Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-24187738-20180225155956/@comment-34930752-20180307202442

How has Sunshine changed my life? I can't really say it has.

Don't get me wrong, I love Sunshine and I love the Love Live franchise quite dearly. However, there hasn't ever really been any piece of entertainment that's really /changed/ my life. The things that have always changed me have been specific life circumstances, such as moving, the death of a loved one, theft, etc. Things like that. What Love Live has done for me is served as a fantastic getaway from things that have proven to be too stressful to deal with directly.

When I'm at work, I'll occasionally play some music from Love Live to help distract me from how difficult things can be at times (aka most of the time). The same applies to most situations. Working out can be difficult, but its easier with music. Doing my mom's work can be the same way. Pretty much anything that doesn't directly require open ears can be made a bit easier with music. But with Love Live, it's different.

Of course, not knowing how to speak Japanese helps considering that you don't understand what's being said. This helps you not get completely sunk into the lyrics, which does wonders when you're actually trying to focus on something else entirely. But wait, a lot of Japanese music exists, not even including other music in foreign languages. What makes music from Love Live any special?

Simple. I've been able to resonate and become attached to the characters and story of Love Live FAR more than any other idol/band anime, story, or franchise that it can be compared to. To me, these characters have become far more of a passion than I could have ever expected a hobby to, and hearing their music in specific is a far different experience than it is any other Japanese artist's.

I'm not a blind fanboy of Love Live, as I've been very open to sharing my own criticisms of it time and time again. I don't like every song, in fact there's a plethora of them that I just flat out dislike. And despite that, I do feel far different listening to their music than that of any other Japanese artist's, as I said above. This all holds true because of my passion towards the franchise, and how much I've been able to resonate and connect with the story and characters behind it all.

So, has Sunshine, or Love Live in general, really changed my life? Honestly, I can't say it has. I feel like if it were to be ripped away from me entirely, I'd be upset but not going through a complete withdrawal. That said, the franchise as a whole HAS helped distract me from some difficulties in life, which is overall something that can be valued almost just as highly as a life-changing experience.

And to answer the main question, Sunshine has given me more of what I already loved... in some ways worse, but in MANY ways better. When the Sunshine project was first announced, I didn't expect it to be anything special, and I became very skeptical when I saw that it would be an indirect continuation of the original School Idol Project series. I didn't want to see something I loved be milked the way a lot of other franchises are, so I was worried. The overall greatness of Sunshine was just about 10 million times better than I would have ever expected, and the fact that things happened the way they did fills me with joy. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Best girl: Riko Contact: Twitter @xethora_