Love Live! Sunshine!!

Episode 25

“Do you want to win the Love Live?” As Aqours gets ready to take the stage for their biggest performance yet, this is the question on everyone's minds. They've come so far, through emotional hardship, through transportation struggles, through writer's block and heartbreak and crushing disappointment, and now all of that will soon be over.

Their first stop is Kanda Myojin, de facto patron shrine of school idols and all things nerdy, where anime fans from all over the world stream in to hang prayer tablets for concert tickets, ultra rare mobage pulls, and the usual life and love stuff. It also happens to be where µ's Nozomi volunteered as a shrine maiden and where Aqours first met Saint Snow. The difference between then and now is stark. Back then, Aqours was still a scrappy unknown, with no fans outside of their insular community and practically no performance experience. Now they're not only in better shape, but when they run into Saint Snow again, it's as respected equals and true friends. Instead of being unknowns, they find that visitors to the shrine have left wishes on their behalf—for Aqours to win the Love Live.

But it's not just Aqours fans. There are similar prayer tablets for other school idol groups as well, all with the earnest well wishes of other fans. Everyone wants their favorite school idol group to win. And why shouldn't they win instead of Aqours? They probably worked just as hard, suffered just as much, and lived through their own setbacks and heartaches—the only difference is that our story happened to follow Aqours, not Aburiko Apricots, Umine Otome, Ninmari DAYS, or the thousands of other school idol clubs that the show could've followed in some parallel dimension. The show seems to be saying that there's a whole lot of love and dedication and spark out there—if everyone wants to win, and if everyone is the star of their own lives, maybe it's okay to not win.

The tension in the air afterward is almost palpable, so it's You to the rescue, trying to break the ice with a pillow fight. As the girls pelt each other with a closet full of pillows, Chika remarks that they're acting almost like their normal selves. It feels like she's trying to convince herself more than anything else.

They decide to spend their next morning enjoying some alone time, to quietly reflect on life and the question Chika seems to have asked everyone, “Do you want to win the Love Live?” While it's a cool interlude, with each character mulling over the things they've learned or their hopes for the future, the show seems to also be asking us, “Do you want Aqours to win the Love Live?” And to be honest, I'm not sure. Of course, I want them to win because I've grown to love these characters, and I want them to be happy. But...maybe I'd be okay if they didn't. Even if their name and Uranohoshi's name is never in the Love Live history books, it doesn't change what they've done, the memories they've made, the lives they've changed, and the journey that they've taken us on. Is it sappy to think this way about a fictional idol group? Maybe. But that's always been the intangible magic of Love Live!.

When the final performance arrives, it's a beautiful sight. The whole town is there to support them, even Shiitake in spirit, with her bizarrely prehensile tail. But by then, it almost doesn't matter anymore. The third years have accepted the end, and the underclassmen have already forged their permanent bonds of friendship. No matter what happens, they'll always have this shared experience. They sing as much, with lyrics focused on living in the present. And their outfits are cool as heck, with LED tape and maribou trim that begs to be cosplayed. As with most of the songs this franchise has pumped out, “WATER BLUE NEW WORLD” is catchy and peppy, and it's hard to not feel emotional in that happiness-button-pushing way that this show has perfected.

In the end, we still don't know what happens. That's being saved for next week. But as the episode keeps asking, “Do you wants Aqours to win the Love Live?” And the answer might be, “It doesn't matter.”

Rating: A

Love Live! Sunshine!! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.