CATDOLL: Japanese media analyzes the secret of the popularity of the all-platform project "Love Live!"

The craze of Japan's all-platform project "Love Live!" has swept the world. The cumulative sales of the first volume of the second season of the animation BD, which aired in 2014, have exceeded 110,000 copies, and the number of logins to the mobile game "Love Live! School Idol Festival" has exceeded 10 million, and the best album has sold 100,000 copies. There are so many fans that there are even artists and celebrities who claim to be "Love Livers". Among the many animations that have been aired so far, why can "Love Live!" receive such overwhelming support? Now the Japanese media has begun to explore the charm of this work and make an analysis. Let's take a look together.

Multimedia channel promotion

Love Live! is a work about nine girls with distinct personalities who decide to work together to become idols, hoping to save their favorite school by attracting more students with their fame. While the original work is being produced as an animation and game, it is also being promoted through more platforms and channels. In 2010, the comic version began to be serialized in the magazine Dengeki G'smagazine published by Kadokawa Bookstore. In addition, the name of the nine-member group is "μ's (Muse)", which means "goddess" in English. There are also mini-groups within the group, and they also hold "general elections" to decide the face of the group through voting, just like treating real idols, and constantly launch activities for fans to vote and participate. In fact, this promotional method of launching a series of reader participation projects is not original to Love Live!, but follows the same promotional method of Sister Princess (1999~).

μ's debuted not through TV animation, but through the animated PV video included in the first single disc. Because it is an ambitious work of the animation company Sunrise, which is famous for producing the "Gundam" series, the quality is quite high. The detailed expressions of the characters in the camera are hand-painted in 2D, and the alternating dance is 3DCG. At the same time, the aerial camera is boldly used to maximize the advantages of animation. And the gorgeous dance that is thought to be seen only in anime is also performed live with the voice actors' unremitting efforts in practice, which shocked the fans.

Attracting female fans

The first season of the TV animation, which aired from January to March 2013, was a turning point for this work. For old fans, this was the debut animation of "their idol", but it was also an opportunity for the explosive growth of new fans. The fusion of 2D and 3D was an innovation in animation technology, and the animation made a detailed description of the daily lives of the nine people, and also made a more in-depth analysis of each person's personality and relationship with each other. The story of the youth who struggled to resolve the crisis of the alma mater's closure and the story of constantly trying to overcome numerous difficulties and defeat themselves resonated with the audience.

Then, the mobile game "Love Live! School Idol Festival" launched in April 2013 also accelerated the popularity of "Love Live!". This is a music game where players can become students of Otonokizaka Academy, practice songs with "μ's" and hold concerts. Because it is a free game, it is easy to attract players. The plot part of the game for players to read is fully voiced (by the anime voice actors), and the LIVE part for enjoying rhythm beats includes more than 10 songs sung by μ's so far. The ability to attract fans is too strong.

For more related information, please visit: Love Live!

At the same time as the mobile game was launched, the TV animation began to be replayed, and the video network also kept replaying it. The repeated broadcasts on many media accelerated the gathering of popularity of this work. Fans of bishoujo anime and games are often mostly male, but the animation feature of "Love Live!" did not follow the common sexy route of bishoujo anime, and the stage costume design also prioritized cuteness, pursuing an overall fresh feeling. Because it abandoned the "common sense in the industry" of "bishoujo anime games for men", it attracted a large number of female fans, including actress Miyazaki Karen, who starred in the NHK Taiga TV series "Hana Momo", and generously revealed that she is a "loveliver".

Popularity like a real idol

The high-quality songs that can be called the "lifeline of idols" are the organic combination of 2D+3D animation, voice actor groups, mobile games and other elements. These songs are written by Aki Hata, who has written the opening song "Let's Go Adventure" for "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" and the opening song "Take It! Sailor Uniform" for "Lucky Star", and has rich creative experience. Her seriousness and responsibility ensure that all the songs are consistent and of high quality, "just like μ's own creations."

Of course, this work did not miss the essential element of "growth". The initial setting was that the 9 people sang together evenly, but as their personalities were determined, mini-group songs and dances began to appear. After the TV animation was broadcast, influenced by the "daily life stories of the members" depicted in the short stories and PVs, some deep songs that reflected the inner changes of the 9 people were later produced.

Senior fans get pleasure from watching them grow, while new fans enjoy the music and dance. μ's looks like a virtual beautiful girl character, which seems different from real idols at first glance, but while holding on to die-hard fans, the way they attract new fans through multimedia such as television and the Internet is exactly the same as the way real idols hype their popularity.

For more related information, please visit: Love Live!