Love Live! Superstar!!

The story is set in the Yuigaoka Private Girls High School (私立結ヶ丘女子高等学校, Shiritsu Yuigaoka Joshi Kōtō Gakkō) that lies between the Omotesando, Harajuku, and Aoyama neighborhoods of Tokyo. The school was originally going to be demolished, only to have instead recently reopened to accept students. Within a school that hasn't made a name for itself, along with no history or accomplishments to speak of, Kanon Shibuya and four other first year students discover the existence of "school idols" and set out to let their voices be heard. They form a school idol group named Liella!, and aim to become superstars in their own right one day.

Where appropriate, plot descriptions mentioned below refer to the anime television series. Other parts of the franchise, such as the manga and novel series, feature some variations in the storyline. The original five members are first-year students in the first season and advance as second-year students in the second season.

Liella!

Group logo

Kanon Shibuya (澁谷 かのん, Shibuya Kanon)

Voiced by: Sayuri Date[3][4]

Kanon is a high school second-year student who claims to be "someone with no stand out characteristics." She has a fond appreciation for both singing and playing the guitar. However, she tends to tense up when she is set to perform in front of other people, which has caused her to pass out on several occasions on stage. Due to this, she failed the entrance exam for Yuigaoka Girls' music program, and ended up settling for the school's general academic program instead. Her family consists of a dad who works as a translator, a mom who runs a cafe, and a younger sister. She and her younger sister often helping their mother with running the cafe, with one of her specialties being latte art. She keeps a chubby Eurasian scops owl as a pet named "Manmaru," which is also the cafe's popular mascot. She wears glasses and ties her hair up when at home. Kanon serves as the leader of Liella!, as well as lyricist and composer. She is part-Spanish because of her grandmother.

Keke Tang (唐 可可, Tan Kūkū)

Voiced by: Liyuu[3][4]

Keke is a second-year student who hails from Shanghai, China, having just recently moved to Japan—her mother's homeland—to become a school idol, and is responsible for recruiting new members for the club. Despite wanting to become a school idol, Keke lacks in physical stamina and has a hard time keeping up with her fellow members. She holds the JLPT N1 certificate. She enjoys stage costumes, and has a hobby of creating and restoring them. As such, she serves as the club's official wardrobe supervisor. She has a habit of speaking in Mandarin when she gets overly excited.

Chisato Arashi (嵐 千砂都, Arashi Chisato)

Voiced by: Nako Misaki[3][4]

Chisato is a second-year student and Kanon's childhood friend who is good at breakdancing. She is an energetic girl who can easily befriend anyone she meets. Chisato likes anything that is round shaped; especially Kanon's pet Manmaru, who seems to be wary around Chisato when she comes to visit. She is also known to keep up to date on gossip and rumors that are spread around the school. Despite having an interest in school idols, Chisato initially does not want to become one as she thinks she is better off supporting Kanon instead. She initially belonged to Yuigaoka's music program, but moved the general program after deciding to join the school idols. She has a part time job at a takoyaki shop, which is also her favorite food. She is distinguishable with her twin tail hairstyle and hair buns.

Sumire Heanna (平安名 すみれ, Heanna Sumire)

Voiced by: Naomi Payton[3][4]

Sumire is a second-year student and a posh shrine maiden who lives at a well-known and respected community shrine located near the school. Her personality tends to come off as somewhat stuck up to strangers, and initially appears as slightly antisocial. She was a former child actress who struggled to receive headlining roles in any project she worked on. Because of her experience in the world of show business, she expected to take the position of center within Liella!, eventually being voted in last place with Kanon taking the lead. She has a younger sister. Due to her knowledge of the entertainment industry, she has several hidden talents, one of which being freestyle hip hop. Her catchphrase is "Galaxy!"

Ren Hazuki (葉月 恋, Hazuki Ren)

Voiced by: Nagisa Aoyama[3][4]

Ren is a second-year student who is the daughter of the school founder, Hana Hazuki, as well as the student council president. She belongs to the music program. She is polite, disciplined, and known for her strict personality. She lives nearby the school, and takes pride in the rich history of Yuigaoka. Initially, she is unfriendly and strict towards the school idol club, doing everything in her power to shut down opportunities that come by. It is revealed that Ren's mother had died due to illness, and Ren's harsh attitude to school idols came from a misconception that Hana had regretted becoming a school idol, but the truth is eventually divulged that being a school idol was one of Hana's most treasured memories from her high school years. Following in her mother's footsteps, Ren decides to join the unit as the group's fifth member.

Kinako Sakurakoji (桜小路 きな子, Sakurakōji Kinako)

Voiced by: TBA[4][5]

A first-year student from Hokkaido who decided to become a school idol after seeing Liella!.

Mei Yoneme (米女 メイ, Yoneme Mei)

Voiced by: TBA[4][5]

A first-year student who is often misunderstood due to her "scary eyes."

Shiki Wakana (若菜 四季, Wakana Shiki)

Voiced by: TBA[4][5]

Shiki is a first-year student who is in the science club aside from the school idol club.

Natsumi Onitsuka (鬼塚 夏美, Onitsuka Natsumi)

Voiced by: TBA[4][5]

A popular "L-tuber" who decided to become a school idol to gets more followers and money.

The franchise announced a separate anime adaptation other than Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club in January 2020, which features a new set of characters, who are all first-year students in a newly reopened school originally on the verge of demolition. The school lies between the Omotesando, Harajuku, and Aoyama neighborhoods of Tokyo. In addition, an audition for one of the main cast was held on March 12, 2020, but was postponed due to COVID-19.[6] Atsushi Saitō serves as the character design adapting style of the series' original character designer Yūhei Murota.[7] The school name was decided through fans' votes and concluded in May 2020 with Yuigaoka Girls High School (結ヶ丘女子高等学校, Yuigaoka Joshi Kōtō Gakkō). The main characters names were also announced: Kanon Shibuya, Tang Keke, Chisato Arashi, Sumire Heanna, and Ren Hazuki.[8]

The project's name, Love Live! Superstar!! was announced in July through the series' exclusive magazine Love Live! Days.[9][10] In September, the school idol group's name, "Liella!" was also chosen through fans' votes.[11] The name was chosen among 16 options that fans could vote for.[7] The name "Liella!" comes from a combination from a French word "lier" which means "to connect", which is the same as Yui (結) in the school's name in Japanese, and "brilliante", which means an "inner glow". Behind the group's name lies the feelings of the hope that the small stars of today who have their own brilliance will become superstars someday.[12]

The cast of the five main characters was later revealed in December 2020: Sayuri Date, Liyuu, Nako Misaki, Naomi Payton, and Nagisa Aoyama. Date and Aoyama are members who passed the open audition that was held earlier in the year.[13][lower-alpha 1] The group's debut single, "Hajimari wa Kimi no Sora" (始まりは君の空) released on April 7, 2021. The single includes an animation PV and released in two versions—each with different B-sides: "Minna de Kanaeru Monogatari" (みんなで叶える物語) and "Watashi o Kanaeru Monogatari" (私を叶える物語).[14]

The anime television series is animated by Bandai Namco Filmworks and directed by Takahiko Kyogoku, with Jukki Hanada handling series composition and Atsushi Saito designing the characters. Yoshiaki Fujisawa returns from his work on Love Live! School Idol Project to compose the music. The series aired on NHK Educational TV from July 11 to October 17, 2021.[15] Funimation has licensed the series for international releases.[16] Liella! perform both the opening and ending themes, titled "Start!! True Dreams" and "Mirai wa Kaze no Yō ni" (未来は風のように) respectively, from episode 2 onwards. Special animated music videos made specifically for the NHK Educational TV broadcast featuring original songs by Liella! air after each episode titled "Songs of Liella!".[17]

On October 24, 2021, it was announced during a live screening event of the first season that a second season is currently in production. The announcement was uploaded to the official Love Live! Series YouTube channel shortly after the event.[18] The second season will premiere in July 2022.[19] The second season features four additional Liella! members.

Various Liella! songs were playable through Love Live! School Idol Festival and its spin-off game School Idol Festival All Stars for limited amounts of time.[20] SR cards of Liella! members were also made available through a special login bonus in School Idol Festival as commemoration of the anime series' broadcast.[21]

Kanon Shibuya's family café was modeled after the exterior of a real café in Shibuya, Café Casa, subsequently causing the café's staff to receive infringements of their privacy via social media and reviews. In June 2021, the Love Live! staff issued an apology and admitted that they had used the café as a reference without permission or "prior consideration." The design of the café in the anime was subsequently changed so it less resembled Café Casa.[22]

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Love Live! Superstar!! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia