Love Live! Superstar!! 2.1: The New Quartet

The wait for Liella’s return wasn’t long but it certainly felt like it. Let us rejoice for they have at last returned!

We joined our heroines ready for the new school year and something equally important, training to win the next Love Live tournament. During training Keke saw they got more followers on Twitter. Some thought it’s thanks to their awesomeness but Kanon said it’s because Sunny Passion name dropped them in an interview as worthy raivarus. She’s laser focused on leading Liella to victory next tournament.

In a scene served to remind fans there’s unfinished business Sumire asked Keke about her family dilemma and returning to Shanghai to which she didn’t say much but had her not tell the others.

It’s time to meet the star of the episode. The first of the new quartet, Kinako Sakurakoji. She’s a country girl lost in Tokyo in search of the dormitory she’d stay at but no luck. Eventually she found her way to Yu(r)igaoka Academy.

As she admired the school she heard weird gushing noises nearby that came from the second cutie (Someone my main homie was super excited to see), Mei Yoneme. She heard Liella practice on the roof and was close to drooling until Kinako spotted her and she went into tsundere mode storming off.

Kinako felt she had to follow the voices to their source. Once there our heroines wept tears of joy thinking they found a new member but alas she only came to ask for directions to her dorm. Kanon volunteered.

Kanon relishing her glorious new status as Kanon-Senpai.

Kanon invited Kinako to her place for a snack when she asked about school idols. Kanon hyped up how incredible they were and invited her to join the club if interested.

REN MASTERED THE WEBCAM! So proud of best girl!

Talking to Kinako got Kanon thinking. Maybe instead of going for gold with five members Liella could invite freshmen to join them. That way they could improve the bond between school idols and the Yu(r)igaoka students.

The next day Liella were overwhelmed by fangirl freshmen but the main focus of the scene was the third new girl, Natsumi Onitsuka, who was streaming for her web show when a curious Kinako just so happened to get in the shot. She invited her to check out her show and more importantly donate Superchats.

Finally my #1 hype girl of the quartet, Shiki Wakana, appeared sitting next to Mei claiming it was a coincidence they’re seated next to each other. Looking forward to learning more about their relationship.

Back to our heroines they hoped having so many fans among the freshmen would lead to new members joining but no luck. Keke thought it’s Sumire’s fault but actually they were intimidated by Liella’s awesomeness. They nearly won Love Live last year so newbies with little to no experience being school idols would only hold them back. Think about it. In Nijigasaki 2 the new trio all had some musical or school idol experience. This new foursome on the other hand? Kinako’s new to school idols, Mei’s a grumpy fangirl, Shiki as we’ll soon see has potential physically but that’s it and we don’t know if Natsumi’s into them.

Our heroines discussed the gap between their skill level and the freshmen. Chisato wondered whether it’s worth recruiting new members while Sumire reminded them of what school idols were really about. Kanon got good advice from her sister to tell new girls about her own experience becoming a school idol. That’s what happened later when meeting Kinako. She invited her to watch their practice show.

The next day Kinako thought about going to the show but was still nervous when she again got in the way of Natsumi’s streaming. She asked her what would someone do if they thought they didn’t have what it took to achieve something. Natsumi said “If you think you’re not good at it, drop it. But better to see for yourself then not try at all”. Suddenly a wild Dr Shiki appeared giving us a preview of her big brain and stamina as she took Kinako to the roof. I think she noticed Mei’s concern for Kinako and took action on her behalf. Maybe not but we’ll see.

Unsurprisingly Kinako’s blown away by Liella’s excellence and became a trial member. We’ll see how she does next time.

Excellent premiere as expected.