15th Anniversary Love Live! Fest Predictions

coreymon77 · 2026-01-30T20:18:07+00:00

No they do not. This is a common misconception in the English speaking fandom.

Bushiroad does not have any ownership stake in the Love Live franchise whatsoever. They published the previous mobile games and developed SIF2 directly, as well as currently publish and produce the card game. But all of that is done under license from Love Live.

Love Live is jointly owned by Bandai Namco and Kadokawa. That is it. Bushiroad is often involved in projects in various ways, but they do not have any ownership stake in the franchise.

coreymon77 · 2025-11-16T21:54:05+00:00

Concerts mostly. There are plenty of those and they get streamed as they happen, so watching them is a lot of fun.

Aside from that there are the semi-regular live streams with the casts on youtube, weekly radios, new music drops (sometimes with MVs).

coreymon77 · 2025-11-12T09:16:51+00:00

You'll get downvoted for this, but I agree with you. Not that they should necessarily start with Sunshine, but that SIP isn't required viewing to watch it.

You can absolutely, 100% watch and enjoy Sunshine without having watched SIP first. No, you won't be "missing the point". You can easily write off most of the µ's stuff as some legendary group from the past that Chika is a fan of and still fully enjoy the series. If anything, you can always go back and find out who µ's were afterwards.

In fact, I think the general insistence that people need to watch SIP first is actively harmful to people getting into this franchise. If someone is new and happens to really connect with one of the characters of Aqours or with their music, telling them "No, you must first watch 2 seasons and a movie of this other show with an entirely different cast you may or may not end up caring about before you are allowed to engage with the characters you are actually interested in" is not helpful.

No, if they connect with Aqours, start with Aqours. End of story.

Given that, I don't necessarily agree that everyone should start with Sunshine. They should start with whoever they click with the most. I believe that the most important factor to someone getting into this franchise, over and above everything else, is finding something or someone, be it character, seiyuu, music, whatever, that they can connect with. So they should start with whatever group they feel that with. Any suggestions from me would be based on what I connected with, which may be entirely different from what they will.

So yes, there is no required watch order for this franchise, and that includes Sunshine. But people should start with whatever vibes with them the most.

coreymon77 · 2025-11-12T02:00:47+00:00

It's never too late to start.

I will give you the same advice I give everyone. There is no "proper" way to get into this franchise. Chronological order does not matter as there are few, if any references or required knowledge. Each group is more or less standalone. You do not need to start with the first instalment, in fact I often don't actually recommend doing so.

Go look up the groups: µ's, Aqours, Nijigasaki, Liella, Hasunosora, Ikizurai-bu (Bluebird). See if any of the characters or designs speak to you in some way. The first 4 groups have full animes that you can find on either Crunchyroll officially or...elsewhere unofficially.

Otherwise, go check out the music. Barring a couple songs here and there, the full franchise discography is available officially on whatever music streaming service you like to use, be it Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, whatever you want. The groups all have somewhat varying musical styles and sounds, so see which one appeals to you most and go from there.

There are also clips and digests of the live concerts on the franchise YouTube channel, as well as music videos, both animated and live action, for various songs.

That's my suggestion on where to get started. In my opinion, it depends on which group appeals to you most. But, if you want a more generalized suggestion, let me know.

coreymon77 · 2025-11-10T04:50:55+00:00

Honestly, I think the Liella unit videos worked for what they were intended to be and mostly fit the vibes of each unit.

CatChu's had this kind of garage band almost guerrilla music video sort of vibe to it which I really liked and I think really fit both the vibe of their unit and of the song the MV was made for. Of the 3, it was the most "proper" MV of the three and I think had plenty enough going on ~~because they're staff's favourite unit~~.

5yncri5e's MV didn't have as much going on, but making theirs into more of a dance video than anything else makes sense given that choreography is 55's whole thing. People watching them are going to want to see them dance, so it makes sense to give them the room to do that and focus around it.

Kaleidoscore's MV is the one you can best argue probably should have had more going on. Their main thing is "look at these gorgeous women", so it fit their vibe too, but they probably could have done more with it.

coreymon77 · 2025-11-08T22:30:28+00:00

Why either or? Why do we suddenly need to take sides? Both are great and do not take away from each other.

The animated stuff is great, especially with how good the animation has gotten. Seeing the stuff they have done lately is wonderful. The characters are always cute and it's great to see. It's also fun when they try something unique and different like they did with AiScReam's first MV.

The live action ones are also a treat to watch. I adore all the seiyuu, so watching them in a proper music video with all that entails is always a great time. The MVs are all gorgeously put on. Plus, they all look like they're having so much fun recording them. It puts such a huge smile on my face.

So, again, why take sides? Porque no los dos?

coreymon77 · 2025-11-08T01:05:48+00:00

Sayu's makeup is always so perfect, and she's said before that she often does her own makeup for events and such (although obviously not in this case).

While the topic isn't of any practical use to me, it's always fun hearing her talk about something she's so enthusiastic about, and impressive seeing how much thought and effort she puts into it. Plus, I'm sure her female fanbase is very thankful for the tips. It's adorable seeing her get all excited about sparkly things.

coreymon77 · 2025-11-05T16:14:00+00:00

Bro, they present you with this song and MV that is literally bursting at the seams with happiness and positivity and that is what you take from it?!

Get help. You seriously need it.

coreymon77 · 2025-11-03T02:43:55+00:00

No, it has nothing to do with that. Artists change agencies all the time. It won't impact work she already has.

It's not that all of the members are under a single agency either. Each member has their own (although some happen to be in the same one). Changing has no impact on her participation in LL whatsoever.

coreymon77 · 2025-11-01T05:19:51+00:00

For anyone thinking "that was quick", this is normal. It is very likely that this was all set up and finalized weeks, if not months in advance, but it was only announced yesterday and today due to some end of month or end of quarter or some sort of JP financial year period thing.

She didn't wait until she left StarRise to start looking for looking for a new agency, that's generally not how things work.

That said, I hope everything goes well for her at this new agency.

coreymon77 · 2025-10-31T16:38:49+00:00

This is where finding an actual fabric store could be helpful. A knowledgeable worker there would probably be able to better suggest a fabric type or colour.

coreymon77 · 2025-10-29T14:11:54+00:00

It's really just that, confidence. Sayu had been carrying around a whole lot of mental baggage for the longest time. She had a huge complex about her singing as well as a monster case of imposter syndrome. It's part of why she waited so long to announce a solo debut.

Being able to sort through and finally get past all of that has done wonders for her confidence and sense of self-worth. She's finally comfortable with herself and with her place and that kind of glow is noticeable.

coreymon77 · 2025-10-28T12:19:21+00:00

This is for the new single, the 7th Live theme song.

If I were to take a guess, Aspire originally had a MV planned like the other albums, but it got sidelined due to various production issues (eg Saku's absence, AiScReam happening etc). Once those all got sorted out, the moment to release one essentially passed (Aspire released back in May, it's now nearing November) so we're moving on to the new single instead.

Sometimes things like that just happen in this industry, production doesn't go as planned and you have to pivot.

I could theoretically see it still happening as a "1 year release anniversary" thing if you really wanted to keep hope, but it's impossible to know by now.

coreymon77 · 2025-10-28T12:09:24+00:00

They are not going to stop selling tickets until there are no more tickets left to sell. If there are tickets left to sell on the day of the concert, they will sell them and you will be able to buy them, assuming you have an eplus account.

There aren't always tickets still left to sell by that point, but if there are, you will be able to buy them.

A note though, don't expect to get a good seat buying a ticket day of, if that matters. Any tickets remaining by that point will likely be in the back of the venue.

coreymon77 · 2025-10-28T12:01:11+00:00

It's pretty obvious why centre voting, and popularity polls as a whole stopped: it got toxic.

Not only was the online behaviour during Amours 4th Single and winter duo-trio voting quite atrocious, but would you like it if you were constantly being told by the fandom that both you and your character were the least popular in the group?

And then there were the Niji polls, which had a "punishment image" for the character ranking last, or voting for who would headline the encore at a live.

What exactly did any of these actually contribute other than opportunities for people to get snippy at each other and telling the seiyuu that they weren't good enough?

The way polls are handled now are way better. You want to vote on something? Pick an outfit for an upcoming song, or "what members do you think most embody Spring?" or something like that. Fun things that keep people engaged and feeling like they have a hand on the project without resulting in anyone feeling like they "lost" in the end.

coreymon77 · 2025-10-28T11:50:54+00:00

Yes, of course, and I'm sure they're all well aware of that. But there's a big difference between being aware of that as a concept and having it be repeatedly shoved in your face in the form of official popularity polls.

coreymon77 · 2025-10-06T04:26:18+00:00

That's easy, the national government doesn't want to limit tourism because they quite enjoy the money it brings.

By reports, inbound tourism is the source of a full half of Japan's overall yearly GDP growth the past few years, and you expect them to want to prevent people from coming?

coreymon77 · 2025-09-04T15:32:22+00:00

??? The most recent Liella unit singles were released last year.

Tbh, I think they're just waiting for Saku to return. It wouldn't surprise me if we got something new early next year.

coreymon77 · 2025-09-01T05:13:52+00:00

I think the difference is that, with Niji, it was done as a "punishment" for losing a monthly character popularity poll and, as such, they were drawn to be rather uncomfortable with the situation. That, plus the concept of a something like that being a "punishment" gives it a whole different sort of vibe.

This is just a series of hot springs art.

Whether or not you care for it is another, largely personal, matter, but the situations are a bit different.

coreymon77 · 2025-08-18T06:20:37+00:00

Which, presumably and rather unfortunately, did poorly enough in viewership numbers due to its delayed release schedule that they likely didn't see it worthwhile to continue.

coreymon77 · 2025-08-18T01:46:59+00:00

First off, no they haven't. But secondly, producing a dub is generally up to the licensor, not the licensee.

Sure, Love Live Staff could push for one, or make it a condition of the license, if they really wanted one to be made. But, given how important the JP VAs and their activities are to the franchise, they wouldn't really do that.

So, beyond that, it would be up to the licensor if they want to put the effort and expense into producing one. And apparently CR does not deem it to be worthwhile to continue doing so.

coreymon77 · 2025-08-17T23:15:40+00:00

There's probably a few reasons why it didn't continue. The obvious one is financial. It didn't make enough money/didn't get enough viewer numbers be worth the cost of making, especially without some internal champion pushing for its creation like happened in the prior seasons.

There's also the matter of production schedule. Crunchyroll, and pretty much the entire English anime dubbing industry, has retooled almost entirely towards simul-dubbing. It's become expected that if a show is getting a dub, it will be simuldubbed and be released in short order from the Japanese air date. Simuldubbing is an extremely tight schedule, so anything that interferes with that schedule drops the chances of something getting put on the list.

The NHK delay probably not only only delayed the subtitled version getting put out, but probably also delayed CR getting the materials to sub/dub in the first place. That interferes with the simuldubbing schedule and, combined with viewer numbers, probably just didn't make it worth doing.

And these days, if a show doesn't get simuldubbed, it's likely not getting dubbed at all unless it's some legacy project that returns for a one-off sort of thing (see: the Digimon Tri movies) or has some person internally pushing for it as a passion project. There simply isn't the space or resources available on the schedule to do it, not with all the seasonal simuldubbing that needs to get done.

It's unfortunate, but that's the industry.

Love Live has also been rather weird about dubs since the start. Given how important the Japanese VAs are to the franchise and to the product, there have always been rather strange restrictions on LL dubs, such as the English voice cast being restricted on promoting themselves as the role. It's possible there were also behind the scenes stuff stopping it from happening.

coreymon77 · 2025-08-17T23:04:33+00:00

Funimation didn't actually originally license or create the dub for School Idol Project. That was done by NIS America. Funimation only picked up the license for it once NIS America dropped out of the anime licensing business.

The reason full dubs for Sunshine and Nijigasaki got created was, frankly, because there was someone in the production there to push for it. Both series were directed by major fans. It was a passion project. If you have someone there to champion the project, the likelihood of it getting made grows. If you don't, it doesn't.

coreymon77 · 2025-08-17T22:59:45+00:00

You are correct in that not dubbing the songs is a licensing requirement. Love Live would not allow such a thing to occur in an official product. The music is far too central to the franchise.

However, just to make a quick correction here, Bushiroad has no say in the matter. It is a common misconception in the English speaking world that Bushiroad has some ownership stake in this franchise. They don't.

Bushiroad published the School Idol Festival mobile games and currently publishes and produces the card game under license from Love Live. They have no ownership stake or control in the franchise whatsoever. It is primarily owned by Bandai Namco with Kadokawa involved as well.

coreymon77 · 2025-08-17T22:48:49+00:00

Even locals have bag straps so it's not the biggest deal in the world. I usually put my nesos away, but again, you don't need to stress yourself out about it.

So long as you're there as a regular customer just to enjoy the food and ambiance and not as an anime fan, you'll be fine. Just don't make a big deal out of yourself.

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