English Dub Review: Love Live Sunshine “Uranohoshi Girls’ High School”

Say your farewells.

Overview:

The students request that Uranohoshi have a final school festival.

Our Take:

Uranohoshi is set to close, and the students want to put on a farewell celebration. Even if the school is inevitably going to close down, the students all feel that they should go out on a positive note. For that, they decide to do something like a school festival to show off the students’ work before they all end up going their separate ways. Even though they have different projects, all the girls still work together to make one of the last school experiences a good one.

Even though Mari tried her hardest to keep the school from closing, she still feels intensely guilty about not being able to protect it. She had to deliver the messages every time, but in the end felt powerless. Despite being in the most powerful position, she could only defer the decision, not change it completely. She faces the students with tears, apologizing for her inability to do more. Like her fellow members, the students don’t blame her. They might not know how much Mari tried, but they know she put in the effort. If all goes well, Mari and Aqours can still bring Uranohoshi’s name to the Love Live finals and preserve the name of the school if they win. The students’ positivity cheer Mari up, and she is able to end the farewell on a happy note.

Love Live could really go either way. The positivity that the girls have about the competition doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to win. They have worked very hard, but that isn’t a recipe for victory, especially for underdogs. At this particular point, it’s hard to say whether they have a certain victory— but either way, they’re going to put in their best effort regardless.