since 1979 (long before I was in it, in fact before any of the current members were in it). But we’ve also seen the other side. If a group’s identity is tied to the members in their entirety, it’s hard to continue with that same. But if that’s the only thing that anyone is going to be thinking about, surely it’s better to consider it and deal with the question, rather than try to keep putting it off until after the competition, right?
Coming to her conclusion
Yes, it’s a difficult thing to talk about. It’s a difficult thing to think about, even. And nobody seems to be able to decide which is better. At least there is consensus on one thing: The 6 underclasswomen are all sure they want to keep performing as school idols. That’s actually a big decision, and paves the way for the other decision. But it’s still hard to think about. I thought Honoka’s discomfort at Alisa’s asking to join was well played, as well Yukiho’s interference for her onee-chan (I also thought it funny that Alisa was practicing the exact wrong thing to practice if she wanted to perform, but it kind of shows that she’s more interested in being part of something she admires, rather than being a performer).
The Big Decision
Fun with everyone is where it’s at
It’s pretty obvious that everyone’s kind of leading to the same place in their thinking, especially Alisa after discussing what she loves about µ’s with Yukiho. But instead of just saying it, they added the fun device of “Let’s go do what everyone wants to do to have fun.” I don’t know if you could really fit all 9 of their places to go in one day (it would certainly seem to be a waste to me to pay all that admission to things like a theme park and an art museum to only stay for an hour). And when even Maki is all gung-ho for an idea, that makes Nico take notice. But they do seem to be having quite the fun day.
Who says it can’t be a little competitive?
But for saying what their decision is, Honoka takes them to an empty beach, “a place for just the nine of them”. And they all announce it together, that after the third years graduate, they won’t be µ’s anymore. They’ll still continue to be idols, but since the group won’t be the same, they won’t have the same name. And that’s the right decision for this group, even though there are tears. But to me, the tears are more for the people they’ll be missing than the name of the group.
Even the right decision can be hard
I didn’t mind the crying as much on this show. It wasn’t nearly as out of place as Honoka’s a couple episodes ago, and compared to Gokukoku no Brynhildr this week, it was downright great acting (seriously, that was atrocious). The important part here was that they came to a decision, one they all buy into, about the future of both the group and the name.
One other note: I know that Nico’s usual ship is Maki, but I almost wanted someone else to step up and comfort Nico when she was unsure about the decision. It just felt a little too “If X then Y”, maybe a bit overused, and I think it would have been good for it to be mixed up a little. One thing I really DID like, tho, was Umi crying with Eri on the platform, especially as the first one to really start crying. That pair feels just so right, almost as mentor and admirer but almost equals.
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
It’s like that sunset beach we talked about in chat. You just have to go with these things sometimes and allow yourself to go with these things.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It’s a very rough decision the girls have to made to disband after going through so much. In a way, I can see where they’re coming from. Idealistically, it wouldn’t the same group if the members changed continuously.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
But in that rough decision they had some much courage through the tears. A definition is always just that. And Muse is that. But from the break, what else can form, and what challenges can come from that. Fantastic unspoken story right there.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, they’re not disbanding. It’s more like they’re just putting the name µ’s into history, and starting a new chapter with a new name. It would actually be unsurprising to me if the new name they came up with for the group actually stuck around through multiple ‘generations’ of the Idol Kenkyuubu, with only the first iteration of µ’s being special in that way.
This might sound weird, but it actually makes a big difference whether the new members would join before or after the older members leave. There’s a much better case for continuity of name to be made if everyone was in the group, and then some people left. Like if the group went from 9 to 12 then back to 9. It’s different if the group goes from 9 to 6 and then up to 8, 9, or even 10.
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
Well this is not that uncommon since they’re just dropping their group name. The official name of the club is Idol Research Club if you still remember that.
Think of it this way:
Club: Idol Research Club
Group: μ’s
An Example from K-ON:
Club: Light Music Club (K-ON)
Band: Afterschool Teatime/Fresh Leaf Girls