Love Live! Superstar!!

Did You Know?

• A spin-off manga titled Love Live! Superstar!! Chii-chan Buchō wa Yūnō Desu! began serialization on March 30, 2023, focusing on Chisato Arashi.
• Liella! songs were playable in Love Live! School Idol Festival and School Idol Festival All Stars for limited times.
• The anime's depiction of a family café caused a real café, Café Casa, to receive privacy infringements; Sunrise later changed the design.

Plot

Set at Yuigaoka Private Girls High School between Omotesando, Harajuku, and Aoyama in Tokyo, the school was nearly demolished but reopened. Five first-year students, including Kanon Shibuya, discover school idols and form a club later named Liella! to make their mark. Over three years, membership grows from five to nine to eleven as the group gains popularity.

Characters

The original five members are first-year students in the first season, second-year in the second, and third-year in the third. Kanon Shibuya is a kind, selfless third-year who helps at her family's café and owns a pet Eurasian scops owl. Tang Keke, from Shanghai, China, holds a JLPT N1 certificate and speaks Mandarin when excited. Chisato Arashi, Kanon's childhood friend, trains as a breakdancer and loves round objects. Sumire Heanna lives at a shrine near school, acting arrogant to strangers but nicer to friends. Ren Hazuki, daughter of the school founder, serves as student council president. Kinako Sakurakoji, a second-year from Hokkaido, lives alone, refers to herself in third person, and ends sentences with '~ssu'. Mei Yoneme is also a member.

Development

A new anime project was announced in January 2020 after Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, featuring first-year students at a reopened school near Omotesando, Harajuku, and Aoyama. An audition on March 12, 2020, was postponed due to COVID-19. The school name Yuigaoka Girls High School and the group name Liella! were chosen through fan votes. Liella! combines French 'lier' (to connect) and 'brilliante' (inner glow). The main cast—Sayuri Date, Liyuu, Nako Misaki, Naomi Payton, and Nagisa Aoyama—was revealed in December 2020. The debut single 'Hajimari wa Kimi no Sora' released on April 7, 2021, in two versions.

Broadcast and distribution

The anime, animated by Bandai Namco Filmworks and directed by Takahiko Kyogoku, aired on NHK Educational TV from July 11 to October 17, 2021. Funimation streamed it internationally. From episode 2, Liella! performed opening and ending themes 'Start!! True Dreams' and 'Mirai wa Kaze no Yō ni'. A second season aired July 17 to October 9, 2022, and a third season from October 6 to December 22, 2024, with themes 'Let's be One' and 'Daisuki Full Power'.