Love Live!
School Idol Project is a Japanese multimedia project co-developed by ASCII Media Works'
Dengeki G's Magazine, music label Lantis, and animation studio Sunrise.
The project revolves around a group of fictional school girls who become idols in order to
save their school from shutting down.
It launched in the August 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, and went on to produce music
CDs, anime music videos, two manga adaptations, and video games.
A 13-episode anime television series produced by Sunrise and directed by Takahiko Kyōgoku
aired in Japan between January and March 2013, with a second season airing between April
and June 2014.
Both anime series are licensed in North America by NIS America.
An animated film has also been announced.
Plot Honoka Kōsaka is a girl who loves her school,
Otonokizaka Academy.
When the school is planned to be closed down due to a lack of applicants, Honoka becomes
determined to save it.
Learning that school idols are popular, Honoka and her friends start up a school idol group
called μ's in order to attract new students.
Once they successfully prevent Otonokizaka Academy from closing, the girls from μ's
aim for higher grounds and participate in "Love Live", the ultimate school idol competition
featuring the best groups in the country.
Characters μ's
Honoka Kōsaka Voiced by: Emi Nitta
Honoka is the main character of the series, and is a second-year student at Otonokizaka
Academy.
Her family works in a wagashi shop named Homura.
Honoka has a cheerful personality and she never gives up on anything, to the point of
usually overexerting herself.
Her hobbies include swimming and collecting stickers.
She is the leader of μ's, and is seen taking center position in some of the group's songs.
She later succeeds Eli as student council president.
Umi Sonoda Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori
Umi is Honoka's classmate and childhood friend who is a member of the school's kyūdō club,
in which she is quite accurate.
She believes Honoka is bossy and pushy, but realizes the perks of having an adventurous
friend, usually acting as the voice of reason for her.
As the daughter of a traditional family, Umi has expertise in kendō, koto, nagauta, calligraphy,
and traditional dancing.
She succeeds Nozomi as the student council vice president.
Kotori Minami Voiced by: Aya Uchida
Kotori is Honoka's classmate and childhood friend, who is the daughter of Otonokizaka
Academy's chairwoman, whom she closely resembles.
She is known for having her head in the clouds despite holding responsibility as the group's
wardrobe supervisor and choreographer.
She also has a really kind heart, not wanting to hurt anybody.
She becomes part of the student council with Honoka and Umi.
Nico Yazawa Voiced by: Sora Tokui
Nico is a third-year student interested in fashion, and thus acts as the group's wardrobe
supervisor alongside Kotori.
She grew up admiring idols and aspires to become one.
However, much to her chagrin, Nico is child-like in appearance and behavior despite her age,
looking much younger than the rest of the group.
Within the group, she is a very good cook.
Nico formed the Idol Research Club, but all of her club members left one after another
because of her high standards.
After she graduates, she passes on the role of club president to Hanayo.
When Honoka and her friends ask her to have the club as μ's base of operations, she is
reluctant at first, doubting how far they are willing to go to become successful idols,
until she approves their effort and also joins the group.
Nico's three younger siblings are Cocoa Yazawa , Cocoro Yazawa , and Cotarō Yazawa.
Eli Ayase Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjō
Eli is Otonokizaka Academy's third-year student council president who is determined to save
the school.
Although she opposes Honoka's plan at first, she ends up becoming the last girl to join
μ's.
She is part Russian because of her grandmother, and tends to say the Russian word "хорошо"
[xərɐˈʂo].
Eli's specialty is quilting, and her experience with ballet qualifies her as the group's choreographer.
She has two brothers, but a sister named Alisa appears instead in the anime.
Nozomi Tojo Voiced by: Aina Kusuda
Nozomi is the third-year student council vice-president, and the oldest of the group.
She acts as the voice of reason to Eli, who was the first friend she made after spending
her whole school life transfering from one place to another due to her parents work,
choosing to live by herself in order to stay studying in Otonokizaka.
She also acts as the spiritual leader of the group, and has an almost all-knowing vibe
to her, acting when she knew things got too far and even naming the group based on events
that were yet to happen.
Although she is not from that region, Nozomi speaks in Kansai dialect.
Her hobby is fortune-telling and she has the habit of groping the other girls when she
finds them distracted or depressed in a form of "cheering them up".
Maki Nishikino Voiced by: Pile
Maki is a first-year honor student expected to become a doctor and inherit her father's
work in her parents' hospital despite being a talented singer and pianist, which leads
her to refuse joining μ's at first.
Maki is the main composer and vocal coach of the group.
She later becomes the vice president of the Idol Research Club.
Hanayo Koizumi Voiced by: Yurika Kubo
Hanayo is a first-year student interested in drawing and origami.
She is referred to as Kayo, an alternate reading of the kanji in her name.
Also, among the main cast, she is the best at handling children.
Her catchphrase is, "Please help me, God," or a variation depending on the media.
She is also a shy girl who dreamed about being an idol since she was little.
She later becomes the president of the Idol Research Club.
Rin Hoshizora Voiced by: Riho Iida
Rin is an athletic first-year student skilled in hurdling, association football and basketball.
Her closest friend is Hanayo, who is her childhood friend.
Like Honoka, Rin has a cheerful personality but loses motivation easily and is a tomboy.
She also has a habit of acting like a cat.
She later becomes the leader of μ's.
Others Yukiho Kōsaka is Honoka's younger sister
who often does embarrassing things in private.
Voiced by: Nao Tōyama Alisa Ayase is Eli's younger sister who is
a big fan of μ's.
Having mostly lived abroad due to her being part-Russian, she is unfamiliar with many
Japanese customs.
Like her sister, she tends to say the Russian word "хорошо" [xərɐˈʂo].
Voiced by: Ayane Sakura Tsubasa Kira is the leader of A-Rise and is
a student at UTX High School.
Voiced by: Megu Sakuragawa Erena Toudou is a member of A-Rise with a
look more adult than the others and is a student at UTX High School.
Voiced by: Maho Matsunaga Anju Yuuki is a member of A-Rise with a princess-like
demeanor and is a student at UTX High School.
Voiced by: Ayuru Ōhashi Production
Since the first issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine was published, the editors
of the magazine have hosted reader participation games whose development is directly influenced
by the people who read the magazine.
The project was first announced in the July 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, which
revealed that the magazine would be collaborating with the anime studio Sunrise and the music
label Lantis to co-produce the project.
The project officially began with the August 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, which
introduced the story, characters, and a more detailed explanation of the project.
The original plan for the story was written by Sakurako Kimino, who also writes the short
stories for Love Live! featured in Dengeki G's Magazine.
Original character design and illustrations are provided by Yūhei Murota.
Starting in August 2010, online mobile phone popularity contests have periodically been
held to rank the characters, which influences the positions of the idols in the anime music
videos produced by Sunrise.
For example, the idol who ranks first in a given contest will be in the center position
in the front row in the music video that follows.
Other polls are used to determine different aspects of the idols, such as hairstyles and
costumes.
Starting with the November 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, readers were polled to determine
the name of the idols' group.
After the editors narrowed it down to the five most popular names, readers were polled
for a final time, ultimately choosing the name μ's.
A similar polling system was used to determine the names of the three mini units Printemps,
BiBi, and Lily White.
Media Print media
A manga adaptation titled Love Live!, written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Arumi
Tokita, began serialization in the January 2012 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine.
The manga ended serialization in the magazine's May 2014 issue and was transferred to Dengeki
G's Comic starting with the June 2014 issue.
The first tankōbon volume was released on September 27, 2012, and three volumes have
been released as of May 27, 2014.
A second manga titled Love Live!
School Idol Diary, written by Kimino and illustrated by Masaru Oda, began serialization in the
June 2014 issue of Dengeki G's Comic.
A light novel series titled Love Live!
School Idol Diary is written by Kimino and contains illustrations by Yūhei Murota, Natsu
Otono and Akame Kiyose.
ASCII Media Works published nine volumes between May 30, 2013 and April 5, 2014.
Anime
A 13-episode anime television series, produced by Sunrise and directed by Takahiko Kyōgoku,
aired in Japan on Tokyo MX between January 6 and March 31, 2013 and was simulcast by
Crunchyroll.
The opening theme is "Bokura wa Ima no Naka de" and the ending theme is "Kitto Seishun
ga Kikoeru"; both are performed by μ's.
An original video animation episode was released on November 27, 2013.
A second season aired on Tokyo MX between April 6 and June 29, 2014, also airing on
TV Aichi, Yomiuri TV, and BS11, and was simulcast by Crunchyroll.
The opening theme is "Sore wa Bokutachi no Kiseki" and the ending theme is "Donna Toki
mo Zutto"; both are performed by μ's.
Both anime series are licensed by NIS America for release in North America.
The first season will be released on September 2, 2014 on BD.
An animated film has been greenlit for production.
Video games A free rhythm game, titled Love Live!
School Idol Festival, was developed by KLab and released by Bushiroad for iOS devices
in Japan on April 15, 2013.
A version for Android was also released.
The game was localized into English and released worldwide on May 11, 2014 for both iOS and
Android devices, and will also receive localizations available in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and
South Korea.
A series of three rhythm-action video games developed by Dingo Inc., titled Love Live!
School Idol Paradise, will be released on August 28, 2014 for the PlayStation Vita.
The three games will be released as Vol. 1 Printemps Unit, Vol.2 BiBi Unit and Vol.3
Lily White Unit.
Music Aside from individual and duet singles, the
nine idols of μ's are divided into three mini units with their own singles themselves:
Printemps, BiBi, and Lily White.
Each of μ's' singles was released with an anime music video.
References
External links Official website
Love Live!
School Idol Paradise official website Love Live!
at NIS America Love Live!
at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia