I know this movie had already been reviewed on the site by our good friend goodboy64 but he thought it would be a good idea for me to talk about it as well. So here is a second review of the Love Live Movie by yours truly.
Here are the reviews for the previous seasons and goodboy64’s movie review. The plot summary will contain spoilers because it takes place immediately after the last seconds of season 2’s finale.
Genres: Comedy, Music, Idols, School Life
Running Time: 99 Minutes.
G-Rating: 10/10
Plot Summary: Having decided to disband after the third years’ graduation, μ’s put those plans on hold when Hanayo got an unexpected email. What was the message? Thus began μ’s biggest and most likely last animated adventure.
I do not know how to review this movie in all honesty. I could sum it up by saying that it is a must watch for idol anime fans, especially μ’s fans and animeniacs who enjoyed the series but I will do my best to explain why.
What did Nico see that shocked her so?
As I mentioned a couple of times across social networks I am part of I am big μ’s fan so of course I felt sad that I was unable to watch the movie in theaters but after a long wait I finally got to see it and as the above paragraph made clear the wait was more than worth it. The movie delivered what I consider the best curtain call for an idol group I had seen to date. THIS is how a finale should be.
As far as the animation goes it came full circle. The 3D musical numbers never looked better and the girls never looked brighter. This is a movie that DEMANDS to be seen in 1080p and on a 4K LCD, especially the big numbers.
Will Umi FINALLY win?
The show was part fanservice that includes familiar jokes and memes made popular throughout the series but also gave every μ’s member their time in the spotlight, Umi in particular was on fire, through their personal developments, looking back to how far they had come and how much they had grown individually and as an idol group becoming the best of friends and finding their respective soul mates among each other. What made it special this time is how it was handled in the movie’s main dilemma. Last time it was about what μ’s meant to the group. This time the meaning they were looking for was far greater and that fact dawned on our heroines who each had their own soul searching to do regarding the group’s significance in time, space and reality. Oh and fans of a certain other idol group, rest assured they too got their time to shine.
The ships were strong in this movie.
Speaking of soul mates, the top ships each got their moment and shone as fans expected the couples would.
Before I noticed the red hair I seriously thought Pitbull made a surprise appearance.
Overall, Love Live! The School Idol Movie is a curtain call more than worthy of μ’s. Everything about it felt large scale as far as idol series go and it made me smile a smile worthy of a high school student picture album. My face looked THAT goofy. Once again it is a must watch for μ’s fans who had yet to pick it up and animeniacs who enjoyed the series will find something to like in the movie as well. Of course this is just my opinion. I cannot say every μ’s fan will love it but I am confident many will.
Now we patiently await the Aqours era to begin once the Love Live! Sunshine anime eventually premieres.
PS: This movie made me want a Mama Live! OVA more than ever.
The Yuri Empire 
I’m so glad you got a chance to sit down and review this! Even more glad that you enjoyed it just as much as I did.
Good thing you were able to grab some screenshots for the review, which I lacked since I watched it in the theater.
It’s sad to see the nine main girls go, but like what said in my review, I’m looking forward to Aqour’s growth as well.
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Oh yeah. I forgot to add my hype for Love Live! Sunshine at the end.
Added.
Yup. So many great moments that I only used the most tempting of teaser images.
Muse will live on in our hearts. Let us patiently await Aqours’ anime debut and welcome them wholeheartedly.
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Goddammit, I have a final exam tomorrow.
Why did I have to see your review now, close to midnight? Oh well I guess I can retake that exam later, gotta set priorities!
Love Live movie here I come! 😀
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Trust me. I’ve been where you are now and I recommend saving it till after exams.
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All I want to know: Any good Eli/Nozomi moments?
Never mind…I will watch it anyway…5 times…at the same day!
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You’ll have to see for yourself. It’s worth it.
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Lesson learned: Do not watch anime movies in theaters
Moving forward….Now that I got a second chance to watch it without annoying teenagers/etc….I FREAKIN LOVED IT T_T
The movie was an entirely different experience for me. From start to finish I barely had a moment where tears weren’t coming out of my eyes…whether out of happiness or sadness. It was just THAT GOOD
It was like the finale of season 2…for AN HOUR AND HALF
I just….I just….Love Live is just way too good ;_;
I’m definitely gonna miss Muse, but I’m very happy they concluded things so nicely. I look very much forward to Aqors now~
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Again unfortunate you did not get to see it with a favorable crowd that day.
Other than that not much I can add. wholeheartedly agree with everything you said.
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While I won’t read the review as I don’t want to spoil it since I ordered the Blu-rays with a portable Blu-Ray drive, but hopefully it will be a nice conclusion to the whole group considering that they will disband in April after the final live.
I will write my own review on it once I watch it, after the Blu-rays arrive, which is probably early January.
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Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
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Just watched this last night and I was am still glowing from it (tears almost came at the end). Fantastic movie, though miss secret special sort of made me feel kinda sad when I realized who she is and what she said when we first see her.
Super psyched for sunshine.
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It was a glorious film.
It was an eye opening moment.
Same here. Pumped for Aqours’ anime debut when it happens.
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I loved every second of the movie. Poor Umi couldn’t catch a break in America.
Also we need more Muse Mamas. We saw Hanayo, Rin, and Umi’s moms we need to make this happen! Eli’s mom and Nozomi’s mom are still unrevealed! I need it! Muse Mamas!
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Poor Umi. Such an innocent and unfortunate soul.
Exactly. Mama Live! OVA NEEDS TO HAPPEN!
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Not to be a dream crusher, but the likelihood of anything else to do with muse in any way is very very low. As the VAs are all splitting up and going their own paths, and will be no longer contracted after that final live. And, I’m certain that Sunrise will be putting all their focus on Aqours from here on out. This really was the end of Muse.
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We know that but why did you have to state the obvious and pointlessly crush our dreams?
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現実を目を覚めせ！ that sort of thing is why. Reality is important to face.And some might not realize the implications of what’s happening. I didn’t really until someone else explained it to me like that.
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@Cytrus
I know. But you can’t edit posts, and eventually you can’t even reply to your own posts once it gets nested enough, so I couldn’t correct it.
WordPress seriously needs an edit feature….
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現実を目を覚めせ！
–>現実に目を覚ませ！
You’ll almost never see a wo/wo structure in Japanese, except for some nested sentences. And “sameru” is the intransitive verb (often used with “ga”), so you’re looking for the “samasu” variant here.
Don’t mind me, though.
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Not that much of a Muse fan, but I had the opportunity to watch this in cinema and liked it well enough. Can’t deny that everything builds up nicely for that last performance.
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For a non-Muse fan to say they kinda liked the movie, that’s good enough.
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For idols shows I’ve watched:
Original Idolmaster >= AKB0048 > Love Live > Idolmaster Cinderella >> WUG
For LL, I think the main appeal lies in the fact the various characteristics of the girls are spread out so that any viewer will find somebody they can empathize with, /and/ the positive qualities of those characters are all shown as indispensable for the ultimate success of the group while their shortcomings are shown as something that can be overcome or balanced with some support from others. This makes for a very optimistic show which leaves every viewer reaffirmed at the end.
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My least favorites are OG and 0048.
Pretty much. I don’t bother thinking about what makes a group popular. It’s one of those “If it clicks with me”, which is why I really liked CG, WUG and Muse instead of just liked.
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A mirror match, huh xD?
I think “feeling” and “thinking over” aren’t mutually exclusive at all if you see it all as part of a soul-searching process :P.
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Something like that. Basically the groups I really like I like all the members and don’t see some of them as “being there”.
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Oh my god, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much during this movie. And so many tears, my goodness. Spot-on review! A worthy ending for the girls. They will be missed.
Nico Nii for life!
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I know how you felt. That was a wonderful feeling.
Nico is loved by many a Muse fan.
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I’m about 99% certain that the singer Honoka met was actually Honoka from the future to once again see μ’s performing together again.
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I have my own theories that it’s not actually future Honoka or any time traveler, but a sort of “imaginary friend” that Honoka created. And if it IS a time traveler, than it being her sister is much more likely. If you look, the hair color matches her sister’s, and the eye is shaped more like her sister’s.
Still, I maintain it’s not Honoka, as, besides the large physical differences, her mannerisms were very off.
At the very least, I’ll agree that Honoka has access to something beyond human comprehension.
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That’s because Honoka is the closest one to having divine powers like Nozomi.
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Maybe her sister, but Honoka outshines her so much that I often forget she exists…
Though it is still possible it could be Honoka, people do change as they get older, even their mannerisms.
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Let’s just agree Honoka has divine powers and her subconsciously summoning her future self creating a subconscious construct is possible for her.
Oh and don’t belittle Yukiho.
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They do, but things like the face, don’t really. Course, most people don’t realize that faces don’t really change as someone gets older.
I still think it’s a rather big stretch. Also, if it were time traveler honoka, why were only certain people able to see her or even be aware of her existence? Recall that the rest of muse didn’t see her when she was standing right next to Honoka, and they were staring at Honoka.
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In my defence I often forget some members of my immediate family exist…
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Either one’s fine by me, Future or Dream Honoka.
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When I first got wind of it coming to U.S. theaters, I really wanted to watch it there. I went to the Madoka screening in Dallas and enjoyed it, so was expecting a great experience again. But I forgot to keep checking for the showing date, and ended up missing the one-day only event. By the time review posts popped up on blogs it was already too late. I’m still kicking myself over it!
Anyway I finally got my hands on it, and marathoned the second season in preparation for this monumental occasion. Yeah it was definitely 10/10 worthy! The production value was top notch, and the story is sad and heart-warming at the same time. The following is my “shipping chart” XD
NicoMaki
Honoka x Kotori
Eli x Nozomi
Rin x Hanayo
and for the juniors, Yukiho x Alisa
(I’m really sorry Umi, but if threesome’s allowed I’ll definitely ship you with Honoka x Kotori x Umi 😛 )
By the way I’m also one of those “fans of a certain other idol group”. Yup I’ve been captivated by Tsubasa even since she first appeared in front of μ’s and swept Honoka off her feet. Her piercing green eyes are absolutely mesmerizing! ❤ I’ve been paying extra attention throughout the anime seasons and this movie, and I can now confidently pronounce that every single scene A-RISE has been in is meaningful to the story and to μ’s growth as a group as well. What a splendidly crafted anime character if there ever is one, I say!
Overall, Love Live has been a wonderful viewing experience for me, and this movie is the crowning jewel to top it off. Love it!
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