Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie Over The Rainbow

"Love Live Sunshine! The School Idol Movie Over The Rainbow" is an animated motion picture from ''Love Live! Sunshine!! series, announced as part of "Aqours Hop! Step! Jump! Project"''. The movie premiered on January 4, 2019. The Blu-ray disc will be released on July 26, 2019.

Summary
Several years ago, a young Chika and You were playing on the beach when they came across a young Riko looking out to sea. The next scene picks up from the series finale ("Bokura no Hashittekita Michi wa…").

Following the closure of Uranohoshi Girls' High School, the members of Aqours vow to continue with just the six of them. They travel to their new school within the Numazu suburbs, only to realize that it's run-down and too small to fit all of the transferees. As they gather in a nearby cafe to discuss their situation, they notice You talking to someone outside. The girls follow the pair in secrecy until Yoshiko blows their cover. You introduces them to the stranger, who turns out to be her cousin Tsuki.

Tsuki, a student at the new school, explains that the transferees were being put in the so-called "branch school" for the meantime. In the main school, students and their parents were worried that the sudden influx would affect the school's normal functions. To help allay the students' fears, Aqours holds a live show but commits a minor error.

The next day at the beach, they realize that the graduated third-years--Dia, Mari, and Kanan--have been so integral to Aqours that they're unable to work without them. Sarah, who also just graduated, and Leah meet them and are dismayed at Aqours' current state. Amidst the somber mood, the Ohara family helicopter makes a low pass, its passenger revealing herself as Mari's mother.

At the Awashima Hotel, Mari's mother informs the girls that the third-years have gone missing during their post-graduation trip in Italy. They all agree to go, unaware of the real reason she's sending them.

With Tsuki--who grew up in Italy--as their guide, Aqours makes their first stop in Venice based on a photo where the third-years were last seen. All across the city, they come across posters demonizing Dia and Kanan preying on a helpless Mari. Atop a building, the group reunites with the third-years who are annoyed upon learning that Mari's mother had sent them. The reunion is cut short when a group of tourists recognize the third-years from the poster. Mari throws a costume off the building, prompting You and Tsuki to catch it. The rest of the girls catch them just in time, but the third-years use the confusion to escape ("Tousou Meisou Mobius Loop").

Eventually, the girls establish contact with the third-years and head for Florence. They follow a purple flash seen from the top of the Florence Cathedral to one of the Ohara family's mansions. Gathering once more, the third-years reveal that Mari is getting married into another influential family. Mari's mother eventually tracks them down and a confrontation ensues. Mari, who had run away from Italy to be with her friends in Japan, vehemently insists that her time as a school idol wasn't a waste of time and sets out to prove it. Several days later, they perform at the Spanish steps in Rome to a sizeable crowd ("Hop? Stop? Nonstop!"). Seeing her daughter's resolve, Mari's mother finally admits defeat and leaves.

As a full nine, Aqours returns to Japan to tackle the issue of the school's distrust of the Uranohoshi students. The third-years insist that Aqours do this with only its remaining members, as having them join won't help the group move on.

One day, they receive a call from Sarah telling them that Leah wants to join Aqours after failing to form her own school idol group. Ruby refuses to let her, reminding everyone of the promise she made to her sister after their joint Christmas show in Hakodate. They plan a joint live show via livestream to help rekindle Leah's fire. The Kazuno sisters perform as Saint Snow one last time ("Believe again") with Aqours watching from Numazu. Later, Aqours performs as a group of nine one last time ("Brightest Melody") with Saint Snow watching from Hakodate. Inspired by the radiance of the school idols, Tsuki shares the livestream on the Internet.

The buzz generated by the videos results in the girls' new schoolmates, once distrustful, to help them prepare for a huge live show ("Kiseki Hikaru"). The third years agree to stay in the audience for the first part of Aqours' song before leaving. On the day, the six members manage to carry on with the performance ("Next SPARKLING!!") even as the third years have departed.

In a post-credits scene, a group of girls gather at the beach to discuss forming their school idol group. Writing on the sand, they decide on being named "Aqours," continuing its legacy with the next generation.

Cast

 * Anju Inami as Chika Takami
 * Rikako Aida as Riko Sakurauchi
 * Nanaka Suwa as Kanan Matsuura
 * Arisa Komiya as Dia Kurosawa
 * Shuka Saito as You Watanabe
 * Aika Kobayashi as Yoshiko Tsushima
 * Kanako Takatsuki as Hanamaru Kunikida
 * Aina Suzuki as Mari Ohara
 * Ai Furihata as Ruby Kurosawa
 * Tomoyo Kurosawa as Tsuki Watanabe
 * Akiko Yajima as Mari Ohara's mother

Notes & Trivia

 * This is the 2nd motion feature in the Love Live! franchise.
 * Prior to the release of the movie, Tsuki did not appear in any of the previous media.
 * Several of the locations in this Movie is based on real-life locations:
 * The place where Aqours dance is Piazza di Spagna, one of the most famous squares in Rome.
 * The decrepit school that the 2nd and 1st years transferred to are based on a Storage Facility building located at Numazu.
 * This film marks the first full appearance of Mari Ohara's mother.
 * The film features a different origin for Riko: In the manga, she is first transferred to Uranohoshi High School for the first time as her father went to work here. In this film, a younger Riko made an appearance during Chika and You's childhood flashback.
 * The camera that Tsuki wields is able to film an 8K resolution video, which is similar to the FDR-AX45 Professional Camcorder manufactured by Sony.
 * The Rhododendron Flowers seen in the Hop? Stop? Nonstop! segment is used as gifts for Mother's Day in Italian countries in real life. In that case, Mari standing beside the flowers while singing to represent her actual feelings to her mother, complete with the petals flying forward, solidifying the fact that Mari thanked her mother for her great care.
 * Official Bio Inconsistencies: Mari's official character introduction in the Love Live! Sunshine!! Fanbooks, the TV Anime Official Book (1st Season) and the flashback in Finding a Way to Shine reveals that her mother is Japanese, but the said character in her full appearance in this movie has blonde hair instead of brunette, and speaks in a heavy foreign accent, implying that she's a mixed blood like her daughter, or she stayed too long in Italy (hence the development of the accent).
 * Likewise, this is not the first time that a character's appearance is completely inconsistent with the bio (or any other adaptations), as Maki Nishikino's Father had two different appearances in the manga adaptations of School Idol Project and School Idol Diary.
 * One of the girls in the post-credits scene had a similar voice to Ayumu Uehara.

Continuity Notes

 * A younger Chika and You made their reappearance since I Want to Shine!!. Likewise, a younger Riko also appears since Catch the Transfer Student!.
 * Aqours began to sing Bokura no Hashittekita Michi wa… after WONDERFUL STORIES in the second season's last Episode.
 * The shop that Aqours passed by (along with the same cat that the owner holds) is previously seen in Awaken the power.
 * The 2nd Years (Chika, Riko, and You) and the 1st Years (Ruby, Yoshiko, Hanamaru) is now transferred to a new school since Uranohoshi Girls' High School's closure in the final episode of the Second Season.
 * Mari took a trip to Italy since the reveal of her plan in Finding a Way to Shine.
 * Mari Ohara's mother reappears in full since her daughter's flashback in Finding a Way to Shine.
 * Chika refers to Dia with a "-chan" suffix since Don't Call Me Dia-san.
 * Mari's mother does a similar low-flying ability on her helicopter, as a callback to her daughter's in First Step.
 * Yoshiko points out Hanamaru's metabolism since the latter is seen eating a large amount of food in the Anime's two seasons.
 * During the nighttime sequence in Tousou Meisou Mobius Loop, The three girls' headbands are shaped after constellations: Ursa Major (Dia), Polaris (Kanan), and Cassiopeia (Mari). The third's headband is also a callback to younger Mari's stargazing chart in Finding a Way to Shine, as the Cassiopeia can be seen in the chart.
 * Mari's mother pointed out that her daughter's goal of being a School Idol as pointless in spite of her approval, which implies that she knew that her daughter (and her two friends) previously lost to Love Live! in Young DREAMER.
 * The three middle-school students from Yohane Descends re-appeared in this film.
 * In the Third Years' flashback, Mari has already moved to the fifth floor since Finding a Way to Shine.
 * In the same flashback, a Third Year Mari runs away from home just to return to Numazu, before the events of First Step.
 * You wore her pair of glasses since Aye-aye, My Friend.
 * Prelude (Riko's pug) reappears since Our Own Radiance.
 * Chika's father finally appears in full body since his partial appearance in Finding a Way to Shine and Sea of Light, though his face is still obstructed.
 * Likewise, You's mother also reappears since the latter episode.
 * During Aqours' imagination of what if Leah joined Aqours, Yoshiko's vision of falling down is similar to Leah's failure in HAKODATE.
 * Dia and Ruby's mother reappears but her hair is longer than previous appearances resembling her more to her eldest daughter.

Errors & Goofs
NOTE: Some of the errors are marked due to the inconsistency between the official bios and the anime.


 * Continuity Errors:
 * While the flashback at the beginning of the movie is considered as Chika and You's first meeting with Riko, none of them actually remembered each other after Riko transfers to Uranohoshi Girls high.
 * In Finding a Way to Shine, the brunette-haired woman is implied to be Mari's mother. However, in this movie, Mrs. Ohara is depicted as a blonde-haired woman with a thick accent. Given the inconsistency, one can assume the woman that previously appeared in the said episode might have turned out to be one of the servants for the Ohara family.