The intro was quite pretty, but mb I would’ve liked more of that worldbuilding sprinkled into the rest of the season, feels kinda weird tojust put it in the last episode. The transitions to the performances are kinda abrupt in this series, particularly in this last ep. It kinda makes me want the performances in less usual idol-garb and their fantasized stages and stick closer to the theming in the rest of the show, but eh.

I liked this show and it’s been a show I’ve been most looking forward to watching week-to-week , it’s on the prettier side of shows and more aligned with my usual preferences as a SOL. Yeah, pacing throughout the show has been a little weird and the same sorts of events to push the plot forward was a little annoying, but the fantasy world is pretty interesting (and wouldn’t mind seeing another season or two of), both the OST and new Aquors tunes were nice, and I’d say Yoshiko ahem,… Yohane was probably one of my favorites from the original series. Yeah, the themes of finding yourself and finding your place in the world and how that relates to everybody else aren’t super unique, but the way the show tied it to expressing yourself and putting yourself out there through song and also tying it to the whole “kokoro no oto” thing and Lailaps was pretty nice.

So, I started this one on a whim without knowing this was part of the larger series (Love Live I believe) and generally someone who doesn’t watch idol shows. (However, I’ve been baited - in a good way- a few times - Zombieland Saga and Oshi no Ko I’m looking at you)

Overall I thought this was a really good Idol-adjacent show that stood up on its own. If I hadn’t been told it was part of the bigger series, I don’t think I would have known.I would imagine I might have gotten more enjoyment if I was able to pick up the easter eggs that I’m sure were sprinkled throughout the show, but I think that’s the perfect type of spin-off. Whether you’re familiar with the main story or not, you can still enjoy it, but if you know you get more out of it.

I did have a question though maybe someone can answer. Is this supposed to be like an alternate universe for these characters, where all the main girls are part of the same group in the main series and just play different roles here? Are there other shows like this under the umbrella? I’m not much of a fan of idol shows, but do enjoy CGDCT and SoL/Adventures like this was.