The Rise and Fall of Kanon Shibuya; Love Live's Superstar
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Was trying a new mic and needed to get this out today, future videos will not have the quiet audio/background noise issues or the amount of vtuber b-roll this one does I promise
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Lol. The Kanon fall off as Mary Sue is she doesn't read contracts and the group was almost scammed by Natsumi. Sumire was the savior at that episode. XD
Great analysis. This video made me realize that what makes Superstar!! fall flat for me; the fact that it's Kanon's story and not the group's.
Love Live! has always been about the group's story. Nine normal girls become incredible idols. SIP is Muse's story, Sunshine!! is Aqours' story, the NijiAnime is Nijigasaki's story... but Superstar!! is Kanon's story, not so much Liella!'s. It's so weird, especially when Nijigasaki isn't even meant to be a group but rather, solo idols in the same club, yet they feel like a more cohesive group.
I'm deep into the Love Live! rabbithole, so I still love Liella!, but it very much is because of the voice actresses (shout out to Kumachan, we love a weirdo knowing she is one) and not so much the characters. I honestly cannot forgive the questionable writing decisions in Superstar!! (even in season 1, where there are only 5 members) when season 1 of Sunshine!! developed all 9 girls fantastically, even when Ruby and Hanamaru share an episode and Dia didn't get one (but you can very much see her develop throughout the season). T̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶s̶e̶a̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶2̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶S̶u̶n̶s̶h̶i̶n̶e̶!̶!̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶r̶e̶d̶i̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶f̶u̶m̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶p̶i̶c̶.̶
To me, the single main character approach just does not work in Love Live!, not even from a capitalistic perspective. All girls being loved leads to more sales, a single one getting the attention while the other ones aren't as good or popular would just overall reduce sales, I think, especially when that popular character's items go out of stock. This should be obvious by the fact Niji remains the strongest group in Love Live! even now. Group has 12(+1) girls, all of them have gotten episodes in the anime (even if Kasumi and Setsuna's initial argument in season 1 is incredibly stupid, both Niji seasons overall are pretty solid).
It also doesn't help Sunny Passion just feels kind of whatever when compared to A-RISE, Saint Snow and Lanzhu.
I also want to compare this with something that might seem unrelated to my thoughts on Superstar!!: The Ensemble Stars!!'s Main Story. It's unnecessarily long while still feeling rushed, it's weirdly paced, it probably was like 5 episodes long in the anime, it's an actual 4/10- and yet, it's so charming and even gives us time for us to see the rival unit's side of things (because the actual unit that's supposed to be the big bad might as well not be there). It also has the charm of being 11 and just writing whatever comes to mind and being like "this is my cool plot with my cool characters and they win everything and they're the best". Reading "season 2" of that story, you can definitely see an increase in the quality of the writing.
Point is... even in the midst of bad writing, I'm feeling a lack of charm in Superstar!!? (Though I also think Nijigasaki is not as charming as SIP and Sunshine!! are, but Niji is very good overall). I'm still in the process of reading Hasu's story, but I can already see why Hasu is so well liked; it focuses carefully in all its members.
Though this may seem like an overall negative comment towards Superstar!!, I don't mean it that way, it's just incredibly frustrating to see the writers fumble one of the core things that make the franchise so loved. Love Live! would never be where it has managed to reach if it weren't because everyone in the group is so incredibly loved, Muse and Aqours being the main examples of that.
Another thing (not related to my thoughts on the anime anymore) I'd like to add is that I think Superstar!! not having been involved prominently in a Love Live! game does hurt the bigger popularity Liella! could have. Muse were the OGs in SIF, by the time I started playing SIF around 2015-2017 Aqours had already been added to SIF, and needless to say, they were implemented well, Niji had their own game, Hasu has their own game... Liella! is missing out. SIF2 could have been a good game to let them grow further... if the game had been better (Love Live!, how the hell do you think of releasing an anime-rhythm game with gacha that doesn't have an interactive map or at least a decorative space where the idols can interact in this age?)
Love Live!, as in, the companies involved in the Love Live! project, should begin to understand that they need to do something major unusual for the franchise for things to go upwards.
Have not watched MyGO!!! yet, but I think it got so popular because the themes seem to be more serious when compared to the in-game stories in the Bandori game.
Project Sekai, which started as a side project for the company behind BanG Dream, has been incredibly popular for a while now and one of the main reasons is Mizuki alone, a queer character. Also, iirc, the rights to BanG Dream where given to another company, AKA Project Sekai has gotten so big they don't have the need to maintain BanG Dream anymore.
I really hope Love Live! takes an even riskier gamble than Hasunosora was. Introducing a CANONICALLY queer character would be great (me when money-hungry companies ignore terminally online Twitter users, not introducing a trans girl to Love Live! just feels like they do not want to become more popular. I've seen JAPANESE PEOPLE talk very excitedly about the possibility of Mizuki coming out in their/her next event. JAPANESE "conservative society" PEOPLE.)
I'm sorry for the longass yapping, I just really love Love Live! and want to see it become better and more popular if they do something new (so they know they're doing something well), maybe even somehow have the popularity it had in like 2018 (who am I kidding, that would be the equivalent of Project Sekai's popularity nowadays lol). Great video as always and I'm already excited to see the analysis videos for season 3. Even if I myself don't enjoy Superstar!! as much, I do enjoy listening to/reading other's people's opinions on stuff I don't like as much to compare it to my own thoughts and review things I might have missed. This video actually made me want to rewatch Superstar!! as a whole, haha.
3:37 "In any other show, she'd be a love interest" oh maybe that's why I'm obsessed with KuuKaa LOL
Great video! It was very interesting to see your take on the whole Kanon discussion. Kanon is still one of my favorite characters from Superstar and I'm glad this video can show so much of the good of her character. Let's hope for a great season 3!
on the point of kanon being a nicey nice two shoes in season 2, while i do think they show her to still have flaws and struggles, my personal issues with her writing and why i still feel like she comes off a bit too perfect now ultimately comes down to characterization.
i still really like kanon and think she’s interesting on paper, but i think she honestly wouldve stuck a bit more for me if her general demeanor was a bit less consistently always nice and calm and if we maybe got a bit more edge from her if that makes sense? like again she has clear flaws but she doesnt feel as human or unique as she quite could because i feel like the writers were scared to make her more of a Failgirl lol.
tl;dr we needed more grumpy glasses-and-bun kanon
Awesome analysis Aqua! Yeah it can suck trying cram as many people into main roles, hopefully Lovelife can pull itself back up again.
This one is quite personal to me because Kanon is my absolute favourite character in the entire franchise, and admittedly, a lot of it is a result of her increased screentime allowing her to be more dynamic and multifaceted compared to the many Love Live characters that get one or two focus episodes and end up defined primarily by their character archetype. On my initial predictions list of which Superstar characters I'd like, I thought she'd be pretty low, but she genuinely surprised me. This girl, who initially stood still because she was afraid of failure, but who became so determined to overcome her own character flaws because she cared about other people that much. This girl, who in one scene is a crybaby afraid of a cute dress, yet in another scene perfectly and confidently manages to comfort Chisato even after getting initially rejected after a 12 hour boat trip with a big performance the next day, that was actually pretty inspirational to me. I actually noticed myself becoming more confident and willing to not hold back on trying new things after seeing her Season 1 character arc conclude while realizing like her, that while I was a pretty flawed person, that wasn't all I was.
And while she took a lot of screentime in S1, her relationships still felt mutual. Everyone grew and overcame their anxieties together, and when her arc concluded at the end of Episode 11, it felt like she now saw the girl that everyone she helped and got help from along the way saw (it helped that the BGM framed it like a long journey's end from an adventure anime). It was where all the many pieces of the puzzle from her 10 episode arc came together in a beautiful way.
Unfortunately, yeah, with S2 she ended up becoming the scapegoat for the season's messy writing just as Ren was for S1. I think the issues with her study abroad plot especially were that it felt like the show was rewarding her as an individual while glossing over the accomplishments of Liella as a whole, and this was reinforced by the entire season thematically building up to winning Love Live, but that subplot making the actual victory feel like an afterthought. It's hard to shake the impression of the writers stealing everyone's glory and giving it to Kanon, and it's telling that online polls showed many people were actually okay with the season until the Natsumi arc and these last two episodes. I feel like they intended to cap off her story with her going to Vienna, but maybe they weren't sure if they would get a S3 so they abruptly forced it in until they realized the show was continuing and backtracked? I don't know; I hope we get a Wha Happun? behind the scenes someday.
In the end, Kanon will always be defined by her S1 story for me, and even a mediocre S2 doesn't take away from that. I'm glad you pointed out that everyone's character arcs were half baked in S2 while Kanon just happened to be the most visible character to blame for it. I'm hoping S3 can somehow leave a better lasting impression.
She's still my favorite 👍🏾
Honestly, I still like Kanon, as the mc. Also, please don't let the early episodes of season 1 be the only ones that give Keke focus, there's still family drama to explpore.
On a different note, I didn't find Kanon had to much screen time, I see it more season 2 needed more episodes to actually cook. Like a 26 episode run would have probably done wonders, cause 26 is better for expanding a cast of 9 instead of 13 for a cast of 9. Basically cause I frustations of the writers just not following through on ideas. I still much dislike, only Sumire reacts to Keke possibly leaving, and nothing from Kanon, Ren and Chisato. Also if Kanon had been a spotlight hog, it would be her we have crying over Keke possibly being taken away, not Sumire.
So Kanon not really a spotlight hog.
And you said Keke would seem like a love interest in other series, but I find Kanon basically has subtext with everyone except Shiki by end of season 2, so not really Keke's position.
So about this Keke backlash, do go on. You only got 2 more of gen 1 of Liella to talk about to complete the set, go on complete. :p
For the record Wien is pronounced "Ween", as she's named after the Austrian city of Vienna which is pronounced as such natively.
As for the essay, I really do enjoy hearing this perspective on her. I never thought I'd hear someone provide any defense for the season 2 ending arc in any capacity, but I do get where you're coming from about it fitting her character's arc. My issue is that if they intended there to be a season 3, this arc was never meant to be a conclusion in any capacity which makes the idea of Kanon leaving an impossibility from the very getgo. I get the idea of Kanon leaving to follow her dreams, but I never got the feeling prior to Chisato being like "but this is what you've wanted to do all your life, this is your big chance!" that this was something Kanon was genuinely considering. If she was conflicted prior, I wish the show made that readily more apparent. I also have to disagree about the Natsumi recruitment being good for Kanon. I like that Kinako was the one getting involved with Natsumi as the one Kanon was primarily focused on passing the torch along to, especially given the themes of Love Live. The idea of people being better and stronger when they connect is something I've seen present in every Love Live story, and with the Superstar generations, they have a chance to show a passing of the torch from generation to generation. Kanon inspiring Kinako leading to Kinako inspiring Natsumi in turn could've been one of THE BEST SCENES in the entire series in my opinion.
Anyway, ramble over, awesome job on this video, I really enjoyed it! :)
@@ghostvalkyrie5054 will fix her name pronunciation in future thanks for the info lol ^^
Should say I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, I don’t know if I articulated it well in the video but I was mainly looking at things here from a “ok if this is Kanon’s story what were they trying to do” angle. Honestly while I *get* what they were going for with Natsumi and the ending arc I don’t think either were done well for what you said
I think in Season 3 they’re 100% going to try and actually give Kinako that moment and it’s going to fall flat because they wasted it the first time. I used to be a RWBY fan and that show was entirely “here’s shit we should have done like 3 seasons ago but wasted” and it’s a big part of why I stopped caring. Like I think there’s a difference between “this was planned set up and pay off” and “uh we should have done this but didn’t so now we’re doing it because people are complaining because our writing is shit”
I don’t know if I said it well but I think what you said, with the ending arc being pointless because it was clearly never going to be an ending is honestly my biggest problem. I think if they fleshed it out and actually committed to Kanon leaving and let the status quo chang3 it would have fixed a lot of these problems, hell even if they didn’t build up to it better I think it would
Kinako not getting the moment with Natsumi would annoy people still but I genuinely think it would make it good pay off if it was instead a building block to her doing it after Kanon is gone, maybe not the best, still would get why it would annoy some, but at least it would feel like, a story I guess? An arc? She isn’t able to do it the first time but in the absence of the one who did it before she grows to be able to it’d be like, a story at least? Whereas now it’s just, nothing. It’s not going to be as impactful as it could have been if the committed to it the first time like you said because nothing has changed
In hindsight them not committing to Kanon leaving is my biggest problem with season 2, I think a lot of its problems are lessened if they did that if that makes sense? The POINT of a season 3 would be the group needing to function without their ace, both in talent and emotional support and I think that would make a compelling story but they introduce the idea hastily and spend the whole last episode teasing it before throwing it away and like, idk
A lot of the stuff I talk about, and I tried to make this clear in the video but I think I kinda failed, I think works with the idea that she left in the end, I certainly think it was still flawed, like seriously they should have introduced the school thing before halfway through the 11th episode and had her seem like she cared more than “well this is an opportunity I guess?”
But I think flawed stuff like Kinako and Chisato getting overshadowed by her genuinely could have worked if it *was* part of a larger story. Once she’s gone they’re the ones that need to step up, and I think they still could have had the impact you mentioned
But love live can never change its status quo so
Yeah here we are
I knew they were never going to commit to the idea and the whole last episode any enjoyment I could have had was ruined because I was just waiting for them to drop the act, but the whole time between when the two eps first aired my mind was going “wait if they commit to this and still do a season 3 keeping this change that would work so well though” and like yeah
I’m probably articulating awfully I’m sorry
@@AquaMarina369 one of these days I’m going to talk about Love Live as an idol property and what that means for its storytelling, cause I rarely see that discussed in context of Love Live. I think it’d make a great video essay
@@ghostvalkyrie5054 you should! It’s something I try to cover a lot
Ultimately I feel like the needs of being an ad for idol groups holds most of the shows back, they can never commit really to anything outside a specifically mandated status quo and I think stuff like this shows where the series really struggles with it
Idk if I’ll make it but I’ve been ruminating on the idea of a video about the Superstar 2 finale and how rather than my opinion improving overtime on the season like I’d hoped it’s just gotten worse
It’s an awful episode that exists solely to build up to the shock value of the cliffhanger ending, but said ending is not a shock whatsoever because anyone with a vague idea of what these shows are would know they’d never actually be allowed to have a status quo change like Kanon leaving, no matter how much it would fit and benefit the character and story
Rambling but I’d love to see that, it’s honestly something that’s bothered me a lot about the franchise. None of the shows, even the ones I like, ever feel like they can reach their full potential because of what they have to be
Like I love SIP and it’s my favorite love live show and the one I think works the best but it’s REALLY obvious by the movie they’re struggling to work within the confines of what the franchise allows. That movie SCREAMS like it was conceptualized with a time skip in mind, even of just a couple months. But they were very clearly not allowed to show any of the characters in college/after high school so instead it’s just a story of “do we go back on this decision from a week ago” which even the characters admit they knew they were never going to lol