Love Live! Sunshine!!
Intro
Love Live! Sunshine!! (ラブライブ! サンシャイン!!) is a Japanese multimedia project focusing on idols. It is the second series in the Love Live! franchise, and a spin off sequel of Love Live! School Idol Project. Love Live! Sunshine!! follows the story of nine high school girls trying to become idols in a small town.
This series started in 2015 with music releases, and an anime in 2016-2017. There was a movie in 2019. An anime spin off featuring the same characters in a different universe was released in 2023, titled Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror.
Plot
Love Live! Sunshine!! takes place in the seaside town of Uchiura, Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan. Unfortunately, the local school, Uranohoshi Girls' Academy, is planned to shut down. If 100 new students enroll by next year, the school can stay open. The main character, Chika Takami, is inspired by school idol group μ's (pronounced "muse") to form her own group and save her school! Chika's group is called Aqours (pronounced "aqua"). Together, all nine members of Aqours work hard to be the very best and bring attention to their school.
To save their school, Aqours enters the highly competitive Love Live contest. Can they win the school idol contest and convince 100 girls to enroll at their school?
Main Characters
Chika Takami is the leader and primary lyricist of Aqours! She is a second year student and thinks that she is "too ordinary". Chika is very stubborn and she loves school idols. She has shoulder length orange hair.
You Watanabe is the main costume designer of Aqours! She is a second year student and very energetic. She is Chika's childhood best friend! You loves uniforms, and wants to be a ship captian one day. She has shoulder length grey hair.
Riko Sakurauchi is the composer for Aqours. She is a second year transfer student from Tokyo. Riko is polite and down-to-earth. She's also very talented when it comes to playing the piano! She secretly enjoys reading yuri manga. Riko has long dark red hair.
Ruby Kurosawa is a first year student and Dia's younger sister. She is very shy and timid, but has always dreamed of becoming an idol! Ruby is also afraid of men. Her shoulder length hair is red, and is usually in pigtails.
Hanamaru Kunikida is a first year student and is easily distracted. She comes from a home without modern technology and is easily amazed by things like computers or cell phones. Hanamaru loves to read! She also speaks with a Shizuoka dialect. Her hair is long and light brown.
Yoshiko "Yohane" Tsushima is a first year student with chūnibyō syndrome. She claims to be a fallen angel who has angered God, and wants everyone to call her "Yohane", but nobody ever does. She has long dark blue hair and usually has a bun on one side.
Dia Kurosawa is a third year student and Ruby's older sister. She is also the student council president, and a huge μ's fan! Dia is prideful and stern, often scolding the other members. Her hair is long and black.
Kanan Matsuura is a third year student and the main choreographer of Aqours. She is level-headed and mature. Kanan lives on a nearby island and runs a diving gear shop with her family. She has long blue hair, often seen in a ponytail.
Mari Ohara is a third year student who comes from a rich family. Due to her father being an Italian-American, Mari often mixes English in with her Japanese. She is very bright and confident. Her family is the school's number one sponsor, which causes Mari to be appointed chairman, despite being a student herself. She has yellow hair.
Media
Love Live! Sunshine!! has manga, anime, video games, and music!
The manga ran from 2016 to 2018 and has three volumes. It is written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Masaru Oda.
Sunrise produced the anime series, with season 1 airing in 2016, and season 2 airing in 2017. Fun Fact: season 2 of Love Live! Sunshine!! was 2018's number 1 best selling animated DVD and Blu-Ray in Japan! In 2019, an anime movie called Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow was released. Lastly, a fantasy spin off was aired in 2023. It's called Yohane of the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror. The fantasy designs for the nine members was originally posted in 2022 as an April Fools' joke, so fans were surprised when the fantasty anime was announced!
Aqours is featured in multiple video games, including Love Live! School Idol Festival (shut down), Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (shut down), Love Live! School Idol Festival 2 MIRACLE LIVE! (shut down), Love Live! School idol festival ~after school ACTIVITY~ (no more updates), Love Live! School idol festival ~after school ACTIVITY~ WaiWai! Home Meeting!!, Puchiguru Love Live! (shut down), Yohane the Parhelion -BLAZE in the DEEPBLUE-, and Yohane the Parhelion -NUMAZU in the MIRAGE-. Aqours has also collaborated with other games, such as Granblue Fantasy and Idoly Pride.
Music
Aqours has released over 100 songs so far, including sub unit songs and member solos.
There are multiple sub units within Aqours. AZALEA, which consists of Dia, Hanamaru, and Kanan; CYaRon!, which includes Chika, You, and Ruby; and Guilty Kiss, which has Mari, Riko, and Yoshiko, are the main 3 sub units. There is also YYY, a newer sub unit with Yoshiko, You, and Ruby.
As of April 2024... AZALEA, CYaRon!, and Guilty Kiss all have 3 singles and 1 album each. YYY has 1 single. I love them, but I am not counting how many total songs that is.
So far, each member has 3 solo songs. This makes 27 total solos. These solo songs are in albums along with solo versions of Aqours' songs.
Aqours currently (April 2024) has 37 singles and 3 albums. They have been releasing music since 2015! I am not counting all those songs.
My Favorites
My favorite member of Aqours is You, and my favorite sub unit is CYaRon!. The Love Live! franchise has many groups, but Aqours will always be my favorite. :)
Despite having a favorite member, I do still like all the girls! I know that Aqours would not be the same if they were missing a member. Each idol has their own unique talents and skills!
Picking a favorite Aqours song is tricky, since they're all so good! However I am a huge fan of Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM. I love the song itself, but also the outfits and the choreography too! A favorite CYaRon! song though? Or a favorite You solo song? That's impossible to choose!
Importance To Me
Shoutout to Love Live! and Aqours for getting me through middle and high school!
Middle school was rough. I lost my best friend and got bullied a lot. I was depressed and lonely. I somehow managed to find Love Live!, and I really liked it. Soon after I discovered the franchise... Aqours debuted!
I instantly fell in love with Aqours and the members! I don't know why I became so attatched to this new group, but I'm glad I did. Aqours had a rocky start, with a lot of people hating on them! People claimed that they were just μ's copycats. Thankfully, Aqours was able to overcome the hate and prove themselves to be talanted and unique!
Anyway, I became super attatched to my favorite member, You Watanabe. I looked up to her a lot! I saw her as sort of a big sister, and even had hallucinations of her. She was always there for me when I was feeling down, or if something scary happened. I had these hallucinations for years, but I don't have them anymore. I still really love You though!
Merch
I collect Aqours merch, mostly focusing on You Watanabe!
I have shirts, plushies, keychains, and more!
I plan to make a page showcasing some of my merch soon, so keep an eye out!
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Love Live! Sunshine!! is the best series in the Love Live! franchise, and Aqours is the best group in the franchise!
I really recommend checking out Love Live! if you like upbeat music, slice of life, silliness, and a little bit of drama. There's also a lot of cool outfit deisgns!