User:FigureGunplaFan/Sandbox/Memes in Love Live!

In the Love Live! community, a lot of Memes are generated from this franchise.

A list of them can be seen below.

The Blonde/Purple Couple
Many/All of the fans infer that a trope consists of the blonde-haired and purple/dark-haired pairings as an common-yet-timeless concept for the entire franchise. So far, the only aversions are the pairing between Karin Asaka and Emma Verde in the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club anime.

Time will tell if Liella! will have their own pairing, as some fans speculate whether Ren Hazuki and Sumire Heanna will end up like them.

The "Non-Existent" Male Gender
Though this was both due to their rare appearance as background characters, and likely originating from one anonymous fan's comment, the majority of the Love Live! fanbase began to slowly treat the minor male characters as if they're "mythical" people. Ironically, the only examples that are averted are the faceless fathers (for example, Honoka's father) and Cotaro Yazawa. (see below)

"Season 3/Episode 14"
Many of the fans like to joke a possible "third season" and/or a "14th" episode of the Anime series. While the former was popularized by several fans due to their (general) denial to the first Love Live Movie serving as the finale of the first series, the latter recently became much more prominent after the Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club anime ended its airing.

Homoto Akina (Lanzhu Zhong's VA) lampshaded the latter by tweeting the joke.

Like Mother, Like Daughter
Fans jokingly point out some similarities to both µ's and Aqours members (Honoka and Chika, Riko and Umi etc) like if they are parents. One of the most famous examples include Nico Yazawa/Maki Nishikino and the Kurosawa Sisters, as the latter two shared the same names as Maki and Nico's precious stones in School Idol Festival.

The Yandere Depictions
At least 3 characters (Kotori Minami, You Watanabe, and Ayumu Uehara) are depicted as Yanderes for a variety of reasons:
 * 1) As for Kotori, this was originated from a Niconama where Emi Nitta (Honoka's voice actress) reveals that Kotori would possibly become a Yandere as Uchida Aya said that she'd get scary when she's angry when they did their character introductions, plus the School Idol Diary novel featuring her reveals some sadistic undertones in her relationship with Umi.
 * 2) As for You, this has came to fruition where We've Got Stewshine had Riko confessed to Chika, which causes the fandom to depict her as a Yandere who seeks revenge on Riko.
 * 3) As for Ayumu, this was likely to be originated from this photoshop., though other inspirations are her portrayal in her appearance in the Famitsu App 4koma, where she is depicted as an overly jealous, and sometimes violent school idol underneath her cute exterior.
 * 4) *Her voice actress, Aguri Onishi, also gets this treatment (hence the "Aguri Angry" nickname being used as a hypothetical reaction) as many fans pointed out to Hinaki Yano's interaction with other voice actresses and her admiring other main characters aside from Ayumu, though this was purely made for laughs in comparison to their depiction of her.

Time will tell whether Chisato Arashi will get a similar treatment since some fans pointed out she is not paired with any of the girls in the visuals in the 11th volume of ''Love Live! Days'' general magazine.

The "School Closing Down" Concept
Fans like to infer that the concept of the School Closing as a merely unbreakable tradition to the Love Live! franchise, as it was used twice on School idol project and Sunshine.

Amusingly, this joke also applies to any other school from other franchises such as Revue Starlight's Seisho High School after the reveal of the franchise collaborating with School Idol Festival.

The "School Idol" Initiation/Ritual"
In 2020, at least fans jokingly claimed that there are at least a few initiations are needed to become a School Idol in Love Live!, such as:
 * 1) Have your chest get Washi Washi Suru Yan'd by Nozomi Tojo.
 * 2) Do the Starlight and Fire Bird dance in Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS.
 * 3) Do the Doki Pipo ☆ Emotion dance in the game. (Optional)
 * 4) Do the MIRACLE WAVE flip in the game.

"School Idol Days"
A term referring to the infamous unofficial doujinshi created by Kyo-Zip (狂zip), the books are used as a common knowledge for a Love Live! manga, plus its popularity is due to its absurdly dark story.

The doujin's name is also used as a derogatory term for depicting the characters as yanderes, mainly Kotori Minami, You Watanabe, and Ayumu Uehara.

The Love Live!-Jojo's Bizarre Adventure relations
Initially started from a pixiv tag called "ジョジョライブ! (Jojo Live)", the fan concept slowly became a popular concept to the international fanbase over the years, with the fans doing similar things with an addition of (jokingly) latching on to even the most tangential of details as a "reference" to the Jojo franchise, coincidental or not.

In addition, some fans also humorously declare that both Love Live! and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure are "The one and the same" due to the similar core themes such as the ship tease subtext between the characters, their popularity in the 2010s, and the idea of legacy.

Honoka's butt
Honoka's slight buttocks injury in Come True! Our Dreams! has also become a subject for photoshops.

"Nico Nico Nii!"
Originated in Nico Attacks, Nico Yazawa's gesture and catchphrase is one of the most popular memes in the entire ''Love Live! ''fanbase.

"Washi Washi Suru Yan"
Originated from "Elichika", Nozomi's infamous groping gesture is also one of the subjects of becoming a signature (and infamous) meme. This also led fans to believe that she does this frequently, even though this was downplayed in Season 2. (In all fairness, subsequent media (such as the interactive menu in School Idol Festival ALL STARS) also continues to depict her with that pose, though occasional.

It's noteworthy that any clawed hand gestures from other characters (Riko Sakurauchi from The School Idol Movie Over The Rainbow and Yu Takasaki from her first visual appearance) are also seen as a reference to this posture.

"Rin Boy"


Originated from MakiRinPana where Rin Hoshizora is made fun of due to wearing a skirt, she is a subject for being mocked as if she's a crossdressing boy.

Dazing Honoka
This particular scene of Honoka (pictured on the right) reacting to Nico's signature pose in Nico Attacks is used as a reaction pic, or a macro meme with the captions referring to anything related to stupidity.

"Nani Sore? Imi Wakanai! (What's this? I don't get it!)
One of Maki's tsundere lines in the Anime are considered as both signature and memetic to the fanbase. Any of the other characters (such as Karin Asaka in The Uncharted Path) that uses a similar altitude can also be conceived as a reference to Maki's tsundere behavior.

"I quit"/The Umi Slap
Originated from a scene where Umi Sonoda slaps Honoka Kosaka for wanting to quit for being a School Idol in Friends, fans like to generally portray Umi as a person that is willing to slap some sense to any female character that wants to similarly quit like Honoka, such as:
 * Kanan Matsuura from Sunshine!!, though this was due to Mari's injury
 * Mai Natsukawa from School Idol Festival ALL-STARS, as she wanted to retire.
 * Setsuna/Nana and from Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, due to the differences between her and Kasumi's views.
 * Haruka Konoe from Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, though justified due to her being concerned to her sister's health.

This meme also bought some similarities to the infamous Bright Slap in the Gundam series, one of Sunrise's stablemates, and it's also referred to as "Umi's Greatest Hits".

Eli the Quarter Russian
Because of Eli Ayase being quarter Russian, many fans like to portray her as poster girl for anything Russian (such as her ability to rule with the power of dictatorship) and/or Gopnik stereotypes (such as her doing squats while wearing tracksuits)

"It doesn't seem like you have a girlfriend, and I don't think you'll get one!"
This very particular chorus from Kimi no Kuse ni! has been used mainly by the Chinese-speaking fanbase to insult lonely/single men, or make them to be aware to that statement.

Honoka the "Goddess"
Honoka Kousaka is also depicted/speculated as a powerful Goddess, mainly due to her stopping the rain by shouting in Love Live! Once Again (though her attempts are unsuccessful in A New Me). The appearance of the orange-haired Female Singer in  Love Live! The School Idol Movie and Kyoko in the Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club anime also further added that Honoka may be a time travelling entity.

Umi's Angry Faces


Umi's angry smile (sometimes followed by a frown) in both the "No. 1 Idol in the Universe" and "We Have to Do Something!" are seen as her lethally threatening expression of anger.

"Todokete"
The 7th verse for Snow halation's lyrics has become a subject of being a general meme when the song is mentioned by the fans. This was originally started by a YouTuber named SilvaGunner and Triple-Q.

Den Den Den!/Yume/Yuri no meiro.../Gayrasu YES Homozono
The Garasu no Hanazono song has become a subject of memes (or sincere evidence) due to the song being unsubtly references both Eli and Nozomi's relationship.

The Beach/Nebukawa Train Station
Originating from That Which We Decided, these particular two areas is infamously known as the places where all School Idols decided to permanently disband. (Though unlike Muse, Aqours continued with 6 members after Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie Over The Rainbow.)

The "BokuHika" Effect
The "Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari" song from Love Live! The School Idol Movie has split into different memes given its reputation as an infamously tear-jerking ending song:


 * The entirety of the song is widely considered as a major trauma button for the fans if mentioned.
 * The "Ima Ga Saikou" chorus counts as well.
 * Some fans would start a bandwagon by commenting the entire lyrics (starting from "Ah, Honoka na...") in order until the song ended unless a fan pulls a discourse or stopped without knowing.
 * The song being performed in the Muse's Final LoveLive! Mu'sic Forever concert is also labeled as "April Feels", due to the fact the second day took place in April 1st, where everyone celebrates April Fools.

"A-RISE Who?"
After the reveal of Love Live! Fest with A-RISE omitted from the groups, many fans began to ridicule the idol group as merely non-existent after their last appearance in the first Anime.

"µ's Cameo"
During Sunshine 's run until the Over The Rainbow movie, fans were speculating/pointing out whether one/all of the µ's members will make a cameo in the series as older versions of them.

Sadly, while they never actually appeared in the series, the picture gallery below is considered as the "closest thing" to have a cameo of them.

"It's Yohane!"
Yoshiko Tsushima's running gag of wanting to be called as her Fallen Angel name led many (if not, all) fans to generally refer the character by her nickname.

Protecc/"FBI, Open Up!"
Ruby Kurosawa tends to be the subject of protection by the fans while "calling" the enforcers to the others who made inappropriate things to her.

It's also noteworthy that this is considered as an ironic double standard since the fans also fawned to Maki Nishikino despite being a First Year like Ruby.

"Yousoro! (Aye-Aye!)"
You's salute and her response (used by sailors) has become one of her signature pose and catchphrase.

Any other character in the Love Live! series (notably Yu Takasaki in The First Thrill) that makes a similar saluting gesture is generally conceived as a reference to You's signature pose.

Riko's Cynophobia/Fear to Shiitake
Ever since Catch the Transfer Student! reveals that Riko being afraid to Shiitake, fans took advantage to it by putting her with other dogs, or occasionally pairing her with a shiitake mushroom. Although she finally faced her fear since Taking in A Dog, this meme is still in effect, albeit very rarely.

"U's/Dia's rant


A meme consisting of one fan parroting Chika's mispronunciation of Muse as "U's" with the other using Dia's response as an answer.

Kanan's Screentime/"Kanan Who?"


Ever since her minor appearances prior to Isn't it Frustrating?, Kanan Matsuura is infamous for being occasionally on-screen and not appearing in Episodes 5 and 7, to the point that she's jokingly treated as a non-existent character.

Chika the Center Thief
Some fans like to infer Chika Takami as the only School Idol who likes to steal the position of being the center of all songs existed, though she canonically has 10 (so far).

You "Third Wheel" Watanabe
You Watanabe has become a frequent subject for Third Wheeling-based jokes due to Chika Takami and Riko Sakurauchi's interaction during the series' run. This has culminated to the point where Riko confessed to Chika in We've Got Stewshine, which permanently turns You into a subject of mockery for her failed relationship with Chika.

Dia the Obsessive Fangirl
Because of the info regarding Eli Ayase being Dia Kurosawa's favorite Muse member, fans portrayed her as an extremely obsessive fangirl to Eli. And ever since the interaction between the two became canon in both the ALL STARS game and its Daily Theatre interaction stories, whether Dia's secretly insane obsessions as depicted in both memes and fanarts has yet to be seen canonically.

The Dome's restrooms/Confirmed "Extinct"
After the airing of Rainbow, at least one fan pointed out that the restroom signs in the Kano Dome only had the female legend sign shown, which also led fans to indicate that the males are completely "extinct" in the series. This was averted if one fan looks closely at the bulletin board on the very front, where it shows that the male restroom has been moved to the lower section where the pool is.

The Nocturne/Laelaps debate
Originating from Taking in A Dog, many fans like to jokingly debate on which of the two names actually fit for this particular dog whenever it was mentioned by the fans.

"Cursed Mari Plush"
The Nuigurumi Mascot ~Sanensei~ Mari Ohara plush has become a subject for memes.

"0"/"98"
Originated from Isn't it Frustrating? and later The Time Left, both the numbers 0 (fans' votes to Aqours) and 98 (the remaining applicants) is seen as a subject of intense emotional or physical reaction to the (international) fanbase.

The latter number is also used as a subject of mockery by associating it with Chika when it comes to her shattered hopes/as if it's her "signature" number.

"Happy New Year!"
A yearly meme inferring to the fans jokingly prioritizes the New Year celebration instead of celebrating Dia Kurosawa's birthday (who she shares her birth date with). It does not help that Dia's birthday is not mentioned in Finding a Way to Shine, as it was aired in December 9 at the time.

The Flying Van
Originating from Finding a Way to Shine, a scene of Mari's van suddenly flying when the girls are on their way to their destination. Since this is not very clear that this is truly happening or it's just a visual metaphor, many fans find various (and humorous) excuses to justify the context.

Tsuki (Term)
Originating from Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie Over The Rainbow, Tsuki Watanabe's first name is used as a term to refer to any masculine characters (whether it was young or a teen) in the Love Live! series that is actually cross-dressing tomboyish females like her.

This meme was also referred to as "Pulling a Tsuki".

"Say Eat Pie"
Originated from Mitaiken HORIZON, Ruby Kurosawa's pronunciation of "Ippai seiippai te o nobasou (いっぱい せいいっぱい 手を伸ばそう) is heard as a mondegreen for "Say Eat Pie" and "Then Win No Muscle".

"Jojo School Idol"
The international fans immediately pointed out Hitomi Shiga's resemblance to Jotaro Kujo from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, mainly due to the outfits worn by Japanese delinquents.

"Sugar Honey Ice Tea"
Mia Taylor's spoken profanity in her first appearance in Chapter 19 is generally associated with the character as if it's her signature line.

"K-On! Cast Reunion"
Given Satomi Sato (Mai Natsukawa) and Yoko Hikasa's (Kaoruko Mifune) involvement, fans occasionally joked that ALL-STARS also doubles as a reunion special for the cast of K-On!, a manga series. It's noted that Satomi and Yoko also provided the voices of Ritsu Tanaka and Mio Akiyama in the Anime.

Rina the Blonde Lady Killer
A meme similar to Yu Takasaki being viewed as a harem master, fans noted Rina's interaction with Ai, Mari, and later Mia, as a pattern of her building a harem of blonde school idols. While Rina had interacted with Eli in the cooking event side story, both had yet to have an illustrated card of them.

"KasuKasu"
Kasumi's disliked nickname is also a source of (humorous) ridicule when she's referenced to by fans.

Setsuna-Gundam relations
Due to her sharing the same name with Setsuna F. Seiei from Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Setsuna Yuki is often a subject of Gundam franchise-based memes. It's noteworthy that both Setsuna Yuuki and Setsuna F. Seiei are false names that cover their true names (Nana Nakagawa, Soran Ibrahim), and Tomori Kusunoki mentioned the franchise's name once in one of the Nijigasaki Radio podcasts.

The "Chase/CHASE" title
Some fans also pointed out the "similarities" between Setsuna Yuki's CHASE! and the other "Chase" from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable, though they're referring to its titles despite being different songs.

"Maria Jose Setsuna Guadalupe"
Originated from an edited sprite and later a fanart, A picture of Setsuna Yuki on a repainted outfit, complete with a Sombero, a mustache, and occasionally a Maracas (named as Maria Jose Setsuna Guadalupe to fit its Mexican stereotype theme) has become its own standalone meme.

Nana Nakagawa identity/the infamous "6-digit code"


Nana Nakagawa's spectacled/double-braided appearance has turned her into a very unfortunate subject of comparison with a similar-looking character from an infamously tragic unofficial doujinshi. Like the said character (and to an extent, the other Anime/Manga characters that shares a similar appearance as her), Nana is also referred to as that certain 6-digit code originating from a number on a (now defunct) pirated site's (where the doujin was uploaded) link.

(Keep in mind that this was originated from her appearance as Nana in Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS.)

Kaori's height
Kaori Maeda's height of 146cm is a source of ridicule by the international fanbase, though in a non-hateful and hilarious manner.

Yu's Keyboard Arms
Because of how her pose is depicted in her very first visual appearance, many fans compare Yu's keyboard gesture with Nozomi's infamous "Washi Washi Suru Yan" pose.

Yu's Characteristic
Prior to the second visual and her animated appearance, fans portrayed Yu Takasaki as a usually unexpressive character (similar to Rina Tennoji) whose energetic and enthusiastic personality is an informed attribute since she is shown to have an emotionless expression on her design.

"We/Our/Us"
Mostly due to the fact that she's an anime equivalent of the player character in Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS, this meme was used to refer Yu Takasaki (and her voice actress as well) as an Anime universe equivalent of every Love Live! fan, regardless of gender. This only applies to so far, the English and Chinese-speaking fanbase, in contrast to most of the Japanese fandom who treats her as a separate character.

"Gay Bread"
A (joke) nickname used to refer Kasumi Nakasu's Rainbow-colored bread in the Muteki-kyuu*Believer MV, as the rainbow is also affiliated with the LGBT symbol.

"Hitori dake nante erabenai yo!"
Translated as "I can't just choose one!", Hinaki Yano's line in the pre-Episode airing livestreams has led fans to view it as her signature quote, or even as her "call-and-response".

"Yu the Harem Master/Queen"
At least half of the fans also interpreted Yu's relationship with/attempt to reunite the School Idols as if she's seeking her own harem. This also extends to her relationship (though in the Player character's POV)  with Muse and Aqours in All-Stars, and to a humorous extent, the entire female students in Nijigasaki High School, and possibly Liella!.

Ayumu the Loser
Ayumu Uehara is also a subject of ridicule as she is mocked as...


 * A "Non-Center/Leader" due to having coral-colored hair in contrast to Honoka Kosaka, Chika Takami, and Kanon Shibuya's orange.
 * Being "cheated on"/labeled as a "Green Hat" after Yu Takasaki's interaction with the rest of the girls, which gives a similarity to how fans made fun of You Watanabe since her  "failed" relationship with Chika.
 * It's also noteworthy that Aguri Onishi also gets a very similar treatment as fans pointed out Hinaki Yano's interactions with her fellow voice actresses besides Aguri.
 * Hinaki's tweet of the March 2021 issue of the Dengeki G's Magazine with Ayumu hugging Yu had the tweet description written as "仲良し幼馴染 (Childhood Friends), which is also viewed as both Ayumu and Aguri Onishi being "friendzoned" by both Hinaki and Yu.
 * A "Secondary/Side-Character" demoted from the protagonist position, mainly due to the fact that Yu Takasaki is also the main character.

Shizuku the Koppepan Dispenser/Kasumi's Bread Factory


In Shout Out Your Love, Shizuku is jokingly referred to as a walking bread storage due to Kasumi bringing out one of the koppepans out of nowhere from her butt.

Hinaki in "Grave Danger"
Applied to the Chinese-speaking fanbase, this meme consists of them jokingly implied that Hinaki Yano may suffer from Aguri's wraith (due to the memetic depiction of Ayumu being a yandere) considering the former's interaction with other seiyuus as well.

Setsuna's "Pure Killer Essence"
The purple edible substance Setsuna used to cook her food is a deadly substance in-universe, as it was seen as a material for "killing" people, mainly her "victims" such as the first years (Ruby Kurosawa (in Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS), Hanayo Koizumi, and Rina Tennoji in "Summer Begins.", though downplayed)

"Karin Simping"
Originated from Friends but Rivals, this was used to refer Himeno Ayanokoji interacting with Karin Asaka as if she was "simping".

Note: "Simp" is a slang insult for people who are seen as too attentive and submissive to the ones they admired/loved, especially out of a failed hope of winning some entitled sexual attention or activity from them. However, the term is also evolving some more general senses of liking someone, akin to the slang stan.

"Kono Takasaki Yu yume ga aru"/"I, Yu Takasaki, have a dream"
Yu Takasaki's quotes about her dreams (notably shown in Everyone's Dream, My Dream and Blossoming Feelings is compared with Giorno Giovanna's (a character from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind) signature line.

"It's Setsuna much more important?"


Ayumu's outburst in Everyone's Dream, My Dream has become a minor meme for the Japanese fanbase, as they use Setsuna Yuki's name as her berserk button akin to "0/98" for Chika.

The "Friendzone" Flower
The flower that Yu gave to Ayumu in Blossoming Feelings is a Rhodanthe, also known as an "everlasting flower", which symbolizes unchanged feelings, endless friendship, love that begins with sympathy, brightness, and flying/soaring.

The international fans also noted that the term "friend" is also part of the flower's symbolism, which also led them to jokingly view it as Ayumu being officially "friendzoned" by Yu.

Shioriko's non-existent screentime/appearance
Shioriko Mifune has been a subject of debate when it comes to her potential appearance in the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club Anime. After her lack of physical cameo in School Idol Festival (The Place Where Everyone's Dreams Come True) (and to some extent, her being mentioned in one of the the NijiGaku Journals in the Love Live! Days Magazine), several fans began to "confirm" that she is officially omitted from the series.