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Like how the wider society used to judge anime fans as nerds that like obscure Chinese cartoons, the wider anime community looks at Love Live! fans and idol fans alike with the same weird gaze. There’s this stigma of “I’m not one of those idol weebs”, but I reckon this too will soon fall to the wayside, as the quality of idol shows becomes harder and harder to gloss over.

I was one of the doubters before watching Love Live! Superstar!!, and the only reason I started it was because of a clip of Tang Ke Ke’s tantrum. The irony of a Chinese heroine requesting freedom from a Japanese school is something I just cannot miss. And I’m glad something silly like that had gotten me to watching this show, because nothing else would’ve otherwise.

Tang Ke Ke’s antics aside, the characterisation of the cast in Superstar!! is incredible. Having only five instead of the usual nine members in the group is certainly a fine change. It goes without saying with less characters, the show gets to allocate more time and go into more depth with each of them. I’ d love to give examples, but going into detail about how memorable and strong everyone’s situations or personalities are would be no different from spoiling the whole show for you.

Now this is where my inexperience comes back to bite me: I have only ever watched the OG Love Live!, and I haven’t even finished it. So people can point out how Superstar!!’s story is “repetitive” and the only reason why I don’t find it tiring to watch. And they have every reason to believe so: three out of the four school idol groups from the Love Live! had the goal of preventing their school from shutting down.

The other thing that people always bring up without fail is how the story is predictable, and it’s no exception in Superstar!!. But these holes in these arguments are easy to spot, even with my untrained eyes regarding this genre. Love Live! isn’t here to serve you a unicorn narrative, it’s to entertain you with just enough novelty with new characters while retaining as much familiarity in the story as they can. It’s kind of like fast food chains if you will, you go there because of the predictability and consistency, but there’s always enough variety so you don’t get the same things every time. It shouldn’t be a secret that people can find comfort in that.

It’s not like nothing is fresh story-wise. The way that Hazuki joined Liella!, although unassuming, is unlike anything that came before. Her reasons were presented in a eureka moment that juxtaposes her perviously established character; it’s subtly hinted at and built up to that moment. Tang’s personal struggles are the most relatable thing you could ever imagine; you would know if you live with Asian parents. Obviously these will not be the most mind blowing thing you have ever seen, but its still a breath of fresh air in the formulaic idol genre. Even the most stubborn fast food chains should change up their menu once every few years. (Okay I will stop with the fast food analogies)

With eleven years worth of experience and three different installments of Love Live! under their belt, Kadokawa, Lantis, and Sunrise better spice things up a notch. And they didn’t disappoint, delivering us the best rendition of the idol’s road to prominence narrative through Superstar!!. Character motivations for joining are much clearer and make much more sense, the group felt like it took serious effort (and luck) to build. The point of conflict in the series is also an organic result of the group member’s insecurities, rather than something that is derived from an external plot device. These improvements are, again, only possible because of the extra time granted by reducing the number of members in the group.

The things I have said above might well be controversial, point granted, but I believe anyone with a pair of well-functioning eyes will see the amazing animation displayed here. Sunrise has clearly improved over the years, not only in animation, but also in choreography. It’s no exaggeration that Superstar!!’s 3D animation is the best I have seen to date: the eye-catching dances, the smooth transitions from 2D to 3D, the small attention to details on matters of continuity, they really have it all. You may point towards ufotable or studio Orange, come back to me again when they have their demons or anthropomorphic animals do idol dances on stage. I know I am rambling at this point but I cannot get over how expressive the 3D models have become and how well choreographed the dances are. To those who are curious which performance is my favourite, it’s the one where they sang “Wish Song”, by a mile.

I’ve been singing (haha) praises for Superstar!! for a while now, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you with a straight face that it’s perfect. When thinking about its faults, two distinct scenes come to mind:

First one is where Hazuki is giving her speech when the whole Liella! squad interrupted her to try to convince her that “this idol thing really is great, trust us”; it was awkward, drawn out, and overdramatic for my tastes.

The second is rather minor, but it’s also so stupid I don’t know why it was even made in the first place. Let me elaborate with as little spoilers as possible. Through certain circumstances, Tang wants to give Sumire a crown as costume for their next performance. She is conflicted to accept it because of reasons, before she can decide, a strong breeze had blown the crown out of Tang’s hand and sent it flying. Sumire follows it, running and falling into a bush before finally catching the crown, accepting it. Yes, a metal crown was sent flying by wind to dramatise this scene. Trust me, this doesn’t get better with context and is as bland as my words described.

I know that some suspension of disbelief is granted with these kinds of shows, but the end product is not good enough to justify these inconsistencies. If they would stop relying on it, I bet Love Live! as a series, not just Superstar!!, would reach a wider audience.

Regardless, Love Live! Superstar!! is no doubt the most ambitious of its kind since Bokura no Live Kimi to no Life. It made so many steps in the right direction for the controversial genre that is idol anime. Love Live! has been huge in Japan ever since its release in 2013, and I reckon future generations would point back to Superstar!! for being the start of the idol praise for anime fans in western hemisphere.