But this does not necessarily mean the five girls from Superstar are profoundly more developed than the girls from previous series.
For the most part, this is a wise creative choice for a two-cour anime, as the previous series would typically have two or three characters that are significantly less developed or interesting than the others. Superstar also withdraws from the nine-girl trope we have come to expect, and instead focuses on a smaller cast of five girls. By breaking away from genre expectations, Superstar succeeds in crafting its own identity, which is perhaps the single most important characteristic for a franchise now in its fourth stage. And for romance and emotionally-charged character moments, I would watch Nijigasaki. If I wanted drama, I would watch Sunshine. If I wanted those idol moments, I would watch the original once more. And, naturally, this means Superstar will not be to every Love Live fan's palate.īut it is exactly this aspect that made Superstar so refreshing for me, as a veteran of the franchise. Those looking for performances and idol moments may find Superstar's first season feels like more a prologue than a first half of a story.
The girls do not even decide on a group name until the last few episodes of the season. In many regards, the 'school idol' setting of the franchise is more a backdrop than a primary focus. Instead of striving to make the audience teary-eyed, Superstar looks to instill joy and laughter. There is no impending doom from the girls' school potentially being entirely closed, nor is there romantic tension or heated rivalry in the lieu of Saint Snow's portrayal in Sunshine- quite the opposite. a more dramatic approach to the storytelling, Superstar looks instead to comedy and catharsis as a means of connecting with its audience.
Contrary to expectations, Superstar is actually a slice-of-life anime first, and an idol anime second. Superstar revealed itself not just as an excellent anime in its own right, but also the most fresh the franchise has been in nearly a decade.
Coming less than a year after the third Love Live series, Nijigasaki, I was worried of the fatigue that may come from yet another shuffling of the cast. With Superstar being the franchise's fourth and latest adventure, it's understandable that some may be reluctant to watch once more a series seemingly treading familiar roads.
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