You know, with the whole thing being rap and Sumire being the best rapper in the group…there wasn’t really any rap in the song!! There’s probably rap in the full version of the song but I was really excited to hear it, and a little let down. Still, this is easily my favorite song of the show so far!
I think this episode could have been a lot better if we had spent more time on Sumire’s lack of confidence. I thought it was a little weird when Kanon and Chisato said that whenever they would try to have Sumire as the center of the song, that she would then switch it to anyone else. Weird, because we’ve never seen this before. In fact, we’ve seen the opposite in her first episode where she WANTED to be center when first joining the group. So I did find it weird that she was so nervous about being the center, I thought she would have been thrilled. But instead it went in a completely different direction and they really ramped up the drama at the end, which I think they resolved a little too quickly.
I do have to say, I do like what they’re doing with Sumire. I do think she stands out with how stylish she is, but it’s interesting that they admit that Sumire can sing well, dance well, etc., but compared to the other girls she still doesn’t really stand out that much. Again, I don’t really agree with that and again I don’t think they’ve done a good job really showing us that, but we do know that Sumire has always been shafted when growing up in show business. She would never be the lead, only the supporting role. And after years of playing the supporting role and losing all chances at the spotlight, it really can get at you and mess with your confidence. And Sumire I think represents something that a lot of people relate with, something I can sort of connect with: You’re good at what you do, but not good enough to be praised for it. Basically, average. I don’t think Sumire is average, probably more above average, but she doesn’t have one thing that really sets her apart. She’s serious about what she does, she has a lot of passion and talent, and we see that she works really hard. And even then, after all those hours of practicing, it still isn’t enough. And sometimes life can just be like that. You work your ass off and it still doesn’t get you anywhere. You’re just there. I think that’s something a lot of people relate to, and I think it’s great that Love Live has given us a character like that. Sure, I wish they did a little better with it like really giving us alone time with Sumire to get her thoughts on everything and with her insecurities. Also actually seeing what the students had to say about Sumire instead of Chisato just saying it without showing us. But even so, Sumire isn’t like the other Love Live characters that we’ve had and I really appreciate that. And it makes me appreciate her way more than before.
I’m glad that HOPEFULLY they’re going to lay the Keke vs Sumire banter to rest. At first I thought the teasing was a little funny, but lately I thought Keke took it a little far and was too mean spirited. I felt that way in the beginning of the episode when Keke implied having Sumire as the center was a bad idea since she’s always failed to be in the spotlight and…OUCH. I thought that was unnecessarily harsh of her to say. And I’m glad Kanon chimed in that she was the same way with never being able to sing in front of others until recently, because yeah good point! I know that Keke had been angry at Sumire for not taking school idols seriously at first, but to keep up this attitude is a little much. I also was not a fan of Sumire always being the butt of the jokes, I don’t want another Nico situation.
I wished Keke gave Sumire a formal apology, but she did make her an outfit and even a tiara. I do think the jump from being against her being the center, to wanting her as center was a little too fast. That’s been a trend with this season, with the resolution happening too fast. Again, I think it needed more time. More interactions with Keke and Sumire where they weren’t arguing with each other. All we got was Keke watching Sumire practice, and that was fine, but it didn’t feel like enough. I wish this series would slow down sometimes, but I think I should be used to this when it comes to Love Live.
Still, the performance was amazing and very different from past Love Live performances. It was really sexy, and very fun. It’s definitely my style and I think it suits Sumire really well! I love the princess dresses too, the outfits this season have also been so great. Again, barely any rap even though the theme was supposed to be rap so a let down. Even then, this is my favorite performance so far and Sumire looked absolutely gorgeous. I hope after this episode, it brings the girls even closer to each other and with less tension between Sumire and Keke. Sumire is a good girl.
Also that drama with Keke possibly returning to China…giving me Kotori going overseas vibes. Sigh…
