Love Live! (Japanese: ! Hepburn: Rabu Raibu!

) School Idol Project is a Japanese

multimedia project co-developed byASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine, music label Lantis,
and animation studio Sunrise. The project revolves around a group of fictional school girls who
become idols in order to save their school from shutting down. It launched in the August 2010 issue
ofDengeki G's Magazine, and went on to produce music CDs, anime music videos,
two manga adaptations, and video games. A 13-episode anime television series produced by
Sunrise and directed by Takahiko Kygoku aired in Japan between January and March 2013, with a
second season airing between April and June 2014. Both anime series and film are licensed in North
America by NIS America and United Kingdom by MVM Entertainment. An animated film distributed
by Shochiku was released in June 2015. A new project titled Love Live! Sunshine!! has been
announced, featuring an all-new cast of characters.
?

Plot[edit]
Honoka Ksaka is a girl who loves her school, Otonokizaka Academy. When the school is
planned to be closed down due to a lack of applicants, Honoka becomes determined to save it.
Learning that school idols are popular, Honoka and her friends start up a school idol group
called 's (pronounced muse) in order to attract new students. Once they successfully prevent
Otonokizaka Academy from closing, the girls from 's aim for higher grounds and participate in
"Love Live", the ultimate school idol competition featuring the best groups in the country.

Characters[edit]
's[edit]
Honoka Ksaka ( Ksaka Honoka )
?

Voiced by: Emi Nitta[2]

Honoka is the main character of the series, and is a second-year student at Otonokizaka
Academy. Her family works in a wagashi shop named Homura. Honoka has a cheerful
personality and she never gives up on anything, to the point of usually overexerting
herself. Her hobbies include swimming and collecting stickers. She is the leader of 's,
and is seen taking center position in some of the group's songs. She later succeeds Eli
as student council president.
Kotori Minami ( Minami Kotori )
?

Voiced by: Aya Uchida[3]

Kotori is Honoka's classmate and childhood friend, who is the daughter of Otonokizaka
Academy's chairwoman (Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka), whom she closely resembles. She
is known for having her head in the clouds despite holding responsibility as the group's
wardrobe supervisor and choreographer. She also has a really kind heart, not wanting to
hurt anybody. She becomes part of the student council.

Umi Sonoda ( Sonoda Umi )

?

Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori[4]

Umi is Honoka's classmate and childhood friend who is a member of the
school's kyd club, in which she is quite accurate. She believes Honoka is bossy and
pushy, but realizes the perks of having an adventurous friend, usually acting as the voice
of reason for her. As the daughter of a traditional family, Umi has expertise
in kend, koto, nagauta, calligraphy, and traditional dancing. She succeeds Nozomi as
the student council vice president.
Maki Nishikino ( Nishikino Maki )
?

Voiced by: Pile[5]

Maki is a first-year honor student expected to become a doctor and inherit her father's
work in her parents' hospital despite being a talented singer and pianist, which leads her
to refuse joining 's at first. Maki is the main composer and vocal coach of the group.
She later becomes the vice president of the Idol Research Club.
Rin Hoshizora ( Hoshizora Rin )
?

Voiced by: Riho Iida[6]

Rin is an athletic first-year student skilled in hurdling, association football and basketball.
Like Honoka, Rin has a cheerful personality but loses motivation easily and is a tomboy.
She also has a habit of acting like a cat.
Hanayo Koizumi ( Koizumi Hanayo )
?

Voiced by: Yurika Kubo[7]

Hanayo is a first-year student interested in drawing and origami. She is referred to as
Kayo, an alternate reading of the kanji in her name. Her closest friend is Rin, who is her
childhood friend. Also, among the main cast, she is the best at handling children. Her
catchphrase is, "Somebody, please help me!" or a variation depending on the media.
She is also a shy girl who dreamed about being an idol since she was little. She later
becomes the president of the Idol Research Club.
Nico Yazawa ( Yazawa Niko )
?

Voiced by: Sora Tokui[8]

Nico is a third-year student interested in fashion, and thus acts as the group's wardrobe
supervisor alongside Kotori. She grew up admiring idols and aspires to become one.
However, much to her chagrin, Nico is childlike in appearance and behavior despite her
age, looking much younger than the rest of the group. Within the group, she is a very

good cook. Nico formed the Idol Research Club, but all of her club members left one
after another because of her high standards. When Honoka and her friends ask her to
have the club as 's base of operations, she is reluctant at first, doubting how far they
are willing to go to become successful idols, until she approves their effort and also joins
the group. After she graduates, she passes on the role of club president to Hanayo.
Nico's three younger siblings (Voiced by: Sora Tokui) are Cocoa Yazawa (
Yazawa Kokoa ) , Kokoro Yazawa ( Yazawa Kokoro ) , and Kotar
?

Yazawa ( Yazawa Kotar ).

?

Eli Ayase ( Ayase Eri )

?

Voiced by: Yoshino Nanj[9]

Eli is Otonokizaka Academy's third-year student council president who is determined to
save the school. Although she opposes Honoka's plan at first, she ends up becoming the
last girl to join 's. She is part Russian because of her grandmother, and tends to say the
Russian word "" (IPA: [xro]; pronounced horosho, "good"). Eli's specialty is
quilting, and her experience with ballet qualifies her as the group's choreographer. She
has two brothers, but a sister named Alisa (Voiced by: Ayane Sakura) appears instead in
the anime.
Nozomi Tojo ( Tj
Nozomi )
?

Voiced by: Aina Kusuda[10]

Nozomi is the third-year student council vice-president, and the oldest of the group. She
acts as the voice of reason to Eli, who was the first friend she made after spending her
whole school life transferring from one place to another due to her parents' work,
choosing to live by herself in order to stay studying in Otonokizaka. She also acts as the
spiritual leader of the group, and has an almost all-knowing vibe to her, acting when she
knew things got too far and even naming the group based on events that were yet to
happen. Although she is not from that region, Nozomi speaks in Kansai dialect. Her
hobby is fortune-telling and she has the habit of groping the other girls when she finds
them distracted or depressed in a form of "cheering them up".

Others[edit]

Yukiho Ksaka (
Ksaka
Yukiho ) is Honoka's
?

younger sister who

often does
embarrassing things
in private. Voiced
by: Nao Tyama

Alisa Ayase (
Ayase Arisa ) is
?

Eli's younger sister

who is a big fan of
's. Having mostly
lived abroad due to
her being partRussian, she is
unfamiliar with many
Japanese customs.
Like her sister, she
tends to say the
Russian word
"". Voiced
by: Ayane Sakura

Tsubasa Kira (
Kira
Tsubasa ) is the
?

leader of rival group

A-Rise and is a
student at UTX High
School. Voiced
by: Megu
Sakuragawa

Erena Toudou (
Td
Erena ) is a member
?

of A-Rise with a
more adult look than
the others and is a
student at UTX High
School. Voiced
by: Maho Matsunaga

Anju Yuuki (
Yki Anju ) is a
?

member of A-Rise
with a princess-like
demeanor and is a
student at UTX High
School. Voiced
by: Ayuru hashi

Production[edit]
Since the first issue
of ASCII Media
Works' Dengeki G's
Magazine was
published, the editors of
the magazine have
hosted reader
participation games
whose development is
directly influenced by the
people who read the
magazine. The project
was first announced in
the July 2010 issue
of Dengeki G's
Magazine, which
revealed that the

magazine would be
collaborating with the
anime studioSunrise and
the music label Lantis to
co-produce the project.
[11]

The project officially

began with the August

2010 issue of Dengeki
G's Magazine, which
introduced the story,
characters, and a more
detailed explanation of
the project. The original
plan for the story was
written by Sakurako
Kimino, who also writes
the short stories for Love
Live! featured
in Dengeki G's
Magazine. Original
character design and
illustrations are provided
by Yhei Murota.
Starting in August 2010,
online mobile phone
popularity contests have
periodically been held to
rank the characters,
which influences the
positions of the idols in
the anime music videos
produced by Sunrise.
For example, the idol
who ranks first in a given

contest will be in the

center position in the
front row in the music
video that follows. Other
polls are used to
determine different
aspects of the idols,
such as hairstyles and
costumes.[12] Starting with
the November 2010
issue of Dengeki G's
Magazine, readers were
polled to determine the
name of the idols' group.
After the editors
narrowed it down to the
five most popular
names, readers were
polled for a final time,
ultimately choosing the
name 's. A similar
polling system was used
to determine the names
of the three mini units:
Printemps, BiBi, and Lily
White.

Media[edit]
Print media[edit]
A manga adaptation
titled Love Live!, written
by Sakurako Kimino and
illustrated by Arumi
Tokita, began

serialization in the
January 2012 issue
of Dengeki G's
Magazine. The manga
ended serialization in the
magazine's May 2014
issue and was
transferred to Dengeki
G's Comic starting with
the June 2014 issue.
[13]

The

first tankbon volume

was released on
September 27, 2012,
[14]

and three volumes

have been released as

of May 27, 2014.[15] The
second manga
titled Love Live! School
Idol Diary, written by
Kimino and illustrated by
Masaru Oda, began
serialization in the June
2014 issue of Dengeki
G's Comic.[13] The first
volume of School Idol
Diary was released on
September 26, 2014.[16]
A light novel series
titled Love Live! School
Idol Diary is written by
Kimino and contains
illustrations by Yhei
Murota, Natsu Otono

and Akame Kiyose.

ASCII Media Works
published 11 volumes
between May 30, 2013
and August 29, 2014.[17] A
fan book titled History of
Love Live! was released
on September 10, 2014,
which features the Love
Live! articles published
between the July 2010
and February 2013
issues of Dengeki G's
Magazine.[18]

Anime[edit]
See also: List of Love
Live! episodes
A 13episode anime television
series, produced by
Sunrise and directed by
Takahiko Kygoku, aired
in Japan on Tokyo
MX between January 6
and March 31, 2013 and
was simulcast
byCrunchyroll.[19] The
opening theme is
"Bokura wa Ima no Naka
de" ( ,
?

lit. "We're Living in the

Moment") and the
ending theme is "Kitto
Seishun ga

Kikoeru" (
, lit. "Surely Our
?

Youth Can Be Heard");

both are performed by
's (Emi Nitta, Aya
Uchida, Suzuko
Mimori, Yoshino Nanj,
Pile, Riho Iida, Aina
Kusuda, Yurika Kubo
and Sora Tokui).
An original video
animation episode was
released on November
27, 2013.[20] A second
season aired on Tokyo
MX between April 6 and
June 29, 2014, also
airing on TV
Aichi, Yomiuri TV,
and BS11,[21] and was
simulcast by Crunchyroll.
The opening theme is
"Sore wa Bokutachi no
Kiseki" (
, lit. "That Is Our
?

Miracle") and the ending

theme is "Donna Toki mo
Zutto" (
, lit. "Always No Matter
?

What"); both are

performed by 's. The
first season was
released on September
2, 2014 on BD.[22] An

animated film was

released in theaters on
June 13, 2015.[23] Both
anime series and film
are licensed by NIS
America for release in
North America.[24][25]
[26]

MVM

Entertainment will
release the first series in
the United Kingdom on
July 27, 2015 on DVD,
with plans to release it
on Blu-ray Disc in 2016
with an English dub.
[27]

MVM Entertainment

will also release the

second series in 2016.[28]

Video games[edit]
A free game titled Love
Live! School Idol
Festival was developed
by KLab and released
by Bushiroad for iOS dev
ices in Japan on April 15,
2013.[29] The game is
a collectible card
game with elements
of rhythm
game and visual
novel genres. A version
for Android was also
released. The game was
localized into English

and released worldwide

on May 11, 2014 for both
iOS and Android
devices,[30]and will also
receive localizations
available in China, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, and South
Korea.[31]
A series of three rhythmaction video games
developed by Dingo Inc.,
[32]

titled Love Live!

School Idol Paradise,

were released on August
28, 2014 for
the PlayStation Vita.
[33]

The three games were

released as Vol. 1
Printemps, Vol.2
BiBi and Vol.3 Lily
White. These games
sold 88,169 physical
retail copies altogether
within the first week of
release in Japan.[34]