Days are Shining | By Thanks Kamen Our third wintery-chrismasty release! Nothing spices up a Super Idol’s free day like adding a dash of energetic Honoka into the mix.

Read it on Dynasty Scans | MangaDex

(I haven’t yet watched up to the latest Nijigasaki ep, so this might all be nonsense)

I feel like Ayumu’s current character arc manages to properly represent the disillusionment that is brought on by putting so much value onto another persons’ opinion/approval. While I believe the anime has not established the core of the matter as well as the sifas story does (in other words, episode one changes Ayumu’s reason to become an idol from doing so for Yuu’s sake to wanting to be a cute person and having an outlet for said self expression - though it can also be argued that Ayumu may have proposed the idea of becoming an idol because she had just heard Yuu state her desire to support them, but that’s up for debate.)

It’s interesting viewing Ayumu’s visually worsening state of mind. It’s desperation tinged with denial that rears its face whenever she’s alone - it’s likely jealousy? I can’t make any firm affirmations since I’m not entirely caught up. What’s more interesting is how forward Ayumu is with her desires - she’s not shy to tell Yuu to belong only to her (which likely spurred the Yandere association) but I think its telling in its own way how much Ayumu relies on Yuu to bring her out of her shell and overcome her shyness.

I want to talk more about how Yuu’s characterization is a confusing mess later on when I actually catch up to the anime, but I think that it’s not really Ayumu’s ‘fault’ that she’s become so lost and needy.

Nozomi Tojo - Charming Devil

なーらんさんはTwitterを使っています

I LITERALLY SEE MAKI-CHAN IN THIS PHOTO OF PILE SO I HAD TO DO IT

well now that i’m on the topic here are my thoughts on every love live duet (but only the duets, no trios, bc the duets are inherently romantic): 

anemone heart: boring….. not like a bad song but just boring. mid tempo that never really picks up in energy and the overall sound doesn’t serve either of their voices well. the synth in the intro is grating and the beatmap isn’t fun which does hurt my impression of it. i don’t think i’m being controversial in saying that this song had like no impact. overall kotoumi deserved better 5/10

beat in angel: to be completely honest i am not the biggest beat in angel fan. it sounds like all the other ll songs that make people say “this sounds like kpop!” bc of the heavy electric sound that doesn’t really sound like kpop, and i’m not personally into the sound of it so when this song comes on i just feel overwhelmed. the doctor themed lyrics are perfectly spicy though and maki and rin EAT this song. like a 7/10

garden of glass: what can i say about garden of glass that hasn’t been said before. absolutely nothing. lantis might as well have just made the album art a picture of nozoeli’s wedding. 10/10

kokuhaku biyori desu: adorable and bubblegummy and absolutely fitting for kotopana. i love the way they lean into the first note of every line in the chorus, it hooks you in and ups the energy of a pretty delicate song. the synth solos are genuinely beautiful and the little “dasou?” “un!!” before the last chorus is a great detail. if i had any one complaint about the song it’s that i usually spend the whole verse waiting for the chorus, which doesn’t mean the verse is Bad but the chorus is definitely the standout part of the song. 9/10 

merfes v2: i always forget how good merfes v2 is and then when it stars playing it has the super long piano intro that makes me pessimistic and then the actual song starts and i’m like, oh, right, this is one of the most exciting songs in the ll series. the way this song sweeps you up is insane!! by the time rin and honoka lean into thee “dakishimeraretaaa~iii~!!” in the chorus you realize you’re absolutely sucked into the flow of the song. i wish it hadn’t let go of that energy at the start of the bridge because i think it had the potential for a shunjou-esque loud-instrumental-staring-seconds-after-the-chorus bridge but the high note is wonderful anyway. 10/10 we love merfes 

otomeshiki: otomeshiki has hands down my favorite lyrics in the love live series - hata aki snaps on a regular basis but for this song she really brought out the good and bad of nozomi and nico’s respective shit-eating tendencies and the product is a fun and snappy duet that hints at what’s behind the goofy facade without getting too serious. i can see why people would be turned off by the synthy nasaly sound but i think it’s cool that they gave nozomi and nico a song where their voices sound 100% in place. not my favorite to listen to but really well done i think, 8/10

storm in lover: this is it baby. THIS is everything eliumi deserved as compensation for being cut out of the mainpair list. storm in lover is sexy and saucy and will not apologize for it. the melody isn’t afraid to get challenging and both eli’s delicate soprano and umi’s power vocals carry it flawlessly. my only wish is that they made it Bigger, because garden of glass has this huge swelling instrumental track and the instrumentals in storm in lover never get passionate enough to carry it to legendary. 9/10 though 

suki desu ga suki desu ka: they don’t even try to hide the housewife fetish which i think puts a damper on the song as a whole but you know…it’s funky and it flows and it’s easy to vibe to. 8/10

zurui yo magnetic today: i have my own thoughts on the actual music of it (which is mostly “this song is so loud and intense that it’s hard to listen to sometimes but also i can’t imagine it sounding any other way”) but you can’t deny that this is 100% the perfect song for them. the bickering in between verses is just *chefs kiss*. lantis knew their audience and fucking went for it. thank you 10/10

https://twitter.com/sham_o00/status/1335609850080841729?s=19

Ok ok ok. I think I have a handle on why I am so overwhelming disappointed in Ayumus action in the last two episodes. She’s been jealous and possessive and unfortunately unsupportive of Yuu. It because she’s so freaking relatable. I said in the first episode “Oh boy Ayumu has big in love with best friend energy.” All her actions say that and her solo song is a big sapphic mood. The way she acts reminds me of high school me. I think she might remind a lot of people of their high school selves especially those struggling with sexuality and nursing same sex crushes. Strip away the school idol stuff and this is a young gay girl struggling with the feeling of losing her best friend and crush to someone else. While I’m sure most of us haven’t gone to the same extent Ayumu has, like its anime duh, the idea of lashing out and making a big confession was probably there in the back of the mind. Or came out in smaller ways. sorry high school best friends boyfriend I was a huge bitch it wasn’t you it was me. Anyway while I’m not proud of her actions I really love Ayumu her emotional struggles are valid and she means a lot to me. Also no she’s not Yandere it’s kinda funny but no

Kanata and Emma playing in the leaves!

specifically Fuyu ga kureta yokan!

Real question: What genre of music does BiBi represent? Their songs seriously remind me of some I’d heard years ago and I’m trying to find them again.

Real question: What genre of music does BiBi represent? Their songs seriously remind me of some I’d heard years ago and I’m trying to find them again.

magician rin