![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_h.jpg\"\/)
<\/center>\nThis week on Love Live… a bunch of largely inconsequential, but amusing, things happen. It probably couldn’t be any more different in terms of tone and gravitas than last weeks episode without being something unrecognizable as being Love Live.<\/p>\n
But, hey, before that, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some news this week. Twitter this week has been all, well, a-twitter with the fact that the previously announced English translation of the Love Live mobile game, School Idol Festival, was actually unleashed on both iOS and Android. They actually released this one in the UK as well, unlike certain other iOS idol-themed anime music games. This one is free-to-play too, so you can at least amuse yourself for a while until you start to feel the need to throw money into unlocking the rare idol cards. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been playing it, anyway. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty fun, and definitely not at all the reason why I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get this blog post up earlier.<\/p>\n
It is a little awkward to find – I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have an Android device to look for it on, but in terms of finding it on iOS, you need to resist the seemingly obvious desire to search for Love Live and instead go for School Idol Festival if you actually want it to turn up.<\/p>\n
In other English territory news, NISA finally solicited their release of the first series of Love Live, which is due to land in September. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the usual NISA release format<\/a>, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one for you guys who have space on their extra-large shelving units.<\/p>\n On another note, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m probably going to be way late in getting to next weeks episode, if not the week afters as well. Try not to spoil them too hard for me, OK?<\/p>\n Also my OP and ED singles turned up in the mail this week, and I got Rin and Hanayo cards with them. I feel somewhat trolled!<\/p>\n Anyway, on with the show! Well, more than likely, they probably figured it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t particularly necessary to remind the audience of what happened last week – this episode wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly something which was particularly rooted in continuity, neither really following on from specific previous events, nor really adding anything massively important bar perhaps dropping a cliffhanger at the very end.<\/p>\n Saying that, what this episode does do is actually set us a solid date as to what point in the year the show presently at, with Halloween being, you know, celebrated at the end of October. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably a week or two earlier than what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been expecting given events thus far in the series, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not too far off. I guess this leaves them with five or six weeks of in-universe time until the next round of the Love Live kicks off, though.<\/p>\n 2) STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT<\/b> 3) This Is Halloween!<\/b> Of course, the other question is exactly why these toys were in the school in the first place, particularly that huge thing Maki is wielding. Is that Maki\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, and did she just randomly bring it to school with her, or is Eli the only one here with a peculiar sense of cute?<\/p>\n 4) The Most Impact<\/b> That being said, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pretty sure this hyperactive lady right here is played by Takamori, Announcer probably being the one telling our heroines to report to the head mistress later in the episode. This is mostly notable because she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been the voice of one of the Cinderella Girls<\/i> in the tie-in CD series, and the upcoming telly anime, presenting us here with a potentially terrifying world were cartoon idol franchises collide.<\/p>\n Or maybe not.<\/p>\n (Someone correct me if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m wrong, though!)<\/p>\n Anyway, entertaining character, even if she did interrupt Nico mid-NicoNi.<\/p>\n 5) Little Witch Academ-Kira<\/b> I do wonder if this is really that big of a shattering of their image, though – it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like we got to see them perform at the end of the episode, so we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually know if they were doing anything that was really out of character. Although I guess it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like we actually know much about A-RISE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stage personas, given how comparatively little of them we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve actually seen in the series. It makes it hard to figure out if our heroines are actually getting all flustered about nothing.<\/p>\n Also, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re totally taking advantage of only appearing on TV here by blowing their stage budget, and I’m pretty sure that mooo’s don’t have their own video effect department. Given that their school is actually in Akiba, rather than just in it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s general proximity, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a little surprising that they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t turn up in person, but I guess they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really rather busy.<\/p>\n 6) Nico-Nico-Nope?<\/b> it amuses me a little that the cast are starting to get on Nico\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case about her stage persona at this point – it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a funny turn out from when she first appeared, and the girls were trying to use her knowledge of idols and her grasp of things like that as a method of coercion (and mild admiration) in order to draft her for their unit. At this point, I suppose they just see it as the kind of BS it actually probably is.<\/p>\n 7) SCIENCE!<\/b> Also, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pretty sure there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some kind of meta-joke to be formulated using Umi, Chihaya from iM@S, Asami Imai and Makise from Steins;Gate as variables, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m failing to accurately construct such a thing right now.<\/p>\n (Although I do find it amusing that most of these daft ideas are coming out of Umi)<\/p>\n 8) CHANGIN’ MY WORLD<\/b> Not that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s any particular meaning that can be pulled from a minor arcana card in isolation – it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Change<\/i> label is a little blunt, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit odd given that it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really lead to anything beyond where the conversation is already going. You kind of have to wonder how this conversation actually went in order for them to get from the pre-adbreak to the post-adbreak scenes.<\/p>\n 9) Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d Want To Be I do wonder how they determined who would be playing who, though, given this was determined off-screen. Did they agree on changing to whichever other unit member seemed most off-character for them, or did they just draw lots?<\/p>\n (Hanayo’s NicoNi was pretty cute, so I suppose I’ll give her that)<\/p>\n 10) WHAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S THE NAME OF THE COMIC OR SHOW?<\/b> The other thought, though, is where on Earth did they find time to make (or even just source) those costumes? Also, are chains like that wielded by Honoka easy to get ahold of for a Japanese schoolgirl?<\/p>\n Also, what’s up with the face of Eli’s belt?<\/p>\n 11) I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really have the context for this…<\/b> I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really say I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever actually seen the episode in question (nor, infact, more than a few minutes of Glee when randomly channel-surfing), so I can in no way vouch for the accuracy of such claims, nor the degree of similarity. It seems to me that this is pretty much the way in which any sequence in which three characters produce clothing under slightly strained conditions would go in this direction at least somewhat.<\/p>\n But, hey, at least we see that Kotori actually get\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s help making the costumes instead of doing them all herself. Maybe, as this also seems like it might just be a one-off exercise on Hanayo (who should really probably be wearing her glasses for this) and Nico\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part.<\/p>\n She probably needs the help given how much costume production time was probably wasted on producing those \u00e2\u20ac\u0153punk rocker\u00e2\u20ac\u009d costumes!<\/p>\n 12) Yo Ho Fiddle-de-de!<\/b> I do note that Nico is wearing almost mitten-like cat-paws as part of her costume, which I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pretty sure is simply to make her fingers look vague enough that she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pull a Nico-Nico-Ni pose part way through the song.<\/p>\n Best costumes are Honoka and Umi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, though, because they look like pirates.<\/p>\n Curiously, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a few cuts of CG animation in here which are pretty much double the normal framerate they render these things in, and perhaps unsurprisingly, they end up looking way, way better as a result.<\/p>\n (Nozomi’s witches hat counts more as a Fascinator than an actual hat, before anyone calls me out as being a hypocrite!)<\/p>\n (Also probably my favourite new song of the series thus far, including the OP and ED. Good stuff!)<\/p>\n 13) Sulu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Letter<\/b> This show sure does like to throw in letters as a handy cliffhanger device, though. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 very little clue given to what the actual content of the letter is, though – one ponders if it is, infact, due to the many STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT reminder moments that have surrounded Honoka\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s character in previous episodes, causing the audience to constantly question what exactly the rest of the student body see in her. Or it could just be that her grades continue to be ass, I guess.<\/p>\n (I’m pretty sure Yukiho only exists as a means for funny faces and gratuitous ass-shots, by the way)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week on Love Live… a bunch of largely inconsequential, but amusing, things happen. It probably couldn’t be any more different in terms of tone and gravitas than last weeks episode without being something unrecognizable as being Love Live. But, hey, before that, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some news this week. 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\n1) Zenkai no Love Live?!?<\/b>
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_1.jpg\"\/)
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\nThis week on Love Live… they actually assumed that you remembered what happened in last weeks episode, by skipping the usual recap that the show kicks it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s episodes off with.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_2.jpg\"\/)
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\nWeekly reminder.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_3.jpg\"\/)
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\nIt seems like a slightly weird combination for the conversation (it seems like the kind of thing Rin would be into), but in this scene we have Honoka, Kotori, Nico and Maki discussing the meaning of the term impact<\/i> in regards to making more of an impression that A-RISE at the upcoming Akiba Halloween event. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re performing the conversation by proxy of various toys – the obvious one being that Nico is waving around an off-brand Jack Skellington (from Kingdom Hearts, of course). I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a little more curious about the gargantuan that Maki is speaking through, though – it feels like it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supposed to be a specific reference to something, and it feels real familiar, but I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really put my finger on it.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_4.jpg\"\/)
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\nThe ending credits in this show aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always the most useful of things – in this case, there are two new voices listed as being in this particular episode, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re listed solely as being Akiba Reporter<\/i> and Announcer<\/i>. The voices are provided by Takamori Natsumi<\/i> and Sarah Emi Bridcutt<\/i> (I had a heck of a time parsing that, blasted Katakana) respectively, though I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not particularly familiar with either of their past works.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_5.jpg\"\/)
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\nExcruciating pun aside, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m all moe for girls with witch hats. Whilst I prefer them a little more on the big and floppy side than Tsubasa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sporting here, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do for me in a pinch.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_7.jpg\"\/)
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\nI do like the transitional cut into this scene, with Rin pulling the book off the shelf interrupting a black screen.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_8.jpg\"\/)
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\nThe girls first attempt at generating impact was to dress up and fashion personas based around other school clubs. Again, these costumes are really things that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d assume were in reference to cards from School Idol Festival<\/i>, the mobile game that people are probably too busy playing to read this post, but not so much. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look to be from the Weiss Schwarz decks either, and Eli\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cheerleader uniform isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even the one from the promotional art from the School Idol Paradise promotion art that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on the AmiAmi listing<\/a>. If anyone knows any better, feel free to let me know.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_9.jpg\"\/)
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\nI think this is the first time that Nozomi hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t drawn a major arcana card from her tarot deck, and as such it took me a while to figure out what the card she was pulling out actually was. The card is the Two of Pentacles – or Disks, given that Nozomi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cards seem to be based upon the Thoth deck.<\/p>\nRin<\/del>Hanayo Anyway?<\/b>
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_10.jpg\"\/)
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\nI mean, seriously? Although at least Eli get\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Hanayo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s habit of saying that everything is terrible (even if it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t) right.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_11.jpg\"\/)
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\nRandom bit of news Number One coming out of this episode was Gene Simmons questioning which show this scene, having no doubt been copied into screen cap tweets, was from, I guess. Hopefully that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lead to any action of a litigious nature!<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_12.jpg\"\/)
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\nI guess random bit of new Number Two from this episode is, at least on some of the more tabloid-like news sites, that this costume production scene is, apparently, reminiscent of a scene in the US TV show Glee<\/a>, which was somewhat popular a couple of years back.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_13.jpg\"\/)
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\nThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a new song this episode! It has really great set design, though the transition between Magic Song Land and actually performing in an Akiba street was a little awkward – they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always fudged the reality of the performances a little, as there were a couple back in the first episode which kind-of seemed implausible in set-up even when presented as reality as part of their in-universe YouTube\/NicoNico channel.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"piccytures\/lovelive2\/ll_2_6_14.jpg\"\/)
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\nBecause Chekhov\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dropped in the first series.<\/p>\n