Sing! song! smile!

'''sing! song! smile!' is the third episode of the Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club Season 2'' anime series. It aired on April 16, 2022.

Summary
The QU4RTZ girls decided to find a way to get Lanzhu Zhong to comply with their claims. Rina Tennoji suggested they had sleepovers to find their charm. After the first night, Shioriko Mifune says that she could attempt to combine the School Idol Festival with the Cultural Festival. She walks out of the room and Lanzhu talks to her. Shioriko askes Lanzhu if she wants to go to the School Idol Festival, and Lanzhu agrees. Yu Takasaki attempts to think about the melodies for her project, when Mia Taylor walks up. Yu askes Mia for advice, and Mia says to only make what others want. At Rina's place, they brainstorm how to achieve their goals. They tell each other why they are special, and find their charm. They preform ENJOY IT!. Yu then preforms a piano version of NEO SKY, NEO MAP!.

Cast

 * Hinaki Yano as Yu Takasaki
 * Aguri Onishi as Ayumu Uehara
 * Mayu Sagara as Kasumi Nakasu
 * Kaori Maeda as Shizuku Osaka
 * Miyu Kubota as Karin Asaka
 * Natsumi Murakami as Ai Miyashita
 * Akari Kito as Kanata Konoe
 * Tomori Kusunoki as Setsuna Yuki
 * Maria Sashide as Emma Verde
 * Chiemi Tanaka as Rina Tennoji
 * Moeka Koizumi as Shioriko Mifune
 * Shu Uchida as Mia Taylor
 * Akina Homoto as Lanzhu Zhong

Trivia

 * The episode serves as a conclusion to QU4RTZ's origin in the anime.
 * This episode also marks the first of the following:
 * The first appearance of the Konoe sisters' mother, and one of Kasumi's parents, albeit off-camera.
 * The first animated appearance of the remainder of the characters from Y.G. International Academy (Yukari, Rebecca, Leo, Isabella, Maria and Ranpha) that were introduced in School Idol Festival.
 * The first anime insert song performed by an official and pre-established unit (sub-group).
 * Kasumi's young appearance is likely modeled after Mayu Sagara's childhood photo.
 * During QU4RTZ's performance, some frames in the MV reference cards and outfits from Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS.

Callbacks to previous Love Live! Series

 * Continuing the tradition, Emma, Rina, and Kanata wore a pair of sunglasses and a mask while spying on Lanzhu.

Continuity Notes

 * Once again, Kasumi wears a pair of sunglasses and a mask while she spies on Lanzhu.
 * Haruka's cooking skills have improved with Kanata's help in Haruka, Kanata, and Beyond.

Errors & Goofs

 * During the initial streamings on Crunchyroll, subtitles went out of sync for the remainder of the episode.
 * 03:48 Kasumi's bowtie appears floating.
 * 09:34 Shadow under the rice cooker disappeared and reappeared.
 * 10:23 Kasumi's hair blended with the background.
 * 10:52 Hanpen's eyes were overfilled.
 * 16:59 Emma and Rina had awkward nodding animation.
 * 18:13 Empty crowds on the corner side of the front row.
 * 19:43 Emma's eyes were bright under the dark.
 * 23:10 Yu had irregular eyes shape before fading.
 * A close-up shot of the School Idol Festival photo frame is notably absent in Kanata's room. but was present in Kasumi, Rina and Emma's rooms.