Time for a new ANN editorial! I’m diving into Love Live this time, talking about the specific and very noteworthy strengths that make this show so compelling. Love Live embodies a fair number of the qualities that make anime appealing as a medium in general, so I was happy to have a chance to discuss some of its major accomplishments. I could easily talk about camp or communal engagement for far longer than one editorial (and I have before), but for now, I’m happy to have a semi-reasonable excuse to write the phrase “Nico and Maki’s potato marriage” in a critical context. ANYWAY!
The Secret of Love Live’s Success
Really great article! I have to admit that I didn’t really “feel” Love Live until Sunshine: as soon as the first two seasons found their stride in balancing comedy with character drama, they were interrupted by the somewhat unconvincing major dramatic arcs. I feel like Sunshine has isolated the best elements of the original series and expanded on them pretty effectively. It’s a shame that some people haven’t warmed up to the new cast.