There are a lot of things I love but for some reason I've never written about them in this blog. One of them is Love Live! So giving that recently a concert with Orchestra for the 10th anniversary of the anime was given by μ's, I thought this would be a great moment to write something about the franchise. The thing was that I had no idea what to write about it., so I came up with the simplest idea: a top of µ's members. But when I started to write it, the inspiration came very strongly to me and without realizing it, the whole afternoon was spent writing it. But, although it had the structure of a top, it was something else, something more personal piece of writing.
I love all of them, so, despite being in a top, the order is more according to the level of connection that I have with the character. And this, well, this is something completely subjective. So more than seeing who is in what position, for me, the true goal of this was realizing why I love one girl more than other.
Lastly, for this list, I will rely mainly on the anime version of the girls. That being said, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Without further ado, these were the results:
9. UMI
Honestly, Umi became my number nine recently, this because the girl who occupied that position before, well, let's say I found a new appreciation for her. But talking about Umi, she is the main support of μ's, the one who takes everything seriously and the one who brings order to the group. I thought Eli would be the one to play this role, but I understand why she allowed herself to relax a little when she joined μ's. Still, a person was needed to balance things, keep focus and discipline in the group and Umi was the right one to do it. She doesn't have an episode for herself, but her development can be seen in background throughout the series.
The reason why she is the one who I love the less is because of her personality. I'm more of a Honoka kind of person, and giving that they have very different personalities and most time Umi doesn't let her do everything she wants or limits her in certain things. I can't relate much to her. This is why she is my least favorite μ's girl. I think sometimes she is too serious for my taste, but I still appreciate her a lot. I understand that when you are someone as relaxed as Honoka is, you need a person like Umi by your side and that's why she is great.
To me, Umi is Honoka's right hand. I know, many of you think she should have been the leader. But I think the right-hand role is undervalued. For me is that person that can do what the leader can't do and make sure that everything is ok. Is the only person with the authority to correct and confront the leader. And for me, in μ's, that is Umi. But even though I recognize and appreciate all of her qualities, my personality clash with her makes me unable to put her higher on this top. Still, I understand why is the favorite of many people. That is the beauty of this, all of them are so different that everyone can have their favorite one.
8. NICO
Nico always was my number nine. I never could understand why she was the favorite of many people. But recently, I realized I was asking myself the wrong question. Instead of wondering why she was the number one of many people, I should have asked myself why I didn't like her. And now that I learned to know myself better, I realize that the main reason I didn't like her was because I saw traits of her in me. They say that what we see in others, sometimes is a projection of ourselves. That's why sometimes we like people who are like us. But this only happens when we like what we see it them. But, when we don't like what we see, we tend to reject and dislike those people because what we don't like about those people are sometimes things, we don't like about ourselves, but is hard to accept it and sometimes even realize it.
That's what happened to me with Nico. Recently I realize that some of her traits and behaviors were something I saw in myself, but I wasn't aware of it. It was until I realized this that I was able to begin to change those thoughts and attitudes. And now that I'm at peace with that, I can appreciate Nico in a different way. I don't put her higher on the top because, although now I understand where those attitudes come from, I still don't like them. Still, I have a lot of gratitude for her for helping me realize my mistakes.
Now, talking about Nico herself, I think she deserved better. Her background is one of the saddest of μ's, yet the anime only sees her as a comic relief. I believe Nico is the character that best represents the message of working hard to achieve what you want. We need to remember that life didn't make it easy for her. She started with the dream of becoming an idol but her classmates quit and yet she continued to strive to keep the club alive, this, partly because it is what she wanted to do and partly because she didn't want to disappoint her siblings. As an older brother, I understand the burden of this responsibility, that's why I understand why she does this thing of selling herself to them as the best idol, she has a reputation to protect before them and disappointing them would be the worst thing.
Knowing her history, you can understand why she refuses to join μ's at first. It's normal to distrust people once you have been disappointed, and although it seemed that things were going well with μ's, at a certain point everything falls apart. They lose the chance to participate in the Love Live! and Honoka, the person who had started everything, quits μ's. It's at this point where Nico shows her strength, because despite life gives her lemons again, this time she is willing to make the very best of the lemonades. So, she continues with the school idol club with Rin and Hanayo by her side. She's not willing to let herself be defeated again and this is something that is not well appreciated due to the comic approach they give to the character.
Nico is the character with the most solid foundations, but they're disregarded in order of make her a comic relief character. This is the main reason why I can't put her higher in this top, this and some of her attitudes that I don't like. Even so, she is a character to whom I must partly owe recognizing my own demons and maintain the perseverance to never give up.
7. KOTORI
As with Umi, something very similar happened to me with Kotori, I can't identify with her. She is the character that I have had the hardest time understanding. Untll now, Kotori was always my number eight. The reason why she is now one position above in my list is because I finally managed to understand her or I want to think I did it. However, the main reason why she isn't higher in this top is because the plot of going to study abroad. For me that is the weakest subplot of Love Live! and it did a lot of damage to the characters involved, Kotori being the most affected.
This is something very personal. but I find it hard to understand people who are so indecisive. The worst part is that in this case, Kotori could have said something about the opportunity she had to study abroad and sought support from the other girls to make a decision, but no, she let it go until the last moment when the group already had other conflicts and dropping this bomb at the worst moment was fatal for μ's. Although there are worse attitudes in a situation like that, but I may write about that another time.
Now, that is the main reason why I don't rank her higher in this top, but the reason why now I love her a little more is because another trait of her personality. I always found her a somewhat boring character because I couldn't see a clear goal for her. I know, she wanted to be a fashion designer, but I didn't see how being in μ's could help her achieve that. To me, she was just Honoka's best friend and she was only there to validate and support all the ideas that the leader came up with. And I wasn't entirely wrong, but that's not a bad thing. In a recent rewatch I did of the anime, I noticed a very interesting dialogue between Nico and Kotori. I don't remember which episode was it, but in that conversation, we can see that Kotori is aware of her role and responsibility within μ's. This, coupled with meeting someone like her, gave me a new perspective about Kotori.
The positive aspect of the subplot of Kotori going study abroad is that after that, she had a small evolution. Although she always supports whatever Honoka does, with the talk she had with Nico, I realized that she is aware of this and she knows her responsibilities and although it seems she only validates what the orange-haired girl does, actually we can see that Kotori is very aware of it and now she is able to correct her leader if necessary. My mistake was thinking that everyone should have their own individual goal, but that isn't always the case. There are people who enjoy being the companion, and I sincerely believe those people are worth their weight in gold because it's beauatiful to have someone who, no matter what happens, is always there for you, someone who supports you. Even in great stories, heroes wouldn't have succeeded without such a person by their side. There's a character who says it very clearly in a dialogue: "Frodo wouldn't have far without Sam".
It's very nice to have someone like Sam or Kotori by our side, and I think we should be grateful to them because many times thanks to them we can keep going. Sincerely, I think Honoka couldn't have had better childhood friends than Umi and Kotori, one to keep her grounded and make sure she does things right, and the other to keep her confident and be that voice that tells her you're doing it great. If you have a Kotori in your life, let her know you appreciate her, value her and take care of her.
6. RIN
Rin is a character who used to be higher in this top, mainly because of her episode, but recently when I watch the anime again, I noticed that it's not her who grows the most in that episode. Even so, I think many of us can relate with her. It's in childhood where we are most susceptible, and although the anime superficially addresses the issue, the comments made about you, especially in childhood, can leave a very big wound in your soul. In this case, Rin's supposed unfeminine look caused her insecurity about certain things like wearing a skirt. If you're someone who also had or has some kind of insecurity due to comments or opinions from others, Rin's episode is one you can connect with.
And although it's very nice and shows us that there will always be people who give us the confidence to break free from those insecurities, my biggest complaint with this episode is that there must have been two episodes instead of one. Because an issue like this isn't something you can resolve so easily in real life. An insecurity that has lingered for years is not resolved in a moment. Confidence is something that takes time to build. But, I won't be too demanding about this aspect, since it's the first gen and in the future Sunrise would refine this aspect better, so I'm going to acknowledge them for introducing such a theme to this franchise.
What I learned, talking about Rin, is that we shouldn't pay attention to what others say, only to the people who truly loves us. Sometimes we are too critical of ourselves and don't realize our virtues, which those around us do notice. So, we should pay more attention to what the people who know us and love us think, and listen less to the opinions of people who sometimes only seek to hurt someone.
5. HANAYO
At first, Hanayo and Rin had their places swapped, but I think Hanayo was the one who had more development. Even in Rin's episode, Hanayo, in my opinion, showed greater growth. Her development may go a bit unnoticed, as being stereotyped characters, they must maintain those distinguishing characteristics, so it may seems that Hanayo is the same from the beginning to end, but if we pay enough attention to the details, that's not the case.
Hanayo is, after Nico, the most prepared girl to be an idol. The problem is that she is very shy, but when it comes to idols, she is not only the most passionate, but also a very determined person. Don't forget that, thanks to her μ's was able to take the first step, since in the first concert, where there was no one, Hanayo's appearance gave Honoka the determination to continue with the performance. After this and thanks to Maki and Rin, who gave her confidence, she was able to join μ's. It's seems that there is no change in her after this, until we reach Rin's episode.
In this episode we can see Hanayo's growth better. Rin always supported her and it was time to reciprocate. She had to decide what to do, no one could tell her what to do, she was the one who had to make the decision, and so she did. With great determination, it was now her who gave Rin the push to do what she knew she wanted, thus closing the circle. This made it clear that Hanayo not only no longer doubted but was also capable of helping others who had doubts and insecurities. It couldn't be shown much of that, but for me she was the foundation for what would later become the incredible development of one of the Nijigasaki members.
I haven't watched many idol series, so I don't know if it's something new, but I think it's great that Sunrise introduces a character with similar traits to this one in every generation. Hanayo is a character who, compared to the others, doesn't shine as much, but I think that's normal because I believe the idea of the character is to serve as inspiration for all those shy people. You wouldn't imagine seeing such a person performing in public as idol, and that's precisely what makes the message of "daring to do what you want" more powerful for me. No matter if you are a shy person, confidence is something you can build, so no matter how scared you are, it's better to try than live with the regret. And if you can do it surrounded by supportive people, even better, as a little help from others never hurts.
4. ELI
If we talk about the best characters, Eli would have to be lower down, but here is where the subjective factor comes in. And the truth is, originally, I had Eli as my number two and it's not that I like Eli less now, but the two that follow, I consider them to have many merits for me to like them more. But, speaking of Eli, the initial reason why she was one of my favorites is that she is blonde and foreign. Yes, I'm a simple fool. Give me a blonde foreigner with one of the best lines in anime history, and I'll be happy. Like many of you, I didn't like Eli that much at first, or well, that's what I'd like to say but because of what I mentioned earlier about being a blonde foreigner that was enough to have me on her team. That and the fact that I didn't like Honoka very much. Once we get to know her background and why she's against the school idols, it's impossible not to love her.
But it doesn't end there. When Eli join μ’s, she shows us with her actions why she's so admired. It's thanks to her that they start talking each others as equals and she, along with Umi, brings balance to μ’s between seriousness and lightness. Although something I really like is that once she joins the group, her attitude changes a lot and she starts to relax more, which I like and it's understandable because after knowing the burden she had, it's pretty natural to want to relax and enjoy. I also love the details that Sunrise adds, like her fear of the dark or that she once mistook fake chocolate for real. Those are the things that couldn't be there and wouldn't change anything, but they give her more humanity.
For me, there are only two things Eli did wrong: one was establishing the trope of the student council president who don't want idols in their school, and the other was leaving my neuron twin as her successor. Apart from that, I think she is amazing. She even has a little evolution, and at the beginning, one of her mentioned characteristics is that she is very proud. But when she joins μ’s and becomes more involved with the other girls, we see that she is capable of letting go that pride to protect μ’s and each of the girls if necessary. For example, when Honoka quits, Eli goes and talk to her and even tell her that it's thanks to her that she was able to regain the spark to enjoy life. Another example that maybe she is the one who cares the most is that she is willing to do anything to make the love song that Nozomi wanted, in what is undoubtedly my favorite episode of all Love Live!
With Eli, what stuck with me the most and what I think we should try to imitate is her way of living after joining μ’s. One might expect her to be like Umi, being the most mature, but maturity I believe also implies knowing when to relax. We almost always see her playing or taking things lightly, but when the situation really requires it, she is the first to take it seriously and try to find a solution. This is what I believe we should aspire to, to enjoy life, act even like children if we feel like it, but when situation really requires it, take it with the seriousness it needs. As I said before, Eli became one of my favorites just for being the foreign blonde, but her unique way of being is what has kepts her as one of them.
3. HONOKA
Next one is my neuron twin, the cause more headaches than smiles and with a head emptier than a wallet at the end of the month, but with a will stronger than nature itself. Honestly, Honoka is the character whose perception has changed the most for me. When I watched the anime the first time, she seemed barely bearable to me and was one of my least favorites. Aside from the occasional joke, I liked few things about her. But recently, when I watched the anime again, it was like seeing a different character. People change, and part of that change is reflected in our tastes, so it's normal for us to like something today that maybe we didn't like years ago, and that's what happened to me with the leader of μ’s.
Honestly, I'm very happy to have Honoka so high on my list because that means I can connect with her optimism, her incredible willpower and that magic of believing in dreams. I had heard that as you grown up, it's very common to lose the excitement, we start to see things in a darker way, become more cynical, and act too seriously. And all that is justified by saying that now we are more mature. Well, seeing that before Honoka seemed like an annoying character to me and now everything she represents resonates a lot with me, maybe you can say I went from mature to immature, but I don't care. I'm living the best time of my life so far, I know I have a bright future ahead and waking up every day is exciting.
One of my favorite moments, and perhaps the one that best defines Honoka, is when she stops the rain. It's a moment that gives us the message a great will is capable of overcoming any obstacle, and what better way to show Honoka's great will than by stopping the rain. Here, she declares that they will not only participate in the Love Live!, but they will win it. And it may seem too optimistic, but that optimism is backed by the great will and determination she possesses. A writer once said: "Shoot for the moon, even if you fail, you'll land among the stars".
Stop listening to people who haven't achieved what you want, instead, pay attention to those who have done it. People who haven't tried will tell you it's dangerous, that it's a fantasy, they'll tell you anything to discourage you from trying, but no matter how ridiculous or fantasy it may sound, if it is what you want, DO IT! Remember this girl with orange hair who was nobody, but who managed to save her school, touch many hearts and inspire many people to work towards that dream, both on and off the screen. She may not be the most talented and she makes a lot of mistakes, but μ’s couldn't have had a better leader.
2. NOZOMI
I made a last minute change here. If I had started watching Love Live! today, Nozomi would easily be my number one, and in fact, I did put her as my number one, but I realized that if I did that I would be lying to myself. And yes, at this point it is impossible to hide that Maki is my number one and I'll explain the reasons for that when her turn comes. But, going back to Nozomi, as I said, she could easily be my favorite character. She's the one I find more interesting, and there are themes about her that resonate a lot with me.
The first one is when we see her past, which is perhaps my favorite episode of all Love Live! (Episode eight of the second season). Like Nozomi, I'm not one to stay in one place for long, so I understand how hard it's to create connections with people and make friends with this pace of life. Although unlike her, I do it of my own free will. I love exploring different places and value my freedom a lot. But with every choice you make, you have to reject something else, so even though I do it voluntarily, I understand the loneliness that can be felt. Moreover, in her case, it's worst because she experienced it as a child, and at that age, making friends and socializing is very important. Knowing this, it's very easy to understand why she's interested in creating the μ’s we know. And here comes the most interesting part.
Nozomi is perhaps the most selfless selfish character I've seen. She was the one who put the pieces in place for μ’s to exist. She helped some of the girls to gain confidence, others to have clarity about what they wanted, and in general, she helped everyone get to know each other. This might paint her as a very kind and selfless girl who cares about others, and yes, to a certain extent, that's true. But what's interesting is when we realize that she did all of this to create a group she could belong to, as she herself told Maki, she has a very personal interest in μ’s. That's why I say she's the most selfless selfish character, because, yes, she helps everyone become part of μ’, but she doesn't do it selflessly, she does it to have a group to belong to. That's what makes her very interesting for me.
Although loneliness and solitude are sometimes used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Solitude is when you make the choice to be alone, loneliness is about not being with other people or feeling unwanted by other people. Loneliness can be suffocating, and there comes a point where you might want to do anything to stop being alone. That's why it's very understandable that Nozomi acted selfishly to create μ’s. Yes, she had Eli, but the reason they came together was that they were both lonely. Eli had other matters to attend to, so rather than being together, I see it as they shared their loneliness.
The selfishness of Nozomi is what makes her very interesting to me and allows me to connect better with her. I believe everyone should be a little selfish, and in fact, if you want to materialize a dream, you must be. You dream could be something that helps many people, but the reason behind it is still selfish because part of achieving that dream is the personal satisfaction of having done it. In Nozomi's case, she wanted a group to belong to, and in the process, she helped the other girls. This isn't a bad thing. There will always be a selfish motive behind your desires, but if you can help other people with that, then all the better.
I'll close with something else I love about her , which is her relationship with Maki and Eli. Regarding Eli, there´s nothing to say that hasn't already been said, there's a reason they are the best ship in Love Live! But about her relationship Maki, their episodes complement each other very well. The first time I didn't understand that when Nozomi told Maki that she knew someone like her, she was referring to herself. Who better to help you that someone who is similar to you? So, of course, it had to be Maki who helped uncover and bring out Nozomi's more vulnerable side, with the help of Eli, of course. She even echoes back the line "You´re troublesome". I loved that episode because not only we discover who Nozomi really is, but it's the one that ties all the pieces together. My only issue with this episode is that it didn't have a second part. I'd have loved to see how they all composed Snow Halation together. For me, and even though I haven't finished watching Love Live! Superstar!!, Nozomi is the most interesting character in the franchise.
1. MAKI
Honestly, If I had started watching Love Live! today, Maki'd at most be my number four. I tried to analyze all of the girls based only on what was seen in the anime, but this placement is entirely for reasons unrelated to the anime. The truth is that Maki has always been my number one from the start, and it all started in a very silly way. I already mentioned with Eli that I'm a simple fool, give me a blonde and I'll be happy. Well, I lied a bit about that because if there's anything I like to see more than a blonde, it's a redhead. And yes, as silly as it sounds, that was my initial reason for Maki being my favorite from the moment I saw the anime poster.
So, it would be normal that, now that I supposedly have better judgment, Maki would drop several places because let's be honest, she is one of the least interesting characters speaking only of the anime. The topic of being a doctor was never explored, nothing is known about her relationship with her parents, I don't know if in the end she will continue with music or what decision she will make. She's perhaps the most wasted character of this generation. I understand that the manga does explore some of this, but I haven't read it yet. So, with all this, it would be natural to believe that she would no longer be my favorite, but things happened.
Aside from being redhead, her first appearance in the anime gave me more reasons to have her as my favorite. Her introduction playing Aishiteru Banzai was one of the main reasons I kept watching the anime. That scene had to convey to us the same feelings that Honoka and Nozomi felt when they heard it, I have to believe that I am hearing something special, and at least with me, it works. Then it turned out she was a tsundere, which back in those years was something I really liked. So, she had everything I liked in a female character.
And now comes the interesting part, and I don't know where to start. Starting with Aishiteru Banzai, I loved that song, and the truth is, I was disconnected from Love Live! for several years, but one of the few things I kept was this song. The funny part is that of all the songs, I I remembered
little, Aishiteru Banzai was one of the ones that stuck with me the most, but I don't know if it was selective memory or a memory lapse, but I remembered it as a solo Maki's song, and that's how I listened to it for years. It wasn't until recently that I realized it was a μ’s song.
And well, the importance of Aishiteru Banzai in this is that remembering it as a Maki song, I had it as a Maki song, and for several years, that song accompanied me in important moments. I don't why but listening to that song gave me a bit of hope when things were going bad. I'm not someone who's very open about myself, and when I have a problem, I find it hard to ask for help. That's something I've been working on lately. So when I had a problem or things were going bad, Aishiteru Banzai was my comfort song. I feel it as support, like someone saying: "Cheer up, things get better". Sometimes it was my only company and that's very special to me. Yes, I know it's a μ’s song, but for me, it will always be a Maki Nishikino's song and my favorite song of all Love Live!
And if the above wasn't enough, as I mentioned, one of the main reasons I kept watching the anime is the scene of Maki playing Aishiteru Banzai on the piano, so basically Maki got me hooked on the anime and thanks to that, I had the opportunity to create bonds with some incredible people. I've experienced memorable moments, and although I don't usually feel atached to material things, I have a Maki that a friend made for me and it's one of my most precious possessions on earth. My love for Maki started in the most superficial way, but because of everything I mentioned, the connection I now have with the character has nothing to do with her story or development in the anime, but with all the good times she gave me and also for accompanying me in the bad times with her song Aishiteru Banzai. That's why Maki will always be my number one in Love Live!
Thank you very much for reading if you made it this far. This started as just another top, but as I was writing it, many emotions came to me, and writing this became a very cathartic exercise. I love them so much and I didn't want this to be a ranking of who is better, they are so unique that we can all have our favorite. I love them all, some more than others, and what I wanted to convey was not which one is better, but what makes me love each one. I don't know if I do the same with other generations, but if not, I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I invite you to share who is your favorite and why.
Until next time!
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