___I wrote this review ages ago, and at the time it was rated 55/100 and had the summary "Missed opportunities and stale jokes, but at least they're cute." I have an edit at the very end, but I would still read the rest of the review right here first._
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What I did not like

We're just gonna start right off the bat with what I didn't like about the show. I feel like they kept using the same jokes over and over, and it got stale. For example, Yui being lazy and Ui being responsible. While it was funny the first time around, Yui had annoyingly little character development because of it. Yui never learned how to practice on her own until the last few episodes, and by then an entire year had passed and they already had a new member, Azusa. They used Yui being lazy as a silly joke and we ended up being annoyed with this character almost the entire season. I genuinely wanted her to grow and to learn how she personally deals with it, and she never does. Also, when Azusa joins, she comments on how unproductive everyone is being. And while their joke following that was funny the first time, they make the same joke over and over again. It was annoying, and it was boring. For the entire episode poor Azusa doesn't know what to do, and I'm just annoyed at every other character for messing around so much. "But that's the joke" you say, "they're supposed to be annoyingly unproductive". Yeah, and it was funny. The first time they did it. Then they made the same joke again. And then again. And again. It distracted from the plot, yet it was completely unnecessary. What makes all that worse is that despite how little they actually get to practicing and how much of a joke they make their not practicing, they try to make their concerts come off as a fulfilling moment for them all, and tell us "wow, look how much they grew as people!" But I just don't feel it. The show distracted from all the work they should've been doing and turned it into a joke. In other words, the show itself is just as bad as what the characters were doing. Their supposedly fulfilling moments just didn't feel as fulfilling as they should've been, and would've been if the show had treated the build-up to that moment seriously.

On the same topic of those concerts not being fulfilling, I have a note on episode 6's concert. I don't really like how they switch to "music video mode" when they perform their song. While it looks nice and all, I would much rather see them performing the song themselves. It would've been much nicer to see them playing their hearts out, and to see their "hard work" actually paying off. But there is something bigger about episode 6 I want to say. I don't know if it counts as a spoiler so I'll just be safe.

Spoiler, click to view

In this episode, at the end of the concert, Mio trips and exposes her panties to the audience.

Now, this being completely out of character for the show and total unnecessary fan service is not what gets me mad about it. What makes me mad is that they had the perfect opportunity for some character development right there, but they skipped it in favor of a stupid joke. That moment was never referenced again except later on, for a silly gag. While Mio is adorable, it's not enough to distract me from how pointless this whole thing is. Here's an alternative that I think would've been better for the show. Mio does trip, without the fan service. Instead of getting right back up and this being used as a joke later, her friends help her up, and they laugh about it together. Mio finally overcomes her fear of performing in front of others, and laughs too. Then everyone is happy, and this moment that they've built up to over multiple episodes actually has payoff. And what's great is that earlier in the episode they even provide the foundation for something like this to happen. Earlier, before the show, Mio jokingly hits Ritsu. Ritsu gets hurt of course, but then everyone starts laughing about it. Eventually Ritsu even laughs about it. This was a wholesome moment for everyone, good scene. But then they do nothing with the development from that scene. By the way, that whole scene was about what they were going to do at the concert. Again, build-up for the concert that had disappointingly low payoff. They gave themselves the opportunity for something great, yet completely skipped over it in favor of a stupid joke only referenced one other time. This was supposed to be a big moment for the characters. It was supposed to be one of the big challenges they were supposed to overcome together, but it was ruined by a dumb gag. There are lots of other examples of missed opportunities, but I feel like this is the biggest one.

And one more thing. I feel like things just kind of work out for the characters. For example, Mugi's family happens to own the music shop, and is also rich. They made everyone start working part-time jobs to help Yui pay for her dream guitar, but in the end it was all rendered completely useless when we found out Mugi can do literally everything. Almost an entire episode (of the 13 episode series) was dedicated to Yui's friends helping her get enough money, including Mugi doing a part-time job. But they went into the store again and we find out all of that was completely useless and Mugi had enough money the entire time, and also everyone worships her. And she also has multiple villas on the beachside with expensive equipment perfect for training camps. This is a really cheap way to progress the story.

What I liked

Now, despite everything I just said, the show does have some good bits. For example, Yui and Ui's relationship. It's cute. Ui's probably my favorite character, next to Azusa. There were some genuinely wholesome moments that I actually loved between them. Another thing: Azusa is a good character. I feel like her journey through the last few episodes was great, even if it was slightly rushed. It was enjoyable. Also, the CGI. The CG guitars were executed perfectly I think. They blended it really well with the 2D animation, and it wasn't distracting in the slightest. The intro and outro were nice too, even if the outro is a little weird and out of character. Maybe it makes sense in the second show, who knows. One last thing, I liked the ending. The show did a good job of making us feel like the characters did go through a lot of hardship and growth. I'm about to spoil a small bit of the ending to explain this point.

Spoiler, click to view

When all of the characters ended up playing just for fun, I really liked it. What used to be (supposedly) tough for them to do, they were now doing just because they liked it.

I feel like this was executed well.

Closer

I know I'm actually in the minority of people who didn't like it, so some feedback would be nice. I will be watching the second series so I can have an opinion on that. Plus I enjoyed the show enough to at least try the second season. Peace, everybody.

May 2019 Edit

I came back to the site after ages just to check on things before I make my complete departure, since I don't care about anime anymore (never did to be completely honest), and after a lot of "thumbs-downs", I feel the need to clarify a few things for anyone new coming along.

This show is still complete garbage. And I don't know why I ended my original review with "I enjoyed it enough to watch the second season" because, as you can see by my List, that never happened. I did not enjoy this show at all, and I feel like anyone who thinks it's a genuinely good show is blessed by some kind of low-standard anime god. The good things I said in my original review still apply, but so do all the negative things. And I feel like anyone who pretends the bad things don't exist are lying to themselves about the overall quality of the show.

This show is painful to watch. It was a chore to sit through it. It is unbelievably boring with no payoff. The music isn't good, and the character development is either obnoxiously rushed, or obnoxiously slow. The show wants to be two different things: Moe (cute girls and fun jokes), and a story about the hardships of making a band, learning how, and playing important gigs. However, I do not think the show creators were good at mixing those things. They interfere with each other. Some episodes are just completely character development with the girls putting off practicing for a gig and instead playing on the beach together, for example, which makes the actual gig feel so much less satisfying because 1) the characters didn't work to achieve it and it feels the opposite of genuine, and 2) they switch into a kind of music video instead of letting us see the characters play, which also feels the opposite of genuine. Playing music feels almost like a chore to these characters rather than a hobby, yet the show itself tries to shove it down our throats that "THIS IS A MUSIC SHOW WITH GOOD MUSIC AND THESE BANDS ARE SUCH IMPORTANT PARTS IN THEIR LIVES."

And I explained it in the original review above for episode 6's concert in particular, but the comedy they try to shove in 1) are unfunny, surface-level, boring garbage, and 2) interfere and take a massive crap on any meaningful character development or important moments in the show. Don't let anyone tell you this show is good, it's a huge waste of time, and only serves to give cute reaction gifs for pointless status updates.

If you want an actually good show with good music, cute girls, good character development, good jokes, and still has an active community of fans, and isn't a steaming pile of garbage, watch Love Live.

/anime/15051/love-live-school-idol-project